Flameseeker (Book 3) (23 page)

Miele happily soared to the ceiling, and some of
the onlookers watched and pointed in awe. After getting a satisfying view of
the interior from above, Miele dove back down and landed on Kaijin’s shoulder.
As they passed the library and made their way to the main atrium, Kaijin
overheard someone whisper, “What are those half-Dragons doing here?”

“Perhaps the
shak’ha
invited them,” someone
answered. “He
is
fond of Dragonkin, after all.”

“No, they are obviously the young master’s
friends,” another person said.

Nester jogged up beside Kaijin. “Wow! Will you
look at all this!” His eyes looked as if they would pop out of their sockets.

Kaijin smiled. “It
is
something, isn’t it?”

“Look at that!” Nester pointed to a statuette
sitting atop a pedestal as they entered the main atrium. He lowered his voice.
“It looks like pure gold! You know ’ow rich we’d be if we brought it back to
Aransiya?”

“I don’t think the people here will take too
kindly to your sticky hands on their statues,” Kaijin replied in a low tone.

Nester arched an eyebrow. “What? But I just washed
’em, aye.”

Kaijin shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“I must say,” Jarial muttered, “not even the
Citadel is this exquisite. I think this place is one of those hidden wonders of
the world, yes?” He winked at Kaijin.

Tariq stopped before an older man who wore simple
brown robes, not as lavish as the other aides’.

“Master Omari, please follow me,” Tariq said. “The
rest of you, please follow the attendant.”

As Kaijin turned to leave with Jarial, a hand grabbed
his shoulder and pulled him back. The person—Omari—spun him around. “Come with
me, Kaijin.”

Jarial stopped following the attendant and narrowed
his eyes over his shoulder at Kaijin and Omari.

Kaijin helplessly looked back at his master, then
back to Omari. “What?”

“My father would be very interested in speaking
with a Firebrand of Ignis,” Omari continued.

Kaijin blinked.
He would?
“What about
Master Jarial?”

Jarial huffed. “Don’t worry about me, Kaijin. Go
see what the
shak’ha
wants.” He left, following the rest of the group
down a corridor, lit dimly by lanterns hanging from the walls. Omari stared after
him then shook his head. “As far as my father is concerned, Master Glace is
still a Citadel mage. Perhaps later, once I have had time to talk to my father
about certain issues, he will request Master Glace’s company.”

Kaijin nodded slowly. “All right. Lead on.”

Tariq led the two of them west out of the main
room and to another lantern-lit corridor. Halfway down the corridor, Tariq
stopped before two white marble doors on their right. As he slowly pulled open
the doors, a strong aroma of incense wafted from behind them. Two flights of
stairs descended into a lighted room below.

The walls of the stairwell they descended were decorated
with exotic ornate tapestries woven with gold-threaded images of an eye over an
open book—the same design Kaijin noticed on the banners hanging on the Harran’s
exterior.

The room below opened up to what appeared to be a
bathing room of some sort. Carved rocks and mini-waterfalls lined the perimeter
of the large marble pool in the center of the room. The sound of trickling
water soothed Kaijin, and the humid air softened his sun-baked skin. Ivy
intertwined with white roses along the walls and rock faces. Hanging on the
wall that was closest to the pool was a large, intricately carved silver
mirror. Kaijin arched an eyebrow. “Are we to meet your father in here?”

Omari rolled his eyes. “No.”

Percival climbed down Omari’s body and scampered
into the room after his master. He hopped atop one of the rocks by the pool and
played with some of the ivy growing up the wall.

Miele flew to a high point on the wall where she began
feasting on the nectar of a prominent rose blossom.

Tariq turned and left Kaijin and Omari alone.
Kaijin watched Tariq ascend the stairs once more, and then he heard the doors
shut moments later. Kaijin turned back and continued admiring the room’s dreamy
atmosphere. “It’s very beautiful, Omari. All of this—the Harran—is really your
father’s?”

Omari stopped at the water’s edge, set down his belongings,
and began to undress. “Of course. He is the
shak’ha
. Enough questions.
We need to be clean before meeting him.” After leaving his clothes with his
belongings—including his ring, which he placed within his sight at the edge of
the pool—he entered the water and sat down.

Kaijin followed Omari’s lead in undressing but
kept his charm on. He started to take Ranaiah’s ring off his finger but decided
to leave it on, too. He slowly waded into the water. A shiver ran through his
body, and he nearly jumped out of the pool.

“Gods be damned! This water’s freezing!” Kaijin exclaimed.

Omari’s eyebrow arched, and he shook his head. “Of
course it is, Kaijin. It is spring water brought in from the underground
reservoirs that lie deep beneath this place.”

“Can’t we warm it? Just a bit?”

“No. My people consider spring water to be pure in
its natural form. Heating it only taints it. Now, enough of your complaining.”
He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Kaijin sat down across from Omari and drew his
knees to his chest. His teeth began to chatter, and he was unable to stop them.
Omari’s crazy to think this water is comfortable to bathe in!
His
necklace came in contact with the water and glowed; soothing warmth started on
his chest and filled his body, easing the cold. He exhaled and stretched his
legs out.

Omari sneered. “Do you never take that confounded
thing off?”

Kaijin grabbed the charm. “No. I’ve had this since
I was a child.”

Omari scoffed. “I have had my spellbook since I
was a child, but you do not see me bathing with it.”

“It means a lot to me.”

“It will just get ruined.”

Kaijin smiled and held up the golden symbol.
Plumes of steam rose from it, and the charm glistened like brand new. “It’s
resistant to water, I think.”

Kaijin heard the doors upstairs creak open again,
and moments later, three maidservants dressed in white wrap-around sarees descended
the stairs. Two of them drew near the edge of the pool, carrying small baskets
of various colored bottles and white towels and washcloths. Kaijin gawked.
What
the—? What are
they
doing here?
He noticed a third maidservant rush
over and retrieve Kaijin and Omari’s discarded clothes, and then head back toward
the stairs.

“Ah!” Kaijin called to the young woman, who looked
no older than sixteen. “Wait! Where are you going with our clothes?”

The woman paused, but she didn’t look back, nor
did she respond. She hurried up the stairs and was out of sight.

“Relax, Kaijin,” Omari said, his eyes fixed
wolfishly on the remaining two women. “She is going to clean our clothes. She
will return with them later.”

Great.
Sighing, Kaijin returned his
attention to them as well. His cheeks heated, and he kept his body tightly
curled and out of the women’s line of sight.

One of the women, who looked about Kaijin’s age
and wore her long black hair in a single braid, smiled brightly at Omari.
“Master Batsuyou! When I heard you had returned, I just had to see for myself.
I cannot believe it is really you! It has been so long!”

Omari tilted his head and squinted at her. “I am
sorry. Do I know you?”

She set her basket down and sat at the edge of the
pool. “I am Ta’mei. We were both children when I last saw you and you were
leaving with your father to go to Aransiya. I had only just begun as a bath attendant,
but I had the honor of tending to you back then.”

“Ta’mei ...” Omari repeated softly.

Kaijin looked back and forth between the two,
staying silent.

Ta’mei slowly traced her finger in the water and
leered at Omari. “When did you get so handsome?”

Omari grinned. “There was never a ‘when’. I always
was.”

Oh, gods ...
Kaijin thought, resisting the
urge to roll his eyes. Omari took her hand and kissed the top. “I cannot
believe my father still has you working as a bath attendant. He should let you
go.”

Blushing, Ta’mei slid her hand away and knelt
behind him. “It is all right. I do enjoy it here. Besides, I have the great
honor of seeing you again.”

Omari smiled.

“Now then, about that bath ...” She selected a
bottle from the basket, poured a small amount of bluish liquid onto her hands,
and began to massage his back. Omari closed his eyes.

Kaijin continued watching, when he suddenly felt a
pair of soft, delicate hands caress his shoulders, and he flinched.

“Forgive me. I did not mean to startle you. My
name is Asha,” the woman greeted him in a rich accent.

Kaijin looked behind him. Asha’s long ebony hair
was plaited into diamond-like designs with small silver beads that secured the
ends. Her bronze skin was smooth, free of blemishes. She gazed upon Kaijin with
intriguing dark brown eyes.

Kaijin gulped. “Uh ... Hello. I’m Kaijin.”

His heart pounded against his chest as she smiled
at him. “I am here to give you your bath.”

“Uh ...” Before Kaijin could answer, her soft
hands glided over his back. He stared into the water, his face feeling hotter.

Asha gasped.

He felt a slight tickle on his upper back. “What?”

“You have a strange scar on your back. Does it
hurt when I touch it?”

“Scar?” Kaijin thought for a moment, then he
looked behind him.

Asha scooted off to the side, revealing the mirror
hanging behind her. She pointed to the scabbed-over mark: the shape of a
flame—Ignis’s symbol.

He blinked, remembering his dream.
So it
was
all real. It
was
really Him!
He turned back around, trying to avoid
making too much of a deal about it in front of everyone. “Ah ... Don’t worry
about that. I’m, uh ... learning more about Ignis. Sometimes my studies require
me to go to some ... extremes. But I am okay. Really.”

Asha nodded slowly. “Okay.” She began lightly
scrubbing his back with a floral-scented washcloth.

The back scrub felt wonderful, though Kaijin began
to get nervous when she started scrubbing further down his back. She got close
to his tailbone, and he jerked in embarrassment.

Omari snickered.

“What’s so funny?” Kaijin asked.

Omari smiled coyly. “You.”

Asha reached around him and began scrubbing his
chest with the cloth. Feeling trapped, all Kaijin could do was watch her.
This
is just getting too weird.

“Dare I ask if you have ever been tended to by a
woman before, Kaijin?” Omari asked.

Kaijin shot him a look.
Really? Did he really
just ask me that?
“What kind of question is that?”

“Right. I take that as a ‘no.’”

The two women giggled softly. Asha scrubbed around
Kaijin’s belly and abdomen. Kaijin clenched his legs together. He felt her face
draw close to his cheek. She had a different floral scent, like moonflower.

Omari appeared to be in a state of bliss. Ta’mei’s
hand was underwater, most likely scrubbing in places that Kaijin considered
off-limits. Ta’mei smirked devilishly at Omari. Feeling Asha’s hand going far
too low for comfort, Kaijin gently put his hand over hers, stopping her.

“I, uh ... I can do that myself.” He took the
cloth.

She looked slightly surprised at him, and then furrowed
her brow at Omari.

“Do not trouble yourself, Asha,” Omari said simply.
“He is a foreigner.”

Kaijin finished washing himself, then handed the
cloth back to Asha. “Thank you.”

She smiled, placed the cloth back in the basket,
and retrieved a small, purple-tinted jar of liquid. She uncorked the top. The scent
of lilacs wafted from it. She washed his hair, massaging his scalp, and then
rinsed both thoroughly.

Omari beckoned to Percival, who sprang up from his
rock and scampered to a higher one. Omari glared at the weasel, and the eyes of
mage and familiar both glowed briefly—Percival was likely getting a talking to.

The weasel reluctantly crawled down the rocks and
into Ta’mei’s arms. She gently dunked him and scrubbed his fur with her
fingers.

Percival let out squeaks of protest and squirmed.
Omari gave him a stern frown.

Ta’mei finished and toweled off the weasel. She groomed
his messy fur until it was neat and smooth.

“He didn’t seem to like that too much, Omari,”
Kaijin said. “Did you
have
to make him get a bath?”

“Of course.” Then Omari added, pointing above,
“And Miele will need one as well.”

Kaijin looked up to one of the high rocks, where
Miele rested. “But she prefers to bathe herself.”

“Kaijin,” Omari said sharply. “If Miele is going
to be in the same room as my father, then she
must
be bathed. No
exceptions.”

Kaijin looked at him sourly, then to Asha. “Fine.”
“I’m sorry, Miele. We don’t have much of a choice here. Come down, please.”

Miele let out a screech of protest, but Kaijin mentally
prodded her, and she reluctantly flew down to land in his hands. He looked at
Asha warily. “Have you ever bathed a bat before?”

Asha laughed. “Of course, Kaijin. We have had visitors
with all sorts of animal companions, including bats.”

Kaijin nodded slowly, still reluctant to hand
Miele over to the woman. “Please be careful with her.”

“Oh, confound it, Kaijin! Just let her bathe Miele
already!” Omari sounded exasperated.

Kaijin shot him a glare, then slowly held out his familiar
to Asha. Carefully, Asha plucked Miele from him. She dipped Miele in the water,
and using small circular motions with her fingers, meticulously cleaned her
body.