Of course, there were drawbacks. Instead of taxes on the money and real estate, there were more emotional-type taxes. She was promising to train horses and work with volarans and riders. She was promising to fight the monsters.
She was promising to stay in Lladrana.
Such a huge decision. But she’d never been any good with letting a decision dangle, always felt better after she’d made up her mind.
She was a risk-taker. Marian and Alexa were risk-takers, too, or they wouldn’t be here. So were the Marshalls and Chevaliers. Face it, everyone around her was a risk-taker, ready to egg her on.
The only person she’d met who might be the slow, deliberate type she could talk to long and hard was the Townmaster, Sevair Masif, who was waiting for her upstairs. Not exactly impartial. She didn’t want to talk to a man about this either.
Splashes and laughing and waves of excited auras of red and yellow and white filtered through the screen to Calli. Yep, everyone was pushing her. Probably because it was the Lladranans’ passivity that had led to this mess—now they were overreacting and going all aggressive. Which, in Calli’s opinion, was the right thing to do.
More splashing from the other side of the screen. “Calli, you okay?” called Alexa.
Calli had to wet her lips before she could answer. “Feeling a little crazy.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” Alexa said.
“We’ll stand by any decision you care to make,” Marian said.
She’d heard enough of Alexa’s and Marian’s stories on the ride back to the Castle to know they meant it. Everyone had given Marian a lot of leeway when she’d been determined to learn a cure for her brother’s disease and take info back to Earth. Marian had made it clear from the start that she’d return to Earth.
Calli had already said she’d stay. “What’s the worse that could happen?” she muttered, but not quietly enough.
“You could get trapped in a marriage with the wrong guy forever,” Marian said, as if she, too, was considering all Calli’s options. Marian, the one who was emotionally bound to her guy forever. Who’d die when he did.
“Well, if the magic goes wrong and she lands a real creep, I could kill him for ya,” Alexa offered cheerfully.
Calli thought she must be joking. But that thought did lead to the question of how long her lifespan could be. Days.
Days spent with a husband, hopefully loving and…sexy. Days spent flying on volarans. That was worth any shortening of her life. A life now free of pain.
Voices murmured, then a deeper voice, Thealia, leader of the Marshalls, said something and Marian translated. “You and your mate will choose your land tomorrow morning.”
Oh, yeah. That didn’t settle Calli down, but it did point out another big advantage. A spread of her own that she wouldn’t have to fight her dad for. That she could run the way she wanted, equip the way she wanted. Money for the ranch. Advice from everyone. She had people who were fast becoming better friends than she’d ever had.
A lighter voice came. Calli recognized it as Clua’s, the Marshall who’d done the Choosing and Bonding ritual herself. Marian said, “Clua promises you the Choosing Ritual works.”
Calli recalled how those two Marshalls loved each other. She did want love. Above all, she wanted a family and love. Soon her friends would love her like a sister, she was sure. She could make a place here where people would love her.
The volarans already loved her.
Earth seemed a very cold and lonely place.
Marrec met Seeva, Lady Hallard’s daughter, a Chevalier trainee, in the corridor of Horseshoe Hall. Hands on her hips, she was chewing her lip. When she saw him, she smiled and he returned it. Unlike her mother, the lady he swore allegiance to, Seeva’s manner was outgoing and generous.
“I can’t decide,” she said. “I’ve prepared the North Curved Suite on the uppermost floor in case the new Exotique wants a good view of the hills and the river and the forest, but perhaps she’d rather be in a tower—both the other Exotiques seem to like towers. But Horseshoe Hall doesn’t have towers, so she’d have to bunk somewhere else and then she’d be separate from us, the Chevaliers. Mother would not be pleased.”
He blinked, then remembered that Seeva had been given the job of managing the Hall—which had put a few noses out of joint. Since he was a man of low status he’d been out of that internal political skirmish.
Again she nibbled her full bottom lip. “Mother’s moving from the Noble Apartments and she’ll want prime space, too.”
“Hmm,” Marrec said. He had one small room in the least favored part of the building.
She laughed. “I’m running on. But what do you think, would the Exotique want a suite with a view or a tower or an Inner Curved Courtyard Suite on the ground level closer to the stables?”
He had no idea. Didn’t care the least. Which, since he was on his way to put his token on the Choosing and Bonding table, might not be a good thing. He should care about the Exotique’s—Calli’s—quarters.
“Um,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want the North Curved Suite?” He thought she deserved the very best.
“But being close to the stables? She seems enamored with volarans.”
Marrec shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Shaking her head, she said, “Well, it’s too late now.” She frowned. “I really wish they’d had the Choosing and Bonding Ceremony here in the Hall. If she chooses someone, they’ll probably go straight to bed and it should be here with the Chevaliers instead of in the keep.”
That jolted Marrec. His imagination hadn’t taken him any further than putting an object in for the Choosing. And he hadn’t even decided what to put there, either. He touched a polished stone in his pocket that he’d picked up from his lost farm in the mountains so many years ago. It would be the best offering, since it Sang of him since childhood, but he disliked putting it on display. No doubt Faucon would offer something gold or equally expensive. That decided him. He’d have his best chance to reach her emotionally with the stone.
The clock in the entry hall bonged the three-quarter hour, reverberating through every room.
“We’d better be going. The ritual is soon.” Seeva slipped her arm in his, pulling him from his brooding.
“You’re going, too?”
She patted a pocket. “I have my token right here.”
He looked down at her. She was young and beautiful and he could feel the strength of her Power where their bodies met. He certainly found her attractive, why wouldn’t the Exotique?
“I heard she’s a manlover,” he said. “And I thought you were, too.” He winced. He shouldn’t have said that.
With a sunny smile, Seeva patted his arm. “I like both women and men, and when Power and the Song is involved, as it is in such an ancient and significant ritual, who knows what will happen. The Exotique may find she prefers a woman after all.” She shrugged and Marrec noticed how full and appealing her breasts were. Yes, there was plenty about Seeva to admire, though he hadn’t seen her fight on the battlefield, so didn’t know how well her mind marched with other Chevaliers.
As soon as they entered the Lower Ward and angled to the gate leading to Temple Ward and the keep, Marrec saw Lady Hallard striding ahead of them. He dropped Seeva’s arm.
Seeva hurried and Marrec had to decide whether he wanted to walk with the Hallard women or not. But when Lady Hallard looked up and gestured to him, he had no choice. He lengthened his steps to meet her just as she crossed through the gate—fully guarded today—and he joined her on the other side of the security door. One step closer to the Exotique’s Choosing ritual.
13
Lady Hallard jerked a nod at him. “Figured you’d be heading for the Choosing. A person must try and get ahead in life, after all.” She scrutinized him. “I don’t see that you have anything special for the Choosing table.”
“Mo-ther, it’s not supposed to be something new and special,” Seeva said.
“It
is supposed to be something that resonates of your personal Song,” Lady Hallard contradicted. “You’ll probably put that worry stone you always finger on the table, right?”
Marrec withdrew his hand from his pocket without the stone that he’d been rubbing. “Ayes.” His liege-lady was more observant than he’d thought. Though she was shorter and stockier than he, she set a rapid pace across Temple Ward. “I got your message that you wanted an appointment with me,” she said.
“Ayes.” But not now and not with Seeva there. “A private appointment.”
Lady Hallard grunted. She eyed a clump of people waiting to file into the keep, including some townsmen. “What are they doing here?”
“The Choosing and Bonding is open to all,” Seeva reminded.
“But this one is our Exotique. We paid the Marshalls to Summon her, and took part in the Summoning ourselves.”
“The Marshalls thought it best for there to be the greatest possible number of suitors,” Seeva murmured.
“I wonder if the Marshalls will refund our zhiv if our Exotique chooses someone other than a Chevalier.”
“Just shows how important the lady is,” Marrec said, “and we Summoned her, so she should be more attuned to us and our needs.”
“True,” Lady Hallard said. “It’s a compliment to us that our Exotique has a large showing today.”
Marrec refrained from saying that most of the Chevaliers, including himself, hadn’t believed in the old ways or in a Powerful Exotique and hadn’t shown up for Alexa’s Choosing and Bonding ritual. Like others, he’d wished he’d done so now.
As soon as they entered the keep he felt the hum of excitement in the air, sliding along his skin, and heard a distant rush of voices raised in anticipation.
They wound their way through the building to the far northwest corner and an old, large hall with great faded tapestries emphasizing the starkness of the gray stone walls.
After one sweeping glance around the chamber, Lady Hallard snorted. “Nothing’s happening. Looks like this ritual is going to be late. The Marshalls can never get anything done on time.”
They could fly and fight in unison well enough, and were usually the first at a battlefield, but Marrec didn’t say so. After all, Lady Hallard was the representative of the Chevaliers to the Marshalls’ Council; she interacted with them a whole lot more than he did. He wondered if they usually started those meetings on time.
“Maybe the delay is due to the Exotique—” Seeva began.
“Calli,” Marrec corrected, then flushed a little when both women looked at him.
Seeva nodded. “Maybe it’s Calli. Or the other Exotiques. They use a drug, you know, to heighten the victim—uh, person’s Power, so she’ll chose the right partner. Maybe they’re having trouble with the drug, like the Marshalls did with Alyeka.”
“I am perfectly aware of the procedure,” Lady Hallard said, not even looking at her daughter. Hallard loosened her shoulders. “It’s packed in here. I don’t know why we couldn’t have had this Choosing in Horseshoe Close. Bunch of nonsense, deciding to have it in the oldest room of the Castle.” She started weaving through the crowd. Seeva had already slipped away to put her personal token on the Choosing table. Hallard jerked a nod to Marrec. “Let’s go out onto the terrace and talk.”
He didn’t want to go out onto the terrace, but Lady Hallard was right. The room was crowded, and with more men than women. The atmosphere seethed with the exhilaration of competition. For an instant, Marrec wondered what Songs Calli would hear, what she would sense and feel when she entered, how the pressure of being the object of such male desire would affect her. He didn’t like it much himself, how would she?
But Lady Hallard had opened the door and walked out to what the Marshalls called a terrace. It was just a bunch of flagstones surrounded by a low stone wall set on a sheer outcropping of rock, no wider than the room. No one else was there.
The lady glanced out at the beautiful prospect with a gaze that scanned more for danger than studied the pretty view. She stalked to the low wall, hitched a hip on it and said, “So what do you want?”
“Time,” Thealia said in a voice that echoed around the room. Calli knew that word; she heard the older Marshall splashing from the water in the pool on the other side of the screen. Calli ducked under, bobbed up, walked from the tub and dried off briskly. “I’m ready.”
“Your dress.” Thealia stuck her arm around the screen with a flow of glittering royal-blue shades darker than Calli’s eyes. A dress that would set off her coloring to the max.
“Mine?” It was the most beautiful fabric Calli had ever seen. She took the sleeveless dress. It didn’t look like much, but she knew it would cling.
“It’s magic, has a built-in bra,” Marian said. “I wear them all the time.”
“Is this like your dress this morning?” Calli asked.
“A little. It will mend small tears, will mask any perspiration odor with herbs.”
There’d been enough herbs in the bath to plant a garden.
“Think of it as a wedding dress.”
A high squeak escaped Calli. She dropped the dress, then had to pick it up, and watched water spots on the fabric fade before her eyes. Her breath came quicker.
“Marian!” Alexa scolded.
“Sorry,” said Marian.
Calli pulled the gown over her head. It slipped down her body as fluid as water, then shifted. The bodice lifted her breasts until the upper curves rounded in the square neck. Only a couple of wide straps held up the top. Killer dress, and yeah, it clung. She laughed nervously. “A take-me dress.”
“Well, let’s see you!” Alexa demanded.
And with that reminder of one sense, Calli became aware of the sound all around her—light ripples, deep ocean sonic-type melodies, Alexa’s and Marian’s unique Songs. Her skin prickled. She’d be more aware of music once she stayed.
One last chance to decide whether to trust these people or not. This was a matter of trust. She knew they wanted…everything…from her. But they also seemed to give her everything she wanted.
And if the whole thing went to shit there was always the Snap. The thought was a wisp in the back of her brain.
Again she felt the fabric, stroking it over one hip, though there were no wrinkles, would never be any wrinkles. No sleeves, the better to stick a tube in her wrist. She gulped.
“You sure this transfusion thing will work? What about blood types?”
Marian stuck her head around the screen, saw Calli was covered and walked in. “I’ve done several bloodbonds—with Jaquar to bond in marriage, the coeurdechain like you’ll do. Also with Bossgond as his apprentice.” She shoved her sleeve up and showed her left wrist. There was a series of tatts—two golden circlets entwined, a yellow bird and a green wand…
“We did a blood-sister thing, too,” Alexa said. With a wave, the screen folded back into the wall. She displayed her own wrist with a tattoo of crossed batons and a book. “Like I said earlier, Bastien and I don’t have a coeurdechain yet.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “I’d like to do a blood-sister thing with you, too, Calli.”
“And I,” said Marian. She looked down at her wrist and grimaced.
“Good thing you have long arms. By the time we bond with all the other Exotiques, we’ll have a mess of pics,” Alexa said, “like program icons on a computer desktop.”
“That’s so…eloquent,” Marian said.
“Hey, I ran the law journal, I can speak well if need be.” She grinned. “And legalese.”
“Just what I missed the most about Earth,” Marian murmured, smiling.
The exchange relieved a mite of Calli’s tension. She enjoyed these women. Then she reran the quips. “Other Exotiques?”
“You’re three of six,” Alexa said casually. “Dress looks great.”
Marian nodded. “Your suitors will be very impressed.”
Alexa grinned. “Their tongues’ll roll out and they’ll pant.”
That wrung a li
ttle laugh from Calli.
Alexa stepped close and looked up at Calli with serious eyes. “Really, the man who gets you will be lucky beyond belief.” Then her lips curved again in a lopsided smile. She winked. “Trust me, baby.”
Thealia jerked her head toward the stairs leading upward. So they left the pretty, tiled baths and walked up the stairs in pairs. Thealia first, Alexa and Clua—Calli kept her eye on the goblet full of the drink that would heighten her Power to make sure nobody slipped anything in it. Then Marian and she followed, with the rest bringing up the rear. A fine quivering trembled her insides. She felt as if she was facing the most important race of her life, a championship event—win or lose all.
With every step she took, Calli changed her mind. Stop this! No, go ahead, she had nothing to lose and everything to gain! No, look things over, check out the “suitors,” make the rounds of the room, then decide if she liked what and who she saw, if she could live with this Lladranan man or that one…Speak to the volarans!
But she continued to walk next to Marian, who was blessedly silent. Calli didn’t know if the other woman sensed her turmoil, but at least they weren’t dissecting it in an academic manner, or speaking of it at all, and for that Calli was grateful.
And it wasn’t as if Calli hadn’t talked to the volarans, who were all in favor of this step, or the feycoocu, who was equally in favor. Speaking of which—or thinking of which—they reached the top of the stairs and an exotic red bird with a long tail flew in and settled on Alexa’s shoulder.
A grunt came before them and Calli looked down to see a huge hamster. She thought it must be a hamster, though it was about a foot long and looked more like a prairie dog. Without breaking stride, Marian scooped it up.
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