VirtualWarrior

by Ann Lawrence

  “I think Venrali looks pretty fit for a man his age.”

  Nilrem patted his chin with the end of his beard. “I would like to be so fit. Then I could have such a beautiful woman to tend to my needs.”

  “So you wouldn’t kick Cidre out of bed?”

  “Me?” Nilrem cackled a long laugh, then began to cough and choke, spraying bread crumbs across the closest diners, a few of Ralen’s warriors. They shot ominous looks at him.

  Lien said, “Whatever illness kept Venrali hidden away until this moment doesn’t show.”

  “I need not tell you that some illnesses are not very apparent to the naked eye. Still, he looks remarkably healthy. Do you think he might have been hiding for some reason?”

  Lien chewed the nutty bread. “Why should he hide? Unless old Cidre is poisoning him at a slow rate. You know, found a way to knock him off so she can consort with a new consort—”

  Nilrem clutched his sleeve. “That is it.”

  “Shhh,” Lien cautioned, but no one was paying attention to them. He quickly ate a few more slices of bread and cheese as well as three apples. “Where’s Ardra?” What kept her hidden? Her anger with him for choosing to be a pilgrim?

  “Searching for the potion. Everyone is here save Einalem. What a wonderful opportunity to go through coffers—”

  “Searching!”

  Nilrem clamped a hand on Lien’s arm. “Do not jump up like a suitor whose robe is afire. You cannot rush off after her.”

  “Why not?” He jerked his sleeve from Nilrem’s grasp.

  “Do you think she will appreciate your faith in her to manage her fate, let alone that of her people, if you cannot leave her alone for an hour?”

  Lien picked up a fourth apple. He took a bite, but it was ashes in his mouth.

  Ardra must make her own way.

  “What about this idea you have that I should stay with her until she saves my life? How can she save me if I’m sitting here with you? I might choke on this apple.”

  “Oh, I do not interpret such things. Hush now. The goddess has something to say.”

  Lien opened his mouth, but closed it. Ardra stood again at the top of the stairs, frozen, her eyes on Venrali and Cidre.

  Cidre tapped her dagger on her gem-encrusted goblet. Ardra remained poised, one foot on the step, her hand on the newel post. Lien willed her to look down at him, but her gaze was fixed on the high table.

  Cidre said, “I wish to celebrate Venrali’s return to good health and the arrival of our most illustrious guests from both Tolemac and Selaw with a magnificent hunt.”

  A burst of cheers and clapping resounded about the hall.

  Cidre smiled, and when the noise subsided, spoke again. “We will hunt the boar. Eat. Eat that we may make our way into the forest without further delay.”

  Oh, great, Lien thought. A boar hunt.

  Ollach leaped up and hurried to Ardra to act as bodyguard. Lien felt more than a tad jealous, but Ollach wore a sword whereas he only had a stick.

  “I’m staying here,” Lien said to Ralen, who had drawn near. “We pilgrims don’t like killing little forest creatures.”

  “Little?” Ralen laughed. “A boar is not a little creature. And if we take the goddess’s totem, the sow, ‘twill be the best of omens for us all.”

  “And what of Ardra’s need to find the Vial of Seduction?”

  Ralen planted his hands before Lien on the table. “There is no vial to find. It is gone. Or if it is here, it is hidden away where no one can find it.”

  Lien shrugged.

  “Ardra will not be hunting a vial, she will be hunting boar. I intend to take her with me and watch over her,” Ralen said.

  Damn.

  Chapter Twenty

  A knock turned Samoht away from his maps, but when he saw Einalem in the doorway, he went back to the parchments.

  “Brother, we must speak.”

  Samoht looked up. There was a touch of agitation in her voice that made him pause. “Come, sit.” He set aside his map and took a chair while she perched on the end of the bed.

  “I have something to tell you. Something that will anger you, but I pray you will listen and try to understand.”

  He leaned forward and took her hand. “You have been angering me since we were children. Why should this day be any different? I shall still love you.”

  “Oh, Samoht. I have changed my mind about Ralen.”

  Samoht grinned. “That I could have predicted from the moment you first took him to your bed.”

  “Did you know he wants a chief’s daughter?”

  “Of course. I tried to tell you that when you first saw him, but you would not listen.”

  Einalem slipped her hand from Samoht’s and went to his maps. “You are still trying to figure out where we are?”

  “Aye.” He joined her and pointed out the area he had marked with an ink tinted red. “This is where we are supposed to be, according to Ralen. But there is no rise in the land, nor a lake. He says we must correct our maps. I say we are farther east.” He tapped the map.

  “There are no lakes there either.” Einalem shrugged.

  “The mapmakers will charge me a fortune to survey and correct the mistake, no matter which of us is right.”

  “Make a wager on the matter with Ralen. If he truly believes he is right, he will take the wager. If he is not sure, he will not. Then you need not go to the expense of sending the mapmakers, just change the map to suit what you think.”

  “You did not come here to discuss maps, nor to tell me you are tired of Ralen. What have you done to make me angry? Get it out on the table.” He slapped his hand to the tabletop to emphasize his impatience.

  “I have known for more than a day who has the Vial of Seduction but never told you.”

  His heart began to beat fast. If this was true, he could have Ardra as his concubine, a willing lover, even washing his feet in the hall should he wish it.

  “You have disappointed me, Einalem.” He kept his voice calm and controlled. “Tell me everything.”

  “The goddess has the vial, as the slave gossip said, and I have made a bargain with her to show me how to make use of its precious potion.”

  “Indeed,” he said. He would have Ardra’s fortress without a drop of bloodshed.

  “Why do you smile?” she asked, sitting on his bed.

  He swallowed the grin. “Why, I have just realized that if you can get Cidre to use the Vial of Seduction, she has solved the honor problem. How has she done it? Tell me.”

  “Cidre will not tell me. She merely said she knows the answer to the riddle.”

  “So, you were able to get her to admit she has the vial?”

  “Aye. Are you not proud of me?”

  “Greatly so. Why did you fear I would be angry? Why, I shall put it to the councilors that you be rewarded. You have made real what was naught but slave gossip until this day. Would you like a legacy of land in the chiefdom of your choice?”

  “Oh, I will think of something.”

  She did not meet his eyes. He wondered what she was not telling him.

  “Just as there will be rewards for the vial’s return, so there must be punishments,” he said. “How did Cidre get the vial in the first place? Which councilor stole it?”

  Einalem shrugged. “She would not say, but I suspect ‘twas Tol, and he is certainly beyond punishment. He probably tried to trade it for some elixir to cure his illness. Sick people can be desperate.”

  “There is more to this, is there not?” He grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. “You have done as Ralen could not, Sister. You do realize that? You have gotten Cidre to admit she has the potion.”

  “I have.” She looked at the center of his chest.

  “We must persuade her,” he chuckled over his choice of words, “not to admit the truth to anyone but us. That way, we can let the eight days flow by and Ardra’s fortress will be in my power without a drop of bloodshed.”

  “I have already convince
d Cidre it serves no one to admit she has the vial. I told her even you must not know.”

  He lifted a brow. “Why may I not know?”

  “Three can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Has not Nilrem said that often?”

  “Ah. That is true. So you have told Cidre it will be—”

  “Something between women only,” she said.

  “And how did you discover Cidre had the vial?” Samoht watched his sister’s face. She bit her lip and looked at her hands.

  “While making a salve for Lien’s rash, I had an opportunity to look about Cidre’s herbarium. I recognized the bottle.” She looked up and met his gaze. “You showed it to me once, remember?”

  “Aye, and a good thing, too. Were you alone when you found it?”

  “Nay, Brother, Lien and Ardra were there, but they were too intent on his rash to suspect what I had learned. Ralen would have found it had he been trained to recognize what was out of place in a healer’s realm.”

  Samoht frowned. “So I should have sent you with Ralen the first time. You did suggest it, but I ignored you.”

  “Aye,” she looked up, and her face registered her anger. “Aye, Tol allowed Ardra to make decisions beyond a woman’s place. Why do you never see that my thoughts have value?”

  He cupped her face and kissed her nose. “Because you so often come up with something ridiculous like wanting to bed some highly inappropriate man. That shows me you are ruled by womanly desire, not reason.”

  She jerked away. “And you are not ruled by your manhood?”

  “Nay, Sister. And I pray you have not come to tell me you want some inappropriate man in your bed.”

  Einalem hugged her waist. “I have asked Cidre to persuade Lien to my bed.”

  Samoht caught his breath. “Lien?” He forced himself to remain still and calm.

  “Aye.” Einalem gripped his arms. “I cannot eat or sleep for the want of him. Cidre has persuasion spells she can use to make him amenable to my advances, but they are not powerful enough for lasting seduction. I need the vial for that.”

  “Then you have not yet used the Vial of Seduction on him?”

  “Nay. She has yet to give it to me.”

  Samoht shook her off. “Why would she? Why would she not keep the potion for herself?”

  “When I told her I had seen the vial, she was quick to bargain with me for my silence. She will require some gold, perhaps larger shipments of ice.”

  It annoyed Samoht to see Einalem evading his gaze. There was something hidden here. “Let me see if I understand. Cidre has promised to use the Vial of Seduction to bring Lien to your bed. Am I right?”

  “Aye.”

  He walked away from her to the long window that looked out over the lake. He pushed open the shutters to take in a breath of air and calm himself. “It is a waste of a treasure, Einalem. A waste!” he shouted, his anger slipping free.

  “It will not be wasted. Please—” She backed toward the bed. “I will not allow it to be a waste.”

  Samoht strode to where she stood. He gripped her arms. “To give some of the seduction potion to a vile slave is a waste.” He lowered his voice. “You are as base as the fornitrix who ply their trade on the bathhouse steps.”

  She burst into tears. The sight of her tears, so rare, so copious, shot a dart of shame to his heart.

  He pulled her into his embrace. “Einalem, I have never forbidden you any man’s favors. But never have you chosen so unwisely. The man is surely a slave, no matter that he wears the pilgrim robe.”

  “He also wears your roses.”

  With a slight push, Samoht set her away. “That is the only reason I did not kill him at the feast. I will stay my hand only until I discover how and why he wears them.” He shot a hand out to the window. “They are made of glass, according to Nilrem. Glass! We have few who can make the substance into large pieces for windows, let alone such a tiny gemlike creation. It is another reason you should distance yourself.”

  “I cannot. It is my belief the roses are a sign I should pursue him. It is your symbol, Brother.”

  He shook his head. “You will make a fool of yourself. He is a man unlike any you have seen, that is all. It is his odd hair color. I once saw a woman much like him. She caused chaos, and we lost a valuable warrior because of her. This man reminds me too much of that one. Evil she was, and evil Lien may be.”

  “Lien is not evil.” Einalem clasped her hands together in supplication. “I never ask you for anything. I ask you now for your indulgence. Let me have him.”

  “Let you have him? Is Cidre not going to use the Vial of Seduction to help you? What need have you of my permission? It sounds as if you have already done what you wish.”

  “I will not use the potion without your permission. Have I not always sought it when the man is—”

  “Unsuitable? Let me see, how many have there been? A simple warrior with no lineage. A warrior who wishes a chief’s daughter? My stable master? How many must I name?”

  “You have indulged me in all these matters; why not now?”

  “Do not whine.” He walked to the maps and unrolled the largest one, which showed the eight chiefdoms. “The chiefs have no sons to whom I might mate you. There are no brothers free. That unfortunate reality is the cause of your unrest. You have tired of Ralen, having sought his bed too early in the game.” His insides felt as if he had swallowed a cinder from the fire. “I am going to give you an order, and I will have you stripped and flogged in my hall when we return should you defy it.”

  Einalem gasped. He turned and pointed his finger at her. “You will use the Vial of Seduction to bring Ralen to the question. And only Ralen. I will see that he takes Tol’s seat whether he wants it or not. You will then be mated to a councilor. Your children, if you can still birth them after all the herbs you have taken, will be raised to rule. If I find that anyone but Ralen has warmed your bed…”

  He paused and watched her eyes narrow. “Nay. You will try to get me on my words. If I find that any man but Ralen has spilled his seed within you, I will have you publicly flogged and the man castrated.”

  She dropped to her knees. “I no longer want Ralen. I beg of you. Do not do this.”

  Her pitiful entreaty left him unmoved. “Enough of the playacting. You were never one to beg. You came to me and told me of your desires and now must live with the consequences of my decision. When Cidre gives you the seduction potion for Lien, you will give it to Ralen instead. Drink of it yourself, by the gods, and have done with it.”

  Einalem rose and flew at him. She struck out at his face with her nails. He caught her wrists and held her off. “Shall I send for Ralen now? You can spend this anger on him. Claw his back, bite his neck, but forget Lien.”

  She struggled in his grip for a moment, then went limp. “I will not be able to forget Lien.”

  “Then I will have you flogged. I most enjoy a woman’s flogging. In fact, I am thinking of ordering Ardra punished when her eight days are over. I will call her to the center of Cidre’s hall and tell her how disappointed I am in her failure. Then I will have her stripped and whipped.”

  He felt a hot surge of arousal at the thought. The idea of Ardra held by two of his warriors, arms outstretched, as a third punished her hardened him. Perhaps he would wield the whip himself.

  He set Einalem away. “Do you understand me? You may not give the seduction potion to Lien.”

  “You are just jealous.” She rubbed her wrists where he had gripped her arms.

  “Am I? Not about Lien.”

  “Aye, you are. Ardra wants him, and you cannot bear that. You challenged him because he stood in your way. I heard what you were about in her chamber.” She tossed her head and ran for the door. She fumbled at the latch.

  Samoht realized he had not gleaned the most important information from her yet. And now, after his harsh words, he might never have it. He ran after her and planted a hand on the door to hold it closed. “Forgive me. I do not know what possessed
me to be so hard on you.”

  She stood, her hand on the latch, unmoving, stiff with anger.

  “Come, let us strike a bargain,” he said.

  He drew her away from the door. Her head was high, her pride challenged.

  “If you will secure the seduction potion for me so I will have Ardra as a willing concubine, and if you will use it on Ralen yourself, I will see that the council gives you a most attractive reward.”

  “What reward?”

  “Lien. I will have the council declare him a slave, no matter his pilgrim status.”

  “How does that help me?”

  “If the council declares that Lien is a slave, he can be given to you. He will be yours to do with as you wish. If he tries to flee, we shall have him shackled. I believe he has worn chains before. Did you see the redness on his neck and wrists when he fought at the feast?”

  Einalem put out her hand. He took it between both of his.

  “Promise me, Samoht, that you will keep this promise. Else I will spend my life with a man I no longer want.”

  “I promise. You will be a councilor’s lifemate and have the man you most desire in your bed whenever it suits you.”

  She kissed his cheeks and smiled.

  Now for a bit of chatter and then he could ask the most important question. “Are you ready for a hunt? I have not taken a boar in many a conjunction.”

  “One of the ills of ruling, Brother. One must spend so much time in the capital.”

  Samoht threw up the lid of his coffer. He drew out a black cloak stitched with a border of red roses. “I believe I shall wear my personal emblem today.”

  “Shall I wear it too?” Einalem asked.

  “That would please me. What do you think Cidre will wear to the hunt?”

  “Something green.”

  They shared a laugh, and Samoht knew she was ripe for his question. “So, whom do you think Cidre will give the seduction potion to?”

  “Not the old man. Deleh told me she heard Ardra say the goddess needs a daughter to carry on her work. Perhaps the illness that kept Venrali from our table the first night has prevented him from getting her with child. It is said he has worked at it for several conjunctions to no avail.”