Forgotten (13 page)

Kaie rested his palms on his knees and stared at them, surprised at how guilty he felt. He meant to send this man out, thinking he held a defense against the Namers. Kaie meant his enemy to be defenseless, when they came, and be removed for him.

But Judah didn’t deserve that. Not just because he was upset at the wrong person. And, despite his determination to see Kaie undone, he really was Gregor’s friend. Kaie couldn’t even convince himself to doubt that. The man would walk through a damned fire, if the Rit asked it of him. Going through with this would mean robbing Gregor of one of the only two people in the city he could trust.

He would be responsible for making another Hollow.

“I can’t do this.”

“Huh?”

He looked up, hardly able to meet Judah’s confused gaze. “It’s plenty risky. Mainly because
it’s
horse shit. You want to keep from being made into a Hollow? Run as far as you can, and don’t get caught. Don’t
ever
get caught.”

Judah’s face pinched around a point formed at his mouth.
“And the meditation?”

“Who knows? I’ve never tried it. Maybe it works. But a lot of people know how to meditate and, like you said, I’m the only one who’s made it through.”

“So you lied?”

Kaie rolled his eyes. The giant might be the most loyal person in the Urazin Empire, but the guy wasn’t quick.
“Yeah.”

The grim look on Judah’s face didn’t fit quite right. It didn’t seem like an expression that belonged there. Kaie knew anger and distrust, but this was something else.
Hopelessness.
He sighed and ran a hand over his face, pushing the long blonde hair away from his face. “So everything was a lie. You’ve never survived a Namer.”

“No, that part was true. I just can’t teach you how. I don’t know how I did it the last time and I don’t remember anything about the ones before that. I told you the only advice I’ve got.”

“Run?” Judah shook his head. “That won’t keep any mage safe. I’ve seen it before. Once a Namer marks us, there’s no place far enough they won’t bring us back Hollow. Gregor’s helping you, Kale. You owe him more than this crap.”

“I can’t give what I don’t have,” Kaie said.

He stood, carefully straightening the wrinkles forming in his shirt from sitting. No one was going to notice them, but Kaie couldn’t bring himself to leave them.

“I need to get back. It’s been an enlightening lesson, Judah.”

The other man glanced up, his warm face devoid of any expression whatsoever. “
Who’s
side are you on, Kale Whoreson? Do you even know?”

Kaie glanced backward, a true frown tugging at his lips despite his best efforts to keep his face just as neutral. “Of course I do.”

Judah sighed, sounding genuinely sad. “Then you better figure out what you do have, and what you will give. Because Gregor can’t wait much longer, and when he makes his move, no amount of play-acting or saying you forget is going to protect you. You’ve worked real hard to tie yourself to his side, and you’ve done a masterful job. His enemies will assume you’re with him, and he won’t keep you safe if you aren’t. Be careful that you don’t lose the opportunity to make that decision for yourself.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kaie muttered as he pushed his way out the door.

The blow
slipped past his guard and caught him in the shoulder
, making half his arm go numb. Kaie cursed and shook out his hand, trying to get feeling back. It was a mistake. On a good day, Gregor might let him get away with it, but the Rit was not in a forgiving mood.

“You won’t teach Judah.” The point was emphasized with another jab aimed for Kaie’s face. He ducked it, barely, and heard the whistle as Gregor’s fist brushed past his right ear. He expected this conversation the night before. He would prefer another talk about the Rit’s marriage prospects and sex with centaurs.

“No. I can’t teach Judah. If you think back, you’ll remember I told you I don’t have a
gods
damned idea how I got through it.”

“That’s not what I need Kale.”

Another jab, aimed for his face again. Gregor didn’t usually focus so much attention on places that would show. Better than his kidneys, but it didn’t bode well for Kaie’s face.

“Would you rather I let your old friend wander around thinking some crap I made up will keep him safe from a Namer?”

Gregor grabbed his right hand around the wrist and turned him just enough to get a swift hit in on his side. He hunched over at the sudden shot of pain ripping through his gut, yanking his arm free of Gregor’s hold.
Kidney.
Wonderful.
He couldn’t wait to piss blood tomorrow.
He swung wide. His fist rolled off the Rit’s right arm, doing no damage.
The man moved fucking fast. A year and a half boxing with Gregor, and the guy still managed to pull stunts like that. It hurt like hell. Every
gods
damned time. But the frustration was worse. After a year and a half, losing really ought to be easier.

Kaie didn’t let himself react to the pain long. Gregor’s silence was a telling answer, but it didn’t mean the Rit would be content with the punishment doled out thus far. Every bit of his body screaming at him to hunch up into a ball and wait for the danger to pass, he straightened up and threw a punch of his own.

It was aimed in the general direction of Gregor’s dimpled chin, but it went wild. That was fine with Kaie. Connecting that hit would hurt his hand a lot more than it would hurt Gregor. The point was just to show the Rit that he wasn’t ready to crawl away in defeat just yet.

Gregor smirked, just a little, and inclined his head. Permission like that was rare, and Kaie didn’t intend to waste it. He used up the whole of the minute the Rit was allowing him to suck in several deep breaths of warm air and roll the numbness out of his right shoulder.

“One Namer could pose a greater threat than anyone else in Hudukul,” Gregor said while he waited.

Kaie glared at him, but held his answer until his allotted time was up. When Gregor dropped back into stance, he mirrored the other man with fists raised and feet spread.

“I guess it’s a good thing there isn’t one Namer in the whole of Jorander then, huh?” He dodged the first jab. It was aimed at his side, but there didn’t look to be much power behind it. Gregor was testing, trying to determine how hurt he was and how hard he would need to be pressed before he would admit he was beaten. It would happen eventually, Kaie knew. It always did. But he wasn’t going to make it easy. “I’m aware of the danger. Better than you, actually. But being pissed off won’t put the knowledge in my head.”

“No?” It was Gregor’s turn to dodge, dancing around a jab aimed at the man’s
gut
.

“No,” Kaie insisted. “Believe me. I’m better at it than you.”

Gregor’s left eyebrow arched up slightly and the lines around his mouth tightened. He was either trying not to smile or about to go for another kidney shot. Just to be safe, Kaie pulled his arms close to keep them out of the other man’s reach and protect his body.

“Better at what?”

“Being pissed off,” Kaie answered.

That got him a snort, followed by two hits to his stomach. They weren’t nearly as hard as they should be. Gregor was playing with him. Kaie took the opportunity to catch the man’s ear. He wasn’t playing.

Gregor stumbled backward, shaking his head. He was
phased
, but Kaie knew better than to think it was as bad as he was acting. This wasn’t a new ploy. After a few minutes, he let the act drop and fell back into his ready stance.

“Judah thinks you’re going to turn on me.”

Kaie grimaced. “I’m sure he also thinks you’re fucking me. The man isn’t bright.”

Gregor laughed, full and deep, and dropped his hands. After a second, Kaie put his down too. The Rit slapped his arm affectionately. “Did he compliment your mouth? I know how much you love it when Losen crows about it. I told Judah to make sure he mentioned it.”

Odon Losen was, without question, Kaie’s least favorite person in the whole
gods
damned city. The city of Hudukul was one of castes. Kaie wasn’t privy to the knowledge of how, precisely, the system worked, but it seemed there were no fewer than seven castes, and each one was allowed its own councilor in the government that used to rule the city. They were supposedly selected by a vote taken among the rest of their caste, though Kaie found it unlikely that some of those who held that honor were truly favored by their compatriots. Losen was one of those. Formerly of the merchant caste, now he was toadying up to Gregor in the hopes that the Ninth Rit’s goodwill would translate to the same when the Empress’s envoy arrived. The guy visited at least once a week, and not a single dinner ended without him making some attempt to convince Gregor to let him ‘borrow’ Kaie for an evening.

It was excruciating, putting up with the man’s comments silently. Gregor, well aware of the potential disaster, tried to stay close. But the guy always found a way to get him alone for a minute or two. The pawing was much worse. Thus far, Kaie managed to keep himself from reacting, tolerating it all with eyes downcast and lips pressed firmly closed. That wasn’t going to last forever.

“Fuck you.”

Gregor’s dark eyes were still laughing, but he seemed to be making an effort to keep quiet. It was a rare consideration. Kaie rubbed the lower right of his back. He eyed the Rit with unconcealed irritation. “Why didn’t you tell me about the Soldier’s price?”

The humor left Gregor’s face. The man sighed slowly.
“Because there was no point.
Why don’t you go to the kitchen and get dinner?”

Kaie shook his head. “Not this time. You want me to play your slave
boy,
you’re going to explain why you didn’t tell me a couple lines branded onto my shoulder would set me free.”

“Because they wouldn’t.”
Gregor said. “You’re not stupid, Kale. I only put that brand there so I could use the Aulis before someone wondered why I wasn’t sending you to the pleasure houses or killing you. It doesn’t mean anything. Everyone working to pay a price has their name written in a book in Uraz. You’re not in that book. You won’t be paying a price.”

“Why wouldn’t you put me in the book? I’m wearing your Aulis, Gregor! Someone in the empire is bound to wonder why there’s no record of me.”

The Rit scowled at him. “I know. I’ve been at this a lot longer than you, and I’m not stupid either. That risk is a lot lower than putting down Kale Whoreson of Lindel, who doesn’t exist, or Kaie Zetowan, who’s the only dead man I know guaranteed to bring a Namer out into the middle of the desert. Why do you think I’ve kept you so hidden away? So long as no one gets overly curious about one unremarkable slave, no one will notice the absence of one name.”

“No one except the Empress’s special advisor, right?
What are you going to do about me when she gets here? It’s not like there are a bunch of guys running around Hudukul with red hair and an Aulis. She’s bound to be at least a little curious.”

Gregor rolled his shoulders and tugged the front of his shirt loose from the sweat plastering it to his chest. Kaie knew he was shirtless at least once a day – he wore a different one each morning – but never saw it. No matter how hot the day, or how private their spot in the gardens, his back was never bare. There was certainly a reason, but the Rit was more willing to talk about his bowel movements than his dressing habits. The man didn’t confine frustrating Kaie to their sparring matches.

“A runner spotted the sails a couple hours ago,” Gregor said. They were, it seemed, pretending Kaie never asked that particular question. “The envoy should be here by dawn.”

Kaie sighed and picked up his own shirt from where he left it on the bench beside the pool. Normally, after one of their matches, he would spend some time soaking in the tepid water. It was a good way to rid
himself
of the blood and sweat that invariably came of fighting Gregor. It also kept him from stinking. The manse the Rit claimed was the only one in the whole city with its own bathing pool. How the others managed not to overwhelm Hudukul with their collective reek was a mystery he wasn’t interested in solving.

Tonight, it seemed there were more pressing matters than controlling his stench. He needed to fetch his master’s dinner before the inevitable arrival of every former Hudukul politician when they learned of the impending arrival.

“You could’ve given me enough time to clean up,” he groused.

Gregor grinned and winked. “And miss a chance to beat you up a little? Nothing in all Elysium is worth that.”

Kaie glared at the Rit as he tugged his shirt down and ran a hand through his hair in a pointless attempt to push it back from his face. Sure enough, a moment later it fell back into his eyes. “Do I at least look acceptable?”

The other man looked him up and down without any trace of teasing. Their ploy wouldn’t survive mistakes, even little ones that only the staff would see. Everyone in Hudukul was watching the Ninth Rit for one reason or another, especially with the envoy so close. One slip-up could unravel the whole thing. Gregor wasn’t about to let that happen for the sake of tormenting him.

“Your right eye might match that bruise on your jaw tomorrow. Think you can come up with a story?”

Kaie snorted.

Gregor smiled and patted his arm again before heading through the doorway that led to their rooms. The garden, which was open to the desert sky and contained very few plants, was positioned in the center of the manse. There were four circular doorways leading into the other parts of the building. The water in the pool, which fed up from some source underground, kept the garden significantly cooler than the rest of the city, and the open doorways meant the house was too. The rooms, especially, seemed to be significantly more tolerable. He really wanted to follow Gregor, to change his clothes and relax until his shoulder and back felt better.

Instead, he got to come up with a story about a black eye. It would mean all the servants would be giggling about him whenever he left a room again. They were just starting to stop that, too.

Kaie didn’t waste any more time being bitter. As predicted, the cook and her helpers all giggled when his back was turned, enjoying what they thought was an insight into their foreign employer and his exotic sex slave. He tried not to be irritated by it. It wouldn’t help anything.

Setting up the Rit’s dinner was second nature. Carrying it into the dining hall was never simple. There were always various fruits and proteins, each one complimented by a different kind of spicy noodle that only the Hudukul were able to stomach. But he did it every night, so he laid everything out without thinking. His mind twisted around the problem of the advisor and what her arrival was going to mean.

No matter what Gregor thought, there was no way his presence in the Rit’s household was going to go unnoticed. He
was bigger now, and his skin wasn’t as light
. He didn’t stick out quite so much as when he first arrived. But Kaie’s hair was still dark red in a city filled with every color but. It was unusual enough of a color in the empire. Here it was like a great big sign on his head, demanding people notice him. Someone in her company was bound to do so and find it a curious thing. He didn’t know the process of looking up names on Gregor’s list of soldiers, but Kaie was confident someone would get it in their head. He could shave every hair on his head, but even that wouldn’t solve the problem completely. Someone might still wonder about the Rit’s sudden change in
apetites
.

Gregor kept him safe for a while, but he always knew it was a temporary arrangement. He hoped the plan to free all the soldiers in Hudukul and start a revolt would be the end to the game. Things were looking different now. Despite his assertion to Judah and his promise to Gregor, for the first time in over a year, Kaie was thinking about running.

He didn’t get much time to consider it. Gregor came into the dining hall before he finished setting the last bowl on the table. He didn’t even need to look up from his task to know when the Rit entered. The man filled the room with his presence, like his personality was too large to be held within his skin. It was one of the most dangerous things about him, and the one that made his crazy plan most likely to succeed. Kaie never could decide if he loved or hated it about the man.

If they were eating alone, Kaie sat in the chair at the Rit’s right, and they talked about the plan. No one was there yet, but it was a good guess that it wasn’t a safe night to do that. So instead, Kaie took up his position kneeling beside Gregor’s chair. They both hated the arrangement, but it proved to be the right decision. The other man was just about to take a third bite of the chicken when the first guest arrived.