Intrigues (61 page)

"Yes, yes, we do need to find out who was behind the attack, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything else," the bulky man interrupted to say. "I want to know why their Earth magic user is still touching the power. Surely he doesn't think he and his friends aren't safe
here
."

"We've noticed that most of your people don't touch the power except from time to time," Lorand answered before Gardan could lodge another protest. "For ourselves, the people in our empire have been denied the use of their various talents so long that we keep a constant touch on the power to show that we're no longer slaves. Worrying about whether or not we're safe has nothing to do with it."

"I can tell that you're speaking the truth as far as you've gone," the bulky man said to Lorand, his stare suggesting deep study. "What I can't tell is if there's anything you're
not
saying. How in the name of chaos did you manage to grow so strong, man?"

Lorand hesitated in answering the bald question, but Jovvi didn't get the chance to help him out of the corner. Just as she was about to speak, a number of ragged, obviously exhausted men stumbled into the room.

"Help, Exalted Ones, help!" the man in the lead called out, fear and pain in his voice. "There are invaders, attackers, and our people are being killed!"

If there was confusion earlier, pure pandemonium broke out now. The five men who had burst in were helped to seats quickly vacated by assembly members, and Lorand joined those people who were obviously Earth magic users in seeing to the newcomers' wounds. And they were
all
wounded, some so severely that it was a miracle they'd been able to stay on their feet. Jovvi wasted no time in joining her own talent to those Spirit magic users who worked to ease the men's pain, and after some minutes of effort it was possible to ask questions.

"Who are you, and where do you come from?" Gardan asked the man who had spoken. The man sat with eyes closed and breath coming unevenly, but he roused enough to respond.

"I'm Dislin Marne, governor of Eastgate," the man said in a strengthless whisper. "I have no idea where those monsters hail from, but their ships suddenly appeared on the horizon across the ocean. It disturbed us that there were so many of them, but we had enough High talents in the city to defend us if it came to that. It did come to that, but our High talents weren't able to do anything. The invaders landed hundreds, thousands of men and attacked the city, and we weren't able to stop them."

"Then what you need are Blendings," Gardan said, a grim set to his jaw. "Four or five should do it, and we'll decide right now on who's to go. We - "

"No, no, you still don't understand," the man Marne interrupted, looking as though he wanted to cry. "If you send any Blendings, they'll be overrun just the way our High talents were. Those monsters … they butchered our people, men, women, and children alike, and we couldn't do a thing to stop them. It … isn't possible to touch them with talent, it just isn't possible."

Jovvi felt the shock flaring around the room, an emotion she shared completely. Gracely was being invaded by people who couldn't be touched with talent? But
that
was what wasn't possible, not the use of talent.
Everything
could be touched, nothing else made sense. The man had to be wrong…

But what if he wasn't wrong? What if Gracely fell to the attackers? The next ones to be made victim would be the people of
her
home, and hundreds if not thousands would die before anyone in Gan Garee became aware of the problem. But even if they did become aware, if the man was right there would be nothing anyone could
do
…