Living With Ghosts Part 9

She said, "You really think he's unhappy?"

"Just as you are."

"You're so sure about me?"

"I hear things. I see things. That's why you pay me to inform."

"Quite so." Her tone was dry.

"He loves you. He worries about you." He had been her lover, once, long ago. It did not give him the right to interfere, but he might perhaps venture comment.

"Unfortunately, I don't pay you to tell me things I already know."

"It's good that you know it," he said. And then, "Forgive me. This isn't my business."

She sighed again. "Perhaps," she said, but her face was bleak.

She was not a person one might touch casually. He turned to look at her. She caught the look. She said, "Shall I cry on your shoulder?"

"If you wish."

She shook her head. "Another day, perhaps. When there's time."

"I'll remember."

"Thank you."

"I'm always your debtor."

"I wonder." She looked at him. "Who controls you, Gracieux?"

He shrugged. "Who controls anyone?" The lieutenant's ghost looked knowing.

She smiled. "Who knows? It's clearer in some instances than others."

"Indeed."

"Did they really let go of you, the undarii?" He made no answer, keeping his face calm. She said, "It's said they kill their failures. Why didn't they kill you?"

"On account of my beautiful eyes, perhaps?" The ghost sneered. "Their ways are mysterious."

"Like yours." He bowed. "You know the answer." He was silent. "But you're not going to tell me."

He said, "Forgive me."

" 'It is forbidden'," she finished for him. "I always ask and that's always your answer. You're no small mystery yourself."

"That's my good fortune."

She laughed then and shook her head at him. "You trade on it, certainly." Her expression sobered. "Your kind is forbidden in this city."

"I'm sensible of your kindness to me."

Yvelliane said, "Tarnaroq has sent us a troublesome amba.s.sador. Sigeris. Do you know him?"

"I know of him."

"If he was undarios, would you know it?" Gracielis was silent. "Him, or one of his retinue. An aide, perhaps?"

Still he made no answer, looking away from her, out over the city, over the river. They were too well matched, Yvelliane and Quenfrida. Clever Quenfrida, too clever to be caught out, for all Yvelliane's suspicion. There was a net here, and they would both weave him into it. He shivered and drew his cloak about him. He schooled his features to be expressionless.

Quietly, Yvelliane said, "Forgive me, but I need to know."

It was too dangerous. There were changes, hovering here over this city, which should be opaque to such things. Ghosts walked untimely. Changes were poised in the salt-fresh neutral waters of the river, which should not change. He had no way of knowing what imbalance Quenfrida might have found to exploit to Merafi's detriment.

He had agreed to help Thiercelin. He took Yvelliane's money on a regular basis. He said, "I . . . might." He was cold with it, with the heresy that might lead him to betray her. Quenfrida was confident enough in her power to come here, into this place whose ambience would not be manipulated by her kind, where her abilities (his abilities) were forbidden. The loving a.s.sa.s.sins, the perfumed ones, the priests of love and death. His name, spoken in scent about him, should have marked him one of them, had he had the strength. Quenfrida had it. Quenfrida undaria.

There was sadness in him that had to do with the chiming of silver bells, with bruised magnolia. He turned to Yvelliane and said, "If there is an undarios, they would know me."

"And if I asked you to look among the Tarnaroqui delegation?"

"I might locate him. And die for it." It was pointless to tell her what they both already knew, that his cautious and infrequent correspondence with her was in itself sufficient to purchase his death. All that stood between him and that end was that Quenfrida had never thought to ask him: Do you still have dealings with Yvelliane of the Far Blays?

If-when-she asked him, he would tell her every part of it and welcome the gift of death from her hands. Yvelliane did not know that and never would.

Who controls you?

Yvelliane was watching him. She said, "You could be given protection."

"Forgive me. I was inexact. I would want them to kill me. It can be very . . . sweet."

The lieutenant's ghost grinned, fingering its throat.

"The right death at the right moment."

"Yes."

She frowned, looking down at the roof-leads. "If I asked no names, would you tell me simply whether there is an undarios among the emba.s.sy?"

He knew already. Nevertheless, "Perhaps."

"It's a lot to ask." She hesitated. "I've never known: do you mind?"

He said, "You gave me a home in your city. Protected me from your prohibitions. You pay me well for information." Momentarily, he looked wicked. "You relieve my days with the balm of your presence."

The ghost looked supercilious. Yvelliane, however, merely shook her head at him. "There's a 'but,' isn't there? I heard it."

He met her gaze. "You've been my protector. I owe you a great deal. But I am, by birth, Tarnaroqui."

"Yes." Momentarily, she was silent. "I'm not asking you to do this for me yet. But later on, I may have to. In which case . . . ?"

"I'll tell you."

"Thank you." She pulled up her veil. He turned back to look at the river. The ghost shadowed him. She said, "Not a lot to see, at this time of year."

"No." He paused. Then, "The river is your lifeblood."

"Yes."

"If it . . . if it should turn against you, how would you fare?"

She looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I was wondering," he said, "if you're prepared for such a thing?"

She looked toward the river. "It would depend," she said, slowly. "For a short time, we would survive. But ultimately, I suppose, our kingdom would fall."

Iareth Yscoithi of Alfial could see in the dark. It was a small edge, even among her Lunedithin countrymen, who, whatever their strengths, lacked Yscoithi silence, Yscoithi patience. She had long ago a.s.similated and perfected the arts she required: waiting and quiet and the wisdom to recognize the apposite moment. She had learned, too, to subtract from her actions the wishes of her heart. She had gone that way once and, returning wounded, would not take that risk again. Besides, she was half-breed, and her father-who was not Yscoithi-had gifted her with tenacity.

It did not occur to her to be afraid as she crossed the hallway on silent feet. She took darkness for her part; she had a kinship with its properties.

The door to Kenan's suite opened soundlessly under her fingers. Before leaving her own room, she had heard the hall clock chime midnight. Kenan was at the palace with the amba.s.sador and would be unlikely to return for another hour or more. The servants had all retired. She had time enough. She did not glance behind her before entering Kenan's rooms. She knew she was alone. She would have heard, had anyone approached.

The cas.e.m.e.nt had been left open. Like all of his Orcandrin clan, Kenan did not care to feel shut in. Handmoon was near full. Cool light pooled across the floor. Iareth paused to allow her eyes to readjust. The first room was large. She crossed it without interest in its bureaus or any of its cabinets. She had known Kenan too long to look for the obvious. Nor did she trouble with the bedchamber. Kenan was clever enough to know he was watched by his retinue and by the Merafiens alike. He would be ready.

It pleased his arrogance to believe Iareth suffered simply by being here in Merafi. Merafi, where Valdarrien d'Illandre-her beloved Valdin kai-reth-had died. Kenan was mistaken. She had a.s.similated the need to live with pain. And besides, it was a species of fortune that Kenan let his spite blind him.

It would have delighted him to think she hated him. Delighted, and fed his growing power.

She took care with her masks, lest he learn the truth. She bore him neither hate nor malice nor ill-will. She knew him all too well, had known him since his childhood.

There was a dressing closet set in the bedchamber, behind a rose-paneled door. It was unlit. She let her eyes adjust before beginning her examination. Servants came and went in this room, as in any other. Anything too obviously hidden would provoke suspicion.

Iareth's patience was of the predatory kind. She did not trouble to study subtlety. She looked in front of her eyes. Kenan's larger bags had been emptied and taken to storage. But his saddlebags were still here, on the highest shelf. She stood on the dressing stool and lifted them down.

Their weight told her at once that she was right. It was probable that Kenan had not bothered to unpack them but had simply stored them away. Carefully, she carried them into the bedchamber and put them on the window seat. The knots fastening them were complex. She took care to memorize the number and order of loops. Removing the contents, she was similarly careful. They must not look unnecessarily disarranged. If another had asked this task of her, she might well have refused. But she was not in the habit of refusing Urien Armenwy. He was her commanding officer, for one thing. He was the closest friend of Prince Keris, for another. Good reasons enough, by themselves. And then, both Queen Firomelle and Prince Keris were in poor health, making Kenan's actions all the more important.

Above all, Urien was her father, for all that their clan names differed. There were too few Yscoithi as it was: he had chosen never to make public the nature of their relationship, and it was known to very few people indeed. To be born half-blood, openly known to be of parents from different clans was even now a stigma in Lunedith. Such children were termed elor-reth, outclan, and found it hard to succeed. Iareth owed her position in the royal kai-rethin as much to Urien's protection as to her official clan status. And that protection was worth much. Urien was one of the very last of the clansmen whose blood ran pure enough to retain its ancient power. Few indeed in these days could claim as much. Once, before the days of Yestinn Allandur, the clansmen had been shapeshifters, each clan possessed of its own particular animal or bird form. The ability had been closely guarded, maintained by tight interbreeding within each clan. A child born of a cross-clan liaison lost the talent and was despised by all. But over the centuries, endorsed and sheltered by royal approval, more and more children had been born cross-clan. Their animal totems survived only as the symbols on their banners and brooches. Many clans had died out wholly: many of their children had abandoned the clan system altogether, becoming the ancestors of the Merafiens of Gran' Romagne. In Lunedith, clan names had survived and the habit of at least seeming to maintain intraclan marriage. But the old blood ran diluted almost everywhere. The subject was sensitive and few, now, were directly cross-clan. Once in perhaps three generations heredity would throw out a true shifter, and such were honored highly. Urien would never openly acknowledge Iareth, but he sheltered her, and that was sufficient to keep her status intact.

Her fingers were careful, laying out Kenan's secrets on the window ledge. No letters. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. A number of items of obvious significance to Kenan-his clan-brooch, his ring. A small pine casket, dyed blue and fastened with a bronze clip. A leather bottle. A sky-blue silk scarf. A deck of cards. A knife, small and wickedly sharp, sheathed in padded silk and hafted in old ivory. A copy of the one of the Booksof Marcellan, the second, which dealt with the five domains of earth, fire, air, water, and darkness.

She frowned a little as she lifted the casket. It made no sound. Opening it, she discovered why. The contents-six small vials-were carefully wadded. Unstoppering one, her frown deepened. A smell of honeysuckle. Perfume. She had expected, dramatically, something else. The other five vials were differently scented, but also appeared to be perfumes. She replaced them and turned her attention to the cards.

They were not the standard Lunedithin animal deck, nor the five-suited deck used in Gran' Romagne for gambling. These were something other, a fortune-teller's deck, thirty-six cards in all. A card for each of the elemental domains, by the sun and both moons. A totem suit, from Allandurin eagle to Heliadrin serpent. A single run of court cards; clan-head, sword, diviner, mother, oblate. Her breath caught as she turned over the last, and despite all her hard-won control she was chilled.

The painted face of the oblate, gazing back up at her, was that of her dead lover, Valdarrien of the Far Blays.

Sky-eyed Quenfrida rolled over onto her back and stretched in one smooth motion. The thick toffee-gold hair spilled across her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.t.s; she pushed it back with a hand. Lying beside her, his head pillowed on his arm, Gracielis watched with languid, darkened eyes. Too soon, yet, to feel the humiliation of what she could do to him. He was wrapped in repletion. Her perfume soaked him to the very bone. She reached across and ran her fingers idly along his side; smiled as he shivered under her touch. Her hand halted against his cheek. She looked at him. "So," she said, "you don't hate me today?"

His mind was a jumble of sensation and image; her mouth on his, her arms about him, hands provoking, bodies entwined. It was hard to capture any emotion save languor. He said, "I don't remember."

She laughed. "As I recall, you've always been better at love than hate." Her gentleness confused him. She had been waiting in his room when he returned from his a.s.signation with Yvelliane. He had not stood a chance.

Release had left him weak. No other woman. Fragile under her touch, he said, "You know why. You know what happened."

She laid a finger across his mouth. "That is done with. The path remains."

His eyes widened fractionally. With his free hand he lifted hers away from him. The pulse in her wrist was swift. She might almost have been vulnerable. He said, "I failed, Quena. They closed the gate for me."

"The path remains," she repeated. "You might yet become undarios. There are sometimes those who linger a while by the wayside. You failed by omission, not commission."

"The seventh test . . ."

"You never attempted the seventh test. You fled."

Fled . . . Through the sacred garden, away from the gate of bra.s.s. Past the perfumed fountains, to the music of the bells. Petals of magnolia underfoot, falling like a benediction . . . Gracielis shivered. The lieutenant's ghost drifted into his line of sight like a lure. He said, "There's no going back."

"There is going forward." Quenfrida reached out to stroke his chest with careful fingers. Under the sheet, her leg rubbed against his. The first tendrils of reborn desire stirred within him, confused with the remembered bell-song and the scent of her. She moved closer, lips finding the sensitive place on the side of his throat. Her perfumed hair tangled across his face and shoulders. He groaned; felt rather than heard her laughter. His arms slid about her, caressing. She lifted herself on an elbow and looked down at him, smiling. She said, "There is yet time."

Her touch traced delicious pathways over his skin. He shivered again, eyes closing. Through the veil of her hair, he said, "I . . . don't know."

She kissed him. It was very disturbing. "Think about it."

Shortly thereafter, thinking became well-nigh impossible.

Early the next morning, Joyain looked up at the facade of the Far Blays townhouse and sighed. If only he had managed to curb his irritation. If only he had not let his prolonged service to Kenan get to him so. One of these days he was going to learn the art of thinking before speaking and stop getting himself into these ridiculous situations.

One of these days. Always a.s.suming he got them. He gave his doublet a surrept.i.tious tug, straightened his collar, tweaked at his hat, and raised a hand to the door knocker. Then he dropped it again and said, "Should we use the side entrance?"

His companion, a lieutenant like himself, sighed in turn. "Don't be daft. Are we tradesmen?"

"No, but . . ."

"Don't be so bourgeois." Elbowing Joyain to one side, Leladrien DuResne rapped smartly on the door and waited.

It was opened remarkably promptly by a very pretty maid. Leladrien smiled at her. "Lieutenants Lievrier and DuResne to see Monseigneur de Sannazar."

They were neither of them in uniform. It had not seemed politic. The girl looked at them. "Is monseigneur expecting you?"

Joyain opened his mouth to explain. Leladrien glared at him and said, "Of course," in his best charming tone.

She did not look especially charmed. However, she unbent enough to open the door. "Come in, then, messieurs. I'll inquire."

The hall was wide and beautifully appointed. Sinking into a chair, Leladrien looked about in satisfaction and said, "Well, at least you'll be killed by an aristocrat with taste, Jean."

"Shut up," said Joyain.

"Even if his method of arranging duels is a bit irregular. Properly speaking, I should be calling on his second."