PART IV
Tournament of Kings
10
Two days after the Ides of Bestialis
Velody could smell the steam and coal dust from the train clinging to her skirt as she let herself into the kitchen. Crane followed her in, unapologetic about the fact that he had been trailing her since the station.
‘What are you going to do?’ he asked, but she ignored him, stumbling through to the workroom.
Delphine and Rhian weren’t even pretending to keep busy. Delphine was tucked into a chair, foot rocking impatiently back and forth. Rhian sat still, staring at nothing. They both started up when Velody entered.
‘What happened?’ Delphine demanded.
Velody’s legs were wobbly. ‘I have to fight,’ she said. ‘This nox.’
‘Who?’ Crane asked.
‘Ashiol. Garnet.’
‘Both of them?’ Delphine demanded. ‘You can’t do that on your own — it’s crazy.’
‘They’re not together — none of us is on each other’s side,’ said Velody. ‘The three of us have to duel to prove who is to be Power and Majesty.’
‘But that’s ridiculous,’ said Delphine. ‘The Creature Court chose you. Months ago.’
‘I’ve been gone,’ said Velody. ‘The Lords and Court only agreed to it back then because Ashiol stepped aside for me. He’s not doing that any more. He seems so angry. He wants us to fight to the death.’
‘But we do the fighting for you,’ Delphine said earnestly. ‘The sentinels. That’s what the swords are for, right?’
Velody looked at her in alarm. ‘You’re not going to fight them in my place, Delphine.’
‘More to the point, she can’t,’ said Crane.
‘But our job is to protect Velody,’ Delphine argued.
‘To protect all of the Kings,’ he said firmly. ‘That includes Ashiol and Garnet.’
Delphine was furious. ‘The rapist and the psycho? I don’t think so. I’m on Velody’s side.’
‘We can’t take sides, Delphine.’
‘He’s not a rapist,’ said Rhian.
Delphine turned on her. ‘You don’t get to talk about this. Don’t talk about anything.’
‘Dee,’ said Velody, shocked by the violence in her voice.
‘Oh, don’t you dare take her side. You don’t know anything of what she’s been getting up to while you were away. Remember how we cosseted her, how we did everything to protect her, turned our lives upside down because she was sick, because we loved her, because she was so afraid of men …’
‘Delphine, stop it,’ said Rhian.
‘No,’ Delphine howled. ‘Because either he’s a rapist or you’re a liar. You’ve been lying for nearly two years, about men, about everything!’
Rhian was shaking now, her hands pressed to her mouth.
Velody gave Delphine an accusing look and went to Rhian. ‘You’re speaking nonsense.’
‘Ask her, then,’ Delphine demanded. ‘Ask her what made her fall into bed with Ashiol Xandelian the second you were gone.’
Ashiol? Ashiol and Rhian? Of all the combinations, that one had never occurred to Velody. She frowned at Delphine, and then looked at Rhian. ‘But she can’t …’ Rhian could barely stand to be around men. Her rape had broken her mind, made her so afraid of life, of men, of people.
‘Unless she’s a liar,’ Delphine said in grim satisfaction.
Tears ran down Rhian’s face. Velody reached out a hand to comfort her.
‘Don’t touch me,’ Rhian shrieked.
There was a burst of heat where Velody’s fingertips had brushed Rhian’s arm. Velody stepped back, startled. There were black flames running over Rhian’s skin, just for a moment, and then they were gone. Had Velody done that, or Rhian? What powers did the Seer have?
Rhian stood up, panicky and taking quick, shallow breaths. ‘I have to go.’
‘Run away again,’ Delphine said cruelly. ‘Why not? Make us all look for you, worry about you, over and over, because you’re too f*cking selfish to admit you have been playing us for fools.’
Rhian walked slowly to the staircase.
Delphine leaned in as she passed her. ‘He thought you were Heliora. That makes you the rapist.’
Rhian gave her an odd smile. ‘I know.’ She kept going, up the stairs to her room.
Velody blew out a long breath. ‘What has been going on around here?’
Delphine collapsed into a chair. ‘So,’ she said to Crane, as if nothing had happened. ‘If we’re not allowed to protect or help Velody in this battle, what are the sentinels supposed to contribute?’
‘We make sure no one cheats,’ said Crane.
Ashiol prepared for battle on the roof of the Palazzo. It was a long time since he had let himself fall into a meditative trance. All the anger and annoyances and grief piled in on him, making it almost impossible to still his mind.
Then there was Kelpie at his side, which made it doubly hard because she couldn’t shut her f*cking trap.
‘What the hells do you think you’re doing?’ she demanded.
‘I’m taking the lead,’ he told her. ‘You wanted this.’
Kelpie sat on the clay tiles, knees up to her chin, staring at him as if he were a stranger. ‘You’re too late. You chose Velody. You made them all choose Velody.’
‘And then she chose Garnet.’
‘Is that what this is about?’ Kelpie laughed at him, though there was little humour in it. ‘After all you’ve been through, you’ll let jealousy make your decisions for you? Can you really not forgive the demme for bedding someone other than you?’
He met her eyes, unfriendly. ‘Are we still talking about Velody?’
Kelpie stared back, bristling with anger and defensiveness and all those other emotions Ashiol associated with her. Only more so than usual. ‘Apparently not.’
Of all of them, he had thought Kelpie would be on his side. Kelpie was always on his side.
‘I didn’t think sentinels could take sides against the Kings, but here you are, choosing her over me.’
‘I’m not choosing anyone,’ Kelpie snapped. ‘Don’t you dare accuse me of not doing my duty, not ever. I’ve walked through death and out the other side for you — not just for Aufleur or the Kings, but for you personally, Ashiol Xandelian, and I’d do it again in a second. Question my loyalty again and I’ll stab you in the throat.’
‘This is sweet,’ he said, impatient with her. ‘But I have a battle to prepare for. You’re not helping.’
Kelpie stood up, shaking out her coat. ‘You’ve had months to let yourself become Power and Majesty, and the mere thought of it had you in pieces. You’ve been drunk or drugged or mad or all three ever since the dust devils took the Seer down and Velody was swallowed from the sky. What the hells makes you think anyone will follow you?’
‘I’m not Garnet. And I’m not Velody. I can do this.’
‘You should have done it years ago,’ she said coldly. ‘We believed in you then. There’s not much left of that.’
‘I’ll prove you wrong,’ he told her.
Kelpie stepped forward, as if she was about to touch him, then stepped back again, out of reach. ‘I really hope you do.’
He shouldn’t have come. That much was clear. But it didn’t seem right to leave Garnet’s return unacknowledged.
Macready sat in the mouth of the narrow tunnel, his feet up on the curved wall. He didn’t have to wait long.
Footsteps sounded along the canal path and then stopped.
‘What the frig are you doing here?’ Garnet asked in a voice far more pleasant than his words. That was the way of him: all manners and serenity until you pissed him off, then he’d bite so hard you’d never stop feeling the teeth in your skin.
Macready yawned. ‘Being a sentinel. Keeping a watchful eye over one of my stray flock of Kings. That’s the right word, is it not — flock? Sounds better than herd, or gang, or murder. Like my new swords? Look elegant with the uniform, do they not?’ He smacked the skysilver blade of his knife back and forth against his palm. It barely tickled.
‘I can see you like them,’ Garnet said, getting edgier by the moment. ‘Will you let me pass?’
‘You haven’t been here in years,’ said Macready, meeting the young King’s eyes for all the cove tried to avoid looking directly at him. ‘Tasha’s den. Wouldn’t have thought it was home to you any more.’
‘It’s not,’ Garnet grated. ‘But I received a less than welcome reception at the Haymarket.’
‘Ah, that explains it, so it does,’ Macready said lightly. ‘Livilla took that death of yours rather personally. Shame she’s holding you responsible. Still, you know demmes. A bunch of flowers, flask of ciocolata and I bet she’ll come running back to your manly arms.’ Macready still had not moved his legs. He unfolded his left hand, stretching it, wiggling the low stump where his ring finger had been once upon a time. ‘Mind you, if she doesn’t play ball, you can just blast your way in there, leave her bruised and bloody like the old days. Not like you to back down from a challenge, our Garnet.’
‘I have little patience for chatting with servants,’ Garnet said, teeth gleaming in the darkness. ‘Get the f*ck out of my way, Macready.’
This would be a good time to get out of the cove’s face, so it would, but Macready had never known when to give up.
‘Aye, the big battle. Should be fun to watch. Especially as you came back here with half as much animor as you’re used to.’
Garnet betrayed himself with a glance.
‘Thought so,’ Macready said with satisfaction. ‘Used to have Velody’s under your belt, didn’t you? Ashiol’s, too, for a good long while. Now it’s just you. The question is, laddie buck, do you think you’re hard enough?’
The pain blasted into Macready’s side, sending him rolling and crying out as it flashed against his skin, muscles, spine. He ended up with his face in the dirt, barely breathing, lungs full of some unspeakable cack.
‘As you can see,’ said Garnet, stepping over him, ‘I still have juice to spare.’
‘Aye,’ Macready managed, coughing and hacking and really not ready to get up anytime soon. ‘Very impressed, so I am.’
‘This will do nicely.’ Garnet’s voice sounded from further down the tunnel where it opened up into a wide gallery with a sandy floor and a single intact building where once there had been several. ‘Just like old times.’
Macready winced as he pushed himself up a little way. ‘Ah, nostalgia,’ he managed. ‘The greatest thing in the world, so it is.’
Velody wore purple and gold. Delphine had dressed her as if for an all-saints parade, draping her with paste gems and gilded links. The dress was a dropped-waist shift that trailed ribbons and feathers like a gaudy peacock.
‘I’ll get blood on it,’ Velody warned her.
‘I don’t care,’ said Delphine. She held out her knives, their hilts wrapped in rose-coloured leather. ‘Take these.’
Velody smiled. ‘And that would be cheating.’
‘Crane won’t tell.’
Crane was waiting in the kitchen, chin on his hands. He looked up as Velody approached. ‘Ready?’
‘As I’ll ever be,’ she said with a deep sigh. Fighting Ashiol and Garnet together. There was nothing about this that she wanted.
The streets were quiet as Velody walked up the Lucretine with Crane and Delphine behind her. She could feel the nox taking over; not just the darkness and the shadows, but the strange other world that made her invisible to those of the daylight. She took Lord form, and the glow of her skin lit the street as she walked up to the crest of the hill. Lampboys passed her, and not one of them looked twice in her direction. Velody did not exist to them.
Garnet, Ashiol, Garnet, Ashiol. This wasn’t a duel. It was a hunt.
Where are you?
Garnet was in her head. It was such a familiar voice and yet so alien that Velody almost tripped and stumbled.
None of your business, she hurled back.
He laughed. You know you don’t want to hurt me.
Is that what we’re doing here? Seduction rather than battle? This was your idea, Garnet.
Not mine, Lady. Ashiol’s the one who wants to eat both our hearts out. I wonder why that is. Jealousy, perhaps.
Was he after an alliance?
She had considered the danger she would be in if Ashiol and Garnet teamed up against her — and had briefly considered whether Ashiol would listen to her long enough to put Garnet down. It had not occurred to her that Garnet might want to use her against Ashiol, but it was obvious now. He saw her as a minor player in this game and Ashiol as the prize. Either that, or he was working hard to keep her and Ashiol apart for his own protection.
What would Ashiol possibly have to be jealous of? she asked.
Don’t you know?
Images burst into her mind: a jumble of limbs, of heat, of sex, and they weren’t her own memories but Garnet’s. Memories of her own naked body, of Ashiol’s, the taste of their animor mingled with his, and above it all Garnet’s laughter, thick and rich and pleased with himself.
I am going to kick your arse when I find you, Velody thought in his general direction.
No, you won’t. You love us both.
Not right now. Really not.
‘Velody.’
She had been so busy in her head with Garnet that she wasn’t aware of Ashiol until he was almost on top of her. He practically gleamed in the darkness — he wore leather and silks, his hair freshly washed, his skin edible. Or was it Garnet in her head making her think of frigging instead of fighting?
Cats on heat, both of them. Velody had to be the sensible one. She was a mouse. She was cunning and clever, and tidy, and … Possibly tidy was not going to be useful at this particular moment.
We don’t have to fight, she tried to say directly into his mind, but Ashiol was keeping her out, his defences high.
He shook his head and smiled. ‘Stay out, little mouse.’
‘Not so little.’
‘So I hear.’
‘Base insults? Does it come to that?’
‘No. I don’t have time for insults. I’ve wasted too much time trying to make you into a Creature King and you were just a demme all along. Ready to tumble on her back at the first sight of a pretty face.’
Anger poured off him. He wouldn’t be Ashiol if he didn’t taste of anger. But he seemed to be genuinely hurt as well. Velody was startled by that. It was almost funny.
‘Are you seriously judging me for who I bed? Is there anyone in the Court who hasn’t had a taste of you?’
Oh, that anger of his — she had forgotten how it felt when his animor flared with it. If Ashiol was anything right now, it was serious.
‘You knew what he was,’ he spat. ‘You knew what he did. You let him in and you brought him back. Did you think we would say thank you for it?’
Velody shook her head slowly, careful to keep a good distance from him, ready to change in an instant if he attacked her. ‘I didn’t know anything about Garnet except what you told me, and I’m not sure I trust you any more. I don’t know who you are, Ashiol. You’re the one that turned this into a fight.’
That’s the demme, Garnet said in her mind. We’ll take him down together. He can’t fight us both at once, not if we team up.
Then what? Velody demanded.
Garnet laughed in her head, filling her up. Then the city is ours.
Yours, you mean. It was her own fury she could taste now. I’m sick of you both thinking that you’re more than me, that what I believe doesn’t count for anything. I was a better Power and Majesty than you ever were, Garnet.
Prove it, little mouse. Let’s see the colour of your claws.
Ashiol blurred in front of her, and Velody leaped towards him, attacking rather than defending. She was angry enough at him that her animor surged ahead of her, hot and lashing out.
He went chimaera, and she did, too, muscles expanding outwards, wings unfurling. She sank her teeth into the side of his neck and her claws into his chest. He raked his claws down her back and they rolled, bestial and fierce, on the cobbled street.
A noxcab rattled past, barely missing them, the black horse hooves coming within inches of Velody’s wings. She hissed and let out a mighty shriek, slamming Ashiol back on the ground, pinning him down.
You’re so hot when you’re murderous, Garnet said.
Shut up! Velody yelled at him, concentrating on her body and Ashiol’s, keeping her weight on him, keeping him down. If she could only come up with a plan, but the chimaera didn’t think; it fought and it bit and it lashed out.
Pain cut through her as he freed his claws and thrust them into her thick hide. They rolled and wrestled and she found herself under him, then on top again, bleeding in too many places. Battle-rage was scarlet and bright in her mind, but she hurt, and it was all she could do to roll back and protect her throat from his snapping jaws.
She became aware of voices behind her: Delphine and Macready and Crane.
‘You can’t let him do this,’ said Delphine in distress.
‘Feck that,’ said Macready. ‘We need her to win fairly. She has to, or all this is for naught.’
Velody could feel others nearby. She was certain that Warlord was watching, and there was a sniff of Livilla, and Poet … Where was Poet? Why had he chosen Garnet out of all of them? It made no sense to her.
Ashiol dug his claws harder into her and she howled, shifting back into Lord form. Ashiol changed, too, his body covering hers. How had he ended up on top?
He stared at her, breathing hard, and for one moment Velody wondered if this was sex rather than a fight to the death. The fact that it was so hard to tell pretty much summed up the Creature Court.
Not to the death, not that, it’s not what I’m supposed to be doing, I am not that Power and Majesty, I never will be!
She could feel Ashiol hard against her stomach, and for a moment, just for a moment, he let her inside his head, inside his thoughts. All she saw was a mess of heat and hurt and memories. Saints. He really believed that she and Garnet had teamed up against him, that they wanted his death.
‘This isn’t right,’ she gasped. ‘This isn’t how we’re supposed to be.’
Then there was pain, deep into her gut, a burning, roiling sensation, and his hand was — a claw, he still had a claw, he had gutted her, and he was crying, why was he crying? What had he done to her, what had she let him do?
Delphine screamed and landed on Ashiol, plunging her skysilver dagger into the side of his neck. He choked on his own blood, sliding sideways, slumping to the cobbles.
Velody’s vision swam. She saw Garnet over her, leaning down, a horrible smile on his face.
‘Sweet,’ he said. ‘A marriage made in hells. You know the story, don’t you? It was an old musette favourite. The angel lay with the devil, and the devil lay with the saint, and they made a marriage all together, bathed in blood. And they went away, never to bother us again, as long as we light their candles and wear their garlands and sing, sing, sing.’
Velody slid into unconsciousness, not able to listen any more.
I know the stories, Garnet said in her head. I know what we are supposed to be. I know the truth.