He bent down to pick up the heavy saddle—staggered under its weight for a moment—and tried to put it on the zorel’s back.
The zorel promptly side-stepped, leaving the expensive saddle to fall on the ground again.
“Blast!” the Duke swore, his pale blue face going indigo with rage. “This is why I always have the groom saddle him!” he exclaimed to Ellilah.
“Let me talk to him,” she said, frowning at the zorel. “What’s his name, by the way?”
“Wind Chaser,” the Duke said stiffly, picking up the saddle again.
“All right. Now, Windy…” The little priestess began stroking the zorel’s long muzzle and speaking in low tones in his tufted ears.
The ears drooped at first and Roke would have sworn the beast looked ashamed of itself. After a moment, though, the tufted ears perked up. Its nostrils quivered and it gave a snort of steam and nodded its head.
“All right, try it now,” Ellilah said to the Duke. “Oh, and you’re putting it on backwards,” she added. “Turn it around.”
The Tenebrian Duke looked embarrassed as he put down the heavy saddle and picked it up again, the right way around this time. He managed to flop it onto the zorel’s broad back and this time Wind Chaser stood perfectly still for the operation.
“Good boy!” Ellilah exclaimed and Roke wasn’t sure if she was talking to the Duke or his animal. Both of them, however, reacted to her compliment in a positive manner. Wind Chaser blew steam and snorted softly and the Duke smiled and nodded his head.
“Now let me show you how to tighten the girth,” Ellilah said to the Duke. “You have to make sure it’s not too loose—you don’t want it to fall off. But at the same time you don’t want to make it so tight that it pinches your zorel.”
She spent several moments showing him, during which the formerly restive zorel held perfectly still.
“And that’s why it’s important to check the equipment yourself—even if you trust your groom,” she finished at last.
“I see.” The Duke was nodding and looking at the little priestess as though she was an amazing fountain of information.
Actually, she was, Roke thought. He had never seen such an impressive display of bravery and knowledge. He wondered why Ellilah was a priestess at all. Surely she would be happier training zorels than chanting meditations in the Sacred Grove all day. Well, maybe he could find out once the two of them got to know each other.
At last the Duke rode off—not without promising again to leave an invitation for the two of them at the gates of the palace—and the curvy little priestess turned to Roke with fire in her green eyes.
“All right,” she said tightly, crossing her arms over her breasts. “Who exactly are you and what are you doing here?”
Eleven
Elli crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at the big warrior. She’d never imagined she would see the mysterious male from the Christmas party again—the one she’d shamed herself with—the cause of all her trouble.
He looked just as she remembered him—wild black hair and dark eyes—broad shoulders and a muscular form which was emphasized by his tight black shirt and trousers and his long black boots. He was tall too—much taller than her. But she didn’t care that he could pick her up and break her like a toothpick—she was angry at what he’d put her through and she wasn’t afraid to let him know it.
“All right,” she said tightly. “Who exactly are you and what are you doing here?”
“My name is Roke and the Goddess sent me to you,” he answered, which made Elli stare at him even harder.
“How can I believe that?” she demanded. “After all the trouble you caused me! Do you know where I’m supposed to be right now? At the Priory of Extreme Atonement. The Ascending Priestess Superior wanted to send me there to be beaten for a solid hour every day and locked up in solitary confinement the rest of the time! And all because of you!”
He widened his eyes and she saw that they weren’t only dark—they were actually concentric rings of dark green and dark blue—like the forest meeting the ocean.
“Forgive me, little priestess,” he said, bowing to her. “You can chastise me all you want, but can we do it somewhere else instead of out here on the road?”
Looking around, Elli saw that he was right—they were still on the winding, cobblestone street in front of the stall selling bright red fruit. No one had bothered them while they dealt with the Tenebrian nobleman, but now that it was just her and the rather disreputable looking Kindred warrior—if he even was a Kindred—some of the shopkeepers and customers were beginning to shoot them dirty looks.
“Fine,” she said tightly. “Let me just get my case and we can talk somewhere else.”
But when she looked around, she saw that Tully and Looney and the cartful of thunder melons were all gone.
“Oh dear.” She frowned anxiously. “Where did they go?”
“Where did who go?” Roke asked.
“I was riding in a cart,” Elli explained. “And it had my case with my spare robe in it.”
She looked down at her once-white priestess garments, which were dirtier than ever after her encounter with the Duke and his zorel. Adding to the dust and thunder melon juice, Wind Chaser had drooled on her when she was hugging his huge head.
“I can’t possibly go to the palace like this!” she exclaimed.
“You won’t have to,” Roke told her. He started to take her by the shoulder but Elli shook him off.
“Don’t touch me!” she exclaimed, glaring up at him. “The last time you touched me you took advantage of me and made me shame myself! You ruined my life!”
“All right, all right…” The big warrior held up both hands in a gesture of truce. “I swear I won’t ever touch you again unless you ask me to, little priestess,” he rumbled. “But in the meantime, come with me and tell me why you want so badly to get into the Tenebrian palace.”
“Well…” Elli bit her lip uncertainly.
“You might as well tell me,” Roke said, frowning. “I’ll need to know since I’m coming in with you.”
“What I’d like to know is exactly why you invited yourself along on my quest,” Elli snapped at him.
He scowled.
“Because there’s no way in all the Seven Hells I’m letting you go into that place alone, little priestess. It’s not safe.”
Elli’s stomach squeezed into a nervous fist.
“Why? What do you know about it?” she demanded.
“Tell me why you want to go and I’ll tell you what I know,” he countered. “But first, come with me to the Garment District.” He beckoned for her but Elli held her ground.
“Why the Garment District?” she asked, frowning.
“So I can buy you a new dress, of course,” he said, sounding exasperated. “As you said, you can’t go to the Tenebrian palace looking like that.” And he pointed at her stained robes.
“All right.” Elli felt her cheeks getting hot. “I’ll go with you as long as you don’t touch me.”
“I already promised I wouldn’t, didn’t I?” he growled. “Look, I’m not here to molest you, Ellilah—I’m here to protect you.”
“Who said I needed protection?” she demanded.
“The Goddess, when she sent me,” Roke said shortly. “Now come on.”
He turned and headed up the street and—after a silent moment of internal struggle—Elli followed him.
Twelve
Don’t trust him—why are you even going with him? whispered a doubtful little voice in Elli’s head.
Elli didn’t know the answer to that herself. But somehow she felt like she had no choice, so she followed the big warrior as he walked up the cobblestone streets of Capital City.
They left the Greengrocer District behind and entered the Garment District, just as he had said. There were fancy clothes hanging out in front of some of the shops and working clothes hanging out in front of others. But just as Elli was eyeing a silvery-blue gown with tiny y
ellow flowers sewn all over it, they came to a stop in front of a small café instead.
“What are we doing here?” Elli asked as Roke walked inside and took a seat at a small table in the corner.
“Getting some lunch.” He crossed his long legs with their tall black boots at the ankles and invited Elli to sit in the chair across from him with a wave of his hand.
“I’m not hungry,” she said sullenly but then her stomach growled, giving lie to her words. It had been some time since the thunder melon, which never really filled you up anyway, but just sort of melted away after you ate it.
“Oh!” Elli put a hand to her stomach, mortified, but the big warrior only laughed.
“Sit down,” he said. “Let’s have something to eat and get to know each other—since it seems we’re partners now.”
“You are not my partner,” Elli said firmly, though she did take the seat across from him.
“Until you’re out of danger, yes I am,” he said grimly. “I’ve been an agnostic all my life but the minute the Goddess spoke to me, I knew she was real—and not someone to disobey. So I’m going with you into that fucking Tenebrian palace, even though I don’t have any idea why you’d want to go to such a place.”
“I’m on a quest,” Elli said, lifting her chin. “To get a piece of the Healing Lattice to save the Descending Priestess Superior, who is dying.”
Roke nodded thoughtfully.
“A noble cause. And who sent you on this quest?”
“I sent myself,” Elli admitted. “But I believe it is the will of the Goddess. She sent me a way to get away from the Priory of Extreme Atonement. And she sent me a way into the palace,” she added, brightening at the thought.
It hadn’t really occurred to her until that moment, but meeting the Duke and his zorel had worked out perfectly for her. The Goddess really must be blessing her quest to save the old Priestess Superior!
“And she sent me to protect you,” Roke said dryly. “She was fucking relentless about it.”
“What do you mean, ‘relentless’?” Elli asked, frowning.
“Well, first I’ve dreamed of you every damn night since that human Christmas party,” he growled. He must have seen Elli’s eyes widen because he raised a hand. “Don’t worry—it wasn’t any form of Dream Sharing. I’m half Havoc and we don’t Dream Share or bond with females.”
“Well somebody in your family must have broken that rule,” Elli pointed out. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be only half Havoc.”
The Havoc were a branch of the Kindred tree which had been created by a Kindred scientist who had been left by the female he loved. Heartbroken, he had set out to genetically engineer a race with the intelligence, strength, size, and musculature of the Kindred, without their need to find and bond with a mate. The Havocs’ motto was, “We do not Bond.”
But clearly someone in Roke’s immediate family tree had disregarded that motto. The scowl on the big warrior’s face was a clear indication that she was right.
“My mother was Kindred and my Sire was Havoc,” he admitted. “And yes, he bonded with her—against his own Sire’s wishes. And then, when I was only ten cycles old, she died—leaving both of us desolate.” He frowned and looked down at his large hands, clasped on the small table. “So you don’t need to fear that I’m looking to mate or bond you, little priestess. I’m only here because the Goddess sent me—and to make up for ruining your life,” he added, looking up. “I truly am sorry about that—I didn’t think a few kisses would do you so much harm.”
“A few kisses!” Elli exclaimed.
Her raised voice drew the attention of several well-dressed women in the corner, who looked down their noses at her. Taking a deep breath, Elli tried again in a lower tone.
“It was more than a few kisses and you know it,” she murmured, glaring at the big warrior. “You…you touched me! Worse, you made me want your touch.”
“Yes, you were quite eager as I recall,” he drawled, raising his eyebrows at her.
“Because you drugged me!” Elli snapped. “I would never have…have acted that way otherwise!”
He grew suddenly sober.
“Forgive me. I had no idea that the drug I put in the punch would be so strong or the effects so immediate.”
“Why did you drug the punch, anyway?” Elli demanded. “On the Mother Ship they think it was some kind of espionage plot.”
Roke snorted.
“Nothing of the kind. It was a lovesick young warrior who approached me. He said he was in love with one of the human females but she wouldn’t give him the time of day. He’d gotten a potion he’d been told was sure to make her fall madly and desperately in love with him and he was willing to pay a premium price for me to slip it into the punch.”
“And you agreed?” Elli couldn’t believe the irresponsibility of his act. “Why, there could have been anything in there! It could have been poison!”
He frowned. “I’m not a fool—I had it analyzed first to be sure there were no poisonous compounds in it. The chemist I brought it to said it would cause intense desire in females but nothing else.”
“Did you know that it also caused guilt and shame and depression after the initial desire wore off?” Elli demanded. “And did you have any idea what it would do to me to break my vows of chastity? Did you even care?”
Roke looked startled.
“No—nothing was said about any after-effects. And it’s not like we actually made love, so you didn’t truly break your vows.”
“I broke them the moment I let lust into my heart,” Elli said, repeating what the Ascending Priestess Superior had told her. “If you had…had touched and kissed me against my will, I would have remained chaste.” She felt her cheeks heating as she spoke but she pushed on. “But that filthy drug you put in the punch and then made me drink, it made me want what you did. It made me beg you to…to…”
She broke off, unable to go on for the crushing weight of shame that had fallen on her shoulders.
“Gods…” Roke’s face was ashen and his deep voice was quiet. “I had no idea, Ellilah. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s too late for ‘sorry’ now.” Elli lifted her chin and swiped at the hot tears of shame which had come to her eyes. She sniffed, attempting to regain her calm. “Now I’m on a quest. And maybe—just maybe—if I fulfill it, the Goddess can forgive me and I’ll be allowed to go back to the Sacred Grove and drink of the cup of Mortem Amore, to cool all the wrong thoughts and desires forever.”
Roke frowned.
“But why would you want to go back to being a priestess? I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but you seem a lot happier when you’re working with zorels. You seem more…in your element. More at home.”
“Well, this is my home—sort of,” Elli said. “I come from Torl Prime and Pok is its second moon. So most of the people here come from my home world. Well, other than the Tenebrians.”
At that moment, a plump waitress with rosy cheeks came up and asked for their order.
Roke made an expansive gesture to Elli.
“The lady will be ordering for both of us,” he said. “She knows the local cuisine much better than I do.”
Elli was surprised but pleased.
“Do you have honey cakes?” she asked the waitress, who nodded. “And teezle berry sparkle?”
“Don’t have no teezle berry at the moment but we’ve got roozle sparkle,” the girl offered.
“That sounds nice.” Elli nodded. “Two plates of honey cakes with lots of gorze-nut chutney and two glasses of roozle sparkle, please.”
“Right away,” the girl said and bustled away to the kitchen.
“Whatever it is that you ordered, it sounds delicious,” Roke remarked, one corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile.
“I hope so.” Elli sighed. “It was always my favorite food down on Torl Prime. I hope they do it right here.” She licked her lips in anticipation. “It will be good to eat something besides plain laba wafers and ualla bread soup.”
Roke frowned.
“Is that all you get to eat aboard the Mother Ship? It doesn’t sound very good.”
“It’s not,” Elli admitted reluctantly. “That’s one of the reasons I snuck out to see the humans’ Christmas party that night. I wanted to try something new and I’d heard they had all kinds of strange and delicious holiday foods.”
“And did they?” He raised his eyebrows. “Besides the punch, I mean?”
“Oh, yes! Didn’t you see? They had these thin cookies with different colored sugars and icings on them,” Elli said eagerly. “They were delicious.” She sighed. “The humans have so many fun holiday customs. They also give each other gifts wrapped in brightly colored paper and they decorate a tree with strings of lights and sing special songs.” She shook her head. “I just wanted to join in the fun for once, instead of staying locked away in the Sacred Grove, that’s all.”
“The human Christmas traditions do sound like fun,” Roke said quietly. “I’m sorry you got more than you bargained for, little priestess. But it still sounds to me like you’d be happier training zorels than chanting meditations in the Sacred Grove all day.”
Elli sighed.
“I always thought I would be a zorel trainer—though it’s not considered a proper occupation for a lady. But my mother died when I was born and so I had only my father and my four brothers to raise me. My grandmother came to visit occasionally but mostly it was just me and five males. And since we run a zorel training ranch, well…it just sort of came to me naturally.”
“It certainly does.” Roke gave her an admiring look that made her blush. “I’ve never seen anyone handle a beast the way you did back there on the street. Fucking amazing.”
Elli’s cheeks got even hotter but she tried to shrug off the praise.
“It’s just in my blood, that’s all,” she said. “I’ve just always had an affinity with zorels. My father tells a story about how when I was a baby, just learning to walk, I toddled out of the open door of the house and disappeared and they found me in the stalls, right between the foreclaws of Killer—one of the biggest bucks on record. They were scared to death that he’d steam me or claw me to death.”
The Priestess and the Thief: Kindred Tales 30 Page 6