Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (4 page)

"Kalos
and his family will not be so easily deceived. I'm warning you. Keep your blood
lust in check, or you will destroy all we are trying to do here."

"I have
no regrets about Trelos. I killed a viper in his own nest." Again, that
twisted grin instead of a smile. And this time, an unholy glow lit Bruna's reptilian
eyes. "You should praise me, little one — not condemn."

Adalginza
looked away from Bruna in disgust, and reached for one of the vials containing
gooey, clay-based masque. She began applying it thickly to her cheeks, chin,
forehead, and neck.

 "You
were wrong to do what you did. Captain Trelos and his mate had befriended me,
on behalf of the cousin he had hoped to match with me. I was making progress."

"Not
so. You shared pleasantries, fine food, and wine at his abode for almost three
seasons. But you did little else."

"You
weren't there! Bringing me into his clan was the captain's passion. He wished
for indigo eyes to be bred into his line. It would have been a matter of great
pride."

"Yet,
he was not passionate enough to bed you himself."

"He was
loyal to his mate. Is that so hard for you to understand?"

"It was
taking too long."

Adalginza
reached for a small fiber brush, and began drawing thick, dark lines of organic
paint around her indigo eyes, making them appear even larger.

"I had
made much progress with the family. The information I learned even helped with
the raid on the Tremasto settlement in South Port. Yet, we could have known so
much more. You ruined everything. Can you not see that?"

"You
should have bedded the cousin on the first night of meeting him." Bruna
regarded her ferociously. "You should listen to me. I am trying to help
you avoid future mistakes."

"Bedding
is not the same as the bonding. You have no appreciation for the rites of
courtship." Adalginza began applying a red coating to her lips.

"An
excuse."

"I am
weary of your company. And your advice. Shouldn't you go now and tend to the
food?"

Bruna remained
where she was. And as the sun outside disappeared, her face contorted with
jealousy that was reflected in the darkening mirror.

"Call it
what you will. But I know the truth. You are still a virgin, and you are afraid.
Benfaaro sent a child for this mission."

"I
will not indulge you further in this discussion. Go. Now."

"I take
no orders from you."

"Very
well. Let the food that is cooking turn to charcoal. Then I will report back to
Benfaaro that you failed to deliver meals to the guests on time, and they left
before I had the chance to greet them properly."

Bruna stood,
regarding her speculatively, as though she had far more she wanted to say. But
finally she turned and left the room.

When she was
at last mercifully alone, Adalginza dropped her bravado and stared back with
frightened eyes at her own image in the mirror.

She knew she
was weak. She knew she might fail because of it. But she didn't need Bruna's constant
reminders of her shortcomings.

For probably
the thousandth time since her arrival in Sola Re, Adalginza fervently wished
that Benfaaro had trusted her enough to handle this mission alone.

But perhaps
this arrangement was for the best. At least her brother and Bruna were
separated this way. In the presence of his mate, Benfaaro was beginning to
behave more like a man on a leash rather than a fierce leader.

And this was
alarming to all who knew him well.

Adalginza
frowned at the thought. Bruna, too, had an unspoken name in tribal dialect.
Something that translated into
she who fathoms treasures of soil and sun.

Those so gifted
often were healers, as Bruna sometimes was with the creation of her many
potions.

But she also
had been known to drive enemies mad with the simple brew of an otherwise
innocent-looking tea made of an unknown concoction of herbs and leaves.

It was
rumored, in fact, that Bruna had used such a potion to cast a spell over
Benfaaro himself.

It was the
only explanation for why he had so mysteriously rejected his first love and pledged
himself to Bruna, bonding with her within only days of their first meeting.

While Bruna
doted upon the man she had so beguiled, she had been sadistically cold to their
daughter, Calasta, born of their union.

As further
evidence of Bruna's twisted possessiveness, she had constantly tried to block
Benfaaro's affection for Calasta — his own daughter, his own flesh and blood.
And hers.

Adalginza
had befriended the lonely child, sometimes even assuming the role of her mother
to help soften the pain of Bruna's outright rejection.

Calasta was
now seven seasons old and in the care of her kind and doting father. So it was
much better that Bruna stay here in Sola Re, to spare Calasta the agony of
having to compete with her own mother.

Adalginza felt
a sudden yearning. Her visits home in the last few seasons had been far too
few.

She missed
Calasta. And she missed her brother.

She peered
longingly into the mirror now, as though willing it to somehow transform into a
doorway giving her instant passage back to those she loved.   

She had, in
fact, heard rumors that such powers once existed in the long ago.

But not
here. And not now.

Sighing, Adalginza
performed a final inspection of her masque. And then she slowly and reluctantly
rose to her feet.

At the same moment,
Bruna strolled back into the room without bothering to announce herself.

In a
familiar way, she then circled Adalginza as though she were a prize sturmon
mare about to be auctioned off.

Bruna
reached out to smooth a few creases in the gown. Finally, she made a few adjustments
to the knot tied under Adalginza's shoulder.

"I
suppose this will have to do." She sighed, sounding not at all pleased.

Adalginza
regarded her apprehensively. "It is not time yet, is it?"

"No.
But I thought you should know they are here."

"Good."

"They
are in the courtyard now. As we speak, they eat our food and taint our home
with their foul presence."

"You
served them without comment?"

"Yes."

Adalginza slowly
moved to the open window, and was dismayed to see in a nearby medkla tree the
colorful display of feathers announcing Starla's presence. She was perched there,
waiting for Adalginza's company and a handout of seeds.

Hide. Do
not show yourself to Bruna.

But it was
too late.

"I am
going to kill that bird someday," Bruna said matter-of-factly, looking
over Adalginza's shoulder. "Its unnatural attachment to you puts us all in
danger."

"Do not
dare!" Adalginza whirled and faced her adversary eye-to-eye. "It is
your duty to obey me. If anything happens to Benfaaro, it is I who will rule.
Or Calasta. You have made enemies of us both. So you should be careful of your
words.
And
your actions."

"You
dare threaten me?"

Adalginza pointedly
turned her back on Bruna. She instead gazed out the window and concentrated on
the comical antics of Starla, who now eyed a stalk-like insect to pounce on for
dinner.

She spoke
again quietly. "Benfaaro loves me, his sister. I, in turn, love him. His
kindness is my salvation. I suffer all that you are, for his sake."

Bruna
laughed in response. "You are but a puny shadow of Benfaaro. And know that
you will never rule. I will make sure of that."

"Please.
Just go."

Ignoring the
request, Bruna moved beside Adalginza at the window. Her eyes glowed with a
fanatical light as she surveyed the sandy expanse of desert lit by an orange
hue signaling the end of day.

"Benfaaro
will be remembered through Eternity and in songs of valor. Not you. Though you
share your brother's blood, you are nothing like him."

"I
would die for my brother. You know that."

"Yes,
but would you kill for him?" Bruna gloated openly at Adalginza's troubled
silence. "Just as I thought. A child with no heart for what must be done."

"Get
out!"

"Very
well. I will leave you for now. But when the sun has fully departed, you must
go downstairs. Then we will see how well you serve the brother you say you love
so much."

Bruna
laughed without pity as she exited the room.

Adalginza tensely
locked her hands behind her back and concentrated on the world outside, the one
she wished she could merge into right now.

She had
heard of spirits who could temporarily leave their human bodies and become one
with a tree, a rock, or an animal.

But perhaps
it was all just a myth.

Hungry!

Starla
suddenly pounced on the hapless insect she had been stalking, and triumphantly flew
away with her prize.

Adalginza
shared a brief mindlink with the bird. She relished the exuberance of flight
and the rush of air beneath wings. But soon Starla was out of range and the
link was broken.

The enormous
globe of an angry red sun gave one final glare upon the land. Then, it
surrendered to the distant magenta mountains that swallowed the last of its
fire.

A semi-sweet
scent of blossoms from a thorned bush caused Adalginza to take a deep,
appreciative breath.

She listened
to the last-minute, hasty flurry of wings as birds retreated to the sanctuary
of their nests. Meanwhile, the night creatures began their slow awakening.

Adalginza
sensed not their thoughts exactly, for there were no complex thoughts. She
instead felt glimmers of that which drove the creatures — the lust of a sorrat
searching for a mate and the raging hunger of a pack of sleek, fanged
stellantos stalking the young of the swift prairie deer.

In the
growing darkness, the second and fourth crescent moons smiled on the eastern
horizon, where they were plainly visible.

Soon they
would play chase with other moon sisters.

Throughout
the night, most of the ten crescent moons would change shapes and places, in an
elaborate dance of infinite patterns.

 As a child,
Adalginza had loved the night — somehow believing that the bright, crescent
smiles were there for her alone.

As she grew
older, she bitterly resented that the conquerors had so brazenly claimed nine
of the moons as symbols for their damnable Houses — just as they claimed
everything and everyone else they encountered.

Soon,
though, the frontier and her people would be cleansed of the blight. And she
would play a vital role in the destruction of the Crescent Houses.

Adalginza
tried not to think of the blood that would be let during that time, and dwelled
instead on the freedom and the peace that would follow.

She could
this. She had to do this.

And now it
was time to join her guests.

Adalginza resolutely
gathered up the silken, lightly textured folds of her purple gown and moved to
her dressing table.

She then slid
matching gloves over her hands, and rolled them up to her elbows. She finished
dressing by lifting the amulet of the House of the Fifth Crescent Moon and
placing the ornament crafted from heavy brass around her neck.

She eyed
herself in the mirror.

It was
incongruous, somehow, to be so delicately attired in fine cloth and yet to wear
this crude piece with so little detail or artistry distinguishing it.

Her own
people knew what to do with precious stones and metal, melding them into a
complex array of color. The process might take a few passings of the seasons
for even one small piece.

But the
effort of time and skill was what gave value, and made these items highly
prized for trade.  

This, on
the other hand, was the work of impatience and sloth. Typical of those born to the
Fifth House.

Her hand
closed around the rough piece of brass, as though she wished to squeeze it into
oblivion.

She then reached
toward the dressing table for the clay holder with its burning candle. She picked
it up and cupped it between her hands.

Bruna,
carrying her own candle, appeared briefly at the open door. She nodded once at
Adalginza, and then evaporated like a ghost down the hallway as she made her
way to the shadows of her own room.

Custom
would have allowed Adalginza to stop in the kitchen first, to partake of her
own delicacies in solitude. But she had no appetite.

Instead, she
reached for the heavy wooden door leading to the courtyard, and tentatively pushed
it open.