Lorand couldn’t help but notice that the man’s pause wasn’t to confirm an immediate impression, but to figure out what the substance was in the first place. He was neither as fast nor as strong as the girl had been, which worked out fairly well for Lorand. Now no one should question the matter when
he
lost as well. The man was trying harder and harder to match the girl, but his desperation showed that he knew he wasn’t making it.
From an outside point of view, everything went perfectly well until the man was two layers from finishing the cube. During the time the man worked, his increasing frustration and distress said he knew the girl had done significantly better. That awareness had worsened the man’s performance rather than bettering it, of course, and finally it caused disaster.
After pausing to assess the fifth layer, the man attempted to dissolve it. Lorand knew it was a mild steel painted a lead gray, but the color must have misled the man trying to take it apart. The steel shuddered and pitted here and there, but didn’t even come close to dissolving completely.
“No, that can’t be right!” the man protested at once, his voice wild as he looked to where Lidim stood watching. “People are holding the layer together and blocking my work, trying to make me look like a fool! Stop the clock and make them pull back, and then I’ll be able to continue.”
“No one is blocking you, and stopping the clock in the middle of a performance isn’t permitted,” Lidim told him, loudly enough for everyone to hear. “You merely mistook the composition of the material, but if you hurry you can correct the error and possibly still win.”
“Now
you’re
trying to make me look like a fool!” the man shouted, clearly losing even more control of himself. “I can’t win now, not when
she
didn’t hesitate at all! Your trying to convince me otherwise says that
you’re
the one behind the plot! Well, your friends may get away with it, but you certainly won’t!”
And with that the man sent his ability toward Lidim, obviously intending to take the man apart the way he’d done with the first four layers of the cube. People shouted and screamed all over the room, but Lorand had already put his own talent between Lidim and the man who had cracked under the pressure. The attack had been a very strong possibility from the moment the man began to shout, and Lorand had been ready.
The man screamed when he couldn’t reach the cringing so-called Adept with his ability, but he wasn’t permitted to take more than a single step in Lidim’s direction. Lorand became aware of a large number of people linked together who touched the man at the same time, and then the man collapsed. They’d probably touched the part of the man’s mind controlling sleep, and had forced him into the state. It had taken a
very
large number of people with Earth magic, simply because the man
was
that strong. Not as strong as the girl or Lorand, but definitely a potential High.
And a potential High who was probably no longer in the running for any sort of position. The man’s mind had collapsed under the pressure, and it would take the efforts of a very capable physician to see him well again. Lorand thought about that as people carried the man out, compassion for the poor pawn strong inside him. That could have happened to anyone put through what the testing authority considered “qualifying,” and it was the man’s bad luck that he had turned out to be the anyone.
“I’d like to thank whoever added their strength to mine in shielding me from that madman,” Lidim suddenly announced, still looking shaken. “I didn’t require the assistance, of course, but I’d like to personally thank whoever was thoughtful enough to try. Would that person please acknowledge the considerate gesture?”
Lorand joined everyone else in looking around curiously, not
about
to admit that he was the one who’d done it. Lidim had lied about not needing the help, since he hadn’t tried to erect even a feeble barrier. Someone with decent strength would have been able to recognize Lorand’s efforts as soon as he began to do the exercise, but with Lidim involved, Lorand had nothing to worry about.
“Well, my attempted benefactor is apparently too modest to claim his due in recognition,” Lidim said after a moment or two of no one coming forward. “I’ll simply repeat my thanks, then, and we’ll continue with the competition.”
People began to settle down again with that, and Lidim gestured to Lorand to show whose turn it was. Lorand stood and came forward while a new cube was brought in to take the place of the uncompleted one, and Lidim stepped closer.
“You aren’t permitted to move over the white line, Dom Coll,” he said rather quickly, obviously eager to return to where he’d been standing. “And I hope
you
understand that there’s really no plot involved here. Just a competition, which anyone is free not to compete in.”
“Thank you, Adept Lidim, and I certainly do understand,” Lorand assured him, trying to speak warmly. “If I do happen to fail, it won’t be anyone’s fault but my own. You have my word that I won’t be attacking you.”
Lidim simply nodded and hurried away, so it was time for Lorand to pay attention to the exercise. The top layer of his cube was a dark blue with larger and smaller green and white spots, making the thing look rotten with mold. The coloring didn’t change the fact that the material was a hard baked clay, though, so Lorand set to work.
The exercise turned out to be a lot of fun, and Lorand had to constantly remind himself not to hurry to see what the next layer would be. He dissolved the cube one layer at a time, reflecting that they should have required that all the layers be done at once, and found himself surprised and a bit disappointed when the cube abruptly disappeared completely. There was scattered applause, and then Lidim was beside him again.
“Wonderfully done, Dom Coll, really marvelously done,” Lidim said, sounding as if he simply repeated memorized words that he didn’t mean at all. “You’ll be free to leave in a moment, and here’s the man to accompany you now. If you like, you may have some tea while your coach is being sent for.”
Lorand nodded and followed the man who had come to lead him out, not even glancing at the clock which had probably already been reset. He was rather anxious to get back to the residence, but would definitely have that cup of tea while waiting for the coach. And at the same time he would try to figure out why he was no longer as happy as he’d been. His relief had disappeared somewhere, and Lorand couldn’t quite tell what it had been replaced with.
There were a number of empty tables available in the eating area, and Lorand chose one after looking around. The girl who had performed first in the competition was nowhere in sight, which probably meant she’d already left. The man accompanying Lorand also looked around, then excused himself after saying he’d be back when Lorand’s coach arrived. Lorand nodded absently at that, because the servant he’d rung for was approaching.
After ordering tea and anything in cake that happened to have a cream filling, Lorand sat back and began to try to figure out what was wrong with him. He’d just reached the point of understanding that the competition had been some kind of disappointment to him, when someone sat down at his table. Thinking it was Hestir, Lorand looked up ready to order the man away. The words floated off, however, when he saw that it
wasn’t
Hestir.
“That’s right, friend, don’t say nothin’,” the man cautioned, his large friend standing closer to Lorand than to him. “I told you I’d be back, an’ now that yer done with that there competition thing, I’ll have m’gold.”
It took a moment for Lorand to make himself believe that the man Hat owed money to had had the nerve to show up
here
. He obviously had good enough connections to find out about the competition today, and also the fact that there would be a large number of strangers about. That had clearly let him saunter in and hang around with no one demanding to know what he was doing here, and now he thought he had Lorand cornered.
“The competition isn’t over yet, so no gold has been paid out,” Lorand told the man mildly, finally remembering that his name was Meerk. “But even if it had been paid, none of it would be going to you. I’m willing to lend
Hat
the money, and what he does with it is
his
business.”
“Look, you, don’t you try coddin’ me around,” Meerk growled, coming across even rougher and meaner in the daylight. “That friend a yours is gone, crawled into th’ woodwork somewheres, an’ I ain’t got the time ’r patience t’dig ’im out. You come up with th’ gold right now, ’r you’ll get what I woulda give that little drunk. You get me?”
“Oh, I understand you perfectly,” Lorand said, suddenly fighting to hold a flame-hot temper. He’d just remembered he wasn’t going to be getting any gold, not after deliberately losing the competition, and he didn’t believe the man. Hat hadn’t simply disappeared, the lowlife could well have done something to him, and that meant Lorand had to do something of his own.
“And since I understand you perfectly,” Lorand continued, “let’s see if I can make
you
understand
me
. Do you have any real idea of what sort of competition is being held today?”
“Why would I give a damn?” the man began, gesturing aside the question impatiently. “All I wanna know is—”
The words disappeared as the man choked, his friend staggering and choking in the same way. They’d both gone pale, of course, and Lorand smiled faintly.
“This was—and still is—a competition for potential High practitioners in Earth magic,” he said, leaning back at ease in his chair. “The reason you can’t breathe very well is because I’m strangling you two from the inside, where the strain marks can’t be seen. If I don’t release the hold you’ll die, and all the officials here will do is get rid of your bodies and say nothing. Do you doubt that?”
Meerk shook his head spasmodically while the other fell to his knees, no longer able to stand. They both thought they were dying, but even as angry as Lorand was, he couldn’t kill two human beings in cold blood. At the moment he was simply blocking off some of their air, and the worst that could happen was that they’d faint. But he didn’t want
them
to know that, not when he hadn’t yet gotten what he wanted.
“You’re smart to understand that I’m more important to these people than two useless troublemakers,” Lorand went on with the same small, cold smile. “I’m really tempted to get you out of my life once and for all right now, but luckily for you I have a job of work I want you to do. If you’re interested in taking that job of work, tell me now.”
Both men immediately nodded even as they continued to gasp and choke, and Lorand let his smile widen just a little.
“That’s really very wise of you,” he commended them. “It saves everyone involved a good deal of trouble… Now, what I want you to do is find my friend Hat, and then bring him to me at my residence. If you hurt him in any way I’ll know it and return the favor, but if you bring him to me unharmed I’ll see that you get your gold. Are you still willing?”
By then Lorand had released the men to breathe freely again, needing to see their reactions when they weren’t in a state where they would promise anything to be released. The man who had been standing now sat on the ground with his head hanging low, but Meerk glared at Lorand even as he kept dragging in air. Lorand met his glare with an unblinking stare, and after a moment the man dropped his gaze.
“Always thought that kinda thing was bullshit,” he muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “People bein’ that strong, I mean. I’m real strong in Earth magic m’self, but ain’t no way I coulda broke loose. Okay, you got yerself a deal. We dig out th’ little drunk an’ bring ’im t’you, an’ you pay us. In gold, not in th’ end a our lives.”
He was back to staring at Lorand by then, and what he’d said was true. He
was
fairly strong in Earth magic, possibly even an unpracticed Middle, but he hadn’t had a chance against Lorand’s strength. He did, however, know the trick of monitoring someone’s bodily signs to see if they were telling the truth, and that’s what he was doing right now with Lorand. That said Hat had really believed the fantasy tale he’d told, but Lorand had no time to think about that now.
“You’ll be paid in gold, even if I have to borrow the gold,” he said clearly, making no effort to block the man’s monitoring. “Does that satisfy you?”
“Guess it’ll hafta,” Meerk grudged, pushing away from the table to stand. “Don’t know why you’d want th’ little drunk, but if he’s still here in Gan Garee, he’s yours.”
The one on the ground struggled to his feet, and the two walked unsteadily away. It was still possible that they’d killed Hat and hidden his body, but Lorand had done some monitoring of his own. As far as he could tell, Meerk had been sincere in accepting the offer. If Hat was still in the city, they’d find him and bring him to the residence. After that…
After that, Lorand had no idea what he would do. In the middle of everything going on, what in the world would he do with a man who had turned into a perpetual drunk living in a fantasy world? Lorand didn’t know, but he’d damned well better think of something fast…
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
After Mardimil left the coach, Vallant spent the few minutes until his own stop rearranging his thinking. He’d been depressed over the near certainty that he would lose the competition even if he were able to force himself to stay inside the building, and now, suddenly, he was
supposed
to lose. Never in his entire life had he ever done other than his best, but now…
But now the circumstances were entirely different. If those people really were trying to find out just how strong they in the residence were, self preservation demanded that he and the others manipulate the results of the competition. Just the way he hoped the women were doing…
Vallant exchanged wishes of good luck with Coll and left the coach, determined to think about “the
women
” and not one woman in particular. He no longer had anything to do with Tamrissa, and even his sense of physical attraction had faded. Tamrissa Domon was just one of the people in his residence, and he meant to keep matters just like that. She’d given up trying to talk to him rather easily last night, which meant whatever she’d wanted couldn’t have been very important.