Near midnight they stopped at an inn, where they were given fresh horses and where hot food was laid ready for all of them-it took only minutes for the group of Adepts to eat meat wrapped in bread; then they picked up cheese and fruit to take with them, and rode swiftly along the road again. Neither Melissa nor Torio was hungry, but they tucked apples into their cloaks for later.
Neither Reader could Read over the distance they yet had to cover before the watcher's reports began, lights blinking on the hilltops and runners and riders coming to them with messages: The Aventine army was breaking camp.
"They've Read our troops converging," said Wulfston. "They have to attack now, while they still outnumber the army directly before them. Torio, can you-?"
"No, my lord-it is still too far. I can stop here, though, leave my body, and stay in touch with you through Melissa."
Wulfston pondered a moment, then said, "No-I want you on the scene. Watcher," he added to the rider who had brought the latest message, "see if anyone can provide us with fresh horses again-we've got to ride faster!"
They pushed their mounts-and Melissa Read something strange happening to the animals. They did not seem to feel the tiredness in their legs, the ache of their overworked lungs-//Torio-the horses?//
//Wulfston's doing it. It's not good for them-he would never mistreat an animal, though. It's probably safe enough for a few miles.//
And in a few miles there were fresh horses-but only four riding horses, probably belonging to huntsmen. The rest were farm horses, strong but slow. Still, they were better than the tired-out animals they left to be cared for by Wulfston's people-with a warning that they needed to be walked slowly for a good long time to cool off after their effort.
Now Wulfston's party became strung out along the road, the minor Adepts consigned to the farm horses losing ground as the Lord of the Land galloped toward the battlefield. Torio and Melissa kept up, Rolf close behind.
At last they reached the point at which Torio could Read the rain-drenched plain. It was not raining where they were, but sharp cold winds were beginning to assault them, and Melissa could see the clouds ahead-a neat line across the horizon. She pulled her cloak tighter, and tried to stretch her body as she rode. She was going to be very sore in a few hours-like all Readers, she had been taught to ride at the Academy, but she had seldom had occasion to travel since being assigned to Gaeta, and her muscles were far out of practice for such a long ride.
Yet she wasn't tired. It was not long after Torio could Read the Aventine army that Melissa was able to do so for herself, rather than through his senses. They were too late-the battle had begun!
Dawn was breaking, gray through the rainclouds. The first units of the Aventine army had left the plain and were engaging Wulfston's men in the fields south of the first village.
"My lord!" Torio told Wulfston, "the fighting has started! The army is moving off the plain."
"We'll drive them back," said the Adept. "Show me where to strike, Torio." Wulfston unrolled a map, and Melissa saw again the technique for guiding non-Readers.
Torio pulled his horse up beside Wulfston's. "We're here," he pointed out on the map. "Here is where the armies are clashing-and they are already well intermingled."
"We'll have to get closer," said Wulfston, studying the map with a frown. "There is no high vantage point from which I can see the fighting."
Rolf caught up with them, his horse stopping with theirs. He listened as Torio said, "There are woods along the edges of the fields here-they don't show on the map. We can ride through there, and you can see what's happening fairly well."
"Good-let's move."
The other stragglers also caught up as they left off galloping along the road to cut across newly-plowed fields and into the trees. Here it didn't matter whether the horses were fast or slow; all were slowed to a walk by the underbrush. Rolf's horse balked, and Melissa caught up its reins. "I'll guide you," she said.
"Thank you," he said, his words polite but edged with bitterness. "They won't need my talent, anyway, until we get to the plain. Unless it's to keep it raining. You're Melissa, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me if the rain has stopped? At least I can keep that going, to hamper the enemy until my lord can reach them."
"It's only drizzling now," Melissa told him. "The clouds you brought together last night are nearly empty."
"But the clouds themselves are moisture," he replied. "This close, I can make them give up every drop-if I knew where they were. I… I'm lost, Melissa. We've been twisting and turning so I don't know which direction the plain is."
She pulled his horse up beside hers, and took his hand as she had Read Wulfston do. "That direction," she said, using his hand as a pointer. "The plain begins about four miles from here, and extends a good five miles."
"Thank you." He concentrated. She Read the clouds draw together again from the wide configuration they had scattered into during the night. The rain turned to a steady downpour.
"I told you where the plain was," she said. "How did you know where the clouds were?"
"I don't know. I mean, I always know where there are clouds, within a few miles, anyway. There's something about the air-I can't really describe it."
"Then why couldn't you have found your way just now by… feeling for that something that tells you where the clouds are?" She urged her horse forward, leading Rolf again.
"I… never thought of it," he replied. "But ordinarily it wouldn't help anyway-clouds move all the time. Just knowing where there are some clouds won't usually tell me where /am."
"But it will this morning. Keep focusing on those clouds."
"Focusing?"
It was a Reader's term. "Keep your attention on them. We're still twisting and turning-but are you lost now?"
"No," he said in wonder. "Thank you, Melissa!"
What she had used was a simple technique for teaching young Readers to sense the shape of the world about them-using whatever they found easiest to Read to locate other things.
Was Rolf Reading? He didn't feel like a Reader-but then he had no experience in verbalizing thoughts or other techniques usually taught to Readers as children. She had never heard of a Reader's being discovered through his ability to sense objects-but children almost always had that sense already when they were discovered, or developed it within a few weeks. It just wasn't very dramatic; even children whose parents were Readers were usually discovered when they answered an unspoken thought, or responded to somebody else's pain.
//Rolf!// she tried, projecting at the strongest level. He did not respond.
//It's no use,// came Torio's mental assurance. //I've tried, Melissa. He can't Read.//
Maybe you pushed him too hard, she thought, carefully not projecting to Torio. And being blind, Rolf wants to Read so badly that he can't believe he can do it. It was a common stumbling block, desire so strong that it produced frustration, while the frustration in turn prevented the budding Reader from recognizing when he did make progress.
Carefully avoiding the mention of Reading, Melissa asked, "What can you sense besides clouds?"
"Water," he replied. "Clouds are water, you know. I can go swimming and find my way to shore, because shore is where the water stops-and right this moment is the first time I've ever realized that that is how I do it. I can cause the air to move, to create winds-but again it has to do with water. Warm air carries more moisture; bring warm and cold together to get wind. Lord Wulfston has taught me a great deal about using my talent without wearing myself out-I'll never have his strength. But my single talent can be useful."