Chapter 8 #5
“Aren’t all relationships?” Her laughter was like music. When soft fingers clasped his hand, he didn’t resist. “And what should I call you, honored sir?”
Alex smirked. “Alex is fine,” he said, before wondering if it really was fine, since Fog of War was no longer in play, but by then it was already too late.
If anything, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes only grew. “My, your parents are bold, aren’t they?” She squeezed his hand. “Come, Alex. You can watch me play my flute, or I can play yours, and I’ll let you experience just how good a musician I am.”
Alex opened his mouth, but no words came out as she gently pulled him in her wake.
In very short order she was leading him up several flights of stairs, then down a narrow hallway before unlocking a door and coaxing him into a well-appointed boudoir where he noted several well-cared-for flutes and zithers, and several hookahs as well.
There was an open window, so the air smelled only faintly of hashish and opium, scented as well by the clean desert air, the woody, resinous aroma of date fronds and the distant whiff of the lush crops growing in the still-fecund caldera valley upon which the lives of so many people depended.
Alex gazed in the basin’s direction, for all that he had no clear line of sight, feeling an unexpected warmth and sympathy for the people of this city, knowing all too well the plight of their final hour, even if they hardly knew him at all.
He took a deep breath, promising himself that even beyond the intrigue of the moment and ensuring that his friend Sunlay had her meeting with her father and strategized how best to execute the next phase of the city’s rescue, that he would stick around until water was pouring into the basin with the full force of a fresh water core and all the threats imperiling their city were removed.
One way or another.
“Alex?”
He blinked, only momentarily cursing himself for a fool for allowing his thoughts to drift, no matter how noble his resolution, in the middle of what was effectively an intelligence-gathering operation where their safety was by no means assured.
Fortunately, he still had the presence of mind to keep his aura in check and turn around slow enough that he’d seem no more than an athletic mortal, though what he saw did indeed catch him off guard.
His eyes were captivated by the strikingly beautiful woman before him, smiling at him with prettily flushed cheeks.
She held a polished hardwood flute in her hands, yet save for that instrument, she was as naked as the day she was born.
Alex was captivated by a figure pert and ripe with both youth’s bounty and a mother’s blessing, a droplet of milk leaking free of a single dusky areola that was flush and full.
“I’d love to play you a song, Alex. Unless you’d like me to play your flute instead?”
She smiled at his expression, a teasing quip on her lips becoming a hitched breath when she saw what had captivated him.
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry. I know most true-bloods don’t like it when a girl is, well, leaking. Though some… anyway, I already fed her before…”
Alex forced a smile. “Is your baby all right?”
Lilly blinked, momentarily at a loss for words before quickly bowing her head.
“She is fine. My mother cares for her.” She sighed, flashing a rueful smile.
“She might not completely approve of my working as a musician here. But with three younger siblings to care for, two eager for apprenticeships, and my own mother unable to work, and now with a child of my own…” She shrugged.
“Well, let’s just say I’m always grateful for the opportunity to make new friends and savor relationships with gentlemen who might feel a touch of pity for a girl who’s sort of lost her way.
” She bit her lip. “I hope it doesn’t bother you that I’m, well… ”
“A mother?”
Lilly took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Exactly.”
“No, not at all. I can only imagine how tough it must be to raise a child, especially when you’re the only breadwinner for your entire family.”
“You have no idea,” she said with a rueful smile, shaking her head.
“But enough about me, Alex. All that matters right now is making you as happy and comfortable as I possibly can. Because I can tell you’re sweet, and I think we might become really good friends, Alex.
And I want you to think fondly of me, if you ever pass this way again. ”
Alex felt his own cheeks heat up at that, eyes helplessly drawn to the captivating sight of her natural treasures once more.
She flashed a teasing smile. “Do you like what you see, Alex? Perhaps you don’t mind my being a mother, after all?”
“I would never mind it,” he said huskily, before shaking his head at her impish grin. “And I’d love nothing more than for the gifted flautist before me to regale me with music as graceful she is beautiful.”
She chuckled throatily. “I like seeing you blush, Alex. You’re so sweet. You remind me of, well, more innocent times.” She slowly approached, treasures swaying captivatingly, her Ruidian bloodlines leaving her far more endowed than the average desert girl.
When her hand gently clasped his own, he was surprised to find that he hadn’t resisted.
“Alex?”
“Yes?”
“I think I could make us both very, very happy, if you’d let me.”
Alex winced at a very sharp throb. Then his eyes widened, pretty sure it could mean only one thing. He took a deep breath, peering closely at what was before him, knowing better than to dismiss anyone out of hand, no matter their apparent bloodlines. Especially not in these desert cities.
After a long second’s pause, Lilly’s smile grew ever more bold, for she was certain he could only be captivated by one thing.
“Lilly?”
“Yes, Alex?” whispered the girl whose lips were suddenly very, very close to his own.
“Did you know you have a cultivator’s gifts?”
She froze, cheeks blushing, before stepping back with a glare. “Is that supposed to be a joke?” She squeezed her fists before the fire in her eyes immediately faded as she wilted before him. “Or is this your way of mocking a girl who’s fallen so far in life?”
Alex firmly shook his head. “Neither. All I see is a talented musician who’s clearly been forced to endure some hard life choices.
And if you can land on your feet and find work that you actually enjoy, meet customers who both tip you really well and are genuinely fond of you?
Then I think you’re actually a lot better off than countless others. ”
Her hard gaze softened and she gave a soft chuckle. “You really are a sweetheart, aren’t you?”
Alex laughed. “You’d be surprised by all the people who think I’m anything but.
Yet for the sake of a hardworking young mother doing the best she can, I’d advise you to see about unlocking your meridian gates and seeing just how far you can go in life.
I think it might be quite far indeed, with just the slightest bit of help and encouragement. ”
Her professional smile faded, her gaze now that of a woman seriously listening and considering.
“You’re not lying. After all I’ve…” She shook her head, her gaze one of gentle wonder.
“You actually believe every word you’re telling me, don’t you?
” She sighed, her fingers reaching to caress his cheek.
“Why couldn’t I meet you, just a year ago? ”
Alex shrugged. “You met me now. The past is already written, Lilly. And as sensual and beautiful as you so clearly are, as much as I can tell you find pleasure in what you do, I think you’re capable of so much more.
But only if you wish to embrace that path.
Certainly, don’t shame yourself for where you are today.
You’re taking care of your entire family, and that’s no small thing.
But maybe cultivation could lead you to a future you can truly be proud of. ”
Lilly gave him a look. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s anything but.”
“And if I like where I am?”
“Then enjoy yourself,” he said with a gentle smile.
“But keep your head clear enough that you can be good to your daughter and yourself. Save up, buy a house, or start an apprenticeship in whatever interests you, so the Lilly of ten or twenty years from now will be filled with satisfaction and peace, not bitter regret.”
Her gaze turned thoughtful. “Maybe I will, at that.” She sighed with a warm twinkle in her eye. “Sweet and thoughtful as you are, I’ll bet someone’s already claimed your heart, haven’t they?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so, Lilly.”
“Then she’s a very lucky girl.” She suddenly looked a bit flustered, naked with a flute in her hand, advances turned down, and Alex having taken the role of concerned mentor, the furthest thing from a randy young buck hungry to taste her most intimate secrets.
Alex smiled. “If you wouldn’t mind playing a soothing song, Lilly, to help me relax and meditate? I’d really appreciate it.”
Now she chuckled softly. “Because you’re actually a cultivator?”
Alex winked. “Maybe I am.”
She quickly donned an elegant-looking cheongsam Alex assumed was what she wore when she was acting as a musician, not a courtesan, and certainly the first soft golden notes she played put a smile on his face, easing away worries he hadn’t realized had been so heavy upon his brow until that very moment.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on what mattered most, allowing the breeze filled with a thousand whispers to wash over him, ears perked for a single voice amongst hundreds, then dozens, as if he were sinking into deep blue depths, all but losing himself in his trance.
Knowing better than to fall asleep… but it was perilously close when he nodded off to find Lilly gently stroking his bangs.
He gasped and chuckled apologetically. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.”
“How about you lie down and relax, then? I give wonderful massages.”
Alex grinned. “Next time.”