by Jane Routley
Being me, I wanted to know all about where he’d been. He was just a soldier, but anywhere was more exciting than here. I peppered Dannel with questions about where he’d been stationed. In Elayison? In Crystalline? He’d been briefly in both those places, but he’d quickly been stationed in Parratee on the border with the Sultanate. What were the people like there, I asked? Were they really covered with blue markings and had he seen the great temples of the ancients?
He laughed and told me common soldiers didn’t get to go sightseeing; they kept to camp, they patrolled lonely stretches of border and he could tell me all the different ways to serve beans if I liked. Though it was different if you were gentry and an officer. Then you had more freedom.
That made me uncomfortable, even though he said it with a lopsided grin. I felt certain he had said it to shut me up, as a way of telling me he didn’t want to talk about his life in the army. In the silence that followed, I noticed that Dannel’s feet were bare and he didn’t seem to be wearing much under his robe. He had a musky smell about him, like someone who hadn’t washed for a while. Like someone who was sleeping rough. I began to have the feeling that perhaps he had left the army, that perhaps he was even a deserter. Which didn’t shock me, because he was my dear old friend and probably had his reasons. You heard bad things about the life of ordinary soldiers in the army.
So we talked of old times, how we’d ranged through this forest and hidden in old mine pits and fallen out of trees and off horses and accidentally burned down two haystacks one year. The usual country childhood. The only thing we didn’t talk of was the two summer nights we’d spent together at our old tree house where we both first discovered the pleasures of making love—the fumbling uncomfortable ecstasy of it. A few nights later, I waited and waited, and he didn’t come; and then I heard he’d run off to join the army.
“Here’s where we part again,” he said as we reached the road. He turned, and as if he’d been reading my mind, he said, “I’m sorry I ran off all that time ago without telling you. There were a lot of problems at home and I had to go.”
“Stefan said you had a big fight with Old Grumpy,” I said helpfully. I’d forgiven him a long time ago, accepted that our loving had been more curiosity and hot-bloodied youth than passion. Anyway, since then I’d found much bigger things to be angry about.
“Yes, that was it. It wasn’t you. You were lovely.” He took my hand and kissed it.
“Oh, look at you, you smooth fellow. You’ve made me blush. And you’ve probably got a truelove somewhere.”
He laughed and gave me back my hand. “Dozens,” he said. “A woman in every town.”
I wanted to offer to help him, but there seemed no proper way to broach the subject without being patronising, so we bid each other farewell. I went off down the road feeling bad about not saying anything. I decided to call on his mother, Grace, after Blessing time and tell her I had work for Dannel on the farm. So I’d got quite some way before I noticed how Dannel’s touch had made my hand oily. Some kind of grease. I lifted it to my nose and smelled animal fat of some sort, and noticed something glinting in the sunlight. Little specks of crystal.
Rogues. They said that rogues often powered their magic covering by themselves in grease full of ground crystal. Was my old friend something worse than a deserter?
My spine went cold and I whirled around to look back at Dannel. There was no sign of him. He must have gone back into the forest.
MIDDAY HAD PASSED when I reached the house. I was famished and wished I’d eaten more of the food I’d brought Klea. I stopped in to check on Katti, who was asleep on the stableman’s bed and seemed comfortable. As I crossed the stable yard to the house, I came upon Hagen Stellason on a bench with his feet up on an over-turned bucket. Men! They seem to have nothing better to do than hang around making a nuisance of themselves.
“Did you have a nice walk?”
I considered him for a moment. He was so ordinary looking that he’d make a good intelligencer. Yet that twinkle in his eye made his face come alive.
“Shameful how servants laze about when their betters’ backs are turned,” I said pointedly. “Surely you have some work to be at.”
“But I was longing to see your lovely face again,” he said.
“Of course you were,” I said, trying not to smile at his cheekiness.
“So why was Lord Illuminus searching your room?”
If he thought to startle me, he failed. “I really couldn’t say. Family politics, I expect. I try to stay out of it,” I said. I added for good effect. “It’s always someone.”
The moment I said that, I knew it was a mistake.
“I’ve been travelling with your uncle for the whole Blessing period and there’s been more room searching here in one day than I’ve seen in the last three weeks. Still, I guess your aunt being a known radical must make a difference. No doubt the Matriarch wants to see what she’s at, eh?”
All my amusement disappeared. I’d always worried that Eff’s writings would get her into more trouble with the family Elders, and now here was an intelligencer, possibly from the heart of the government, asking questions about her.
“Which is nothing,” I said, far too quickly. And going into the house, I would have walked firmly away from him, had he not caught up and kept pace with me the whole way.
AFTER ALL THAT, when we got back to the kitchen, he seemed to lose interest in me and started flirting with Toy’s maid, who was washing out something silky in the scullery. I ate some bread and cheese and ignored them. I was only happy that he didn’t seem to notice when I slipped away and hurried up into the Eyrie. Certainly he didn’t follow me.
This time the tower was completely deserted and I managed to do a thorough search of Toy’s room. In the little hiding place under the floorboards, I was surprised to find a couple of bundles of smokeweed and four little papers of potion powder. Toy had always struck me as too scarily focused to be a smoke rat, but some people hide their vices well.
I felt petty because I couldn’t help being annoyed to see that there was no dust under Toy’s bed. Clearly people had swept up properly in here. You might think your staff care about you, but they know who really needs to be pleased.
The room searched, I could think of nothing more to do until I managed to get hold of the combination to Toy’s treasure box. I should really return to the Blessing party so as to blend in as much as possible, but the ceremony would be almost over by the time I trudged out to the fields. My feet were tired enough as it was. So I gave into temptation and paid a little visit to the women’s retiring room instead.
During a family visit, the top floor of the Eyrie was customarily the preserve of the noblewomen, retainers and family. We slung a silken canopy from the stone roof and furnished it with carpets. Day beds were set out and hung with soft linen drapes so that the ladies could be private while they enjoyed massages or dallied with lovers.
The view from the windows was beautiful—deep green forest stretching away to the tall, snow-tipped mountains. But I’d seen that view. I was more interested in what the mages had brought to decorate their eyrie. The day beds had been re-hung with heavy silk drapes more suitable for the cool days of early spring and loaded with bright silk cushions. All kinds of delicious-looking massage oils were arranged on a little table. I love nice smells. They seem to hold the promise of far-off places.
I was taking a sniff at a bottle when I heard a rustling behind me. With a soft glow of crystal light, the curtains on one of the massage beds floated open, revealing my cousin Scintillant lolling on his side among the pillows. He was wearing his tight Blessing breeches and a big white shirt left open to the waist. His dishevelled curls made him look even more loin-meltingly handsome than usual. Curse him.
“Shine, sweetie. How nice to see you. I was hoping we could have a little chat. I hate being on bad terms with you.”
“Are we on bad terms? I’m sorry. I’m so busy at the moment, I’d forgotten.”
&
nbsp; “Spiky, spiky,” he laughed.
Verbal fencing was one of the pleasures of being with Scinty. I always tried to hold off with him as long as I could. It had never been very long.
He came over and leaned against the wall beside me. “Are you really mad about the belt? It’s just a bit of fun. I’d be horrified if you were hurt by it.”
“It was the way Lady Lumina told me that annoyed me.” Lumi’s face had been so satisfied. She seemed to know how attached I got to Scintillant, how much I’d wanted his attention back after he’d strayed off, how much I thought about him after he’d gone. I was so angry that I had a weak spot for her to get at, I’d sworn to get over Scintillant immediately. And the only way to do that seemed to be to avoid him completely.
“Oh, Lumi’s such a prick. Don’t let her stop you doing what you really want to do. Madness lies there.”
“What makes you think I have?” I said. “One tires of doing the same old thing every year.”
He tossed back his head and laughed. “You are such a treat!” he cried. “And so pretty. I love your delicate skin.” He slid my sleeve up my arm till he reached the point where I’d stopped darkening my hands. “I do wish you’d stop colouring yourself. Your natural colour is so attractive.”
He dropped a soft kiss in the crook of my elbow. The softness of his lips sent a shiver of electricity down my spine. Despite myself my body leaned into the warmth of him. Scinty was the one who had first showed me how to really make love. Men are easy to please, but it’s fun to really make them swoon.
“Haven’t you got new conquests to win?” I said.
“I always look forward to loving you. You are the Queen of Lovers, my beautiful Shine.”
I laughed. “You say that to all the women. I’ve heard you do it.”
He grinned and squeezed my arm.
“Lady Chatoyant isn’t going to like you fooling about with her Spring Flora perfume,” he said.
“I’ll have to live with that,” I said calmly, opening another bottle and sniffing it.
“I think this will suit you much better,” he said. He held out the stopper of a bottle for me to sniff.
“Oh, no. Too fruity.”
“That’s right! You like musky, don’t you?”
As if he really remembered what I liked. Maybe he did.
“How about this?” He sniffed the stopper and then pressed his nose gently against my neck as if enjoying my scent. “Mmm, yes. This would be perfect on you.”
I reached forward to take the stopper from him, but instead he held it under my nose and when I gave a smile of pleasure, he traced the scent down my neck.
“Oh, yes, delicious.” He traced a warm finger down the scent trail and further down my neck into the hollow of my shoulder. He pressed his lips firmly into the hollow.
I tried not to arch into him, but something melted in my belly and tightened between my legs. His arm was round my shoulders and his big hand lay snug across my stomach as he kissed and nuzzled my neck.
“Lovely Shine. I’ve been so looking forward to seeing you.”
“Cheap words,” I said, trying to break the spell. “How do you remember our names, I wonder?
I turned intending to break away, but somehow I found myself facing him, squeezed against him, chest against chest, hip against hip
“It’s true when I say it to you. I have been longing to make love to you.” He traced my lip with his finger. His touch sent a jolt of desire though my belly.
His mouth came down on mine. I abandoned all my good intentions, slid my arms around him and opened my mouth to him.
As we kissed, I felt my robes slide off my shoulders and rustle to the floor. His knee slid between my legs and I slid myself on to it. His hand stroked down my back and cupped my buttocks very briefly, pushing me upwards so that I was riding his hard thigh. The pressure of it was delicious and I couldn’t help rubbing myself against him. I slid a hand into his shirt and felt his firm chest and belly and sliding down, the hard jut of his erect cock straining against the cloth of his breeches. Still riding his thigh, I tried to undo his belt.
“Patience, patience, my darling,” he murmured. He pulled away and I was lifted in his arms, and he was carrying me over to the day bed. “I want to enjoy your lovely body first.”
He slid me down onto the bed and standing over me pulled off his shirt. I rubbed my hands over the lovely hard muscles of his chest and arms while he bent forward and began to undo my body shaper. Murmuring, “Lovely lovely,” as if I was some wonderful gift, he released my breasts and began to lick and stroke the nipples. I tried to wriggle round so that I could return the favour, but he pushed me onto my back.
“Relax! Enjoy!” he crooned as he slid himself down my body. He ran his tongue down my belly. The feel of it sent tingles down into my crotch. Somehow my breeches were around my ankles. He was pulling them off. I sat up, hungry to ride him, and put my hands on his breeches, but he batted them gently away.
“What’s the hurry, my beauty?” He kissed me hard and deep and his fingers slid in between my legs, tickling, teasing my pleasure bud.
“Oh, Scinty, I want to ride you,” I moaned. I was slick with juice and my flower wanted to open and be filled.
He slid two fingers inside me, sending a jolt of pleasure deep into me.
“Such an impatient little Shine. Always have to hold you back, don’t I?”
I moaned, rubbing myself against those teasing fingers, and felt his tongue stroke down my belly again. This time he tickled it across my pleasure bud, teasing it with the tip. I moaned with desire begging him to let me ride, but he kept teasing and tickling and filling me with his fingers till I was in a fugue of pleasure, writhing and bucking against his hand. The pleasure of his touch was unbearably delicious. I was climaxing. I was completely out of control.
Only then did I feel him sliding his cock into me. For a moment I was startled out of my pleasure haze. I was used to being on top. But the feeling of his hard cock filling my flower sent such waves of pleasure up though my body that I abandoned myself to another climax.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I WAS ALONE when I awoke later. I lay under the crisp sheet for a few moments, remembering his warm strong hands, the delicious fullness of him inside me, the deep damp feeling of satisfaction between my legs. So much for my good intentions. I felt slightly ashamed of myself, especially after my conversation with Klea. But only slightly. One delicious pleasuring was better than none. Life is long and Blessing time is brief, as the old poem says.
As I was considering getting up, I heard the door open and someone walked across the room outside the curtains. My spine froze. The colour of the daylight showed it to be late. Curse it. Had the Blessing party come home?
I could imagine one of my noble cousins finding me here.
“What are you doing here, Ghostie?” they’d say. “This room is for mages,” they’d say. They’d probably complain to Impi that I was getting above myself.
If it was a maid, she’d be politer, thanks to my lineage; but she’d think I was getting above myself too, and there’d be talk, which would also get back to the mages.
When I heard the footsteps go away up the stairs to the rooftop above, I gathered up my clothes, slid out of the day bed and feverishly started to dress.
Another set of feet came stomping up the stairs below the room and someone else came crashing in at the door. As I ducked back against the wall behind the bed curtains, I glimpsed my cousin Blazeann. Since she didn’t storm up and order me out, she clearly hadn’t seen me.
“Toy!” she shrieked, thundering around the room throwing open the bed curtains. I slid under the end of my bed to join two pairs of sandals and some damp towels. No dust here either. “Toy, where in Hell’s name are you? This is a complete mess!”
“Why?” Toy’s voice came from the roof. Footsteps trod back down the stairs. She sounded utterly indifferent. As a mage, she could afford to ignore Blazeann’s temper.
; “She didn’t do it,” snarled Blazeann. “She’s done it at every stop this season, she’s hardly been sober the whole time, and now when there’s someone here to see, she doesn’t do it. Curse her.”
“I think Impi may suspect Glisten’s reasons for being here,” said Chatoyant. “He’s no fool.”
“Curse him. Curse him, curse him, curse him!”
Crystal light flashed and something smashed on the ground.
“Will you kindly not wreck the place?” said Chatoyant. “No, don’t throw anything else.” Another crystal flashed through the linen spread and something clicked softly onto a table surface.
“‘Call in the Elders,’ you said,” snarled Blazeann, through what sounded like clenched teeth. “‘They’ll see things for what they are,’ you said. Well, they’re not going to see anything, are they? And in the meantime, that mad old rat wrecks the place and that man raids the family’s coffers and fills the house with his kin.”
Mad old rat. Nice way to refer to your mother, I thought.
“So what other bright ideas do you have, cousin?”
“If she’s not going to overindulge on purpose, she will have to be made to overindulge by mistake,” said Toy. “Here...” There was a rustling of paper. “This is that ghost powder called Open. Slip all of it into tomorrow’s smokeweed and Splen’ll fall over during the next blessing.”
The blood rushed to my head at her words. I almost yelled out a protest. How could they?
Blazeann let out a thoughtful huff. I could almost feel her shoulders relaxing.
“Lucient might notice,” she said. “He often mixes Mama’s pipes.”
“That’s why it’s dust, and why tonight you mix it carefully into the rest of the smoke potion and give the whole thing a good shake,” said Chatoyant, as if explaining to a child. “Honestly, darling, can’t you work that out for yourself?”
