Selwyn was already on his feet and halfway to the corridor when I pushed back my chair. Before I could manage to make it to my feet, the Sept Son was at my side, his fingers wrapped around my elbow.
“What is going on?” he demanded. This time there was no mistake. He was sending to me. His dark eyes were only inches from mine and narrowed suspiciously.
“I don’t know,” I admitted truthfully.
Giving me a look that said clearly that he didn’t believe me, he escorted me down the hall to Errol’s study.
Chapter XVII
Zezilia
“What is happening?” Hadrian addressed Errol the moment the door closed.
Ignoring him, Errol turned to me. “Explain.” Selwyn and Hadrian turned and regarded me with identical questioning gazes. I suddenly wondered why I hadn’t seen the familial similarities between them.
“When there was a knock on the door, I detected a sending to the Sept Son. Then I heard his reply.”
I suddenly had the Sept Son’s complete and intense attention. “What did I say?” he asked.
“I am fine, Renato. Give us a chance to get to the door.” I sent it to him with exact emotional undertones he had used. Surprise flickered in the depths of his eyes.
“How long has this been going on?”
“This is the first time I have heard a sending not sent to me.”
“And you did not hear Renato’s sending?” Errol asked. I dropped my gaze to regard him thankfully. The force in the Sept Son’s regard was unnerving. He sat at his desk, watching my face.
“I did not.”
“Is it possible that she is more sensitive to intensities?” Selwyn asked from his corner.
Errol nodded. “It is possible. We will have to test it.”
“So, you are saying she can hear me because I project more strongly than other talents?” the Sept Son asked.
“That is exactly what I am thinking.” Errol leaned forward to place his elbows on the desk. “She can detect sending activity around her, but until now she has not been able to detect words. You are the strongest talent we have known of in fifteen generations and from what we have seen within the past few months, she is displaying talent above yours.”
The Sept Son frowned. “And you have not notified me?”
“You were not exactly accessible,” Selwyn pointed out. “I sent word that she was ready for final testing four months ago and I know that you didn’t receive it until two weeks ago.”
Head bowed, arms crossed over his chest, the Sept Son stood in the center of the study projecting a struggle to stay calm. For some strange reason, I could feel him wrestling with something deep within. Strands of weary exhaustion threaded his next words. “You are right. I am sorry for the outburst. I didn’t expect this complication.”
“Then you are not going to like what I am going to have to say next,” Errol warned.
Lifting tired eyes to regard Errol, the Sept Son sighed. “It isn’t going to stop you is it?”
“No, but I suggest you inform Renato that you are going to be in a meeting for a few hours.”
He reached out to a flickering center located in the front room. “I am going to be a few hours.” His rich taste touched my tongue.
My brother’s response was respectful and curious.
“Something important has come up with your sister.” I looked up abruptly at his words and encountered his guarded gaze. “No, she is fine. I will explain later.” “You heard that.” It was more a statement that a question, but I nodded anyway.
“So, it wasn’t a fluke.” Errol sighed and leaned back again. “Make yourself comfortable. This is going to take time.”
I slipped across the room to my usual place beneath the windows. Selwyn smiled encouragingly from his corner. The Sept Son leaned back against the heavily laden bookcase, re-crossed his arms, and pinned Errol with an even gaze.
“I know that you planned on coming here, testing Zez, and leaving her in my care until you found a way to marry her off to someone.” I stared at Errol. True, I had gotten that impression from what the Sept Son had said up to this point, but phrasing it that way sounded so harsh. “As you can see, you do not know of her full capabilities and neither do we. She has known all that I can teach her since a year and a half ago. Since then, Selwyn has been filling her head with defender knowledge, techniques, and strategies. She knows and understands enough to be a defender, but we both know that her capability goes way beyond that. In fact, for the past three years she has displayed the indicators of a child in the period of discovery. Basing our estimate on the usual child’s development, she still has two years of encountering new skills. Two years during which she will need guidance and training.”
The Sept Son’s frown deepened. “And I am the logical choice. You do realize what pressure I am under, Errol. I am surreptitiously preparing the talents for war. I have a contract out on my life, a High Religious official calling for my removal from power, and a Elitist cancer growing on the Eastern coast of this county that the High King is going to be panicking over soon. The talented children entering training are sadly under prepared for any disciplined study, and the trainers are under staffed. I have parents in an uproar over the new standards for admission into training, and now you want me to take on a special case.” He turned to me and said, “It is nothing personal against you.”
I nodded my understanding, but Errol spoke before I could reassure the Sept Son.
“You agreed to this three years ago, Ilias. There is no possibility of stepping away from this now. We agreed with her father that we would train her, and I have trained her to the best of my abilities.”
“She will be useful to you, Ilias,” Selwyn commented.
