A Distant Tomorrow (43 page)

Gaius Prospero was surprised by the answer, and not just a little offended. Hetar was the greatest kingdom ever created. No other could match it. “Hetar has much to offer, my lord,” he said defensively.

“Perhaps to some,” Magnus said, “but not to Terah.”

Gaius Prospero was becoming intrigued. Was this lordling a fool that he did not see the advantages to being allied with Hetar? Was his own land an even greater place? Impossible! Hetar was the only kingdom worthy of the definition. Obviously this Magnus Hauk was attempting to gain the advantage by pretending disinterest in Hetar. Gaius Prospero almost laughed aloud with the thought. But instead he escorted his guests into his house and to the dining hall. “You will surely remember this chamber,” he said to Lara with a smirk.

“Of course,” she answered him. Her beautiful face was expressionless.

Gaius Prospero went on, turning to the Dominus, and saying, “The night I displayed Lara to the masters and mistresses of the City’s Pleasure Houses she was brought naked into this room upon a silver platter. I told them she was the sweet to complete our fine dinner,” he chortled, warming with the memory.

“Unfortunately,” Lara said sweetly, “you overplayed your hand, my lord, did you not?” She turned to her husband. “The Head Mistress of the Pleasure Mistresses’ Guild came the next day to tell Gaius Prospero that my beauty had caused great chaos among the Pleasure Houses. The women feared that I would steal their clients from them. The regular clients were threatening mayhem if they were not the first to be given one of my three virginities. So she was forced to forbid my sale to any of them.” Lara laughed lightly. “I was consigned to a Taubyl Trader, and purchased by the Head Forester. Still, you made a very comfortable profit, Gaius Prospero, considering I was scarcely in your tender care for more than a day or two.”

“You have become hard,” the emperor told her crossly.

“As a well-tempered blade, my lord,” Lara replied with a smile. “I can wield a sword now, you know. Perhaps you were told that when we returned your Mercenaries to you several years ago.”

“I was sorry to hear of your husband’s death,” Gaius Prospero murmured.

“I have another,” she replied.

Gaius Prospero laughed, and his pudgy fingers tapped her arm playfully. “Enough of our reminiscing, my lady. Ah, here are my two lovely wives, the lady Vilia and the lady Anora. Greet our guests, my dears,” he purred at them, and the two women obeyed.

They sat at the long table, lounging upon couches as they dined. Both Lara and Magnus ate and drank sparingly, a fact noticed by both Gaius Prospero and his advisor.

“Are you afraid of poison?” Jonah said low to Lara.

She turned her green gaze on him. “No,” she answered. “We are protected from such chicanery. In Terah, by choice, our meals are not so rich.”

“Is this land a good one?” he asked. “And how far from Hetar is it?”

“Am I a fool to answer your questions, Jonah?” Lara demanded of him.

“I am only making polite conversation,” he protested.

He was as thin and vulpine as ever, Lara thought. “You seek to wheedle information out of me for your benefit first, and possibly your master’s if
that
would be to your benefit,” she said mockingly. “Terah is where it is. Many weeks away from the farthest borders of Hetar. My husband does not dissemble with Gaius Prospero. He had no wish to treat with Hetar. He came to satisfy his curiosity. He has done so, and we will be gone by the morrow.”

“How did you get into the City?” Jonah asked, turning the subject.

“With a cloak of invisibility,” she answered him frankly. “We walked unseen past your guardsmen. Now it is my turn. How did you know we were here?”

“Aubin Prospero, the emperor’s son, saw you. He said yours was a face he would never forget, for it was the first time his father had included him in his commerce. He was eight then, but now is almost grown. He was meeting someone when he spied you speaking with your stepmother,” Jonah replied. “You once said you had no magic.”

“Once I did not,” Lara answered him.

“But now you do, and it is powerful or you should not dare to be here. You do not fear my master, or even the might of Hetar, Lara, daughter of Swiftsword,” Jonah observed. “I think you could be a dangerous enemy for Gaius Prospero to have.”

“Are you still so loyal to him then?” Lara asked him. “Or is it just that you have not gathered enough power to overthrow him yet?” And she laughed softly at the surprise in the dark fathomless eyes engaging hers. “Your secret is safe, Jonah. There is nothing Hetar has that I want. And I have no love for your master. Magnus has seen what he came to see. We will return home, and you will likely never meet us again. Your invasion of the Outlands should keep Hetar busy for some time to come, I think.”

“You know about the invasion?” He was disturbed. She was a stranger now to the City, and yet she had already heard of their plans. How much did she know? And if she was no longer associated with the Outlands, why would she care? Perhaps he was being too wary. People spoke of the coming invasion all over the City these days. Still, he was curious. “How?” he asked her.

“My stepmother mentioned it in between her pleas for us to go away before we jeopardized my father’s position within the ranks of the Crusader Knights,” Lara said. Better he not know of their allies among the lords of Hetar. “Is he to lead one of the invading forces, or did she really gain her large home because she births strong sons for the order, as she bragged to me?”

Jonah laughed. “You do not like her,” he said knowingly.

“When I helped her to elevate my father from the Guild of Mercenaries to the ranks of the Crusader Knights I did not realize how petty and venal she was. She had no style then, but she has improved somewhat by her association with the other knights’ wives,” Lara noted dryly. “But I neither like her, nor dislike her.”

“You two have been chattering forever,” Gaius Prospero said. “What do you speak about?”

“Politics, my lord,” Lara said. “In other words, nothing at all.”

A ripple of laughter erupted about the table, and then dessert was served.

Chapter 15

H
IS
GUESTS
HAD
DEPARTED
back
to their dwellings. Anora, his second wife, clung to his arms purring deliciously lascivious and salacious suggestions into his ear. Gaius Prospero shook her off. “Not now,” he said testily. “I have other things that need attending before I come to bed.”

“What things?” Anora demanded. “I see you will need my whip on your fat bottom tonight, Gaius. You have neglected me dreadfully of late.” She slipped her arms about his neck, pressing against him, a hand reaching down to grasp his male member.

Again he pushed her away. “Anora, there are matters concerning Hetar that require my immediate attention. Go to your bed. I have no time for you.”

“Then divorce me, and send me back to my Pleasure House!” she cried. “I cannot exist without pleasures. I am not your senior wife, Vilia, content to be ignored as long as my lofty status remains intact. I need passion!”

An unpleasant smile touched Gaius Prospero’s lips. He wrapped his hand in Anora’s long hair, and yanked her to him. “I have no intention of divorcing you, my pet,” he said to her. Then he slapped her viciously several times. “And remember that I, too, know how to give pain. You have taught me well, Anora. Now leave me!” He flung the woman from him, and she fell to her knees upon the marble floor sobbing.

“I love you, Gaius,” she whimpered, looking up at him.

Her cheeks were stained with tears, and he saw the red marks his hand had made upon her cheeks. He felt the strange satisfaction that punishing her always brought him. Then getting to her feet Anora ran from the room. She would, he knew, be waiting with her whip to punish him when he was ready for her. And then they would experience glorious pleasures together until they were too weak even to rise from the bed.

“Jonah!” the emperor called to his assistant.

“I am here, my lord,” Jonah said appearing from the shadows.

“Come,” Gaius Prospero beckoned. “Let us have some more wine and discuss the evening.” He sat down in a thronelike chair while Jonah poured two goblets of wine for them, handing his master one as he stood by his side. “Now tell me what you thought of the beautiful Lara and this husband of hers. Shall I have him killed before they depart the City? Tonight? Then I might console the widow personally.”

“Too obvious, my lord, but then you knew that before I even spoke,” Jonah said.

“You know I have always desired her,” the emperor continued. “Would she not make me a fine empress? How old do you think she is now? Twenty-one? Twenty-two?” He licked his lips. “To take pleasures with her would be as close to divinity as a man might come, I think.”

“The ladies Vilia and Anora might not approve of such plans,” Jonah said dryly.

“They argue over who should be my empress, which is why neither one of them shall ever be,” Gaius Prospero said.

“The woman you entertained tonight, my lord, was hardly the girl you sent off to be sold into slavery eight years ago,” Jonah reminded his master. “That girl had no magic. But this woman does have magic, and it is great magic.”

“All the more reason I should have her for my empress,” Gaius Prospero said. “Imagine the power that would be mine with a faerie wife, Jonah!”

“Indeed, my lord, the thought is staggering. Unfortunately the lady would not be willing, I fear. Even if you murdered this new husband as you did the last, she would not, I believe, be willingly yours.”

“But soon we will enter the Outlands, and I shall find the children she gave to Vartan. I will use them to force her compliance to my will,” Gaius Prospero said.

“Would not her children be with her?” Jonah asked.

“Nay, they are not. After Vartan’s death, when she went to the Coastal Kingdom to visit Archeron she left them behind with their Fiacre clan family, Vartan’s people,” the emperor said. “Arcas told me.”

“Arcas lies,” Jonah noted. “First he claimed he had sold Lara into slavery. Then he said she was dead, fallen overboard from his vessel. Yet, my lord, here she was tonight, the wife of a man who claims to rule in another land. I attempted to solicit certain information from the lady Lara about this Terah, but she was not at all forthcoming, other than to say it was many weeks’ travel from Hetar’s farthest borders.”

“Then for now Terah would not appear to be a threat to Hetar,” Gaius Prospero said thoughtfully. “But where is it? And why is this Dominus not interested in being Hetar’s ally? Yet he was interested enough in Hetar to make his clandestine visit.”

“I think Arcas may know where Terah is,” Jonah said. “The Coastal Kings have many secrets they have not shared with you, my lord. For too long we have allowed them this isolation because of the luxury goods they constantly provide us, yet from where do those goods come? We have always assumed that the coastal folk fashioned them for us. But if that were so, my lord, why do the Coastal Kings have need of vessels to sail the sea they call Sagitta? Is it possible that these luxuries come from the place Lara calls Terah? And if they do, then the Coastal Kings are no better than the Taubyl Traders. They are middlemen. If we could trade directly with Terah, would not our costs be lower and our profits higher, my lord?”

A smile wreathed Gaius Prospero’s fat face. “Jonah, my dear Jonah,” he murmured pleased, “you are a treasure. How facile your mind is, and how it twists, and ferrets out the nuggets of information that will be useful to us. And to Hetar,” he added as an afterthought. “I could not do without your counsel.”

Jonah bowed his head in appreciation of the emperor’s words. “I am grateful to serve you, my lord,” he said flatteringly.

“Now let us get back to the beautiful Lara,” Gaius Prospero said. “What am I to do about her, Jonah?”

“Nothing for now, my lord,” Jonah advised. “Patience will prove to be a virtue in this matter, I assure you. You must not confuse yourself with too many projects at once. In another week we will begin our march into the Outlands through the Coastal province. Our Mercenary army and their Crusader Knight officers are already there. Think of the riches awaiting us, my lord. Slaves to be pressed into the service of Hetar. Beautiful women for the Pleasure Houses. Villages already built, and ready to be inhabited by those you have chosen, folk who will be loyal to you first because of your generosity. There are flocks and herds of animals that will make you richer than you could ever have imagined. The fields will be ripening with their crops ,which we will harvest for ourselves at the proper time. The City’s markets will be full again with cheap produce. The people will laud you for it. And the mines will again be ours to work. With such an enlarged labor force at little cost to us we will increase our returns. Your coffers will overflow, my lord.”

“It is a dream come true,” Gaius Prospero gushed. “All I need to make it perfect is Lara by my side as my empress, and in my bed to share pleasures.”

“It will be so, my lord,” Jonah assured him. “But first we take the Outlands. Then we will force their secrets from the Coastal Kings. And when we do, the road to Terah will be open to us, my lord. We must proceed slowly and carefully if we are to succeed in this endeavor. And you will have Lara’s Fiacre children in your tender care so that the faerie woman will be more amenable to your wishes. A year, or two at the most, my lord, and everything you have ever wanted will be yours.”

“Yes!” Gaius Prospero breathed. “And in the meantime I have Vilia and Anora, each of them bending over backward to please me in the hopes I will make one of them my empress.” He laughed, and nodded well pleased. “Once more you have clarified the picture for me, Jonah. You must help me continue to be patient,” the emperor said.

“I am here for you, my lord. Only for you,” Jonah assured Gaius Prospero.

“I have kept Anora waiting long enough,” the emperor said. “Good night, Jonah. May the rest of your evening be as pleasant as mine is certain to be.” And he hurried off to where his second wife was anticipating his arrival.

On her large bed lay the gold wrist cuffs lined in lamb’s wool that were connected with a silver chain, a matching collar, a small dog whip, and a hazel switch as thick as her thumb. “You are late!” Anora snapped at him as Gaius Prospero entered the chamber. “Put on your collar, and get on your knees! Beg my forgiveness for your earlier behavior, and your tardiness,” she said reaching for the switch. “Display your bottom for me immediately, Gaius,” she commanded him as he hurried to obey her, smiling as she saw him wince at the sound of the hazel rod swishing through the air. “You are going to spend until dawn being punished, husband,” Anora told him. “Your buttocks will be well burnished by the time I have finished with you.”

“Yes, my sweet precious,” Gaius Prospero whimpered, eager for her to begin. Anora’s whippings always produced the most extraordinary results for him. He performed like a bull amid a herd of heifers afterwards. Vilia no longer aroused any passion in him at all. But Lara… The thought of her set his male member stirring, and then he yelped as Anora’s hazel switch began to sting and burn his flesh.

Listening outside Anora’s chamber Lady Vilia smiled with satisfaction. She hurried through the house, and then when she had almost reached the great hall a hand reached out, pulling her into the shadows. “Jonah!” she breathed.

His mouth found hers in a hard kiss. He forced her back against the wall with his lean body, pulling her gown up as he did. Her hands fumbled eagerly to push his own gown away. Then he was raising her up. Her legs were wrapping about him. He thrust hard into her wet heat. “Vilia,” he ground out. “I thought you were not coming.” His hips worked in sharp, quick rhythm with hers. “You were ready for me, you wicked bitch, weren’t you?” Jonah groaned, burying his face between her big breasts.

“I had to…ahh. Make certain…ohh, Jonah!…that Anora would…don’t stop, you devil!…keep him the night. Ohh, that is so good! I adore…sharing pleasures…with you, Jonah, my love.”

He used her vigorously. Gaius Prospero hadn’t been in her bed in several years, but Jonah knew it would infuriate him to know that his former slave was even now pumping his love juices into Vilia. He had considered seducing her, but she had taken the initiative with him even before he had bought his freedom. She was a deliciously lusty woman, and would make him a fine empress one day. A man could have many beautiful women with whom to share pleasures, but a woman like Vilia, intelligent and ambitious, was rare. Gaius Prospero was a fool to consider tossing her aside for the beautiful faerie Lara.
But I will encourage his folly,
Jonah thought as Vilia began to moan with her crisis. He kissed her again to stifle the cries, feeling her lush body shudder with release.

Her legs fell away from him. “Oh, that was good!” she half groaned.

“Was she whipping his fat bottom?” Jonah asked.

“She had just begun,” Vilia laughed softly. “He cannot, it seems, become aroused anymore unless she does. But once he is stiff he works her vigorously.”

“Leaving me the leisure to work you even more vigorously,” Jonah said in her ear.

He took her by the hand. “Come,” he said. “We will go to my chamber.”

“You could have a house of your own,” Vilia said to him. “Why do you persist in remaining in that tiny cubicle here in this house?”

“To be near you, of course,” he told her.

“Liar,” she said. “But flattering. Now the truth, Jonah.”

“If I am in the house then no one else can get to him without my knowing it,” Jonah said. “You and I must be his only influences, Vilia.”

“Agreed,” Vilia answered. “Now what was tonight all about, Jonah?”

“He was curious. Your son saw Lara in the marketplace today and came to him with the news. We tracked her to the Garden District, and an inn near the City’s main gate. He desires her, but then you always knew that. But it is the man she travels with, and this land of Terah, that is of more interest to us. For now I have convinced him to keep his energies focused upon the Outlands invasion.”

“Yes,” Vilia said. “There is much wealth for the taking there, and it is time we put those savages under our thumbs.”

They had reached Jonah’s small chamber, and entering it fell in a tangle of arms and legs to the bed, pulling off each other’s garments.

“What is to be done about Lara?” Vilia asked him.

“Nothing for now,” Jonah said. “In time we will deal with her. She might even make us a good ally, for her magic has grown strong. But for now I think she will be surprised that we have left her alone, and perhaps it will gain us her goodwill at some time in the future.”

And Lara was indeed surprised that nothing more came of the dinner with Gaius Prospero. She had set Verica to guarding their door, but they slept undisturbed. And the following morning a messenger arrived from the emperor with papers giving them free access to any part of the City. “They want something,” she said suspiciously.

“What?” Magnus asked her amused.

“For one thing, that snake, Jonah, wanted to know where Terah was,” Lara said.

“What did you tell him?” What
had
she told him? She had been edgy, and extremely cautious since last night.

“That it is was many weeks’ journey from Hetar’s farthest borders,” Lara replied. “If he considers my words, he will have to wonder which borders. Jonah is a shrewd and clever man, Magnus. He will eventually find us if he seeks us.”