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She looked at Khai, carrying the puppy. This would be a good time to work out their feelings about what had happened with the Empani.

"Durga!" Jordana burst into the foyer from one of the lifts. "You'll never guess!" She jumped and kicked and spun her way over to them. Khai held up a palm for her to throw some punches then handed her the puppy. Her eyes flashed blue. "Thank you!"

"Guess what, Jordana?" Magda said.

Jordana held the dog on her bald head and smiled like a prankster. "The first auction has started, and there's a huge bid."

"Already?" That mercenary Geraldo. His communications system worked fine when he smelled profit. Why didn't he just go live in Garrick? "Geraldo had better not think he's getting any piece of this."

"Emissary. Matriarch." Faina had been following Jordana at a more dignified pace. "I'm happy to see you returned safely."

Durga took Faina's hands. "And I am so glad to find you well, Faina."

"I
am
well," Faina said. "My sister."

Durga nodded, acknowledging the endearment, afraid she would burst out in tears.
My sister.
"Faina, Lord Ardri will arrive in Sanguibahd tonight. Can you be prepared for a ceremony in two days?"

Faina nodded. "Asherah has blessed us. When the Team of Inquiry went to the library to begin its research, a stack of appropriate volumes had been pulled and was waiting for them. The Kama Sutra, books on tantric sex and such."

"Faina, I like your enthusiasm."

"I know my duty." She actually winked. Durga breathed a sigh of relief. Faina really was going to be all right.

"But Durga, guess who it is." Jordana put down the puppy and bounced on her toes. Her eyes flashed orange. Orange? A mixed signal. "Guess who they're bidding on."

At this, Faina blushed terribly. She shouldn't. Of course the bidding would be fast, furious, and high for her. She was lovely and demonstrably reliable.

"You!" Jordana said. "It's you, Durga. That was the rule, right? You're eighteen tomorrow, so you can do it."

Faina nodded confirmation. "Geraldo sent out the guidelines yesterday, and the bid came in this morning. Prince Garrick wants you to be his chalice."

Exgusting
!

Durga paced back and forth across the wall of windows in her bedroom. What had she done? It had never occurred to her that any city -- let alone Garrick -- would bid on
her.

Khai's airship was in the dirigidock, ready to take him back to Luxor and away from her.

"Garrick is a fool," Khai said. "He will never have you."

"Garrick is the richest city in the world," Durga said. "I must accept the highest bid, for the good of Sanguibahd and the other chalices. If any other city dares bid against him at all, he'll just go higher."

"Whatever Garrick bids, Luxor will bid more."

"You can't."

"I can. When Garrick has driven the price high enough, you can cut him off by accepting Luxor's next bid. That's all to the good. It will set a price floor for the future."

"But everyone will know that I chose you because I hate Garrick."

"And the others will see that you mean it that they are free to choose among their bids. That's a good thing too." One of Khai's eyebrows went up, and he had an inappropriate grin on his face.

"You think this is funny?"

"I heard from Jordana that you once killed a raptor with your bare hands."

Durga shook her head and turned away. "That old story."

"I see you don't deny it."

"It wasn't with my bare hands. But what is your point?"

"You say you hate Garrick. You have already bested him, and he doesn't even know it. You've taken his precious
Blackbird
. You've established a new city, Allel, with an export more precious than oil to balance Garrick's power. And now you've enticed him to expose his craven desire to the world, his desire for you -- which you will deny him. This will weaken him in the eyes of the other cities."

"And when you win," Durga said, "will that strengthen you in their eyes?"

Khai smiled and took her into his arms. "When I first saw you in the Matriarch's chambers, I knew that you must be Luxor's chalice. After I spent a day with you, I knew that you must be mine. No other woman could ever find a place in my heart."

"Another woman
will
find a place in your heart, Khai. You can't fight that. I don't want you to fight it. Luxor deserves a queen, and so do you."

"I already have a queen, my lady."

He kissed her, and she felt as if they were the only two people in the world. The universe radiated from their embrace and came back to it again. But when Khai pulled away from her, he looked sad. "You said you would choose me because you hate Garrick. I wish you had said you would choose me because you want me."

"Oh, Khai." Durga pulled the ashram tunic over her head and threw it on the floor. "I'm surprised such a brilliant man can be so dull."

She took the circlet from his brow and the gold bands from his biceps and removed the carnelian dagger from his belt. She laid them on the table at the window like the precious objects they were, the symbols of his city and his kingship to come.

When she turned around, he had taken off his clothes. He was beautiful, perfect. Like a statue carved by a master. He said nothing, waiting for her to choose to come to him. She smiled and took the scion of Luxor's hand and led him to her bed.

"Now let me show you what I want for my birthday."

-
oOo
-

Char drained the last of the champagne from her glass and looked at the locked door. Again. The yin-yang chamber. That's what they had named the room where Jake was
hieros
gamosing
it up with Faina at this very moment.

Last night, after an uncomfortable and long flight on the Monster, she and Jake had been given the grand tour. The chamber's proud designers had developed the soul ceremony, as they were calling it, after consulting a cache of erotic literature discovered in the library.

"Asherah must have put the books there for us."

The chalices on the Team of Inquiry had been careful to assure Char how sacred it all was, how essential, how it was
not
about connection or emotions between the yin and the yang but rather a cosmic connection beyond human understanding.

That did not help.

Char wondered if Durga had put them up to it, warned them to think of Lady Charybdis's feelings. She caught Durga watching her watch the door. Again.

The room was garish, but the Team seemed to think they had recreated something from the Arabian Nights. There was a yin entry for the chalice and a yang entry for the scion, both doors to be locked during the event. The walls and ceiling were covered with erotic art. Cherubs flew around the head of the giant-phallused god Priapus. Fauns and satyrs cavorted with wood nymphs. There were scenes from the Kama Sutra.

She sighed. Magda and Durga pretended not to notice. What was wrong with her? She had promised to live in Allel, but she still hadn't agreed to marry Jake. She loved him. She knew he loved her. Something held her back, kept her from saying yes.

Yes. The best word in the language, and she couldn't say it to Jake.

This whole
hieros gamos
thing wasn't helping. Thank Asherah it was almost over with.

Faina's fellow chalices were in the yin chamber, but Magda had come over to the yang side to support her son. She'd put on quite a spread. Strawberries, champagne, beef filets, asparagus. And something Char hadn't seen in years.

"Where on earth did you get blackberries?" she said. "I actually mean that literally."

"Midwest plains in the north," Magda said. "Two hundred miles south of Garrick."

Garrick.
She and Jake had heard all about the new contract and the bidding for Durga. And that Garrick had been denied in favor of Luxor.

"More champagne, Char?" Durga refilled her own glass. She'd come to the yang side to offer her support. At least, that's what she told Char. As she drank from her flute, it seemed there was something different about her. She was relaxed. Durga was never relaxed. Happy.

Why shouldn't she be? She was eighteen, beautiful, Emissary of Sanguibahd, queen of the world. A fabulous new jet transport at her disposal.

Why was Garrick allowed to continue its polluting ways? Because it could. Because no one had the power to do anything about it. Because the city was favored by Samael.

"Why did you accept the
Blackbird
from Garrick? Jet engines are banned. Anathema. You set a bad example."

"One or two jet engines are like a drop of water in an ocean. Each city will be allowed one jet transport as necessary for trade and diplomacy."

"Badly done, Durga. You've made a mistake there."

"It saved you, didn't it?"

How had they gotten off on this sniping track? "I thought the scion of Luxor would be here."

That was worse. The light went out of Durga's happiness. "He returned to Luxor this morning."

"But I hear congratulations are in order." Char held out her empty glass. "That's a marvelous first contract." She couldn't keep the chatty, impersonal tone out of her voice. She could tell Durga was upset about Khai leaving, but she didn't care. For some reason, everything about Durga irritated her at the moment.

Durga poured the wine. "I escaped Garrick, anyway."

"Well, congratulations then."

"You sound upset, Char. Why does the contract with Luxor bother you so much?"

"Everything is working out superbly for you, Durga. For Sanguibahd. Even for Luxor. All at Jake's expense." That was it. She was upset for Jake's sake.

"Jake's expense? Jake is going to be the king of Allel."

"And he's lost the runner, the thing that he loved."

"But not the only thing he loved, Char." Durga set down her glass. "And not the thing he loves best. You're not angry because of the runner," she said. "It's the
hieros gamos
. I understand, but I think you're being a bit selfish."

"You would say that. I suppose it's easy for a chalice to say. You'll have so many lovers in your life, if one goes through a soul ceremony with someone else it won't mean a thing to you."

Oh, cripes. That was harsh. Too harsh and too cruel. Char put her glass down beside Durga's and turned away. What had happened to her? She had never been a cruel person.

Durga was right. She
was
upset about the
hieros gamos
. And angry. Furious. How could she ever compete?

"Faina doesn't love Jake, Char. He's not her lover, not by any stretch of the imagination." Durga looked like she wanted to cry. "We chalices are breeders.
Love is not part of the mission.
It's forbidden. Otherwise we couldn't do our work. And it is work, Char. Hard work. Psychologically and emotionally draining work. We
have to
celebrate its spiritual aspect with things like the
hieros gamos
or we wouldn't be able to do it."

Oh, cripes, just let it end soon.

"And remember this, Char. When the
hieros gamos
is over, you'll have Jake for the rest of your life."

Char
had
been selfish. Now she understood.

"I don't see why you have to be such a -- a
shibdab
about this."

Durga loved Khai. And when Khai's contract was complete, she'd lose him forever.

"Who's a
shibdab
?" Jake was standing in the yang doorway. They hadn't heard the locks open.

Magda picked up a champagne bottle and two glasses and put her arm around Durga. "Everyone's a
shibdab
, Jake. We can't help ourselves." She guided Durga out of the room.

"Do you have to look so happy?" Char handed Jake a glass of champagne and some blackberries.