Song of the Saurials - Kate Novak [59]
The saurial knocked on Lady Shaerl's door.
From within. Lady Shaeri called out, "Come in."
Dragonbait opened the door and stepped inside. Zhara sat on a couch beside Mourngrym's wife, Shaeri, who held a sleeping Scotty in her arms. The saurial signed very quickly to her ladyship.
Shaeri understood the signing immediately and laughed. "Certainly, Dragonbait.
Any time you wish to be alone with a lady in my quarters, just ask," she said lightly.
The paladin raised his eyes to the ceiling. Her ladyship's teasing could be most inappropriate at times. But then what else could one expect of a Cormyte noblewoman who understood the thieves' sign language? Not even motherhood, Dragonbait noted, had dampened the woman's taste for mischief and adventure.
Obviously she did not intend her future to be any less colorful than her past.
The saurial signed that his business was urgent.
"Excuse me, Zhara," Shaeri said, "while I go put this little monster to bed."
Her ladyship rose and carried Scotty into an adjacent room and closed the door behind her.
"I did as you asked," the priestess said in low tones once the two of them were alone. "I pretended to submit. But I will not remain here while Akabar is in danger."
Dragonbait signed to Zhara that he was sure that Akabar had nothing to fear from Grypht; Grypht was his friend. Hastily the paladin signed his plans for her escape; then he began pulling pieces of Alias's armor out of the sack. A few minutes later, the pair of them descended the stairway into the front entrance hall. "This will never work," Zhara whispered, tugging at the uncomfortable studded leather collar she now wore around her throat. "Even if I look like Alias, my skin is too dark," she argued.
Dragonbait made a wheezing noise. Zhara realized he was chuckling. They won't see your skin, he signed, only your flesh.
Zhara shuddered and clutched the bundle that held her robes closer to her chest.
Dragonbait stepped in front of her, and Zhara halted. The saurial forced her arms down from her chest, revealing a healthy cleavage between her breasts that Alias's enchanted chain armor did not cover.
Carry your bundle under one arm, the saurial ordered with his fingers. Hold your head up higher. Don't look modest. Gods know, Alias isn't. Dragonbait reached up and arranged a lock of Zhara's hair over the scholar's tattoo of three blue dots on her forehead. Don't rest your hand on the sword hilt, he added. That's for swaggering amateurs.
Zhara moved her hand from the blade's handle, and Dragon-bait continued to instruct the priestess as they made their way down the staircase. Just nod to the guards when you go past. Pay attention to my signing, and they'll realize you're too busy to chat.
When they reached the entrance hall, the saurial began to encourage Zhara with a steady banter. Remember, you're Alias, the warrior who defeated the Iron Throne's hired kalmari and the evil fiend Phalse. They all admire your courage.
You're probably the most talented singer in the Realms. They all love your singing. You are very beautiful. The young women want to be like you and the young men want to be with you.
Zhara's eyes met with those of one of the guards at the door. The guard nodded politely. Zhara nodded in return and hastily averted her eyes back to Dragonbait's signing hands. She could feel herself flushing. She had never before appeared in public without her veil, let alone without her priestess's robes. Only her husband had ever seen this much of her body before, and the priestess felt more than embarrassed. She felt ashamed, as though she'd been unfaithful to Akabar.
Once they'd stepped through