by Ada Haynes
She looked at Shona with bright eyes. “She told me about your songwriting. I asked your mother about it as well. She told me you had destroyed most of what you ever created, but she still had one single memory. A tape. She refused to let me take it with me, but I was allowed to listen. Shona! You have so much talent! I already knew that when we were rehearsing that choir song together, of course, but I had no idea you were that good with songwriting as well. You have to help me with my album! Please.”
Shona’s mind was blank. Curse that woman and her nosiness! Couldn’t she understand how much pain she was causing by asking that? Sarah-Lysliana apparently realized something was wrong with Shona, because she suddenly put a safe distance between them, visibly frightened.
“Kimiel! It’s all right if you don’t want to! I understand.”
Shona bared her teeth. The bitch understood? Of course not! No one could understand! But before she could answer, her lower back started hurting like hell.
Stop that.
That made Shona pause. Realize what she was doing. Her cousin was no enemy! Not trying to kill her! Just asking for her help! Politely! Shona forced a smile on her lips, and tried to sound unemotional when she said, “See! I’m mad at you but I’m not hurting you. That’s the difference between me and Lyrian.”
She inhaled deeply. “Sorry for this, Sarah-Lysliana. Your offer took me by surprise. Give me time to think this over, please.”
Her cousin left the room in a hurry, without even saying goodbye.
Is this how you keep your promises, child?
Shona told the Goddess to shut up. She hated this place. It only brought out the worst in her. If she stayed any longer, she was definitely going to get crazy. One more day… One more day and she would be allowed to leave Kse’Annilis. And to hell with her promises!
Shona hurled the jade pebble against a wall.
48
Ekbeth was angry with himself. He needed to discuss some things with Kimiel—about their unborn daughter, mainly—but his agenda had been so full the past two days, he had not managed to find even half an hour to talk to her.
He gritted his teeth. No doubt she had left the Valley. He had forgotten to ask Nukri about it when he had arrived, but he remembered her reaction when he had told her she was free to go, back at the Na Saoilcheachs’ house.
He could not blame her for leaving without even saying goodbye. After what she had been put through from the moment she had set foot in Kse’Annilis, she probably did not want to come to the Valley ever again, or see him.
That was going to be a problem. He could always send her some messages through Nukri, he thought. Or call Matheson, now that he had Kimiel’s friend’s phone number.
He entered his apartment in Kse’Annilis and walked to his bedroom. No servants were expecting him. It was awfully late, but he had had meetings in Los Angeles the whole day. If not for the budget discussions with the Na Dearghs tomorrow morning, he would have stayed on the Other Side.
He looked at the water clock embedded in the main room of his suite and winced.
Very late. This was going to be a short night. Ekbeth entered the bedroom and saw her immediately. Kimiel was not on the Other Side after all. She was still in Kse’Annilis. Actually fast asleep on his own bed. He observed her silently.
Someone had put a blanket on her, but she had to be a fretful sleeper because most of it was pushed away from her, showing most of her body, luckily covered in an As’mir dress. She must have been waiting for him, he realized, and finally fell asleep.
No matter the disarray around her, she really looked so peaceful, almost angelic, when asleep. He could almost forget how much trouble she had brought him when he saw her like this. She mumbled something in her sleep and turned on one side. Her fists started closing and opening, as if she was trying to grab something.
He decided against waking her. He was too tired for a conversation or anything else, and the bed was large enough for the both of them. He undressed quickly and put himself between the bed sheets, at a good distance from her. For all his defaults, Ekbeth’s father had ordered a bed large enough to contain all his “wives” and himself in his later years. None of his sons had ever changed it. It was a monstrosity, for sure, but the Akeneires’el’s bedroom was so large that the bed somehow fit perfectly.
Ekbeth rarely slept here, preferring his places in the Other Side. Closing his eyes and trying to relax, he reflected that he actually never had brought any women here either. Wrong place…
“Where were you, Ekbeth? I’ve been waiting for you for ages.”
Kimiel. Her voice was still full of sleep, but she crept towards him and poked him.
He mumbled, refusing to open his eyes. “Busy. I have a meeting in less than four hours, Kimiel. I really need the sleep.”
She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Then you should have come home earlier. I really need to know. How mad at me are you?”
Damn the woman! He opened his eyes and looked at her, though it was difficult to read her expression in the dark room. “What do you mean?”
Her face was just inches from his. “For all I’ve done before you found me. How mad are you? Do you want to strangle me, Ekbeth? Reduce me to pulp with your fists? Pour some poison in my mouth and watch me slowly die in front of you?”
He grunted, “Right now, all of this… Don’t tempt me. I know you have a death wish, but I won’t help you end your life.”
She paused, and then asked softly, “Ah. Why not?”
He yawned and turned his back on her. She did not poke him this time. She just put her hand between the sheets around him and started caressing him. That certainly got his attention. He growled at her, “I really need the sleep, Kimiel.”
He could hear the amusement in her answer. “The faster you answer, the faster I’ll be gone.”
The woman was impossible. Disengaging himself from her, he sat and clapped his hands. A dim light appeared. She looked around her, seeming impressed. “Nice trick. Another lost technology from our ancestors?”
Ekbeth nodded absently, then lay back on the bed, but he did not close his eyes. He stared at her. She looked fine, he decided. Certainly too fine for someone who had gone through Ara’s trial not even two days ago. And she was waiting patiently for his answer, he realized.
He sighed. “Two reasons. First, our Goddess has judged your crimes. Harming you would mean I disagree with her.”
Kimiel pursed her lips in a funny way, as if she was mocking him. “I see. She would not like that, I suppose. And the second reason?”
He put his hand on her stomach. “You’re bearing our daughter. I think that baby’s been put through enough already. Hurting you is hurting her. I won’t do it.”
She stared at him for a long time, and then said, touching him where his heart was, “Still, you hate me, inside.”
He frowned. “What were you expecting? I could excuse your spectacular Call out of the Valley in the midst of Ara’s celebration, but Lyrian’s torture? Kalem?”
Her expression remained blank. Ekbeth suddenly got a strong suspicion. “Why do you need to know, anyway?”
She told him with a sad smile, “I have bad news, Ekbeth. The Goddess is stubborn. She still wants us to marry.”
That bit of news dumbfounded him. “What?”
“You heard me.”
The confirmation did not make it any easier to accept. “How do you know?”
She sighed. “She told me.”
He could not believe his ears. “The Goddess told you? Ara spoke to you?”
She nodded. “I had to make plenty of promises to live, during the trial. To marry you. To behave. That sort of thing. They were not empty promises. Damn, but she’s watching me! Every time I even start to have evil thoughts, my back is burning like hell.”
He remembered having seen something new on her that morning at the Na Saoilcheachs’ house, when she had tried to leave her bed too early after the trial.
“It’s that t
attoo on your back? The Goddess put it on you?”
“A tattoo? You don’t mean it!”
“Can I see it?”
She froze. He realized she would need to either undress completely, or at least let him see half of her body naked to satisfy his curiosity. As’mir clothes were all in one piece, from head to feet.
He had to grin. “Timid suddenly, Kimiel?”
The taunting was enough. She returned the grin, and removed the dress in one movement, then slowly turned around to show him her back.
He tried to ignore his physical reaction. There it was. He should have paid more attention to the pattern the first time he had seen it.
“What’s there, Ekbeth?”
“It’s difficult to explain. I can better show you.”
Dressed only in one of the bed blankets, he led her to his private bathroom. There were a few mirrors in it. She shook her head. “I never thought you were such a narcissist.”
“Inherited from my father, like the bed. I have never found the time to redecorate. Do you see it now?”
“Yes. Damn! She did speak of a mark, but I never thought… It’s even bigger than I feared!”
The tattoo, a complicated knot of large black lines, was indeed covering almost all the lower half of her back. And the skin was quite red around it.
“Any idea what this pattern means, Ekbeth?”
At least he could help her with that. “Yes. This sign is also in the main hall of the Aramalinyia’s house. It is Ara’s mark. No one is certain what it represents, except that it is hers. I suppose that the Goddess meant that you belong to her now, by putting this on you.”
He had never heard of such a thing before. The Goddess marking one of her As’mirin. He would have to ask the Aramalinyia the meaning of this, he thought.
Kimiel was not happy, he could see it, but she kept her thoughts to herself this time.
She stared at her back for some time, and then turned her attention back to him.
“Do you believe me, Ekbeth? When I say she wants us to wed?”
He nodded, but immediately after, shook his head. “I can’t marry you, Kimiel. Even if you’re bearing my child. Even if it’s Ara’s will. I’m willing to help raise the child, but marrying you is asking too much.”
For a second, he thought he could see some hurt in her eyes, but it faded so quickly, he was not sure. She took a step back from him. “I got it. Lyrian. Kalem.”
“Not only that. I’ve seen the files your friend Watanabe has sent me.”
Her eyes narrowed to a split. “Toshio should never have sent you those. Out of context, you probably now think the worst of me.”
“But you don’t deny it. You killed all those people?”
“Toshio did not tell you why, of course. We were at war with some local triads at the time. It was them or us. I had no choice. Don’t think I enjoyed it.”
She seemed sincere when she added, “I never enjoyed hurting others, Ekbeth.”
That hit a nerve. “Tell that to my cousin.”
She shook her head. “He was stubborn. I gave him more than fair warning. He should have believed me.”
Ekbeth was so angered by her obvious lack of remorse, he lashed out at her. “And your husband, then? Did you also give him fair warning before you cut his throat?”
Her face lost all color. “Who told you that?”
“Your dear friend, Watanabe. Is it true, Kimiel?”
She shook her head, whispered, “I had no choice. You weren’t there. You can’t understand.”
She walked away from him. He understood immediately what she was about to do. He grabbed her arm. “Don’t you dare transfer yourself out on me again, Kimiel! Once was enough.”
He felt the Call familiar tingling, and he fought it, fought the nausea as well. He grabbed her other arm, forced her to look at him. “Walking out of situations you don’t like seems one of your specialties, Kimiel, but I won’t allow it. Not anymore. I’ll have Nukri bringing you back here puking all over the place if needed. As you well know, forced calls are not pleasant for the called.”
The tingling sensation disappeared. He released her. Her eyes were a bit too bright. Evidently, she was fighting her emotions. Not something he would have expected from her. His tone was a bit gentler when he asked, “So it’s true?”
She inhaled deeply, before meeting his eyes.
“Yeshe asked me to do it. Believe me, had I had any other choice, any at all, I would have taken it. He was everything to me. You’ll never understand.”
Her pain was so obvious, he believed her. Some things were suddenly clearer to him as well. “You’re still grieving for him? Is that why you were so dead set against marrying me?”
She only nodded.
“Why didn’t you say this then? Surely the Aramalinyia…”
She shook her head. “The Aramalinyia is aware of this, Ekbeth. As is the Goddess. They just don’t seem to care a lot about my feelings, or yours, for that matter.”
She took another deep breath, seemed to regain some composure. “A lot has happened in the past few months, Ekbeth. As you’ve discovered, I was hiding from you in Bhutan. That’s where my husband was from. Being there reminded me of my promise to him. I promised to go on with my life, no matter what. It’s not easy. It’ll never be easy. I certainly did not expect to remarry any day. That’s how much I miss him.”
She looked at him, with a faint smile. “But I made another promise now. The Goddess’s will is clear. I’m not saying I’m happy with the news, still not, but if she wants it, I’ll marry you.”
Ekbeth felt suddenly exhausted. This was not the right moment to discuss this, and he needed to ponder on what he had just learned. He yawned.
Kimiel frowned. “I’m serious, Ekbeth.”
“I know you are. Did the Goddess say we had to marry tonight?”
She at least smiled. “No.”
Then she became thoughtful. “Actually, she did not mention anything about timing.”
“Good. I’m going back to bed, if you don’t mind.”
She followed him out of the bathroom. “Ekbeth! Don’t you see? We don’t have to marry immediately. Oh, Ara is going to insist at some point of time, I’m sure, but why don’t we use the time in between to learn more about each other?”
Ekbeth winced. “I already know more than enough about you.”
She produced a hearty laugh at that. “Only the worst part. I have a good side as well, I promise.”
Ekbeth was doubtful and did not try to hide this fact. She did not seem to mind.
He went back to bed, and, without asking, she joined him, her intentions perfectly clear.
He sighed. “Not tonight, Kimiel. I really need to sleep. And you’ve just been through Ara’s Trial! Almost lost the baby.”
She pouted. “I’m fine. Sure? I’d love to show you how good I am as a lover, Ekbeth.”
The woman was really impossible. He took her hands from him and said, “Modesty is certainly not one of your qualities, I dare say. I already know you’re good. I have not forgotten our time at the party.”
She purred. “You haven’t?”
“You certainly have done your best for me not to forget. Promise me, Kimiel. You’ll never hurt any member of my family ever again.”
She shook her head. “Can’t do that. I’m sure Kalem, if not your cousin, is sharpening his knives to have his revenge.”
“Kalem is a professional. He’ll not harm you if I tell him not to. Neither will any member of my family. If they disobey, come to me, I’ll take care of it.”
She went silent for a moment. “You’re asking a lot, Ekbeth.”
“So are you…”
She relaxed a bit and said, drowsily, “I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore, Ekbeth. I’ll try not to.”
This was not much of a promise. But it was as near an apology he would ever get from her, he realized.
Lyrian was not going to take the news quietly, thought Ekbeth. Neither woul
d Kalem, though his bodyguard had better control his emotions. As for the rest of the family…
As the Aramalinyia said, everyone deserved a second chance. In Kimiel’s case, though, it was more a third, or even a fourth chance.
He sighed, and placed his hand on her stomach until he found a small heart beating under his fingers. He was going to give her that chance.
If only for the sake of their daughter.
49
Shona looked at Toshio from the corner of his cell, where Nukri had just transferred her. Her friend had his back to her and had not heard her arrive, as all his attention was on some paperwork in front of him.
She considered the best way to announce her presence.
“Writing your memoirs, Toshio? That must be an interesting tale.”
He barely reacted. A slight straightening of his back muscles, maybe. But she had been around him for a long time. She had startled him all right.
He stopped whatever he had been doing and turned towards her. “Morning, Shona. Have you learned a new trick, or have you been walking through every wall of the jail until you could find me?”
“New trick. I had some help. Only needed to concentrate on you.”
At Ekbeth’s suggestion this morning, she had walked up to Nukri na Liom’s house and asked the Caller about the Call talent. She had been a bit afraid he would hold a grudge against her for having tried so hard to escape the well before Ara’s trial, but the old man had been obliging. She now had a much better understanding of how the transfers worked. He had also trained her to call him if she needed a transfer, and had rewarded her with a small demonstration.
That was how she now found herself in Toshio’s cell. This was going to be so much fun!
And now that she was here she decided to approach Toshio with her request herself, instead of relying on Jeffrey. Her mentor looked at his watch. “I’ll be called outside in thirty minutes. Fresh air time.”
“It should be enough. Fresh air time! You really are pampered here. There was no such thing when I did my time.”
He cracked a thin smile. “You were probably too high on dust to notice the difference.”
They observed each other in silence for a moment.
