The Strange Path
Page 29
“Yes, Ki’an Gasan?” a voice on the phone asked.
Margaurethe’s hand shook. “Nothing. Never mind.” She hung up on the speaker before he formulated a reply. “Reynhard, come in.”
The door eased open, and in walked a garish ghost. Reynhard Dorst’s formerly long brown hair had disappeared, leaving three strips of black that bristled four inches above his scalp. She watched him carefully close the door behind him, his dark eyes glittering with humor. He wore leather and silver, head to toe, and he threw the tail of his trench coat backward as he gave her a patented Dorst bow.
“Ki’an Gasan O’Toole, how wonderful it is to see you once again. You’ve been well, I trust?”
Suffering through the recurring nightmare had her on enough edge. She had no patience for his excessive cheer, and verbal dueling. “I haven’t seen you since—” Her face heated. Even now she couldn’t say it. “—since before the Purge. I thought you were dead.”
His expression became apologetic. Rising, he moved closer to her desk. “I do hear that quite often. I had hoped you, of all people, had more faith in my abilities.”
The last time Margaurethe had seen him, he’d spirited her away from the palace after Elisibet’s funeral. Had she stayed behind, she would have been killed by the mob that raged through the city hours later.
She made a production of shutting down the programs on her computer. “If you’re looking for a thank you for saving my life, you have it. Will there be anything else?”
He tsked. “Lies? I thought we were dear friends.”
“We’ve never been friends, Reynhard.” She glared at him. “Don’t ever mistake tolerance as friendship.”
“May I?” He gestured to a chair, then sat without invitation. “We both know you’d have preferred to remain in the palace that night. You wanted to die.”
The words, so close on the heels of the dream, stabbed her heart. She bared her teeth at him, reaching for the phone. “Get out. I’m calling my security.”
“Alas, I cannot leave until I’ve done my duty.” He attempted a mournful look, but the light of laughter in his gaze ruined the affect.
“And what duty is that?”
“You’ve been summoned to the Colonies, Ki’an Gasan. Someone there wishes to meet you.”
Summoned. Despite Elisibet’s assassination and the Purge that followed, the Agrun Nam had upheld Margaurethe’s title of Ki’an Gasan, “beloved queen,” at least in name. The only ones allowed to summon her were the Sañar themselves. Unless—
Margaurethe felt the blood drain from her face, suddenly cold in her robe and nightclothes. The sun sparkled brightly behind her, but her soul felt the icy mist of the early morning. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask, but her throat made no sound.
The joyful mockery fled Dorst’s expression. His smile was genuine, his eyes sympathetic. “Yes. I’ve finally found her.”
Whiskey started awake, her Sanguire eyes seeing every nuance of the dark bedroom. Cora muttered, still asleep, and shifted to pull her close again. Whiskey allowed it though the warmth of another person beside her did nothing to calm her rapidly beating heart. Whispering through her memory, she heard Margaurethe’s voice. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
Alone despite the woman in her arms, Whiskey murmured, “I miss you, minn’ast.”
Glossary
Aga Maskim Sañar - Judiciary of the High Court of the Agrun Nam; currently held by Bertrada Nijmege.
aga ninna - fearsome crown, [“the crown” and “fearsome lady”].
Agrun Nam - council [“inner sanctuary” and “fate, lot, responsibility”]; the ruling body of the European Sanguire.
amiga - Spanish, friend [feminine].
Baruñal - midwife to the Ñíri Kurám process.
caja - Spanish, literally box; slang for a woman’s vagina.
chica - Spanish, girl.
ensi’umma, ensi’ummai - oracle, oracles.
gasan - lady, mistress, queen.
gracias - Spanish, thank you.
hola - Spanish, hello.
Ki’an Gasan – beloved lady mistress, [“beloved” and “lady, mistress, queen”]; title of Margaurethe O’Toole.
kizarus, kizarusi - vessel [“large vessel” and “to tap” and “blood”], vessels; the Human chattal that feed the Sanguire.
lamma - female spirit of good fortune; Fiona’s nickname for Whiskey.
lugal - male leader of small household unit.
lúkal - dear one.
m’cara - beloved (Gaelic derivative); an affectation of Marguarthe O’Toole for Elisibet Vasilla.
Maskim Sañar - Judiciary of the Low Court of the Agrun Nam.
mi corazón - Spanish, literally my heart; term of endearment.
minn’ast - beloved (Indo-European derivative); an affectation of Elisibet Vasilla for Margaurethe O’Toole.
mucha dinero - Spanish, literally a lot of money.
Nam Lugal - chief counselor of the Agrun Nam.
ninna - fierce lady, female leader of small household unit.
Ninsumgal - lady of all, sovereign, dragon, monster of composite power; official title of Elisibet Vasilla.
Ñíri Kurám - the change, the turning, (“path” and “strange’”and “to take/to traverse”); the final step a youngling Sanguire takes to adulthood. It occurs naturally over decades, or can be hastened via chants and trances.
puru um - idiot, hillbilly.
Saggina - local magistrate of the European Sanguire; a political office that answers to the nearest embassy.
sañar/sanari - councilor of the Agrun Nam.
Sañur Gasum - eunuch assassin [“eunuch” and “i will” and “to slaughter”]; Reynhard Dorst’s title.
Sublugal Sañar - military equivalent of the Nam Lugal, military leader; Valmont’s title.
Usumgal - lord of all, sovereign, dragon, monster of composite power; official title of Maximal Vasilla, Elisibet’s father.
We Wacipi Wakan - Lakota, [“blood” and “dancing” and “sacred”]; the leading council of the American Indian Sanguire.
zaz ne za tud - literally, do you know who you are?
Publications from
Bella Books, Inc.
Women.Books. Even Better Together.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 800-729-4992
www.bellabooks.com
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Table of Contents
About The Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Glossary