Rolf entered the hall as the watcher was telling his story, and stood near the door. 'A good muddy rain will slow their march and dampen their spirits,' he said. 'I'll take care of it, my lord.'
'Thank you, Rolf,' said Wulfston. 'That may buy us some time-I want the battle down there to the south, not here where my people have made such progress rebuilding and planting. Torio, notify Aradia and Lenardo. They'll come to help-but how do we hold the whole Aventine army off until they get here? Gevin,' he said to the watcher, 'send for everyone with Adept powers-we'll try to maintain a holding action. Lilith is so far away… but have her notified anyway, Torio, and hope she arrives just in time for a victory celebration.'
As Wulfston issued orders, more people entered the hall. Messages were passed; riders and runners left the castle grounds. Men from the village near the castle converged at once, drawing weapons from the armory.
Torio felt Melissa's astonishment at the instant organization. 'How can you manage all this without Readers?' she asked as the hall cleared, leaving them a center of calm at the core of a bustle of activity.
'We managed without Readers before Lenardo came,' said Wulfston. 'However, Torio cannot do everything. I could certainly use the help of another Reader… but I cannot ask that of you, Melissa. I'm afraid, as a precaution to keep you from reporting our moves to the Aventine army, I must put you to sleep until the battle is over.'
'Wait!' she said, closed tightly to Reading. 'I know a way for you to get Readers… or certainly one more Reader. I will aid you in this battle, Lord Wulfston-I will take Oath of Truth to Torio to bind it-if you will do what I ask.'
Wulfston studied her. 'And what,' he said finally, 'do you ask?'
'In a room off your dungeons,' she said, opening to Reading for their reactions, allowing Torio to Read her hope, her sincerity, her burning desire to persuade the Adept, 'there are twelve bodies. Seven are Readers. Use your sorcery. Bring them back to life as you did Torio. If the others won't serve you out of gratitude, I will. Bring back only one of them-Magister Jason-and I promise you I will do anything you ask, Lord Wulfston-anything!'
Wulfston's shock was so great that he became emotionally as Readable as any nonAdept: disbelief, revulsion, horror at the very suggestion. 'Melissa… where did you get such an idea?!'
The girl looked to Torio, her last hope collapsing. 'But you-'
'I
'You don't have to,' she said dully. 'Lord Wulfston just did.' Tears burning, she rose and fled from the hall.
Wulfston stared after her, his usual unReadable self once more. 'What lie, Torio? What could you have told her to make her think-?'
'I didn't know Master-Lord-Lenardo hadn't told you. I was too ashamed to.' And he told Wulfston how he had let Portia think her assumption was true.
'That's why they're attacking now, Wulfston-they're afraid to let us develop our powers together any further. It's my fault.'
'It's nobody's fault. Torio, there is one lesson you must learn before you can be any good to yourself or to anyone else: Mistakes are to be learned from. Instead of berating yourself for a mistake in the past, determine never to make the same mistake in the future. Use it for growth, not to keep yourself from growing.'
'Yes, my lord. I'll go and find Melissa.'
'Leave her for now. If she conquers her grief enough to contact the Readers with the Aventine army, there's nothing she can tell them except that we are preparing to move against them. That can hardly be unexpected. Go contact Lenardo. I will deal with Melissa later.'
'Yes, my lord.'
'Torio-stop that! You are not a chastened apprentice. You are a Lord Reader, allied with other lords to fight off an attacking army.
Chapter Five
The sun was setting as Melissa ran out into the courtyard of Wulfston's castle. It was jammed with horses, wagons, people preparing for battle-against Melissa's friends and country. Her shock and grief made her whole body ache… but her duty shored her up. Before Wulfston caught her, she must find a safe place to leave her body-then he could do nothing except kill her physical being. Death of a body left behind happened to Readers sometimes. No one was quite sure where the consciousness went when that happened-no living Reader had ever found the way to the plane of the dead, and returned.
Somehow, though, she did not think Wulfston would kill her. What she had Read in that totally unguarded moment had shown her a man of open honor-a clean conscience combined with the firm purpose and responsibility of a leader. He would act only in ways that he considered right.
However, she had no way of knowing what Wulfston considered right. She merely assumed that murdering the helpless would be unacceptable even by savage standards. His intent to 'put her to sleep,' on the other hand…
Surely that was a euphemism; if she allowed him to use his powers on her, she would wake up a loyal savage. He had obviously done it to Torio, although the young man was a skilled Reader. Since she now knew it was not gratitude for restoring his life, why else would he work for the savages?
Melissa left the courtyard and walked through the village. No one paid attention to her-people were too busy, and she did not look out of place in the linen dress Hilda had given her. She was accustomed to an unfitted ankle- length tunic; the tight bodice and sleeves of this dress seemed to bind, and the mass of material in the pleated skirt felt heavy-was it meant to slow her down if she tried to run away?
No, it was similar to the dresses she saw on the village women, although their voluminous skirts flowed without pleats, and were of rougher material than Melissa's. She had simply been given something appropriate to a guest of the Lord Adept.
As she reached the edge of the village and saw plowed fields ahead, Melissa realized that she had no idea where she was going. Back to the cave? But it had taken over an hour on horseback to get here from there-she didn't have time to walk it.
She had Read all through Wulfston's castle when she woke up; perhaps she should go back there-the last place they'd look for her! But Torio-
Cautiously, trying not to project, she Read the sleeping rooms. Torio was just lying down to leave his body. Still in hers, Melissa could not follow him, but he was supposed to be reporting the Aventine attack to Lenardo. His consciousness would be many miles away.
Melissa scurried back through the village and into the castle, avoiding anyone she knew had seen her earlier. Safe in her own room, she prepared carefully, knowing that it could be hours before she would dare reunite with her body. Lord Wulfston had a battle to fight, many miles away; once he left his castle, he would soon be too far away to do anything about Melissa. Although some things on this side of the border did not fit what she had been taught, it must be true that an Adept's powers diminished with distance. If not, surely the empire would have been destroyed many generations ago.
It was the first time that Melissa had attempted this feat alone-always before it had been with one of her teachers for a lesson.
As always, outside her body, her Reading became sharper and clearer. Torio's presence was nowhere to be felt-she did not pursue him to the east, where he would be contacting the other savage lords in the city of Zendi. Instead, she Read the castle again. Wulfston was entering his own room, a few doors away. He took off his crown, exchanged his heavily embroidered tabard for a plain woolen over-tunic, and slung a heavy cloak over his arm. Then he climbed the stairs, past the bathing-room and up to the castle's watchtower. There were two men up there already, one the watchman, the other Rolf, the blind boy who claimed to have the power to change the weather.
'The watchers have found some clouds,' Rolf reported, 'but I cannot reach them from here. Will you help me, my lord?' The boy had a map unrolled on the ledge before him, his hands tracing the coastline as if he felt it.
'Where are the clouds?' asked Wulfston.
'Here, my lord.' Rolf's hand circled an area on the map that represented the sea several miles to the west of the coast.
'And the enemy?'
