Steven Brust - Issola

“I remember that,” I said.

“I don’t know what happened next,” said Morrolan, “except at it was Verra who did it.”

The Goddess said, “I did little enough. The Easterner’s foolishness destroyed the devices that were keeping us on their world; I merely transported us off it, which you or Aliera could have done. I did take the opportunity to give them a few things to keep them out of the way. They still fear me,” she added.

“I imagine they do,” I said. “Then what?”

“I picked you up,” said Morrolan, “as the gate began to open. That was, perhaps, an hour ago.”

“An hour. That’s all?”

He nodded.

I rubbed my left arm. There was no sensation in it, but neither did it feel cold or especially warm to my right hand, for whatever that was worth. It is odd touching a lifeless limb. My fingers felt my arm, but my arm couldn’t feel my fingers. It’s a strange sensation. Try it sometime.

“A very respectable escape,” I ventured. “Well done.”

“And yourself,” said Aliera. “I must disagree with Mother; I believe your attack was worth the risk. At least, I don’t know how we’d have gotten away otherwise.”

“I do,” said Verra, giving Aliera a stern look that made me want to giggle.

Aliera shrugged. “Well, we managed it, and without much harm. That’s the important thing.”

I glanced at my injured arm, and started to object to the “without much harm” business, but didn’t.

“No,” said Morrolan. “The important thing is that Vlad, however well intentioned, invoked powers he does not understand, and cannot control, and nearly got us killed.”

“Sorry about that,” I said. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“It was a good idea,” said Aliera. “It was also necessary, after my cousin made such a clumsy strike at the Jenoine—”

“It was hardly clumsy,” said Morrolan. “It was quite sufficient, or would have been, if the Jenoine had not succeeded in blocking it, as, in fact, he blocked yours. More easily, I suspect.”

“Not likely,” said Aliera. “In fact, as I recall, you were late in your—”

The worst part was, I was too weak to get up and walk away.

“I was hardly late,” said Morrolan. “If anything, you—”

“Oh, stop it,” I said.

They ignored me.

“If anything I what,” said Aliera. “Pathfinder was—”

“Stop it!” I said, and for an instant they stopped. I rushed into the void like Sethra rushed her reserves into the breach at the Battle of Ice River Crossing (actually, I know nothing about the Battle of Ice River Crossing except that there was one and Sethra was there; but it sure sounded knowledgeable, didn’t it?) I said “Can you two, just one time, give a tired and injured man a little peace? Besides, your arguments, as always, are stupid to begin with. Morrolan goes out of his way to be contentious toward Aliera because he idolizes Adron and therefore believes his daughter ought to not only be his equal in all matters, but ought to do and say everything exactly the way Morrolan imagines Adron would; and Aliera, of course, idolizes her big, powerful brave cousin Morrolan, and so has a tantrum whenever he fails to live up to the Morrolan she’s manufactured in her head. It’s infernally stupid, and I’ve been listening to it for more years than a short-lived Easterner should have to, and I’m heartily sick of it. So shut up, both of you.”

I ran down at last.

“My goodness, Boss.”

I was a bit surprised myself; I hadn’t known I knew most of that stuff until I said it, and wouldn’t have believed I’d have said it if I knew it. And now I got to sit there and wonder if, after all of Teldra’s remarks about how tactful I was, I had finally stepped over the line.

I risked a look at the pair of them.

Morrolan was looking down, a self-conscious, maybe even embarrassed smile trying to fight its way past his facial control. Aliera was blushing. Actually blushing. This was as remarkable as having astonished the Demon Goddess. I don’t know, by the way, how the Goddess reacted to my outburst, because I carefully avoided looking at her.

Morrolan cleared his throat, started to speak, then didn’t. Eventually, Sethra filled the silence with, “Well, my friends, It is certainly the case that Vlad could use a little quiet. Or, at least, less volume.”

Morrolan grunted something that sounded like agreement; Aliera looked down and nodded. They hadn’t even looked at each other. I hoped I hadn’t made things uncomfortable for them. Except that part of me hoped I had.

Before anything else could happen, I turned to Teldra and said, “I’m glad you survived.”

“I did,” she said. “Thank you.”

“What was it you were saying to them, right when I was doing whatever I was doing that created such a fuss?”

Teldra chuckled. “I suggested that it would be easier for them to resist the effects of the amorphia if they were to release Morrolan and Aliera.”

“Oh. Was that all?”

“Almost.”

“Oh?”

Lady Teldra blushed. “I’d rather not say, if you don’t mind.”

I felt my eyebrows rising. Aliera, and now Teldra. What was the Empire coming to? Morrolan chuckled and said, “A well-timed, properly delivered insult can unsettle anyone. I don’t know exactly what she discovered that a Jenoine might find so offensive as to disrupt its concentration, but I am not astonished that Teldra knew.”

“Teldra,” I said admonishingly. “Was that polite?”

“It was,” she explained, “appropriate.”

Morrolan snorted.

“In any case, we’re alive, and free. It’s over,” I said hopefully

The Demon Goddess gave a small laugh. “Over? Do you really think so? Do you imagine that your escape has foiled what ever campaign the Jenoine have begun? Or that I will be satisfied letting them continue their mischief without making any sort of counter?”

I sighed. “No, I suppose not. But I’m injured; whatever you do won’t include me, will it?”

I looked at Morrolan, Sethra, and the Demon Goddess, and sighed. “Well, can we at least have a decent meal before we do whatever it is we’re going to do?”

Sethra nodded. “I think that is an excellent idea. I’ll see to it.”

She left to have food prepared, and my stomach growled and rumbled at the idea. I closed my eyes.

I heard the sounds of people sitting, and, wounded arm or no, enjoyed the feeling of being momentarily safe. The muscles in my shoulders and neck relaxed, and I took a big lungful of normal air that I didn’t have to think about breathing.

Presently, a rough, high-pitched voice said, “Wine, my lord?”

I opened my eyes, saw Tukko, and closed my eyes again. “Yes,” I said. And, “please,” I added, because Lady Teldra was nearby. I sat up, discovering that it was harder than I’d have thought without being able to use my left hand, and took a glass of something red and sipped it. My tongue liked it—it was faintly nutty and had a bit of tang to it—but my stomach complained that it wanted something solid before I got too involved in this whole drinking business. I caught Teldra looking at me, I lifted my glass to her. “To survival,” I said.

“Yes, indeed,” she said.

Sethra returned and said, “Dinner will be ready in an hour.” he smiled at me and said, “Will you survive that long?”

“I think so,” I said. It suddenly occurred to me that, while Sethra was off giving the order for food to be prepared, Tukko, only servant I’d ever seen here, was with us. Was there a staff of cooks I’d never met? If so, why, since Sethra’s usual diet didn’t feature anything that needed cooking? If not, had she gone off to arrange for some culinary ensorcellment? Of all the myriad mysteries surrounding the Dark Lady of Dzur Mountain, I knew that this one was going to bother me. Maybe I could bring myself to ask her. Sometime when Lady Teldra wasn’t around.