Ghost in Her Heart (20 page)

A raised brow expressed Nikon’s opinion of
the warning. “As you have an appreciation for what I did for you.”
He looked meaningfully at Vana. “I ask only to be rewarded in
kind.”

“You wish for only one woman in exchange? A
surprisingly modest request, Nikon.”

“I was not the only one who assisted in the
hunt for the Mother Tree’s fruit,” Nikon pointed out, all traces of
humor gone. “You know that a single woman will not fill the need
among my people.”

“Are you certain your people, as a whole,
still desire women?” The question was soft, but full of quiet
menace.

Nikon seemed to be biting the inside of his
cheek—hard. Granite might have been softer than his expression.
“Some do. They will not be offered to those who accept their
friends and brothers as substitutes.”

Though apparently relaxed, Dagon’s frame
emitted an aura of suppressed energy as he slowly traced the line
of his jaw with one finger. “How do you plan to defend your women
from the vast bulk of your kingdom? Will the sodomites not rebel
and demand women of their own? I understood that the core of your
fellow believers was quite small.”

Nikon was silent.

Unblinking, Dagon continued, “Should we steal
women for you, it would only be a small number. Thirty, at the
most. More than enough for your personal cadre, and just enough to
get you killed. No, I’m afraid I can’t continence putting helpless
women in that position.”

As if each word were ground glass, Nikon
grated, “You have a suggestion.” It wasn’t a question, and by the
stiff set of his shoulders, he wasn’t enjoying having his
shortcomings pointed out to him.

“One.” Dagon raised his head and straightened
in his chair, negligently crossing one leg over the other.
“Abdicate.”

Murmurs of shock ran through the assembled
courtiers as the word fell into their midst, like a stone thrown
into dark waters.

Nikon seemed barely to breathe. “You broker a
woman’s body for the price of a kingdom? My blood paid for my
throne! Nine generations of my fathers defended and died serving my
country—”

“And your father nearly wiped out not only my
kingdom, but his own!” Dagon’s charge cracked like a whip,
shattering Nikon’s impassioned speech. “Your little virus has
caused the death of countless millions, and nearly wiped away what
hope we had in this generation. No, Nikon. I’m not inclined to be
generous. I won’t give you women to drag home and degrade and I
won’t give you the coordinates to rape Vana’s world. If you want
women, you will get them one way. Abdicate and remove with your
supporters to a secure location of my choice. In return, I will
supply you with women, supplies and military protection until you
become established. That is my final offer, and I require a choice
now.”

Vana winced. The choice must be eating Nikon
up inside. It was a long fall for a small reward. Then again, maybe
not. Dagon’s sources told him that Nikon’s political defeat was
imminent. He was in danger of a coup and public execution, along
with his core of supporters. Whether he wanted to face it or not,
Dagon was doing him a favor. He could either accept it, or go home
and die.

It was not a choice a king would care to
make.

Finally, Nikon took a deep, ragged breath,
pure defiance and fury glittering in his eyes. “I will abdicate,
but you must allow me send for the men I left behind. They will
bring supplies with them, and my people will cheer them as they go,
believing that they will be bringing back women. Once we have our
women in hand, I will broadcast my true intentions. Lend me a
knife.”

Dagon gestured to a courtier, and he warily
handed Nikon a dagger. Swiftly, Nikon sliced his hand, watching
impassively as bright blood spilled forth and splattered on the
marble floor. “With this blood, I seal my words. I will abdicate,
go into the exile of your choosing once our bargain is fulfilled,
and remain aloof from any traffic with my people.”

“Swear also to treat the women with respect
and care,” Dagon demanded, not yet appeased.

A crooked smile twisted Nikon’s mouth. “You
underestimate us if you think we will treat our women with anything
less than the greatest care, but yes, I swear it. We haven’t waited
these long years for a miracle to use it ill now.” His eyes
narrowed. “I also curse you by this spilled blood, if you do not
meet your end of the bargain. May your loins shrivel and your body
palsy beyond all hope of pleasure should your word fail.”

Dagon’s brows rose. “It will not.”

With a short, ironic nod, Nikon signaled his
agreement. Without a backward glance, he turned and strode out the
door.

Vana watched him go. “He’ll have a battle
convincing his followers to back him in this.”

Snorting softly, Dagon rose and offered her
his hand. “With those enticements? You underestimate him. If he
could keep his men loyal through assassination attempts and cut
throat politics, he can surely lead them now. It’s the coming war
with his kingdom that concerns me more.”

They’d moved behind the thrones and into the
private hallway leading to their chambers, so their conversation
remained discreet. Mindful of that, Vana asked, “What do you mean?
Do you think they’ll be angry? I mean, if they…I mean, with other
men….” Flustered, she broke off.

World-weary resignation shown in Dagon’s
glance. “Just because they’ve learned to debase their bodies
doesn’t mean they won’t desire women, if they are offered.
Unfortunately for them, they won’t get the chance. Our laws and
beliefs won’t tolerate giving pure women to a twisted culture.”

Silent for a moment, Vana mulled that over.
“Wouldn’t they change if given a chance?” They’d reached their
chambers, and she drew off her high-collared ceremonial robe, eager
for her hairdresser to start taking down her tortuously styled
hair. The man had actually used a frame and pads to put it up
today, and she didn’t have a prayer of taking it down without his
help. As soon as she got a free moment, she was going to go over
the hairstyle pictures she’d collected and try to convince him that
royal appearances didn’t require wigged out tresses.

Dagon snorted and threw his sleeveless blue
duster toward the bed. It slid off the side and landed in a soft
blue puddle on the artfully woven rug. “More likely they’d twist
the women to their way of thinking. You don’t know what their
culture is like. Nikon is an aberration, and he’s treated like one,
for all they’ve had to bow to his rule. With him out of the way,
there will be no one pressing for peace. War is inevitable.”

Depressed, Vana sat at her newly installed
vanity. Her hairdresser, Jefar, came and started untangling her
locks from their wire frame. Determined not to think about politics
for the next hour, Vana took the hairstyle reference she’d book
marked and started flipping through the pages. “Jefar, we need to
do something different here.”

Less than thrilled with Vana’s notions of
proper hair care, Jefar relented enough to adopt a less severe
style for that evening’s banquet. Her hair was swept up in a high
pony tail and multi-braided with wires into the resemblance of a
Spanish hair comb. Not quite what she was after, but attractive in
its way and a darn sight better than that morning’s uncomfortable
do.

It was a start. With luck, someday she might
even convince him to leave the wires out of her hair
altogether.

Smirking to herself, Vana entered the banquet
on Dagon’s arm. To her surprise, Nikon was seated at the head
table, along with Ellyn, Dagon’s mother.

Vana shot Dagon a startled glance.

His oblique look accompanied his soft, “When
testing a snake….” He left the rest of his cryptic reference
unsaid.

Puzzling over his proverb, Vana allowed him
to seat her, then sent polite, if stiff, smiles around the table.
After all, Ellyn hadn’t been proven guilty yet.

Ellyn was a better actress, or else she was
feeling triumphant, assuming that her name had been cleared. She
smiled back with queenly serenity, tinged with triumph. This was
her moment, and she was at her best, talking and chatting away with
her neighbors as if she’d never seen disgrace.

Seated at her side, Nikon seemed rather
reserved in contrast, his conversation measured, his expression as
he looked at Ellyn slightly perplexed. Once he even caught Dagon’s
eye and looked his question.

Dagon merely raised his brows slightly and
let his gaze wander away.

A frown touched Nikon’s eyes, to be replaced
by a look of irony. He sipped his wine, occasionally responding to
the veiled challenges around him with satirical wit or concise
deflections. He seemed unwilling to provoke a war at his host’s
table.

Vana found herself admiring the man.
Handsome, in a rough sort of way, he emanated a powerful confidence
reminiscent of Dagon, and he seemed to possess a sense of more
humor. He had to be tense, but he hid it well.

In the midst of her mussing, his dark eyes
caught hers. She blinked. If she didn’t already have Dagon….

Frowning, she averted her gaze and thought
resolutely of impending motherhood. The thought brought a smile to
her lips, and she glanced at Dagon to find him watching her.
Leaning over, she whispered, “You’re going to love it when my belly
starts rounding, aren’t you?” She was unprepared for the slow heat
smoldering in his stare.

Lazily, he set his lips to her ear. “Don’t
tempt me, little wife. I’m already feeling…possessive.”

Shivering, she grinned and looked back over
the guests, trying to behave.

“Oh! Could you get that for me, Nikon?” Ellyn
had dropped her utensil.

Nikon barely paused before he leaned down and
retrieved it for her, wordlessly handing it to a serving lad. The
lad deftly replaced it.

“Thank you,” Ellyn murmured, and proceeded to
ignore him.

Dagon sipped his wine, hiding a faint, grim
smile behind the rim.

Chapter 9

Nikon turned without expression when he heard
Ellyn behind him. Her note, which he’d retrieved along with her
utensil, had instructed him to meet her here. Now he waited
wordlessly, wondering if she were losing her mind. “Milady.”

She smiled at him, halting two paces away on
his balcony. “Your majesty. It’s a pleasure to meet you in
person.”

He raised an ironic brow.

“Pish. You didn’t come here with warring in
mind. I’ve nothing to fear from you.”

“You have much to fear from your son.”

She was silent for a moment. “It’s
unfortunate that he suspected me in the tragedy surrounding his
wife, but he seems to have recovered his senses. As you saw
tonight, I’m welcome at his table.”

Nikon hadn’t survived plotting nobles,
attempted revolts and devious generals to let a woman hang him now.
He knew the value of silence.

Ellyn glance out at the star-studded night.
“You’ll soon be returning home with women of your own and a shiny
new treaty. I’m curious about your world…I’d like to see it.”

“Would you?” Her ignorance of the details of
his agreement didn’t surprise him. He’d often used misinformation
to rout out his own traitors.

Smiling as only a woman could, she moved
nearer. “I could be an asset to you, my lord. I know things that
you’d find very educational, both politically and…sensually,” she
said softly, trailing one gleaming nail down his chest. She crooked
her finger and hooked it behind his belt. “Should my son defraud
you, you would not go home empty handed.”

He regarded her through hooded eyes. “You
don’t fear what you might become? Our women are not as…sheltered as
yours.”

She laughed. “I can hold my own, my lord. I
always have.”

“And you’ve never been satisfied with only
one man.”

Eyes shuttered, she turned gracefully away
and looked out at the night. “Men are not the only one with
passions.”

“And your son will just let you go?”

“He thinks me capable of murder.”

“Are you?”

She assessed him for a moment, knowing he was
testing her. “All of us are, when pushed.”

He raised his brows mockingly. “Did you give
the woman the virus?” He let his voice drop an octave, let her hear
sensual excitement, knew she would appreciate it.

She lowered her eyes and smiled mysteriously.
“Let us say, I made it possible. Mine wasn’t the murdering
hand.”

He moved closer, murmured, “Just the one that
pulled the trigger.”

Ellyn shrugged modestly.

Nikon looked up, unsurprised when Beast
warriors suddenly filled the balcony. He sighed and took a step
back, waiting to see what would happen.

“What is this?” Ellyn demanded sharply. She
gasped when Dagon joined them, looking darkly satisfied. “What are
you—” she gasped as Dagon backhanded her so hard she crumpled to
the ground. No one caught her.

Nikon looked mildly surprised, but kept his
council.

“That was for my wife, and for the women you
would have murdered out of spite,” Dagon said coldly. “You’ve never
had a hand laid on you in your entire life, and you’ll not have
another. Guards, take her outside and shoot her. Burn the body
where it falls and scatter the ashes outside the city in the barren
lands. She’s not worthy of a proper burial.”

“Dagon,” Ellyn whimpered as the guards
prodded her with their guns. “Son!”

“You have none,” he said coldly. “You gave
them to the woman you tried to murder.” Composed and deadly, he
watched as she was forced away, his eyes glittering dangerously in
the night.

“Now what?” Nikon said when only two guards
remained. “Aren’t you going to kill me, too?”

Dagon glanced at him. “You weren’t part of
this plot. I’m even grateful you chose to draw her out.”

Nikon relaxed a little. “Least I could do,
since I knew you had to be watching. She mentioned another, though.
Don’t you want to question her to find out who?”