Jo Clayton - A Gathering Of Stones

“C’n see where you might think I was. Young for ‘t, an’t she.”

Danny yawned. As the tension drained out of him, his weariness came flooding back. “If she weren’t still tender, you’d be ash and gone. Give me your hand.” When Simms was on his feet, Danny tapped him on the shoulder, pointed toward the dressing room. “Come on; she wants her clothes and I’m tired of prancing around stark.”

“What was that thing?”

“Don’t ask me, it’s not one of mine.”

Simms hauled off a boot, upended it and shook out the water. “Sling me one of those tow’ls, eh Laz?”

“Make it Danny, Lazul was for the duration only.”

“Sure. Why not.” He pulled off the other boot, dried his feet and legs, then the inside of the boots. “Us’ly I don’ bath with m’ clothes on.”

“Better I dump you than I fry you. I could’ve, you know.”

“I ‘spect you could. I ‘spect you din’t ‘cause you’d fry yourself with me.”

“Maybe so.” Danny stomped his feet down in his boots, ran a towel over his hair, scooped up Korimenei’s clothing. “On your feet, Simmo. She should be ready for you by now. ,,

In the Bath Room he tossed the shirt and trousers to Kori. There was a pile of knives, poison rings and other weapons on the tiles. Felsrawg stood on the far side of the pool, glowering at nothing in particular, hands thrust in her trouser pockets. She turned that scowl on Danny a moment, then looked away.

“Gracefully grateful, I see,” he said.

Kori grinned at him. “Yes, oh man, you did it much better. You, Simms, if you roll up that towel, you can stick it under your head and be a bit more comfortable. Stretch out where she was and I’ll get to work on you.”

Danny dropped to a squat, began examining the collection of weapons, trying the balance of the knives, testing the mechanisms in the rings. He felt eyes on him and lifted his head. Felsrawg was glaring at him, indignant at the insult he was offering her. He looked down at the ring he was fingering, then at her; he got the feeling he might as well have been fingering her naked body. He set the ring down and got to his feet, embarrassed at his boorishness, annoyed at the woman for challenging him. Muttering under his breath he moved to stand behind Kori; once again the waves of power she was outputting swept through him, pleasuring him. He drifted in that borrowed glow for a few moments, felt a wistful deprivation when the power abruptly cut off. Kori continued to kneel for a short time longer, head bent. Slowly, with visible reluctance, she reached for Frunzacoache and lifted it off Simms. The way she handled the talisman, it was far heavier than it looked. And hotter. She slid the chain over her head, slipped the pendant under her shirt.

“Want a hand, Kori?”

“I could use one.” She swiveled round on her knees, held up her arms and let him pull her onto her feet. “What are we going to do with this pair?”

He swung her against him, her back to his chest, folded his arms under her breasts. “If they don’t behave,” he murmured into her ear, “you can send them to join your feline pet.”

“Certainly not, he’s a friend, I wouldn’t do that to him.”

Simms sat up, grimaced at his unexpected weakness. “A thought I wish you’d keep firmly in mind, Angyd Sorcelain. Why do I feel like the end of a long fast?”

Danny felt her relax against him; her ribs moved as she took a deep breath, let it out. “The poison has been working in you,” she said. “I stripped fat and muscle from your bones to heal that damage. You’ll get it back with a few good meals and some sleep.”

“Sleep, sounds good.” He got heavily to his feet. “You going to boot us out of here?”

“And waste my work? No.”

Felsrawg snorted and came strolling around the end of the pool; she was pale and drawn, there were dark smudges under her eyes, but she refused to give in to her weakness. “Laz, where do you go, come the morning?”

“Where do I go, Kori?” He slid his hand down her side, rested it on her hip.

“Where you want. Why ask me?”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t touch that if you paid me.” He eyed Felsrawg. “South,” he said. “We go south all the way to water. Why?”

“We can’t go back to Arsuid, not for a while anyway.” She turned to Simms; he nodded. “This isn’t a good time for traveling, the wolves are out, four legs and two. I want to come with you. Simms? Yes. We’re not begging, Laz. We’ll pay our way.” She ran her eyes with slow insolence from Danny’s bare feet to his stubble-shadowed face. “You look a fool on that pony. We can mount you. Her too, if she wants.”

“The horses we had?”

“No, the ones from Soholkai-ots, the next stage on. You left us on foot, remember? We had to steal a fishboat to get to Soholkai. The Esmoon must have gone off with yours. Look,” she said, “we were a good team before, we could do it again and four will scare off trouble better than two. I’m not saying you couldn’t handle anything that came up, just that it’d be easier if it didn’t. Come up, I mean.”

Kori pulled loose, started for the door. “See me in the morning. I’m too tired to think. Danny, where you want. Read me?” She didn’t wait for an answer.

“Not too early in the morning,” Danny told Felsrawg and left.

Danny pushed the sweaty hair off Kori’s brow. “Why’d you change your mind?”

“I don’t know.” She moved her head as he started nibbling on an ear. “All those bubbles, maybe.”

“Mmmm.”

“Stop that.” She wriggling away from him. “Gods, man, I thought you’d be used up after…”

“All those bubbles.”

“They should bottle them and sell them to tired old men.” She giggled, then sobered. “That pretty pair. You didn’t tell me about them.”

“Didn’t know they were anywhere around.”

“Mmm-hmmm.”

“Don’t believe me?”

“I melted three reasons out of your body.”

“Ah, well. I said, know.”

“What do you think, do we let them come?”

After tugging a fold of blanket from under him, he eased onto his back and pulled her against him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. When he was comfortable, he thought about the question. “It’s your call,” he said finally. “We could use the horses.”

“Yeh, the poor ponies, they’ve walked a long way. Why does Felsrawg want to come? I don’t think Simms does, not really.”

“Felsa looks round corners that aren’t there.”

“Huh?” She tilted her head to look up at him.

He brushed fine flyaway hair away from his mouth. “She’s decided to believe me about the Esmoon, but she doesn’t think I’d let Klukesharna get away. She intends to be there when I find it. It’s her key to Dirge Arsuid, if you’ll pardon the pun. She wants to go home.”

“Don’t we all.”

“Mmh.”

“What’s that mean?”

“If I answered that I’d feel like a damn whore.”

“Huh?”

“Selling my services. Or should I say servicings?”

“Do and you’ll lose your-asset.”

“Challenging me, Angyd Sorcelain?”

“Never, Addryd Sorcesieur. Offering my knee.”

“And a dainty one it is, if somewhat angular.” He rolled over swiftly, pinning her to the rustling mattress, shutting off her protest with mouth and hands. After several minutes of this, he lifted his head. “May I move where I need to be, love, or should I fear that militant knee of yours? I’ll take care to avoid it if you’ll just tell me which it is.”

“You talk too much.”

“Never say it. Ah, I’m crushed.”

“Hah! You stand tall for such a humble man.”