Blade had removed the sun screen, for he knew that in the tavern's dimness his eyes would appear dark, reflecting their surroundings. Judging by his garb, the sly looking man was a trader of mediocre success, his wealth displayed as thick gold earrings and chains around his neck, as well as his rich velvet robe. He leant across the table, inviting the assassin to do the same with a meaningful look. When he did not, the trader addressed him in a conspiratorial tone.
"Your woman looks young, friend. Any thoughts of trading her?"
Blade kept his face impassive. "No. And I'm not your friend."
The man raised his hands. "No need to be touchy. I have a string of excellent horses with me, and I'll trade you three of the finest for her, if she's pretty."
"She's ugly."
The man shot Kerra a measuring glance. "You don't look like the sort of man who keeps ugly women."
"How would you know what I like? Ugly ones are cheaper, and they're all the same in the dark."
The stranger chuckled. "True. But some lords like to collect the pretty ones. I'm offering you a good trade. Let me see..." His hand flashed out and whipped up Kerra's veil, and his eyes widened. "Very nice. I'll offer you four of my best horses."
Blade frowned at the man's rudeness. "I'm not interested."
"Come now, you could buy two good concubines for that, and as you say, they're all the same in the dark. Why do you refuse?"
"She's carrying my child."
"Ah." The Cotti's face fell. "Of course, that explains your reluctance."
"Refusal."
"Well, I'm sure you have many children, as a man of your years and breeding should. I could arrange to have the child sent to you after it's born, if it's a boy."
Blade leant closer. "Do you have a hearing problem? Or don't you understand the word 'no'?"
"I'm making a generous offer..."
"I don't care."
The man sighed and raised his hands, casting a sorrowful glance at Kerra. "Very well, as you wish. Good day to you."
Blade watched him leave the taproom, frowning. The trader did not strike him as the sort to give up so easily. He had a dishonest look about him. The assassin did not trust people at the best of times, but the sly looking man made him even more suspicious than most. Finishing his wine in a gulp, he sought out the proprietor and asked for their meals to be sent to their room, then led Kerra upstairs. She turned to him as soon as he closed the door, shed the veil and headscarf and threw them on the bed.
"What a hateful man! How dare he offer to buy me? As if I was an animal!"
Blade pulled off his jelabah and moved towards his bed. Since Kerra was no longer disguised as his apprentice, he had hired a room with two beds, much to her delight. "That's how it works in Cotti. I told you."
"I wanted to slap the smug little bastard! My father would have him tortured to death!"
"Probably. But all Kerrion's good intentions have made little difference in Cotti society. His outlawing of slavery helped a few Jashimari men return home, but the women are still here, hidden." He sank down on the bed. "We will stay in the room tonight, and tomorrow we leave."
She shot him an incredulous look. "You think he will try to steal me?"
"It's highly likely."
"Even though he thinks that I am carrying your child."
Blade nodded. "There are ways of getting rid of unwanted children."
"That is horrible!"
"Then he'll get a healer to make you a virgin again."
"But I am a..." Kerra shuddered and turned away. "I do not want to know how they do that."
"Quite easily, I assure you."
"But you will not let them take me, will you?"
He smiled. "I'll do my best."
"I find that reassuring." She faced him, a soft smile curling her lips. "No one could defeat you, could they?"
The assassin laughed. "I have been beaten on a number of occasions. Don't get any ideas that I'm invincible."
"Armin did, but he had a lot of men."
"Indeed."
"And my father, but again, you were outnumbered."
He smiled. "Sort of. I was also beaten to a pulp in an alley one night, by a few men with cudgels."
"You were drunk."
"Ah, Chiana told you about that. What about the time I was captured by a bunch of thugs and held prisoner?"
"You were taken by surprise."
He inclined his head. "And I could be again. Just as I could be outnumbered, or shot in the back with a crossbow."
"What are you trying to say?"
"That you should not think me invincible, because I'm not."
She frowned, coming closer to stand before him. "And what should I do if that happens?"
"That is a tricky question. Nowhere is safe for a woman alone in Cotti. Probably the best thing would be to tell them who you are, and hope that they ransom you to your father. At least that way you will not end up in some lord's harem."
Kerra nodded, looking doubtful, then picked up her veil as a knock on the door heralded their meal. After they had eaten a rather spicy chicken dish, Blade stretched out on his bed and closed his eyes, foiling the young queen's desire for more conversation. She curled up on her bed, tossing and turning for a while before sleep claimed her.
The soft click of the door latch being lifted woke Blade, who rolled off his bed as it was flung open, dropping to the floor on the far side. Five men entered the dark room in a rush, relying on surprise rather than stealth. Two headed for Kerra's bed, three charged over to his. A cudgel struck his pillow hard enough to splatter his brains, had his head still been there.
Kerra screamed as she was dragged from her bed, hanging on to the sheets so her abductors found themselves hauling the mattress with them. The three who had attacked the assassin groped in the darkness for his body, cursing when they did not find it. Blade sat up and yanked the two daggers from under his pillow, turning to find a target.
The abductors were silhouetted against the faint light that came through the doorway from the lamp in the hall, allowing him to see more than they could. He flung a dagger at one of the men who held the Queen, and she shrieked as blood splattered over her from his throat. The thug with the cudgel looked up to find the assassin with another dagger poised to throw and raised his weapon, but Blade stabbed him through the heart.
The other two hurdled the bed and threw themselves at him in typical Cotti fashion. Blade yanked the daggers from his wrist sheaths just before they reached him. One groaned and folded up as a hand span of cold steel pierced his chest, but the other sent Blade sprawling with a shoulder in his gut. He gasped as he was crushed beneath the larger man, the air punched from his lungs and spots dancing in his eyes. He had lost a dagger in the other man's chest, and his assailant grabbed his wrist, preventing him from using the one he held. He slapped the man's ear with his free hand, making the Cotti yelp and recoil.
Kerra kicked and struggled in her captor's grasp, but he pinned her arms, then picked her up and headed for the door.
"Blade!"
The assassin fought for air, his throat crushed beneath his opponent's elbow as the man tried to pry the dagger from his fist. Knowing that he could not match the brawn of a man so much bigger and stronger, he went limp, letting his head loll to one side. The Cotti took the dagger from the assassin's lax fingers, then paused. Blade held his breath as he waited for the man's next move, expecting the cold steel of the dagger to be pressed to his throat. Playing dead was an effective ploy, as long as his opponent did not decide to make sure.
The Cotti seemed satisfied that he was no longer a threat, however, for he rose to his feet and headed for the door, eager to catch up with his cohort. Blade rolled to his feet in a smooth movement and yanked a dagger from one of corpses that littered the floor. The Cotti turned at the sound, and received the dagger through his throat. Blade collected his weapons and sprinted down the corridor after the Queen, his boots ringing on the wooden floor. Fortunately, he had chosen
to sleep in his clothes, due to the threat of abductors. The sleepy proprietor watched him pass from the doorway of his room, holding a lamp high.
Blade yanked open the inn's front door and dashed out of it, skidding onto the sandy street. A glance up and down the road found a fleeing figure disappearing around a corner, and he raced after it. He rounded the corner as the thug vanished into a stable down the street. Blade loped after him, slowing as he approached the livery. As he had suspected, more men waited within, and he pressed himself to the wall to listen. A voice that he recognised as belonging to the sly looking trader congratulated the abductor.
"Good, you got her. Well done."
"At a price. That damned fellow killed the others."
"All of them?" The trader sounded shocked.
"All of them. I hope she's worth it."
Blade peered around the corner as the big man dumped Kerra on her feet, holding her wrists with one hand. She bent her head and bit him, and he snatched his hand away with a curse. Another man grabbed her as she tried to flee, swearing when she kicked him in the shins. He spun her around and twisted her arms behind her back, foiling her attempt to kick him again. Blade counted four men, apart from the trader, all armed with swords and knives, two of them with loaded crossbows hooked to their belts.
The trader asked, "Did you kill him?"
"I think Mirtal did, but he didn't follow me, so he must be dead too."
"That's amazing."
"I'm sure he was expecting us."
The trader shook his head. "It's a pity he's dead. Do you know how much a fighter like that would be worth?"
The thug grunted and turned away, clearly more annoyed by the loss of his comrades than the trader. The merchant took a lamp from the wall and held it close to Kerra's face, examining her in its light.
"Very nice." He peered at her. "Damn! She's a bloody half breed. She has blue eyes."
He glared at the thugs as if it was their fault, and they frowned and glanced at each other. The one who had carried Kerra from the inn growled, "You picked her, and don't try to say we brought you the wrong girl, either. You should have checked her better."
The trader turned away with a muttered curse and replaced the lamp on its hook, then swung to glare at the hapless girl. She raised her chin, her eyes glittering with rage.
"Let me go, you bastard!"
He laughed. "Hark at it! Someone forgot to beat this one. On top of being virtually worthless, she's a harpy. I won't even be able to give her away."
"My father -"
The trader's hand cracked across the Queen's cheek, and Blade winced. The merchant had his back to the door, and the four thugs stood facing it, one holding Kerra. The odds were not in Blade's favour, but he had no reason to think that they would improve if he waited. The men probably had their horses here, ready to leave, and once they rode away he would be hard put to follow them and find her again. The trader was a fair distance away, standing in the corridor between the rows of stables.
The element of surprise was vital. Blade could not risk the possibility of discovery by trying to get closer, even though the stable was poorly lighted. Without his usual black garb, he would be visible to the four men who faced him as soon as he stepped into the doorway. The lack of his leather jacket with its chain mail also made him vulnerable, and he hoped he would not regret its lack before this night was over. He checked that his daggers were all where they should be, then pulled the two from his belt and held them ready as he stepped into the doorway.
One of the thugs yelled a warning, but Blade's dagger hit the trader in the back before he could turn. He coughed and sank to his knees as two of the men pulled the crossbows from their belts. Blade ran at them, flung the other dagger at one of the crossbowmen and ducked as a bolt thrummed past his head and thunked into the wall behind him. The crossbowman staggered back, the black hilt of a dagger protruding from his chest, and dropped his bow as he reached up to try to pull it out.
Blade released the daggers from his wrist sheaths and flung one at the second crossbowman, who fired a wild shot that missed Blade by a good hand span. The crossbowman fell with a gurgle, impaled through the eye. The other three Cotti fled, releasing Kerra with a rough shove that sent her to her knees. Blade stopped beside her and watched the thugs race out of the other end of the stable, one skidding and falling in his haste.
When they vanished around the corner, he glanced down at the kneeling queen, who buried her face in her hands. Blade went over to the fallen men and retrieved his daggers, despatching those who still writhed and moaned. The trader raised a pleading hand, his eyes wide with terror, blood bubbling from his lips.
"Mercy," he wheezed.
"I have none," Blade murmured as he slid the dagger into the man's heart, then he dragged the bodies towards a haystack against one wall. The two thugs were heavy, and the trader still twitched, but within a few minutes he had buried them in the hay.
Kerra rose to her feet, trying to control the soft sobs that racked her. She stumbled towards Blade as he took the lamp down and extinguished it, plunging the stable into darkness. Finding him, she tried to cling to him, but he fended her off, took her wrist and headed for the door.
"Blade... I thought you were dead..."
"Hush." He stopped just inside the doorway, listening.
The clatter of running feet came from the street, and he pulled her back into the darkness, clamping a hand over her mouth. It could not be the thugs returning, they were not brave enough for that, and, since their employer was dead, they had no reason to face him again. More likely, someone had summoned the Watch. He dragged the Queen deeper into the shadows, moving along the rows of stalls in which sleepy horses stirred.
The footsteps approached the doorway, and four men appeared in it, silhouetted against the moonlit street. A glimpse of their white tabards and the glint of armour confirmed his suspicions, as one of the soldiers raised a lamp and peered into the stable. He cursed as they entered the livery, spreading out to search the stalls. Reaching the end of the row, he found himself back at the haystack where he had hidden the bodies. He toyed with the idea of trying to slip out of the other door, where the thugs had gone, but his exit might be noticed and their suspicions aroused by his flight.
Instead, he pushed Kerra down on the hay and lay close beside her, silencing her whimper of protest with his hand.
"Lie still, and be quiet," he whispered.
Blade waited until the soldiers were almost on top of them. As the light from their lantern fell on him, he rolled on top of the Queen and pressed his lips to hers. Kerra stiffened in surprise, then her arms slid around him. Blade listened to the soldiers' footsteps stop nearby, and they chuckled. He raised his head and turned to frown at them, shielding the girl.
The men stood grinning, and the one with the lantern lowered it and said, "Sorry to disturb you, friend, but we were told there was a disturbance here."
Blade smiled. "Were we making that much noise?"
The soldiers laughed, and their spokesman shook his head. "I doubt it. Must be the wrong stable."
They turned and sauntered back the way they had come, chortling and swapping ribald comments. As the light of their lantern receded, Blade rolled off the Queen. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he found that he could see the girl quite clearly when he looked down at her. She lowered her eyes, and he chuckled.
"Enjoyed that, did you?"
She fiddled with the front of his shirt, refusing to look at him. "I was... surprised."
"I will wager so."
He started to get up, but she gripped his shirt. "They may come back."
"I doubt it." He studied her, wondering what strange sensations his proximity sent through her, responses he had never had, nor ever would experience. Sometimes he longed to know what it was like to have those desires, but more often he put such useless thoughts from his mind.
Kerra glanced at him through her lashes. "Have you kissed many women?"
"Masses."
"Liar."
He smiled. "Why would I want to kiss a woman, Kerra?"
"What about Chiana?"
"The same applies."
"You seem quite good at it."
His brows rose. "And you are judging me against...?"
"No one. That was my first kiss. It is just... it was nice."
"I am so glad to be able to provide you with a little entertainment. Necessity was my reason for trampling upon hallowed ground, as it were, and not your pleasure."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Your first kiss should have been with a boy your own age, not me."
"I am glad it was you. You may do it again if you wish."
"Indeed?" He chuckled. "Thank you for the invitation, but I do not wish to."
Blade tried to rise, but she held onto his shirt. He sensed that part of the reason for her clinging to him was for reassurance after her ordeal, but he had little patience with such things, and growled, "Let go. I am not giving you kissing lessons, and we are lying on top of three dead men. It bothers me, even if it does not bother you."
Kerra released him with a gasp and scrambled to her feet, while he lay in the hay and grinned up at her.
She frowned. "Liar. It does not bother you at all, does it?"
"I shared a bed with your grandfather after I killed him, and he got quite cold before I left."
"If you are trying to make me dislike you, it is not working. My grandfather was a monster, by all accounts."
"True. But I remember just a couple of tendays ago, you called me a monster because I told you I could kill a woman. I am still the same man, yet now you want me to kiss you."
Kerra rubbed the side of her face where the trader had hit her. "I know that. I am not a fool."
"Then why are you trying to flirt with me? It is quite impossible to seduce me, you know." He stood, brushing straw from his trousers. "The most experienced courtesans have tried and failed, so do not expect to succeed."
"I was not trying to seduce you!"
"Liar." He chuckled. "You thought that your charms would be irresistible to a mere commoner. Who could resist the flirtations of a young virgin queen? Not many, I will grant you, but certainly an old, bitter eunuch like me."
The Queen's Blade IV - Sacred Knight of the Veil Page 23