Under the Vale and Other Tales of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey Read Free Book Online Page A

‘Even if he is a mere Journeyman.’ ” A lifted eyebrow conveyed the irony Meran couldn’t hear.
    Meran bowed mockingly without breaking step. “I did pay attention to my teachers, you know. All I can tell you is what it isn’t. Not Mindspeech, not Farspeaking, not even Overshadowing. People just . . . believe him.”
    “‘Not Compulsion?’ ” Hedion (Rhoses) asked.
    “You think I wouldn’t recognize the kissing cousin of the Bardic Gift?” Meran demanded indignantly. He sighed. “I only saw him up close once,” he admitted. “If he was using Influence, he did it faster and stronger than I’ve ever thought was possible.”
    “Apparently he used it on Elade directly,” Hedion said, answering the silent question.
    Elade scowled ferociously. “If that’s what it was, I’ll make sure he never does it again once I catch him. I chased him through the crowd. I caught him. He . . .” She hesitated, and her next words were spoken with obvious reluctance. “He told me I’d made a mistake—that he wasn’t the man I was after.”
    “And?” Hedion prompted.
    “And I let him go. I realized I’d grabbed the wrong man, and I let him go. I would have gone on thinking that, too, if Meran hadn’t opened his big mouth.”
    “Would you rather not know you’d been an idiot?” Meran demanded.
    “Children,” Hedion said (or it might have been Rhoses; who knew?)
    “So,” Meran said. “If it’s a Gift, I wondered if you knew what it was. And if it’s that strong, why hasn’t someone come for him? A Companion, I mean?”
    Rhoses seemed to be thinking the matter over before answering. “ ‘Companions only come for future Heralds,’ ” Hedion finally relayed.
    “But . . .” Elade said, puzzled.
    “I think he means our nameless friend doesn’t have the morals to be a Herald,” Hedion said.
    No one knew what qualities Companions looked for in their Chosen. The people they brought to the Collegium were as diverse as the people of Valdemar. But all of them had that something that meant they would someday don Herald’s Whites and dedicate their lives to service. I suppose that includes Gaurane , Meran added, with the usual puzzlement the thought brought. If there was an ideal Herald, then Gaurane was sort of . . .the anti-Herald.
    They’d reached their lodging.
    “I suppose I’d better—” Hedion began.
    Gaurane staggered through the doorway, squinting painfully at the daylight. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, regarding Rhoses without any sign of welcome. “I suppose it was inevitable. Come along then, if you’re coming.” He turned and strode away.
     
    You had to walk quite a way before you left the outskirts of Summerfair behind, but at least Meran was used to walking. Beside him, Elade kept up an endless, nearly inaudible grumbling. But at last they’d put a good mile between themselves and the nearest fair straggler. Gaurane located a convenient rock, sat down with a grunt, and reached into his tunic for the ever-present flask.
    “Maybe someone can tell me why this is our problem,” he said, after he drank. “You—” he regarded Elade balefully “—hate being got round with Mind-magic, and you—” now Meran was his target “—never saw a wasp nest you didn’t want to poke. You have a death wish—” this was for Hedion “—and that is a compendium of all the virtues,” he finished, gesturing toward Rhoses. “And none of this has to do with Karse.”
    “How resistant are Heralds to Mind-magic?” Meran asked. “I’m not asking you,” he added hurriedly. “I’m asking him .”
    All of them looked at Rhoses.
    “ ‘It . . .depends . . .’ ” Hedion finally quoted.
    Gaurane snorted. “Can’t fool one of the circus ponies, you know that damned well,” he said harshly.
    “But you can . . . fool . . . a Herald,” Hedion said, speaking for himself now. “If Healer’s Gift works on them, so do the others. Depending on the Herald. You don’t need a strong Gift to be