“Revik,” he said, dismissing the title with his fingers. “And what I want should be very clear. I want my wife returned to me, in pristine condition. Now.”
She continued to study his face, her own expressionless. He felt her skepticism however, the flavor of questioning around his light.
“Is that all you want, Illustrious Brother?” she said then. “For if it is, I am certain we can arrange for that to occur immediately, unless your wife has objection.” Pausing, she gave him a faint smile. “...Should I expect any objection from her? For she technically outranks you, Illustrious Brother. I would prefer not to be put in the awkward position of navigating a domestic conflict between two beings of such impressive stature...”
“Revik,” he repeated, his voice carrying a faint thread of his irritation. “And I have no reason to know of her objecting to this.”
“Really?” she said. “I had heard otherwise.”
Revik felt one of his hands clench into a fist on his thigh.
“If she objects,” he said softly, his eyes on the other seer’s. “...Then I am quite certain you will tell me...is that not true, honorable sister?”
The female seer exhaled in a sigh, clicking her tongue softly.
“I apologize, Illustrious Brother. I mean no offense...truly. It is difficult, you know, to be in the middle of such a thing. It is not a comfortable position for the Lao Hu, who prefer to maintain a friendly distance from factional disputes among our people. Particularly those involving intermediaries...”
Revik acknowledged this with a bow, his expression neutral.
“I understand,” he said. After a pause, he leaned back in his chair, trying a different tack. “Perhaps you know my wife was shot recently? Nearly killed?”
Again, Voi Pai clicked at him regretfully.
“Yes, I had heard of this thing,” she said.
“Then you must understand my concern?” Revik said. “For it is my belief that this occurred to prevent her from returning willingly to me, after I had approached her to reconcile our differences...”
The seer clasped her tea cup between her hands. “I understand.”
Sighing, she looked out the window over her right shoulder.
The stately female continued to stare out the window behind the table as a bird with a crimson head alighted on a branch outside, and began to sing.
“Sister,” Revik said, pushing his own tea cup aside with his fingers. “Where is my wife? You must understand, given the circumstances I just shared, that I am anxious to confirm for myself that she is safe and well?”
“Of course, brother.”
She paused again, her eyes flickering to his.
He felt her scan and bit back his impatience.
“Sister,” he said. “Will you accede to my request? Or not?”
She gestured easily with one hand.
“Of course we will,” she said. “I have already sent ahead instructions that my people approach your wife with your request. If she is agreeable, then they will meet us in the courtyard within the hour...”
Revik felt his body react without his willing it.
Forcing it out of his light, he continued to stare at the yellow-eyed seer.
“And?” he prompted. “There is more. What is it?”
“Brother, I will be frank with you,” she said. Giving a regretful-seeming wave of her hand, she sighed in another low purr. “...I had heard that your wishes extended beyond this thing...this return of your wife.”
“And if they do?” he said, feeling his jaw harden again.
She bowed to him respectfully. “Then, Illustrious Brother, I cannot help but wonder why you hold off on asking me for everything you want from me.”
She paused, those oval pupils narrowing again.
“Is it because you fear I will not grant it?” she said. “...or are you simply securing the safety of your wife before making additional requests?”
Revik continued to fight to control his light, which wanted to look for Allie. Realizing his reaction likely showed on his face, at least in part, he averted his eyes, looking out the same window. Briefly, his gaze sought the gate that separated them from the courtyard.
“I suppose the latter is true,” he said finally. “I wish my priorities to be clear, and not muddied by lesser concerns...”
“Which are what?” she prompted again.
Revik turned, looking at her narrowly.
“What are your plans for the Adhipan leader, Balidor?” he said.
She tapped the edges of her cup with one red-lacquered fingernail.
“Ah,” she said.
“Have you any plans for him?” Revik pressed.
“Plans?” she said. “We have no plans, Illustrious Sword. Still...” She inclined her head with its high bun of shining, black hair. “...I find I am very reluctant to waste a resource of such value. Very reluctant.”
Revik felt his jaw harden to granite.
So this was it. She wanted Balidor.
“Is his value so high?” he said dryly.
“It is,” she said, looking at him. “You cannot deny that, Illustrious Brother. Balidor’s skills as an infiltrator are renown. He is considered perhaps the most highly-skilled infiltrator alive...you must be aware of that. It would take many years to train another to his level...if it could be accomplished at all.”
“And we mustn’t waste that?” Revik said.
“I believe not,” she said thoughtfully, tapping her nail once again. “Particularly not in these troubling times...”
“So it is not her you would like me to buy,” he growled. “...it is him.”
“Not buy,” she said, holding up a hand in caution. “Sell, perhaps.”
A silence fell between them. In it, Revik fought to control his light’s reaction.
“You want to buy my rights of retribution against him?” Revik stared at her, giving a short laugh in spite of himself. “Surely you’re joking, sister.”
She made a line in the air with her fingers.
“I am not,” she said seriously. “I confess, I would like to recruit him into the Lao Hu...if he is so willing.”
She paused, waiting, her face still void of expression.
When Revik only shook his head, averting his gaze, she added,
“Perhaps, brother, in addition to whatever compensation you would like for handing his person over to my care...we can come to a deal around recompense between us. In regard to whatever...” She gestured delicately with one, pale finger. “...lessons he might be in need of. In terms of manners.”
“Manners?” Revik’s pretense at politeness dropped. “He shot my fucking wife.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” he said. “Then explain to me what ‘recompense’ you would like your mate to accept for you, under such a circumstance...?”
She acknowledged this with a subtle gesture and a soft clicking sound.
“I have no mate,” she said, pausing on this for a beat. “...But your point is well taken, Illustrious Sword.”
She paused another beat.
“...And yet,” she observed, shrugging with the same hand. “The two of them seem to harbor no ill feelings towards one another, Illustrious Syrimne. Quite the contrary, in fact. It makes me wonder if the offense was more against you than it was against her...”
She paused again, her yellow eyes darting back to his.
“...It also makes me wonder if it might benefit you, Illustrious Brother, if Adhipan leader Balidor were to find a mate of his own...”
Revik felt a sharp, almost debilitating pain, like a kick to the solar plexus. Fighting to keep it off his face, he didn’t lower his gaze.
Shrugging, she observed softly, “A martyr is a far more effective rival than one who is alive...especially if that one is attached to another.”
Revik couldn’t move.
Blanking his mind, he forced his eyes away from that predatory stare.
He forced himself to speak a mome
nt later, his chest still tight, as hard as stone.
“I think I understand his sudden value to you, sister,” he said after a silence. “You would like to recruit him to this role, too?”
“Is that objectionable to you?” Her eyebrow quirked. “Would that not solve both of our problems, Illustrious Syrimne?”
Revik fought to keep his reaction off his face.
He couldn’t be certain if he heard concrete knowledge in the female’s words or not, but even the implication brought a surge of pain so strong that he found his fingers gripping the edges of the table. He didn’t realize the extent of his reaction until he saw the female seer pale slightly under her already light complexion, her eyes riveted on his.
In hers, he saw his own irises reflected as pale green rings.
“Illustrious brother,” she said softly.
She laid a hand on his arm, her fingers exuding caution.
“...Brother, I am deeply sorry. I meant you no disrespect. Quite the contrary...I have nothing but respect for you, and your reasons for being here.” Hesitating, she kept her eyes on his as she added, “I do not condone his actions towards your wife, Illustrious Syrimne. Not in the slightest. And I am not touting his virility as a male, either. My desire for alliance with him is strategic only. Surely you must see my benefit in that...?”
She removed her hand when Revik’s eyes stared at it.
“You wish me to walk away from this?” he said, fighting his voice. “You insinuate I have yet more reason to feel wronged by him, and you wish me to simply walk away?”
“I insinuate no such thing, Illustrious Sword!”
Revik stared at her, fighting to control his light.
“I apologize deeply, Sword Revik,” she repeated, touching his arm lightly with her hand. “If you misheard any of my words, especially in a matter of import with your wife...I cannot express the depth of my apologies...”
After another pause, he looked away.
He couldn’t read her, not in here. That fact alone made him want to break her neck with his bare hands.
The seer touched his arm again, lingering that time.
“Your wife is quite happy that you are here, brother,” she said softly. “And I repeat, I have nothing but respect for your goals, Illustrious Syrimne...”
He heard the smile touch her voice before he looked up.
“...Even the way you come here has class, Sword Revik.” Removing her hand from his arm, she lifted her tea cup from the wooden table. “You come here, alone...surrounded by potential enemies.” She waved a hand at the surroundings, smiling at him again. “...Asking to see your wife. The method befits your stature, Illustrious Brother. Further, it has swagger.”
Revik felt his jaw clench again.
“Sister,” he said. “...It is not swagger. I merely did not wish my intentions misread. As I have stated clearly, more than once, I wished my priorities to remain clear to all...”
She held up a hand. “I understand,” she said. “And they are clear, brother. Your wife is on her way here now...”
Seeing Revik flinch at this, she added, softer,
“So we ourselves are clear, brother, I did not mean to insult you with my comment. Conversely, this was meant as a compliment, Revik...”
Before he could determine which thing she referenced, her smile surprised him, for it looked like a genuine smile.
“...I like a man with swagger,” she added. “Very much. If you permit me to say it, your wife is a lucky woman. Very lucky indeed.”
Revik didn’t answer, still fighting to control his emotions. He would be standing in front of Allie in moments. And he hadn’t misheard her...Voi Pai had just blatantly insinuated that Balidor was fucking his wife.
He was still fighting to process this, his eyes focused blindly on the surface of the table, when the female seer leaned closer to him. Putting light into her fingers, she caressed his arm, stroking his skin deliberately, up to the elbow.
Without thought, Revik removed it from her reach.
Placing his hand deliberately on his own thigh, he used his other to lift his cup as part of the same motion. Turning his gaze after he’d taken a sip of the strong, black tea, he gave her a hard stare. He made the meaning behind it unambiguous, letting her know that her flirting was unwelcome in the extreme.
After a pause, she smiled at him faintly, still studying his eyes.
“Apologies again, brother,” she murmured softly.
Before he could answer, she rose gracefully to her feet, again bowing so that her head brought her eyes lower than his.
“Shall we proceed to providing your first wish then?” she said.
Averting his eyes, he nodded, almost without realizing it.
She was pleased with herself, this Lao Hu cunt. She’d come here to put him in his place, he realized...Illustrious Syrimne or no. He supposed she wanted him to know exactly in whose house he was a guest.
She also just seemed to get off on hitting at his more obvious vulnerabilities.
But he hadn’t agreed to anything around Balidor. Not yet.
He put down his cup, regaining his feet. As he straightened to his full height, the Lao Hu leader did as well, still gauging his expression with caution. She indicated towards the door with one manicured hand, bowing slightly.
“After you, Illustrious Brother...”
Revik felt his jaw harden a little, but he followed her fingers towards the door, and then to the throne room beyond.
Like his previous escort, she didn’t explain their surroundings to him. He had a feeling that, despite her irritatingly constant displays of respect, the illustrious Voi Pai, leader of the Lao Hu, wanted him out of her fair city as quickly as was reasonably...and politely...possible.
He gestured for her to lead the way once he hit the sunlight once more.
As she did, he stood there, a beat longer than he should have, perhaps, aiming his face and chest towards the sun as she began to make her way down the steep stone staircase. His eyes found the trees once more.
Eventually, the pause ended.
He followed her once it had, shoving his own emotions as far into the background as he could.
19
TRADE
I CURLED MY hands into fists at my sides. My fingers were shaking.
Eyes followed our small party as we crossed the second of two wide courtyards. Some of the faces I saw reflected curiosity...some an open concern. A few I saw looked downright afraid. I didn’t know if that fear was for me, but I suspected not.
The fact that Syrimne had just walked through their City’s walls, and now sat drinking tea with the head of the Lao Hu likely worried them a lot more than my safety did.
“You are wrong about that,” Balidor said quietly in his accented English. “Your presence here means something to them. Neither the humans nor the seers will be happy to see you go...”
I gave a low snort. “Voi Pai might be.”
“Well. Maybe her.”
I glanced up at him, meeting his gray eyes.
“Are you still trying to talk me out of this, ‘Dori?” I asked softly.
He shrugged with one hand, a vague tension still in his mouth. He looked away from me, facing forward, but I saw that tension turn into something else.
“You have options, Bridge Alyson,” he said evenly. “You are a holy figure here, as you are in our part of the world. There is a reason they let us find refuge here...when no one else from our clans would have been extended such an honor...”
Glancing at me as we walked, he touched my fingers briefly with his, in a way that would seem accidental, were anyone watching.
“It is not too late to change your mind,” he said, softer. “...Even he could not get out of here with you,” he murmured. “...Not unless they wanted him to.”
That time, it was me who avoided his eyes.
I felt him understand...but I felt what lay under it, too.
We’d already had our real goodbyes in the room wher
e they’d housed me with the wooden box bed. He’d come in to tell me that Voi Pai was, at that very moment, talking to Revik. He further relayed that, so far at least, Revik had only asked for me...not for Balidor himself, or any of the others. While I was getting dressed, Balidor proceeded to tell me that Revik had walked right up to the front gate. Alone.
From what he said, that was beyond unheard of. In fact, from Balidor’s reaction, I gathered it was downright foolhardy, even for Syrimne d’Gaos. Balidor even asked me if it were possible that Revik had turned suicidal.
I didn’t know what to say to that, either.
We walked through several more gates.
Eventually, we passed into a part of the City through which I hadn’t yet been allowed to venture. I walked with the others through an arched doorway in one of those enormous gates I’d seen guarded by seers with black sashes.
They really had been keeping me out...or in, as it happened. They’d wanted me in the inner sanctum of the City, and as far away from the outside world as possible.
Humans in ceremonial garb stood at attention, bowing as we passed through the darkened doorway. I heard murmured prayers as we walked past.
From the entryway, I found myself gazing down at a far greater space than any I had yet seen, even with the size of the courtyard behind me. At the bottom of a long flight of white brick steps stretched an enormous, white stone expanse, nearly flat, and rimmed by a series of shocking red walls. Above those walls, gilded roofs shone in the sun, decorated with dragons and wooden carvings of animals and birds. I saw more lions guarding the front of tiered buildings to either side, surrounded by precisely cut trees.
Staring at it all, I fought to take in the enormity of the courtyard before us, and the winding canals that circled its main boundaries, lined with fruit trees and delicate lanterns.
Another bridge stood before me, over the same canal that twisted in a circle around the white stone, where five more bridges spanned it below. I saw more trees down there, as well, along with stone statues and more of those tiered lanterns lining the paths along the water.
“Trees used to be forbidden on these courtyards,” Balidor told me quietly. “The human Emperors believed that they must stand taller than all things under the sun, and this was their main reception area.” He glanced at Allie. “The seers had a different view of nature, of course. They asked for the trees to be introduced...convincing the royals of the need to remain a part of the world, in order to reach those who most needed their guidance. Voi Pai tells me that the seers wore them down on many of these restrictions around weaving nature into the city’s architecture...”
Allie's War Season Two Page 29
