Renz donned the casual travel clothes Marko had left out for him. "I hope this is appropriate for dinner."
Chi shrugged into her jacket. "I'm just glad to be comfy and warm. The castle is a lot cooler than the coast."
Renz nodded. "Do we know where we're going?"
"Downstairs and follow the noise. Ximena said we can't miss it."
The dining hall had a peaked ceiling painted with purple and silver curving streaks like streamers. Curved tables were laden with trays of food and bordered by crescent padded benches, crowded with family. Everyone who lived in the castle ate together in a festive din of noise.
The family buffet atmosphere was nothing like Renz's introduction at the capital. An occasional clatter or splash didn't interrupt the jovial chatter. There was no pomp or pretension here. Just people enjoying each other's company.
A few empty seats were scattered here and there. Renz pointed Chi toward a seat next to Suvira and headed for the nearest space he could find. "Bright day. Is this seat taken?"
A muscular eyan half-turned, showing a bald burn scar on his cheek. "By you. Sit, my friend." He poured a mug of spiced cider and set it in front of Renz. He continued in a gravelly voice. "Sorry I missed the greeting yesterday. I was on the western road. Welcome."
"Pi ra." Thank you. Renz had trouble stepping over the tall bench, but the muscular man gave him a steady arm to lean on. Renz was grateful for the gesture, but it reminded him that he was the size of a small adolescent.
Renz filled his plate with a reasonable amount of roasted meat, vegetables, and marbled bread drizzled with honey. "It's great to be here."
Renz and his new companion were well into their dinner and pints before Renz worked out that this was Dzev, Lady Vida's older husband who ran the Soza forges.
Renz asked, "How did you get the burn?"
Dzev scratched his chin as he answered. "I was apprenticed, at the workshop. Little Vida grabbed the wrong powder for her mixture. I pulled her away. I shouldn't have looked back when I didn't hear a bang. Lucky I didn't lose an eye."
"Ouch. That must've hurt." Renz refilled Dzev's glass. "But you stayed on?"
Dzev chuckled. "With Vida and her father's gratitude? I wouldn't have left for a mountain of gemstones. I married that brave little lady."
Dzev raised his glass. "Pain. Luck. Love."
~ ~ ~
Lady Vida Soza brooded over the contracts without a word. Whenever Renz made a noise, she grumbled or growled. Finally, she shoved the contracts off the table, scattering pages across the stone floor. A page landed nearby and she crushed it with her heel. “You give too much. You don’t ask enough! You plan to cheat us. Tell me what you really want or get off my land!”
Renz marshaled his breath, slow and even. The high altitude would make him dizzy if he got too excited and he knew not to scream back. Especially if she started it.
He stood and walked along the conference table, trailing a hand over the satin cloth.
She froze as he approached, unblinking, her right hand hovering at the side of her waist. Renz couldn’t see the weapon, but she was armed and waiting for a fight.
Renz stopped at the corner nearest her, leaned over, and rested on his elbows with his hands flat on the table, an unarmed pose. He smiled sweetly, the opposite of what his pounding heart wanted to do. “What I want, then, since you insist. I want an alliance of our tribes that will benefit all for lifetimes. I want the land for the observatory deeded to the University, not the Xicon tribe, to keep our military from taking over. I want to hire displaced people to build and run the facility. I want university-trained staff directing operations. I want a town in the lowlands linked to the facility. A center of business that will make Market Town look like an abandoned shack.”
When Renz paused for breath, Lady Vida pushed the nearest chair out with her foot. She nodded. “Now we are getting somewhere.” When Renz lowered himself into the seat, the lady raised her hand and the attendant with the clipped ear set out a platter of fruit and cheese. “What else?”
Renz was familiar with food rewards from this family. He popped a couple of tiny tart berries into his mouth, accepting the gesture and giving him a moment’s thought. A hint of spice surprised him, but it was pleasant. He asked for the overland map and the attendant retrieved it from the floor. Renz pointed out a large valley at the northern base of the mountains. “If you will consider adding some parcels from this area, Joe tells me it would be an excellent site for development. My wife could head a medical center in the middle of a shopping district. We could manufacture materials on-site. It is close to the Xicon colony to access university resources and training but outside our military perimeter.
She leaned in. “Soza Province will hold the land, you control the medical center. Angen will control the shopping and manufacturing districts.” The Soza family’s most active philanthropist, a young gentleman with energy and big ideas. Renz could see the value in it. Lady Vida continued. “Our forges work any metals you need. Textiles are ordered from Forra, a reliable connection. No need to double efforts. Other manufacturing can be cultivated if we can expect profitability.”
Renz had been aware of the Soza forges and been counting on them, but he hadn’t known about the Forra textiles. Forra was Kannar’s neighboring province. They seemed close, politically. Still, nothing in the details to complain about, if Soza was their active trade partner. “Excellent. And we will need a safe system of transport between the lowlands and the observatory.”
“Absolutely. That will also increase access to our own lowland markets, reducing taxes to our neighbors from sending stone and cheese around the long way.”
“More revenue stays local. Food gets to market faster. Lexicon colony could buy products and steelwork directly from Soza.” Renz nodded. “I’d like Joe to work with your best engineers to make this happen.”
Lady Vida lowered her eyelids. “Building is a passion of mine. I’d love to spend some time with Joe.”
Renz grabbed more fruit, trying to hide his surprise. The lady’s father had been an inventor, so it made sense she would personally oversee projects, but it didn’t look like her interest in Joe was strictly professional. Perhaps that was just her personality.
While he chewed she continued. “And this observatory to study space. Your observatory. You will head the project and stay in residence here. With your family, of course.”
Renz tilted his head and swallowed hard. “Live here? At the castle? Run the observatory?”
She pointed a finger at his chest. “If it is your passion, then it is your responsibility.”
Renz nodded. “Culture is also my passion. It would be a dream to live here. It will take time to make arrangements.”
“Convince the wife, you mean?”
He laughed. “Yes actually, her and others. Imagine the commute up and down the mountain to the medical center. Not that it would detour a woman who left Earth in a rocket ship.”
Lady Soza mouthed the words rocket ship a couple of times in silence, úf idznísh. A ship that blasts.
Renz pictured them living at the castle as a family. Chi holding a raven-haired girl on her lap. Joe chasing human and eyan children through the halls. Marko leaning over Chi, cooing over her daughter. The image startled him. Oddly specific. Was Marko family?
Next to him, the matron tapped her glass with a spoon. “You are not sharing. Planning more deceptions?”
Renz jerked his gaze up to see her stern, lined face. Then stared at a cheese lined with purple mold instead, avoiding her eyes in his embarrassment. “No ma’am. I am trying not to deceive myself. Sometimes the mind wonders. Brightens dark corners, so to speak. Would you clear the room, so I can be totally candid?”
“Intriguing.” She shoed staff away, who bolted the door behind them.
Being locked in didn’t help his nerves. There were surely connotations to that action he didn’t understand. “Alright. My concerns. First, there is a powerful Xicon leader who wants this observatory in his pocket, for humans only. Military. Purist. Paranoid. He wants to guard human technology. He may become violent when he hears my plans.”
Lady Vida leaned forward. “Could this man start a war?”
Renz nodded. “If he cannot get what he wants by trade he may try treachery and then force.”
“We will prepare. And?”
“Second, I will have to clear up some legal details in Market Town, in less than a year. After that, I can commit to settling here, permanently. Third, I will only succeed with the best council. I ask for your patience and honesty.”
She waved a hand. “For this, I cleared a room?” She stole the cheese Renz had been staring at and nibbled at a corner.
“No. I must inform you I intend to violate the law, at least until we can change it.”
“Legal trouble in Market Town. Plans to break more laws in Soza Province. Do you think you can offer our people a better life, then violate their safety to build your facility?” She growled low, pulled the dagger from the folds of her skirt, and held it flat on the table in front of her. That had been her fear and she would obviously defend her people with lethal force.
“Oh, certainly not. No ma’am. We always work under the strictest safety regulations. Joe will bring in the best guildsmen to lead our workforce. Why would I insist on a medical center, then risk public health and safety?”
“Damage control,” she growled.
“Point taken, but no. My issue is more – personal. Since you want my household in residence, I must think about the consequences.”
“Your legal troubles are personal. You make it a habit to violate laws in your household?”
Renz shook his head. “It’s not a habit. It’s a desire.” Desire. He blushed at the word, face burning, throat dry. “I want someone. Someone I trust implicitly.”
“And the law prevents you? A slave? An undesirable? What is your particular depravity, Doctor? We all have them. What law would you have me ignore under my own roof?”
“The law which segregates our species.”
She sucked in air. A wheeze became a laugh. “I will be honest indeed. That sounds like a wicked proposal, but I am sure you are not propositioning an old woman. Who has stolen such affection that you would risk everything you have crossed a continent to build?”
Perhaps he was risking everything, but he couldn’t back out now. “Marko saved my life. He nursed me when I’d been poisoned. He threw himself in the way of assassins and kidnappers. I want him to stay with me.”
“The lordling? If he's happy playing manservant, you could just discreetly keep him in your employ. Why the fuss?”
“Because he is not in my employ. He is in yours. Paying off his sister’s debts to your family. I want those debts cleared. I want his sister cared for in the manner she is accustomed to for the rest of her life. I want Marko discharged of all debts and free to choose.”
The lady’s tail brushed across Renz ankle. He shivered. “Free to choose you?” she asked.
“Yes. If that’s what he wants.” But aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here?
“If he does not, you would let him go?”
Renz nodded. “Of course.”
“Your own manservant. And the son of a provincial lord. Scandalous. And I’m the first to know?”
“I only just realized myself.” A lord’s son? “Which lord?”
“Well, that is worth something," Vida said to herself, ignoring Renz's question. "And no threat to me. You are sure he hasn’t coerced you?”
What was that worth to her? “I’m sure he would be mortified if he knew we were discussing him at all. The more familiar I am, the more distant he becomes to compensate. He would hate for anyone to think he’d been improper. Damn frustrating, actually.”
“Then I will look into Marko’s situation.” She picked the dagger off the table and returned it to its hiding place, invisible under folds of fabric. “And the implications of having such,” she bent and sniffed his ear. “A delicious deviant in my house.”
Renz opened his mouth, but Lady Vida put a finger to his lips. Scent of lemon and lavender. “Eat. Relax. Make your arrangements. I expect we will hash out the details as we learn more.”
She stood and pulled a cord. Renz didn’t hear the bell, but the doors swung open immediately, and staff entered in a rush. They slowed when they saw the calm scene and bowed to Lady Vida. Renz wondered if she would have cut him down, leaving a bloody mess for the staff to mop up. He shuttered.
Some ambassador he was. He lucked his way through another tough negotiation by being damned selfish. Sloppy work. But Lady Vida hadn’t objected to any of his demands. The observatory, the medical center, a whole new city. It was all on the table.
~ ~ ~
It was a couple of days after their negotiations before Lady Vida called Renz to the salon. Lavender incense swirled out of the brazier. Lady Vida lounged on the sedan. “Tell me, Doctor. How did you know I would be interested in Marko’s situation?”
Renz grabbed a pillow and sat on the floor out of the lady’s reach. “Frankly I was surprised you hadn’t already known.”
“Well, I appreciate your candor more than you realize. Marko’s debts are to my sister, and Lady Ravda Soza has installed him here as a spy. His own sister makes a convenient hostage to insure his loyalty.”
Renz shook his head. “I don’t think Marko would…”
The lady laughed. “Oh, darling. Marko would do what he was told if his sister was at risk.”
Renz frowned. “She’s under threat of harm? How do we remove her and bring her here?”
The lady’s laugh faltered. “Hmm. That would be preferable?”
“I don’t see another way.” Albeit he hadn’t exactly taken more than a second to think.
“Well, we could have the girl eliminated. Lady Ravda could have a tragic accident. Marko could take poison meant for you. There is always another way.” She watched him without blinking, as ready for a fight as she had been at the conference table.
Renz fidgeted with a pillow tassel. “Marko could take to bed, as if poisoned, having been found out. I could demand his sister come to say her last goodbyes. When Marko recovered, they would both be under my protection.”
“That would be another way. I hope, good doctor, that you are an unusual specimen for your species.”
Renz brows furrowed. “Why is that?”
“Difficult to gauge. You are devious, manipulative, and controlling. But at the same time, you are childlike. Everything is personal and no one is expendable. You warn me that you intend to enrage a warmonger, but you refuse to be responsible for a single person’s harm.”
“Ah. Unusual perhaps, but not unique,” Renz replied. “You’ll find Chi like-minded.”
Renz needed to convince Lady Vida murder was not the best answer, even if it sounded easiest. “But I don’t see how you could waste a long-term resource to solve a temporary problem. If Marko truly fell ill, I would be at his side. I would do nothing except eat your food and dirty your linens until he was well. If he died, I’d take my business elsewhere. If his sister died suddenly, his grief would just as surely paralyze me. No land deal, no jobs, no innovation, or expansion. If the esteemed Lady Ravda came to a sudden end, there would be a power vacuum at the capital that would disrupt business from here to the sea. Your neighbors would use the opportunity to pass legislation that Soza Provence would kill to block. Everything your sister had already blocked would be back on the table. My way, all our assets stay in play. Our plans continue without pause.”
“And without bloodshed,” Vida replied, face scrunched up as if discussing something disgusting.
Renz sat up tall, eyes narrowed. “Few people make my hit list, but I will let you know if one comes within twenty miles of here.”
A brow raised. “Perhaps not so childlike. How does someone make your hit list?”
“Lord Mardon Kannar tried to buy Joe and me from Suvira at Bardor Faire. He sent the tea that nearly killed me, blamed Suvira, and then sent his fiancé to assault me in my bed.”
“Seems a bit odd to kill a man for refusing to be a slave.”
“He doesn’t consider humans to be men. That and I told him I’d find a permanent place to stick his cane.”
“Wow. You’d bury a man for threatening your freedom?”
“Well, yes, but that wasn’t my meaning. I was threatening to shove it up his ass.”
She wheezed. “Oh, well he’d want you dead for that insult. So, would I.”
“I don’t believe you would give me cause. You are too clever.”
“Flattery? Well, I suppose that’s alright since it is true.” She slid onto the floor and lay on her belly with her head in her hands. Her tail stroked the velvet sedan behind her. “So, if you go ahead with your plan, I wouldn’t have to do anything except act righteously enraged at having a spy in my house? You could handle the rest?”
“Absolutely. Hojon could send Marko’s sister out of the capital as soon as no one is looking. Best use my resources right under Lady Ravda’s nose. She suspects outsiders.”
“Then I’d wager a week for your orders to reach the capital and a week for Lady Bardor to arrive. Assuming she is not terribly frail.”
“She might be. I don’t know the details.”
~ ~ ~
Marko strode into the salon expecting to see Renz, but it was Lady Vida Soza who was waiting. She set a smoking brazier of fresh incense on the table and turned toward Marko. Smell of clove and pepper. “Pardon me. I thought the doctor called for me,” Marko said. He turned back toward the door, but it snapped shut and was bolted from the other side. Trapped.
“Marko, darling. I called for you.” Lady Vida’s voice was soft and languid. Her manner was rough. She stepped forward and grabbed his forearm. Her tail lashed back and forth. “Before I decide your fate, you will tell me two things.”
Marko saw the flash of a steel blade in her other hand. She stalled, giving him time to breathe in the incense and his terrified body gulped it in. Time stretched, while Marko was alone in his head with his fear and guilt.
Lady Vida whispered, “What does my sister want? What would you do if I set you free?”
Marko felt frozen, eyes open and muscles taunt. “I am here to take care of the humans’ needs. That is all I intend to do.” Humans as a set. All humans. Marko had the strength of mind yet to choose his words. To steer the conversation.
Lady Vida backed him against the door and pressed her body against him. “A practiced response. Then answer me this: what kind of needs do your humans have?”
Marko’s skin warmed, a sign of arousal. Damn, he wished he could control that. He had given a practiced response. But not an effective one. “I care for them. Protect them. From enemies. From elements. From you.”
“And my sister’s orders?” she breathed into his ear.
Oh, that he would freely tell her. “Determine if you are still strong enough to hold the castle.”
“From Ravda? Ha.” She twisted his arm over his head until his shoulder strained. “Am I strong enough, do you think?”
“Most definitely, Lady Soza.”
“And if Renz brought your sister here and set you free?” she purred.
What madness was this? “I don’t see how that would be possible, but I don’t know what I would do. I certainly wouldn’t leave Renz in your claws.”
She licked his cheek, tasting pheromones and fear. “Mm. And you want him?”
Marko’s body shivered. Answer enough, he was sure. “Please. Don’t tell him.” When Marko had seen Renz shave after his shower, Marko had found his glistening skin so exotic and arousing he had to look away. Marko remembered the first time he’d massaged the tension out of Renz’ back and then carried him to bed. Would Renz feel mishandled? Betrayed? “He would send me away.”
Lady Soza laughed. “He would not. But if I were you, I’d become his pretty little wife’s best friend. Before she figures you out.”
Terror struck him in the stomach like a fist. His muscles twitched with the desire to run away. The heat ebbed from his skin. He knew Chi suspected. From the first time she saw him. How could she not? He had heard humans prefer monogamous relationships. Did they kill their rivals? Lady Vida knew he was a spy. She could have Chi knife him in a jealous rage and both ladies would look blameless.
Lady Vida released his arm and pulled away, still clutching her knife where he could see it. “Pity. You hadn’t thought of that, hmm? I take it the human woman is formidable?”
“She is fearless. Renz fears crossing her.”
“Then so shall we. Make her feel welcome. I won’t tell, if you won’t.”
Lady Vida won’t tell Chi he desires Renz if Marko doesn’t send intelligence back to Lady Ravda. Fairest deal he was likely to get. More than he deserved. “I have nothing to say to anyone.”
“Nor do I.” She stroked his cheek, then backed away a few steps. “Though I’d love to hear how it goes when you finally talk frankly with the good doctor.”
“I don’t see that happening. But – my sister. Please don’t hurt her.”
“I don’t intend to. We will bring her here if we can. But say nothing. Renz has a plan.”
Marko nodded stiffly. “Plans within plans, I am sure. Or he wouldn’t have made it this far.”
~ ~ ~
Renz and Ximena were bent over a stack of messages from the capital. Marko came through the servant’s entrance and waited a couple of minutes until Renz finished going over a reply updating Lord Bardor on their situation. He was careful to keep a positive spin on things without outright lying. It had to go out now before the situation changed.
When Renz looked over, Marko nodded toward the bedroom. Renz excused himself and led the way, and then carefully closed the door behind them. “Is everything alright?”
Marko shook his head. “No, Doctor. Lady Vida suspects me.”
Renz nodded. That was an understatement. And Marko must know that since he was signaling Renz to be on his guard. “She believes you’re a spy.”
Marko sat down on a bench by the wall, tail curling tightly around his side. “I am a spy. But I haven’t been sneaking around. I know nothing of value. Except that Lady Vida revels in others’ sexual frustration.”
Renz remembered her tail brushing his ankle. He barely suppressed a shiver. “Is that unusual?”
Marko looked away and ducked his head. “No, but she has a knack for interrogation as well. A practiced skill, I’d wager. The combination is devastating.”
Renz balled up his fists and then consciously released them. “Did she lay a hand on you?” His voice was barely a breath.
Marko shook his head. “No. An uncomfortable conversation. But I will not cross her. She knew my fears before I did.”
“I doubt there is a soul in the castle with a well-kept secret. Not from her. When we met to talk about the observatory, once she got me going I couldn’t stop the stream of ideas until she walked away.” Hmm. The berries. “That incense. The truth drug. Is it edible?”
Marko looked up. “In small doses. It’s potent. Overdoses have nasty side effects. She drugged you?”
Renz nodded. “Must have soaked the fruit. I was in control. I was on track. Then the food appeared, and I couldn’t stop talking about all sorts of angles I’d just thought of. My concerns. My fears.”
Marko nodded. “You said things you wouldn’t otherwise.”
Renz blushed. If only he knew. “A few. Political and personal.”
“She was prying? Something she could use against you?”
“Many things. I hope I convinced her there are more reasonable ways to get what she wants.”
“I don’t think reasonable is one of her goals. Control. Thrill.”
“Damn. And I agreed to live here.”
“Through the construction?”
“And after. Could you bare it? Living here with us under such scrutiny?”
Marko focused on the far wall over Renz head. “I can bear anything you demand.”
Renz shook his head. He wanted to punch the wall. Damn frustrating when he shut down like that. “Marko, I’m not making demands. I’m just afraid she will use us against each other.”
“She will.” No doubt in Marko’s voice. Statement of fact.
Renz sighed. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve wandered into a game of cat and mouse and I’m the only available rodent.”
“You are as much a cat as anyone. Lady Vida tells me you have a plan to rescue my sister. How can I help?”
“Get in bed.”
Marko looked around confused. “What?”
Well, of course, that sounded crazy. Renz tried again. “You’ve been found out. You’ve been poisoned. I am trying to keep you alive long enough for your sister to come say goodbye.” Renz gestured to the bed. “Now, lay down. It’s my turn to take care of you.”
Marko shook his head, but he climbed into the bed and lay on his side. “This is absurd.”
Renz nodded. “Yes. But it’s the only way we all live through this. And I’m serious. Don’t trust anything or anyone. Don’t take food from anyone’s hands but mine. Lady Vida could still change her mind.”
Marko looked around the sparse bedroom. “But you and Lady Chi…”
“We will protect you. You’re not leaving this room until after your sister is here safe. You saved my life. I’m saving yours. Lady Soza estimates two weeks. We’ll see if I can beat that by a whole week.”
“I’m sorry you’re involved.” Marko shifted a soft pillow to cushion his tail.
“I’m not. I wish you weren’t being blackmailed, but I can help.” Renz sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. “And I don’t want to hear any self-pity. This isn’t your fault, it is Lady Ravda Soza’s fault for putting you in this position.”
Marko shook his head. “I’m not blameless, Renz.”
Renz shrugged a shoulder. “Well, no one who actually lives their life is blameless. We do things without half an idea of the consequences. So many what-ifs. What if I’d left you at the capital with Meredith? You wouldn’t be here to be in danger.”
Marko glared, growled. Renz was suddenly sure he had never offended Marko before because he’d never seen the man bare teeth before. “No. Don’t turn this around on you. I don’t care if you think more blame lies with Ravda than myself, but you have no right to claim the blame that is mine.”
Renz backed away as much as he could without falling off the bed. His heart raced and he wanted to flee. “I’m sorry.”
“Besides, if you had left me behind at the capital I would be blaming myself now for your capture on the road. They would have taken you, and you could have been dead by now.”
Renz threw his hands up. “That’s it. I give up. I’m sorry and I don’t want to fight with you, Marko. I want to help.”
“Then keep my sister safe. That is all I live for.”
“Of course.” That was precisely what Renz was trying to do. “If Lady Ravda is threatening your sister to make you do her bidding, then I must bring your sister here. Out of her reach.”
“You think Lady Vida won’t be a threat? She is more ruthless than Ravda.”
“I think Lady Vida finds herself desiring the power and expansion I have to offer. She knows if any harm comes to you or your family, I will take my business elsewhere. It is in her best interests to keep your sister safe.”
Marko looked past Renz at the far wall. “I don’t understand why you would risk your own power and wealth for us but thank you.”
“It isn’t about wealth and power for us. It’s about family. I need to reach out to my family beyond this world and I need the observatory to do that. Don’t repeat that. Only a few people outside the colony know.”
“Suvira intimated you were seeking lost family. She has a theory you fell from Lady Moon, probably cast out for temper.”
“We traveled a lot farther than the moon to get here. Anyway, Soza land would be the best and fastest with its forges and resources, but it is not the only option. There are undeveloped islands off the coast of Xicon lands that could do nicely, given a couple of decades of development.”
“If Soza Provence will help you restore contact with your lost family, don’t let any concerns for us get in your way.”
“Why shouldn’t I demand both? If Lady Vida needs to feel she is in control, then let her believe freeing you gives her that control over me. I will do precisely what she wants. Luckily that happens to be precisely what I need to do. She loses nothing. I lose nothing. You and your sister gain your freedom. What’s not to like.”
“The part where I am bedridden for a week.”
“I hoped you’d prefer being bedridden for appearance's sake rather than actually being poisoned. I don’t recommend it.”
Marko nodded. “If that is the other option, then I am sure I can bare it. But something bothers me. Why would Lady Vida believe I am the key to controlling you? You did not tell her you owed me?”
“No. I have not breathed a word of that since you counseled me not to. But she did figure out that threatening you had a clear and visceral effect on me. She called me childish because I wouldn’t see anyone harmed or murdered to solve the spying situation.”
“She wanted to kill me.”
“Well, it did seem the easiest answer to her until she realized it would jeopardize her provincial ambitions. Apparently, I make a better ally than an enemy.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Marko replied.
There was a tap at the door and Chi walked in. She smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Am I interrupting something?”
Renz shook his head. “Just getting Marko settled for some well-deserved bed rest. Grab your med bag and close the door.” She knew the plan, they’d exchanged a few private words already, but she was giving him a hard time. Figures.
Chi ignored Ximena’s questions as she grabbed her bag and rushed back in, leaning on the closed door. “Well, that’ll start a rumor.”
“Good,” Renz said. "It's nice to have a plan in motion."
~ ~ ~
When Renz and Meredith parted at the capital, they had a few words they could use to pass emergency messages through the language dictionary. Renz logged in on his pocket translator and tacked his message onto the end of the definition of shalajam. “Marko poisoned. Hojon send Lady Tyra to Castle. Fast and Secret.” He uploaded the message to the database at the University. Meredith would update her unit in an hour. Her reply would replace his message.
By morning his message was replaced with “Pending.” Renz deleted the message from the definition, restoring it to its original state.
Renz went down to the kitchens personally to collect a light breakfast for three, which got him quite a few furtive looks, until he asked for escus fruit extract, a treatment used only for poison. He was sure the lady of the house would know in minutes that his plan was in motion. Chi would add the extra doses to her med bag, an emergency supply that could come in handy.
When Renz returned, Chi and Marko were sitting up in bed, silently staring at each other. They both looked too startled to speak. Renz passed them each a tray. “Good morning. Sleep well?”
Chi nodded. “Yes, but tonight you’re in the middle.”
“Yes, dear. Might as well take turns.”
Chi giggled and hid her face behind a pillow.
Renz tossed a pillow near her and locked himself in the bathroom. She was still the girl he married. Funny and naughty. But she was going to make this arrangement extremely uncomfortable for him. He had to think of the implications of everything he said in two languages. It was too much.
Renz heard them laughing together through the door. The two gorgeous creatures in his bed. He pulled the cord for the shower and drifted into a daydream. Hot, wet bodies. The smell of fur.
~ ~ ~
By teatime, Renz received an update from Meredith. “In transit.” He brought Marko tea and the news.
Renz shook his head. “I am sure she will be well cared for. Hojon thought Suvira, Ximena, and Chi needed an attendant on the road and they could win a bar fight.”
Marko accepted the teacup and stared into it. “The attendant was meant for you. But I think you are correct. Will she be alright? Will she be happy here?”
Renz rested a hand on Marko’s shoulder. “What can we do to make her comfortable?”
“Warm fires. Music. A padded floor. Stone is so cold.”
“Easy enough.” Renz kept his voice light and friendly but worried about Marko’s moodiness.
And what did Marko mean the attendant was meant for him? Had he acted that much the fool that he couldn’t be trusted to start a fire or cook? Well, it would have been incongruous with the image he was presenting to play Daniel Boone on the trail. So, no harm there.
~ ~ ~
Joe had his reservations about being alone with Lady Soza, but so long as he kept the focus technical and specific, she was all business. They went over options for transportation up and down the mountainside. Ski lift, tram, elevator, Joe went through the types of conveyances he knew. Lady Soza didn’t like something called a “lift” since the thing would have to move traffic in both directions. Not that the name was the most important element, but it seemed to be an important consideration.
In the end, they devised a combination of a tram and a monorail: a built-in failsafe as part of the plan should an earthquake crack the rail, or an enemy cut a cord. The ramp would be a project on a scale never seen before on Eydan. From the forges at high elevation, slanted down into the valley where the new hospital and city would be built.
When Vida thrilled in his plans, Joe felt like a pharaoh’s architect. They would create something beautiful. Something unique that would be visible from orbit.
~ ~ ~
Lady Soza called Renz and Chi to the salon just before dinner. She waved them over to a window, which was opened to the chilling wind. “Darlings. Your adoring fans.”
When Renz leaned on the sill to get a good look, he saw three small bonfires spread across the courtyard. Cheers and screams of rage exploded from below. Not knowing what else to do, Renz waved a hand. Three eyans waved back but several brandished farming tools like weapons.
Chi joined him and waved. “Not all fans,” she said. “Some look like they’d storm the castle to get rid of us.”
Lady Soza led them away from the window. “Word of the poisoning got out, only the assumption was that it was a second attempt on Renz. Some protest your mistreatment. Some protest your presence. I cannot make a statement that will please both sides, so I simply let them see you are alive. Their assumptions be damned.”
Renz glanced back at the window. “That looks like a fight waiting to happen. Is there anything we can do?”
The Lady smiled. “Our job is to incite their passions, not smother them. The Festival of Black starts in ten days. People will be arriving from all over the mountains and valleys for the feasts and the fires. Fights are inevitable. Expected. Passions of all kinds are heightened this time of year, especially during a year like this one with a lunar eclipse.”
Renz had seen distant lights in the mountains this time of year from the Lexicon University in the lowlands northeast of the range. All he knew about the Festival of Black was that it coincided with a large harvest and was said to affect the prosperity of the land in the following Spring. Farmers must bring a small share of the crops to the castle and stay for the festival after a long season of work.
That also meant Marko’s sister would be traveling at a busy time of year and should arrive in time for the festival. Renz hoped she could blend in with the festival goers, keeping her off his enemies’ radar.
