«Your warriors-your shtafari-do they rule the-the neuters?»
«What do you mean by 'rule,' Silora? They-«
«They keep them behind bars at home, don't they? And the women-no, there aren't any women neuters-but if there were women, they would-«She realized she wasn't making any sense, stopped, took a deep breath, and went on. «The warriors-do they give the orders and the neuters and the women obey? Or-«Her voice trailed off, as if she could not imagine any other way of living.
«I'm still not sure what you mean,» said Blade. He was quite sure, in fact. The truth about the Looters was coming out at last. He had his victory, and the torturers would not have Silora. «Both our men and our women fight, as you have seen. Our neuters do not fight, but that does not mean they obey. They are often wise teachers, and much respected.»
«Then-then your warriors are not-shtafari. They-there was no war between them and the neuters and women?»
«War? No.» Almost the truth. «Why should there be? They-«
Silora swallowed. «The shtafari-they rule in Konis. They have ruled since their revolt, the revolt that took away all the power of the Peace Lords. All the hope of the Peace Lords.» Her eyes were wet and she seemed about to burst into tears.
«The Peace Lords?» repeated Blade, nodding as though he understood absolutely. «Naturally you as a Peace Lord were-abused-by those two shtafari who were with you in the machine?» That was a gamble, a shot almost in the dark. But he couldn't think of anything to say that would do more good if by some chance it did hit its target.
Silora quivered as if she had been struck by a real arrow, and her eyes closed for a moment, squeezing out tears to make trails down her soot-darkened cheeks. «Yes. Yes. They-the shtafari do-always have done-what they wish with Peace Lord women. But these-«She could not go on. It was as though the memory of what the two shtafari had done made her so physically ill that words would not come.
Blade nodded. But this time when he spoke he made his voice sound harsher and more suspicious than he felt. «I see, almost. But-then why were you armed with that sword, if you and the shtafari were ene-«
Silora giggled hysterically. «Oh-if you had seen me with those two-animals-you wouldn't ask. I did-they thought I was so hungry for everything they wanted me to do that I would never turn against them. Never, never, never! They thought I was a hungry little pet they could keep tame by feeding what she wanted. What I wanted!» The giggle rose to a hysterical laugh. Silora threw back her head and howled and shrieked open-mouthed, eyes staring blindly up at the starlit sky. Blade reached out to take her and hold her, but she sprang to her feet and away from him. For a moment her eyes drifted down to focus on him, then she turned and ran off into the darkness.
Blade threw another armful of wood on the fire and lay back on the furs spread on the ground. There was no need to follow Silora. In fact, she might become more hysterical and run faster if he did. She would come back when she was calm enough to say to Blade all the things that were obviously bubbling up inside her. That would take time. But after tonight Silora would be talking much more freely, and Blade would be learning about the Looters-the people of Konis-much faster than he had been.
Gradually the warmth of the fire made Blade feel sleepy. He considered trying to stay awake until Silora returned, then decided there was no need. She had no weapons and could not fly away in the machine. There was small chance that she would want to either harm him or flee, in any case. Blade quietly drifted off to sleep, feeling more at peace with the world than he had felt since he returned to Tharn.
He awoke to the sound of soft footsteps approaching him along the lake shore. Without rising, he slid his hand under the furs over him and clasped the hilt of his sword. He lay motionless as the footsteps continued to approach, then stopped. In the silence Blade heard the faint whisper of the wind, the even fainter whisper of breathing close at hand, then a small, nervous laugh. He turned his head in the direction of the sound, and saw Silora.
She had obviously been swimming in the lake, and had not bothered to dress again. Beads of water glistened like jewels on her skin. The moonlight silvered one whole side of her body from forehead to ankle. Her hair flowed in a dark straight cascade down her bare back.
She was utterly beautiful standing there, and Blade felt desire springing to life in him. It was a desire that Silora obviously shared, a desire to which she was ready to respond. Their eyes met and she smiled. It was a somewhat uncertain smile, reminding Blade how much of Silora's experience of sex had been rather ugly. He would have to be more than usually gentle with her.
Before Blade could move an inch Silora came over to him and knelt down beside him. She bowed her head over Blade's middle, then shook it until her hair was flowing down over her shoulders and breasts. It flowed on down over Blade's genitals, caressing them with a thousand tiny soft delicate brushes. Then Silora began to slowly sway back and forth from the waist. The movement sent exciting little shudders through the taut flesh of her small, perfect breasts. It also drew her hair back and forth across Blade, which was far more exciting. His desire rose further, and his body began to show it. He would not have believed that what Silora was doing could draw such a response from him, no matter how much skill a woman put into it. But he couldn't deny that she was doing it.
Blade had not wanted to move for fear of alarming the woman. Now he could not have moved if he had wanted to. His body would not obey his brain any more. It would obey only its own desperate desire to receive more of the caresses of Silora's hair.
How long she could have gone on this way Blade never knew. He did know that he was about to throw caution to the winds and reach out for her when she took the next step herself. It was a short step, and it left her astride his body. Then she gently lowered herself onto him, taking the whole of his erection into herself so slowly that she seemed to be wanting to test his massive member an inch at a time. Blade saw her eyes widen and the muscles of her throat tighten as he entered her, and the rise and fall of her breasts quickened. Her nipples were small but very distinct, dark brown, and now standing out hard and surprisingly long.
Then Silora closed her eyes and began to rock back and forth and twist around and around with Blade inside her. She moved slowly at first, without any pattern, feeling her way along. Then she found a pattern that pleased her, and she began to move faster.
Blade did not move. A move would no longer frighten Silora away-she wouldn't notice. But on top of what he was already getting Blade knew any movement of his own might push him to climax and beyond. He didn't want that now, not with this woman. With this woman it was more important than ever before to match his pace to hers, however hard he had to fight for it, whatever he had to do to manage it. He knew as clearly as if it was written across the night sky above that she must reach her peak first. That would set his lovemaking apart from anything she had ever experienced before, and Blade wanted to be certain of doing that. It was no longer just a question of getting out of her all the information the people so badly needed. It was a matter of kindness and decency on his part toward a woman who had been hurt in so many ugly ways.
Silora kept on. Her eyes were no longer wide, but shut tight, and a tear traced a path down each cheek. The water was drying off her now, but beads of sweat were breaking out on her forehead and neck and breasts as she moved. Her mouth tightened into a line that looked more grim than ecstatic. Blade was beginning to wonder if she was somehow beyond reaching a climax, if the damage over the years hadn't been too great. But he didn't know, he couldn't know, he had to hold on. He had to hold on, and if holding on meant dying he would die and there was an end to the matter.