Sathrie’s ghost fled Aidane’s body, and another spirit filled her so quickly that Aidane nearly passed out. Aidane ran for the shadows, only to reappear elsewhere in the glade. “Theddan! You limp-hung rat eater! You were too cheap to hire a healer and you let me die from the pox.” Aidane’s whole stance had changed. Where the last ghost had moved with the seductive grace of a dancer, this new ghost stood with hands on her hips, leaning forward, strident as an angry scullery maid.
“Be gone! I paid to have you buried,” a voice came from the forest. The hail of arrows lessened.
“Not deep enough, you lice-ridden thief. Come taste my maggots. Lie in my grave with me, lover.”
A man cried out, and the cry ended in a strangled groan. Aidane could feel the ghost’s satisfaction as it fled her body. This time, more than one ghost forced their way into her consciousness, and the voices that poured from her throat changed from breath to breath.
“Venaddon! Do you remember me? You buried me behind the barn.”
“Jakertan! It’s Nesha. Warm me. My grave is so cold.”
“Mathan! Come to your sweet, dead Tallie. I’m waiting for you.”
All around Aidane, battle raged, but sustained by the ghosts, Aidane moved steadily toward her prey, arms outstretched, sure that her expression carried all the malice
she could feel radiating from the ghosts that filled her. The men dropped their weapons and fled, run quickly to ground by the
vayash moru
. In moments, the glade was silent once more. Satisfied with their vengeance, the ghosts slipped one by one from Aidane’s consciousness, and she sank to a seat on the trunk of a fallen tree.
The leader of the
vayash moru
stood in front of her, his blue eyes wide. “What are you?”
Without the support of the ghosts, Aidane once more felt the fatigue of her injuries. “I’m a
serroquette
. A ghost whore.” It was cold satisfaction to realize that she had actually managed to startle a
vayash moru
.
“Kolin, we’ve got to get moving.” Zhan laid a hand on the blond leader’s shoulder.
Kolin nodded, and spared one more glance toward Aidane, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to say. Then he turned abruptly and motioned for the others to follow. “Let’s get out of here.”
For the remainder of the trip, the
vayash moru
seemed to treat her with a combination of curiosity and disdain. Aidane was too exhausted to care, so long as she made it to the other shore of the Nu River alive. She felt a pang of regret at leaving behind the gold coins she had hidden, the passage money she’d been saving. And she had no idea what kind of payment, if any, her unlikely rescuers would demand or whether, after her performance in the glade, they would count being rid of her payment enough.
“Almost there.” Kolin hunched in the cover of tall grass on the river’s bank. The water of the Nu flowed swift and dark. “Wait for the clouds to cover the moon, and then go. I don’t care where you land, but we rendezvous at Jolie’s Place.”
For a moment, terror gripped Aidane as she stared at the cold water of the Nu River. She had never learned to swim. Then one of the
vayash moru
stepped up behind her and viselike arms encircled her chest. Clouds darkened the moon, and in a breath, Aidane’s feet left the ground. In just moments, they came to land on the other bank, and as she stepped away from her protector, she realized it was Kolin, the
vayash moru
leader.
“That was some show you put on back there,” Kolin said. From his tone, Aidane was still uncertain what the
vayash moru
thought about the diversion.
Leave it to me to spook the undead
, she thought dryly.
“I’m not much good with a sword, at least, not as myself,” Aidane replied. Now that she stood on dry land on the Margolan side of the river, the energy of the fight seemed to rush from her body and she felt light-headed and weak.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kolin replied. Aidane’s head spun, and she fell. Kolin cursed as Aidane collapsed, and only his
vayash moru
reflexes enabled him to catch her before she hit the ground.
“You’re more bother than I bargained for,” he muttered, scooping her up as he started the climb toward a large, well-lit building that sat on the shore of the river.
“If you go back, I can pay you… I have gold hidden…”
Kolin’s face hardened. “I don’t take pay.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Forget it. But up here, let me do the talking. Jolie’s usually good with whomever we bring across, but I don’t know what she’ll make of you.”
“That’s the whorehouse on the other side of the river,” Aidane said weakly.
“Yeah.”
“Drown me now.”
Kolin chuckled. “That good, huh? How about you leave Jolie to me. ”
Jolie’s Place was a large wooden building, part of which was cantilevered off a hillside near the riverbank. Kolin motioned for the others to follow him, and he climbed a set of twisting, wooden stairs toward a rear door. Lights were on inside the building, but for a tavern and bawdy house, the building was strangely quiet.
“Jolie? Astir? Open up. It’s me, Kolin.”
The late-summer’s night was cool. Aidane shivered. They waited for what seemed like a long time in silence until the door opened. A dark-haired
vayash moru
opened the door.
“Thanks, Astir,” Kolin said, shouldering past with Aidane. The others followed. Kolin set Aidane down on a bench. She looked around. They were in a back room, and by the looks of it, it was the off-duty sitting room and dining area for the tavern’s staff. A wide fireplace sat unused at one end. Their group quickly filled the empty benches around several tables.
“What’s going on? Everything’s pretty quiet tonight.”
Just then, a door at the other end of the room opened. “Kolin! Varren! Thank the Lady you arrived safely. I was worried.” A tall red-haired woman swept into the room. “Astir! Let’s get them some food. Goat’s blood for the
vayash moru
, and take some of the sausage and cheese for the others.” The woman who Aidane assumed was Jolie moved with grace, gesturing flamboyantly as she spoke. It would be impossible to overlook Jolie. Though Aidane guessed Jolie to be in her middle years, Jolie was
trim with a generous bosom, and the cut of her crimson dress accentuated her curves. The dress was fashionable and could have come from any of the high courts. Gold bracelets stacked up both arms, glittering in the candlelight, and the gold and gems in her earrings seemed to dance in the light. Perfume clung to her, heavy and sweet, like incense. Whatever kind of house Jolie ran, it was a profitable one.
Jolie gathered Kolin into her arms, planting a kiss on both cheeks. “I worry about you, Kolin. These raids are dangerous. Even Jonmarc almost didn’t get out of Nargi alive.” She shook her head and sighed. “Ah, but you’re here, and that’s what’s important. And Jonmarc? He’s well?”
Kolin smiled, taking Jolie’s hands in his. “He’s managed to stay out of trouble for a couple of months, which is a record for him. Carina’s feeling well, although it’s not too much longer until the twins come.”
“Which is another reason I’m going to Dark Haven,” Jolie announced. Her voice was deep and throaty, sounding of strong liquor, and her consonants softened into a blur that gave Aidane to guess that Jolie spoke the river patois of smugglers and traders, perhaps as a native tongue. From the surprise on Kolin’s face, Jolie’s comment was obviously the first he had heard of these plans.
“You’re going to Dark Haven?”
Jolie nodded, and her fiery, shoulder-length hair bobbed, catching the light. “We’re nearly packed. I was expecting you to come after this run, and since you’ll be heading back to Dark Haven, we’re going with you.”
Kolin looked utterly perplexed. “You’re closing Jolie’s Place? But you even have the endorsement of King
Martris, after you gave him shelter when he went back to fight Jared.”
Jolie chuckled. “Can you imagine that on a plaque? ‘King’s Favorite Brothel.’ ” She sighed. “It’s not government trouble. It’s the plague. No one’s traveling. They’re afraid to go out at night, afraid to be in gatherings, afraid to leave their homes. Whether it’s ill magic or ill humours, no one goes about anymore. Even the soldiers aren’t stopping like they used to. People are afraid. It’s bad for business.”
Astir came and stood beside Jolie, casually putting his arm around her waist. Jolie leaned against him for a moment. It was clear to Aidane that the two were a couple, though Jolie seemed to be mortal. “Anyhow, there’s no one else I’d trust more than you to guide us across Dhasson,” Jolie continued. “We’ll close up the Place, and when the plague passes, well, perhaps we’ll return. Until then, I’ve a mind to set up in Dark Haven.”
Kolin chuckled. “And have you discussed this with Dark Haven’s lord?”
Jolie laughed, a full-bodied, earthy sound that spoke of a zest for life. “Do you think he’ll turn me away at the border,
cheche
? Jonmarc is the son I never had.” She paused. “Actually, we did discuss it a bit, when Maynard Linton and I went up to Dark Haven for Jonmarc and Carina’s wedding. Maynard had already made arrangements for his caravan to move their base to Dark Haven. Now, with the plague, there’s not much call for caravans and fairs, either. I have some coin put away, enough to buy a new place and set it up. And you know my girls are just as sweet on
vayash moru
and
vyrkin
as they are on mortals.”
“You’re the best, Jolie.”
“Damn straight.”
Some of the joviality faded from Jolie’s eyes as she spied Aidane. “Who’s this, Kolin? She’s not your usual passenger.”
Kolin stepped back, and Jolie moved to stand in front of Aidane. Aidane gathered the shreds of her self-respect along with the hem of the borrowed cloak and met Jolie’s eyes. Jolie stared at her in silence, taking in the fading bruises, the cloak that barely covered her nakedness, and the jewelry that hadn’t been torn off in the beating or lost fleeing the Durim.
“She’s a—” Kolin began.
“I know what she is.” Jolie’s voice was flat.
“I didn’t intend to cause trouble,” Aidane said, squaring her shoulders. “I can be gone in the morning.”
“The Durim had her,” Kolin said from behind Jolie. “She’d been beaten and left for dead. The Black Robes took her for a sacrifice. She was in the cages, along with our people, when we attacked.”
“I’ve never had her kind in my house. Not sure I want one now.”
“I didn’t come to work,” Aidane said, lifting her chin defiantly. “I just wanted to keep on breathing.”
“Her…‘gift’… helped us get out of an ambush,” Kolin said. “If you’ve any question as to whether or not it’s genuine, the spirits that spoke to her in the glade were real enough.”
Suspicion and skepticism glittered in Jolie’s light-brown eyes. “What do you say for yourself, girl?”
“My name is Aidane.”
The corner of Jolie’s red-tinged lips quirked upward, but it was not a smile. “Aidane,
serroquette
s often think
themselves better than common whores. What do you think?”
Aidane forced herself to meet Jolie’s eyes. “I think a whore is a whore. I had no choice in the matter. The spirits took me and I did as I was bid. Why others choose this life, I don’t know. But the end result is the same.”
“Spirits or no, most had little more choice, if any, than you,” Jolie said. “And in my house, there is no shame. We’re entertainers, companions, and confidants. My girls come of their own will and stay of their own will. And when they will it, they leave, with a purse and skills if they choose to do something else. Most who claim to be s
erroquettes
are frauds. They beggar the desperate and the grieving. If you’re what you claim to be, there’s comfort to give in that.”
Jolie sighed. “Margolan’s not a good place for us right now. Kolin vouches for you. I won’t object if you want to travel with us. On the road, you see people as they are. If I like what I see, I’ll make a place for you.”
“Thank you,” Aidane said raggedly.
The vibrancy seemed to return to Jolie’s face as she turned back to Kolin. “Well now, that’s settled. When are you planning to head for Dhasson?”
If Kolin was taken aback by the sudden shift of subject, he did not show it. “The
vayash moru
are healed, but some of the
vyrkin
could use a day’s more rest. Since we’re not hunted in Margolan—at least, not yet—there’s no hurry. When will your people be ready to travel?”
“We’ll be packed by sunset tomorrow,” Astir answered. “And don’t fear—we travel light. The girls will take only what they can carry themselves. I’ve arranged for some of the local
vayash moru
to watch the place while we’re
gone.” He frowned. “Although while King Martris would never sanction it, there have been incidents between mortals and
vayash moru
, even in Margolan, that worry me. When people start to die of plague, they look for someone to blame. And we are, always, among the usual suspects. So I’m none too sorry to spend some time in Dark Haven, and none too sure our friends here will be able to carry out their charge.”
Kolin grimaced. “Even in Dark Haven, there have been… incidents. Jonmarc’s intervened himself, as has King Staden’s guard. But nowhere is ever truly safe for our kind.”
“Or mine,” Jolie agreed, taking Astir’s hand.