Perilous Seas by Dave Duncan Page A

Surely the fastest way to Hub-”
    “The
fastest way to Hub is a ship from Ullacarn,” Inos agreed, sounding
excited. Her logic was often shaky; it became notably precarious when she was
excited. “But if we are still in Rasha’s clutches, then she will
make sure we never get near a ship in Ullacarn. She will certainly never let us
appeal to the Four, Aunt. She has been meddling in politics-abducting me from
my kingdom, interfering in Azak’s rule in Arakkaran. The wardens will
squash her, and she knows it! We can travel to Hub through Thume, can’t
we?”
    “If
we are not molested,” Azak agreed. “A month’s ride, perhaps,
to Qoble. We can be there before winter closes the passes. “
    Another
month on a camel! Or was he thinking of horses? Kadolan wanted an armchair, a
stationary, down-filled armchair. And there was no guarantee that the wardens
would be of any assistance, anyway. This was all just a dream of idealistic
youth. These two youngsters could not believe that the world could be a place
of injustice, which it certainly was, much of the time. The Four might well
spurn their pleas without a thought, or decree some solution even worse than
the present situation, murky though that seemed.
    “A
month?” Kadolan protested, knowing that all her protests were vain, but
determined to try. “By then Nordland and the Impire will have come to some
agreement about Krasnegar, and-with all due respect, Sire-the emerald sash of
Arakkaran may well be gracing some other ruler. The wardens will dismiss your
petitions as historical curiosities!”
    “Perchance!
“ Azak said equitably. “Then I shall merely ask that they remove my
curse, so that I may marry your niece. That matters more to me than all the
kingdoms in Pandemia. “
    There
was a pause, when Inosolan should have agreed, and said nothing.
    Kadolan
reached for another arrow, and there were only two left in her quiver. One of
those she must not use, so she tried the other. “But to anger a sorcerer?”
    “Personally
I should like to disembowel him with a gardening fork! “ said Inos. “Horrid
old fat fool, messing around with my mind! I am not going to hang around here
so that Rasha and Warlock Olybino can marry me off to a goblin. Can you get us
out of here, First Lionslayer?”
    “Your
wish is my command, my love. “
    “Are
you coming, Aunt?”
    Kadolan
sighed. “Yes, dear. If you insist,” she said, and she left the
other argument unspoken. For weeks that giant young djinn had been wooing
Inosolan as best he could, but for a Zarkian male to be seen spending time in
the company of a woman, and especially his supposed wife, was to risk seeming
unmanly. Thus Azak’s courting had been seriously handicapped. Now he
would have Inosolan all to himself, from dawn to dusk, uninterrupted. True, he
would still be hampered by his inability to touch her-what a blessing that
curse was!-but she would have his undiluted attention.
    Inos
had been handling him very well. She had neither spurned nor encouraged. She
had been tactful and kind, promising nothing, committing to nothing. The poise
she had learned so well at Kinvale had stood her in good stead so far. But she
was very young; she was homeless and friendless, and in great need of support.
Alone with Azak for an entire month or longer, could even Inos continue to
resist his logic, his persistence, his undeniable charm?
    Kadolan
was not a gambling person, but she knew a long shot when she saw one.
     

5
    Day
dawned through a strangely undesertlike fog. It might have been a cloud, for by
then the travelers were already high into the hills.
    Departure
from Tall Cranes had been a very educational procedure. Inos had listened in
fascination as Azak reduced both hamlet and caravan to utter confusion.
Although the visual detail had been obscured by darkness, she had been able to
make out enough from the sounds alone.
    The
famous Code of the Lionslayers had proved to be much less reliable than the
proverbs about