“Right,” Galerio was forced to agree.
“And then what will happen?” Wicket asked.
Galerio grimaced. “He’ll want revenge-and there are only eight of us, when he probably has thirty people in his operation and another hundred who owe him favors. So what do I do about Mosca and Antonius? I can give them my share of money, but that’s only half what they need-and I can’t ask the others to give up their reward money because these two got themselves cheated.”
“No, no,” said Wicket. “You can’t give in. Capero would snatch you up and make you worsen his slave.
No, what you gotta do is cheat him without him ever knowin’ you’ve cheated him.”
“Huh? How?” asked Galerio.
“You go with Mosca and Antonius to Capero tonight. Tell him you want to dice with him for the money they owe.”
“I’m not that stupid, and Capero knows it,” said Galerio.
“You underestimate the professional gambler,” said Wicket. “Capero assumes everyone can be tempted.
Trust me, he won’t question your motives, and you, Galerio, are too fine a bait for Capero to resist. But just to make sure he bites-Lady Julia, will you help Galerio bait the trap?”
“I’ve already said I’d go,” she replied.
“Not in disguise-or at least Capero must know who you are. That way he can’t cry foul, because you can bet that he knows your face, Julia, and that his Reader constantly checks strangers to make sure no one’s sneaking in a Reader of ‘is own. Galerio, you make it a condition: you will provide your own Reader to make sure the game remains honest.”
Julia frowned. “In an honest game Galerio might win, true, but everything is reduced to chance. What if he loses?”
“He won’t lose. I’m going to lose,” said Wicket.
“You?” asked Galerio.
“I’m a rich merchant from Tiberium, likely to drop twenty times what these boys owe Capero.”
“I don’t understand,” said Julia.
“Galerio, you have to make Capero agree that you’ll play tomorrow night, to give me time to connect. ‘
“I can say I need a day to get my stake together,” said Galerio.
“You young men,” Wicket continued, “tell me where in Zendi to let it be known that I’d like to do some gaming tomorrow evening. Then leave it to me to get into the game.”
“But what good will it do for you to lose the award money Aradia gave you?” asked Julia.
“Were you planning to help these young men?”
“Yes.”
“Then help by staking me to seed money. You’ll get it back. Caperos to think I’m in Zendi because I’ve made a big deal, and I’ll get paid day after tomorrow. He’ll want me to win the first night, figuring to take it all back and much more the next. Now, the law would be on to this Capero if he had his Adepts obviously influencing the games, right?”
“Right?” said Julia. “Readers haven’t been able to catch them at it.”
“Well,” said Wicket, “I can manipulate dice with my hands as well as one of your minor Adepts with his mind-and I’ve got the easy part. First I let them let me win, just as they plan. But just when they want to sink the hook by letting me win really big, I start to lose. To Galerio.”
Julia studied Wicket. He really doesn’t know how he does it.
Galerio was grinning. “I like it.”
“Then,” Wicket continued, “I start to complain that they’ve set me up. Lots of noise, threats to call the guards-and a nice fight to break up the game and get us all out of there, winnings intact.”
“He’ll connect you with us,” said Galerio.
“How? I arrived in town two days ago. Any of Capero’s people here?”
Although as they talked the minor Adepts braced their powers and Julia carefully kept from broadcasting what they were saying to other Readers, she was Reading Wicket, who had his usual camouflage running through his mind. Nonetheless, she could catch his feelings-and what she did not catch was any hint that he was either lying or trying to deceive them.
“There’s just one thing,” Wicket warned. “Don’t get greedy. We’re there to break Capero’s hold on Mosca and Antonius, not to make any of us rich.”
“I like your plan,” said Galerio, “but why should you help us?”
Wicket grinned. “You’re friends of the Lady Julia. Always good to have connections in high places.”
“Wicket, ” said Julia, “there’s something you ought-”
Screams erupted!
Human shouting was drowned by the snorts of frightened horses.
“Fire!” someone cried nearby.
Julia saw smoke coming from the other side of the market-the biggest pavilion was on fire!
Galerio, Mosca, Antonius-every Adept in the marketplace turned toward the blaze, uniting their efforts to put it out.
But it didn’t go out!
Fanned by a sudden brisk wind, the fire engulfed the main pavilion. Julia’s mind was assaulted by the fear of fleeing people, the terror of the horses.
Flames flashed upward, leaped from one pavilion to another, but no people were burned, although some were pushed or stepped on in the panic.
There was only one way fire could spread when dozens of minor Adepts were concentrating their efforts to stop it: one or more Lords Adept were deliberately feeding the blaze!
Julia Read, finding no one anywhere nearby who could possibly be the culprit.
Still the flames leaped from one tent to another, while the horses screamed in panic, pulling loose from their tethers.
Stallions, mares, geldings, racers and plowhorses, colts and fillies-all fled the flames, stampeding toward Julia, Wicket, Galerio. Mosca and Antonius took to their heels.
“Run!” Wicket shouted, following his own order.
But even with Adept strength, no human could outrun a horse!
The animals were mindlessly driven by fire. Inexorably, they bore down on the five fleeing people.
Heart pounding, Julia heard and Read the lead horses bearing down on her, felt the ground shaken by their hoofs.
The horses’ panic filled her mind, mingling with her own.
In moments, they would all be trampled to death!
Chapter Five
Aradia was deep in the dream of her unborn daughter. The girl opened her eyes.
“You stole my powers, witch!” Aradias mother accused. “Die, sorceress. Burn!”
Aradia was consumed in flames!
Searing pain! Her clothes burned, her hair-
Her flesh charred as she screamed-
Screamed-
“Lady Aradia! Wake up, my lady!”
“Help me!” Aradia begged, grasping at the person who had come to her aid. “She’s burning me! My child is trying to kill me!”
Slowly, she realized that she was clinging to Devasin, seeing fright in the woman’s eyes.
Gasping for breath, Aradia shook off the dream and loosened her painful grip on Devasin. “I’m sorry,”
she whispered. “It seemed so real.”
“It was only a dream, my lady,” Devasin soothed. “Lie back down now, and rest.”
“Oh, no,” said Aradia. “I have too much to do. Bring me my dress, Devasin.”
“Yes, my lady,” the other woman said primly, rising from where she had sat on the edge of the bed to comfort her mistress.
“Devasin,” Aradia said.
“Yes, my lady?”
“I am sorry to inflict the foolish fantasies of pregnancy on you.”
“It is quite all right, my lady,” Devasin replied. “I’m glad I was there to help.”
By the time she had dressed and smoothed her hair, Aradia could relegate the dream to the world of fantasy. But why had it seemed so real? Perhaps Master Clement would know a way to forestall it, let it remain the pleasant dream of her child, or at least let her wake up before it turned to nightmare.
Determined to tell him about it, she left for the hospital, to see if Pyrrhus was awake yet.
Julia could not run as fast as the boys or even Wicket.