A Dragon's Ascension - Ed Greenwood [119]
And then the sea carried them on past the Gap and mountains hid the snake from view. Telgaert turned to regard his passenger with a face that had gone very pale.
"Suppose," he said, in a voice that was not quite steady, "you tell me what that was."
"The Great Serpent," Orathlee told him bluntly. "Not a bardic whimsy or scare-tale for the fireside, after all. It is what I'm fleeing-and no, I'm neither a priestess nor a worshipper of the Serpent."
"For the Serpent to be free, the Risen King of Aglirta must be dead," Telgaert murmured, and then his eyes narrowed. "How did you know-?"
"Master," Orathlee said, pulling open her bodice to show him the brands put there on both of her breasts by priests of the Three when she was but a girl, "I am of the Wise. I was doing a tanthor reading for a client, and foresaw this without knowing which great peril of Darsar would befall. I just knew that I did not want to greet that danger, whatever it was, in Sirlptar, city of grasping merchants and cruel wizards."
The Master of the Fair Wind was staring at her brands not with horror or lust, but in pity, shaking his head a little. She did not reach to pluck her bodice closed again and tighten the laces, but held her chest calmly out to his gaze, until he dragged his eyes back up to meet hers. "You were but a lass when they did that?" he asked roughly, waving one hand gently to indicate that she should cover herself.
When she nodded, he said, "Lady, my granddam was of the Wise. They flogged her to the bone when she was young, so her shoulders were a ruin and she walked bent over all the rest of her days. All because she could foresee, as you do, and the priests found out." His hand closed into a fist-a fist that shook. "You and your daughters shall have every coin back that you paid me for your passage."
He took a step closer. "Say nothing if you'd rather not, but-where will you go from Teln?"
Orathlee took a step towards him, until they were almost touching, and replied, "Master, I know not. From the Serpent, there is no escape."
"But on the wave," he murmured.
"Telgaert, I can cook," she said brightly, and when he looked down at her sharply, she added, "and heal with herbs, and sew. I've been a slave and often sewn sails and spliced cables and scrubbed decks and worse. Oh, yes, I have other brands-and probably more impressive scars than any of your crew. Moreover, I'm quite willing to sleep with every man on this ship, often-so long as my Meleira and Talace are left alone until they choose to take one of you to bed."
The Master of the Fair Wind swallowed and gripped the rail so tightly that his hands went white. "Are-do you know how sailors dream of… women?"
"Of course," Orathlee said. "I am of the Wise; dreams are my business."
Telgaert smiled, and held out his hand to her. "Then, Lady, it is my pleasure to accept your offer. I trust our business together will be long and happy."
"Serpent willing," Orathlee murmured, making a warding sign of the Wise. Telgaert matched it with his own fingers, precisely.
When her eyes widened, he smiled, and said, "I am of the Wise, too-but I know little. My granddam died before she could teach me properly, you see." He hesitated. "If you'll join me after evening fry in my cabin, I'd like to tell you of her. I'll show you my best wine."
Orathlee winked again. "And I'll show you my other scars."
She giggled then, at his shocked look, and took his hand. Arm and arm they went to the way down to her cabin, "You will want to tell your daughters of… your decision," Telgaert said, handing her down the ladder.
"And of the Serpent," she added, "if they don't know already."
The Master raised an incredulous eyebrow, and she said, "Oh, yes, they're of the Wise, too-and carry knives. Your men had best be careful."
She left him grinning and shaking his head at the waves, and went down to where Meleira and Talace would no doubt be rolling their eyes and waiting