“Water at 105 degrees Fahrenheit, fill to six inches from the rim”
Jets opened along the tub’s rim, gushing water. She sorted through the bottles. Mint, mint, more mint. There. Soothing blend. The scent reminded her of lavender.
She tossed a couple handfuls of the powder and dried herbs into the tub, stripped off her armor, bodysuit, and underwear, and slid into the water; positioning herself on a shelf, she submerged all the way up to her neck. The hot water swirled around her.
Water. Wonderful hot water. All the water she ever wanted.
She could grow her hair out again and then she could wash it with every shampoo available.
A small sound escaped her mouth, before she could catch it, and Maud wasn’t sure if it was a giggle or a sob.
She was about to close her eyes when she saw it, a small transparent sphere sitting on the edge of the sink. It wasn’t there when she and Helen had left the bathroom this morning.
Maud slipped out of the tub and padded to the sink. The sphere was barely a quarter of an inch across. On Earth it would’ve passed for a tiny glass marble or a stray bead.
A high-storage datacore, likely encrypted to her. Someone left her a present.
She picked it up, leaned forward, and blew on the mirror. Faint words appeared, written in the glyphs of the Merchant clans.
With compliments from the Great Nuan Cee.
The lees. Of course. And so sleek, too. A little message to her—we can slip into your quarters anytime we want.
Father always said dealing with the lees was like juggling fire. You never knew when you would get burned.
Maud returned to the tub and sat back on the shelf, rolling the datacore between her fingers. To look or not to look? She wasn’t sure she could take bad news right this second. But then if it was bad news, the sooner she found out, the better. Maud set the bead on the tub’s rim.
“Access,” she whispered.
A light flared within the bead, the silver glow sweeping her. The light shot out in a new direction. An open window framed by long gauzy curtains. Whoever was filming this had to be hanging just outside of it. Knowing lees, they were probably upside down.
The recording zoomed in through the window. Lady Ilemina reclined on a sofa.
Ha!
Arland’s mother was out of her armor and wearing a long blue tunic. Her arms were bare and covered with swollen patches of red. Maud smiled. She had worked Ilemina over more than she realized. A portable med unit that looked like some nightmarish robotic spider shone green light at the largest bruise. Ilemina grimaced.
Her quarters were beautiful. The furniture was soft, carved from some cream-colored wood, and upholstered in deep blue that verged on turquoise. Two crystal vases dripped flowers. It was an elegant, uncluttered space, simple, peaceful, and surprisingly feminine.
The door in the far wall slid open and Arland marched through, his face battered, his eyes blazing, looking like he couldn’t wait to rip something with his bare hands.
“Hello, Mother,” he growled.
Ilemina sighed. “Took you long enough.”
Arland shrugged his massive shoulders. “I was detained.”
“By whom?”
“Lord Consort.”
Ilemina raised her eyebrows.
“He approached me at Communal,” Arland said. “We had some words.”
“What kind of words?”
“He said, ‘You’re upsetting your mother.’ I asked him if he was planning on doing something about it, and here we are.”
“Is Otubar alive?” Ilemina asked, her voice flat.
“Yes. Although I did dislocate his shoulder. I expect he’ll make a full recovery by evening.”
“I wish you would reach an understanding,” Ilemina said.
“We understand each other perfectly well, Mother. He doesn’t care about anything except making sure you’re safe and happy. I, however, can’t afford such a delightful luxury. I have to worry about the stability of our House, the readiness and commitment of our troops, and our reputation. Normally Otubar and I strive to get along with each other, because it makes things simpler. However, I’m the Marshal and I won’t allow him to take me to task like I am a child. Especially in front of witnesses. He knew this would only end one way when he started it.”
“He knows,” Ilemina said. The medical robot moved on to her leg and she winced. “He holds back.”
“Perhaps the next time he could hold back enough to conduct his inquiries in private and use words so I don’t have to break my stepfather’s arm in front of the entire House!”
“Do not raise your voice at me,” Ilemina snapped.
“Was this planned, Mother?”
“Yes, Arland, I planned for you to break my husband’s arm.”
“Did the two of you conspire to give me and my fiancée a beating?”
“She is not your fiancée. She turned you down.”
They glared at each other.
“I’ll say this,” Ilemina said. “She isn’t a pushover.”
“What were you thinking attacking her, Mother? What was the plan?”
“There was no plan.” Ilemina sighed. “You’re my only son. I want only the best for you. I wanted to see you married to a strong House. To someone worthy of you. With a lineage and a legacy. Someone who would walk with you into Cathedral and the entire House would be in awe.”
“I see.” Arland furrowed his eyebrows. “And was my happiness ever a consideration in this glowing picture?”
“Of course! I want you to be happy! I want that most of all for you. I could have handled you marrying down, but a human, Arland? A human! And she doesn’t even want to marry you! Does she not understand who you are? Did you not properly explain your station in life? Your achievements? How dare she!”
Water touched her nose. Maud realized she was sinking deeper into the water to hide and caught herself.
“She knows exactly who I am, Mother. She wants to marry me. She loves me.”
“Then why did she turn you down?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “It’s complicated.”
“Enlighten me.”
“No. That’s between me and her.”
“I waited years for you to find someone. I should be knee-deep in grandchildren by now. Instead you’re off, running back and forth to Earth, to Karhari, to Hierophant alone knows where. And you come back with this…this…woman. A woman exiled in disgrace! You have the audacity to demand I ready our House for her as if she is worthy of the honor. You don’t talk to me. You don’t talk to your uncle or your cousin. You don’t talk to anyone.”
“I spoke to Uncle Soren at length,” Arland said. “He approves.”
“What?” Ilemina jerked up, and the medical robot screeched in disapproval. “Why?”
“Because he is my uncle and I sought his counsel.”
“No, foolish child. Why does he approve?”
“You would have to ask him.”
Ilemina shook her head. “Both of you have lost your minds. You brought this woman here. She didn’t introduce herself. You didn’t even talk to me about her. You didn’t seek my counsel.”
“And for that you decided to kill the woman I love?”
Maud shivered in the water. He said he loves me. For a second, she simply glowed in it and then reality intruded, and she put her hand over her face. What am I, twelve?
“I wasn’t trying to kill her. I was…frustrated. And there she was, wearing armor as if she knew what to do with it.”
“She does,” Arland said.
“Well, I know that now.” Ilemina waved her hand. “It went too far. I admit it.”
“If that had been a real fight, you would be dead.”
Ilemina laughed, a low wolfish sound that raised the hair on the back of Maud’s neck. “You presume too much.”
Arland smiled. “You assume she would meet you in a duel. She wouldn’t. One day you would travel somewhere, step out of the vehicle, suspecti
ng nothing, and there she would be with her blade. If she didn’t cut your head off with the first strike, she’d let you win until you got close enough to her, spit poison gas into your face, then run you through and be gone before anyone was the wiser.”
“So, she’s an assassin,” Ilemina said.
“No. She’s a woman who was dumped on Karhari with a three-year-old child and a husband who was a snake. She is a survivor. She doesn’t fight for fun or glory. She fights to eliminate the threat. Every time she draws her sword, it’s life or death. She gives it everything, because her child’s life hangs in the balance. Of all people, I thought you would relate.”
Ilemina fell silent. “I’ll say this, sparring with her was an illuminating experience.”
“It is.”
“And the child is adorable.” Ilemina smiled. “The daggers were so cute.”
“I’ve seen her kill with those daggers,” Arland said.
“The baby, Helen?”
He nodded. “She cut a Draziri assassin’s throat in the middle of a battle. She did it the right way, mother.”
Ilemina recoiled, shocked.
Maud ducked her head under the water and wished she were a better mother. Helen shouldn’t know how to kill. Sitting under water wouldn’t change that fact, but she would have given everything to take that back from her daughter.
She surfaced.
“But why?” Ilemina asked.
“Karhari,” he said. He was right. That was the only explanation needed.
“What sort of House exiles a child?” Ilemina growled.
“The kind of House that’s beneath our contempt.”
Ilemina sighed. “You really love her?”
“Yes.”
“But are you sure, Arland? Are you sure she would make you happy?”
“Yes, Mother. Give her a chance. At least find out who you’re dealing with before you reject her.”
“And if I do reject her? If I reject this union?”
“I’ll go with her,” he said.
Maud fell off the shelf and splashed, scrambling back onto it.
“Arland, you wouldn’t dare!”
“You walked away with Father. I don’t see any reason why I can’t do the same.”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “You’re the Marshal.”
“So were you. You’ll just have to replace me with another.”
“What if she rejects you?”
“I’ll respect her wishes.”
Ilemina threw her hands in the air. “This is blackmail, Arland.”
“No, it’s a boundary. Your blessing isn’t necessary, Mother. But I would like to have it. I know she would, too. She respects you a great deal. She’s a daughter of innkeepers. She has vast knowledge and understanding. She will be a great asset to the House.”
Ilemina held up her hand. “I’ll give her a chance. But only a chance, Arland. I will make up my own mind. If she stumbles, if she endangers you in any way…”
Arland bowed his head. “Thank you, Mother.”
The recording faded out.
Maud leaned back against the tub. He would leave with her.
She wouldn’t ask for that sacrifice. She had no right. If she wanted him—truly wanted him—she had to make sure not to stumble.
9
The door chimed. Arland. Finally. They had things to discuss. She planned to open with “The Lees are spying on your mother and here is the recording of that conversation you had with her.” If her prior experiences with vampires in general and Arland in particular were anything to go by, it would take her at least twenty minutes to talk sense into him and convince him not to do something drastic like kicking Nuan Cee and his furry clan out of the castle.
Maud checked the time. After her bath, she’d tracked Helen down through their linked harbingers. Helen and Ymanie had charmed some dessert out of the kitchen staff and were eating it on the balcony of one of the towers. Helen begged for more time and Maud had given her another hour. That was twenty minutes ago. Plenty of time left for a private conversation with Arland.
Maud paused before the door, trying to compose her thoughts. Things refused to line up in her head. Words like “love” and “leave” buzzed around in there, muddying things up. Get a grip.
The door chimed again, then again. Not Arland.
“Show the guest,” she said.
A screen opened above the door, showing Karat. The vampire knight tapped her foot on the floor, her arms crossed.
What now?
“Accept.”
The door slid open and Karat stormed inside.
“What is it?” Maud asked.
“I have urgent news.”
“I’m beginning to wonder if you bring any other kind.”
A careful knock echoed through the chamber. It came from the side door, from the passage connecting her rooms to Arland’s. Maud crossed the chamber and opened it. Arland stepped inside. He must’ve stopped by the medic as well, because the bruises on his face had faded to almost nothing.
“Lady Maud.”
“Lord Marshal.”
He saw Karat. Something snapped in Arland’s eyes. It might have been his patience.
“Why are you here?” he growled. “Why are you always here? Do you not have any other duties, cousin?”
Yes, definitely his patience.
Karat’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry, did I frustrate your intentions? Were you about to make an awkward love pronouncement? Perhaps follow it with a sonnet you’d composed?”
Arland’s expression turned ice cold. “The nature of my conversations with my fiancée are none of your business.”
“One would think that a man in your position would be grateful that a female relative is trying to safeguard his not-fiancée.”
“A man in my position would be grateful for a bit of privacy!”
“You can have privacy when you’re dead!”
They glared at each other.
Right. She’d been in enough sibling battles to know exactly where this would end.
“My lady!” Maud said.
“What?” Karat snarled.
“Urgent news?” Maud prompted.
“Go ahead,” Arland said. “The sooner we hear this, the faster you can leave.”
“I came here to tell your not-fiancée,” Karat said, looking at Arland, “that the bride just invited her to the Lantern Vigil.”
Arland swore.
“When?” Maud asked.
“We leave in thirty minutes.”
Arland swore again. Clearly, this whole situation was getting to him, Maud decided.
“What in the icy plains do they want with her?” Arland asked.
“I don’t know,” Karat said. “You have to go, Maud. If you refuse…”
“It will be an insult. I know. I had the Lantern Vigil for my wedding.”
It was an ancient wedding ritual, born from myth and love. A thousand years ago, a vampire knight had gone to war against interstellar invaders. His fiancée, who had been crippled in battle, had to stay behind. Every week, despite her injury, she made a long journey to the sacred vala tree high on the mountain and hung a new lantern on its branches, praying that her fiancé would come home. When he returned, years later, triumphant, he saw the vala tree out of the window of his shuttle. It glowed with lanterns, a symbol of his beloved’s devotion.
Nobody remembered the couple’s names, but countless vampire brides made the journey to a vala tree carefully planted somewhere in the wilderness, preferably on a mountain trail. They were accompanied by the young women from the bridal party. The journey had to be made on foot. No armor. No weapons. No men.
“Can you get her out of it?” Arland asked.
“They specifically asked for her by name. It came directly from the bride.” Karat grimaced. “The bridal tree is five miles up the trail. The terrain is steep and the path is narrow, bordering a cliff. We’ll end up walking single file half of the way. The order in
which we walk is predetermined by the bride. Maud will be walking between Onda and Seveline. I’ll be three women ahead. If something happens, I won’t even know.”
“You think they could push her off the path?” Arland’s eyes blazed.
“I wouldn’t put it past them.”
“To what end?”
Karat waved her arms. “To piss you off. To upset the wedding. For their amusement because they are evil bitches.”
Maud cleared her throat. The two vampires looked at her.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m hard to kill. Better people have tried and failed. Besides, it’s unlikely they would bump me off. I’m an honored guest. If I die, Arland would withdraw from the wedding to mourn me and they have a particular interest in him.”
“That sounds thin to me,” Karat said.
“I’m better out of armor than they are. I’ll need a booster,” Maud said. Walking five miles to the tree and five miles back would definitely count as “strenuous activity.” Under normal circumstances, she could hike it in her sleep, but considering everything her body had been through in the last few hours, she would need help.
“No problem.”
Arland locked his teeth. The muscles on the corners of his jaw stood out. She kind of liked it.
“A penny for your thoughts, Lord Marshal?”
He unhinged his jaws. “There is nothing I can do to remedy this situation,” he said, his voice so calm, it was almost eerie. “To refuse the invitation is a grave insult. The only acceptable excuse would be physical incapacitation. If we were to tell them that you were injured, there would be questions. First, how did you get injured? Why would House Krahr let a human guest come to harm? And if I were to disclose the true reason for your injuries, I would be throwing away the element of surprise, which may be the only advantage you have should your life be in danger.”
He looked so put out, she had to needle him. “Not the only advantage,” Maud told him. “There is also my sexy human allure.”
Karat choked on a laugh.
Arland shut his eyes for a long moment and then fixed her with a glacial stare. “I implore you to take this seriously.”
Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles Book 4) Page 13
