t to aid
you further--which would not surprise me, since He chose you as one of
His first two priests."

"In the meantime," Illyanov said, "I am intrigued by this ability
Shayan has given you to dissolve his compulsions. Does it apply only
to those he imposed on Miss Blackfeather, I wonder, or can you dissolve
any of them?"

The change of subject was a relief for Odeon. "I don't know," he said
thoughtfully. "Either way makes sense. He wouldn't want me dissolving
any except hers, but he probably only used one technique for all of
them, since he didn't know--then--that he'd be giving anyone the
ability to eliminate his tampering. We'll have to find out, when we
have someone else who's been conditioned."

"And I'm intrigued by what he called mental speech," Bain said. "His
touch wasn't exactly what I'd expected--more awesome than repulsive,
until he started working on Mike. And can you imagine how much more
convenient it'd be if we could communicate that way? Especially in
action?"

"He said if I survived, that would be just the first taste of mental
speech," Odeon said. "I don't know if he meant just me, or the Family,
or the Protector's Sealed--I wonder. Dave, do you think his using it
with the two of us could've sensitized us enough we could use it
without him?"

*I don't know,* Bain replied silently, *but it's worth trying. Can you
hear me?*

"No need to shout," Odeon said. "I heard you fine." He looked around
at the rest. "Anybody else pick it up?"

Cortin shook her head. "Not me."

"I heard nothing either," Illyanov said. "That is unfortunate; it
could have been useful."

Cortin frowned. "It sure would. Sounds like it's something he does to
you by touching your mind, maybe sort of a side effect. What he did to
me was purely physical, but--Sis, he mind-touched you; did you hear
Dave?"

Chang nodded. "Quite clearly."

"I think I'm jealous--for the first time, I wish he'd mind-touched me."

"Never wish for that," Odeon said grimly. "It's a horrible sensation,
though the mind-speech itself isn't bad."

"The mind-speech is called telepathy," Illyanov said. "It is part of
what is called Talent, and some rare humans have enough to be trained
in its reliable use."

Cortin stared at him, puzzled. "What are you talking about--how do you
know that?"

Illyanov smiled. "Since our discussion something over a week ago, I
have spent my free time studying the Terran Empire. That particul