Heir of Beasts

Ch. 2.5- Wild and Wicked

"You don't have to go to Alu Oshana," Sholu tells me for the fiftieth time. "Jana Semiroth says he won't work with two women he doesn't trust. If we exclude Kildir Abethibana and the Azrakali noraya entirely, we can satisfy his condition without you having to wage polite war in a distant city."

"They control Jemina, Sholu. Do you really want to try to move food through Brekkah and Yukkaita without access to their port and roads? It'll add a week of travel and cost far too much."

"We can make it work somehow," he insists. "Jana Semiroth is-"

"Not the first nordeme I've dealt with," I remind him, rolling my eyes. "If I can survive your bullshit, Sholu Verlaina, I can survive his."

"I hope you handle him differently than you handled me last week," he muses with a conspiratorial smile, "unless you let me watch, that is."

"Maybe I will," I challenge. "We're to feed Shikkah together, after all, so perhaps I should let him feed me his cock."

Sholu snorts, not the least bit provoked. "We both know you'd bite it off, Amiidizsa. And if you didn't, his wife would. Now, what's her name?" he quizzes me with bright eyes. "Both her maiden and married names."

I roll my eyes again. "We've been playing Chalnori trivia for a week, Sholu. I know the name of his wife, his consort, his son, and his closest advisors. I know the layout of the city and every entrance and exit point. I know how their guards are stationed, their preferred weapons and fighting style, and I know to stay behind my own guards if it comes to blows. I'm leaving now, and you won't try to stop me if you know what's good for you."

He pulls me in for a fierce kiss, and I can't help the warmth that unfurls low in my belly at the possessive touch. I hate him, I tell myself, but I like that he'll miss me when I'm gone. I let my arms wrap around him, pulling him closer and kissing him back with desperate need because the vasayaste are watching and I'm supposed to love him. This is a sad, sad parting. We're heartbroken. He'll pine for me.

Actually, I think he might. I think I'm that far under his skin. I don't know how to feel about the surge of power that thought fills me with. So I just swing myself up onto the back of my sevve. The desert horse is small and sturdy, her coat a mottled white, her mane dark and braided with golden beads. She won't move particularly fast, but she also won't break her leg riding through the desert sands, so I don't mind. When Sholu moves closer to me, my sevve, who I'm told is called Hallah, snorts in mild distress. I decide then and there that I like the creature plenty.

They all expected me to ride in a carriage, of course, and it would definitely be more comfortable. It would also be a slow, obvious target for any thieves or enemies who see our small party and decide to attack. I let Dakara Reis have the carriage all to herself, then, and smile at the thought of her being set upon by bandits.

Dakara is pleased with the prospect of travelling to Alu Oshana. She sees herself as our escort and guide and preens with importance. I half expect her to start narrating the journey to us to keep herself the center of attention. And here you have a sand dune, and oh look, another one behind it. To your left, there's a large, flat rock, and atop it, a spikey lizard.

I ride with Roze to my left and Kaza O'utena to my right. Manit rides in front. The rest of the guards- all highly trained, all completely loyal, I'm assured- fan out around us, scanning the endless sand for potential danger. The good news is there's almost nowhere for an enemy to hide, so we can't be ambushed easily, if at all. The bad news is that barrenness makes for a monotonous landscape with no shade and few places to rest.

The sun is unrelenting, and I sweat through my silk travelling clothes by the afternoon. We're following the River Imer until we reach Samodev, at least, so we stop periodically to submerge ourselves in the water and cool down. The wet fabric attracts sand and chafes against my skin as we ride, but it keeps me cool, so I don't complain.