Captive Moon (39 page)

Once again, Tahira smiled and walked over to him. “Thank you for coming, Ahmad. Rabi will be so happy you’re here.”

He grinned teasingly. “Only Rabi? What about you?”

She laughed lightly and put her hands on his shoulders. To Antoine’s shock, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his gently. Antoine struggled not to growl when Ahmad slid his arms around her and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. She stiffened for a moment and then melted into his arms, returning the kiss. Emotions filled the air that had little to do with the occasion of Rabi’s installation, and Antoine felt a dull weight like lead in the pit of his stomach.

Matty raised his eyebrows and let out a low whistle but didn’t say a word.

Ahmad pulled back slowly, just as he had done in the library. His eyes had lost some of the cold arrogance that normally surrounded him like a cloud, and he stared at her warmly. “Your outfit is quite lovely, Tahira. It’s not as … revealing as the dress you wore to dinner on Friday, but probably more suited to the occasion.”

The lead in Antoine’s stomach turned to a sharp blade that cut into his chest. Dinner? He unconsciously reached into his pocket and touched Tahira’s Christmas gift. He’d been waiting for the right time, but the thought that he’d already waited too long had never occurred to him.

She let out a laugh and pulled away to straighten her dress. “God! Could you imagine the look on my grandparents’ faces if I wore that here?”

Matty walked over and held out his hand to Ahmad, allowing Antoine the opportunity to take Tahira’s arm and lead her a short distance away. He tried to keep his voice calm, but he knew there was no way to stem the scent of anger and jealousy.

“You had dinner with Ahmad? You didn’t mention that to me.”

She regarded him with the tiniest bit of insult on her face, and her scent was hot metal frustration and annoyance. “Well, first, it’s none of your business, but yes—we’ve had dinner a few times since I got back to California. And second, you haven’t exactly been around to tell.”

Antoine felt a rush of air and then Ahmad’s snide voice in his ear. “I would have thought you learned that particular lesson. You can lose as much by inaction as by malice.”

Angry power raced through his body and Antoine turned and grabbed the front of Ahmad’s robes with a snarl that made the cobra hiss. “Be very careful what you start here, Antoine. I’m not certain that you fully grasp what powers I gained from my father’s death. I promised Charles I would use restraint, but—

”

Antoine’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, he informed me that you can now kill by touch, though I don’t understand why, if Sargon had such a power, he didn’t use it. However, I watched what you did to Bahir when you found him hidden in the shadows, and noticed that your back is fully black now. At the time, I didn’t understand what that meant, but now I do. Perhaps you don’t fully grasp what I gained from Sargon, though. I was also forced by Charles to promise to use caution. Does the cat now have a poison bite, Ahmad? Can I too kill by touch? Shall we dance and discover who is more powerful?”

He saw the indecision in Ahmad’s eyes, the moment that Ahmad began to wonder about him. In truth, even he didn’t know what he’d gained from Sargon, nor did he plan to test any new skills without supervision by Wolven members. But Ahmad didn’t have to know that. After a moment, the snake’s eyes cleared and that insufferable smile curled his mouth again.

“My father enjoyed fighting, just as I do. Remember that he hadn’t ever been beaten in battle in thousands of years. By the time he realized that he might be in danger, Tahira had already taken the power to kill from him. If I choose to believe you—that I’m not the only recipient of his great power—

then I feel it’s only fair to advise you that I know how to use that power after years of watching him. I have the skill to make the power my servant—do you?”

Tahira put a firm hand on both of their chests and pushed them apart. She gasped and then pulled suddenly reddened hands away. “Stop it, both of you! Ahmad, will you and Matty please go see if you can find our seats?”

“Right then. Even I can take a hint that wide. Let’s go grab a throw-down and gander at what they’ve put on the barbie, Ahmad,” Matty said, and swept his hand to offer Ahmad the lead. With a wicked smile, Ahmad bowed slightly to Tahira and preceded Matty toward a low platform of stone that was set up in the middle of the square.

Tahira put her hands on her hips and lowered her head in a defensive stance. “Antoine, what do you think you’re doing? This is supposed to be a tribute to my brother and hopefully a peaceful event that will show the kabile that Sazi can be warm and kind and respectful, instead of… well, trying to rip each other to shreds.”

He clenched his hands into tight fists and fought down the bile that was rising into his throat at the thought of Tahira with… Ahmad. “I don’t want you to … I mean, you can’t—” He shut his mouth when he saw her eyes narrowing, as though she knew what was going to come out of his mouth next.

Instead, he stalked back to the Jeep and opened the rear door, just for something to do. He closed his eyes and slammed his palm down on the carpeting in frustration. Ahmad was right. He’d been so occupied with his own life since they returned that he’d neglected her. He had no claim on her, and he shouldn’t be surprised that Ahmad had swooped in.

She stepped up behind him and put a light hand on his arm. “Did you know that since Sargon bit me, I’m more sensitive to poisonous bites? I swell up like I’m allergic, and everything that does bite seems to be attracted to me.”

He turned and looked at her, shaking his head. He hadn’t known, but realized he should have. She raised the sleeve of her dress to reveal an angry, swollen red mark on her forearm. “A wasp dive-bombed me at breakfast and this is what it looks like now. It’ll heal, but it’s painful. Now, look over there.” He followed her pointing arm to a small black object half-buried in the sand where they had been standing.

“That’s a scorpion. Ahmad killed it while he was taunting you because it was about to climb up my leg. Ahmad knows about the insects because he’s been around to hear me talk about it.”

He felt another stab in his chest that left him stunned. The press of the box in his pocket seemed to dig into his skin. His voice sounded flat and hollow. “So you’re saying that you’ve chosen to be with Ahmad?”

Her scent was a wash of pain and frustration that masked the sweet cherries, sandalwood, and cinnamon as she quietly said, “No, Antoine. I’m saying that I wish you had been the person to notice the scorpion and know why it should be killed.”

As her eyes began to fill with tears, she turned and walked toward the square, leaving him feeling like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He watched as every step took her farther away, and he just didn’t know what to do.

Maybe I should just leave and be done with it. She deserves someone who gives a damn about her, and apparently I don’t, or I would have been the one to notice.

He made it as far as sliding in behind the wheel and putting the key in the ignition before he remembered his conversation with Margo and the reason why he’d decided to cancel part of the tour. He remembered why it was so urgent that he find a temporary replacement for Matty and new handlers for the cats. He could have done their jobs himself, as he did before they’d joined the show.

I expected I was going to be with Tahira and planned that she would wait until I had finished business and could be with her all the time. I just assumed she knows that I love her.

“Except for the fact that I never bothered to tell her,” he snarled harshly, slamming his palm down on the steering wheel hard enough to make it vibrate. He pulled the box from his pocket, ripped off the wrapping and opened it The two-carat, canary yellow diamond solitaire ring still looked beautiful against the black velvet. But now he wondered if he should have spent the time to have it designed and made before asking for her hand. Had he lost her, as Ahmad said, by negligence?

He pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the door. Distant drums, flutes, and bells told him that the ceremony must be starting. He needed to find her, talk to her. Setting out at a fast walk, he bumped his shoulder into something. When he looked around there was nothing there.

But then Rabi appeared out of thin air, easily keeping pace with him in flowing white robes that were embroidered with silver and gold thread in geometric patterns. The soon-to-be crowned leader of the Hayalet turned his turbaned head and said casually, “So, you finally figured it out, huh? Took you long enough. We sahips can be notoriously thick-headed and slow, so Ahmad and I decided we’d better push along the process. Nice ring, by the way.”

Antoine stopped just a few feet shy of the first white plaster home with flowering cacti and plants that filled the air with sweet fragrance. “What are you talking about? Have you been listening this whole time?”

Rabi looked at him in amusement. “Tahira’s my little sister, Antoine. Of course I was listening. I could tell that you were nuts about her in the cave and afterward at the house. But you were ripping her guts out by not calling. I figured it probably wasn’t intentional, because it’s been a roller-coaster ride for me, too, for the past couple of weeks. But Tahira—well, I think part of her expected that life would just stop and you’d be so delirious in love that you’d both ride off into the sunset.”

A sad, almost bitter chuckle rose up from deep inside. “And that’s exactly what I should have done. It’s what I wanted to do.”

Rabi shrugged and pulled on Antoine’s arm to start them moving again. “Yeah, but reality bites sometimes. Anyway, when I saw you and Ahmad at each other’s throat, I cooked up a plan and he agreed to help. He really does want Tahira to be happy, and he did ask her to dinner, hoping she’d choose him.” He laughed lightly. “But then she spent the whole night asking him about you. That quashed that romance damned quick.”

Antoine shook his head in confusion. “I must have missed something along the way. What just happened here? Are you telling me that all this—the installation, inviting us, having Ahmad show up—was planned? Just to get me to realize I love her? I already knew that. It’s why I brought along a ring.”

“Not the installation,” he said. “But yeah, the rest was. It was actually Ahmad’s idea, and obviously we didn’t know about the ring. When he saw how smitten Tahira was, he suggested to me that you would respond really well to jealousy, especially if it involved him.” Rabi pushed him lightly toward the seats and then isimed so that only his voice remained. “Go. Sit with her until the formal stuff is done. I have to go dazzle everyone with my amazing powers. Just don’t leave until after my speech, because you’ll want to hear that. Oh, and if I introduce you or ask you to do anything, be a sport. I don’t know if I’m going to. It’ll depend on the mood of the crowd.”

Antoine looked around the semicircle of kneeling people until he spotted Tahira at the front, once again wearing her head scarf and talking to Matty, who restlessly shifted beside her. There was an empty space next to her, right at the end of the row. He skirted around a small stand of pistachio trees until he was even with her row. He could smell her sorrow even over the myriad of emotions bleeding from the crowd.

“Tahira,” he said softly as he stepped next to her. She looked up with a combination of joy, hope, and worry. “Is this seat taken?”

She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling him down beside her. He tucked his legs underneath him and knelt on the sand. “I was afraid you’d left. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh. I’ve been an idiot, and I’m sorry. I should have spent every moment of the last two weeks telling you how I feel about you. I don’t know—maybe I thought you would know it by my scent.”

Her voice was soft, somehow fragile. She kissed his finger lightly and stared into his eyes with warmth.

“Scent helps, but words are important, too. When I walked away, I nearly ran back because I realized I haven’t said it either. I’m just as much to blame.” She took a deep breath, as though steeling herself.

“So, here goes. Antoine, I—”

A solid, heavy drumbeat was followed by a gong that vibrated in the air, and all of the people fell silent.

“Later,” he whispered. “It’s your brother’s moment right now.” She sighed but then nodded, and they turned their attention to a gilded chair sitting inside a heavy iron cage on the raised stone platform. There was no door that he could see, and the squares created by the iron bars would only permit something the size of a squirrel to get inside.

A stooped, elderly man in embroidered robes walked out of a tent at the edge of the crowd. Antoine realized he must be Tahira’s grandfather, the present leader of the Hayalet.

He walked with confident authority toward the throne and then clapped his hands twice. At the signal, a dozen well-muscled men armed with heavy curved scimitars approached the small cage and surrounded it on three sides, facing outward. Only the side open to the crowd remained clear.

On a second clap from the Sahip, the guards dropped into defensive position and scanned the surrounding terrain with blades extended and arms linked. There was murmuring from the crowd, and even Tahira seemed to be confused about what was happening.

The sahip forcefully said a few words in a language that wasn’t quite Turkish, and the whispering grew louder and more intense.

Tahira motioned for him, Matty, and Ahmad to move closer, and she whispered to them. “Grandfather just said that if Rabi is man enough to lead the kabile, then he should be able to defeat our best warriors to claim the throne. But even if he can defeat them, how—ohhh!” Then she smiled and smelled of amusement, leaving he and the others confused. “Just watch,” she said. “This is going to be good.”

Again the sahip spoke, the force of his voice a challenge, and Tahira translated for the three of them.

“He commanded Rabi to appear and be judged on his worth to lead. Grandfather’s going all out for this.” When Antoine looked questioningly at her, she just shook her head and smiled.