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five Readers."
"Friends of yours?"He had come here expecting to find her feeling better, not
in the midst of a personal tragedy.
"Acquaintances, some of them.But it was enough that they were Readers. I felt
it happen," she added, and suddenly he understood. In her world, no one dwelt
in isolation and he felt a strange pang for the threats he had made toDarien
and Primus.
But Astra was continuing, "Zanos, it's more than just the deaths of
Readers in a natural disaster, such things happen. But this wasn't
natural they weremurdered."
"What?" He could see that she believed it and with a Reader's powers, perhaps
she had good cause.
"That earthquake was no act of the gods," Astra explained. "Master Portia
used her powers to search the territory immediately afterward. She witnessed
two spies from the savage lands, sneaking back over the border a powerful
Adept and a renegade Reader."
This was indeed frightening news and no rumor of it had penetrated The Maze.
"She's sure the two savages had something to do with the earthquake?" Zanos
asked.
"Why, they bragged about it! When Portia confronted him, mind to mind, the
Reader declared there was nothing the savages couldn't do, combining Reading
and Adept powers. Portia alerted the border guards, but the spies escaped."
Although Zanos found nothing magical about evading the border guards, the
rest of the story "JustoneAdept guided by a Reader setting oft" an
earthquake?Surely they can't have such strength!"
"Master Portia found no other savages, and I'm told she did a lot of
searching. The Emperor called for a special closed meeting of the senate,
where she made a full report. They're probably still debating what to do,
though there's little doubt that when the citizens hear aboutGaeta there'll be
a public outcry for war. The savages can't be allowed to get any bolder, any
more powerful."
Assoon as the senate session is over, the news will be all over The Maze,
Zanos thought. "How much more powerful can they become?" he wondered aloud and
Astra gave him an unexpected answer.
"I'm afraid to imagine. They've already learned how to bring the dead back to
life."
At his shocked stare, Astra nodded emphatically. "It's true. The renegade
Reader was a boy named Torio, who was killed last year trying to defect to the
savages. A border guard put an arrow through his heart, but the other renegade
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Reader Lenardo the
Traitor carried the body back to his friends, where they resurrected Torio
and made him one of them. Now he's helping the savages!"
"And your Council of Masters thinks this attack was a preparation for a
full-scale invasion of the empire?"
"Obviously Zanos, they've been pushing back the borders for years, but now
they're directly attacking Readers. First theAdigiaAcademy , nowGaeta I can't
believe even the savages would deliberately attack a hospital, except that it
contained as large a concentration of Readers as any Academy. They're trying
to wipe out our system of Masters and Magis-ters, for they've proved that the
failed Readers on the Path of the Dark Moon are no match for their savage
arts."
Zanos noticed the high color in Astra's cheeks, her paleness otherwise, and
attempted to soothe her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you "
"It's notyou," she replied. "It's the savages. What are we going to do?"
"That's up to the Emperor and the senate. In the meantime," he added,
deliberately changing the subject, "I want to thank you. I took your advice
about the stable owners. It took a full night of arguing and coaxing, but they
finally agreed not one of us paid those Readers this month. And it's working!
So far, all the stables have been represented at the matches, their best
wrestlers performing. "
"Congratulations," she said. "I'm glad the idea worked. There's been no
retaliation from Vortius and his friends?"
"Not even threats. No one has seen Vortius lately. He's not at his town house
or his villa in the southlands. So far as anyone knows, he's left the empire."
"But where would he go?" she asked in amazement.
Zanos smiled at her sheltered innocence. "Surely you know both trade and
smuggling go on outside the empire. I'm sure Vortius will be back but if it
takes a while, and he makes a rich haul, it may not be worth his while to try
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