The King of Talbos (The Eastern Slave Series Book 6)

by Victor Poole

  "But you wouldn't do this," Leed said angrily. "You don't really think you are a slave."

  "I am a slave," Ajalia told Leed. "I belong to the ancient king of the Eastern lands. If he told me to leave Delmar, and to return with him to the East, I would think seriously of doing so."

  Leed stared at Ajalia, and Ajalia thought that Leed was thinking she had lost her mind.

  "You would never leave Delmar," Leed told her.

  "My master is a just man," Ajalia told Leed. "I respect him, and I respect his ownership of my energy and time. If he called for me, I would go."

  "But that would be wrong!" Leed told her angrily. "It would be wrong."

  "He paid for me," Ajalia told Leed.

  "But you can't buy someone," Leed protested. Ajalia looked at Leed, and she tried to see in his eyes if there was any way that he could understand what she meant.

  "You are telling me that you don't want me to go after your uncle," Ajalia said. "Is this so?" Leed shifted uncomfortably, and she could see him thinking of flying away. The green wings that were fixed to his back opened and closed gently.

  "I don't want you to hurt my uncle," Leed said finally.

  "Why not?" Ajalia asked. Leed's eyes flashed.

  "Well, I didn't obey him," Leed said. "He told me to stay with you, and I went away with Philas. Uncle Wesley was mad." Leed scuffed his foot against the magical platform, and a line of white sparks bled up from his shoe. "I guess I would be mad, too, if I was him," Leed added.

  "So you are saying that your uncle has a right to beat you?" Ajalia asked. Leed's eyes brightened a little, and then dimmed.

  "I don't know," Leed said. Ajalia studied Leed. "You said your brother used to beat you," Leed said. "How come you haven't gone back?"

  "My brother is not worth my time," Ajalia said. "And as I told you before, he would win."

  "But how could he win against you?" Leed demanded. "You can do magic, and you are fast with your knife."

  Ajalia was still holding both of the knives.

  "I'm going to try to change the shape of your blade," Ajalia told Leed. "I'm going to put magic into it. Is that all right with you?" Leed's eyes gleamed, and he nodded eagerly. Ajalia drew up the same red-hot light that Delmar had used to support the pillars of the impossibly-long bridge. She found this light deep below the earth, down under the red-gold light that she had learned to use to make the mixed magic with the light of the stars.

  When Ajalia had gathered a handful of this burning red light, she fed it into Leed's knife, which was about half the size of her own blade, and then closed her eyes, and made a picture in her mind of what she wanted Leed's knife to look like.

  "I told you before that my brother is faster than me, and that he is vicious," Ajalia said. Leed was staring hard at his knife, but he nodded.

  "You said that you ran away. I still think you should go back, and beat him up," Leed said.

  "And what will such a beating accomplish?" Ajalia asked. She imagined delicate forms in the metal of the knife's hilt, and a beautiful curve in each side of the blade. Leed's knife had one sharp edge, and Ajalia imagined the blade changing, the metal reshaping into a sturdy, double-edged dagger.

  "Well, if you beat your brother up, you will feel better," Leed said. Ajalia opened her eyes, and looked at Leed. Leed was staring at the blade in Ajalia's hand, which was glowing so brilliantly red that its shape could not be seen clearly.

  "I would not feel better if I beat my brother," Ajalia said, "and if I went to fight him, he would kill me."

  "He couldn't kill you," Leed told Ajalia. Ajalia dropped both knives, and twisted Leed around the neck. She moved too quickly for him to prepare, and in a moment he was gasping, his cheek an inch away from the floor of the magical platform, and his hands flying with terror out to both sides.

  "I told you that I would teach you," Ajalia said. She was holding Leed gently around the torso, and one of her elbows was around his neck. Leed was shaking, and breathing hard.

  "Don't do that," Leed said finally. His voice shook when he spoke.

  "Do you want me to let you up?" Ajalia asked. Leed nodded vigorously.

  "I have to go back to help Philas," Leed said. Ajalia heard that he was afraid of her now. "Philas is waiting for me," Leed added. Ajalia thought that Leed sounded as though he was beginning to cry.

  "Am I hurting you?" Ajalia asked. She did not let go of Leed, and she felt the boy's body growing tense in her arms.

  "You scared me," Leed said accusingly.

  "Did I hurt you?" Ajalia asked.

  "Yes," Leed said quickly. Ajalia waited, and she felt Leed struggling to free himself from her grip. "No, you didn't hurt me," Leed said. He sounded annoyed.

  "Am I hurting you now?" Ajalia asked. After a long pause, Leed shook his head.

  "No, but you scared me," Leed said. He still sounded annoyed.

  "Did your uncle Wesley hurt you?" Ajalia asked. She still held Leed close, and he began to fight her in earnest.

  "Let me up!" Leed demanded. Ajalia tightened the arm that was around Leed's neck; she was barely touching his throat, but she knew that he could feel the power in her arms. She felt Leed's torso go tense; she knew that he had stopped breathing. When she did not move, he gradually relaxed.

  "Am I hurting you, Leed?" Ajalia asked.

  "No," Leed said at once.

  "Are you afraid that I will hurt you?" Ajalia asked. Leed thought about this for some time.

  "No," he said at last. Ajalia released her grip by a fraction, and Leed slipped half an inch closer to the floor of the platform. He let out a wild yell, and his arms flapped vigorously. "You almost dropped me!" Leed said indignantly. "This is ridiculous," he added in a civilized tone. "Please let me stand up."

  "Leed," Ajalia said. Another pause came after this.

  "Yes, Ajalia," Leed said in an even voice.

  "If I picked up that knife," Ajalia said, nodding towards Leed's small blade, "and I cut your throat, and threw you in the ocean, do you think anyone would notice?"

  She felt Leed's body go tense again.

  "You wouldn't do that," Leed said.

  "Do you think Philas would come and argue with me, and be angry?" Ajalia asked. Leed thought about this.

  "You are not going to kill me," Leed said. Ajalia moved both of the knives out of reach with her foot. She felt an express motion of breath go out of Leed's body.

  "You were thinking of grabbing one of those knives, and stabbing me," Ajalia told Leed. Leed stiffened again.

  "No I wasn't," Leed said. Ajalia let go of him, and Leed scrambled towards his knife, and snatched it up. He hesitated for a moment, and then put his knife away.

  "I changed your blade," Ajalia told him, going to her own knife, which was casting up violent sparks where it touched against the magical platform, and picking it up. Leed watched her suspiciously, and then took out his knife, and looked at it. His eyes widened. The hilt and the blade of his small knife had reformed into the shape that she had imagined; when she looked for the magical lines, she saw a hot red glow within the knife.

  "It's magical now," Leed said.

  "Yes," Ajalia said. Leed examined his knife.

  "Why did you try to hurt me?" Leed asked her.

  "I didn't hurt you," Ajalia said. Leed scowled at her.

  "You attacked me," Leed said fiercely. "That counts."

  "I frightened you," Ajalia said. "Do you want me to frighten you again?" Leed thrust out his chin stubbornly, and he glared at her.

  "No," he said.

  "Why not?" Ajalia asked.

  "Because I didn't like it!" Leed told her angrily. "No one would like that. That was wrong!"

  Ajalia laughed, and Leed, looking furious, made a motion to fly up into the air. Ajalia was too fast for him, and she had hooked her arms around his neck and shoulders before he could draw a breath.

  "This is not fair!" Leed shouted, kicking his legs as hard as he could against Ajalia. He tried to bite her, but he couldn't reach
her arms. He kicked her harder, and then hung still for a moment, breathing heavily. When Ajalia did not let him go, Leed drew back his right leg, and kicked her as hard as he could. Ajalia said nothing. "Why aren't I hurting you?" Leed cried furiously. Ajalia dropped Leed.

  Leed fell to the ground, and scrambled at once to his feet. His small knife was in his palm, and as he reached out towards Ajalia, she twisted the knife away from him, and pressed the double-edged blade gently against his face. Leed froze, and his eyes widened in shock and terror.

  "You can't hurt me," Leed said hoarsely. A whine of genuine fear was in his voice. "You like me, you can't hurt me," Leed said. Ajalia could hear that Leed was trying not to cry.

  "But why can't I hurt you?" Ajalia asked. She kept any kind of threat out of her voice, and she saw how Leed stared at her with bewilderment in his eyes.

  "But you care about me," Leed said.

  "How do you know that?" Ajalia asked.

  "Because you wouldn't hurt me!" Leed shouted. He had started to cry. "I thought you cared about me!" he shouted. Ajalia took the knife away from Leed's face, and handed it to him.

  "Am I faster than you?" Ajalia asked. Leed was holding the knife, and she thought that he was thinking about trying to stab at her with it.

  "Yes," Leed said. Ajalia thought that he sounded resentful.

  "Is it good to be fast?" Ajalia asked.

  "Of course it is," Leed said scornfully. "If you're fast, then you win."

  "My brother is faster than me," Ajalia said. "Do you think Philas is faster than me?"

  Leed had not considered this; Ajalia could see him thinking this over.

  "Have you ever fought with Philas?" Leed asked.

  "Not physically," Ajalia said.

  "But would he win if you did?" Leed asked.

  "No, I would win," Ajalia said. Leed glared at her with narrowed eyes.

  "How do you know?" he demanded.

  "Because I am my master's favorite," Ajalia said. Leed looked irritated at this.

  "What does that have to do with anything?" he cried. "You talk about your master caring which one of you is the most favorite like it matters."

  "Which boy are you?" Ajalia asked. Leed studied her.

  "I am the second favorite boy," he said. His face was grudging.

  "And who is first favorite?" she asked. Leed's lips formed into an angry lump.

  "Darien," Leed said.

  "If you got in a fight with Darien," Ajalia said, "would Darien win?" Leed's eyes flashed, but she could see him thinking this over.

  "Darien would win."

  "Why?" she asked. Leed's whole face turned into a sour frown.

  "Because he's your favorite boy," Leed growled.

  "Why is he my favorite?" Ajalia asked. Leed let out an angry huff of breath.

  "I don't know!" Leed said. "Why?"

  Ajalia stared at Leed, and she crossed her arms. She saw Leed studying her body, and she knew he was trying to figure out if he could be faster than she was, if her arms were crossed starting out.

  "Did your uncle hurt you?" Ajalia asked. Leed's face turned bright red, and his cheeks puffed out.

  "Yes," Leed said.

  "Did he scare you?" Ajalia asked. She saw Leed open his mouth to say yes, and then she saw him thinking about this.

  "No," Leed said. "He hurt me, but he didn't scare me." Leed's voice sounded calmer, and more rational now.

  "Why is this so?" Ajalia asked. Leed stared at her.

  "Why would I let Darien win, if I fought with him?" Leed asked. Ajalia sheathed her knife, and Leed darted at her, his fists raised. Ajalia tripped the boy without putting up her hands, and Leed crashed into the magical platform. "That hurt!" Leed told Ajalia angrily. "Why did you trip me?" He lashed out at her from the ground, and she caught both of his wrists in her hands, and sat on his back. Leed writhed under her for a few moments, and then went still.

  "You can get off me now," Leed told her. He sounded more irritated than afraid.

  "I have a new boy," Ajalia told Leed. "His name is Mop. He likes to start fights. He will be much faster than you, I think."

  "But I would win, if he's only fourth favorite," Leed said scornfully.

  "You would win against Mop," Ajalia said, "because you know perfectly well that I have three favorite boys, and you know where you rank in regards to them. You know if I say I have a new boy, that he is number four, and you know that he is the last boy I think of, when I make plans." Leed narrowed his eyes; Ajalia could hear the breath hissing through the boy's nose. She got up off of Leed, and Leed struck out viciously at her legs. She leapt out of the way at the last moment, and gave Leed a sharp kick in the pants.

  THE CORONATION

  "Oh!" Leed screeched, when her foot connected solidly with his bottom. He stared around at her. "That was not fair!" Leed said. He sounded shocked.

  "This is not about fair," Ajalia said. "This is about winning."

  "But I don't want you to hurt me," Leed said. "And I was going to show you that I could too hurt you, if I really wanted to."

  Ajalia reached down to Leed's head, and pulled him up to his feet by his hair. His face went white in shock, and his hands went up to his head. When the boy was standing, Ajalia let go of his hair, and gave him a solid thonk on the side of the head. Leed stared around at her with great wide eyes, and an open mouth.

  "That was really mean!" Leed told her. He looked as though he had lost all regard for Ajalia's decency as a human being. "Why did you just hurt me?" he demanded. "I'm going to be late for Philas," he added, frowning, and taking a step away from Ajalia.

  "Leed," Ajalia said, and when she spoke his name, the child froze, and looked around at her, his eyebrows creased a little.

  "Are you going to hurt me again?" Leed demanded.

  "You do not belong to Philas," Ajalia told him. "You belong to me. I own your time."

  Leed frowned.

  "I don't think I am a slave, like you," Leed told her.

  "Do you feel as though you belong to me?" Ajalia asked the boy. Leed twisted his lips together, and he frowned.

  "That is not the same thing as being a slave," he told her.

  "What are the rankings of my favorites?" she asked him. Leed pursed his mouth up into a sharp line. "Answer me," Ajalia said.

  "Darien, me, Daniel, and this new kid, Mop," Leed said, his mouth turning with scorn at the mention of the newest boy.

  "What about my other boys in the house?" Ajalia asked. Leed's nose wrinkled, and his nostrils flared.

  "They don't count," Leed said scornfully.

  "Why not?" Ajalia asked. Leed stared at her, and a light of comprehension began to come into his eyes.

  "Because they don't really belong to you," Leed said slowly. "I mean, if one of their uncles beat them, you wouldn't care." Leed looked out at the ocean water, and the light that was brightening the air. The sun had not yet appeared, but the sky was turning pink and gold with its approach. "Does your master love you, like you care about me?" Leed asked finally. He turned, and looked at Ajalia. She nodded. "And he likes you a lot more than he likes Philas," Leed guessed. Again, Ajalia nodded. Leed worked his lips from side to side. "What about Delmar?" Leed asked.

  "What about Delmar?" Ajalia asked.

  "Won't he care, if you obey your master before you obey him?" Leed asked.

  "Why, in any scenario, would I want to obey Delmar?" Ajalia asked. Leed frowned at her.

  "I thought you worked for Delmar," Leed told her. His voice held an accusing note.

  "I belong to my master," Ajalia said. "My master desires an economic foothold in this area of the world. Delmar is a key element of that picture."

  Leed studied Ajalia.

  "Does Delmar know that you're using him for what your master wants?" Leed asked.

  "Does Philas know that you're my second favorite boy?" Ajalia asked. Leed could not stop himself from grinning.

  "He knows," Leed said. "I'll listen to you over Philas any day. Philas doesn't
even care about me at all yet."

  "He will care about you someday," Ajalia told Leed. "Philas will grow up, as you said, and he will realize that it is in his interest for you to be more loyal to him, than for you to be loyal to me."

  Leed's face drew into a knot of concentration.

  "He can't get me to be loyal to him," Leed said dismissively. "He's just selfish. He only cares about himself, and being comfortable."

  "Do you remember what Delmar was like, when you first came into my employ?" Ajalia asked. She watched the pieces of Leed's memories of Delmar tumble into place, and the boy become thoroughly pensive.

  "Does he care about you now?" Leed asked. "Does he care more than he used to? He's always loved you, but he didn't know how to understand you very well. Does he care about you now?"

  "I think he is learning very quickly," Ajalia said. Leed thought about this.

  "Are you going to switch over to Delmar someday?" Leed asked.

  "Are you going to switch over to Philas, from me?" she asked. Leed let out a snort, and then he turned thoughtful.

  "No," Leed said, but his voice was heavy with thoughts of what may someday be.

  "What if Philas grows up," Ajalia suggested, "and he starts to think about what you want? What if he tries to understand you?" Leed's eyes were dark now.

  "I don't think Philas is capable of understanding me," Leed said. He glanced swiftly at Ajalia. "Does that mean that Delmar won't ever really have you to himself?" he asked shrewdly. Ajalia looked at Leed, and she thought about what she wanted to say. She thought about telling Leed that Delmar wanted to buy her. She liked the idea of keeping Delmar's sweetness to herself, but when she saw the earnestness in the boy's eyes, she was tempted to share. Telling secrets is a terrible idea, Ajalia told herself.

  "I think there is a good chance that Delmar will win me over," she said finally. Leed made a scoffing noise with his mouth.

  "That means that you've made up your mind," Leed said wisely, "and you don't want to tell me what you really think."

  "Yes," Ajalia agreed, "that is what that means." Leed sighed deeply, and looked out over the water.

  "I see what you are saying about my uncle Wesley," Leed said finally. "I will leave him to you."