Heart Sight Read online

  Occasionally Vinni could beat him.

  For an instant, seeing the Family colors and uniform he wore, Vinni mourned the man who had betrayed him years ago. But that visceral reaction was washed away by continuing anger that someone he’d trusted had tried to kill Avellana. No, he couldn’t forgive that, and now and then he checked on the guy who continued to slowly drink himself to death in the tough seaports along the Plano Strait.

  After the incidents, Vinni had insisted on another Loyalty Ceremony, one slightly modified to include language that each Family member pledge loyalty to his HeartMate, before and after he and his lady HeartBonded.

  And those vows had been a compromise—one he’d had to fight for. He hadn’t been allowed to include Avellana’s name. An unnamed HeartMate had satisfied some people doubtful of his thirteen-year-old feelings.

  But Avellana remained his HeartMate from the first time he’d sensed her soon after her birth to now. Members of his household might still be wary of her, but soon she would be D’Vine.

  And everyone in Druida City had recently seen what happened to people who broke their Loyalty Vows and Vows of Honor—a threefold punishment fell upon them in reaction. They suffered physically, mentally, and spiritually.

  Duon stood before Vinni, jerked his head in a respectful nod. Then the Chief gestured to his two Lieutenants and said in a heavy and slow tone, “Like I said in my papyrus report earlier this week, T’Vine, I have replaced my previous First Lieut, Plicat, with Armen here.”

  Duon hadn’t gone into the reason for that substitution in his terse report; he’d said if Vinni had wanted to talk to him about Plicat’s demotion, Vinni should request Duon come to his office.

  Vinni had decided to leave the decision unquestioned. He’d gotten the impression from the feelings he’d experienced from Duon a couple of days earlier that Plicat’s behavior hadn’t come up to the Chief’s standards. Vinni thought the man might be too strict, but he would review the situation after it had settled. He certainly wouldn’t say anything negative to Duon right now, in front of his people.

  He looked around for Plicat.

  “Guard duty, walking the east wall,” Duon stated.

  “Good to know,” Vinni said mildly before turning to Armen. “Congratulations on becoming First Lieutenant.”

  “Thank you, T’Vine.”

  With a bow to the woman, Vinni said, “Glad to see you’ve been promoted, Fera.” He glanced at the three of them, then widened his gaze to the rest of the guards. “Keep up the good work.” He smiled and gave the trio a fighter’s bow. “Let’s spar!”

  A few minutes later his Healer diminished his bruises in the Infirmary. On the whole, he’d been pleased with his own performance, and the exercise had certainly banished the edgy lust from his system. In his match with Fera, he’d worked up a sweat but had defeated her with no more than medium effort. He’d felt her determination to get better.

  Armen had tried his hardest to take Vinni down, but he thought that was from pure fighter pride.

  Duon had let Vinni bring their match to a draw, a politic thing to do.

  Yet an odd feeling lodged between his shoulder blades, buzzed at the back of his mind. Someone—perhaps more than one person—had watched him with repressed anger. Strong enough emotion that he’d felt it since he was the Head of the Household, and probably because he had the greatest Flair. He also thought that the person or persons did not realize he could sense their concealed ire. More than frustration or the need for more status in the Family that seemed to push Bifrona, edging on ill will.

  Something to be aware of.

  And as he thought of Bifrona, the chime sounded for the last meeting of the day with his relatives and “good nights” before they retired. He sighed. Formal, as always. That wouldn’t change when Avellana came, either, since she preferred more formal manners than he. Because she understood people better when they acted in the social norms.

  It would take him some time to loosen her up, and, with her, make the Family more casual, as the Lords and Ladies of his age group had done.

  Fourteen

  Avellana had finished her mural of a circle of ancestral Hazels holding hands just after TransitionBell in the wee hours of the morning.

  She had been wide awake then and very pleased with the holographic painting since the HouseHeart had observed her creativity and gushed about the work.

  Each GreatLord or GreatLady represented, as best as she knew, a personality of the Residence. Though the current Residence identity was male, as was the HouseHeart, other individuals were available if the GreatLord or GreatLady, or the Residence itself, felt the need for a change.

  The Residence had been thrilled, too, and the odd back-and-forth talking between the HouseHeart and the Residence had given Avellana uncomfortable tingles in her head, so she had excused herself. She walked in the night-blooming flower garden for a while, and Rhyz joined her for some silent contemplation before she went up to her bed.

  Happy with her contribution to her Residence and Family, she fell asleep quickly and sweetly.

  A tinkling tune from her old-fashioned scry bowl chimed insistently, drawing her from a deep sleep. “Here,” she mumbled automatically.

  “This is Blackthorn-Moss; meet me at Lookout Ridge promontory above our village, transnow, for the dawn.”

  “Antenn?” she asked sleepily. Her business partner had insisted she call him that, and after three months of working with him, she had agreed. Naturally, she had offered her own given name to him at the same time.

  “Want you to see the town layout ’afore we start work this morning and also to double-check your parcel.”

  “Oh.” She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She did not know her new land well, and teleporting to an unknown area held great danger. “I do not think—”

  “Come on, Avellana!” he growled.

  She considered a few seconds, looked for Rhyz. Like always, he enjoyed being outside near dawn and dusk, prime hunting time for him.

  Rhyz, she sent him. Could you and I teleport to the rocky ledge overlooking our land? I know you have been there more often than I.

  Of course! She got the idea of a twitching tail. Fun! Will we watch the construction today? Many building mages and much Flair!

  Her contribution had doubled the size of the community to fourteen unsold houses she and Antenn would construct, and her name had brought in ten other people to buy plots and build their own homes in various styles.

  “Avellana!” the man called from her bowl. She glanced over but saw no holo projection. “I am going transnow.” The turquoise light faded.

  She hopped from bed, glancing out at the bands of sunrise brightening the window. No time for dressing in a nice formal robe, and she would not do a Whirlwind Spell when she might need all her Flair today for teleportation spells. So she slid into pantlettes, breastband, a loose knit tunic and trous, and old boots for this meeting. She would dress more formally later.

  Here I am! Appearing at the end of her bed with a wide grin and twitching whiskers, Rhyz waited until she scooped him up.

  He settled, then said, *I* can take you there! *I* know the ridge fine!

  She shared her memories of the times that she had been on the ridge overlooking the landscape, not one of those instances at night or in the dawn. Then she went to the window to look out, saw a clear sky and the twinmoons one day from first quarter. Fixed the phase of them in her memory, merged it with Rhyz’s vision.

  On three, commanded Rhyz. One FamCat, two new house, THREE!

  A couple of instants of white-gray-black images from Rhyz, then they alit, Avellana stumbling—thankfully away from the drop-off—and Rhyz jumping to her feet. He paced back and forth as they looked down below at the smooth land in a crescent of hills with a wide stream running through it. Her parcel bordered that stream, the Tarryall.

  Behind h
er, she could hear the ocean no more than two kilometers distant. They would lay out a path from the town square to the beach. That would be done next week, after all the houses went up. Excitement pulsed through her.

  She caught a whiff of an odd smell—not sea or land or greenery—thought she saw a blur from the corner of her eye, dark against the rose dawn sky. She frowned, turned. An arm rose, came down. Her head exploded with pain.

  Muin! she cried out, heard Rhyz hiss, felt him launch himself against her body even as it fell onto unforgiving ground and she rolled toward the edge of the drop-off. Despair smothered her along with darkness.

  • • •

  Muin! Vinni woke to a shriek of fear and danger.

  “Avellana!” he thundered. He searched for her, knew she lay unconscious somewhere.

  Flinging himself from the bed, he stood, shaking. No prophetic dream last night. He’d thought she was safe in D’Hazel HouseHeart.

  His windows showed as light rectangles. Dawn. He would teleport to her. Follow their link and hope. No time to waste.

  He drew in a deep breath.

  Wait! Flora cried. Rhyz fights bad man! Talks to me. We link. She shoved dark images into his brain. He caught the link, merged it with his own with the FamCat.

  Fligger! Where the hell were they?

  Ridge near new house, Flora said. Pick me up. I have GOOD link with FamWoman. Our lives are twined together. Go on three. I will GUIDE!

  Sucking in his breath, he could only pray, and hope, and . . . use Rhyz’s open mouth to push human words out, warn the assailant. Maybe. “I come to save my HeartMate.”

  And Flora ’ported them away and he sent her power and energy, and they landed hard and he danced away from the edge of a fliggering cliff and caught his foot on a bundle—Avellana—and he yelled! “I’ll get you, fliggering—”

  Rhyz screamed aloud, then mentally gloated, I have man flesh under my claws.

  A black shadow against the brightening sky flung Rhyz, and Vinni jumped to catch the cat, fell, cushioned their landing with Flair, thankfully missing Avellana.

  He rolled to his feet, arms still full of cat.

  Flora had teleported to Avellana, whuffled a soothing patter, and stayed close against her.

  Blood showed on Avellana’s scalp, ran down her face, but Vinni felt the pump of her heart, the push of her lungs. Other good life signs. Not slipping into death. Not.

  I am a hero! I saved FamWoman! Rhyz screeched mentally, then went limp in Vinni’s hands. Fligger.

  Moving fast, Vinni translocated his Fam to his shoulder, stuck Flora there with a spell. He crouched and began to slip his hands under Avellana’s twisted body. Stopped. He did a full turn, memorizing the sky, the top of the ridge, the close bushes, the distant landscape.

  With a jerk of his arm and a snapped couplet, he leveled a spot on the ground and put that in his mind’s eye, soaking up all tactile sensations to project, particularly the quality of light.

  An exercise that all who teleported learned and practiced. He took two paces away, then called telepathically, FirstLevel Lark Holly, please teleport here at once!

  Vinni placed a Fam translocation amulet on Rhyz and activated it. He’d arrive in D’Ash’s Animal Healing Office and trigger an alarm.

  Two minutes later, not only Lark Holly but two SecondLevel Healers straightened Avellana out on the ground. Lark had already done a skull scan and mended a slight concussion. Lady and Lord knew, the Healers of Celta knew Avellana’s head and skull and brain all too well.

  Vinni stood still, draining nervous energy into the ground instead of pacing.

  Looking up at him, Lark said in professionally soothing tones, “We will teleport her to Primary HealingHall, Noble Room One, on three.”

  They did so.

  Before he could follow, Flora nipped his ear. Do not want to go to FamMan Heal place. She trembled. Do not want!

  After her resurrection Flora had never wanted to go to any HealingHall, or even the Fam Healers. He always had those come to his Residence if she had a problem. Nor did she ever set paw in the Residence where she’d briefly died.

  “Can you teleport home by yourself? It’s nearly fifty kilometers home,” he asked.

  You have too much worry-energy. Give me. I will go to my basket and bed.

  Pulling her from his shoulder, he looked into her sweet face. Thank you, he said, mentally, more intimately. Thank you for helping me teleport here and save my Lady.

  She rubbed her head against his hand. She my FamWoman, too. Fam animals ’port better than humans.

  “Yes.” Fams had different teleportation capabilities than people; they could usually find and teleport to their people and not worry about landing inside a person or object.

  And the pretty wheel is nice but she and you not ready. And bad mans got her!

  Vinni shuddered. “All those things are true.” Though he’d never asked Flora about when she’d died. Apparently she’d seen the Wheel of Stars that he and those of the Divine Couple believed in.

  You must find bad mans.

  “You think more than one attacked Avellana?” He itched to go to Avellana but must discover what Flora had sensed that he hadn’t.

  Rhyz will know better. He smells better. I hear better and heard one. But they are always more than one.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  I go now.

  So Vinni gave her the energy for her to teleport herself—he smiled that he had recognized his fragile Fam needed to do things for herself but it had taken recent lessons for him to accept that with Avellana—and teleported himself to the main pad of the HealingHall.

  Striding into the chamber, he found Avellana dressed in a gown and the three working over her.

  “Setting a continual mending spell into her skull,” Lark said. She glanced at Vinni. “I’ve taken care of the minor injury to her brain, nothing to worry about there.”

  His breath whooshed out. “Thank the Lady and Lord.”

  “Yes.” Lark stepped away from the bedsponge and a Healer took her place, Avellana’s bruising fading under her hands.

  Joining Vinni, Lark pulled him away to a small sitting area off to one side of the large room, matched his serious gaze. “Vinni, Avellana was attacked.”

  “I know.”

  “I have already contacted the guards. You’ll have to speak with them.”

  “I don’t know much. Heard her cry my name telepathically. Our Fams helped me ’port there.”

  “I have not notified her Family. I’m letting you do that,” Lark said.

  “Thank you.” He rather dreaded telling the Hazels. He rubbed the back of his neck. This whole thing echoed back to the assaults on Avellana when they were children.

  Looking at the timer on the wall, he let a breath flow out. The Hazels did not rise near dawn, and they, like him, would have thought Avellana safe in D’Hazel HouseHeart. With luck, she would be Healed and well and home in time for breakfast, and he and Avellana could present this as a past event.

  Finally the Healers stepped away from Avellana’s bedsponge, murmuring cleansing spells that whisked around the room and sanitized Vinni as well as everything else.

  “She needs to rest, and should awaken in a few minutes,” Lark Holly said.

  “Naturally, I’ll wait.” He went to the comfortchair that would conform to his body, sat, and took Avellana’s warm hand. Their bond widened until he knew she felt safe and loved and some of his own tension faded.

  “Naturally, you’ll wait.” Lark’s lips compressed, and Vinni knew that she’d be telling her HeartMate, the heir to another FirstFamily Noble title, of the attack on Avellana. So both news and rumors would run through the FirstFamilies before breakfast.

  He and Avellana must plan to counter those.

  With a nod at him, Lark left the room. The other two Heale
rs bobbed curtsies to him, and followed her.

  The guardsman I scried is consulting with the Captain of the Guards of Druida City, Lark sent to him telepathically, and Vinni let out a relieved breath. He wanted to get all the facts he could from Avellana first. And whenever the FirstFamilies were involved, a liaison from the highest level of the guards came to interact with them.

  Always the best service for the FirstFamilies, just like being here in Noble Room One. Vinni acknowledged the privilege but remained thankful for it. Thankful, too, that his class had been reminded not too long ago that no one was above the law, not even members of the FirstFamilies who believed their Flair and wealth and status entitled them to anything.

  Or fanatics of the Noble class who thought that society should remain the same.

  He glanced at Avellana, so beautiful. Not as fragile as he thought, but remaining a target for those zealots who considered her religion bad, thought her innate psi power made her defective or a freak or whatever other word they used because she was so different than anyone else.

  Each generation, particularly among those who had great Flair and married to produce children with even more, gained in the strength of their psi power. Vinni had the recordsphere of his predecessor’s oracular reading at his birth. She’d called him stronger in Flair than herself—the previous GreatLady D’Vine—by approximately four times, and was proud of that fact.

  Furthermore, highly Flaired children—such as he and Avellana—had begun to develop standard skills earlier, such as teleporting. Avellana had been able to teleport at age seven.

  Of course each generation seemed to evolve new abilities, such as Avellana’s Flair for bringing back the dead.

  Or the new GrandLady D’Yew’s facility for personal shieldspell armor.

  Personal armor.

  A knot in his gut loosened.

  Experimental and expensive, but he’d haul Avellana to D’Yew—

  “Muin?” Avellana’s fingers twitched in his, and her head turned toward him. “You are thinking very hard.”