The Destroyer Book 4 (9 page)

“A servant as capable as yourself must have an ear for gossip. No matter, though. When I determine who betrayed my father I will rip their body apart with my fingernails. Anything you could do to expedite the discovery of this traitor would earn my gratitude and appreciation.” I smiled warmly at her. Her scent filled the bathroom with bitterness and she met my eyes boldly.

“I will do my best to serve you in all aspects, Mistress.”

“I will continue my bath alone. Please prepare my dress and return when it is time for dinner."

“Yes, Mistress.”

She fled to the other room and I heard the sound of doors being opened and the gentle swish of silk garments being moved. I suspected it was one of my father’s elders who had betrayed my travel information to the Ubarwa, but it would be useful for Relyara to fear and respect me, I could earn true loyalty in time. I heard her leave the room and I sighed in relief and leaned back into the water.

If there was anything I loved as much as riding horses, it was taking hot baths.

A pounding on the door reverberated in my ears and rippled the water of my bath. I had fallen asleep. The water was still hot, so I could not have been unconscious for long.

My door opened and I heard footsteps make their way toward the bathroom. The scent of the oils prevented me from identifying who entered the room with certainty, though the rhythm and weight of the footsteps made me guess it was my father.

“I’m in here!” I yelled. He came in, glowering down at me.

“You should be dressed by now.” He crossed his arms over the chest of his green velvet robe.

“Relyara said she would return when it was time to prepare.”

“What if she was late? You would disrespect our time?” He smelled angry, but there was a hint of something else. The bathwater was only somewhat opaque and he could see my naked body from his standing position. He must have realized that I smelled his arousal and he looked away toward the bedroom.

“That is such an interesting word.” I found a wood comb on the ledge of the tub and ran it through my long, wet hair.

“Time?”

“No. Disrespect. I have found that those who use the word the most are often the least deserving of it.”

“What are you trying to say girl?” He turned to me with obvious fury in his eyes and scent.

“I am not implying anything negative about you, Father. Perhaps your elders have used that word often. You should keep a careful eye on them.” I knew that his father was an elder, and had assumed role of Chieftain of the Laxile Tribe after an orchestrated uprising. They were supposed to help manage the various bloodlines and families of the tribe, but they would gladly betray the leader if it put them on a course of mastery.

“I will consider your words. But for the next few months, I need you to be polite to them and ensure them that you are supporting my decisions and looking to create opportunities for our clan’s advancement.”

“With my womb?” I snorted.

“This is the attitude your mother warned me about. She said you would be useless to me just as you were useless to her.”

“Those are harsh words. And I’m sure she meant all the venom in them.” I almost laughed. Cobras were less cunning and deadly than the woman. She would have tied me to a table; legs spread, and invited every male within one hundred miles to inseminate me so she could breed the next generation of strength for her clan. But I was stronger than her and she knew this. The best way to combat a cobra was to cut off its head.

“You are cunning. You got that from her. I will admit that my strengths lie in other places. This does not have to be an antagonistic relationship. Your offspring shall give us great leverage over the other clans, but I would also appreciate your perspective with the other elders and tribe leaders.”

“Hand me the towel.” I gestured to them and he got up to retrieve one. I stood up naked from the water and watched his hungry eyes appraise my body. His arousal musk poured into the room and I fought back a smile. “I will consider your words.” I ran the towel down my breasts, stomach, hips, and then I parted my legs to dry between them. “I am going to need instructors. Apparently, we are good at hunting?”

“Yes.” The word escaped his mouth in a slow drone and I could see the sweat pouring off of his brow. The sick fuck.

“Good. I will require some private instruction from the best in the tribe. Archery, riding, tracking, perhaps various weapons, the usual martial arts. I am sure your elders will identify them for me during dinner tonight and then you can summon them. I will want to assess their abilities myself, of course.”

“Very well.” He choked out the words. Inbreeding had been against our race’s laws since the time of the Dead Gods, but I had no doubt that if I bent over the bathtub he would have fucked me right then. I found the idea repulsive, but his scent gave me all the information I needed about how to leverage our relationship to my advantage.

Men were so easy to manipulate. Women had their desires as well, but our bodies and minds were not beholden to them. My father would allow me to delay mating, clinging to the fucked up shred of hope that I would allow him to do the deed himself.

“I will change now. How soon until dinner?” I dropped the towel in the bathroom and walked into my room naked so he could see my backside. The silver dress was laid out on the white bedsheets. The latest style in the desert tribes leaned toward a mass of ribbons and wide petticoats. This gown was a sleeker design, simpler in its flow with only minimal, thin straps to hold it on to my body.

“Quarter of an hour. Should I meet you there?” It was so clear he wanted to remain and watch me dress, but I had all the information I needed from him and if he leered at me much longer, my own scent would betray my disgust and interfere with my ability to control the old man.

“Yes. I will meet you there. If you see Relyara in the hall, send her."

“Very well.” He smelled like disappointment: mulched rotting vegetables.

A knock sounded at the door and he moved down the foyer to answer it. As soon as it opened the vanilla breeze blew into my bedroom.

“She is getting dressed,” he said to Relyara.

“I will assist.” I heard her footsteps enter and his leave. By the time she made it to the other room I was attempting to get my arms through the straps.

“Tell me of the elders.”

“What would you like to know?”

“I believe I met two earlier today. Zaarmo and Dluuzit? I forced myself to remember their names.

“There are three more: Vuma, Oimon, and Gnella.” Relyara finished tying the back of the dress. It fit perfectly, perhaps a bit on the tight side, but that was how I liked my dresses. Then none would underestimate the amount of physical violence I was capable of inflicting upon those who displeased me.

“Which is the cleverest? Zaarmo and Dluuzit seemed dumber than humans.”

“I am not familiar enough with them to
—
”

“Don’t be coy. I’m sure you have an opinion.” I turned to look in the mirror. My hair was still wet but since I had combed it out, the red strands would not curl too much.

“Vuma is the smartest, Mistress. Also Gnella. They disagree on much though. Each elder save for Gnella has descendants they will wish to breed with you.”

“Yes, yes, yes. There is a waiting line for my loins. I will deal with that in time. Who has the most support with the people in the tribe?”

“Your father, of course.” She smiled and tilted her head. I didn’t mistake her scent though.

“This is unfortunate, Relyara. I thought we were going to get along better.” I shook my head and sighed slightly.

“I am prepared to serve your needs Mis
—
” I squeezed her throat with my left hand and silenced her. With a casual flip of my arm, shoulder, and hip, I tossed the woman against the mirrored wall. It shattered into hundreds of pieces and she screamed in pain as the tiny shards scratched and cut her delicate skin.

“Let me make it clear for you, fool.” I grabbed her blue-black hair at the skull and smashed the side of her face against what was remaining of the tattered mirror. “When I ask you a question, you answer immediately, with all the knowledge in your little brain and no attempt at cleverness to waste my time. Do you understand, pet?”

She blubbered something fearfully and I pulled her face away from the glass shards.

“I am sorry, Mistress! Please forgive me,” was what I thought she said. It looked like part of the woman’s tongue had been cut off and blood flew from her mouth quicker than the words did.

“Good. Now we are starting to understand each other. You no longer serve my father. You serve me.” She moaned and bloody tears streamed down her face. “If you decide to try being more cunning than I am, I’ll cut your body into pieces and feed the parts to the dogs. I’ll start with your legs and arms so you can watch them feast upon you. Wake the fuck up!” I shook her head and smashed it into the wall again as she looked like she was going to faint from the pain. Blood was all over my hands, arms, and the front of the beautiful silver dress. “As I am sure you are aware, I do not make empty threats.”

“Yes, Mistress. I will serve you faithfully.”

“Excellent.” I dropped her body back into the glass and stepped clear of the mess. “When I come back you and I will spend the night discussing everything you know about this tribe. I need to know who is loyal to you, and where you get your information. We’ll do it over some wine and dessert, so have it prepared.” She nodded and forced herself to stand in the puddle of broken glass. Her face and clothes were covered in blood. I hoped that she would heal quickly, she had been quite beautiful, and I would have preferred her tongue intact. I almost felt remorse for what I had done to the woman.

But fear without the occasional use of force was just simple anxiety.

“Where is the dining hall?”

“It is on the ground floor under this room. West wing. I will take you.”

“No. Clean this mess up, replace the mirror, prepare dessert, and wait for me to return. I can find it on my own.”

“Yes, Mistress. But Mistress, you are covered in my blood.” I inhaled the scent of rosemary through the blood and her fear.

“Oh well.” I walked back through the foyer and out into the hallway. There was a small group of human slaves who bowed before me. They reeked of shit, piss, and other related scents of fear and inferiority that made me cover my nose briefly before I passed them. Fucking humans.

“You are late, Iolarathe. What happened to your dress?” my father said when I entered the dining hall. There were sixteen other finely dressed men and women sitting around the long table. They did a poor job of concealing their shock.

“I had to discipline one of your servants on my way here.” The table was rectangular in shape, with eight seats on each side and one at each head. My father occupied the seat farthest from the door and a male elder, Vuma, I guessed, sat at the other head.

“You are in my seat,” I said to the man.

“Excuse me?” There were too many scents in the room mixing with the food for me to pick out his, but his facial expression was as expected.

“You are sitting in my chair. Move!” I commanded.

“No, girl. This is my seat,” he scoffed and glared at me.

“Do you see the blood on my dress? Any additional red will only improve it at this point.”

“Are you threatening me?” He forced a laugh and then turned to my father. “This brat needs some manners beaten into her.”

I pulled on the World and then flung out Air. I wanted to roast him alive, but the suddenness of his body flying from the seat and smacking into the stone wall of the hall thirty feet from the table was satisfying in its own way. There was a screech of swords being drawn from the various armed individuals in the room, but I only counted four weapons. The fact that they didn’t attack me immediately made me think they would never have the audacity to do it.

“As I was saying.” I picked up the plush leather chair and sat it right side up at the table. I slid into it and crossed my legs under the dress. “This is my seat.” The broken man against the wall moaned in pain but did not move. Nor did anyone else in the room.

“Father.” His face was as white as the sheets on my bed and his mouth hung open. He looked like he was turning back into rock. “Why don’t you introduce me to your elders and their descendants? Start with the one who thought this seat was more important than his life.” I gestured to Vuma and smiled at my audience.