Kushiel's Avatar - Jacqueline Carey [289]
We passed the island temple of Houba, where I had offered a prayer to Isis.
We passed countless plantations, greening in the bright sun, dotted with Menekhetans working hurriedly to make the most of the growing season.
We passed crocodiles and hippopotami, and the many birds we had seen before. On that journey, Kaneka had taught us the names in Jeb'ez. This time, Inherit taught us in Menekhetan, pointing and naming as we went. Imriel played the game along with me, his facile mind quick to grasp new words; Joscelin merely rolled his eyes and took out his fishing gear, trailing a line in the water, catching little in the swiftness of our passage over the waters. In the evenings we made camp on the outskirts of villages, and traded with the villagers for our meals as we had done before.
It was after we had stopped to pay homage at the temple of Sebek— at Inherit's insistence, for I would gladly have foregone the pleasure a second time—that we realized how swiftly indeed this leg of our journey would come to an end.
"Phèdre." In the prow of the felucca, Joscelin set down his neatly wound fishing line. "What happens when we reach Iskandria?"
I glanced toward the stern, where Inherit was teaching Imriel tosteer the vessel, both of them absorbed with the tiller. "We present ourselves to Ambassador de Penfars, I suppose. If we're not seized on arrival."
He raised his brows. "You think Ysandre's that angry?"
"No. I don't know. She'll have taken the betrayal harder, coming from the two of us." I thought about it. "We've broken no law in Menekhet. But certainly she would be within her rights to ask Pharaoh for the favor."
"And risk exposing Imriel?"
"Probably not," I conceded.
"I don't think so, either. So," he said. "If we're to be hauled back in disgrace, like as not a delegation awaits us at the embassy."
"Like as not." I looked at him. "I'm sorry."
Joscelin shrugged. "I made the decision first, Phèdre. Have you thought of what you'll say to Ysandre?"
"Yes," I said and swallowed hard.
"She owes you a boon," he said. "The Companion's Star?"
I nodded.
"Aught within her power and right to grant," Joscelin mused. "It is that, although she'll not like it, not one bit. 'Tis your decision to make, love. Is it worth it, to lose the goodwill of the Queen forever?"
I turned to watch Imriel; we both did. Under Inherit's guidance, he held the tiller with both hands, white-knuckled, eyes bright with excitement in his sun-tanned face. Catching sight of us, he grinned with pride.
"Yes," I said. "It's worth it."
In a scant handful of days, we reached the end of the broad, stately river to enter the myriad waterways south of the city. The vegetation was lusher than ever after the rains, the odor moist and rank. Here our course slowed and it took the better part of a day to navigate the swampy delta. The air was unmoving, the felucca's sail hanging slack. We drifted slowly on the sluggish current. Inherit used a long pole to facilitate our passage, humming cheerfully and pointing out black-headed ibis and egrets with their snowy crests, describing how they differed from their brethren further upstream.
"To the market wharf, Kyria?" he asked in a mix of Menekhetan and Hellene when we drew within sight of the city, clusters of palms bowing over the buildings. "You can hire a carriage there, but if you get out before we reach the wharf, there is no toll to pay."
"No," I said. "Take us to the wharf, Inherit.”
He complied, poling briskly, then springing to attend the sail as a little breeze arose. I watched the city of Iskandria take shape around us, the familiar landmark of the great lighthouse visible at a distance, the wide, gracious streets and elegant buildings. It was gilded in the evening light, and I could smell the odors that had seemed so exotic upon our first arrival, the scent of oranges and strong spices in the air, and meat grilling for the evening meal.
The market wharf was a busy place, the canal laden with small craft; farmers selling the season's first produce, loading the remnants for