The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure (33 page)

‘Pell is a good har,’ Seel said. ‘Don’t let your personal feelings cloud the issue.’

Ashmael cast him a sharp glance. ‘Meaning?’

Seel stared at him meaningfully. ‘
You
know.’ He paused. ‘Why don’t you just go and talk to him? Pell told me everything, Ash.’

‘Charming. That was supposed to have been a private conversation.’

‘He didn’t tell it like gossip. He feels for you. Have you even spoken to Vaysh since he came here?’

‘That’s none of your business, Seel. Back off.’

‘You’re repulsed by him, aren’t you, which must be pretty grim because you still love him too.’

‘Shut the fuck up.’

‘You have the honeyed tongue of a diplomat.’

Ashmael finished his drink. ‘Sorry, that’s a sore spot.’

‘I know how you feel,’ Seel said. ‘Pell spooks me too sometimes. He is possibly the most beautiful har in the whole world, but the thought of touching him makes me shudder.’

Ashmael regarded Seel thoughtfully. ‘That’s the gist of it.’ He helped himself to another glass of wine from a tray carried by a passing househar. ‘You know, I think it must be because we knew them before. For example, even though I can’t help feeling our beloved Tigron is a bit of a dizzy idiot, I could quite easily carry him off for a night of abandoned passion, whereas my flesh crawls at the thought of Vaysh. Just out of interest, what do you feel about him?’

Seel grimaced. ‘Mmm, difficult. He can freeze blood at twenty paces. If he wasn’t so stony, I could probably endure it.’

‘He wasn’t always like that,’ Ashmael said wistfully. ‘He was a creature full of joy and love. I hate this thing that has stolen his face. It’s not right.’

‘It’s not his fault, Ash.’

Ashmael sighed deeply. ‘I know. Still…’ He drained his glass. ‘I’m bored. Fancy coming back to my place for a frolic?’

Seel found he had to glance over at Pellaz to make sure the Tigron didn’t need him. He was annoyed at himself for it, but couldn’t help checking. Pellaz, however, was still in the thick of an adoring throng and clearly had no need for support. ‘Sounds good,’ Seel said. ‘Let’s go.’

Although Pellaz was now Tigron and began to learn quickly how to fulfil his potential, he was also very fragile, because his love for Cal had left a gaping wound in his heart. Seel felt protective towards him, in spite of himself, and never told him the full story of when Cal had returned to Saltrock. There was no need for Pellaz to know. The bare facts were enough to wound him deeply. Still, he was made of sterner stuff than Cal, because he hadn’t gone mad or maudlin. Mostly, he kept his thoughts to himself and maintained a cheery face.

Seel watched Pellaz all the time. He saw how certain members of the Hegemony sought to humiliate their new Tigron, yet Pellaz was always gracious with them. Seel had to admit that Thiede had chosen well. Pellaz had dignity and respect for others. He would never lose his temper and end up yelling regrettable things in meetings like Ashmael often did. He had to meet new hara endlessly, as representatives from various tribes showed up in Immanion, wanting to be part of Thiede’s new world, and determined to be treated with the esteem they thought they deserved. Pellaz was always courteous to them and gave the appearance of being interested in everything they had to say. His generosity of spirit seemed limitless. In his place, Seel would have lost patience many times. As time went on, Pellaz inevitably became somewhat imperious, but his positive aspects more than outweighed his autocratic manner. The Tigron could not be a grovelling fool. He had to stand tall and proud. And he did.

Occasionally, Pellaz would mention Flick, in a cautious way, and say that perhaps he should look for him. ‘Don’t you wonder where and how he is?’ he asked Seel. ‘We are here, living a privileged life, and Flick should be also. He was a good friend to me at the beginning. He helped me through inception, and we don’t even know if he’s still alive.’

‘Let it go,’ Seel advised. ‘You knew a lot of hara before, Pell. You can’t look up every old friend. You are Tigron.’ Another thing Seel had kept from Pellaz was that Flick had left Saltrock to look for the Cevarro family.

‘Don’t you care about him any more?’

‘Of course I do, but sometimes, you know, you just have to walk away. It was over between him and me a long time ago. We weren’t that close, not really. Flick just grew up, I guess. He moved on.’ Seel didn’t mention that he believed Flick would have no desire to see him again. He still harboured guilt about the way he’d treated Flick in the past.

Eventually, Pellaz let the matter drop, but Seel knew he was rather puzzled by Seel’s apparent lack of concern.

A difficult time arose some months after Pell’s coronation when a har named Caeru Meveny turned up in Immanion, claiming to be the hostling of the Tigron’s son. Thiede, who had been looking out for a consort for Pellaz, leapt on this glad coincidence with the zeal of a famished tiger. While Pellaz was still reeling from the shock of Caeru’s arrival, he found himself bonded in blood to this virtual stranger, who should – in Pell’s words – have remained as nothing more than a one night stand, doomed to be forgotten. Pellaz was furious, because Thiede tricked him into taking Caeru as consort. Seel could not quite understand what had possessed Pellaz to create a pearl with a har he’d barely known, but Pell’s excuse was that he hadn’t realised how easy it would be for him to do it. It had happened very shortly after Pellaz had left Thiede’s ice palace, in a town en route to Immanion.

Now, in an almost indecently short space of time, Caeru had been installed as Tigrina of Immanion. Although Seel wasn’t that impressed by him, and Pellaz would quite happily have wrung his neck, the populace swiftly took him to their hearts. As Thiede pointed out, Caeru was perfect for the job. He had once been a singer in a band. He looked good, was an excellent performer in public and knew how to win over crowds. Pellaz, however, simply regarded him as an adventurer who had effectively stolen a place that was reserved – at least in Pell’s heart – for Cal. Seel had never seen Pellaz be hostile to a har before, nor could have imagined he was capable of it. He had always appeared to like every har he met, so the strength of his feelings, and the uncharacteristic behaviour they inspired, were shocking. His biased but eloquent opinions had a strong effect on Seel, who privately wondered whether his own antipathy towards the new Tigrina was also encouraged by the fact he had white gold hair like Cal’s.

Seel comforted and supported Pellaz through the first gruelling months of his bloodbond with Caeru, and it was as exhausting for Seel as it was the Tigron himself. Public appearances were horrific. Caeru was a strange mixture of heart-broken grief and calculating manipulativeness. He was either a besotted wretch or very clever, because Seel never saw him do anything but try to please Pellaz and win him over. Hara noticed this. They witnessed Pell’s steely distant demeanour and they did not approve. Seel could tell Caeru loved Pell passionately, but for how long? What love could stand up to such repeated battering? Seel considered that Pellaz was doing himself no favours in forcing that strength of feeling to become hate. Caeru would make a tough adversary, and Seel could envisage a day when the veiled hostilities might descend into a humiliating and public popularity contest. One thing was certain: no matter what hara in the street perceived or were shown, Pellaz and Caeru would never be chesna. A bloodbond was supposed to be sacred and hallowed: not to be undertaken lightly. What the Tigron and Tigrina had was the nuptial equivalent of pelki. Not even their son brought them together. Abrimel was closer to his hostling than to his father. Seel noticed the contemptuous way the harling looked at Pellaz, and guessed he’d been subject to some fierce indoctrination from Caeru. Pellaz did little to improve his relationship with his son. Abrimel witnessed some ugly scenes between his parents.

Observing most of the unpleasantness firsthand, Seel made a mental note to himself:
don’t ever do anything like this. There are no hara in the world who are worth bonding in blood to. There are no relationships of that kind that truly endure. Humans were obsessed with marriage, and that was a sham. As Wraeththu, we have aruna, we are grown up. This is pathetic.

One time, Pellaz said to Seel, ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you. Don’t ever leave me.’

And Seel promised that he wouldn’t.

Thiede, however, had other ideas. He waited until Pellaz had settled firmly into his new life and had won round the most intransigent members of the Hegemony. He waited until he knew for sure that Ashmael supported the Tigron. He waited until Seel was complacent and then, with the brutal precision that was his mark, he summoned Seel to a private meeting.

Ever since Seel had moved to Almagabra, the Gelaming had been involved in conflict in Megalithica. They were strongly opposed to warmongering tribes like the Uigenna and the Varrs, and their objective was to oust these hara from power, so that they would not oppress weaker tribes. That was the propaganda, in any case. A cynical mind might suggest that the Gelaming were just as power hungry as the Uigenna and the Varrs, and that this was simply a war over territory. Ashmael was often away for months at a time, supervising the movements of the Gelaming army. When he was home, he often wanted to discuss the minutiae of his campaigns with Seel, but Seel wasn’t really that interested. Even the mention of Megalithica’s name made him feel uncomfortable, as if there was something important he should have done and he couldn’t remember what it was. To Seel, there was no point in talking about it. He took it for granted that Thiede would achieve his aims, whatever they were, and he had no desire to hear about combat. He did not think, for one moment, that eventually Thiede’s inevitable success would affect his own life in a colossal way.

Thiede received Seel in the office of his Phaonica apartment, and when Seel entered the room, Thiede was impatiently rifling through a pile of papers on his desk. ‘I can never find anything in this place,’ he said to Seel. ‘My assistants try to tidy everything away and then things are lost forever.’

Seel waited, but without any foreboding. He presumed he was there to discuss some trifling matter.

‘So,’ Thiede said at last, having found the particular piece of paper he was looking for, ‘I have a job for you.’

‘Fine,’ Seel said. ‘What is it?’

‘You will have heard our troops took the Varr leader, Terzian, into custody last week.’

‘Yes, I did hear talk.’

‘This is a very positive development. Soon, Megalithica’s barbarians will be utterly disempowered.’

‘Well, that is good news.’ Seel paused. ‘What has this to do with the job you have for me?’ It did not occur to him that there was any threat in Thiede’s words. He believed his duty was to be at Pell’s side for his entire life.

‘Can you put your affairs in order? I want you to go to Imbrilim, our enclave in Megalithica, next week.’

Seel felt his mouth drop open in shock. ‘What? Why?’

‘Oh, because eventually I want you to become the consort of Terzian’s heir.’

‘Am I dreaming this?’

Thiede considered. ‘No. Even before you came here, I did tell you I had important work lined up for you.’

‘Which I have been doing, to the best of my abilities,’ Seel said. ‘Does Pell know about this?’

‘Not yet. Don’t worry. It’s hardly as if he’ll lose your friendship.’

‘I don’t want to be anyhar’s consort. Really, Thiede, this is too much. Do you expect me simply to comply with this outlandish suggestion?’

‘No, I expect you to argue and rant, as Pell did about Rue. Don’t waste your energy. I’ve picked well for you. The child will be perfect.’

Seel sat down, before his legs gave way. ‘I’m dreaming,’ he said. ‘A nightmare.’

‘You are among the most privileged of hara,’ Thiede said. ‘Privileges have a price tag. I want you to host a pearl for this har, and I want you to be Immanion’s presence in the Varrish noble house in Galhea. It’s a strategic alliance.’

‘Why me?’ Seel said. ‘Pell needs me here.’

‘No he doesn’t. I need you in Megalithica more. Don’t argue with me, Seel. The decision has been made.’

‘You are as barbaric as any Varr,’ Seel said. ‘It’s like something out of medieval history, the way you force hara to take consorts, bond in blood and produce heirs. Aren’t we supposed to be more enlightened than that?’

For the first time, Thiede appeared stern. ‘Seel, you have eaten your dinner off my plate for years, and have lapped up every crumb. You are not a common har, who can fondly dream about living up to ideals. You are part of an administration that has a monumental task on its hands. Humans made alliances like these because they were useful. It has nothing to do with being civilised or enlightened, believe me. The har you will be with is named Swift. He is quite presentable, I understand.’

‘And you believe a Varr will be as delighted with this idea as I am?’

‘He’s barely more than a harling, but he is good stock. I want him to take his father’s place, but as a Gelaming governor. There’s no point in installing a complete stranger in Galhea. The Varrs can be a belligerent lot, but they adore Terzian and therefore will adore Swift. He doesn’t know my plans yet. He is still under the impression he can carry out a mission to save his father. Terzian, of course, is being held here in Immanion. Swift will never find him, but he
will
find you. By the time he does, he will have dreamed of you for months and will be like Rue is with Pell, a drooling yearning hound.’