Captives

power, and what was left of the rapport collapsed, leaving Torio once more alone within himself.

Wulfston was still gripping Torio's shoulders-pain penetrated and he shook the Adept off. 'The rapport is broken,' he said raggedly. 'Lenardo is concentrating on Aradia-he's not going to think of us for a while.'

'Let's go!' said Wulfston, reaching for their already-packed gear. 'Come on, Torio-they need us!' But he staggered as he rose, and Torio took his arm.

'Lie down. I'll go out of body and-'

'There's no time! Aradia is unconscious, Lilith hours away-Lenardo has no fully-empowered Adepts with him. I'm all right, Torio. I haven't used half my energy.'

Because he was as anxious as Wulfston, Torio helped saddle the horses and they set off for Tiberium. It had taken more than two days to get here, when they were avoiding calling attention to themselves. Now they galloped, obtaining fresh horses every few hours by the simple expedient of stealing them-twice leaving men who tried to stop them crumpled in sudden sleep.

They met people fleeing the destruction in the capital city. Everyone knew the Emperor was dead. The closer they got to Tiberium, the more fear permeated the air-by early morning the word was out that the Senate had been destroyed as well, and no one knew who was running the empire. Torio Read garbled opinions of what had happened-but very few knew the savages had anything to do with it or even realized that there were Adepts among them.

As they approached the city, though, Torio did not find the destruction he feared. Terror and hatred had faded into empty anxiety. The city itself stood without serious structural damage. The closer they got, the more surprised Torio became; while some people huddled fearfully in their homes, many others were out cleaning up debris. Soldiers kept order-a few buildings had been looted, but they were already boarded up.

Here people were indeed aware of Adepts-and terrified of them. They did not know who among the strangers could kill them 'with a look,' and they did not wish to find out. Everyone also knew that the royal family and the senators were dead-there was no government except that of the savages, who were known to have Readers now. There were stray thoughts of rebellion, but none serious-the army had surrendered and was now in the service of their captors.

Torio Read Arkus directing units of Aventine soldiers, Helmuth-nonReader and nonAdept but ever Lenardo's most reliable henchman-sending other soldiers to draft a work crew to clear the streets blocked by the collapse of the Senate building. He was in the forum, where the debris was already cleared away, the gaps in the cobbles bridged with sturdy planking. Unable to locate Lenardo or Aradia, Torio led Wulfston to the forum, where Helmuth told them, 'They're at the Adigia Academy building, my lords. AH is under control here.'

Wulfston looked around, bleary-eyed with lack of sleep, and laughed. 'Why did I worry? We gave Lenardo a city of savages, with no Lords Adept to help him-after what he accomplished in Zendi, why expect less here?'

But Torio worried as he rode toward the villa that had housed his Academy for the past year-for he should have been greeted by Lenardo's vigorous mind. Instead, it was Melissa who told him, // Lord Lenardo is sleeping-at last. He exhausted his strength healing Aradia and others, but when Lady Lilith arrived we finally got him to rest.//

Torio relayed this information to Wulfston before they entered the building. The students' bedrooms were filled with injured people in healing sleep, some waking now, bewildered, to be fed and sent home. By the time Wulfston was reassured that his sister would soon be well, and fed the meal he had been too concerned to stop for during the night, a bed was prepared for him.

Relaxation of tension had Torio nodding over his breakfast, too. Since everything was under control…

But before he could find an empty bed Decius came for him, weeping. 'Please, Torio-come and see if you can do anything for Master Clement!'

The old Reader lay in his own bed, physically unhurt. His body was there; his mind was not. Lilith sat beside him, pale, her eyes sunken into dark circles. Julia sprawled nearby, eyes red with crying. 'Torio! Tell them they've got to wake Father! He's the only one can help!'

'Lenardo is exhausted,' Lilith said. 'His Reading powers are greatly impaired-when he told me that, I did not tell him about Master Clement.'

But Torio was staring at his teacher's still form. 'You moved him!'

'Yes,' Lilith agreed. 'I did not know I should have left him where he fell-when he fainted, I thought it was exhaustion, or his heart, or a stroke. Torio, there was no other Reader to tell me what he had done.'

Torio sat on the edge of the bed, Reading the serene face of the old Master. Despite its age, his body was now healthy; it breathed; its heart beat. But it was uninhabited. Master Clement was elsewhere, lost among the planes of existence.

Melissa hovered in the doorway. 'Torio, can you do anything?'

'How long did you wait before you moved him?' Torio asked Lilith.

'Nearly three hours. I cannot Read-I thought I had put him into healing sleep.'

'Then it makes no difference that you moved him,' said Torio bitterly. 'No Reader dare stay so long on the planes beyond-he was lost long before you moved his body.'

'But he said he was out of body for hours when he made the map,' Julia protested.

'Out of body, but in our world. You'll understand when you are old enough to try it, Julia. Lilith, do not blame yourself. It is Portia who has claimed one last victim.'

'Portia's dead,' said Julia. 'She didn't come back either, and her body died. She didn't understand, Torio-none of us did till I Read her medallion. Father made me-I didn't want to touch it.'

Torio remembered the child's special talent for Reading items people had worn or kept close to them. 'What did you learn?' he asked.

'The Dark Moon devoured the sun of the royal family. She never thought about what was on that medal-the sun, like on the Emperor's banners. She was so proud of being of royal blood-the Emperor's grandfather's aunt. That's why she knew all about politics-she wasn't s'posed to be a Reader. There's never been another one in the royal family. She had to have power-so she worked her way to Master of Masters.'

Torio nodded. 'She couldn't stand not to rule.'

The little girl added, 'When I felt into the past, though, she was… nice. She didn't mean to hurt anybody. She liked helping people with her Reading, for along, longtime.'

Torio went to the child and hugged her. 'I'm glad to hear that, Julia. I suppose we will have another funeral tomorrow. Will you say that for Portia, please?'

There was indeed a funeral the next day, in the savage tradition. However, it was not the cleansing ceremony Torio had become used to-for the one man he and Lenardo and Decius mourned the most was not dead.

Master Clement's body might live for many days yet-the Adepts would not allow it to die. Wulfston and Aradia insisted, 'Life is all we have. If we had allowed our father to die when we thought his tumor was hopeless, Lenardo could not have helped us heal him.' And Lenardo, although he knew as well as Torio that it was hopeless, planned to try searching the planes of existence as soon as he recovered his powers.

At the funeral, curious Aventine citizens ringed the forum to hear their conquerors eulogize the people they had just killed-at least that was how they saw it. They didn't understand, but they wept as the bodies of the entire Senate, the royal family, several Master Readers, and a number of soldiers went up in the white-hot flame of the funeral pyre. Their whole way of life was burning away, and they didn't know what would replace it.

Torio walked with Melissa back to the villa. They had not carried funeral garments with them, of course, and so both were dressed today in Reader's garb, Melissa in a plain white tunic, Torio in the same white edged in black that Lenardo wore.

In¹ the streets of Tiberium, the sight of a male and a female Reader walking side by side drew stares. In a mixture of protectiveness, possessiveness, and defiance, Torio took Melissa's arm.

She looked up at him with a shy smile, but said nothing. Neither did any of their friends-and when they reached the villa, Torio led her to the courtyard. One side was open to a hallway off which were several sleeping rooms-but occupants of two of those rooms were, indeed, sleeping, and the other rooms, including Torio's, were empty.

A fountain formed a pool in the courtyard-the younger boys at the Academy used to play here, splashing in the shallow water. Flowering shrubs created alcoves for several benches hidden from the view of anyone passing in the hallway. It was to one of these that Torio led Melissa.

They sat in silence for a time, until Melissa asked, 'Torio… what's wrong?'

'Wrong? Except for Master Clement, nothing, really. I don't know what's going to happen next, Melissa. That… that doesn't bother you, does it?'