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  It was a very quiet group that finally reached the gates of Liandia. Frode had brought Zirdon Tal forward to ride with the rest of them in the midst of the guard force, and with very good reason, Antrie knew. Zirdon was the only one who might be able to stop the assassins, by telling them who was in charge. If Zirdon was accidentally killed or badly hurt…

  The thought of attack brought Antrie memory of how the Gandistrans handled the matter. Rion had confided at one point that he sometimes hardened the air around his Blendingmates as a precaution, finding it foolish to wait until they were actually under attack. Antrie wasn't very large physically and she certainly couldn't be compared to Rion in strength, but she remained a High talent in Air magic. That meant she hesitated only an instant before using her talent to cover those who rode beside and around her with an invisible wall of hardened air.

  And the effort was made just in time. The guards at the head of their column rode through the gates without a problem, but as soon as Antrie and the others did the same there was a sudden whoosh! as gouts of flame came at them from what seemed like all sides. The horses went frantic at the first indication of fire and they all had to fight for control, but that was the extent of the difficulty. No one was touched by the flames at all.

  A moment later the fire was gone, and there was a stir in the crowds to both sides of the road. People were being held by other people, and some were flat on the ground.

  "Most of the members of those 'crowds' are my people," Frode murmured as the horses settled down. "I've also recruited other than Spirit magic users, so we'd know at once when the other talents are being used. Let's get to your house as quickly as possible."

  Antrie considered that suggestion the best Frode could have made, and no one else showed any inclination to argue either. Instead they all increased the pace of their horses, looking around carefully as they rode. Antrie kept her shield in place even when her house came into view, and unfortunately the effort wasn't wasted.

  "Look out!" Frode shouted as heavy waves of water tried to engulf them. They had just entered Antrie's driveway, which was lined with shrubs and bushes. Frode's shout had no effect on the water, but people suddenly appeared from inside the house and around to both sides. The newcomers weren't attackers, however, as a round of yells from the shrubbery proved. Those in hiding who were doing the yelling abruptly showed themselves, and showed as well that they were now under attack.

  The true attackers turned to face Frode's people, and Frode touched Antrie's arm.

  "Now that those people are distracted, you and the others have to get to the house," he told Antrie urgently. "Don't worry about your horses, just leave them where you dismount. My people will take care of them later."

  Once again no one argued, so just a few moments later Antrie and her companions quickly dismounted near the steps leading to her front door. Men now stood guard around that door, and they hurried everyone inside to be met by other men on guard. After Antrie and her associates came their Blendingmates, and for a short time there was a great deal of confusion. Then Antrie pulled herself together enough to direct the Middle talents to the other side of the house before she led her associates to her study.

  "Ah, a tea service!" Olskin Dinno exclaimed as soon as they were in the room. "Antrie, you're the best of hosts. May I help myself?"

  "Let's all help ourselves," Antrie said with the best smile she was able to produce in the midst of chaos. "Once we all have some tea inside us, we can decide which of our Blendings will assist Frode's people first. Our entities should have little or no trouble locating any other attackers."

  "That's a very good idea, Antrie," Satlan Reesh said with a smile and a nod as he gestured Antrie to the tea service ahead of him. "If no one else has a burning need to hunt attackers immediately, I'll volunteer to go first. We may not have been very effective against those invaders, but this is a different situation entirely."

  "I agree," Dinno said, also stepping aside for Antrie at the service. "We need to be able to gather High talents as link groups for the new Blendings, and we can't do that if we're held prisoner in this house."

  "I think we need to speak to Mismin about that as soon as possible," Reesh said to Dinno while Antrie poured herself a badly needed cup of tea. "Those link groups are needed now, and Mismin may be able to shorten the process of gathering the High talents."

  "Which means we might do best taking our tea with us," Dinno concurred, stepping up to the tea service as soon as Antrie moved away. "After that trip I'd love to sit down and put my feet up, but if I save relaxing until later I might actually be able to enjoy the time."

  Reesh's sound of amusement was also complete agreement, and as soon as both men had cups of tea they left the room. Antrie had gone to the chair behind her desk, and when she looked up she saw that Cleemor Gardan simply stood where he'd stopped when they'd first come into the room. The big man looked so helpless and lost that Antrie's heart ached for him.

  "Cleemor, why don't you get a cup of tea and then sit down," Antrie said gently. She'd meant the words to be soothing, but Cleemor still jumped as if he'd been hit.

  "I need something stronger than tea right now," he growled in answer, but the tortured expression in his eyes turned his response pitiful as he looked at her. "I've been trying to understand how you can have changed your stance so drastically, Antrie, but I'm not having much luck. How can you act as if you now approve of having our world completely destroyed?"

  "I spent the trip back here thinking, Cleemor, and I was forced to admit that the Gandistrans had some very good points." These words weren't easy for Antrie to speak, but Cleemor needed to hear them. "I found that playing politics is a terrible vice, and one that often gets to be so much of a habit that you forget how to act in any other way. I was upset over the fact that I could have been attacked just as easily as Korge was, but instead of saying that, I pretended to be bothered for Korge's sake. I managed to lie even to myself, and that realization bothered me deeply."

  "Playing politics is part of our way of life," Cleemor returned, his tone having turned stubborn. "It's what the civilized do to keep from being constantly embroiled in wars of disagreement."

  "Even when you're already in a war, and with people who have no interest in talking to you?" Antrie pursued, not about to let her old friend lie to her. "Playing politics in a situation like that is criminal, and also quite probably suicidal. If Korge hadn't been stabbed, he'd be spending his time right now trying to take over instead of helping the common cause. Are you saying he'd be right to do that?"

  Antrie could see that Cleemor wanted to say just that, but not even his current mood allowed him to approve of a man like Thrybin Korge.

  "Cleemor, we both know what the real problem is," Antrie said, and this time her tone was only partially gentle. "You know you'll be given no choice but to join a High Blending or lose your place in the assembly. Tenia won't stand for either action, and she'll demand that you keep things just as they are. Why are you so worried about a woman who really does care more about her own whims than she does about your life?"

  "She's the one who makes my life worth living," Cleemor whispered, looking as though he were about to cry. "I don't know how I got along before I met her, but I do know that if I lose her my life is over. She's everything I want in a woman, everything any man would want…"

  "Nonsense!" Antrie snapped, bringing a startled expression to Cleemor. "Before you met Tenia, you were more interested in a woman's mind than in her face and body. As soon as Tenia appeared, how she looked was suddenly the only thing you could think and talk about. And you said you wanted children. How many children has Tenia given you?"

  "She … thought it best that we wait to start a family," Cleemor muttered, discomfort sending his gaze away from Antrie. "As soon as things settle down and return to the way they were - "

  "That's right, things aren't going to settle down and return to the way they were," Antrie said when Cleemor's words ended abruptly. "And even
if they did Tenia would still refuse to have children, and I think you know that. Does she have Spirit magic, Cleemor? I don't believe you've ever mentioned her talent."

  "Well, yes, she does have Spirit magic," Cleemor grudged, now showing a frown. "She asked me not to mention the fact because of all the coarse jokes that have gone around about women with Spirit magic. You can't blame her for that, Antrie, not when you're a woman yourself."

  "Of course I can't blame her for that," Antrie assured her old friend immediately, keeping her expression mild in spite of the nasty idea that had just come to her. "I think I'd better see how my staff is coping with this emergency. Get yourself a cup of tea, Cleemor, and then sit down for a few moments. I'll be back in a little while."

  Cleemor nodded wearily and went toward the tea service, so Antrie left her emptied cup on her desk and headed out of the room. She made sure to close the door firmly behind herself, and then she went looking for Frode. She found him in the front entrance hall, speaking to his men, and as soon as he was through he came over to her.

  "Satlan Reesh and his Blending will soon be on patrol," Frode said, looking as though he wished he could touch her. "That will make things incredibly easier and safer, especially when we start to gather High talents."

  "The first thing we have to do is question Zirdon Tal," Antrie responded with a nod. "If he knows who's behind these attacks, we can get them stopped for good and all. But first I have a question to ask you. What level of talent does Tenia Gardan have in Spirit magic?"

  "I'd say she was a strong Middle at the very least," Frode answered with something of a frown. "She never seemed to use her talent when I was around and never mentioned her Guild rating, but every now and then I'd get an impression of sorts from her. Why do you ask?"

  "I ask because I think she's been using her talent on Cleemor," Antrie responded flatly. "The idea leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but it occurred to me a few minutes ago that Cleemor never used to be the kind of man to … enslave himself to a woman, as you put it. And Tenia also made him promise not to mention what her talent was."

  "I don't like the sound of that at all," Frode said, his frown having deepened. "We have very strict laws against controlling people, but if you're the beloved wife of a powerful assembly member you might decide you have nothing to worry about. I tend to keep my own talent away from people unless I'm working on something they're involved with, but I think it's time I took a closer look at your friend."

  "I would appreciate that," Antrie said with all the relief she felt. "Can we … do that before we question Zirdon?"

  "I think it might be better if I do the looking alone," Frode said before Antrie could lead the way back to her study. "If you'll wait here, I should be through in just a few minutes."

  And with that Frode walked away, giving Antrie no chance to protest. She had no idea why Frode would exclude her like that, but when he came back a few minutes later she found out the reason.

  "He had a rough time of it, but after he rests for a while he should be all right," Frode said as he stopped near her. "Gardan was under all sorts of orders and requirements, and my stripping them away wasn't easy for him. But I do have to apologize for not having gotten suspicious myself. Most people are more reasonable than Gardan was, especially in emergency situations."

  "Easy or not, at least he's now free of control," Antrie said with a good deal of relief. "And you knew it would be even harder for Cleemor if I happened to be there to see what was done. You're a beautiful man, Frode Mismin, and I'm very glad you were as brave as you were a short time ago."

  "So am I," he agreed with a wide smile, obviously knowing she meant the time he'd asked to come courting. "But now we have another task to see to, and this time I'd very much like to have you with me."

  "Not as much as I want to be there," Antrie returned, her own smile turning grim. "It's more than time that Zirdon Tal made up for some of the harm he's caused. Do you know where he's been put?"

  Frode nodded and led her deeper into the house in the direction of the servants' quarters. In that area there was an unused storage room that had no windows, and that was where Zirdon Tal was being kept. There were also three of Frode's men standing guard inside the room, and when Frode gestured them out they left without a word.

  "Insulting me like this won't save your life, you know," Tal said as soon as he saw Antrie. The former assembly member sat on the floor leaning against a wall, his arms bound behind him. "Trying to make me feel inferior won't do a thing to weaken my resolve."

  "Your resolve," Frode echoed, staring at Tal intently. "Yes, I can see now where that resolve comes from, but the conditioning doesn't look intentional. I also think I can remove it."

  Tal began to frown at Frode, but then he gasped and threw his head back as his body arched. He held the pose for almost a full minute, and then he released it with a groan as his head came forward and his chin touched his chest.

  "That should do it," Frode said as Tal gasped in breath after breath of air. "With someone else I would have been a lot more gentle, but you've done nothing to deserve gentleness, Tal. In fact you deserve just the opposite, so I hope you refuse to answer this question: what's the name of the man you hired to put Ebro Syant's plans into action?"

  "I don't have to tell you anything," Tal gasped out, glaring hatred at Frode that would have frightened Antrie if she were the one being looked at like that. "I demand to speak with my father, and what's more - Oh!"

  "You're a talentless criminal, Tal, so your father won't want to have anything to do with you," Frode countered with a distant smile. "That … push I just gave you was very small and not very painful, but my patience is now all gone. Answer my question, or I'll make you answer me."

  "It's against the law to control people, Mismin," Tal sneered in spite of the unease Antrie could see in his eyes. "Trying to control an assembly member can get you executed, so you just go ahead and - "

  "Zirdon, wake up!" Antrie interrupted, deciding it was time to help. "You are not a member of the assembly any longer, and never will be again even if your family doesn't desert you. Denying that fact won't do you any more good than it's done Korge, but if you want to insist on being a member of the assembly we just might let you do that. Out on the street, away from all protection."

  "But I could be killed out there!" Zirdon protested in outrage, staring up at Antrie. "You'd never be able to live with yourself if you did that, and if I were dead I certainly couldn't answer your questions. That means you're just bluffing, so - "

  "Wrong again," Frode said, taking his turn at interrupting. "Antrie might be too kindhearted to put you out in the street, but I'm not. If I have to force an answer out of you that's exactly what I will do, and then it won't matter if you end up dead."

  "Yes, you'd do that, I know you would," Zirdon muttered, the look in his eyes terrified. "All right, I'll tell you what I know, but first you have to promise not to send me out there. I don't want to be the last one killed by those madmen."

  Antrie stepped back and watched Frode assure Zirdon that he would be kept in the house if he told everything he knew. Antrie had the feeling that Frode now used his talent to make Zirdon speak without the former Fire magic user knowing what was happening. If for some reason Zirdon wasn't executed for the things he'd done, he'd certainly try to make trouble for everyone he could. Better to let Zirdon believe that confessing was his own idea.

  And confess Zirdon did. Frode got the necessary name first, and then he and Antrie were forced to listen to what seemed like a thousand reasons why Zirdon had been right to act as he had. Frode quietly slipped out of the room after a few minutes, and Zirdon didn't seem to realize that he was gone. The man just kept talking, and when the three guards came back into the room and Antrie left, Zirdon didn't seem to notice that either. He just kept talking and talking and talking…

  "Is he still at it?" Frode said as he rejoined Antrie in the hall. "I've sent some of my people to find that man Tal told us about. Once we
have him we'll go after the assassins he hired, and my people will be very thorough in finding out the identity of all of them as well as information on any other plans. We don't need this nonsense distracting us from our serious problems."

  Antrie felt the urge to smile at the way Frode called assassination nonsense, but she couldn't quite manage a smile. The invaders were a more serious problem, and at the moment they could do little more than fervently hope the Gandistrans were successful against them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Olskin Dinno watched Satlan Reesh approach him in the sitting room where he'd found a place out of the way. Olskin had never seen a man change as much as Reesh had, at least not in a positive way. Reesh had always been the sort of man Olskin avoided whenever possible, but now he actually looked forward to sharing the man's company.

  "There were four other attackers waiting for their chance to approach the house," Reesh announced with a smile as he stopped near Olskin. "My Blendingmates and I had very little trouble locating them and changing their minds, and now Mismin's men have the four. Are those sandwiches for us alone, or are we supposed to share them with our people?"

  "Our people have been given other sandwiches, I'm told, so these are ours," Olskin answered with a small chuckle. "We've all been promised a more substantial meal for supper, but it will have to be buffet style. There are too many of us for a proper sit-down… How sure are you that there aren't more than four attackers lurking about?"

  "As sure as possible after checking a full half-mile radius," Reesh answered as he moved closer to the plate of sandwiches and appropriated one. "There are a lot of people out there who have nothing to do with the attacks, so a half mile was the best we could do. Do you know whose turn it will be now that mine is over?"