-good fortune to us, as the bulk of his army was destroyed in an earthquake of his own making.'
'I know,' said Lenardo, careful not to give away his emotional shock: If he could find Drakonius, he would find Galen! On the other hand, Aradia and the other Adepts were allies of Drakonius. Perhaps they had defied him once, but against a common enemy from the empire they would certainly close ranks. So he must appear not to be such an enemy. 'I was still at Adigia at the time of the earthquake,' he said. 'It was the narrowness of our escape that led to my exile.'
Wulfston eyed him suspiciously. 'What do you mean?'
'If you savages can create earthquakes, what chance have we against you? You will destroy what is left of the Aventine Empire, unless we make peace with you. For suggesting that we seek a peaceful treaty with our enemy, I was exiled.'
Wulfston was staring at him. 'Is this true?'
'It is, but I have no way of proving it. I suppose you'd rather think I'm a child molester.'
Wulfston ignored the sarcasm. 'But it will be a matter of public record. I shall find out You are quite right-your empire has no chance against Drakonius, once he builds back his army. Unfortunately, neither will he treat with you. He cares only for conquest.'
'But he does not rule all the savages?'
'I wish you would learn that we are not savages!' Wulfston snapped. 'Nor are we a single unit, like your empire. No. Drakonius does not rule Aradia or Lilith or Hron or other great Adepts-but he exacts their cooperation now, while in the future…'
'You fear he may conquer the empire and then turn on you?'
'Yes. We have spent years renewing the lands Drakonius' ancestors destroyed and abandoned. It is only too easy to predict the temptation to Drakonius. For that reason, we have begun our resistance now, and Aradia was hoping-'
'What?'
'No, I will let her tell you. I still do not trust you, Lenardo. I only hope Aradia will not be too quick to accept your story. Why did you not tell it before?'
'Does it seem likely to you that to suggest one's country seek peace before it is destroyed utterly would be regarded as treason? I did not think you would believe me.' The intensity of his words after prolonged conversation sent Lenardo into a fit of coughing. Wulfston pulled their horses to a halt, and regarded him with concern^
'I don't like the sound of that. You could develop pneumonia. If you won't trust me to heal you, we'd best find a place to stay over another night'
'I never said I didn't trust you to heal my body,' Lenardo gasped painfully. 'You said you'd have to tamper with my mind-and I'll have no more of that!'
'I don't have to,' said Wulfston. 'If you can relax and let me work, I can set your body to dry the fluid collecting in your lungs and purify your blood of this new infection.' He sighed. 'If you continue to expose yourself to one illness after another, before you fully recover, you could easily kill yourself.'
'If you do the healing, or Aradia, why am I so weak?'
'We must tap your strength-if we had to give our own strength to the healing of others, neither of us would be able to walk across the room!'
Wulfston spread Lenardo's now-dry cloak on the grass by the roadside and had him lie down. Lenardo was relaxing before the familiar manner of a healer until Wulfston said, 'You will feel heat in your veins. Fire purifies the blood of its taint.'
'Fever kills the organisms that cause the infection,' Lenardo corrected.
'Organisms?'
'I have Read them,' said Lenardo. 'An infection is a living thing-many living things so tiny no eye can see them, thousands upon thousands, feeding on the person infected.'
Wulfston seemed disconcerted. 'Living beings?'
'Not beings, but alive, yes.'
'Poisons, we knew, but not- You mean there are creatures feeding on you?'
'Yes. Heat kills them. We have drugs to induce fever if the body does not-but high fever is dangerous in itself.'
'I know. You are already feverish,' Wulfston said, touching Lenardo's forehead. 'I must increase your body heat, direct the blood flow to your lungs, and decrease the flow to your head, where excess heat might damage your mind. If you become sleepy, it is not because I willed it. Would you not rather sleep through the procedure? In my training, I had to experience it waking. It is not painful, but the first time it is very frightening.'
'I've felt it before,' Lenardo reminded him, 'when Aradia healed my arm and my broken rib.'
'Yes-a localized sensation is not so bad. However, she put you to sleep before she set your body to cleansing the poisons from your entire bloodstream. Tell me if the feeling becomes unbearable. There is no reason you should have to endure it'
'Why did you have to?' Lenardo asked curiously.
'How else would I know what I was doing to another? I cannot see within my own body or yours. I had to feel it.'
What Lenardo felt was strange but not particularly frightening, not as fearsome as the first tune he had Read his own body, watching the organs working, the blood pumping, certain that every strange thing he saw was a sign of some dread disease. Of course-to an Adept, this outlining of his veins with fire would be his first experience of his body's systems at work. Unable to Read, no wonder Wulfston had found it frightening.
Lenardo felt discomfort as his body temperature rose. His head ached slightly, and he wanted to pull his clothes off to let cool air touch his hot, dry skin. He tried to Read down to the microscopic level at which he could sense the organism the fever was attacking, but the effort was too great.
He let himself drift on the level of easy Reading, deliberately relaxing all his muscles. The headache subsided to a dull throb. Eventually Wulfston placed a hand on Lenardo's forehead, pleasantly cool on his feverish skin, and there was gentle concern in the young Adept's emotional presence as he said, 'The worst is over now. I must maintain the heat for a time, but it will not increase. Do you find it disturbing?'
'No. I'm too hot, but I can stand it.' 'Could you Read what I was doing?' 'I felt what happened, but not how you did it.' 'I'm rather glad of that. If a Reader could learn Adept powers as well, he'd be invincible.'
'Is that why you shield so carefully against Reading?' 'There is no shield. I'm not consciously doing anything to keep you from Reading me.' He frowned. 'This problem has always interested me. What is the difference between your mind and mine? We both have abilities most people do not, yet you cannot Read me.'
'I can Read you physically,' said Lenardo. 'I just cannot get into your mind.'
'That is interesting. I can affect your body, but- Tell me, Lenardo, how did you get out of your room at the castle?'
'Would you be satisfied if I said someone let me out?' 'None of Aradia's people would. You were able to break her control of your mind. We can affect each other's bodies but not minds.'
'I can't affect anyone's body or mind,' said Lenardo. 'The idea of meddling with another person's thoughts, beliefs, is abhorrent to me.'
'Yet you spy on people's most secret acts, fantasies, desires-'
'Never! The Reader's Honor forbids such a thing!' 'Oh, yes. I have heard of the Reader's Code of Honor… but does it bind an exile, Lenardo?'
'It binds a Reader, Wulfston. Wherever I go for the rest of my life, I shall never cease to be a Reader. I shall never cease to honor the Code.'
The intensity of speech left him gasping for breath. Wulfston said, 'I'm sorry. Please relax-I should not say things to anger you while I am trying to heal you,' He shook his head. 'I want to trust you, and I dare not Aradia thinks you can help us, but how can we know you will not turn on us?'
'You can't know,' replied Lenardo, 'unless I tell you so. Right now I tell you that if I thought I could overpower you, I would escape.'
'Where to?' Wulfston demanded in frustration. 'Not to-from! I owe you and Aradia something for saving my life, but that does not make me Aradia's property or give her the right to restrict me when I have done her no harm.'
'Aradia's powers give her the right,' Wulfston said in-a tone that suggested he was stating a natural law. 'Might
