The Enhancer Read online

  "I hope no one else gets hurt," Thera said. "It's useless to go in."

  "Look at the ships," someone shouted. "They're firing again."

  Meeral hurried to the edge of the bluff where a group of people was gathered. She saw a flash from one of the Drarie ships. Then there was a bang, then the crash as the cannon ball hit a house further down the bluff.

  A voice beside her said, "Meeral". Lenera stood next to her. Linima was walking slowly toward them, head down. "No one can go in," she said, with a gesture toward the burning building, "It's impossible to get Rephna."

  Lenera put her arm around her twin and they clung silently to each other. Meeral could see a tear roll down Linima's cheek, drop on her collarbone and slide down towards her bosom. Though Linima's blouse was not cut as low as Rephna's, it reminded Meeral of the unhappy woman. Rephna had searched for a man who would be good to her. It had always ended in disaster. What had been so valuable that she had to go back into the burning building? Couldn't the god Ezant have helped her?

  Lenera raised her fist and shook it at the ships in the harbor. "Murderers!" she said.

  As if in answer, another cannon ball hurtled across the water, landing close enough for them to hear the crash.

  Meeral concentrated on the flames from Macy House and gripped the fire in her mind. She started to send it over the water when someone said, "It's too far. I already tried."

  Meeral recognized the enhancer, Furthalea. Remembering how the tree had been shattered by the cannon ball, Meeral wanted to tell the crowd on the bluff to retreat to the safety of the road.

  She glanced back at the burning building that was Rephna's funeral bier. The Draries had sent the flames. She would send them back. If she could.

  Erasing her mind of the smell of burning wood, and blocking the sights and sounds of the people around her, she concentrated on moving the fire out across the water. Steam rose where the flames skimmed over the water.

  "You're aiming right at it," she heard someone say, probably Lenera.

  Slowly she moved the flames toward the ship. Now it was on the ship, near the center.

  "Keep it there a minute," Lenera said. "That's where they store the sails."

  "They'll never use that mainsail again," a man said as flames rose from the center of the ship. "They can't get away.

  Meeral moved the flames toward the bow. Another sail burst into flames. "They keep the powder below deck," Lenera instructed her. "Can you get it lower?"

  It was like threading a needle with your arms stretched out in front of you. Slowly she guided the flame down and toward the stern. She caught her breath when she saw men leaping into the water, their clothes on fire. For a moment she held the flame steady, letting the sailors escape.

  Suddenly the flames flew in all directions, mingling with water and dark objects. A shudder went through Meeral as she saw bodies fly into the air. The ship collapsed in the water, sending waves in a growing circle around it. For a moment there was silence. Then the sound of the explosion reached them, and the crowd around her also exploded -- into cheers.

  "Now the other two ships," Lenera said.

  Picking up a flame from the burning remains, Meeral guided it to the second ship. The sailors began raising the sails. The ship tried to turn so as to make a smaller target, but Meeral increased the strength of her enhancing and penetrated to the gunpowder. The ship exploded.

  "One more," Lenera said. "It's behind the one that's going down."

  "Quick. It's turning," someone said.

  Meeral picked up the fire from the second explosion and moved it through the water. She knew where she was directing her flame as long as she could see the path of steam rising from the water, but the Drarie captain turned the ship so only the stern of the boat was visible. He hoisted the sails and tried to escape. Meeral chased the ship but the flames and the steam blocked her view of it.

  "More to the right," someone said.

  "No, to the left." Voices rose around her.

  A voice boomed, "Quiet! Let her concentrate."

  She thought she had lost it. She could hardly see her target. She sent the steam on a straight line toward the tall masts of the ship. No one said a word. After what seemed like an age, she saw flames. She had ignited the sails. But there was no explosion. Calculating that her aim was high, she pushed the flames lower, beyond her vision, wondering if she was on target. The sudden explosion and frenzied flames proclaimed her success. She turned away and looked at Macy House. It was still burning.

  "Burn those men in the life boats," a woman said. "It should be easy."

  Another woman grabbed her arm. "Burn them like they burned Rephna," she said.

  Meeral shook her head. She had done enough. People crowded around her, some congratulating her, some demanding she "finish the job." The twins, so tiny and light weight, struggled to stay with her.

  Suddenly the crowd opened. A man approached. Prince MorToak, his fine clothes black with soot, torn and even burned in places, walked toward her.

  "We were too late," he said. "The woman is dead."

  "So are they," someone said. "All those Drarie sailors are buried in the harbor."

  Puzzled, MorToak looked from one person to another.

  "Look!" A large man pointed at the burning ships and said, "She did it!"

  Meeral watched as he listened, first unwilling to believe what she had done. While he had been trying to rescue one woman, she had destroyed a fleet of enemy ships. A flash of jealousy and anger crossed his face. Embarrassed for him, she started to turn away.

  "Perhaps you have something to teach me, Meeral," he said. His voice was gracious and generous in praise. Even his eyes showed he was recovering from his first reaction.

  The crowd turned towards distant shouts behind them. Four soldiers jogged up the road, their swords slapping their sides.

  "Where is she?" a heavy-set soldier, obviously the leader, shouted. Two of the soldier drew their swords.

  The crowded parted, leaving Meeral standing with a twin on each side and MorToak in front of her.

  Someone yelled, "What are they going to do to her?"

  The soldier in charge brushed past MorToak and said to the three young women, "Which one of you is the enhancer who sank those ships?"

  The twins in one movement looked at Meeral in alarm.

  "The tall one," the soldier said. "That's her."

  Two soldiers grabbed hold of her, one on each side.

  "Release her," MorToak ordered.

  The crowd began to move forward, but stopped when the two soldiers with drawn swords turned menacingly toward them.

  "Move along there," the lead soldier said to MorToak.

  Meeral saw the Prince rise to his full height as he said in a booming voice, "Don't you know who I am?"

  "Those soldiers don't even know their prince," came the shout from the crowd.

  "Release that girl," MorToak said in a voice that the soldier dared not disobey.

  They let her go of her arms, and the twins again stood beside her.

  "We have our orders, your Highness." The soldier pointed to a figure on horse back approaching them at a gallop. It was Kaldoat.

  "Have you got her?" the Colonel demanded of the soldier.

  "It's the tall one in the middle."

  "Of course it's the tall one," Kaldoat said. "Why haven't you taken her in custody as I ordered?"

  "Our soldiers should not manhandle women, Colonel," MorToak said softly, so only those near him could hear. "I thought I made that clear when we drafted the enhancers."

  It took a few minutes for the Colonel to respond. When he did, there was an edge of indignation. "She's in danger." His voice became very formal. "I am sure you are aware, your Highness, that an enhancer was killed. I ordered my soldiers to protect this woman."

  Lenera began to giggle. "They're protecting her from us," she whispered to her twin, but Linima just kept her eyes on Kaldoat.

  "Come with me,Ó Kaldoat said to Meeral. H
e glanced at her ankle. "I see you're well. You are now drafted and can continue to help defend Pactyl." He paused. "You are a prime target for assassins. I'm taking you to the Duke's palace, where we can guard you."

  CHAPTER 13

  Numbness crept over Meeral's body as she walked away from the bluff. She felt even more tired than that first time when she enhanced the spinning of fourteen spinners in Spinners' Hall. Burning bodies flew through her mind and she thought of Rephna returning to the attic in search of something more important than her life.

  To keep up her strength Meeral focused on the comfortable bed she would find at the Duke's palace -- and wished she had a prince to hold her on her horse as she traveled from Macy House to the palace. Now a soldier walked in front of her, one behind her and one on each side as she started to leave the bluff. She looked out at the harbor where she had destroyed the Drarie fleet. Her eyes shifted to the twins. They were standing so close together no space was visible between them. The scooped necklines of their blouses were almost covered by their wool shawls; Lenera's shawl was green and Linima's blue. Behind them, darker than their black hair, stood the blackened window frames of the attic of Macy House.

  Meeral suddenly felt the shock of realization: the twins were wearing the only clothes they owned. Everything else had been destroyed by fire. Where would they sleep tonight? And tomorrow night? And how would they earn money now that Meeral was on her way to the Duke's palace?

  The soldier behind her said, "Let's move along, Miss."

  Kaldoat stood nearby. His eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat, preparing to ensure that she obeyed his orders.

  Pulling on strength Meeral did not know she had, she said, "Colonel Kaldoat?"

  "I am not going to have another dead enhancer on my conscience," he snapped. "You must go where I can protect you."

  She wondered if it was worth using asking this stubborn man for something he was sure to refuse. She looked again at the twins. They waved to her in unison.

  Taking a deep breath, Meeral said, "Colonel Kaldoat. I have always done my high level enhancing with the twins near me. I need them."

  She expected him to blast her with his refusal and she searched for further arguments to support her almost-true statement.

  The Colonel looked at Linima, then looked at the soldiers. For a moment he was silent, then he said, "I don't have enough horses to take all of you right now." Pointing to Lenera, he said, "I'll have to send her later."

  As the soldier began leading Meeral and Linima away, Lenera whispered something to her twin. It would be hard on them to be separated, particularly at this time, but Meeral had done all she could.

  It seemed like a long time later that a servant led Meeral and Linima into a suite of rooms in the large, elegant building that housed both the Duke's residence and several government offices. Though guards were at the doors, Linima became Meeral's personal guard.

  "She's too exhausted to see anyone," Linima told everyone who came to the door. Protected by her tiny guard, Meeral rested without interruption.

  As she lay on a bed more than twice as wide as any she had ever slept in, she wondered if she had gone too far with the gift of enhancing she had been given? The sailors, the burning bodies and the women who all looked like Rephna, followed her into her dreams. But then her dream changed. She was riding an unruly horse with a red mane. Though he tossed his head wildly and skittered first one way then the other, she held him in check. As can only happen in dreams, the horse turned into a leaping flame, but he still followed every lead of her reins and every signal of her feet. When she awoke she wondered if the flames would be as easy to control as in her dream.

  After a servant of the Duke's had served them a snack of tea and biscuits on a silver tray, Linima announced, "I'd send a message to the Colonel and tell him you're awake. He came twice while you were asleep. He really sputtered when I told him you were too tired to see him."

  Meeral was surprised to see no sign of alarm in Linima's face as she spoke of Kaldoat's displeasure. In a short time guards escorted Meeral and Linima down the halls of the palace, past paintings and hanging tapestries until they reached a room in one of the government offices. Two guards and a servant of the Duke escorted them through the wide doors. Kaldoat greeted them. He was a man of respectable height, well built and handsome in his way. His eyes took in Linima. Her blue eyes shone back at him.

  Kaldoat tore his gaze from Linima and focused on Meeral. "I want to thank you for destroying the Drarie fleet. We must get started on developing the defense of . . . "

  Meeral was startled by an interruption by the familiar voice of MorToak. She put on her most casual expression, hoping to conceal her rising blush. "I told you, Colonel," MorToak said, "We must complete other business before you . . ."

  "But, MorToak," Kaldoat used the prince's name with a familiarity that he suddenly realized was inappropriate in front of the two women. "Your Highness must realize that in view of what happened, I must make changes in our defenses."

  "We must not ignore the courtesy of burying our casualties. You will have your turn soon enough." MorToak turned to Meeral. "I understand the woman who died at Macy House was a friend of yours. I offer you my condolences. When you know if her funeral ceremony will be Gurkonian or Ezant, please let me know and we will make the arrangements."

  Meeral could feel both men's eyes on her. But there was someone else in the room. She looked around. Sitting in a large, upholstered chair was the Duke. Below his graying brows, his eyes were fixed on her more intensely than the eyes of the two other men. Meeral was so startled she hardly heard Linima speak.

  "I can tell you right now," Linima said.

  Meeral had almost lost the gist of the conversation. She could see that MorToak was ignoring the small woman, but Linima stood with such an air of confidence that he asked, "Do you know already?"

  "Yes. It will be a combination of the two, Gurkon and Ezant, and Thera plans to have it as soon as possible."

  "Did she tell you that before you left?" MorToak asked.

  "No. My twin told me just before the soldiers were ready to bring her. She'll be here soon."

  "How could you know that?"

  "She sent me a message."

  Scornfully, Kaldoat said, "I suppose, being twins, she communicated information by telepathy."

  "No. She enhanced my writing. As I was leaving Macy House she told me she'd send a message when she had any news. The first thing I did when I arrived was to ask for paper and pen." She pulled out of her pocket a piece of paper and handed it to Kaldoat.

  He looked at it for a moment then turned to a man sitting in a chair at the back of the room.

  "Is this possible, your Grace? Have you seen it work?"

  The Duke rose from the chair and held the paper in front of him. "All the way across town?" he asked Linima. "That's interesting. I know a businesswoman -- Lulrythe is her name -- she communicates all the way to Lurdoa city by using woman's intuition . . . "

  Kaldoat interrupted. "You didn't tell me you were an enhancer," he said to Linima accusingly.

  "I'm a one-quarter level enhancer," she said.

  "Just a quarter level and you can send messages to each other, all the way across town." The Colonel was indignant. "Why didn't someone tell me this was possible? I've sent messengers back and forth from this palace to our camp and . . ."

  MorToak stood near the door. "You are not known for your openness to suggestions," he murmured as he turned the brass doorknob. "Perhaps one of these days you will learn what other people can teach you. Now that we know about the funeral, I can make arrangements, and you, Colonel, may talk with Meeral about the defense of Pactyl."

  Meeral watched the door close behind MorToak. The Duke invited them to sit down. Meeral was relieved that at least Kaldoat was still with them and they would not be left alone with the Duke.

  Kaldoat began telling her that she should spend eight hours a day training level-six enhancers to enhance fire at a di
stance. She tried to explain to him about enhancing. He obviously needed it. But instead of listening he said she would have the rank and pay of a major and he would screen enhancers right away so she would have the highest-level enhancers working for her.

  She wanted to remind him of MorToak's comment on listening to others and said, "You don't understand how enhancers work, Colonel."

  "I understand how an army works," he said stiffly.

  How could she work with this man? His plans were based on incorrect knowledge of enhancing. He should know by now that the level of the enhancer had nothing to do with how far a woman could enhance. She was about to tell him how ignorant he was when a messenger came into the room.

  The Duke read, "A woman in Cyrtuno told the authorities that her husband, a trader named Chak, killed an enhancer in Pactyl." He turned to the messenger. "Who brought the message?"

  "A man came in on a wagon train."

  Kaldoat rose. Meeral expected him to demand something from the Duke, but he seemed to restrain his high-handed manner when he dealt with another man. With exaggerated politeness and respect, he said, "Your Grace, could I have your permission to question the man. We are extremely anxious to protect this woman from assassins," he said, nodding in Meeral's direction. Meeral wondered what he would do if he knew that the man who brought her to Pactyl had murdered Syhira.

  The Duke agreed, and Kaldoat left. The Duke looked pleased to be left alone with the two women.

  "We want to make you very comfortable here, my dear young ladies," he said to them, his eyes on Meeral. "You should feel at home. With all you've gone through, I expect you'll want dinner in your room tonight. When you recover, you'll eat with us. We dress for dinner, of course."

  Meeral and Linima exchanged startled glances.

  The Duke, seemed to understand their glances, and said he would ask the Duchess to provide them with suitable clothes. When Meeral explained that her things were at Spinners' Hall, he wanted to know how long she had lived there, and whether she liked it. He continued with the same kind of interrogation he had made when she killed the sailor. Meeral wondered if she were safe from the kind of suspicion the cab driver had expressed so vehemently. Of course, though Shejani was of "Origin Unknown," the Duke knew Shejani. But suppose the Duke found out that Meeral had come to Pactyl with the man who had murdered the enhancer Syhira?