"Mm..." Hakeem sleepily stretched against him. "Let's go to the public baths first. We can relax, shave and then head for the marketplace..."
Kilig chuckled and squeezed him. "Let's do that. If you can keep away from me long enough."
Hakeem pouted for a moment, squeezed back, then pulled away with a sigh. They dressed and exited the room. Hakeem was locking the door when Kilig saw Guisarme with a petite young woman stop at the bottom of the stairs.
"Kilig!" she greeted cheerfully. "Long time no see!"
"I heard you were busy with an apprentice," he answered, stepping down the stairs, followed by Hakeem.
"Actually, I was busy raising our daughter," she replied with a mischievous smile.
Kilig's heart missed a beat as he stopped in front of the half-blood. Guisarme had her father's pointed ears, and her hair was fairer than usual. She also had sky-blue eyes, but her Genn blood hadn't prevented her from becoming an excellent assassin. She was ten years older than Kilig, but looked the same age.
"What?" he protested, feeling Hakeem stiffening by his side.
Guisarme burst out laughing. "I'm teasing, Kilig! I told you I don't get pregnant if I don't want to! Besides, how could I have kept her from you for fifteen whole years?"
"It's not funny, Guisarme," he said, feeling relieved. He wasn't Saif. He'd never leave Hakeem because a woman had his baby. "So who is this?" He glanced at the young woman who was half a head shorter than Guisarme and a full head shorter than him.
"My apprentice," Guisarme answered. "Well, newly named assassin. Anelace is Nimdja and Francisca's daughter and it was an honor to train her."
"Obviously her mother couldn't do it," Kilig muttered, averting his eyes. It had been at Francisca's death that he'd had sex with Guisarme. Saif had just dumped him and he'd survived his worst assignment ever.
"What about you, you also took on an apprentice?" Guisarme asked, her chin pointing at Hakeem.
"This is Kukri, Saif's son. Saif did all the training, I did only the final exam."
"Oh. And where is Saif?" Guisarme looked puzzled.
"Abhaya got to him."
"Drat! Twenty years to exact revenge is a long time!" Guisarme frowned. "Did you avenge him?"
"That's how Kukri got his assassin's name," Kilig answered with a smile. Which wasn't completely true, but it sounded better than killing an extortionist. Hakeem did finish Abhaya, although that wasn't his final exam.
"I see. And have you reformed a team of two, like with Saif?" Guisarme teased. "I thought you'd be used to working on your own by now!"
"We'll see. There is no work at the moment, so we repaired that room up there..."
"How did you find it?" Guisarme sounded skeptical. "I haven't seen you in this side of the town very often."
"Kukri found it." Kilig shrugged. "He says he grew up here."
"So you are Hakeem." Anelace finally spoke. She'd been staring intently at Hakeem for some time now, to Hakeem's embarrassment.
"Yes." Hakeem stared at her, puzzled. How did she know his birth name?
Anelace smiled and spread her hand over her bosom. "Sanjana."
Hakeem held his breath and then focused on the right memory. "Of course, Sanjana! Sorry I didn't recognize you, but it's been fifteen years..."
"I recognized you from your eye-color," she grinned. "And because he said you used to live here. I kept coming here for months after you were gone, looking for you."
"So your little friend is actually Saif's son?" Guisarme marveled, looking at Anelace who giggled.
"I missed her too, although I was very happy to finally have a father," Hakeem said. "I had envied hers until mine showed up."
"You found him when she lost her mother," Kilig said with a sigh. "Francisca was killed when Saif dumped me to move north with you and your mother..." He was still sour at the thought. Fifteen years of loneliness couldn't be forgotten in just three months.
"Well, what a happy reunion," Guisarme said cheerfully. "How about a foursome? Can we use your room up there?"
"What?" Kilig protested, while Hakeem gaped and Anelace giggled.
"Yes, the childhood friends on one side, me and you on the other side like fifteen years ago..." Guisarme winked. "Or maybe just all together in a heap, what do you say?"
"No!" Kilig and Hakeem snapped at the same time.
Guisarme burst out laughing while Anelace smiled.
"Kilig, Kilig, you'll never change," the half-blood said tenderly.
"Guisarme, I already told you, you're not funny," he grumbled.
"Sorry," she apologized. "Do you still have my gift?"
"Of course. Do you want it back?"
"Did you use it to kill accursed Abhaya?"
"Yes."
"Then keep it, Kilig. You handle the triple-bladed dagger better than me anyway. Let's go, Anelace. Don't worry, we'll meet these two at the Guild's soon."
"Bye, Hakeem!" Anelace waved good-bye and followed Guisarme down the cobbled street.
Kilig groaned in frustration and turned to look at Hakeem. "Wicked half-blood!" he muttered. "Shall we go?"
Hakeem frowned but nodded, avoiding eye contact. He wasn't very talkative that morning, in more of an unusually brooding mood. When they stopped for lunch at a tavern by the Genn palace, Kilig had had enough of his silences.
"What's with you today? Are you upset you met your childhood friend?"
"No, I'm upset you met an ex-girlfriend," Hakeem retorted, glaring at him.
"What are you babbling about?"
"That Guisarme..."
"She's not an ex-girlfriend! I never had girlfriends!"
"That's what I thought, what I've been told by my father! But you did have sex with her – or were you too drunk or feverish to remember?"
Kilig couldn't believe his ears. Hakeem was jealous of Guisarme?
"It was just sex, Hakeem! We'd just killed a man who had turned into a dragon under our eyes, and then his corpse had vanished in a puff of magic fire! Saif had dumped me for you and your goddamn mother, and Guisarme was there! One night of sex and no issues – it didn't mean anything!"
"But you kept seeing her."
"Well, of course! Was I supposed to ignore her for the rest of my life because of a damn one night stand? The Guild is like a family for me, it's obvious we remained friends!"
"And she gave you her triple-bladed dagger as a friendship token," Hakeem commented, sarcastic.
"Yes!" Kilig snapped. "So what? One night of sex fifteen years ago doesn't mean anything! And she's not like your mother who put up a fake marriage to provide you with a father who never loved her and I bet never even touched her!"
"Shut up!" Hakeem screamed. "Leave my parents out of this, will you? They have nothing to do with this!"
"They do since Saif was supposed to be on the rescue mission, Hakeem! But he was gone, so Guisarme came with us! What's your problem anyway?"
Hakeem pouted and averted his eyes. "My father loved you because you never touched women."
Kilig scoffed. "Come on, Hakeem! Karuna the Sorrowful was a prostitute! He was no virgin, and Saif knew it! And Kilig the Sword never touched a woman – until Saif dumped him!"
For you, you little adorable bastard! Kilig forced himself to calm down.
"Let's go back to the Guild. I don't think we're ready to move into that room yet," he said bluntly. Hakeem glared again, but nodded. They paid for the meal and headed for the Assassins' Guild building in total silence.
***
Hakeem sat in the cloistered courtyard, alone for the first time since he'd reached Godwalkar. He was so disappointed with Kilig, he was wondering if he'd been too rash in giving him his heart and body. Kilig was still a stranger he'd blindly trusted because his father had spoken so highly of him.
He sighed, unsure of what he should do now. He still wanted to be with Kilig, but the friendship with Guisarme was... off-putting to say the least. And if Hakeem thought Kilig had sex with her and they could have had a baby...
"Are you all right, Kukri?"
Nimdja's voice startled him. The Head of the Guild sat next to him with a worried look on his bearded face – a face much similar to his father's but for the short hair and dark eyes. And now Hakeem knew that Nimdja was Sanjana's father, a face he'd forgotten during the past fifteen years.
"I'm fine," he answered with a complete lack of enthusiasm. "It's just... I feel like I misjudged Kilig, and... I don't know." He shook his head, frustrated. He couldn't even say what actually bothered him. The thought of Kilig with Guisarme? Not knowing much about Kilig?
"How long have you known him?" Nimdja asked.
"Three months – in person. But I heard a lot about him after my mother's death. My father opened up with me and told me of his best apprentice who had become a wonderful young man and excellent assassin, and that I should try to be like him..."
Nimdja chuckled. "Saif was obsessed with Kilig. I think he fell in love with him the moment he showed up here and requested Saif as acharya. He was a scrawny teenager, but very determined."
"So who seduced who?" Hakeem asked.
"In my opinion, it was wicked little Karuna who seduced oblivious Saif." Nimdja winked. "And they loved each other very much. I was surprised when Saif left and didn't take Kilig with him."
"My mother had found him," Hakeem grumbled. "I met my father when Sanjana lost her mother... and I had always envied her for having two parents even if she lived with her aunt."
He looked at Nimdja's puzzled expression.
"Sanjana recognized me," Hakeem explained. "I mean Anelace. She's your daughter, is she not?"
"Yes... And it's true Francisca died when Saif left, but..."
"You and Lalima gave me a box of wooden figurines for my birthday. I'm four months older than Sanjana. My birth name is Hakeem."
"The son of Mirabella, the wise woman from the north?" Nimdja asked, incredulous. "That sweet child who learned to walk with Sanjana?"
Hakeem nodded with a rueful smile. "The child who tore Saif and Kilig apart," he sourly. "If I weren't born, they'd still be together..."
"Or both dead, killed by Abhaya the Fearless," Nimdja snapped. "Don't feel guilty for things you had no control over. Kilig loves you now, what else do you want?"
"I don't know! I feel like I don't know him! He's a stranger who has a life I'm no part of..."
"Kukri... Hakeem, you've just met! And you're here now. You joined the Guild. Give yourself time to adapt to such an extended family."
Hakeem sighed. "I guess... I'll have to accept it. I can't have Kilig exclusively, can I? I mean, he has friends, family... he's not all alone in the world like I am."
"He's a loner, though. He doesn't talk to his brother anymore and his only friends are other assassins. You know, Lalima and Mirabella often wondered if you and Sanjana would grow up together. Why don't you start by rekindling your childhood friendship? I'm sure Kilig will wait for you to get used to this new place..."
***
Kilig sat with Guisarme in the shadow of the cloister while Hakeem and Sanjana exercised their sword skills under the sun. The childhood friends seemed to enjoy the new game immensely, teasing and bickering, oblivious of the quiet audience of two.
Kilig sighed. For some reason Hakeem was still mad at him, and barely spoke to him. Another week like that and he'd throw Saif's son on a bed and pound some sense into him. The intense passion couldn't just end like that, with no explanation.
It had been Hakeem's idea to become a couple, to find a room, to move there together. Why had he changed his mind so quickly? Retroactive jealousy for what?
"You love him as much as you loved Saif, huh?" Guisarme asked, serious.
"Yes... but he's upset right now and I don't know how to get through to him," he answered, depressed.
"Why is he upset?"
"Because of your jokes, Guisarme. He didn't like the idea that I had sex with a woman."
"Drat, I'm sorry," she grumbled. "I guess he's a little spoiled after all."
"He's an only child. His parents loved him, but didn't love each other. I guess he idolized me – and then he realized I'm Human."
"Poor Kilig, fallen from your pedestal..." She smiled fondly at him. "And you didn't want to fall in love ever again!"
"Until Hakeem came along," he muttered. "He did everything! He insisted we spend our lives together! And now there he is, flirting with Sanjana under my eyes!"
"Uh, Kilig... he's not interested in her. He sees her like a sister," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She nodded. "Kilig, I can tell when a man isn't interested in me. And Hakeem isn't interested in women. But he grew up with her, so he's replaying his childhood."
Kilig sighed. "If you say so..."
"Trust me. I'm more worried for Sanjana's heart. She has a crush on him."
"Shit. Maybe I should really talk some sense into Hakeem before he hurts her."
"Don't worry, she's warned. But I'm afraid she's like her mother. She won't relent until she sees him kiss a man."
"What do you mean?" Kilig looked at her, puzzled.
"Francisca joined the Guild because she had a crush on Saif," Guisarme explained. "It took her years to realize he wasn't interested. Nimdja tried to tell her, but she didn't believe him, so he made sure she saw them kissing."
"Nimdja and Saif?"
"Yes. They were lovers in their previous life. Before becoming assassins, I mean. Nimdja likes both men and women, that's why he gave Francisca a daughter."
"And what about you, my half-blood friend?" he asked, mildly amused. After all those years Guisarme was still very much a mystery for him. Yes, they'd had sex once, but then had gone separate ways. Although they were both members of the Guild and had met often in the canteen between jobs, their conversations had never really wandered into the personal realm.
"Men, thank you." She grinned at him. "You can ask Katana, who tried to make a pass at me."
"Katana is retired." Kilig chuckled. "And I can imagine your reaction. You sure you don't have any magic power?"
"Nah. Except for those darn visions... I'm sure I'll be able to see you if you put yourself in trouble. But if I manage to save you, you'll have to give me your body again." She winked.
"Guisarme, you're relentless," he said, amused.
She leaned towards him. "You bet. How about a kiss? So Anelace can win the duel?"
"They're not paying attention to us!" he protested.
"You think?" She leaned closer, her lips almost brushing his.
The clang of a sword falling to the ground made her pull back abruptly. Both looked at the duelists. Hakeem had lost his weapon and Sanjana had put her blade to his throat. Kilig met Hakeem's glare while Guisarme burst out laughing.
"Gods, he is jealous!"
"Guisarme, that's enough! I have enough trouble with him without you messing up!"
"Sorry, sorry!" she apologized, still laughing. Then her mirth faded. "Who are those people?"
She discreetly pointed at a dozen men with brass wheels on their turbans and wrists, headed for Nimdja's office and led by Katar.
"Assassins' Guilds... Darantasia. And Jevina, I think," Kilig said. "I've been there more than fifteen years ago. But I remember that guy with the scarred face."
Only two men had entered Nimdja's office, the others were waiting outside. Hakeem and Sanjana had gathered their weapons and joined Kilig and Guisarme in the shadow of the cloister.
"What's going on?" Sanjana asked, surprised, eyeing the newcomers.
"I don't know," Kilig grumbled.
"Something big if we get a visit from the other cities," Guisarme added. "I mean, must be some threat for the whole Genn territory if they've come to the capital. Hope nobody is on the warpath."
Then Katar came out of Nimdja's office. "Senior members please come in!" he called.
Kilig and Guisarme jumped to their feet and were the first to enter the Head of the Guild's office. Soon the room was cr
owded with senior members of three guilds, and all stood, including Nimdja, who had pushed his desk against the wall to make room.
"Sikh of the Assassins' Guild of Darantasia and Rumh of the Assassins' Guild of Jevina bring bad news," Nimdja announced. "Argantael's Guild has succumbed to Agharek. Their Head has been killed and Khopesh has taken the reins."
"Khopesh!" Guisarme exclaimed. "He's still alive? He must be very old!"
"And obviously Abhaya didn't avenge his father's death and kept working with that snake," Nimdja grumbled. "Khopesh thinks Abhaya has taken us down, so he sent an ultimatum to Sikh and Rumh to surrender their guilds to him. He demands they surrender to him, accept the leader he will impose on them and obey Agharek's rules."
The former southern kingdoms north of the desert were considered Genn territory by now, the capital being Godwalkar. Why did Agharek – former capital of the only fallen kingdom south of the desert – want to interfere with that? Probably because they knew the Genn were non-violent and hoped the Humans wouldn't resist. Besides, if Khopesh thought Abhaya had had his revenge, it wasn't surprising he hoped to control the whole north of the desert, maybe even create a new, bigger kingdom under his assassins' control.
"We came here to kill whoever had taken your place," Sikh said, staring at Nimdjia. "We thought you'd been taken down too."
"We were surprised to see you were still alive," Rumh added. "In fact we had no news of your demise."
"It's because Kilig killed the man who was supposed to rule Godwalkar," Nimdja explained. "A stray cat from our own ranks who'd been trying to get this Guild since he was kicked out of it twenty years ago."
"So Khopesh has no power over you," Sikh said. "We can fight and defeat him."
"That's why I called in my senior members," Nimdja replied. "Khopesh thinks he owns us, but he doesn't."
Kilig scoffed. "If Abhaya is dead, who will he impose on Godwalkar?"
"I have no idea, Kilig. But I'm not giving up my post to follow rules Talwar despised. We're assassins. If Khopesh wants a war, he can have it. We'll die fighting."
He stared determined at Sikh and Rumh who slowly nodded.
"That's why we came here," Rumh said. "Together we can defeat them."
Kilig the Sword Page 16
