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I emerged from Errol’s study hungry and tired, but relieved. It felt almost euphoric to leave my worries and fears at the Almighty’s feet. It had been too long since I had done this and I resolved that I wouldn’t wait so long again.
Following the sound of conversation, I found Adreet and her daughters in the warm kitchen cooking dinner. The bustle came to a clattering halt as the door closed behind me and the girls realized I was standing there. Adreet lifted a flushed face as she steadied a large kettle full of potatoes on the edge of the deep sink. The steam rose in billows, frizzing her hair.
“Oh, there you are.” She smiled. “Errol said to tell you that he and Selwyn are speaking with Renato.”
“Actually, I was hoping that you could tell me where Zezilia is. I have to speak to her first.”
“Candra usually knows.” Adreet nodded over her shoulder toward her youngest daughter and then returned her attention to the potatoes.
Candra had her hands full of bread dough and flour up to her elbows. “She said something about visiting someone named Blandone, but that was hours ago.”
She probably wasn’t still there. Blan still tired easily and struggled to focus on any one thing at a time. “Where does she usually go to think?”
Candra shrugged. “The tree house?”
“She likes to spend time in the old willow grove along river,” Eloine offered. “I sometimes find her sitting out there when she wants to be alone.”
I smiled my thanks and slipped out the back door.
“Dinner will be ready in an hour,” Adreet called after me.
The red-gold sunlight of afternoon greeted me on the doorstep. After the steamy heat of the kitchen, the warm summer breeze whispering past felt almost cool. Closing my eyes for the moment, I breathed deeply of the light smells of the country. The willow grove would be beautiful and refreshing on a day like today. I decided to check there first.
Though less traveled than the days when I had roamed the land as a child, the trail leading east was still clear. Soon, I reached the slight decline that marked the edge of the grove.
I pushed aside the thick curtain of rippling willow leaves falling from the branches above and lowered myself onto the soft ground of the lowland. Dozens of willows crowded the inlet, interlacing roots into an uneven lattice of wood, earth, and moss. Every spring the river waters, fed by the melting snow, flooded the grove and then receded, leaving behind fertile silt and moisture for the trees. By mid-summer, the grove was dry and cool, capturing the breezes coming off the river in the cascading drapery of the trees’ leafy skirts.
I sensed Zezilia before I could see her. A flickering of mint touched my mouth as her consciousness brushed mine.
“You wish to speak to me?” she asked.
“I did come here today to test you.”
“Wait there. I will come to you.”
I spotted a dry place among the roots of a mighty willow. Climbing over, I settled in to wait.
A few moments later, she appeared from the depths of the grove. Dark hair twisted into a simple braid over her shoulder and wearing clothing meant to be dirtied, she obviously hadn’t intended to be found. Her slightly too-bright, gray eyes found me without hesitation, despite my slightly secluded seat. As she drew nearer, the pink around her eyes further confirmed my suspicions that she had been weeping. The realization that I had probably inadvertently caused those tears tugged at my conscience. But before I could decide whether or not to address the subject of her brother, she spoke.
“Thank you for coming to test me personally.”
“You are welcome.” The response that my mother had driven into all of her sons’ heads slipped out of my mouth without a thought. “It is my duty.” That didn’t sound right.
“I still appreciate it. Renato has been telling me a little of the problems that you have had to deal with in the last few weeks. I can see how difficult taking time for anything is with all that demanding your attention.” Despite the awkward formality of her words, the signs of genuine grief lingered in her voice and the increased moisture in her eyes.
“You aren’t the only reason I am here,” I admitted.
She looked up at me in surprise. Dark gray eyes studied my face and then suddenly she smiled. “You wanted to see Errol?”
“I need his advice.”
“And you got a chastising instead.”
“I needed it.”
She smiled understandingly. “Errol is good at getting to the root of the issue.”
I couldn’t help smiling at the memories from my own training. “Yes, he is. He excels at keeping one humble.”
“So, did you decide what to do with me yet?” she asked suddenly. She studied me with a steady gaze. My stomach clenched.
“What did Renato tell you about your father’s plans?”
“I wasn’t referring to that. Am I coming with you for more training?”
“So, he did tell you about the conditions of your father’s consent for you to train.”
A slight blush blossomed across her cheeks, but she didn’t drop her gaze. “If you are referring to the fact that I am betrothed to you if you cannot find another to marry me, yes, he informed me.”
“And you are comfortable working with me with that knowledge?”
“Not at the moment, but ease might come with time.” She dropped her gaze to her hands. “Besides, it seems to be the way the Almighty is leading.”
“If it makes you more at ease, Zezilia, I do not feel any more led than you toward marriage. Your father didn’t put a time constraint of the agreement and you will receive no pressure from me toward marriage to anyone. The choice of time and mate are in your hands. If your father objects, he no longer has the authority to force you to do anything.”
The tension in her shoulders eased slightly, but she didn’t raise her face. “Thank you.”
“As for the other issue, I am not sure. I have to see for myself what your skills are. Are you ready for your testing?”
“Now?”
I smiled. “Why not? Find a comfortable place to sit and we will begin with your mental defenses.”
Settling in the seat that I had just vacated, Zez closed her eyes. I didn’t give her much time to raise her defenses before reaching out with the same energy with which I sent thoughts. With an invisible hand and eyes, I examined her. I was surprised to find a reasonably strong-looking wall erected around her mind. I spotted similarities to Selwyn’s methods, but there were large portions of defense work that I had never seen before.
Pressing against one of those places, I was rebuffed so suddenly that I lost my connection. It was unlike anything I knew of. Opening my eyes, I regarded Zez with a frown. She blinked up at me.
“What was that?”
“An energy burst triggered by your probe,” she replied. My expression slowly registered and worry flickered across her features.
“You have been experimenting.”
“Only under Selwyn. Was that wrong?” When I didn’t respond right away, she explained. “He liked some of my ideas and we worked out a way to incorporate them into the accepted rules. He said it was alright.”
I nodded slowly. “I want a complete log of all the inventions that the two of you have developed.” Ordinarily I would have scolded her and had a very serious talk with Selwyn, but in light of our current situation with the Elitists, their ideas might give us an edge. “I am going in again. Warn me against any more triggers. Neither one of us wants to cause damage.” She nodded and closed her eyes.
Opening my senses up again toward her, I pressed past a more familiar section of defense work and into her externus, the outer rim of her consciousness. As I focused on a familiar-looking technique, her presence slipped into my thoughts, filling my mouth with a rush of mint.
“An antiquus disguise,” she sent.
“I recognize it. How do you form it?”
Her answer came freely and the explanation was clear. I tested her on the theory behind the tactic and found her well versed. Selwyn apparently had trained her well.
“Have you developed a modification of this?” I asked.
She hesitated. It was strange how I knew though. The flicker of fear and uncertainty didn’t come as it usually would from someone who was sending to me, distant and foreign. Instead, it was as though I felt what she felt. As much as I wanted to explore this new development, I knew that now wasn’t the time. “I won’t punish you for it if you have. I am just testing your theory.”
“Using the underlying concept of disguising a new thought as old, we thought we might try disguising a thought as something mundane, below a searcher’s notice.”
“Like what to have for dinner or when to do the laundry?”
“Exactly.”
I refrained from praising the idea, but I couldn’t help appreciating the ingenuity. I moved on to the next defense. An hour passed smoothly as I moved deeper into her mind. She demonstrated everything I could have asked for in a defender applicant, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it, she also offered more. Within the few minutes that I had given her to prepare, she had erected defense tactics that took more energy than most defenders had in their arsenal. Yet, she still had the concentration and control to escort me through the steps that she had taken, explain the modifications, and more than once, stop the reaction that I triggered in my examination.
“Have you ever experienced dizziness or nausea after a lesson or exam?” I asked as I examined her angulus’ outer wall. The angulus was the central and most critical part of the brain. All activity and memories emanated from there. Defending that area was the hardest skill to master, yet she appeared to have hers well protected.
I felt her confusion at my question before her answer flowed through my thoughts. “No. Why?”
“They are some of the symptoms of overuse.” I pushed away the memory of my own first introduction to overuse.
“Is it normal to have overuse?”
“Some talents experience it when they have overextended their talent during a short time period. What is this?” I drew her attention to a thin place in the wall.
“That is a trigger for ConProp. If an assailant presses it, I will ConProp instinctively. Based on the reactions that Selwyn has experienced, the rebuff can throw a man a few feet.”
I raised my eyebrows. “How long does your talent stay silent?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t tried to time how long I can remain blind. I do know I can retune to my amoveo within a few minutes. My sending ability soon follows.”
“It could be something useful to know.”
––––––––
HE WAS STRUGGLING WITH something. I could feel it as though it was happening within me instead of him, yet I could not discern the reason for his unease. Perhaps it was this new sense of understanding I had toward him. With the first touch of his presence in my head, I had done as I always had with Selwyn and joined my energy with his to communicate and see what he saw. But from that first latching, it felt different than any of the moments with Selwyn. I could almost hear the Sept Son’s thoughts as they flowed beneath the surface of his mind. His emotions coursed through me in a way that felt as though they were my own. Intimate and intriguing, I struggled to hold back my curiosity and concentrate on my exam.
“It seems that Errol is correct again.” Suddenly he withdrew from my thoughts. I blinked in surprise as my eyes adjusted to the dim light of dusk.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I can’t just walk away from you.” Rising to his feet, he took two steps away so that his back was to me. Head bent and arms crossed, he lingered in thought.
“Why?” I couldn’t help asking. I knew why Errol and Selwyn wanted me to go with the Sept Son. They wanted me to fulfill whatever destiny that the Almighty intended, and they believed that training under the Sept Son would best prepare me for that. However, that didn’t mean that it was Master Aleron’s motivation.
“You are a risk that I cannot have wandering around unprotected.” I stared at him in shock. He turned in time to catch my expression and suddenly laughed. It was a rough, stumbling sound as though he hadn’t laughed lately. “I don’t believe that you are going to come attack me.”
“That isn’t what I was thinking,” I protested.
Crossing back to me, he crouched down. Looking into my eyes, his face grew serious. “What has Errol taught you about the Elitists?”
Puzzled, I listed all the facts I knew about them. Master Aleron nodded when I finished.
“They have also begun kidnapping untrained, talented young women to marry their men. Leaving you here, unprotected, would be foolishness.
“When I register your acceptance into the community of talents, your ability and training will become public record and cause a small sensation among talents. If I leave you here, on the coastline, others may try to take you.”
“You don’t need to convince me that the Elitists are evil. I have seen what they did to Blan.”
“And they are capable of much worse.” Closing his eyes, he wearily lowered his head. “I fear the end is coming, Zez.” The weight of his voice shook me. I heard the crises he listed for Errol, but his fear then was nothing compared to the hopelessness in his slumped shoulders now. “I fear for our nation. The Elitists are going to be unstoppable unless we do something soon, but I am not even settled on what to do.”
“The Almighty will make it clear,” I reminded him.
Slowly he nodded. “The Almighty will make all things clear.” Rubbing a hand across his face, he laughed bitterly. “Forget me protecting you. I am going to need your clear sight to keep hold of the big picture. No sooner am I out of the pit of self-assurance and self-centered thinking, than I am slipping into the tar again.” He smiled at me, studying my face with tired, brown eyes. “I propose an exchange. I will take you with me. You join my household as my aide, and I will teach you everything I know. In return, you promise to constantly remind me of the Almighty’s omniscient omnipotence.”
“It seems as though I am getting the better end of the deal.”
“So, it is a pact?” He extended a large hand over the short distance between us. Something about his dark eyes told me that there was more to this agreement than what was spoken, but I didn’t care. He needed me.
“Agreed.” I gripped his wrist with my hand as he closed his fingers around my wrist. It was a childish gesture, made over trades of marbles or favorite rocks. However the sensation of his large fingers completely encircling my arm erased the simplicity and made it something more.
––––––––
“YOU WILL COME BACK,” Candra demanded as I packed the last of my clothing. “You have to come back and visit. Who else will help me add another room to the tree house?”
“Selwyn isn’t going away. He can help you more than me anyway.”
Candra frowned at me from her perch at the head of my bed. “But he doesn’t understand why I want to add to a perfectly good tree house.”
“You didn’t tell him about your plans to move out there next summer have you?”
“He wouldn’t understand,” she protested. “Besides he isn’t going to be here. Ilias is taking him too.”
My copy of the Revelation paused on its trip to the trunk as I frowned at Candra. “What do you mean? Why?”
Candra shrugged. “How should I know? Father is going, too. He said something about preparing for the future. You are coming back, right?”
I settled the Revelation into the corner, tucked beneath my new dress uniform and a small copy of the talent’s Code. Apparently Adreet had known ahead of time that I would be accepted as an Aide in the Sept Son’s household. My stomach turned in apprehension as I smoothed the deep blue cloth. “I don’t know Candra,” I admitted finally to her and myself. “I don’t know what is going to happen next.”
Suddenly, Candra launched herself at me. “I am going to miss you,” she told me with a huge squeeze that drove the breath from my lungs. Slipping my arms around her, I returned the hug.
“I am going to miss you, too. I will write.”
Candra retreated with a grimace. “I won’t promise to write back.” Her penmanship was legendary for its cryptic form. “But I will be glad to get your letters. You must tell me all about the exciting things that you have to do for Ilias.”
“I doubt they will be all that exciting. He is only going to be training me. I expect to be busy studying more rules and procedures.”
The door opened as I closed the lid of my trunk. “Wait,” Eloine exclaimed. “I have something for you.” She presented a lumpy-looking package wrapped in brown paper. “I intended it to be for your birthday.”
Accepting the gift, I hugged her.
“Is your trunk ready, Zez?” Galatea asked busily as she sailed into the room, hair swinging in long waves down her back. “The man has come for it and mother won’t send him up until you are finished packing.”
“Just give her a minute,” Candra protested.
I thanked Eloine and promised to open the gift on my birthday, which was only a week away. Closing the trunk lid again, this time with the gift inside, I locked it. Adreet called the girls downstairs to attend to a chore and I was suddenly left alone in the barren room.
Looking around at the plain walls, cleared shelves, and the neat bedding I felt frightened. I was stepping out into the unknown and facing mysterious responsibilities and duties.
I crossed to the window and looked out at the empty nest in the branches outside window. I could no longer call it my window. It would now belong to one of the other girls. She would be the one to lie on the bed and watch the baby birds grow from hatchlings to adults. I hoped Eloine gained this room. She would appreciate the beauty of the cycle of life.
Looking down at my traveling clothes, fear crept in again. What if Master Aleron asked me to do something I didn’t know? What if it was a disastrous mistake? What if...?
My hands shook as I gripped the sill. Almighty Father, God of all, Keeper of the Great Plan, please help me. My thoughts cried out to the unseen One. I am so inadequate for this task. Foolish and weak, I can only stumble where I should stride with confidence. Why have you chosen me?
As I closed my eyes and waited for my answer, a passage from the Revelation slipped through my thoughts. “His grace is made perfect in weakness. By His strength alone will they rise victorious. Then who can say it is of their strength they accomplish these things. It is of the Lord. To Him alone give praise.”
I am yours Lord. Do with me what you will.
“Zezilia.” Adreet’s voice called from the stairwell. “Renato is here for you.”
“I am coming.”
Closing the window, I smoothed the spot on the quilt where Candra had sat, gathered my small traveling sack, and took one last look around the room. Then straightening my shoulders, I walked out the door to face my uncertain future.
