Firestorm (36 page)

***

The interior of the royal palace was even more lavishly furbished than Raina remembered it. Rich carpets covered the stone floors. Tapestries of every imaginable hue and historical depiction hung from the walls. Sensuously curved vases sat on low, dark-red robur-wood tables. Long-legged servant women and strongly built young men walked to and fro, carrying armloads of linens, or pitchers of drink and platters of sweet meats. It looked to Raina like a grand and lavish party was in the offing.

She turned to Sinon, who had halted in the middle of the great entrance hall. "Does your father plan some celebration?"

The younger man smiled. "Yes, as a matter of fact. He has recently come into the possession of a man who has been a long-term threat to the stability of his reign. The men he even now meets with will be witness to this particular person's execution on the morrow. Then we'll all celebrate with a gala feast."

Raina went rigid. "And who could possibly, after all these cycles, threaten the reign of a man as powerful as Malam Vorax?"

Sinon cast her a wry look. "Don't you know, femina?"

The blood pounded through her veins. Her mouth went dry. "And why would I know? I just now arrived in Ksathra."

"Why, indeed?" Sinon shrugged. "My mistake." He offered his hand. "Come, let me escort you to my father's private reception chambers. We'll await him there."

Raina accepted his proffered hand. "As you wish, my lord."

He led her down a long, carpeted and heavily tapestried corridor off to the right. Raina remembered it well. The hallway led to the formal rooms of several private reception chambers and the large banquet hall. Beyond that lay the huge palace kitchens with their underground food storage pits.

For an instant, Raina was overcome by a poignant if bittersweet nostalgia. At any moment she half expected to see Najirah come running down the hall, or her father, tall and broad-shouldered, with a smile of welcome on his face. But they were just specters now, of a time and life never to be again.

A harsher, more desperate purpose drove her now.

And there was no one here anymore who cared about her. No one but Teague, and he was helpless to assist her. It was all up to her: Teague's continued existence, as well as the ultimate success of the upcoming attack upon Ksathra.

They reached the door Raina knew led to a private reception chamber. Sinon halted, opened the door, and motioned her in. When he didn't follow, Raina cocked a questioning brow.

"I go to fetch my father," he replied to her unspoken question. "There are fresh ewers of uva wine and a locally brewed cerevisia, plus a plate of fresh palmas fruit and other delicacies. Feel free to imbibe. I'll return shortly."

Raina nodded then turned and walked farther into the room. Behind her, the door shut softly. She glanced around. The chamber was empty, save for a long table filled with food and drink and a high-backed chair set before a cluster of soft lounging couches. Tapestries covered three of the four walls. The wall opposite the door was of glass, inset with a framed glass door that appeared to open onto a broad balcony overlooking the palace gardens.

Nervous with anticipation, Raina strode to the long table and poured out a cup of uva wine which she quickly downed. Then she walked over to the glass wall, opened the door, and stepped out onto the balcony. Enclosed by the palace walls on the right and across the back, the garden's final barrier was the mountain on the left. It was there, Raina knew, that the Tapestry Passage led from the royal library through to the far side of the mountain. How she longed to head for it even now.

First, though, she must get to Teague and free him. First, the passage must be cleared by Aban and his men.

First, the signal must be given. There were many firsts, but the most important of all was first to win Vorax's confidence.

The door opened behind her. Raina wheeled the now empty cup of uva wine clenched in her hand. Sinon walked in, then a shorter, far more heavy-set man. Though the cycles had failed to treat him kindly, Raina recognized him immediately.

Malam Vorax stepped into the room. As he caught sight of her, he stopped dead. Surprise, confusion, then dawning recognition flashed across his pasty-complected, heavy-jowled face. He shot his son a seething glance.

"Where did you find her?"

Sinon shrugged glancing casually down to straighten one of his many rings. "She was at the gate, demanding to be let in. She said she once knew you, so I decided to discover if her tale was true." He lifted his gaze, innocent inquiry in his eyes. "Do you know her, Father?"

"Yes," Vorax muttered. "I do. Call in the guards. I'll not stay in any room alone with her."

"Indeed?" his son purred. "And since when has a mere female been a threat to the mighty ruler of Farsala? Strange, isn't it," he mused "that in the course of a few days, two people appear whom you seem to fear above all others? I find this turn of events most intriguing."

"The guards, Sinon!"

The young man nodded curtly, then turned and exited the room. A rninute later, four guards accompanied him back. "Your 'protection' has returned, Father," Sinon said. "Would you like for them to seize the femina?"

Vorax hesitated, seeming to consider that for a moment. "No," he said finally. "I'm sure Raina's motives for coming back now are quite reasonable and friendly. And if they aren't, well, the presence of my guards will be enough to discourage her from trying anything foolish."

She strode out across the room toward him, drawing up midway. Her hands rose to a position of exasperation on her hips. "I'm not a child anymore, Malam. And I'd be a fool to return like this if I meant you harm."

He eyed her narrowly. "Then why did you return? Unless I misinterpreted your actions, you were none too pleased with me the last time we were together."

"No, I wasn't too happy," Raina calmly agreed. "Your . . . passion . . . was too much for me then. But that was fifteen cycles ago. I've learned much since then, have thought long about what there used to be between us, and decided that, now that my mate is dead I'd return and see if we couldn't make amends."

"Indeed?" Vorax arched a graying brow. "And why, after all these cycles, do you think I'd care to 'make amends'?"

"I don't know what you'd want or not want. I but thought it was worth a try." She smiled thinly. "Perhaps we could make some sort of an arrangement? Between two mature adults, I mean."

"An arrangement, eh? And what do you offer as your part of the bargain?" His skeptical glance took in her tunic and cloak-covered body. "Do you hope to insinuate yourself back into my heart? Perhaps even regain the position you once held as my betrothed and future consort?"

Beside him, Sinon hissed softly in triumph. Raina quickly calculated the possible advantages versus disadvantages of an affirmative answer. Vorax, however, had always been a practical if very vain man. She doubted the cycles of total power had changed that. It seemed the best course was to make this appear as some sort of mutually agreeable pact.

"You wanted my body once. I've always wanted the comforts your power can bring," Raina boldly replied. At the hard look that sprang to his eyes, she quickly softened her proposition. "It's not just a matter of money and flesh, though. At least not for me. I-I missed you all these cycles, Malam. You always treated me so well . . ."

"And your deceased mate didn't?"

As she brushed a nonexistent speck of dirt from her cloak, Raina made a great show of quirking her mouth in distaste. "He was a big, lumbering equs trader. He treated me well enough, but we never had anything more than our desert tent and a few pots and plates. I quickly grew weary of the hardships and wanted desperately to return to you, but you know how binding a desert life mating can be. If I'd run from him, the other men of his tribe would've helped him hunt me down."

She sighed and shook her head. "So, his death became my only hope of freedom."

"And why should I believe any of this?" Vorax walked over to stand before her. "Do you think me still so smitten with your beauty that I'd leap at the chance to have you again?"

"If you still find me pleasing," Raina said with an arch little smile, "I certainly hope so. I've little else to offer. I realize that now."

"Do you?" A closed, calculating look glittered in his eyes. "And how far will you go to prove that you want me again? How deep does your loyalty lie?"

Here it comes now, Raina thought with an anticipatory shiver. Now he'll offer to take me back to his bed. "I'll do anything to come back to you, Malam. Anything."

Vorax cast Sinon a hooded glance. Then he turned back to Raina. "Come with me, femina." He extended a pudgy, berringed hand. "There's someone I want you to meet first, before you swear that oath of allegiance. The price I demand is high, but if you do what I ask, you'll have proved your loyalty beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Unease curled within Raina, but she forced herself to take Vorax's hand. Silently, he turned and led her out of the reception chamber and back down the hall. Through the palace they walked followed by a narrow-eyed Sinon and the four guards. They passed through the main entry hall, then down the corridor to the library—and the staircase that led to the torture caverns.

There Vorax paused, casting her a questioning glance. "Once before I took you down there," he said, gesturing to the door that opened onto that special place of terror. "You ran screaming from it. Will you be so squeamish this time?"

"No." Raina bit back a wild surge of hope. No matter Vorax's intent once he got her down there—and she began to suspect it just might be to test her response to Teague—she welcomed it. If the journey provided her with the opportunity to ascertain his condition and give him warning of what was to come, it would be well worth it. "I'm a woman now, Malam. Such things don't disturb me anymore. Whoever is down there deserves to be, has been disloyal to you. I'll rejoice in his punishment."

A secret smile lifted his lips. "Indeed he does deserve to be there, until the day he dies" He tugged on her hand, almost impatiently. "Come, femina. See the price I ask you to pay."

She followed him down the long expanse of stone stairs, their footsteps echoing hollowly off the high ceiling of the cavernous room. As they rounded the last curving swell of steps, however, Raina saw a sight that took her breath away.

Head bowed so that his long blond hair tumbled down and hid his face, Teague hung shackled, hands and feet, to the stone wall. His meager red loincloth was his only clothing; his nearly naked body gleamed in the dim light of flickering oil lamps. He was covered with sores and cruelly wrought wounds, as if someone had methodically worked his torturous way over Teague's body.

It took every bit of Raina's strength not to cry out and run to him. It was equally as difficult not to withdraw the dagger sheathed to her thigh and plunge it into Malam Vorax's heart. But she did neither. The time wasn't right, their cause surely lost before it had barely begun if she attempted such a foolhardy act.

So instead, she forced a bland smile and turned to Vorax. "Is this what you brought me down here to see? A man tortured nearly to death? I'm not impressed, Malam."

"Then come closer, femina," he said with a hoarse chuckle, "and see if you recognize him. Then you'll begin to understand the enormity of what I ask of you."

Vorax pulled Raina over to stand before Teague. As he lifted his hand to grasp Teague by the hair, Sinon stepped up to his father's side. "Will you permit me to do the honors?" he said, an eager, almost feral look in his eyes. "I do so like handling this one."

Raina's glance shot from Vorax to Sinon. There was something ugly, perverse in the young man's eyes, as if ... as if he .. . desired Teague. Recognition flared. Each in his own way, father and son had fallen to the depths of depravity.

Her gorge rose and it was all she could do to keep from slapping that smug, possessive look off Sinon's face. The disgusting young fool! If he thought ever to equal, much less win, a man like Teague Tremayne, he was sadly mistaken.

Glancing back at Teague, her heart swelled with compassion. Gods, what had he suffered in the past days? If Sinon had laid one hand on him in some carnal way, she'd make certain—

She stopped short. Emotions, however justified would only confuse the issue at hand and threaten the success of this mission. Later, there might be time for the luxury of revenge. For now, though, she must take great pains not to antagonize either man.

"I grow impatient, Malam," Raina forced herself to say, her tone utterly bored. "What has this man to do with the issue of my devotion to you?"

Vorax nodded to his son. "Lift his head. Show her his face. Then she may finally discern the importance of this man." He grinned malevolently. "And understand the price she must pay."

Sinon smiled stepped close to Teague, and slid his hands up both sides of his face in an appreciative, almost caressing gesture. "So pretty," he murmured as he lifted Teague's head. "So strong."

His face, swollen and bruised, slowly came into view. His lips were cracked, bleeding. His nose was broken.

Rage flooded Raina. She ground her teeth and fisted her hands. Control . . . she must maintain control.

"Yes?" she asked, swinging her gaze back to Vorax's.

"You don't recognize him?" Incredulity deepened his voice.