The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [108]
But more disturbing, as soon as we entered the area of blankness, my powers were useless. I could not even reach Matthew, who was directly behind me.
Mindbound for the first time in my life, I was nearly overcome with panic and the feeling of being trapped. Glancing over one shoulder, the look of rigid terror on Jik’s face acted like a bucket of cold water on my own fear. I made myself smile reassuringly, and the stark tension in his movements subsided. Then I concentrated on calming myself. I had to find a way to free us, and that would only be possible with a cool head. Methodically, I tried reaching all the others, including Darga, who padded along quietly beside Jik. I could not sense a single thought. Then I tried to farseek outside the area—Domick, then Gahltha.
Nothing.
No wonder the Druids had seemed to disappear so completely. The block had to be a machine, modified like the Zebkrahn. There was something mindless about the static.
I was deeply concerned by what such a block must mean. We had long heard rumors of Council and Herder interest in Misfits with special abilities, but to most of the Land we were thought to be harmless defectives who might occasionally have a meaningful dream. The Druid must know otherwise.
Somehow, Rushton had to be warned that he had mind weapons. What would happen if the rogue Herder discovered we were Misfits?
Or did he already know that, too?
Behind, Louis grunted in astonishment at the size of the walled encampment visible through the trees. The wall itself was no more than a barrier of thin, dark-stained striplings set upright in the ground, reaching high enough to obscure all but the tops of thatch-roofed buildings and a number of gently smoking chimneys.
Rounding the outer wall, we came to a wide gateway that was firmly bolted. A ruddy face appeared at an opening in answer to the red-haired woodsman’s call. “Who is that wi’ ye, Gilbert? I diven’t know them faces.”
Gilbert gestured impatiently at the door. “Open up, Relward.”
“Bain’t he a gypsy?” Relward inquired, staring doltishly into my face. He chewed his lip ponderously, then, unlatching the gate, planted himself firmly in the gap.
“Step aside, fool! You try my patience,” Gilbert snapped.
Relward shook his head. “I canna let strangers in. Take him”—he nodded at me—“an’ them others to th’ compound. Her can come in,” he added, nodding at Kella. Despite the seriousness of our situation, I felt indignant at being taken for a boy.
“I’ll decide where they will be taken, Relward,” Gilbert said through gritted teeth. “I’m not sure we should have a gatekeeper too blind to know the difference between man and maid.”
The bumpkin’s eyes widened. He stared at me accusingly, as if I had deliberately transformed myself to confound him. Then he gaped, seeing the robed man. “Master,” he bleated. “I dinna know ye was there.” He tripped over his feet in an effort to get out of the way. The robed man ignored him and swept into the camp.
Gilbert grinned covertly over his shoulder at me. “Do not think we are all such fools as that—or so blind,” he murmured in a low voice.
There was nothing makeshift about what lay within the walls. It was a complete and settled village with graveled streets and stores. There was even a blacksmith and extensive holding yards and stables for horses.
People came out into the street to watch us pass, their eyes curious. Almost everyone seemed to wear arms, including the women and older children. The prospect of escape seemed dim.
At the very center of the settlement was a wide green expanse and garden beds. I was oddly reassured to see children playing on a swing, though they stopped their game to watch us pass.
Only one building edged on the square, a big stone house that reminded me vaguely of the main Councilcourt in Sutrium. Broad stone steps led up to the entrance, and double wooden doors like those at Obernewtyn