02. Riders of the Winds (11 page)

_{this
to sell! Who needs a hub when you can have
this
one forever at your beck and call? How much am I offered?"}

_{What's happened to me in this world?
she wondered, more amazed man upset in spite of it all.
Yeah, I wanted to be senior class president, prom queen, college coed, and then found my own cosmetics business and make a million before I was thirty. And look at me now! First a high-class hooker who finds she likes it, then, standing here, mentally charged up at how much people are paying for me! Have I changed, or didn't I just know myself before?}

_{Oh, no! You ain't putting one of
them
up my nose!}

_{feel
any different, except that her nose felt funny, for all that.}

_that!

_stuck.

_{gorgeous,
told the story.}

_{really
kinky. But they were also active big shots in Mashtopol; as such, they could hardly be aware of the Storm Princess and the search for ones who resembled her, and that made each new liaison a potential threat as well. She just kicked into Shan mode as much as possible and hoped that the personality obscured any sense of the familiar.}

_{boring.
She'd be brought out a couple of times a week to "service" VIPs, and the rest of the time she was just, well, left. Her lack of any command of the language precluded her making any close friends or confidants or even having someone reasonably friendly and secure to talk to. Her restriction to the immediate grounds made it impossible to try to contact Boday or even gain any knowledge of what was going on in this crazy world. Nor was she expected to do anything but be handy if the General needed her for a guest.}

_{did
get to wear some exotic and sexy clothing for a change, play with makeup and jewelry and all that, but there was only so much of it and nobody seemed to think she required any more.}

₄

_{Some Failures to Communicate}

_Enu

_them.

_{needed
a quota; the pickers all seemed quite happy doing their work and proud of it as well; they competed against each other to see who would exceed their quota and by how much.}

_{makuda
came in.
Makuda
was some sort of potion guaranteed to do no physical harm—there were even some pregnant women out there—that was, nonetheless, a pretty good stimulant that also quenched thirst and helped retain body moisture. You could get it anytime you needed at the collection bins, and Sam definitely felt the need after less than an hour out there on that first afternoon. Living so long with Boday, she had no real qualms about such potions, not when they were obviously mixed to such a common and positive purpose.}

_whatevers.

_{Some of those are mine, picked by me.}

_{can!
I'm feeling every damned
enu
right now. I'm so tired I might fall asleep in my salad."}

_{can
be a bit hard until you get used to it and your muscles get built up," she admitted, "but My Lord Duke knows this. That is why tonight, when you have worked only part of a day, and not later on. There is a potion similar to
makuda
that will give you energy and ease your aches but leave you with a clear head, and if he keeps you late you will not have to work tomorrow. Come, I will help you get clean and dressed, and then you will see."}

_{civilized
after spending the day mostly naked in mud that tended to bake on.}

_{enu
groves. Yes, I have watched them from above. I wanted to, well, caution you a bit, before we go in. I have seen how tolerant you are of changelings and I think it is most admirable, but I wish to prepare you for my mother."}

_{under,
before falling back down on top of me again. I tried to reach up without looking up and bring it down but by that time I had no arms. I was fourteen, and the mere sudden realization that the wind had gotten me caused me to scream in panic and terror."}

_{I
hope,
she added to herself.}

_{did
recognize before. If most of the staff were refugees, as they seemed to be called here, then one must have been a master chef. Food was served by a team of two men and two women who picked up dishes from windows into the kitchen hidden behind decorative screens and then brought them to the table. The servants had the usual evening dress of the house staff, but their skirts and sarongs seemed to be of very high quality, their flower garlands fresh and exotic, and they were both made up and immaculate.}

_{is
nice here, and the people are very friendly and seem to not mind the differences. The feeling of security here is very reassuring, considering what I have been through."}

_{wonder
they killed them when they could! The Akhbreed ruled by the power of their sorcerers and maintained their system and their position by virtue of that power. The changelings, then, would be the only things other than the winds themselves that the Akhbreed leaders would fear.}

_{you. I
don't know where I'd be or even if I'd be alive without you and your father. But I must go now. That potion is wearing off and I want to make it to my bed before I collapse."}

_{my
canyon without
my
knowledge or permission," the Duke growled. "They had a small army in the region. Still do, I suspect. Brazen bastards."}

_{know
what's happened to them."}

_{an exact
duplicate, born and raised on another world. Somebody like Boolean, who has been crying for years about Klittichorn's threat, might go after such a one in order to make a switch or train her as a combatant. Those powers are unique. And the great storm that did in the train but also did in the raiders—it might be!"}

_{think
like them, until in a very few days it was impossible to tell the new from the old. They talked and giggled and played silly games and compared the various men around and everything was open and shared. Mostly, of course, they worked—long, hard days, but nobody minded or complained because everybody had to work to keep the community whole. Without them, the community would not be fed and the groves would die. They were vital and that made them proud.}

_{Noma Ju,
which literally meant Big Tits, and she didn't mind a bit, taking it in the playful spirit that it was used.}

_{hurt,
getting small rings inserted on which you could clip longer ones for special occasions like Endday Festival; and she started taking some care in her appearance outside of work and even in the way she walked and talked.}

_{did
tease them a lot. Virtually all the Akhbreed peasant women were lean and muscular; her more padded form and largest attributes hanging out there seemed to turn some folks on. She found that she liked to be kissed and hugged and fondled but she didn't ever let it get too far. Although sex was rather casual among the peasant communes, a pregnancy meant an obligatory marriage and for some reason she just could not bring herself to take the risk.}

_{very
happy, and content, and she had no questions.}

_{our
system, is based upon it. And yet, in two months, just
two months,
gentlemen, it has rained heavily four times! Four times! Some of the crops are in danger, the irrigation system is a shambles in many places, and along the canyons there are now many landslides. I want to know how this can happen. What is causing it?"}

_{everywhere
with quality people!}

_{Shit! I've been a double-dyed idiot! 1 could do battle with a great sorcerer or a greater soldier, but I keep getting taken in by that bastard of a con man! Outsmarting him was like trying to find the escape clause in a Satanic contract!}

_{nothing
is impossible!"}

_{permanent.
I never heard of a relapse."}

_{here.
The first one, anyone, who delivers her here, alive and physically intact, will gain the ultimate. One wish, and no funny business about the terms and conditions. Anything within the power of an Akhbreed sorcerer, Crim.
Anything.
But it's all or nothing."}

_{my
reward, will we? Even the most trusted people can be tempted to knock me off and claim it themselves. No skin off your nose but plenty off mine."}

₅

_{Of Slavery, Decoys, and Shadowcats}

_{demands?
Who is this who demands anything of me?"}

_{was
why Comug was around in the first place and held the position he did.}

_{Very
important. Yobi understands your expense and is willing to be quite generous to regain her."}

_{could
be done, it brings up the question of just what makes this piece of fluff worth such work. You face me then with a problem, sir. If I give her to you, I must take on faith that all you say can and will be done. Not doubting that the old girl thinks she can do it, belief and accomplishment are two very different things. I know that well. It is why I'm stuck here. On the other hand, you have demonstrated that I own something of great value. If she is of great value to your mistress, then she is most certainly of great value to others. I believe I should see who else is offering something for her, then, perhaps of more certain value."}

_{dare
threaten me in my own house, in my own lands, in my own office?" he roared.}

_{discuss
the matter further," Hodamoc told the magician. "I make no promises, though. Now—get out of here! I am about to issue orders that if you are ever on my estate again you are to be killed on sight, and even your precious little whore will drive the knife into you if she sees you!"}

_{very
important, since she'd be a pariah to the bulk of the population considering her current state.}

_{were
ninety percent brilliant, weren't you Hoddy? It's the other ten percent that's made you a professional failure."}

_{is
an honor, even if it is a bit hard on the floor."}

_{last
thing I want is you dead, although I can't be absolutely sure that it won't result. How's your heart, Hoddy?"}

_{is
you! I promise you that!" she responded with a cackle. "It has a bit of your hair and a bit of your nails and all that. No blood, but, then, I don't want you dead."}

_{Third
Rank, dear. She's not the one who betrays such as you. No, it is the demon who betrays, by not digesting one tiny little particle and instead depositing it very nicely my way where it can do the most good. I was dealing with that demon sprite before Karelia's grandmother was born. I have
priority."
Yobi sighed. "So, let's get down to business. You give me the girl, and I forget all about this encounter."}

_{killing
you. Oh, no. Suppose I just pinch one of these cute little feet here ..."}

_{Here we go again!}

_{nobody,
did this to him! Particularly in his own home and in his own quarters! First he would arrange for his protections and be ready for any retaliation, although it would take a bit of time. No more ninety percent here. Then, one way or another, he was going to find out just what was so valuable about that little whore, and then he would use all the influence he had to make certain that any value she might have would accrue only to him.}

_{Somebody who understood her!
"Yes, Master," she responded in English.}

_{thing
in Hodamoc's office wasn't reassuring. That Yobi looked like a horrible version of the creature who had captured the others and almost gotten her as well after the flood. However, there were certain default conditions as it were built into the slave spell. All could be countermanded, of course, but they existed unless that was done. The first was total unthinking obedience whether you wanted to or not, of course. The second was an automatic subservience to anyone who could order you around. One did not speak unless spoken to and one answered just what was demanded—and absolutely truthfully. You couldn't lie, cheat, or steal something from a controller unless told to do so, and like a planet in its orbit you needed your controller as the planet needed its sun. There was no running away. It simply was not an option.}

_{was
quite a walk, and, again, she couldn't have retraced it if she tried, nor did she figure out how the magician knew the way himself, but eventually they emerged outside and relatively high up in the mountainous crags of the Wastes. From that point it was a narrow trail that wound around the top of a ridge until eventually it entered a cave originating in the floor of the rock itself and leading down a bit.}