My hand emerged from behind my back. Her breath caught before she could finish her sentence. Arianne peeped out, past my waist, gazing, curious and shy, up at Ly’Tana. She drew in a sharp breath, unable to stop the delighted grin that spread over her face.
“That’s what bit him,” she muttered.
She stepped forward, looking closer. “Come, child,” she murmured, holding out her hand as I had done. “I’ll not harm you. Why, you’re such a pretty thing, what incredibly beautiful eyes you have.”
Arianne took a tiny step toward her, then another, her pale cheeks dimpling in a smile. Ly’Tana closed the distance, taking my sister’s hands in hers. “What hair,” Ly’Tana murmured, stroking her fingers across Arianne’s brow, raking some of the nasty mass from her tiny face. “I think I’d kill for hair like that.”
I suspected the two girls had just formed an instant, unfathomable, female connection. They shared a bond of sisterhood that I, being male, could never hope to understand or compete with.
Kel’Ratan strode back from his spot, leaving his horse and Rygel’s gelding to mind themselves, to get a better look for himself. I thought Arianne might try to hide at the approach of this new warrior-stranger, but Kel’Ratan might not have existed for all the attention Arianne paid him. She and Ly’Tana had locked eyes.
“I can see the resemblance,” Kel’Ratan said, nodding. “Her eyes are your eyes, same cheekbones, same strong chin. But she’s cute and you, um, well, aren’t.”
“Thanks, Red,” I retorted. “My self-esteem just took quite a hit.”
He shrugged and returned to his guard.
“Arianne,” I said, “this is her Royal Highness, the Princess Ly’Tana, from Kel’Halla.”
Immediately, she tore her hand from mine. Within a step, she dropped into a deep curtsey, the slave prostrating herself before royalty. Ly’Tana seized her by the upper arms and raised her, her kitten teeth flashing in the faint light.
“Nay, sweet girl, you need not bow to me.”
Arianne gazed up at her, the first tears I saw glimmer on her cheeks under the light of the moon. Ly’Tana took her tiny body into her arms and held her close, as though she met a dear friend after a long, long absence.
“We are sisters, you and I,” she crooned, her face drowned under Arianne’s huge mane. “Princesses, both of us, and joined under a common banner.”
I sighed. I always heard rumors that women can make men’s lives as miserable as they pleased. By the sharp green glance I caught, I might now have two females ready to make my life a living hell on earth. Kel’Ratan snickered from his place in front of his bay stallion.
Trotting hooves and human curses caught my attention. In reflex, my hand gripped my hilt, but I didn’t draw. Not with the small, slender bodies of Ly’Tana and Arianne between me and the potential threat. Kel’Ratan’s head turned, as did Ly’Tana’s and Arianne’s, and we all watched as drama unfolded.
Out from behind the warehouse trotted a dappled gray mare, her coat glowing bright under the moon. Her charcoal mane and tail flowed long, a silver chased bridle gracing her fine head. Attracted by the scent and sound of horses, she made her way into the midst of saddled stallions, introducing herself with squeals and sharp kicks.
Too well trained to respond with more than interested stares and sniffs, the Kel’Hallan stallions stood quiet. However, Rufus half-reared in delight, his neck arched proudly. That bloody foot came perilously close to Arianne, damn him.
I seized his bridle and whacked him across the chest with the back of my hand. “Do that again and I’ll be wearing your coat this winter.”
With my action and my threat, Rufus discovered rather quickly that amorous advances toward the female gender were not in his best interest at this time. He kept all four feet on the ground after that, his eyes and ears on me.
Kel’Ratan cursed resoundly and strode to catch her before she wreaked havoc among our mounts. He seized her bridle and led her out from the midst of interested boys, just as Rygel rushed out from behind the building, a saddle clutched in his hands.
“Damn and blast,” he muttered. “She got away from me.”
“Give that to me,” Kel’Ratan snapped. “You obviously can’t control one silly mare. Flaming idiot.”
Rygel, at least, had the decency to flush and look chastened. Kel’Ratan took the saddle from Rygel’s slack hands and competently saddled the now docile gray mare. He quickly tightened the girth, setting the stirrup lengths after a quick glance at Arianne’s legs.
“That’s my cousin, Kel’Ratan,” Ly’Tana said to Arianne, taking her tiny hand. “Don’t let his gruffness fool you. He’s a sop at heart.”
Arianne giggled, and Kel’Ratan snarled wordlessly. Rygel, the object of his fury, stood aside empty-handed, staring at Arianne as though caught in a dream. Oblivious of Kel’Ratan’s anger, his amber eyes filled with an emotion I could not quite fathom. Her observation skills quite high, Ly’Tana quirked her brow at me in silent query. I answered her with a shrug and a quick eye roll.
Movement caught my attention, as Cephas emerged from behind the derelict warehouse across the street, leading a saddled horse. It turned out to be an ugly red roan gelding, and I could not help but marvel at how much man and beast looked alike. Its hooked nose and rawboned legs exactly matched Cephas’s own, while its red hair with strands of white running through coordinated Cephas’s hair and mustache precisely.
“What?” he asked, seeing my amused grin. “I know he’s ugly, but he can run a hundred leagues and still have the energy to kick me.”
As though in answer, and with no warning, the roan pinned his ears and lunged at Rufus. Rufus scrambled backward, nearly falling over himself in his haste to get away from the roan’s threat. He slammed into Kel’Ratan’s bay, who immediately lashed back with pinned ears and bared teeth. Rufus backed away, clearly chastened by the pair, his flanks quivering slightly. The chaos earned another snarl from Kel’Ratan, but the gray mare never moved a muscle, obviously better trained than she first appeared.
“He doesn’t much like anyone,” Cephas commented dryly. “Not people, nor horses. We suit each other rather well.”
I had almost forgotten Tor, who ambled out from behind Adhas’s warehouse with a bundle in his arms.
“Ho, Yasmina,” he said.
Arianne smiled in return. “Ho, Tor. What are you doing here?”
“I helped Rygel and your, um—big brother to find you.” Tor grinned in my direction.
Arianne looked to me, a question in her huge eyes. Ly’Tana, too, watched me closely as I sought to explain. My face flushing under the interested scrutiny of those two females, I shrugged again. Misery, here I come.
“We both had been enslaved together,” I said. “I was sold to a man who trained me to fight, and you—”
My words cut off suddenly, my throat suddenly shutting off my air supply. “You also were sold, and I never saw you again. Corwyn, here, found you—”
“Corwyn?” Ly’Tana asked, interrupting. “I thought his name was Cephas.”
“It is, er, was,” I stammered, my cheeks hot. “His true name is Corwyn. I’ll explain later. He found you for me, and well, after I escaped, I came for you.”
Arianne nodded as though something fell into place for her. “I knew you had been a gladiator. I saw you fight.”
I gaped. “When?”
“Last year, sometime. I did not know, of course, that you were my brother. When I first saw you tonight, I knew you were The Wolf. Then I remembered you. I remembered your eyes. From home, from before, when we were children.”
My eyes, my strange, eerie, cold and inhuman-seeming eyes. Gray eyes ringed in black, the predatory eyes of a natural killer. What kind of wonder is that, that those killer eyes of mine could frighten a warrior into pissing himself, but could also bring forth a memory of a brother she had long forgotten?
“You know,” Rygel interrupted, “I love family reunions as much as anyone, great parties, and s
uch. But if we do not mount up and ride, like, now, we’re all fish bait.”
Kel’Ratan nodded and vaulted into his saddle. “Let’s do it.”
“Tor, what have you got there?” Ly’Tana asked, turning halfway toward Mikk.
“Adhas has some extra breads, cheeses and dried beef in her shed behind her warehouse. I pilfered some, since you have two extra mouths to feed.”
“Two?” I inquired.
“Aye, me and Yasmina—er, or whatever her real name is.”
“Arianne,” Arianne answered, a bit proudly.
“Arianne.” Tor grinned. “I like it.”
Rygel’s head came up like a dog sniffing the wind. “Two? You aren’t coming with us.”
“I am so. I am not staying here. This place is going to boil over like a soup on the stove too long. It’s far too dangerous for a nice lad like me.” He grinned toothily, trying to charm.
Rygel scowled darkly, far from charmed. “That wasn’t part of our agreement.”
“Maybe His Worship will make a new bargain.” He turned that toothy, beguiling grin on me.
My killer’s eyes wanted to roll. “My Worship?”
“Um, Your Worshipfulness?”
“Enough.” I took the reins of the gray mare from Kel’Ratan, holding them over my arm. “We’ll deal with that later. You will ride with Arianne.”
“But,” Arianne spoke timidly, her head bowed to hide her face behind her wealth of hair, “I have never ridden a horse before.”
“I’m sorry, little cat,” I said quietly, brushing her hair back and tilting her chin up with his finger. “We have to ride. Corwyn will lead your horse, so all you need do is hold on.”
I put both hands to either side of her tiny waist and lifted her onto the mare’s saddle. She gripped the thick mane with both hands, trying hard to hide her fear. I covered her hands with my own.
“Remember, little cat,” I murmured, for her ears alone, “you descend from a long, noble line of kings. “You are no less than they, and have their courage and their fire. I believe in you.”
Her smile broke out like the sun emerging from behind thick clouds, and she tossed her midnight hair from her face with a quick movement of her head.
I gently inserted her booted feet into the stirrups, then grabbed Tor before he could flee. Tor yelped in outrage as I planted him behind Arianne.
“Hold on,” I said tersely.
Tor wrapped his small arms around Arianne’s waist, his brown eyes now worried. As though he now had second thoughts about joining us. Kel’Ratan vaulted into his saddle, while Rygel deftly mounted his own black.
Leading the quiet mare over to Corwyn, who already in sat in his saddle, I stopped beside the roan’s neck, looking up at my former Slave Master.
“Corwyn.” I spoke softly, yet I knew they all heard me clearly. “If ever I saved your life, repay me now. Guard my sister.”
Corwyn bowed in his saddle, his blue eyes grave. “To my last drop of blood, sire.”
I handed up the gray mare’s reins to his hand, pausing once more to send a reassuring smile up at Arianne. Then, before Ly’Tana could escape me, I took her gently by the waist and set her in Mikk’s saddle. Taking her hand, I quickly brushed my lips across her knuckles. I felt her shiver, and could only hope ’twas a shiver of delight and not of abhorrence. By her pink cheeks, glowing eyes and kitten teeth showing in a smile, I gathered she liked my attentions. Yet, before she could say a word, I turned away and vaulted into Rufus’s saddle.
Wolves sang under the light of the moon.
Gods above and below.
At the same instant, Rygel cried out, then cursed fluently in his foreign dialect. Slapping both hands over his ears, he cringed in his saddle. Cringed? Did I cringe that way when the wolves howled in my head?
Ly’Tana kicked her buckskin up beside Rufus, her hand on mine. “What’s wrong?”
“Gods!” Rygel yelped. “Make them stop!”
“There’s no stopping them, Rygel,” I replied, aiming for a calm tone. “Once they’re inside, they never leave.”
Kel’Ratan watched in confusion, his mustache bristling, as did Corwyn. Tor looked as though he wished he had never signed on with this mad mob. Only Arianne appeared calm, her gray-blue eyes knowing as she watched me. She, too, heard the wolves. Yet, she among us all, feared them not.
“Will someone tell me what the bloody hell is wrong?” Ly’Tana snapped, her voice harsh.
“You hear them.” Arianne spoke with such a quiet assurance I actually felt comforted. Just for a moment. “Don’t you?”
I nodded. “I do. So, it appears, does Rygel.”
“Who is hearing what?” Ly’Tana all but screamed.
“The wolves,” Arianne answered, her tone uplifted as though everyone knew but her.
“Why the bloody hell am I hearing wolves?” Rygel groaned, clasping not just hands over his ears, but his arms as well. “They’re in my damn head. In my bleeding mind.”
“You share my blood,” I answered, aiming for a light tone but not quite achieving it. “As I now share yours.”
I glanced at a very frustrated and confused Ly’Tana. “That’s how I set fire to the arena that night. Gods above and below, I set fire to the arena with magic. With magic from Rygel’s blood.”
Rygel ceased his cringing, his hands falling away from his ears. “Glory,” he breathed, his tawny eyes wide with near panic. “Gai’tan. By all the gods, gai’tan.”
“What’s a gai’tan?” Ly’Tana asked, now so completely bewildered I thought she might scream or cry.
“Werewolf.”
The word spoken from Arianne’s lips silenced everyone, including the squalling cat a few blocks over.
All eyes turned to her, fastened on her as though she were the oracle of the gods. Yet she watched only me. Our attention on her in another time might have frightened her, but now she ignored their stares as she might ignore buzzing insects. Somehow, she was in her element. I had no idea why or how, but she alone held all the answers. Nor, it appeared, did she intend to explain.
“They’re gone,” Rygel said softly. “Gone out of my head.”
“Mine too,” I said quietly.
I gazed at my sister, looking a question, silently asking her for an explanation. Arianne retreated behind her hair, the slave once more. The oracle vanished.
“Will someone please tell me what is going on,” Ly’Tana almost shrieked.
“Not now,” I said, shaking off the wolves. “We have no time now. Brutal is almost upon us. We must ride. Rygel.”
“My prince.”
“How far away are they?”
“Less than a mile. Perhaps only a few blocks.”
“Which way?”
Rygel jerked his head in the direction we had just come from, toward the Whoring Whale. “They are coming from that direction.”
“How many?”
At this, Rygel shrugged, frowning, his brow furrowed. “That I can’t truly answer. I’m sorry. Perhaps as many as thirty, or as few as ten.”
I nodded. Nudging Rufus forward, I took the lead, with Rygel beside me. A swift glance over my shoulder showed my Ly’Tana, her beautiful, dusky face grim, reining her stallion in just behind me, to my right. I noted her bow, arrow still nocked, back in her left hand, ready to fire at the first hint of an enemy.
Kel’Ratan took my left flank. Cephas brought up the rear with the gray’s reins in his left fist, his bared blade in his right.
We need out of here like last week, I thought, setting the pace at a smooth, mile-eating trot. I guessed we would reach the city gates within an hour or so.
We had no more ridden a few blocks when Arianne cried out.
“Nay! This is wrong.”
I quickly reined in, turning in my saddle to look at her, my brows high. “What do you mean?”
Arianne half-turned around to gaze awkwardly over her shoulder. She gestured with a toss of her chin back the way we had come. “We should go that wa
y. The wolves said danger lies where we are going.”
“The wolves said?” Rygel asked, his voice incredulous.
“Can she be right, Rygel?”
He frowned. “There is a feel of strong magic that way, behind us. I feel some strong power there. Ja’Teel may be setting some trap.”
I rubbed my half-grown beard, indecisive. I hated beards. “I think we need to trust in Rygel’s powers,” I said slowly.
“But—” she began.
“Please, little cat. No more.”
Behind me, I felt Ly’Tana stir, heard her swift intake of breath before she spoke up. I knew she wanted to defend my sister, to speak up for her, to question her further, to gain time. Yet, my urgent need to get us all out of Soudan fast, and safely, quelled my instinct that agreed with Ly’Tana.
I sneaked a quick peek over my shoulder. Arianne’s slave language told me that once she offered the suggestion and been rebutted she would not try again; there would be no more argument from her. Yet, her posture of abject misery explained clearer than words that she knew she was right.
Was she? I’d heard of seers foreseeing the future, who could find what was lost, speak to the dead. People who knew things no mortal beings had any business knowing. But Arianne? Why wolves? Was I also a seer?
With a sudden intensity, my memory of the flash that exploded inside my head at the Royal Crown Inn just before the royal troops entered, searching for me. It gave me enough time to escape, to withdraw, to hide. Was that the Sight? Or just some clever intuition?
People couldn’t foresee the future. Could they? I gnawed my lip, my belly roiling with unease. Rygel’s magic said the menace lay to our rear. Arianne said safety lay to our rear.
Which one was correct?
Ly’Tana urged her horse into a trot, aiming to ride up beside me. “Maybe—” she began.
My attention caught on the tall buildings to either side of the narrow street ahead, with almost nonexistent alleys between them. Shadows darkened their tops and their feet. Only four horses could ride abreast, with almost no room to maneuver should a fight arise. The rooftops held many hiding places and archers could shoot down on us, taking us out with little trouble. “Those buildings. I don’t like the way they look. Prime ambush territory.”
In a Wolf's Eyes Page 47
