by Sharon Green
“Yes, the rest of those stiff-necked fools would blame her for the way she was treated, and would certainly consider her a traitor.” Lorand nodded distractedly, his agreement clear. “So at least that’s one saved, out of – how many?”
“There are a few others who also won’t be forced to do the backbreaking work,” Jovvi said, sighing over the same picture that Lorand now looked at inwardly. “Some of those people are more victim than noble, and the Astindans hope to find a way to reverse the way they were ruined. But as far as the rest goes… Lorand, we have to find a way to keep our own people and their children from turning into the same kind of parasites. If we don’t think of something now, it’s bound to happen.”
“Yes, people do commit the worst horrors in the name of love, don’t they,” Lorand agreed with a matching sigh. “I wish I could say I knew exactly how to stop it, but I don’t have the first clue. Hopefully something will come to one of us once we settle down into a routine.”
Jovvi nodded and let the conversation drop, but her mind still worried at the need along with a hundred others. There was so much that had to be done, all of it important if not downright crucial. Jovvi had been losing sleep over the worries, a lack that looked as though it would continue for a while…
The ride to the palace was uneventful, as was actually entering the palace grounds. The day was a bit overcast, promising rain for some later time, but Jovvi didn’t ask Lorand about the rain. The temperature was still warm enough that the Astindans probably would make no effort to give the former nobles shelter from the rain, and Lorand didn’t need that to worry over along with the rest. Lorand was a beautiful human being, and Jovvi sometimes felt that he was more aware of the suffering of others than she was.
“At least we won’t have hordes of people waiting to attack us with demands,” Lorand murmured as they drew rein in front of the main entrance to the palace. “The guardsmen we left here are still at their stations, so no one should be inside but the servants who were left after we faced the former Five.”
“I’ve definitely learned to be grateful for small favors,” Jovvi agreed, dismounting without waiting for anyone to help. “And for the fact that there are still stable boys here.”
In point of fact there were a lot of stable boys, all rushing out to take the reins of their horses. Even so not all of the horses would be taken to the stables at once, not with almost seventy-five people in their party.
“I thought ten boys would be enough,” Vallant said after letting his reins be taken, looking around at the sudden flurry. “I left orders to have the boys be here when we arrived, but it looks like some of us are still goin’ to be takin’ care of our own horses.”
“Some of the guardsmen are coming over to help,” Lorand told Vallant with a smile of amusement. “And let me say how grateful I am that you dislike seeing to your own horse. I may be better at it than you are, but I don’t like doing it any more than you do.”
“Now that I know how to do it, I’m more than willing to let others have the honor,” Tamma put in with her own amusement. “It’s nice to know I can take care of myself if the need arises, but the rest of the time I prefer to be lazy.”
“A perfect description of my own feelings,” Rion agreed, voicing a small laugh as he took Naran’s hand again. “I’m pleased no end that I’m able to look after myself, but prefer to leave exercising the talent for a time of need. And as soon as we’ve settled in, I even mean to learn how to cook.”
Tamma immediately announced that she would join Rion in the cooking venture, and everyone, including members of the various link groups, put in their own opinions as they moved into the palace in a group. The guardsmen on duty remained at their posts outside, and the guardsmen they’d brought with them were off helping the stable boys with the horses.
The halls they walked through looked as deserted to Jovvi as they had the last time their Blending had entered the palace. With very few servants and no guardsmen that was to be expected, of course, but Jovvi still disliked the … almost brooding atmosphere. Something would have to be done about that as quickly as –
Suddenly a man appeared out of a nearby doorway, a man who was a complete stranger to them. He held a long knife in each of his hands, and he screamed madly as he began to run in order to close the few steps between him and his chosen targets: Jovvi and her Blendingmates.
Chapter 2
Rion saw the stranger charging at them, and immediately put a wall of hardened air between the attacker and his Blendingmates. At the same time the blades of the man’s knives disappeared in a flash of very intense fire, and then the man himself was crumpling to the marble floor.
“It’s nice feelin’ so well protected,” Vallant commented dryly as he joined Rion and the others in stepping forward to inspect the now-unconscious attacker. It was fairly obvious that Tamrissa had destroyed the man’s weapons and Lorand had put the man to sleep after Rion erected his wall of safety. “Naran didn’t even have to warn us because the fool had no hope at all of succeedin’. Does anyone know who this man is, or what he has against us?”
“Apparently not,” Jovvi answered for all of them after seeing nothing but headshaking. “But it won’t be too hard to find out what his problem is, so let’s bring him along with us. We’ll also want to know if there are any more at home like him.”
Some of the larger male members of the link groups came forward to carry the attacker, and it was a quieter procession that continued on into the palace. When they reached the area of meeting rooms just before the corridor diverged into the separate private wings, a small group of very disturbed servants was found waiting.
“Excellences, this is terrible!” one of the men said, wringing his hands as he stepped out ahead of the others. “We had no idea you were coming, so nothing is prepared for you, not even tea! Please forgive us our failure!”
“It’s hardly your fault that we told no one we were coming,” Rion soothed the man, not wondering in the least why the servants were so agitated. “Your former masters might well have dismissed you for showing the terrible flaw of not being able to see the future, but happily we’re not of their ilk. But before you run off to see to a million chores, please look at this man and tell us if you know him."
The servant, whose pathetic relief suggested that dismissal would have been the least he suffered at the hands of the previous Five, stepped forward to peer at the man Rion gestured to. A sharp intake of breath told Rion that the servant knew the unconscious man even before the servant spoke.
“Why, that’s Feriun,” the man exclaimed, disturbance quickly returning. “He hasn’t been among us long, but he’s a very hard worker. What could have happened to him? Is he dead?”
“No, he’s still among the livin’,” Vallant said, glancing apologetically at Rion before taking over the servant’s questioning. “Exactly when did he join the staff?”
“It was two or three days ago, Excellence,” the man replied, causing Rion to exchange glances with Vallant and the others. “Not many of our people have come back yet, so he was put right to work. Have you any idea of what happened to the man?”
“We know exactly what happened to him,” Tamrissa put in dryly, speaking in a way that Rion knew would keep the servant from asking the same question again. “Were any others added to the staff when this man Feriun was?”
“Yes, there were two others with him, Excellence,” the servant answered at once, his eyes widened as he looked at Tamrissa. “One of the other two tends to avoid work more than do it, but we need the extra pair of hands too badly for the chief steward to dismiss him.”
“Which of the magical talents do the three men fall under?” Naran asked suddenly, startling Rion along with everyone else. “Surely at least one of them has been seen exercising a talent, even one that happened to be weak?”
“Personally, I have no idea, my lady,” the servant answered with raised brows before turning to look at the rest of the staff members still hovering behin
d him. “No, the others don’t recall seeing them exercising talents either.”
“No, Rion, don’t correct him now,” Naran whispered just as Rion was about to speak sharply to the servant for not addressing Naran as he had the rest of the Blending. “It isn’t the right time.”
Rion held his tongue as his love asked, but it was a near thing. He’d been about to instruct the servant that Naran was also to be addressed as “Excellence,” but it was true that they hadn’t yet made their announcement about the size and composition of their Blending. Rion felt annoyed at the need for silence, but then he realized what Naran’s question could well mean.
“Thank you, Naran,” Jovvi said, clearly having also realized the implications of the question – that the man and his friends could well be renegade Guild people. “We’ll look into that as soon as we make ourselves comfortable.” Then she turned to the servant. “Please have tea prepared for us and our guests. We’ll be in the large meeting room.”
The servant bowed his acknowledgment of the order, then turned and hurried the other staff members off to see to the wants of the new Five. He himself took up a hovering position, obviously ready to run in any direction should it be required of him. Jovvi led the way to the large meeting room they’d been in once before, and Rion joined everyone else in following her.
“All right, there’s two things that need doin’ right now,” Vallant said once everyone was in the large room with the servant left outside the closed door. “We have to send some of our guardsmen to fetch High Master Mohr, and we have to check out the entire servin’ staff of this place. Then we can wake up this man Feriun and find out what he’s up to.”
“Yes, I agree,” Jovvi said as she took a chair, and then she turned to Rion’s love. “Naran, how certain are you that this man and his friends are renegade Guild members?”
“There’s no certainty about the matter yet, but it’s a very strong possibility,” Naran responded as she obviously studied what only her eyes could see. “If it turns out to be true, it could be something of a problem.”
“To say the least,” Tamrissa commented dryly as she took her own chair. “We don’t know how many of them there are, or what their aims and plans could be. I suggest we stop wasting time and try to find out.”
The entire group agreed with that, so Jovvi waited until they’d all found chairs and then initiated the Blending. In heartbeats it was no longer Rion but the Blending entity who glanced over the situation before floating quickly out to the stables. Their guard escort hadn't yet unsaddled their horses, which made matters much easier for the entity. The leader of the guardsmen was given his orders about sending for High Master Mohr, and also told to bring the rest of his people into the palace when the messenger was sent. Then the entity was itself free to return to the palace.
There were a fairly large number of flesh forms in the immense structure, but each one needn’t be examined individually when they were found in groups. The entity found it simplicity itself to take over the minds of the entire group at once, and then it spoke to those captive minds.
- This entity would know of your loyalty to your new employers, - it put gently. – Would you betray them for silver or gold, or possibly for political reasons? –
Each flesh form in the first two groups quietly and truthfully denied any intention of ever planning betrayal, but the same did not hold true for one member of the third group.
“Of course I would betray them if I was given enough silver or gold,” a female flesh form admitted freely, fear and caution both being denied her. “They’re big-shots, aren’t they, so why wouldn’t I? Big-shots always push around the little people, so they deserve whatever they get.”
The entity ordered the female flesh form to report to the meeting room where its own flesh forms were, released the others in the group, then continued on. Four others with the same attitude toward betrayal were found elsewhere and also sent to the meeting room, and then the entity located two male flesh forms who were different. There was not the least, smallest resistance to the entity when it took the two over, and the response of the first of them was immediate.
“Of course I would betray those interlopers,” the flesh form admitted with pride, his companion nodding agreement. “The silver makes the situation sweeter, but I would betray those fakes even without being paid. They’re pretending to be the Chosen Blending when they’re not, and people need to know the truth.”
“And they also ruined my relationship with members of the nobility,” the second flesh form added with the shadow of anger. “I was well on the way to becoming a noble myself for all the help I gave, and now it will never happen. When they fall because of my efforts I’ll have my revenge, but it still won’t be complete. Nothing can repay me for what I’ve lost.”
At one time the entity would have had little understanding of what the flesh forms meant, but now it understood all too well. It sent the two males to the meeting room with an inner sigh, released the others in the group, then continued on with its chore. The completion of that chore took quite some time, but at last it was done and then it was Rion back again.
“Phew!” Jovvi said as she sprawled back in her chair. “That was some job, and for a moment I thought I’d need to draw strength from a link group or two. I’m really glad it’s over, at least for the moment.”
“You don’t need a link group, you need a decent amount of rest,” Lorand told her at once with a frown, leaving his own chair to move closer to hers and lean down. “You’ve been pushing yourself too hard with too little sleep, love, something I could feel much too clearly in the Blending. As soon as we finish what we’re in the middle of, you have to take some time to get that rest.”
“And in the meantime you will use one of your link groups,” Tamrissa ordered, her tone much more stern than Lorand’s had been. “For the first time in a long while I felt about three times stronger than you, which proves that Lorand isn’t imagining things.”
“Yes, yes, you’re all perfectly right,” Jovvi acknowledged as Rion joined the others in agreeing with what had been said. “I am tired and I do need rest, but I can’t take the time until we’re finished with this task. Have any of those people gotten here yet?”
Rion had already spoken quietly to a member of one of his link groups, and the man was on his way to the door to find the answer to Jovvi’s question. The man, Eystren, put his head outside, looked around, then opened the door wider.
“The guardsmen are here, Jovvi, and so are some others,” Eystren announced. “Which of them do you want first?”
“Let’s have the guardsmen in first, and then that woman,” Vallant said when Jovvi looked at him inquiringly. “The first woman, who doesn’t have much likin’ for ‘big-shots.’”
“Yes, I’m curious about her as well,” Rion agreed as Eystren took care of inviting in those who were wanted first. “I had the impression that she could well be the one who poisoned our predecessors.”
“Yes, I got that definite impression,” Naran agreed with a small shudder as she tightened her hold on Rion’s hand. “And our tea is here.”
Their guardsmen entered the room and immediately made way for the group of servants with two large tea services. Rion saw Lorand paying very close attention to what was being brought in, and a pair of moments later Lorand looked at all of them and nodded. That meant the tea and cups were safe to drink and use, so Rion rose and waited for the services to be set up. Then he poured cups of tea for Naran and himself before returning to his chair.
With everyone serving themselves it wasn’t long before most of their people had tea to sip. Jovvi seemed to be drinking hers gratefully, and when she put the cup aside Rion had the impression that she’d also touched at least one of her link groups.
“Yes, that’s definitely much better,” Jovvi announced with a smile that made her look more like her usual self. “Now, let’s have that woman in.”
Vallant went with one of the guardsmen to find the woman they
all wanted, and when the woman was brought in Vallant went back to his chair. The guardsman, however, stayed behind the woman, watching her carefully. The servant was a tall woman who carried more weight than she should, and she stood with her head up in a stance that Rion suspected was her usual one.
“All right, now you can speak to us a bit more freely,” Jovvi said to the woman, whose gaze had lost the vague look of someone under the entity’s control. “We’d like to know why you poisoned the former Seated Five. There has to be more to it than resentment.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the woman stated, all but looking down her nose at Jovvi. “I may be general kitchen mistress, but with five separate and individual staffs I can’t possibly know everything that goes on. I can’t stop you from blaming me, but I’m not responsible.”
“That’s amazing,” Lorand said as Jovvi made a sound of annoyance. “Almost everything she said is a lie, but she still expects us to take her at her word.”
“She has a reason she hasn’t mentioned,” Jovvi told Lorand, then returned her attention to the woman. “You feel perfectly safe in spite of the fact that you’ve been found out, and I’d like to know why. Why aren’t you worried about what will become of you?”
“There’s nothing for me to worry about,” the woman responded, her faint smile giving Rion the impression of vindictiveness. “We’ve all heard about your bunch, and how it’s supposed to matter what people think of you. That’s because you’re peasants instead of nobles, and you don’t want more trouble than you already have. If you start out by accusing innocent people of all sorts of crimes, you’ll lose a lot of the support you need to stay where you are. I say I’m innocent, and if you try to argue that you’ll have more trouble than the point is worth.”
“I’m more in the mood to do than to argue,” Tamrissa interrupted the mutter of outrage circulating among the people in the room, her tone coldly furious. “Let’s see what roast cook is like.”
