The Devil's Concubine (The Devil of Ponong series #1) (6 page)

“Could you
stop doing that? You’re distracting me. Can’t you watch her from over there
somewhere?” He motioned toward the wharf.

Ivitch
licked his lips.

“No, he couldn’t,”
QuiTai said.

Ivitch
sneered at her and headed down the beach.

“That was
too easy,” Kyam said as they watched Ivitch join the gamblers at the end of the
wharf.

She jutted
her chin toward the wharf. “Yours?”

“It’s
happy coincidence that the dockworkers are here but didn’t have cargo to
unload. I didn’t expect him, after all. I go to all this trouble to set up a
private talk, and you bring a chaperone.”

“
You
went to trouble?” She had to control
her outrage. Unless it would give her leverage, she’d never tell Kyam what she’d
done to meet him at the Red Happiness. “The Devil is jealous and paranoid. If I’d
tried to convince him not to send one of his men, he would have insisted, so I
suggested it first.”

Kyam sniffed
and bent over his drawing pad. “Don’t move if you can help it.”

She
focused over his shoulder. “Did you really gamble away your remittance just so
that you’d have an excuse to accept the commission for the portrait? That was
thorough of you.”

Kyam
scowled. “It wasn’t as easy as you think. I kept winning.”

She put
her hand over her mouth as she laughed. “You should have sent word. I could
have arranged to have you robbed right outside the Dragon Pearl, in front of
witnesses.”

“Once was
enough, thank you.”

She took a
deep breath as she looked out at the sea beyond the harbor seawall. The salted
air felt cleansing as she drew it into her lungs.

“Why did
you want to see me? Ivitch could come back any moment, so I suggest we get down
to business.”

Kyam kept drawing. “There are Ravidians in
Levapur.”

A chill ran through her core. Kyam also
sought the Ravidians? Her lips pursed as she composed herself. “And the sky is
blue.”

He set down his pencil. Dark eyes leveled on
her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t waste my time telling me the obvious.
You sat between them in the Red Happiness.”

“Lower your chin a bit. You saw two of them.
There’s a third.” He glanced over at the wharf. “Unless you know about him too?”

She did now.

“What exactly do you want from me, Mister
Zul?”

“I can’t possibly follow all three Ravidians.
You have contacts and spies all over town, all over the island. I need to know
what they’re up to,” Kyam said.

“It looked to me as if they were up to a bit
of fun with the workers at the Red Happiness.”

It was just her luck. As much as they tried
to avoid each other, their paths always crossed at the most inconvenient times.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think the Oracle’s hidden hand was to blame
for it; but the Oracle only foretold the future, she didn’t make it happen. Or
did she? There was too much QuiTai didn’t know about her goddess. If only she
hadn’t turned her back on her people and gone to the continent to be an actress;
now there were no Qui elders left on Ponong to ask, and every responsibility
she’d run from – and then some – was now hers alone to shoulder.

“I would pay a month’s rent to know what’s
making you frown like that, Lady QuiTai. Is it something about the Ravidians?”

He would insist on forcing her to concentrate
on his needs rather than leaving her to dwell on her thoughts. Although, truthfully,
she didn’t mind the jolt back to present concerns as much as she might have
under different circumstances. Still, she didn’t want him to interfere with the
Ravidians until she found out if they had indeed smuggled black lotus onto the
island in those mysterious crates. A new source of the drug would free Jezereet
from Petrof’s clutches. And probably kill her sooner – there were never
any good answers to QuiTai’s troubles, only ones that led to less suffering.

“It’s horrible narcissism, you know.” She
knew that her voice was too quiet, too tired, too honest. Kyam stared at her,
as if it took all his focus to hear her over the waves. If she said something
like that to Petrof, he would demand to know what the hell she was on about
now, but Kyam only listened, as if he felt able to keep up with her sudden
changes of thought, as if he could see the trail leapfrogging across seemingly
random bits of information and arrive at the same place she’d gone to. “We go
to such great lengths to hide our true goals from their eyes, and they probably
aren’t even paying any attention to us. You could walk up to me in the
marketplace in front of a hundred witnesses and ask me if I know anything about
the Ravidians in Levapur, and I could tell you what I know, and no one would
care.”

“Narcissism? That’s rich coming from you. I’ve
seen too many of your grand entrances.”

“I move through the marketplace often without
being recognized. And even when I do make a grand entrance, as you call it,
after the people are satisfied that I have no business with them, they forget
me, because there are much more important matters in life than the Devil’s
concubine. Believe anything you want about me; it’s no concern of mine. But don’t
doubt for a second that I have a firm grasp on my role and position. So next
time you want to talk to me, save us both a lot of bother and quit acting like
a spy. No one cares.”

“Except the Ravidians.”

She shrugged, but her mood didn’t shake off
that easily.

“And the Devil,” Kyam added.

“Ah, yes. We must not forget about him.” She
sighed and stared over his shoulder at the open water. “The Devil and a handful
of Ravidian spies. Such an esteemed audience.”

“Do you anticipate a return to the stage?”
Kyam asked.

So he knew her history. Was he trying to
bribe her into helping his government by dangling the prospect of a starring
role? That wasn’t even close to her price for working with Thampurians.

“Do you anticipate a return to Thampur?” she
asked.

Anger settled around his mouth and seeped
into his eyes. He set down his pencil and reached for another one. “As long as
we’re avoiding each other’s questions, did you examine my trunk after your men
stole it?”

Maybe he’d learned in the fancy salons of
Thampur how to steer a conversation back to a safe harbor when it went adrift
in treacherous waters. Now they could act as if she’d never let an indecent
amount of her soul show. She was grateful, even if the kindness was out of
habit. She rallied and clicked her tongue as if scolding a drunk. “Presumption
of guilt, Mister Zul.”

“You should have been a lawyer. Let me
restate my question. Did you examine my trunk before you returned it to me?”

“Of course.” She let one corner of her mouth
curve just enough to irk him.

“Completely?”

“If you’re asking whether I found the secret
compartment that held the farwriter, then yes, my search was thorough.”

He took off a boot and poured red sand from
it. After tapping the heel to make sure it was empty, he put it on again. “How
did you break the biolock?”

The almost-supernatural powers people were
willing to believe she possessed always amused her. “I didn’t. I must commend
you on how complete your cover was. Every detail from your clothes to your
mementos was perfection, and the workmanship on your trunk first rate. If I
hadn’t been so persistent, I wouldn’t have found the hidden compartment. Once I
knew it was there, I surmised the contents from the size. And, of course, a
farwriter was the one item that was glaringly absent from the rest of your
belongings.”

“So you didn’t open the biolock.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. No one can do that, not
even me.” She’d tried, of course. It wasn’t often that she had time to
experiment with a biolock without worrying that Petrof might catch her at it.

“Did you tell the Devil about the farwriter?”

QuiTai hesitated. Her gaze slipped from his. “I
saw no profit in it.”

“So only you think I’m a spy; and for some unfathomable
reason, you’ve helped maintain my cover all this time.”

A loose strand of hair floated in the ocean
breeze and trailed across her face. She tucked it behind her ear. “When you put
it that way, it seems foolish of me.”

“That’s hardly the word I’d use to describe
you, Lady QuiTai. Exasperating, yes. Foolish, no.”

She could have said the same thing about him.
It was such a pity he sided with the colonial government.

He switched pencils again. “So, what do you
know about the Ravidians?”

Them again. She reminded herself that pearls
began as specks of grit, but that didn’t make the grit any less irritating to
endure. “They’re foppish dressers, miserly drinkers, and too rough with the
workers at the Red Happiness.”

“I’m sure you know far more than that.”

Two fishermen struggled past them through the
sand with a big basket full of their day’s catch. Kyam bent over his drawing pad
as more men headed from their boats to the lower funicular station. Some men
sauntered over to watch the dockworkers and Ivitch gamble. Others spread heavy,
wet nets to dry across tall poles stuck in the sand.

After the last men moved far down the beach,
Kyam returned his attention to her. “We may not have much time before your
werewolf comes back, so let’s lay our tiles on the table. If you found
something about the Ravidians that might interest me and had nothing to do with
the Devil’s business, what would it cost to get that information from you? My
family is wealthy.”

So that’s why he had her facing the junks in
the harbor, to remind her of that wealth and the connections that came with it:
The Zuls were related to their king by generations of blood and marriage. But that
was the wrong tactic to try with her.

“My money doesn’t interest you, Lady QuiTai?
Most actresses and whores want money and jewels. Don’t look so offended. I said
most. Try the obvious negotiation first, my grandfather always said. There’s no
reason to make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

“A wise man, your grandfather, even though he
is a thief.”

“Most people hated him because he always
found their price. Of course, he knew his competitors very well, which made it
easier. I’ll admit that I’m at a disadvantage. I know very little about you. We
hadn’t even been properly introduced before you began your campaign to make my
life a living hell. Since that day, the facts I’ve learned about you wouldn’t
even fill out a one-sheet dossier. Oh, I know your reputation, but that’s long
on myth and short on proof. People here relish a good story, don’t they?” He
gave her a piercing look. “One thing I am sure of is that you’re much more than
the Devil’s concubine. You’re his right arm.”

“Such flattery. I may swoon.”

“Don’t. I need you to hold that pose.”

He tapped his pencil on his bottom lip as he
checked to see if Ivitch was still at the dock. Then he said, “Have you noticed
a subtle change in the mood on the island?” While his tone was casual, he
watched her closely.

Relief washed over her. Finally, someone else
was saying out loud what she’d been feeling for weeks. It wasn’t just her
imagination. “Sometimes I think I’m dreaming, but other times, I swear I can
feel it. What do your superiors say?”

Kyam laughed as if the joke were on him. “The
government has no interest in anything I have to say. That’s why I need proof.
If they listened to me, I wouldn’t need your help. Believe me, you were my last
choice.”

“Fair enough. You’re my last choice for an
ally too, but since you gave a little information, I’ll return the favor. I
always pay my debts.”

“A scoundrel with honor. We’re not so
different after all.”

With an admonishing smile, she shook her head
slightly. He had nerve.

“The Ravidians aren’t the only newcomers.
Levapur is overrun with mysterious strangers these days.” Mysterious was a bit
of a leap, but more travelers than usual had come to the island, considering
the time of year.

“Am I focusing on the wrong group?”

“Subtle, Mister Zul, very subtle. I think I’ve
given you enough information today.” She couldn’t blame him for trying, though.

“Not that I’m keeping score, since this is a
debt of honor, but I gave you more information than you gave me,” Kyam said.

“In the future, if I hear something that is
of no value to me but might be useful to you, I might be tempted to pass it
along.”

Kyam didn’t like that answer. “Coyness doesn’t
suit you.”

“How is this, then? My people are watching
the Ravidians and all suspicious newcomers. I agree that the Ravidians are up
to something.” She put up her hand when he leaned forward. “However, they aren’t
my enemies.”

“That you’re aware of. I’ve heard rumors that
you have separatist sympathies, but Thampurians look like the Goddess of Mercy
compared to what Ravidians do to the native populations of their colonies.”