Silk Over Razor Blades (14 page)

For the first time in hours her
stomach neither rumbled nor ached.

She felt full. Even
glutted.

Three small trails of blood
oozed down the side of the woman’s neck. Before the rain could
dilute them, Lenina lowered her head and licked them away.

The last explosion of sweetness
on her tongue stole her breath. It clung to her gums, her teeth.
Tiny drops of it lingered on her lips and her tongue stole out to
lick them away even as tears gathered in her eyes.

The points of her fangs receded
back into her gum line.

Lenina swallowed a sob and
struggled to her feet. She stared across the grass. Gasped.

Everything looked brighter.
Clearer. The entire world was picked out with diamond hard edges
and deep, rich colours, even in the poor light, with a level of
detail reserved for close-up shots in nature documentaries.

Every blade of grass was
visible against its companion. Broken windows in the face of the
dark and lonely industrial estate. The wisp of fine hair across the
dead woman’s upper lip.

Lenina smelled the churned-up
earth. The fresh, faintly metallic scent of the rain. The musk of
wet dog fur.

She glanced at the bruised and
broken carcass and finally lost her grip on the sobs. Tears ran
freely and she lowered her face to her bloodied hands, as if to
save herself from the sight of those cooling bodies.

Not that it helped. She would
see that dog and its owner forever, stamped on the fabric of her
memory, never to be erased.

6 September 33 BC

Saar leaned forward, meeting the
proffered kiss with a soft moan that rumbled through his chest like
the purr of a giant cat. From above, her hair forming a dark
curtain around their naked bodies, Kiya smiled at him.

He touched her cheek. ‘You’re so
beautiful. Your eyes, your skin, your delicious mouth.’ He nipped
her lips, lapping away the drop of blood that followed.

She writhed against him, kissing her
way down his face and chest. Her lips hovered over his hip before
brushing down his thigh, stopping at the birthmark beneath his
rear. She kissed it.

He twitched. ‘Don’t.’

‘
But I love this mark, like the
deadly claw of a bear. Or the tooth of some giant snake. It’s
beautiful and tastes so good. Just like the rest of you. From the
sweetest nectar of your lips to the juicy meat of your—’ Kiya
jerked upright, looking over her shoulder as footsteps approached
their chamber.

Though he tried to catch her, she
slipped through his grip like a fish and darted off the end of the
bed to hide in the shadows at the back of the room. Grinning, he
followed her. ‘It’s safe, dear love.’

‘
No one must know of us,’ she
hissed. ‘The queen does not allow it.’

‘
Mosi will tell no one. Will
you?’

He looked across the vast chamber,
skipping over the beautiful dressings and gifts to view the wide
arch at the far end. The silky coloured drapes which cloaked the
entrance twitched aside, exposing the newcomer. Saar laughed at the
bemused expression on the other man’s face.

‘
You’re naked.’ Still dressed for
scouting, Mosi wore his sword on one hip and held his spear beneath
his arm. Sand crusted his feet and legs as far as his knees. ‘I
thought you needed me. I felt you call.’ He tapped the side of his
head with one finger.

As he did so, Saar felt Mosi in his
mind, a warm presence that coiled around his senses and held tight
in a loving, spiritual hug. He reached out to touch that presence,
a flex of will that manifested physically as a slight smile.

‘
I did. The time has come for you to
meet somebody else dear to me.’

Mosi looked at the ground. ‘You’re
naked.’

Saar glanced down then back up again.
He grinned, stepped forward and let the light from the
strategically placed mirrors fall upon his body. ‘This isn’t the
first time you’ve seen my body, Mosi. Don’t be embarrassed. I’m
not.’

‘
And what of me?’ Kiya’s voice rang
with impatience.

‘
Take the linen from the bed if you
wish.’

‘
If you will be naked before this
man, I need not hide.’ She employed the air of a petulant child,
but Saar chose not to comment. Instead he extended his hand. ‘Come
then, dear love. Meet the second love in my life.’

‘
Second?’ Her voice became sharp.
Clipped. As she stepped out from behind the drapes, her eyes
narrowed. ‘At last.’ Up, then down, she took in Mosi’s attire and
his face before turning back to Saar. ‘So this is the one?’ She set
her hands on her hips and assessed him once more. ‘I suppose I can
understand his appeal. But he’s skinny and weak compared to
you.’

Saar grinned. ‘Many men are. Don’t be
jealous, you both have my love, but in different ways.’

She snorted. ‘I offer you the warm
embrace of a woman’s most delicate flower. What does he give
you?’

‘
Love. Devotion. Unquestioning
obedience.’

Another snort. ‘Really? And is my
offering of these things not enough?’

‘
You question everything I
do.’

She glared.

‘
Of course it’s enough.’ Saar’s grin
wilted. ‘Will you not try to understand? He’s dear to me but no
more or less than you.’

‘
Men who act as you do are
considered dirty. They aren’t real men in the eyes of others or
those of the gods. Did Set not sully Horace in such a way?’

Saar flinched. ‘Is that really what you
think of me?’

Her answer loitered on her tongue. ‘No.
Love takes many forms. But I needn’t like it. I’ve no desire to
share you. With anyone.’

‘
Mosi is the first. You and he are
my god-touched children.’

‘
Yes, him. A soldier. Before
me.’

‘
It is
because
of him that I learned of the ability to
share my gift. If not for Mosi, you wouldn’t have the power you so
enjoy.’ Eyeing his naked lover, Saar sighed. ‘I want you both to
hear my plan. Success depends on the three of us working
together.’

‘
Both of us?’ Kiya looked again at
Mosi. She folded her hands beneath her breasts, pushing them up and
out. A fine flaunting of her womanly assets. ‘Even him?’

‘
Even him.’

A long silence filled the chamber.

Saar heard the rumble of chariots
outside, soldiers drilling in the large yard to the side of the
palace. The occasional clash of weapons rode the light breeze which
carried scents of sweat and warm metal.

He closed his eyes. Took a deep breath.
When he opened them again he turned away from Kiya and extended a
hand to Mosi.

The other man didn’t move.

‘
Please, Mosi. Come to me.’

Still studying the floor, Mosi flicked
a hand over his shoulder. The gesture lingered from the days of his
long hair and his fingers caught nothing but air. He shrugged and
fussed with the short strands at the back of his neck. ‘I can hear
these plans another time. I have no desire to cause Kiya
discomfort.’

‘
She’ll grow accustomed to you.
Perhaps even love you as I do.’

As he spoke the words, Saar felt the
heat of Kiya’s gaze against his back. He chose to ignore it.
Instead he reached out and grabbed Mosi’s arm, pulling him
close.

Still he resisted, dragging his feet
across the stone floor. ‘Please . . .’

‘
Be silent, Mosi. Look at
me.’

At last the younger man looked up and
Saar smiled. He stared at those beautiful eyes, the long, thick
lashes, and full kissable lips. ‘Do as I ask. Remove your weapons.
Sit with us.’ To add weight to the request he took the spear and
laid it on the ground.

Cat-like, Kiya prowled around them, her
crossed arms and jerking head a clear indication of her feelings.
She took up one of the chairs near the wall and watched.

‘
Look at me,’ Saar repeated,
conscious of the tension returning to Mosi’s back and shoulders.
‘Look only at me.’

He took the sword and put it beside the
spear, then unfastened the knot holding the first section of
toughened leather straps in place across Mosi’s chest. The second
section protected his stomach and Saar pulled that away too,
holding his gaze the whole time.

He heard Mosi’s breathing quicken and
resisted the urge to smile.

‘
Saar . . . ?’

‘
Let us all be on an even footing.
Besides, I like to look at you.’

At last he removed the linen shendyt
from Mosi’s waist and bent down to unfasten the flat straw
sandals.

Saar took a moment to enjoy the view
before kissing him once on the lips.

‘
Now, sit.’

Obeying his own order, Saar snagged a
chair and turned it to face Kiya.

Mosi copied him.

‘
Now that we are
on an even footing
, what do you want to discuss?’
The appearance of fangs in Kiya’s mouth matched the bite in her
voice, but she kept enough of a hold on her temper to keep her eyes
a warm, steady brown.

‘
Antony.’

Whatever Mosi might have expected it
wasn’t that. He stared, lips slightly parted, one hand twitching on
the arm of the chair. By contrast, Kiya gritted her teeth and
leaned forward in her seat.

‘
This has been too long in coming,’
she said. ‘What will you do to him?’

‘
I’m undecided. But it pleases me to
know that I’m not the only person who senses his inability to
lead.’

‘
He spends more time in the queen’s
bed than he does with you or your soldiers. I would know. Believe
me, dear love, he is a fool. He has not half the wit or
intelligence that you do.’

Saar grinned as a fierce rush of
pleasure warmed his insides. ‘You flatter me.’

‘
I speak truth.’

‘
King Antony is a cautious man,
true, but he isn’t foolish. What quarrel do you have with him?’
Mosi spoke softly from his corner of the lopsided triangle made by
their chairs.

‘
Antony is selfish, arrogant and
short-sighted.’ Saar spoke quickly, glancing at Mosi with a frown.
‘You know this. His selfishness leads us to outright war with Rome
and will ultimately put our great country in their hands. He must
be stopped.’

‘
And how do you plan to do
that?’

‘
An army.’

Both Mosi and Kiya looked confused.

‘
You and I are already part of the
army.’ Mosi glanced at his discarded weapons. ‘You are the queen’s
personal protector. How will an army help us?’

‘
Not
an
army.
Our
army.’ Saar leaned
forward. The warm, slightly rough surface of the wood scratched his
thigh, but it was a minor irritant. His hands shook and he clasped
them together to help control the excitement building in his gut.
‘We have a gift. A wonderful, powerful gift, passed to us by mighty
Set himself. Our blood holds power. You’ve seen it.’

An eager nod from Kiya. ‘I can last for
days without sleep. Food holds no lure for me but my body has never
been stronger. I’m faster. I hear the whispers of the slaves in
other rooms throughout the palace and when I follow the queen, I
can see the smiles on the faces of the people for hundreds of yards
in every direction. I hear their thoughts in my head and change
them to suit my whims.’

‘
And you, Mosi?’

He scratched the back of his neck
again. ‘Yes, in the years since you first touched me I’ve felt
stronger and faster, too. None but you can best me with a sword or
bow, though many have tried. Small objects move when and where I
will them and my body finds sustenance in the physical touch of
another. This is power unparalleled.’

Saar nodded. ‘We’re the finest examples
of what a man or woman can be. If our army were filled with others
like us, we would be unstoppable. Never again need we fear
invasion.’

Kiya’s voice trembled. Her eyes grew
round and shiny. ‘Is that possible? How many times can you share
this gift? It comes from blood, would it not weaken you? And what
of Set?’

‘
I don’t know. Set values strength,
so I would choose carefully. But what god would reject additional
tribute? And think on it. How strong would Egypt become if every
soldier were as we are? Perhaps we could grow beyond our current
borders and reclaim lost lands.’

‘
Yes.’ Kiya bounced on her chair.
‘We’ll recruit hundreds to your cause and make our homeland great
again. We’ll name them The Red Fang of Alexandria.’

Saar cocked an eyebrow.

She cast a playful glance at his bare
thigh. ‘The mark which coaxed your mother to enlist you in the
army. The mark which so resembles the fang of a snake. Name your
army after it.’

‘
Is that necessary?’

‘
Yes. All great men have memorable
titles. Saar . . . leader of the Red Fang Army. It’s
perfect.’

Though he smiled, Saar couldn’t help
but notice the silence from one corner of the triangle. He glanced
at Mosi’s pensive frown, tapping foot and lowered gaze.

Carefully he reached down the invisible
line that joined their minds together, groping for answers at the
other end.

Sensing him, Mosi looked up and, with a
grunt, shut off the connection. ‘Don’t,’ he whispered. ‘Let me
think this through. I must be clear in my own mind.’

‘
Why?’ Kiya sneered. ‘Do you not
trust
our
love to do what’s right?
He has an excellent plan that will ensure our survival now and for
years to come. What more is there to think about? Why else would
Set give him this gift if not to protect us?’