Jean Lorrah - Sorcerers of the Frozen Isles

As he and Wulfston rode through the glorious spring afternoon, Torio Read carefully ahead. Nothing difficult lay before them; the streams had calmed from their recent torrents, and they could relax and enjoy a pleasant ride.

Suddenly, though, something out of the ordinary impinged on Torio’s contentment. “Wulfston- there’s a band of men waiting in that wood ahead of us.”

“Can you Read anything about them? Fear? Anger?”

“Some of both. They haven’t seen us yet… but we’re what they’re waiting for. It’s an ambush!”

“Foolish!” said Wulfston. “You’d think they’d know by now that with a Reader to guide him, a Lord Adept is practically invulnerable. Do you recognize anyone?”

“No-not your people. Hill bandits, from their dress. They might be waiting to try to take any travelers who come along.”

“They probably don’t know you’re a Reader, even if they’ve recognized me.” The black Adept knew well how conspicuous he was. “Are they on both sides of the road?”

“Yes.” Torio explained how far ahead their would-be attackers were, and watched as Wulfston concentrated.

Torio didn’t know what the Adept would do. He must find a way to work with nature, not waste his strength working against her, for they had spent the morning aiding flatlands villagers to dig a well to water their fields in the dry season, Torio guiding and Wulfston using his Adept power to break through rock layers and hold back the debris so that the villagers could shovel it out without hindrance. The Adept had used considerable power, but had taken only a meal and a short rest before they started for home.

Torio feared Wulfston would use fire against their ambushers-it was one of the first powers he had learned to use as a child, and once started, it would take on a life of its own.

But the woods were full of new growth, baby animals-

Before Torio could draw breath to protest against fire, he Read that Wulfston had called upon a different power. On one side of the road, a mother bear stood up and sniffed the air, scenting the gathered bandits as danger to her cubs. She began lumbering in their direction as on the other side a pair of wolves herded their young into their den and set off at a lope toward the second group of hiding men.

Ordinarily, both bear and wolves would have ignored the men near the road, for the animals were not hungry and the men had made no actual move toward their cubs. But under Wulfston’s strange power to

“call” animals, they moved swiftly through the underbrush.

Wulfston urged his horse forward, Torio following.

The bear broke through the brush behind the first group and rose to her full height with a growl. Horses shied and men panicked, dashing for the road as across from them the pair of wolves raced between the legs of the other gang’s horses, nipping and snarling.

Both groups of bandits swarmed onto the road, running into each other as Wulfston and Torio converged upon them. The Adept raised his hand, and a thunderbolt roared toward the terrified men, missing the nearest of them by a handspan.

All three wild animals, released from Wulfston’s hypnotic power, turned tail and ran back into the woods at the flash and noise, but the bandits fled along the road, Wulfston and Torio now in pursuit.

“We didn’t have to chase them far,” Torio finished, noting with satisfaction that his audience were all grinning at the image of the fleeing bandits. “I’m sure they’re still spinning tall tales of the day they had the bad judgment to ambush a Lord Adept-although we never saw them again.”

“I wish I’d been there,” said Melissa. “I’ve never seen Lord Wulfston use that ability-but Torio, don’t you agree that it has to be related to Reading? How does he know there are any animals out there to call?”

“I don’t know,” Torio replied. “All I know is that it works-but nothing any of us have done can get Wulfston to learn to Read, any more than I can learn Adept tricks.”

“You will,” said Zanos. “It’s all the same-”

Suddenly, without warning, the wind rose, howling into cyclone force right there in the’ middle of the forest. Trees whipped, birds screamed, and the five travelers had to fight their terrified horses. Ahead of them, huge trees were ripped up by the roots-and fell right across the path they had to take.

It was over as fast as it had come, the wind dropping to nothing, forest debris floating down through the dappled light, the birds and animals still silent in their fear.

With one mind, the Readers Read outward to their limits-but they could find no sign of Maldek or anyone else spying on them. Then they turned to the trees in their path-four of them, tangled into a pile that thoroughly blocked their way forward.

“This is only the beginning,” said Zanos. “We don’t have the physical strength to shove them aside. Is there a way around?”

The better Readers only confirmed what the gladiator already knew: there was not.

“Then it’s fire,” said Zanos. “I’ll start it. Astra, Melissa-you confine it, so it just gives us a path. I’ll have to concentrate on keeping it small. We don’t want to start a forest fire.”

Torio was accustomed to Wulfston’s Adept strength; this situation would hardly have been a challenge to him. But Zanos’ powers were small compared to Wulfston’s; he coaxed a small flame to begin among the dry leaves, then guided it along a branch to the trunk. It was slow work, as they dared not let it leap into flames which might be beyond the powers of the three with Adept ability to control.

It took almost an hour, first to guide the fire, then to Read for every spark and make certain it was completely out before they could ride their horses over the ashes now paving the trail.

And no sooner were they beyond that wearying task than Torio Read a pack of wolves slinking up on them, fearful but hungry.

This trial was easier. Astra said, “I’ll scare them off,” and reached for the animals’ minds with hers. It was a technique neither Torio nor Melissa had studied, but they knew it was the way Readers treated sick minds, combined with Adept powers. Astra let herself Read the wolves’ simple thoughts and desires, then somehow, becoming unReadable, twisted them so that instead of five people and five horses-potential food-the wolves saw five huge, angry bears. Saw them, smelled them- and turned tail and ran.

But as Torio was about to congratulate Astra on ridding them of that nuisance with so little use of power, he realized that while he had been concentrating on what she was doing he had neglected to notice something else-there were people coming toward them through the woods.

“Melissa-Read!” he exclaimed, for she, too, had been fascinated with Astra’s trick, which presumably she could duplicate.

In every direction that they Read, they found people. People? There were flesh-and-blood human bodies moving toward them, breathing, hearts beating-but there seemed to be no minds within them to Read!

All Adepts braced to use their powers? So many? Then it was hopeless, for there must be fifty of them moving purposefully toward them through the dense underbrush, ignoring scratches and bruises, stumbling and picking themselves up-

They moved like no Adepts Torio had ever known. They were more like puppets-like the two people they had seen in Dirdra’s memory.

But these were not the beautiful young people of that scene in Maldek’s castle. These were repulsive creatures, dressed in rags, skin peeling off, missing fingers or toes, eyelids gone to reveal staring eyes-

It seemed an army of the dead!

“Orbu!” gasped Dirdra as the first of them came into sight through the brush.

“They’re mindless-but they are alive!” said Melissa. And as one of them raised a spear as if to heave it at her, she neatly stopped the creature’” heart. It dropped, truly dead.