Had he slipped out at once he might have got away with it, for the towel was over her face. Nish hesitated just long enough for her to open her eyes and see him staring at her.
She fled back into the bathing room. Nish went the other way, scarlet with mortification. Now what was he supposed to do?
Irisis laughed herself sick when he confessed his folly. ‘What a prize clown you are, Nish. You can’t do anything right, can you?’
It stung, even from his best friend. ‘Not with Tiaan. I was trying to do the right thing.’
‘But Nish, she’s such a repressed little chit, and you sneaked into her bedroom. How could you imagine she was going to react?’
‘I didn’t sneak. I knocked twice.’
‘It was her bedroom. You should have knocked loudly and not gone in until she answered.’
‘I was trying not to disturb her.’
‘And she didn’t have any clothes on?’
‘Completely naked,’ he said miserably, ‘and still gleaming wet from her bath …’
‘Remember who you’re talking to,’ Irisis snapped.
‘Sorry.’
‘She’ll never forgive you, not if she lives for a hundred years.’
‘I know. I’ve ruined everything.’
‘Not necessarily. Just because she despises you and holds you in deepest contempt –’
‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’
She sniggered. ‘Of course I am. You were being a rotten little perv and now you’ve got your just desserts.’
‘I wasn’t!’ he said plaintively. ‘Why won’t you believe me?’
‘Because I don’t want to. It’d spoil the story, for me and for everyone.’
‘You’re not going to tell the others! No, please don’t, Irisis.’
‘Of course I am. We can all do with a good laugh. But, just to show good faith, I’ll get you out of your little problem.’
‘How?’ Nish said suspiciously.
‘As I was saying, just because Tiaan despises you more deeply than –’
‘Thank you! I got the message.’
‘– it doesn’t mean that she won’t fly the thapter.’
‘But …’ He looked at Irisis in sudden hope.
‘If you hadn’t caught her at her bath, and she had agreed, would she have done it as a favour to you?’
‘Of course not. She loathes me.’
‘Well, there you are. Now she just loathes you a little more. Er, a lot more, actually.’
‘Thanks! But I still don’t see –’
‘Go and talk to Malien. Confess your folly and get her to ask Tiaan to do it. Malien is her only friend.’
Malien looked a little better, and she also laughed when Nish shamefacedly told her what he’d done. ‘That’s worth two hours with the healer, Nish. How do you get yourself into such messes?’
‘Will you plead with her?’
‘I’ll ask Tiaan. She’s been working night and day on the farspeaker designs, but I believe they’re finished now.’ She pulled the bell cord and asked the servant, who appeared straight away, to fetch Tiaan at once.
‘I’ll go,’ Nish said hastily.
‘No, stay. Time is precious. Sit over there.’
He took a chair by the window.
Shortly Tiaan appeared. ‘How are you, Malien? They said you weren’t well.’
‘I’ve felt better. Dare say I’ll be all right in a day or two.’
‘If there’s anything –’ She caught sight of Nish and a flush mounted up her cheeks. ‘You vile, disgusting, repuls–’
‘I gather you had a small incident this morning,’ Malien said mildly.
‘He sneaked into my bedroom so he could spy on me at my bath!’ she cried. ‘He’s always been a squalid little pervert.’
Nish, even redder in the face than she was, wanted to die. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Between her and him, his words had always made things worse. He opened his mouth but Malien signalled, hand up, for him to say nothing.
‘I believe he thought you were asleep,’ said Malien, ‘and did not want to wake you suddenly.’
‘If you believe that –’ Tiaan cried, then broke off. ‘I’m sorry, Malien.’
‘I’ve been insulted by the most powerful people in the land, Tiaan. There’s nothing you can say to upset me. Now listen – I’m ill and can’t fly the thapter to Thurkad. It must go today or it will be too late. Nish went to your room to ask if you would do it.’
Tiaan opened her mouth to refuse, but Malien went on. ‘No one else can do it, yet it must be done. So I’m asking you, Tiaan. Will you fly the thapter?’
After a long hesitation, she said, ‘Of course, Malien. But let it be known I am not doing it for him.’ Turning to Nish she said formally, ‘I will be ready in one hour. Will that be sufficient?’
‘Yes, thank you.’
Still red in the face, Tiaan went out.
‘Sounds as though it’s going to be a jolly trip,’ said Malien, ‘what with you, Tiaan and Phar. Tell me all about it when you return.’
Tiaan turned up as the last grain of the hourglass fell, when the soldiers and Phar were already below. Nish took his place beside her. It was going to be a hideous trip. Tiaan, at the controller, was like an iceberg that, instead of thawing, seemed to get colder by the second. Nish tried to apologise.
‘Don’t say anything. Your apology means nothing, since I know you’re only offering it to get what you want.’
‘But, Tiaan, I didn’t mean –’
‘Do you think I don’t know your character by now?’ she hissed. ‘You’re a true son of your father. I have nothing to say to you. Just tell me where you want to go and what you want to do.’
He did so, since the soldiers were already muttering among themselves. Morale was critical to the success of any mission. Someone began to bang on the lower hatch.
‘What’s that disgusting smell?’ said Tiaan, edging away from him. ‘That wasn’t you, was it?’
‘Of course not!’ Flushing again. Nish lifted the hatch. He didn’t need to take a step down the ladder to discover that he’d made a gross mistake. The stench was so appalling that even the soldiers looked green.
‘Get him out of here,’ said the first, ‘or none of us will still be alive when we get there.’
‘Phar!’ snapped Nish. ‘I should have put you in the cauldron and boiled the filth off you. Grab hold of him, lads. We’ll take him up the back.’ He climbed up. ‘Would you set down, please, Tiaan? We’ll have to take this villain up to the platform and tie him on.’
‘You should have thought of that before we left,’ she said without looking at him. Tiaan directed the thapter toward a mud island in the swamp forest, taking it expertly down between the trees. She stood to one side, wrinkling her nose, as the soldiers manhandled Phar over the side and back to the shooter’s platform, where they secured him with ropes.
The stink lingered, and even after the long flight to Thurkad, Nish could still smell the fellow. They arrived over the city around one in the morning. Tiaan was standing at the controller, practically asleep on her feet. She was swaying from side to side.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked.
‘Of course I’m all right!’ she snapped. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
He began to unroll the map of the city. Tiaan touched a panel globe above her head, which illuminated the binnacle with a soft white glow. Nish spread the map out as best he could over the irregular surface.
‘These three are the silk warehouses.’ Nish pointed to the buildings behind the Street of the Sail-makers. ‘Any will do.’
‘Just tell me which one you want to go to,’ she said curtly.
‘The easternmost one,’ said Nish.
‘Thank you. You can go now.’
‘I’ll leave the map –’
‘I don’t need it. Once I see a map I never forget it.’
He didn’t see how that could be possible, for Nish was used to poring over maps for hours and still getting lost. However, he rolled it up and went below. The place still reeked of Phar.
Shortly the thapter settled with a bump on a sloping roof. Timbers creaked underneath them and several slates cracked. Tiaan lifted the thapter off again, hovering just above the roof.