Jean Lorrah - Flight to Savage Empire

His mind went back to the ordeal they had shared in the cave, both in and out of their bodies. It seemed like much more than one day had gone by since then, while this waiting for Astra to return felt like an eternity.

I should be with her , he told himself. If he could do that Reader’s trick while he was under the influence of the drug, surely he could do it easily now that he was back in control of himself.

But someone had to remain here, guarding Astra’s body in this strange forest while her spirit performed a Readers prime function: to search out truth. And after watching the care she had taken before leaving her body-looking for a smooth and level patch of ground, spreading a blanket on the spot, and then gingerly positioning her body on it-he knew that there was more to this trick than he had thought. There was so much he could learn from her, perhaps as much as he wanted to teach her about-

A soft moan signified Astra’s return. Zanos dropped to one knee beside her as she sat up, obviously upset. “Are you all right?” he asked. “What happened?”

“We’re in more danger than we thought,” the Reader replied, and told him what she had just witnessed.

“These Adepts may not really be able to turn ships to stone, but their methods are just as effective.”

“Wait,” said Zanos, settling beside her. “There’s something you said that I don’t understand. This Torio warned the Aventine Readers three times to turn back? And the Adepts gave them a demonstration of their power and a chance to retreat?”

“Yes, but-”

“Astra, if I had that much Adept power, and an army invading my lands, I might bother with one warning before defending myself-but certainly not three! And the storm. You said it destroyed only three ships?

What about the others?”

“They managed to get away,” Astra replied.

“When the Adepts ran out of energy? They couldn’t sink all the ships?”

“… no, ” Astra admitted. “I had the impression that they could have kept the storm going for some time, but-” She stared at him. “Zanos, are you defending the savages?”

“No,” he replied. “I’m just sharing my feelings that there is something wrong-something unexpected here. You said the three savages told the survivors of the shipwrecks to come ashore?”

“Yes, and the Reader broadcast a promise that they wouldn’t be harmed. He was wasting his time, though. No Reader would risk it, and none of the other survivors could Read his message.”

“What about you?” Zanos pressed. “Did you believe his message? Was he sincere in wanting them to come ashore?”

“Well, of course he was-think what they could do

with a dozen more Readers, their minds twisted like Torio’s to work against their own people!”

Zanos nodded, but asked, “Did anyone else go ashore?”

“Yes,” Astra admitted reluctantly. “There were people from Lord Wulfston’s lands to help soldiers and sailors get ashore. What do you make of all this, Zanos?”

“When someone invades your land with an army,” he explained, “do you waste manpower and resources taking any prisoners but valuable hostages? The commanders of the army would make bargaining tools-

but from what I know of military tactics, the commanders approach the shore only after the land has been secured. So all this ‘Lord Wulfston’ has got is foot soldiers and seamen to feed and house-a cadre of his enemies inside his own land. That sounds incredibly foolish to me.”

“Maybe he plans to turn them all into loyal savages,” Astra suggested. “Twist their minds against the empire.”

“Three shiploads of people?” he reminded her. “That’s at least sixty people, probably more. Even supposing this sorcerer has that much power, he hasn’t got the time . That fleet will find a place to land and march into his territory from another direction. Wulfston will have to meet the invaders and protect his people-or his own subjects will turn against him.”

Astra shook her head in confusion. “Why would he rescue Aventine citizens from a storm he created? He could have drowned them all. Zanos, you can’t suggest it was out of the goodness of his heart. Wulfston and Torio were the Reader/Adept pair who devastated the hospital at Gaeta!”

She was right-anyone capable of such an act would not be motivated by humanitarian principles. “I don’t know,” he replied. “But there’s more to these savages than we thought, Astra. We certainly can’t assume we understand them!”

The next morning, Vortius broke camp and continued north. Zanos and Astra did the same, using hill trails that paralleled the gambler’s course, but always kept them out of his sight. In recovering from his ordeal with the white lotus, Zanos had remembered that ten of the caravan’s packhorses carried nothing but sacks of gold, a fortune to rival the Emperor’s treasure house.

“That gold represents misery and death, all caused by Vortius,” he told Astra. “Before I kill him, I have to find out what he plans to do with it, why so many had to suffer for his greed.”

Zanos was unReadable, waiting for Astra to offer to try to Read Vortius’ plans. She refused to take the cue, reluctant to take part in his vengeance. I’m afraid again, but why fight if we don’t have to, and for no good reason ?

When the caravan stopped to rest and feed the horses, so did Zanos and Astra. And that was when Zanos insisted on beginning his wife’s lessons in swordsmanship.

The short sword he gave her might have been light by his standards, but she found it unwieldy. And Zanos was a harsh taskmaster, insisting that she repeat the primary exercises until her shoulders ached and her palm was blistered-and although she put her best efforts into following his instructions, he soon lost patience.

“Astra, you’re not even trying!”

“Yes, I am!” she cried, throwing the sword away from her in disgust. “Zanos, I’m not a fighter! I can barely lift that thing, let alone make all those fancy moves.”

The gladiator took several deep breaths, obviously bringing his temper under control. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “It may seem I’m asking too much of you,

but I know I’m not. You may not be a swordswoman, but you are a fighter. You fought the corruption in the Readers’ system-”

“No, I didn’t,” she said on a stab of shame. “Tressa wanted to fight it, but I was too frightened. I fought Portia only when she attacked first-she forced me to defend myself.”

“And we may meet attackers who will force you to do much worse,” Zanos stated matter-of-factly. He picked up the sword and wiped the blade clean. “Here.” He replaced it on the belt too large for Astra’s slim frame. “That’s enough practice for the moment, but I want you to keep wearing it.”

“Keep tripping over it, you mean!”

“You’ll learn to move with it. Come on-Vortius will be moving soon.”

They covered several miles of hill trails without exchanging a word. Astra’s powers monitored Vortius’

party without her having to concentrate on the task, leaving her conscious mind free to think about what she had left behind. Tiberium might have become too dangerous for her to stay there, but it had been home, and she missed it. She remembered teaching music to the young girls at the Academy, ignoring her current aches and pains by remembering-

Smoke!

She was jolted out of reverie by the sight and smell of a thick black cloud on the northwest horizon. Far too big to be a campfire.

“Zanos-”

“I see it,” he said, pulling up next to her. “Can you Read that far?”

It was about two miles away. “By the gods!” Astra breathed. “It’s a village being raided!”