Destiny (24 page)

"If we can't find another way, we can just wait until the enemy Blending
has
to sleep," Antrie said just as slowly, her gaze distracted. "Even if we can't kill more than one or two of them, they'll still never be able to Blend again. That will make them a lot less dangerous and decidedly more vulnerable, and after that if we can't kill the rest then shame on us."

"I like the way you think, Exalted One," Cleemor said, feeling more amusement than he'd expected to. "Obviously women really are more bloodthirsty than men, and more practical as well. Shall we share our thinking with the others?"

"That's a good idea, but I'd like another cup of tea to take with me," Antrie said as she got to her feet and moved toward the tea service. "I asked my people to put another service in the sitting room where Dinno was when they had a moment, but I don't know if they've been able to get around to it. With so many … guests in the house, my servants will have to be given a triple bonus for taking care of us all once this is over."

"A triple bonus at the very least," Cleemor agreed, getting to his feet with a silent sigh and following Antrie's example. "And once we have our tea, will we be calling on Tal and Korge as well? We owe those two some special and individual attention."

"No, I think we need to speak to Dinno and Reesh first," Antrie said, stepping aside to wait until Cleemor had his own cup of tea. "Formally expelling Thrybin Korge from the assembly will be the easy part, but we also need a unanimous decision about Zirdon. I'm going to ask the rest of you to agree to executing him as soon as the man he hired is caught."

Cleemor turned away from the service with his cup of tea to study Antrie for a moment, and then he shook his head just a bit.

"I was about to ask you to go into detail about why you want Tal executed, but I've decided to wait," he said. "There are only four of us left in the assembly, so we might as well all hear your reasons together."

"Yes, going through the matter once will be quite enough," Antrie returned with a sigh. "Shall we join our brothers now?"

Cleemor replied by taking her arm, and when they reached the door he opened it for her. The hallway was reasonably free of people with only two guardsmen in sight, so a few moments later they walked into the sitting room where Reesh and Dinno were.

"Well, just in time," Dinno said as he and Reesh rose from their chairs. "I was about to go and join my Blendingmates for our patrol, but you two look like you have something to tell us. Has Mismin gotten back with the man he went after?"

"No, not yet," Cleemor said as he guided Antrie to a chair and then chose one of his own. "At least he hasn't gotten back yet as far as we know. We're here to take care of official business, but I have a question first. Have you been able to make arrangements yet to send High talents to help the Gandistrans and our own Highs?"

"We're working on being able to start with that as soon as all the assassins are caught," Dinno answered, his mood sobering. "Reesh and I are chafing at the delay, of course, but we can't find a way to avoid it. If any of us are killed, that will just mean more work for the rest."

"It will mean a good deal more than that to
us
," Cleemor assured the man as they all took their seats. "But since we have a delay we can't avoid, let's take care of what doesn't
have
to be delayed. I move that Thrybin Korge be officially expelled from the membership of the assembly. Do I hear a second to the motion?"

"I second the motion," Reesh said before either of the others could speak. "And I notice officially that it's about time."

"All in favor," Cleemor said, doing nothing to hide his smile. Reesh was turning into a truly amusing fellow… "Four hands in favor, leaving none to vote against. The motion is carried, and Thrybin Korge is no longer a member of this assembly. Now on to other business. Antrie Lorimon has proposed that Zirdon Tal be executed as soon as the man he hired has been caught, but she hasn't yet spoken about the reasons behind her stance. Would you care to speak now, Antrie?"

"I wish I didn't have to, but there's no getting out of it," Antrie replied with another sigh. Both Dinno and Reesh had shown raised brows, but neither spoke against the proposal. "Zirdon Tal is directly responsible for the deaths of nine members of the assembly, and guilty of plotting against the rest of us. We all know that for a fact, but if we leave him alive his family could well decide to come to his defense. If they do we'll have a terrible fight on our hands, and I can't bear the thought of Zirdon getting away with what he's done. If he's already been executed, his family can argue and complain forever and I won't care."

"I think it's more than just not letting him get away with what he's done," Dinno said, his tone thoughtful. "If we leave Tal alive, he's certain to find
some
way to push himself forward again even if he no longer has any talent. Letting Tal live will be a terrible example to others, and we have enough trouble without that."

"And we owe the effort to those High Blendings who will be in the assembly after us," Reesh pointed out, looking just as thoughtful. "Leaving the problem for
them
to see to will taint their first efforts, and that isn't fair. I move that we execute Zirdon Tal as soon as his main hireling is found and arrested. Does anyone second the motion?"

"I second the motion," Cleemor said, deciding to make his own position perfectly clear. He hadn't added any other words because he considered them unnecessary. He already agreed with everything the others had said.

"All in favor," Reesh said, then continued after a glance around. "Four hands in favor, leaving none to vote against. The motion has been passed, and Zirdon Tal will be executed as soon as his hireling has been found and arrested."

The last word had barely left Reesh's mouth when a knock came on the sitting room door. Since the door hadn't been closed, Cleemor turned to see who was knocking. Frode Mismin stood in the doorway, and a smile was clear on his face.

"Since the assembly has never before acted with such efficiency, I couldn't bring myself to interrupt until you were done," he explained as he came farther into the room. "Now that the vote is over, however, I'm here to tell you that we have the man Tal hired. We also have five of his last six assassins, so in a very short while you'll be able to get on with the rest of what you said you have to do."

"In a very short while," Cleemor mused while Mismin stopped near Antrie's chair. "Does that mean you know where the last assassin is, but just haven't put your hands on him?"

"We haven't put our hands on
her
, but we expect to shortly," Mismin answered after giving Antrie a wry smile. "We know the area she was assigned to watch, so my men ought to have her in just a few minutes. For that reason I put out the word on my way back here. In another hour or so the city's High talents ought to be showing up."

"And then we'll need to do some heavy recruiting," Dinno said to Reesh before getting to his feet. "But first we have an execution to attend, or at least the rest of you have one to attend. I have one to perform."

Cleemor felt a small jolt of shock as he stood, finally realizing something that Dinno had obviously known right from the start. As the only Earth magic member of the assembly left, it would be Dinno's place to put Tal to sleep and then to stop the man's heart. It might be necessary to execute someone, but there was no reason to be cruel about it.

"Yes, let's get this done and put behind us," Antrie said as she rose and took Mismin's arm. "You may be the one performing the execution, Olskin, but the responsibility for your actions lies with all of us. Taking responsibility isn't easy, but it's time we all learned how."

"More than time," Cleemor muttered to himself as he followed the others out of the room. A lot of people would be taking responsibility for their actions in the next few days, and not all of them would be embracing the effort with a whole heart. But at least the Gracelian empire was about to start over again in the
right
way…

Zirdon Tal had gone from confusion to fury. It had taken a while for him to understand what had been going on, but he finally seemed to have it all worked out. Those miserable Gandistran peasants had done something to him, and because of that he'd been behaving like an ass.

Not that I regret having tried to kill Korge,
Zirdon thought as he glared at the men who were obviously there to guard him.
Korge is an ambitious fool without a mind, and we would have been well rid of him. It's his fault as well that I'm now being treated like an animal.

Or less than an animal, Zirdon realized. Not only was he being kept in what looked to be a storage room, but his hands were still tied behind his back. They all had a nerve treating
him
like this, but they'd soon be paying for their presumption. As soon as his family realized that
their
good name depended on
his
being exonerated of all charges, no one would be allowed to continue accusing him. He'd be free to take his revenge, and would make plans to do so immediately.

Zirdon had only just begun to formulate those plans when the door to the storage area opened. Olskin Dinno walked in first, with Reesh, Gardan, Lorimon, and Mismin behind him. Mismin dismissed the three guards, and once they were gone Zirdon sat up straighter.

"If you expect to get away with this, allow me to disabuse you of the notion," Zirdon told them all stiffly. "You had no right to treat me like this, and I demand to be taken home to my family."

"That's one of the reasons why we're here, Tal," Dinno answered with an odd and unexplained gentleness. "We wanted you to know that you'll be returned to your family in just a little while."

"It's about time," Zirdon said, triumph flashing through him. In just a little while he'd be back with his family, and then he'd be able to start getting even with those who had insulted him so badly. He knew exactly how his revenge would go, and as weariness began to take him over, Zirdon was able to picture the time. It was a very pleasant picture, and he never noticed when the picture abruptly faded to unrelieved black…

Thrybin Korge walked along the street in the shadows, looking for a carriage to hire. His back had begun to throb more vigorously, and he wanted nothing more than to get home and lie down. After a good sleep he would put the first of his plans in motion, the plans that would make
him
the ultimate leader of the empire. It had come to him that he didn't need to be part of a Blending himself to begin with. He simply needed to control a Blending at first, one that would take over everything for him. After that he'd be free to find the perfect Blendingmates, preferably the best looking women of strength in the empire…

A smile curved Thrybin's lips as he walked, an acknowledgment of the truth he'd inadvertently come upon. When he chose Blendingmates they
would
be all women, thereby making him the major talent again. After all, how could a woman be a true major talent? She couldn't be, of course, and everyone would know that as well as he knew the fact himself…

"Good evening, esteemed sir," a voice came, a soft and interesting voice. "Would you care for some dinner - and evening - company?"

The woman who stepped out of the shadows was very attractive, much more so than the average woman who offered herself on the streets. Her smile would have raised Thrybin's interest immediately at another time, but at the moment he wasn't even able to regret the missed opportunity.

"The only thing I can use right now is a carriage," Thrybin answered, pausing with one hand against a building to rest. "Go and find one for me, girl, and you'll have earned a few coppers the easy way."

"I know an easier way to earn more than coppers, Exalted One," the girl answered with an odd smile. "You
are
a member of the assembly, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Thrybin said, flattered that the girl actually seemed to recognize him. "But I don't understand what you meant - "

Thrybin's question was interrupted by the sound of shouting behind him, and he turned with a bit of difficulty to see what looked like some of Mismin's guardsmen running and gesturing. So they'd discovered that he'd escaped…

"Those men are undoubtedly coming after
me
, but they won't catch me," Thrybin told the woman hurriedly. "If you keep me out of their hands, there's silver in it for you."

"There are more of them coming from the other way, but you're right, Exalted One," the woman said as she stepped closer to Thrybin. "They may catch
me
, but they certainly won't get their hands on
you
."

Relief and triumph flooded through Thrybin as he realized that he'd outsmarted his enemies again. He'd use this girl to get him away and hidden until the guardsmen were gone, and then he'd continue on with his plans. Nothing could stop him, absolutely nothing -

Thrybin made a sound of pain when he felt the sharp stabbing in his chest, and the confusion was terrible. He had looked down to see a dagger sticking out of him, and even as he slipped to his knees he saw the girl who had stabbed him try to escape from the closing guardsmen. She had obviously thought she could run away from the two groups, but a third group appeared in her way. Then all three groups converged, and the girl was firmly in their custody.

Good
, Thrybin thought, not having noticed that he'd fallen to his side on the ground.
They have her, so I'll be able to testify at her trial. But it's getting very dark now, so they'd better be quick about fetching a healer. I need a healer again, because I can't die now. I can't die when I'm so close, I can't, I just can't… I can't… I -