with child.”
She moved a hand to her belly. “He wants the child. Not me, not anymore.”
Axis started to say something, then caught himself. Instead he came over to the bed, sat
down on its edge, and felt her pulse.
“The man responsible for that trail of deaths,” he said softly, not looking at her, “was the
man who captured you. A man called Ba”al”uz.”
“Why?”
Axis gave a shrug, as if he did not know. Ishbel thought about pursuing the subject, but in
the end was too tired and felt too ill to summon the energy.
“Are you truly Axis SunSoar of legend?” she said.
“Aye.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did I, but I seem to have a habit of rising from the dead.”
“Axis?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for yesterday. And…I am sorry for the Icarii. I wish…”
He nodded, but changed the subject when he spoke. “You need to breakfast,” he said,
“and regain your strength.”
“Will you take me home, Axis?”
He looked her full in the eye then. “I am sorry, Ishbel. I cannot.”
Ishbel turned her head away. “Where will you take me, then?”
“South, to a place called Aqhat.”
Ishbel was silent a long moment, and when she spoke her voice was very quiet.
“Axis, what is the ancient evil that lives south? What is it that threatens our world?”
When Lister rose in the morning, Eleanon told him that Axis SunSoar had one of the
pyramids.
“Which one?” Lister asked, a little sharply.
“That which belonged to Ba”al”uz,” said Eleanon. “He must have left it with his men
when he left for Coroleas.”
“Well, I suppose it better that Axis have his than Isaiah”s,” said Lister. “Did he—”
“He felt the Star Dance, yes,” said Eleanon. “I felt his gladness, his joy, here.” He tapped
his chest.
“Did he see you?” Lister said.
Eleanon gave a shake of his head.
“Did he know you?” Lister asked.
Again the shake of the head, and Lister relaxed slightly. “Well, that is something. I hope
you shut the thing down.”
“Yes.”
“I don”t like the fact that Isaiah brought Axis back,” Lister said. “Why? What does Isaiah
plan to do with him? And what is Axis going to say, my friend, if ever he meets you?”
“I have no desire to meet him. We cut our ties with the Icarii a long time ago, Lister. I
owe Axis nothing, not friendship and certainly not loyalty. That belongs to you, as you know,
and to the Lord of Elcho Falling.”
CHAPTER TEN
Palace of the First, Yoyette, Coroleas
StarDrifter existed in a state of hope for the first time in years. That hope was fourfold:
the chance that he would soon see Axis again; the hope that he would be once more able to touch
the Star Dance; the hope that he would finally manage to free one of the lost souls trapped within
the Corolean deities; and the hope that in the doing he would destroy a woman he loathed. He
could not wait for that moment when he would begin his seduction of Salome. StarDrifter was
beginning to see in Salome, in her cruelty and selfishness, all the women he”d hated—most
notably StarLaughter, the ancient Enchantress who had come back from the dead and murdered
the one birdwoman StarDrifter loved before any other: Zenith.
In doing what Ba”al”uz asked of him, StarDrifter saw redemption for himself. Revenge
for Zenith, for all the slaves and children who were entrapped in their bronze deities, and for
everyone who suffered at the hands of the Coroleans.
A revenge for five years of insults and sniggers at the Corolean court.
A revenge for the loss of his wings, and for his life of sheer, damned futility.
StarDrifter was determined not to fail, and he was arrogant enough to believe that he
could not fail.
After all, who better than he to know the best way to seduce a woman?
StarDrifter pushed aside all sympathy for Salome. She was the worst of a corrupt society.
She had murdered, indulged her love for cruelty, and trampled all who stood in her way. He was
only doing to Salome what she”d done to countless thousands.
Tonight was Moonlit Night Court. StarDrifter might loathe much about Corolean society,
but he always looked forward to the thirteen Moonlit Night Courts of the year. The emperor held
court in the gardens of the Palace of the First on the night of full moon. While murder and
intrigue and corruption still pervaded every moment of the evening, somehow the beauty of the
gardens and the moonlight negated the pervasive cruelty of the Corolean court and made it, for
just one night, something to be enjoyed rather than endured.
Moonlit Night Court did not get under way until a full two hours after dark. People
filtered into the extensive topiary gardens of the Palace of the First in small groups, murmuring
among themselves, accepting glasses of minted alcoholic julep and squares of sugared
confections from servants, and wandering slowly among the fantastic topiary creations that stood
over three paces high. Tens of thousands of topiaries dotted an area the size of a small town,
created a mazelike tangle of paths and unexpected glades. Overhead drifted a galaxy of round
paper lanterns, each lit from within by a small candle. StarDrifter had heard that there was an
entire department of slaves within the palace devoted entirely to their production and
deployment, and that throughout the night they would scurry about, launching fresh lanterns,
retrieving those that had become caught among the tops of the topiary creations, and dampening
any unfortunate fires.
StarDrifter arrived when the gardens were already humming with people and conspiracy.
He”d spent the early part of the evening pacing the confines of his tiny room, not wanting to
appear too early, and putting up with Ba”al”uz” murmured fretting about what might go wrong.
StarDrifter had finally been forced to snarl at the man, and send him back to his own chamber,
simply to get some peace.
But now he was here. StarDrifter had taken particular care with his appearance, using
Ba”al”uz” coin to purchase an outfit that would, he hoped, be enough to make him stand out.
In a court renowned for its gaudy excess, StarDrifter had chosen well. Heads turned as he
wandered slowly through the topiary maze, whispers trailing in his path.
StarDrifter wore a virtually skintight black ensemble that was remarkable for its subtlety
and understatement. The material was of a fine matte silk, with a delicate, raised pattern woven
into it that made the material shimmer very slightly in the moonlight. It covered StarDrifter from
neck to toe, and even had gloves and shoes made of matching material. Its subtlety and color
complemented his silvery-golden coloring perfectly, but it was StarDrifter”s innate grace and
elegance that turned an otherwise beautiful costume into the extraordinary.
StarDrifter only had to stroll through the garden, hands loosely clasped behind his back,
for the entire court to become aware of his presence. He spoke to no one, inclined his head only
very occasionally at someone, and refused all refreshment pressed on him by openmouthed
servants.
Tonight, for the very first time since he”d arrived in Coroleas, StarDrifter felt truly like a
prince of the Icarii.
Confidence and unavailability oozed from his every pore, and StarDrifter knew, without a
shadow of a doubt, that every woman and half the men present desired him.
But only one woman mattered, only the one for whom this extraordinary showing was
staged—and even if Salome managed to resist this display, StarDrifter had one trick left up his
sleeve.
Something he was sure she would never resist.
It took StarDrifter almost an hour before he came across her, but he knew that she must
have been aware of his approach for some minutes beforehand. The whispers he generated were
spreading ahead of him like a wave.
He turned a corner, and there she was, the Duchess of Sidon, already staring at the gap in
the topiary from which he emerged. Remarkably, Salome was dressed in black as well, although
her costume revealed far more flesh than StarDrifter”s. There were several other people standing
with Salome, and they all stared wordlessly at him.
StarDrifter knew he had only two options, to nod at her and then continue on his sinuous
way and hope she was intrigued enough to send a sycophant scurrying after him, or to approach
her directly, and reveal his interest.
He decided to take no chances.
StarDrifter approached her directly.
This was a risk, for as one of the most lowly members of the court, and one generally the
butt of sarcasm and ill-meant humor, StarDrifter broke every rule of etiquette by so doing. But
tonight he was not the bitter, hopeless man the court had become used to seeing skulking about
in the shadows.
Tonight StarDrifter felt in every manner a prince, and one used to getting his own way.