Destiny (12 page)

"If he does, then your people can just stop the show the way they did the first time," Issini said with a shrug. "That second failure should push the renegade into the next step of his plans from anger if for no other reason."

"But what if he decides instead to do something we haven't thought of?" Idresia countered, verbalizing the way her thinking had gone. "We can't let him do something we're not prepared for, not at this stage of the game. What we
can
do, though, is make him think that everything is working out, so he'll definitely commit himself and his men to the course of action we're ready to counter."

"How can we make him believe that everything is working out without letting trouble develop?" Issini asked, her frown looking odd next to Asri's faint smile. "His people won't report success unless they actually
have
success."

"That's not quite true," Asri said, sharing a brief moment of amusement with Idresia before turning her full attention to Issini. "I think that what Idresia did was arrange some way to make the renegade's men
believe
in their success, whether or not they actually have any."

"But how could she do
that
?" Issini started to ask, and then her expression changed. "I'm an idiot! Of course she could do it, and rather easily."

"Well, I know she did
something
, because I Saw it," Asri said, now looking less amused. "What I don't understand is
how
she did it, but you obviously do. Can you tell me what was done, or is the process a secret you'd rather not share?"

"There's nothing secret about the process itself," Idresia said when Issini hesitated over answering. "I had Driff find me a Middle Blending, and they're with my people who are watching the renegade's house. If another group of troublemakers is sent out, the Blending will convince the troublemakers that whatever they've been told to do will work out just the way it's supposed to. What will actually happen is their act will be done so woodenly that no one listening to them will be fooled in the least. That way there's no danger of their actually making trouble, but I'm not happy about what had to be done to get us the help we needed."

"What do you mean?" Issini asked, her frown back as Asri digested what she'd been told. Asri knew almost nothing about Blendings, so her question hadn't been a true surprise. "What did you have to do to get the help you needed?"

"It wasn't what
I
had to do, but what Driff had to," Idresia said with a shake of her head. "Driff had to talk to more than half a dozen Blendings before he found one that didn't have 'more important' things to do. With all the High talents completely out of touch, too many people in the Middle Blendings are 'seriously concerned' with the lack of leadership. I'm not suggesting that all those people are insincere, just that they're too narrow-minded to see everything involved. They're so worried about the picky little things that have to be done, that they're completely ignoring the really important things."

"I have a feeling I know why that's happening," Issini said with a sigh. "Those people in the Middle Blendings are probably frightened to death of making a mistake, so they're concentrating on unimportant things where mistakes won't matter so much. It's too bad we don't have a Middle Blending of our own, so to speak, one that will do just what
we
need done. Having them would at least make life easier for you and Driff."

"It certainly would," Idresia agreed fervently. "I have more than one job for a good Middle Blending, and by 'good' I mean people with a little imagination who aren't afraid to take a risk. If you refuse to take any chances, how are you supposed to get anything worthwhile done?"

"Oh, now I understand," Asri said suddenly, but her attention didn't seem to be on Idresia or Issini. "If I knew more about Blendings then I would have understood sooner, so I guess I'll just have to make a point of learning."

"What is it that you would have understood?" Idresia asked, trying to pay close attention in spite of her confusion. "Are you Seeing something that we need to be told about? But don't worry about learning things. Driff is going to find you someone with Sight magic to help train your talent."

"I already know that, and also that he'll find someone soon," Asri told her with a smile that showed she'd returned from Seeing. "But to answer your more important question, there
is
something you need to know about. It's a way to have exactly the Middle Blending that you need."

"I'm definitely listening, even if blackmail is involved," Idresia said, leaning forward across the table just a bit. "I'll have to draw the line if it's torture that's involved, but threats aren't necessarily out."

"You really won't have
anything
like that to worry about," Asri said with a chuckle while Issini laughed. "The Middle Blending you need is the one you'll belong to."

Idresia felt her own frown growing to match the one Issini showed as they both stared at Asri. It was almost as though the two of them had stopped understanding spoken language, but then Idresia realized what the problem was.

"I think we're still having a bit of trouble with your understanding concerning Blendings," Idresia told an Asri who looked perfectly calm and unbothered. "I don't know anyone well enough - or like them well enough - to want to Blend with them. That means I'm not
going
to be part of a Blending, so whatever you Saw has to mean something else entirely."

"But of course you know people well enough and like them well enough to Blend with them," Asri contradicted with a warm smile. "Kail and I felt as though we'd known the four of you forever, and that only a few minutes after we met. Now that it's been almost an entire day, there's a closeness among us that I've never in my life experienced before. Or don't you and Issini agree with what I'm saying?"

Idresia felt so stunned that words refused to form in her mind. All she could do was stare at Issini, who looked as if she'd been pole-axed. The two of them sat or stood with mouths open as they stared at Asri, but Issini pulled out of the shock only a moment later.

"That has to be the best idea I've heard in a very long time," Issini stated, looking first at Asri and then at Idresia. "We do have a complete Blending among us, Har, one that feels really complete now that Asri and Kail are here. Why
can't
we Blend?"

Possibly because Driff doesn't
want
to Blend,
Idresia said, but only to herself.
I love that man too much to join any group that doesn't include him, but something seems to bother him about Blending that he hasn't mentioned out loud. If the something is too serious for him to get around, we won't replace him even if we find someone as good as he is. I won't turn my back on him no matter what, so if he doesn't change his mind then there will
be
no Blending for us.

"There … might be a problem with your and Asri's idea that has nothing to do with Kail and Asri," Idresia said slowly, forcing herself to say the words. "Let me tell you how things are, and then maybe one of you will have an idea about how to handle the problem."

The meal Issini and Asri had been making seemed to be at the point where it just had to cook, so the other two women came and joined Idresia at the table. Idresia
would
tell them everything, and then maybe one of them would find a way to make something wonderful happen - if only they were able to change Driff's mind…

Chapter Eight

As Edmin reentered the warehouse with Driff and Kail, he realized that he'd really been enjoying himself. Driff seemed to be a strong, steadying influence in almost any situation, and Kail, although less sure of himself, seemed determined to behave honorably at all times. Walking about parts of the city with the other two men had been oddly liberating, and not only because he no longer had to worry about being found by Noll's men. For the first time in his life Edmin was in the company of people he considered his equals, not just those who had been born into his social class.

"… so if you two ever run into trouble, those are some of the people you can go to for help," Driff was saying to Kail - and also to Edmin. "They know you both now, and they'll either hide you or give you whatever help they can if it's help you need. Do you think you'll be able to find them again?"

"It shouldn't be
too
much of a problem," Kail answered with distraction. "At first I didn't recognize the neighborhoods at all, but then I found a familiar landmark and the rest all fell into place. My father considered my occasional trip into this part of the city a waste of time, but it looks like that was something else he was wrong about. Are we going to be able to help personally against Noll's efforts? Is that why you showed us all those places?"

"I'm not the one you have to ask that question of," Driff said with amusement that Edmin knew was really a great amount of pride. "Idresia is in charge of our campaign against the renegade, and considering how well she's done so far I won't even
try
to second guess her. If she thinks we can be of use in the campaign, then we'll be helping out personally."

"Is there something in particular that we can use to bribe her?" Edmin asked, knowing Driff would understand that he was joking. "If nothing else, I want to be part of the effort when Noll is finally taken down."

"I think she understands that we all want to be there when the renegade finally realizes that he's lost," Driff said, the curve of his lips showing his amusement. "I'll make sure of that, of course, and if I'm wrong
then
we can think about what to use to bribe her."

"You have no idea how good it feels to be among people who don't simply give their women orders," Kail said with a small shake of his head. "My father and his friends had only three uses for women: as something to enjoy in bed, as something to bear their children, and as something to show off like any of their other possessions. Women were never
people
to them, not unless the woman had more power than they did. Then the woman was either an enemy or an ally, never just a woman. The Astindans weren't like that, and neither are you."

"My own mother never felt as much concern for me as she did about what my father thought," Edmin put in without realizing that he was about to speak. "My brother and I were raised by nurses, and if our father was in the same room with all of us, our mother never even glanced in our direction. We were just something unimportant to her that she'd given to her husband, like a cup of tea or an inexpensive gift."

"My mother was too … distracted to protect me from my father," Kail said, and the very neutral words hid an inner pain much like the one Edmin felt. "She had a long string of men she gave all her attention to, mostly because my father usually ignored her. When he didn't ignore her he simply gave her orders, and she never made any effort to disobey him - not even to help my brothers or me. Her charm would
not
have protected her if she'd tried to cross my father about something he considered important."

"You know, you two have done something I never thought was possible," Driff said, pausing a few steps from the door leading to the living quarters to look at his companions. "You make me glad I grew up on the street instead of as part of a family. Being part of
some
'families' isn't worth the pain and heartache, is it?"

"You don't know the half of it," Edmin said while Kail simply smiled without humor. "No one admitted to
knowing
what many of our peers were doing with their children, but gossip was always a favorite pastime. Listening to the gossip often made my blood run cold."

"But right now I'm getting something a lot more pleasant than gossip," Kail said after sniffing the air. "If that aroma is from the meal waiting for us, what are we doing wasting time standing out here?"

"It's too bad we don't have to find something to bribe Kail with," Driff remarked with a smile as he began to walk toward his living quarters again. "After all the time he and Asri spent on the trail coming back here, a nicely cooked meal would buy us anything we wanted."

"
Almost
anything," Kail corrected with a laugh while Edmin grinned. "I may be a slave to my stomach right now, but I do still have
some
standards I'd refuse to betray. You'd never get more than half my blood for a three or four course meal."

They were all laughing as they entered the apartment, and Edmin's companions continued with their amusement. He, on the other hand, was immediately aware of a tension behind the pleasant or neutral expressions the three women wore, and he quickly discovered that he'd lost all sense of discretion.

"What's wrong?" Edmin asked without an instant's hesitation. ”Why are you three so disturbed?"

"It's all right, Edmin, nothing bad has happened," Issini said at once, her smile soothing and calming. "While you men were gone we tripped over a revelation, and we're not sure how you'll take it. Will it help to say that we women think it's a great idea?"

Issini's question was addressed to Idresia and Asri, but all she got in return was a smile and two shrugs. The smile came from Asri, Idresia's concern being too strong to let her do the same.

"What's wrong, love?" Driff asked Idresia as he moved closer to his woman, somehow apparently sensing her mood. "What did Issini mean about a revelation?"

"Asri made a really good suggestion, Driff," Idresia answered, taking Driff's hand as he bent over her where she sat. "The only problem is… We don't know if
you'll
think it's a good idea."