*There are many Brothers around me at this time. They watch me constantly. My people do not trust me since I allowed you to escape.*
You didn’t ‘allow’ it.
*Neither did I prevent it, but the result is the same. They watch me—and many of them are nearby. We will speak late at night when I am alone if that is acceptable to you and if it is possible.*
Tonight.
Gareth pulled away, pleased and upset simultaneously. His old teacher was also a mentor who allowed more freedom of thought than was permissible with other teachers. He seldom corrected Gareth. His manner was more to allow Gareth to reach his own conclusions, which were more often than not the intention of the lesson. He had never been disloyal to the Brotherhood, but there had been times when his actions were less than what the Brotherhood demanded.
The din of thought again drew him to listen carefully for any mind that stood out from the others. He searched for anger, fear, and rage. Those were the minds shouting information. From all the people thinking, and all those who do not, he waited. It was like walking into a vast library filled with only green books, but somewhere located on a shelf was one that was red. He wanted to find that one.
His task was to find a single red book in a library of green, not a hard task no matter how large the library. It might mean strolling around the library floors, looking up and down the rows, but he’d find it—and remember where it was for his next visit.
In his library example, he found there were several red books—but not the exact red one he wanted. An angry housewife threw a mug at her drunk husband. A sailor struck a bartender and received a thump on his head from a baton. A buyer felt cheated and demanded his money be returned. But these were normal emotions and quickly rejects. They were not the red book he was seeking.
However, he found one that sent chills down his back. It was angry, fairly close, and trying to control his emotions from escaping and warning Gareth. Yes, it knew his name. Gareth didn’t rush in. He allowed the anger to brush over his mind as soft as the touch of dandelion puffs to his cheek. He didn’t reach out to touch it. It came to him. It was the evil mind searching for the boy at Gareth’s side.
Gareth allowed another dandelion puff of contact to touch his cheek. The evil mind was young and untrained and couldn’t contain the anger, pain, and fear it felt. It was scared. One of his younger helpers had disappeared or refused to respond. But he sensed the boy occasionally, so he was alive.
The manner he expressed concern caught Gareth’s attention. One of his helpers was missing. One.
It confirmed that there were more of them.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The number of minds working in unison with the twisted, evil one was uncertain, but all were under the control of the mental force Gareth touched. Worse, all were close in proximity to Gareth and all were being directed by one stronger and eviler than the rest.
Gareth felt confident he knew exactly where they were. They were in the valley where he headed, the home of his mentor, the man he called his father. Odd that he thought of the two mentors in his life within such a short time today. His ‘father’ and the Brother. Both had been good to him in their own way.
“You must eat.” Ann’s hand shook his shoulder as the words were repeated louder to wake him.
Opening his eyes, Gareth found her about to shake him again. He smelled food cooking and wood smoke. Onions and other herbs, along with a small fire held his attention. A glance told him it was still early in the evening. Then his eyes shifted to Tad, who was splashing in the stream, a pointed stick in his hand that he used as a spear for imaginary foes. Tad jabbed another puffed out his skinny chest at the victory.
But as much as he’d enjoy watching Tad, he moved his attention to the older boy and asked Ann, “You fed him and gave him more herbs to keep him calm?”
“Only a little were added to his food. He ate like an animal.”
“Meaning without manners, or because he was so hungry?”
“Both. I’m sorry, and maybe I should have let you remain there to do whatever it is that you’re doing, but you need to eat.” She held three small cooked fish on a handful of green leaves.
He accepted them gratefully. All had been grilled over the fire, and she had sprinkled a touch of salt on them. After eating, he went to the stream and slurped water while watching Tad poke his stick at more imagined foes. He said, “Later I will talk with you.”
“Not now?”
“I have some work to do, but I want to spend some time tonight teaching you a few things.”
“Hunting things?”
“Better than that. I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself.”
Tad spun and pointed the stick at on offending tree trunk and poked it. “Like that?”
After the tension of the day, Gareth laughed until he caught sight of Ann’s scowl before she turned quickly away. He went to her. “What is it?”
“You’re going to teach him mental tricks because you’re scared.”
“It’s time he learns to use his powers.”
Ann tossed a handful of small sticks on the fire and watched it flare up. She watched as Gareth threw the remains of the dinner, mostly fish bones at the fire harder than necessary. “Time, indeed,” she hissed.
“I should have been teaching him during the voyage.”
This time, Ann snorted, “You were.”
Gareth flushed in anger but remained outwardly calm. “You’re right. I am scared.”
“Tell me about what you’re thinking.”
“Without facts to back up anything, I believe several people with the same powers I have traveled over that mountain pass up ahead. They went to my father’s home and killed him and his dragon. Think about that. They killed the most powerful man in four hundred years and his dragon. A black dragon. Have you ever heard of someone killing any dragon, let alone a black one?”
“There’s more to your fears. Try to keep the story in some order for me to follow,” Ann said, her voice soft but scared.
“They came to me in my mind and said I was next. Me and Blackie.”
“You are not the kind of man to be scared for himself. What else?”
Gareth settled back and said in a rush, “If they can kill my father and Cinder, his dragon, they can do it to Blackie and me, but then what? If they can defeat us, they can easily slay every member of the Brotherhood and Sisterhood, and everyone else. Again, then what? Defeat the King? Take over the entire kingdom and rule it as they want? Make slaves of all? Destroy our way of life?”
Ann’s complexion had paled as Gareth spoke, but she remained quiet.
“The evil mind that rules the others is clearly insane, but just as clearly, it is stronger than any of those he brought with him. My biggest fear is that he is stronger than me, especially when I consider the fact that my mind was trained by the Brotherhood. I have skills and abilities I’ve developed over the years, but what if this menace destroys me?”
“We all die.”
There, she’d said it. Condensed all his fears into three small words. We all die. What a perfect summation.
Ann said, “I have another question that will seem odd.”
“What is it?”
“Can you lie when you speak with your mind?”
“Lie? No, not really. I can try to influence, but you already know about that. But outright lie? No.”
“Have you been in contact with any of the Brotherhood?”
“They have been released and are taking up their watch posts, looking for me.”