Master of the Dance (20 page)

"Leave me something for the pain," he said.

The young man glanced at the King, who nodded. Digging in his bag, the healer produced a flask and handed it to Blade. The assassin took a deep swig, pulling a face. After the healer left, Kerrion sent the soldiers out and turned to the assassin. He found Blade watching him with cynical eyes, and was unable to meet them.

"Tomorrow you will face the judges. What do you plan to tell them?"

"Dravis has threatened to kill Minna-Satu unless I tell them I killed Trelath and Chaymin. He wants me to name you as my employer."

The King nodded. "As I expected. Minna is safe; you need not worry about that."

Blade smiled. "Are you going to let them execute me?"

"I cannot free you."

"Without me, your plans fail."

"I know."

Blade leant forward. "I have no wish to die with a sharpened stake stuck up my -"

"I know. I cannot do anything without implicating myself. You must understand that."

"You owe me," Blade snarled. "This is my fee for rescuing your wife. Free me."

"I cannot."

"Find a way, or you will regret it."

Kerrion frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you do not get me out of this, I will take you with me, you Cotti bastard."

"You will do as Dravis wishes? What do you think will happen to Minna-Satu and Kerra if I am charged with treason?"

Blade shrugged, and winced. "Do you think I care?"

"You should. They care about you, damn you. When are you going to appreciate that?"

The assassin snorted. "It means nothing to me, although it seems to irk you quite considerably."

"You do not deserve it."

"Then if you want to keep them safe, find a way to get me out of here."

Kerrion shook his head. "It is impossible. Minna asked me the same thing. I cannot do it, not for you, not even for her."

"So, you will let them kill me after all I have done for your wife. I should have known not to expect honour from a damned Cotti. You are no better than your father. But if I am condemned, I will see to it that we share the same fate."

"Damn it, Blade. I will do all I can in court, but I cannot send soldiers in here to free you."

"Then find another way. Honour your debt, or pay the price for betraying it."

Kerrion stood, glaring at the assassin, who met his eyes with a wintry stare, then the King turned and left the cell. The door thudded shut behind him, imprisoning Blade once more in the dim confines of the little room. Kerrion stared down the corridor, wondering what he could do. One thing was certain, when he told Minna-Satu what had passed between them, she would try to find a way to free Blade.

Kerrion found Kerra with Minna in her quarters, awaiting his news. Sinking down on the cushions, he accepted a cup of wine from a maiden, then ordered the servants out. Meeting Minna's worried eyes, he ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration.

"He is all right. He fooled Dravis by pretending to be badly injured. He is a bit battered and bruised, that is all."

She slumped. "That is good news. But you look angry."

"I am. That damned man... He is undoubtedly the most irritating person I have ever met, especially when he is hurt or angry, and right now he is both. He has threatening to name me as his employer if I do not free him."

Kerra burst out, "But of course we are going to free him! Why did you not tell him so?"

"Because I cannot."

"But if you do not, and he names you..."

"He will not," Minna snapped, frowning at her. "I thought you knew him better than that. Blade will not name your father. He is lying, Kerrion."

"How can you be so certain?" Kerrion demanded.

"I know him. He would never betray me by condemning you, and although you refuse to believe it and so does he, he likes you. My god, how can you be so gullible? He is probably laughing at you even now. You thought me foolish to believe that he would accept the employ of a Cotti, yet you think that he would obey one?"

"He is not. He is doing it for revenge, because I cannot free him."

Minna snorted. "He is lying. Of all his skills, his ability to lie convincingly is one of his greatest. Few would disbelieve him; he makes his stories sound utterly truthful."

Kerrion looked doubtful. "I hope you are right, my dear. The court will torture him at Dravis' behest if he does not do as Dravis wants. Can he withstand torture?"

Minna grimaced, shooting a glance at Kerra, who had paled, and chewed her lip. "Blade hates pain. But he is perverse, too. The more they try to force him to do as they wish, the more he will resist them. There must be a way to free him."

The King shook his head. "Perhaps a quick death would be merciful. A phial of poison could be smuggled to him..."

Kerra gasped and opened her mouth, but Minna spoke first. "No. You said that you would not consider Jadar's suggestion. What about our plans? What about your debt to him? I forbid it."

"It is better than being tortured."

"You must find a way to free him."

"I have racked my brains. If there was a way, I would have thought of it. I am as unhappy about this as you are. Well, perhaps not quite, but almost."

Minna glared at him, pale with rage and worry, a wild glint in her eyes that warned of storms to come. He loved her spirit and sharp wit, although at times her tongue was a mite too sharp, but he sensed that this situation was going to spark off a tremendous tongue lashing. As she drew breath, he held up his hands.

"I know what you are going to say. Yes, I owe him my life. Yes, I do care about him, and yes, I wish I could help him, but I cannot. Not now. Perhaps the situation will change, and an opportunity will present itself. Let us wait until then, all right?"

Minna picked up her wine cup with a shaking hand, taking a deep gulp. Kerra watched her with an open mouth, her eyes wide with awe. Queen Minna-Satu in a rage was a sight to behold, and even powerless, she commanded a tremendous respect with her regal mannerisms, honed by a lifetime of rule.

"One thing I promise you," she murmured. "I will not allow him to die at the hands of a Cotti executioner."

Kerrion's brows shot up. "You sent him here to die when he testified for me."

"I did not. It was a risk, nothing more. But that was then, and it was a long time ago. Since then he has saved my life. You could never understand what I felt when he walked into that room at the oasis. I had thought to end my days there. He is my saviour, and that is a debt I intend to honour."

"He is no angel. I will wager that he offered you no comfort."

"I required no more than to see him there, to know that I was safe. He freed me from the shackles and brought me a blanket, but it is not his way to show emotion, and I am his queen."

The King sighed. "He showed none because he felt none. I wish I had been the one to free you. Do you hold that against me?"

"No, of course not."

Kerrion took her hand. "You can do nothing for him, my love. To try would be foolish and dangerous. You are his queen, and even he would not want you to risk yourself to help him."

"Do not be so certain of that. When he showed me that message from Dravis, purchasing my life, he reminded me of the oath he swore to me on the day I made him a lord. I also took an oath that day. I swore that his life belonged to me and no other would take it from him or they would answer to me."

Kerrion shook his head. "You no longer have that power -"

"I will not stand by as a helpless woman in this barbarous country! He was about to place that power in my hands."

"Minna -"

"That responsibility is now mine!" Kerra cried. "I am the Jashimari Queen, the oath belongs to me!"

Kerrion gaped at his daughter. "Kerra..." He glanced between them, resisting the urge to tear his hair. "Enough of this, both of you! My god, what manner of madness is this? How can that bastard command such loyalty from you both?

"He is nothing but an assassin, raised in the gutter and forced to become a killer by unfortunate circumstances and an ugly twist of fate. His life is not worth yours, either of you. Whatever he did for you, he did for profit. I doubt that he has committed an unselfish act since his family died. He does not care about you, he told me so himself when I saw him in his cell."

Minna shook her head. "He lied. How could you believe his threat to denounce you if you knew he cared about us? I doubt that he spoke a single true word to you."

"You cannot be certain of that. Just because you care for him does not mean that he feels the same way. You, I can understand, but you?" He swung to frown at Kerra. "You act as if you are in love with him! He treats his wife like dirt, and he is old enough to be your father. How can you feel anything for him?"

Kerra paled and rocked back as if he had slapped her. "I do not... I respect him... He saved me from Endor."

"Do not endow him with nobility that he does not possess, Kerra. He does not respect you. He will not even use your title."

"He will, when I have earned it in his eyes."

"You do not have to earn it, you were born with it!"

She leant forward to glare at her father. "From fools who use it to curry favour, it is meaningless. But the day he calls me his queen will be a proud one for me, for then I will know that I am worthy of it."

Minna smiled and nodded, but Kerrion threw up his hands in exasperation. "It is your title! Using it is polite, and the fact that he does not only means that he is a rude bastard." He jumped up and headed for the door. "I can take no more of this. You have both lost your wits."

As the door banged closed behind the King, Minna laid her hand on Kerra's wrist and smiled. "We will find a way to save him. I am certain of it. I know that you love him. I understand completely. For all that I love Kerrion with all my heart, Blade would have been my first choice."

"If I tell him, will he mock me?"

Minna shook her head. "That is not his way. He will be indifferent, or at least, he will act indifferent. To know what he really feels is beyond any of us. His true self is buried too far beneath that cold exterior to even be glimpsed. You should tell him, it may help to thaw his frozen heart."

"But even Chiana failed."

"Did she?" Minna raised her brows and leant back on her cushions. "That remains to be seen."

Chapter Fourteen

The following morning, Kerrion attended the formal court that was convened to try Blade. Five judges presided, seated on a row of hard-backed chairs behind a long table laden with elderly law tomes and jugs of water. The table stood upon a low dais that raised the judges above the rest of the courtroom. The princes sat behind a stone railing that separated them from an empty area, where witnesses would give their testimony and plaintiffs could plead their case. In the galleries, the courtiers and lords sat or stood, according to their rank, filling the back of the room.

Banners and royal pennants adorned the walls, and the huge carven crest of the court hung behind the judges. Kerrion sat in an ornate chair in front of the princes, and Minna sat beside him on a plain one, her face veiled. Women were not allowed in the court, and at first the princes had protested, but Kerrion had insisted that she stay, claiming that her life was threatened. In view of her recent kidnapping, the judges had allowed her to stay, since ejecting her would also mean removing the King, by his own declaration.

Dravis was conspicuous in his absence, a fact that made Kerrion cast his brothers a cynical smile, which they met with angry glares. He suspected that Dravis had little faith that Blade would testify in his favour, and wished that he had the same certainty. Despite Minna's assertions, an element of doubt remained in his mind. Marek had been chosen to represent Dravis, and when the court was convened, he entered the plaintiff's area to put forward Dravis' case.

Being a man of few words, he was direct and to the point, claiming that Dravis was innocent of Trelath's murder, and that the assassin responsible had been captured. The senior judge pointed out that the guards had seen Dravis entering and leaving the gardens, and Marek argued that the assassin had disguised himself as the Prince. The dagger, he claimed, had been stolen from Dravis and planted on Trelath's body to frame him for the murder.

Kerrion listened to this accurate account of what had happened and thought it ironic that truth was not always on the side of the righteous. When the judge asked who would wish to assassinate Trelath and frame Dravis, Marek glanced at Kerrion. He did not accuse the King, however, asking instead that the assassin be brought in and questioned.

The entire court turned towards the doors as they awaited the appearance of the legendary, elusive assassin whose identity was so mysterious. The doors opened and Blade limped in, escorted by two guards, his wrists manacled and a short length of chain linking his ankles, just long enough to allow him to walk. The guards topped him by several inches, and it seem incongruous that such a slight man should be so feared. The only sign of his beating was the blue bruise on his jaw, and he wore the fresh clothes Kerrion had sent him; a dark blue tunic and trousers with silver embroidery ornamenting the sleeves and shoulders, which made him look a lot less like an assassin.

Kerrion had also ordered that Blade be given water and soap, which he had used to good effect. His deprivation and trauma had sharpened his fine features, lending him a youthful, vulnerable look that the King suspected he added to somehow. Most people expected assassins to be sly-looking men, and the courtiers muttered as they studied him. The guards stopped before the judges and released him, retreating to stand by the door. Even though he was chained and injured, Marek did not approach him, addressing him from where he stood at the railing.

"Are you the assassin known as the Queen's Blade?"

In the deafening silence that engulfed the courtroom on the heels of this all important question, Blade turned to face his accuser, pinning him with a piercing stare. He lifted his chin, a slight smile curling his lips.