Free Storm Rising by Mercedes Lackey Page B

their all-white uniforms, were the “White Demons,” and the Companions the “Hellhorses.”
    Florian had been “assigned” to him by the other Companions when he first arrived as the secretary to his mentor, the ambassador from Karse, Master Ulrich. Florian had assured him many times that he had
not
been “Chosen” to be a Herald, which was normally what happened when a Companion sought out a particular human and spoke to him in his mind. No, in this case, Florian was simply an adviser, someone who could steer him through the complicated tangle of life in the Kingdom of Valdemar without having an agenda of his own to pursue. Karal had no reason to mistrust the Companion’s seemingly altruistic nature; after all, he had it on very trustworthy authority that Companions were the same as Karsite Firecats—particularlywise humans who had opted for rebirth in this rather odd form, the better to guide and advise those who held great power in their lands. Not being human, or having human concerns, made it possible for them to take the long, dispassionate view of things. That was the theory anyway. As Florian had once said, being solidly ensconced in a material body had a tendency to skew one’s outlook sometimes. “And,” he’d added obliquely, “it also depends on how many times you’ve been around.”
    Whatever
that
was supposed to mean.
    Karal was graced—or burdened—with a Firecat, too, although he was not certain why. However, as wise as Altra was, he knew no more about Valdemar than Karal did. Both were somewhat handicapped when it came to understanding the land that had been Karse’s enemy for centuries—as, once again, he was learning.
    He dropped his head down into his hands for a moment, putting his cold fingertips against his aching temples. It helped, but not enough.
    :You are tired,:
Florian said with concern.
:I am not certain I should continue to drill you without some rest.:
    “I’d like some rest, too, but I’m meeting the
entire
Synod, or Assembly, or whatever it is they’re calling it, tomorrow afternoon, and if I don’t have the proper addresses down, I’m going to mortally offend someone.” Karal sighed and massaged the muscles at the back of his neck. “I never
wanted
to be the Ambassador of Karse,” he added mournfully. “I had my hands full enough being the aide. I was a
secretary
.”
    Florian didn’t answer for a moment; he looked away, as if he were considering something. In the silence, Karal clearly heard mice scuttling around in the hay stored overhead. That was probably why the tomcat had not lingered for a scratch.
:I hesitate to suggest this—it means you would have to trust me much more than you already do—but there is a way around this particular problem.:
    “What?” Karal asked eagerly. He was perfectly willing to consider anything that might help at the momentThe “Holinesses,” “Radiances,” “Excellencies,” and other titles were all swimming in his poor, overheated brain and would not stick to any particular “uniform.” He had no idea how he was going to master them all by tomorrow. Like so many things, this meeting had been sprung upon him with little warning.
    :If you’d let me inside your mind, let your barriers down, I could look through your eyes, see who you were talking to, and prompt you,:
Florian replied hesitantly.
:I can show you how to let those barriers down easily enough. The problem is, I’ll see more than surface thoughts if you did that. I’ll know whatever you’re thinking, and you tend to think about several things at once. You might not want me that—hmm—intimately in your mind.:
    Well, that was something of a quandary.
Did
he want Florian to know what he was thinking? Some of it wasn’t going to be very flattering. He had already encountered some of the religious leaders of other sects here, and they had made it very plain that there was no love lost between them and the representative of Vkandis Sunlord—even if,