With a feigned look of disgust, the man quickly turned and walked away, but not before Tal had marked him. He was a short, wiry man, but he walked quickly and with an economy of movement that alerted Tal: the man was dangerous.
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or another, would soon be back. Someone was stalking Tal, and he needed to find out who and why.
If it was an assassin employed by some angry young woman or her father, that was one thing, but if it had anything to do with the Conclave of Shadows, that was another. He might have to send Pasko to alert Robert and the others.
Talon took a leisurely stroll to the bathhouse, avoiding his usual route, and stopped several times to ensure he was no longer being followed.
At Remarga’s he was greeted by one of the many attendants, this one well known to him. “Good afternoon, m’lord,” the man said.
“Good afternoon, Sven,” Tal replied. “Is Salmina free?’’
“I shall see, sir. You wish to have her services?”
“Yes,” said Tal, and he went into the changing room.
Sven stood by to care for Tal’s clothing and provide him with whatever he needed. To begin with, Tal was given a large cotton towel, in which he wrapped himself. As he left the changing room, Sven put his clothing and sword away.
Tal found himself a small wooden stool next to a large bucket of warm water. Beside the bucket was a bar of scented soap and a brush. Placed next to the stool was a tray containing small, delicate earthenware jars adorned with floral designs. Tal picked up the bucket and poured the contents over his head, and as soon as he set it down, a young boy appeared with a fresh bucket of warm water and took the empty one away.
First of all, Tal treated his hair with a scented oil, and wondered not for the first time what his grandfather would have thought of all this. The old man’s way of taking a bath had been plunging into the iciest streams and lakes and reveling in it. But given his grandfather’s appreciation of 9261.01 3/13/03 12:53 PM Page 256
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comfort, Tal decided that the old man would have approved of the entire process. Just then a young woman appeared, wearing a brief robe of white linen, which clung to her in the damp heat of the bathhouse. Tal knew his grandfather would very much have approved of this, for the old man had never lost his eye for women, a fact he regularly commented on, to the ire of Tal’s grandmother.
Feeling a moment of nostalgia, he said nothing but allowed her to begin soaping his back. Remarga trained his staff well: she would not speak unless spoken to first. Some customers wanted banter and flirtation, and a few desired more personal services, which could be arranged for a price, which included a small private suite at the back of the building. Others preferred calm and quiet and wanted nothing more than to keep their thoughts to themselves while they bathed.
Tal stood up and the girl finished washing his back and shoulders, then started on his chest. Tal gently removed the bar of soap from her hand and dismissed her as he finished the task himself. He knew that had he remained motionless, she would have washed every inch of his body, but his mind was on other things besides playing with a bath-girl, and he ought to keep his mind focused on Melinda, who would be more than eager to meet his need for passion after supper.
Tal picked up another bucket and rinsed off the soap, then moved to the next room, which was clouded with steam. The bath was very hot, and Tal entered slowly, feeling the hair on his neck and arms rise as he forced himself into the deeper end of the pool, where he could sit on an underwater bench, lying back with his shoulders against the coping that ran around the edge of the pool.
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being saved by Robert to have some sense of the various ways different people regarded the showing of parts of the body and other personal practices, but Roldem seemed among the oddest. Female fashions tended to the conservative, except for grand occasions, at which time women wore clothing that was revealing to the point of being entirely scandalous. The Countess Amandi had arrived at Baron Gruder’s gala the previous week in an ornate Keshian gown which left both breasts uncovered, something she had compensated for by wearing a complex choker of pearls draped down her chest.
The constantly moving pearls had provided a provocative attraction, to say the least. Plunging backs and deep décol-letage at such events were common for women who during the day went about the city covered from neck to ankle. Even more strange, to Tal, was the way in which women and men changed in separate rooms, yet bathed together publicly.
Talon assumed that at some time in Roldem’s history someone in authority had decided that nudity was fine, but dressing and undressing in front of members of the other gender was a bad thing.
Talon found himself chuckling over that, which gained him a raised eyebrow from the matron. He smiled at her and said, “Remembering a jest, m’lady.’’
She nodded, not quite convinced.
Talon felt himself relaxing and his thoughts began to drift. If he fell into a doze, the attendants would keep an eye on his property, and, given the number of seriously intoxicated customers over the years, he knew they would also prevent him from falling facefirst in the water and drowning himself.
Pasko would prevent him from staying overly long, and he would soon be there with the clothes he had selected for this evening. So Tal dozed in a warm haze of well-being, his momentary sadness passing quickly.
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Sven appeared some time later and said, “Salmina can take you now, m’lord.’’
Tal rose and accepted the large towel provided for him by one of the boys in attendance. He followed Sven to a small room curtained off from the changing area. Salmina was a Rodezian woman who stood nearly as tall as Tal’s six feet and an inch. She was strong, with powerful hands, but nature had conspired to keep her slender. Tal knew from personal exploration that she had a well-muscled and supple body under the short tunic she wore.
As soon as Sven departed, pulling the curtain closed, she slipped out of the robe and started pouring scented oil upon her hands. “The complete massage, today, m’lord?”
she asked playfully.
Tal lay with his chin on his arms, and said, “Not today, my dear. I must save my energy for another, tonight.’’
She applied oil to his naked buttocks with a playful slap, just hard enough to let him know that she was slightly disappointed at his answer. Despite being past forty years of age, she was a striking woman, and years of experience made her a prodigious lover. Tal had left with wobbly legs the first time he had consented to the “complete” massage.
“A lion like you? You should be able to make me smile and be ready for half a dozen others in less than an hour.’’
Talon had to laugh. “I can barely remember my name or the way home when you’ve finished with me, Salmina.’’
“I take pride in my work.’’
“As well you should,” he said with genuine affection.
“Who’s the lucky girl?” she asked as she set to, kneading his shoulders.
“Could I call myself a gentleman if I named the lady?’’
“Many do, but I suspect you’re a bit more discreet than most.’’
“Thank you.’’
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As she
always did, she clucked her tongue as she ran her fingers along the many scars on Tal’s body. “So young to have suffered so many wounds,” she observed, not for the first time. “Do you think you’re ready for the contest?’’
He sighed as she started working at his neck. “If I’m not, I’ll find out as soon as it begins, won’t I?’’
“There is that,” she said with a chuckle.
They exchanged banter, then Salmina turned away to get another vial of oil from a table next to the wall.
Suddenly, a sense of danger shot through Talon, and he lunged to his right.
Pain exploded in his left arm as a blade sliced through the skin from his shoulder to a point halfway to his elbow.
He rolled off the table and hit the floor in a crouch, ignoring the burning pain.
Salmina stood up, one hand pressed hard against the wall. There was confusion in her eyes as she reached up with her right hand, trying to somehow stanch the blood flowing from the side of her neck. For a grotesque moment she seemed concerned about the river of crimson that ran down between her breasts and onto her stomach, as if it was too unseemly for a woman of her beauty. Then her eyes rolled up in her head, and she collapsed.
The man was the same one who had followed him, and he held a lethal blade, slender and sharp as a razor. From his movements and his quick reaction to Tal’s move, he was an expert in its use. In addition, he had not tried to follow Tal as he rolled, but had moved in the opposite direction, placing himself between his victim and the curtain.
Tal knew that the man had less than a minute in which to kill him, for he must expect Tal to cry out and someone to come quickly to investigate. This was already a botched assassination attempt. In just an instant, the man would have to make his move.
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Tal moved first. The assassin might have expected him to retreat, perhaps gaining a bit of room to make a dash for the curtain, but instead Tal reached down with both hands and overturned the table. There was no real threat, but the man stepped back instinctively in order to prevent himself being struck, and that was just as Tal had planned.
Tal leapt over the falling table, ignoring the blade. He was already cut and had many previous wounds, so another wouldn’t matter, but he wouldn’t let this man kill him.
The assassin aimed a slicing blow for Tal’s throat, and Tal ducked underneath the blade and drove his shoulder into the man’s stomach. As he had known he would, Tal received a searing slice across his back, but not at the base of the neck, which was where he was now most vulnerable.
He shoved hard and rolled, splattering his blood all over the floor. Customers entering the changing area started to shout and scream at the sight of all the blood and two men struggling on the tile floor.
Tal came up on his feet, naked and weaponless, in a crouch and bleeding from two serious wounds, but ready to defend himself as best he could. The assassin hesitated, unsure as to whether to attack one more time or make a bid for escape.
The hesitation cost him his life. Suddenly his eyes widened, and the blade fell from his fingers. Tal saw Pasko stepping up behind the man, yanking hard at the dagger he had just plunged into the assassin’s back.
He glanced down to make sure the man was no longer a threat, then quickly crossed to kneel next to Tal, who had collapsed to the floor.
“You look a mess, m’lord.’’
“No doubt,” Tal said as his head began to swim. “I think you’d best send regrets to the Lady Melinda,” he added, before his eyes rolled up and he fainted.
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Tal awoke.
“That’s the third time,” Pasko said.
Groaning a little from the pain and the effort of moving his body, Tal managed to ask, “Third time what?”
His eyelashes felt as if they were matted together, and his mouth was dry. “Water, please?’’
Pasko helped him to raise his head and placed a cup of water to his lips. Talon sipped as another voice said,
“Third time we’ve had to struggle to keep you alive, Talon.’’
Moving into Tal’s line of vision, Robert de Lyis shook his head, as he added, “That’s three lifetimes you owe us.’’
Tal continued to drink until his throat was wet and he could speak without sounding like a frog. “I’m sorry to admit, I have but one to give. And please called me Tal, since my name is now Talwin.”
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“You almost gave your only life yesterday, Tal, ” said Robert.
Tal glanced at his left arm and his eyes opened wide.
His body ached and was stiff, but the wound to his arm was gone, as was the one across his chest. “What—?’’
“Magic,” said Robert.
Pasko said, “You have a tournament in less than two weeks’ time, m’lord, and from the depth of the wounds and the loss of blood, it was clear you would never be fit to compete.’’
“One of the possible reasons you were assaulted,”
added Robert, “though I think it unlikely to have been the main one.’’
“How . . . ?”
“There are some very gifted healing priests in Roldem,” said Robert. “A few of them are very cooperative with the Conclave.”
“Is that what brought you here?” asked Tal. He started to move his arms and found that the stiffness was easing.
“I sent for him, m’lord,” said Pasko.
“Pasko noticed something that made it imperative someone from the Conclave with magician skills come at once. He reported that there was no way the assassin could have got inside the room you were being massaged in unless he had used magic.’’
Tal thought about that. The table had been large enough for someone to hide under, but he would have been seen by anyone entering. There were no cupboards or other doors. Tal said, “I should have realized that.’’
“You were indisposed,” said Robert. “Pasko has already reported to the appropriate gossips that most of the blood came from the unfortunate young woman who was killed and that you suffered only bruises and a small wound that will heal quickly. You will be fit for the tournament.”
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Tal sat up and found the stiffness almost gone. “I’m starving,” he announced.
“The result of the healing spell our priest friend used.
You are thinner, if you bother to note such things. The body needed energy from somewhere to heal the damaged flesh, so it burned off what little fat you possessed, Tal. You look positively gaunt.’’
Tal stood up and his head swam. “And I feel as weak as a day-old kitten.’’
Pasko lent him a hand and helped him put on a robe, then escorted him to the table in the main room of the apartment. There was food waiting there, and Tal set to eating vigorously. As he ate, his strength began to return.
“You’ll need to rest for the rest of the day, Tal,” said Robert, “but then you need to appear somewhere publicly to dispel any rumors about your injuries.”
“Why?” asked Tal. “Why the rush?’’
“Because people will already be speculating as to why you were attacked and how injured you are,” said Robert.
“The why we shall leave to conjecture, for as I understand it, there are any number of people who would like to see you not enter the tournament or see their daughters.”
Tal nodded without a blush.
“As to the injury, we must make it clear to whoever sent the assassin that they failed. So that they will try again soon.’’
“Ah, so I’m to be bait?’’
Robert shrugged. “S
omeone is trying to kill you. Liken it to a hunt. If you’re being stalked by a predator, what do you do?’’
Tal said, “You don’t run. You lay a trap.’’
“As we shall.’’
Tal finished eating and said, “What time is it?” He glanced out of the window and could tell it was afternoon.
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“Two hours past noon,” supplied Pasko.
“Then my best course is to return to the Masters’
Court, make some remarks about the poor girl who was murdered—” Suddenly he thought of Salmina, and realized that he would never see her again or experience her enthusiastic lovemaking, and for a moment he felt a terrible regret. “—and then back to Remarga’s for another bath and massage.” He looked at Pasko. “Any invitations?”
“Three.”
“Decline them all. If I need to be seen publicly, then I shall dine at Dawson’s.”
Robert nodded. “And after that?’’
“Gaming at the Wheel of Fate.’’
“Good, that will make it clear to all that you are fit.’’
Tal stood up and stretched. “I feel remarkably well for someone who was carved up like a side of venison yesterday.”
Robert’s expression was wry. “That spell didn’t come cheaply.’
Tal smiled. “It’s well I’ve chosen to serve a master with resources.”
Robert’s expression turned from wry to clouded.
“Hard-won resources, young Tal. It may appear easy to conjure up wealth if one knows nothing of the magic arts, but you’ve been around enough of our craft to have some sense of things. You’ve seen the island, and how many we clothe and feed, and you are just now gaining some sense of how many people we support in other places.” His hand described an arc, taking in the apartment, clothing, and other items. “None of this came without expense and none of this was ‘wished’ into existence.”
Tal wasn’t sure of the point Robert was trying to make, so he said, “I’m not unappreciative of what my masters have procured for me. But I am painfully aware of who is an 9261.01 3/13/03 12:53 PM Page 265