Jean Lorrah - Empress Unborn

Divide and conquer.

Surely the kidnapping of her father could not have anything to do with the attacks on the Savage Empire?

“Julia.”

“Yes, Master Clement?”

“Please come to the Academy. I have a task for you.”

Well, at last she was to be trusted with responsibility again. Ever since Galerio’s death she had been assigned lessons and occasional Reading jobs, but no continuing responsibilities. For a time it had been a good thing. She had suffered from debilitating fatigue; many afternoons, trying to read the scrolls Master Clement had given her, she had found her thoughts turning instead to Galerio, and wept until she fell asleep, waking with difficulty hours later.

But now the bouts of exhaustion came less often. She wasn’t sure how much responsibility she could deal with, but she was ready to try.

It was late winter. Julia met the Healer/Adept team in the corridor, red-cheeked from the brisk winds. By the time she had wrapped herself in a woolen cloak, Decius joined her. “That wasn’t a very long strategy session,” she commented.

“It is difficult to plan strategy against unknown factors.”

“Pyrrhus and Wicket seem to do so quite successfully,” she commented.

Decius gave a snort of laughter. “Some strategy! They’ve got the lowlife in this city scared to death of them. You know, I’ve been watching Adepts work for years, but when those two go into action it’s like-like an explosion. As if they don’t care who gets hurt, any more than an earthquake or a whirlwind."

“They never hurt anyone trying to get out of their way,” said Julia. “And those trying to get in it deserve what they get.” She thought vengefully of Capero, and felt Decius pick it up before she realized she should have shielded the thought. He was getting too good!

“Julia, Capero was used . He was a shrewd gambler who would take fools for everything he could get, but he was not a cold-blooded killer.”

“Galerio is just as dead,” she replied. Then, to change the subject, “Hasn’t anyone told you that using Adept power is supposed to dull your Reading?”

“I haven’t done much today,’ he replied. “And… maybe it’s my age, when my powers are growing rapidly anyway, but it seems that after a day when I have used my Adept powers a great deal, after a good meal and a night’s sleep my Reading is even sharper in the morning.”

Julia walked quickly against the cold, and noticed that Decius kept up easily despite his wooden leg.

Now that he could keep the stump healed, he had no more pain and was not afraid to put pressure on it.

If Decius can learn to use Adept powers, why can’t 1 ? Julia wondered for the thousandth time. But no one seemed to have the answer to why some people found it easy to access both elements of power, while others, no matter how proficient in one, found it impossible to develop the other.

Sometimes, of course, that was fortunate. Suppose their old enemy, Drakonius, had learned to Read for himself instead of merely forcing Readers to work for him. Or Portia. The thought of Portia with Adept powers added further chill to the cold day, and Julia was happy to see the doors of the Academy looming ahead, promising warmth and a fresh task to take her mind off morbid thoughts.

To Julia’s surprise, the assignment Master Clement had for her was training Wicket. “But… I’m not a teacher,” she protested.

“The more you teach, the more you learn,” said Master Clement. “Pyrrhus is right-Wicket’s Reading will add greatly to their efficiency as peace officers. They are a natural team and already well practiced.

Pyrrhus would be the ideal person to train Wicket, of course, but deprived of his own Reading powers he cannot. My tutors are all Academy-trained. Wicket needs a teacher with flexibility, and experience out on the streets where he works.”

For the first time in weeks, Julia felt her mood lighten. “You’ll let me teach him guttersnipe Reading?”

“Guttersnipe Reading?” To Julia’s delight, she provoked a laugh from her teacher. “I can see I have found the right tutor. Yes, Wicket’s not going to test for the upper ranks, Julia. He needs practical experience.

So long as you drill the Readers’ Code into him, teach him what you think will help him most. You have experience at guiding Adepts, much more than my best teachers. That is what Wicket needs most of all.

“Now,” he continued, “go find your pupil, while I contact Lilith. I wish she could Read, but the best I can hope for is that whoever is Reading for her today has strong persuasive powers. Aradia needs Lilith here, Julia-and not merely as her friend, or as a Lady Adept to strengthen our circle. She needs the example before her eyes of a woman who has borne a child and regained her powers completely.”

Julia felt warm pleasure at the way her teacher was treating her as a full member of their circle again. “Did Aradia tell you about her mother?” she asked.

“That is privileged, Julia. There are times when I must act as healer with Aradia now, not merely friend.

Have I not assigned you a task? Why are you dawdling here when we both have work to do?”

So Julia went to find Wicket, who was in an empty classroom, staring at the rules of the Readers’ Code on the wall. He was closed to Reading; Julia had to find him by visualizing, for, with casual trust in her abilities, Master Clement had not said where he had left Wicket.

There was something wrong. Wicket looked nervous and upset, glancing around furtively.

“Just open to Reading,” said Julia as she entered the room. “Then nobody can sneak up on you.”

He gave her a forced grin. “Hello again. What’re you doing here?”

“Master Clement assigned me to tutor you. Have you memorized the Readers’ Code?”

“That?” He gestured toward the wall.

“Yes, that. All Reading is taught within the Readers’ Code, so before you begin you have to learn it.” He paled and dropped his eyes from hers. “What’s wrong?” Julia asked. “Does something in it conflict with your personal beliefs?”

Wicket stared at his hands, shielded strongly. Finally he mumbled, “I… dunno.” Having gotten that out, he sajd more clearly, “Dunno what it says. I… can’t read.”

“Well, if you’d stop bracing to use-” Julia began, and then suddenly realized what he meant. “You mean you can’t read words? Or write?”

He nodded glumly. “Never could learn more’n’t’ write me name. Pyrrhus tried to teach me-but everything gets all jumbled up. It… it lost us our chance in Tiberium, an’ now if it ruins us here, too-”

“What happened in Tiberum?” Julia asked.

“We done-did-really good at our bodyguard service, an’ then the city councilors decided to hire us.

We did several jobs for ‘em, always as equal partners.

“Only… there were contracts to sign. One time we had to accept one and get right to work if the terms were all right. When Pyrrhus had to read it to me, the councilors-well, they wanted’t’ change the terms.

I knew them high-an’-mighties never liked me from the first, ‘cause I come outa the gutter. But I can talk good enough if I have to, and Pyrrhus insisted we worked together or not at all.

“But when they found out I’m… illiterate, they told Pyrrhus he could have that job or any future ones alone, and he could hire me if he wanted to-but they wouldn’t make any more contracts with me .”

“And what did Pyrrhus say to that?” Julia asked.

Wicket gave a quavering smile. “I didn’t know he even knew some of the words he used. If he hadn’t got so angry, we mighta worked it out. I wouldn’t of minded working for him-it’s Pyrrhus insisted we were partners.”