Queen of Thorns Page 3

"Don't!"

  She tucked them under her arms and ran.

  She was down the slope and halfway to a leaning tower near the temple before I was slipping barefoot down the hill. I fell twice, stopping the second time to check my jacket for grass stains. I took it off and carried it over my arm.

  Near the base of the tower ramp, Kemeili paused to laugh at me again. When she saw me coming, she ran up around the tower, out of sight. I slogged after her, leaving behind a trail of wet footprints.

  She'd left the door open for me, or else I might have had to start knocking. The tower narrowed as it rose, with one oval door more or less over the one below. They all faced east, toward the wasp-nest roof of Calistria's temple. That couldn't be a coincidence.

  Before I entered Kameili's rooms, I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck. I looked back at the temple and the nearest towers, but all I saw were dark, hexagonal windows. There wasn't anybody on the other ramps, and nothing moved in the nearby groves and gardens. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was spying on me.

  I shuddered. Maybe it was just the breeze on my neck. Maybe I just needed to shake off more of the past year's memories.

  Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea what would make a good distraction.

  As I stepped through the threshold, all the outside sounds stopped as if I'd closed the door—which I hadn't. More magic. I shut the door.

  Kemeili hit me in the chest with a towel made of some gauzy fabric. It smelled all right, so I tried not to think of spider webs. As I dried my hair, I had a look around.

  Farthest to the left was a little nook I figured for the loo. Beside it was a narrow window. Next to that was a tall oval wardrobe growing right out of the wall. It wasn't exactly wood, though it was the color of maple. It had a sort of earthy quality to it, like some cross between stone and wood. The stuff made me think of a few pieces of petrified wood the boss had in the library back at Greensteeples. Maybe this whole tower was a big petrified tree. The elves had plenty of wizards and druids who could bend wood and stone. Kind of like the boss, only without his flippy scrolls.

  There was a bookshelf and a little dressing table. The table's mirror was decorated with gold wasps. On its surface stood naughty little statues of men and women, men and men, women and women, and assorted other variations on my favorite pastime. I was getting the impression that elves, or at least their temple prostitutes, were pretty broad-minded.

  Leaning in, I spotted a big alcove to the right. It was dark, but I saw the outline of a bed covered in pillows. Light glimmered off oval mirrors on the walls and ceiling.

  "Leave your wet things there." She indicated a row of antlers on the wall by the door. Some I recognized as stag or elk, but a few were from animals I'd never seen, not even in the boss's art gallery. Kemeili had left more towels on a wicker chair.

  I hung the jacket over the chair back, which was less pointy than the antlers. Even though the enchanter made the leather extra tough, I didn't want to chance a scratch.

  The jacket was the best I'd ever owned. It should have been, for all the cost I'd paid and waiting I'd done. The Tian craftsman I'd hired wouldn't start work until I'd told him the whole story of my time in his land, every fight, every killing. Most guys would have laughed at my stories of phoenix warriors, monkey gods, and dragons, but he just nodded and got to work. When he was done, a celestial dragon twisted up one arm of the jacket, across the shoulders, and down the other arm. On the back, a phoenix died in ashes. A monkey-man on one breast faced off against a pair of silk-throwing women on the other. In the borders between those scenes fit images of goblins, necromancers, dragon turtles, ghosts, swordsmen, and devils.

  "Nice jacket," said Kemeili.

  "Thanks."

  I shucked off my leather pants and removed the spiked leather cup I keep as a surprise for mooks who lead with the knee.

  "Kinky." Kemeili whistled and gave me the up and down. She frowned.

  "What?" I resisted the urge to cover up.

  "Isn't the tail usually on the other side?"

  Much as I appreciated the compliment, the tail thing is a sore point for me. Plenty of hellspawn have 'em, just not me. No horns, neither. I pulled the big knife from its inverted sheath in the jacket's spine, showing her that what looks like a tail is really the weapon's grip.

  "I like it." Her eyes weren't on the knife. I let her have a good look because I'm not shy, and she'd see it all soon enough. When she was done, I wrapped the towel around my waist.

  As I put the knife back, my fingers traced the secret pockets in my jacket. My hidden arsenal added extra weight, but it also gave me extra protection.

  I felt a little piece of lemon something stuck in my teeth.

  "Mind if I clean up?" I slipped my toothbrush out of a slot made to fit my lock rake. The pick fit inside the toothbrush handle, so I didn't need to sacrifice a sleeve.

  Kemeili filled a basin from a pitcher near a bigger window. The opening tilted upward to let the rain fill wide-mouthed pitchers. Beside the water table stood a wooden screen carved with images of dancing elves. A second glance showed they weren't exactly dancing.

  That grin was going to get stuck on my face pretty soon.

  Over the screen hung a bulging membrane, like an animal bladder, only made of plant fiber. Kemeili slipped out of her own clothes and stepped behind the screen. At the stroke of her finger, the membrane let loose a shower from its sieve-like belly. The water rinsed the red from her pale blonde hair.

  She saw me staring through the holes in the screen. She nodded at my toothbrush. "Weren't you going to—"

  "Yeah, yeah." I wet the brush, loaded it up with tooth powder, and went to work. Before that Gokan merchant sold me with a terrific pantomime, I'd never seen a toothbrush. Now I didn't know why everyone didn't have one. Maybe the barbers had a racket to keep them out of the markets in Egorian. Anyway, it meant no more paying the barber extra for a scrape every few months.

  Just as I worked up a good lather, Kemeili stepped out of her shower and said, "Can you reach up there?"

  She nodded at a lit candle on a nearby table and pointed above her bed. Three iron cups hung from a chain in the ceiling. I bit the toothbrush like a cigar and stepped onto the bed. The instant I touched the chandelier, two of the "cups" popped open like crab claws. Before I could move, they snapped shut around my wrists.

  "What the—?"

  "Mind the flame," said Kemeili. "Let's not set the sheets on fire just yet."

  I set the candle in the third cup—a real one—before testing the strength of the trap. The manacles were as strong as the chain fixed to the ceiling. The harder I jerked, the more it pulled me up.

  "Relax," she said. "If you stop struggling, you'll have enough slack to kneel."

  I could barely stop myself. By the time I could walk, I'd been sold as a slave to the Goatherds, one of the petty street gangs in Egorian. Even though I wasn't shackled often, I never could shake the feeling of chains and manacles. It took me years to earn my way out of the Goatherds, and there's still nothing I hate more than chains. "What are you playing at, girl?" The toothbrush bobbed as I spoke.

  "Kemeili." She paused by the dressing table. After putting on a transparent little blouse that fell barely past her hips, she touched one of the gold wasps on the mirror. Its wings buzzed, and it took to the air like a live insect. "If you haven't remembered my name by now, you certainly will before the night is through."

  That didn't sound as good as it would have earlier, but I tried relaxing my arms. Sure as her word, the chain let out enough for me to kneel on the bed, but I had to keep my arms raised.

  "Kemeili," I mumbled around the toothbrush. The gold wasp flew over and landed on the end of its handle. I tried to shake it off without dropping the toothbrush, but it clung tight. The chains shook as I wriggled.

  "Not fond of chains?" she asked. "You should have thought of that before you entered Iadara under false pretenses. There is a reason that I am the youngest init
iate ever to earn the title of inquisitor. In fact, there are many reasons. Shall I show you some of them?"

  She stroked one of the lewd figures on the wall. The oval mirror beside it flipped around. Coiled whips hung from the other side of the panel. Most were of the leather braid variety, but I saw a braid of razors, a chain of bones, and what looked like a living vine with finger-length thorns.

  "Can't say I'm too keen on whips, either."

  "No? Oh, I know just the thing," she said, walking away. "Don't go anywhere."

  She returned to the chambers' entrance. I rose back up to put the toothbrush close to my hands. I shook off the wasp, slipped the rake out of the handle, and popped the toothbrush back in my mouth. I knelt back down just as Kemeili returned with my big knife and a few throwing blades from my jacket.

  "You came armed to the Masquerade," she said. She plucked the toothbrush out of my mouth and threw it aside. The gold wasp bobbed and flew after it.

  "There were plenty of guys with swords."

  "Nobles," she said. "Including your master, who enjoyed the privilege as an honored guest."

  "He's not my master, he's my—" What was I going to say? Partner? Buddy? Employer? Before I could answer, the damned wasp flew back up to my face. Its wings brushed my skin a couple of times before it settled on my cheek. I started to rise so I could swat it away, but Kemeili shook her head.

  "Nobody said boo about my kit," I mumbled. I stayed on my knees and tried not to think about how close the gold wasp crawled to my eye. "Besides, if I'd wanted to cause trouble at the party, why would I slip away with you?"

  "Why indeed?" She tested the point of the big knife with her finger. A bead of blood welled up on her skin. She sucked it off. "What drew you to that Forlorn at the Masquerade?"

  "The what?" The wasp crawled up my temple.

  "The woman who struck you." She touched the point of my own blade to my skin, just below my left nipple.

  "Oh, her." I would have shrugged, but I didn't want to go through life with one less teat—assuming I got to go through the rest of life. "I don't know. I guess because I hadn't caught sight of you yet."

  The knife trembled for a second, but she withdrew it, smiling. One tool I don't keep in my jacket is my winning charm.

  "Tell me, what is your master's true reason for coming to Iadara?"

  "He's not my—"

  Kemeili sighed and stepped away. "Revenge, perhaps? Who are his friends in Kyonin? Who are his enemies?"

  I couldn't think of anybody the boss knew in Kyonin, but he never gave me a list of all his hundreds of pen pals. Kemeili stroked another carving to reveal a hidden compartment full of knives. Most were throwing blades, but I saw a couple starknives and Katapeshi punching daggers, plus one of those three-headed Mwangi throwing blades they call a hunga munga. She took that one down to make room for the big knife.

  I wanted to protest, but instead I used the opportunity to slip the rake into the keyhole. The pick was a little too big for the tiny opening. I twisted the flimsy metal strip until its teeth pushed through.

  Kemeili turned back to me. I held my hands as natural as I could under the circumstances, pretending I couldn't feel the wasp exploring my ear. The way Kemeili looked at me, I could tell she was waiting for an answer.

  "Seriously, he just wants his carriage repaired. That's it."

  "So he has brought it all the way from Cheliax?" she said. "I think not."

  "We were in Ustalav when it got busted." There was no harm in telling her that. As far as I knew, the boss didn't have any secrets from the elves, not about this visit anyway. "Besides, it's a special carriage. The guy who made it lives here. The boss wanted it fixed a long time ago, but we got distracted."

  Kemeili stepped onto the edge of the bed, watching my face as she eased closer. If she came close enough, maybe I could wrap those chains around her pretty little neck. What a waste that would be. I wasn't even sure I was up for it these days. A lot of my killing instinct had gone to hell with my old devil.

  "What was the nature of this distraction?" She reached up. For a second I feared she'd seen the rake between my fingers. Instead she plucked the candle off its holder and dribbled hot wax onto my neck.

  I hissed at the pain, but I was glad to feel it. There was a time I could have juggled red-hot coals without raising a blister. That had gone with the devil, too.

  "Pathfinder business." I shrugged. She drizzled a little more wax on the other side of my neck. It hurt plenty, but my wincing covered the motion of my fingers. The rake was barely small enough to move inside the mechanism. I didn't like the chances of popping this lock. Still, I had to buy some time. "They sent us to fetch some magic pearl! I don't know the why. I'm not a member of their little club."

  "Your master is a celebrated finder of forgotten things."

  "He's not my master. I'm a free man. I just go along on these Pathfinder jaunts to keep him out of trouble."

  "What do the Pathfinders have to do with your visit to Iadara?"

  "Not a damned thing."

  Kemeili untied the strings of her blouse and parted the fabric over her belly. My fingers kept moving above my head as I looked down. A tattoo of three slim daggers pointed out from a circle around her navel.

  "The three stings of Calistria," she said, pointing at each blade in turn. "The first is for revenge, which we visit on those who offend us. The second is for guile, which led you here. The third is for lust. You know that one well, I imagine."

  "You aren't wrong about that."

  Click.

  Coughing to cover the sound of the lock snapping open, I held onto the chain and left the manacles draped over my wrists. It might have been smarter to let things play out a little longer, but temptation tugged at me again. I flashed the big smile.

  Kemeili didn't even flinch at the armory I had for teeth. I was impressed by her cool. "Why are you really giving me the third degree?"

  If my change of tone bothered her, Kemeili didn't show it. "There are many breeds of wasp. When a rival infiltrates a nest, guardians detect and kill it before it can reach the queen."

  "I got nothing against your queen," I said. "Neither does the boss."

  She peered into my eyes while she considered whether I lied. Hers were golden-brown with no visible white around the oversized iris. Elf eyes are hard to read, and I couldn't even see my reflection in Kemeili's.

  "I believe you," she said at last. "Still, as long as I have you here ..." She turned to open the third panel. When she turned back, I was spinning the manacles around a finger.

  She gaped. "How did you—? So quickly!"

  "It's all my guile."

  She smiled even as I slid off the bed and stepped close to her. She backed up against the wall of whips. "Don't tell me now you're in the mood for revenge."

  "I told you, I'm not too keen on whips and chains. Now be a good girl and hand me my big knife."

  If that scared her, she did a good job not showing it. "Perhaps you would prefer the third sting." With her chin she indicated the things inside the third hidden compartment. I'd seen a few of them in Egorian brothels or the bedchambers of people the boss was investigating. Still, there were plenty I couldn't even figure how to use.

  "Don't worry" Kemeili offered me her wrists for the manacles. "I'll show you how they work."

  What the hell? I thought. In for a copper, in for a gold.

  Chapter Three

  Omesta

  Varian

  The first buffet of the giant owl's wings flung the riffle scroll from my hand. I snatched at it, but the wind tore it away. Without its magic, I would plummet to my death should misfortune throw me from the saddle.

  "Hold tight, Count!" Seated immediately before me, Amarandlon shouted above the din. Petrified of falling without the benefit of a spell to soften my landing, I gripped the pommels of the tandem saddle.

  Amarandlon held no pommels, and there appeared to be no reins with which to guide the enormous bird. The communion between o
wl and rider seemed derived entirely of training and empathy, despite the disparity in their sizes. The giant steed stood three times the ranger lord's height, its unfolded wings nearly twice that span.

  We rose above the spires of Iadara and soared out over the river, its waters shimmering gold beneath the setting sun. As the beating of the owl's wings subsided into a steady motion, our escorts moved up beside us.

  To our left flew a ranger called Faunra. She sat before a closed wicker palanquin used to transport Amarandlon's hounds. Arnisant's gray snout poked through one of the narrow windows, wide eyes watching me for reassurance. He had entered the compartment obediently, but he shared my unease at traveling on the back of a giant bird.

  On our right flew Caladrel, his courtly garments exchanged for the green-and-dun leathers of the Kyonin rangers. In the saddle behind him dozed Radovan. Caladrel cast an uncomfortable glance backward as my sleeping henchman snuggled his head upon the elf's shoulder.

  Radovan had returned long past noon, a weary smile on his lips. He hung his jacket with care and peeled off his shirt. I noticed more than a few scratches, welts, and mild burns on his neck, shoulders, and back. He mumbled something about checking him for charms, so I riffled a simple divination and assured him he was under no magical enchantment. Before I could question him further, he fell into an unshakable slumber until the time for our departure. I surmised his involuntary abstinence of the past year had come to an end.

  The owls drifted across the southern bank and soared across the green expanse of the Fierani Forest. Purple shadows lurked under the dense canopy, darkening as the horizon devoured the sun. Occasionally I spied a meadow or stream below a gap in the canopy. Here and there a hill rose up, its head crowned with ancient stones.

  In other clearings slouched the ruins of abandoned watchtowers or temples. They appeared to have been ancient before the fall of Azlant. The elves had done little to reclaim such sites, leaving them as monuments to the civilization they abandoned in the face of Earthfall.

  The beauty of the land awed me to reverie. Suspended between the earth and sky, I felt a tranquility I rarely enjoyed outside of dreams. For hours, it seemed, I mused on how my life might have differed had I been born in Kyonin rather than Cheliax. Yet even the elves looked down upon their half-breeds, confining them to the port city of Erages. By the laws of Cheliax, I was no less gentle for my mixed heritage. And by the beneficence of my grandfather, I was as legitimate as any trueborn heir.