The Gods of Amyrantha (52 page)

Tides, would things never change?

Of course they won't change,
he reminded himself silently.
That's one of the reasons there's no point going on.

'So it's business as usual now the Tide's on the turn, then.' He reached out to touch her face, but she leaned away from him.

'Don't, Cayal.'

'Why not?'

'I haven't washed in days. I must smell awful.'

'We're in the desert, Arkady.' Giving into temptation, he took her hand and drew her closer, breathing in the musky, tantalising scent of her. She resisted for a moment and then relented, letting him pull her to him. When he spoke again, his lips brushed against her cheek, making every word a kiss, every breath a caress. 'Nobody's washed for days. We all smell the same.'

Arkady closed her eyes as he spoke, her head tilting back ever so slightly. He knew the effect he was having on her, just as he was quite sure she was aware of the effect she was having on him, just by standing there, so vulnerable and yet so dangerous to him. His lips sought hers tentatively, expecting her to resist. When she didn't fight him, he pulled her closer and kissed her with a longing that shocked them both.

And for a fleeting moment she was kissing him back, her mouth open, hungry and wanting, as they teetered on the edge of true lunacy ...

And then sanity prevailed and he pushed her away.

'Tides ...' he said, shaking his head in denial, as if that would somehow shake off the effect she had on him. 'I hate what you do to me ...'

She stared at him in shock.
'Excuse
me?'

'A thousand years I've been looking for this chance ... and then you come along ...' She was staring at him with a hurt, uncomprehending expression. 'Oh, what's the point of trying to explain? You wouldn't understand.'

'I wouldn't understand?' She sounded wounded and more than a little angered by his inexplicably erratic behaviour. 'You barge in here uninvited; you kiss me one moment, tell me you hate me the next ... Tides, Cayal, I'm not the one who can't make up his mind about what he wants.'

'Then make up your mind.'

'About what?'

'About us.'

'There is no
us,
Cayal.'

'Just say the word and there will be.' He took her by the arms and pulled her to him again until her lips were so close to his he could almost feel their soft yielding pressure beneath his. 'Tell me that's what you want, Arkady, and I'll give you the world. Come with me now. Forget hiding out in Brynden's wretched abbey. I can protect you from Jaxyn and Diala. I can protect you from anyone. Tides, I'll conquer Glaeba for you, if that's what you want. I'll make you her queen ...'

She seemed unimpressed. 'Listen to yourself, Cayal. You don't want me. You don't even
know
me. If you did, you'd not define what you think I desire in terms of how much of the world you can conquer on my behalf.'

'Then what do you want, Arkady?'

'Whatever I want, Cayal, I'm fairly certain it's not being the petty distraction you need to give your life meaning while you wait for the end of time.'

He let her go roughly, shaking his head. 'Tides, you
have
been getting cosy with Kinta, haven't you?'

Arkady rubbed her arms where he'd gripped her, glaring at him. 'We have a lot in common, Kinta and I. Particularly when it comes to
you.''

Cayal couldn't believe he was hearing this. Not from Arkady. 'Oh ... what ... so now you're angry with me because you don't like the way I treated some woman you barely know, a thousand years before you were even born. Is that it?'

Arkady met his gaze without blinking, not so easily intimidated as that. 'You used her, Cayal. You seduced her and then you ran off with her. Not because you loved her. Not even because you felt something for her. It was the ultimate act of selfishness. You did it to make Brynden try to kill you.'

'I can't be killed, Arkady, I'm immortal.'

'But you never stop trying to find a way around that inconvenient state of affairs, do you?'

She was right of course, which was the torment and the temptation of her. Arkady Desean seemed to know him better than he knew himself, at times. She saw through him. Saw
into
him. And yet, but for a night of reluctant confessions of secrets he was sure she'd shared with nobody else, he knew so little about her.

Or what she was doing here in the Tarascan Oasis. 'Why are you really going to Brynden? Are you Kinta's gift to him?'

'Don't be ridiculous. I told you what I'm doing here. Kinta's sending me to Brynden's abbey to hide. She's doing it to protect me from Jaxyn.'

'I could protect you from Jaxyn.'

That didn't seem to impress her much at all. 'And who would protect me from you, Cayal?'

There was no answer to that. And there was so much more he wanted to say to her. So much he
couldn
't
say, so much he couldn't even put into words. He wanted her to understand his pain, but if she

understood him, he'd never want to let her go. He couldn't risk pursuing even the vague hope of a future that included this woman.

The Tide was on the rise. Cayal couldn't wait another thousand years to end this; certainly not for the promise of a few days, months or even years, of short-lived and ultimately painful happiness.

He would never admit such a need, however. He couldn't afford to if he intended to die.

Cayal's expression hardened and he stepped back from her.

'Go to him, then. Find your illusion of sanctuary with Brynden. I don't need you anyway.' He turned on his heel and headed for the entrance, adding, 'I don't need anybody.'

'Which is probably why you want to die, Cayal.'

He paused for a moment on the threshold of the tent and then stalked out into the cold darkness of the desert night.

CHAPTER 52

Arkady was still trembling from her encounter with Cayal when Tiji returned. Tiji, curse her reptilian senses, guessed the truth the moment she stepped into the tent.

'He's been here, hasn't he?'

'Who?' Arkady asked, knowing full well who Tiji meant.

The little Crasii lifted the shroud over her head and tossed it to the corner. 'I can smell him, my lady.'

Arkady sighed and sank down on the pallet. 'I was going tell you.'

'Sure you were,' Tiji agreed, taking the pallet opposite. 'What did he say?'

'I'm not really sure he said anything of substance.'

'Why don't you let me be the judge of that?'

Arkady frowned. 'Do you think
me
incapable of judging such a thing objectively?'

'Frankly, my lady, I do.'

She paused and then shrugged. 'We spoke of ... insignificant things, Tiji,' she said, quite certain she didn't want to share the details of her encounter with Cayal with this strange creature.

Tiji wasn't fooled. 'So you came up for air long enough to speak, then?'

'I
beg
your pardon?'

'I can't smell the suzerain in the tent, my lady. I can smell him on
you.'

Arkady felt her face redden. 'Very well, if you must know, he kissed me.'

'Funny, I didn't hear you screaming in protest. And I'm pretty sure I wasn't so far away I wouldn't have heard you, my lady.'

'I'm not that big a hypocrite,' she said, amazed at how much reproach this little silver-skinned Crash could cram into a couple of sentences. 'And if it's any consolation, right after he kissed me he told me he hated me.'

Tiji didn't seem impressed with that information, either. 'He's got an odd way of showing it. What else did he say? After he got through kissing you and then hating you, that is.'

'I don't have to listen to this,' Arkady said, attempting to stand.

Tiji shoved her back down with a surprising amount of force. 'No, you don't. Pardon me for thinking the fate of every mortal on Amyrantha is slightly more important than your feelings.'

Arkady took a deep breath, and then shook her head, wondering at what point her life had begun to spiral so completely out of her control. 'Tiji, I'm not trying to be difficult. It's just...'

'What?'

'Cayal seems very confused. One moment he's offering to conquer the world for me, the next he's telling me I'm spoiling all his fun, just by being alive. I don't know what to tell you because I really don't know what he's planning.'

The Crash thought on it for a moment. 'What did he say, my lady?
Exactly?'

Arkady tried to recall her conversation, a little embarrassed to discover that what she remembered most vividly about their meeting wasn't anything Cayal had said. 'He said something about looking for this chance for a thousand years ... and then I'd come along, as if that somehow spoiled things ... and then he said, "what's the point of trying to explain? You wouldn't understand".'

'Looking for what chance?'

Arkady shrugged. 'To die, I suppose.'

The little Crash's eyes lit up with the possibilities. 'Tides, you don't think he's found a way, do you?'

'To die? Of course not. If he'd found a way to end his life, Cayal would have taken it by now, I'm sure.'

The Crasii shook her head. 'But it may not be that simple, don't you see? He's immortal and he's already tried pretty much everything he can think of. If he thinks he's finally found a way to end it all, whatever it is, it won't be an easy one.' She pursed her lips thoughtfully. 'Do you suppose that's why he's looking for Brynden? Maybe he needs another immortal's help?'

Arkady shook her head. 'If what Kinta told me was accurate, Tiji, I think it doubtful Brynden would spare Cayal the time of day, let alone aid him in putting an end to his suffering.'

'On the other hand, if you're trying to kill yourself, who better to aid you than the man who wants you dead?' The Crasii fell silent for a time, deep in thought, and then she fixed her unblinking gaze on Arkady. 'Will you see him again?'

'Who? Cayal? How should I know?'

'You didn't make plans to meet up again after I fell asleep?'

'No.'

'Pity.'

Arkady stared at the Crasii in confusion. 'You think it's a
pity? A
moment ago I was betraying every mortal on Amyrantha simply because I let the Immortal Prince kiss me. Now it's a shame I'm not making plans for a late-night assignation with him? You're as confused about what you want as he is.'

'I'm very clear about what I want, my lady. I want the Tide Lords gone. It's a shame you're not so dedicated to the cause.'

A thousand arguments leapt to mind, as Arkady listened to this impudent, outspoken slave admonish

her for her sins, both real and imagined. She wanted to tell her to mind her own business. She wanted to tell Tiji she knew nothing about what she felt for Cayal, or Declan, or the price of silk in the Ramahn markets, for that matter.

But in the end, she said nothing, because she realised there was nothing she could say that would appease this feisty little Crasii. 'What do you want of me, Tiji?'

'Talk to Cayal again. Find out if he really
has
found a way to die. It would be nice if you could find out exactly what it is, too, and when he's planning to do it. And where. And who's going to be helping him.'

'Anything
else?'

'The location of all the other immortals on Amyrantha would be handy.' The Crasii smiled then, adding, 'While you're about it.'

Arkady wasn't amused. 'And how does this fit into your rather impertinent suggestion that I should be focusing my thoughts on Declan Hawkes, if the Immortal Prince shows up?'

Tiji had the decency to look a little shamefaced, 'I probably shouldn't have said that.'

'No, you probably shouldn't have.'

Tiji was silent for a moment, and then she asked, 'Are you in love with Declan, my lady?'

'No,' Arkady stated emphatically. 'And just so we're clear about it, I'm not in love with the Immortal

Prince, either. Now, did you want me to talk to him again, or not?'

it's too good an opportunity to waste, my lady. Do you think he'll tell you anything?'

'I have no idea, Tiji. Do you know where I can find him?'

She nodded. 'One of the canines in the tavern told me where his tent is.' She leaned over and scratched out a rough map of the tent city on the floor and then pointed to the larger circle she'd drawn in the sand.

'The tavern tent is here. Cayal is staying over here. It's the third one on the right.'

'Then I'll go and speak to him.' Arkady rose to her feet and looked down at the Crasii, a little fed up with her well-meaning disapproval. 'And I'll do whatever I have to, Tiji. For the sake of all the mortals
and
the Crasii on Amyrantha.'

Without waiting for the Crasii to answer, she picked up her shroud off the pallet and headed for the entrance of the tent.

'Did you want me to wait up?' Tiji called after her.