Convergence (65 page)

Before we knew it we were back at my house, so we went inside intending to see about lunch. We actually made it about halfway across the hall before Warla appeared and stopped us.

"Excuse me, Tamrissa, but I've been waiting for you to return," she said, looking faintly upset. "There are people here to see Dama Hafford, and I've put them in the sitting room. They arrived more than an hour ago . . ."

"And have been cooling their heels and fuming all this time," Jowi said with surprise when Warla let the words trail off. "I can't imagine who it can be, so let's go and find out."

Our good mood still clung to us, so Rion and I agreed at once to go with her. Warla led the way to the sitting room, and that location showed her opinion of the visitors more than anything else. If she'd approved of them, she would have put them in the larger and much more comfortable library. I wondered who they could be—until we followed Warla in to see a woman and two men. The woman was no longer young but still very beautiful, the men were the sort I would have been much happier not meeting, and all three together took the merry smile from Jowi's face.

"Why, Allestine, what a pleasant surprise," Jowi said at once, a neutral smile replacing her previous one. "And you've brought Ark and Bar with you. What brings you from Rincammon all the way to Gan Garee?"

"Business, child, rather important business," the woman Allestine replied with a smile of her own that I didn't like at all. She also remained seated in the room's only comfortable chair, while the two men had risen to stand to either side of her. That she would play noble receiving lowly callers in
my
house annoyed me, almost as much as her slow examination of my face and body disturbed me.

"You may remember the trouble I had with that tiresome girl Eldra," the woman continued, moving most of her attention back to Jowi. "After you left I informed her that it was time she joined the staff of the residence more fully and began to repay some of the gold I've spent on her, and the silly chit disappeared. At first I though she would be hiding in or around the residence, but finally came to the conclusion that she'd decided to make her way to you. If you'll tell me where she is, I'll put her under my protection again."

"I have no idea where she is, because I haven't seen her," Jowi replied with a frown, now looking concerned. "But how would Eldra have gotten here? She hasn't any silver or gold, so she'd have to travel on foot. A trip like that would take forever, with no means to get food or shelter along the
way.
Are you certain she's trying to reach Gan Garee?"

"I'm certain she's trying to reach
you,"
the woman answered, her smile as sleek as her manner and words. "I have no idea how she'll accomplish it, but I have every faith that she will. With that in view, I think it would be best if you gathered your things now and prepared to return with me. These people here in Gan Garee are easily bribable, which means I don't expect to have any trouble in getting them to release you. And until I find the proper people to approach, I'll just stay here in this house."

"Guess again," I said, the words popping out when I felt the surge of panic in Jowi. It wasn't unusual for
me
to be afraid, but there was something . . . criminal in doing the same to her.

"I beg your pardon?" the woman said to me, her pleasantness having turned the least bit hardened and calculating. "You weren't addressing
me,
I'm sure . . . but we really must get to know one another, dear. You and my darling Jowi seem to have grown close, so it shouldn't be difficult to convince you to come with us and visit Rincammon. I'm certain you'll love it, so much so that you'll most likely decide to remain permanently. You'll—"

"That's enough," I interrupted, now closer to outrage than I'd been in quite a while. "You and my parents must have been born under the same rock, and you make me just as sick as they do. To begin with, this is an official residence of the testing authority, so deciding to move in won't do you the

least
good. In the second place, your search for someone to bribe will be a long one, since both Jowi and I have just qualified for the competitions for High practitioners. In the third place, I have no intentions at all of getting to know you, nor do I intend to let you take me over and own me. With all that in view, you can leave now."

"Throwing temper
tantrums isn't
at all becoming in a beautiful young lady," the woman said, the look in her eyes hard above a brittle and uncompromising smile. "You'll certainly learn better once you've been with me for a while, just as Jowi and the others have. I've no idea what this— qualifying—is, but it undoubtedly means nothing at all. And with
that
in view, you may now find rooms for me and my . . . associates. We've had a long and exhausting trip, and their tempers are unfortunately a lot shorter than they should be."

Her words and the spitefulness added to her smile seemed to be a signal for the two big men. They began to step toward us, an inhumanly uncaring expression in the eyes of each. My heart had been pounding a little and my hands trembling from the speech I'd made, but seeing those two men start for us sent a flash of terror through me. Rion's presence meant nothing to them, and it was clear that they would hurt him badly if he tried to interfere with whatever they meant to do.
Which could well be the hurting of Jowi and me . . .

And that was when something . . . clicked inside my head. It was a very small happening, not even really a sound, more like a change of direction of sorts. I'd sworn not to let myself be hurt again, but even more I couldn't bear the thought of letting my friends be hurt along with me. I'd never had friends
before,
I'd never been allowed to have them. Now that I'd gotten past the restriction, I'd never go back to the old way again.

So instead of retreating from the men who had just begun to advance on us, I borrowed part of the qualifying process I'd just gone through and called five wide strands of fire into being between us. The heat of it made the men stop short and then flinch back, and the woman seated like nobility went pale.

"Even common footpads know better than to try their tricks with a stranger," I said, feeling oddly remote as I made certain that my fire burned nothing in the room. That was actually harder than weaving with the flames, a distant fact that flickered through my awareness and then was gone. "I can see you're not as bright as common footpads, so let this be a lesson to you. And in case you were wondering,
this
is what that qualifying nonsense is all about. Now get out."

"You . . . you can't use that . . . that . . . obscenity against us," the woman tried in a trembling voice once I'd let the flames die, her eyes certainly wider than she would have liked. "It happens to be against the law, which I'm sure you know. If I report this incident you'll be sent to the Deep Caverns, so—"

"Really, Allestine, I considered you much more worldly than that," Jowi interrupted as ice began to form in my blood. The Deep Caverns . . . ! "I was told that the laws don't apply to those of us who have qualified to compete as High practitioners, something that should be perfectly clear to a practical woman like you. We're of more potential value than people who have barged in where they don't belong, so if anyone is charged it won't be us. And now I think you'd better take Tamrissa's advice and go."

The woman was furious as well as frightened, but she did seem to understand that she had no choice. She gathered herself together and then stood, glared at us for a moment, then began to lead her ruffians out of the room. I was delighted that the trouble seemed to be over—until the two ruffians reached me. One grabbed my arms while the other folded a fist with the clear intention of hitting me, and terror froze me where I stood. They were going to knock me unconscious to keep me from using my talent against them, and they were about to succeed—

—when they both choked at once, then began to claw at their throats. As soon as I was free I rushed over to where Jowi and Rion stood, for the first time noticing the terrible expression Rion wore.

"Men who attack women aren't men at all," he said, looking at Allestine, who had gone white again. Her ruffians continued to claw at their throats and began to turn very red, no more than grunts coming from them. "And women who tell men like that to attack are even worse, lower than the lowliest peasant. If anything like this ever happens again, you'll join them in searching fruitlessly for enough air to fill your lungs. Do you understand me?"

The woman nodded jerkily, her eyes wide again as she tried not to watch her ruffians suffocating, and then Rion stopped whatever he was doing and let them have air to breathe again. They were both down on hands and knees by then, and as soon as air was available they began to drag it in in great gasps. But they only took an instant to do that before beginning to struggle to their feet. Their expressions said they would leave the house
now
even if they had to crawl, and their employer apparently felt the same way. As soon as they were erect she headed for the front door which Warla already held open for them, and a moment later they were gone.

"Oh, you two were wonderful!" Jowi exclaimed, looking back and forth between Rion and me. "Allestine is the most poisonous woman I've ever met, especially when she uses those two conscienceless curs to get her way. This is probably the first time in years that she hasn't gotten exactly what she wanted."

"I apologize for simply standing here and watching until it was almost too late," Rion said, finally allowing that terrible expression to disappear. "It never occurred to me that those two animals would dare to try to harm a lady. When it became obvious they meant to do no other thing, my outrage seemed to grow a life of its own—along with a purpose. I've never heard of anyone doing something like that before, but I'd judge it to have been rather effective."

"It certainly was," Jowi said with a laugh, giving him a hug before turning to me. "And so was what Tamrissa said and did. What you told Allestine infuriated her, Tamma, something I could see even if you couldn't. I noticed her deciding she wanted you in the residence as soon as she saw you, and no girl she's ever decided on has managed to refuse her successfully. You were marvelous to come to our rescue like that, and I couldn't
be
more proud of you."

"Even though I was terrified almost the entire time?"
I asked as she hugged me, not quite up to pretending otherwise. "I'm actually very much of a coward, Jowi, and there's nothing in that for anyone to be proud of."

"Why have you suddenly forgotten the truth?" Jowi asked, stepping back to study me while Rion made a sound of polite ridicule. "Isn't it true that in order for bravery to exist, there has to be fear when you act? Without fear there's nothing to be brave about, nothing to make the act different from any other. Cowardice is when you let the fear get the better of you to the point of keeping you from acting, so how can you be guilty of it? You did what was necessary, and proved your bravery in no uncertain terms."

"Something which many ladies would have found beyond them," Rion said, sober and obviously sincere. "There
are
any number in Mother's circle who would have allowed themselves to be imposed upon even without two animals threatening them, simply because they see themselves as helpless. I've begun to learn that one is helpless only if one believes it so, and you and Jowi, my dear, happily see it otherwise. The two of you are so marvelous, in fact, that should either of you wish someone to lie with tonight and give you pleasure,
the
honor would most definitely be mine."

I could feel my cheeks warming behind my smile as I shook my head, a curious sense of regret behind the refusal. Most men wanted me simply because of what I looked like, but here was one who claimed to admire my bravery instead. Despite what they'd said I knew it was more stubbornness than bravery, but it still felt strangely good to be wanted for the facet of my character that my parents most deplored.

"Oh, Rion, you've become quite dangerous to ladies in a very short time," Jowi exclaimed with a laugh, obviously teasing.
"I actually find myself tempted to accept your offer, which would not have been the case only a few days ago. You should be congratulated on learning far more quickly than most other men."

"Breeding always tells, of course," Rion responded with that very handsome grin,
then
he offered his arm. "If I may escort you into lunch, we can continue our discussion on the way. For instance, just how attractive do you find me, and what may I do to increase the allure to a point where you'll no longer be able to resist?"

Jowi shook her head at him with mock impatience, but still took his arm with an amused smile. They left the sitting room still exchanging comments which made them both laugh, and I watched for a moment with my own smile before beginning to follow. Jowi's ease in handling herself with men was something I really admired, and maybe one day I'd also be able to—