by Sharon Shinn
“Does it live up to its reputation for its other benefits?”
“It does. And then some.”
“Then perhaps I should import some for my shop.”
Seka Mardis laughed again, even more delighted. “My dear Leah, I will give you the name of a supplier!”
Leah laughed back. “I knew it would prove most beneficial to know you!”
“I feel the same way about you.”
“Though I don’t think I’ve done you any good so far,” Leah said somewhat ruefully. “Since you don’t like keerza and I don’t have any of that—what did you call it? Shilsy?—on hand.
“Tchiltsly,” Seka Mardis corrected. “And you don’t have to be of use to me. It will just be nice to have someone in Welce I can consider a friend.”
“Well, I’d be happy to be that person.”
“Although—” Seka Mardis said thoughtfully and then paused.
“Although what? Ask me.”
Seka Mardis eyed her uncertainly. “You’re a woman of the world, obviously, and more sophisticated than many of the people I’ve met in Welce, but even so, you might be shocked.”
Am I going to find out what they were doing in the slums two nights ago? Leah widened her eyes and tried to look both curious and nonjudgmental. “I suppose I might be, but I’ll try to remain open-minded,” she said.
“It is not illegal in the Karkades— Well, really, nothing is,” Seka Mardis said. “But I understand that everywhere else it is.”
“What is it?”
Seka Mardis dropped her voice. “Veneben.”
Leah pursed her lips so she looked surprised instead of disappointed. This wasn’t what Seka Mardis and her friends had been searching for southside. It was a very expensive hallucinogen with a high death rate for its addicts, and there was no possible way the half-dead girl in the streets had had any in her possession. In fact, it was the most predictable and the least interesting vice Seka Mardis could have claimed.
She’s gauging my reaction, Leah decided. She will start with small sins and work her way up.
“Not something I’ve ever tried myself,” Leah admitted. “But you want some?”
“I don’t. One of my—traveling companions. He’s become most distraught at being unable to secure any. And here in Welce, I don’t even know where to start looking.”
Leah nodded. “Give me a day or two. I have sources.” She shrugged. And they have sources. You know how these things go.
“He’ll pay anything,” Seka Mardis said.
“Good, because I believe it’s quite costly!”
The other woman studied her. “You’re not shocked?” she said tentatively.
“I don’t care what anyone else does as long as it doesn’t hurt me,” she said. Half true, anyway. And as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else. But she figured that coda was exactly the thing that would cause Seka Mardis to turn away and look for other friends.
For now, Seka Mardis seemed quite satisfied with the one she’d found so far. Her smile was wide and her eyes snapped with mischief. “He will be so pleased if I’m able to secure him a supply,” she said. “I will most definitely be his favorite for a while.”
Leah poured herself another cup of keerza. They had stood there talking so long that she wanted to suggest they pull up a couple of chairs, but then they couldn’t pretend that this was just a casual conversation. Leah found it slightly odd that none of the other visitors had wandered over to join the discussion, but maybe the whole thing had been orchestrated in advance. The three of you distract anyone else who might be in the shop so I can talk to Leah at length. The other Karkan still stood by the front door, looking both bored and unpleasant; the Soechins had moved from the hunti station to the torz station and were now examining the sweela goods. Leah was sure they had picked up and handled every single item in the store. She would be tempted to go back through and wipe everything off just because there was something so disquieting about their intensity.
Annova was up on the second floor again, but she’d been downstairs twice since the conversation with Seka Mardis began. Each time she came through the door she glanced once at Leah and once at Mally, making sure neither one needed her. Mally still appeared to be engrossed in the reifarjin, but Leah saw her body turn slightly so she could keep track of the Soechins. Leah was willing to bet that Mally found them unnerving, too, though she probably couldn’t articulate exactly how she felt. Annova was right to think she needed to watch over them all.
Leah sipped her keerza. “You will be his favorite for a while,” she repeated. “So you are traveling with a group and there is some—politicking going on among you all?”
Seka Mardis nodded. “That is exactly it. If I prove myself worthy on this trip, I could greatly enhance my position once we return to the Karkades. I am determined to do whatever I must.”
Leah nodded infinitesimally toward the door. “Are all your rivals men?”
“No,” Seka Mardis said, “but I do not fear any of the other women.”
Oh, it would be fascinating and frightening to someday learn exactly what Seka Mardis was capable of. Well, Leah already had a pretty good guess. Anything.
“I will help you as much as I can,” Leah said.
“Does Darien Serlast do the same thing?” Seka Mardis asked. “Play the members of his court, one against the other, giving and withdrawing his favor?”
It sounded so unlike Darien that Leah wanted to laugh, but instead she feigned a look of dissatisfaction. “He doesn’t favor anyone,” she said. “You can’t get close to him, you can’t tell if you’ve pleased him, you can’t figure out if he has a weakness. Good for him, I suppose, but very frustrating for the rest of us trying to figure out how to secure an advantage.”
“His daughter,” Seka Mardis suggested. “She might be a weakness.”
“Corene?” Leah said. “Not if you’ve ever met her.”
“Is that the older one? No, I meant the baby.”
“Celia,” Leah said. She nodded, but inwardly she felt a chill. “A weakness in what way?”
Seka Mardis waved a hand. “Oh, perhaps he indulges her. Showers her with gifts. He might favor someone who provided something special for his little girl.”
“Maybe,” Leah said, infusing heavy doubt in her voice. “But she’s so young. I wouldn’t even know what sorts of special things she might like.”
“Or he might be grateful for someone who made a remarkable effort to keep her safe,” Seka Mardis went on. “Who rescued her from danger—if danger somehow materialized.”
If you manufactured that danger? Leah wondered. It was an alarming thought. “Maybe,” she said again. “But the girl has guards around her night and day.”
“And, of course, even to gain advantage, one would never want to see a child put in a perilous situation,” Seka Mardis said lightly. Leah had the feeling that Seka Mardis didn’t actually believe that. She had to fight back a shiver.
“I’ll think about it some more,” Leah promised, “but right now I couldn’t name any weaknesses that Darien Serlast has.”
She was a little distracted as she spoke, because her eyes were on the Soechin men. They had completed their circuit of the perimeter of the shop and turned casually toward the middle, where Mally still stood beside the fishbowl. One of them sank gracefully to his knees to put his head on Mally’s level; one bent over to peer into her eyes. He lifted his hand as if to stroke her cheek, but never actually touched her. His face took on a beatific expression as his fingers hovered over her face, close enough to feel the heat of her skin through the inch of intervening air.
“Excuse me,” Leah said to Seka Mardis, and crossed the shop floor in four steps. She arrived just in time to hear one of the men ask, “What’s your name, then?” and Mally reply, “Odelia.”
The Soechins straightened at Leah’s app
roach, but still hovered uncomfortably close. Mally glanced up, her face pinched and worried, then she backed up against Leah’s legs, as if taking shelter from a frightening world. Leah rested her hands on the girl’s shoulders and smiled at them all with a wholly assumed cheerfulness.
“She’s teasing. Her name is Mally,” she told the men. “Sometimes she likes to pretend to be the youngest princess.”
“Who doesn’t like to pretend now and then?” one of the men said, smiling back. He watched Leah with a disconcerting intentness, focused on her mouth, as if imagining what it would be like to kiss it.
She strangled her unease and tried to make her voice friendly. “I’ve neglected the two of you ever since you set foot in the shop! Is there something you particularly like? Are there any questions I can answer?”
“We were just enjoying the many interesting items you have collected,” the other answered in a smooth voice. He was staring at Leah, too, though he focused on her eyes and never seemed to blink. Both of them leaned forward very slightly, as if they were cold and Leah and Mally were radiating heat. Leah thought their mere presence might be even more unnerving than Seka Mardis’s conversation.
“And admiring your young friend,” the other one replied.
Seka Mardis had sauntered over to join them. “She’s lovely,” she said.
“Thank you. We all think so.”
The Karkan at the front door raised his voice. “Seka. We need to be getting back. Have you gotten what you came for?”
I wonder what she came for? Leah thought, covering the thought by smiling at Seka Mardis. She didn’t lift her hands from Mally’s shoulders and Mally remained pressed against her as if unwilling to move even a step away. “We got so caught up in conversation that you had no time to shop!” she exclaimed. “Would you like to look around some more?”
“I would—but not today,” Seka Mardis said. She held her hand up, palm facing out, and gave Leah a saucy smile. “You must indulge me with the standard Karkan ritual of hello and farewell,” she said, “for I feel that we are well on our way to becoming friends.”
Leah lifted one hand from Mally’s shoulder and pressed her palm against Seka’s. She was not surprised to find Seka’s skin warm to the touch. “I hope so,” she said.
“I am sure of it,” Seka replied.
Another moment, another smile, and then the whole contingent was gone. Leah stepped away from Mally to lock the door behind them. “Well,” she said, “those were some very odd people.”
“I didn’t like them,” Mally said. “Not at all.”
“I didn’t, either.”
Annova was pushing through the stairwell door, her hands full of more Dhonshon scarves. “No, and neither did I,” she said. “I slipped out the back and alerted the guards that there could be trouble.”
“The guards?” Leah repeated. “Royal guards?”
Annova couldn’t discipline a smile. “They’ve been hovering nearby ever since the day that man came in and attacked you. You know Darien Serlast takes care of his own.”
“I suppose I should be indignant,” Leah said, “but I’m actually relieved.”
“So did you learn anything useful from our unlikable guests?” Annova asked.
“I’m not sure. But I think Seka Mardis wants me to be an informant for her. Tell her about the court. About how Darien functions. What his weaknesses are.”
Annova snorted. “He has none.”
Leah glanced at Mally, who seemed to have recovered her equanimity. She’d gone to the hunti table and started arranging the new items Annova had brought down. “Seka Mardis seemed to think his family members might be weaknesses,” she said softly.
Annova obviously reviewed the top candidates. Corene—out of reach. Zoe—untouchable. Celia— “Then you did learn something,” she said.
Leah nodded. “I need to talk to him. About a couple of things.”
“I’ll let him know.”
Leah felt suddenly exhausted. It had been a very long, very full couple of days. “I need a little more time to finish the accounts,” she said. “But you can leave if you want. Virrie should be here soon, then I’ll go home.”
“Is Chandran coming back tomorrow?” Annova asked.
Leah kept her voice level. “I assume so.”
“Then I’ll see you both in the morning.”
Virrie walked in just as Annova walked out. “Sorry I was gone so long. How was the rest of your day?”
“Odd,” Leah answered. “We had some visitors from Soeche-Tas and the Karkades. The Soechins were so strange.”
Mally spoke up from across the shop. “They touched everything. And they acted like they wanted to touch me, but Leah wouldn’t let them.”
So her protectiveness had been so obvious even a child had realized it. Well, good. “They were really disturbing,” Leah added.
“I completely agree. Every time I meet one of them, I feel like I need to take a hot bath afterward. Even Navarr Ardelay—Zoe’s father, you know, and a libertine who could put Nelson to shame—even he found them disgusting.” Virrie shook her head. “I’m not surprised they wanted to touch Mally. They seem to have a craving to be around youth. It’s quite unsettling.”
“I wonder how Darien can stand to be around them for so many meals and meetings,” Leah said. “I think I’d have a hard time choking down my food if they were sitting nearby.”
That made Virrie laugh. “But that reminds me!” she exclaimed. “Will you have dinner with us tomorrow night? No Soechins at the table, but Taro is coming to town and he’d like to see you. Josetta will be there as well.”
“I’d be happy to come. Why is Taro visiting?”
“He says he misses me, if you can believe that.”
Leah kissed her plump cheek. “I do believe it. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Excellent! Mally, grab your things, we’re going.”
A few minutes later, the shop was entirely empty. Leah finished adding up sales, then turned off the gaslight sign. She moved through the place one last time, making sure everything was in order for the morning. Then she stepped outside, locked the door, and started up the mostly deserted street. Chandran fell in step beside her. Even though she had been half-expecting him, she started slightly in surprise.
“There you are,” she said. “I hope you managed to entertain yourself all afternoon.”
“I did. I explored the Plaza of Men and met a young man who had sailed in from Malinqua yesterday and was trying to find buyers for some of his merchandise. I think you will like my purchases.”
“Excellent!”
“I can describe them to you over dinner if you would like to get something to eat.”
Because from now on we will only be alone together when we are in large public spaces. “Yes, I’m starving,” Leah said. “There was hardly any time to eat all day.”
“Ah, that is proof that you are working very hard.”
They wandered toward the Plaza of Women and found a small, crowded café with a single open table. Once they had placed their orders, Leah poured fruited water for both of them from a carafe on the table.
“So, tell me,” she said. “While you were living in the Karkades, did you ever try a delicacy called—I don’t think I’m pronouncing it right—shiltsy?”
“Tchiltsly,” he corrected, though Leah still didn’t think she’d ever manage all the consonants. “And I tried it,” he went on, “but it made me sick enough to vomit. So I never tried it again.”
“From the description,” she said, “I think that would be my reaction as well.”
He was watching her closely. “Who described it to you?”
“A Karkan woman who dropped by the shop this afternoon with some of her friends.” Leah sipped her water. “I was glad you’d stepped out. I was worried that one of your countrymen might
see you.”
“They are not my countrymen,” he said quietly. “I am Coziquela.”
“I’m sorry. I misspoke. But I still didn’t want them to see you.”
“So how did tchiltsly come up in the conversation?”
“I had served her keerza, which she didn’t like, but she seemed determined to keep trying it. She said she makes it a point of pride to overcome her aversion to certain kinds of food.”
“She has probably overcome aversions to more disgusting things than food.”
“Yes, I came to that conclusion as well.” Leah took another sip from her glass. “I wonder if you know her. She calls herself Seka Mardis.”
“There was a Mardis or two who enjoyed royal favor when I lived in the Karkades,” said Chandran. “I might have met her, but it was fifteen years ago.” He shrugged. “Doubtless she is like all the creatures at the Karkan court—ruthless, ambitious, and utterly without conscience.”
Leah propped her chin on her hand, regarding him for a long moment. “You hate them all so much, not just your wife,” she said slowly. “How did you endure the years that you lived in the Karkades?”
He spoke very deliberately. “As a man endures being flayed alive. In great agony and praying for death. I had almost determined to take my own life instead of hers.”
She caught her breath. “What stopped you?”
A faint, bitter smile twisted his lips. “Strangely, the very thing that made my wife so terrible. The Karkan philosophy. I realized I had not made my atonement—I had not done the one great deed that would erase all my sins. If I killed myself, that deficit would always stand.”
“Except for the murder of your wife,” Leah said softly, “what sins have you committed?”
His bitter smile deepened. “Mundane ones. When I was younger, I stole a sum of money from my father. That was one of the reasons he was so insistent that I marry—he wanted to cement the relationship with the Karkades, yes, but he also wanted me out of his sight for a while.”
“Then you have atoned for that sin,” Leah pointed out. “The marriage wiped that debt clean.”