It should be pointed out that the most I’ve ever been offered for an assassination is six thousand gold, and these two won’t even talk to you for less than eight or nine. It had never occurred to me to send them after Laris, because they’d have wanted at least twenty thousand, and there was no way I could raise that kind of cash without committing everything to the one shot—a stupid thing to do since anyone can fail. (I haven’t yet, but I’ve been lucky.)
I wondered how much I was worth, and where Laris had found the funds. I discovered that I was shaking, which was stupid, since the threat was over. Unless they decided to complete the job. I continued shaking.
“You okay, boss?”
“Not really. Let’s take a walk.”
I stepped out of the room into the cold, black stone halls of Dzur Mountain. I knew where I was at once. To my right would be the library, where I’d first met Sethra. To my left would be more bedrooms. On impulse, I turned to the left. There were doors on either side of the hall. The hall continued past them. I stopped. Could the assassins be in one of these? Or one in each? I decided to keep walking; there was nothing to be gained by seeing them. I mean, as an assassin, I never had anything to say to my targets; as a target, what was I going to say to my assassins? Plead for my life? Sure. No, there was no point in . . . I discovered that I hadn’t moved. I sighed.
“I guess there’s just a time for doing dumb things, Loiosh.”
I opened the door as quietly as I could and looked inside.
She was awake and looking at me. Her face was calm, her eyes expressionless. No question about it, she was as human as I was. Her eyes moved down to my right hand, which I discovered was gripping a dagger at my belt. She didn’t seem to be frightened.
She was sitting up, a blue nightgown showing her pale skin in the dim light of a single set of candles. Her hair was dark brown, almost black. Her eyes were darker yet, a vibrant contrast with the shade of her skin. The nightgown was intended to be modest, but it was also intended for a Dragaeran, so it fell rather low on her. She showed no embarrassment.
Her eyes traveled from the dagger to my face. We studied each other for a time; then I forced my hand to relax, and release its grip on the weapon.
Dammit! I was the one who was armed, she was the one who was helpless. There was no reason for me to be afraid of her. I managed to speak.
“Have you a name?” My voice sounded dry, almost cracked.
“Yes,” she said, in a soft contralto.
I waited for her to continue. When she showed no signs of doing so, I said, “Will you tell me what it is?”
“No.”
I nodded. The Dagger of the Jhereg wished to be called the Dagger of the Jhereg. So be it.
“How did your partner evade Loiosh?” I asked.
“She didn’t. I gave her some herbs so she wouldn’t be affected by the poison, and she just ignored him.”
I waited for Loiosh to make some remark about that; when he didn’t, I said, “How much was my head worth to you?”
“You’d be flattered.”
She continued looking at me. The candles flickered and did things to her hair, and face, and neck, and the shadows of her breasts against the back wall. I swallowed.
Then she said, “We’ve returned the payment.”
I felt a sense of relief, as if the Imperial Executioner had been handed a stay just as he raised his staff. I felt it show on my face and cursed my weakness.
Her eyes came to rest on Loiosh, then she held out her hand. He hesitated and twitched nervously on my shoulders.
“Boss . . . ”
“Up to you, chum.”
He flew over to her and wrapped his talons around her wrist. She scratched under his chin, going with the scales.
“The jhereg is beautiful,” she said.
“His name is Loiosh.”
“I know.”
“Oh, of course. You must have found out quite a bit about me.”
“Not enough, apparently. How did Morrolan and Aliera find out, by the way?”
“Sorry.”
She nodded. “You . . . have a talent for making people underestimate you.”
“Thank you very much.” I walked into the room and let the door swing shut behind me. With a careful effort to appear casual, I sat at the edge of the bed. “So, what now?”
She shrugged, which was worth coming in just to see. “I don’t know. Morrolan and Aliera tried to mind-probe me before. It didn’t work, so I don’t know what they’ll try next. Do you?”
I was startled. “What were they trying to find out?”
“Who hired us.”
I laughed. “They could have just asked me. Don’t worry. They aren’t bad types, for Dragonlords.”
She smiled back at me, ironically. “And you’ll protect me, right?”
“Sure. Why not? You’ve given the money back, even though you didn’t have to, which is proof that you aren’t coming after me again. And we Easterners ought to stick together, don’t you think?”
She caught the point of that, and dropped her eyes. “I’ve never ‘worked’ on a human before, Vlad. I almost didn’t take it, but . . . ” She shrugged again. I wondered how I could make her keep doing that.
“I’m glad Aliera is good at revivification,” I said.
“I suppose so.”
“For both our sakes,” I added, because I meant it. She looked at me carefully. There was a moment when time did strange things. If I had thrown my stones right, I could have kissed her then. So I did. Loiosh flew off her arm as our lips met, lightly. It was hardly an intense kiss, but I discovered that I’d closed my eyes. Odd.
She continued looking at me, as if she could read something in my face. Then she said, very deliberately, “My name is Cawti.”
I nodded, and our mouths met again. Her arms went around my neck. When we came up for air, I reached up and slid the nightgown over her shoulders and down to her hips. She pulled her arms free and began working at the clasp of my cloak. I decided that this was insane. She would never have a better chance of getting one of my daggers and finishing me. Verra! I thought to myself, I think I’ve lost it.
My cloak dropped to the floor, and she helped me take off my jerkin. I paused to remove my boots and stockings, then we fell back together, and the sensation of her small, strong body against mine, her breasts against my chest and her breathing in my ear, my hand on the small of her back, her hand behind my neck—I’d never felt anything like it before, and I wanted to just stay like that, forever, and not take it any further.
My body, however, had its own set of rules, and let me know of them. I began stroking her lower spine. She pulled my head away and kissed me; this time we both meant business. I tasted her tongue, and that was nice too. I heard myself making small moaning sounds as my lips traveled down to her throat, then to the valley between her breasts. I kissed each one, carefully, and went back to her lips. She started fumbling for the catch to my breeches, but I interfered by finding her buttocks with my right hand and crushing her to me again.
We drew back and looked at each other once more. Then we paused long enough to send Loiosh out of the room, because love, like murder, shouldn’t have witnesses.