The Far Side Of Forever Part 23

Dranna leaned over with a devastating smile and closed the lid of the basket, but slowly enough to keep eye contact with InThig for as long as possible. Once it was done Kadrim took the basket to put it in the coach, but Dranna ignored his grin and the ones on Zail and Rik as she turned to me.

"He just needed to feel appreciated." she confided in a low voice, looking up at me with eyes that still matched the new green of her gown. "It can't really be comfortable for him in such a small basket, and it didn't hurt anything telling him that."

"No, it didn't hurt anything," I agreed, changing my mind about pointing out again that InThig was an it, not a he. Considering the way it had responded to Dranna I was no longer quite as sure as 1 had been, and it didn't seem to make much difference. If InThig was happier being treated as a he, who was 1 to deny him? It? Whatever.

Once Kadrim put InThig's basket in the coach, he and Su began climbing up to the coach seat while Rik and Zail helped Dranna and me inside. Rik smiled at Dranna and patted her hand as he helped her in, and got a warm smile in return; Zail took my hand and kissed it while looking at me with those beautiful gray eyes, and the silent promise in them moved me into the coach without my knowing exactly how I'd gotten there. The promise had spoken about the dme together we'd missed out on the night before, and had said we wouldn't miss it again. I suddenly couldn't wait until we camped for the night, even if the camp was one that had to be warded.

"He's nice, isn't he?" Dranna said, bringing me back to the world to find that we'd already begun moving. 1 was

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sitting on the seat that faced the back of the coach, of course, and she was smiling at me from the other.

"He's very nice," I agreed with a matching smile, moving my right foot away from the basket thai had been put on the floor of the coach. "I wish he really could have ridden in here with us."

"Oh, you mean Zail," she said, glancing out one of the curtained windows. "I was talking about Rik. He must be one of the nicest men I've ever met, and one of the most interesting, too. Did he really fight against a-thing-last night and win?"

"He has a very powerful link-shape," I said with a nod, stil! partially involved with thoughts about Zail- "It's bronze, like his eyes, but all over, and seems to have a lot of experience fighting. And winning. That thing knew it was beaten as soon as he bit into its leg and really damaged it."

"What do you mean, link-shape?" she asked, a strange expression having taken over for the smile. "1 don't un- derstand. I thought he just-fought it."

"With nothing but a drying cloth for a weapon?" I said, wondering what dinner with Zail would be like. "Even a sword would have left him at a disadvantage with thai thing. Having a link-shape means you can s.h.i.+ft from one form to the other whenever you like, human or animal, take your choice. It's an ability some people are born with, but that doesn't mean they're Sighted; having an ability is not the same as doing magic. He also has a belt with a spell on it, that takes care of his clothes and things while he's in link-shape, then puts them back on him when he s.h.i.+fts again. He didn't have it with him last night, though, and didn't realize he'd lost the drying cloth in the first s.h.i.+ft. I was the one who discovered that when it was all over, and it was very embarra.s.sing."

I had expected Dranna to be amused over my being embarra.s.sed by something she was probably very used to, and was grateful when all she did was stare out of the window without even a smile. Seeing a man without clothes was nothing like seeing a boy the same way, and it really was embarra.s.sing. And then my mind began wondering what it would feel like to see Zail that way, wearing even

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tf

less than he had when he'd kissed me.- My cheeks were uncomfortably warm at the thought, but I couldn't push it away; somehow I didn't think he'd mind if I saw him like that, but would simply grin at my blush. I remembered the way he'd grinned at me the night before, just before he'd put his arms around me, and then 1 was deep in the memory of it.

1 hardiy noticed that the bouncing of the coach didn't ease much even once we were on the road, but I did notice when we abruptly began slowing. The soldiers guarding the road hadn't been far away at all, and even as we slowed, men in uniforms of yellow with brown trim began closing in on the coach.

"The one in the brown uniform with yellow trim is in charge," InThig whispered from its basket, a tiny wisp of black vapor peeking out through a narrow slot in the basket weave. "He's a lord, and that's the way they address him."

"You there, whose coach is this?" an arrogant voice demanded, sounding reasonably near. "The House colors are totally unfamiliar to me."

"The lady is in charge, sir," Zail's voice came jn answer, sounding stolid and not-very interested. "With all due respect, you'll have to speak to her."

"A lady?" the voice demanded, this time outraged.

"With no more of an escort than you four? I'll JUSI see about that'"

The coach door to my left was yanked open and a man who was probably the owner of the voice poked his head in, but his belligerence disappeared as soon as he saw Dranna. She was giving him one of those smiles of hers, her expression coot and in control, and the newcomer proved that lord or not, he was first and foremost a man.

"My lady, I do beg your pardon." he apologized imme- diately, reaching quickly for the brown-tnmmed-with-yeliow hat he wore. "I had no idea- I mean, I was taken quite by surprise- I mean, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm afraid you may not, my lord," Dranna answered, her low, throaty voice making the man's hand close more tightly on the hat he held. "I travel in utmost secrecy on very urgent business, which I may not divulge to anyone.

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That, of course, is the reason my escort is so small, so as not to attract undue attention. I'm sure you understand."

"The High Magus-" the man began, paling just a little before he caught himself, and then he exchanged nervous- ness for a smile. "Someone not to be mentioned. Of course I understand, certainly I do, but you must be ex- hausted from so long a journey. I insist you stop here for a while, and accept a sip of wine to restore your strength."

"That's quite generous of you, my lord, but I'm afraid I'm very much pressed for time," Dranna said, showing nothing of the upset that / could feel. "Perhaps on the return journey, when I have more leisure. . . ?"

"My lady, would you leave me devastated?" he asked, suddenly full of smooth, easy words. "1 have been com- manded to search every vehicle and person appearing on this road, thoroughly and at great length, which would then mean the repacking of all of your gowns and lovely possessions, a time-consuming task. Instead, let me exam- ine you with words of praise over a gla.s.s of wine, and you will be much more quickly on your way. I beg you not to deny me a gentleman's effort in place of a soldier's."

1 couldn't keep from tensing when he spoke about search- ing our luggage, because there was nothing in our baggage to search. The pretend-trunks were just masks for our saddle gear, and if anyone touched them they'd know that immediately. If a search started I'd have to spend the effort to change that, also working tQ make sure no one noticed the s.h.i.+ft from pretend to real, and somehow Dranna understood what that would entail without my having to say a word. She smiled a secret sort of smile to mask the glance she gave me, then put out a graceful hand to the man stil] looking up at her.

*1! find it difficult understanding how a woman may deny you anything, my lord," she said in a throaty purr that caused the man to grow two feet taller on the spot.

"Would you be so kind as to help me down?"

"With the greatest delight, dear lady," he oozed, taking her hand. The next minute she was gone from the coach, and I liked that even less than the thought of a search.

"InThig, should I do something to stop that?" I asked

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in a whisper, suddenly worried about what would happen to her. "What if he asks her questions she can't answer?"

"I seriously doubt he'll be asking her anything she can't answer." a matching whisper came back, for some reason more amused than worried. "She's a very resourceful young woman, you know."

Again resourceful. I sat back against the velvet coach seat, seeing through the window that Zail and Rik had dismounted and were just standing there, watching as the brown-clad man led Dranna to a large, brown, guarded tent set back in the woods. I didn't like the way the man was looking at Dranna, but she didn't seem to mind and didn't seem frightened at all- 1 wondered what they were going to be talking about over their wine. then quickly abandoned that line of thought. It led me immediately back to memories of Zail and dinner, and that was no time to be daydreaming.

It turned out that I would have had plenty of time for daydreaming, as it was more than an hour before Dranna came back, and 'nothing happened during that period ex- cept for the casual way the soldiers watched us. The man in brown escorted her back to the coach, raised her hand to his lips before helping her into her seat, then closed the door and stepped back with a wave to his men. Whatever had stopped us earlier no longer seemed to be in our way, and we continued'up the road with no further interference.

"Are you all right?" I asked as soon as we were moving again, seeing the faint flush to her cheeks and the way her hand patted at her black hair. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm fine," she answered with something of a smile, a very pleased sort of smile. "He's a lovely man, really, and very much a gentleman. I've always been partial to true gentlemen. He even asked me to slop again on my way back."

"1 can't believe we got away that easily," I said, relief flooding my mind. "1 kept trying to think of a way to explain a basketful of demon, and couldn't. How did you manage to keep a conversation going for an hour without getting caught as a stranger?"

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She looked at me oddly, then, as though surprised at something I'd said, and then she laughed gently and softly.

"I can't seem to get used to the sort of person you are,"

she said, shaking her head just a little. "In some ways you're hard and determined and fully in touch with life, but in others you're as beautifully innocent as a very small child. It's as though someone took certain knowledge away from you, but 1 can't understand why anyone would do that even if it were possible. Do you understand any part of what I'm trying to say?"

"No," I answered honestly, wondering what she could possibly think I was missing. "And 1 also don't under- stand why people keep telling me I'm innocent. I'm not, you know."

"Of course you're not." she said with a much gentler smile, somehow making me feel very small and young.