Patternmaster

“Because I wasn’t as patient as you were. Because I left the school too soon. And I left alone except for my wife. Coransee picked me up, forced me into his House as an outsider.” Joachim hesitated. “So you see, I know what you’re both going through. I had been with him seven years when he offered me a chance for freedom. I had to cooperate with him, let him plant his controls in my mind. It’s delicate work—the planting. Not like just linking with someone. As strong as he is, even he couldn’t have done it if I had resisted. So I didn’t resist. By then, I would have done anything to get free. Anything.”

“You call what you have now freedom?” Teray’s own contempt was coming through.

“Yes!” said Joachim vehemently. “So will you after a few years of captivity.” Then his tone changed, became what it had been earlier—saddened, hopeless. “No. I’ve been ‘free’ for years now and Coransee’s controls have been in place every minute. He doesn’t need my cooperation to hold them. I think I’ll wear them

for the rest of my life.” He shrugged. “He doesn’t use them often. But when he does, there’s nothing I can do.”

A contrite Joachim was no more helpful than an angry one. Teray wanted to ask him to leave. But then he would be alone with Iray, and she would ask him the questions that he was already asking himself. He had no answers even for himself. What could he do?

Joachim talked on, but he had changed his tone again. Now he spoke quietly with anger. “Teray, you were wise enough to stay under the protection of the school until you were accepted for apprenticeship. You were careful. You did everything right. Yet through my weakness and Coransee’s dishonesty, you’ve lost your wife and your freedom. All while you were supposed to be under my protection. No matter what hold Coransee has on me, I can’t just go away and forget about you.”

“What will you do?” Teray asked resignedly. He already knew the answer.

“I can’t do anything directly. You know that. But indirectly, I’ll do everything I can, including an appeal to Rayal if necessary.” Joachim was moving toward the door and Teray was relieved to see him going.

Parting words: “Teray, believe me, I’ll get you away from him.”

Teray did not believe him. Nor did he bother to pretend. He went to the door and opened it.

“Good-bye, Joachim.”

Joachim looked at him a moment longer as though trying to instill belief in his good intentions. As though he would have reached out to Teray if he had not feared finding Teray closed to him. Then he was gone.

Teray turned to Iray and saw that she was trembling.

“What are you going to do?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.” He ran a hand over his brow and was not surprised to have it come away wet. “I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow …”

She was shaking her head. “Now, Teray. Don’t you feel it? Coransee is coming now.”

Chapter 2

As Iray spoke, both she and Teray received Coransee’s wordless announcement of his presence, a mental image of the Housemaster standing outside Teray’s door.

With mechanical politeness, Teray returned an image of Coransee inside the room. Not that he wanted Coransee inside. He was not ready for a confrontation. He had had no time to gather his thoughts, decide what battle strategy might give him the best chance. If he had a chance at all. Joachim had left him all but drained of confidence, of hope. Yet he had to fight.

But did he have to fight now?

As Coransee entered, Teray glanced back to Iray. She was watching him, her expression frightened, questioning, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Yes. He had to fight now. A duel, one to one, unless he wanted to give Coransee an excuse to call in members of his huge Household.

Coransee came into the room and stood near the door, looking from one of them to the other. He gave his head a weary half shake and sighed. “Now, eh, brother?”

Teray glared at him.

“Bad timing,” continued Coransee. “You’re tired and emotionally drained. You should have chosen to wait. I would have let you spend the night here with Iray like a guest, and you could have fought me in the morning when you were rested.”

He spoke as though humoring an irrational person—as though chiding a child. Hot with shame and anger, Teray struck.

He meant to kill as quickly as he could. He knew he had no chance against a man of Coransee’s strength and experience unless he could get through Coransee’s shielding and bludgeon him to death at once. Given time, Coransee could outmaneuver him, kill him with tricks instead of strength.

But Coransee’s mental shielding seemed to absorb the blow without damage. Coransee slammed back with crushing force. Perhaps he too wished to end the fighting quickly. He struck again and again with almost-physical impact.