She dropped a half curtsey without raising her head. In her simple purple dress, she felt plain beside the woman and wished her hair was loose so she could let it fall to hide her burning cheeks.
Zaya smiled down at her, the uncertainty melting from her kind face. “I am glad to be meeting you, Enari. A friend of my boy’s is always a welcome guest in my home.”
Enari favored her with a shy smile but her eyes darted up to Jex and she shifted a little closer to his side, relaxing a bit when she felt his hand at her back. The gesture did not go unnoticed by Zaya and she gave the pair an appraising look.
“‘Friend’ indeed,” she thought.
“She doesn’t talk, Ama,” he explained before the ensuing silence could become awkward. “It’s…sort of complicated, actually.”
Zaya Xander threw back her head and laughed, the sound ringing and deep as monastery bells.
“How fortunate for you, my son! You talk enough for two already. I do hope she has a way to tell you when she has had enough of your prattle. Poor uma.”
“She’s an excellent and polite listener,” Jex responded with a sniff. He looked around the front room. “Where’s Raela?”
“At work, or with that boy of hers. I am never sure which. But come, come. The time is nearing for tea and Goddess knows how long my son is dragging you through the streets.” She pointed at Jex. “You should be carrying her back. Such short legs and little feets will tire from so much walking.”
“I’ll carry her back if she wants me to,” Jex said defensively. “I do try to be a gentleman most of the time, Ama.”
“At least some of my lessons did not fly from that head of yours. That is good.”
She led them into her kitchen, a small but tidy room with a cheery fire crackling in the hearth. She directed Enari to a chair but stopped Jex as he made to sit beside her.
“Ah, ah. This one is a guest, but you, Sema, can be helping me with tea things.” Zaya looked as if she were used to giving orders and having them obeyed without objection and to Enari’s utter shock, Jex did as he was told without a single complaint or mouthy remark.
“Well that’s a switch.”
Jex followed his mother into a small adjoining pantry and there was a faint rattling of crockery from within.
“She is very nice-looking, Sema, but young, yes? And such hair, like autumn in the Fengals!”
Zaya kept her voice low, but Enari could still hear their conversation. She felt her blush returning.
“Nineteen this coming Janua, and—” There was a solid-sounding thump. “Ouch! Ama!”
“Jex, for shame!” Zaya scolded, “You are a man grown and she is but an uma! Doesn’t this Tower of yours have zenis your age? I know the palace does, and the city. So how far along is she?”
“Of course, but—oh. Ama, no. No, no, no. It’s not like that at all!” Jex sounded mortified and Enari almost covered her ears. “Enari is, she’s the apprentice of the kvinna who was called to attend the tora. Vasi—ow!”
“This Vasi is a kvinna of the Cyrilan Temple. I know I taught you to speak with more respect than that.”
“Yes, yes. Kvinna Vasi is an old acquaintance of Sura Eryk’s and I was sent to escort them to Rowan. I met Nani then.”
Zaya snorted indelicately. “Nani, is it? Well, certainly she seems to be a lovely little butterfly. But I see how she looks at you. Eighteen is young…though not so young for her not to be wondering. Don’t you go and hurt her heart. I taught you better than that, too, and she seems very sweet. You’re telling me the truth, though? There’s no gra-uma in my near future?”
“No, Ama! She doesn’t—I would never—it’s not like that,” he protested weakly.
“If you say.” Zaya sounded unconvinced.
Enari wanted to crawl under the table and hide.
When the two returned to the kitchen, she tried to act as if she hadn’t heard every word. The guilty look on Jex’s face told her she wasn’t doing a very good job, although Zaya seemed completely unaware that anything was amiss.
Mother and son struck up an easy conversation and it quickly became evident that Zaya was nearly as garrulous as her boy. They discussed a wide variety of subjects, ranging from politics to art, and Jex spoke a very little about his work for the tora. Enari was surprised to learn that Lady Xander was quite well educated.
Jex also told his mother about the bodies that had been found in rooms of the palace and their certainty that they were ritual killings of some kind, though the motive and purpose was still unclear. He did not, however, mention his prolonged illness or the way in which it had resolved.
When discussion turned to debate or grew particularly intense, Jex and his ama had a tendency to fall into their native tongue and at such times, Enari found her mind wandering, letting the words flow around her like water around a stone. They eventually reverted to Egali, bringing her attention back to the present, but as afternoon faded to dusk, she began to drowse.
“Sema, it is nearly dark and your lady-friend falls asleep at my table,” Zaya commented, gesturing towards the darkening window.
Jex rose to his feet with a curse. Distracted by the sight of the fading sunset beyond the glass, he wasn’t swift enough to dodge his mother’s hand.
Enari jumped at the sharp sound, nearly dropping her teacup, while Jex blinked and rubbed his mouth. He looked completely taken aback and it was clear he had no idea what had just happened. His bewildered expression was almost comical.
“Such language in front of ladies!” Zaya rebuked him, shaking her finger under his nose. “You shame me with your mouth, and don’t be thinking you are too old for me to paddle for it, either, Jex Xander!”
He held up his hands, palms out, in an attempt to appease her. “I didn’t think, I’m sorry.”
“You should stay. It is dangerous out in the dark.”
“If it were just me, I would, but, well…Kvinna Vasi doesn’t exactly know her apprentice is out,” he admitted.
“Ah. I will let her paddle you, then, and pray to the All-Mother that is all she does. I’d certainly like to have little gra-umas someday. Which reminds me.” Lady Xander turned to Enari. “Come with me a moment. I have something I think you will be needing, despite what my son tells me.”
“Ama—”
“Hush. We will only be a moment.”
Taking a candle from a nearby shelf, she lit it in the fire, then took Enari’s hand and helped her to her feet. They left Jex in the kitchen to wait and his exasperated sigh followed them out.
Zaya led her down a short, dark hallway to a little room at its end.
“Wait here,” she instructed, then ducked inside.
When she returned, she handed Enari the candle and opened the box she’d retrieved. She withdrew a woven cord on which dangled a carved soapstone amulet the size of a walnut.
“You are too young for an uma of your own,” she said kindly. She slipped the cord over Enari’s head and tucked the charm into the front of her gown.
“The spell needs to be renewed once a season, but any healer can do that for you, or come back and I will do it. Wear it and be safe. Now, I’m sure my boy grows impatient to be off and you should not stay out in the dark.”
They returned to Jex, who looked back and forth between the two suspiciously, though he asked no questions, for which Enari was immensely thankful.
At the door, Zaya bent to plant a kiss on each of her cheeks. “I know you must be leaving, but you are always welcome here, with or without my boy. Come and see me again, Enari.”
On impulse, Enari hugged the woman tightly and the embrace was returned without hesitation. For a brief instant she was enveloped in warmth and the scent of cinnamon. The sensations evoked flashes of half-remembered things, fragments that were gone as quickly as they’d come, leaving her a little less warm in their wake.
“Walk safe,” Zaya whispered to her son, hugging him in turn. He promised they would and waited on the porch with Enari’s hand in his until he he
ard the click of the bolt sliding into place.
True night had fallen on Tor’s Alley, with only a few pale squares of light cast by nearby windows to illuminate the way ahead. The far end of the street was utterly dark, a patient maw waiting to swallow them whole. A dog barked in the distance and they heard the hiss and yowl of fighting tomcats somewhere much closer. Tipping her head back, Enari gazed at the stars that were clearly visible in this poorly lit part of the great city.
“We shouldn’t dawdle,” Jex said in a low voice. He moved down the steps, putting them on a level when he faced her, and bent to pull a dagger from the top of his boot. She hadn’t even noticed it before and wondered what else he had hidden on his person.
Holding it up, he took her hand and curled her fingers around the leather-wrapped hilt.
“Do you know how to use this?” he asked seriously.
When she shook her head, he closed his eyes in dismay and exhaled heavily. She watched the faint glint of starlight trace the razor edge as she tilted it slowly. He shook her once, snapping her attention back to him.
“Eyes, throat, belly, groin.” He touched each body part on himself as he spoke. “They’re soft and the blade won’t stick. Any part of a man will do, but those will drop him fast.” Placing his hand over hers, he showed her a simple thrust-and-twist motion.
“Put it in your belt, like this. Good. Now let me see you draw it. Watch you don’t cut your fingers.”
Enari did as instructed and once he was satisfied she could draw the weapon without catching on anything, he took her hand again. They started down the dark street at a brisk pace and Enari observed a change in the way he walked. His stride was still confident, but there was a new alertness in his posture, a deadly grace that proclaimed he was not someone to be trifled with.
“What did she give you?” he asked more casually than she would have expected.
Reluctantly, she fished the amulet out of her bodice and held it up so he could see. He coughed and glanced away, but not before she saw the color rising in his cheeks. Even in the dim light, the blush was visible.
“I’m sorry. That was rather, um, forward of her. Have to give her credit for perceptiveness, though. I’m not sure I’d have thought of that until it was too late, and then where would we be? Well, where would you be? As soon as Vasi found out, I’d be dead for certain. I know I don’t have to tell you to keep it out of sight unless you want people to talk. Not that I’d be ashamed, but, well, that brings us back ‘round to the me dying thing.” Throughout the entire rambling monologue, his eyes swept their surroundings and he kept a firm grip on her hand.
They’d nearly reached the market square where the encounter with the Dust addict had occurred that afternoon when a figure stepped into the alley, blocking their path.
“Thought you two would be along,” drawled a male voice, “Made us wait long enough to be sure.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jex stopped dead as three more man-shaped shadows joined the first. Slowly, attention never leaving the menacing strangers, he drew Enari behind him so that his body shielded her from view. As the pack moved to the center of the alley, moonlight dimly illuminated their features. Three of the ruffians were hulking, heavily muscled men, flat faced and heavy browed, while the fourth, apparently their leader, was whipcord thin. All four were dressed in dark clothing and armed to the teeth.
“We don’t want any trouble, friends,” Jex said, polite and cautions, “Let us pass.”
The men laughed. The sound was ugly and filled with the promise of impending violence.
The leader shook his head, long hair falling into his eyes. “Oh no. The Lady doesn’t take kindly to a dandy like you roughing up her people. Yeema may be a slimy, Dust-mad little worm, but he’s still Brotherhood.”
“The Lady Shadow should warn her men against accosting mages and young kvinnas in a public market, then. Your fellow was sloppy and I only gave the maggot what he deserved,” Jex shot back. “You have no quarrel with us.”
“Be that as it may, we can hardly let such actions go unaddressed. You nobles might start getting uppity.”
“Perhaps we can work somefing out,” one of the big men suggested. “The lassie there is nice-looking enough. Let her be the payment.”
“You’ll touch her over my dead body!” Jex snapped. His tone was no longer friendly. He spun his staff in one hand and planted the end solidly into the dirt at his feet. Its runes began to glow scarlet and a sphere of crackling fire sprang to life in the air above his cupped palm. Two of the men took a hasty step back.
“That can certainly be arranged,” the thin man said with a snigger, “or you can stand aside, mageling. Let us have our fun and we can all go on as if none of this unpleasantness ever happened. We promise we’ll be quick and the Lady need never hear of it.”
The man behind him made a vulgar gesture and elbowed his closest associate. “You might be quick, but I plan to take my time. She looks fresh.”
“Take one step from where you stand and before the Consorts I swear you’ll die before you can take another,” the mage warned him. The orb of flames grew a little bigger as his anger built.
Then, speaking softly so his voice did not carry beyond her hearing, he addressed Enari, “Nani, do you see the doorway to your left?” He felt her nod against his back. “I want you to walk over there, slowly now, and put your back to it. I’ll veil you until you get there, then stay down and out of the way. If one of them gets past me, you run as fast as you can and head for a lighted street. Look for a guardsman.”
Walking backwards to keep the men in view, Enari crossed the narrow space until she felt her back bump against uneven stone. She sidestepped into the dim recess and held her breath, pressing as close to the door as she could manage.
“Hiding your toys isn’t very polite, you know,” sighed the leader, although he really didn’t sound that disappointed. A dagger appeared in his hand as if by magic and he grinned. “Never mind. I haven’t had a decent fight or a good fuck in ages.” He jerked his head towards Jex. “Get ‘im, lads. She’ll reappear once he’s dead.”
The two largest thugs rushed forward together.
Crying out a challenge, Jex swept his arm forward, palm down in a slashing motion, and the ball of fire turned into a line as it left him. It streaked towards the onrushing men, who dodged aside with snarls of anger.
Jex crooked his fingers and the flames reversed direction in midair, doubling back to impact one thug between his first and second steps. It exploded with a roar and the man was immediately engulfed in snapping red and orange flame. He dropped into the dust and tried frantically to smother his burning clothes but to no avail. The mage-fire burned hot and fast and within seconds the man was a living torch.
His partner had faltered, but only briefly.
As the choked screams began to die out, he reached Jex and brought a sword whistling down on the other’s head. Jex raised his staff in time to catch the blow across its length, stopping the steel inches from his face. The blade stuck and with a twist of his shoulders and arms, Jex sent the weapon spinning away. Lightning quick, he kicked out and caught the tough squarely between the legs. The man dropped with a winded curse, but dodged aside from the follow up strike aimed at his head.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the lance of fire the mage flung down on him. He, too, was alight in an instant. Smoke and the smell of charred meat filled the night air.
The fourth assailant, the one who’d hung back from the initial charge when the order was given, had managed to sidle around the mage in the moment it had taken him to dispatch his attackers. Spotting Enari, he advanced on her with a leer.
“Come here, little dove,” he crooned, holding out a hand. “I won’t hurt you, I swear. An’ if you cooperate, we might be inclined to not kill your lover. Maybe just rough ‘im up a bit.”
She backed away slowly, eyes darting between the huge thug and the skirmish behind him. Two lay sprawled i
n smoking, unmoving heaps, but the wiry one had closed with Jex and he tossed his staff aside as the other hit him. They tumbled and rolled, each seeking to gain the upper hand. Steel flashed and dark splashes stained the ground in their wake, but in the gloom it was impossible to tell whose blood was being spilled.
Taking advantage of her distraction, the man lunged for her and caught her wrist before she could flee more than a few steps. Laughing, he jerked her against him.
“I’m going to enjoy this. These mages, see, sure they can burn you or freeze you or whatever, but they’re all one-trick in the end. Get past the magic and they’re naught but a whimper. You should pick better company if you’re gonna be out in the dark.”
Enari turned her face aside as he tried to kiss her and his rough beard scraped her cheek, the gesture more chaste than he’d intended.
“Oh come now, don’t be that way,” the man chided and grabbed her chin. “This’ll be easier if you settle down.”
She wriggled frantically, kicking at his shins. A sharp blow stung her face.
“Stop squirming!” he growled, angry now. He reached down with one meaty hand and tore open her dress from neckline to knee, snapping her belt like fine thread in the process and revealing the dainty chemise beneath. With one tug, it too was in tatters. He shoved her roughly against the wall and her head struck the stone hard enough to make her vision swim. The alley revolved drunkenly and blackness began to close in on her, but she fought it, knowing what would happen if she lost consciousness. She reached for the power she’d felt that day with the Greater, only to encounter the same wall she’d run up against the other times she’d tried. The magic was there, but she just couldn’t get to it, no matter how desperately she needed it now.
Holding her by the throat, he pressed a hand between her thighs and tried to force her legs apart. Enari clawed at his eyes and it earned her another slap, this one bloodying her nose. Panting now, her attacker threw her to the ground and descended upon her, using his knees to spread her legs as he pawed at her breasts. She managed to eel out from under him and roll to her hands and knees, scrambling away only to be caught by one ankle and yanked backwards. She winced as skin was peeled off her knees and the palm of one hand.
Errant Spark (Elemental Trials Book 1) Page 25