The Desert Spear (84 page)

'Tibbet's Brook is far from here, in the duchy of Miln,' she said. 'I have never had the pleasure to meet anyone from there. What was he like''

'He was known to my people as the Par'chin, or 'brave outsider,' ' Abban said, 'equally at home in the bazaar and the
Sharum's
Maze. Alas, he left our city years ago, never to return.'

'Perhaps one day you will meet him again,' Leesha said.

Abban shrugged. '
Inevera.
If Everam wills it, I would be pleased to see my friend again and know that he is well.' They rode together for the rest of the day, speaking of many things, but the subject of the Par'chin never rose again. Leesha's silence on the matter told Abban much.

Slowed as they were by the trundling cart, the
dal'Sharum
could not give their chargers their head when the sun set, leaving them vulnerable to demons. Ahmann gave the order that they stop and make camp. Abban was erecting his tent when Ahmann summoned him.

'How went your first day'' he asked.

'She has a fast mind,' Abban said. 'I started by teaching her simple phrases, but she was dissecting the sentence structure in minutes. She 'll be able to introduce herself to anyone and discuss the weather by the time we reach Everam's Bounty, and proficient by winter.'

Ahmann nodded. 'It is Everam's will that she learn our tongue.'

Abban shrugged.

'What else did you learn'' Ahmann asked.

Abban smiled. 'She likes apples.'

'Apples'' Ahmann asked, confused.

'A Northern tree fruit,' Abban said.

Ahmann frowned. 'You spoke to the woman all day, and all you learned was that she likes apples''

'Red and hard, fresh picked from the tree. She laments that with so many mouths to feed, apples have become scarce.' Abban smiled as Ahmann's face deepened into a scowl. He reached into his pocket, holding up a piece of fruit. 'Apples like this one.'

Ahmann's smile nearly reached his ears.

Abban left Ahmann's tent, feeling a slight twinge of guilt at withholding Leesha's reaction to his mention of the Par'chin. He had not lied, but even in his own heart Abban could not explain the omission. The Par'chin was his friend, it was true, but Abban had never let friendship stand in the way of prosperity, and his prosperity was inextricably tied to Ahmann's success in conquering the North. The surest road to that success would be for Ahmann to find and kill the Par'chin quickly. The son of Jeph was not an enemy any man should take lightly.

But Abban had survived as
khaffit
by keeping secrets and waiting for the proper opportunity to exploit them, and there was no secret in all the world greater than this one.

Leesha was stirring a cookpot when Jardir came to her circle. Like the Painted Man, he walked casually through the unwarded areas of the Krasians' haphazard camp. He wore Leesha's warded cloak about his shoulders, but it was thrown back, offering him no protection from coreling eyes.

Not that he was likely to need protection, unless a wind demon spotted him from above. The
dal'Sharum
made sport of hunting the field demons that infested the camp when the sun set, piling the bodies of those stunted offshoots of wood demons into what would be an enormous bonfire when dawn came to set them alight.

'May I join you at your fire'' Jardir asked in Thesan.

'Of course, son of Hoshkamin,' Leesha replied in Krasian. As Abban had taught her, she broke a piece from a fresh loaf of bread and held it out to him. 'Share bread with us.'

Jardir smiled widely, bowing low as he accepted the bread.

Rojer and the others came to the pot for their meal as well, but all drifted away at a meaningful look from Leesha. Only Elona stayed in earshot, which Jardir seemed to think was perfectly proper, even if Leesha resented the spying.

'Your food continues to delight my tongue,' Jardir said when he finished scraping the stew from his second bowl.

'It's a simple stew,' Leesha said, but she couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

'I hope your belly is not too full,' Jardir said, pulling out a large red apple. 'I have grown fond of this Northern fruit, and would share it with you, as you shared your bread.'

Leesha felt her mouth water at the sight. How long since she had eaten a ripe apple' With starving refugees scouring the land around Deliverer's Hollow like locusts, apples were gone from the trees the moment they became edible, and often before.

'I would like that,' she said, trying to keep the eagerness from her voice. Jardir produced a small knife, cutting neat round slices for them to enjoy. Leesha savored the sweet crunch of every bite, and it took them some time to finish the fruit. Leesha noticed that however fond he might be of apples, he left almost all of it to her, nibbling only on the irregular cuts and watching her chew with delight in his eyes.

'Thank you, that was wonderful,' Leesha said when they were done.

Jardir bowed from where he sat across from her. 'It was my pleasure. And now, if you wish, it would be my pleasure to read to you passages from the Evejah, as I have promised.'

Leesha smiled and nodded, producing the slender leather-bound book from one of the deep pockets of her dress. 'I would like that very much, but if you are to read me your book, you must start from the beginning, and swear to read it through, omitting nothing.'

Jardir tilted his head at her, and for a moment Leesha worried that she might have offended him. But then, slowly, a smile crept across his face.

'That will take many nights,' he said.

Leesha looked around at the camp and the empty plains. 'My nights seem to be rather free at the moment.'

Surprisingly, it was not Wonda who garnered the most attention when they reached Everam's Bounty, but Gared. Jardir watched the eyes of the
Sharum
take in the Cutter's enormous frame and powerful muscles, searching for weaknesses, sizing him up for the kill as they did everyone. It was the
Sharum
way to be ready to fight anyone'enemy, brother, father, or friend. Every one of his warriors would be eager to test his strength against the giant Northern warrior. The
Sharum
who brought him down would carry great honor.

It was only after the warriors had assessed Gared, the most obvious threat, that their eyes slipped to Wonda, and a few did a double take, realizing she was a woman.

They sent no word ahead, but when they rode into the courtyard of Jardir's palace, Inevera and the
Damaji'ting
were there waiting for them. Inevera lay on a pillowed palanquin held up by muscular
chin
slaves clad only in bidos and vests. She was dressed as scandalously as ever, and even the greenlanders gasped and colored at the sight of her as her slaves set the palanquin down and she rose to her feet. Her hips swayed hypnotically as she came to Jardir with her hands outstretched.

'Who is that'' Leesha asked.

'My First Wife, Damajah Inevera,' Jardir said. 'The others are my lesser wives.'

Leesha looked at him sharply, and as Abban had warned, her face became a storm cloud.

'You're already married'!' she demanded.

Jardir looked at her curiously. Surely she had understood that much, even if she was prone to jealousy. 'Of course. I am Shar'Dama Ka.'

Leesha opened her mouth to retort, but Inevera reached them, and she swallowed whatever she had been about to say.

'Husband,' Inevera said, embracing him and kissing him deeply. 'How I have missed your warmth in our bed.'

Jardir was taken aback for a moment, but he saw how Inevera's eyes kept flicking to Leesha, and felt as filthy as if he had been marked by a dog.

'Allow me to present my honored guest,' he said. 'Mistress Leesha, daughter of Erny, First Herb Gatherer of the Hollow tribe.' Inevera's eyes narrowed at the title, and she glared at Jardir, then Leesha.

For her part, Leesha acquitted herself well, not backing down an inch as she met Inevera's gaze with a calm serenity and dipped into the skirtspreading bow the women of the green lands favored. 'An honor to meet you, Damajah.'

Inevera's smile and return bow were equally unreadable, and Jardir knew then that Abban was right. Inevera would not accept this woman as a
Jiwah Sen,
and would certainly not take it well when Jardir married her anyway and gave her dominion over the women of the North.

'I would speak with you in private, husband,' Inevera said, and Jardir nodded. Now that the moment to face her had come, he had no desire to delay. He thanked Everam that the sun was still high and she could not use her
hora
magic in its light.

'Abban, see to it that the Palace of Mirrors is made ready for Mistress Leesha and her entourage during their stay,' he said in Krasian. The palace was unfit for one such as Leesha, but it was the best Everam's Bounty had to offer, three stories, richly appointed with carpets, tapestries, and silvered mirrors.

'I believe Damaji Ichach is using the Palace of Mirrors at the moment,' Abban said.

'Then Damaji Ichach will need to make new arrangements,' Jardir said.

Abban bowed. 'I understand.'

'Please excuse me,' Jardir said, bowing to Leesha. 'I must consult with my wife. Abban will see to your accommodations. When you are settled, I will come to call on you.'

Leesha nodded, a cool gesture that warned of fire beneath. Jardir felt his pulse quicken at the sight, and it gave him strength as he and Inevera strode into his palace.

'What is the purpose of bringing that woman here'' Inevera demanded when they were alone in her pillow chamber beside the throne room.

'The bones have not told you'' Jardir smirked.

'Of course they have,' Inevera snapped, 'but I hold out hope that this once, they are wrong, and you are not such a fool.'

'Marriages cemented my power in Krasia,' Jardir said. 'Is it so foolish to think that they would serve the same in the Northland''

'These are
chin,
husband,' Inevera said. 'Fine for the
dal'Sharum
to breed, but there is not a woman among them worthy to carry your seed.'

'I disagree,' Jardir said. 'This Leesha is as worthy as any woman I have ever met.'

Inevera scowled. 'Well it does not matter. The bones have spoken against her, and I will not approve the match.'

'You are correct, it matters not,' Jardir said. 'I will still marry her.'

'You cannot,' Inevera said. 'I am
Jiwah Ka,
and I decide who else you may marry.'

But Jardir shook his head. 'You are my
Krasian Jiwah Ka.
Leesha shall be my greenland
Jiwah Ka,
and have dominion over all my wives in the North.'

Inevera's eyes bulged, and he thought for a moment they would pop right out of her face. She shrieked and came at him, long painted nails leading the way. Jardir's back, often clawed by those nails under much different circumstances, could attest to their sharpness.

He was quick to pivot out of the way. Remembering the last time she had struck him, he blocked and dodged with minimal contact as Inevera pressed her attack. Her long legs, clad only in thin, diaphanous silk, kicked high and fast as her fingers stabbed at him, seeking the weak points where a man's muscles and nerves joined. If she managed to connect, his limbs would cease to obey him.

It was the first real display of
dama'ting sharusahk
Jardir had ever seen, and he studied the precise, deadly moves with fascination, knowing Inevera could likely kill a
Damaji
before he knew she had even struck.

But Jardir was Shar'Dama Ka. He was the greatest living
sharusahk
master, and his body was stronger and faster than it had ever been thanks to the magic of the Spear of Kaji. Now that he respected her ability as a warrior and kept his guard, even Inevera was no match for him. Eventually he caught her wrist and flipped her onto the pile of pillows.

'Attack me again,' he said, 'and
dama'ting
or no, I will kill you.'

'The heathen harlot has bewitched your mind,' Inevera spat.

Jardir laughed. 'Perhaps. Or perhaps she has begun to set it free.'

Damaji Ichach sneered at them as he left the Palace of Mirrors with his wives and children.

'If eyes could core you, his would,' Rojer said.

'You'd think he hadn't stolen that manse from some Rizonan royal,' Leesha replied.

'Who knows with these people'' Rojer asked. 'He might have taken it as an honor if we had done him the courtesy of killing him and his family first.'

'That isn't funny, Rojer,' Leesha said.

'I don't know that I was joking,' Rojer said.

Abban came out of the manse soon after, bowing deeply. 'Your palace awaits, mistress. My wives will be preparing the lower floors for your entourage, but your private chambers, the entire top floor, are ready to receive you.'

Leesha looked up at the giant manse. There were dozens of windows on the top floor alone. That whole floor was for her personal use' It was easily ten times the size of the entire cottage she shared with Wonda.

'She gets the whole floor'' Rojer asked, gawking along with her.

'Of course your chambers shall be richly appointed as well, son of Jessum,' Abban said, bowing, 'but tradition dictates a virgin bride be kept alone on the top floor with her chaperones below, to ensure that she don her wedding veil with her honor intact.'