No One's Chosen (44 page)

"Mion apologizes that he could not be here himself.
There has been much scrutiny on his business since your death, I am
told." The girls voice was soft and steady. There was no fear or
hesitation in it. She was no common whore of Mion's.

"Yes," Rianaire replied, "I fear death has made
travel something of a nuisance for me as well."

"And that is why I have been sent. I will take you to
Mion."

"Please do," Rianaire said plainly. She had been long
enough away from familiar faces and this would be a welcome
reunion.

The girl turned and made in the opposite direction of
the main gate. There was a connecting road not far from where they
stood and Rianaire did not intend to ask questions until they had
passed it as she assumed they would make use of a lesser used gate.
They came to the road and the girl turned down it. She was utterly
silent the entire walk to the north road. It was the only road
leading into the city farther north than the main gate and it was
the least used of the three. There was little north of the city,
the largest town being maybe a few thousand souls. It paled in
comparison to the near five-hundred thousand that lived in and
around the Bastion City and hardly saw use. It was staffed by only
four guards, a pair on either side of the small doors leading
through the wall.

The guards leaned against the gate they were tasked
with guarding lazily. Rianaire could hardly blame them, given the
time. She'd have preferred to be elsewhere herself. As they
approached, a doughy old guard tapped his short spear against his
partner's shoulder. The guard was an equally doughy female with
ample breasts that were poorly kept in by the leather-strapped
plate chestpiece they were wearing.

Rianaire and Síocháin had their cloaks up, as they
had since stepping out of the inn. It would not do to be noticed
but surely the guard would want to inspect them and have their
names. It was standard practice. Surely Mion would have thought of
that. Did he know these guards to be loyal? But she had misjudged
the situation, she found, as they neared the gate.

"Another pair already, eh?" the male guard croaked in
a tired, disinterested voice.

"It has been a very busy season, I am happy to say."
She walked to the man and dropped a small purse into his hand then
to the woman and did the same, flashing a smile as the coins
clinked. The money given, she returned to Rianaire and
Síocháin.

The female guard rapped her short spear on the door
she stood before three times and each time she did, Rianaire could
see the sweat on her chin glisten in the torchlight as the fat
jiggled from the impact. After a moment the sound of a great wooden
bar sliding could be heard from the opposite side of the gate. When
it was done, the doors parted and Rianaire saw the Outer Crescent
through a small portal that she would soon pass. Or so she
hoped.

They began to move with the door opened and neither
of the guards so much as looked at the cloaked ruler and her
handmaid. It nearly made her angry that they would not see it, but
it was as she needed it to be. The attack that was meant to end her
was well executed and well outfitted. It was not worth
underestimating Spárálaí's reach inside the city, especially.

On the other side of the door, the girl repeated her
custom with the other two guards. Rianaire could not help but feel
conflicted but it was a matter to be dealt with another time. The
girl led them into the northern part of the Outer Crescent where a
great grey stone wall gave way to the rise of white cliffside. The
smells were copious and welcome. The stink of hogs and horses, the
waning warmth of stews and the far off din of alehouses. She wanted
nothing more than to go to an alehouse and get drunk enough to piss
herself and then visit one of Mion's brothels and fuck until she
was sore. Knowing that she could not renewed the anger within
her.

"How do you mean to secret us into the Inner
Crescent?" Rianaire asked the red-haired girl.

"I do not mean to do such a thing." She turned a
corner and the nobles followed. "Our destination lies not so far
off from here.

Her words were true enough. Within the passing of
five minutes they were in front of a plain looking two storey
structure with stained glass and thick curtains blocking the view
to the inside. There was no sign, but no buildings save brothels
and temples kept stained glass in the windows. Rather than walk up
to the main door, the small elf made for the side alley and around
the back. The alley was thick with dirty water and could not have
been called luxurious.

She led them around the back of the brothel to a
smaller door that looked, in the dark, to be made of steel. It was
an expensive and heavy door for the Outer Crescent. At the door,
the red-haired elf knelt down and scratched loudly at the bottom of
the door before standing and knocking at the top edges of the door.
She could barely reach them, but it did not seem a new custom to
her.

The sound of steel against steel could be just heard
from the other side of the door and it swung open, bathing the
alleyway in an orange glow. A beautiful scent met Rianaire's nose.
The smell of oils and incense and sex. A shadow formed in the light
from the door and Rianaire looked up to see a positively massive
elf. He was tall and broad and muscled and naked from the waist up.
There was oil on him and it glimmered in the light behind. Rianaire
felt her loins stir at the sight of him.

There was no exchange of words, only the red-haired
girl smiling up at the great beast of an elf and him stepping to
the side. Before she entered, she turned to face Rianaire.

"This is where I take my leave, Treorai." Her smile
was polite and genuine as far as Rianaire could see.

"I thank you…" She paused. The girl had never given
her name.

"I am called Taise. And there is no need for thanks.
I have been compensated." She smiled again and walked off into the
night.

Síocháin spoke for the first time since they had met
the girl. "I quite like that one."

Rianaire found it hard to disagree. She did love a
good mystery and there was much about the girl that begged
questions. She doubted they would ever have proper answers to any
of them. It was not worth worrying over at the moment. Rianaire led
in and Síocháin followed. The oiled elf closed the door behind them
but did not move from his place by the door.

There was scarce little in the room they entered
into, a small, plush chair, and at the far end, if one could call
it that, was a stair to the second floor. The entire floor was
carpeted, which was a rare enough thing, but the carpets were
exceedingly soft and comfortable to walk upon. Even through shoes
they offered a comfort that was hard to ignore. Rianaire laughed at
the opulence of it. There were only a pair of fully carpeted rooms
in the Bastion, even. They made the stair and found that the carpet
continued up to a steel door.

Rianaire trudged up the flight of stairs. They had
not slept as much as she would like and the plushness of the floor
had reminded her of just how exhausted she had been. It wouldn't do
to show a weak face in front of Mion. He was a friend, certain
enough, but he would be unbearable if he thought she was ill. She
knocked at the door and waited. The familiar sound of metal on
metal rang in her ears as the door was unbarred from the other
side.

The door swung open, much as the one below had, but
this one let into something of an office space, if one could call
it that. The room was covered in rich reds and purples but not a
single window. Silks, satins, and each thing she spied looked
softer than the thing before. Rianaire had spent a good deal of
time in Mion's brothels but she had never seen a room quite like
this one. The door had been opened by a nude and well-muscled elf
with bronze skin and dark hair. Young was an understatement.
Rianaire walked in and saw that there was a twin to the nude boy on
the other side of the door.

Sitting in a large, flamboyant chair on the other
side of a desk was Mion. When Rianaire came in, he threw his arms
wide.

"Treorai, finally! I had been so worried!" Mion said
in a feminine voice. He wore thick make-up and a tight fitting
dress of white and gold with a high neck that wrapped around behind
his head. His long golden hair was done up into an intricate braid.
You'd have thought him a woman but for the flat chest and entirely
square jaw. He was handsome for a man, but his look defied his
heart. "Come and sit! Boys," he turned to the naked attendants,
"fetch us some wine and cheese." He snapped his fingers to
punctuate the order and the boys made off out the heaven oaken door
on the far wall, but not before closing the steel one through which
the women had entered.

"It has been a strange and trying few days."

"I can scarcely imagine, lover. I worried for you, I
did. I prayed to the Sisters with every free moment."

Rianaire sat first in one of the plush chairs. She
had been so satisfied with the bed at the inn outside the city, but
this was another thing entirely. She felt as though she could melt.
Síocháin took the chair beside her. She must have felt it, Rianaire
thought, but her face was as impassive.

Síocháin spoke. "The girl. Taise."

"Is that the name she gave you?" He laughed and
crossed his clean shaven legs.

"She is not one of yours?" Rianaire had considered
the possibility remote.

"Sisters, no. But she is useful, that one. Useful
and… interesting. You would like her."

"We already do." Rianaire looked at Síocháin as she
said it.

"Good." Before he said anything more, the nude boys
returned with wine and cheese. The boy with the wine handed the
cups around and the other sat the cheese platter on the desk.

Síocháin did not make her hunger any great secret.
She grabbed a fair handful of cheese and ate it greedily.

He looked at Síocháin with wide eyes. "Oh no, lover.
Had I known I would have— Boys! Go wake the chef."

Rianaire held up a hand to stop them. "That is more
than alright. We need rest more than food. Tomorrow may be another
matter altogether, but I doubt either of us would be conscious by
the time a meal was prepared."

Mion motioned the boys back to their posts at the
back of the room and they went dutifully. "There is no need for
decorum here, Lover Rianaire. You are safe in this place" She
wished that were entirely true. He continued. "You will at least
hear what I know?"

"Please."

Mion took a long sip of his wine. "My ears have heard
tell of Spárálaí making sweeping demands of the others of the
Binse. He is being assisted by the girl…" He snapped his fingers,
trying to remember. "Armire. Yes, that was her name. They've got
control of the coin and the guards, so things have become rather
tense in the Inner Crescent. I decided it best to situate myself
here. Distance is best in situations where one does not control the
outcome, wouldn't you say, lover?"

"I would. I should like to speak with Spárálaí as
soon as I am able."

Mion's face became grim. "I fear that will be
difficult at the very least. Farcical as it sounds, Spárálaí has
insisted that there is a raider plot to install an impostor in your
place."

Rianaire scoffed at the suggestion. "And they believe
him?"

"He pays them to believe it. Their incomes sustain
them, and their families."

"And he supplies the incomes." Rianaire waved a
dismissive hand. "What of the rest of the Binse? Of the seven I had
appointed, only three that I knew of supported Spárálaí openly in
his complaints."

"I fear he has some leverage over the others, though
I do not know what that entails at present. They are more loyal to
their own longevity than to the name of the Treorai, I am afraid."
He finished his wine and put the empty vessel on the table with a
delicate hand.

Rianaire had drunk about half of her wine but already
her head was spinning. She had neither slept nor eaten enough and
drink was not what she needed now. She put the cup sloppily on the
table.

"This is depressing. I am depressed." She turned to
Síocháin. "Síocháin, are you depressed?" Síocháin nodded. Rianaire
took in a deep breath. "I am too tired by half to deal with any of
this."

"I understand, lover. You have free use of this room
or any other should you desire it." Mion stood and walked over to
her. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. He moved to
Síocháin and did the same. "I just thank the Sisters that you are
both unharmed." Mion snapped at the boys at the back of the room
and shooed them out the wooden door. "There will be proper food in
the morning. And talk in the afternoon. I'll not have so crass and
uninteresting an old cock running my city."

"I suppose I should be thankful I am not yet old and
uninteresting."

Mion laughed a high, punctuated laugh. "Oh, lover,
I'm sure I won't live to see you become either." With that he left
and closed the door.

Rianaire stood with some effort. The chair had been
almost too comfortable and returning to a standing position took an
act of considerable will. Síocháin undressed Rianaire and then
herself. The bed was against the wall and looked in place in the
over decorated, overstuffed office. When Rianaire fell upon it, she
felt that she would not be able to make it to the far side to put
herself in a proper sleeping position. She ached with comfort in
the plush folds of the bed. It was the gaping maw of a billowy
dream and she wanted to be swallowed whole. She nearly did fall
asleep then and there, but Síocháin laid four fingers swiftly
across one of the cheeks of her rear end. Rianaire let go a groan
of frustration and dragged herself to the other side of the bed.
She was sure Síocháin had gotten in beside her but sleep took her
so quickly that she could not say if it was real or imagined.