Redemption by Richard S. Tuttle

then they inspected each other. None of the injuries were more than tiny splinter wounds, but there were hundreds of them. An hour later they were done and sitting on the sand talking.
    "You cannot be distracted when you are drawing the Talent out of the prince," admonished Audric. "Using him is like taking a drink from a waterfall. If you are not careful, the power will overwhelm you."
    "I am sorry," sighed Jared. "It would be easier if I just did not use the Talent at all."
    "You must use it," instructed Audric. "Try to use it everyday. It is only with constant use that you will gain the skill to enable you to have greater control over it. The Talent is not something to be used once and then forgotten. Use it everyday."
    "I don't like using it," frowned Jared. "I wish I was unable to use it."
    "Wishing accomplishes nothing," Prince Antion said softly. "Neither of us had a choice about the Talent inhabiting our bodies, but we must learn to live with it. What was distracting you so?"
    "I don't know," replied Jared. "I felt something much like the time that I was blindfolded, and you and Audric walked around me. Remember? I had to guess where you were and how far away?"
    "I remember," nodded Prince Antion, "but neither one of us was moving."
    "I know," nodded Jared. "It was much too far away to be either of you, but I was drawn towards it."
    "How far away?" Audric asked with concern.
    "Very far," answered Jared. "It felt like it was days away. Does that make sense? Can I feel something that far away, or am I going mad?"
    Audric did not answer. He sat staring south in silence. Finally he looked back at Jared.
    "How many days south?" the old mage asked.
    Jared frowned in concentration and eventually sighed heavily. "Maybe seven or eight days with Kerzi's wagon," he answered, "but I can't be sure."
    "Point to it," Audric commanded as he rose to his feet.
    Jared rose and pointed slightly west of due south.
    "Do you still feel it?" Audric asked.
    Jared nodded. "It is very faint, but I can still feel it."
    "What is it, Audric?" asked Prince Antion as he rose.
    "His distance and direction points to Laborg," answered the old man. "Didn't you say that the dark prince travels to all of the major cities?"
    "I did," replied Prince Antion. "Do you think he is feeling his brother?"
    "I feel nothing," declared Audric, "and I have had a great deal of training in the art, but I have no doubt that Jared is feeling the presence of the Talent in someone else."
    "Why would it have to be my brother?" asked Jared. "There must be hundreds of people who have the Talent within them."
    "There are," agreed Audric, "but none so strong as you, except maybe one who is much like you. Have you felt any other sources of the Talent since I taught you how to feel it?"
    "No," admitted Jared, "but that doesn't mean anything, does it?"
    "It means a great deal," replied Audric. "I know of at least six wispers of lesser Talent within two day's ride from here, yet you have never felt them. All of a sudden, you feel the presence of someone a week away. That person must be strong in the Talent."
    "If Jared can feel Prince Zinan," Prince Antion asked anxiously, "then couldn't it work the other way around?"
    "It certainly could," nodded Audric, "but only if the prince has been schooled in its use. If he has not been taught to develop the Talent in such a way, Jared should be safe until he gets very close to Prince Zinan."
    "And if Prince Zinan has been schooled?" frowned the Arin prince.
    "Then it is time for you to leave," stated the albino.
    "Autumn is upon us," shrugged Prince Antion. "It is time for us to be heading back to Anatar anyway. How much more can you teach Jared?"
    "I never encountered a person such as you, Prince Antion," frowned the old man. "I cannot teach Jared how to properly draw the power from you. All that I can do now is to help him experiment, and that becomes increasingly dangerous as he tries to draw even greater amounts of the Talent from