Convergence (72 page)

That suggestion chilled Jowi so thoroughly that she let the subject drop. It wasn't as if she hadn't realized it herself at some level, she simply hadn't let herself think about it. Now she had to, and the thought made her strangely ill. How had Lorand gone from being an ordinary, interesting man to someone whose survival was vitally important? Even if they never found a way to be together, she couldn't bear the idea that he might not survive. There had to be a way, for all of them, and what
she
had to do was find it.

The decision in favor of action rather than sitting around waiting for something to
happen
made Jowi feel better. She looked out her window to see that they seemed to be heading out of the city, across a bridge into an area that ought to be filled with the estates of the rich. Anywhere else it would be, but Gan Garee apparently had another use for the area. Odd that there weren't estates and mansions anyway . . .

Or maybe not so odd.
When they turned onto a side road after the men's coach in a relatively short while, Jowi thought she understood.
Either the testing authority had been permitted to claim the entire area for its own uses, or anyone with enough power and
gold to build in the area knew better than to do it. They had to be close to where the competitions were being held, and no one with any sense would want something like that outside their back door. Accidents could happen even with her aspect, and some mistakes can never be repaired.

When they reached a road running parallel with a resin wall, the men's coach turned left and theirs turned right. Tamrissa was the first to get out when the coach stopped beside a metal sign painted with the standard Fire magic symbol, but she didn't simply leave. After a brief hesitation she put her hand over Jowi's and squeezed gently and reassuringly, and then she got out of the coach. She hadn't met Jowi's gaze, but she
had
wished her luck.

Jowi managed to return the squeeze before Tamma was gone, and then the coach continued on. It went quite a long distance, actually, before stopping beside a sign with the Spirit magic symbol. Jowi discovered how reluctant she was to leave the coach when it came time to do it, but that didn't stop her any more than it ever had. She'd learned that simple problems could sometimes be run away from, but the rest had to be faced and defeated before it was safe to turn and walk away.

Jowi closed the coach door behind her and headed for the opening in the resin wall, preferring not to picture deputies of the testing authority pursuing her. And they
would
come in
pursuit, that
was absolutely sure in a world of uncertainties. They went to a lot of trouble and expense gathering in all potential Highs, so there was no chance at all that they would shrug and forget about any who tried to escape them. They had to be avoided in a different way, most likely through the exercise of aspect power.

But the question still remained: how much power would be considered too much and how little too little? The entire situation screamed out a need for careful balance, but as Jowi looked around at what lay behind the resin wall, she felt the frustration of not- knowing where the balance point lay. That was the key to all balance, knowing where the balance point was; without knowing, stabbing around in the dark after a hidden enemy would be just as productive. Pure luck might bring you success, but relying on luck was notoriously unreliable . . .

"Good morning, my dear," a smooth, pleasant voice said, taking Jowi's attention. "I'm delighted to see that another of us has made it."

Jowi examined the woman smiling at her even as she automatically returned the smile. The person greeting her was perhaps ten years away from middle age, but the woman radiated a sense of balance that suggested centuries of practice and exercise. She was tall, handsome rather than pretty, and had shining brown hair and soft brown eyes. Her dress was on the plain and businesslike
side,
a dark rose trimmed with gray, but was obviously expensive.

"I'm Genovir, the Adept who will be showing you around," the woman continued, putting out a friendly arm to draw Jowi closer. "We'll have a cup of tea while I describe what you need to know, and then I'll get you started. Let's take that table over there."

There were quite a few tables with chairs standing just beyond the entrance area, and the one Genovir pointed to stood on the far side of the arrangement to the right. Jowi let the friendly arm guide her into joining the woman, who paused to
ring a bell
hanging on a post before going to the table and sitting. Even before Jowi was settled, a servant came out from behind a wall to the right, took Genovir's order for tea, then the man disappeared back behind the wall.

"Our servants are extremely efficient and quite pleasant," Genovir said when the man was gone, giving Jowi another smile. "We generally all lunch in this area as well as take tea during times of rest, and you need only ring that bell when you want service. Some even take tea before they begin, as we're doing now."

"There aren't many people around, and none at the other tables," Jowi observed just as mildly. "Is everyone already at practice then?"

"Oh, dear me, no," Genovir replied with a pleasant laugh. "Most of the applicants haven't arrived yet, it's much too early. We're here because this is your first visit, and you need someone to tell you what's expected. Tomorrow you may return early or with everyone else, just as you choose."

"I see," Jowi said, then waited for the returning servant to set down a teapot and cups, pour for each of them, and then bow and leave again. "My goodness, they
are
efficient," she added.

"Once you reach this level you're entitled to a bit of pampering," Genovir responded, almost taking the compliment personally. "And once you've gone through hours of practice—or a competition—you'll appreciate it even more. Our range may not be as varied as some of the other aspects, but it can be more intense."

Jowi nodded and sipped her tea after adding sugar, then let her gaze wander over everything in sight. A canopy was suspended from poles high above their heads, ready to ward off the heat of a noon sun when it arrived. Beyond the area of tables where they sat was a wide lawn of lovely grass, interrupted only by four stone paths. Each path led to an odd-looking round structure of resin, two of them small, two large. The small ones were to the left and the large to the right, and Genovir noticed Jowi's curiosity.

"The small buildings are practice areas, the large, competition areas," she supplied after sipping at her own tea. "The small resin building to the left is where you'll begin, at first taking up where you left off at the sessions. The only difference here is, you'll be facing the people whose emotions you must balance, rather than having them behind walls and out of sight somewhere."

"The way they were during the sessions and even at the test," Jowi said, knowing she showed a small frown. "But why am I suddenly going to be facing them? I can affect them just as easily through a wall."

"Not through a resin wall, and that's the only sort we have here," Genovir responded, still projecting nothing but kindliness and patience. "In addition to that, you have to become accustomed to working with the people around you. We're all of us raised not to interfere with those who are closest to us, sometimes even in matters of self-protection. You've reached the level where
that changes
, and you must become accustomed to the idea."

She gave Jowi a moment to think that over, a moment Jowi gladly took. She'd used her talent both to defend herself and to further her career, but at all other times she'd followed the restrictions and hadn't gone beyond soothing an occasional someone in great distress. She'd been taught, along with every other child, that using her ability to affect other people was both disgusting and absolutely forbidden, and it was going to take some effort to get beyond that.

"You'll have six people to work with, and they'll begin by shaking fists at you and simply being angry," Genovir continued after the pause. "That will give you a sense of being endangered, which should help to get you past ingrained reluctance. And they'll all be standing together, which will make balancing their emotions easier. Once you've mastered that they'll separate into two groups, which you'll find is just a bit harder to handle. After that there will be three groups, and finally all six will stand individually around you. When you can meet and master
that
situation, you'll be ready to move on to the next small building."

"What's done there?" Jowi asked
,
mostly to keep from thinking about having six people all around her who had to be balanced into harmlessness and serenity. That would be much harder than what she'd already done, but somehow she'd have to manage.

"The second small building is where you'll practice reversing what you did in the first,"
came
the answer, the words so smooth and matter-of-fact that Jowi was instantly on guard against showing the wrong reaction. "The people you'll be working with will just stand there, and it will be up to you to change serenity into anger, and perhaps into some of the other emotions. We
can
do both with our talent, you know. Unbalancing is merely the opposite side of the coin."

"So it is," Jowi agreed with a faint smile, inwardly more than a little disturbed. Whatever were these people
after
...
? "And when I complete that part of the practice, then comes the competition? How does that work?"

"My, aren't we eager," Genovir said with a smile that was just a shade too pleasant. "I certainly do hope our ability is able to match our ambition. But of course it will, so you must be told that the first competitions are time, strength, and speed tests where you are, in effect, competing with yourself. When you prove your mastery over your current peers, you then step forward to face those who have risen to the heights before you. So you see the whole thing is quite simple."

"Simple to discuss, yes," Jowi said
,
making certain her tone was wry. "Accomplishing it will be another matter entirely, but I have cause to be concerned about the gold they told us could be won during the competitions. In just a short while I'll need to pay for my food again, and I don't yet have the full amount."

"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about that," the woman said, and now her smile was considerably more relaxed.
"The pressure of needing to earn your supper.
Well, you need not fear an empty belly quite yet, as you'll earn a silver din for each section of the first building that you master, and
two silver for every section of the second
. Does that ease your mind?"

"Yes, thank you, it certainly does," Jowi replied, making certain she sounded gratefully relieved. "Hopefully I'll have enough time to earn what I need for week's end, and after that I can work toward future times. Yes, that should do quite nicely, and I appreciate your putting my mind at rest."

"That's one of the things I'm here for, my dear," Genovir replied, superiority fairly oozing out of her. The impression of total balance was a false facade, Jowi could see now, erected to hide a rather shallow personality. And as easy as it was to get through the facade, the woman couldn't be terribly strong. And yet she called herself an Adept, which was supposed to be a position only just below that of High practitioner.

Jowi sipped her tea in silence, trying to make sense of what now lay before her. The practicing she would soon do had a purpose, she couldn't be more certain of that. But the nature of the purpose was hidden behind requirements without explanation—and statements apparently designed to raise thoughtless protest.

Like their short discussion about the second practice building. Jowi had the very strong conviction that she was supposed to have protested the idea of creating unbalance; that would have shown she felt concern over others, the strength of her protest indicating just how strong that concern actually was. They could have been looking for a sense of humanity, but if that was so then why had Genovir seemed so pleased when Jowi hadn't displayed one? And Genovir
had
been pleased, Jowi had felt that clearly, but the emotion hadn't seemed personal.

So Genovir probably wasn't making an estimate of Jowi for purely personal use. She was supposed to look for certain qualities, but ambition wasn't one of them. The thought of that hadn't set well with the Adept, but that part of it
might
have been personal. The woman was guarding herself in an effort to keep from being read, but not particularly well. There was a good chance she would soon relax, and then Jowi would be able to get a better idea of what was going on.

But in the meanwhile Jowi would have to watch what she said and did. The day was growing brighter and more pleasant, an external outlook that didn't quite match Jowi's inner one. She still had to find out how strong was considered too strong, and how weak too weak. Playing that balance was the only thing that would let her move forward in relative safety—until she reached the end of whatever line it was that she walked.