The Shape-Changer's Wife by Sharon Shinn Page B

Nothing had ever repulsed Aubrey so much in his life and he did not know why this should be so; but while the wizard kissed his wife he could not look away. The knot in his belly was so painful that he knew it would be days before it went away.

Four
    GLYRENDEN WAS HOME three days and then abruptly gone. As soon as Aubrey woke in the morning, he knew by his curious sense of lightheartedness that the wizard was no longer in the house. He did not want to analyze his relief; he washed and dressed himself rapidly, all the while resolutely resisting the impulse to think.
    He came down to breakfast to find Orion and Arachne involved in a near-silent dispute, while Lilith watched disinterestedly from a chair at the table. Arachne was gesticulating and chattering in her strange, furious way; Orion was shaking his head and grunting out a clear, stubborn negative.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Aubrey asked, sliding into the chair opposite Lilith’s and helping himself to a plate of food.
    â€œWe need supplies and Orion does not want to go to town.”
    â€œHaven’t we been through this before?”
    â€œOften.”
    Aubrey ate his meal, watching. Arachne, for all her incoherence, could be very insistent: She held out the empty canisters of rice and flour and stamped her foot on the stone floor in rage. Orion huddled in a far corner and covered his ears with his hands. “No,” he grunted. “No. No. No.”
    When this diversion had gone on as long as he could bear, Aubrey looked over at Lilith with his eyebrows raised. She too shook her head. “I’m not going,” she said. “You can.”
    Aubrey hesitated, shrugged and stood up. “I’d just as soon not starve to death,” he said. “Orion! On your feet, man. I’ll go with you.”
    Within a few minutes, the two men were on their way. Aubrey was certain they made an odd pair, he with his frayed cloak and easy stride and blond hair; Orion a good foot taller, hairy as a beast, moving with his disjointed, lumbering stride. Orion was quiet, though, padding through the forest on soundless feet; Aubrey began to see how the big man could be such an efficient hunter. His head swiveled constantly from side to side, reacting to sounds Aubrey scarcely heard—a bird’s cry, the rustling of a deer, the rattle of a pine tree. Orion seemed not so much nervous as alert, keening the breeze for every aroma and noise it could bring to him. Aubrey had to admit he was impressed.
    When they arrived in town, however, Orion definitely exhibited signs of anxiety. As Aubrey led him through the market stalls, the big man crowded up behind him. Aubrey could feel him jerking away from sudden voices and heard him whimper once for some unfathomable reason. The wizard was torn between irritation and compassion. He wondered how Glyrenden had ever been able to force Orion to come to town on his own.
    â€œAnd a fifteen-pound bag of flour, and a ten-pound bag of sugar, and one of those big sacks of potatoes—yes, that size,” Aubrey said to the young girl waiting on him. “No, I have a carrying sack, thank you very much.”
    He took his purchases and turned, practically into Orion’s arms. “You must stand back from me, just an inch or two,” Aubrey said, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. “Here, load this up, can you? Getting too heavy for you yet?”
    Orion hefted the two large burlap bags they had filled already. Aubrey carried a third one over his shoulder. “Heavy,” Orion said.
    â€œToo heavy? Can you carry it back?”
    â€œI can carry.”
    â€œGood. We still need fruit—ah, yes, there’s a stand down at the other end.” The crowd had grown thicker between stalls, and Aubrey wanted to get this done and over with. “Look. See this nice place here?” The wizard pushed the servant over to a circular wooden bench built around an oak tree. “You sit