At the tavern, Blade collected their meagre belongings and settled the bill with the proprietor. Kerra followed him to the livery stable to fetch the horses, then walked beside him as he set off through the town.
"Where are we going?"
"We cannot stay there. If the healer betrays me, her father is bound to find out I am staying there when he makes enquiries."
"Are we going to Cotti?"
He shook his head. "Not just yet. That is exactly what Crella's father will expect me to do, when he finds I have left the inn. We will go to ground for a few days, until the immediate danger is past."
They traversed the gloomy, almost deserted streets to an inn on the far side of the city. He left the horses at a nearby livery and rented a room much like the last one. The fat, balding proprietor acquired a greedy glint in his eye when Blade placed a bag of gold on the table to get his attention, then detailed the means by which the innkeeper could earn it. The man licked his lips as he stared at the heavy bag.
Blade demanded to be left undisturbed, their meals sent to the room and water for washing, all of which the man agreed to without hesitation. The assassin climbed the stairs to a cramped room with mottled walls, a sagging ceiling and single bed, flopping down on it. Kerra glanced around, opening her mouth to ask why he had not rented a room with two beds, then thought better of it. She studied him, noting his pallor and the way he rubbed his ribs. Mixing the healer's powder with a cup of water, she took it over to him.
Blade sat up, eyeing her. "When did you decide to become helpful?"
She shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "You are hurt."
"As I have been for the past several days." He sipped the potion and pulled a face. "God, this tastes like cow dung. So, why the sudden concern for my health? The girl I met at the palace would never have stooped to mixing medicine for a mere minion, injured or not."
"No, I suppose not. I have changed." She fiddled with the front of her jacket.
Blade smiled. "You are trying to avoid that punishment I promised you, are you not?"
She raised her chin. "You would not dare. Already you have struck me, which would have earned you a flogging at the palace."
Blade leant back against the headboard and took a gulp of the medicine. "One thing I have learnt from my association with queens, kings, regents and the like, is that they do not punish those who are valuable to them. People they can use, like me.
"Your mother berated me often for my churlishness, rudeness and disobedience, but continued to shower me with rewards for as long as I served her. I warned you that I might have to be rough with you. If you speak to me as if I am your servant, people are going to wonder if you are really my apprentice. So, I had to make it quite clear that you are."
"I am not afraid of your punishment."
"Really? That is rich, from someone who has never been punished." He studied her. "Well, if that is not it, then why are you trying to butter me up?"
"I am not -"
"You are. What is really bothering you?"
She looked down at the edge of her jacket, which was twisted in her hands. "Could you kill a woman?"
"Yes, if I was not retired and someone paid me to. Why, does that bother you?"
"A woman cannot defend herself."
He cocked his head. "So? I have yet to meet a man who could defend himself against me either."
"A man should never kill a woman. They should protect them."
"But men occasionally do kill women, out here in the real world. They also protect them, sometimes."
Kerra raised her eyes. "What would you do, if you were paid to kill me? Or blackmailed, like my father?"
Blade took another gulp of potion, and grimaced, pondering. "Well now, that is a good question, is it not?"
The blood drained from her cheeks, leaving her face chalk white, and her eyes widened. Blade struggled to control his expression, but when her eyes glistened with tears, he burst out laughing. Kerra sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes filled with an unreasonable fear that reminded him of her extreme youth and naiveté.
"You would kill me!" she rasped, horrified.
Blade put the potion down before he spilt it, clasping his ribs as his mirth goaded the dull ache to a savage burning. Kerra leapt up and headed for the door, clearly intent on escaping the potential threat to her life that she now perceived him to be. Blade caught her before she reached it, grabbed her around the waist and turned her to face him. He transferred his hold to her wrists as she tried to punch him, and hopped back when she attempted to kick his shins. He grinned, delighted by her reaction to his teasing.
"Let me go, you monster! I will be safer on my own than with you!"
"Really? A slip of a girl like you?" He chuckled. "You would not last five minutes."
"Well I am certainly not safe with you! If you could murder a helpless woman without any qualm, you would not hesitate to murder me if it suited you."
He chortled and hopped aside when she tried to kick him again. "But then I would not get my reward."
"What if Endor kills Chiana? Then I will be useless to you."
"Well, I could ransom you to your father for the same price. Ow!" He swore as she kicked his shin.
"Monster! My father cannot order his own brothers assassinated."
"You would be surprised. Whoa!" Blade ducked as she jerked a hand free and took a swipe at his head, enjoying the little tussle even if it made his ribs hurt. Chuckling, he grabbed her wrist again before she could do any damage, then cursed when she stamped on his foot.
"Ouch! That hurt. Okay, that is enough, Kerra. Settle down before you cripple me."
The Queen glared at him, and Blade fought to hide the amusement that still bubbled within him. He failed, and reflected that he had not been so well entertained for many years.
"Why this sudden concern about whether or not I am capable of killing a woman?"
"I have never before encountered a man who would."
"Ah." He pulled her over to the bed and sat on the edge of it, gazing up at her with a smile. "So you thought that if you were nice to me, you might be able to ingratiate yourself sufficiently so that if I was ever paid to kill you, I would not be able to do it, right?"
His smile broadened at her nod. "What a child you are. You can never become my friend. I do not have any. But let us consider this logically. No one can pay me to kill you, because I am not an assassin anymore, and there is nothing else that could persuade me. Your assumption is an insult to me, as the healer's was."
"Why?"
His amusement faded, and he sighed. "Being an assassin does not make me a compulsive killer. I do not enjoy it. The healer..." He pulled a face. "I could not decide what to do with her, but I was not considering killing her. When she begged for her life, I was offended. Do you think Chiana would have entrusted you to me if I was a common murderer?"
"I doubt that she knows you as well as she thinks she does."
"Really. And you know me better, after such a short acquaintance."
"Does she know that you could kill a woman?" she demanded.
"Yes."
"Has she ever seen you kill someone?"
He lowered his eyes. "Yes."
"Did my mother?"
Blade frowned, trying to remember, then nodded. "Yes. I killed a Contara assassin and his employer in her bedchamber one night."
"You saved her life?"
"No. I saved yours. No one ever tried to kill her, she was the Queen." Blade released her wrists, sensing that her wish to flee his presence had evaporated.
She sat on the bed beside him, gazing at him. "Then you saved my life twice."
"Yes."
"I did not know."
"I am surprised Chiana forgot to tell you that little story."
"But the healer... She was frightened, yet I saw no pity in your eyes. How could you bring yourself to kill someone like that?"
He rubbed his face. "I was not going to."
"But you could have."
"If I had been paid to, when I was an assassin, yes." He glanced at her, then turned away from the accusation in her eyes and picked up the cup of medicine. "An assassin cannot allow himself to feel pity, or he would not be very good at his trade. I only kill when I have to, now. I could have killed those thugs, but I did not, did I?"
"Is there anyone you could not bring yourself to kill?"
He hesitated, then sighed. "My wife. I swore an oath to her that I would not, even if someone paid me. That was before I retired, of course. Do not worry, you are quite safe." He took another gulp of medicine. "This is one of the silliest conversations I have ever had."
"You think me foolish to fear a man who kills as easily and as thoughtlessly as you do?"
"If I did it for fun, you might have cause for concern." He slugged back the last of the potion and put the cup down, then lay back and closed his eyes. "Of course, if you really annoy me..." Opening his eyes a slit, he found her gazing at him doubtfully, and chuckled. "Idiot."
Chiana raised her head and gazed at her tormentor with a mixture of trepidation and loathing, her face burning from the many slaps she had received. She sat in a chair in her morning room, where she had been confined for several days now. Endor paced the room, his nostrils flared with rage, his brows knotted above blazing eyes. The Cotti advisors who had arrived with his retinue stood with those who resided in the palace, and all of them stared at her impassively. Many things had changed since Blade had left with the Queen, and none of them for the better.
The palace seemed to be overrun with Cotti soldiers, and she had been forced to send most of her men to their barracks at Endor's orders. News of her ill treatment had spread into the city, and crowds of unhappy citizens gathered outside the palace gates to shout insults at the Cotti soldiers who lurked within. Chiana's men were forced to keep the irate people at bay, which led to further verbal confrontations and even a few scuffles. Most of the common folk could not understand the situation that had forced their queen into exile, and left the Regent at the mercy of a Cotti prince.
In the days that had passed since Kerra left, Endor had grown more and more furious with his troops' inability to find the Queen, and Chiana's refusal to tell him where she was. He was still convinced that she knew where Blade had taken Kerra, and only her high office had prevented him from doing more than slapping and shouting at her, so far. She suspected that he would soon start taking more drastic measures, however, since the populace were growing unruly anyway.
Endor marched up to her and bent to grip the arms of her chair, thrusting his face close to hers. She flinched and cowered, expecting another blow, and he smirked.
"Tell me where he is, Regent, or my torturer will know the pleasure of practicing his art on you."
"He could be anywhere. I have told you a thousand times. I do not know where he has gone."
"And I know you are lying!" Endor pushed himself away and straightened. "You know him better than anyone, and you concocted this plan with him. Where would he go?"
She shook her head. "I do not know."
He slapped her, and she tasted blood. "Then think!"
Chiana glared up at him. "I wish he was here, so he could cut your throat."
"And have you ordered my assassination, you traitorous whore?"
"As soon as Kerrion's wife is safe."
"Kerrion's wife will never be safe!" he bellowed. "As soon as I have your snivelling queen, she will be dead!" He swung to face the advisors. "This is high treason! She admits to ordering my assassination."
The advisors looked embarrassed, and the most senior stepped forward to explain, "She is Jashimari, Prince Endor, she cannot be accused of treason. If you are killed, she could be accused of murder, that is all. Even if we did charge her with treason, we cannot execute her. It would lead to war with Jashimari."
Endor swung back to Chiana. "When I catch your husband, he will suffer a slow and painful death, I promise you. But if you do not tell me where he has gone, you will suffer until you do."
"I cannot tell you what I do not know, Endor. My husband is not such a fool that he would tell me where he plans to hide the Queen, then leave me here to tell you. If he took Kerra-Manu, he did it at her request. I had nothing to do with it. I obeyed Kerrion's request, and told her she would have to allow you to visit her, but she was filled with disgust at the idea."
Endor's hand cracked across her face again, and she gasped. Tears trickled down her burning cheeks, and she raised a hand to brush them away.
"I tire of your continued defiance and insolence, woman. I am certain my torturers will succeed where I have failed."
Endor gestured to his guards, and they came over to drag Chiana from the chair, leading her to the door. She dug in her heels, slowing them down long enough to shout over her shoulder.
"When my husband learns what has been done to me, nothing will save you, Endor. He will cut out your heart and feed it to you while it still beats! Surely you have more sense than to torture the wife of the deadliest assassin who ever lived?"
Endor's full lips curled in a sneer. "Do not be so sure of his reaction, stupid slut. From what I hear, he cares nothing for you, since you are of no use to him. And if he does try to kill me, he will be the one who dies."
Chiana growled as the soldiers dragged her away before she could vent the abuse she longed heap upon him.
In the dungeons, a makeshift torture chamber had been set up, and a huge, hirsute Cotti presided over his instruments. A tub of water stood in the middle of the room, a seesaw plank rigged over it. The soldiers hauled Chiana to it and tied her hands behind her back, then forced her to lie face down on the plank. They bound her to it, her head poised above the water. She twisted to glare at the torturer.
"If Endor fails, you will pay for this outrage."
The Cotti shrugged. "I'm just following orders. You should tell him what he wants to know, then you won't have to do this."
"Your prince is a fool if he thinks that I know the whereabouts of my husband."
"He'll make quite sure you don't before he gives up."
Chiana stared at the water with deep dread, praying for a miracle to save her before he plunged her into it. Her suffering would bring Inka to her, and if they captured the dove Endor would have the perfect tool with which to torture her. The thought of losing her familiar terrified her, and she cursed the circumstances that had led to this horrible situation. She steeled herself, taking a deep breath as the torturer lifted the plank, plunging her head underwater.
Chiana struggled, terror overwhelming her. All rational thought fled as raw instinct took over, making her writhe and strain against her bonds in a desperate, futile bid to escape the water. Mind-bending fear beat inside her like a wild, savage thing that could not be tamed, a primal survival instinct awakened by the danger. Her muscles popped and spasmed, sending waves of pain through her. The ropes cut into her, and she fought the urge to inhale for as long as she could, but lost the battle and sucked in water.
The torturer raised Chiana back into the air, which rushed into her burning lungs, making her cough and wheeze. He waited until she had recovered somewhat, then reached for the end of the plank again.
"I do not know anything!" she croaked.
Her tormentor smiled and lowered her into the tub. This time she had less air, and her chest convulsed as she tried to cough. Her nose and windpipe burnt and her throat was raw. Within moments, she sucked in water, writhing and twisting like a mad thing. When the torturer raised her into the air again, she coughed up foam and wheezed.
Shouts from the soldiers made her open her eyes, blinking away the water that stung them. The Cotti ran about, jumping and grabbing at something in the air. At first she did not understand what was going on, then she realised that they hunted a dove that beat her wings against the walls as she strived to stay out of their reach.
"Inka!" Chiana croaked, tugging at her bonds. "Go! Fly away!"
The dove fluttered around the room, unable to find a safe perch. She shared Chiana's fear through their bond, and it filled her with panic. The soldiers whooped and leapt to catch her, causing her to veer away and crash into a wall. She fluttered to the floor, and Chiana groaned.
A soldier scooped up the bird, causing the regent to cry out as she shared her familiar's pain. The soldiers sniggered, and one brought a cage, into which the man who held Inka thrust her. As soon as he released the bird, Chiana was able breathe easier, and sagged against the plank. Inka fluttered around the cage, then found the perch and sat on it, peering through the bars at her captive friend.
The torturer smiled at the bedraggled Regent, addressing one of the guards. "Go tell the Prince we've captured the woman's familiar."
The man left, and Chiana twisted to gaze at the torturer. "Please let her go."
The Cotti shook his head. "I can't do that. Many a silent tongue has been loosened by a familiar's pain. We find it more effective than torturing the human."
"You bastard. I have nothing to tell you! When are you going to get it through your thick head?"
He shrugged. "That's for the Prince to decide."
Chiana let her head sag, coughing. It was just as well that she knew nothing, she reflected bitterly, for she would not be able to withstand Inka's pain. She summoned Blade's image into her mind to give herself courage, glad that he was free and praying that he remained so.
Jadar swung around when the door to the King's study burst open, his eyes widening as Kerrion strode in. His visage was lined and haggard, his eyes burnt with a fanatical light, and dust filmed his wrinkled clothes. Two servants followed the King, one of whom picked up Kerrion's cloak as he shed it, the other poured a cup of wine and offered it to Kerrion. Jadar put down the papers he had been tidying and bowed as Kerrion took the cup and dismissed the servants with a wave of his hand. He downed the wine in a couple of gulps and wiped his chin, his hand rasping over several days' growth of beard.
Never had the chief advisor seen his king in such a state of disarray and despair. Kerrion refilled the goblet and walked around his desk to sink into the chair, unbuckling his sword with a curse when it impeded him. It fell with a clatter, shedding sand. Jadar wondered if he should summon another manservant to tend to the monarch, who looked in dire need of food and a bath. Kerrion's brooding look boded ill for anyone who attempted to tend to his comforts, however, so the advisor stood before the desk, waiting to be addressed or dismissed. After a few minutes of contemplation, Kerrion looked up at him.
"We failed. He escaped during the night. A pox on him and all my brothers!"
"Chaymin?"
Kerrion nodded. "He must have known we were watching him. His familiar never left the estate. Five days ago, one of the sentries I posted around the estate was found dead, and the spy I sent to make enquiries was told that Chaymin left during the night, with a small force of armed men. By the time we found the sentry, the desert had swallowed his tracks."
"That is ill news indeed, Sire."
Kerrion banged the goblet down. "It is catastrophic, Jadar! He was our only hope of finding Minna. I have wasted a tenday watching Rothgan's estate, for nothing."
"What will you do now?"
The King rubbed his face. "Continue the search, what else? I am certainly not giving up."
"But you have already searched every conceivable place around Jadaya."
"Then I will search them again, and go further afield. I shall search until I find her, dead or alive. And if she is dead, god help those who killed her." Kerrion took a gulp of wine, his hand shaking. "What news from Jashimari?"
"Your daughter remains at large, Sire. The troops you dispatched are searching for her, but without success."
A faint smile curled the king's lips. "I told you they would not find her. Endor is a fool if he thinks he will."
"Endor thinks that Regent Chiana knows something. He is torturing her. The population of Jondar is outraged, and beat at the palace gates, demanding the Prince's death."
Kerrion rubbed his brow. "That is worse than I thought. The idiot will start an uprising if he is not careful."
"Or a Jashimari lord will send an assassin to kill the Prince."
Kerrion frowned. "I wish someone would, if I knew it would not put my wife in danger. But it will not win her freedom. Then Trelath would probably demand that Kerra become his captive instead. Anyway, I doubt an assassin would succeed; the palace is a fortress in many respects. When I was held prisoner there, an assassin was sent to kill me, and he used a secret tunnel to gain entry to my room. But that tunnel has since been blocked up."
He paused, looking pensive. "The only man who could succeed is the Regent's husband, but he is retired and with Kerra. If Endor is torturing Chiana, he is looking for trouble with Blade. Have a letter drawn up, warning Endor that harming the Jashimari Regent will do him no good, and possibly endanger his life."
Kerrion's hand tightened on the cup. "I wish I could order his arrest and have him flogged, not send him a bloody warning. Damn him! And Trelath! Damn the whole stinking lot of them!" The King's visage flushed with rage, and he stared at the goblet hard enough to melt the gold.
Jadar hesitated. "Your sons have been asking to see you."
Kerrion ran a hand through his dusty hair. "I must see them. Send a servant to prepare a bath and fresh clothes, then have a meal sent to my rooms."
Jadar bowed. "Yes, Sire."
After the advisor left, Kerrion drained the cup and rose to refill it. His limbs were leaden with fatigue, his bones ached and his eyes stung from lack of sleep. Tendays in the sun had deepened his golden tan to bronze, and lightened his tawny hair. All the exercise, plus his lack of appetite and the worry that would not let him sleep, had melted away the excess flesh he had put on around his middle over the years.
Long forgotten muscles had re-emerged from beneath the layer of fat to ridge his belly and bulge his arms like a youth. He turned to study himself in the mirror, barely recognising the gaunt, bearded face that stared back at him with burning eyes. He wondered if his sons would recognise him, and dreaded their questions, trying to formulate answers while he had time.
The four days he and his men had spent living in the desert near Rothgan's estate had been a nightmare of blistering heat and freezing cold, snakes and scorpions. Two horses had died of some unknown disease, a man had been bitten by a burrowing sand snake, and a dog soldier's familiar had become sick, forcing him to send a small group of men home to tend it. When he had learnt of Chaymin's escape, he had wanted to burn Rothgan's estate to the ground, then execute the lord and his entire family for treason. His generals had persuaded him that the lord was more useful alive, however, since they now knew he was in league with the princes, and could be watched.
Kerrion tried not to imagine the deprivations Minna suffered. The thought of her ill treatment sent him into a rage. Already he had wrecked his tent twice in fits of fury brought on by dreams of her bound and hurt, hungry and thirsty, begging him to find her before it was too late. The nightmares filled his sleep with horror, and he tried to stay awake until he was too exhausted to dream. Since he had received the lock of hair and instructions from Chaymin, he had heard nothing of her well-being. He did not even know if she was still alive.
Kerrion turned as a manservant entered and announced that his bath was ready, dismissing the man with a nod. He longed to be back out there, searching for Minna, and only extreme fatigue forced him to eat and rest first.
Minna sighed and snuggled closer to the warm, furry body that provided her with a soft cushion, running her hands over sleek muscles under a glossy pelt. Shista's rumbling purr brought the warmth to her heart that was a familiar's gift, without which she would not have survived. The shackles had callused her wrists, and the hard floor bruised her hips and shoulders. She had piled up the sand that covered the floor to try to make a softer bed, with only slight success, and the flies that the latrine bucket attracted plagued her.
At night, squadrons of blood-sucking insects droned around the room, waking her from her uneasy doze. Her stench sickened her, and her misery sometimes found outlet in weeping, whereupon Shista would lick the tears from her cheeks. She dreamt of the day when Kerrion would find her, and the joy it would bring. The food the boy brought did not agree with her, making her queasy when she forced herself to eat it, and her flesh had melted from her bones. The boy still had not spoken, and she was convinced that he had no tongue.
Shista stayed close, and provided what comfort she could, holding the night time cold at bay with her warmth. Often, the wet rasp of the cat's tongue on her cheek woke Minna in the morning. The sand cat lived on whatever little animals dwelt in the dying oasis, and occasionally brought a freshly killed rabbit or bird to try to tempt her friend's appetite. If Minna had been able to cook it, she would have accepted the offerings.
At least Trelath had not returned to torment her, and that could only mean that the King was doing as he was told. She wondered what had been demanded of him, and prayed that he would find her, for she doubted Trelath would ever release her. The deep rumble of Shista's purr lulled her drowsy mind, and she drifted off to sleep again, leaning against the sand cat's lithe, tawny length.
Blade stared at the stained ceiling, wondering how much longer he could tolerate this enforced lethargy. For four days, he had studied the various stains on the walls, or listened to the Queen's idle chatter. The girl had proven to be a lively conversationalist, and well educated, but many of the subjects she chose to discuss did not interest him. When this happened, he ignored her, which did not please the young queen.
Blade tried to alleviate the boredom with training, and told her to watch the house across the street and learn all she could about the occupants, as if it was the home of her target. When she had done this, he had told her to pick one as her potential victim and come up with a plan to assassinate him without being discovered. This had kept Kerra quiet for several time-glasses, to the assassin's relief, until she had regaled him with her plan. Although reasonably intelligent, he had picked it apart in a few minutes. When she challenged him to better it, he had put forward one with which she could find no fault, much to her frustration.
The shadows outside lengthened as dusk fell, and Blade, although trained to be infinitely patient, was eager to leave. The danger of the healer's father discovering them was past, and the proprietor assured him that no one had come looking for him. His ribs were considerably improved, the bruising almost gone, and he only had an occasional twinge if he twisted or breathed in deeply. The time spent in idleness now worked against him, denied him vital exercise and decreased his fitness. Blade sat up and stretched, turning to Kerra, who sat next to the window, leaning on the ledge and watching the people walk by below.
"Come, we are leaving."
She looked up, her face brightening. "To Cotti?"
"Yes."
"At last."
Within a few minutes of making his decision, Blade strode from the inn, his bag of possessions slung over his shoulder. After collecting the horses from the livery, he headed down the street that led to the southern gate, detouring to the dress shop, where he purchased the two dresses, a wig and some cosmetics. As dusk sent long fingers of shadow questing across the land, he led the Queen into the wooded region to the south of the city. They travelled by moonlight, and stopped at around midnight to camp amongst the trees, eating cold rations before rolling up in their blankets.
The forest was made up of wir trees, which gave off a pungent, acerbic scent and dropped fluffy golden flowers in a feathery rain. Kerra seemed to find the marrin birds that lived there in flocks fascinating. They filled the air with weird fluting calls and hopped from branch to branch, using the claws that tipped their useless wings to cling like apes. Blade was glad the strange forest distracted the girl, giving him a rest from her girlish banter.