Outside the office on the left, a tall, lean man was pointing to something on his assistant’s computer screen. When he glanced up and saw Quinn and Pepper, his eyes darted from one of them to the other. A smile spread across his face.
“Commander,” he said, his eyes coolly appraising Pepper.
“Lord Treasurer Alfred Seymour, I’d like you to meet Sister Pepper Thornback. This is his assistant, Marni, and my assistant Tamart.”
The young Devmaerean male, Tamart, smiled at Pepper as though they shared a secret. She smiled at him, obviously happy for the friendly welcome.
“The third office belongs to Minister Mazrant. She should be in soon.” Quinn indicated the closed door, pleased that he and Pepper had arrived before Daedra. He wanted to surprise her.
Because Alfred was in charge of resource allocation, Quinn invited him into his office for a discussion of where Pepper would work and who would be assigned as her security detail. Alfred produced a plan of the fifth floor where the gym, library, and clinic were situated. The three of them had their heads bent over the plan when there was a rap on the closed door and, before Quinn could even ask who it was, Daedra stormed in.
“I heard you were back today,” she said through clenched teeth. “Would you sign this, please. Alfred is being officious and obstructive. He refused to assist me in my official duties.”
Tamart stood in the door, his hands raised helplessly. “Sorry, Commander, she asked if you were in and when I went to buzz you, she just stormed past.”
“Go do some filing or something,” she spat at Tamart before turning back to Quinn, her eyes blazing.
Quinn and Alfred had both risen to their feet when she entered the room. Pepper did the same and turned to face Daedra.
When Daedra saw Pepper, she crumpled the document she was holding. Her hands dropped to her sides. Her sapphire blue face drained of all color. Pepper didn’t realize it was possible for a Devmaerean to turn so pale.
The two men exchanged glances and Pepper was aware that something was happening, but she had no idea what it was except that it very clearly involved her.
“Minister Mazrant, I believe you’ve met Sister Pepper Thornback on a stopover in Rosemoor?”
Daedra gulped before answering, “Yes. She gave me an adequate treatment.” Her mouth thinned to a fine line as she backed away. “Excuse me, I have work I need to do.”
“Was there something you wanted me to look at?” Quinn asked evenly.
“No. Nothing at all.” She glared at Pepper. “What is she doing here?”
“We’ve had reports that her magic hands can actually relieve the symptoms of the Waking Illness, for several days in some lucky patients.”
“Some people will believe anything,” Daedra sneered. Throwing a cutting look at Pepper, she swept out of the room.
“Don’t worry about her,” Quinn said with a casual glance at Pepper. “She can’t stand to be upstaged and I heard she’d had plans to bring you to Rosewyld herself.”
In fact, Quinn had no idea what Daedra would have done once she got Pepper into her clutches, but he was certain it didn’t involve sharing Pepper’s gift with anyone else.
* * *
By the end of that day, Pepper had a private treatment room in the clinic. The regular massage therapist was on maternity leave and wouldn’t be back for six months. Two Tribunal Guards had been assigned to ensure Pepper’s safety.
The clinic manager had a list of everyone on the Tribunal who had admitted to symptoms of the Waking Illness. Before midday rolled around, Pepper had seen her first two patients and four more were lined up for that afternoon.
By the time she’d eaten lunch, the clinic manager had filled Pepper’s schedule for the next three weeks. Pepper’s first thought was that she wasn’t going to be celebrating the Harvest Feast at home this year.
Her second thought was that Daedra was hogging a huge portion of her time. The woman had booked herself in every single day. When Pepper pointed out the lion’s share of time that Daedra wanted, the clinic manager said, “Do you want to tell her that she’s not entitled to do that? Because I don’t have the nerve to.”
Pepper considered mentioning it to Quinn but decided to see how the appointments proceeded before bringing him into it.
She dreaded seeing Daedra again. Her hands shook at the memory of how Daedra had touched her throat the first time they met.
Chapter Thirteen: Sisters
Later that week, Ezmar and Renee blew in through the front door of Quinn’s house, chased by whipping autumn winds and pouring rain. Quinn called Pepper who was in her room writing a long letter to Lily, telling her only the most superficial of news. If Pepper told Lily half the things she’d seen and experienced so far, Lily might think she’d caught the Waking Illness herself and moved straight to delusions.
She stood at the top of the stairs and watched Ezmar and Renee strip off their dripping layers and kick off their shoes. Quinn welcomed them both with open arms. There seemed to be no difference between how he treated the two women, as though Renee was as much of a sister as Ezmar.
When Renee put an arm around Ezmar’s shoulders and kissed the tip of her nose, Pepper understood. It seemed she was going to have two sister substitutes. They were a package deal.
Ezmar held open a big paper bag for Quinn’s inspection. The sides of it were rain-streaked.
“We brought dinner,” she said, her tone victorious.
A delicious aroma wafted all the way to where Pepper watched, reminding her that she’d skipped lunch to squeeze in one more patient that day. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, first Ezmar and then Renee greeted her with the same wild hugs they’d given Quinn.
Quinn, who’d been watching all the meeting and greeting, held the bag up. “I don’t know what’s in here but let’s eat.”
“A few lovely things,” Ezmar said, pushing open the door to the dining room. “Steak. Jemduck. Some vegetables you haven’t seen since last spring. And that most delectable treat of all—Silvelea Whites.”
Silvelea White mushrooms were almost legendary. The farmers of Elsinania had been trying to grow them ever since the first shipments had arrived in the spring. When Brinley brought some home from Rosewyld after a training course, he’d made a grand gesture at the weekly communal dinner by offering small tastes to his favorite people. He’d also boasted about how much they cost, naming a price that made Pepper choke on her salad.
The delicacies had a rich buttery flavor that people raved about. Demand soon outstripped supply and price seemed to be no object. Pepper was glad that she didn’t like mushrooms.
Ezmar led the way into the mausoleum-like dining room where she spread the waxed cartons of food all over the shiny wooden table. Quinn and Pepper carried plates and cutlery from the kitchen. Ezmar found placemats and wineglasses.
While others were setting up the table, Renee went to the basement wine cellar, returning with an armful of bottles of red wine. She popped the cork on the first and filled all their glasses, adding to the party atmosphere. It was almost a celebration and that troubled Pepper. She was only in Rosewyld because people were seriously ill and needed her help. There was nothing to celebrate in that.
“Eat, drink, and be merry,” Renee said, touching her glass to Ezmar’s.
“Tomorrow we all may die,” Ezmar completed their practiced salute.
“Waking Illness doesn’t kill you,” Quinn said.
“No but what you may do under its influence can.” Ezmar handed a container of mushrooms to Pepper, who immediately handed them to Renee.
“You aren’t having any?” Renee asked.
“No, thank you. I don’t eat mushrooms.”
“Try them, Pepper,” Quinn insisted, his tone stern.
The two other women exchanged a knowing look. Pepper wondered what had registered with them: the informal way that Quinn addressed her, or his dictatorial tone of voice.
“Lay off her, Quinn,” Ezmar said. “If she d
oesn’t want them, she doesn’t have to eat them.”
“Those are one of the finest delicacies available on the black market. Why wouldn’t she like them?” Quinn asked, looking at Pepper, telling her he really wanted her to explain.
“I just don’t eat mushrooms,” she said. “When I was a little kid my grandfather used to tell me that mushrooms were unicorn eggs and when people ate them, they were killing all the baby unicorns.”
Ezmar burst out laughing. “Smart man, your grandfather. He knew how to keep all the good stuff for himself.”
“I don’t think that was it,” Pepper said. “There are a lot of poisonous mushrooms in the forests of Rosemoor County. He was just trying to protect me. By the time I was old enough to realize his trick, I had developed a lifelong aversion to mushrooms. I never touch them.”
“You save yourself a lot of bother and expense then,” Renee said. “Every year I buy a few of these. I won’t tell you what they cost me. So don’t feel obligated to eat them. All the more for us.”
“Thinking of food,” Ezmar said, “it’s the Harvest Feast this weekend. Don’t you have a symphony to go to that night, Quinn?”
“I do and now that you mention it, I may have a date for the first time. Pepper, would you do me the honor of coming with me to the Harvest Feast concert?”
Three sets of eyes bored into Pepper with curiosity. She twisted some pasta around her fork, not wanting to sound too eager. “I’m not doing anything else that night. I guess I could.” She spoke with as much indifference as she could force into her voice and the other two women cheered.
Quinn smiled. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you to accept.”
When she dared to meet his eyes, she realized he wasn’t being sarcastic. It was as if she’d really had a choice in the matter.
“Well then, we need to take you shopping,” Ezmar said. “You’ll need something elegant if you’re going to walk in on the arm of the commander.”
When dinner was finished, they moved to the smaller table in the kitchen where they sat up playing cards until very late. Finally, after Renee had won all the money at the table, which wasn’t much because Quinn had limited the stakes on the game, Ezmar stood and stretched.
“Time for us to go home, lovely,” she said to Renee.
“You don’t like living in the housekeeper’s suite?” Pepper asked Renee, wondering if there was something wrong with it.
Renee shook her head. “It’s fine. But Ez I have our own place here, in the old part of Rosewyld.”
“Next time you and Quinn can bring dinner to our place,” Ezmar said.
“Agreed!” Quinn answered for the two of them.
Renee touched Pepper on the shoulder. “We’ll pick you up for shopping at five-fifteen tomorrow night then? First we’ll go for dinner.”
Pepper tried not to glance at Quinn, even though she knew she needed his permission to say yes.
Before she opened her mouth, he said, “You can’t resist an offer like that, can you, Pepper?” He stood to see them to the door. “Thanks for looking after my ward.”
Pepper followed and happily returned their goodbye embraces.
When the door shut behind them, the house seemed to deflate with their absence.
Pepper consoled herself that she had memories of a fun evening behind her and the promise of another one to follow. She turned to go upstairs, to finish her letter to Lily.
“Pepper?”
“Yes?”
“Come to my study, please.” He led the way and sat at his desk, indicating she should take the seat across from him.
Pepper held her head up. Other than refusing to try the mushrooms, she couldn’t think of a thing she might have done wrong that day, yet his face looked serious and the study was his preferred place to spank her.
“Give me your left hand,” he said, taking a small box from the top drawer of his desk.
Pepper watched, transfixed, as he touched a bio-reader on the side of the box. The lid popped up. He then took out a small screwdriver, which he touched to Pepper’s CitizenBand. It opened and fell to the table.
Pepper’s jaw dropped. Her wrist hadn’t been bare since she started her menses at age thirteen.
Quinn took out another band that looked similar to the one she’d had. It was another CitizenBand.
“This is an upgrade to your existing band,” he said. “It has all the information your old one did and more. It states that you are part of my household, that you are a massage therapist for members of the Tribunal. It also has an alert that you are not allowed to leave the city gates without my express permission.”
Pepper looked in wonder as he touched the new band, sealing it in place, as the old CitizenBand had been sealed so long ago, with her parents watching over her. She thought she’d wear that one to her grave.
“Thank you,” she said.
“One small difference with this model.” Quinn tapped her wrist. “It is a tracking device.”
“Aren’t they all?”
“Not like this one. The old technology allowed you to be tracked within narrow limits. This one can follow you around the country, across the ocean if necessary.”
“Who can access that information?” Disbelief laced Pepper’s voice.
“Only me, little sparrow. It needs my bio imprint to read it. But rest assured, if I think you are up to no good, I won’t hesitate to check up on you.”
“I understand,” she said. I understand that you don’t need concrete walls and iron bars to make a prison.
“One final detail.” He tapped his CommBand. “You can’t go shopping without some spending money. Here, I’m adding credits to your account. You need to be able to make your own decisions, get what you want. Not what Ezmar and Renee think you should have.”
You need to be able to make your own decisions. Pepper wondered if he listened to himself sometimes. Or maybe he only wanted her to make her own decisions when she was not with him.
Still, part of the time was better than none of the time.
Chapter Fourteen: Easy Living
When Pepper finished work the next day, she found Renee and Ezmar waiting in Ezmar’s ride, parked in a no-stopping zone outside Tribunal Hall. A Tribunal Guard was leaning over talking to Ezmar. Pepper wondered if she was getting a citation,
She raced down the stairs, the hood of her cape pulled tight over her head in the pouring rain. As she approached the car, the guard straightened up and gave her a short salute.
“Hello, little sparrow,” Ezmar said as she watched Pepper clamber into the backseat.
Pepper smiled at the nickname. It made her feel like part of Quinn’s family, like she belonged there. “I hope you didn’t have to wait long. You didn’t get a ticket because of me, did you?”
“No, that was Ezekiel. He’s been a guard here forever. Rank has its privileges. No way he’d give me a ticket,” Ezmar said, easing the ride into the traffic.
Renee twisted in her seat to talk to Pepper. “You’re building a fine reputation fast,” she said. “Everyone who has been treated by you so far claims you are the best thing to hit Rosewyld since we went off-Handbook.”
Off-Handbook. There were words that Quinn had never uttered. The implications were enormous. Pepper filed them in the back of her mind.
“Thank you,” she said quickly, hoping to leave work behind. She didn’t want to remember the queue of weary people who shambled into sick bay hour after hour. Twenty of the Tribunal had already presented themselves for her magic touch. When she closed her eyes at night, their hollowed faces, the purple rings around their eyes, haunted her. She fell asleep dreaming about those who were denied that one simple, essential luxury of slumber. She certainly didn’t want to talk about any of them outside the closed door of the treatment room.
“We’re going for dinner first. What sort of food do you like?” Renee asked.
“What types are there?” In Rosemoor there were only two types: meat-based meals and vegetarian.
“How about Icebridge-style?”
“What’s that?”
“Stick to your ribs. Thick soups, root vegetables, great chunks of roasted meat. Rich desserts.”
“Sure.” Pepper shrugged. “I eat anything. Except mushrooms.”
Ezmar touched her navigation panel and a few minutes later they were sailing past downtown to the far end of the city. Pepper noticed that they were being followed by two different white cars. She hadn’t been in Rosewyld long, but she’d learned to live with the fact that wherever she went, security guards followed. She assumed Ezmar lived with the same shadow.
This end of the city was different again to anything else she’d seen. While the rest of Rosewyld shone with the glow of a good care and strong maintenance, this far corner of the capital where Ezmar parked was run down. The buildings leaned at precarious angles. Litter streaked the streets.
When they got out of Ezmar’s ride, Pepper felt grateful for the guards being so close. She followed Ezmar and Renee down a narrow alley to a door that opened into a small alcove. The three of them crowded in and Ezmar pushed a button, smiling up at a camera mounted on the ceiling. A loud buzz sounded, and another door opened. Unlike the shabby outside, the dining room they stepped into was bright and inviting. Many tables crowded the two floors. On the lower level, tables circled the stage where a band was setting up.
The upper level had spacious booths, almost all of which were occupied. A maître d’ greeted them, picking up three menus as he led them to one of the last empty booths.
“Lovely to see you again, Ms. Garrick, Mrs. Reynolds, and...?”
“Thornback. Pepper Thornback.” She smiled.
“Ah! The therapist who is going to save us all.”
Pepper smiled, trying to shake off this suggestion. “Well, that may be a bit ambitious. More like I’m going to help a few people get some much-needed rest. I can only do one at a time, so my efforts are limited.”
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