Bloodkin (Jaseth of Jaelshead) (16 page)

“Sallagh, I—”

“Shush Jas, it’s okay.”

And as the next song began she tilted her head back, her perfect face so close to mine, I couldn’t help myself. I lifted one hand to cup her smooth, cool cheek and kissed her. Her arms snaked around my back, pulling me closer, and she opened her mouth for me to explore. I tangled my other hand in her long, silken hair and kissed her, less gently now, tasting wine and moss smoke and her own personal sweetness.

As the song ended she pulled back, her skin flushed and her eyes bright as she considered me.

“I have to go to the, uh, facilities,” she said, disengaging herself from my arms. She stepped lightly through the crowd, grabbing Mantilly on the way and they disappeared, heads together, giggling.

I stood motionless, watching them go, my mouth hanging slightly open in disbelief. Had that really just happened? My first proper kiss, and with the best looking girl I had ever seen.

The singer announced that they would be taking a short break, and the gathered audience moved to the bar or to the rooftop garden. Charlie found me still staring in the direction the girls had gone and gave me a big grin and thumbs up.

“Come on kiddo, enough romancing, there are some people I would like you to meet.”

He drew me back through the throngs of revellers towards the bar. A big Nea’thi man dressed in plain black robes lounged
against a small dark doorway to the side of the bar that I hadn’t noticed before. He had a sizeable pewter tankard in his hand that he pretended to sip from every now and again as he discreetly watched the crowd. O’Malley must have indeed said something to him, for as we passed through the door he barely glanced at us. I could see O’Malley had not meant the roof garden when he had mentioned the top room, because behind the doorway we climbed a narrow circular staircase that had another plain-robed guard at the top. This made me a bit nervous, what sort of people had guards at a tavern? But if Charlie’s mystery lady had something to do with Lya Vassalion, then…

The guard scrutinised us closely but seemed to recognise Charlie. With a nod he allowed us to proceed through a curtained arch out into some kind of mezzanine lounge. We must have been right over the bar, from the front we had a clear view over the tavern to the stage. A fire burned in a grate in the back wall, and the floor and other two walls were adorned with rich tapestries. A handful of couches and squishy armchairs littered the mezzanine, most facing out over the balcony to the stage, but closer to the fire they were grouped together around a large, bulbous vase-type contraption, four hoses snaking off from its neck.

Suddenly we were enveloped in silken skirts and yellow hair as Fiona leapt to her feet and embraced us.

“Ϛaioћ! Jaseth! You made it! Welcome to O’Malley’s, er, private lounge. Come, take a seat.” And she pulled us over to the circle around the fire. The first person who rose to greet us almost took my breath away. She was a tall Human woman with a generous tumble of deep red hair, luminous, porcelain skin and dewy chocolate-brown eyes. Her garb was a rather fetching variation on the Nea’thi style, the skirts were more full, the neckline significantly lower.

“Charlie? Oh how marvellous, Fiona told us you might be popping in. How’s the Mentoring treating you?”

“Aliakh, you must be more beautiful now than the last time I saw you! Mentoring’s great, this is my Bloodkin, Jaseth. He’s all the way from Jaelshead.”

She smiled, cheeks dimpling, “Oh, what wonderful luck. Guess what we’re drinking tonight!” She found two glasses and poured for us before showing me the bottle. I gasped in surprise, it was a rare ’82 Pinot Noir from the Manor’s own vines.

“It’s from my house!” I blurted and felt immediately stupid. Aliakh looked to be in her mid-thirties, but she made Sallagh look like a child in comparison, she really was outlandishly handsome.

She laughed gently,” Your family are vintners?”

I squirmed, this was always the awkward part, and I was relieved when Charlie answered for me.

“His father is the Lord of Jaelshead, they have excellent vines down at the Manor.”

“Oh my! And now you are training at the Academy? That must be strange, no?” She laid a hand gently on my shoulder and smiled kindly. “And you are stuck with this crazy boy as your Mentor. How
unfortunate
.” She gave Charlie a cheeky grin and he laughed.

“I’m still older than you!”

“Oh yes, but we both know that means nothing in terms of maturity! You must be, my gosh, fifty now? Fiona and Anna are celebrating their eightieths next year, can you believe it?”

At the mention of her name a dark figure sitting in the corner rose and came over to us. She was almost as tall as Charlie, her black robes practical – tight and split down each side to reveal black leather boots strapped firmly to shapely legs. Her white hair was pulled back into a severe bun, but with one look at her face I recognised her instantly.

“Aӣấ?”

“Oh Ϛaioћ, it’s so good to see you.” Her voice was low and molten as she embraced Charlie. “See? Ten years does not take so long to pass. And this is Jaseth? Oh, I remember when I got Hanniash – my first Bloodkin – I was so
nervous
.” She chuckled, a deep, warm sound. “Come, please, sit with us.”

She took Charlie by the arm and sat him on a couch beside her, Fiona, Aliakh and I following.

“Jaseth, my name is Aӣấћtiжầ Ұρeжoлe of the Жanờ Enclave, although I understand that Nea’thi is a difficult language for
Humans to pronounce, so you may call me Anna.” She shook my hand with the formal Nea’thi greeting.

I studied her face in the dim glow. She was just as beautiful as in the painting. Older, yes, a few fine lines radiated out from her eyes. Huge and almost violet, they were different too, darker and sadder.

“Did Ϛaioћ – Charlie – mention me? We were good friends when he was a Journeyman.” Charlie shot me a warning glance.

“He, uh, might have mentioned something.”

She laughed, to my bemusement. “I bet! He used to kick around with my younger brother. They were the same age.” I wondered at her phrasing.
Were
the same age? “Anyway, my favourite horticulturalist has brought something special for us to try.”

Fiona giggled beside me, “You have to say that!”

“Well it’s true! Jaseth, have you had much experience with moss?”

“Er, yes, a little.”

“Good. Фyѫea, be a dear and pack the hookah.”

Fiona lifted the lid off the big brass vase thing on the floor to reveal a small chamber at the top which she filled with moss from an embroidered bag. She set it alight and replaced the lid, offering me one of the hoses.

“This is a wee something I’ve been working on, a variant from a strain of Red that’s just come over from Hầiờ. It’s a bit giddy and sweet, I rather like it.”

I sucked on the mouthpiece then handed it to Charlie, the three women smoking gracefully from the other hoses. It tasted of apricots and cherries and I began to feel a warmth bubbling inside me, quite separate from the heat of the fire at my back.

“So Jaseth, you’re the Lord’s heir?” remarked Anna, letting her hose dangle delicately from her fingers. “Sweet Lilbecz, you’re a lucky one Ϛaioћ, all I ever got stuck with were religious weirdos and whores,” she remarked drily, flicking Aliakh a grin.

“Cheeky wench! I was the best whore in this city ‘til you came along!” The others all laughed with Aliakh, though I missed the joke. “Poor Jaseth doesn’t get it. Don’t look so shocked dear, I used to be a very pretty girl, if you can imagine it.” She tossed
her abundance of crimson curls and I could more than imagine it. “I spent a number of years
very
gainfully employed before Anna came to ‘rescue’ me.”

“And you’re still gainfully employed, as the best Madam in Lille! Don’t pretend you mind!” Anna and Aliakh grinned at each other, and I didn’t know whether it was all the wine, or Fiona’s special mix, but I was still wholly confused.

The others had moved on to gossiping about the other new Academy recruits.

“Toѫneж is back, remember him?”

“No, really? He’s still going? Gosh, he’d been through about seventeen Bloodkin already by the time I was assigned Aliakh! He must be what, a hundred by now?”

Charlie nodded, “One hundred and three. You should meet the boy he’s got now,
way
too much energy. Oh look, you can see him,” Charlie pointed over the balcony and we could indeed see Telgeth, his lime green robe like a beacon as he was trying to chat up some girls seated below.

“What? The gangly ginger in that ridiculous robe?” One of the girls took offense to Telgeth’s advances and slapped him across the face. He just shrugged and wandered off into the crowd. We all laughed.

“Luckily he has the patience of a saint. Can you imagine what Jeetz would have been like at the Academy?” They all groaned. “I would have thought he’d have gotten sick of Humans by now and gone to settle down in the Enclave.”

“He’s only just hit one hundred, there’s still plenty of time for that,” remarked Fiona.

“Oh yeah? Still got a thing for old Toѫen then?” Charlie ribbed her.

She might have blushed slightly; it was hard to tell in the muted ambience of the mezzanine.

Charlie winked at her and moved on. “And Jyѫaжa is here again too, he’s got a
girl
.”

“What, your mad friend from Ұiờ? They let him loose with a lesbian? Gosh, he must have turned out alright then.”

“I met his last Bloodkin of course, at the Academy,” Fiona told us, gesturing with her hookah hose. “He was rather an odd boy, but Jyѫ must have done something right, he’s training to be a Solast.”

I felt like an intruder, listening to these old friends, but I had to ask. “So lesbians always get male Mentors then?”

Anna smiled and nodded. “They sure do. And gay boys get female Mentors. Sexual tension between Mentor and Bloodkin is seen as highly disadvantageous to the learning process.”

“So… What about, um…”

“Bisexuals?” Anna answered with a laugh. “They get someone old!”

“Or ugly!” cried Fiona, and they all fell about laughing.

“So what’s she like then, Jimmy’s poor girl?” asked Aliakh.

“I’ve met her, she’s pretty as a picture, shy though,” Fiona remarked, running a hand through her yellow mane.

“Heh, I’ve got a new beauty down at the Rose who likes the ladies, maybe we should hook them up,” Aliakh grinned wickedly.

I caught on. “You can’t buy Lolitha a prostitute!” I exclaimed, and the others shrieked with mirth.

“Look what you’ve done Ali, you’ve offended his delicate Lordly sensibilities!” chuckled Anna.

“Oh Jaseth, you poor thing, I wasn’t meaning
that.
She only works in the front room. And even professionals get time off, you know.” Aliakh smiled kindly at me.

How Lolitha would react to being set up with someone who worked at a brothel I could only guess, but I imagined it would take some persuading.

The musicians had resumed their places on the stage below and began their second set. I took another suck on the hookah pipe and went to stand on the edge of the balcony to watch, leaving the others to talk about their old acquaintances. I listened to the enchanting music, watching the singer to see if I could tell how she made the amazing sounds. I spotted Sallagh in the crowd, looking slightly out of place in her wide skirts. She
glanced around a couple of times – maybe looking for me? – but the thought of being down there amongst all those people made me a bit queasy.

I felt a presence beside me and was surprised when I turned to see Anna, leaning on the railings.

“Nice view from up here, isn’t it? One of the perks of the trade, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, yes.” I didn’t know quite what to say to that. I wasn’t exactly sure what her trade was, and I wasn’t sure if I was
supposed
to know.

“It’s okay Jaseth. I presume since you are with Ϛaioћ that you have some inkling about who I am. If you had gone to one of the other Academies I’m sure you would never have had the chance to know, but you’re here and you do, so…” She sighed and turned to me. “I am, as you may have guessed, the head of an unsavoury but necessary organisation. Лấ Ұaßaлioӣ.”

“Lya Vassalion?”

She nodded. “How I came to the post is a long and difficult story, and I’m having far too nice a time to be dredging up old and painful memories, but perhaps Ϛaioћ will tell you sometime. It’s more his story to tell anyway.” She paused and looked out over the tavern, considering. “My identity as Lya Myn is a necessary secret, and I will not insult you by asking that you keep it that way. A select few know – my three personal guards, two of my highest-ranking associates and my closest friends.” She indicated the group behind us, “And now you. It is a dangerous thing to know, Lord Jaseth, for which I apologise. I was trained as a Mentor and as such I value highly the safety of our young Bloodkin friends. I hope no ill shall befall you as a result of this knowledge, but it is something to keep in mind.” She shook her head. “Enough of this serious talk, this music is far too lovely to waste. Come and enjoy the wine with us.” She turned to me, large violet eyes unreadable. “It has been a pleasure to meet you, Jaseth of Jaelshead, I pray our acquaintance will not cause you trouble.”

We turned back towards the others and she leaned close to my ear and spoke quietly. “You’re lucky to have Ϛaioћ as your Mentor. He is a good man.”

I looked at her to see if her expression gave anything else away, but she was already smiling at the others as we sat back down.

“Gosh, they’re good, aren’t they? I do hope O’Malley keeps them on, it’s nice to hear songs in Nea’thi for a change, reminds me of home.”

The others all raised their glasses and we finished our wine as the musicians finished their set and departed the stage to rapturous applause. They were replaced by the same Nea’thi who had opened for them.

We could see the Hall crowd gathering below and Charlie levered himself off the couch.

“Well it looks like our team is ready to head off. Yұieӣấ has organised us a picnic tomorrow.”

Anna laughed, “How civilised! Jeetz will be sore he missed you, but it was lovely to see you again, and a pleasure to meet you, Jaseth.”