“What does it matter how it looks? You have your Spur back. You had no part in the ruse. Let’s be honest, my Zar, the city folk of Percheron will care only that he lives. They will welcome the opportunity to celebrate his return.”
“That’s right,” Boaz agreed, thinking it through. “We are innocent in this. We believed what we were told by someone we thought we could trust. And a crime was still perpetrated against Lazar, and someone took responsibility for it.”
“Whether he was guilty or not,” Pez finished the unspoken words that Boaz could not.
The Zar continued, ignoring the interruption and the pain its words provoked. “The Crown has nothing to feel guilty about.”
“Nothing at all, Majesty. Just welcome your Spur back with open arms.”
Boaz nodded. “How can I ensure that this is kept secret for now?”
“Why would you want it to be kept quiet?”
“Just for now. I would like to speak with Lazar before his return becomes public knowledge.”
“I can’t wait to see Salmeo’s face when he claps eyes on Lazar,” Pez said knowingly.
“My mother’s face is going to be a picture, too,” Boaz offered sourly.
“I shall go, Highness,” Pez said.
“To Lazar?”
At the dwarf ’s nod, Boaz instructed, “Tell him to come in the early hours, and hooded. Tell him to bring this.” He bent over a piece of parchment and quickly dribbled some green wax on it from a special candle that burned only in his own rooms. Then, using the great seal he wore around his neck on a beautifully wrought chain, he imprinted his personal mark in the soft wax. “This will gain him instant access to the palace. I will send one of my mutes to escort him. He is not to be recognized.”
“Why the early hour?”
“I have a meeting with Ana.”
Pez nodded knowingly and then muttered a phrase in a language the Zar did not recognize. At Boaz’s questioning look, the dwarf smiled sadly. “Roughly translated it means ‘take a wife tonight.’”
The Zar looked suddenly coy. “It is my intention.”
“That is good. I go now,” Pez said hurriedly. “I’m glad we’re friends again, Boaz.”
Boaz grinned wryly at him. “Of course, no one but yourself and myself will celebrate.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Pez replied. “I shall return,” he added, leaving the Zar’s chambers in a series of somersaults, before cavorting down the hallway.
“Ah, and so the world rights itself,” Bin said wearily, no doubt more to himself than anyone else, for he had only mutes for company.
PEZ FLEW SILENTLY THROUGH the warm air, his spirits feeling lighter for having restored the balance of friendship between himself and Boaz. He had begun to worry about being alienated in the palace. It had occurred to him that Boaz, in his anger—if it persisted, and Boaz could always be so single-minded—might even ban him from being able to roam wherever he wanted.
He scanned the bay from his high vantage, hoping to see Lazar being rowed back to the mainland—although he suspected Lazar would doggedly row himself back. There was little movement on the water this night, though. His gaze alighting on Beloch, he scrutinized the giant. It was not Pez’s imagination; distinct cracks had appeared up and down the stone of the giant’s body. From afar, as most people viewed them, they were noticeable, although not especially eye-catching. But close up the cracks looked serious—it was as if Beloch were simply falling apart, crumbling to the floor. Pez couldn’t shake the notion that the giant was not dying but being reborn.
“Are you, Beloch? Are you rising, as I have and Lyana must, to fight the coming battle?”
If he expected an answer, he didn’t get one. The only sound was the distant rumble of the city and the lapping of the water around Beloch’s feet. Not even the lonely cry of a seabird broke the silence, and the ships were still, anchored for the night. Lazar was not here, not yet anyway.
Pez sighed and in his owl guise turned to face Star Island. He felt he should go there and catch the former Spur before he left. His gaze was distracted momentarily, from the dark mound in the distance where a few torches burned to guide any night travelers to an unfamiliar shadow on the Sea Temple. It instantly struck him as odd that the new spire, which a donation from Boaz had paid for, looked misshapen. He concentrated, and as his sharp owl eyesight focused carefully, any lightness of heart, however vague fled in that instant of anguish. And with a heart growing heavier by the second, he found the courage to lift from Beloch’s head and fly straight toward certain despair.
ANA AND KETT STOOD in Salmeo’s salon, trembling with fear in the warm night air. The Grand Master Eunuch and the Valide hadn’t allowed Kett to finish dressing, so he remained half naked. Thrown at Ana’s feet was her pale blue First Virgin outfit, stained and torn. Her jewelery was laid at Kett’s feet, a chilling glimpse of what the Grand Master Eunuch planned to accuse him of.
Ana was in a state of deep shock. That she was destined to die was obvious, and in her mind her life was not worth fretting over—other than to hope it was quick, for the notion of prolonged suffering made her fearful. But Kett was a different matter altogether. Kett, her friend who had risked so much—he would die, too, and she was sure that Salmeo and Herezah would show no mercy and not permit his end to be anything but truly ghoulish.
She was ashamed of herself for being so gullible. From the moment she had seen Salmeo licking his lips in that doorway of the bazaar, she had understood with a vicious clarity that she had never escaped at all. For all her ingenuity and daring, she had been permitted to leave the harem; it was another of Salmeo’s and no doubt Herezah’s cunning manipulations. They had wanted her to try another escape and so they had done everything they could to encourage her in this attempt.
She went over it in her mind now. The supposedly surprise trip to the bazaar had given Herezah the perfect opportunity to initiate the carefully, almost beautifully constructed conversation that had pushed Ana into making a rash decision. And then, of course, Salmeo’s revolting touch. She felt sure when Sascha’s turn came—as beautiful as the girl was—Salmeo would break her hymen swiftly and coolly. He had lingered with Ana, aroused her, and driven her into such a state of revulsion and passion that she would do anything to distance herself from his repulsive being…even attempt escape. She let out a laugh, although it came out as a dry sob; Salmeo had even urged Kett on his errand to the market—it had all been so deliberately and exquisitely constructed. Salmeo and Herezah had known everything she and Kett would do before they had even attempted it. How naive they had been to think they could fool the palace’s most cruelly manipulative pair with their pathetic escapade.
Even the Elim, she realized now, had been specifically ordered to stand outside the divan suite so that she could feel safe in making her escape attempt. How stupid she had been not to ignore the nagging voice inside. It had been trying to tell her that the Elim never left the girls entirely alone or unsupervised. That ruse alone should have set off every alarm in her head.
Ana now realized that the whole business of the bundle women and the treat for the girls had been a sham, too. Salmeo had set it up to make it as easy as possible for Ana to make this audacious attempt—just so that he could entrap her. How low would the Valide and Grand Master Eunuch stoop to ensure that she never got close to Boaz? She smirked inwardly with wry pity for herself—they wanted nothing less than her execution and she had blindly walked down their pathway as purposefully as if they had put a ring through her nose and led her by a rope as one would a dull beast. Salmeo had probably planted the idea of escape in Kett’s head. She felt ill inside thinking how excited he had been to tell her of the brave odalisque who had risked everything to escape the prison of the harem and had succeeded by hiding herself in one of the bundles. She had believed it because she wanted to, because she was so desperate to get away from Salmeo and the threat of Boaz’s bed. And she had acted as only a fool would.
“Kneel in the pre
sence of your Zar, slut!” Herezah commanded, and Ana was dragged from her miserable thoughts to realize that Boaz, flanked by Salazin, had entered, his face a mask of misery.
The Elim pushed her to her knees, although she needed no help. She was ready to collapse from shame and despair at her own stupidity.
A terrible silence descended.
“Tell me,” she heard the Zar say.
She heard the rustle of silk as Salmeo bowed and began constructing his sordid story.
“Odalisque Ana had been prepared for you, my Zar, as you requested this morning. We had seen to it that she enjoyed a special day that marked her new status as First Chosen Virgin. In fact, the Valide took her alone, save a few Elim, into the grand bazaar to personally select her jewelery and other accoutrements for the occasion. It was a high honor given to one so young.”
Ana heard Boaz sigh. Perhaps he, too, had already accepted the fact that Salmeo’s truth would be spun with dark threads of lies.
The Zar addressed them. “Ana, Kett, you may remain kneeling, but I would prefer you faced your accusers.”
Ana reluctantly lifted her head, although she could not bring herself to meet the Zar’s pained gaze.
Salmeo continued: “Odalisque Ana was told that you had made your choice and had given your command concerning her. She was prepared in the ritual fashion, Majesty—”
“Which you no doubt played your critical part in, Grand Master Salmeo?”
“Of course, Highness. That is one of my duties,” the eunuch said with no aggression. His voice was gentle, his lisp pronounced. And now, as he began to wave his arms, warming to the tale, the fragrance of violets assaulted Ana. “The Valide granted the odalisques a special treat in the shape of a visit from the bundle women. In fact—”
“Why?” Boaz asked, turning to his mother. “The girls had already enjoyed a long day on the water. Why was more of a treat necessary?”
“My Zar, I did not realize one could ever have too many treats,” Herezah replied, lacing her tone with hurt indignation. “I grew up in the harem. I know how few and far between the moments of fun can be. I was hoping, as Valide, to change that for your odalisques. They are still so young. I may be old, but I am not so old that I can’t recall the dullness forced on youth in this place. Perhaps wrongly, I thought if I personally gave them a special treat, it might encourage the younger ones to feel less daunted by me.”
Ana watched Herezah finish her explanation with a plaintive shrug. The Valide was a true master of role playing; she ought to be admired for her chameleonlike ability to be anything to anyone that she chose to be. Ana despised her.
“I see,” Boaz said noncommittally, although Ana sensed he saw straight through the veneer of his mother’s tale. “Continue,” he said to Salmeo.
“Well, Majesty, we allowed Ana to enjoy some time with the other odalisques. She had, after all, missed out on the boating trip with her Zar and so we decided to let her share the treat of the bundle women.”
“That’s very generous of you, Grand Master Eunuch,” Boaz said. “Ana, did you select anything from all the wares on offer?”
Ana was forced to confront Boaz’s pained expression and was about to shake her head when she remembered the bean. Truth was best. “Yes, Zar Boaz. At Grand Master Salmeo’s insistence I felt obliged to accept this.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out the tiny bean of elephants. She uncapped it and tipped the contents into her palm. “They are ivory, Majesty.”
“How intriguing,” Boaz said, leaning down to stare at them with fascination. She could smell his freshly bathed hair. Bathed for her. “And you say the chief eunuch encouraged you?”
She nodded. “There is nothing I want for, Majesty—”
“Except your freedom, obviously,” he replied sharply.
Ana felt the stab of guilt but he was right—she could hardly deny it. “Yes, Highness. I have made a habit of proving that, haven’t I?” She caught the look of anger from her accusers at her familiarity with him but ignored it. “I have no defense, Highness. An opportunity presented itself and I took it.”
“May I?” Salmeo cut in.
Boaz nodded, his expression unhappy.
“My Zar, this is not a simple case of Odalisque Ana seizing a rare chance for freedom. I think a year ago we were able to make that argument on her behalf because of her age, her newness to the palace, and, through my fault, genuine opportunity that was taken on the whim of a moment.”
“And this time?” the Zar queried.
“Well, this time it was premeditated, my Zar,” Salmeo exclaimed, his voice filled with well-practiced indignation. “Odalisque Ana could not have escaped the palace without carefully setting up her plan first. She and the eunuch, Kett, were in this together from the start. They had ample chance during the whole of today in each other’s almost exclusive company to hatch and test their plan. Forgive me my directness, Highness, but there was absolutely nothing spontaneous this time about Odalisque Ana’s decision.”
“And why would Kett aid Odalisque Ana? Do you see it as revenge for the justice meted out to him for his error more than a year ago?”
At Boaz’s question Ana could see see Herezah’s shoulders relax and Salmeo’s eyelids narrow a fraction and she knew the Zar had walked into a trap. Glancing at Kett, she saw him slump still further and she closed her eyes in resignation.
“Kett is an enigma, my Zar,” Salmeo began, his voice soft, almost tender now. “He has loved Odalisque Ana since the day he saw her naked and frightened in the Choosing Room. They shared a deeply emotional experience when he was cut, Majesty, and from there on, I think, in Kett’s disturbed, fevered mind he and she were meant to be together. I think he now believes, in his twisted logic, that he’s in love with one of your prized women, my Zar.”
“That’s a lie!” Ana yelled, disgusted by both the inflammatory words and how well Salmeo was playing the situation to provoke the Zar.
Herezah gasped and Salmeo pursed his fat lips. Both looked to Boaz to censure her.
Boaz did not like what he was hearing, as was clear from his darkened expression. “Ana, let the Grand Master Eunuch finish. You will have your chance to speak, for this is the most serious of accusations. Continue,” he ordered Salmeo.
“I was going to say, my Zar, that no man would risk so much for a woman unless he had a special devotion to her. We found all of Ana’s precious jewels with his belongings, but I don’t believe Kett did this for wealth. He could hardly sell any of these jewels locally. No, Highness, Kett had more ‘spiritual’ reasons, you could say, for aiding Odalisque Ana in her misguided plan.”
Ana opened her mouth to protest and shut it again at Boaz’s glare.
“Finish your sorry tale, Grand Master Eunuch. I find it distressing to drag it out any longer.”
Salmeo bowed his head. “Of course, Highness. We found the pair of them in a grubby backstreet of the bazaar in what could only be described as a…well, shall we say, regrettable position.”
“Be specific, Salmeo. I want all the facts, not innuendo.”
“As you wish, Highness. Odalisque Ana was discovered unveiled, her palace clothes thrown behind an olive jar, whilst her companion was all but naked. This in itself is a damning set of circumstances that demands the most stringent of punishments, Majesty. However, that is not the full extent of your odalisque’s treachery. She was also found in the arms of her eunuch companion, their lips in warm embrace.”
Boaz shot Ana a glare of such rage, she had no doubt that he was ready to pronounce the death sentence.
“I’m sorry, son,” Herezah said softly from the background. “She is a vixen and a user of men.”
Boaz did not reply to his mother. Instead his blistering gaze was fixed on Ana. “It is your turn, Ana. Can you refute any of what is leveled against you?”
Ana knew it was hopeless. Boaz’s eyes were glazed with jealousy. She doubted he would see much reason now that Salmeo had primed him so skillfully. Furthermore, Boaz could
not, would not, overturn certain fundamental harem rules. She had been caught with another man—she had for all intents and purposes cuckolded the Zar. Her next decision was made to deliberately inflame her accusers still further. She had nothing to lose and only pleasure to gain from watching Herezah’s gathering fury as she switched into the Galinsean language. “I prefer not to debase myself further with trying to justify my actions, which Grand Master Salmeo has related with such creative embellishments, Zar Boaz. May I suggest you do the honorable thing by your crown, Majesty. Although I beg you to spare Kett. He is an innocent and was driven by a desire to serve, Highness, which I would imagine you might consider an attribute in any slave.”
Herezah’s expression of deep hatred seared Ana as effectively as if she had thrown a lamp of burning oil at her. Salmeo simply looked amused by her eloquent soliloquy, even though he had understood not a word. The Zar blinked several times as he first struggled to understand and then digest her cutting words.
“You wish to die?” he asked, aghast
Again she replied in Galinsean. “It is where this is all headed, Zar Boaz. It would be naive for us to think otherwise. Let us make it easier for everyone and prevent a late night of recriminations and tears.” She switched back agilely to Percherese. “I am guilty, yes. I have made my second attempt at escape from the harem and I fully understood the consequences when I made that decision. My only regret is that I roped an innocent into my plan. I will add that I did not kiss Kett out of lust, as suggested, but purely in thanks for his unselfish risk taking.”
“Zar Boaz, this is all very noble,” Herezah cut in, exasperated. “The fact of the matter is, an odalisque has been found unveiled in the presence of a man—a half-naked man at that. In this there is no argument.”
“If you can call Kett a man, Highness,” Ana said calmly. “The harem took that status away from him in all but title.”
“We had no choice, Highness,” Salmeo lisped. “Kett broke a sacred rule. And now he has done it again. I cannot see why any mercy should—or indeed can—be shown to a person who has already been given a second chance for redemption. He has snubbed that opportunity.”
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