Harlequin Nocturne May 2016 Box Set (5 page)

Isis flushed again. “After you have rested sufficiently and feel ready, you will be eligible for a tour of the city. We have guides whose particular work is to show newcomers around Tanis.”

“I thought that was
your
chosen work,” he said. “Pretending to be human so that newcomers wouldn't feel uneasy. Or is your real job to look for immigrants who might pose a threat to Tanis?”

“It is not,” she said. “This particular area of the city—the administrative ward, the plaza and the living quarters in the area—are my responsibility.”

“Your responsibility?”

“I'm responsible for the welfare of my people.”

“You're only concerned for the people in this area.”

“No, but I represent them for the Nine.”

“Humans, from what I saw in the plaza.”

“There are some Opiri,” she said, her voice a little defensive. “They work in the offices.”

“And other areas of Tanis?” Daniel asked. “The former Opir quarters in the lower Citadel? The towers? Who's responsible for those?”

She hesitated, sweeping her fall of black hair away from her face. “You asked about the other Elders,” she said slowly. “When we took Tartaros from the original Bloodlords and Bloodladies and freed the serfs, we divided the city into nine wards, one for each of us. There are three Opir wards covering the towers, one for the half-bloods and the remainder in the human sector.”

“Three Opir wards covering the towers,” Daniel said. “The human sector. A city divided.”

“Some Opiri do live among humans.”

“But there are no humans living in the towers.”

Isis shifted uncomfortably. “You have just entered Tanis. You have no right to judge us yet.”

“I can only judge by what you tell me. And you've been honest, Isis. Even when what you say doesn't reflect well on this city.”

Isis glanced away. “If you have such grave doubts,” she said, “why not leave Tanis now?”

“I'm permitted to leave?”

“I can see to it that you are free to do so.” She sighed, and her face took on an expression of gentle forbearance and oddly impersonal warmth. “I
do
understand, despite what I may have said or implied.”

“Then you will be my guide.” When she didn't answer, he moved closer to her...close enough to touch. “You're afraid of me, Isis. You don't have to be.”

“Why should I fear you?”

“You're afraid you might want me again.”

“Because you are so irresistible?”

He laughed, concealing his bitterness. She swept away from him and strode toward the door.

“Someone will take you to your new quarters soon,” she said. “You will remain in the Immigrant Center for now, but there will be no locks.” She paused in the doorway. “Exploring without a guide is highly discouraged. I will send one later this morning.”

Daniel stood alone in the room for some time after she was gone. He didn't like himself for poking and prodding at Isis, but at least now he was certain that there were others like her and Ishtar in Tanis. After centuries of living among ordinary Opiri, Ares would have met nine of his own kind.

Would he have been tempted to make a new life here, with Trinity?

No, Daniel thought, not without sending word back to Avalon. And to
him
.

Daniel spent the wee hours of the morning in his new quarters, sleeping in fits and starts, haunted by ugly dreams he couldn't remember after the sun rose over Tanis.

But he remembered Isis. She was the first thing he thought of when he opened his eyes. He bathed and dressed, considering how he could get her to agree to show him the city in spite of last night's firm rejection.

Of course, it would be easier with some other guide, someone who wouldn't simultaneously attract him and remind him of the shame of his past. Easier, but not nearly as useful.

If he were more careful, more respectful of Isis—if he kept his physical and emotional distance—he might persuade her to show him more than the average guide might be permitted to do.

Because he already felt that there was something not quite right in this city. It was only gut instinct, but he had learned to trust that instinct long ago.

Isis mustn't know about his doubts, of course. All he had to do was pretend to believe what she did, and she would give him all the help he wanted.

CHAPTER 5

I
t was not Isis's intention to go back to Daniel. Like all Opiri, she didn't require sleep, so she had tried to distract herself with books and music and a long stroll through the gardens until dawn brought the realization that she couldn't simply walk away from him.

There were still too many things she didn't understand about him, and she so badly wanted to understand. He had an effect on her that she had never experienced before.

And too much remained unresolved: he had accused her of fearing him because she thought she might want him again. It was a ridiculous notion, and yet part of her
was
afraid. She had gone too far with him, and there was no undoing what had occurred between them.

Still, she could not allow herself to fear anything or anyone in Tanis, not if she was to play her part in the future she envisioned. Surely there could be no question of seduction now. Not on her part. And Daniel would have no reason to touch her again.

Daniel had been correct: she had made herself responsible for him, and she could not fulfill her promise if she put him into the hands of another.

So she dressed in a very simple white gown, casually adorned with a gold sash and a beaded pectoral necklace a human craftsman had made for her. She put on plain sandals and pulled her hair back, just as she would wear it on any occasion when there was work to be done. The unembroidered day coat, with its protective cowl, was the finishing touch.

Instead of summoning a private cab, she caught a shuttle with humans and Opiri on their way to jobs in the administrative offices. It was a pity that Daniel couldn't see her then, among the people like any average citizen.

You have nothing to prove
, she reminded herself. And nothing to regret.

When she reached the Immigrant Center, Daniel was pacing in the lobby, each movement imbued with a powerful grace, muscles sliding easily against each other in perfect harmony. He looked up as soon as she entered, and she saw as well as felt the change in him: his blue eyes lit as if a fire burned behind them, and there was a subtle shift in his body, as if he were shedding an invisible weight.

Isis felt her own body respond in spite of all her determination to hold herself aloof, warmth gathering between her thighs and her heart beating more quickly. She smiled at Daniel with the most neutral expression she could manage and approached him as cautiously as she might a lion in the wilderness.

“You changed your mind,” Daniel said, his voice warmer than she'd ever heard it.

“Yes. I realized that I was being unreasonable in refusing to guide you.”

“I'm glad,” Daniel said, bowing his head. The simple act confused and angered Isis, as if he were mocking her with his show of respect.

But he wasn't mocking her. The cynicism she had expected seemed to have vanished, along with the hardness in his face and eyes.

Why the change?
she thought. But she knew she should accept his manner as a gift instead of questioning it. Now she could enjoy showing him the city. If he could come to believe in it as she did...

He might stay.

She shook away the thought and smiled again. “Are you ready to begin your tour?” she asked.

“I look forward to it.”

“Then let us begin. We will walk much of the time, but there are areas where we will need other transportation.”

Daniel nodded, and she turned for the door.

They began in the main plaza. The sun shone in open sky above, and Isis was careful to keep her cowl over her head when they were exposed to the daylight.

She showed Daniel the multistory apartment buildings the citizens had built after Tanis had been established on Tartaros's foundations. Very few Opiri lived in the apartments, but the humans there acknowledged her and Daniel with smiles and words of greeting. She was relieved that none of them actually bowed or showed her any particular deference, and astonished that she should be thinking about it at all.

Daniel's accusations had made her aware of things she had simply taken for granted.

She pointed out the Council chambers and the Hall of Justice, built in the Greek style with wide stairs and columned porch, and showed him the other government buildings, some adapted from the old, pre-Tanis days, others more recently constructed.

“Your Council is made up of Opiri, humans and half-bloods?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “They also serve as judges on those rare occasions when a citizen breaks the law beyond the scope of the Lawkeepers and must be evaluated.”

“No juries?” Daniel asked.

“Witnesses are called during the hearings,” she said. “All testimony is accepted.”

“But the Council makes the final decision.”

“An elected Council,” she said quickly. “All citizens have their vote.”

As they left the vicinity of the Hall, they passed a number of Lawkeeper patrols as well as a few guards who served in other capacities, and Daniel noted that none of them appeared to be human. Isis was compelled to admit that guards and Lawkeepers were by custom either half-bloods or Opiri. Daniel's terse nod forced her to realize that the lack of humans in law enforcement would seem strange, even problematic to an outsider.

She had never even thought about it.

“That building, there,” Daniel said, indicating the featureless walls of a two-story structure at the far edge of the plaza. “What is that?”

Isis felt a strange reluctance to answer. “The blood depository,” she said. “It is where humans go to—”

“Contribute blood.” Daniel's expression was neutral, but she felt the tension in him nonetheless.

“As I said before, no human is forced to do it,” she said.

“But this city would collapse if the human population refused.”

“They know that as well as you do,” Isis said, her words sharp with annoyance.

“They'd be compelled to donate in short order,” Daniel said, still staring at the building.

“That is why Tanis is built upon cooperation and sacrifice. Our citizens do not allow themselves to surrender to their instincts, no matter how powerful they may be.”

“That is reassuring.”

But his doubt was apparent, in spite of his attempts to hide it.

Isis was relieved when they caught a private shuttle that took them away from the clusters of multistory buildings and deep into the human sector, where older, lower buildings had once housed the Citadel's many Freebloods, former Opiri vassals who had yet to establish a Household or claim a serf.

“And now Freebloods live in the towers with the ranked Opiri?” he asked.

“Most do,” she said reluctantly. “Though many chose to leave and seek their fortunes elsewhere when Tanis was established.”

“Rogues,” Daniel said. “No Citadel would take in Freebloods from another Citadel, and the only way they can live outside is by running in packs and ambushing free humans or raiding colonies.”

Isis knew she shouldn't be surprised by his knowledge of Freebloods. He would have seen many in Vikos. But if he knew about the packs...

“Were you assaulted on your journey to Tanis?” she asked, trying to imagine Daniel fighting off a dozen rogues and escaping with his blood and his life.

“I was able to avoid most of them. But I saw them. I saw what they could do.”

“You said that you received help from humans hiding in the wilderness,” Isis said. “We know that there are a few colonies in this area and in the mountains to the west, small human settlements that move frequently if they feel threatened.”

“I stayed in one for a time. It was under nearly constant attack. People died.”

“I am sorry,” she said, meaning it. “We are also aware of colonies built upon the same principles Tanis follows, where both Opiri and human citizens are welcome.”

“Colonies, not cities,” Daniel said. “Before I was sent to Vikos, I heard of them. But it was said that they were no safer than the human settlements outside the Enclaves. Even if they managed to maintain their principles of coexistence, it wouldn't mean much if they couldn't defend themselves from the Citadels and rogue raiders.”

And was that, Isis wondered, why Daniel had come all the way to Tanis...to find a place that could defend itself and would still permit him to live in freedom?

She wanted...
needed
for him to see that Tanis was that place.

They left the central avenue and entered the maze of narrow streets between the residential buildings of Bes's ward. The little Opir wasn't there, and most of the human residents had gone to their jobs for the day. The older children were in school, while the younger ones stayed with one of their parents or a caretaker.

The buildings were neat and well-kept, with flower boxes on windowsills and decorations on doors and walls. The small neighborhood plaza was green with trees and grass, crisscrossed with well-tended paths. A few older humans congregated near a bench, gossiping among themselves. They grinned and shouted greetings to Isis, their eyes shining. She acknowledged them with a wave of her hand. A group of children walking with their teacher brought her a bunch of hand-picked flowers. Daniel looked on in silence.

As they turned the corner from one street onto another, a middle-aged man stepped up to speak to Isis, dipping his head in a gesture of respect. He told her of plumbing problems in his building, and Isis promised to see that Bes looked into the situation. Several other men and women approached with similar concerns, ranging from quarrels with neighbors to questions about the Council elections coming up in two months' time. Again, Isis assured them that she would speak with Bes as soon as she was free.

One young mother emerged from her ground-floor residence to greet Isis, holding an infant in her arms. Joy flooded Isis's heart, as it always did when she saw mother and child. Once humans had brought their children to her to be blessed, and mothers had prayed to her for the health of their families.

So very long ago.

The mother slipped the infant into Isis's hands, and Isis kissed the boy's soft, round cheek. Daniel gazed at her with a slight frown between his brows, as if he could not imagine her with a child in her keeping.

“Hold him,” she said, gently laying the infant in Daniel's arms.

He held the child awkwardly; not as if he had never done so before, but with an almost excessive caution, as if he didn't trust himself to do it properly. After a moment he returned the infant to its mother with a nod and a half smile.

“Thank you, Lady Isis,” the woman said, backing up a few steps before returning to her apartment. Daniel stared after her.

“The boy's eyes,” he said. “He's a half-blood. His father was Opir.”

“The child's a dhampir, yes. Did I not tell you that we have mixed couples in Tanis? Not as many as I would wish, perhaps, but it is a new beginning.”

“Have you ever had a child, Isis?”

She was too surprised to be angry over the impertinent question. “You know it is possible?” she asked.

“I learned in the Citadel that Opir women could give birth in a mating with a male human. It was kept secret because no Opiri wanted to admit that a female of their kind could have a child by a serf.”

“Then you know the origins of the Darketans.”

“Humans call Darketans ‘Daysiders.'” He looked keenly into her eyes. “Unless you spent all your time since the War wandering in the wilderness, you know that the Citadels take them from their mothers when they are hardly more than infants and treat them little better than serfs, even though they rely on them to do their daytime spying in the zones around the Citadels.”

“We do not do that here,” she said. “Our Darketans come to Tanis to live full lives as equals. And female Opiri in Tanis can choose to have children by human males if they wish. There's no shame attached.”

“And how often has it happened?”

A sharp pain struck Isis's heart as she spoke. Yes, she could have borne a child, if she had ever found a male human for whom she could care deeply enough. But she had never sought one out. It had always been her work to nurture others, and bearing a child would bend her attention away from those who most needed her.

“It's ironic that the Citadels never objected to the wartime practice of Opiri males forcibly impregnating human females,” Daniel said.

Ironic
, Isis thought. Hypocrisy. She was hardly proud of what Opiri had done during the War, even though she had never been part of it.

But Daniel's voice had hardened, and she wondered why the subject seemed so personal to him. He claimed he didn't hate Opiri, but his words suggested otherwise.

“Why did you wish to know if I'd ever given birth?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.

“It seems as if it would be natural for you.”

She relaxed. “Is that a compliment?” she asked.

“It's clear that you would love your children, as all these people seem to love you.”

Her mind flew directly to his accusation that she used her power to influence others. Isis was tempted to end the tour there, even though Daniel had hardly seen any of the city. But he was already walking on, his gaze quick and probing as he looked up and down the streets.

She caught up with him. “What is it you wish to see?” she asked.

“Another neighborhood,” he said. He paused by the small Lawkeeper station situated at the northern border of Bes's ward.

“What is this?” he asked.

“There is a Lawkeeper station set up at every border between wards,” she said, feeling once again as if she had to justify Tanis's laws. “We find these to be practical locations, and they can easily be found by any citizen.”

“Then they aren't meant to hinder movement between wards?”

“Of course not! Any citizen may visit any part of the city.”

“And are stations located in the Opir wards as well as the human ones?”