Jean Lorrah - Empress Unborn

Until this moment, Julia hadn’t been afraid. Now, alone, she faced dozens of people who hated her-some of them with Adept powers! “Help!” she sent out to any nearby Reader. “Capero’s establishment! They want to kill me!”

Galerio kicked over the dice table, Mosca and Antonius adding their efforts.

Julia jumped down from her perch, Reading that the three young men would clear a path for her to the door, Reading Wicket draw a knife, pretending to join the attackers but actually elbowing and tripping people trying to close off their escape route.

Galerio, Mosca, and Antonius also had knives drawn, but they faced swords, clubs.

Knives flickered through the air!

Mosca went down with a yelp as a knife lodged in his shoulder, then a horrifying gasp when a man ran his sword through him.

Antonius tackled a woman in their way, knocked her against a man trying to skewer Julia with his sword, and fell, head crushed by another man’s club.

Galerio plunged ahead, using his small Adept skill to stay the hands of those who would slash or strike.

They could see Wicket now, bumbling about as if very drunk and very angry, actually clearing a space near the door.

Still broadcasting her call for help, Julia followed in Galerio’s wake, Reading behind them.

Capero held a spear!

“Galerio!” Julia shouted, grasping his arm to pull him down as the weapon flew at them.

He came around instead of down-and the spear dipped in its flight, Capero’s Adept power keeping it aimed at Julia! It was about to impale her.

Galerio flung himself at the spear, trying to grasp it out of the air.

Julia Read his utter exhaustion. The last of his small Adept power was not enough.

The spear pierced his heart, and he fell across her, dead.

Julia cowered on the floor, soaked in Galerio’s blood, too terrified and grief-stricken to do anything but Read.

Antonius and Mosca were dead.

Galerio was dead.

Wicket was trying to reach her, pretending to be a patron wanting to kill her.

Capero pulled Galerio’s body away and hauled Julia to her feet. “You’re not hurt-yet.” He had to hold her up, for shock had taken all the strength from her limbs. Her mind seemed to have gone numb.

Capero turned to his patrons. “What shall we do with this one? Let’s make her an example-let Lenardo and Aradia know what we do to people who try to control us!”

“Julia! Get down!”

The powerful voice in her mind broke through her numbness; she squirmed free of Capero’s grip and dropped to the floor-

As an arrow pierced the gambler’s heart!

Heads turned.

Some of Capero’s men started toward the door, where a shadowy figure fired three more arrows in rapid succession before people began to close on him. He dropped bow and quiver, kicked his closest assailant in the groin, slung a knife into the throat of a man poised to gut him with a spear, and moved through the gap he had thus created.

Pyrrhus.

The conflict between frightened people trying to get out of his way and angry people trying to get at him created a passage that he walked through, unscathed.

When he reached Wicket, his friend took a position at Pyrrhus’ back, knife at the ready.

They worked their way toward Julia amid a breathless hush.

Octavia pulled a long, wicked blade from her sleeve. Julia fought her lethargy, remembering neither man could Read, but was drawing breath to warn them when the woman moved.

Wicket met her descending arm with an upward blow so hard the whole room heard the crack of breaking bone. He caught the knife that fell from her limp fingers as she fainted from the pain. Now he had a knife in either hand, and no patron was foolish enough to challenge.

Capero’s men, however, moved in-seven of them forming a phalanx against Julia’s two rescuers.

As they moved to separate Julia from Pyrrhus and Wicket, weapons flew again. A bull-like man heaved a spear with both physical strength and Adept power, enough to pierce both men-except that they turned sideways and bent away, and it sailed harmlessly between them.

When they swung back, they were side by side.

Almost faster than Julia could Read, Wicket’s knives were buried to the hilt in two of their opponents, while Pyrrhus flung two knives as well, grasped a spear convulsively thrown his way by one of their death throes, and drove it through a third.

Two on two now, Wicket and Pyrrhus glanced at one another, crouched, and let their assailants spring.

Both were armed with knives, and both were dead by their own weapons in scant seconds.

Pyrrhus did not look at the men he had killed, but he studied Wicket’s victims one by one. Every weapon had pierced a vital organ; all were dead. “Congratulations,” said Pyrrhus dryly. “You’ve finally learned to fight.”

Julia Read Wicket’s start of conscience, but all he said was “Had a good teacher, didn’t I?”

The two men stepped over the bodies, and while Wicket knelt to examine Julia, Pyrrhus asked the staring people left alive, “Anyone else care to challenge our right to take this child home?” He smiled in that bone-chilling way that Julia suddenly understood, and everyone backed up a step.

Recognizing that they did not want to be caught here,“people started for the door-too late.

Readers and Adepts were entering at both the front door and the back, city guards, healers, watchers.

Only then did Julia realize that barely minutes had passed since she had sent out her call for help. The response had come as fast as humanly possible-but if Pyrrhus and Wicket had not been on the scene already, she would have been dead.

As dead as Galerio.

Aradia never found the right opening that evening to tell Master Clement about her strange dreams.

Hours later, last night’s terror seemed foolish, nothing but a pregnant woman’s overreaction.

She was just saying goodnight to the Master Reader when Julia’s call for help came. Master Clement allowed her to Read it through him, then broadcast it to all the Readers in Zendi with his own great mental power.

At the same time, he grasped Aradia’s arm, holding her from dashing out into the night. “It’s too far!” he exclaimed, continuing to Read for her the scene unfolding in Capero’s gambling establishment.

“No!” Aradia gasped, trying to kill Capero where he stood.

Once, it would have taken no effort to stop the man’s heart at that distance.

Tonight, she might as well have no Adept powers at all.

She returned to Reading, clinging to Master Clement lest he leave her to her own weak ability. Terror rose as they Read Julia, helpless.

Readers and Adepts left what they were doing to run to her aid, but they could not reach Julia, nor could the minor Adepts come within range to use their limited powers, before Capero or his patrons killed her.

Then came the sudden eruption of Pyrrhus onto the scene, and a virtual massacre as Wicket turned out to be already there, and the two destroyed Capero and every one of his henchmen brave enough to challenge them.

By the time the rescuers arrived, there was no need for rescue.

The two efficient killers gently eased Julia out of the establishment, away from the corpses of her friends.

“Let them bring her home,” Master Clement instructed the healer who wanted to examine Julia. “She’s not harmed physically. She needs to get away from that place.”

He broke contact, focusing now on Aradia. “Come,” he said, leading her back into the parlor. “Ju^a is unharmed, just badly frightened. Let her fear teach her, Aradia.”

“What?” said Aradia, letting him guide her to a couch where she sat down and put her feet up.