Bile burned the back of Celeste's throat. Swallowing her revulsion, she crept out of the tent. The cool morning air refreshed her, but she couldn't blot from her mind the scene she had witnessed. She'd known Astrus controlled his people with his venom, but this ...This was no less than slavery, except Astrus chained his followers with a drug instead of shackles.
Celeste slithered behind a thicket of sage and retched into the dry soil.
∗ ∗ ∗
"Hold still, my love."
Saffron's tail lashed, but he held his paw still and endured Vreva's attention. *Are you sure about this?*
"I'm sure." She dabbed the tiny brush into a vial of sea-urchin-spine toxin, touched it to the underside of Saffron's claws, then blew on them until the tincture dried. "Now, be careful with that paw. No licking and no scratching."
He gave the paw an involuntary shake and lashed his tail again. *I know the drill, Vreva. It's not like I've never poisoned anyone before.*
"I know, my love, but this is different." Capping the vial, she tucked it away in its hiding place. She'd hidden a few other envenomed items around the apartment as well. "Torius Vin isn't some flabby slaver. He's a pirate, skilled with a blade, and one of the most suspicious people I know. If he reacts to my offer the wrong way, we're going to have to kill him quickly."
*All right, but I hope you've got a plan to dispose of the body this time.* Saffron hopped up onto the arm of the divan and curled his venomous paw under him. *The last time we killed someone, the body started to smell before we finally slipped him into the sewer.*
"That was years ago, Saffron!" And one of the few times Vreva had killed to maintain her cover. Fortunately, she had delved the galley captain's thoughts when he came by for one last tumble before relating his suspicions to the Okeno Guard. Killing him had been easy, and disturbingly gratifying.
Calistria's sweet revenge ...
Killing Torius would be a different matter. She rather liked him. Just the fact that he had considered her appeal important enough to arrive so quickly was touching, but she couldn't allow sentiment to threaten her safety. If she detected even one thought about selling her out, she would have no choice.
Even though she'd been expecting it, Vreva started when the brass clapper cracked three times on her door. She'd had word that Stargazer had docked, giving her just enough time to complete her preparations for his visit. Swallowing the butterflies that had migrated from her stomach up to her throat, she walked to the door.
"Ready, my love?"
*Ready.* Saffron licked his nose and yawned, showing his fangs.
"Remember, not unless I say."
*Yes, I do remember that bit.* He flipped his tail in annoyance.
Vreva stared at the door and cast the spell that would allow her to delve his thoughts. Only one mind greeted her from beyond the door. Good. At least he's alone. She opened the door and gave him a businesslike smile. "Torius. Thank you for coming so quickly. Please come in."
"We were on vacation, I'll have you know." He swaggered in, his eyes lingering on her in passing. She scrutinized him as well. He wore a different sword, and his mustache had almost grown back to its former luxuriant length. "You can apologize to Celeste sometime, but I'll warn you, she won't be quite as forgiving as me."
"I am sorry, but this was too important to wait, and frankly, I didn't know who else to ask." She closed the door and went to the sideboard, focusing on his thoughts. "Can I get you something to drink? Wine, or spiced rum?"
"Wine, please." Who the hell is this, and what's she done with Vreva Jhafae?
The thought didn't surprise her. She wore a simple dress, no jewelry or makeup, and her hair pulled back in a straight queue. She moved deliberately, without her usual courtesan's grace and elaborate gestures. This was a Vreva Jhafae Torius had never met. She had to make him see beyond her mask for him to believe the truth.
What did surprise her was that his mind was relatively open to her probing. Prior to their last venture, he'd always been closed to her, an impenetrable roil of suspicion and hostility. I guess I finally earned his trust ...to a certain extent anyway. She poured two glasses of red wine and handed him one.
"Does my appearance surprise you?"
"Am I that easy to read?" Torius sipped his wine. "Remind me never to play cards with you." Or any other game for that matter. What game is she playing now?
"Torius, I'm going to be completely honest with you for the very first time." She took a sip of wine and a deep breath. "I wanted you to see me like this, because this is who I really am. Vreva Jhafae the courtesan is a lie. She's a role that I've played for a very long time." She paused for a moment, listening mentally.
What the hell is she talking about?
"You need to know something about me—the real me—to understand what I'm going to ask you to do." He opened his mouth to speak, but she forestalled him with a raised hand. "Please let me explain." His thoughts had begun to roil, and she couldn't pick out anything lucid. She couldn't let him shut her out. Too much depended on this. "The business proposition I have for you is different from anything else I've ever proposed. It would bring you into my closest confidence, which is not something I am very comfortable with." She flashed a rueful smile. "You would be well paid, but you'd also be in great danger if my operation, or your involvement with my ...employers, was ever discovered."
She paused again and listened.
What nonsense is this? Vreva didn't need to read his thoughts to see his skepticism, but was relieved at the clarity of his incredulity. "I ...don't know what to say. What's this business proposition, and who are your employers? And what the hell do you mean by ‘the real you'?"
Vreva sighed. This wasn't going well. She had to make her argument more convincing. "Perhaps showing you what I really am would be more convincing than telling you." This meant temporarily dropping her ability to read his thoughts, but it was a risk she had to take.
*Uh-oh, here we go!*
Vreva ignored Saffron and cast a spell, concentrating on her memories of Celeste in her human shape. She obviously succeeded, if Torius's reaction was any indication.
"What the hell is this? Some new seduction?" Torius slammed his glass down on the table, and she realized she'd chosen poorly.
"No, Torius. I'm just trying to make a point." Casting the spell again, she now stood before him in the semblance of his bosun, Grogul. "How many courtesans do you know who can do this? I can take on many guises, or become nothing at all." She cast yet another spell and vanished completely.
"What game are you playing, Vreva?" His voice was hard, and when his hand went for the hilt of his sword, she backed quietly away until she felt the sideboard behind her.
Vreva recast her thought-reading spell and withdrew the poisoned dagger she'd secreted under the sideboard's molding. "It's no game, Torius. It's deadly serious." Vreva put her wineglass down. As she knew it would, the glass's sudden appearance drew Torius's attention. From the corner of her eye, she saw Saffron's tail twitch as he raised his rump in preparation to spring at her command. He knew that Torius's next response would mean life or death for the pirate captain. "My true vocation is a gatherer of information. These other skills—courtesan, spellcaster—are just the means by which I accomplish that. You ask who my employers are? Answer your own question. Who would put someone with my skills in Okeno, the center of the slave trade for the entire Inner Sea? Who would want information about slavers? Who in the world would put a spy into their midst?"
"Andoran!" He stared wide-eyed at the sound of her voice, his thoughts an impenetrable storm of suspicion. "You're telling me that you're a spy for Andoran?" His hand remained on his sword hilt.
"Exactly right, Torius. I'm spying for Andoran. The slavers that you believe to be my friends are actually my targets. The information I pry from them helps Andoran plot new ways to disrupt the slave trade. Unfortunately, the slavers recently discovered and executed my intermediary. Consequently, I need a new one. Someone wit
h a ship who despises slavers as much as I do. Someone I can trust." Of course, she couldn't tell him she was a Twilight Talon—not yet. She might be able to refute an accusation of spying from a pirate, but if someone pointed a finger and said ‘Twilight Talon,' whoever received that accusation was as good as dead. She wouldn't tell him that secret until he was committed, and had just as much to lose as she did.
Vreva peered into his mind, her dagger poised. She fought through the confusion of Torius's thoughts until one rang out clearly. What she heard caught her off guard.
Is today the day?
The day for what? she wondered, as she watched the expression on his face shift from doubtful to considering. His hand drifted away from his sword. Torius picked up his wineglass, drained it in one gulp, and strode to the sideboard to pour more.
"Cancel your spells, Vreva. I want to see your face when you tell me exactly what you expect from me."
Vreva searched his thoughts hard for any hint of betrayal. She heard only, Could it be true? Could this be the day? She still couldn't trust him fully. Lack of trust was the only reason she was still alive after all these years.
"Very well." She tucked the envenomed dagger into a pocket of her dress before materializing. She picked up her wineglass and gestured toward the divan. "I have a lot to tell you. Please, let's sit down." Vreva took one end of the plush seat, while he took the other. Saffron climbed atop the back of the divan and perched just behind Torius, ready to lash his poisoned claw at the vulnerable nape of the captain's neck if things went awry.
"So, I'd be a delivery boy between you and your ...employers in Andoran?"
"It's a bit more complex than that, given your current occupation." She continued to monitor his surface thoughts, ready to give Saffron the word if he considered betraying her.
Torius barked a laugh. "No kidding! Andorens don't like pirates, in case you hadn't noticed. I've been dodging the Gray Corsairs for as long as I've been sailing!"
"Fortunately, your acts of piracy aren't openly known. Both here and in Katapesh, you're only known as a merchant captain, which will work nicely for you to come and go. As far as Andoran is concerned, you'd be provided with a letter of marque from the Office of Privateering Actions."
"A legal pirate, eh?"
"A privateer. You'd be able to legally attack any slave galley or pirate ship, anywhere. You'd be paid a bonus for each ship taken, prize money for each hull delivered intact to Almas, and head money for every slave freed. But privateering would merely be a front for your real job, a means for you to frequent Almas. Beneath that deception, you'd be serving as my intermediary, delivering my reports to Andoran and returning with the supplies that I require."
Torius stared at her, his brow furrowed. She's not telling it all. "But ...I hear a definite ‘but' in there."
"But ...the caveat being that you commit no acts of open piracy."
"I knew there was a catch."
"The pay will be generous, and just think about how good it would feel to strike back at the slavers you despise so."
"Good feelings won't feed my crew." Despite his verbal contention, Torius's mind was filled with encouraging thoughts—This could be the day! A chance to hit those bastards where it hurts!—and Vreva dared to hope.
"Money will not be a problem. Any other questions?"
"Damn right I've got questions! You'll excuse me, but I'm a little taken by the lee." Torius stood and began to pace. Saffron tensed, but Vreva settled him down with a covert shake of her head. "You mentioned that your former intermediary was executed. What happened?
"He was headstrong and foolish. He played this like a game when it's deadly serious."
"Headstrong and foolish ...like me?"
Vreva shook her head. "Exactly not like you, in fact. You take risks, but they're calculated risks. As a pirate, you have to watch your back. That paranoia will serve you well if you take this job. You can never, ever let the slavers get a whiff of what you really are."
Torius seemed taken aback by her vehemence, but nodded in agreement. "Tell me more."
"There's an investigation underway here in Okeno. The Pactmasters have contracted an inquisitor of Abadar."
"The Pactmasters?" Torius stopped in his tracks and scowled. "That's a problem, Vreva. They're more tenacious than you can imagine, and they utterly control Katapesh. If I was found out, I'd never be able to go back there."
"That's a risk, but Katapesh is just one of many cities."
"Katapesh is the city where I do my banking."
"Your banking?" She couldn't believe she was hearing this from a pirate. "You have a bank account?"
"Do you think I spend all my money on rum and wenches? Yes, I have bank accounts, some investments, and some very important personal effects stored in a half-dozen caches around the city. It's my home port, Vreva, and I'd hate to be run out of it permanently."
"I understand that, Torius, but you could move your investments elsewhere."
Torius waved her on impatiently. "What about this inquisitor? Who is he and how can we get rid of him?"
We. She liked the sound of that. He might not be on board fully quite yet, but he was taking it seriously, thinking ahead, planning.
"Her name is Zarina Capoli, and she takes her duty very seriously. Fortunately, she's also fallen rather hard for me. I'm doing my best to lead her investigation astray, and it seems to be working."
He stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Torius! I fail to see anything funny about this!"
"I was just remembering all the times you tried to seduce me. Were you trying to recruit me or something?"
"Not exactly. You have to understand, Torius, I use sex to get information. You intrigued me, so I tried to get you into a position where I could find out more about you."
He flashed her a rakish grin. "And which position would that be?"
"Oh, stop it!" She glared at him, but it had no effect whatsoever. He flopped back down onto the divan, still chuckling. "You were either a potential asset or a threat, and I had to know which. But now there are no more secrets, and no more seduction."
"Well, at least now I know what it was about. Celeste will never believe this." He heaved a sigh, wiping the mirthful tears from his eyes. "So, where do we go from here?"
So far, not a single thought of betrayal had entered his mind.
"I'll contact my employer tonight and have the arrangements for you in the morning. They'll want to set up a meeting before they hand over a letter of marque. You'll be escorted into Almas, where you'll be met by someone who'll give you more details, as well as payment for bringing my first delivery."
"Very well. But keep in mind that I've got to head back to Katapesh within a few weeks. I'm supposed to rejoin Celeste at the Observatory, though I daresay she wouldn't mind if I was late. It would give her more time to commune with the stars."
They both stood, and Vreva extended her hand to him. "Thank you, Torius. I must say, I'm pleased." Pleased that I didn't have to kill you.
He shook her hand and laughed. "Don't be too pleased just yet. I'm still trying to get my head around all of this. I can't promise that I'll agree until I get the whole deal. But don't worry. However this turns out, I'll keep your secrets." He swaggered to her door, then stopped, one hand on the latch, and turned back toward her. "What if I'd just said no? Would I be walking out this door?"
Oh, dear Calistria! Have I completely misjudged him? She'd let her thought-reading spell lapse. Had that been a fatal mistake? But no, she hadn't caught a single hint of betrayal. It was an honest question, and he deserved an honest answer.
Vreva slowly drew the envenomed dagger and showed it to him. "No, Torius. If you'd refused, or shown any hint that you might betray me, you wouldn't have left here alive."
He cocked an eyebrow at the dagger, and she gauged him carefully. If he reacted poorly, she still had Saffron. Then his face split into a boyish grin, and he nodded. "Good. I can't afford to work wit
h anyone who doesn't take things seriously. Send me a messenger when you've got the details. I'll be waiting."
"I will." Vreva breathed deeply and put the dagger away. "And Torius? Be careful. Tell no one of anything we discussed."
He mimed turning a key at his lips and throwing it away, then bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
*Well, that was interesting.* Saffron stretched and flicked his tail.
"It most certainly was, my love." Vreva went to the sideboard, poured herself more wine, and drank it down. "And quite enlightening."
*Well, in your revelation, don't forget to clean that gunk out from under my claws before I forget and lick my paw.*
"Right." Vreva set down her wineglass and opened her hidden cabinet of tools. "Come here then, and hold out your paw."
Chapter Thirteen
Tenuous Associations
Celeste heard the sandpaper hiss of scales on the stone platform and steeled her nerves. She'd continued to avoid Astrus, but the stars called to her, and she had waited too long for this chance to delve the mysteries of the heavens to let the opportunity pass her by. She could avoid Astrus no longer.
"Good evening, Celeste."
"Hello, Astrus." She didn't look at him, but continued her analysis of a nebula in the Dancer constellation. Thus far she had cataloged twenty-four stars of similar size and spectral type, and was pondering explanations for their similarity.
"Your dwarf told some of my people that you were feeling better." His scales rustled in a circle around her, and still she didn't look at him. "Your wound appears to be fully healed."
"I'm fine." She sketched the positions of two more stars. Since he was here, she might as well ask him about her current conundrum. "What do you know about nebulae?"
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