KINSMAN’S OATH By Susan Krinard

“Scatfish offal,” Lizbet muttered. She touched Ronan’s arm. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome,” he said. “Would you have fought these men if they attacked you?”

“Yes.” Her voice dropped to a low pitch. “They never let me forget where I come from.”

“They are not worthy of you, An Montague.”

She smiled, and Ronan thought he saw a change in her walk, a longer stride and straighter posture. The three of them continued down the narrow lane, a human-built canyon of walls that pressed in on Ronan as the Pegasus’s bulkheads had never done. Shaauri did not have such cities. It would poison them as surely as human influence, destroying the very essence of Aur within them. It had clearly driven Dharman males to madness.

Yet Cynara had not unduly suffered from such debilities.

She had grown in strength in the face of adversity, without the assurance of Path to guide her. She had the loyalty of other humans not-kin. When he completed his mission, would he be able to convince the War-Leader that not all humans were alike?

He realized that he wished to do so—that in spite of the barbarity of many human customs and their endless desire to acquire everything within reach, not all were corrupt. No one could demonstrate this better than Cynara.

If he could take her back…

“Here,” Cynara said, stopping him.

The place looked little different from the drinking-house they had left. A small sign hung from a pole above the narrow door, depicting a leaping fish spouting water from its forehead.

Cynara led the way into the dim interior. Ronan adjusted his sight and examined the room. Wooden tables and chairs had been arranged haphazardly across the tiled floor, and the smell of alcohol and cooking choked the air. It was unbearably close. Only a few of the tables were occupied.

“Good,” Cynara said. “It’s quiet today. Follow me.”

She wove between the tables to a door at the rear of the room and passed into a short hall. Another door opened to a smaller chamber with only a few tables. Cynara sat at the largest and beckoned to Ronan and Lizbet. Ronan perched on the edge of the chair facing the door.

“Are you thirsty, Ronan?”

“Is plain water available?”

‘That is probably safest.” She glanced toward the door, and a moment later a man came in. Unlike the males outside the other ale-house, he was immediately respectful of bearing. He began to speak. Cynara interrupted him with a smile. He bowed and continued in Standard.

“D’Accorso-fila. Captain. Welcome back.”

‘Thank you, Wil. Magnus Jesper asked us to meet him here. Has he arrived?”

“Not yet, Captain D’Accorso, but he asked me to make you comfortable.”

“Thank you. Will you please bring water for my friend, and ale for Montagues/a and myself?”

Wil cast a curious glance at Ronan and smiled at Lizbet. “At once, Magna.” He hurried away.

“Magna is much better than Filia,” Lizbet said, wrinkling her nose. “That should be the address for unmarried women of high rank.”

“Of any rank. Until Dharma stops identifying women by the men they belong to, the confusion will doubtless continue.” She glanced at Ronan. “In that sense, the shaauri have it better than we do.”

“Someone always has it better,” a new voice remarked. Ronan sprang up from his seat to face yet another male, taller and narrower than the server and considerably older. His thin hair was aged to white, and his clothing was decorated in a manner similar to the drunken men but of much richer material. He carried a stick with a handle carved to resemble a snarling beast.

“I’ve always liked this place,” the man said, taking a deep breath. “Welcome home, Niece. Lizbet.” He leaned on his stick. “This must be our fascinating visitor.”

“Uncle,” Cynara said, rising to embrace him. Their touching was free in the way of humans, but the affection Ronan sensed was that of a ba’laik’in for its nurturer. “I’m so glad to see you.” She linked her arm through his elbow and turned to Ronan. “Uncle, this is the shaauri prisoner we rescued, Ronan VelKalevi. Ronan, this is my uncle, Magnus Jesper Siannas.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *