The Blending 07 - Deceptions, page 34
“My answer is that I do still want to join you in stopping the Nolls, and my decision has nothing to do with the fact that they tried to kill my father even though they didn’t succeed.” Everything about Edmin said he was telling the truth, and he smiled faintly when he saw Driff’s confusion over his statement. “Would you like me to explain why I’ve come to that conclusion?”
“Yes, please,” Driff agreed. “I’m glad to hear you say it, but I don’t understand why you’re saying it.”
“Truthfully, I’m saying it because I knew you would be glad to hear it,” Edmin replied with a very small laugh. “I feel like a young child who has been given a gift so marvelous that he had no idea the gift even existed. In my old life my offered help would have been accepted and made use of, with every effort made to keep me from learning any part of the truth of the situation. Afterward, my virtual helplessness would have allowed those who had used me to discard me without a second thought. They would have had no idea how to … enjoy the company of a peer.”
“But we do have that knack,” Driff said, smiling only to himself. Edmin seemed to have learned what it was like to associate with people he could trust, and the experience had him hooked. Like the headiest of drugs, he now craved more … “With that in mind, why don’t you and Issini join Idresia and me for dinner. We can discuss what ought to be done next to ruin the Noll effort at conquering the world.”
“Issini?” Edmin said, turning to the woman who sat beside him. “Will our accepting their very kind offer ruin any plans you’ve already made?”
“No, Edmin, I’ve made no plans so there’s nothing to ruin,” Issini replied, the look in her eyes a glow of pleasure. “But I do appreciate your asking.”
“It’s a poor guest who returns rudeness for the kindness he’s been given,” Edmin told her, reaching over to pat her hand before turning back to Driff. “Yes, Driff, we would very much enjoy joining you for dinner—and the accompanying discussion.”
“Wonderful!” Idresia exclaimed, popping out of her chair. “There’s more than enough for everyone, and if I start the meal now we should be eating in just a little while. Driff, you’ll have to entertain our guests without me until the food is ready.”
“I’ll do just that as soon as I talk to the boys on guard duty,” Driff answered, also getting to his feet. “I don’t want them to start worrying when our guests don’t leave as quickly as they did last night. I’ll be right back.”
Idresia joined the others in nodding their understanding, but the look she gave Driff told him that she knew he was up to something. It was true that Driff did have an unmentioned chore to attend to, and as soon as he was out of the apartment and a short distance away from it, he stopped in the shadows.
“Are you there?” he asked the empty air, feeling the least bit foolish. “Can you hear me?”
—This entity is present and aware of your words—Driff heard at once inside his head.—This entity would have you know that the flesh form you spoke with uttered the complete truth. It has chosen to join your efforts with a whole heart, a decision which will remain unchanged unless some catastrophic event occurs. This entity will monitor the flesh form from time to time, and should such a change occur you will be informed immediately.—
“Thank you,” Driff said, no longer feeling foolish. The Blending had promised to be present at the meeting with Edmin to find out how the former noble really felt, and now they’d confirmed what he’d told Driff. Driff had wanted to be able to trust Edmin completely if the circumstance called for it, and now he could.
Whistling tunelessly, Driff continued on into the warehouse proper to talk to the boys on duty. No sense in neglecting the chore and possibly making himself a liar in front of someone he expected, for some odd reason, to become really good friends with …
Twenty-five
Edmin Ruhl, former noble and lord of the empire, sat in what he once would have considered a hovel and gloried in being where he was. That was rather an extreme reaction for someone who had always been cool and unimpressed with the happenings of life, but it was precisely the way he felt. New reactions for the new life he had been forced to begin, a life he now looked forward to much more eagerly than he ever had the old one.
Issini sat beside him with a quiet smile curving her lips, but the delight inside her was crystal clear to his talent. What made the delight so marvelous was that it was for him rather than for herself, her worry about him all but disappearing. She’d risked her safety by taking him in, had risked his anger by instructing him in those things he hadn’t at first wanted to hear, and then she’d shared her friends.
And what friends! Edmin had felt drawn to and attracted by Idresia, and had come tonight with some vague plan to make the man she lived with look small and unimportant next to him. Edmin still felt the same attraction for Idresia, but his plans had gone by the boards the moment he’d met Driffin. The man was slight and almost nondescript, but a sense of easily controlled power fairly radiated from him.
At first Edmin had been immediately wary, having had far too much experience with men of power in his life. But then Driffin had begun to tell him things, and Edmin had had to fight not to show how shocked he felt. Most men of power used and manipulated those people around them, lying as easily as they breathed. But Driffin hadn’t lied, not even once, Edmin’s ability in Spirit magic confirming that fact without a single doubt. And not only hadn’t Driff lied, he’d even glossed over a rather important point to keep from boasting.
My father is still alive, and Driff is the one who saved his life, Edmin thought for the hundredth time, once again experiencing the same delighted disbelief. If their positions had been reversed, Edmin knew perfectly well that his father would have let Driff die. But Edmin’s father was the product of a twisted and weakened society, one that had needed to be taken down and replaced with a more viable and vital arrangement. Edmin was able to see that now, and his eagerness to join the new arrangement was far greater than his regret over losing great wealth and importance …
“Edmin, we’re going to have to supply you with a really good false identity,” Driffin’s voice came, bringing Edmin out of his thoughts. He’d been so deeply engrossed, he hadn’t even noticed Driffin’s return. “I’ve been thinking, and that’s something we need to get you right away.”
“For what reason?” Edmin asked, surprised and curious. “As soon as we finish dealing with Noll and his sweet wife, I won’t even need the disguise I’m currently wearing.”
“Seeing to the renegade is just a pleasant joint venture that will soon be over,” Driffin answered, resuming his seat and his cup of tea. “After that you’ll still have a life to live, and you want to do that in the best way possible. The first step in achieving that best way is to join one of the classes and have your talent trained, and for that you’ll need a false identity.”
“To keep people from knowing that I’m also a renegade,” Edmin said heavily, most of his previous enjoyment draining away to nothing. “I hadn’t realized that that’s the sort of life I’ll have to look forward to, not in the midst of so much that’s bright and new … Being constantly in hiding, continually fearing betrayal to the new officials …”
“Well, actually, that last is something you won’t have to worry about,” Driffin said hesitantly and almost diffidently, as though he’d done something shameful that he was now forced to admit. “I … spoke to some people I know without going into details, and got their agreement to let you join us if you really were sincere about wanting to help. Since you are sincere and will certainly be quite a lot of help, the new identity will just be to keep ordinary people from giving you a hard time.”
Edmin sat staring at Driffin for a moment, and then he was forced to shake his head.
“I have no idea what I could possibly have done to deserve meeting you, but I will be grateful until the end of my days that I did do it.” The words Edmin spoke were definitely on the foolish side, but Driffin seemed to know that they were also completely heartfelt. “The only problem is, I’ll probably be searching just as long for a proper way to thank you.”
“That’s one search that’s easily ended,” Driffin said with a chuckle and a deprecating gesture of dismissal. “Just don’t make me sorry I trusted you, and we’ll be even.”
“Adopting the street lost has become a way of life for Driff,” Idresia said from where she stood preparing their meal. “He’s never asked more than that from anyone he’s taken under his wing, so you’re now a member of an even more exclusive group. It’s a good thing you have experience with that sort of thing.”
Edmin couldn’t help adding his own laughter to that of the others, laughter that felt strange coming out of him. He’d always wondered how most people were able to laugh so easily, and getting the answer to that question was a sudden and marvelous revelation.
“How odd to gain two fathers in a single day,” Edmin couldn’t help remarking to Driff, for the first time in his life feeling the urge to tease someone. “Is that how I’m to address you from now on, calling you Father as I do my other parent?”
“No, Edmin, we’re not at all that formal here,” Idresia put in before a grinning Driffin could comment. “When the need arises, you call him Daddy.”
“Idresia!” Driffin exclaimed while the rest of them laughed again. “If he starts to call me Daddy, then he’ll be entitled to call you Momma. Fair’s fair, after all …”
“All right, all right, I surrender,” Idresia conceded with another laugh that everyone joined in. “I’d hate to have to murder you all to keep everyone in sight from calling me Momma. Ran, could you give me a hand here? I think we’d all like to eat before midnight.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Issini replied at once as she got to her feet. “I know you’re a better cook than I am, Har, but only a small number of people have died from tasting the fruits of my efforts. Saving time is surely worth the risk …”
Edmin chuckled at the banter between the women, knowing that Issini wasn’t serious. The woman was actually a very good cook, so if Idresia was better, then the meal was definitely something to look forward to.
“Edmin, I’d like to ask you a private question,” Driffin said in a murmur that wasn’t likely to reach the women. “If you’d prefer not to answer, please don’t hesitate to say so. I promise I’ll understand.”
“You’re suddenly feeling very serious,” Edmin observed in the same kind of murmur, now studying Driffin with faint worry. “What sort of question do you have that you think I won’t want to answer?”
“A personal one,” Driffin replied with a sigh. “You were incredibly relieved to hear that your father is still alive, but you haven’t asked about going to see him. May I ask why you haven’t?”
“I now understand your hesitation,” Edmin answered ruefully as he dropped Driffin’s gaze. “I would have preferred not discussing the subject, but if anyone is entitled to an answer … The truth of the matter is, I’m … not sure I want to see my father. He and I were very close, but that was in another life. He would never understand why I’ve chosen to … ‘turn my back on my heritage,’ and it would not be possible to explain the matter to him. I have no doubt that he still plans to take over running the empire.”
“And telling him you won’t join in the effort isn’t something I’d want to tell him either,” Driffin admitted at once with another sigh. “Especially not if the two of you were as close as you say. But what about convincing the man that he hasn’t the slightest chance of taking over? Won’t that do any good?”
“I think … that that understanding would be the end of my father,” Edmin said with a sigh of his own. “He was a High Lord among the nobility and a very powerful man. If he ever had to admit that he would never be the same again, the realization would probably kill him. I never had any interest in being a High Lord, only in controlling the tendency toward chaos that was life among the nobility. My father considered his title and position the only things worth having in this life, and having those things gone forever …”
“Would probably kill him,” Driffin agreed, sympathy a heavy and comforting ocean that flowed out of the man without the least sign of condescension. “I started out envying your relationship with your father, but now there’s nothing of envy left. I suppose this is the bright side of having parents who hated the very sight of you. I used to doubt that every cloud had a silver lining, but now …”
Edmin knew exactly what Driffin meant, and they sat together for a pair of long moments in a shared silence of emotional aching before the women suddenly reappeared at the table.
“We’ll start with this soup, and by the time we finish it the rest of the meal should be ready,” Idresia said as she placed a bowl in front of Driffin and one in her own place. Issini had carried over Edmin’s bowl and her own, and the women were quickly seated. “By the way, Edmin, I meant to ask a question. Before you got here, Driff mentioned that the renegade has four young people with him who linked up to use Spirit magic. Do you have any idea who the young people could be?”
“Of course,” Edmin said, sudden revelation stopping his spoon halfway to his mouth. “All along I’ve been trying to understand how Noll’s wife had found it possible to put my father under her influence with me around. I was present once when she exercised her talent briefly, so I knew that her strength was weak compared to mine. If she had the help of others, then the answer becomes perfectly clear. And those others are her and Noll’s children. One of my people saw and recognized the children, but I had no idea that they were being used to help Noll.”
“Then his efforts are a real family affair,” Driffin said after swallowing the spoonful of soup he’d taken. “Do you remember what Noll’s wife was doing when she used her talent the time you were around?”
“I certainly do remember,” Edmin answered after tasting his own soup, finding it as good as he’d hoped it would be. ‘The woman clearly wanted something from Noll, so she used her talent on him as she spoke to him privately. The fool had no idea he was being manipulated, and he granted her request at once. Afterward she was downright smug, but not out where anyone could see it.”
“You know, that could mean something,” Issini commented as Driffin nodded his understanding. “Her being secretly smug, I mean. If she influenced her husband so casually, that could mean she was used to doing it. And if she was used to doing that influencing, she could be the one in charge rather than her husband.”
“Without his having the least idea of the truth!” Idresia pounced in agreement just as Edmin was about to gently ridicule the idea. “All those men they brought into the city with them would never have taken orders from a woman, but with her husband supposedly in charge they probably never hesitated to do as ordered. So just how much of a puppet is he, Edmin?”
“Actually, I’m not sure now,” Edmin answered, surprised to find that he’d changed his mind. “Noll claimed that his brother Ephaim had trusted him completely because he had none of Ephaim’s ambition, and now that I think about it that claim might be true. All the ambition in the family might really be Bensia’s, and if it is then I really don’t know how much of a puppet Noll might be. The man seemed totally wrapped up in his wife, and so might simply be doing as she wished because of his feelings for her.”
“That comment tells me how much of a puppet he is,” Issini put in, her expression one of excitement. “Don’t you remember, Edmin? I told you that Bensia Noll had a courtesan friend of mine hurt because one of her clients was Noll. Men who are completely wrapped up in their wives don’t visit courtesans, so the woman must have … adjusted her husband’s feelings about her to keep him pliable. If his mind and body filled with desire every time he looked at her, wouldn’t he be more eager to do everything she asked him to?”
“No question about it,” Driffin said after exchanging a glance with Edmin. “A man who’s really wild about a woman will do anything to please her, and will also want to do that pleasing. People like that can’t seem to understand that mutual pleasing is better than the one-sided variety—even if they are getting something of their own out of it.”
“So that means the renegade is really Bensia, and her husband is just being used,” Idresia summed up as she looked around. “I hope neither of you men think that that means our efforts against the Nolls will be less of an effort because a woman is in charge?”
“Do I look as if I’ve turned addlebrained?” Driffin asked with a sound of ridicule, saving Edmin from saying that what Idresia had said was exactly the way he saw the matter. “I know from personal experience that women make the worst adversaries because women will do absolutely anything to win. Most men, even the most ruthless, will draw a line somewhere beyond which they just won’t go. Most women think lines are good for nothing but hanging wet clothes on.”
“So what’s your point?” Issini asked very mildly, which made Idresia join the laughter Issini produced right after the comment. Driffin simply shook his head in a helpless way, which was exactly how Edmin felt. A helpless babe in the woods who knew almost nothing about the world about him, despite all the knowledge he’d thought he had. But he was a very lucky babe in the woods, as he now had guides all about him to help him find his way. And he would find his way, that he was determined to do. He would take the path to true happiness, and his step would never falter—until the day came when he had to face his father again … and maybe even ask about his brother Ophin …
Honrita Grohl strolled into the shop projecting an air of complete innocence. The shop sold food, and Honrita found it pleasant that the shelves were well filled instead of almost empty. Food shipments were reaching the city again on a regular basis, but Honrita wasn’t there to do any buying. She had a much more important objective, the final leg of what had proved to be something of a difficult search.
The man she was waiting for arrived no more than a few steps behind her, a nervous little man who made the same stops every day. The new arrival went straight to the woman who stood behind the counter of the shop, and didn’t even have to speak. When the woman saw him coming she took a small envelope out from under the counter and handed it to the man when he reached her. The man took the envelope, put it in his old, worn tunic, then turned and left again.
