Stormrider (15 page)

* * *

Raptor ducked inside one of the temporary gray-green dome-shaped huts in a section of the
Jaiqi
encampment, barely a full stride ahead of The Maven. His gaze swept the darker interior; and he froze.

But only for the barest instant.

To any but those who knew him well his hesitation would not have even been apparent. Raptor knew a member of the Dinh Dinh when he saw one. He also knew the scent of a trap when he sniffed one. Perhaps this was not a trap in the true sense of the word, since he doubted this Dinh Dinh could know of the fate of his cohort so recently lost in the dense forests of Nashira, or of Raptor’s presence here, but there was something . . .
 

And that was in addition to the many-fold problem dropped in his lap by Tanith’s capture.
 

“Kiribati.” The Maven acknowledged the Dinh Dinh’s presence cordially enough, but there was a touch of irritation in his tone. “I was not told you were awaiting me here.” Those dangerous, silken tones again.

The privacy of a slaver’s hut, small though it was when on the hunt, was absolute. The Maven’s was considered sacrosanct.

Kiribati, obvious fool that he was, smiled like a kid with a secret. “None told you because none knew. I left my flier and my passenger a short distance from here and came on foot. The
Jaiqi
all seemed rather occupied, so I decided to wait for you here. I have private business to discuss with you.” His tone was laden with insistence and hidden meaning.

“Ah—and if I have private business to discuss with my friend here?” The Maven’s dark face was uncomfortably pressed close to the Dinh Dinh’s. Undoubtedly they shared the same breath.

Kiribati flicked a glance Raptor’s way and his lips turned down in distaste. “A bounty hunter? I bring a proposition from the new Imperitor of Antaris—Antaris which is center to all civilization—and you quibble because you have a bounty hunter in your hut?”

For the moment, Raptor kept his mouth shut. The Dinh Dinh, so full of self-importance, just was not getting it. The
Jaiqi
were a quirky lot and he had just crossed The Maven, probably the most unpredictable of them all. It was impossible to say where things would go from here. Probably nowhere good. And, the Dinh Dinh had recognized him as bounty hunter. It was nice to see a familiar face, but in this case, it could also be dangerous. But, for the moment, it was The Maven Raptor watched.

The Maven ground his teeth in restrained fury. Raptor could hear the moist squeak from where he’d taken a seat.

“He is interesting and amusing, Dinh Dinh,, and
you
are
not
. My hunt here in Nashira has been successful. Now I am ready for some entertainment. He was invited into my hut. You, Kiribati, were not.” The smoothness of his words could have been used to oil a high-performance flier. And quiet. Kiribati would no doubt have heard the words clearly, but Raptor was having a problem. Not a good sign when dealing with The Maven.

Finally it appeared the arrogant Dinh Dinh was beginning to understand his unexpectedly tenuous position in the presence of The Maven. His swarthy complexion paled slightly beneath the rigid set of his face. For a few long moments, he said nothing more—which was just as well since The Maven appeared prepared to climb down the man’s throat.

A little more stiffly, with his words colored by crusty diplomacy, Kiribati said, “I thought only to bring you information from the new Imperitor of Antaris, information which could benefit and profit you greatly.”

The Maven eased back just the smallest bit at the word profit, but was not completely soothed. “I am no bounty hunter like my friend here. I am a slave trader. How could I profit in any way from The Imperitor? His father sought to destroy me and my business. Why would I want to help this puppy of his when he is likely to turn on me, once he gets his full growth and sheds those milk teeth?”

“Things are changing in Antaris,” Kiribati said with a slimy smile. “There is . . . unrest. The Dinh Dinh have gained considerable power with the death of the old Imperitor.”

“I can see that you would,” Maven said bluntly, “in view of the fact the new Imperitor is Dinh Dinh.” He turned to Raptor. “Do you think the new Imperitor of Antaris had murder in his heart and perhaps that is why his father, my old respected enemy, died so suddenly?”

“A good possibility,” Raptor responded. He knew he was walking a tight-rope here. Not a turn of events he had planned on.

Raptor had learned much about the unsettled conditions in Antaris at his recruitment for this job. The assembly of the Servitors and the Council of Nine headed by the High Cudan were desperate to get the Amulet of The Suonetar back, and placed about the neck of some brave worthy other than the newly self-declared Imperitor. That was why they’d called him instead of using another Janissary when they had believed Tanith to be dead. They had wanted someone less conspicuous, less easily tracked through government channels than a Janissary. He wondered a moment what it would be like to have the amulet about his own neck.

The new Imperitor was obviously determined to utilize the amulet to cement his fledgling power. He had doubtless done his best to throw a few obstacles in Tanith’s way. Janissaries, within the government of Antaris, were easily tracked, even with the Council of Nine working at odds with such an endeavor.

There was, of course, always the amulet itself to consider, but it had not rejected one of the blood line of Imperitors in memory. Still there was always a first time.

With a life force of its own, The Amulet of The Suonetar did have a say in the matter. Something which all concerned seemed to be ignoring. No doubt the leader of the Dinh Dinh, the new Imperitor, was counting on the blood of his family to spark recognition and acceptance in and by the Amulet. Raptor ceased his ruminations and focused on The Maven.

“I would say murder was of a certainty,” The Maven drew back a bit more and now his actions made it appear he was repelled by the Dinh Dinh before him. “Then there was that brother of his—dead so young; truly an accident?”

“Jarrel holds power now in Antaris,” Kiribati said stiffly, his words threatening to bring the chill of the north down upon them. “He will be the power. A11 will be at his sufferance. But, he is a humble man. He asks your aid. In exchange, he will not plague the
Jaiqi
as his father did before him. You will have free run of, shall we say, less developed areas such as Nashira. Your business interests will not be curbed. But, he needs something from you.”

“The Amulet of The Suonetar,” Raptor supplied dryly.

The Maven perked up, grinning at Raptor with the joy of new knowledge. “That is what the woman took from you?”

That riveted Kiribati’s attention on Raptor,

Raptor shook his head. Believe me or not, he thought, it doesn’t matter.

“Woman?” Kiribati turned back to The Maven. “There is a woman in Nashira the Imperitor asked me to inform you of. A Janissary sent by the Council of Nine. A woman of many talents, many accomplishments. Her name is Tanith Aesir. The Council of Nine believes her dead, but the Imperitor does not. He asked me to tell you he is aware of her background; that she has been and therefore remains a slave of the
Jaiqi
. He recognizes her as such despite her years in Antaris and association with the Janissaries, and he hopes you will be able to retrieve your property. Should she be in possession of The Amulet, his Property, he asks that you return it—for an ample reward of course. The woman he would not quarrel over with you. She is yours should you desire to keep her.”

Raptor and The Maven exchanged a long look, each for a different reason.

“Do you know where she is?” This from a suddenly much more interested minion of the Imperitor.

Raptor said nothing.
Jaiqi
etiquette, required such from a guest.

The Maven stared, stony-faced, at the Dinh Dinh.

Sensing he was not likely to get much more on his own, Kiribati raised his chin. “The passenger I brought to Nashira is the Imperitor himself. He follows the trail of The Amulet which is his by birth. He will reclaim it himself. Doubtless he is already in your camp. Doubtless he offers a reward to any who will locate the Amulet and return it. Doubtless he already makes it plain how he would deal with one who tries to withhold what is his.”

Raptor, muscles twitching with the urge to leap out of the hut, snag Tanith on the run, and bolt from the camp, clamped his teeth shut against a groan of pure frustration. Fool of a Dinh Dinh! There was no good way this could end.

The Maven’s narrow black eyes slid from Raptor to Kiribati and back again. Evaluating. Deciding. At the moment he held no ill will toward Raptor, but there appeared to be an abundance for Kiribati who had just done everything but threaten The Maven. Certainly the leader of the
Jaiqi
recognized the circumvention of his power and authority among his people if the Imperitor was indeed within the perimeter of the Jaiqi encampment. The Maven was not known for his patience or his conscience. What he was known for was playing the cat in a game of cat and mouse. He liked to play with those he held within his power.

Now, the Maven’s smile was not a pleasant sight. It was more like the feral snarl of a wild animal. “Perhaps you will fight Kiribati here for the woman.” He addressed his remark to Raptor in a genial tone. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” he said, warming to the thought even as he spawned it. “If you win, you may keep the woman for now, and go find The Amulet a bounty hunter’s dream. Of course, since she will always be a slave to
Jaiqi
, I might well find both of you one day. Or, I might even be generous and give you her papers. But that is if you win. If Kiribati here wins, he will still have his life and I will have the woman, and perhaps The Amulet, and The Imperitor will no doubt find entertainment as well.”

The Maven hesitated, pretending there really was a choice where there was none at all. “That is,” he said warmly to Raptor, “if you still desire to fight for the slave.”

Raptor nodded slowly, his eyes locked with Kiribati’s. He was not fooling himself. The Dinh Dinh was a slime creature from the dark side of the Blue Moon, but he would be good. Very good. Raptor wouldn’t underestimate his opponent. He would, however, win. Blood debt demanded it.

“
I
have no wish to fight for a slave woman,” Kiribati began to protest, but The Maven cut him off.

“Have you a wish to fight for your life? That is your only prize, Dinh Dinh. The woman was never a part of what you might leave this camp with.”

Kiribati paled, then reddened with rage. “The Imperitor . . .”

“Is but one man alone in the camp of the
Jaiqi
. He means nothing to us. A dead Imperitor is much the same as a live one to us. I did not give you a choice, Dinh Dinh. You will fight.”

The Maven turned once again to Raptor. “Amusement and profit, bounty hunter. That is what you said you craved. Does this reach your expectations?”

“It will do,” Raptor responded evenly.

The Maven laughed, a full-throated guffaw and slapped Raptor on the back. “Go to the woman then. Tell her what we have planned so that she may fully enjoy the entertainment as well. I will give you a little time, then have someone bring you where you will fight. I look forward to it!”

Raptor didn’t hesitate. He gained his feet in an easy sway, ducking out of the hut before the Maven came up with any more brilliant ideas. He needed to talk to Tanith and The Maven had just given him carte blanche.

Chapter 13

“Grey Wanderer will come,” the confidence in Song Dog’s voice resonated within the tiny confines of the prison he shared with the inexplicable woman.
 

Tanith acknowledged the words with a curt nod, but laid them off to a young man’s boasting. She, too, had been certain someone would come for her when she had been taken the first time so long ago. She had rescued herself and found her own way to Antaris

The comforts of Antaris were long behind her. She sat now cross-legged before the
Jaiqi
door, one which was devoid of any bars or restraint, but which neither she nor Song Dog dared pass through. Tanith reached deep for her alter ego of Stormrider.
 

Stormrider watched and thought and waited. She gently touched the pack-bond finding it still bleak and empty. It made no sense that all three wolves should be cut off from her in such a manner. If it had not happened before she had been added to The Maven’s count, before the tiny device had been inserted beneath her skin at her neck, she would have believed the device to be the cause. But, it was not. There had been the other time when she had lost them, the time of the storm.

One at a time she considered possibilities and discarded them. Emotion. She had experienced plenty of that while with the wolves. It had never had an effect on their ability to remain linked. Distance. Distance made little difference unless there was a storm to disrupt, but a storm would have long since passed.

“He will bring The People. The
Jaiqi
are too soft. The warriors of The People will come and the
Jaiqi
will know the wrath of Grey Wanderer and his warriors.”

Stormrider smiled faintly. “We will escape them, Song Dog, but do not underestimate your enemy. They have been raiding Nashira for slaves for generations. There is nothing soft about the
Jaiqi
.”