The Queen's Blade Prequel II - God Touched (10 page)

Lilu longed to
know him better. He was such a fascinating, beautiful man, and she
wished she could see his pure aura again, but without Symbell's
song it was invisible. He stretched out his legs to the fire and
rested his head on the back of the chair, looking relaxed.

“
What's your real name?” she asked.

Several
moments passed before he replied, “Conash.”

She frowned,
puzzled. “Dead Son? Why would your mother name you that?”

“
I was born dead. My father gave it to me as a grave
name.”

“
They're dead, aren't they? Your folks?”

“
Mind your own business.”

Lilu put aside
her cup and crawled closer to his chair, kneeling beside it to
hesitantly place a hand on his shin. His eyes flicked down to her,
full of hostility.

“
I'll do what you want,” she said, “but soon I'll give birth,
and it would be nice to have a break afterwards. Will you pay me
for the information?”

“
Very well. A golden for every name and description you bring
me.”

Her breath
caught at the vast sum he offered. “So much. Can you afford
it?”

“
Yes.”

“
You're working again.”

“
Yes.”

Her eyes fell
upon his silver-studded belt, and she contemplated its significance
with a wash of pride. “You're still the Master of the Dance. That's
wonderful. Did anyone challenge you?”

“
Only one fool.”

“
And you showed him just how much of a fool he was, I'll
wager.”

“
Something like that.”

She smiled.
“I'm glad. The healer did his work well.”

“
He should have, at that price.”

After a
moment's hesitation, Lilu took hold of his hand and turned it to
run her fingers over his smooth palm with its tiny scars. He
endured it for a moment, then tugged it away and tucked it under
his jacket.

“
Quit pawing me,” he said.

“
But I like to paw you,” she said, tilting her head. “You're so
soft.”

He
chuckled.

“
You're cat kin, aren't you?”

Blade slugged
back the last of his wine and jumped up, pulling off his jacket as
he went over to his bed. “Sleep on the pallet, and don't wake me
up.”

Lilu watched
him strip down to his baggy shorts and climb into his bed, then lay
down on the pallet with a sigh. The fire had warmed the room, and
she was more comfortable than she had been for two moons, although
her stomach rumbled. At least she was clean and unmolested. She lay
awake, contemplating the future. If Blade continued to intrude into
her life every time she had need of him, perhaps things would not
be so bad, and she blessed Symbell for her guidance. As a God
Touched, he would not abandon her now, and she knew she was safe
for the first time since her father had left her at the whorehouse
thirteen years ago. Blade was the Master of the Dance, the
deadliest man in Jondar, and her friend.

It saddened
her that he would never be more, but she was an ugly whore and he
was a eunuch, making any silly romantic dreams pure folly. She had
given up on romance many years ago, but his friendship was the most
precious gift anyone had ever given her, not counting her children.
Their fathers had not intended to sire them, but Blade had returned
and saved her, and, much as he denied it, she knew she was probably
the closest thing to a friend he had. She doubted that he would
ever allow her close to him, however.

A soft pop and
flash made her look up with a smile. Symbell hovered over her, her
wings a shimmering blur. She drifted down to land on Lilu's belly,
arching her neck to gaze through her flesh at the child within.
Lilu stroked her neck, and Symbell purred, her eyes aglow and her
skin shimmering with waves of soft pink and gold. Radiant dragons
had many powers, but they never interfered in the lives of their
human friends. Dragon kin were exceedingly rare, and their
familiars gifted them with insight, intelligence and precognizance.
The baby kicked, making Lilu wince, and Symbell trilled.

“
It's a boy?” Lilu whispered, smiling.

Serpent kin,
Symbell's whispery voice
said in her mind.

“
Another son. I'm blessed.”

He will die
with blood on his hands.

Lilu's smile
faded. “I wish you wouldn't tell me things like that.”

He is Tromar's
son.

“
Oh, god.”

Symbell raised her head and gazed at the sleeping
assassin.
He is Tinsharon's
son.

“
What do you mean?”

God
Touched.

“
Yes, but not god conceived.”

The radiant trilled.
All God Touched
are born from Tinsharon's grace.

“
But you don't mean – ow!” Lilu yelped as Symbell bit her on
the belly, her razor-sharp crystal teeth leaving little bloody
marks.

He told you he was born dead,
Symbell
said.

“
Oh. I see.”

Look again.
The radiant spread her
translucent wings, puffed up her throat and filled the room with
sweet, fluting notes, which rose and fell without tune or discord.
Lilu propped herself up on one elbow to gaze at the man in the bed
as the room transformed into a wonderland of pearly radiance and
silver glimmers. The floor glowed with preternatural light and the
walls turned into tarnished silver, the overstuffed chair looked
like silver lava shining through a ragged skin. The greatest
radiance, however, came from the bed, where pale hues gathered and
brightened into a soft aura, surrounding the sleeping assassin.
Lilu watched with her heart in her throat as the aura coalesced,
taking on a hard-edged glitter. It had been enthralling when Blade
was a stranger, now that she knew him, it held an awesome
fascination.

Symbell
continued to sing, and the aura around Blade grew brighter and
paler until it was hard to look at. Lilu's eyes filled with tears
when three pale, flowing conduits formed in the air above him,
indicating a lingering attachment to the dead.

“
His father and mother?” she whispered.

And his familiar,
Symbell's silver
voice said in her mind.

“
Oh, god... a cat.”

Who died
defending him.

“
Who killed them?”

The Sun
People.

“
Cotti.”

Lilu stared at
the shimmering conduits while Symbell sang, wondering why the
radiant's song continued. Then she noticed him. He sat in the
darkest corner of the room, and the brightest conduit led to him.
The gilded outline of a shadowy cat, watching her with glowing
eyes. Lilu's eyes overflowed, and she stifled a sob.

His name is Rivan,
Symbell
whispered.
He watches over him
still.

“
Does Blade know?”

No. His
presence brought the boy to the brink of madness. Now he stays in
the shadows. He will never leave.

The assassin
tossed and sighed, muttering. Symbell fell silent, and the magic
ebbed away in fading sparkles and dying glimmers. The darkness
clamped down, only the glow from the hearth alleviating it. The cat
vanished, and Lilu turned to her familiar.

“
He's waiting for Blade to die.”

Symbell arched her neck.
Hush.

Blade grew
still, and Lilu sensed the soft magic that pushed him back into the
arms of sleep as it tugged at her eyelids. She fought it, yawning,
and gazed at Symbell, who folded her wings and sat up on her
haunches.

He will have a long wait,
she
trilled.

“
That's good.”

Not so good,
but I cannot tell you what I see.

“
Why not?”

Forbidden.

“
Why?”

The radiant's glow brightened, which Lilu knew meant she was
preparing to hop back into her own time.
He has a destiny.

“
Don't we all?”

Not like
his.

“
What is he?”

Symbell gave a trilling purr and spread her wings, rising into
the air.
God Touched.

“
Yes, but...”

The radiant
dragon vanished with a soft pop, leaving a glowing spot in the air
and shimmering sparkles that faded away. Lilu sighed and lay down,
clasping her belly, where little feet pressed against her flesh
from the inside. Tromar's son. He had been one of her more sadistic
customers. The other girls had spurned him after one try, and Lilu
had been the only one who would go with him, since she had so few
customers compared to the prettier girls. Tromar had a wife, she
recalled, and bragged about her beauty, although she was barren.
Lilu often wondered if he treated her as roughly as he did the
whores. Now he had sired a son, and, if he found out, she feared
that he would try to steal the child.

The drover was
desperate for a son, so much so that when one of the other girls he
had lain with once had fallen pregnant he had hounded her to find
out if he was the father. She had denied it, but only when she had
birthed a baby girl with red hair had he left her alone. Lilu had a
bad feeling about her new son, and her feelings were usually right.
Closing her eyes, she pushed the ugly thoughts from her mind,
aching with fatigue. Tomorrow, Blade would take her to a new
whorehouse, but he would have trouble persuading them to take her
on, she was sure. No one wanted an ugly, pregnant, broken-nosed
harlot.

A toe nudging
her leg woke Lilu, and she opened her eyes with a start, relaxing
when she found Blade standing over her. He swung away and went over
to the table as she sat up. Midday sun streamed in through the
window to warm a patch of floor. The aroma of hot, meaty food made
her mouth water, and she levered herself to her feet to approach
the table. A pie awaited her on a plate, and Blade nibbled another,
sipping a cup of wine. He never seemed to be without a wine cup in
his hand, she reflected while she ate.

Blade gazed
out of the window, and pushed his half eaten pie over to her when
she finished hers.

“
You don't eat enough,” she admonished.

“
I also dislike being told what to do.” He rose and crossed the
room to his bed, drew a money pouch from under the pillow and tied
it to his belt.

Stuffing the
last of the pie into her mouth, Lilu rose and inspected herself in
the mirror above the dresser, finger-combing her hair and
straightening her wrinkled dress. Blade snorted and headed for the
door.

“
Don't bother.”

Lilu hurried
to catch up, and he slammed the door behind her. The walk across
the city tired her, and she was glad when Blade stopped outside a
seedy building with a battered, peeling sign that named it the
Winsome Wench. She followed him into a dim taproom with dirty
rushes on the floor and two slatternly whores drinking ale at a
table. Blade was not wearing his belt, she noted. Dilapidated
furniture cluttered the room, and a few men drank ale at the
tables, swapping ribald remarks. The whores eyed Blade with
interest, and one winked.

Blade ignored
her and approached a fat, balding man with a greasy face who sat
behind the counter. The barkeep stood up and shuffled over, his
eyes raking Blade.

“
What'll it be?”

“
A cup of your best wine, and a conversation with this dump's
owner.”

“
That'd be me.” The man poured a cup of pale wine and pushed it
over to the assassin.

“
Good. This whore needs a place to trade.” Blade gestured at
Lilu, who sat on a stool.

“
You jest. No man will want her, with a face like
that.”

“
They will, for two coppers a go.”

“
Two coppers, eh?” The whorehouse's owner frowned at Lilu. “Is
she experienced?”

“
Very.”

“
She's also with child.”

Blade smiled.
“I had noticed that, oddly enough.”

“
What's it to you?”

“
None of your business. She's a hard worker.”

“
She'd have to be,” the man said. “I already have enough
whores, though, this city's crawling with them.”

“
How many are this cheap?”

“
Quite a few.”

“
One copper, then.”

The whorehouse
owner smiled. “You drive a hard bargain.” He considered. “I tell
you what. I'll feed and board her, and she works in the back room
without pay.”

“
Done.”

The man thrust
out a grimy hand. “I'm Devar.”

Blade
recoiled, shaking his head. “It’s against my religion to touch
something that dirty.”

Devar withdrew
his hand with a scowl, and Lilu held her breath. The innkeeper
smiled and shook his head. “That smart mouth of yours will get you
into trouble, lad. Lucky for you I'm a tolerant man.”

“
Show me where she'll work.”

“
Does she have a name?”

“
Lilu.”

Devar nodded,
and Lilu followed as he led the way through a curtain at the back
of the taproom, into a short, squalid corridor similar to the one
in her old whorehouse. Six curtained doors led off it, and Devar
thrust the closest aside to reveal a bare cubical with a straw
mattress in it. Blade glanced in and nodded, his expression
shuttered. Back in the common room, he sipped the wine and
grimaced, handing it to Lilu.