Chapter 8 #4
“Good. And don’t worry. Everyone within is here by choice, and gentle paths to other professions are offered to anyone who wishes to take advantage of them.
That being said, this is a place of business.
Men and women come here for silver earned in a single passionate night that it might take an unskilled laborer who lacks any trade or clan weeks to earn, anywhere else.
Appetites run high, for both coin and pleasure.
” She gave him a pointed look. “Even with Shadow’s touch, you are an exceptionally handsome boy.
Whether or not you wish to accept any girl’s offer is, of course, your own business.
But until our city’s safety has been secured… ”
“I’ll keep it strictly professional. Scout’s honor,” Alex assured, having no plans to indulge, even in the best of times. Not with love’s ideal still an ache in his heart, and passion’s promise still an ache in his Dantian.
“Good. Odds are that we’ll be in and out in short order, but if Chaoxiang seems particularly amenable to a mutually beneficial arrangement, he might wish to speak to me personally.
And don’t worry, I doubt he’d be so foolish as to try anything untoward when I’ve already given him free rein in return for the smallest of considerations, and he knows both my skills and my reputation. ”
Alex smirked. “Especially since we’re literally trying to save the city his livelihood depends upon.”
Nili flashed a tight smile. “Say no more on that, even with your fingertips. And you’re right. Now come on, we’re burning time.”
Alex braced himself for anything as they opened the door, only to be greeted by a warmly smiling madam wearing a lilac-colored cheongsam that went down to delicate ankles, her sprightly feet caressed by a pair of silken slippers.
The elegant woman quickly dipped into a bow, her glossy locks kept in place with a pair of silver-capped wooden hair pins.
“Sir and madam, an honor to greet you tonight. Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable. We have tea, wine, and whatever you need to relax and unwind during these trying times.”
The woman’s smile was both inviting and professional as she led them inside a well-appointed entryway with fine silk rugs and what looked like the world’s most comfortable chairs of finely polished hardwood lined with spirit beast furs and what looked to be truly soft, supple leather.
Alex was left momentarily speechless. In a world full of hard wooden chairs and bamboo mats, where even the thrones of rulers emphasized elegant craftsmanship and jeweled adornment but certainly not comfort or anything like padded pillows... soft, indulgent chairs were almost unheard of.
Why? Why were there not more of these things? Why were the first chairs that that reminded him so much of his father’s leather wingbacks of a lifetime ago only to be found in some random house of excess?
Alex exchanged a look with Nili, his fingers flashing in the dim light. “I’m taking these chairs with me. You’re cool with that, right?”
Nili blinked, clearly at a loss for words.
He caught the faint sound of laughter and the scents of hashish and poppy, seeing a warmly lit room, separated by strings of beads just beyond the greeting area, and yet more comfortable-looking chairs, these almost recliners, and they, too, would be his, as well as a fair number of hookahs and glass bottles containing exotic drinks.
A trio of musicians played drum, flute, and erhu while a strikingly beautiful pair of girls gracefully danced upon an elevated platform.
More than a few men looked on in admiration, almost all of them accompanied by one or more women wearing nearly identical high-hemmed dresses of sheerest silk that fit them like a second skin.
The madam caught Alex’s roving eye with an approving smile.
“Oh yes, please do feel free to watch our performers and partake of some of the finest wine, spirits, and hashish you’ll find anywhere in the desert sands.
We would be honored as well to provide you both with company that will happily see to your every—”
“I want the recliners,” Alex said in utter seriousness. “And the leather wingbacks in the foyer. One way or another, that’s happening.”
Their hostess laughed as if Alex had told the most humorous of jokes. “Oh my, our dear guest is in rare form tonight! Well, if you’d like to take your ease in any of our recliners and enjoy a massage from any of our girls, of course you may…”
Her words died off as widened eyes took in Nili’s cool smile, the subtle enchantment of artifice and shadow slipping free to reveal her true self, once more.
The woman instantly froze, trembling as she dropped into a kowtow. “My lady, please forgive me. I had no idea!”
“That was sort of the point, Ling,” Nili said, quickly raising her former associate back to her feet. “I assume Chaoxiang is in his back office as always?”
A slight flicker of alarm crossed her features. “My lady, I…” She tensed, before giving a solemn nod, the tension leaving as quickly as it had come. “Yes, my lady. I believe he is. Shall I let him know you’re paying a visit?”
“That would be for the best. And, Ling?”
“Yes, my lady?”
“This stays between the three of us, yes?”
The woman paled even through her carefully applied patina of face paint. “Yes, my lady. Of course.”
Nili smiled and shook her head as Ling darted off. “Always good at welcoming the customers and taking care of the girls. She hates surprises, though, and I’ve certainly thrown her off-kilter for the night.”
Alex smirked at that. “I’ll say. She looked like she saw a ghost when you came in.”
Nili sighed. “That she did.” Her eyes twinkled as she teasingly gestured to the chamber beyond with its music, hostesses, and dancing girls.
“You look a bit tense yourself, Alex. All this talk about… chairs. Are you perhaps compensating for other desires?” She smirked at his expression.
“Perhaps we should give ourselves a chance to relax before getting back to business.”
“Ha ha. Seriously, though,” he said, switching back to handsign. “Are you sure Ling’s on the up and up?”
For just a heartbeat, the good-humored adventuring companion’s smile faded, replaced with the countenance of an experienced professional who both knew the score and did whatever had to be done to eliminate trouble and keep her undercity running smoothly.
And if one arrogant upstart boy dared to question her like she was a wet-behind-the-ears novice…
Alex couldn’t help but smile at her expression. “Wow, you and Jidihu could be twins, with the look you’re now giving me.”
Nili froze, and she actually lowered her head in apology. “And after you sprang from the skies like a miracle, saving our lives. I apologize, Alex. You of all people should be allowed to question as freely as you like.”
Alex held up his hands. “Of course you know your business far better than I ever could. But I can’t deny that Ling looked nervous as a farmer being paid a visit by hungry tax collectors.”
“Perish the thought.”
“I know, right?”
The pair traded innocuous quips, and Alex did his best to practice his skills by getting a sense of everyone nearby, picking up a bit more than he cared to from the floors above and below, even if it was good to have a sense of the true, impressive dimensions of the building they now found themselves in.
Seconds later, a somewhat flustered Ling reappeared with one of the hostesses, who walked a deferential step behind her. The younger woman glanced up at that moment, her bright hazel eyes meeting Alex’s own.
He refused to call what he felt in his chest any sort of cosmic lurch, even if she was both strikingly beautiful and unusually voluptuous compared to most desert girls, as her sheer silk dress made exceptionally clear.
She eyed him thoughtfully, lips curving in a gentle smile.
Ling’s lips stretched in a nervous grimace. “My lady, the master of the house would be honored to consult with you at your convenience.”
“Excellent. If you’ll lead the way?”
“Of course. And the master sends his compliments to your new protege and hopes you will allow Lilly to entertain him until your meeting is concluded.”
With those words, the young woman who couldn’t have been any older than Alex flowed into a graceful curtsy. “I would be honored to attend to the young master’s desires. I am eager to fulfill all his needs.”
Nili, if anything, looked relieved. “Yes. That should work quite well,” she said, eyeing the young Lilly speculatively, her mixed bloodlines obvious to all. “Ruidian?”
The girl blushed faintly. “On my father’s side. I think he used to delve the city rifts. My mother is a musician and lives in the lower quarter. I have no ties to any clan, nor any jewel upon my brow. But I am a skilled flautist, and many have praised my dance.”
“Excellent. I’m sure my associate will enjoy your company… so long as music alone is played,” she said with a raised eyebrow.
Lilly’s cheeks flushed. She immediately dipped into an exceedingly deferential curtsy, stretching the hem of her dress as much as she could without tearing it.
“I will be as you say, my lady.”
“Good.” Nili’s eyes twinkled as she caught Alex’s gaze, her fingers flashing. “Behave. Or not. So long as you are ready to leave when it’s time.”
Alex nodded, yet despite the enormous respect he had for Nili, he refused to take anything for granted, keeping his Greater Wind Affinity focused on the low, intense conversation she was having with her former employee.
Though admittedly it was hard to focus on their soft murmurs when Lilly flashed a relieved smile, her warm eyes twinkling as her voice slipped from deferential to frank very quickly.
“So serious, those two are.” She gave Alex a thorough once-over, biting her lip with a teasing grin. “I can see why she’s so protective of you. A jealous lover?”
Alex chuckled. “It’s complicated.”