She cut him off. “There must be quite a few Master wizards here—relative to the population, I mean. When we first came in, I saw a woman with a staff tucked in her belt.”
“Yes, I saw her. With so many wizards in the population, I suppose an unusual number are Masters.”
“Do you think being a Master wizard means the same thing here that it does in our time?”
Merlin didn’t answer immediately, then said, “In substance, although the wizards here obviously have fewer and less-developed abilities.”
She nodded, still not looking at him. “That’s probably just as well. We’re sort of outnumbered.”
“Serena—”
Again she cut him off. “According to these laws, you won’t be able to stay here in the city for more than a few hours before you’ll have to leave. But I should stay, I think. That way I can find out how the people in the city cope with the night, and the Curtain.”
“We probably shouldn’t separate,” he said quietly.
Serena turned to face him, lifting her chin and meeting his eyes directly. “I need some time away from you, Richard. I have a lot to think about. Maybe a few days on my own here in the city will give me the chance to …”
“To what? To decide if you still trust me?”
“I don’t know. All right? I don’t know what I think, or what I feel. I just have to find a quiet place and sit down and try to figure it all out.”
“Serena, I have to tell you the rest of it. You can’t understand the situation until you know all the facts.”
Fiercely she said, “You had every opportunity to give me the facts before we left Seattle, and you refused to do it. Why? Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“Because I knew this would happen,” he told her. “I knew you’d begin questioning and doubting everything I had taught you or told you about wizards. I knew you’d doubt me. Serena, I had hoped we’d be able to observe this society without being affected by it, but I had a hunch it wouldn’t be easy—and I wanted at least one of us to avoid being torn to pieces by the conflict here. So I didn’t tell you any more than I had to. Was that so wrong?”
She didn’t know how to answer that, reminding herself that all this must be as difficult for him as it was for her, if not more so. Serena had been virtually ignored—and discounted as mere property—by the men they had encountered, but Merlin had been viewed with open hatred and suspicion by the women. He was being treated as though he were guilty of unnamed but heinous crimes without being given any chance to defend himself. He had even been marked, branded, to make certain others knew what he was.
She glanced down to see that he was still rubbing the mark on the back of his right hand, and murmured, “That hurt, didn’t it?”
“Yes, it hurt. Considering that male wizards are obvious from their appearance, I gather the point of the mark is to make us feel like lepers rather than warn the females. And I got the distinct impression that Nola made very sure it hurt.”
Serena started to reach for his hand, but Merlin took a step back. “No, you mustn’t touch me on a public street; we can’t break any of their laws.”
“The law says an unmarried male can’t touch a female; it doesn’t say anything about the other way around,” she reminded him.
“In this case I think it’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, the pain’s gone now. I just …” He hesitated, then shrugged. “I just don’t much care for the way the mark feels.”
“How does it feel?”
“Heavy. Cold. Obvious.” He smiled slightly, a bit wry. “Now I have some idea of how Hester Prynne felt in The Scarlet Letter. It isn’t a very pleasant thing to be branded a social outcast.”
“Especially when you didn’t do anything to earn it,” Serena agreed. “I’m sorry, Richard, I keep forgetting that. Whatever other wizards do, or have done, I can hardly blame you for their sins. In fact, I think you’ve probably gone out on a very long limb to avoid being like the others in our time. You weren’t supposed to accept me as your Apprentice, were you? That’s why you got in trouble with the Council of Elders.”
“You … deduced that from what’s going on here?” he asked slowly.
Serena thought about it. “Partly. You said something had happened to alter the society of wizards; from the looks of things here, it was some kind of struggle between the sexes. And then, when you said I was the only woman to be trained as a wizard in our time … It makes sense, that’s all. We’re here because I’m the only female wizard in our time. Aren’t we?”
Merlin glanced around and spotted a long wooden bench nearby. “Why don’t we go over there and sit down,” he suggested. “I’ll tell you the rest while we wait for Roxanne to come back.”
“I’m not going to like it, am I?”
“No. No, you’re not going to like it.”
“I thought Merlin would come, as well,” Roxanne said as she led the way along the narrow main street of Sanctuary. “I’m sorry I took so long to return, but—”
“It’s all right,” Serena assured her. “Merlin wanted to explore a bit on his own before he had to leave the city for the night, so he went ahead. I’m going to meet him by the gates tomorrow morning. Are you sure it’s all right for me to stay at your house? I mean, I don’t want to impose….”
“I’ll welcome the company, truly.” She hesitated, then added, “Merlin may also enter my house if he wishes; I recorded the invitation properly before witnesses.”
Serena regarded the younger wizard soberly. “I think that took a lot of courage, Roxanne. And he’ll appreciate your offer as much as I do.”
“He saved my life. For that, at least, I owe him the courtesy of admitting him into my home.” Her voice was deliberate rather than filled with gratitude, but since she was struggling to overcome the beliefs of a lifetime, it was no wonder she couldn’t summon very much enthusiasm.
Serena, struggling with new and complex emotions herself, since she now knew that Merlin could strip her of her powers, managed to sound calm and casual. “He may want to visit your house tomorrow, but if so, it will probably be a brief visit. He’s too curious about the city to remain long in one place. Speaking of the city, that building you came out of back there looked like a hospital. Was it?”
Roxanne nodded. “Yes, I wanted to see a Healer immediately to discover if those village men had left me with child.”
Shocked, Serena realized she hadn’t even considered that possibility. “I’m sorry. I should have asked Merlin to tell you that.”
“I wouldn’t have believed him,” Roxanne answered matter-of-factly. “I would have gone to my own Healer anyway.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but are you? With child?”
“No, I’m safe,” the younger woman said with obvious relief. “And she said … that Merlin is indeed an excellent Healer. All my injuries were skillfully repaired.”
Serena nodded. “I’ll tell him she said so; it’s always nice to get a compliment from a peer. And I’m glad you won’t have to worry about a pregnancy.”
“Yes. It would have been … difficult.”
To say the least. Serena decided to change the subject. “I’ve noticed signs above some of the doors—are all the buildings public establishments? For instance, that one on the corner seems to indicate a tailor.” She used the word hesitantly and felt relieved when Roxanne nodded.
“Yes, it is. And that one, across the way, is an eating establishment.”
“What’s used for money here?” Serena asked.
“Money?”
“Um … currency? Coin? Legal tender?”
Roxanne’s frown cleared. “Ah, I see. We haven’t used coin in Atlantia for a long time. There’s no need. We simply barter. Some wizards are more adept at creating food, others garments—and still others choose to build new houses or heal.”
“Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess. And the powerless people here? What do they do?”
“Whatever is needed. Whatever they w
ish.”
Serena thought about that as they walked, she looking around curiously. The streets were fairly busy with other people on the move, though still quiet. She saw several apparently powerless women (without the telltale elongated ring finger), and they did indeed look very much like the women of power, though a trifle less fair, and their expressions appeared rather vacant. There were very few men, most of whom were with a female wizard, and all of whom were clearly deferential to the women. When the women stood talking to others of their sex, the men waited silently and patiently.
But mostly there were women, almost all slender and rather fragile in appearance, which made them difficult to distinguish as individuals. As far as Serena could see, blonds outnumbered brunets by more than ten to one; the only redhead she had seen was the little girl playing with her doll. The range of ages appeared normal, from elderly women to at least one child, and Serena counted half a dozen obvious pregnancies.
That made her wonder, but before she could frame the question, she noticed something that seemed a bit odd.
“What’s going on there?” She nodded toward a small house set apart from those around it. The windows were curtained, which was unusual from what Serena had observed. At each of the house’s corners, two women stood talking, occasionally felling silent to gaze intently at the house.
Roxanne looked. “Breeding,” she replied.
“What?”
“It’s a breeding house. Wizards stand guard outside so that the one wishing to be bred is protected and made to feel safe. She takes her chosen powerless male inside so that he may try to impregnate her.” Roxanne frowned slightly. “The males don’t perform well unless they have a certain amount of privacy.”
“I’m not surprised,” Serena said, wondering that Roxanne could speak of this so dispassionately after her own brutal experience. Merlin must indeed have made the trauma seem distant to her. “But why do the women feel a need for protection? The man is powerless, you said, so—”
Roxanne looked at her new friend with something near astonishment. “They’re afraid. We’re all afraid. Our safety here in the city is very much dependent on our caution. The man who smiles respectfully today and inside these walls may attack any night he chooses.”
“But she’s safe during the day. It’s hours yet until night; surely she isn’t afraid now? If she’s gone in there to let him get her pregnant, she must feel something for him. Trust, at least. Doesn’t she?”
“Here women are never able to trust a man,” Roxanne said.
“Then how can she sleep with him?”
“Sleep? Oh, no! If they went to sleep, they could wake in the middle of the night, and then he could hurt her.”
Language, Serena reflected, was a tricky thing. So were euphemisms. “No, I meant … have sex. She’s having sex with him, and that’s such an intimate act. How can she do that without trust?”
“She wants a child. Are such things done differently in Seattle?”
Serena answered the question literally. “Yes. Yes, it’s different in Seattle.”
Roxanne looked curious, but didn’t question. “There are so few children born now in Sanctuary. For a long time there were almost none, because the female wizards were too afraid of men to even attempt to mate. The male wizards increased in number, while we were on the verge of dying out, destroyed by the results of their lies and schemes. Then the laws were written and strictly enforced, which made it possible for female wizards to allow themselves to be impregnated.”
Curious, Serena said, “What about the man? He goes in there to … um … perform, and then he just leaves?”
“When he has succeeded in his task, and a Healer has verified a pregnancy, of course he leaves. He’s no longer needed.”
“Doesn’t he help raise his child?”
“No.”
“Then she’s using him. What does he get out of the deal?”
Roxanne shrugged. “He probably believes he’ll get some of her power, but that’s only a myth, as I told you. Most appear to enjoy servicing wizards, even without being empowered. A few of the ones proven to be unusually fertile have chosen to make it their life’s work.”
Serena stared at her. Career studs? Lovely. “But the laws mention unmarried males, implying the existence of married males here in the city. You said the male wizards didn’t marry, but do female wizards?”
“Yes, though rarely. A very few manage to accept a particular man to the extent of allowing him to share her home and her life, and those pairs marry. It was almost unheard of when I was a child, but slightly more common now.”
Serena already had an awful lot to think about, but one final question was tormenting her. “Since all the powerless men look … well, look so brutal, aren’t any of the female wizards afraid their children will be … abnormal?”
The question seemed to surprise Roxanne. “The child of a wizard is never born deformed—and always with power, of course.” Then she frowned. “But there does seem to be a sickness of some kind. The powerless males who mate with powerless women and live in the village often sire healthy sons, but when they breed here in Sanctuary with female wizards, only their daughters are healthy enough to survive the first few weeks. Our Healers don’t understand why, but it’s always so.”
Serena didn’t say a word. But she wondered.
By the time he spotted another male wizard sitting at a small table at what appeared to be a sidewalk cafe near the center of the city, Merlin was more than ready to get off the street. He’d never been particularly concerned about what others thought of him, but running the gauntlet of scores of hostile female stares had made him feel even more like a stranger in a strange land—and definitely detested.
He had no idea if his fellow males would be any more friendly, but approached the table anyway. He was relieved when the other man rose to his feet with a feint but cordial smile.
“A stranger to Atlantia?”
“Yes,” Merlin answered, reminding himself that the population was small enough to make strangers obvious.
“Not many of us venture into the city,” the other wizard said somewhat wryly. “And the first time tends to be hideously uncomfortable.”
“That is putting it mildly. My name is Merlin.”
“I’m Tremayne. Join me?”
“Thank you.” Merlin sat down across from Tremayne, weighing the other man swiftly. A few years younger than himself, he thought. A couple of inches shorter but well built, with dark hair and gray eyes. Powerful, but not a Master wizard—though possibly Advanced.
“I’m a virtual stranger here myself,” Tremayne said casually. “I’ve only been in Atlantia a few months—and I don’t mind telling you I’m looking forward to my ship returning to take me back home.”
Merlin hoped his sudden tension didn’t show. “Are you leaving soon?”
“A few weeks. And you?”
“I haven’t decided.” Could Tremayne be the witness who would record the destruction of Atlantis from a ship at sea? “Do ships call here often?”
Tremayne shook his head. “Never by accident, and rarely by design. It’s because there’s no harbor, of course, and the reefs are so treacherous. The captain who gave me passage demanded a king’s ransom and then refused to return for me as quickly as I wanted. If I had known of the ship carrying you, I probably would have requested passage aboard her.”
Merlin smiled. “I’m sorry, I had no idea anyone was so anxious to leave Atlantis, though the captain certainly lost no time in setting sail. He said … this place was cursed.”
“I don’t doubt it. There have been tales for years, and since the skies above Atlantia are often lit with the strange glow of the Curtain, some of those tales have assumed mythic proportions.” He hesitated, then added, “That’s why I’m here, really. Some of the wizards outside this continent are growing concerned by what they hear of Atlantia.”
“And you’ve been asked to report to them?”
“Well, to my father. He
’s on the Council of Elders.” Tremayne looked at Merlin curiously. “Are you from Europa?”
Long before the “civilized” world had dubbed the land north of the Mediterranean Sea Europe, the worldwide society of wizards had named the area Europa. There had been more wizards in that area than anywhere else in the world, though they had certainly not been confined there.
Replying to Tremayne’s question, Merlin said, “No, I come from a land far to the west. It’s called Seattle. I doubt you’ve heard of it.” Like Serena, Merlin saw no point in not sticking as closely to the truth as possible.
“It isn’t familiar, but I’m afraid I can hardly be termed a world traveler. If my family hadn’t been able to claim a distant kinsman in Atlantia, I wouldn’t have come here.”
“Kinsman?”
Tremayne pointed toward the south and to the very mountain where Merlin and Serena had arrived via the gate. “He has a palace up there. His name is Varian.”
Something in the other man’s tone told Merlin that Tremayne had little love for his relation. Carefully he said, “I was rather surprised to find this society so segregated—male wizards in the mountains and females down here in the valley.”
A bit grim, Tremayne said, “So was I. Of course, there’s always been distrust between male and female wizards, but nothing like this. From what I’ve been able to gather, there were some bloody battles fought here generations ago in a power struggle. The males were stronger and might have won outright, but in the war both sides expended too much unfocused energy—and the Curtain was created from the spillover. You know about that?”
“Yes. I’ve felt its effects.”
“It probably prevented this from becoming a male-dominated society, and made it a segregated one. The males, being more powerful, were able to create and defend strongholds in the mountains, keeping the females down here, where every night saw them weakened and vulnerable.” Tremayne shrugged. “If it hadn’t been for Antonia …”
“Antonia?”
“Yes. She organized the females and built this city.” He nodded toward the northeastern section of the city, where one building rose above those around it. “She lives there, looking down on what she built. They call her Leader.”