The Devil Incarnate (The Devil of Ponong series #2) (33 page)

Speechless for a moment, she raised an eyebrow. “Concubine?”

“You’re the Devil. The Devil needs a second in command. A
companion.”

“I am quite content to be without a regular lover, thank
you. Besides, I doubt Colonel Zul would wear a green sarong.”

Despite his caution, LiHoun laughed. “No. I think not.
Besides, he’s leaving the island as soon as we find a smuggler who will take
him to the continent.”

She made a face. He
suspected something had changed in her plans, but she rarely shared details
with him.

“Tomorrow, it would
be convenient if Governor Turyat and Chief Justice Cuulon continued to cower in
their compounds,” she said.

“I’ll see that they
get their black lotus earlier than usual. That should keep Governor Turyat
busy. Chief Justice Cuulon is a bit trickier. Perhaps if I escorted SuYan to
his bedroom, he’d find a reason to stay.”

“SuYan?”

“One of PhaJut’s workers. She tries to fill the role you
left behind.” LiHoun didn’t think QuiTai needed to hear that there would never
be a woman her equal, even from her days in PhaJut’s brothel, but it didn’t
hurt to flatter her a bit. “SuYan goes through the motions, but her heart isn’t
in it. Her customers put up with it but they still ask if you’ll ever return.”

 
“Not unless I
grow very bored, and I doubt that will happen.” She tapped her bottom lip. “Did
you tell Grandfather Zul about my estate, or that I had you steal the sea wasps
from the Ravidian’s bioweapons breeding grounds?”

“Never. Never.” LiHoun shook his head vehemently. He hoped
she believed him. He tensed again and saw his women react with despairing
looks. He signaled for them to be patient. There was still hope. There was
always hope. QuiTai was probably weighing the ramifications of killing him.
He’d give her as much time to mull it over as she needed.

QuiTai let the silence stretch. She covered her mouth when
she yawned. “It’s late.”

“The sun will rise in several hours.”

She stood.

He wanted to plead
with her, but his dignity wouldn’t allow it. One of his women keened as she
realized QuiTai had reached her decision.

“We’re going upstairs to have a little chat with Grandfather
Zul. He’s going to send his soldiers here so I can make good on my oath to
him.”

That wasn’t what he’d expected. He groaned as he rose. He
was too old for this. “I will, of course, do anything you ask, but may I ask a
favor, grandmother? I accept my death, but please, just tell me my fate. The
uncertainty is torture for my wives and children.”

She seemed to consider his regret before speaking. “This is
the crux of my problem. The Devil would execute you as a matter of principle. QuiTai
would weigh intent and the value of the relationship against the resulting
harm. I am both. You understand my difficulty. If word gets out that the Devil
allowed someone to betray him and live, it sets a bad precedent. But we have
history, uncle. You called me daughter. You’re my right hand.” Her voice filled
with sorrow. “I’ve thought about this quite a bit. The only way to reconcile
the Devil’s needs with QuiTai’s is to get your solemn oath that no one will
ever know you sold information to Grandfather Zul. This stays between us. You
never betrayed me, so I have no reason to kill you. Understand? We will never
speak of it again. And from now on, you are completely mine.”

Relief sent him
staggering back a few steps. He couldn’t believe his luck. Overwhelmed, tears
welled in his eyes. He would have killed for her at that moment. He would have
erected shrines and offered sacrifices to thank her, but he knew she’d hate
such a display. Sometimes QuiTai was more Thampurian than Ponongese. It wounded
him to show only a little of his gratitude, but he bowed until his forehead
touched his clasped hands because he knew it was the only thanks she’d accept.

“Tell your women my
word is good. Tell them I choose to forgive, but that they, too, must keep our
quarrel private. Tell them and set their hearts at ease.”

Before LiHoun said a word, his wives seemed to sense the
verdict. They hugged each other then bowed and shyly smiled at QuiTai. She, as
usual, bristled at the adoration.

Her expression hardened as she quietly spoke for his ears
only, “Forgiven, little brother, but never forgotten.”

Chills stabbed his heart, even though he admired her now
more than ever. He barely nodded.

“Let’s send that message to Grandfather Zul. I’m running out
of darkness,” she said curtly as she headed up the stairs.

~ ~ ~

“You don’t need to
wait with me, uncle. I know you’re in pain,” QuiTai told LiHoun. They sat on
the steps of his home. Levapur stretched below them.

“Cats suffer from
curiosity. I’d rather you know I’m eavesdropping.”

QuiTai wrapped her
arms around her knees. She smiled at him. “You want a story, uncle. I’ll tell
you tomorrow. I promise it’s a suckling pig to go with your rice.”

“I’ve had enough
rice this week to last me many months.”

She chuckled. When
she was this weary and fate seemed to have all the tiles, what could she do but
laugh?

LiHoun looked around the front of the building as if seeing
it for the first time. “I always wondered why you didn’t burn this place to the
ground. Your ghosts live here.”

“My ghosts live inside my head. They have no need of
verandas and steps to haunt me.” She stretched her arms as she looked up at the
sky. “I never realized you could hear the Pha River from here. It was never
quiet enough to hear it when… before.” She sniffed. The scent of the jungle
filled the air. “I wanted to get them out of Old Levapur, so as soon as the Red
Happiness turned a profit, I moved them to this place. It wasn’t much nicer
then, but at least the roof didn’t leak.”

“I remember when you did that. The roof leaks now.”

“For the past few years, I let guilt eat at me because I
thought it was my fault that they were here, right in the path of the
werewolves for the Full Moon Massacre. But Petrof told me he was paid to kill
my family, so he would have gotten to them no matter where they were. It
doesn’t make me feel any better, though.”

“Did he say who paid him?”

“I didn’t give him a chance.” She rested her cheek on her
knees. “Whoever it was, they also paid him to kill me. When I came back to
Levapur last week, my goal was to find out who it was and put an end to this.”

“Did you?”

“I have a good idea.
Governor Turyat and Chief Justice Cuulon were afraid the Oracle would tell me
they’d sold out to the Ravidians. Or, at least, I think that’s why they wanted
all the Qui on Ponong killed.”

“Are you going to
kill them?”

That seemed like
such a distant concern to her now. “I gave Captain Voorus of the colonial
militia enough information that he might take care of them for me. If not, I’m
not in any great hurry. Knowing your enemy is half the battle sometimes.”

“You’re going to
give them a chance to hire another killer to come after you?”

She laughed. “Who
would they go to if they wanted to hire an assassin?”

“The Devil,” they
said in unison as they grinned at each other.

~ ~ ~

QuiTai met Grandfather Zul’s men in the street before they
reached LiHoun’s place. They weren’t in their uniforms, as she’d requested. “Which
of you is the leader?” she asked.

The tall one in front took a step forward.

She didn’t care to know his name, and he didn’t offer it. “You
have your orders from Grandfather Zul?”

“Yes.” He obviously
wasn’t happy about it, but his little ego didn’t concern her.

“Just so we are
clear, you will do as I say without question. Do your men understand?”

He nodded. She met
the gaze of each of the men so she could see their agreement.

“There are sacks of
rice in the house over there.” She pointed to LiHoun’s. “You will carry them
downslope. It will take a few trips.” The work she planned for them was hard,
but they had many sins to atone for.

The leader fought to
control his sneer. “Where are we taking them, snake?”

Perversely, his rudeness pleased her. The corner of her
mouth curved up as she ran her hands over the front of her sarong. “To the
governor’s office in the government building on the town square.”

He clearly thought she’d lost her mind. “But it’s the middle
of the night! It’s closed.”

“Then you will have to break in. And please, don’t be sloppy
about it. No breaking down doors or anything as crude as that. I also suggest
you make your trips as stealthy as possible. If anyone sees you with rice, they’ll
probably kill you for it.”

QuiTai passed between them as she headed down the road to
town. She paused to look over her shoulder at them. As she’d expected, to a
man, they watched her. From anger to undisguised loathing, their feelings for
her were clear. “Once the rice is delivered, I’ll give you the rest of your
orders. Be quick about it. The dawn of a new day approaches for Levapur,
gentlemen. I’m sure your master wants you to witness it.”

QuiTai
thought about
sitting behind the governor’s desk but decided that perching
on the stacks of rice sent a better message. They were the fulcrum on the
balance of power. She arranged the sacks of rice directly across from the
governor’s desk into a throne of sorts. From that elevated position, she could
look down at even the tallest Thampurian. Satisfied with her effort, she
climbed into place and waited for the rest of the players to arrive.

She’d dressed in deep Thampurian velvets for the coming
interview. The embellishments on her cropped jacket and waist scarf were
subdued and matched the velvet. Her heavy mourning veil pulled back over her
hat to reveal her face, but her outfit would still inspire somber thoughts.
Costuming was so important when setting the tone of a scene.

The governor’s
office was spacious and quite opulent, although it smelled faintly of stale
water and black lotus. Some of Grandfather Zul’s men slouched on chairs with
delicately turned legs; the others leaned against book shelves full of tomes
that had never been opened. Their muddy boots streaked the inlaid wood floor.

On the large map
behind the governor’s desk, sea dragons coiled around Ravidian ships and pulled
them under waves. The Thampurians had the nerve to paint the king’s chop on
every island in the Ponong archipelago when no Thampurian had ever set foot
further than the boundaries of Levapur. Such arrogance would play into her
hands.

QuiTai stifled a yawn. It had been a long week, but the end
was in sight. Before Kyam had intruded in her life, she’d always woken
refreshed. She promised herself a respite from Thampurian matters as soon as
this bit of business concluded – and an even longer break from Kyam.

The sun had just risen and brought heat with it. Suffocating
humidity pressed against her chest. A sea breeze could have flowed through the
typhoon shutters leading to the veranda overlooking the town square to cool the
room, but she didn’t order Grandfather Zul’s men to open them. She could
survive the heat far better than they, and she liked watching them sweat.

Although she’d expected a crowd to gather outside the
building eventually, she was a bit surprised to hear so many
 
Thampurians had come to the town square
already. Their punctuality did them credit.

 
Another angry
voice carried up to her from inside the building. She pictured Kyam and his
escort in the building’s middle courtyard, where jewel fish swam in placid
circles around a floral sea dragon. The soldiers who’d been sent for him had
been warned not to say anything to him beyond the summons. That didn’t stop
Kyam from bellowing questions at them as they drew closer to the governor’s
office.

The door banged open.

“You!” Kyam said when his gaze found QuiTai.

“Really, Colonel Zul, have you no other way of greeting me?”

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“We should wait for
the other guests. I suspect the growing mob outside is making it difficult for
them to enter the building. They should have come around to the back entrance
as you did.”

The voices in the town square rose.

“Ah, I believe that’s Captain Voorus and his men arriving
now.”

“Do you have a death wish?” Kyam asked.

“I am flattered beyond words that you care for my safety,
Colonel Zul, but believe me, I am well protected.”

He glanced at his grandfather’s private army. “Them? You’re
working with Grandfather now?”

“Very much against my wishes, I assure you. I should have
listened more carefully when Captain Hadre warned me that no matter how hard a
person resists Grandfather Zul, somehow one ends up doing exactly what he wants
you to. Words I advise you to take to heart.”

In another part of
the building, big brass doors slammed shut. The footsteps of men running up the
stairs to the governor’s office echoed in the courtyard. Moments later, someone
knocked on the door.

QuiTai gestured to
Kyam, but he said nothing. “Come in, Captain Voorus.”

Voorus didn’t have
the entire colonial militia with him, but he’d taken her message seriously
enough to bring most of them. Between his men, Grandfather Zul’s private army,
Kyam, QuiTai, and the stacks of rice, the governor’s office was now quite
crowded. The stifling air made it worse.