land. And their Lord.
For they bore Lenardo's ensign, the red dragon on the field of white. The
pennants and ribbons given out at the festival had become the banners under
which his people marched. They fluttered from poles, were glued to shields,
and decorated the shoulders of troop commanders.
Directing the enthusiastic throng was Julia, wearing on her brow the golden
fillet that marked her as the daughter of the Lord of the Land. "My lord!"
They gave a great shout as they saw Lenardo. He raised his hand in greeting,
consummately aware of the brand on his arm, seeing them look at it in awe.
Then they rushed past him, at the oncoming Aventine guard. The guard might be
mounted and better armed, but they were outnumbered three to one by men
fighting to protect a lord they loved and were willing to die for.
I don't deserve such loyalty, Lenardo thought as the emotions of his people
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swept over him. Then Torio was saying in awe, "I haveneverRead anything like
that, not even when the Emperor passes," and Lenardo realized that it was safe
to stop now, draw the arrow, and treat the boy's injury. If only Sandor were
here.
As he drew to a halt, several people approached to help ease Torio down from
the horse. A motherly woman said, "My lord, I have healing powers."
"Thank the gods," Lenardo exclaimed. "This is Torio, a Reader. We need his
help."
"Yes, my lord." She knelt beside Torio, who was being supported by two men,
and frowned as she looked into his milky eyes. "You are blind?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm a Reader."
"Oh. Then can you Read your wound for me?" she asked as she placed a gentle
hand on the boy's shoulder.
Lenardo Read Torio's astonishment as his pain disappeared. The "sorcery" was
merely stopping the sensation through the nerves. Lenardo now knew it to be a
simple and basic technique, but recalled that the first time it had been done
to him he had been as awestruck as Torio.
The boy adjusted quickly and began explaining the injuries the arrow had
created.
"It is good you didn't have to ride farther," the healer said. "You haven't
lost enough blood to weaken you seriously, so the rest can be healed to
prevent further damage until you can sleep and heal completely."
"Just do as& what is your name?" Lenardo asked the healer.
"Fila, my lord."
"Do as Fila says, Torio. Fila, you have my gratitude and will have more than
that after we have driven our enemies from the land," he promised her, and
turned his attention to the battle down the road. Three of Lenardo's men were
dead, but so were seven of the Aventine guard, and the rest were retreating,
sure now that they had lost their quarry.
Julia had ridden to watch the rout, and now she came back, laughing in glee.
"They're running away. They're scared of us now, Father." Then she dismounted.
"How's Torio?"
"He'll be fine. You did well again, Daughter."
"Should we ride ahead?" Julia asked.
Although he was itching to ride on, Lenardo told her, "Sit down and rest
until we know whether Torio can travel." Torio's injury reminded him of how
quickly a single Reader could be put out of action. If possible, he wanted
both of them to guide the Adepts in Zendi.
Torio had all the Reading ability necessary to guide Fila, and so Lenardo sat
down on the grass and Read to Zendi. Battle still raged, but the Adepts' part
was over for the moment. They had worn themselves out. It was a typical
pattern. Savages began with a battle of Adepts, but after they had used up
their strength, their armies continued to fight. Hron and two of his cohorts
were now deep in recovery sleep; the fourth Adept was tired but awake, ready
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to answer any further attack.
There would be no immediate attack from Zendi, however. In Lenardo's house,
Wulfston slept the sleep of exhaustion, as did Arkus and Josa, who must have
been working with him. Searching for Aradia, he Read the infirmary, where
Sandor and his aides were working as quickly as they could, but still some of
the wounded died before they received attention. Here he discovered Lilith, so
deeply asleep that for a moment he thought her dead. She had been placed in
one of the family's rooms, where she lay healing of crushed limbs. It seemed
the attacking Adepts must have succeeded in one of their favorite tricks of
dropping something perhaps a building on her. She was alive and would be well,
but she would not wake until the battle was over, unless it went on for
several more days.
Relieved to find that Lilith had succeeded in reaching Zendi, Lenardo
continued his search for Aradia. It was maddening. Would he have to do a
building-by-building search to find her? Why was she not in his house, in
recuperative sleep?
Then he thought to Read the bathhouse. It, too, held many wounded now. They
were being taken there from the infirmary to sleep as they healed in the
relative safety of the stone building.
But Aradia was not asleep. Her increased Adept powers had stood her in good
stead. She might be tired, but she was nowhere near the total exhaustion of
the others. Helmuth was with her in the room once used to store Zendi's
treasures. Together they were poring over maps of Zendi and the surrounding
countryside.
"I cannot find anything to use," Aradia was saying in frustration. "The land
is all so flat around here, we can't drop a cliff on them. There's no bog to
suck them under." She paced. "If they can find us, they can knock buildings
down on us, but we have no way to attack them except with our full powers. Why
was this city ever built here, where it's so hard to defend?"
"The Aventines built it, my lady," said Helmuth. "They have no Adepts."
"Yes, of course. If only Lenardo were here."
"Surely he will come, my lady," Helmuth said with more loyalty than
conviction. He knew, Lenardo Read, that there had been some serious
disagreement before Lenardo left, and afterward a fight between Aradia and
Wulfston. When things quieted, Wulfston had sent Arkus in search of Lenardo,
but no one could find him.
Although he would never voice it, the old man was of the opinion that Lenardo
had been driven away and that later Wulfston had made Aradia repent of her
rash act. Whatever had happened, Wulfston no longer wore the wolf-stone.
But what had happened to Lenardo and Mia?I should have gone with them,
Helmuth told himself.Why did I let my lord ride off alone with the child? They
never reached the gates of the empire. What became of them?
Helmuth feared that, avoiding their own soldiers, they had perished in the
earthquake.Why else would my lord not return when his people are under attack?
So Aradia had told no one but Wulfston about her Reading. It was no help to
her now; she was making no attempt to Read, and all Lenardo's efforts could
not make her notice him.I'll just have to go to Zendi.
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When Lenardo drew his attention back to Torio, the boy was sitting up so mat
Fila could wash the blood off his shoulder. The wound was closed and already
half healed. Torio lifted his arm experimentally and laughed as only a dull
ache throbbed through the area that a short time before had been pounding with
agony.
"It's not my sword arm," he said. "I can fight."
"You must rest first," said Fila. "Lie still now and let me complete the
healing." She pushed him gently down and then touched his shoulder again,
letting the healing heat tingle through it. Then she looked up at Lenardo. "My [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]