by Sharon Green
“But … that would mean he really was innocent, and someone else committed both murders,” Bron whispered, his face pale. “He was innocent all along, and I said—”
His words ended abruptly, but Delin almost didn’t notice. A great chill had formed inside him, centering around a suddenly growing fear. He’d left traces to prove that Rigos had killed Ollon, but with Rigos dead first, those traces would prove something else entirely…
“Are you all right, Lord Delin?” Idian said, breaking into Delin’s thoughts. “You appear to be even more pale than Lord Bron.”
“I feel more pale,” Delin said, automatically responding in a way to cover himself. “I knew Rigos since we were boys together, but instead of supporting him I joined the ranks of his accusers. Now I feel as though it were my hand which ended his life, rather than his own.”
“I think we were all equally guilty in that particular area,” Kambil put in quietly, sending Delin a look of support. “We believed the rumor rather than the truth, and tragedy followed. If it were only possible to take back those words and actions…”
He, too, let his words trail off, turning away to bow his head. Delin walked to a chair and sat, almost too numb to notice how Selendi cried against a Homin who seemed deeply touched by tragedy. None of them was taking the supposedly marvelous news at all well, and Lord Idian stirred before rising to his feet.
“Here’s that list of exercises I promised you,” he said quietly, removing a folded sheet of paper from his coat and placing the sheet on a nearby table. “You won’t feel much like practicing for a while, but when you do, follow the instructions carefully. I’ll see all of you again tomorrow.”
* * *
Lord Idian took one last look at the five people, then he left the room. A servant stood near the front door, so in another moment Idian was outside and climbing into his carriage. His driver already had his instructions, which meant that Idian’s carriage left the residence’s drive but not to take him home. When he reached the carriage waiting just out of sight up the street, Idian’s carriage stopped.
“Well?” Lord Anglard asked in the same cold and emotionless voice he’d used since Idian had first met him. “Was it one of them?”
“I’m tempted to say no, but something is keeping me from being completely certain,” Idian replied. “They’ve all changed radically since they Blended, and they’re very difficult to read.”
“How difficult can it be?” Lord Fortner Oplis asked, surprising Idian. “Your talent in Spirit magic is easily as strong as my own, and I’d be able to tell without any trouble.”
“You say that only because you haven’t yet come in contact with High talents, my friend,” Idian rejoined dryly. “You and I are strong Middles, but these people soar way above us. I’ve been able to feel the mountain of strength inside Kambil since the first moment I entered that residence, and the rest of them aren’t that far—if at all—behind.”
“But Delin Moord is the one you were supposed to be looking at the most carefully,” Anglard pointed out. “He’s the one with Earth magic, so he’s the only one who could have accomplished what was done. He doesn’t have a mountain of Spirit magic inside him, so what did you learn?”
“He was really stunned when he heard about Rigos,” Idian replied, remembering that clearly. “I didn’t understand why so I asked a question, and the answer I was given made sense. He’s an odd sort, the kind of man who looks forward gleefully to hearing bad news about other people. He expected to enjoy whatever tragedy I’d come to announce, so his shock was deeper than it would have been ordinarily.”
“And you don’t see anything suspicious in his being ready to enjoy the news of tragedy?” Anglard demanded. “If I’d been there—”
“If you’d been there, you’d have gotten nothing more than what he cared to give you,” Idian interrupted to say slowly and carefully. “Try to understand that these people are a lot stronger than you, just as you’re stronger than those with Low talent. Your presence would have put the guilty on guard, something we tried to avoid by having me break the news.”
“So what has our very clever strategy accomplished?” Anglard demanded. “This is the last of the four residences, and we’re no closer to an answer than we were. I’ve half a mind to revisit each of them personally, only with Puredan rather than you as my companion.”
“If you did that, the Advisors would skin your ‘half a mind’ along with the rest of you,” Idian returned, really beginning to be annoyed. “Get it through your head that these people have to be available to compete in a short while, even if one of them does happen to be guilty of two murders and bringing about a suicide. After they’ve served their purpose, no one will care what you do with them—as long as your guilty party isn’t a member of Lady Adriari’s group.”
“Every member of her group can be accounted for at an all-night party,” Anglard replied, gesturing a dismissal. “They were all in plain view at the time Ollon was killed, especially her Earth magic member. No, it has to be one of these other four, who won’t be protected by having won the Fivefold Throne. How long must I wait?”
“Now that this last group has Blended, I can answer that question,” Idian said, still vaguely annoyed. “We wouldn’t have waited more than another day or so, but they finally managed to make waiting unnecessary. The first day of the competitions will be exactly seven days from today.”
“And as soon as the last of it is over, I can have the last of them,” Anglard said with satisfaction. “But the first group should be available rather quickly. Will that be a matter of chance, or has everything been worked out?”
“Leaving things to chance is never a good idea,” Idian told him, wondering how an Advisory representative could possibly be so innocent. Then he outlined exactly what was planned…
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Jovvi had just finished filling her breakfast plate and was turning away from the buffet when Tamma walked in. The girl didn’t even nod to her, which surprised Jovvi until she remembered that they still weren’t supposed to be getting along. Ordinarily Jovvi wouldn’t have forgotten, but having already taken care of the problem had made her dismiss it automatically.
“We don’t have to worry about what we say any longer,” she told Tamma with a smile. “When I woke up I felt strong and refreshed, so I had a brief chat with every servant on the staff. It finally came through to me that our lives are at stake here, so my worrying about taking advantage with my ability is not just silly, it’s downright stupid. From now on we won’t be taking any chances at all, because no matter what we say or do, all the servants will see and hear is bickering and discord.”
“That’s nice,” Tamma answered, walking past Jovvi to the buffet without saying anything else. It was as though Jovvi had announced that the day would be sunny and pleasant, not at all the reaction Tamma should have given.
“Are you all right?” Jovvi asked, just stopping herself from reaching to Tamma with her ability. “You sounded as though you didn’t hear a word I said.”
“I heard you, I still think it’s nice, and no, I’m not all right,” Tamma replied without turning. “How did your night lying beside Lorand go?”
“It went the same for both of us,” Jovvi answered ruefully. “We undressed and got into bed, put our heads on the pillows—and then I was asleep. I’d feel awful for Lorand, but I have the definite impression that the same happened to him.”
“I’m sure it did,” Tamma commented, still not turning. “All four of you were so completely exhausted…”
“Oh, no!” Jovvi exclaimed, finally understanding. “You weren’t as tired, but Vallant was. Weren’t you able to wake him?”
“I now know what it’s like to spend the night with a dead body,” Tamma replied, no longer filling the plate she’d taken. “And I think that someone is trying to tell me something, like that I’m a fool to believe I’ll ever get together with Vallant. Something has kept it from happening every time, and I’m really ti
red of finding nothing but frustration.”
“Tamma, it’s nothing but a run of awful coincidence,” Jovvi said, trying to sound as reassuring and certain as possible. “No one is telling you anything but that our circumstances are far from usual, so what you need to do is have patience. Everything will work out, just wait and see if it doesn’t.”
“Of course it will,” Tamma said, back to filling her plate. “I’m sure you’re right, and I’m just being foolish.”
“You’re saying the proper words, but you don’t sound convinced,” Jovvi pointed out, trying not to share the heavy sense of frustration coming from Tamma. “If you look at this right, it’s really kind of funny…”
“Well, now we know what the real problem is,” Tamma said glumly, finally leaving the buffet with her plate. “I have nothing of a sense of humor. Can we talk about something else?”
Jovvi felt the definite urge to close her eyes, after which she would give herself a good talking to. Not only hadn’t she helped Tamma, she seemed to have managed to make things worse. She might have done better not getting up this morning…
“Good morning, ladies,” Rion said neutrally as he entered the dining room, then he added in a whisper, “And what a truly marvelous morning it is.”
Jovvi explained again about their being able to speak freely as she took her place at the table, then added, “Why is the morning so marvelous, Rion?” Anything that might divert Tamma from the glumness of her thoughts would be worth listening to.
“It’s marvelous because of … our guest,” Rion replied, obviously trying to be circumspect. “We were able to merge our essences before I simply had to sleep, and then when I awoke this morning—”
The clatter of Tamma’s eating utensils hitting her plate interrupted Rion, and Jovvi felt like groaning. This was not only getting out of hand, it was progressing from ridiculous to absurd.
“Have I said something wrong?” Rion asked diffidently from where he stood at the buffet. “If I’ve distressed you ladies in any way—”
“No, no, Rion, it isn’t you fault,” Jovvi quickly assured him. “It’s just that Tamma has gotten this really silly idea—”
“Silly?” Tamma interrupted in turn, her voice just short of being shrill. “Rion managed to stay awake, so why is it silly for me to have expected Vallant to do the same? Obviously Rion cares more about Naran than Vallant does about me, and that vague someone was perfectly right. Vallant and I just aren’t meant to be together.”
Jovvi could feel Tamma’s need to hurry out of the room, but she must have remembered that Vallant might still be in her apartment. So instead of running she began to eat again, deliberately seeing to at least one of her body’s hungers.
“I’m considering taking a vow of silence,” Rion murmured as he sat in his place at the table to Jovvi’s right. “A pity I didn’t consider it earlier.”
“You had no way of knowing, so it wasn’t your fault,” Jovvi murmured back with a smile. “I’m tempted to go looking for a stick to beat Vallant over the head with, but this wasn’t really his fault either. If only Tamma had just a little bit more self confidence… She should be laughing about it all, not thinking it’s the end of the world…”
That was when Lorand walked in, giving Jovvi a wry smile on his way to the buffet. Jovvi’s first urge was to tell him that it was all right to speak freely, but right now speaking freely could prove to be more dangerous and damaging than when half the servants were listening to every word. It was hard to imagine anything that might make Tamma feel worse, but Jovvi was confident that somehow someone would manage it.
“Silly of me,” Rion muttered in apparent annoyance, then he rose from his seat to return to the buffet with his plate. He seemed to have forgotten to take something, but when he got over there Jovvi became aware of him whispering to Lorand. He must have been passing on everything Jovvi hadn’t been able to, as well as cautioning Lorand against foot-in-mouth disease. That wonderful man! Right now Jovvi loved him more than anyone but Lorand.
Rion returned to the table first, and a pair of moments later Lorand took his place to Tamma’s left. Tamma had apparently missed seeing Rion speaking to him, as she turned to him after he was seated.
“Jovvi says it’s all right for us to say anything we like,” she informed him with very little enthusiasm. “I don’t know why she didn’t tell you as soon as you walked in, so you might ask her. At least she’s still speaking to you.”
“Why shouldn’t she be speaking to me?” Lorand asked cautiously, sending Jovvi a glance filled with a plea for help. “Is there someone she’s decided not to speak to?”
“Of course not,” Tamma responded, shifting her gaze back to her plate of food. “Jovvi always talks to everyone, probably even if she hates them. I suppose it’s a good way to be, but it isn’t my way. I seem to be more into … brooding and blaming, I suppose you would call it. And I don’t want to talk about it.”
Once again she went back to eating, and when Lorand looked at Jovvi and parted his lips, Jovvi quickly shook her head. Tamma was working herself deeper and deeper into despondence, the hatred she’d spoken of partially self-hatred. Her reactions to what had happened—or, more accurately, to what hadn’t happened—were completely out of proportion to the importance of the incident, but there might be a reason for that. She was a woman who had been taught not to hope, and she’d managed to overcome that harsh and heartless lesson. If she’d gotten to the point of hoping too hard, her disappointment would certainly be completely out of proportion to what others considered normal. If only she could be shown how farcical it really was…
“Oh, oh,” Rion murmured, and Jovvi looked up to see Vallant in the doorway. His arrival was hardly unexpected, so for an instant she wondered at Rion’s comment—until she realized that Vallant was grinning. Very obviously he saw how funny the situation was, which made Jovvi groan all over again.
“You really will have to tell Vallant how upset you are,” Jovvi said to Tamma as fast as she could get the words out. “He probably thinks the joke’s on him, and doesn’t realize that you don’t consider it a joke.”
“I can’t tell him because I’m not speaking to him,” Tamma disagreed, a different cast now showing up in her thoughts. “I’ve decided my mistake was in listening to him in the first place, so I’m not listening either. None of this will affect the Blending, of course, just our lives outside the Blending.”
“You consider it fair to blame a man for something that wasn’t his fault?” Jovvi asked, relieved to see that Vallant had lost his grin. “If he’d deliberately made the decision to fall asleep, then I’d have to agree with everything you’ve said. But speaking from personal experience, he had no choice at all in the matter. Complete exhaustion does that to people.”
“Rion had a choice in the matter,” Tamma countered with growing annoyance, and Jovvi was able to feel Rion flinch inwardly. “If one man can do it, so can a second—unless the second isn’t quite as interested in doing it as he’s been claiming. If something’s been trying this hard to tell me not to get involved, it’s about time I started to listen.”
Vallant’s brows had risen as his expression turned thoughtful, and then he stepped back out of the doorway and out of sight. Jovvi could tell that he’d gotten an idea, and she could only hope it was a good one. Things were getting worse by the minute, and if Tamma’s growing annoyance progressed to full anger… Jovvi didn’t even want to think about it.
A full minute went by, and then Vallant suddenly strode into the room. His thoughts were calm and under careful control, but outwardly he looked furious.
“Jovvi, I’m not pickin’ up any trace of people close enough to overhear us,” he said curtly as he stalked closer to the table. “Does that mean I can do some open talkin’ for a couple of minutes?”
“Yes, you certainly can,” Jovvi responded cautiously. “As a matter of fact—”
“Good, because I’ve got somethin’ to say,” Vallant interrupted to gro
wl. “I don’t know how they’re doin’ it, but it looks like the testin’ authority is workin’ on me. We’ve got to find out what they’re doin’ and stop it, because I don’t ever want that happenin’ again.”
“What sort of thing are you talking about, Vallant?” Jovvi asked in sudden but hidden delight. It looked like the idea he’d gotten was a good one, as even Tamma had been startled by his vehemence.
“It started when I went to bed this mornin’,” he said, his words continuing cold and hard. “Sure, I was tired, but not tired enough to forget that I was waitin’ for the most wonderful woman in the world. One minute I was picturin’ holdin’ her in my arms, and the next I was wakin’ up all alone in her bedchamber. Whatever was affectin’ me didn’t even let me hear her get up and dress, which ought to prove the point. And when I find out who’s doin’ it…”
The deadliness in his voice couldn’t be missed, and Jovvi felt Tamma shiver inwardly. Her thoughts were badly confused, but she didn’t seem to be actively disbelieving.
“In the meantime, there’s no way I can apologize to the woman who means everythin’ to me,” Vallant continued after a brief pause, touching Tamma’s shoulder lightly for an instant. “She’s been given the worst insult a man can give a woman, and until I’ve avenged her honor I won’t even be able to bring myself to speak to her… Bein’ too ashamed is somethin’ I’m just not used to, and somethin’ I don’t mean to get used to…”
His words choked off as he paused again in what was very obviously deep embarrassment, and then he turned and walked to the buffet. Jovvi felt Lorand and Rion fighting to control their expressions, just as she was having to do with her own. Vallant’s performance had been marvelous, and Tamma sat staring down at her plate in utter confusion. The temptation was there to help Tamma toward full belief, but Jovvi firmly resisted it. Meddling now with anything but words could only make things worse instead of better.
