Sorcerers of the Frozen Isles

Chapter Three

“Dirdra,” said Zanos, “no one here wants to hurt you. We seek information, that’s all.”

“It was my fault,” said Astra in halting Maduran, and Torio realized that she had stopped Reading. “My Reading powers are difficult to control-on the wave of your emotion, I could not help Reading your memory, and that broadcast it to everyone else. Dirdra-please forgive me.”

The green eyes studied her warily. “Why should I trust you?”

“You have no reason to,” Astra replied truthfully.

“But I’m Maduran, like you,” said Zanos.

“So is Maldek!” Dirdra spat.

“Bu I’d never heard of him before today. I was stolen away from my home when I was much younger than you.”

“Then you were fortunate,” Dirdra said flatly. “Those who rule now would kill you-they will have no rivals in the powers of sorcery!”

“Like Drakonius,” Torio put in. “But Dirdra, not all Adepts are like Maldek. How long have you been here in the Savage Empire?” His command of the savage language was excellent by now, but he would always speak it with an Aventine accent.

Dirdra answered in the same language with a Maduran accent, but it was not linguistic differences which confused her. “What is the Savage Empire?”

“These lands,” Torio replied. “The lands which once belonged to Drakonius, Nerius, and Lilith- and the Aventine Empire, which is no more. It is now joined into one unit-and how could you not know that?”

“I know you defeated Drakonius,” Dirdra replied. “That story I heard everywhere in my travels-and how there was a prophecy about peace in the lands of the white wolf and the red dragon. That is why I tried to get to Zendi… but as I got closer, I heard new stories-how you made earthquakes, not caring who they killed. That’s how you took the Aventine Empire, isn’t it? You destroyed the capital city-the Emperor and his whole family-leaving no one but you to rule.” Her green eyes dared them to deny it…

but of course they could not.

“I know you will not believe it, Dirdra,” Melissa said at last, “but we were trying to prevent the earthquake. We learned that what has been foretold cannot be stopped.”

“Foretold?” Dirdra asked. “The earthquake was foredoomed?” For some reason, this suggestion changed the girl’s attitude.

“When the moon devours the sun,” Melissa quoted the prophecy, “the earth will devour Tiberium-and it did, despite everything we tried to prevent it.”

“And… is not your Lord Lenardo the red dragon?” Dirdra asked.

“That is his symbol,” Torio told her, “and Aradia-his wife-the white wolf is hers.”

“Then perhaps in this Savage Empire,” said the girl, “I truly will find the peace I have sought all the way from Madura!”

Over the next few days, Torio and Melissa spent much of their time with Zanos and Astra, planning the expedition to Madura. They would travel by sea, taking ship at Dragon’s Mouth, the natural harbor in Wulfston’s territory.

Zanos was frustrated that Dirdra would have nothing to do with their plans. “She could tell us so much!”

But the young Maduran woman discarded her boy’s clothes for dresses the moment she saw that it was safe for women to display their beauty in Zendi-for beauty she had aplenty. Even her shorn hair could not mar the perfection of her translucent skin, delicate bone structure, and beautiful eyes-and when her hair was clean and brushed softly out around her face, it glowed a soft, rich auburn.

Dirdra was a weaver, and quickly obtained employment when she displayed her skills before the newly formed guild. The craft guilds, loosely based on the Academy system, took the place of the family units Drakonius had destroyed; only time would tell if they would develop into a permanent system for passing down vital knowledge from one generation to another.

So Zanos mulled over whatever outdated maps of Madura he could obtain, and tried to make adequate plans. The northern isles were too far for any Reader to attempt to visit out of body- even Lenardo.

The gladiator took heart from the fact that his home village was marked on two of the maps… and the others refrained from pointing out that those particular maps could have been older than he was.

Melissa was eager for the journey-so much so that it began to grate on Torio’s nerves after a time.

Finally he went to talk to Lenardo.

“Are you brooding again?” his mentor asked. “Grow up, Torio. If you don’t want to go adventuring, stay home, but don’t blame Melissa for wanting to learn more of what she can do with her powers.”

“And don’t you give me that same advice again!” Torio snapped. “I am trying to conquer my powers.”

They were in Lenardo’s office again, not Reading for privacy. Although that left Torio blind, he had learned in recent months to rely on different clues, as other blind persons did.

Now he stood and faced Lenardo. “Why do I have to be a leader?” he asked. “Why do I have to rule lands? There are other things a man can do with his life-there was nothing wrong with the Aventine Academy system for Readers except that it kept those Readers who were meant for leadership, like you, from having power. And that led to corruption in Readers like Portia, who could not gain power except through devious means.

“But Master Lenardo, not every Reader was born to rule! And the more I watch you, Aradia, Wulfston-the less I feel I can ever be like you.

Why can’t I just be a Reader? Why do I have to be a lord?”

He could feel Lenardo staring at him. Then the older man said, “I never really thought about it, Torio. /

found myself when Aradia gave me lands to rule-but you don’t have to follow in my footsteps. It’s too bad that you cannot prophesy your own destiny-but I will certainly stop trying to tell you what it ought to be.”

Torio unexpectedly felt himself blushing. He had fought, even killed in battle-but never before had he stood up angrily to someone in authority over him. It was the first time he realized that Lenardo no longer had such authority. They were both grown men now-equals-and Lenardo freely acknowledged it. It was disconcerting, but it also gave him a strange new sense of pride.

Then, “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to shout at you, Master Lenardo. You’re not the one causing my frustration.”

“Melissa?” the older man asked.

“Yes. No. It’s-just when I think I’m discovering what to do with my life, the gods drop some other power on me that I didn’t ask for and don’t want. My own words are sending the woman I love away, Master. What can I do but go with her?”

“You could try living your own life, Torio,” Lenardo suggested. “Do you realize that today is the first time I’ve ever seen you talk back to someone you respect? You’ve always been too much of a good boy.”

“What do you mean?”

“At the Academy, you never got into mischief-I

mean serious mischief, not daydreaming and forgetting your lessons.”

“You caught me gambling with the stable boys once,” Torio reminded him.

“Yes-because you were angry with me, not because it was something you wanted to do. Torio, you don’t act, you react. I’m not pleased that you’re going on this journey to follow Melissa, but I won’t try to stop you. Perhaps along the way you may learn some leadership, and stop being afraid to take the authority your powers have earned you. We need leaders-so perhaps by the time you come back you’ll be ready to take responsibility for your own people.”

Torio left his meeting with Lenardo feeling pleased that his teacher recognized him as an adult. However, he still had no answer to what he was to do with his life. Perhaps when he and Melissa returned from Madura he should try teaching in Master Clement’s new Academy. Or perhaps when they discovered what destiny drew Melissa to the frozen isles, he would find his own as well.

So he returned to his room, still the same small, simply furnished room he preferred. There would always be a place for him in Lenardo’s home- even after their confrontation, he did not have to ask. But there were guest houses now, where Wulfston and Lilith and other dignitaries stayed when they visited Zendi.

Lenardo’s villa was no longer sparsely furnished, either-lavish furnishings filled the public rooms, works of art were scattered here and there, and the suite of rooms Lenardo shared with Aradia was rich with silks, satins, and velvets.

Decius came to the door. “Torio, will you help me persuade Master Clement to let me go with you to Madura? He thinks I’m a cripple-even after I helped him escape out of the Aventine Empire!”

“No he doesn’t, Decius,” Torio assured the boy. “No one can possibly think that about you-but you are young. You’ll have plenty of time in your life for adventuring. Master Clement is old-and he needs you, although he’d never admit it.”

“What do you mean?” Decius asked.

“You’ve already said it. He could never have escaped the empire without your help.”

“Well-he was all bent up with rheumatism then. The Adepts here cured that.”

“Yes, but they can’t cure old age. Decius, of all the boys in the Adigia Academy, you are the only one Master Clement could confide in when Portia threatened him. He trusts you-and he needs your help in his new Academy here in Zendi. And surely you know how much he has to teach you about Reading?”

“Yes, but-”

“You are on the brink of the first great growth of your powers. There will be no Master Readers on our journey-Astra, Melissa, and I are only Magisters. None of us has the years of experience Master Clement has… and he won’t be here forever. There will be the whole world out there for you to go adventuring in after you have achieved the rank of Magister-and you will do so easily under Master Clement’s tutelage. But if you leave now, you will miss the opportunity to have the Master of Masters’

guidance at this crucial time. And… you do not understand right now how very much he will rely on you during the difficulties to come.”

Decius stared at him. “Is that… one of your prophecies?”

He hadn’t been able to say anything about Decius when Master Clement had asked him-but now he knew, without knowing how he knew, that Decius was involved in Master Clement’s destiny. “Yes-I think it is, Decius. I can’t tell you any more than that, though. You must stay in Zendi, for Master Clement’s sake.”

The boy sighed. “All right-but you have to promise, if it’s true that the Maduran sorcerers can make limbs regrow, that you’ll tell me, so I can go-”

“You don’t think we would keep that kind of information to ourselves, do you? Melissa is going because she wants to learn to do it if it’s true-so it may just be that she will come back able to heal you!”

“Is that a prophecy?”

“No. It’s just a speculation. Now come and help me figure out how to get all of the stuff I want to take along into this one bag. I think it will take Adept power!”

“I’m no Adept, but I know the trick that will do it,” Decius replied.

“Oh? Show me!”

Torio had hung on the pegs in his room woolen tunics and leggings such as were worn here in the dead of winter. It was said to be cold even in the summer in Madura-and they might well be there through the winter.

Decius picked one set of woolen undergarments and a heavy cloak off the pegs and tossed them on the bed. “There. You take those for when you first arrive-and for the rest… pack money!”

Torio laughed-and realized that the boy was right. But after Decius had gone, he thought about their conversation, and wondered-was it because he was leaving that Decius was now involved in Master Clement’s destiny? Was he taking over a role meant for Torio?

Two years ago, Torio had praised Decius’ swordsmanship-and the boy had thought himself ready to defend his Academy. Without the knowledge or permission of the Master Readers he had joined the battle-and lost his leg. And perhaps the main reason for Torio’s guilt was the fact that Decius had never once blamed him.

What am I exposing him to this time? Torio wondered. A voice from the tomb? A generation of gloom? What did it mean? What good was it to be a prophet if he couldn’t understand his own prophecies?

Besides, there was no time set on those strange words. Master Clement was in perfect health now-he could live for ten or even twenty more years, and his “destiny” could occur tomorrow or at the end of his life. Taking Decius away would not avoid his destiny, and would expose him to known hardships and unknown dangers. And it was only common sense that he stay here, where Master Readers could teach him, while he learned to use his growing Reading skills.

Face it, Torio told himself. Decius will be much better off if you just stay out of his life for a while.

There was a grand farewell dinner at Lenardo’s villa, followed by entertainment. Lenardo’s bard retold the stories of the white wolf and the red dragon, the defeat of Drakonius and the fall of Tiberium.

Zanos and Astra were musicians, and now they played while everyone danced. It was a lovely evening…

and no one let the thought slip out that it might be the last time they would all be together.

In the morning, the train of horses waited outside Lenardo’s villa as they said their goodbyes. And just as they were mounting up, Dirdra came down the street, dressed once more in boy’s clothes and carrying a knapsack containing her meager possessions.

She approached Zanos and Astra. “My lord… my lady-may I beg permission to return with you to Madura?”

“Why now?” demanded Zanos. “You’d have nothing to do with our preparations. Why have you suddenly decided to go now?”

She raised her clear green eyes to his blue ones. “Because… I have found that I cannot live at peace with myself in this peaceful land, while I know that my brother suffers in Maldek’s power. Lord Zanos, you do not even know if you have kin alive in Madura-but you cannot rest until you find out and free them. So how can I leave a brother I know to be suffering? I must free him from Maldek, or die trying.”

“Then join us, lass,” said Zanos, “and welcome. Your knowledge will be most valuable.”

Thus they were five setting out on their journey- no retinue, no servants. Torio, Melissa, and Astra had all grown up as Readers taking care of themselves and never aspiring to have servants. Zanos had aspired-but his servants had betrayed him.

Now he and Astra chose to fend for themselves- and all agreed that the fewer they were, the faster they would travel.

Dirdra, having little money, had made most of her journey from Madura by land. The first part, from the islands to the mainland, had had to be by ship-and that was when she had disguised herself as a boy, so as to pay her way with the few coins she possessed, rather than with her body.

It had taken her the whole winter to work her way southward, doing odd jobs for her keep, to the place where she had found that a peaceful land could not bring her peace of mind. But she would say little about what had happened to her in Maldek’s castle, and nothing explicit about what the sorcerer had done to her brother.

Torio and Melissa were learning the Maduran language, and Astra was polishing what she had learned from Zanos. Dirdra avoided Astra, not trusting her to leave her mind in privacy. Like many nonReaders, Dirdra seemed to have exaggerated notions of Readers’ abilities-but it was obvious she had learned to avoid attracting attention. It had been Astra who had admitted to broadcasting her memories to the group of Readers when they had first met, and although she had apologized, it would obviously take some time for her to gain Dirdra’s trust.

It occurred to Torio early in the journey to tell Dirdra he was blind, and therefore Read almost every moment he was awake. He didn’t want her to find out later and mistrust him… but he didn’t expect her reaction.

“You are the one… they claim you were raised from the dead?”

Was that angry lie to haunt him all his life? Lenardo was right-he had reacted, and reacted badly, to Portia’s unexpected credulity. And that moment’s weakness had brought nothing but trouble.

“Yes, that is said about me,” he told Dirdra. “It is not true, though.”

She nodded. “It couldn’t be. If your Adepts could restore life as you have it, they would not be seeking the knowledge of the Master Sorcerers. This thing that made people think you dead-it caused your blindness?”

“No, I was born blind,” Torio explained. “Once I learned to Read, it was no great inconvenience. But two years ago I escaped from the Aventine Empire with Master Lenardo. At the border gate, I knocked the Reader on guard unconscious-so when one of the soldiers shot me, he thought his arrow had gone through my heart.

“It hadn’t. I had a very bad wound, but nothing an Adept healer could not easily cure. I don’t even have a scar.

“But the border guards reported they had killed me. Portia was Master of Masters among Readers then.

When she discovered me alive, she was so surprised that she asked me if I had been raised from the dead. I was angry, and her question seemed so foolish to me that I said yes. I never dreamed she would believe it!”

Dirdra nodded, and stared off toward the distant coastline they paralleled. “Any Master Sorcerer should easily have detected such a lie. Even though you are a sorcerer, too, you are too young to have reached your full powers.”

“I’m no sorcerer,” said Torio. “I have no Adept powers at all.”

Dirdra turned to face him, leaning against the rail. “This division of powers-I do not understand. Once through the land of the Dark Forest, I found only what you call Adepts-no one with the inner sight, although I heard about the Readers in the Aventine Empire, where no one had Adept powers. In Madura someone may have only one or two slight abilities, but anyone as powerful at the inner sight as you are will surely have Adept powers as well.”

“We are learning,” Torio replied. “Our powers are of the mind… and the mind is influenced by what one believes. Perhaps even more so by what an entire society believes. No one in the empire or the savage lands knew until two years ago that it was possible for one person to have both powers.”

“But now that you know,” Dirdra persisted, “why have you not developed the other side of your powers?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps I don’t yet truly believe it’s possible, even though I see my friends doing it. Or maybe it’s that I do not want such ability. I do not want to rule people… and it is so easy to misuse such powers.”

“In Madura,” Dirdra said bitterly, “no Master Sorcerer would worry about such a thing.”

“Ah, but they will lose their powers that way,” Torio pointed out. “That is no trick of the mind, Dirdra.

You said you were surprised I could lie to Portia. So was I-but in misusing her powers she had weakened them. And Drakonius-he became ever more careless of the responsibilities that came with his powers, and we were able to defeat him.”

Dirdra sighed. “You are so young.”

“And you are so much older and wiser?”

“I have more experience of the world,” she replied. “If by misuse of powers, you mean to use other people as you please, with no regard for their suffering, then Maldek misuses his powers daily… and yet they grow and grow.”

“Perhaps they are concentrated on one thing,” Torio offered. “We have heard that your sorcerers have lost control of the climate-that once verdant isles are now frozen wastes.”

“That is true,” she replied, “but the Master Sorcerer has good reason to fear the heat of the sun. You will see-” She broke off, catching her lower lip between her teeth.

Before Torio could reassure her that no blind person became upset at the mention of sight, Dirdra suddenly said, “Lord Torio, are you seeking the Master Sorcerers to have them restore your sight?”

“No,” he replied. “Melissa seeks such knowledge of healing, but not for my sake. But is she chasing rainbows, Dirdra? Could your Master Sorcerers actually do such a thing?”

“Oh, yes. Maldek could do it all by himself… if he wished. But do not ask it, my lord. Even if you were no Reader, nothing could be worth the price Maldek would make you pay!”

The long sea journey in close quarters was a time for the adventurers to get to know one another better.

Torio and Melissa spent each evening together, talking, watching the stars, arms about each other for warmth against the night wind. Such constant closeness made them desire to be closer still-but what of the consequences?

One evening they dared to discuss it with Zanos and Astra. Driven belowdecks by stinging rain, the four of them huddled into the tiny cabin the married couple shared.

“Yes,” said Astra, “both our powers were weakened for a time after we consummated our marriage. In fact, my Reading was nicely controlled during those few weeks-I had to concentrate in order to Read at all, and the bit of Adept power I had acquired disappeared. But it came back.”

“So did all my powers,” Zanos assured them. “In fact, I think my Adept powers have grown stronger, although I cannot be certain, since I’ve spent the past year learning from experienced Adepts how to use them more efficiently.”

When the younger couple left together, Torio knew that the same thing was on Melissa’s mind as was on his. It would take a few weeks to reach Madura, time for weakened powers to return. If they experimented now…

Melissa shared a cabin with Dirdra, who made no secret of her femininity despite her boy’s clothes-she wore them now, she said, because they were more comfortable for travel than women’s skirts. Neither Melissa nor Astra was interested in testing her claims.

Torio had been given the cabin assigned to a Reader if one were aboard to navigate, although the crew of this vessel were accustomed to finding their way without one. There was hardly room to turn around-but that made it all the cozier when he and Melissa were there together. There was no place to sit but on the bunk, which they did, Melissa leaning against Torio, first letting him kiss her, then participating eagerly.

They were stretched out in the cramped quarters, clumsily pulling at one another’s clothing, when suddenly the ship lurched, almost throwing them off the bunk.

Both automatically Read for what had happened, and found that they had run into a squall. Nothing particularly dangerous in that, except-

“Islands!” they both exclaimed, and tangled with one another, nearly going down in a heap as they struggled to get out of the cabin and warn the captain.

By the time Torio and Melissa lurched up the ladders to the deck, Astra was already with the captain at the wheel, shouting directions into his ear against the wind.

The two younger Readers retreated, but in the swinging lantern light they wordlessly agreed. Yes, there might be three Readers in their party-for Zanos’ powers were not up to the job his wife was doing-but if they put themselves out of commission, that would throw the entire responsibility of Reading onto Astra. It was not only unfair to do so; it was dangerous.

So with one more embrace, they parted-and the next day Torio decided to take his mind off his frustrations and keep himself in condition at the same time by offering to practice swordsmanship with Zanos.

The gladiator first put Astra through a complex lesson, for he insisted his wife be able to handle herself under attack. Torio watched, surprised at how well a woman could perform and wondering what skills she might have achieved if she had begun in childhood, as he had.

When Zanos turned to Torio, he of course saw a tall, lean young man with nothing like the gladiator’s size or strength. A fighter of Zanos’ experience, though, did not judge by appearances. Furthermore, he knew that Torio had survived far more battles than the average man his age, so he certainly had some ability.

But it was clear from Zanos’ first moves that he expected a swordsman of Astra’s skill, with the same advantage of Reading-for he kept himself unReadable, braced to use Adept power although never actually using it.

Torio countered Zanos’ opening moves with the standard countermoves; why give the game away in the first moments? He quickly recognized that the older man was putting him through a routine he himself might use in deciding whether to take a young swordsman on as a pupil.

So he was on the alert for the break with routine-and when Zanos suddenly, without rhyme or reason, lifted his arm as if to strike at Torio’s neck, the Reader was in under his guard instantly, his blunt practice weapon making a resounding thwack against the padding Zanos wore.

“Very good!” said the gladiator with a grin- and attacked at that same moment.

Torio caught Zanos’ sword with his, and used the fighter’s own momentum to twist his wrist.

The move would have disarmed any other opponent. Zanos, though, had the sheer brute strength to hang on to his grip and force Torio to disengage before the gladiator reversed the torque on him. Fortunately, the young Reader could sense the tension of the gladiator’s muscles preparing for the next move, and keep one step ahead of him.

For although Zanos was amazingly fast for his size, Torio was faster-he turned the disengage into a strike at Zanos’ thigh before the other man could bring his sword fully around to parry. This time it was a stinging slap to bare skin, but Zanos only laughed in delight.

“By the gods, Torio-I’d hire you for my stable of fighters any day! Who would expect such fire under that scholarly exterior?”

And Zanos stopped holding back. Soon he got a blow in, and continued trying to maneuver the Reader into positions where the gladiator’s strength was an advantage, while Torio sought to use his greater speed.

With their differing styles but equal cunning, they were evenly matched. Their bouts on the long days of the sea journey often ended in a draw, both men happily played out.

But there were things Torio could learn from Zanos. Hand-to-hand fighting, for example, without weapons. Zanos was only too happy to teach him that, as well as how to use a knife as a weapon.

And Torio, although the youngest of the three Magister Readers on this journey, was the most skilled.

Astra’s wild powers were stronger, but she still often lacked control, and gladly handed her husband over to Torio to learn how best to use his small Reading talent.

So the lengthening days passed as they sailed out of the Southern Sea and northward along the shores of strange countries. The ship’s captain knew ports where it was safe to go ashore, take on water and food, and trade for supplies and trinkets.

At each such stop the sailors had leave to visit the taverns, while the passengers chafed at the delay.

Finally, though, they accepted that the captain would govern his crew as he thought best, and began to enjoy the occasional day ashore.

Dirdra was not the only refugee who had fled Madura in recent years; the farther north they traveled, the less the language was like the dialects of the savage tongue they were accustomed to, but the easier it was to find someone who spoke Maduran. Eventually they reached a land called Brettonia, where to Torio, Melissa, and Astra the language seemed to be Maduran itself, although Zanos and Dirdra claimed it was simply a related dialect.

It had been nine days since their last stop, for when they passed the land of the Dark Forest, the ship’s captain had warned that the people there were hostile to strangers, letting them pass only on the high sea or on the main road Dirdra had traveled. So they had stayed far out to sea, the Readers fascinated at the way the captain navigated by sun and stars when they were out of sight of land.

It was early summer in Brettonia, and everyone was delighted to go ashore. The little port city perched on a cliff above the harbor, and the five adventurers climbed the winding path in search of a bathhouse, fresh fruit and vegetables, and an inn where they could get a good meal rather than the stuff served in the quayside taverns to which the sailors quickly repaired.

Yellow daisies with dark brown centers grew beside the cliff path. Torio picked some and wove them into a garland for Melissa, who thanked him with a kiss.

But she blushed rosily when they found themselves in the baths-for the custom here was for families, or groups of friends such as these obviously were, to bathe together without regard to sex.

The “bathhouse” was merely a structure at the opening to some underground mineral springs. At this time of day there was no one else bathing, so the attendant rented them soap and towels, showed them around, and then left them to their own devices.

Zanos unself-consciously stripped and plunged into a pool of bubbling water. Astra waited only until he surfaced, shaking water from his hair and announcing, “It’s warm!” Then she joined her husband.

But Torio and Melissa had never quite been naked together. That they were restricting their Reading lest Astra and Zanos perceive their uneasiness at a public unveiling only made their shyness more pronounced.

Just as Torio decided the best thing to do was to be bold, and started taking off his clothes, Dirdra said,

“How can you be embarrassed? You are Readers-you see everything anyway.”

“Certainly not!” replied Melissa. “The rules of privacy are drilled into us as children.”

Dirdra had divested herself of the layers of loose garments which obscured her figure, and now stood in nothing but a shirt of soft cotton. “There are no such rules for Master Sorcerers,” she said, “and when we First met-”

Astra came to the edge of the pool. “How often must I apologize, Dirdra? There are times when the only way to control my wild Reading talent is to brace for Adept powers-but I do not want to blank out constantly the powers I have relied on since childhood. Please understand that it was entirely my fault that we invaded your privacy when we first met. Torio or Melissa would never do such a thing.”

“And I couldn’t,” added Zanos. “I can just barely Read at all-mostly Astra projects to me.”

“I promise,” said Astra, “that I will never deliberately invade your privacy… nor would I use anything I discover against you.”

Dirdra looked from Astra to Zanos, then back to Torio and Melissa. “I… I know. Just these few weeks-you, with all your powers-you’ve accepted me, although I have none. Never in all my travels did I find that. Those with power use it to control others-but not you. Lady Astra, you need ask no forgiveness, but”-as Astra drew breath to protest- “I give it as you desire it.”

With that, Dirdra slipped off her shirt and plunged into the pool, where Astra hugged her.

Torio and Melissa, of one mind, grasped the moment when attention was diverted from them to throw off the rest of their clothes and dive into the pool.

With three Magister Readers, the group could enjoy the baths without worrying about security. Someone would be sure to notice if anyone else entered the caverns. Nonetheless, their weapons lay ready beside the pool, a precaution Zanos and Astra lived by.

The water was exhilarating: warm and tingling as a brisk massage. It was about shoulder-deep on Torio, deep enough to swim, or just stand and let the currents swirl pleasantly around them.

Melissa and Astra loosed their long hair to wash it free of salt from their ocean voyage, and soon soap bubbles were added to the natural effervescence of the pool.

The men soaped their hair and beards, too. It was inconvenient to try to shave each day on a journey-and Torio had discovered with secret pleasure that at last he could grow a real man’s beard.

When all were clean, Zanos led the charge into a larger cavern, where a small waterfall tumbled over the rocks above them. The cave was open to the sky, bringing a shaft of sunshine to warm them when they emerged shivering from the deep pool at the foot of the cascade.

Zanos discovered that he could climb the rocks to about twice his height, and dive into the pool. When Astra followed, Melissa tugged at Torio’s hand. “Come on-let’s try it!”

Astra jumped in feet first, but Zanos had dived head first, arms extended. Not to be outdone, even though he had never dived from such a height in his life, Torio tried to copy Zanos’ form- and struck the water so hard with his chest and stomach that the breath was knocked out of him.

As he surfaced, gasping, Zanos laughed. “Good try, lad-now you know how not to do it!”

Torio managed a grin. Melissa didn’t try to dive, just jumped-but when the other four were at the side of the pool, looking up to see what had become of her, Dirdra astonished them all by leaping upward, bending gracefully into a dive as clean and lovely as that of a seabird, and cutting neatly into the water with hardly a splash.

The cascade pool was too cold for them to play in long, but Torio tried two more dives before he finally found the right angle and entered the water cleanly-nothing to Dirdra’s grace, but satisfactory to himself.

As they toweled off, Zanos asked Dirdra, “Where did you learn to dive like that? I don’t recall the women of our village even learning to swim.”

“Where I grew up,” she replied, “there were cliffs about a natural harbor-much like the cliffs here, except that they extended farther out into the water. When my brother and I were children, we would climb partway up the cliffs near where the ships anchored. The sailors would throw coins into the water to watch us dive for them.”

“That sounds like a dangerous sport for children,” observed Astra.

“We were poor,” Dirdra replied. “Our parents needed every coin Kwinn and I brought home. We were the oldest children-and now we’re the last of our family.”

So Kwinn was the brother Dirdra had left in Maldek’s power.

Silence fell, as everyone strove not to Read Dirdra’s feelings. They pulled on undergarments, and Melissa and Astra sat down in the shaft of sunshine and began to comb their hair.

Torio, doing the Reading exercise called “visualizing” to compensate for his lack of sight, helped Zanos carry the rest of their clothes-along with their weapons-over to where the women sat. He also Read beyond the cavern, as he had done periodically since they had arrived, to see that no other party of bathers was on the way to interrupt them. All he Read were seven burly men climbing the road that passed the bathhouse-some sort of workers, it appeared from the picks, shovels, and poles they carried.

Intending to check in a few minutes to see if baths were what the seven men were coming this way for, Torio returned his attention to the group at the cascade pool-just as Zanos, half dressed, picked up his huge sword and unsheathed it.

“Zanos-what-?”

As Torio opened wide to Reading, certain Zanos could not possibly have noticed something he hadn’t, Astra screamed.

Zanos swung the sword-striking at his wife!

But he was clumsy as Torio had never seen him. Astra ducked, and made a leap toward her own weapon.

But Torio was right there, his sword immediately at the ready as Zanos turned and grabbed Dirdra.

The astonished Maduran woman was helpless in the gladiator’s grip, and he held her in front of him as a shield. “Dirdra has returned to me,” he said in a voice cold with disdain. “Do not try to claim her again, for she is mine. You will return to your ship and bring her to Madura.” Then he turned Dirdra roughly to face him. “You have returned freely-so I will be kind. Kwinn is waiting for you, Dirdra. He lives… and longs for his sister.”

Astra was Reading full out now. Torio and Melissa joined minds with her, recognizing what terrified her so.

The man before them, holding them at bay with his sword and squeezing Dirdra’s arm so hard that at any moment it might break, had the appearance of the man who had journeyed with them all the way from Zendi.

But Astra knew-and the other Readers knew with her: it was not Zanos!