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  Driff exchanged a glance with Edmin, seeing the former noble's brief startlement before pleased pride took its place. It was fairly obvious that Edmin still wasn't used to being trusted, but his reaction clearly said that he intended to get used to that state of affairs.

  "Well, Edmin and I aren't much when it comes to talent, but we'll certainly do our best," Driff said to Idresia in as pitiful a way as he could manage before turning to the other man. "Isn't that right, Edmin? We'll do our pitiful best?"

  "Yes, we certainly will, Driff," Edmin agreed, apparently trying to sound as humble as Driff had. The problem was Edmin didn't know how to sound humble, so all his effort produced among the group was laughter.

  "As long as you two meager talents are willing to try," Idresia said with amusement while Issini laughed aloud. "We do have to work with what we have, you know."

  "Speaking of what we have to work with, we still haven't told Har our news," Issini pointed out then. "We don't want her thinking we're holding out on her, do we?"

  "Aha, so you are holding out on me!" Idresia pounced with a mock frown so fierce that the rest of them chuckled. "Well, come on, out with it."

  "You'd better brace yourself," Driff warned Idresia, only partially joking. "While you were getting your report on outside doings, those of us in here learned that Edmin can … shield his working with talent in some way. He's going to try to remember what he did to gain the shield, and then he's going to tell us how to do it."

  "That sounds like a very useful thing to know," Idresia said, her brows still high even though she had stopped staring at Edmin with her mouth open. "Can we do anything to help you remember faster, Edmin?"

  "I think I'll need a time of undisturbed quiet," Edmin answered, his amusement tinged with very faint embarrassment. "I considered asking for the help of another Spirit magic user, but I think we must first decide whether or not we want word of a shield to get out. Until things settle down and we have the High talents back again…"

  "Until then we'll need all the help - and secret weapons - we can get," Driff agreed with a sigh. "I think your caution isn't overdone, Edmin, so let's - "

  A knock came at the door to interrupt Driff, and Idresia rose to go and answer it. Driff quickly finished the last of the food on his plate, and only just in time.

  "Our two newly arrived nobles weren't far from here when my people went to get them," Idresia said, still standing by the open door. "They'll be here in another moment, so let's get all meager talents ready, shall we?"

  Driff joined the others in nodding agreement, even Issini losing her usual friendly and easy-going manner. Edmin was the only one among them who hadn't been to a training class, but he had had training in life when it came to dealing with the nobility. Now it was time to see if any of their training had been wasted.

  In no more than the specified moment, two people were escorted into the room. They both looked dirty and very tired, but the man looked considerably more worried than the woman did. The woman held a large bundle close against her body, and the man's arm circled her protectively. The man took a quick look around, and then he glared at Idresia and Driff and the others.

  "What's the meaning of this?" the man demanded, his voice harsh with fear-tinged outrage. "You people aren't the authorities, so I demand that you release us immediately."

  Yes, Driff thought with a sigh. Definitely members of the old nobility. Just what we needed…

  Chapter Two

  Kail Engreath looked around at the outskirts of Gan Garee as he and Asri rode into the city. It was the same city he remembered so well - along with its bad memories - and he couldn't decide how he felt about returning to it. He wasn't the same man who had left this city, and hopefully that would produce more pleasant events to have memory of in the future.

  "I suddenly feel very odd, Kail," Asri said from where she rode to his left, her infant son Dereth held close against her right side. "As soon as you suggested that we return here to Gan Garee, I somehow felt that that was what we had to do. Now the feeling has intensified in some way, as if something very important to us is about to happen."

  "I hope the something turns out to be a place where we can live our lives in peace," Kail told her with a smile, reaching out to touch her arm. Day by day during their trip from Astinda, Asri had begun to share more and more of her thoughts and feelings with him. From time to time her "feelings" had kept them from running into people who might ask the wrong questions, so Kail had come to rely on her opinion.

  "Now that you mention it, I have the strangest feeling that something is going to happen that will affect our lives," Asri told him, her gaze a bit unfocussed the way it became from time to time. "Whatever it is might not be pleasant at first, but it's definitely necessary."

  Kail made a sound of agreement and interest, the only thing he could do when Asri made comments the way she just had. She didn't do it often, happily, but Kail wondered if it would be possible to find help for her somewhere in the city. Kail had decided that Asri's cryptic statements were attempts to make herself useful in some way, a definite reaction to not having any talent. He knew he'd have to work harder to make her believe that her lack of talent was unimportant to him, otherwise her inner anxiety could well get out of hand…

  "I think we need to look in the poorer neighborhoods for a place to stay," Asri said after a moment, the distraction mostly gone from her gaze. "People in the better neighborhoods might recognize us for what we are - what we were - and that would bring nothing but trouble."

  "You're right, and I'm glad you thought of it," Kail said with a smile, already having had the same thought himself. "We still have most of the gold we brought with us, so we shouldn't have trouble surviving until I can take a good look around for something to do to earn a living. Do you have any preferences in the way of a poorer neighborhood?"

  "As a matter of fact, I do," Asri answered with a smile, echoing Kail's own smile. "I like the idea of going that way."

  Asri had pointed to a street to the left, and since it made very little difference Kail immediately agreed. There were really too many people around on the street they now rode, so turning off was a good idea.

  The street they turned off into was a narrower one than the street they'd come from, but it was still possible for them to ride side by side. After a few minutes the worn old houses they'd been passing were replaced with large buildings that must be warehouses of some sort. Most of the warehouses looked really rundown, and Kail was about to suggest that they turn back to where actual houses could be found when people suddenly materialized around them.

  "Just take it easy, no one's going to hurt you," the man who held Kail's bridle said quickly and soothingly as Kail got ready to defend himself and his woman. "There are some important people who want to talk to you, just talk. You aren't going to force us to do something unnecessary, are you?"

  The man's glance touched Asri briefly, letting Kail know how things stood. Four of the people around them were Water magic users just as he was, and all four were Middle talents and touching the power. If Kail started a fight he would find himself outnumbered, and there was a good chance that Asri might be hurt. Since he couldn't allow the woman he loved to be hurt, Kail had no choice but to surrender.

  "All right, you win," Kail growled, hating having to back down. "Who is it who wants to talk to us, and where are they?"

  "You'll find out who they are when they tell you themselves, and they aren't far away," the man holding Kail's bridle answered with a brief smile. "We appreciate your being reasonable, which you really shouldn't regret. Please step down now, and we'll see to your horses while you're busy talking."

  Kail frowned as he dismounted and then went around Asri's horse to help her down. They were now committed to doing as these people said, but Kail couldn't help wondering how the ones who wanted to "talk" to them could be close enough to walk to. Was there a building of offices somewhere among all these rundown warehouses?

  Kail kept his ques
tions to himself as the group that had stopped them led the way to one warehouse in particular. The place looked as rickety as the rest from the outside, but once inside it was possible to see a difference. The warehouse looked much more solid and well cared for on the inside, but there didn't seem to be the offices he'd been expecting. He and Asri were led toward the back of the warehouse to a door standing open, and once he reached it Kail's suspicions flared. Through the doorway was something that looked more like living quarters than an office, and that shouldn't have been.

  "What's the meaning of this?" Kail demanded as he stopped in the doorway, his arm automatically tightening around Asri. "You people aren't the authorities, so I demand that you release us immediately."

  "Looks can be deceiving," a pretty woman who stood by the door said gently while a small man seated at a table sighed. "Right now we're just about as official as it gets, but we mean you no harm. You both look like you could use some tea while we talk."

  "I would love a cup of tea," Asri said before Kail could demand again to know what was happening. "It really has been a very long day, Kail."

  "It isn't a good idea to accept things from people before you know what they want," Kail said in answer, trying to explain things gently to Asri. "Let's find out first why we were brought here, and then we can think about tea."

  "No, it's all right," the woman interrupted when Asri actually started to argue what Kail had said. "His request isn't unreasonable, especially since I would feel the same way. We had you brought here because you were recognized as members of the group that used to be called nobility. We wanted to know if you've come back to the city to regain your former positions."

  "If you only knew how terrible a suggestion you've just made," Kail said at once with a short laugh that had no amusement in it. "Our 'former positions' in this city were living hell, and if we thought we had to return to them we never would have come back. All we want is to live our lives in peace, and I'm willing to work any honest job that will let us do that. If you thought we could be used in some scheme you might have in mind, you can forget about it."

  Kail hadn't meant to be quite that blunt, but something had made him speak without reservation. As soon as the words were out he put his arm around Asri again, afraid that he might have put both their lives in danger. If these people wanted something that they now knew they'd never get, he and Asri - and the baby - might have just become unnecessary burdens.

  "I'm delighted to say that our guest has just told the absolute and complete truth," the slight man at the table told his companions, his smile warm and real. "Reviving the nobility isn't any part of their intentions, so we can now let them go about their own business."

  "I'm really glad to hear that," the pretty woman said with her own smile. "I apologize for having had you brought here, and you're now free to go. But if you'd like that cup of tea first, by all means have a seat at the table."

  "We took their horses to that empty lot to graze," the man who still stood behind them said. "Do you want me to have them brought back here right now?"

  "Only if they've changed their minds about the tea," the woman answered, then looked at Kail. "I'm Idresia Harmis, by the way, and the choice of staying or leaving has now become yours."

  "I don't understand any of this," Kail said, having decided to stick with being blunt. "You used force to bring us here, but now you say we can leave. What's going on?"

  "We're what you might call unofficial officials," the woman Idresia said with a small and gentle laugh. "Our job is to keep an eye open for possible troublemakers, people who are determined to bring back the bad old ways. We already have one like that to contend with, so we didn't want to add to the problem. Now that we know you won't be a problem, we have no reason to detain you."

  "You're willing to take my word for it?" Kail asked, still more than a little suspicious. "If I were in your place, I'd need a bit more proof than that."

  "We have the proof," Idresia said, still speaking gently. "One of our people has Spirit magic, and another Earth magic. They've both confirmed that you're telling the truth, so nothing else is needed."

  Kail looked toward the table then, really seeing the three people who sat there for the first time. The woman was very pretty and wore a smile like Idresia's, and the slight man nodded his support of what Idresia had said. The other man -

  "You're Lord Edmin Ruhl!" Kail blurted, suddenly more than a little disturbed. "Am I supposed to believe that you're working for the new government?"

  "Yes, because that's exactly what I'm doing," Ruhl answered, the evenness of his tone doing little to mask the way he'd flinched. "If there were any doubts about this man's attitudes before now, my friends, they can be forgotten. Our guest hates nobles more than any of you ever did."

  "If you'd gone through what we did, you would feel the same hatred," Asri said calmly before Kail could reply. "Those people were often worse to their own kind than they were to commoners, which is why our hatred is greater."

  "Yes, we've heard that," Idresia said as she put her own arm around Asri, supportive understanding clear in her voice. "Come and have that cup of tea, and let it wash away all those bad memories. We won't let those bad times come again, we've pledged our lives to the promise."

  Kail watched as Asri walked with Idresia to the table, surprised by the trust Asri showed. Asri was usually friendly, but giving trust was another matter entirely.

  "We really don't charge more for sitting down," the slight man at the table said to Kail, his smile filled with understanding. "Why don't you have a cup of tea and tell us where you've been - or not tell us, if you feel you'd rather not say."

  The last of the man's words had been hurried, as if he knew that Kail had felt a stab of alarm over the suggestion of talking about where they'd been. Kail didn't want anyone to know that they were escaped slaves, not when someone could decide to send them back…

  "You really don't have to worry about being betrayed," Ruhl said when Kail continued to hesitate. "If these people were the sort to indulge in the kind of games our former peers loved to play, I would hardly be sitting here among them. And please don't use the title 'lord' again. I've become something much more important than a lord, a position I had no idea existed. I've become a trusted friend."

  Kail stared at Ruhl for a moment, but it wasn't the man's words that convinced him. It was Ruhl's smile, the kind of smile Kail had never before seen the man wear. The former lord really did seem changed, and before Kail knew it he was at the table and sitting in a chair near Asri.

  "If you two are hungry, I can throw something together for you," Idresia said as she came back to the table with two cups of tea. "Is the baby all right? He or she looks so beautifully sound asleep."

  "His name is Dereth, and he's gotten used to sleeping with all sorts of things going on around him," Asri said with a smile as she unwrapped her son just a bit. "I fed him just before we reached the city, so he should be fine for now."

  "But you two aren't, so I'll have something for you in just a minute," Idresia said, her briskly decisive tone refusing to hear any argument. "Do you have any objections to omelets?"

  "If that's a fiendish plot to keep us here, it pains me to say that it worked," Kail offered, hoping the feeble humor would lighten his mood. "We haven't had eggs of any sort for much too long a time, and I've started to dream about them."

  "Then omelets it is," Idresia said when Asri agreed with a gentle laugh. "Why don't all of you introduce yourselves while I'm cooking."

  "That's a good idea," the slight man said. "I'm Driffin Codsent, the lady is Issini Randos, and Edmin Ruhl you already know. Would you care to share your own names?"

  "I'm Kail Engreath, and my companion is Asri Tempeth," Kail answered with a sigh. "I'm still feeling the urge to say nothing on any subject, so if I sound a bit surly I hope you'll forgive me."

  "There's really nothing to forgive," the woman called Issini said with a very attractive smile. "When it's just you against the wor
ld, friendless and alone, there's no other way to feel. Edmin probably understands that better than any of us."

  "In point of fact, I do," Ruhl responded, his smile having turned wry. "I also know how marvelous it feels to no longer be alone, a truth you'll hopefully find out for yourself. I ought to mention that I remember you as well, Engreath, and recall thinking that you would never fit in with your father and brothers. Right now, that's the best endorsement anyone in our position can possibly have."

  "I'm really glad to hear that," Kail said, not as surprised as he would have been only a few moments earlier. "And you're right about my not fitting in with my father and brothers, a state I've always been happy about but never happier than now. By the way, someone mentioned that there's another of our former peers here in the city who doesn't seem to look at things the way we do. Would you mind telling me who it is?"

  "Since the matter isn't much of a secret, it shouldn't hurt anything to mention their names," the man called Driffin said when Ruhl glanced at him. "We're currently trying to keep Sembrin and Bensia Noll from taking over the city."

  "Him!" Kail couldn't help exclaiming, and then he realized that Asri had said, "Her!" at the same time. Kail looked at Asri questioningly just as she did the same with him, and Ruhl made a sound of amusement.

  "You both seem to know and dislike the family," Ruhl observed, looking from one to the other of them. "Would you care to share why that is? The more we know about the Nolls, the better our chances of ruining their plans."

  "It wouldn't be quite accurate to say I know Sembrin Noll," Kail responded with a grimace when Asri hesitated. "My father once tried to get me an appointment with the government, and Noll intruded in the matter. Noll somehow knew that I wanted nothing to do with the position, and mentioned the fact to a number of advisors - along with his opinion that I would be useless anyway. He told everyone that I would be useless at whatever I tried to do."