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  "I may be fond of our sisters, my love, but I'll never feel for them what I feel for you," he murmured, the words more unthought-about than deliberate. "I've waited forever to have you back in my arms, and when the time comes for you to be gone again, I don't know how I'll bear it."

  Lorand went back to kissing her then, and Jovvi wasn't able to do anything but respond to what his body did to hers. They shared love for a very long time, and once they'd both found release Lorand fell asleep almost immediately. Jovvi lay in his arms, expecting to find sleep almost as quickly, but the words he'd spoken kept echoing in her head.

  I may be fond of our sisters, but I'll never feel for them what I feel for you, he'd said, and now that Jovvi could think again she also felt disturbed. Jovvi loved Lorand as much as she always had, but that oddness she'd felt when their bodies had first touched… She now knew the oddness stemmed from the fact that she felt just the same being held by Vallant or Rion. She still loved Lorand as much as she had, but somehow she'd started to feel the same about their Blending brothers.

  But that wasn't the disturbing part. Jovvi felt Lorand's warmth where her hand lay on his arm, but an odd chill began inside her. For some reason her emotions seemed the proper ones, emotions she was meant to feel. But Lorand had said that he would never feel the same, and that idea kept her awake much longer than it should have. Something bad would happen because of it, somehow she knew something bad was going to happen…

  Chapter Six

  When Rion left the privacy area he'd created, the surrounding village struck him as odd. Even in the darkness he'd been aware of the presence of large numbers of people, many of whom were completely out of sight. Now…

  "You feel it too, don't you, Rion?" Tamrissa's voice said, and he turned to see her approaching him. "We and all of our people are still here, but this village still feels empty and deserted."

  "The evacuation seems to have been a complete success," Rion said after nodding his agreement. "But I did expect to see more Gracelians than just our four new Blendings. Weren't we going to get them link groups?"

  "There weren't enough High talents to form link groups for even one of the new Blendings," Tamrissa said with a sigh. "Our associate Blending told me that Dinno and Reesh offered to round up High talents in Liandia and send them back to us, but until they get here we'll either have to share with the Gracelians or let them go it alone. Which we do will depend on what happens with the invaders."

  "Has anyone checked on how close the invaders are now?" Rion asked as Naran left the privacy area to join them. "And is that breakfast I smell?"

  "Yes, that's breakfast in spite of the fact that it's closer to lunchtime," Tamrissa answered with a smile. "And no, no one has checked on the invaders yet. That's our job, as soon as the rest of our Blending is up and about."

  "I take it Jovvi and Lorand haven't yet made an appearance," Rion said after glancing around again. "I see Vallant over by the cooking fire, but they're not with him."

  "Jovvi came close to draining herself, and Lorand did a lot of healing," Naran pointed out before Tamrissa was able to reply. "It's not much of a surprise that they're still asleep."

  "And since the invaders aren't supposed to get here until sometime tomorrow, there's no reason to wake our sister and brother," Tamrissa added with a smile for Naran as well. "I'm currently enjoying this quiet time, but that's because I've already eaten. Once you've had your breakfast, you might be able to do the same kind of enjoying."

  "At the very least, I need a cup of tea," Rion said as Tamrissa began to lead them over to the cooking fire. "I've discovered that I'm able to face quite a lot as long as a cup of tea is available to sustain me."

  "If Rion ever becomes conditioned, we'll probably be able to break him out of it by offering him tea," Naran said, making Tamrissa chuckle. "I can't imagine anything being able to keep him away from the drink."

  "Don't forget that he's not alone in that," Tamrissa pointed out to Naran while Rion took his turn at being amused. "The rest of us usually yearn after tea at least as much as Rion does, and the only thing that draws half our Blending more is the thought of a bath."

  "The female half of our Blending," Rion said after joining in the general laughter. "We men enjoy being clean, but not nearly as much as you ladies do. We need to spend some time today giving ourselves clean clothes, so that tonight we can also enjoy Vallant's version of a bath."

  "Yes, we do want to be clean when meetin' those invader leaders for the first time," Vallant said as they stopped near him, obviously having heard what Rion had said. "Or maybe we shouldn't be clean. If our Blendin' entity can't best theirs, maybe our body odor will overwhelm them."

  "I'd like that idea more if it didn't mean passing up the chance to bathe," Tamrissa said while everyone else chuckled. "Rion, isn't there some way to … save the odor, so to speak, and use it as a weapon without having it used on us at the same time?"

  "Using an odor as a weapon," Rion mused, taking the suggestion a lot more seriously than Tamrissa had meant it. "It just might be possible to do something like that, but there are better odors to use than the ones we produce. Once, when I rode through the woods with that woman in our carriage, we were forced to go past part of a deer carcass that had been … perfumed by a skunk. I never felt so ill in my life, and that woman actually threw up. Once we got home she also fired our carriage driver, as if driving through the woods had been his idea rather than hers."

  "Well, I seriously doubt if she's doing any hiring or firing these days," Tamrissa said just as Rion's emotions came perilously close to depression - just as they always did when he thought of that woman. "The woman who claimed to be your mother was sent to Astinda along with the rest of her exalted noble friends, and all of them have been working to bring the land alive again for quite some time. She's probably become quite mellow by now, don't you think?"

  "Hardly," Rion said with a sound of scorn that wasn't meant for Tamrissa. In his mind's eye Rion was almost able to see Hallina Mardimil, dressed in cheap and colorless clothing, her hair hanging tangled and sweat-soaked as she used what looked to be a hoe on a section of burned-out ground. The woman's mind was filled with growing fury, and after another moment she straightened and threw the hoe away from her.

  "I am Lady Hallina Mardimil, and I refuse to be treated like this any longer," the woman announced in cold and haughty tones as she glared around. "One of you will run and immediately fetch me a cold drink, which I will sip while my carriage is brought around. I will then go home, and none of you peasants is ever to come near me again."

  "I'm Vistern Lankers, who used to be a High Lord, and you're a fool," a nearby man said after wiping his brow on the back of his arm. "If you can't stay in touch with reality, woman, just keep your fantasies to yourself. And pick up that hoe and get back to work. The rest of us don't want to be late for supper because you still think you're too good to do your share."

  "But my back hurts and my hands are covered in blisters," the woman answered, fighting not to sound as shaken as she felt. "I don't like this dream, and I want to wake up now."

  "Waking up would be a good idea," another voice said, this time a female one. "Even I've been able to separate reality from fantasy by now, so you have no excuse. Pick up your hoe and get back to work."

  The woman looked in the direction the female voice had come from, and found Eltrina Razas staring back at her. The two of them had hated each other almost forever, and that made it easy for the woman to hold her head up high.

  "You are and always have been a nothing," the woman informed the Razas bit. "I, on the other hand, am the most important woman in the world. My father always told me that, and I've never been given any reason to doubt the truth of the claim. With that in mind - "

  "You really do have to wake up," another, more kindly voice interrupted the woman, this time another man. "Your father told you what many fathers tell their daughters, and in their own hearts they aren't lying. You'll find all this easier to acce
pt if you make yourself understand that your father simply failed to make himself clear. You were the most important woman in the world to him, but not to anyone else."

  "Most especially not to these Astindans," a third man put in with nothing in the way of kindness. "To our captors you're no more or less than the rest of us, except that you do less work than we do. Now pick up that hoe and stop ruining things for us."

  "But I don't want to," the woman said, frustration rising higher and higher. "I don't want to do this anymore, I don't want to, I don't want to!"

  By now she was screaming rather than speaking, her fists clenched tight as she stamped her feet and shrilled out her demands. She'd never in her life been denied anything, and now refused to accept their refusal. She would just scream and stamp her feet until she got her way, and the tactic would be just as successful as it had always been…

  Except that this time it wasn't the father who loved her who came to see what the problem was. This time it was one of those Astindan peasants, who did something to her mind. The screaming and stamping stopped, she went and picked up her hoe, and was forced to start working again even in the midst of the humiliation of having those around her laugh as they went back to their own work. Hallina hated having that done, but they kept refusing to give her what she demanded. She hated it all, but was being forced to work even while she hated. If only she could wake up from this horrible dream…

  "…wake up," Rion heard, and suddenly he no longer saw what surely had been purely imagination. "We can eat and drink tea until then, and afterward we'll be able to take a good look around."

  "You're right, it shouldn't be too long before Jovvi and Lorand wake up," Tamrissa said, agreeing with what Vallant had just said. "In fact, I have the definite feeling that it won't be more than five minutes or so before they're here."

  "Stop stealing my talent," Naran said to Tamrissa, but Rion's beloved smiled as she spoke. "As far as I can tell you're right about Jovvi and Lorand, so stop stealing my talent."

  "Now that's really interestin'," Vallant said, looking back and forth between Tamrissa and Naran. "Knowin' things is Naran's talent alone, but I'm feelin' the same certainty that Tamrissa just spoke with. And somehow I also know that you and Rion are feelin' very satisfied, Naran. We seem to have been borrowin' each other's talent lately, at least the non-physical talents. Is that supposed to happen, or are we doin' somethin' wrong?"

  "A better question would be will we also get to the point of sharing the physical part of the talents?" Tamrissa said, her tone musing. "Whether or not this is supposed to happen doesn't matter. As long as it is happening, we have to cope with the situation."

  "I do a better job of coping on a full stomach," Rion said, heading off what promised to be a long discussion. "Naran, my love, would you care to join me in fortifying the inner practitioner? We can get back to discussing things we have no control over after we see to something we do have control over."

  "A delightfully practical suggestion, my love, and it would be my pleasure to join you," Naran replied with her usual lovely smile. "And we might as well wait to have the discussion until Jovvi and Lorand have joined us. That way if we get any brilliant ideas, we won't have to repeat them for our brother and sister."

  "You really are an optimist, Naran," Tamrissa said with amusement as Rion guided his love to the man who was ready to fill plates with food for them. "I wasn't expecting any of us to get any brilliant ideas, so I didn't think about having to repeat any."

  "I'm really wounded," Vallant said to Tamrissa, one hand placed in the middle of his chest. "Are you sayin' you don't even expect me to get any brilliant ideas? Such lack of faith is very painful."

  Tamrissa laughed and went over to soothe Vallant's supposed pain, which meant that Rion was able to choose his breakfast with undivided attention. In truth there wasn't much to choose, only how much of the eggs and potatoes and venison and bread he thought he could eat, but Rion still felt a good deal of inner satisfaction. He and Naran were back to being able to show their love for one another, he was part of a group that was closer than a family, and he had all the true freedom he could want.

  Unlike that woman, Rion thought as he accepted the plate with his breakfast. What he'd seen in his mind's eye couldn't possibly be what was really happening with the woman who had tormented him all of his life, but thinking that the situation might be close to the truth was a lovely kind of revenge. The woman would hate not being able to get her way any longer, a situation her former victims would certainly have been willing to pay gold to see.

  Naran chose a bit of grass to sit down on with her breakfast, and Rion sat beside her. They had barely begun to eat when Jovvi and Lorand appeared, looking well rested and as satisfied as Rion felt. But as the last of his Blendingmates went for their own breakfast, Rion had the distinct impression that Jovvi's satisfaction was only on the surface. Something bothered his sister, but Rion made no effort to rise and question her. He had learned the meaning of discretion, which meant it would be far better to wait until later before speaking to her privately.

  Lorand and Jovvi wasted no time in getting their breakfast plates, and a moment later they had joined Rion and Naran on the grass. The meal went quickly because of the general silence, and by the time Rion had finished his tea everyone was through eating.

  "So, are you sleepyheads ready to do some work yet?" Tamrissa asked as she and Vallant stopped near where Rion and the others were sitting. "I'm getting bored just standing around."

  "Boredom is soundin' better than it ever used to," Vallant added dryly with a glance for Tamrissa. "I'd take the feelin' happily if I didn't already know it wasn't likely to last, so we really should get on with it."

  "Unfortunately, I can't argue with that decision," Lorand said with a sigh before finishing the tea in his cup. "I'm not looking forward to finding out more about the people we'll be facing, but not knowing about them can only hurt us. Shall we Blend right here?"

  Rion and the others agreed with the suggestion, so Tamrissa and Vallant sat down and joined them. Once everyone was settled comfortably, Jovvi initiated the Blending.

  The Rion entity formed as easily as ever, and it took only a moment's thought before a decision was made. To float back along the road would be a tedious process, especially when floating was unnecessary. The entity's flesh forms had gone a considerable distance up that road, therefore the entity knew enough about the area to flash rather than float. Flashing covered distances in an instant, at the same time conserving strength.

  It was clear to the Rion entity that the enemy had not as yet reached the village which had been attacked, therefore the Rion entity flashed to the village. The area now appeared to be completely empty, all human life forms either ended or gone away. Animal and insect life forms abounded, of course, yet nothing of the human remained.

  Using the road as a guide, the Rion entity floated in the direction from which the enemy would come. It would be necessary to be fully alert to keep from being detected, as the distance was far too great for any meaningful battle. The closer to its flesh forms, the stronger the entity would be, and it had been clear for some time that the enemy would require all the strength the Rion entity was able to generate. A pity the alternate arrangements were so far unavailable…

  The Rion entity floated quickly up the road, and in time it was possible to detect the presence of flesh forms up ahead. Nothing in the way of independent thought could be sensed in the minds of these flesh forms, which told the Rion entity that the first of the enemy had been found. Now was the time to exercise caution, which the Rion entity proceeded to do.

  A memory had come to remind the Rion entity that the more it attenuated its being, the less detectable its presence would become. At the same time the Rion entity would find it possible to cover a larger area in its search for knowledge, which was the entire purpose of this foray. It took but a moment to turn thought into deed, and a much larger, thinner entity spread itself and looked about.


  The enemy flesh forms were in even greater numbers than those which had been captured by the entity's flesh forms. Twice the number led what appeared to be a procession of sorts, with a matching number following behind. In the midst of the procession was an odd arrangement of five covered litters being carried by four flesh forms apiece, with an additional ten flesh forms walking close beside each of the litters.

  Obviously each is a Blending talent with its tandem link groups, the Rion entity heard. There are, however, only five of them.

  A piece of information definitely worth the having, the Rion entity replied. It had been the Tamrissa part of the Rion entity which had spoken, just as had happened the previous time. It would also be valuable to know exactly how strong their entity is, which cannot be known until the entity forms.

  It would be unwise to seek knowledge at this time which would bring more harm than benefit, another part of the Rion entity said, this time the Jovvi part. It has been perfectly clear that these invaders will be the stronger, possibly only for a time. What benefit in proving what is already known?

  No benefit, the Rion entity replied just as its Tamrissa part agreed in the same manner. There is nothing further to be done until the enemy has approached a bit more closely. I will now return to my starting point.

  The Rion entity flashed back to the village where his flesh forms waited, and then it was Rion alone back inside his own body. He sat up just as the others did, and smiled at the astonishment on Jovvi's face.

  "This time it happened to me, too!" Jovvi exclaimed as she looked back and forth between Rion and Tamrissa. "I was the entity, but I heard the two of you speaking inside my head and knew who you were."

  "I think I've got another surprise for you," Vallant said to Jovvi with a wry smile. "There wasn't anythin' for me to say so I kept silent, but I definitely heard the rest of you. I was the Blendin' entity, and I heard parts of myself speakin'."