Dwelling on the rejection wasn't in anyone's best interest, and he floundered for a topic change. "I don't know much about clan leadership. Are you the oldest of your father's children?"
Muscles twitched in Essian's back, and masochistically, Zerek dropped his gaze to a spectacular, gleaming ass. When his cock threatened to come to life, despite the chilled water, he raised his eyes again. Essian hadn't answered and he cleared his throat, wondering if he needed to speak up.
"I am my father's only child."
"Oh. So..." Zerek couldn't think of a good way to say it, but he wanted to know. "I don't want to sound pessimistic, but what if something happens to you?"
For the first time, Essian's hissed laughter had a distinctly unhappy tinge. "I have children to secure the clan leadership."
Children. When he'd spoken of children to inherit the clan, Zerek hadn't realized he was talking about his own kids. Disappointment welled up, hot and choking. Of course Essian wouldn't be attracted to another man.
"You left one of them in charge?"
This time, Essian snorted. "No. My council of elders will oversee clan business until my return. None of my children have reached maturity, and even so, my eldest shows no signs of being fit to rule. The next, though, she shows promise."
"What do you mean, fit to rule? Competitors aren't exiled or killed are they?" Zerek had visions of a Kadrussian version of the Stony Gate pit fights, but to the death.
Essian whipped around, golden eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting I killed off my siblings?" His words held more hissing than normal, presumably due to fangs that had lengthened to a more threatening size.
Zerek held up his hands in what he hoped was an unthreatening manner, but resolutely refused to step back. Last thing he wanted was to get bitten—Essian's venom would undoubtedly be lethal—but he'd faced danger many times before. "Sorry. I just...don't know how it works."
With an agitated tongue flicker, Essian spun around and Zerek pursed his lips. He'd had a chance to check out a fully naked Essian from the front, and fear of Essian's anger meant he'd missed it. Of all the mud sucking luck.
The creek burbled happily, while Zerek waited for Essian to say something.
"I am sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten angry over an innocent question. I meant that my son doesn't have the temperament or desire to lead. Forcing him into that role will only make everyone unhappy. Siblings, if they exist, often become part of the circle of clan leader’s advisors. Leadership does not always fall to the eldest."
"Two kids, that's a good number." Like Zerek knew. In the encampments, more kids meant more hands to help with work, but meant more mouths to feed as well. He had no idea what a good number was for anyone, much less a clan leader.
"I have eight children. Another way in which I differed from my father. He was barely fertile."
Aside from knowing Essian had a whole litter of kids and proved fertile, there was something odd about his words, but Zerek sensed pushing wouldn't get him anything.
He also wanted to know if the mother of his children was a true mate he'd heard stories about. Like the prophecy and the seers, Zerek didn't believe in the concept of a true mate, but he knew the Kadrussians did. Marriages and procreation happened in their absence, though, so Zerek assumed the concept was some sort of delusion on the part of love-sick people.
Imagining Essian with his true mate was like having hundreds of splinters in his skin, so he turned his thoughts toward the challenges of the following day while he finished washing. Tomorrow, they'd face the first place where Zerek's skills would truly be useful.
Unlike Essian, he pulled on his underclothes while he was still damp. Past experience taught him they'd dry quickly enough, and he needed something to hide behind. Being naked with a man he desired, who didn't desire him back, made him feel more vulnerable than anything else in his life.
Chapter 4
ZEREK PAID CAREFUL ATTENTION to the lay of the land. They hadn’t quite left Serpentes territory, but less than an hour’s journey would put them in the communal passage, the buffer zone between clan territories and Hilruda controlled land. Ostensibly, it had been created long before humans arrived to provide a neutral area to avoid conflict between the two species, but in reality, it ended up a lawless length of land that had, until recently, been a refuge of human escapees.
With the border Kadrussian clans slowly pulling back closer to the clan heartlands, the Hilruda had “altruistically” taken it upon themselves to police the communal passage. Effectively, that meant the communal passage was no longer neutral, but under Hilruda control. People who took it upon themselves to try and escape the Hilruda now faced getting picked up by a Hilruda patrol and likely finding themselves in Stony Gate, or traveling deep into clan territory and risk running into unfriendly Kadrussians.
Zerek couldn’t blame the Kadrussians for reacting badly to border incursions. Flooding the clan lands with destitute and desperate humans wouldn’t solve the Hilruda problem at all, which is why Zerek tried to be discerning when he brokered a smuggling deal for human passage and permanent living arrangements in the clan lands. Although it wouldn’t be long before he had to come up with another solution.
Coming to a halt, he grabbed Essian’s arm.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, but we’re almost at the crossroads market and we need to get ready.” Zerek slung the pack off his back and dug inside for one of the hooded cloaks like the ones his Kadrussian rescuers had worn to get him out of Stony Gate. He showed it to Essian. “Get yours out.”
Essian obeyed, but he wasn’t happy. “The crossroads market? What are we doing here? There is a more direct route to Philae clan lands, and we don’t risk getting caught by the Hilruda.”
“You did specifically want my help, right? Because I have reasons for everything I do.” Not all of which had to do with Essian’s travel plans, but Zerek’s agenda and Essian’s did overlap in this case. A slight detour was called for.
Essian compressed his lips together before wrapping himself in the hooded cloak. Zerek followed suit, then assessed his companion critically.
“The second we leave the tree line, I want you to slouch.”
“Slouch?” Essian said it like it was a dirty word and Zerek shook his head. Probably the Serpentes clan leader didn’t have to hide himself often. Or ever.
“Yes, slouch. Like this.” Zerek demonstrated, folding in on himself. He had more practice than Essian did, but after a few moments, Essian had compressed himself in a commendable manner.
“Why exactly am I doing this?”
“Because we’re both bigger than most humans. We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention while we’re at the market. Even though the market stands on traditionally neutral lands, the Hilruda still patrol, and Kadrussian attendees are few. If we can convince casual observers we’re nothing more than normal humans, we’ll be better off.” Zerek didn’t know if it was possible to remain undetected, but attending the market was a risk he needed to take.
“If we are missing supplies, why didn’t you say that before we left my stronghold?”
Essian was too damned straightforward for smuggling, and he asked a lot of questions. Most times when Zerek was smuggling people out of Hilruda territory, they were too desperate and defeated to do anything but do what he said.
“Look. Can you just trust me, Mister Mysterious Prophecy? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you haven’t told me everything yet. But I’m trusting you to tell me what I need to know. You need to slouch and don’t speak unless you have to. No constantly questioning my actions until after we’re clear of the market, got it?”
A tiny hiss was the only obvious sign of Essian’s displeasure, but he nodded sharply.
They turned from their original direction to head for the communal passage. He’d rather come out on the passage far from potential observers. Easier to pretend they’d been traveling from Hilruda territory, rather than popping out of clan territory. Even
so, once they were out of the thick brush, the muted noise of a large group of people was audible and the cacophony of the market increased with every step.
“Follow me closely,” Zerek whispered to Essian as they reached the outskirts.
The goods at market were rarely luxurious or well crafted—most of those were appropriated by the Hilruda—but Zerek made a point of stopping at seemingly random stalls. More to the point, he wanted to look like he was innocently browsing, but certain stalls had vendors who were more entrenched with their Hilruda masters than Zerek thought wise, for anyone’s sake. He also didn’t want anyone to take note of the one vendor he needed to talk to, the whole reason he’d made straight for the crossroads market.
Essian shifted impatiently each time Zerek stopped at a stall, and grumbled when he exchanged a few copper beads for useless ribbons and candy. Despite the Hilruda oppression, courting rituals had never disappeared from the human instinct. Ribbons and candy from the market were the most common items for a man to bring his sweetheart.
After wending through half the market, there didn’t seem to be anyone taking special notice of them, and Zerek casually approached his goal, the vendor from which he’d bought his bone lock picks.
“Hello, good sir.” Arri’s patter was well practiced. “Can I interest you in some finely crafted bone tools? Or utensils?”
“Have you any oteryan combs?” Oteryan, though an attractively plumed avian, had bones far too porous to work into anything more useful than airy, decorative pieces that no human could reasonably afford. Definitely wouldn’t be used for anything functional. A subtle jolt swept Arri’s frame, but was quickly suppressed. Zerek smiled under his hood. No reason for Arri to have forgotten their signal, even if it had been months since he’d last sought out information from the crossroads market.
“I have something that might just suit your purpose.” Arri made a show of pulling out a series of decorative combs that anyone should be able to tell weren’t oteryan bone, but like any good salesman, outright telling a customer he was a fool wasn’t good business. Essian moved on to inspect the goods at a stall farther along, and Zerek took advantage of his distraction to ask the questions he wanted. Pretty soon, though, Zerek had to get Essian out of the market before his impatience drew negative attention.
“Any news from The City?” The Hilruda had more than one, but only one contained Stony Gate, the same one that housed the Hilruda governing body. Any of the smaller ones were referred to by name, but only one was The City. For a long time, he’d wondered why the ultimate masters of the Hilruda resided in the same city as the enormous prison, but they probably got the biggest share of the energy from the pit fights. With some effort, Zerek curtailed a shudder.
“Indeed. Big escape from Stony Gate. The masters were, are unbelievably furious.” Arri’s voice had dropped and he glanced around. Even if Arri hadn’t been part of his network, talking about something that pissed off the Hilruda wasn’t wise.
“Oh? You don’t say.”
“Yep. Famous smuggler. Being hailed as a hero by many… when the masters aren’t around.”
Fuck. Hero? He was no hero, and it wasn’t even an escape by his own means. But correcting Arri would not be wise. The less Arri knew, the better.
“Famous smuggler?”
“Zerek, ever heard of him?” Arri had cultivated the persona of a gossip, which meant Zerek could get information out in the open without anyone getting suspicious.
“Yes, perhaps. Didn’t he have a crew? Did they escape too?” Long practice in his chosen vocation was the only thing that kept his voice steady and casual as he asked that question. Zerek glanced at Essian, but he was still a couple stalls away. Not that he didn’t believe Essian, but he needed confirmation from his own people.
“Nah, they’re still on the loose, although word is they’ve gone to ground to let tempers cool.”
Zerek closed his eyes and let out a breath. One less thing to worry about it, and it had been a major concern from the moment he’d been imprisoned.
“My favorite theory about the escape was that Zerek was spirited away by ghosts.” Arri chuckled. “Another popular one is that yo… uh… he’s a shapeshifter.”
Arri mentioned a couple more outlandish theories about how Zerek had escaped while Zerek touched a few of the combs on display. Fortunately, no mention was made of the Kadrussians, which was another minor worry off his mind. At an appropriate point, Zerek wedged in another question, his air of boredom not entirely feigned.
“Heard anything about passage to the northern wilds?” The wilds spanned both sides of Hilruda and Kadrussian lands, and once past the wilds on the one side was the last clan Zerek and Essian intended to visit.
“The northern wilds?”Arri looked thoughtful. “Probably avoid the Tyran valley. And maybe the Grathern Forest. I heard the patrols were…vigorous in taking down a couple of tent cities. I understand they’re lingering to make sure they’ve rounded everyone up.”
“Good to know. I’ll take this comb here.” Zerek paid Arri in copper beads, using a practiced bit of sleight of hand to pass over far more than the asking price of the comb. Arri wrapped the comb and Zerek tucked the package into his pack.
He paused at a couple more stalls before leading an increasingly agitated Essian out of the market. Amazingly, the man waited until they were well into the trees before he ripped off his hood.
“What did that prove? Candy? Ribbons? Combs? That was a waste of time and copper beads, the same ones you insisted be included in your pack.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. The Kadrussians are swimming in copper—it hardly ruined you.” Copper was one of the few metals humans were allowed to possess, which made it a convenient currency. “Aside from that, my purpose was hardly shopping. It’s not like I have a desperate need for candy.”
“Then what was that? The northern wilds? We’re heading to Philae now, not Tilia.”
This was the most emotional he’d seen Essian, and it was both sexy and amusing, watching him huff and hiss, kicking at the dirt. Perverse bastard that he was, he enjoyed thwarting Essian’s expectations. Probably weren’t too many in Essian’s life who did that, and Zerek had too many years of experience doing it to the Hilruda to turn it off that easily. Even if he wanted to. Which he didn’t, because Essian needed to learn a lesson about eavesdropping. Thankfully, Hilruda hearing wasn’t nearly as acute as a Kadrussian’s, which Zerek hadn’t realized until now.
“That is called information gathering. If anyone was actually listening to that conversation, or if Arri is interrogated, he can tell them where I said I was going. Since we’re planning to visit Tilia last, our path is going to be quite a bit different than it would be if we were setting off from here. That means a better chance of evading anyone looking for us. Or rather, me.”
Essian flickered his tongue out as he stared at Zerek. A few moments later, the angry tension dissolved.
“Good idea. Perhaps you should have overpaid for the comb.”
Zerek chuckled. Probably as close to an apology he was going to get. “I did overpay him, but you missed it, so likely others did as well.”
Essian looked suitably impressed. At least Zerek was able to do something right for this important client.
“What are tent cities?”
“Sometimes humans will congregate in areas that they think are safe and away from the Hilruda. Gradually, word gets around, and the numbers swell. At a certain size, it’s almost impossible to keep it secret. Like trying to keep a whole village secret. The Hilruda patrols will sweep in and capture everyone. Some go to Stony Gate, but most are pressed back into service, often the more dismal and degrading tasks.”
“But the Grathern Forest isn’t in Hilruda territory. Neither is most of the Tyran valley.”
Zerek nodded. “I know, but no Kadrussians live there, nor do they patrol often. Humans think it’s safe because no one’s there and the Hilruda know there won’t be any repercussions for excursions into your
territory.”
The information did not please Essian. “I knew it was bad, but I hadn’t realized just how bad.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Bad enough for Zerek’s people to have two concurrent tent cities big enough to catch interest, and bad that the Hilruda had no compunction about venturing so far past the communal passage.
“Then we’d better get a move on. You’ve got a prophecy to fulfill, and the sooner we’re done, the sooner I can go back to helping my people. We’re not going to make the Philae stronghold before nightfall, and I want to set up camp as far from the market as possible.”
Without another word, Essian allowed Zerek to head out. They walked in silence for a couple of hours before Essian spoke again.
“I had told you your crew was safe. Did you not believe me?” The tone was soft, without a hint of rancor or arrogance.
“Essian, you’ve got advisors, and friends, and children.” For some reason, Zerek didn’t want to mention the obvious—a wife. No matter how useless to even entertain the idea that they might entertain each other during their journey. “You don’t know what it’s like to be alone. But my crew, they saved my sanity. I handpicked them for their skills and they became friends. Family. Or at least the closest I’ll ever have. I needed answers from someone I’ve known more than a few days. Can you understand that?”
Essian nodded. “Of course. Forgive me.”
Zerek shrugged. “Now, if you don’t mind, we ought to be quiet for a while. We’re still too close to the market for comfort.”
And he didn’t want to talk anymore. For some reason, he’d revealed a very personal thing to a near stranger, which wasn’t like him. He just hoped his gut was telling him the truth about Essian, and that he wasn’t going to regret showing Essian any of his vulnerabilities.
* * * *
AROUND A BEND IN the road, the Phinae stronghold appeared. Trepidation knotted his guts, tempering Zerek's good mood. First thing that morning, they'd by-passed a Hilruda scouting party and nosy Kadrussians with relative ease.
Come Undone: Romance Stories Inspired by the Music of Duran Duran Page 45