Competitions (15 page)

“Well … maybe not entirely,” I said, groping for an explanation that would not upset him. “At school we were taught the same thing, that the glow had to be in the palm of your hand because it was linked directly to the magic user’s bodily output. It’s a … controlled leakage of the user’s Fire affinity, and is supposed to go out if you try to separate it from contact with your flesh.”

“But yours isn’t going out,” he observed, happily not looking upset in the least. “Are you doing something else, then?”

“Actually … no,” I admitted, then decided I might as well tell him all of it. “I discovered accidentally that I
could
disconnect the glow from me without having it go out, but I’ve never told anyone. None of
them
could do it, you see, so I thought…”

“That what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt you,” he finished when I didn’t, his hand now coming to smooth my hair. “I’m certainly familiar with
that
state of affairs, so please be assured that I’ll say nothing about it to anyone. It would seem logical that friends also keep each other’s secrets.”

“I think that would feel incredibly wonderful,” I said, gingerly reaching out to put just my fingertips to
his
face. “Having someone be trustworthy enough to keep your secret, I mean. This is the first time I’ve ever trusted someone to do that, and I feel glad rather than sorry. But I really must run. I still have to speak to Lorand before dinner, while Jovvi speaks to Pagin Holter and Dom Ro.”

“I would suggest that you dress before you run anywhere,” Rion said with a chuckle that made me blush. “I, personally, would enjoy the sight of your marvelous body immensely, but the others might become … disconcerted.”

“Disconcerted,” I repeated in a grumble while he continued to chuckle. “I’ve never heard it called
that
before…”

The two of us were just joking, of course, but as I dressed, part of my mind insisted on thinking about what Vallant Ro’s reaction would be to seeing me naked. The rest of me didn’t care, of course, not about anything concerning the man, but that one small part … now that I knew how pleasurable lying with a man could be … it
couldn’t
be even better, as Lorand claimed, with someone who meant something special…

Vallant Ro
didn’t
mean something special, and I
had
to be determined to keep it like that…

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Vallant came down to dinner feeling very much like a conspirator, and apparently everyone else felt the same. Or almost everyone else. Jovvi, the one who had told him about the proposed false party scheduled for after dinner, seemed as natural and pleasant as always. The others, though…

As Vallant took his place at the table—sitting next to Lorand Coll where Beldara Lant had originally been seated, and opposite Jovvi—he glanced around. To Vallant’s left, on the opposite side of the table, was Rion Mardimil, who seemed a good deal quieter than usual. Then came Jovvi, who smiled warmly at everyone including Pagin Holter, who was seated next to her on her other side. Beside Vallant was Lorand Coll, who toyed with his eating utensils while apparently deep in thought.

And at the head of the table between Holter and Coll, looking glorious in a dinner dress of pink satin, Tamrissa sat looking everywhere but at him. He’d meant to speak to her this afternoon, but when he’d knocked on her door he’d gotten no answer. Jovvi later told him that Tamrissa had gone to speak to Mardimil and Coll just as she had sought out him and Holter, and Vallant hadn’t had to ask why it hadn’t been Tamrissa who contacted him. She apparently still refused to speak to him or even to acknowledge his existence, and his frustration level was mounting rapidly.

“My goodness, this place feels more like a mourning house than a residence for the victorious,” Jovvi suddenly announced as the servants began to bring out their meal. “Am I mistaken in believing that we all achieved our first levels of mastery today? No? Well then, we’ll just have to celebrate our success after dinner, if all of you will unbend enough now to simply smile.”

Vallant thought she was telling them that maintaining a funereal atmosphere while pretending to have a party just wouldn’t do, as even a blind and deaf fool would become suspicious about what they might really be doing. It was an excellent point, and it was quickly proven that he wasn’t the only one to pick up on it.

“I suppose I
should
be smiling,” Coll agreed, actually managing something that could be called a small specimen of a smile. “I hadn’t expected to gain those masteries quite so soon, which means I thought I’d have more time before needing to face the next level. There are a couple of things waiting that I’d much prefer not to think about.”

“But I
have
to think about what comes next in
my
aspect,” Tamrissa put in, giving Coll a wan smile. “I’ll need to do the same thing I did today, only this time while I defend myself from attack. And don’t ask me why I’ll be attacked, because I haven’t any idea. My supposed Adept guide will be doing the attacking, and although she isn’t quite as strong as I am, it was hate at first sight for the both of us.”

“But that’s exactly why we need to celebrate,” Jovvi said, interrupting as Vallant was about to indignantly announce that no one would attack Tamrissa while
he
stood alive and able. Belatedly he realized what a stupid thing that would have been for him to say; Tamrissa would not have welcomed his interference even if they were getting along, and interfering in any event would almost certainly cost her the mastery. But his sudden worry about
her
was almost enough to distract him from his own problems.

“We all have things ahead of us that we’d rather not think about,” Jovvi continued, her glance at him suggesting she’d interrupted him on purpose. “That’s why we ought to celebrate tonight, so as not to rob ourselves of the victories we’ve earned. I want to pat myself on the back tonight, and let tomorrow take care of itself for now. Does anyone else feel the same?”

One by one they all roused themselves to agree with her while showing at least a small amount of enthusiasm, so the matter was settled. After dinner they would have a party, and in the meanwhile they began to apply themselves to the food. By the time the second course arrived they were beginning to chat with one another, and the serving of dessert found them all a good deal more relaxed.

Tamrissa had called over one of the servants earlier and had given the man what seemed to be instructions. It seemed odd that it wasn’t Warla, Tamrissa’s companion and temporary majordomo of the residence, who gave the servants their orders, but Vallant hadn’t even seen the girl today. She might be away seeing to personal business, or simply taking a rest from the frantic running-about she’d been doing. But Warla, sweet and helpless little thing that she was, wasn’t Vallant’s primary concern.

The woman who
was
his primary concern finished her cup of tea, then rose to tell everyone that it was time they began their party. They all dutifully rose in turn and followed after her, but not to the library, where they’d had their first gathering. Tamrissa led them to the back door and outside instead, then gestured to the garden.

“It’s such a lovely evening that I thought we might have our party outside,” she said, sounding as though the idea had been spur-of-the-moment and hers alone. “I had the servants light the paper lanterns to make everything look more festive, and a table with brandy and glasses, a tea service and cups, and even some honeyed nuts and sweet cakes has been set up. Let’s go and enjoy ourselves.”

The others all made sounds of approval and agreement, so Vallant added his own sounds of the same sort and walked with everyone to the white-clothed table which had been arranged for them. With everything already brought and prepared there was no need to have servants under foot, which was the main reason for the party in the first place.

“This garden is almost as lovely at night as it is during the day,” Jovvi said in normal tones as she looked around, then she lowered her voice without changing expression. “Lorand, can you tell whether or not there are any listeners lurking in the shadows where the lantern light doesn’t reach? That one servant standing near the house won’t be able to hear what we say, but I want to be certain he’s the only one out here.”

“I hadn’t realized I’d be able to tell,” Coll responded just as softly, but with a surprised expression he quickly wiped away. “But you’re right and I
can
distinguish plant and animal life from human, and there’s none of it out here but us.”

“I’m glad to have you confirm my own opinion,” Jovvi told him with one of her beautiful smiles. “I felt nothing in the sense of a human being out there, but it
is
possible for some people to hide from my perceptions. Blanking your mind completely and simply listening can do it… But that isn’t what we’ve gathered here for. While we each supply ourselves with a glass of brandy, I’ll tell you that I’ve confirmed the guess that we don’t have any time to waste. If we’re going to be part of the competitions, we have to qualify for them as quickly as possible.”

“What makes you think so?” Coll asked as the group drifted toward the table holding the drinkables. “We all agreed that we have to keep moving forward, but why the sudden rush?”

“My Adept guide admitted that the competitions are almost on us,” Jovvi said, picking up the bottle of brandy to play hostess. “When I mentioned that everyone at the lower level had to qualify by week’s end or not at all, and that meant the competitions were only a few days away, she corrected me by saying, ‘Well, more than just a few.’ The correction was reluctant so I’m sure it wasn’t deliberate misdirection, but please note she didn’t even say something like ‘two weeks’. She said ‘more than a few’
days
, which could even mean less than a week.”

“It looks like it’s a good thing we all got our first level masteries today, then,” Tamrissa put in after a moment, during which time a heavy silence had begun to form. “I’m not looking forward to having Soonen, my Adept guide, attack me, but I’m certain she isn’t nearly as strong as I am. And neither is that male Adept who witnessed my masteries, which reminds me about something else which should be mentioned. Were the rest of you also treated differently after you achieved the masteries than you were before them?”

“Yes,
I
was, and I didn’t like it,” Coll answered, also smiling his thanks to Jovvi for filling his brandy glass. “The man nearly got down on all fours to offer his back as a seat, and that reminds
me
about something. Tamrissa said her Adept guide was a good deal weaker than her, and so was mine. If that goes for everyone else’s guides as well, why in the world are those people allowed to call themselves Adepts? I can’t quite believe that we’re the strongest talents ever to come by.”

“But of course we’re not,” Mardimil said with a small laugh after sipping at his brandy. “Those people are allowed to call themselves Adepts because most of them are members of the lower nobility. They were undoubtedly given the positions as repayment for political debts to their families, and they’re the strongest representatives those families were able to supply. All those stronger than them are either members of other families, or uninterested in wasting their time in such a way.”

“But—that’s stupid,” Vallant couldn’t help protesting, even though the idea of political favors was nothing new to him. “
Givin’
somebody a job they should have to qualify for makes the whole system rotten, especially since we almost died gettin’ to where we are. Where do those fools get off
handin’
out things like Adept positions while everybody else has to fight just to stay alive?”

“Not
everybody
else,” Jovvi corrected, smiling as she lowered her voice even more. Vallant hadn’t actually started to shout, but without the reminder he might have. “Obviously members of the nobility are excused from having to go through what we did, but that shouldn’t surprise any of us. The testing authority is made up of people from the nobility, so they’ve obviously been running things to suit themselves.”

“Which, as Ro said, is stupid as well as unfair,” Coll told her, clearly as annoyed as Vallant had become. “Everyone claims to understand that natural selection usually produces the strongest and smartest members of a species, even if it’s as far from kind as you can get. By excusing their own people from having to compete or be brushed aside they can only have weakened the nobility, which they ought to be bright enough to understand. But if all this is true, what are
you
doing here, Mardimil?”

“That was my question as well,” Mardimil replied wryly, speaking to all of them. “The answer seems to be one of two possibilities, which are one, my mother caused me to be here in order to convince me how horrible the world is away from her side, or two, an enemy of hers arranged my presence, thinking possibly to see me fail, but in any event to embarrass her. Whichever the cause, my presence is no accident.”

“I’d be willin’ to put money on
that
,” Vallant agreed, his sense of outrage suddenly turning to come forth on Mardimil’s behalf. “Personally I’m glad you’re here, but that’s one dirty way to treat somebody who’s supposed to be one of your own.”

“It doesn’t surprise me either,” Coll said with a grim nod. “It takes intelligence and compassion to show a sense of honor, and those testing people obviously have neither. But how does that affect what we were discussing this afternoon, about us being chosen as members of a challenging Blending, I mean?”

“What’s this?” Jovvi and Tamrissa said almost together, just using different words. “What makes you think we’ll be chosen as members of a challenging Blending?” Jovvi finished for both of them.

“Well, that was one of the things we meant to tell you right away,” Coll said ruefully, his glance around making Vallant feel as though he and the other men had been keeping secrets. “Holter there was the first to notice that except for Water magic, our residence holds only one representative of each of the five aspects. And if you add to that the fact that when two of our group didn’t qualify as quickly as the rest of us they were moved out, you have at the very least an extremely strong possibility.”