Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (10 page)

"And so
here we are. Your mother believes I am part savage, and you believe I inherited
my
mother's madness — that I, in fact, deliberately put us all in harm's
way. I imagine, Captain Kalos, that you and your mother have won few friends on
the Prime Continent considering the way you speak so bluntly to
strangers."

"You
would imagine correctly." Kalos gave her a wry smile. "Even our own
kin sometimes have little to do with us."

She
shrugged, feigning indifference.

"I know
not what else to say to you. You have obviously researched the particular form
of madness attributed to my mother. So you must know this affliction quite
often is passed from mothers to daughters, though not to sons. I cannot deny
this fact."

Adalginza then
pushed beside him, to kneel beside the snake.

"Perhaps
you could help me drag this one's carcass outside the enclosure, into the
street. The free savages will find and skin it. They will also make use of the
remains. The meat will find its way into many cooking pots. Even the bones will
be shaped into tools and ornaments."

"Why
should we exert ourselves on behalf of the very savages who plot to murder us?"

"Because
we must dispose of the snake or it will rot on my property. If we leave it on
the street, the savages will do the work for us."

As they
struggled together to drag their burden down the trail, Adalginza paused to unbolt
and swing open the outside side gate leading to the town street.

She paused
to catch her breath, and glared at the captain.

"Instead
of indulging in gossip and speculation about me, I would advise you and Lady
Redolo to investigate more of the facts you claim you are so fond of."

Kalos rested
one hand on the gate as he regarded her.

"And
what facts might those be?"

"For
one thing, there are no indigo eyes through my mother's direct lineage. The
indigo eyes are inherited through my father's bloodline alone. So, you see, my father
could not possibly be a savage. You and your mother accuse Lady Donzala of
indiscretion that is simply untrue. You have dishonored her good name, sir."

"I
suppose we should have delved into this subject more thoroughly before bringing
it up with you." Kalos was beginning to sound uncharacteristically contrite.

"Yes.
You should have." Adalginza met his gaze coldly. "Also, if you had
checked the Archives, you also would know that my father's mother was Lady
Swiala. This is a name you must surely recognize. In her youth, she was a model
for many fine fashions on the Prime Continent."

"Yes. I
know the name well. And I know of her famous indigo eyes."

"Good.
Then know, too, that her son chose allegiance to his father's house, the Fifth
House. But Lady Swiala herself belongs to the House of the First Crescent Moon.
This is my true lineage. And in Lady Swiala's clan, indigo eyes are not so rare."

"I see what
you are saying," Kalos conceded.

Adalginza,
of course, was only embellishing an elaborate lie.

She knew
nothing of her own real father, an unknown Crescent knight.

She knew
only that Lady Donzala's husband, Isa, had sired the baby whose place Adalginza
had taken. And it was this baby who was the direct descendant of the famous
Lady Swiala.

"And
here is another fact for you to consider," Adalginza said. "Lest your
ridiculous suspicions now lead you to believe that Lady Donzala was not my
mother, I will point out to you that Medosa himself witnessed and recorded my
birth. Yes, my skin is dark. But unlike many ladies of the Crescent Houses, I
do not protect myself by hiding indoors. I worship the sun. I often bathe in
it, unclothed, when others cannot see."

She boldly
held his gaze, forcing upon him the image of herself in a natural state of sun
worship.

Her
adversary, for once, was speechless — and, also, a little pale.

Adalginza
then reached down, and grabbed two handfuls of the dead snake's hide. Kalos bent
to assist her, rubbing one strong shoulder against hers. They pulled together
until finally they tugged their burden onto the side of the empty street.

Kalos picked
some strands of nearby tall grass and wiped the gore from his hands. He said
nothing during this process, but he looked speculative. His eyes never left her
face.

Six of the
ten crescent moons glowed down upon the scene, illuminating it in soft light.
Then, Kalos unexpectedly reached for her. Strong hands rested on her bare
shoulders while he earnestly searched her eyes.

"You deliberately
placed that image of you in my mind. So you are again playing the role of the temptress."

"I am
trying to be much more than that for you."

His eyes
were hungry now, but he frowned as though something deeply disturbed him. He
dropped his hands from her shoulders.

"You
are also a liar."

"
Now
what is it that you accuse me of?"

"You
used the word trying. This is very telling."

"And now
I suppose you are going to enlighten me as to why that is, oh superior one of
the exalted House of the Ninth Crescent Moon."

He laughed
aloud at her insult. "Try shows you have no real commitment to what it is you
say you want to do."

"Words,
words, words." Adalginza finished cleaning her own hands, and angrily
tossed the grass strands to the ground. "You and your clansmen are so full
of meaningless words."

"No
more words then. Let us
try
a test. Better still, let us actually do it."

Adalginza's watched
him warily as he stepped away from her. What was it that he was now about to
ask of her?

"It is
late, and there is no one else around." His voice was gently teasing. "Show
me now how it is that you worship the sun. Go ahead. I will watch."

At her hesitation,
Kalos folded his arms. "Well? I am waiting to see the shade of your skin.
All of your skin. Then we will accomplish two worthy goals. I will be convinced
of your intent toward me, and I will see the truth of your heritage."

To her own
surprise, hot shame instantly swept over her. Not knowing what else to do, Adalginza
silently turned on her heel and began stalking back toward the abode.

She felt
Kalos walking behind her, much too closely.

"Liar,"
he whispered, almost in her ear. His hot breath caused the back of her neck to
tingle. "You are not the seductress you pretend to be. So the real
question is this. Why are you acting toward me in such a manner?"

"I have
no more
words
for you," Adalginza replied coolly.

The clatter
of stones nearby ordinarily would have spoken of a beast of the night, caught
by surprise at their hurried approach.

But in the
reaching of her mind, Adalginza felt no response.

Therefore,
the intruder spying upon them had been human.

***

Later that
night, Adalginza escorted her guests to the front gate where they politely said
their goodbyes. Kalos, Redolo, and Zartos then climbed into their carriage
where a driver awaited them at the appointed time.

But it was
only until the clomping sound of the sturmons pulling the carriage and the
clatter of the wheels grew more distant that Adalginza turned back toward her
abode.

She
carefully stepped over the cobblestones as she made her way back to the
courtyard entrance. There, a shadow detached itself from the inky darkness near
the front door.  She recognized the shape of the man at once.

"Benfaaro?"
she whispered.

He instantly
stepped into full view.

The pale
light of the moons lit his face, and glowed back at her from his green eyes.
But her joy at seeing her beloved older brother was tempered by fear that he
had personally witnessed her earlier failure.

She could
have and should have seduced the new captain, when the opportunity so
conveniently presented itself. Instead, she had fled his attentions exactly
like the impotent virgin Bruna had accused her of being.

Fortunately,
however, Benfaaro had other things on his mind.

"We
must repair the screen," he said urgently. "Another snake could come
before morning in search of new territory, once the scent of the other's death
becomes widespread and known."

He pushed impatiently
by her, heading toward the trail to the stables. Thus far, he had barely acknowledged
her. It was so like him to withhold affection, even though they had been
separated now for at least a full quarter of a season.

Adalginza
matched his pace, trying not to stumble after him with steps made clumsier by
the usual hero worship she always felt in his presence.

She felt so deeply
blessed to be a blood relative to a living legend. Songs already were being
written and sung around campfires of all the tribes about the great Benfaaro,
savior of the frontier's rightful inhabitants.

The dark purple
band around his head kept his flowing, black locks of hair in check. Not
particularly tall, he was nevertheless imposing because of an intensity of
character that physically impacted those in his presence.

He suddenly flinched
with the hearing of a tiny scuffling sound, and paused to listen. A rodent
skittered away, giving him a glimpse of the source.

For one
fleeting moment, he graced Adalginza with a grim smile as she struggled to
catch up to him. She soon stood with her brother, overwhelmed with joy to be shoulder-to-shoulder
with her only real kin.

"So,
little sister. The enemy captain has been at your household. And you accomplished
this on the first day of his arrival. Well done."

Adalginza
knew she now had a foolish, adolescent grin on her face. But she didn't care.

Praise from
the great Benfaaro was rare indeed. And this definitely was not the time to ask
if he had seen her just fail at seducing the captain of the Crescent knights.

They walked silently
together, until a few moments later they reached the place where the screen had
been breached. But it already had been repaired and what remained of the bait
was now gone.

Adalginza
guessed that Bruna must have sneaked back here to undo her original handiwork.

"I
watched you in combat," Benfaaro said, as his eyes scanned the darkness. "You
fought the snake well. As did the new captain."

"Thank
you," Adalginza said humbly.

Benfaaro
peered into the darkness. "I know you're there, Bruna. Step forward. Your mate
misses his beloved."

Did Adalginza
imagine she heard a note of irony mixed with outright insincerity in her
brother's voice?

It was hard
to tell, for Bruna immediately melted from the darkness and into Benfaaro's
arms.

Adalginza
tried to assess the uneasy feeling she always had when her brother and Bruna
were together. Around Bruna, he was sometimes transformed into a different man.
A man bewitched. That was the word whispered behind Benfaaro's back.

Right now the
two of them embraced eagerly, kissing as real lovers do, seemingly eager to be
off to Bruna's sleep chamber before the night turned to day.

A few
moments later, Benfaaro stepped back from the gaunt, grim woman.

"Would
you like to hear news of our sweet daughter, Calasta?"

"No."
Bruna shrugged. "I'm sure she is fine."

"She is
your
daughter
. She turned eight only a few turns ago. Yet, you sent her
no token of your affection through one of our couriers. Is this something you
have forgotten? Do you not have a treasure for me to bring back to her, to
assure her of her own mother's love?"

"She is
with you. Because of this, she has all the treasure she needs."

"She
misses her mother."

Bruna merely
shrugged again. "And I miss you."

Adalginza
heard a slight grinding of Benfaaro's teeth, accompanied by the visible
contortions of his jaw. "Why did you cut the screen? You put Adalginza in
great danger."

"Maybe
I didn't do it." At Benfaaro's stern gaze, Bruna reached out with
elongated fingers and stroked the growth of beard on his chin to placate him.  "Or
maybe I did it for a reason."

Benfaaro
reached up, grabbed her hand, and moved it away from his face. "Which was?"

"Not to
kill the captain. At least not until we have his secrets."

Adalginza
stepped forward then, to confront Bruna.

"You
wanted the snake to kill the rest of his family. His mother and his nephew.
That's why you did it."

Bruna's
smile was so malevolent that Adalginza had to physically control a shudder.

"A
grief-stricken man would be in great need of consolation," Bruna pointed
out, sounding reasonable. "Not that you, little one, would be up to the
task. Not from what I have seen so far."