The Treasure (6 page)

“Then why does Balkir obey him?”

“He trained most of Sinan’s assassins, and it’s difficult to shrug off . . . I suppose the fear is still there. It’s hard to describe the influence he wielded. He held absolute control over us.” He stopped beside a small mare whose reins were held by one of Balkir’s sailors. “Don’t be frightened. It will be all right. I just wanted to warn you.”

Don’t be frightened? He had just told her that this man was even more evil than Sinan, and he expected her to be calm about it? “What does he want of you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Balkir said he was only told to bring me and not to let me know Sinan was dead.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I,” Kadar said soberly. “Not at all.”

The fortress of Maysef was everything Selene remembered it to be: the castle strong, stark, forbidding; the white-robed followers moving ghostlike about the courtyard and dim halls. She hadn’t realized her memory of that first encounter was so clear and vivid.

“Wait here.” Balkir dismounted from his horse. “I must go and make my report to the master. I will send for you if he wishes to see you.”

“But Kadar never likes to wait.” A man in a billowing black cloak stood on the top step, looking down at them. “So I came to greet him.”

Kadar inclined his head. “Good day, Nasim.”

“It is a good day now. I’ve been waiting a long time.”

Selene suppressed a shudder as she saw Nasim’s fierce gaze fasten on Kadar like the talons of an eagle. Why, she was afraid of this man. She hadn’t been afraid of Sinan, though she supposed she should have been. But this man . . . The menace and power that surrounded him were nearly visible. Nasim was clearly an old man. His face was deeply lined and his dark hair, tied back in a queue, was white at the temples. But his eyes glittered with an almost feverish vitality that defied age.

Kadar didn’t seem afraid. He said lightly, “It’s the least you could do after I’ve come such a long distance at your request.”

“Command.”

“Request,” Kadar repeated with a smile. “I no longer obey commands, Nasim.”

“Brave words. It’s deeds that count. You don’t seem surprised that it’s I who summoned you.” His glance shifted to Balkir.

The captain flinched and said hurriedly, “He guessed, but not until we were almost here. I didn’t tell him. He already knew when he came to me and—”

“You have the brains of an ox.” Nasim’s gaze shifted to Selene. “Who is this?”

“The lady Selene,” Balkir said. “It was necessary that I—”

“You have bold eyes,” Nasim said. “Too bold for a woman.”

“Lower your eyes,” Balkir muttered.

She would
not
lower her eyes.

“Why is she here, Balkir?” Nasim didn’t wait for an answer. “Your choice, Kadar?”

“No, a mistake on the part of the captain,” Kadar said. “She’ll only be in the way.”

“He couples with her,” Balkir said quickly. “I saw him.”

“And did you see anything but conflict between us other than that one unimportant act?”

“I thought she might prove useful.” Balkir’s desperate gaze was fixed on Nasim. “But if it displeases you, I will dispose of her.”

“Why do that?” Kadar asked. “Send her back to Montdhu with the boy. It will pacify Lord Ware and prevent the possibility of him coming after her.”

“Boy?”

Balkir jerked his head in the direction of Haroun behind him. “He’s Lord Ware’s servant. Shall I dispose of them, Lord Nasim?”

Nasim’s glance moved from Selene to Kadar and then back again. “I think not. One never knows when dross may turn into gold. Find them chambers.” He turned to Kadar. “Come with me. We will talk.”

Kadar nodded. “The sooner, the better.” He deliberately avoided looking at Selene as he dismounted and climbed the steps. “Get them food, Balkir. It’s been hours since they broke their fast. We don’t want them sent back to Lord Ware in poor condition.”

“If we send them back.” Nasim entered the castle with Kadar following closely behind.

“Come. Quickly,” Balkir tossed over his shoulder to Selene. “You heard the master.”

Selene slipped from the saddle.

Haroun immediately sidled next to her. He was trembling, his gaze fixed fearfully on the castle. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

“I know you will.” She didn’t know any such thing. She hadn’t expected to be this shaken. “But the danger is not great. I think this Nasim is bluffing.”

“You do?” Haroun asked uncertainly.

She didn’t believe that cold devil ever bluffed, but there was no use alarming Haroun. She followed Balkir up the steps. “Of course he was. You saw that Kadar was not afraid of him.”

“But Lord Kadar is—They seem . . . alike.”

She whirled on him. “They are
not
alike,” she said fiercely. “They are nothing alike.”

He took a step back. “I beg pardon, Lady Selene. I meant no—”

“It’s all right.” She tried to steady her voice. She shouldn’t have exploded like that. Haroun’s words had provoked a response that had come out of nowhere.

She was lying. She had merely blinded herself. She hadn’t wanted to see what Haroun had seen. She had hoped that time and distance would bring about a change that had not happened. As she had watched Kadar and Nasim, the tethers that bound them together had been almost visible. The bond between the band of assassins and Kadar was still there.

“I didn’t mean that Lord Kadar—I spoke without thinking,” Haroun said.

“I know.” She walked quickly up the stairs. Haroun’s remark had been spurred by pure instinct, and sometimes instinct was more revealing than thought.

And far more frightening.

“You may sit in my presence, Kadar.” Nasim gestured to a cushioned divan. “Your journey must have wearied you.”

Kadar shook his head. “I’m not tired.”

“No, you’re young and strong,” Nasim said impassively. “Your years in that cold land didn’t weaken you.”

“Did you expect them to?”

“One cannot tell what will happen when one walks the bright path. Strength sometimes becomes dissipated. The dark path always keeps its force.”

“Does it?”

“Do you doubt my words?” Nasim lashed out. “Then you’re a fool. Shall I show you my—” He drew a deep breath. “You always manage to anger me. But I will forgive you since I rejoice that you are here.”

“And why am I here?”

“Because this is where you belong.”

“Not any longer. Sinan is dead, and that severs my last tie.”
Nasim shook his head. “I claim the service you promised him.”

Kadar was not surprised. “By what right?”

Nasim’s smile was cold. “By the only right that we both recognize. Power.”

Kadar shook his head.

“I could have had Balkir attack the castle at Montdhu. I held my hand, but I can still send him back. Don’t be hasty in refusing me. My temper is short these days.”

Kadar could sense the raw turmoil just beneath the surface, and it surprised him. The Nasim he remembered had always been ice cold and controlled. “And what task do you have for me?”

“I wish you to fetch me a treasure beyond price.”

“What treasure?”

Nasim shook his head. “I will tell you more when it’s time for you to start your journey. I sent a messenger to verify that the treasure still exists in the same place. When Fadil returns, you will set out and bring it to me.”

Kadar frowned. “When do you expect him to return?”

“A week . . . perhaps two.” He shrugged. “If Fadil lives. He may not.”

“And you wish me to wait here?”

“Ah, you’re so anxious to be on your way. I’m the one who should be impatient.” Nasim lifted a brow. “There are other tasks you can do for me. I’m sure we will find something interesting for you to do while you’re here. I already have a few ideas.”

“What ideas?”

“I leave that to your imagination. You have a superb imagination, Kadar. Use it.” He waved a dismissing hand. “I’ll summon you when I decide it’s time that you do my bidding.”

“I’ve not said I’ll do your bidding, Nasim.”

“That is true.” He smiled. “The child Selene has become a woman, hasn’t she? I remember Sinan telling me about her when she was here before.”

Kadar affected indifference. “I wouldn’t think he would bother to confide something so unimportant.”

“You know Sinan told me everything. I decided what was unimportant. How was she at coupling, Kadar?”

He stiffened. “Ordinary.”

“She is too bold to be ordinary.” Nasim turned his back and walked over to the window. “You may go.”

Kadar stared at his back for a moment longer. By God, he didn’t want to go and leave this conversation unresolved. He knew Nasim had deliberately dropped Selene into the conversation hoping to destroy his composure. He had succeeded.

“Sinan told me he wanted to sample her when she was a child and you stopped him,” Nasim said.

“She was ordinary then. She’s ordinary now. Beneath his notice.” He paused. “And beneath your notice.”

“We will see. I will think upon it.” Nasim’s tone held a note of finality.

Kadar had heard that tone many times before. There was no use trying to speak to him any more right now. He turned on his heel and left the chamber.

______

“What does he want of you?” Selene asked as soon as Kadar walked into her bedchamber.

“He didn’t tell me. I only know it involves a journey to bring him a great treasure, a treasure beyond price. He’s waiting for a messenger. He said it may be a week or two before he gets word.”

“A treasure beyond price,” Selene repeated. “What would that devil consider beyond price?”

Kadar shrugged. “I have no idea, but whatever it is, he wants it badly.”

“And we have to stay here?”

He nodded.

Her hands clenched into fists. “Is there nothing we can do?”

“Escape?” He shook his head. “I must do the task he sets me, or everything I won from him will be lost.”

“And you hate to lose.”

“So do you. Particularly when it affects the people you love.” He crossed to the window and looked down at the courtyard below. “I must stay with you in this chamber. It’s not safe for you to be alone.”

She stiffened.

“Don’t fight me on this. We’ve shared a chamber before and for the same reason.” His tone was abstracted. “I’ll make a pallet on the floor.”

“It’s necessary?”

“Without question.”

“Then, of course, I’ll permit it.”

“I won’t inflict my presence on you overmuch. Nasim will allow me the freedom of the fortress and the countryside.”

“But not me or Haroun.” It was a statement.

“Haroun can be allowed limited freedom. It’s not safe for you to leave the chamber.”

But Kadar would be wandering among these assassins and would often be in Nasim’s presence. The thought chilled her. She said lightly, “You need not think I will permit you to abandon me. I will not suffer boredom here any more than I would on the
Dark Star.
You must entertain me.”

He smiled faintly. “Oh, must I?”

“Yes, and I need something else to wear. I’m weary of these rough garments. Fetch me cloth and needle and thread. And I may wish you to help me with them.”

“You want
me
to sew?”

“Are you too proud?”

“Pride? I’ve set myself to humbler tasks, but I find it unusual you would require my aid.”

She shrugged. “You are here. You might as well help.”

“Anything else?”

“Not now. Perhaps later.”

“I’ll journey forth immediately on the quest.” He turned and headed for the door. “Bolt the door and open it only to me.”

She leaned her forehead against the wood of the door after she had bolted it behind him. Everything was going amiss. She had meant to keep Kadar at a distance, but she had been forced to draw him closer. Well, it was only for the short time she was here.

She would
not
let that evil man have Kadar.

“SWEET MARY,” Kadar swore softly as he stabbed the needle viciously through the soft muslin. “You will not be able to wear this gown. It’s stained with the blood of a thousand pinpricks.”

“It’s brown.” Selene bent to stir the fire in the hearth before settling back on her stool. “The blood will hardly show at all.”

He scowled at her. “I have no liking for this task. Why must we sew in the evening as well? I might survive if I could see what I was doing.”

“The fire gives adequate light. We’ve only completed one gown. I need another.”

His gaze suddenly lifted from the cloth. “Do you? I think not.”

“Why else would I go to this bother? Do you think I like hearing you curse and moan over a little pinprick?”

“A
little
pinprick? My fingers are—” He paused. “Very clever. You almost distracted me.” He set aside the cloth and linked his arms around his knees. “You don’t need another gown. You wish to keep me with you.”

“Nonsense. Your vanity is out of all bounds.”

He looked at her, waiting.

“Why should I wish to keep you with me? You curse and moan and I must show you stitches that a babe would learn in the cradle.”

“You’re trying to annoy me.” He smiled. “But I would never be so ungallant as to show anger to my savior.”

“Savior? I don’t know what you mean.”

“We’ve never talked about it, but you know. You’ve always been my savior.” His gaze shifted to the flames. “It’s so easy to walk the dark path. Easy and exciting. And once you’ve tried it, you always want to go back. It’s like the first scent of hashish. You want more.”

“But you didn’t want more. You left here.”

“Because I didn’t want to be like Nasim. I could see myself being drawn deeper and deeper. . . . Life has never treated me with any particular kindness, and I
liked
the idea of the power Sinan and Nasim wielded.”

“Nasim is evil.”

“Yes, but then, so am I. Most men have a wicked streak.”

“You’re not evil. You may be witless and unfair, but you’re not like him.”

“Part of me is. But I can control it, if I have reason to fight him.” His gaze shifted from the fire to stare directly into her eyes. “You give me reason, Selene.”

His dark hair shimmered in the firelight, and his eyes . . .

Dear God, she was melting. She wanted to reach out and touch him.

She would not be drawn like this. She would not be hurt again.

She tore her gaze away. “Then find another reason. I won’t be responsible for your virtue or lack of it.”

“You can’t help yourself.” He smiled. “Why else am I here suffering grievous wounds? You don’t trust me enough to let me out of your sight.”

“I can help myself. I just choose to—Haroun and I have no one else in this horrible place. It’s only sensible to—Don’t laugh at me.” She threw the gown at his head.

“Ouch.” He pulled the gown from around his face and gingerly touched the scratch on his cheek. “You could have removed the pins.”

“Go away. Go to that hideous old man and walk your dark path. What do I care? I don’t want to see you—”

He was heading for the door. Panic raced through her.

“Wait.” She struggled for words. “You cannot leave with this gown half finished. I won’t—”

“Shh.” He smiled at her, his warm, beautiful smile. “I’m not going to Nasim. I’m going to take a walk in the courtyard. I’ll return before the hour has gone.”

She tried to hide her relief. “It’s nothing to me where you go.”

“My God, you’re stubborn.” He sighed. “Sometimes I wish you were not quite as strong as you are. It would make my lot much easier.”

She didn’t feel strong. She was shaken. He had never spoken to her of his past and his struggles before. Seeing beyond that cool, mocking facade made him seem infinitely closer. She didn’t want him closer. “If you’re going for a walk, do it.” She snatched up the gown again and began to stitch. “Don’t come back tonight. I won’t have you waking me up.”

The night was clear and cool, and a full moon cast a silver luminescence on the gray stones of the courtyard. It was the kind of night Kadar had hated when he had been in training here. It was difficult to move with the deadly invisibility Nasim required on such an evening, and failure was met with swift and brutal punishment. But he had learned; moonlight merely meant adjustments, distractions, and a—

“So she released you from woman’s duties?”

Kadar turned to see Nasim coming toward him. “I released myself.” He wasn’t surprised Nasim knew what transpired behind a closed chamber door. Nasim made it his business to be aware of everything that happened. “I felt in need of air.”

“Why do you let her dishonor you in this way?”

“To learn a new skill is never a dishonor. It may be useful later.”

“You wish to make more gowns for women?” Nasim asked contemptuously as he fell into step with him.

“No, but sewing a gown requires the same skill as stitching a wound.” He glanced at Nasim. “What do you want?”

“Perhaps I also need air.”

“Then you would go to the battlements, as you usually do. I’d wager you saw me down here and decided to join me. Why?”

“I feel you’re wasting my time,” he said bluntly. “You’re here to do me service and you spend your time with that woman, stitching.”

“We’ll discuss service when your messenger arrives. Have you heard from him?”

“No, but we’ll discuss service now. I want your promise.”

Kadar shook his head.

“You’ll give me the service you promised Sinan, and for the same reason.” Nasim smiled maliciously. “If you don’t, you’ll find your friends in Scotland most uncomfortable. I’ll have to decide whether to raze their castle myself or send the Knights Templar to do it for me. Do you doubt I’d do either?”

“No.”

“Then give me your word.”

“You always told me lies were the weapon of a clever man.”

“But it’s one lesson you never learned. You don’t break your word, and I want that chain on you. Give me your word or I’ll send Balkir and a force to Montdhu at dawn.”

The bastard meant it. He had no choice. “Very well, you have my promise to do
one
task for you.”

“I thought you’d agree.” He smiled. “And I’ve thought of a useful and amusing way for you to serve me while we wait.”

“I promised only one service.”

“Oh, I believe you’ll accommodate me in this.” He gazed up at the sky. “It’s a full moon tonight, a good sign. The soothsayers say a full moon brings fertile earth and good crops.”

“You don’t care about good crops. You make tribute.”

“True. But I’ve become very interested in fertility of late. It comes as a surprise to me.” His gaze remained on the night sky. “Sinan wished you to follow him as master here, you know. We discussed it often. I approved his plan. It would be stimulating to control you as I did Sinan. It would only take a word from me and you’d slide into your place as head of the assassins.”

“It holds no interest for me. It’s too limiting.”

“You lie. But you’re stubborn. You could yet go your own way.”

“You may count on it.”

“I count on nothing that doesn’t please me. Still, I must take precautions. Men do die.”

“No one should know that better than you.”

Nasim chuckled. “Yes, I’ve made a study of death. A master should be able to pass such knowledge on to one worthy. I’ve found no such acolyte but you, Kadar.” His smile faded. “So I’ve decided you shall provide me with another.”

“And how am I to do that?” he asked warily.

“The woman.” Nasim frowned. “Though she’s displeased me by yoking you to needle and thread. It’s an insult to me.”

“It has nothing to do with you. There’s no connection.”

“Everything you do is connected to me. Because I choose it to be so.” He paused. “That’s why you will bring the woman to the tower every night for the next two weeks.”

Kadar went still. “I told you that she was ordinary, beneath you.”

“She must be very ordinary, since you sleep on the floor instead of in her bed.”

“She doesn’t interest me.”

“She interests me. She’s bold, and it’s always exciting to break the bold ones.” He smiled. “But I fear you must develop interest in her. It’s you who will couple with her.”

“Why?”

“I want a child by her. Your child.”

Kadar inhaled sharply. “What madness is this?”

“I cannot sire children. I’ve tried several bitches, but nothing has come of it.” He lifted his chin. “It has nothing to do with my manhood. I’ve decided that, when a man is given special powers to wield, Allah sometimes does not see fit to let him perform as other men. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have what I want. If I cannot have you to mold, I’ll take a substitute.”

“I’ve no desire to get her with child.”

“Ah, yes, she has no interest for you. Still, it will happen.”

Nasim had made up his mind, Kadar realized with frustration, and it was never any use to argue with him when he had made a decision. He would have to try to work around it. “If you wish me to sire a babe, send a whore to the tower room. At least she would have the skill to amuse me.”

“Our whores are lacking in spirit. The foreign woman has the boldness I want.”

“You detest her boldness.”

“In a woman, not in a child she would birth.”

He tried another tactic. “It could be a female child. What would you do then?”

“Kill it. I have no use for bitches. But you would not father females, Kadar. We are too much alike.”

“I don’t
want
this woman.”

“You will. Remember the tower room, Kadar?”

Kadar’s gaze went to the tower. Yes, he remembered it. The sweet smell of hashish, naked bodies on silk cushions, the ultimate in acts of debauchery. He felt himself hardening, thickening at the memory.

“You see?” Nasim smiled maliciously. “It will happen.”

That was what he feared. “And what will happen if I refuse?”

“Then she will still bear a child, but it will be by one of my men who is far less worthy. In fact, I may have to set a different man between her thighs every night and let fate decide who will father it. Do you think your Lord Ware would take her back after a month of such treatment?”

“What if she’s not fertile? Am I to delay going on your mission to couple with a mere woman?”

Nasim’s smile disappeared. “Nothing will be permitted to delay you. When the message comes, you will go. I’ve waited too long already.” He turned and stalked across the courtyard. “The tower. Tomorrow, at nightfall.”

Kadar watched him until he disappeared into the castle. God’s blood, Nasim couldn’t have chosen to put him in a worse quandary. Selene was striving to distance herself from him, and he was to go to her and say they must couple until a child was conceived? She would throw more than a gown at him.

Dammit, and just when he had begun to see slight signs of softening in her.

But there was no hint of softness in him at the moment; he was rock hard, and a dark excitement was beginning to build. It was exactly the response Nasim wanted. But he wished he could be as sure of Nasim’s motives as he was of his manipulations. Did he really want an acolyte of Kadar’s blood, or did he want to pull Kadar deeper into the dark morass? In the past, sexual excess had been offered as a stimulus and a reward, and Kadar had reveled in it. Nasim would remember that fact as he remembered everything else. It was a potent weapon he would not hesitate to wield.

Kadar’s gaze lifted again to the tower.

The tower. Tomorrow, at nightfall.

“I’ll not do it.” Selene jumped to her feet, stung. “I won’t be a slave and do that man’s bidding. I’ll never be a slave again.”

“I’ve told you the consequences of refusing. You’ll admit I’m the least offensive of the alternatives.” Kadar grimaced. “Or maybe you won’t. But I swear this is not by my design.”

She knew it was not. Kadar might attempt seduction, but he would never force her to his bed. The realization did nothing to abate her anger. “He expects me to bear your child and then hand it over to him? Is he mad to believe I’d do such a thing?“

“He would take it—if it was a boy. If it was a girl, he would kill it.”

Shock surged through her. “You’re so calm. You accept this.”

He shook his head. “I’m calm because I would never accept it. It will not happen. No child of mine will ever be subject to Nasim’s will.”

A little of her anger ebbed away. “Then how will we prevent it?”

“I don’t have the answer yet. We may not have to prevent it. Two weeks isn’t a long time. Many women do not get with child immediately.”

“It took Thea years.” Another wave of anger hit her. “It makes no
sense.
He’s an old man. He may not even live to raise a child.”

“The child may not really be his aim.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “He knows the tower will bring back memories of the old life. He knows that I don’t treat you as other women. If he forces me to treat you in that manner in that chamber, it will be a victory for him. He may think it will draw me further along the dark path.”

“Dear God, he’s a devil,” she whispered.