I marched over to them and dragged her off. “That is enough of that!”
She set fists on hips. “I’s sixteen this year. Old enough to know me own mind!”
“Rory, if you do anything with her I would not approve of, I shall castrate you.”
He drew himself up, affronted, but before he could speak, I pressed a hand to his chest. “How did you get Vai’s jacket?”
“The general gave it to me on Hallows’ Night. After we retreated back to the big house. It was generous of him to take me away from the ball court, considering some of those Taino soldiers were beginning to look at me like they thought they would have to try to kill me. My other clothes were all ripped and torn. Then after I had dressed, this woman came, quite shrieking, I must tell you, Cat, for it made my ears hurt. Afterward she had the nerve to put her hand on my-”
“I can guess.”
“After the way she complained, I can’t imagine why she would think I would want to be petted by her!”
“How did the bed and the chest get here?”
“I don’t know everything, Cat! I can’t imagine why you expect me to! Someone else came, and there was a great deal of argument but at that moment I was down in one of the guardrooms very involved with-”
“With something I obviously don’t need to know. Luce! Go help your grandmother!”
With a mulish grimace, she trudged off, casting glances back over her shoulder.
“I was sure you would not mind if I wore the jacket since I had otherwise nothing but a sack.”
“No, that’s fine. I suppose Sanogo must have sent the bed and chest over here.”
The sound of horse hooves and carriage wheels drawing up outside made me turn. There came a silence, then the bang of a door shut impatiently. A dark head looked in through the partly open gate.
“There you are, dearest! Is this truly where you stayed all that time? How very quaint.”
Bee wore the jacket embroidered with axes and a pagne so spotless a snowy white that I winced with each of her steps for fear some tiny smattering of dust would kick up to stain it.
“How very fortunate I was to land here,” I retorted, refraining from shrieking and throwing my arms around her. “How did you know I was here? Did Sanogo send word?”
“Really, Cat! Why must you ask questions to which the answer is self-evident? The general stole my sketchbook, but fortunately I dreamed about you last night. Where is Vai?” She looked about with curiosity and just a smidgen of irritating condescension, but she was my Bee, after all. I had to forgive her that.
I had to, because her expression altered as her eyes widened and her voice dropped to a whisper hoarse with genuine alarm. “What happened?” Reaching me, she grasped my hands tightly.
Behind, at the gate, a pair of Taino guards appeared to stand at attention. Rory put an arm around Luce, Uncle Joe set a machete on the counter for them to see he was armed, and Aunty Djeneba politely ventured forward to offer the soldiers juice from a cup, which they politely accepted as a sign of their peaceful intentions.
I met Bee’s gaze, as she met mine. “My sire is Master of the Wild Hunt. He killed the cacica for the sacrifice. And then he took Vai.”
Her grip crushed my fingers. “Did he kill him?”
“He carried him away alive. Now it is up to me to get him back.” I shook off her grip. “Bee, you really must allow me to introduce you to everyone. Do you have some exalted title now with which I must address you? Your Fragrant Pompousness, perhaps?”
“Nothing so splendid. Your Exalted Magnificence will do.”
“Noble Ba’al, Bee. Are you really a queen now, like the didos of old?”
“I am something better. I can walk the dreams of dragons, and because of the very clever thinking of my dearest cousin, I know where to hide on Hallows’ Night to escape the Wild Hunt. That means there are a great many things I’ve always wanted to do I’ll now have time for.”
“Like what?”
“Where do I start? Revolutions to plot. Enemies to crush. Handsome men to rescue.”
I actually laughed, because she heartened me so. “But what about you, Bee? What happened to you?”
“Blessed Tanit!” she said portentously. It seemed she had reassured herself that I was for the moment safe, for she turned to look around the courtyard and include every person there in the axe-blow of her smile. “I can scarcely wait to tell you the tale!”
Look out for the final book in
The Spiritwalker Trilogy:
COLD STEEL
by Kate Elliott
You can find Cold Fire extras at http://www.kateelliott.com
Extras include Cold Fire chapter 31.5, which was not included in the novel as published because it is not written from Cat’s point of view and contains sexual content, as well as a short story featuring Rory. extras meet the author
KATE ELLIOTT has been writing stories since she was nine years old, which has led her to believe either that she is a little crazy or that writing, like breathing, keeps her alive. Her previous series are the Crossroads Trilogy (starting with Spirit Gate), The Crown of Stars septology (starting with King’s Dragon), the Novels of the Jaran, and a collaboration with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson called The Golden Key. She likes to play sports more than she likes to watch them; right now, her sport of choice is outrigger canoe paddling. She has been married for a really long time. She and her spouse produced three spawn (aka children), and now that the youngest has graduated high school they spend extra special time with their miniature schnauzer (aka the Schnazghul). Her spouse has a much more interesting job than she does, with the added benefit that they had to move to Hawaii for his work. Thus the outrigger canoes. Find out more about the author at www.kateelliott.com. introducing
If you enjoyed
COLD FIRE,
look out for
Book One of the Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.
Gods and mortals, power and love, death and revenge. She will inherit them all.
I AM NOT AS I ONCE WAS. They have done this to me, broken me open and torn out my heart. I do not know who I am anymore.
I must try to remember.
My people tell stories of the night I was born. They say my mother crossed her legs in the middle of labor and fought with all her strength not to release me into the world. I was born anyhow, of course; nature cannot be denied. Yet it does not surprise me that she tried.
My mother was an heiress of the Arameri. There was a ball for the lesser nobility-the sort of thing that happens once a decade as a backhanded sop to their self-esteem. My father dared ask my mother to dance; she deigned to consent. I have often wondered what he said and did that night to make her fall in love with him so powerfully, for she eventually abdicated her position to be with him. It is the stuff of great tales, yes? Very romantic. In the tales, such a couple lives happily ever after. The tales do not say what happens when the most powerful family in the world is offended in the process.
But I forget myself. Who was I, again? Ah, yes.
My name is Yeine. In my people’s way I am Yeine dau she Kinneth tai wer Somem kanna Darre, which means that I am the daughter of Kinneth, and that my tribe within the Darre people is called Somem. Tribes mean little to us these days, though before the Gods’ War they were more important.