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you learn.”
    “Oh, all right,” the mindless fool grumbled, as though the point were completely unimportant. Everyone in the room had probably reached for the power automatically, even those with minimal talent. It was a reflex of self protection in which Delin had fully participated, but awareness of the power used by someone of a different aspect wasn’t possible. Only same aspect awareness worked, and anyone but an imbecile like Bron would already know the source of the great strength he’d mentioned.
    “It’s gone now,” the imbecile announced after a moment with a dismissive shrug. “He put out all the fires then released the power, so I can’t tell who it was. But it was probably Edril Lanton, the Five’s Fire magic user. It’s certainly something he
should
have done.”
    Delin limited himself to a noncommittal grunt as he felt the Earth magic members of the guard begin to exert magical force on Hiblit, but on the inside he was furious. Edril Lanton was as lazy and unimaginative as Bron, so he was probably the last—after Bron—to have wielded his talent. It might even have been Adriari showing off for her group, the group that the Advisors meant to have Seated this time, but now Delin would never know. And all because Bron was such an incredible ignoramus…!
    “They’ve put him to sleep, for all the good it’s done,” Kambil’s voice came as the man stopped beside Delin. “Those little noises he’s making mean he’s still screaming even though he’s unconscious. I have a feeling we’ll be getting another new agent … and I’m curious about who put those fires out. Would you like to ask Bron, or shall I?”
    “I already have, and he doesn’t know,” Delin growled, finding controlling his anger almost beyond him. “He said a large amount of strength was being used, but didn’t bother to find out who was using it. By the time he tried, the user stopped. I’m now wondering if it was Adriari, showing off to everyone without putting the arrogance into words.”
    “If it was, we may have a problem,” Kambil murmured as Delin watched the guard members carefully carrying Hiblit out. “I couldn’t sense the amount of power being used myself, of course, but I also couldn’t miss the fact that no one and nothing was actually burned. Both clothing and flesh should have been charred, and that it wasn’t can only be attributed to the user’s quick response and greater than ordinary ability.”
    “Faster and better than Bron, you mean,” Delin murmured back, the very important point pushing his anger aside. “It won’t be possible to get the results from the testing of Adriari’s group no matter how much gold we try to offer, so we might be wisest assuming the worst. If Adriari
is
stronger than Bron, we certainly do have a problem.”
    “One which would be less troublesome if we didn’t have to face her group,” Kambil agreed with a sigh. “But it’s foolish to think about that, as there’s only one way we can avoid facing them. That way isn’t at all practical, so we’ll have to think of a way that is.”
    Delin was about to ask what the impractical way was, when the answer suddenly became clear. If Adriari’s group lost in the first set of competitions, Delin’s group would be able to forget about them. But that would mean having the peasants defeat them, which wasn’t about to happen. The Advisors had made certain that the peasants
couldn’t
defeat them…
    Various ideas fleeted through Delin’s mind, their appearance and disappearance like the flickering flame of a candle. There
was
a way to let the peasants win after all, and the thought of having to face them later with his own group caused not the slightest bit of worry. He and his people were good enough to defeat
any
peasants, especially if they happened to have personal problems. Delin decided to look into the matter, and then he’d make his final decision…
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    I didn’t quite feel shaky as they