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He was a hunger that she dared not confess and dared not sate; he was both
potion and poison, and even the contemplation of indulging her craving felt as
compelling and as unforgivable as Shift.
Now he was close to her not within smelling distance, or perhaps just
downwind but close enough that she could feel this other hunger building
inside of her like a madness. Animal passion, she told herself. Karnee lust,
the weakness of your inhuman other self. Don t give in to beast behavior.
The lust raged unabated.
And for the thousandth time since the night of the party, she thought of
Hasmal son of Hasmal, and of the wall of peace that he carried with him. For
the thousandth time, she chafed at the presence of the inescapable others; she
had never had time during the daylight hours to make good on her promise to
find him. She suspected her uncle s design in that fact, and not just bad luck
though Dùghall had not asked her what else had happened before she arrived
at the embassy and climbed the wall that night, she thought he suspected more
went on than she d admitted. And he seemed determined to have her observed to
ensure that nothing else happened without his knowledge.
Now, though, with Tippa and the soldiers with her, Kait wondered if she might
suggest a side trip to
Stonecutter Street, to Hasmal s Curiosities, on the excuse that she had heard
of something fabulous there that she wanted to buy for Tippa as a gift. She
caught the attention of Norlis, who was the embassy master sergeant dressed up
today as a junior undersecretary. He came to her side and in a low voice said,
My thanks, lady, for the ice. It was very fine.
She smiled. A recognition of the . . . ah, the suffering you have done
today. Tippa would never have dared speak to a master sergeant in the same
tones she employed on junior undersecretaries, and Norlis and his men, so
disguised, had found themselves the targets of several petty tongue-lashings.
Soldiers attached to Families held high rank and positions of great esteem,
and Family members treated them with the respect any sensible person gave to
those who, in moments of crisis, stepped in to save one s life. Mere household
staff hadn t earned such respect and usually didn t get it.
Norlis flushed and shrugged. It s been a long morning, and difficult, but . .
. all for a good cause.
I have a request. I ve heard that wonderful gifts might be found at a little
shop on Stonecutter Street.
She stared off to one side and frowned, as if struggling to remember the name.
Had . . . Har . . .
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Diplomacy of Wolves something Curiosities. She met his eyes and smiled
triumphantly.
Hasmal s
Curiosities! That s it! I d like to go there before we return to the embassy,
to buy something special for Tippa and her new husband.
Norlis shook his head slowly and stared into her eyes, trying to figure out
what she really wanted. Well, of course he knew that the wedding present story
was a lie, because he knew as well as she did that there would be no wedding.
But the expression on his face led her to believe that he would not have been
enthused about her request no matter what excuse she had given. He said, I
know more or less where that is . . . but I could never take you there. It s a
dangerous part of the city; people dressed as well as we are go missing there
in broad daylight, and the fact that we re traveling in a group would be no
protection.
She raised her eyebrows and silently mouthed the words, But you re soldiers.
He pointed to his belt, where only a poniard hung. She realized he carried no
sword; none of the soldiers carried a sword. After all, what household servant
could afford a weapon of war . . . and what could he hope to do with one if he
had it? She felt a wave of pity for the warriors dressed in the functionaries
red-
and-black fusses and frills they must feel naked without their blades and
their own uniforms, which were designed for ease of movement, not to show off
the fine curves of their calves and shoulders.
On Freshspring Street, a block from the embassy and in an excellent
neighborhood, the group had no real worries. Kait and Tippa carried only the
smallest amount of actual cash like the rest of the well-
born, Tippa purchased the things she wanted with a letter of credit. Robbery
would be a futile gesture, a fact even the poorest city inhabitants knew well.
Kidnapping, though, was always lucrative, and with the soldiers mimicking
functionaries even to the arms they carried, the group would be easy targets
for a gang looking for such opportunities, if they were to allow themselves to
get too far from home or to wander down the wrong streets.
But she had to find Hasmal, to discover his secret for keeping the evil of the
world from touching him.
This was her last chance; when she and Tippa returned to the embassy, they
would immediately begin to prepare for the dedication service. They would be
under constant supervision until the moment they returned once again to the
embassy, which would not be until the station of Telt, when the sky was fully
dark and the Red Hunter joined the White Lady in the sky. And then she and
Tippa would be hustled onto the last airible leaving Halles, and they would
lift into the blackness, and Hasmal and his secret for peacefulness would be
lost to her forever.
She had to find him, and she could not. She knew she could order Norlis to
take her there, and he would be duty-bound to follow her orders and to protect
her with his life . . . but Family did not recklessly expend the lives of
loyal soldiers. Kait had her duty, too, and it was to accept Norlis s warning
for her own safety and to protect Tippa. Kidnappings forced the Family into a
position of weakness; look at poor Danya, still not ransomed while the Sabirs
dithered over sacks of gold and inches of boundaries like matrons over fish in
a market, and the Galweighs tried everything they could think of to get the
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Diplomacy of Wolves kidnappers to accept some sort of deal and send her home.
She looked away, toward the western wall of the city, where Hasmal went about
whatever it was he did during the day, and then she hung her head. She would
have given almost anything she had to get his secret; she would not, however,
chance ransoming her Family s strength and honor.
She looked back at Norlis and said, Then let s go to this last silk market
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for Tippa. She hasn t managed to buy everything in the town yet.
Norlis said softly, If there is something in particular you would like to
get, I could go there once I m off duty and purchase it for you.
No. I just wanted to look around. But thank you for offering. You re very
kind.
Norlis smiled and turned away, and Kait closed her eyes for just an instant,
feeling the inescapable evil that pounded at her skull, and the Sabir spy
watching her and lusting after her as she lusted after him, and she mentally
said good-bye to Hasmal and his secret, and to the possibility that she would
ever find the sort of peace and self-control he carried with him.
She wondered briefly if he even remembered her. Then she got back to the
business at hand.
* * *
Hasmal, finally over the seasickness that had kept him in his tiny cabin for
days, sat on the aft deck of the small Rophetian merchantman. Out of the way
of the sailors who scrambled up and down the riggings, he enjoyed the pleasant
breeze and the clear air and wondered why the ship seemed to be sailing
steadily northeast.
True to her word, Alarista had put him on the ship with orders to the crew
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