Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [58]
For a mercy, there was enough to see outside the coach that the ladies were soon distracted. We crossed the river on a massive bridge built by Tiberian engineers over a thousand years ago and entered the city proper. My throat tightened as we passed the gatehouse and the white walls closed around us, but I made myself breathe slowly and listen to the litany of Florette and Lydia's description, and the feeling eased.
It was beautiful, very beautiful. I marveled at the buildings and temples—and aye, the folk. It didn't seem as noisy or bustling here as it had in Bourdes. The denizens of the City of Elua went about their business at a more leisurely pace, gathering in small knots to chat with friends.
"Home." Lydia sighed with pleasure.
"Home," Florette agreed.
The coach station was on a street near Elua's Square. The moment we descended from the carriage, a handful of young men appeared to offer their services as porters. Me, they regarded uncertainly, but they flirted shamelessly with the ladies. I watched Florette engage in shrewd negotiations with a likely pair.
"Do you know where you're bound, dear?" She cast a disapproving eye over me. I had my satchel over one shoulder and my bow and quiver over the other. "Have you kin here? You never did say, did you? Have you lodgings?"
"You'd be welcome to stay with us for a time," Lydia added.
Florette pursed her lips, then gave a firm nod. "It's no trouble."
I smiled at them both. "You're very kind. But I've lodgings arranged and I've a fancy to stretch my legs and see a bit of the City."
They gave me the address of the townhouse they shared—it belonged to Lydia, Florette having lost hers to her dead husband's creditors—and made me promise to call on them if I'd need of aught.
"You take care of yourself, dear." Lydia patted my cheek. "Remember us!"
"I will," I promised.
As maddening as they'd been, I watched them toddle away with a certain sense of fondness. I turned to find Theo leaning against the stable doorway, watching me.
"You were right," I said. "They weren't so bad."
"They would have felt differently if they knew what you are," he said quietly. "Do you really have lodging arranged?"
I shrugged. "I've an address."
He hesitated. "I'd be pleased to escort you there."
"No," I said slowly. "I think not. You made your choice."
"Forgive me." Theo stepped forward and brushed his lips against my brow in an awkward kiss. He gave me a rueful smile. "Somehow, I suspect FU tell my grandchildren about this encounter one day, Moirin of the Maghuin Dhonn. Whatever it is you're bound for, I'm sorry I wasn't bold enough to play a greater role in the journey."
"So am I," I said.
Theo bowed, exacting and formal. "Blessed Elua hold and keep you, lady."
"And you." With that, I left.
* * *
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I hadn't lied to the ladies; I truly did have a fancy to see the City. Or more rightly, I had a fancy to see the great oak tree in Elua's Square, scarce glimpsed from the window of the coach. It grew in the very heart of the City and was said to have been planted by Blessed Elua himself.
It was old.
Very old.
The thoughts of trees grow slower and more ponderous with age. This was the oldest I'd ever encountered. Even at a pace away, its thoughts were silent. I stood beneath the vast green canopy and laid my hand on its bark.
"Hello," I said softly.
It was a long time before I felt the tree respond. Slow, so slow! And yet it had a tremendous awareness, greater than any I'd ever encountered. The oak tree remembered centuries. It was only a blink of time ago that Prince Imriel had scrambled into its branches, digging out a hidden gemstone. It remembered when there was no City, only a tiny village in a lush river valley.
It remembered Elua.
It remembered how he had cupped an acorn in the palm of his hand and smiled, turning to one of his Companions. And the Companion had smiled in reply and taken Elua's hands in his and blown softly on the seed.
Anael, the Good Steward.
A little green tail had split the shell of