by Joe Jackson
“Where does this leave King Morduri?” Seanada asked.
“Yes, where do you want me?” he echoed to Kari.
Kari raised a finger and made as if she was about to speak, then closed her mouth and shook her head. It had the desired comedic effect, and she smiled. “Considering his relationship with King Emanitar, my instinct is to have him rally the forces of Tess’Vorg for any eventual invasion of Sorelizar, or else to defend against any counter-invasion. The people here know him well enough that King Emanitar should be able to put his nephew in charge while he slips into Sorelizar. With those purple eyes, though, he’s probably going to be identified on sight if he enters Sorelizar.”
“Good thinking, and not a bad idea at all,” the elestram king told his uncle.
Emanitar bobbed his head slightly. “I will begin making preparations for that at once.” He stared directly at the Wraith. “Is this all in line with your thinking?”
“Very much so,” the black shadow answered. “My goal is to crush Sekassus utterly, but it has always been my expectation that it would take some time. In the course of setting up our eventual strike, we will accomplish your goal: kill Amnastru. And then we will get this woman back to her family, as much as her presence here is ever a boon to us.”
“Speaking of which, did you manage to get a message to my people who were supposed to follow me to Anthraxis?” Kari asked.
“There was no one in Anthraxis to deliver the message to. If someone was supposed to follow you, they have yet to arrive.”
Kari considered that. “Well, I haven’t really been gone all that long. Maybe they haven’t sent anyone yet. Hard to know, since I didn’t leave specific instructions. Ah well, if we get this done quickly, I won’t really have to worry about it.”
“We will take this as it comes,” King Emanitar said. “Let us proceed with this plan we have devised, but with a specific contingency: if we cannot separate Amnastru from his legions, we will all move against him directly. I would prefer that he fall at Lady Vanador’s hands for symbolic reasons and to boost morale, but you are correct: she has been here too long already.”
“There is one other wrinkle,” Kari added. “Seanada’s mother and brother have been taken prisoner by Amnastru. We need to rescue them.”
“Leave that to me,” the Wraith said, turning his eyes back to Seanada. “I will see to their freedom; the rest of you continue as planned.”
“Thank you, Master,” the half-syrinthian assassin said, letting a bit of raw emotion show.
He turned back to Kari. “I cannot aid you directly in killing either Prince Amnastru or The Vandrasse; to do so would be a direct declaration of war against King Sekassus, but would also harm our trustworthiness with relation to the other kings. I think you understand we must be able to ‘work with’ the other kings to continue setting them up to fall, and the true reason behind our society and the many who are members of it must be kept secret.”
“I understand,” Kari said. “Let’s get a message to Mastriana to return here as soon as possible. In the meantime, what we need is some ghosts. Can you have some of your people in Sorelizar draw Amnastru’s attention, but away from Gaeshokk and the southeastern border?”
“Of course. Your Majesty, is there anything else you require of me?”
Emanitar shook his head. “All questions and discussions for another time. You have work to be done; do not let me delay you. Go, and do what needs doing.”
The Wraith’s roiling form clearly bowed to the mallasti king. “Seanada, you are with me. Lady Vanador, you work with the kings to prepare logistics and a rough timetable for our plan. We will see you again soon.”
“Will do,” Kari agreed.
The two members of the Ashen Fangs left. Emanitar shut the door behind them, then fixed Kari with the full intensity of that golden-eyed gaze. “How certain are you that we can trust them?” he asked her.
“Those two people you just met…have saved or defended the lives of my children on several occasions, and the Wraith even saved my life directly once. I don’t know that there’s anything else they could do that would make me trust them more. Are they really interested in putting you back on your mother’s throne? I can’t say for sure, but from all the interactions I’ve had with them, it seems the most reasonable explanation for their actions.”
“This is a massive risk,” Emanitar said. “The Council will be coming into session in just a few weeks’ time. This plan will have to come to fruition decisively and with little delay, else the Council session will give Sekassus valuable time in counteracting us.”
“I have no plans to still be here when the Council comes into session,” Kari said. “So we’d better get a move on. You should get changed into something less conspicuous, go down to the marketplace, and get us some supplies for the journey.” Emanitar blinked slowly. “Hey, if you want to give the impression that you’re just some mallasti commoner, better to get started on that now.”
“I think she has you there, uncle,” Morduri chuckled.
“You two are enjoying this entirely too much,” the mallasti king said. He made his way over to the room’s armoire and opened it up. Most of the clothing he had was of a regal bearing, but he did have some outfits that looked less-than-majestic. They looked to be the outfits he might wear when lounging about or after a bath. Still, he had a proud demeanor to him even once he was wearing the less-appealing clothes.
“No, no. Come here,” Kari said, then caught herself. “…Your Majesty.”
Emanitar stood before her, and Kari yanked on his garments. His brow scrunched up when he straightened out again, but she started ruffling his fur and tugging on his ears. “What are you doing…?”
Kari lifted his chin up and met his eyes evenly. “Whatever I may have said earlier about you acting like a coward, you’ve got a regal bearing about you that’s unmistakable. You need to slouch a bit…look somewhat – I don’t know the right word – messy and common. We have to be able to get you out of the city without anyone knowing until we’ve crossed the border. You need to look and act the part of commoner.”
“I tried that once,” the mallasti king said, glancing at Morduri, who laughed. “I once tried to walk the lands the way my nephew does. It was strange…to spend so much time trying to be one of the people, only to realize I was not accustomed to being treated as such.”
“My people don’t treat me like a commoner,” Morduri said. “They just treat me as a royal who cares about them, but the respect and the courtesies are still always there. I admit, it would be interesting to experience life without them.”
Kari took off his jewelry and anything else that made him stand out at first glance. It was fortunate he had rather common golden eyes, but something else occurred to Kari. “Do your people wear wedding bands or similar tokens?”
“No,” Emanitar answered. “The hands of male and female are bound with simple string to represent their bond during the ceremony. Sometimes, the male will wear this string as a necklace going forward.”
“Then let’s get you one to wear. If people think you’re married, they’re less likely to think you’re their king on sight, no matter how similar you may look. And hopefully none of the women will take a troublesome interest in you.”
The kings both chuckled at that. They found something suitable among the sundries in the room. Without his jewelry and with his fur disheveled and plain clothing, he looked the part.
“Remember to seem stingy. Haggle for everything. And make sure you pay and don’t get aggravated if you feel unfairly treated.”
Emanitar snorted. “Of course. Very well, then. I shall return shortly.”
“And talk like a commoner. You know, like me.”
He smirked and departed.
Kari turned to Morduri then, and the elestram king looked about as if trying to find something he should be doing. “Don’t worry, your sole job right now…is to buy me a drink.”
“I think I can manage that,” he said
.
They went down to the commons for a while, where Kari indulged in one of the sweet berry alcohols of the mallasti. Morduri went through several tall glasses of beer in the same span, and Kari found his utter lack of inebriation only slightly less fascinating than the glasses the drinks came in. They stayed quiet on sensitive matters, and Kari got the impression that the people of Tess’Vorg this far south had little idea who Morduri was. She wondered if it meant their precautions with his eye color might be unnecessary, but it was better to err on the side of caution regardless.
Emanitar returned after a while and shared a drink with them. Kari noticed that his robe was slightly dirty now, as though he’d done a bit more to enhance his disguise while out and about. He had a few satchels of dry goods needed for their trek, and mentioned that the people seemed to be more willing to make small talk with him when they weren’t sure who he was at first sight. Amusingly, when he finished his drink, he arranged for a regular room, and left the larger one upstairs unoccupied. Once the arrangements were made, he bid Kari – or Mastriana, rather – and Morduri goodnight and left them at the bar.
“I suppose I’d better arrange for a room. Or maybe I can steal his,” Kari commented.
“You could always share mine,” Morduri said. He didn’t look at her, but he twisted his lips to the side and then finished his beer.
“I guess I could do that,” she said. “I already know the bed’s comfortable.”
Kari wasn’t tired, but she wanted to make sure she slept the night through and stayed on her usual schedule. Even pulling one all-nighter could be dangerous, and since she had children, it was more and more important that she was up with the dawn and ready for them. She finished her drink, which was just strong enough to loosen her up without getting fuzzy-minded. Morduri started toward the stairs without paying, but then came back and laid a handful of marks on the bar before Kari could say anything.
Chuckling the entire way, they went to Morduri’s room and got undressed on opposite sides of the bed. He lay down on his side facing her, propping himself up on an elbow, and the humor had not left his expression. He started to say something, but Kari touched his whiskers lightly, then leaned in and kissed him on the side of his snout. He started to speak again, but she rubbed her nose against his.
The humor left his expression, replaced briefly by confusion before he leaned in and kissed her in return. Kari had no idea what to expect, but he tilted his head and kissed her nose to nose, more like a human would. Rir kisses were different, concentrating more on the neck in amorous situations, versus on the side of the snout to show affection. Morduri’s kiss was strong yet not forceful, and the taste of his tongue was something entirely new to Kari.
She pulled away from him after a few moments. “You’re sure Emma isn’t going to be upset?” she asked, but didn’t let him answer right away. “Because you know how this works. If she gets mad, it’s not going to be at me, and then you’re going to have two women that want to tear a strip out of your hide.”
He leaned on his elbow again. “I thought I explained it well enough the first time. I see her for two weeks out of each year…but she is the one I consider my mate. And I don’t see it having any effect on your relationship with her.”
“Because I’m not a threat to replace her?”
He shook his head. “No, you’re not.”
“Good,” Kari said, and she leaned in to kiss him again.
*****
Kari lay with her head on Morduri’s chest, silently wondering how long it had been since she’d stayed in bed this late. Dawn had passed hours before. After both woke up with the rising of the sun, she and Morduri had picked up where they left off the night before. Now, their passions having run their course, they lay snuggled in the warm bed, contemplating what the day would bring. They had to wait for the real Mastriana to return from Kaatherai, which left them stymied until she arrived.
The thought of spending a few more nights and mornings with the elestram king appealed to her. It had been well over a year since Kari had enjoyed the sort of intimacy they’d shared. While Grakin had continued to make love to her any way he could even after Dracon’s Bane had rendered him impotent, it wasn’t the same. And in the six months since his passing, Kari had experienced a loneliness and a longing she hadn’t felt in ages.
Morduri wasn’t her ideal lover, but there were a great many things she appreciated about him strictly as a partner. Where Grakin had always been gentle and accommodating, Morduri, by contrast, was more dominant and forceful. There was still an underlying gentleness to him: he didn’t treat her as someone to dominate, but he led her in their intimacy rather than waiting to see what she wanted to do. It seemed so much the opposite of what Kari thought she wanted, and yet she had reacted well to it.
Even now, he stroked the soft white fur at the back of her head, teasing her rounded ears to make them flick every so often. No, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing to spend a few more days this way to Kari’s thinking, but it wasn’t what she wanted most. He would never be hers, and every day she spent here was another day apart from the man she really wanted to be with. She couldn’t readily explain the impulsiveness that had led to them cuddling together like this, either, so as much as she enjoyed it, she also realized it was something fleeting.
Kari rose up, still leaning on his chest, and met those intense, nearly-glowing purple eyes of his. “No regrets?” he asked her before she could say anything.
“No regrets,” she answered with a smile. She poked the end of his nose playfully, and he pulled her down gently for another kiss. Beshathan kisses were still a bit alien to her, but she found she liked them. When they’d finished, they rubbed their noses together for a few moments before Kari added, “Council session in a few weeks. You get to see Emma again.”
There was no mistaking that smile. He wasn’t uncomfortable lying in bed with Kari after having spent the better part of this morning and the night before making love, even when his thoughts turned to his mate. Whatever Kari thought of his love life, she could see in his eyes and expression that what he’d said was true: he may lie with other women, but Emma was the one he loved. And Kari had nothing to worry about with regard to him falling for her.
“You know if we can overthrow her master, she’ll be free?” Kari whispered, and he met her eyes again, searching. “Long-term goal, of course, and I can’t make you any promises, but if I can help get you two together, I will.”
“I don’t understand you,” he said with little change in his expression. “But I think that’s what I like most about you. You’re a bit unpredictable. I have an idea what to expect from you because of your heart, but you go beyond the expected – all the time. Here I lay, having just made love to a woman who, not so very long ago, hated or at least distrusted all of my people. And who still wasn’t sure how much she could trust me just a few weeks ago.”
Kari rose to a sitting position and finally got out of bed. “I can’t explain it myself,” she said as she stretched out. “But I still don’t have any regrets.”
He tugged on her tail and she laughed. Kari walked over and pulled on the arm of the couch to spin the wall and floor around and reveal the washtub. Soon enough, the servants had brought water for a bath, and she took the time to get washed up. Despite her expectations, Morduri stayed in bed and watched her bathe, but didn’t do so himself until she got out and was dressed again. She left him to his washing, got dressed, and made her way downstairs to get some breakfast.
Seanada was in the commons when Kari arrived, returned to the handsome mallasti form. She gestured for the demonhunter to join her. Kari smiled as she sat down, and the morning keeper came and offered her the day’s meal choices. Once he left to go have her breakfast prepared, Kari turned back to Seanada to ask what she and the Wraith had put into motion the night before.
“My word, you are positively glowing,” Seanada said, beholding Kari curiously. “Did you – oh, my. You really did spend the night wit
h King Morduri?”
Kari chuckled. “What of it?”
“Did you not heed the warning of Diszaro?”
“Didn’t you say mallasti females only go into season once per century?”
Seanada shook her head, waved a hand, and looked around the commons suspiciously, but they were the only occupants. “That is not what I meant. He told you that you would not just look like a mallasti, Kari, but that you would become a mallasti.” Kari shrugged, unsure of what the assassin was trying to say. “I would never suspect that you would lie with Morduri, but being in this form has clearly changed your interests and desires.”
“Oh,” Kari said, considering it. Would she have ever slept with Morduri normally? Now that she thought about it, she didn’t think so. She didn’t think he’d have been interested in her rir form, even if she would have. Had the shape-shifting really altered her perspective that much? If so, would her usual prejudices and feelings return with her normal form?
Strangely, she hoped not.
Kari shrugged again. “I certainly enjoyed myself,” she said. “Haven’t had a night and morning like that since before I had children.”
Seanada chuckled, but her expression turned somber. “I had not considered that.”
“Neither did I,” Kari said. She went quiet as the innkeeper brought her some bread and eggs, along with a steamy cup of tea. He set her things down, bowed to her, and then left Kari and Seanada to their conversation. “So, did our friend leave? And was a messenger sent out to Kaatherai?”
“You may speak freely when it is just Rikkash here in the commons with us,” Seanada said, indicating the innkeeper. He bowed his head again when Kari looked at him. “He is one of our number, and our secrets are safe with him. To answer your questions, an elestram runner was sent in the night to Kaatherai, and my master went to do as he promised.”
