Wulfston's odyssey se-6

by Jean Lorrah

  “No, you don’t,” he told her firmly, easily identifying the strong temptation he felt as a desire to stay with Tadisha, not any rightful claim to the throne of the Zionae. “Your mother has already sown the seeds here with the Karili Assembly. I saw that Assembly stand up to Norgu. He will undoubtedly take Z’Nelia’s throne; as her son he has a rightful claim to it. And you, your mother, your brother, and all the Movers and Seers of the Assembly will pool your strength to force him to use his powers for good… until it becomes a habit.”

  Reluctantly, he pushed Tadisha’s hand aside, then turned and walked away from her toward where the troops were quartered who would be under his direct command in the battle to come.

  Part of this army would be moving out in a few hours, and they were gathering supplies, packing wagons, and preparing tack for the ride.

  Through the camp some boys pushed a cart with barrels of water from the town’s wells, and men came forward to fill their water-bags.

  Wulfston saw Zanos join the queue, his white skin and red hair a beacon even though his large frame was not unusual among the Warimu. He was glad to see the gladiator, and farther down the line the Night Queen crew members.

  Zanos reached the head of the line. The boy turned the tap, and water poured into Zanos’ water-bag until it was about half full; then he twisted off the flow.

  “Fill it,” Zanos said in broken Warimu. “I’m strong enough to carry it full.”

  Wulfston recognized that the water boy was Karili. He shook his head and said in his native language, “It cant be filled any further.” Seeing that Zanos didn’t understand, he tried Warimu with an accent even worse than the gladiator’s. “I can’t fill it further.”

  “Of course you can!” Zanos insisted. “Turn it on again!”

  Wulfston half-saw, half-Read the mixture of annoyance and mischief in the water boy. He resented this strange white man trying to tell him his business, so he opened the tap again, more water tumbled into Zanos’ bag-

  The water-bag swelled, and then burst at the seams, drenching Zanos and rousing a hearty roar of laughter from the men behind him.

  Zanos face flushed with momentary fury, and he raised his arm as if to strike the boy. But before Wulfston had need to stop him he pulled his own punch, looked down at the limp water-bag, then up at the boy on the wagon, and burst into laughter.

  Turning the threat into a clap on the buttocks that almost knocked the boy off the wagon, Zanos said,

  “You’re right, boy! I should have listened to you. You go on doing your job right, no matter what anybody tells you!”

  Wulfston recognized the skill of a man who had spent a lifetime performing in public, who dared not appear a poor sport. In fact, had he not been able to Read that the reaction was habit rather than feeling, he might have thought the old Zanos was returning. As it was, he sensed melancholy beneath the forced good cheer.

  The Night Queen crew did not, however; they threw jeers and japes at Zanos, who fended them off with what appeared to be easy humor.

  Zanos was obviously in control of himself. Wulfston decided not to approach him, and instead went on to inspect the troops assigned to his command.

  These were not his people; he would command their respect only after they had fought together.

  Wulfston found the officers had their men’s respect, so he merely introduced himself, gave them a straightforward idea of what they could expect from his powers, and told them to follow their officers’

  orders.

  When they moved out the next day, Ashuru told him, “Your troops are impressed with you.”

  “How could they be? They don’t know me.”

  “Nor do you know them… and you know it. I gave you experienced warriors, and you wisely left them to the leaders they know. By showing your respect for them, you gained their respect, Lord Wulfston.”

  She eyed him speculatively. “I do not know why it should surprise me anymore to find you a wise and skillful leader.”

  On the road, there was no chance for Wulfston and Tadisha to be alone-or at least none came naturally, and Tadisha showed no inclination to create such an opportunity. A few hours’ ride from Djahat, Tadisha and Ashuru began to See ahead, Norgu, Kamas, and Wulfston letting the women’s stronger powers focus on Z’Nelia’s lands. Barak was told what they Saw.

  The setting was almost identical to that in the Karili lands: a strong-walled castle surrounded by a city.

  But no armies gathered here; it appeared that Z’Nelia had left herself undefended.

  “She has to know we’re here,” said Wulfston.

  “Of course she does,” agreed Ashuru. “She cannot think that a single Mover’s powers can combat an army!”

  “There are guards in the castle,” Tadisha pointed out.

  “Not enough to defend against us,” said Norgu, “or against the Savishnon. She is so mad she thinks she can defeat our army and the Savishnon, all alone. But this time she has no volcano to unloose!”

  Wulfston said, “I agree that she is mad, Norgu, but not in that way. Ashuru, Tadisha, can you See to the northwest of Djahat? Can Z’Nelia’s armies be stationed there against the Savishnon?”

  They did find some troops to the northwest, but still far too few for the oncoming threat.

  Ashuru sighed. “We have no choice but to ride on. Norgu, keep your troops behind ours. Lord Wulfston, take Chulaika and Chaiku with you. You can resist Chulaika’s attempts to use your powers.”

  They rode on, separate but united through Reading. As the hours passed, Wulfston felt himself grow more tense, the hair on the back of his neck prickling.

  The road curved over the top of a hill, and Djahat appeared in the valley below. No army opposed them.

  No troops rushed to shut the city gates.

  Wulfston looked out over the valley, the ancient and graceful city, the castle, the villages-

  Villages? Dozens of villages so close to the city? There was not enough farmland here to support so many, and why house people in primitive huts when the city was right-

  “It’s a trap!” Wulfston exclaimed mentally. “Ashuru, Tadisha-focus on one of those villages!”

  Sure enough, the cluster of huts was not a village at all, but merely empty shelters manned by armed troops!

  “Spread out!” Ashuru broadcast.

  “No!” Wulfston told her. “That’s what Z’Nelia expects. She knows you are powerful Seers! She’s got her troops scattered, expecting us to scatter ours to attack them. But Z’Nelia’s army is not our goal!”

  They understood at once.

  Commands were broadcast mentally. Commands were shouted.

  Their combined army rode straight down the hill and along the road toward Djahat.

  They tore along the road at a gallop. Soldiers from the nearest huts ran to fend them off, but the Karili troops cut them down.

  There was almost no Adept activity!

  Spears and arrows were flung and deflected, but no thunderbolts roared, no chasms opened at their horses’ feet.

  The gates of the city swung closed before they were halfway across the valley. For Wulfston it was child’s play to set afire the wooden gates he could plainly see, sending the guards behind them scattering, hair and clothing singed.

  Once the people were safe, he sent the intense fire of a funeral pyre, and the gates evaporated.

  Wulfston lost track of Chulaika as the army galloped forward, right up the main street to the castle.

  He did not ignite these gates, but added Adept force to the muscle power of the men and horses shoving against them as Z’Nelia’s guards, outnumbered, tried to swing them closed. Sheer force triumphed, and they rode into the courtyard.

  Wulfston jumped off his horse and ran up the steps to the entry, trying to Read inside. “Lenardo?”

  “Wulfston?” The mental reply was weak, but his brother was alive and conscious.

  Tadisha fought her way into the courtyard and joined Wulfston.

  Zanos, Telek
, and the rest of the Night Queen crew struggled with the guards at the gates.

  “Keep them open till Ashuru gets in!” Wulfston shouted. “And Kamas and Barak!” He turned to Tadisha.

  “Where’s Norgu?”

  “He held his armies back,” she replied, letting him See with her. Then, “Wulfston!”

  From the northwest, where they had been waiting just outside of normal Seeing range, the Savishnon hordes swept toward Djahat!

  Norgu and his troops would be caught on the open highway, the Savishnon attacking from the west, Z’Nelia’s army from the east!

  “I hope Norgu uses his powers wisely!” was all Wulfston could offer.

  Ashuru was inside the courtyard now, herding Chulaika before her. Kamas pushed his way through to make a path for Barak, then shielded the old man as he helped him down from his horse.

  “Close those gates!” Wulfston shouted.

  “Our army-” Tadisha protested.

  “No army can help us in here, but they might be used against us. Tadisha, See inside. Lenardo’s alive, but there’s something wrong with his Reading. Where’s Z’Nelia?”

  Tadisha had no need to answer. A thunderbolt shattered the air, and only Wulfston’s instincts snatched her out of the way of death.

  He couldn’t Read Z’Nelia because she was braced to use her Mover’s powers, of course.

  “Read for Lenardo!” he told Tadisha. “Ill protect you.

  “I can’t- Wait-he’s in the tower. Come on!”

  Tadisha ran inside. Wulfston followed, Ashuru hard on his heels, dragging Chulaika. Kamas swept up Chaiku and followed, Barak trailing.

  Suddenly the walls and floor were afire! Heat blazed from all sides; smoke suffocated them.

  Wulfston turned his powers to putting out the fire-and couldn’t! It blazed on, choking them.

  Coughing, eyes watering, he fell to his knees, mustering all his force to beat back the flames-

  “Lord Wulfston, no!”

  Barak stooped beside him, grasping his arm. “It is a vision, not real! Z’Nelia is making you waste your powers.”

  He couldn’t breathe. And yet… nothing was consumed. The flames licked at their clothing, but it did not catch fire. Their skin burned painfully, but it did not blister.

  “Ignore it!” Wulfston choked out. “Come on.” And he started forward again.

  They stumbled through the blazing corridor into a connecting hall, where the conflagration ended. The moment they stepped into the clear air, guards charged them with spears.

  Veteran of many Adept battles, Wulfston knew he had to conserve his powers. It might have been impressive to stop the spears, perhaps even turn them in midair. But it was more practical to stop the throwers. A mental tug at the knees, and a man dropped in a heap.

  Kamas Saw, laughed, and invoked his limited Mover’s powers to do the same to two more.

  But others emerged all along the hallway, too many to take one at a time.

  Ashuru sidestepped a spear and caught it in a neat combination of physical strength and limited Mover’s power. She turned and flung it at the astonished man who had thrown it-a deathblow.

  More guards came, seemingly out of nowhere, determined to fight to the death. Knocking a man down meant only that he bounced up again, grabbed any fallen weapon, and came at them once more.

  Wulfston sent many into Adept sleep, but even that use of his power was draining. There were too many!

  In the crowded corridor, the battle was both physical and mental. Wulfston could not stop to Read. He struck at what he saw.

  Three men charged him. He put one into Adept sleep, stopped the second one’s heart, but as he was turning to the third, a spear caught the man in the gut, and he doubled over with a scream of agony.

  Tadisha stepped from behind Wulfston, pulled the spear from the slowly dying man, and drove it mercifully through his throat.

  Even as she took the time to grant a swift death, another guard was on her, knife raised.

  Wulfston dropped him in his tracks with hardly a thought, just as rough hands grabbed him from behind.

  He lost sight of Tadisha as he went down in a heap of bodies on the bloody floor. But when he fought his way out he heard yells of triumph from the direction of the courtyard.

  Zanos and Telek had found them.

  Fighting as if they were partners rather than rivals, the two huge white men flung Zionae guards right and left, dealing death as casually as they might pick apples.

  Z’Nelia’s guards scattered before them-but only for a moment.

  It seemed as if hundreds more poured into the corridor, blocking their way as they struggled toward the entry to the tower. Chulaika had somehow reached the bottom of the steps, where she cowered, holding Chaiku before her.

  “The gates?” Wulfston panted to Zanos when the two came together in the melee.

  “They’ll hold!” the gladiator assured him, punching a man’s face inward to a crunch of mangled flesh no longer horrifying in that corridor of death.

  On they fought, working step by slow step toward the tower stairs, until at last no more guards appeared and they stood gasping, blood-covered, but alive.

  Tadisha was limping.

  Barak leaned on a spear to steady his steps, but he was only exhausted, not injured.

  Kamas cradled a broken arm.

  Ashuru had a cut on her cheek and a blackening eye.

  Chulaika held Chaiku, his face hidden against his mother’s shoulder.

  Zanos and Telek showed numerous scratches and bruises, but no serious injuries.

  “Kamas,” said Wulfston, “I must set your arm.”

  “Don’t put me to sleep!” the boy said.

  “I won’t,” he assured him. “Tadisha, Ashuru, See what’s happening. We don’t want another surprise attack.”

  Kamas gritted his teeth as Wulfston pulled the bone ends back together, then invoked the healing fire to knit them. It would take a day of healing sleep to knit completely, but for the time being Kamas would not damage it merely by moving around.

  “The gates are still closed,” Ashuru reported. “Except for the dead, there is no one but us in the castle…

  and Z’Nelia waits for us in the tower.”

  They climbed the stairs.

  The door to the tower room swung open as they approached.

  Lenardo was standing by the window, looking pale and drawn. But he was alive!

  Wulfston took a step toward him, crying his name. Z’Nelia stepped out of nowhere, into his path.

  Chulaika’s features. His mother’s eyes… burning with madness!

  “Welcome, Beast Lord!” she said.

  Suddenly his every nerve was aflame with pure pain!

  Wulfston screamed, vaguely aware of the screams of his companions.

  “Wulfston!”

  Lenardo’s voice.

  “Wulfston, open to Reading!” the Master Reader gasped.

  Their minds met-and although Lenardo did not have his usual power, he showed them that the pain was not real. Had Z’Nelia actually seared their nerves, they would be dead.

  As the Seers’ minds joined, the pain eased. Even Barak and Telek broke free.

  Z’Nelia cried, “Seers you may be, but I am the greatest Mover of all!”

  This time she caused real damage!

  With no defenses, Telek fell dead.

  Wulfston fought, felt Zanos’ powers joined to his, and Lenardo’s Adept power, small though it was-

  “Tadisha! Ashuru! Kamas! Join your Movers’ powers to mine!” he cried.

  They did, but against Z’Nelia’s strength, hoarded while they fought their way through her guards, their power was insufficient.

  Z’Nelia’s mad laughter floated around them. Wulfston gripped Lenardo’s hand on one side, Tadisha’s on the other. Ashuru grasped Tadisha’s other hand, and the rest joined the circle until Chulaika stood alone with Chaiku, Barak and Kamas reaching toward her-

  She thrust her son into the circ
le and closed it.

  Renewed strength flowed around the circle until thunderbolts rained on them, too many to deflect-

  Looking across the circle at Zanos, feeling the man’s desperate fury at being defeated in his revenge on the woman who had murdered his wife, Wulfston suddenly remembered Zanos and the burst water bag.

  The scene seemed significant-but why?

  Then he knew.

  “Stop fighting her! Support her!” he gasped through pain. “Feed… energy back to her! Flood her!”

  Ashuru stared, but she and Tadisha together joined their strength to Wulfston’s, directing their energy to Z’Nelia as if it were healing power. Lenardo joined them at once, giving what little strength he had.

  Kamas did his part, and Barak stood transfixed, maintaining the circle.

  Z’Nelia drank in the energy. Their pain diminished as she greedily soaked up the pure power.

  Wulfston urged more on her, and his plan began to take effect!

  From reveling, Z’Nelia’s feelings turned to faint discomfort, confusion-and then fear as more energy flowed into her!

  Chulaika realized what was happening, as did Zanos, and they added their force, Chulaika focusing Chaiku’s power on her twin sister.

  The Zionae queen’s nerves seared, her own energy overflowing her control. They broke the circle, reformed it around her, preventing her from casting the energy away.

  Z’Nelia fell to her knees, keening in agony. Chaiku stared at her, then up at his mother, terrified to find his mother’s face on this stranger.

  The witch-queen’s pain and terror grew. She fell, her body twitching grotesquely.

  “Don’t kill her!” Wulfston exclaimed. “We’ve won. Lenardo-Ashuru-?”

  It was Ashuru who replied, “She is helpless. There is no need to kill her.”

  Ashuru had stopped pouring forth energy to See Z’Nelia. Lenardo was too weak to do more; Wulfston, Tadisha, and Kamas stopped together-

  “No!” screamed Zanos. “She must die!”

  Zanos and Chulaika refused to stop!

  Wulfston turned, intending to knock them unconscious with his greater powers, when the stink of burning flesh filled the small room, and Z’Nelia’s death-screech shocked through their already-battered nerves.