by Sharon Green
“They know about the Prophecy, and are hoping it’s true,” Jovvi said in a murmur only loud enough to reach our core group. “Beyond that I don’t think they know why we have so many people with us, since we’re the ones who are supposed to fight for them.”
“Personally, I think I’d dislike any one person fighting for me,” I commented, the thought suddenly occurring. “Even a small group of people… If the one or the group is defeated, I’m defeated right along with them even though I haven’t lifted a finger. I’m surprised that all these people don’t feel the same.”
“I’m sure they do, in a manner of speaking,” Lorand said, turning his head to briefly give me a smile. “Many of them would prefer it if they were able to defend themselves, but they simply haven’t got the strength of ability. That means they have no choice but to let strangers stand their defense, while they do nothing more than sit on their hands and pray. Because of that I feel very sorry for them, as they’rethe ones who will pay harshly if we fail. Being dead is much easier than living through devastation.”
“And I would guess that running away is simply not possible for them,” I replied, having had a second revelation. “They’reunable to run and unable to fight… Yes, they’ve more than earned compassionate pity. But you, brother, surprise me to a small extent. You’reno longer mentioning how terrible a fate burnout would be, but instead are simply discussing death. I take it then that Jovvi’s ministrations have been completely successful?”
“For the most part, yes,” Lorand agreed, Vallant turning his head to add a brief nod of agreement. “I can now remember just how I felt when burnout was a serious problem, but the emotional overtones concerning the situation have changed. I’m no more eager to face burnout than I ever was, but now the fear of it has stopped being in control of my life.”
“I just remembered a question I had about that,” Tamrissa said, mostly addressing Jovvi. “Didn’t you say that reaching me was almost impossible because of the strength I’d developed? Lorand and Vallant ought to be just as strong in their own aspects as I am in mine, so how did you reach them?”
“Without using tandem link groups and forcing them, you mean?” Jovvi said with a better smile than Lorand’s. “For a long while I couldn’t see any other way to accomplish what needed to be done, but then I had a … revelation, sudden insight, inspired guess? Call it what you will, but one day I abruptly found myself wondering about those woven patterns we’ve been using for almost everything. We’ve all been weaving our various talents into the patterns, but no one has tried to weave the power itself. So I decided to try it, and it actually worked.”
“I—ah—think I ought to mention that I should have … mentioned something sooner,” Tamrissa said with what looked like painful embarrassment while I and the others were in the midst of exclaiming over Jovvi’s discovery. “What you just said about weaving the power itself… I did exactly that back in Widdertown, but somehow forgot to tell all of you about it. I suppose it was the way you all kept yelling and screaming at me that drove the memory out of my head.”
“That was because you were out of your head to do that in the first place,” Vallant told her dryly. “You deserved gettin’ yelled at, but right now we’rediscussin’ weavin’ the power itself. If you two ladies have done it, the rest of us ought to be able to do the same.”
“Assuming the need arises, which it might not,” Lorand said with a doubtful look. “We’ll be operating as a Blending, remember, so individual actions probably won’t enter into it. I’m assuming that that’s why Jovvi hasn’t discussed this sooner, but it certainly can’t hurt us to know about it…”
The note of doubt continued in Lorand’s voice as his words trailed off, and I must confess that I agreed with him. Circumstance had had us face the usurpers as individuals, but this current situation was hardly likely to turn out the same. It was Blendings which the Astindans brought toward us in attack, and that, therefore, was the method we would need to use to reply. As well as we were able to reply…
The rest of the ride was a fairly quiet one, making it impossible for me to miss the fact that Naran’s face remained as drawn and worried as it had been all morning. The vision of our future still hadn’t resolved itself then, and my beloved merely forbore mentioning that unpalatable fact. A gust of wind and a few drops of rain blew across us, bringing a reminder of winter, causing us all to draw our cloaks more closely about us. And yet people still stood in the streets, refusing to return to the shelter of their homes. Could they truly be there in support of us? Or were they merely there to learn at once whether they were to live or die?
It seemed wisest to push questions such as that from my mind, most especially as we had reached the outskirts of the city. Our allies had, in accordance with our plan, placed themselves a bit farther along the road, approximately half way between us and those who approached. We rode to the spot where we had chosen to make our stand, dismounted along with our tandem link groups, then chose places to sit once our mounts had been led away. Our escort of guardsmen then moved to surround us protectively, as though they would actually be able to stop the doings of a fully active enemy Blending. The concept was more pitiful than laughable, but none of us made mention of that fact.
“We’ll first have to make sure that everyone else is in their proper position,” Jovvi said as she settled herself, then she turned a faintly worried expression to my brothers. “Lorand, Vallant—From which direction is this rain coming? We’reonly getting a few drops right now, but if it happens to be coming from the same direction as the Astindans…”
“We’ve already thought of that, so we checked,” Lorand answered for the two of them. “The actual rainstorm is passing to the northeast, which means we shouldn’t get much more than this drizzle. It’s possible the Astindans won’t get even this much.”
“But they most probably will get the winds,” I added, to keep anyone from being overly optimistic. “Those who are lying in wait will need to be extremely cautious in order to do as they’ve been instructed to, not to mention in protecting themselves and their people.”
“And they may even have already started,” Tamrissa pointed out, looking at the rest of us. “Let’s stop talking and find out.”
That seemed the most sensible course of action, so we all prepared ourselves for Blending. I naturally took Naran’s hand to hold, but not simply for the pleasure I always felt from her touch. She alone still had nothing in the way of supporting link groups, and I thought that perhaps, if we were in contact, she might share some of the strength of my own groups…
And then the entity opened its perceptions once again, to look about itself in preparation for doing what was needed. The first item on its agenda, so to speak, was to see how the lesser entities were doing with the chore given them, and so the entity floated quickly in the direction of where they would be.
Three of the lesser ones—the newest, most inexperienced three—had been sent to perform a specific act, and even as the entity reached their position it saw that the action had already begun. The approaching enemy rode in the expected way, with each entity’s flesh forms surrounded by those who formed their link groups. Earlier investigation had shown, however, that no more than one entity was called forth at a time, and that one was merely to be on the alert against attack.
For that reason one of the three of its own lesser entities had been given the task of masking the presence of the others, which it had apparently done. The enemy was none the wiser—or had been until the remaining two entities began their efforts. A large amount of the substance known as hilsom powder had been prepared and positioned along the road, and while the third entity continued to shield the others, the remaining two formed chutes of hardened air which stretched above the column from one end to the other. Into those chutes went the hilsom powder, and the entire column should have been liberally sprinkled with it.
Should have been. As the entity watched the wind playing havoc with its plans, it understoo
d more fully why the success of the ploy had been so completely surrounded by uncertainty in its future vision. A good half of the column was coated with the powder which immediately severed their connection with their aspects, but the other half, the first half, was left virtually untouched. The lesser entities’ own flesh forms were protected from having a like fate thrust upon them by the presence of moistened kerchiefs over their noses and mouths, which was a fortunate thing. The entities of the leading flesh forms in the column appeared immediately, and a moment later every grain of the hilsom powder had been burned to nothing.
And then, of course, those avenging entities began to search for the ones responsible for halving their numbers. But that possibility had been anticipated, and so the entity brought itself to the attention of the enemy and then quickly returned in the direction from which it had come. The enemy followed a short time in pursuit, which allowed the flesh forms of the lesser entities the opportunity to take themselves quickly off. When the enemy entities returned, their attackers would hopefully be well hidden from their perceptions.
It was necessary to inform its allies of what had occurred, and then the entity was able to return to its flesh forms. Just before it separated, the entity reflected that its inner balance was now substantially improved, and yet there was still that one definite lack. It was possible that that lack would soon be remedied, but if not… The leading enemy entity had seemed far stronger than any other the entity had come across, which could well make for difficulties when they two faced one another…
“Well, at least we cut them down to half,” Jovvi said while I adjusted to being my own self again. “It’s now their five against our four, or possibly even better odds if one of those three ambushing Blendings manages to make it back here in time.”
“That didn’t seem very likely,” Lorand responded with a sigh. “With the help of their tandem link groups they can hide where they went to ground, but if they try to come back here they’ll probably be spotted—and destroyed. If we have to do without their help, I’d rather it be because they’rehiding, not because they’redead.”
“I’m afraid Lorand is right,” Naran said, sounding and looking a bit drained. “The probability is very small that they’ll try to rejoin us, which is a lucky thing. If they do try they’ll be discovered and killed.”
“That means we need another plan,” Vallant said, looking more thoughtful than disturbed, “and I may just have one. When I was a boy, my brothers and I got into an argument with a larger group of boys. They should have been able to beat us down and then beat us up, but my oldest brother did somethin’ that kept it from happenin’. He ducked aside from the other leader’s attack—mostly physical with a bit of talent added—and threw all his ability into helpin’ the rest of us one at a time. In effect we went two against one with those other boys, and once the last member of his group was down, the other leader took to his heels. He had no stomach for facin’ my oldest brother all by himself, even though they were the same age and size.”
“That’s a very real part of the bully syndrome,” Jovvi said with brows raised while the rest of us made sounds of pleased surprise. “There’s nothing to say that the invaders suffer from that, but at the worst we’d then have to face only their leader. Yes, I certainly do like it.”
“And I like it even more,” Naran said, her gaze clearly on something other than what was before the rest of us. “The probabilities have just shifted rather dramatically, and it’s now virtually certain that we can cut their numbers again in just that way. After that things are still hazy and unformed, but we’reclose enough now to this particular future for the details to begin to turn into reality. But we have to do it as quickly as possible.”
Everyone nodded their understanding, and then it was the entity who hummed approval to itself. Its flesh forms were certainly doing their part by being creative, and the new plan was rather amusing. It would not have occurred to the entity to face a lesser entity in cooperation with its allies, not when logic said it was fully capable of besting that lesser entity alone. In point of fact it would have simply stood in challenge against the strongest of the enemy entities, leaving it to a matter of greater ability to decide which of them would stand victorious.
Now, however, that would no longer be the case, and the entity suddenly became even more aware of the lack of time involved in which the ploy must be used. It therefore floated very quickly to its allies, gathered them together, then explained what would be required of them.
There were, of course, no voices of dissent, and they moved in a body in the direction of the enemy.
An enemy which had already begun to move in their direction. Five entities, tinged with anger, floated along the road, clearly having decided to keep their flesh forms back out of danger. Their intention to attack and destroy any opposition was more than obvious, and when they perceived the entity’s force they hesitated not at all. The enemy came directly for them, the leader clearly intending to stand alone against the entity, which certainly would have come to be only a short while earlier. Now the entity slipped around the leader, and more quickly than thought assisted its lesser entities in overcoming those behind the leader. Those lesser enemies were not completely destroyed, not with the short amount of time available, but they were certainly rendered incapable of standing in challenge for quite some time to come.
One of those lesser entities had an extremely strong ability in Fire magic, and without the entity’s assistance its ally would have surely been destroyed. The entity stood its own ability in opposition, and an instant later it was cold fire which consumed the enemy. Cold fire required more effort than the ordinary sort, but the effort was put forth without hesitation. The others had need of the entity’s protection, but even having used all due speed, one of the entity’s allies was destroyed before it was able to stand itself before the others.
*Your actions are despicable!*the last remaining enemy entity all but spat, hatred pouring forth from it. *But the same has been true for years now, so this being is unsurprised. You may now find it possible to destroy me as well, but the action will avail you naught! Should we fail to return, others, in greater numbers, will follow behind us! Your depredations will not go unpunished!*
And then the enemy entity took itself off at great speed, returning to where its flesh forms and link groups waited. The entity would have been easily able to match that speed, but not so its allies. And perhaps pursuit was not the wisest course in any event. The matter must be thought upon after it had returned to its own flesh forms…
For the enemy entity moved in a righteous cause, after having been seriously harmed by those flesh forms formerly in charge of the entity’s homeland. At one time that would have made little difference to the entity’s intentions of victory, yet now… Maturity apparently brought more than greater ability and clearer memory, and each time the entity formed it found itself a bit more mature. And now it found itself faced with a dilemma: defeat could not be countenanced, and yet victory would be truly honorless. What, then, could the proper answer possibly be…?
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The amount of strength we’d expended wasn’t excessive, so we merely had a light meal once Jovvi dissolved the Blending. It seemed obvious that not one of us would have eaten anything if we hadn’t had another battle to look forward to, not after having lost one of our supporting Blendings. We hadn’t known the people in the lost Blending all that well, but we had known them. They’d been living, breathing, High practitioners, and now, because of the leader Blending from Astinda, they were dead. Our entity had felt only mild regret, but we ourselves felt considerably more.
“Yes, Rion, I’m just as disturbed about it as you are,” Jovvi said once I stumbled through an inadequate explanation of how I felt. “But I have to admit that I’m equally disturbed about what we did. Those people came here with a legitimate complaint and I can’t blame them for wanting vengeance, and yet we destroyed some of them as well. That cold fire thing�
� Is that something you only just recently thought of, Tamma?”
“I suppose it’s related in some way to invisible fire,” Tamrissa replied, weariness apparently still covering her. “That enemy entity was so horribly strong in Fire magic… Our own entity held the memory of cold fire, and I was able to produce it so I did. But once again I was almost an individual inside the entity, and the effort was … somewhat harsh. I also had to draw in more of the power to do it, or the enemy would have bounced the effort back at me and gotten me first. They have a lot more experience with Blending than we do…”
That utterance of truth silenced us all for a time, as I had gained that very same impression. Even if the strength of our Blendings turned out to be equal, our opponents had the advantage of … better training? More practice? A clearer grasp of what it was they did? Possibly all of those things, and if so then we were very much risking defeat if we faced them directly.
“Why do I have the feelin’ that we can’t use any more clever ploys?” Vallant asked after a time, looking around at us in an obvious request for an answer. “I’m sure I could come up with somethin’ to win this thing for us, but a part of me deep inside won’t even try.”
“It could be because our future shows eventual destruction along just about every possible line of that sort,” Naran replied, nothing left of the diffidence she’d once shown—but weariness etched more deeply into her lovely face. “We can destroy them, but if we do it will mean our own destruction as well. Just as they said, others will come after them and in even greater numbers.”
“How can that be?” Lorand asked, disturbance clear in his eyes. “If we don’t defeat them, they’ll tear down Gan Garee and probably kill hundreds of people at the same time. Now you say that we don’t dare defeat them, so what are we supposed to do?”
“Apparently we’resupposed to do as the Prophecy demands, and face our greatest enemy,” Jovvi said, faint annoyance in her tone. “It would have helped considerably more if that prophecy had suggested how we’reto face them, as it can’t be in victory nor in defeat. When you can’t afford to win and you can’t afford to lose, what in the name of reason can you do?”
