The Meridian Gamble (37 page)

Pharaoh has a strong jaw, and his
robes are cut low in the front, revealing his chest in a way that makes me
flushed, a feeling I try to repress. And his eyes have great intensity, as he
looks about and carefully surveys the room.

The royals sit at a table that is
elevated above the rest of their guests, and once they touch their seats, we
are signaled to bring the food into the room. Mar Mar holds a platter of the
small hens, and I begin placing them on the plates of the savages, hurrying so
she has less of a burden to carry. And as we do, they try to put their hands on
us. One of them fondles Mar Mar’s buttocks, and the girl doesn’t seem to mind.
Another tries to pinch me, but I manage to shift quickly out of the way, and
step back.

The brute glares at me, and motions
for me to come back to the table to serve him, with a sneer on his face. He has
a thick forehead, which makes him appear exceptionally stupid, and it is all I
can do to keep myself from striking him down. Luckily, I am near the center of
the table, where my friend from the Luminos sits. Apparently, he is their
leader, and he clucks his tongue, subtly, barely making a sound. But it is
enough that the thug turns back to his plate, angrily, suddenly not wanting to
look at me. But at least he allows me to serve him in peace.

I try not to stare at their leader,
but our eyes connect. The green of his is so piercing, it’s almost hard for me
to look away, though I must, in order to protect him. Yet there is nothing I
want more in the world than to stare at him again.

We dole out vegetables and pieces
of bread, and the newer servants pour wine, beer and water into their cups. And
when the visitors seem sated, we stand against the wall with our heads bowed,
waiting to see if the savages grunt for more. But they seem pleased for the
moment. And I try not to look to the dark-haired man I once loved.

My eyes drift to the royals
instead, to study my enemy. Pharaoh and the prince have such strange hair. It
is rare for such fair colors to exist in our realm, which makes me all the more
convinced they are unnatural. And another girl sits next to the prince, a
delicate creature with long brown hair, a woman of extraordinary beauty. But
something about her makes me think she is not one of them, not a monster.

The royal court do not seem to eat
very much of the food they are offered, only the girl who is the prince’s
consort takes small bites, smiling with approval. And the others look around, seeming
bored. I wonder if anyone other than myself and the Luminos leader know the
truth, that their real food is the blood of their servants.

As I look up covertly, I notice the
Queen is staring at him, my love from a past life. He is very handsome, and it
is difficult for her to hide her appreciation of his beauty. The heathens seem
to notice, and they laugh and chuckle, they joke with him like young boys
coming into manhood, who see a pretty girl in the marketplace. He returns her
gaze, and finally gets up and approaches her table. He bows at her feet, to
share a few words with her.

And I am frightened. I wonder if
this is the moment when he will attack her, and leap to kill them all. My body
tenses, as I am ready to spring over the tables to assist him, but the attack
doesn’t come. He only smiles, and continues their conversation.

Pharaoh doesn’t seem to mind their
obvious flirtation. But Mar Mar has heard whispers that they have an odd
relationship, that they both take others into their bed.

As I watch them, I feel a strange
sensation, an aching in my head, which seems unusual. I have never once had a
headache, like the ones my precious Lina has complained of her whole life. But
this is not quite what she has described. It feels like something tickles the
edges of my mind, and then, what is even more strange, it is almost as though
fingers are trying to press themselves into my skull. I look behind me for a
moment, wondering if someone is touching me. And it scares me, but I cannot
allow myself to feel this strange sickness, and I push the sensation away. If
for some reason the heathen leader attacks, he may need my skill in fighting.

But I realize it is not an illness
at all. It is the vampires‘ dark magic. I look to the royals, and am shocked to
see that Pharaoh is staring at me. It frightens me, and I try to look away, but
I cannot keep myself from looking back. I’m convinced his eyes peer directly
into my soul. But, he finally looks away, in boredom. And I stare at the
ground, praying I am wrong, and that he was looking at Mar Mar instead.

As the feast progresses, the royal
slaves approach the table, to entertain the guests. And I am thrilled when we
are given the chance to clear away plates. I see the leader looking at me
again, and I worry that he will approach me. I don’t want to talk to him, I
don’t need to speak to him to complete the mission the General has given me. So
I fill my arms with a load of dishes, and scurry back to the kitchen.

When I get there, Famoush can see
that something is wrong. It is one of the few times he shows concern for me.

“What is it?”

“One of the princes, from the
neighboring land. He has taken notice of me. I fear he wishes to claim me.”

We hear noises in the corridors, of
men approaching. And I cannot help but to think the worst.

“Hide,” he says. “In the
storeroom.”

He takes me to the space where we
keep our supplies, and inside of it, there is a large clay pot, where we store
grain. Luckily, it is almost empty with all the cooking we have been forced to
do for the feast. Famoush lifts the lid, and I get inside.

The lid of the jar is slightly
open, and I can hear the noises of the kitchen, muffled sounds. Famoush goes
back to his task of cleaning plates, and I hear the sounds of men entering the
room. My ears detect the voice of the Luminos prince, at least what I think is
him.

And I hear him ask for me.

“You know … young girls … run off
with a drunken soldier. I just hope she doesn’t come back with child.”

I hear them saying something else,
in hushed tones. And the sounds come closer toward the storeroom.

Suddenly, Famoush throws off the
lid of the jar.

“Here she is.”

The dark-haired young man laughs,
and pulls me out. I catch only a brief glance of Famoush, as he passes him a
pouch that no doubt contains his payment.

“You can do what you like with her
here. No one will know.”

The other men leave the room, and
even Famoush abandons the kitchen for a few moments, which he never seems to
do. And it will take every ounce of willpower I have to resist the urge to kill
him, for betraying me.

But the dark-haired young man
stares me down.

“What are you doing here?” he asks,
full of concern.

“The same as you. I am of the
Luminos. I have been sent here on a mission.”

“What mission?”

“To kill the royals. Didn’t you
know?”

“No. The Luminos are very
secretive. We are only told what we need to know, in case we are captured and
tortured.”

“Are you are also here to kill
them?” I ask, hopefully.

“No. I’m here to negotiate a peace
treaty. The Luminos work slowly, sometimes. Only after we have lulled them into
a false feeling of safety will we attack. And only then when the moment is
right.”

He stares at me, shaking his head.

“This is madness. You are no match
for them. I must get you out of here. I will ask the queen to give you to us as
a gift.”

I put my hand on his shoulder, and
it is a mistake. Touching him makes me feel weak.

“You cannot do that,” I force
myself to say. “You cannot go against their plans. You know it as well as I do.
The Luminos will punish you.”

“And how will you kill them?”

“I will find a way,” I say, not
sounding very convincing.

“Here.”

I feel my heart’s beat quicken, as
he pulls aside his robes, revealing the naked flesh of his legs. They are
hairy, and it is difficult for me not to stare. But he unties a small knife that
is strapped to his upper thigh, and hands it to me.

“If you are to be an assassin, you
will need a hidden weapon.”

“Thank you, I …”

And before I can finish, he pulls
me into his arms, holding me close. I think he is about to kiss me, but
instead, he tugs at my hair, hard. I cannot help but to scream out in pain, and
he gives a self-satisfied groan, as a broad smile creeps across his face. The
Luminos man almost starts to laugh, and for a moment, I’m confused.

“Why did you do that?” I say,
angrily.

“Because you never know who might
be listening, out in the halls. The others must think I have taken my pleasure
with you. Unless you would really have me do it.”

It is wrong, but there is nothing I
would like more. But I say nothing, and he turns to leave.

“Wait. I don’t even know your
name,” I say.

“I am Adam,” he says.

“And do you really not remember
me?”

Adam looks to me, questioningly.

“What do you mean?”

“From a life long ago. You were a
hunter. And the vampires killed you. It was a time when we lived in caves.”

He shakes his head.

“I’ve lived so many lives. It’s
difficult to remember them all,” Adam says. “Were we lovers?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I would remember that, I think,”
he says.

And now it’s his turn to look
confused, with almost a look of anger.

“And why did you not tell the
Luminos of this?”

“I … the memories have only just
started coming back to me,” I say, lying. “It was a short life. I attacked them
in vengeance, for killing one of our people. I think I destroyed the eye of a
red-haired one.”

“You are the one who scarred the
Elder vampire?” he says in disbelief. “We’ve never known who it was.”

“Yes, I think so,” I say, suddenly
feeling bashful.

His look turns to one of respect.

“Perhaps you will be able to
survive this after all,” he says. “If not, I hope to see you in the next life.”

He walks out
of the storeroom, leaving me standing there alone, like an idiot. And my heart
sinks, because it feels like a part of me has gone missing.

I wake up in the servants’ quarters
early the next morning, and am shocked to find Mar Mar’s bed empty. I only hope
that she has not found her way into the camp of the enemy soldiers. I hope that
Adam has not taken her as his own.

It pains me even to think of him,
to know that I may never see him again. I consider the idea of rushing after
them, to take up his offer of demanding me from the Queen, but it is madness.

I go to the kitchen, to help
Famoush prepare for the day, and am shocked to find that I am at work before
him. I go to our lower storeroom, to bring up more grain for the empty
container where I hid, and set about making the loaves of bread we will need
for the day. He comes in shortly after I have arrived, and seemingly cannot
believe I am there. No matter how hard I work for him, on some level, Famoush
still thinks of us as little more than lazy slaves.

“Saga, you are here so early,” he
says with a surprised look on his face.

“It’s good to work,” I say, coldly.

“Did you sleep well?” he asks,
bearing a malicious smile on his face.

“As well as a person can sleep
after being abused by a foreigner,” I say. Even though it is a lie, and Adam
did not take advantage of me. But Famoush must think that he did.

“Oh, do not put on airs,” Famoush
says. “It could not have been that bad. You were not pure. There was no blood
on the floor of the storeroom. If he even took you in that way.”

And Famoush laughs in a cruel
manner that I have never seen from him before.

It is the stupidest thing I have
ever done, but I pick up a knife, the one we use to cut up the meat. And before
he can react, I have it at the man’s throat.

“Sell me again as a whore and I’ll
kill you,” I say.

And the look of shock on his face
is indescribably delicious.

“I … I am sorry, Saga. I should not
have betrayed you. You deserve better from me than that. But I was afraid. For
someone such as myself to refuse a foreign prince is a death sentence.”

And I set the knife down on the
counter again, slowly. If I am to lose my life in this palace, it will not go
wasted on killing Famoush.

“You may have the gold if you
like,” he says, still feeling guilty.

“No Famoush. You keep it. It means
far more to you than it does to me.”

And I go back to my work.

As the day goes on, I wonder if we
will be cooking more for the guests, but a servant girl pokes her head in the
kitchen soon after to tell us the news.

“The foreign army is leaving! The
gates open for them as we speak.”

And a part of
me dies inside, knowing that Adam is definitely gone. I will not escape my
fate. I will die here, trying to kill vampires.

For the next several days, Mar Mar
doesn’t come to the kitchen. Another girl takes her place, sleeping on the mat
next to mine, and I am confused. But then, she suddenly appears again, out of
nowhere, dressed in fine clothes. Mar Mar enters the kitchen, carrying a tray
with some of the other servants from the royal chamber, and for a moment, I
don’t recognize her, as she looks just like the rest of them.

“Famoush, may we have some of your
delicious food? We are tired of what is served on our floor.”

The girl says it in a way that’s
not mean, but that she knows will give me a laugh. Mar Mar looks to me and
giggles in delight. I go to hug her, relieved that she is all right.

“Oh, Saga. You will never believe
it. I work as a servant of the royal court, now.”

Mar Mar wears the white gowns that
the rest of Pharaoh’s servitors don. Her hair seems to shine in a way it never
had before, and she wears a gold comb in it, along with other jewelry. I smell
the pleasant scent of oils and perfumes on her. She seems happy, but I was
wrong to feel a sense of relief. I am afraid to look for what I know is there.