Intrigues (46 page)

"I take it you've just dispatched another one," a male voice said from behind her, making her turn. "Did it have anything to do with that burn I treated?"

Rebid Tantas, High talent in Earth magic, wore an expression of sympathy that Cadria could feel echoed in his mind.

"Yes, it certainly did have something to do with the burn you treated," Cadria answered with a sigh. "The woman made the burn happen because she 'didn't want to be told what to do.' The girl she burned had said, 'Let's get some tea and sit down.' Did
you
have any idea that these training classes would produce so many problems?"

"To be honest, no," Rebid admitted with his own sigh. "I expected accidents from horsing around or carelessness or even someone trying to do too much, but these more extreme reactions? How could
anyone
anticipate them?"

"I can't help feeling that we should have seen at least a part of the problem," Cadria grumbled, knowing that Rebid would understand her mood. "Under the rule of the nobility, no one was allowed to exercise a talent. Now we're not only allowing that exercise, we're encouraging it and training talent. We should have expected that some of those we trained would lose their heads to their newfound power."

"Well, if we didn't know about it before, we certainly do now," Rebid said ruefully. "What are they going to do with the ones we collect?"

"They're going to try to restore balance to their minds with Spirit and Earth magic," Cadria answered, back to sighing. "We don't know if that's possible, but we're certainly going to make the attempt. What bothers me most is what's going to happen if the balance
can't
be restored."

"Damn, I never thought of that," Rebid responded, his mind filled with a shocked awareness. "The woman
I
had to send is a fairly strong Middle talent in Earth magic. She can't be allowed to run around free the way she is, or a lot of innocent people could be hurt. If she can't be brought back to balance, she'll either have to be put under permanent control or she'll have to be put down. I don't like either option, but which one do you think they'll choose?"

"The choice won't be made by 'them,' it will be made by
us
," Cadria pointed out gently. "Our various Blendings have been left in charge, so we'll have to have a recommendation ready for Jovvi and the others when they get back. They're the ones who will have to give the final word of approval, but
we'll
have to make the decision for them. You can say it's part of the job we've been asked to do."

"And since we didn't refuse to begin with, we're now stuck with it," Rebid said, his tone having grown morose. "I'm suddenly finding the idea of running away from home more attractive than it's ever been."

"Let me know if you decide to do it," Cadria told him with something of a smile. "I may let you come with
me
."

Rebid returned the weak smile, but Cadria knew he was no more amused than she was. Running away would have felt awfully good, but unfortunately that wasn't one of the options available to them…

Driffin Codsent entered his private bedchamber in the warehouse and stopped short in surprise. Idresia was not only out of bed, but she'd obviously been doing quite a bit of cleaning. Dirty clothing no longer lay in piles, the bed was neatly made with what looked like clean linen, and a lamp brightened the room's previous dimness. Idresia herself sat in a chair near the lamp with a book, and when she looked up and saw him she smiled.

"I'm glad you're back, Driff," she said, putting the book aside before standing and walking toward him. "How did the new class go?"

"Obviously not as well as my out-of-class work," Driffin said with a laugh of delight, opening his arms to gather her up. "Are you sure you're strong enough to be doing this much this soon?"

"I did very little," Idresia assured him, looking up into his face with the same expression Driffin knew
he
wore. "It's only because of you that I'm not bedridden any longer, so I thought I'd give you a small part of the reward you've earned. Tonight I'll give you another part of it, but right now I'd like to hear how things went. We'll do that while we get you something to eat."

Idresia had spoken so firmly that Driffin simply laughed again and agreed. His lady was a woman of Fire magic, and arguing with her was usually a waste of time. Now that she was beginning to get her strength back it would be harder still to avoid doing what she considered necessary. Not that Driffin really
wanted
to argue. The hollowness inside him said that it was more than time he had a meal…

"Before you tell me about
your
day, I have some good news," Idresia said as they left the bedchamber holding hands and headed toward the kitchen area. "Affli Domore has been hired by a merchant to design and Encourage a garden at the back of his house. The man made her the offer today at the end of Affli's school training class."

"That's what you consider
good
news?" Driffin asked, eyeing Idresia as they walked. "Affli is really talented in Earth magic, but she's still too young to leave school. And anyone who hires a schoolgirl instead of a mature practitioner is trying to get a job done without having to pay what the job is really worth."

"Normally I would agree with you, but there are a few points you don't yet know about," Idresia told him with an impish smile. "The merchant won't hear of Affli's leaving school, and will only hire her if she continues to go to class. She'll be permitted to work only
after
school, and she'll be paid two thirds of what a mature practitioner would charge for the same job. She'll gain experience - and earn silver - while still in school, and the merchant will have the job done at a lesser cost. Also, his wife and daughters will be there whenever Affli is, so we won't have to worry that the man wants something other than a garden."

For the second time that day - and the hundredth time in the last week or so - Driffin felt confused and almost completely at a loss. He'd made a lot of plans when he'd first found out about the training classes, but for some reason his plans weren't working out as well as they usually did.

"Something's bothering you," Idresia observed after a moment or two of his silence, her hand tightening around his. "Why don't you tell me what it is."

"Your talent should be Spirit magic rather than Fire magic," Driffin informed her ruefully. "You always seem to know when I'm bothered by something, but this time I don't think you can help. It looks like I've started to lose my edge."

"What makes you say that?" she asked, tilting her head a bit to one side to study him. "To me, it looks like you're more alert and ready than ever."

"That's only what it
looks
like," Driffin disagreed with a distracted shake of his head. "On the inside I'm so confused I can barely stand it, and I'm beginning to think that someone has put me into another world while I wasn't watching. Worst of all, though, I can't decide whether or not I like this alien world."

"Unexpected things have been happening to you," Idresia interpreted, leading him into the kitchen area. "Why don't you tell me about them while I make you something to eat. It will only take a minute or two."

"You'd better know that I'm monitoring your body readings," Driffin warned her as she left him to go to the stove. "If I catch you starting to overdo, you'll go straight back to bed."

"I wish you had more faith in how strong a talent you have," Idresia said with a glance over her shoulder as she bent to see if there was wood in the stove. "Overdoing gets harder every day, a development that's been delighting me. Sit down and start to talk to me."

"When I first found out about the training classes, I made some plans," Driffin said after a very brief hesitation, seating himself at the large kitchen table. "The new system was full of holes that were meant to be used by those who were smart enough, and I was prepared to start that using as soon as possible. Now…"

Driffin's words trailed off, and he barely saw Idresia light the wood in the stove with her talent before she reached for a pan and some eggs and cheese. Trying to put his feelings into coherent sentences was difficult.

"Now you obviously feel differently," Idresia said, apparently paying less attention to the cooking than to the conversation. "What made you change your mind?"

"As I look back, I think my mind began to change on the very first day of training," Driffin answered, his own attention returning to the day he spoke of. "I walked into the class expecting to find oh-so-superior instructors who taught very little but expected to be bowed down to for that little. Instead, our instructor was this shy little woman with a big talent who quietly encouraged everyone in the class no matter how strong or weak they were."

"And the people in the class made every effort to learn rather than to curry favor by boot-licking," Idresia added as she broke open the eggs. "I remember you telling me that when you got home."

"Yes, there were no teacher's pets except, possibly, for me," Driffin agreed with a wry smile. "I tried to stay back out of things and simply learn as much as possible before they decided I didn't fit in, but they never decided that. When they discovered I was the strongest in the class they gave me special encouragement, and just before week's end they … approached me. That I didn't tell you about."

"No, you didn't," Idresia said with raised brows. "What did they approach you
about
? Did they want you to join whatever scam they're running?"

"That's one of the things that's making me think I'm losing my edge," Driffin replied with the same wry smile. "I was convinced that there
was
a scam somewhere, but I just couldn't see it. They told me that they expected me to qualify as an instructor when I finished my own training, and wanted me to take over some of the beginners' classes. When they told me how much I would be paid I almost told them they had to be lying, and then they added to my shock."

Driffin paused a moment, still finding discussing the matter difficult, and Idresia helped by remaining silent.

"They … know about the healing I've been doing on the side," Driffin said at last, his gaze on his hands where they lay on the table. "I would have sworn
no
one knew about that, but somehow they got around all the precautions I took. They also knew I wasn't charging for the healing, and the only thing disturbing them about the whole situation is that they believe I
should
be paid. So they asked if I would be willing to open a free care shop for those who can't afford to pay, and the silver and gold would be provided by the new government."

"Why, Driff, that's marvelous!" Idresia exclaimed, now keeping only one eye on the cooking eggs and cheese. "People have finally noticed how good you are, and rather than trying to push you back down they're offering you a hand up. I don't understand why that upsets you."

"It's upsetting me because that's not how the world was," Driffin all but wailed, the turmoil in his mind increasing. "Just a little while ago it was every man for himself, chaos take anyone who got in their way. Now people are actually helping each other, and those who won't - or can't - change are slowly being weeded out. People who want to work are being encouraged instead of shoved back down, and anyone looking for a free ride is being tossed off the wagon of general effort. But I know that things never really change, so how can I believe that all these new ways are really real?"

"Why is that such a terrible problem?" Idresia asked quietly, bringing over the plate of eggs and cheese she'd just filled. After putting the plate in front of him, she sat down to circle him with one arm. "If believing completely in these new ways is impossible for you right now, that's all right as long as you don't show your disbelief. Just tell yourself that you're pretending to go along, and make the best plans you can to protect us all if there does happen to be a scam going on. And if it turns out there
is
no scam, you'll still be in a position to add your effort to the new practices."

"And doing it that way will protect us no matter
what
happens," Driffin exclaimed, suddenly wide-eyed. "Now, why didn't
I
think of that?"

"You didn't think of it because you're hoping too hard that everything
is
real," Idresia told him with a fondly amused smile. "You've never been as hard and practical as you considered yourself, not when you're basically a dreamer. You've always done what was necessary, but you also always wished you didn't have to. Don't you think I know all that?"

Driffin stared at her, briefly wondering how
she
knew something he never had. He
had
always considered himself tough and able to handle whatever came, and the tiny part inside himself wishing things could be different had never really mattered…

"All right, so you know me better than I know myself," Driffin admitted with a small rueful laugh. "And I really do want this new arrangement to work. They've even opened houses for street children, a place where the children can eat and sleep and be part of a family of sorts. For myself, I've been … thinking about recruiting help for the healing shop from the night-siders who don't want to steal any longer."

"You'll probably find more volunteers than you can use, or none at all," Idresia said with her darling, dimpled smile. "I heard just yesterday that the new patrols have been catching thieves by the handful now that using talent isn't against the law any longer. Those thieves that haven't been caught are hiding out, and before very long they'll have to find something else to do or starve."

"Then I ought to get started with opening the shop," Driffin said, reaching for the fork that Idresia had put on the plate of food. "And it's just come to me that I need to list all the people who like this new way of doing things as well as I do. If those government people suddenly decide to change their minds, the rest of us can work to put things back the way they belong."