Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (5 page)

Even though
darkness of night had descended, the gas lamps strategically placed around the
outer rock wall barrier gave her a good view.

Her guests
sat with their backs to her, so did not notice her entry.

They reposed
in wooden recliners, leaning back in the comfort of soft cloth padding. They engaged
in a light conversation that appeared centered on their adventures along the
trail.

 "Never
have I seen the like of so many snakes! And so big!" Redolo was
exclaiming. "Now I understand why the natives make their clothing from the
skins of the hideous things. Though I myself would never dream of wearing such
trappings."

The back of
Redolo's shoulders trembled in an open display of a shudder.

"I would."
The boy, Zartos, leaned forward from his chair, as he used a stick shed from a
nearby seedling to poke at an insect scrambling across the cobbled floor.

"You
would?" Redolo repeated disapprovingly. "And have everyone think you
a savage?"

"Sure.
They ride sturmons like no others of any of the Houses. I would like to live
among them, at least for the time it would take to learn what they know."

Redolo made
the appropriate strangling noise.

" — Then
I would kill them all," Zartos finished smugly. "And take their
sturmons."

"He is
trying to shock you, Mother," Kalos observed lazily.

The
captain's head was tilted back against the recliner, and his moccasined feet
were splayed comfortably across the dining board filled with mostly empty
vessels that once held tempting mounds of food.

Delectable
odors of meats and spiced sugarbreads still lingered, inspiring a low grumble
from Adalginza's stomach.

However else
she might view Bruna, she could not fault the woman's culinary skills.

She was a
master of her craft. And more than once, Adalginza's guests in Sola Re had made
absurdly large offers of gold coins to purchase Bruna.

They were,
of course, unaware of Bruna's inclinations at times to borrow seasonings from
more toxic substances.

"I
must say, this has been much more pleasant than I anticipated," Redolo
said. "More so, because we have not yet had to endure the company of that
stuttering, ignorant woman who invited us."

"The
food has been good," Kalos conceded. "Much better than your manners."

"Don't
lecture me. She cannot hear what I say."

"You
don't know that. In fact, she could be standing right behind us — listening to
every word we speak."

It was
Zartos who slowly turned his head. The boy's big, wide surprised blue eyes
focused on Adalginza. He appeared too startled to speak up in warning to his
grandmother.

Redolo,
instead, answered her son.

"If
that were the case, then it is she who lacks the manners for not announcing
herself."

"Then
we shall call it an even score."

Kalos
languidly gathered up his tall, muscled body — then stood. A smile curved his full
lips as he turned to face Adalginza.

"Lady
Adalginza, please accept our thanks for a most exceptional meal of Welcoming.
Join us now for drink."

Kalos
gestured toward the end of the table, where the cups sat waiting beside a tall
earthen jar Adalginza knew was filled with mildly sweet nectar.

She gathered
the folds of her gown and swept forward, placing her candle on the table. Saying
nothing at all, she picked up a ladle and began to pour the drink into ceramic cups.

Redolo rose
to her feet as she accepted the first cup. A slight flush reddened her cheeks.

"You
were standing behind us? For how long?"

"Long
enough," Adalginza replied curtly. "Your son knew all along. He is a
great warrior, and never will be shamed in death from a wound to the back."

"Spoken
like a true lady of the Fifth House," Kalos said, almost sadly. "You
were spying on us, then?"

Adalginza
handed him his cup. "Learning more about you."

"As I
said — spying."

Kalos
unconcernedly took a sip of nectar. But his eyes rested on her with
considerably more interest.

Except for
the sword carried in the scabbard at this waist, he was no longer in warrior
mode. Out of his armor and wearing the loose-fitting robe of more casual
attire, he seemed much more relaxed.

And
approachable.

Adalginza had
been in Sola Re long enough to know the power her indigo eyes had on men of the
Crescent houses. So she boldly stared back at him, meeting his dark eyes with
her own.

Neither of
them looked away, even though Adalginza knew this clearly was inappropriate
behavior from a lady of any of the Crescent Houses.

Redolo saw,
and craftily stepped between them.

"Perhaps
you should know," Redolo addressed her sharply. "Kalos is nearly betrothed.
A ceremony of bonding is in the planning stages. So you are wasting your
considerable allure on this one, young lady."

"Congratulations,"
Adalginza said, not bothering to deny the intentions she had so clearly
displayed.

Kalos said nothing
as he took a deep drink of his nectar. He now appeared to be suddenly absorbed
in admiring the fortress-like construction of the abode's outer court walls.

"To a
scholar," Redolo elaborated for him. "A woman of intellect and good breeding."

"Unlike
me," Adalginza finished for her.

Redolo
shrugged. "As I always say, the cobbler fashions the boot for a particular
foot. And that is the boot you must wear. My dear, you were fashioned by the
House of the Fifth Crescent Moon. I do not place the blame for your
shortcomings upon you personally."

"How
very generous of you."

At that
moment, Zartos cleared his throat.

"Um.
Shall I pour my own nectar? I'm very thirsty."

"Zartos!"
Both Redolo and Kalos scolded him in the same breath.

But
Adalginza merely laughed.

"Forgive
me, young one. I had not forgotten you." She poured the boy's drink, and
handed it to him formally. "This adult conversation must be very — tedious
— for you. Would you like to go to the stables and see my sturmons?"

"Sturmons!"
the boy burst out eagerly. "How many?"

"Eight."

"Eight!
You own them?
You
?"

"I am
the only survivor of my immediate clan. Even in my House, a woman has rights of
ownership. But only in the event of a tragedy such as that which took the men
of my clan."

Kalos again
focused his intense interest back on her.

"Yet, a
woman of the Fifth House would not be permitted to ride such fine animals, even
if she owns them."

Adalginza
hesitated for only a moment. "But of course you are right."

"They
are never ridden?" Zartos repeated, sounding almost in agony. "You
have eight sturmons, and they are never ridden?"

"They
are well cared for. And they pull my wagons, when it is necessary to travel."

Of course,
Adalginza would never confess — most especially not to Bruna — that she rode
the sturmons all the time in the dark of night when no one could see.

 "But
someone needs to ride them," Zartos protested.

"The
knights are very busy with their duties. They do not have the time to indulge
me," Adalginza replied.

She was
teasing now, for she recognized the eager hint in the boy's voice.

"I'm
sure any Knight of the Crescent Sword would be standing below your window,
serenading you, at the merest hint of an invitation to assist you," Kalos
observed in amusement. "I can only assume there have been no invitations."

"Not
for a while," Adalginza admitted. "However, there was one who once
assisted me. He rode the sturmons, after I allowed his courtship. His name was
Gradi. A knight from the Fifth House, and cousin of the last captain."

"Now
he is dead, along with Captain Trelos." Kalos sounded thoughtful in the
observation.

Adalginza
dropped her eyes briefly, in a show of grief.

"Lost
to his family. Lost to me."

"Good
fortune has not been with you in Sola Re, my lady."

Lady Redolo
was less sympathetic.

"So you
accept favor from only captains or members of their family? Very ambitious of
you to see appeal in only the highest-ranking males. Yet you have no notion of
who they are, or of what character shapes them. You are a beautiful but empty
vessel. I pity you."

Zartos then
interrupted, somewhat rudely. "When will we see the sturmons?"

Kalos
looked openly pain.

"Forgive
us, dear lady. I regret that my entire clan — myself included — lack greatly in
the area of social graces. We would never thrive in the royal courts of the
Prime Continent, dominated as they are so properly by those of the Houses of
the First and Second Crescent Moons. But here in the frontier — "

His voice
dwindled.

"Here,
it does not matter," Adalginza finished for him. "We must live among
the savages anyway, so why not behave as they do?"

In the
silence that followed, Adalginza reminded herself that she needed to practice
more restraint.

She had
wanted to add that her people — the savages they so detested — valued each
other so highly that they recognized the importance of each member of the
community regardless of status or vocation.

While great
homage was given to the leaders of their tribes, the respect was returned. They
did not waste time with endless ritual. They were too busy surviving.

She had
expected to be censured for her remark, especially from Lady Redolo.

Instead, the
older woman lifted her eyebrows in an expression that might even be interpreted
as approval.

"In any
other House, the likening of ourselves to savages would have been interpreted as
a grave insult. You took great risk in those words, Lady Adalginza. So. There
is fight under that soft voice. Son, you really must be cautious around this
one."

"Fight,
yes. She is from the Fifth House, after all," Kalos pointed out.

"The
sturmons?" Zartos interrupted again. "Plea-a-se?"

"Mother,
take Zartos to the stables. Is that the proper trail over there, Lady
Adalginza? Well lighted?"

"Very
much so. The lamps extend along both rock walls lining the walkway."

"I take
it you have exterminated the snakes? Yes? Go then, Mother. I have matters to
discuss with the lady. In private. We will join you later."

"Kalos
— "

"Go, Lady
Redolo. Do as I say, please."

His voice
had not changed its inflection in any way, yet there was something about the
way Kalos voiced the request, perhaps in the formal use of her name, that made
Redolo immediately and unusually compliant.

She simply
nodded, placed her hands on the boy's shoulders and steered him down the path
until they were out of sight.

"You
have no snakes on your property? You are sure?" Kalos watched them go, his
calm manner belying the worry of his words.

"I
have taken all the precautions. The screens are up. I walked the trail myself,
earlier today."

Adalginza,
of course, could not tell him that she also could sense no presence — no cold
touch to the mind that identified the reptiles.

"Good.
I have that which I would like to discuss with you privately. But first — "

His eyes
drifted to the closed outer door leading from the abode into the patio. This
directed Adalginza's attention to the shadowy presence revealed below the door,
outlined in a slit of lamplight.

Kalos
lowered his voice to a whisper. "Someone has been taking great interest in
our conversation. Any idea who?"

"There
is only one other in my household," Adalginza answered sharply.

She knew
what she must do. She swiftly ran to the door, and threw it open — catching
Bruna in the act of eavesdropping.

The woman
reacted quickly, dropping her head and backing off a few steps.

"I came
with a message for the lady."

"She
has been there the entire time, since you made your entrance," Kalos
observed blandly as he strolled up behind Adalginza.

"Thank
you, sir," Adalginza replied sternly. "I shall deal with this."

Adalginza
grabbed Bruna's arm, and dragged her out into the patio toward the shed where
the chopped wood was kept.

As they
entered, she closed the door — taking extra trouble to slide the bolt, lest
Kalos get the notion to watch. Then, Adalginza reached for the peg holding the
branch whip.

Bruna
watched with narrowed eyes.