Bloodkin (Jaseth of Jaelshead)

by Ashford, Cathy

  “Welcome, Odette.” Fiona giggled and waved her over. “That’s an… interesting choice of name!”

  “Oh! Well, I couldn’t think of anything else beginning with ‘O’…” She wrung her hands in faint distress.

  “Olive? Olivia?” Telgeth offered.

  “Oh, that would have been much better! I suppose it’s too late to change it now.”

  “There’s nothing stopping you,” Anna told her, rather coldly I thought.

  “Well I think Odette is a very pretty name,” Charlie reassured her, earning a dark look from Anna which he didn’t even notice, as he had turned and was smiling at Odette.

  Fiona elbowed her and called out to Odette, “Would you care for some Red? I’ve got a rather interesting new blend in the hookah. Жấњфớρờθ eh? Are you by chance related to a Jeρiжờ Жấњфớρờθ in the Guild of Horticulture?”

  Odette nodded gratefully as Fiona steered her to the back of the lounge. “He’s my uncle.”

  Thomas and Telgeth followed them and Hanniash got to her feet, smoothing out the folds of her capacious yellow Priestess robes.

  “I’m sorry I can’t stay much longer, I’ve got the flock to attend to in the morning and all that. I trust I will be seeing you all at the Temple tomorrow?”

  Jeetz gave her a broad grin and a wink. “There is nowhere else I’d rather be, my dear. Come, I’ll walk you out.” He stood, and took Hanniash’s arm and led her out through the archway.

  Jimmy stared after them. “Gosh, are they…?”

  Anna cracked her first smile of the night. “I think perhaps some romance is blooming there, yes.”

  “Gawd, the High Priestess and the head of the Thieves Guild, who would’ve thought it?

  Lolitha gasped, “The what guild?”

  “Er, forget I said anything,” Jimmy muttered, blushing as Anna scowled at him.

  Before Lolitha could demand any more information there was a commotion at the bottom of the stairs. There were some thumps and muffled protestations and the sound of two pairs of feet on the stairs.

  Anna began to rise from her chair. All of a sudden there were knives glittering in each hand. Jeetz appeared in the archway, hauling a struggling, bedraggled figure ahead of him.

  “Anna? I believe this is yours.”

  “Get your hands off me, you filthy old man!” The figure spoke with a female voice and she wiggled free of Jeetz’ enormous grasp and strode forward, wiping her long black hair from her face. She stopped in front of Anna, who still had her daggers ready and she looked the woman over. Seemingly satisfied she nodded her head and gave a lopsided grin full of sharp little teeth.

  “Auntie Aӣấ, it is so nice to finally meet you. I am overawed by such a friendly reception.”

  Anna blinked once then threw back her head and laughed, flashing her knives away. “For Lilbecz’ sake, Lux. Really? Oh, come here child.”

  Lux, although of a medium height, looked like a tiny doll in Anna’s embrace.

  “Oh little one, you’re soaking, come sit by the fire. Have some Red and dry off.”

  “And a glass of wine too? For the poor, thirsty traveller?”

  Anna looked at her sideways, then shrugged. “Fine, and a glass of wine for the poor, thirsty traveller.”

  Lux smiled that same sharp-toothed, almost feral smile and let Anna pull her to the back of the lounge.

  Lolitha and Jimmy stared after them with open-mouthed disbelief. Lolitha turned to me, eyes wide.

  “What the hell was that?”

  I shrugged. I could barely pretend to know much more than them. Charlie just sighed and we followed them towards the fire. Odette almost shrieked when she saw Lux.

  “You! What are you doing here?”

  Lux shrugged insolently. “Just felt like coming Outside, and I heard there was this brilliant tavern in Lille…” Her voice changed, sharpened. “What are you doing here?”

  “I— I’m a Journeyman! I live in the Hall! Charlie brought me,” she added defensively.

  Lux sniffed. “Yeah, figures. Oh, is that my Charlie? Ϛaioћ Charlie?” She looked around. I bristled protectively, gosh, what an unusual way to feel about one’s Mentor, but I was starting to form the impression that this Lux wasn’t a very nice girl.

  “Hello Lux.”

  “Ϛaioћ!” she pranced over and threw her arms around him. Odette looked as if she’d just eaten a spider. “My fearless defender! Auntie Aӣấ has told me so much about you!” She kissed him on the cheek and spun around as Charlie blushed, a bit shocked.

  Her eyes lit on me and she grinned. Oh hell, this chick was scary.

  “And you must be Jaseth, Ϛaioћ’s little Bloodkin.” Telgeth sniggered at the ‘little’ part and Lux turned to find the source. She looked Telgeth up and down with a bland look, then dismissed him with a flick of her eyebrows and turned back to me.

  “Hello, I’m Lux.” As she extended her hand Telgeth grinned at me from behind her, mouthing “I think she likes me.” I shook her hand, barely registering the absence of the long-winded Nea’thi greeting. She really was a curious looking creature. She had full, pouty lips and a cute, upturned nose. Her bangs, cut bluntly across her forehead, were plastered to her forehead above enormous, almost black eyes with a pronounced upward slant. Her skin betrayed her mixed heritage though, it was an oddly luminous greenish-grey, and altogether the effect was startling. The girl was almost feline in appearance.

  Apparently bored with introductions, Lux flounced over to the fire and to everyone’s surprise, stripped off her wet robe and tossed it in a sodden heap to the floor. Underneath the robe she was wearing a black leather ranger’s outfit, skin tight and sewn with links of silvery chainmail over the vital organs. Around her neck she had a padded gorget and sheathed knives were strapped to her waist and thighs, with smaller stilettos poking out of the top of her boots and wrist-guards.

  Telgeth whistled, “Nice steel!” as Lux plonked herself down on a chair beside the fire.

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “They’re not steel. They’re Ұấӣὶdiừѫ. Much, much sharper than steel. Perfect for slicing the bollocks of annoying Bloodkin.”

  To her discomfiture, Telgeth roared with laughter. “Sweet Lilbecz, I bet they loved you in the Enclave! I don’t suppose this poor, annoying Bloodkin could take a look? Professional interest, you see.”

  With one quick movement, Lux flicked out one of the knives from her belt, tossed it in the air and caught the blade deftly between her thumb and forefinger before handing it to Telgeth.

  “Duuude, cool! Look at this Jas!” He held the blade out for my inspection. The Ұấӣὶdiừѫ was a dark grey metal, shining faintly green in the light, and I had never seen anything like it.

  “A Nea’thi alloy of some sort?” Telgeth guessed, and Lux nodded as she extended her hand to retrieve the knife. Lolitha was staring openly at Lux and her veritable armoury.

  “That’s, um, quite a lot of knives.”

  Lux gave a short bark of laughter. “Yes, well, a pretty young Mingle can never be too careful.” Her eyes roved over Lolitha’s body and she gave her crooked smile. “You could almost be mistaken for one yourself. Better watch out, I’ve heard there’s something of a problem with folk who get the horn for half-breeds. So, who’s your…” Her eyes alighted on Jimmy and she smiled even wider. “Ah ha, good to know.”

  Lolitha stiffened beside me. At first I thought it was embarrassment at the bold way Lux was looking her over, or the backhanded compliment, but her words had tickled something in my brain. Before I could ponder it any more, Anna cut in.

  “Yes Lux, that is quite a lot of knives. How did you acquire so much Ұấӣὶdiừѫ? You didn’t steal it, did you?”

  Lux threw up her hands in mock outrage. “Auntie, darling, how could you even suggest that? No, no, it’s all thanks to you. I’ve been saving the allowance you’ve been sending me. This outfit cost nearly everything I had. Which is why my robe is such a shoddy pile of shit.” She glanced scorn
fully at the soggy pile of her robe, water already pooling out from it slightly. “Seriously though, what’s with this rain business? Who would have thought the Outside would be so miserable?” She sighed dramatically and accepted the glass of wine and hookah pipe Anna offered her.

  “Well, ah, we had better take you shopping. I’m afraid I’m a little busy at the moment, but—”

  “I’ll take her,” Lolitha broke in surprisingly. “I mean, um, maybe next Saturday? I have to go get some more winter things, maybe Sallagh and Mantilly will want to come? We can have a girls’ day out.” She looked at me and I shrugged. Lolitha had just lied. She was from a mountain village, she would have plenty of winter-weight clothing. But I think I knew why she would want to get to know this new girl.

  Lux grinned rather savagely at Lolitha. “Well if this Sallagh and Mantilly are anywhere near as pretty as you, my duck, I’m sure we’ll have a fabulous time. Next Saturday it is then!”

  “Ah, Lux? Have you put any thought to what you’re going to do out here?” Anna asked her.

  “Well, I’ll stay with you, of course. Oh, and Granny and Gramps send their love.”

  Anna looked at her sharply. “Really?”

  Lux laughed. “No, of course not. They don’t mention you at all if they can help it. You must have done something really horrific to piss them off so much.”

  “Ah, yes, well. I’m very busy, it may not be all that suitable for—”

  Lux shook her head impatiently. “Don’t be silly, I’m family, and I’ll be so quiet you’ll hardly even notice I’m there!” Telgeth snorted, earning himself a cold look. “And all that money you sent down to me? Come on, you must be loaded! What is it exactly that you do?”

  Anna eyed the rest of the group, frowning minutely at Odette. “Organisational management.” Lux tilted her head impertinently and waited. “For a select group of professionals.”

  Lux studied Anna and thought for a moment, then threw back her head and laughed loudly. “No way, you are her! Oh man!” she panted with hilarity. “No wonder the olds don’t talk about you. Oh Auntie, didn’t you know, murder is simply not the done thing!” Anna hissed in warning as Odette’s eyes widened in horror. “But why… Oh!” Lux gasped in realisation. “Oh ho, the sins of the brother and all that. How very… noble of you.”

  “Perhaps this is a conversation best held in private.” Charlie came to Anna’s rescue. “Come on you lot, let’s go see what the others are up to.”

  We said our goodbyes and Charlie hustled us down the stairs. Lux leaned back in her chair, watching us leave, a crooked grin on her face. She gave Lolitha a wink as she hurried out and called “Next Saturday, don’t forget!” I wondered if Lolitha was already regretting her offer as she nodded briefly and made her escape.

  Downstairs, I found Sallagh and grabbed her for a dance, acutely aware that the group in the private lounge could look down and see us.

  “I got you a date for next Saturday,” I whispered in her ear.

  “A what?” Sallagh pulled back to look at me.

  “A shopping date! Charlie’s friend has a niece who is new to town and needs to go clothes shopping. Keen?”

  Sallagh sniffed. “I suppose. What’s she like then? Is she pretty?”

  I coughed. Despite Lux’ own opinion of herself, I doubted anyone else would ever describe her as “pretty”.

  “Hardly. Especially not compared to you.”

  “Aww, my sweet Jaseth.” She rewarded me with a long, open-mouthed kiss, and I had to admit, despite all the weirdness, that things really couldn’t have been going any better.

  Later on, as we hurried back to the Hall through the dark, cold night, Lolitha grabbed Jimmy’s arm and demanded to know what he had meant about Jeetz and the Thieves Guild.

  “Oh, um, right. That.” Jimmy had tried plying her with wine back at the Thistle, but he obviously hadn’t managed to get her to forget his earlier slip of the tongue. “Well, it’s not really a guild, per se. Jeetz just facilitates the buying and selling of, er, certain goods.”

  “Stolen goods, you mean?”

  “Well, yes, there’s that. He was brought up in the Enclaves, and down there there’s less emphasis on the ownership of material possessions. He finds it amusing that Humans care so much about, well, stuff.”

  “So he’s just a fence then?”

  “Well, sort of. Thieves are mostly autonomous, but Jeetz takes… commissions from time to time. And he deals in information.”

  “So he’s a fence and a spy.”

  “Er, yeah. Pretty much.”

  To my surprise, Lolitha shrugged. “Oh, well that’s cool. Hey Sallagh, did Jas tell you about next weekend?”

  I had my arm around Sallagh’s shoulders as we walked briskly, and I felt her nod.

  “So what’s she like, this niece of Charlie’s friend?”

  Telgeth laughed, “She’s a crazy bitch, Sall, I tell you what. You’re going to have a super time.”

  “Oh golly, what have you got me into, Jaseth?”

  “Nothing to do with me! Lolitha volunteered!”

  “Ooh, did she just? Is she very pretty then, Loli?” Sallagh teased.

  Even in the dark street I could see Lolitha blush. “Um, not really. She’s a Mingle, you know. And I’m not really interested, there’s Coco…”

  “Oh, of course! Your little waitress-who-is-not-a-whore. How is Coco?” Telgeth elbowed Lolitha who was still blushing furiously.

  “She’s fine,” Lolitha replied through gritted teeth. Telgeth hooted with laughter and raced ahead to beat the others, as we rounded the corner into the alley that led to the Hall, and home.

  he last week of November was a rough one for everyone. The weather remained bitter and wet and was chafing at everyone’s nerves. I had my first fight with Sallagh, well, sort of. I was trying to practise creating a light-proof barrier, and having a miserable time of it. A cold virus had swept through the Hall and my stuffy sinuses were impairing my concentration. Sallagh came in looking for some distraction and I’m afraid I snapped at her. She had retreated, sniffing loudly, and Charlie gave me a look that plainly said I should go make it up to her, but I simply couldn’t be bothered with female histrionics, and I soon gave up my Hầұeӣ practice and went to bed. She was decidedly cool towards me at class and in the Hall the next couple of days, and when I couldn’t stand it any more I went to apologise. Her annoyance had worn off by then, and she welcomed me back with open arms. Luckily, Emma discreetly left us to it and we spent the rest of the evening on her couch, kissing and touching and making up for lost time.

  By the weekend the storm had finally broken and the Saturday of the girls’ shopping trip dawned bright and clear, though frost glittered on every surface. What with my cold, and Sallagh, I had plenty of readings and Hầұeӣ practice to catch up on, and I happily watched them leave to Hall to go find Lux.

  Five hours later I was reclined on a couch up in the common room, struggling through a treatise on Human and Nea’thi genetic traits, when the three girls staggered up the stairs, looking exhausted.

  “Well, how did it go?”

  Sallagh laughed, a little maniacally. “Telgeth was right, Lux is crazy. I need a coffee.”

  “Or something stronger,” Lolitha muttered.

  “Why, what happened?”

  Lolitha went to beg a bottle of wine from the Journeymen in the kitchen who were just about to begin the evening meal while Sallagh and Mantilly collapsed onto chairs and told me about their afternoon.

  They had turned up at Anna’s apartment – the penthouse suite on the top floor of the building that housed Fiona’s shop – to find Anna in the process of kicking Lux out.

  “It was crazy! They were screaming at each other, it was like nothing I have ever seen!”

  Luckily, Jeetz was visiting Fiona at her shop and, hearing the commotion, came to the rescue. He told Anna that Lux was going to stay with him and his mother in their mansion on the hill, and she would help with chores around th
e house in return for food and board. Lux was initially reluctant, but after some persuasion, agreed to move in with him. So Jeetz took the girls shopping, and then they took one of the steam-powered gondolas up the hill and spent the rest of the afternoon getting Lux settled in to her new lodgings.

  When they finished their glasses of wine, Mantilly and Sallagh went down to take their baths, meeting Charlie in the common room door. He took one look at their faces and laughed.

  “That bad was it?”

  “Ugh, don’t even ask,” Sallagh told him as they left.

  Lolitha poured another glass for herself, then ones for Charlie and me.

  “Did you find out what you wanted?” I asked her and she looked at me sharply.

  “Actually, no, I didn’t get much of a chance. Charlie, did Anna… Did she ever say why we were attacked on Samhain?”

  Lolitha and I had never really talked about that night. The horror of the memory had faded slightly, and I no longer woke up choking in cold sweats after nightmares of knives pressing at my throat. Still, it was uncomfortable to bring it up.

  Charlie shook his head. “If she knows, she isn’t saying. She doesn’t usually… participate in a contract, if that’s what it was.”

  “But she said she had a personal interest in those two men,” I prompted.

  Charlie sighed. “She really doesn’t tell me much.”

  We sat in silence for a while, considering our wine.

  “Heh, you really bugged her with that Odette thing the other night.” Lolitha broke the silence with her murmured observation.

  “What? How do you mean?”

  “Oh ho, silly Charlie, I thought you knew everything! She was jealous, couldn’t you tell?”

  Charlie was almost speechless. “What? Why would she be jealous of Odette?”

  “Oh, you know. Flaunting the younger model right in front of her.”

  “But she doesn’t know—”

  Lolitha coughed, suddenly embarrassed. “Er, I might have told her some stuff… Hey, I was in shock!”