The Gods of Amyrantha (59 page)

The duchess had shed her shroud, now it was just the three of them. There wasn't much point in wearing what was left of it, in any case. She wore a burnous instead, a light hooded cloak favoured by the cameleers that protected them from the sun, which they'd found in the saddlebags of one of the camels. It was just on dusk, so she had pushed the hood back, revealing her sun-freckled face and dark, windblown hair, which was braided to keep it untangled.

'Finally,' Arkady said with a weary smile. 'I'd kill for some tea.'

Before Tiji could answer Cayal came up behind Arkady and looked over her shoulder at Tiji. 'Who's killing what, and how can I help?'

Tiji frowned, not seeing the joke. Cayal stood so close behind Arkady their bodies must be touching. He did that a lot. While he kept his distance from Tiji — barely even acknowledged her presence most of the time — he was acutely aware of Arkady. If he spoke to her, he leaned in close, until his lips were all but touching her hair. If he was near her, it was always too

near, as if the scent of her was so enticing he had to breathe it in as often as he could. And when he looked at her, it was with a kind of wistful longing for what might have been that both puzzled and infuriated the little Crash.

For her part, sometimes Arkady seemed uncomfortable with his attention, but Tiji thought that was mostly for her benefit. When Arkady wasn't aware of being observed, she seemed far less discomforted by Cayal's presumptuousness than she did when she thought Tiji was watching them.

Tides, Declan, what do you see in this woman?

'Her grace was suggesting she was prepared to kill something for a cup of hot tea,' Tiji informed him. And then she added, under her breath, 'What a pity it can't be you.'

'I heard that,' Cayal said, squatting down to take the water off the fire. He put the bubbling pot down on the sand and looked at her. 'I'm curious,
gemang.
What have I ever done to warrant such animosity from you?'

'You are suzerain.'

'Which is not actually my fault.'

'Cayal ...' Arkady said putting her hand on his shoulder, perhaps hoping to discourage him from getting involved in such a conversation.

'No, Arkady, let her answer,' he said, brushing her off. 'Why do you despise me,
gemang?
⁷

'Well, for one thing, my name is Tiji, not
gemang.''

'I saved your life.'

'Really? For all I know you
caused
the sandstorm in the first place.'

'Why would I do that?'

'To get rid of the others. So when we get to the abbey, Brynden won't be distracted.'

He smiled. 'You think I'd kill a score of innocent men for so trivial a reason?'

'In a heartbeat.'

'Tiji, there's nothing to be gained by accusing Cayal of—'

'Actually, the
gemang
may know me better than you think, Arkady,' Cayal cut in. He smiled even wider, fixing his gaze on Tiji. 'But in this case, I merely took advantage of the situation. I didn't
cause
the situation in the first place.'

'So you say,' Tiji replied, unconvinced.

'I do say,' he agreed. 'And I need to be sure you're convinced of that. I'm not your enemy, Tiji. Quite the opposite — I
need
your friendship. I saved you and Arkady because —'

'You want us to negotiate with Brynden for you,' Tiji finished for him. 'So you've been telling us for three days now. I still don't get why. You know where he is. You know how to find him. And it's not as if he can kill you when he sees you, regardless of how pissed off he is at you.'

Cayal took a deep breath. 'You carry diplomatic papers and Arkady carries a letter from Kinta. You'll get to see Brynden within an hour of arriving at the abbey. If he thought I wanted to speak with him, he'd make me wait a year or two, just to teach me a lesson, assuming he'd agree to see me at all. You and Arkady, on the other hand, once you've met with him, can deliver my message without any of the histrionics likely to be involved if I arrive unannounced.
That's
why I saved you both from the sandstorm.'

'You might have saved
me
for that reason, suzerain, but that's not the reason you saved Arkady.' Tiji climbed to her feet and looked down at him. 'You want us to set up a meeting between you and Brynden? Fine. Just don't try to make it sound as if there's anything remotely noble about what you're up to.'

Tiji stalked off toward the camels without waiting for an answer, torn between her desire to run and her desire to see this play out as it would. Much as she despised being forced to travel with Cayal, the chance

to report back to the Cabal about a meeting between two of the most powerful Tide Lords on Amyrantha was a rare opportunity.

She reached Terailia, patting the beast on her flank as she ducked under her neck, thinking the camels better company than the humans she had on offer. With the bulk of the dromedary between her and the others, she turned to watch them. Cayal had risen to his feet again. He was talking to Arkady, but so low even Tiji's reptilian hearing couldn't tell what he was saying. As usual, he was standing too close. Arkady listened to what he was saying and then shook her head. With the blazing sunset behind them, standing so close like that, they looked like lovers meeting for the first time.

What a pity it isn't the last time.

Terailia snorted, shaking her head. Tiji realised she'd been pulling on the lead rope so hard it was irritating the camel. She let the rope go, and on the pretence of checking the hobbles, knelt down to watch Arkady and Cayal some more. Whatever he was saying to her, the duchess didn't like it. She certainly didn't agree with it. After shaking her head again, he tried to pull her closer, but she pushed him away and bent down to fix the tea. Cayal was clearly annoyed with her intransigence, but in the end, he threw his hands up and walked over to the saddlebags, where he retrieved a small packet Tiji recognised as Torlenian tea. He walked back to Arkady, tossed the packet on the sand beside her, and then stalked off in the opposite direction.

Arkady glanced over her shoulder at him, but she didn't call him back. She went back to making the tea as if she was at a wretched palace tea party.

Standing up, Tiji leaned against Terailia's shaggy side, sighing heavily, wondering what they were arguing about.

And how it would affect her.

Arkady might be distracted by the presence of the Immortal Prince, but Tiji hadn't forgotten why she was here. Or the job she had to do. The news that Cayal wanted a meeting with Brynden because he may have found a way to die was news for which the Cabal had been hoping for thousands of years.

Given the strange, tension-charged relationship between Arkady and Cayal, Tiji was fairly certain it would be up to her to deliver it.

CHAPTER 60

The fifth day after they left Brynden's old ruined fortress, Cayal stopped their small caravan in the lee of another large rocky outcrop that curved away into the distance so far it became lost in the heat shimmer. Arkady and Tiji climbed up to the peak of the outcrop after Cayal, where he stood gazing out over the desert. When the women reached him, he ignored Tiji, but took Arkady's hand, led her to the edge of the ledge and pointed across the sand with his arm over her shoulder, his body pressed against her back, his lips next to her ear.

'Behold the Abbey of the Way of the Tide.'

Arkady valiantly ignored the shiver running down her spine as he whispered the information — quite unnecessarily — next to her ear. She could just make the abbey out, several miles away, built into the side of the same rocky outcrop on which they stood.

Constructed of the local stone, it blended so well with the surrounding landscape it was almost invisible unless you knew to look for it. The design shared a disturbing similarity to the ruined fortress they'd taken shelter in so recently, a fact which Arkady remarked upon as she squinted in the bright light, her arm raised to shield her eyes from the sun.

'Imagination was never Brynden's strong suit,' Cayal said. 'He'd have thought of something better than his wretched Way of the Tide by now, if it was.' He slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. 'Careful, now, you don't want to fall.'

'You don't like his religion?' Arkady asked, shaking free of him as she stepped back from the edge.

Cayal smiled at her discomfort and let her go without resistance. He'd made his point. 'It's not a religion, in the strictest sense of the word. It's part martial art, part philosophy, part mumbo jumbo, if you ask me. But it makes men feel like they've taken control of their lives, which is why it's survived so long. Thinking you have control over your own destiny is a very seductive idea, you know.'

'But not quite as seductive as having control over
other
people's lives,' Tiji remarked as she stared into the distance, pretending to ignore them.

She was a sharp little thing, Arkady knew, and missed nothing. Cayal's constant attempts to touch her, be near her, be with her, these last few days would have been much easier to deal with had she not had those scowling, judgemental reptilian eyes glaring at her every time Cayal came close.

On the other hand, she may well have given in to the temptation, had not Tiji been here to act as her conscience. Even worse was the idea that somehow they might survive this and her every move might one day be reported back to Declan.

She didn't need his wounded looks, or judgemental censure, either.

Unaware of Arkady's inner turmoil, Cayal glared at the Crasii. 'You know, there's a
reason
we tried to eradicate the Scards, Tiji, and every time you open that smart-arse mouth of yours, you remind me of it.'

'You don't scare me, suzerain.'

'Perhaps not,' Arkady said, impatiently. This had gone on long enough. 'But your bickering is really starting to irritate
me.
Could we focus on the task at hand, please, and put our personal differences aside for now?'

Neither Cayal nor Tiji answered her, but neither

did they continue their sniping, which was something to be grateful for.

'What should we say when we get there?'

'We?'
Cayal echoed, and then he shook his head. 'No, I think you should go on alone from here, Arkady.'

'And leave me here with you?' Tiji said. 'I don't think so.'

'If I'd wanted to be rid of you,
gemang,
I could have left you buried under that sandstorm and saved myself a whole world of grief.'

'Cayal ...'

'I'm suggesting your little pet lizard there shouldn't go with you, Arkady, because Brynden hates the Crasii and he
will
kill her, soon as look at her.' Cayal smiled widely, then and turned to Tiji. 'On second thought, off you go, reptile. Been nice knowing you.'

Arkady let out a long-suffering sigh. 'Stop it, Cayal.' She turned to Tiji. 'But he's probably right, Tiji. We don't know how Brynden will react to your presence. Maybe it would be safer for you to stay out of sight until I've spoken with him.'

'Who's going to protect
you?'
. 'I bear a letter of introduction from Kinta,' she reminded the little Crasii. 'She sent me here to keep me safe from Jaxyn. I should be fine.'

'And if you're not?'

'Then you and Cayal can come rescue me.'

'Assuming we haven't already killed each other,' Tiji grumbled.

'If you
could
kill me,
gemang,
at least then your existence would be serving some useful purpose.'

Tiji loftily ignored the remark, keeping her gaze fixed on Arkady. 'I can hide. If I get inside, I can move around at will.'

'But you'd have to get inside first,' Arkady said, shaking her head. 'You can't maintain your camouflage when you're moving, remember?' She smiled, giving

the Crasii a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 'I'll be all right, Tiji. Really. I'll go down to the abbey, ask to speak with Brynden, give him Kinta's letter, tell him Cayal wants to see him and that I have a Crasii servant waiting for me. After that I can arrange for you both to come to the abbey.'

Tiji shook her head. 'It's not going to be that simple, my lady.'

'Of course it is,' Cayal said. 'Brynden's simple, so anything to do with him is going to be simple, too.'

Arkady glared at Cayal. He really wasn't helping much at all. 'No wonder Brynden doesn't like you.'

'That's not the reason he doesn't like me.'

'No, but if you keep this up, it may well be the reason I decide I don't like you.'

'There's a very fine line between love and hate, Arkady,' he said with a languorous smile, somehow managing to make it sound like an invitation.

'I've one foot in either camp at the moment, Cayal. You're very close to pushing me the wrong way.'

Cayal was silent for a moment, perhaps debating the wisdom of arguing with her. Then he shrugged and turned to look back over the desert. 'Are you going to be able to handle that camel on your own?'

'I think so.'

'Then let's get this done,' he said. 'I'm sick of waiting.'