Valdemar Books

by Lackey, Mercedes

  The guard laughed sympathetically and patted Skan on the shoulder. "Know how you feel," he replied. "With this gimpy leg I can't even climb one staircase good anymore. Never much thought about how you critters managed until I got that crossbow bolt through the calf."

  Some chat might not be a bad cover at the moment, and I don't really have anywhere to go... Tamsin and Cinnabar will be deciphering the text they copied and putting it into terms we gryphons can use. They'll be so busy with that they wouldn't know if I was there or not.

  "Kyree and hertasi can manage all right," he replied. "But us, the dyheli, the tervardi—staircases are hell, and other things are worse! You'd think with all the veterans hurt that can't walk that they'd put in some ramps. But no—"

  The guard sighed. "Well, that's the way of the world, everybody sees it according to what he needs. If a man don't need a special way up the stairs, why, he don't think nobody else needs it, neither."

  Skan snorted. "You figured that right, brother! And my bloody aching head agrees with you, too!"

  "Best run along and catch up with those Healer friends of yours, an' make 'em patch you up," the guard advised. "Maybe then they'll think twice before they rush off an' leave you alone!"

  Skan laughed and promised he would do that; the guard limped on his rounds with a friendly wave as Skan headed back toward camp, and Healer's Hill.

  All right, I'd better get this all in order. We'll get the fertility spell straight; I'll pass it on to the rest. Then, once I know everyone has it—I'll come to Urtho and tell him what I did. That's when I bring up Kechara. That would take a few days at the best, and his conscience bothered him about leaving her alone in there for so long—

  But she's been alone in there for all of her life. A few days, more or less, will make no difference.

  There was an additional complication, however. What if Urtho made a visit to his—well—pet? If Kechara happened to mention Skan—

  I'll have to hope that she doesn't. Or if she does, Urtho just thinks she's talking about the models.

  Complications, complications.

  Stupid gryphon. You're trying to do too much too fast. But doesn't it need to be done? If not you, then who?

  The walk down to the camp was a long one. There weren't many people out at this time of night. Most of the ones still awake were entertaining themselves; the rest had duties, or were preparing their gear for combat tomorrow. It was a peculiar thing, this war between wizards; the front lines were immensely far away, and yet the combat troops bivouacked here, below Urtho's stronghold, in the heart of his lands.

  It was the Gates that made such things possible, the Gates and the gryphons.

  The first meant that Urtho could move large numbers of troops anywhere at a moment's notice. There were even permanent Gates with set destinations that did not require anything more than a simple activation spell, something even an apprentice could manage. Because of this, Urtho's troops were highly mobile, and the problem of supply lines was virtually negated.

  Of course, that was true for Ma'ar's men as well. The defender had the advantage in a situation like this. A mage setting up a Gate had to know the place where he intended it to go, and Urtho or his mages knew every inch of the territory he was defending. Ma'ar's mage could only set up Gates where they had been, places that they knew, so Ma'ar's Gates would always be behind his lines.

  There had even been one or two successful forays early on in the campaign where Urtho had infiltrated troops behind Ma'ar's. That, however, would only work once or twice before your enemy started setting watches for Gate-energies, in order to blast the Gate as it was forming. This tended to cost your mage his life as the energies lashed him at a time when he was wide open and vulnerable. That was why Urtho's forces didn't do that any more, and there wasn't a mage in the entire army who would obey an order to do so.

  Not that Shaiknam hasn't tried. But only once.

  The gryphons were the other factor that made this war-at-a-distance possible. Aloft, they could cover immense stretches of territory, and their incredibly keen vision allowed them to scout from distances so high that not even the makaar would challenge them unless they were in the very rare situation where they were at a greater altitude than the incoming gryphon. Makaar were not built for the winds and the chill of high altitude; there were gryphons who were, though they were not the best fighters.

  And there were gryphons built for long-distance scouting who had ways of overcoming their physical shortcomings that made them poor choices for combat. The one who could do it best was Zhaneel.

  One gryphon, anyway. Maybe... one day, more.

  As Skan took to the air for the brief flight to Healer's Hill, his sharp eyes picked out the glow of the tent snared by Tamsin and Cinnabar. Hard at work already. They may even have it by the time I get there. Good.

  The Black Gryphon used a thermal to kite in that direction, appreciative that the night was so clear and calm. He noted that Amberdrake's tent was also aglow.

  Hard at work, too? He chuckled. Well, the night usually is when most of his work is done. He bears the hearts of many, mine included. He is there when he is needed, even this late at night. I shall not tease him about it.

  This time!

  Ten

  Amberdrake did not notice that Skan wasn't behind them on the stairs until they reached the outside of the tower, beyond the antechamber. That was when he turned to say something to the Black Gryphon—

  And the Black Gryphon wasn't there.

  They were already beyond the immediate perimeter of the Tower. Amberdrake swore under his breath. It was too late to go back and get him; the doors probably wouldn't admit them a second time, and the guard would wonder what was going on when they returned, looking for Skan.

  A light breeze blew at Amberdrake's back, and camp sounds carried up from the tents below. It would be better to go back to his tent and go on with the plan as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Gryphons had a hard time with staircases. With luck, the guard knew that. Maybe he would figure that Skan was still inching his way down, step by painful step.

  Not that Skan had any trouble with staircases, spiral or otherwise. He was as graceful as a cat under any circumstances. It was the dancing that did it; Amberdrake had seen him climbing trees, eeling through brush and scaling the outside of tower walls with equal ease and panache. But Amberdrake was one of the few people who knew that.

  Amberdrake lingered in the shadows as Tamsin and Cinnabar hurried on ahead. He waited on the off chance that his friend might simply be sauntering along as if time had no meaning. He's been known to do that... "It's image," he says.

  Skan still did not appear. Whatever he was doing, it was not just a case of lagging behind. Where the hell is that idiot featherhead? he thought with irritation. Caught up in his own reflection somewhere?

  Far more likely that he had found some book that had caught his eye and was leafing through it, oblivious to the time. Amberdrake could only hope that it was something as innocent as a book that had detained him.

  But time was running out, for Amberdrake at least. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing, the Black Gryphon would have to make his own excuses, and bail himself out of any trouble he got into. Amberdrake could not wait any longer. He had an appointment; a last-minute appointment set up by Urtho himself. This was not a client to keep waiting.

  Especially not tonight. If he broke that appointment, or was even a tiny bit late for it, someone might put that together with Tamsin and Cinnabar's request, ask the guard who had been with them, and put two and two together and figure they had all been up to something. And that someone would probably be Urtho.

  Skandranon was a big gryphon; he could take care of himself. If he had been asked, that is exactly what he would have said.

  The way back to camp was as clear as the night sky; with no one in sight anywhere close. That meant there was no one to take note if he broke into a sprint and wonder why he was running—or at least not close enough to
recognize a distant runner as Kestra'chern Amberdrake. He took off at a lope, and didn't pause until he was just within sight of his own tent.

  I'm in better shape than I thought, he thought, with pardonable pride, as he composed himself before making his "entrance," right on time. I'm not even out of breath.

  Fortunately, his hertasi assistant, Gesten, would have everything he needed for this client prepared for him ahead of time. It had been a very long time since Amberdrake had performed the simple chores that surrounded his profession—getting out the massage table, warming the oils, putting towels in the steamer, preparing incense. Simple chores, but time-consuming. Things it would be impossible to take care of before a client came, if the kestra'chern in question happened to be doing something he didn't want anyone to know about. For instance, in case a kestra'chern absolutely had to snoop around in the Great Mage's Tower.

  Thank goodness for hertasi.

  The client was not waiting, which could mean a number of things. She could simply be late; she might be a little reluctant to go to a kestra'chern; new clients often were, until they realized how little of a kestra'chern's work had to do with amorous dealings. That was fine; it meant he had time to change into his work clothes in peace. He could have done a massage in his current outfit, but he didn't want to. He had a reputation to uphold, and much of that reputation involved his appearance. Clients should see him at his very best, for that was what he always gave them.

  So he pushed the draperies aside and slipped into his private quarters; quickly shed the clothing he had on and donned one of the three appropriate massage-costumes that Gesten had laid ready for him. Tunic and breeches again, but of very soft, thick, absorbent material in a deep crimson with vivid blue trim. The cut was more than loose enough to permit him to take whatever contortion was required to give his client relief from stressed or sore muscles. And in the soft lighting of the tent, it looked opulent, rich, special. That would make the client feel special as well.

  He braided his long hair up out of the way, but fastened the ends of the braids with small chiming bells which would whisper musically when he moved. He had found that the rhythmic chiming that followed the motions of the massage soothed his clients.

  The new client still had not appeared when he moved back to the "business" side of the tent, so he double-checked on Gesten's preparations. Not that he had any doubt of Gesten's thoroughness, but it never hurt to check. The laws of the universe dictated that the one time he did not check, something would be missing.

  The bottles of scented oil, already nicely up to temperature, waited in their pan of warm water. The hot stones had been set in the bottom of the towel-warming chest, and the steam that rose from the cracks in the upper portion, carrying with it the scent of warm, clean cloth, told him that all was in readiness there as well. The massage table had been unfolded and covered with a soft pad, of course, and a crimson chair was beside it in case the client was too stiff or sore to be able to get on it without assistance.

  The wooden rollers were ready; so were the warming ointments for after the massage, in case the muscles needed herbal therapy. There was a pot of vero-grass tea steeping in case he needed to get her to relax beforehand.

  And, most importantly for a new and possibly shy client, all the other tools of his many trades had been packed away out of sight. Most of them, in fact, currently cluttered up his private quarters. The only hint that he might not be a simple Healer was the incense in the air, the opulent hangings, and the scattering of pillows around the floor.

  He prowled the room anyway, rearranging the pillows, making certain that nothing had been left out by accident, checking the oils to be certain they hadn't gone the least tiny bit rancid. It was all energy-wasting, and he knew it, but the energy he was wasting was all from nerves, and it was his to waste if he chose.

  He wouldn't have been here, now, if he'd had any other choice. He'd be waiting outside the Tower for Skan or lurking outside the mages' meeting.

  I wish I knew what was going on at the meeting, he thought fretfully. I wonder if the hertasi have anyone there? If they do, Gesten will know the results as soon as they let out. Maybe before. I hope so—but of course Vikteren will tell me whatever happened.

  Gods, I hope Skan got out of the Tower without tripping some alarm or other. I hope the guard doesn't figure he was up to something. I hope he wasn't up to something. He simply spotted a book he could not resist, I'm sure. I hope Tamsin and Cinnabar really can find a way to give the gryphons their fertility....

  Mental nattering, really. Fretting over things he could not control and could not change was a habit of his. If he could change something, he did so; if he couldn't, he fretted it to pieces in hopes of finding a way he could affect the situation.

  Fortunately he didn't have time to work himself up over either the mages' meeting or Skan; Gesten finally poked his nose through the door flap and motioned someone inside.

  A female, but Amberdrake knew that already.

  But now he knew why Urtho had not specified who was coming, in making this appointment.

  Stiff, severe posture, mathematically precise hair, with three thin braids down the back of her neck, pinched expression, perfectly pressed and creased utilitarian clothing—Winterhart? Oh, gods.

  His shoulder muscles tensed, and his head started aching. He stopped his lip from curling with distaste just in time and dropped his mask of impassiveness into place.

  I am a professional. Urtho sent her to me, and the fee he included should quite cover the fact that she is a pain in the tail. I can take care of her without becoming the least involved. She is only here for physical therapy. I don't have to know her inmost secrets, I don't even have to speak more than a dozen words to her.

  All that flashed through his mind, as he altered his expression into a carefully indifferent and businesslike smile. She was moving very stiffly, more so than he remembered, and it wasn't all because she was not happy to be here. What had the note Urtho sent said? Back injury. Interesting; she was far stiffer than even a back injury would account for.

  I don't have to open up to her to know that she is as tense as a cocked catapult. It's written in every muscle. I can't work on her like that, and she is not going to relax....

  Interesting; I don't think she recognizes me as having been with Skan. Maybe the dim light is working for me.

  There was certainly no sign of recognition in her eyes—and then, there was recognition, but no sudden pulling back that would indicate she realized he had watched while Skan and Zhaneel made her look the fool.

  Well, that tenseness was the reason there was vero-grass tea steeping. She wouldn't be the first client who had come to a kestra'chern too tense to get any benefit from the visit.

  "You look thirsty," he said quickly as she looked around suspiciously. "Please, do drink this tea before we begin. It will help you."

  And as a Trondi'irn should know, vero-grass was thick with minerals; someone with a back injury was in need of minerals.

  She accepted the cup of tea dubiously, waved aside his offer of honey to sweeten it, and took a sip. Her eyes widened as she recognized what it was, but she said nothing; she simply gulped it down.

  Grimly, he thought. As if she dared him to do his worst.

  Well, he wouldn't do his worst, he would do his best, and to hell with her and her opinions.

  "I'd like you to disrobe, please," he said, taking the cup away from her and placing it out of the way. "And lie on the table."

  Winterhart had not known until she stepped into this tent that Urtho had ordered her to the hands of a kestra'chern. But she knew Amberdrake by sight—it seemed that he was always messing about with the Healers and the gryphons in one way or another—and she knew what his profession was.

  She had thought she was being sent to a minor, unGifted Healer for her back problems—on Urtho's direct orders of course, and after that rather painful interview following the altercation with Zhaneel. How the Mage had wormed the fac
t of her injury out of her, she had no idea.

  Then again, she had told him any number of things that she hadn't intended to, and that was only one of them. At least the fact of the injury and the pain she was in had apparently saved her from a reprimand; Urtho evidently counted it as a reason for her irritation with the world in general and gryphons specifically.

  When he had told her that—and that he was ordering her to get treatment that he himself would schedule, she had been resentful, but just a little relieved.

  Now she was resentful, not at all relieved, angry—and truth to tell, more than a little frightened. Angry that Urtho had set her up like this without telling her. Resentful that he had interfered in her private life, arbitrarily assuming that there was something wrong with her sexual relations and setting her up with a kestra'chern.

  And frightened of what could happen at the hands of this particular kestra'chern.

  She had heard very embarrassing things about kestra'chern in general and this Amberdrake in particular, stories that would curl the hair of any well-born young woman with a sense of decency. Amberdrake had a reputation for things that were rather—exotic. Conn Levas had used the fact that he had gone to this particular kestra'chern to taunt her with her inadequacies, and the things he had said had gone on here were considerably more than exotic.

  And worst of all, she had no clue what Urtho had ordered for her... treatment.

  If anyone back in her wing found out she was here, she would never hear the end of it.

  And her back still hurt! That was reason enough to wish herself elsewhere!

  The gods only know what's going to happen to my back if—if— She found herself flushing and resenting her own embarrassment. A lot of arching would be very bad for my spine right now. And I doubt he has any notion of that.

  Her suspicions hardened into certainty when she recognized the taste of the vero-grass tea. It was a calmative, yes, but it also had a reputation for enhancing other things than calm. But it was a muscle relaxant as well, and right now....