The mass of minds spewing information was like all the people in the kingdom gathered into one place, talking at the same time. How could he identify a single voice? But he’d done it before, like hearing that one familiar voice that calls your name at a party. He listened but did not hear.
Ann called over her shoulder, “We will have to cross the King’s road ahead. Is the way clear?”
Gareth hadn’t been listening for that. He said, “Let me make sure.”
He instantly touched the nearby minds of dozens of soldiers, all directly ahead. “Ann, wait.” He sat and listened. There were not only checkpoints ahead, two of them, but patrols on the road. He sensed that the rings of men surrounding the seaports had been shifted inland during the night as if they knew of his objective.
But that couldn’t be. They had no way of knowing, but they were there, alert and waiting. Not a trap because he found them all along the length of the road, but a warning to Gareth that they were either warned or far smarter than he gave them credit for. He glanced at Ann, but then away. No, he didn’t believe she had anything to do with it even though she was the logical suspect.
Had any of Tad’s emotions or thoughts escaped? He didn’t believe so. His attention turned to the boy at his side.
Yes, he was the reason. Not directly, but the voice that had searched for him last night didn’t find him and probably decided that Gareth had found and killed him. That voice knew Gareth was not only coming after him but getting closer. It had told the King, or the King’s generals to relocate their troops because it told them where to find Gareth.
“Ann, we have a problem.”
“Checkpoints?”
“And patrols. They know we’re close.”
“How?”
Gareth glanced at the urchin at his side. “The mind behind all this was looking for this one last night. Now all the troops have been deployed here. They must have marched all night.”
“He told them?” Her face twisted.
“No. But because he didn’t answer, the other one decided we must be here. At least, that’s what I believe.”
Ann threw her hands into the air and snarled as she looked directly at the boy standing beside Gareth. “How could anyone do this to another? How can he be so cruel?”
“I’ve asked myself that.”
“This isn’t the one that I despise, but he’s part of it, willing or not. Have you decided what you’re going to do with him?”
Gareth didn’t miss the shift in her speech pattern that emphasized the boy was now his problems and not hers. “I’m thinking of asking the Brotherhood for help.”
She started to object but paused before the first word. She nodded. “I can see that. They took you to an isolated place in the mountains and kept you there for years while they taught you only what they wanted you to know. That might work with him. A strict environment and teachers to unlearn half of what he knows.”
“They withheld some information from me, but, for the most part, they provided all the knowledge, if a bit slanted here and there. I had one teacher in particular who gave me both sides of an issue and then we discussed the merits of both sides.”
“He did this without influencing you with his belief?”
“Not at first. Later, when I was older he was impartial, wishing that I would come to the same decisions as his beliefs, but never insisting.”
Ann said, “It sounds to me like he just tested you to make sure you learned the earlier lessons they taught you.”
“I don’t think so. He allowed me to take the other side, in fact, there were times when he demanded it. He wanted me to learn to think for myself.”
“What happened to him?”
“Not long before I escaped he was recalled to wherever they go.”
“He told you this? And you believe him?”
“He was my primary teacher for ten years. I believed him, and in him.”
“And now you want to give this miserable soul of a child to him. What if he trains this boy to be your enemy?”
The conversation was taking an ugly turn. Gareth suspected the calm, gentle, woman who protected and cared for animals wished to kill the boy today. He said, “My dragon is nearby. I’m thinking of having it attack the road and checkpoints while we sneak across.”
Ann placed both hands on her hips and set her jaw. “Gareth, sometimes you are so stupid. Yes, we’d get across, but every soldier in the kingdom would be marching double-time for here, along with the best trackers. They would know that if your dragon did that, you must be here. In a day, the forest ahead would have more soldiers than trees, and it is a thick forest. That does not even consider that every sensitive will hear the disruption. Especially the one you are trying to avoid.”
“Your idea?” Gareth felt like hanging his head in shame for the suggestion.
“Well, it won’t have a dragon in it, for sure. If there’s one thing that will bring everyone here, it’s a dragon, especially a black one. No, we need a diversion, but a smaller one.”
“Such as?”
She smiled, “I would want all of them looking up while distracted, as we rush across the road. We only need a short time.”
“Your smile tells me you have an idea.”
“There are birds in this forest. Everywhere. What if all of them flock to the road where we intend to cross, and they fly low over the soldiers? They can chirp, screech, and tweet. Some will poop. The soldiers will all look up; maybe even while they are pooping.”
Gareth considered, but added, “We need more. Between us, can we get every bird near this place to carry something? Twigs, acorns, small rocks? If all carry things in their beaks and claws, then drop them, it will hurt nobody, but will be so unusual that all will look up long enough for our sprint.”
Ann pursed her lips and considered. “The items they drop won’t hurt anyone unless by accident. I think it’ll work, but I’m concerned it may draw the attention of the evil mind we’re trying to avoid.”
“It might or, not. Odd things in nature happen every day. The incident will begin and end in such a short time that most won’t even comment on it. But it isn’t going to draw attention like the appearance of a black dragon.”
Ann said, “I see. It’d just be a small, local event, especially afterward when you use your powers to calm everyone and tell them it was nothing. I like it.”
A while later the four of them huddled together behind a stand of briars at the side of the road. There were three checkpoints in sight. Nothing could cross the road without being seen by the three, and Gareth reached out with his mind and verified the entire road seemed equally protected. Patrols walked the areas between the checkpoints. More soldiers were on the way.
Gareth sent an image to the birds he could identify and told them to gather things to carry.
“No, silly,” Ann whispered, “After feeding, mating is the strongest urge. Instead of touching the minds of individual birds, just let them all know that carrying two things, one in the beak and one in the claws will increase their chances of mating if they fly here.”
“Why not food, if that’s the strongest urge?”
“What if they’re full, or they gather worms or seeds to carry? Can you feel my suggestions and amplify them?”