“Thank you,” Dale said.
The man glanced at Virtue. “You're a pretty one. I didn't know vampires were entering the tournament.”
“We're not,” Virtue said. “I am mainly moral support.”
“That's fine.” The man walked on.
“He was cautious,” Virtue said. “I read his mind. He didn't quite trust us, until I sent reassurance.”
“That's because of past history,” Dale said. “The several nations and species are at peace now, but that was not always the case. Not that long ago, Sultry was a unified nation roughly divided into two provinces. Upper Sultry's citizens were like that man we just met, powerful and proud. They saw the denizens of Lower Sultry as a bunch of backwoods hicks, though that was unfair; they were less adventurous but had talents of their own. There were incidents, such as a lynching that was blamed on the Lower Sultrians, and passions led to war. Neither side prevailed, but the two provinces became two nations who remain vaguely hostile to this day. When it became clear that we were not Lower Sultrians, our border guard was reassured. For one thing, there are no vampires here; the only intruders are Amazons, who can take care of themselves.”
“They certainly can,” Virtue said. “I don't like Amazons.”
Benny was surprised. Virtue was generally tolerant of all other peoples. Why did she make an exception for Amazons? Now he remembered how she had spoken ill of them when a contingent passed through Gant, calling them dangerous mercenaries. It seemed that the vampires and Amazons had interacted at one point, and evidently parted ways less than amicably.
“It's complicated,” Virtue murmured, picking up his thought. “Nothing you need be concerned about.”
All the same, Benny hoped they did not encounter any Amazons.
“Now I recognize the terrain,” Dale said. “I have a house here. We'll stay there.”
“A house?” Benny asked. “I thought you were a chronic wanderer.”
“I am. But I rescued a nobleman from a highwayman during my travels around the realm, and he insisted on rewarding me with a place to stay in comfort. So when I am here, I use it, as a matter of courtesy.”
“I'm glad there will be a place,” Virtue said. “I am tired.”
Benny looked at her. She had become downright peaked. “The illness?” he asked.
“It comes and goes, but is getting worse. I fear I am in for a nasty siege.”
Bunny realized that she must have felt it coming on before, but not mentioned it so as not to inhibit him. “You must rest, yes,” he said.
They emerged from the forest. There ahead was a phenomenal mansion.
“Ah, my house,” Dale said.
Benny exchanged a glance and thought with Virtue. Some house!
But it was surely a good place for Virtue to rest.
Chapter 9:
They walked along the curving drive toward the mansion, through elegantly tailored gardens with decorative statuary. It was evident that someone was taking excellent care of the premises, and it couldn't be Dale, who hadn't even been here recently.
“This is absolutely lovely,” Virtue said.
Dale shrugged. “Purp handles it.”
“Who?”
“That's what I call him. Purp, because he's purple. He came with the house and knows what he's doing, so I kept him on.” He glanced at her. “That's one of the benefits of being good instead of evil. Instead of killing competent folk, I use them. In fact I have received more material things from doing good than I ever did doing evil. If my evil self had known that, he might have changed on his own, not needing your bite.” He was teasing her.
She sighed. “To think I wasted good saliva.” She was teasing him back.
Benny stayed out of it. Dale had destroyed her coven and marked her for rape and death, yet she had forgiven him and treated him as a friend. She had bitten him to suppress his dark side and transform him to the good person he was now. In her position, Benny doubted he could have been so generous. But she was Virtue; there was no other woman like her. He loved her and would gladly die for her. He hated this horrible illness that had come upon her.
They came to the front veranda, where a remarkable man greeted Dale warmly. He was dressed in ornate blue livery, and was of average stature. But that was where his conventionality ended. His skin was red with light purple polka dots, and his hair was red and purple striped. His eyes were indefinite, appearing to Benny like marble in moonlight, with a subdued glow. Had he met this man in a dark alley he would have been concerned for his life; there was an aura of danger about him. This had to be Purp.
Dale introduced them. “This is Purp, my head butler. Without him, this house would be a wreck.” Benny saw the man wince slightly at the term “house.” Dale didn't mean to insult it; he simply had a lower brow vocabulary.
“And these are my friends Benny and his wife Virtue,” Dale said. “She's a vamp, but she's the best person I know, and will be treated accordingly.”
Benny saw Purp's trace reactions to that, too. Evidently he was annoyed that Dale had brought friends, which meant more work for the household staff, and that one of them was a vampire. Prejudice against vampires was widespread. But the word had been given: these were honored guests. The butler would obey.
Beside Benny, Virtue froze. She did not like Purp. Not at all.
“Understood,” Purp said smoothly. “However, there is one other thing.”
“Spit it out.”
“There is an Amazon.”
“You booted her out, of course,” Dale said.
Purp almost smiled. “One does not exactly boot an Amazon. Not if one values one's health. One is polite and does not touch one's weapon. She insists on talking with you.”
“Oh, sh--” Dale glanced at Virtue. “ucks. Then I'll deal with her. I'll d--” He paused again, momentarily. “arn well touch my weapon. Bring her up.”
Benny saw Virtue form the trace of a smile. Dale was making a show of avoiding his normal course language in her presence because of Purp, though when they were alone he didn't bother. They were friends who could share more than language without offense. It was part of his statement about her guest status. No one mistreated a declared friend of Dale's, in or out of his mansion. Not even himself.
“I will speak for myself.” A tall woman strode from the shadow of the veranda. She wore a loose red tunic that covered her left shoulder and breast and dropped to her knees. A double bladed sword hung from a strap cinching her taut midriff. Her exposed body was decorated with tattoos, piercings, and other tribal markings. Her blond hair was bound in a dozen tight dreadlocks that surrounded her neck. “Helena Amazon. I know who the three of you are; I overheard the introductions. May I make my case?”
Benny noticed that the Amazon's exposed right breast was marvelously formed, full yet erect; absolutely no sag there. Tattoos circled it, and there was a small silver ring through the nipple.
Virtue's finger snapped against his thigh warningly. She had no fear of competition, but did not want him to embarrass himself by too obvious an inspection. He had indeed been in danger of doing that.
“Make it and begone,” Dale said tightly. His hand, as promised, was on the hilt of his sword, a plain challenge to the Amazon.
Helena smiled thinly, not at all fazed. “Perhaps we shall meet in the competition.” She seemed to be quite ready for that. “But at the moment I have a problem. The tournament has summoned warriors from afar, I among them, and the local facilities are full. I am sure there are men who would gladly share, but I do not care to meet their price. So I come to ask the favor of a room of your fine mansion. I will pay.”
Dale's demeanor changed. “Make truce, and you can share my room and bed.”
“I mean to win a prize and marry the Emperor's son, so I must remain chaste for that. I proffer this instead.” She held up a bright gold coin.
“Damn,” Dale said, not editing his language for this recipient, which was another indication of contempt. “They say the
re's no lusty fun for a man like an Amazon, when she has a mind to. But I know what you mean. I had better stay celibate myself for the duration if I mean to marry the Emperor's daughter. Make truce, be my guest, friend status, warrior's code; we have a common objective.”
“Truce. Friend status. Accepted. I'm glad you understand.” Helena extended her empty hand.
Dale took it and formally shook it. They did understand each other.
“I will show you the residence,” Purp said with resignation.
It turned out to be a fair miniature tour. The front door was made of pure pearl, surely more costly by itself than the whole house of an ordinary citizen. Inside was an indoor mock forest of cedar trees. It appeared to be snowing in the room, but the temperature was comfortable. There was even a little village of gnomes living in the forest. Benny tried not to smile, because they looked like typical lawn gnomes, with little red hats and different colored clothing and small beards.
“Are they real?” Benny asked, suspecting that the whole thing was illusion.
“Oh, yes,” Dale said. “I let them move in after their original village was attacked by wolves.”
Purp's jaw tightened. Evidently this had not been his preference.
They passed through the forest and entered the main house. The great room seemed to have walls made of pearl, with roses of different colors growing inside, not on, the walls themselves. It was both a parlor and a library.
“Lovely,” Virtue murmured.
All the rooms were ornately decorated. The Amazon was given one with a pitched battle motif, and Benny and Virtue had one with the walls covered in a fresco of gnomes similar to the Fox Den.
“I had the room painted for you in case you ever visited,” Dale explained.
“Thank you,” Virtue said. “We do feel more at home here.”
Apart from that, they were ensconced in a delightful suite with a view of the central courtyard, where a fountain played. But Virtue had no further strength for appreciation. She used the sanitary facility, stripped off her outer clothing, and collapsed on the plush bed.
She was not being seductive. It was the blood malady. “Oh, Virtue!” Benny breathed, sitting beside her. “I wish I could help you.”
“Just keep that snide butler and that warrior woman away from me.” Then she smiled faintly. “I read their minds. Dale still wants to get into her armored pants for a night's reveling without respect. She knows it and is annoyed. They're under a hospitality truce that neither much likes, but they will honor it to the letter. There'll be no panky.”
“That's amusing,” Benny agreed.
“Don't you have something to do, like practicing for the tournament or ogling that Amazon? Let me sleep in peace.”
“But, Virtue, how can I leave you when you're in pain?”
She touched his hand. “I know you mean well, Benny. But my pain is worse when your mind is amplifying it. Please, get away from me. I am perfectly safe here.”
“Oh.” He stood and withdrew.
He went to the courtyard. There Dale and Helena were facing off. She was all the way naked now, and startlingly beautiful despite the body art. Benny remembered that Amazons preferred to fight nude, so that clothing would not inhibit their moves.
“Ah, there you are, Benny,” Dale called. “We were waiting for you. We need a referee to call the scores.”
“You expected me?” Benny asked, surprised.
“We knew Virtue needed her rest, and she couldn't get it with you hovering over her.”
Oh, Benny thought. Sometimes it seemed that he was the last to catch on to a situation. So he changed the subject. “You can't fight,” Benny protested. “You're under truce.”
“We're not fighting, we're practicing, so as to be in fit shape for the tournament. Hel's earning her keep this way.”
Hel? Was he already that familiar with her? “It looks from here as if you're flirting with each other. She's giving you a fantastic eyeful.”
“That, too,” Dale agreed with good humor, and Helena smiled. Their mutual hostility seemed to be abating.
Now Benny saw that they were flourishing padded wooden swords. They were serious about both the practice and the truce.
They went at it with vigor, thrusting and parrying. Dale deflected Helena's thrust, then smacked her bare bottom with the flat of his sword.
“Score, Dale,” Benny announced, stifling a grin.
“Don't you wish that was your hand,” Helena teased him.
“Oh, yes.” They were fencing with words as well as swords.
They fought again, battling each other with renewed vigor. Helena whirled, causing her hair and breasts to swing out in a way that popped Benny's eyes. But as she completed her turn, her sword was out of place and Dale got another opportunity. He went to smack her bottom—and suddenly the flat of her sword knocked his wrist, almost disarming him. He could have lost his hand, with a real sword.
“Score Helena,” Benny said. So the Amazon had let him score the first time, to set him up for the second. Benny should have caught that ploy, but that fabulous body distracted him.
“You certainly know how to use your weapons,” Dale said.
“Did you think we fight bare just to keep our motions free?”
“A man could really lose his head,” Dale agreed wryly.
“Some do.”
They continued, appearing evenly matched. Then Purp showed up. “The cook wants your preference for dinner. She doesn't know the new guests.”
“Any kind of meat, as long as it's raw,” Helena said.
“Damn,” Dale said. “Take over here, Benny. I've got to go straighten that cook out.”
“But--”
“Take your turn,” Helena said as Dale handed him the wooden sword and walked away.
So Benny faced the bare Amazon. It was quickly evident that he was no match for her. She smacked his rear repeatedly, while he made nary a score.
“You have to stop looking at my body and focus on your technique,” Helena said.
“I know it,” he agreed ruefully.
“You're not much, but you have magic. I can feel it. You're dangerous.”
“You can tell that just by looking at me?”
“It's more of an aura. We Amazons know how to assess our opponents.”
They resumed, but the mismatch was so evident that it seemed pointless to continue.
“Dally a while,” Helena said as she washed off her sweaty body in the outdoor shower, then shook herself dry. That popped his eyes again.
“Why? You surely have better things to do than spend more time with me.”
“It's the mystery. I've been trying to fathom your magic, but it eludes me. That aggravates me. Do you care to trade favors? All I want is to know its nature. I swear not to tell anyone else.”
“I'm married. Anyway, you're supposed to be pristine.”
She laughed as she donned her tunic. She wore nothing under it, unless her black sandals counted. “You men have single track minds. That severely limits you. Favors can be of any kind.”
Oh, Benny thought. “My wife doesn't like you.”
“Of course she doesn't, and I don't like her. This is not personal. It's not even sexual; she has no jealousy of me in that respect. It has to do with the history of vampires and Amazons.”
“She—she's ill. I want her to know she has nothing to fear from you.”
“You want me to be her friend? That would be difficult.”
“No. Merely to help safeguard her. She—she doesn't like Purp either.”
“Now that's interesting. I don't like Purp.”
“Well, he tried to keep you out of the mansion.”
“That was his duty. I don't fault him for that. This is something else. There's a mystery about him, too, and it's a sinister one. But I trust him to do his duty to Dale, and he is not a present danger. I don't have to like him.”
“That's the favor I want. For you to help my wife if she needs it.”
“My magic manifests only when I'm in deadly danger. I discorporate. That is, I become a ghost for a moment. If someone wrapped me in chains and threw me in the sea, I would ghost my way out of them and swim to the surface. But I try to stay out of any situation where I might need it, so it hardly seems to exist. I prefer that it not be known, as that would weaken its protection.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. It matches my impression. If you were about to be killed in a fight, that would save you. Thank you.”
Benny shrugged. “It's just the exchange of favors.”
“Yes. I will honor it. Your wife will understand.”
They returned to their rooms. Virtue was awake and evidently feeling better; the rest had helped. Her malady did tend to come and go.
“I—I hope I did the right thing,” Benny said.
She read his mind. “You nullified the Amazon!”
“I didn't want you to have to fear her. You have more than enough trouble already. She says the mischief is not personal, but between your species. She—she seems like a decent sort. And she doesn't like Purp.”
Virtue laughed. “That will have to do. I will not treat her like an enemy.”
“I think we need all the friends we can get in a strange country like this.”
She did not comment further. “Time to get ready for dinner.”
“Time,” he agreed, relieved that she wasn't angry with him for making the deal with the Amazon.
The copious closets had an array of clothing that fit them. How could Dale have known their sizes so accurately? “It's incidental magic,” Virtue said as she donned a pale pink evening dress. “I can feel its shaping. This will fit any woman, and your suit will fit any man.”
“I didn't know Dale had magic like that.”
“I doubt he does. That purple butler surely handles such details.”
“Yet you don't like Purp.”
“He's obviously highly competent at his job. It's his heart I don't trust. I can't read his mind. Why does he hide it?”
“Butlers must see many private things they aren't supposed to give away.”
Amazon Expedient Page 6