CHAPTER 6
C HAPTER 6
W EARING ONLY his rose-colored silk pants, Raider was lying stretched out on one of the boat’s wide side rails. He had his hands behind his head, his ankles crossed, and his eyes half closed. A tree overhung the bank where they had managed to secure the boat when the engine had spluttered and died. While that was definitely bad, Raider couldn’t help but enjoy the shade, the slight bob of the boat in the water, and the sound of Seth’s voice as he and Julian discussed the problem.
Raider wasn’t paying attention to the technical details (which were very much lost on him), but he loved Seth’s deep timbre and occasional grumbles of frustration, not to mention little phrases like, “who fucking designed this?” and “no way in Hasa’s dark hell is my hand going to fit in there.”
There had been no sign of pursuit. Though the boat was slower than a galloping horse, it didn’t require rest. (The present moment aside, of course.)
Hours ago, the vineyard’s small river had flowed into the wide Burudu. By Julian’s estimation, they had covered six days’ worth of foot travel.
Rahim’s mounted men would travel far faster than foot traffic, but the boat should still be well ahead. The road ran straighter than the river, with the two kissing and parting all the way to Kastari, but the road was hilly in places.
Right here, though, it was flat and fertile, with none of the high, rocky bluffs they had passed earlier. Trees, like this lovely shade tree, grew along the banks, and farms dotted the surrounding land. Here the road ran straight and flat along the river for several miles. The traffic, both on the road and the water, was thickening because they were getting close to Kastari.
If they could get the engine working again, they would reach the city this afternoon. Even Raider’s anti-arcane stance didn’t prevent him from marveling at that particular fact.
Raider rolled his head to get a better view of the proceedings. (By proceedings he meant Seth bending over to reach inside the engine.)
Seth’s weapons, vest, forearm bracers, and boots lay on the floor of the boat, leaving him in only his black pants. Those pants always looked fantastic on him but never more so than when he was bent over with the material stretching across his exquisite ass.
A scenario started playing out in Raider’s mind. He imagined himself tugging those pants down to bare that muscled glory. He imagined just how perfectly he could worship it with his hands, his lips, his tongue. He wondered if Seth would ever let him.
Naturally, that little fantasy had Raider’s cock stirring against the rose-colored silk of his pants. Seth had called him a tease, and he was. Even to himself, apparently.
Needing a distraction (and a cooldown), Raider slipped off the boat’s side rail and into the water. Julian, who was in the water to work on the propeller, jolted in surprise.
How this slender, jumpy, innocent-looking kid had made it from Masir to Shalaa then across the Kesh to Aqarat was a mystery. But then, he was obviously really damn smart. Seth had already told Raider that Julian had invented the compact alembic that had purified water for them in the desert, and right now the young arcanist was wearing a bizarre headpiece that looked like a cross between a very strange crown and a torture device. If it hadn’t looked so ridiculous, it would have made Raider extremely uncomfortable.
The thing had several lenses, a tiny light, and a number of detachable tools that reminded Raider of Seth’s utility belt. It was, apparently, one of Julian’s inventions. One of the arcanist’s brown eyes, hugely magnified, blinked at Raider through a thick lens.
Raider said, “I still can’t believe that when you were fleeing for your life, you thought that thing was important to pack.”
Julian rotated the lens away from his eye. “This ‘thing’ has eighty-seven distinct functions.”
“You would’ve been better off with a sword.”
“I wouldn’t know what to do with a sword. But I do know what to do with this.”
Raider grinned. He liked this kid. “Fair enough.”
Seth’s head appeared over the boat’s side railing. “Stop distracting him.”
With a sigh, Raider leaned back in the water, letting his body float. They were out of the current here. Raider could feel a hint of its tug but not much.
Seth scowled at Raider’s floating form. “Stop distracting me .”
“Never.”
“Don’t go too far. There could be crocodiles.”
“Crocodiles!” Julian squeaked.
“He’s kidding,” Raider assured him, but Seth only grunted and vanished into the boat again.
“If Adavasti were here,” Julian sighed, “he could protect me from a crocodile.”
Adavasti, Julian had explained earlier, was the ifrit. Apparently, Adavasti had come upon Julian in the Kesh when he’d been hopelessly lost. They had struck some kind of bargain—Julian had been vague on the terms—and Adavasti had saved Julian’s life. (Another reason, clearly, that Julian had made it this far.) Usually, bargains with ifrits concluded swiftly and the creatures flitted on, but Adavasti seemed to have developed an attachment to Julian—and Julian to it.
But events at the vineyard had left no time for Julian to locate Adavasti, and the kid was clearly feeling a bit bereft.
“I won’t let any crocodiles get you,” Raider promised. “Or eels.”
“Eels!”
“Stop distracting him!” Seth called out.
Chuckling, Raider ducked under the water. He scrubbed at his hair. It felt so damn good to wash off the sweat, grit, and general feel of the past couple days.
Only a handful of seconds passed while he was underwater, but when he broke the surface, it was to the sound of shouting.
Fear spiking, Raider swam frantically to the boat, grabbed the side rail, and hauled himself up. Streaming water, he landed on the rail in a crouch.
Seth had fallen on his ass and was staring in bewilderment … at a very hungover ifrit.
The little blue creature was crawling out of the cargo space to rest atop the canvas tarp. Its smoky tail hung listlessly over the edge of a barrel.
Still wearing his arcane headgear, Julian was clambering up onto the stern’s wide platform. “Adavasti! Have you been in there the whole time?!”
Adavasti put a thin-fingered hand over his pointed ear. “Do not speak so loud, Jewel-man. Poor Adavasti is grievously unwell.”
Julian plopped wetly onto the platform. His white robes clung to his slim body. Seeming to notice this, he plucked at them self-consciously.
“I warned you about the wine,” Julian admonished gently.
Raider said, “He just needs a cup of kahve.”
Seth snorted. “You would know.”
Raider flashed him a grin. He would indeed. “Since kahve is sadly lacking, I’d suggest a sip of water.”
The ifrit lifted its head to glare at Raider with bright citrine eyes. It stuck out its tongue between rows of sharp teeth.
Raider shrugged. “Just trying to help.”
“Gold, Jewel-man,” the ifrit whined.
“You know I’m out of gold, Adavasti.”
“I can see it glinting in your magic hat, Jewel-man!”
“Adavasti, we’ve discussed this before. You know I cannot give you that. I’m sorry.”
“Oh Great Fire Mother!” Adavasti wailed.
Raider said, “Seth, give Julian gold to give to Adavasti before he gives me a headache.”
Seth, who had gotten to his feet, cast Raider a wary glance. “Is that a good idea?”
“It’s where they get their power.”
“It is not!” Adavasti objected.
“It augments their power,” Raider amended. To Adavasti, he said, “You’re very particular considering the state you’re in.”
Seth fished a coin out of his pack and approached the ifrit. Raider stopped him with, “Give the coin to Julian. I don’t want you entangled with an ifrit. It’s already too late for our young friend.”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Julian said as Seth handed him the coin. “He’s misunderstood. He’s very powerful and very helpful. You just have to treat him right.”
Julian offered the coin to Adavasti, who snatched it up with his thin blue fingers. He clutched it to his chest with a look of ecstasy. For a moment, the coin glowed bright gold, emitting light like an arcane lamp.
The light transferred from the coin to Adavasti’s body, lighting him up briefly. The ifrit sighed in pleasure and dropped the coin, now a dull dark gray.
“I’m getting back in the water,” Raider said. “And you”—he reached for Seth and caught him by the waistband—“are coming with me.”
“I’m working,” Seth protested. “This engine—”
“Adavasti can help me,” Julian said so quickly that Raider suspected the arcanist felt that Seth’s help hadn’t been very helpful.
Seth winced, catching that too. “It’s not my field of expertise.”
Pink spots appeared on Julian’s cheeks. “Oh, I didn’t mean—”
Raider grinned. “That’s okay. I’ve got a better use for him.”
Seth took a breath like he was going to argue, but Raider tugged at his waistband and Seth came along like a good boy. They slid over the side of the boat.
The water here reached about chest height. With Seth standing on the silty-soft river bottom, Raider hooked his legs around Seth’s hips.
“So what use do you have for me?” Seth asked, his voice deliciously gravelly, as he slid his arms around Raider’s waist.
Raider interlaced his fingers behind Seth’s neck and leaned back slightly. “I have more uses for you than Julian has for that—what was it? Magic hat?”
Julian called from the boat, “It’s an exo-cranial precision artificing prosthesis!”
“My mistake!” Raider called back as he and Seth shared an amused look.
“So,” Seth said, moving them toward the slightly more private front of the boat. “What exactly do you think we have the freedom to do right now? Other than getting hard and frustrated?”
“I just wanted you to swim with me.”
“How are you going to swim with your legs around me?”
“You want me to move them?”
“No, but I would like you, for once, to answer a clear question with a clear answer.”
“What was your question again?”
“I forgot.”
Chuckling, Raider unhooked his legs so he could bring his front against Seth’s. He could tell that Seth thought he was going to kiss him. It wasn’t that Raider didn’t want to—in fact, he had been planning on it—but something a little bit wicked took hold of him at the sight of Seth’s expectation. Hooking a heel around Seth’s knee, Raider pulled Seth’s leg forward and pushed his shoulders back, dunking him under the water.
As Seth surged up, spluttering, Raider grabbed onto the boat’s prow and hauled himself to safety. He perched above Seth, grinning down at him. Scowling gorgeously, Seth reached for Raider’s foot, but he stopped short, clearly alerting to how Raider’s attention had shifted—and it wasn’t because of Julian’s hoot of success as the engine whop-whopped to life.
Raider stood up on the wide railing and turned to look down the trade road. The closer they had drawn to Kastari, the heavier the traffic had been, but all of it had moved at the pace of wagons. None had lifted a column of dust.
Raider’s arcane eye zoomed in on the band of riders fast approaching. Adavasti drifted up to gaze in the same direction. Julian was still tinkering with the engine.
“Seth, get up here,” Raider said urgently, and Seth immediately hauled himself into the boat.
“What is it? I don’t see anything.”
“They’ve caught up. They must have been taking fresh horses all day.”
“Fuck. Julian, are we ready to go?”
Julian had straightened from his work. “It started, but the transmogrification matrix still needs sauntering at four more—”
“We’ll just hope for the best,” Seth interrupted. “Everyone, get in the back. I’m driving.”
“Kasha, be merciful,” Julian muttered as he hunkered down with Adavasti, who clung to the roped-in cargo. Raider grinned. When Seth had driven earlier, it had been readily apparent that although Seth was a much better driver than Julian, he had a far more aggressive style. Julian had kept his eyes closed the entire time.
Seth went to get in the driver’s seat while Raider untied the boat from the tree. Seth reversed then turned the boat smoothly into the current of the main channel. Raider joined Julian in the back as they skimmed along at the boat’s top speed. Seth steered expertly around the scattered fishing boats.
On the wide, straight road, the horses gained quickly on them, but the animals wouldn’t last long at that speed. As long as the engine held up—
Within its hastily closed copper casing, the engine squealed. Raider winced at the sharp sound. Then it cut off abruptly as the engine clunked and whined. It happened right as Seth had to steer around a barge, forcing them close to the bank. Arrows started whizz through the air, and spears came flying.
“Raider, stay down!” Seth shouted as Raider got up to position himself between Seth and the projectiles.
Quicksilver burst from Raider’s shoulder to form the layered shoulder guard then cascaded down his arm to his fingertips. He put up his hand to block a spear. The spear point struck his armored palm and bounced off.
There were only six horsemen. Raider could take them. He could try at least.
He strode to the front of the boat, ready to leap for the bank, when the engine roared and the boat zoomed forward. Raider grabbed the side rail with his quicksilver fist, barely saving himself from a tumble into the back. He glanced behind him. The engine casing had been thrown open to expose the tubes, gears, and wires, and Adavasti, glowing with a golden light, had both his tiny hands jammed inside.
Julian was making himself as small as possible by the cargo and even Raider’s nerves-of-steel Curator looked a little alarmed as they flew down the river, zipping past boats, sandbars, and startled fishermen. The landscape blurred around them.
It was absolutely fantastic.
Knowing he could trust Seth to handle things, loving that he could, Raider grinned and settled in to enjoy the ride.
***
Kastari’s river port teemed with traffic, enough that their little boat vanished amid the throng after coasting under the river watchtowers. After Julian had salvaged a few parts from the engine that he said “might be useful,” they abandoned the boat at the docks. They managed to slip away while the duties officer, easily spotted in saffron robes, was busy collecting other fees and recording other goods.
Raider had never been to Seth’s city of Masir, but he had a hard time imagining that it could match the size and grandeur of Kastari.
The city boasted many names.
The City on the Sea. The City of the Blue Gate. The Painted City.
That last was Raider’s favorite. Unlike the air-dried mudbrick common in the Sands, Kastari’s fired brick lent itself to intricate building shapes and paint.
Accented with colorful designs, the towers, balconies, and archways gave an impression of Kastari as a vast, complex, multidimensional painting. All but the poorest people of the city adorned their houses and shops with colorful images of animals and plants. Lions, serpents, and aurochs paraded across walls. The sacred lotus bloomed in bright brushstrokes above doorways.
Further down the river, the imperial palace rose above the rooftops in four magnificent levels. Beyond, the Burudu flowed to the imperial seaport.
Raider had not been in Kastari since fleeing it ten years ago, but amid his buzz of anxiety was an unexpected happiness. This was his home city, and he was excited to show it to Seth.
Raider led Seth, Julian, and Adavasti (in tabby cat form) to the River Market, one of the city’s many bazaars. Being the least conspicuous, Julian went to buy food for the three of them. The ifrit vanished from sight.
The stalls of the River Market were tucked under the porches of the surrounding buildings. Fabric of every color stretched between the porches to offer shade from the late afternoon sun. Baskets held shining fish and an array of fruits, spices, and nuts. Scents of roasted meat and onion mingled with the less savory smells of animals and unwashed bodies. Chickens squawked in wicker cages and goats bleated on their tethers. Children dodged among the crowd of kaftans and robes that ranged from gauzy-sheer to stiffly embroidered silk.
“What are you worrying about?” Raider asked Seth as the Curator ignored the chaos to focus his narrow-eyed gaze on Julian. They were standing by a porch column painted with red irises. Raider was leaning comfortably against it, but Seth stood stiff as a sentry.
“He saw you,” Seth replied, his words barely discernible amid the cacophony of voices and the clattering of carts along the paved street, but Raider knew what he meant. Julian had seen the quicksilver.
Last night, Raider had used his quicksilver to break the boat’s chain, but it had been dark and he’d been wearing his kaftan. Today, when he’d stopped that spear from killing Seth, he’d been bare chested.
There was no chance that Julian had missed the sight. There was no way that the intelligent young arcanist, who had had spent months with Kahzir’s book, hadn’t realized what that meant. What Raider was.
Traveling at high speed down the river then navigating the port had yielded no opportunity to address that fact. Raider didn’t want to address it.
He focused his gaze on a fluttering strip of crimson fabric and said the only thing that mattered. “I had no choice. That spear—”
“I don’t like when you risk yourself for me.”
Raider glared at Seth. “I don’t give a shit.”
Seth’s jaw bunched as he ground his teeth, but his gaze never wavered from Julian. Balancing three parcels of food wrapped in plantain leaves, the young arcanist came weaving toward them through the crowd, the tabby cat now visible at his heels. Ignoring Seth’s sound of protest, Raider went out to meet him, taking two of the warm, delicious smelling bundles. He handed one to Seth, who had followed him.
As they walked, Raider opened his leaf wrapping, releasing a burst of fragrant steam. He plucked one of the fried plantain pieces from atop the seasoned pork and popped it into his mouth. Crispy and salty on the outside, sweet on the inside, it was sheer perfection.
“You were right,” Julian said around a mouthful. “The plantains here are really good.”
“Seth?” Raider prompted, watching Seth’s jaw work as he chewed. Why was everything Seth did so damn sexy?
Seth fished out another piece of plantain from his parcel. “Just as good as I remembered.”
Raider stopped dead, causing a man behind him carrying a basket of eels to bump into him. Pulling Raider into a walk again, Seth apologized to the man … in Kastalan.
“What the fuck, Seth?” Raider grumbled. “When were you here?”
“Fifteen years ago? I came here as a trainee with my mentor, Marcus, when he accompanied one of the scholars.”
Raider glared at him. “You didn’t think to mention that? Ever?”
Seth frowned, seeming confused. He stepped over some animal droppings. “It wasn’t relevant. Why? Why are you annoyed?”
“So many reasons, Seth, so many reasons.”
“ I’ve never been here,” Julian put in as though trying to redirect the tense conversation.
“What reasons?” Seth demanded, ignoring Julian.
Raider shrugged. “I just find it interesting that lying by omission is in such a different category for you.”
“How did I omit it? We’ve literally never talked about it. I’ve been to a lot of places!”
“Ugh.”
They walked in silence for a while, eating their food and working their way into the heart of the bustling city. Amid so many people and so much activity, even Seth’s distinctive Curator garb didn’t draw much attention.
When they passed a street performer juggling oranges, Raider tossed a coin that he’d filched from Seth into the man’s collection basket. On another street, children kicked a ball back and forth. It rolled into Julian’s path. With a sandaled foot, he kicked it back to them. Rather, he tried to. It hit a set of steps and ricocheted off in the wrong direction. Shouting curses at Julian, the children went running after it.
Julian reddened. “Oops.”
When Raider’s food was gone, Seth set the last piece of his own fried plantains in Raider’s empty leaf.
Raider stared at it. “What is this?”
“A peace offering. Even though I don’t quite understand why you’re mad at me.”
“Because …” Raider glanced at Julian, but the young arcanist wasn’t paying attention. He was watching a snake charmer summon a hooded cobra from a basket with the reedy notes of a pungi pipe.
Raider admitted quietly, “Because, for some stupid reason, I was excited to show you the city, and now I feel like an idiot.”
“Oh.” Seth looked taken aback. “I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. I’m sorry. But I haven’t seen much of the city. I was maybe sixteen and Marcus kept me on a very short leash.”
Raider sighed. “Okay. Maybe I can show you some of it then.”
“We will have to be careful while we’re here.”
“I’m always careful.”
Seth snorted. “No, you’re not.” Before Raider could object (not that he had any evidence to back him up), Seth refocused. “We do need to figure out where we’re sleeping tonight.”
Raider popped the plantain into his mouth. “I know just the place.”