House of Lust Page 2

  “When you marry Velka, will you still want my services?” she asked.

  Argan looked at her. “Yes. You are my personal servant, and a friend. I value you, Amal. Velka will have to understand that.”

  “What if she does not like me, or want me to bathe you or look after you, Lakhani?”

  “I will tell her that you are to carry on as before. I know grown-ups get funny about that sort of thing but I don’t know why. It’s not as if you and I will ever get married, is it?”

  Amal shook her head. “What if I meet someone who I wish to marry?”

  “Then you should. If you want to. I can’t see any reason why not. People get so silly at times.” He smiled at the young girl. His eyes glanced at her chest, noting the beginnings of her breasts growing. “You will soon be a grown-up, like me. I hope we don’t go all silly like the others.”

  “You’re not silly, Lakhani. You are a very wise prince, unlike your brother.”

  “Oh, him.” Argan frowned and shut his eyes again. “He’s just horrible to everyone, and gets friends who are just like him. He couldn’t have nice people as friends as nice people don’t like him.”

  “I hear what he calls you. Are you not outraged?”

  Argan grinned. “He thinks he can upset me with his silly words. I’m older and bigger than he is. He can play being a silly fantor for all I care, and I don’t care what he calls me.”

  Amal gently urged Argan to sit up and began wiping his back. She then picked up a few salt crystals scented with oils and began rubbing them into his skin, infusing his pores with the aroma. “When I reach my age of Growing Through I will change, so the older women tell me. I will be wild and passionate.”

  “I know – but I don’t know what that means. I only hear people speak. Will you be like Metila?”

  “She’s a witch – I am not. She is special. But all Bragalese women are very passionate – I might not be able to wash you like this without – being passionate.”

  Argan looked at her. “Amal, you would not hurt me, you are my friend. I would not want you to go and be the servant of any other person. You’re a very special friend.”

  Amal smiled, then put her arms round him and the prince embraced the servant girl.

  ___

  Isbel meanwhile had breezed into Astiras’ chamber and dismissed the guards and servants. Astiras sat on the edge of the bed, his greying head still, watching her warily. The argument of earlier that day was still fresh in his memory. “Have you thought further on what we said?” he asked.

  Isbel picked up the letter that had started it that morning, an anonymous message that had been pushed under their door. “So you did this out of gratitude for saving Argan’s life?” she asked, waving the sheet at him. “Three times since?”

  “You know Bragalese women, they are very – active.”

  “And you didn’t think for a moment you’d be insulting me and our marriage? We are not Bragalese, a race of rutting creatures, Astiras! We are Kastanians, and marriage is supposed to be sacred and inviolate.”

  Astiras waved a carefree hand. “Everyone sleeps around – Amne does it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if half the people in Court here did the same.”

  “I’m not sleeping around, Astiras! Don’t you go comparing me to your wanton daughter. I can see where she gets her habit from, too!”

  “Bah!” Astiras stood up. “It’s not as if I want to replace you with that witch anyway, so don’t go getting all hot under your jacket.”

  “That’s not the point!” Isbel exclaimed, throwing the letter at her husband. “I’ve been insulted and betrayed, and you’re too porcine-headed to see that! Well go ahead and rut with that creature for all you want! From now on you don’t touch me. I have no idea where you’ve been or what you’ve been rutting. I do not wish to catch anything nasty. With any luck, that overused piece of flesh will rot off anyway. It seems to be used more than what you’ve got between your ears.”

  “What are you saying, Isbel?” Astiras stood before her, glaring at his wife.

  “You can have your marriage – after all, we have our image to live up to, don’t we? But you can forget about having me in your bed from now on. Have a whole queue of servant girls if you like – put out a poster in the streets asking for young Bragalese girls to apply for a position in the keep. That should keep you happy – or at least, that piece of flesh down there.”

  Astiras growled. “You’re talking nonsense! I have no intention of taking anyone else – you’re my wife.”

  “In name only from now on. Don’t forget, Astiras, you’re mid-fifties now and getting no younger. Your time is getting shorter. I have ten years on you. I’ve looked after myself, unlike you,” she pointed at his rounded stomach. “I doubt you’ll be looked at for much longer with interest anyway. Make the most of Metila. When you go I’ll have my revenge on her!” and with that she turned and left the emperor alone in his chamber, looking thoughtfully at the still vibrating door.

  He picked up the letter Isbel had thrown at him and studied it. Who had sent it? It was unsigned. Someone here in Zofela had slipped it under Isbel’s door, someone with access to the keep and the inner chambers, and someone who clearly wanted to cause harm.

  When he found out who it was he’d rip his head off and mount it above the Frasian Gate. Then he might hurt him a bit.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The spring was fully upon the island of Romos and the herd beasts were all out in the fields grazing. The land avians were all building nests or finding mates, and the sea avians were flocking to the rocky shores to find their seasonal niches now the winds of winter had passed.

  Prince Jorqel stood on the shore staring east across the Aester Sea. The creatures of the sea and air were doing their thing, but apart from that nothing broke the vista of the waters. No ship could be seen. After staring for a moment, he grunted and turned. The route back up off the stony shore was via a narrow path in between the boulders, and he took his time making sure he didn’t slip and fall.

  Gavan, his right hand man, was waiting at the end with two equines, his and the prince’s. Four other men sat in their saddles a little way back, watching in case anyone happened by. They were there to make sure Jorqel wasn’t disturbed. Gavan handed his master his reins and waited.

  “Nothing again today, Gavan. It seems the peace is holding.”

  “Unless Venn are approaching from a different direction, sire.”

  Jorqel looked thoughtful. “They might consider it, but I think they will have learned a painful lesson. If they move on us again I expect it’ll be by a much safer route. They’ve tried twice now and come to grief each time. I doubt their committee can make their mind up as to what to do next.”

  “All the better for us, sire.”

  Jorqel mounted up, settled into the saddle and nodded slowly. The previous year Venn had sent a fleet of ships laden with men and equipment against Romos and had been dashed to pieces on the shore in a storm that had blown up from nowhere. They were still finding wreckage and bodies from time to time washed up around the island. Since that time Venn had agreed to a cessation of hostilities; an uneasy peace. They had not signed a formal treaty, so it was clear the situation was temporary, but so much the better for Kastania.

  Venn was no doubt training up more soldiers and equipping them, ready to try yet again, but for the moment the lands of the empire would not be violated by their enemy. Jorqel was pleased, as his province was the closest to the advanced Venn supply depot on the island of Cratia, and it had been from there the lost fleet had sailed in the autumn.

  As they rode slowly away from the shore, they followed the tracks made by the people of the island that ran between the farms. Roads were few and far between, but on an island as small as Romos that wasn’t too important. The farms supplied the island’s population with enough food for themselves, but not enough to export. What Romos was famous for was its vine pressings. The sweet fruits produced an alcohol prized around the empire, a
nd once again, now under Jorqel’s management, the vintners were producing plenty to sell to the other parts of Kastania.

  In the two years since Romos had been returned to Kastania, the depredations of the pirates had been erased and people once again could come to and fro as they pleased, trading in the market square in Romos. The place was much more vibrant than before, and everyone agreed the prince was the best thing that had happened to Romos in a long time.

  “We return to the town, sire?” Gavan asked.

  “Yes. I’ve seen enough. Just make sure we have the early warning system back in place now. The better weather might just persuade those carrion feeders to try their luck against us once more.”

  “It will be done. Do you think Venn will come?”

  “One day, yes. We’re too tempting a target. I really want a decent garrison trained up sooner rather than later, so I want that mustering hall completed now. We need to house the garrison away from the fort. I don’t want my daughters thinking life is merely a barracks.”

  Gavan grinned. Jorqel was the father of three girls, Merza, Krista and Zora. They had been born very close to one another, and his wife Sannia seemed constantly pregnant. Merza had been born before the invasion of Romos, and Krista not one year into the rule of Jorqel over the island. Zora had been born a year later and now Sannia was with child yet again. “Another daughter to come, sire?”

  Jorqel pulled a face. “I would prefer a son. Three beautiful girls are lovely, but it would be a welcome change to have a boy. I would wish for someone to carry on the family name, after all.”

  “And a general for the future.”

  “That, too. Sannia is loving motherhood but sometimes the smell of sick and pee and shit gets too much.”

  Gavan laughed. “Rather you than me, sire. It’s enough rolling with a wench. Fatherhood it not for me.”

  “So you say, Gavan.”

  “So I know, sire. Why marry one woman when there are plenty of maidens wanting my attention out there?”

  “Aren’t you running out of new ones to deflower?”

  “Romos has plenty of farmsteads with desperate daughters, sire.”

  “Oh so that’s why you readily volunteer to survey the island and take a census? I may have to consider replacing your duties in that case.”

  Gavan looked appalled. “Sire, surely you would not deny me some pleasure in my duties?”

  “I thought you took great pleasure in carrying out my wishes, Gavan. I’m hurt.”

  Gavan stared at his master, then both burst into laughter. They rode on towards the nearest farm. Ever since the war with Venn had begun, Jorqel had taken steps to fortify and make Romos harder to invade. All round the coast where there were no rocks or cliffs, he had arranged for the army to lay traps and obstacles. After all he did not want a repeat of his invasion success. The only two places anyone could now land were in the two ports, unless they got someone ashore to clear the obstacles and that would take time and alert anyone watching.

  That had been the second step he’d taken, arranging a series of watchmen to keep an eye out on the coastal paths. Nobody would remain in one place, but move about and report to stations set up near each farm. Any watchman who failed to turn up on time would also raise an alert. Jorqel had been very insistent on that, and had managed to secure the co-operation of the farmers too which went a long way to securing an efficient early warning system. The farmers were more than happy to help the prince, for in the two years he had been running the island, tithes and taxes had been cut, their families had not been raided for the most suitable daughter to service the garrison, and plunder and theft had died away to virtually nothing. Of course, any society would always have one or two outcasts who could not – or would not – fit into it and as a result would turn to banditry or thievery. So far Jorqel had been pretty quick to stamp down on any such activity, and the people had declared that they were far happier under the Koros than they had been under either the pirates or the previous regimes of the Fokis and Duras.

  All through that day they slowly made their way back to the town of Romos and arrived just as the sun was setting. The gates were open and they rode through, attracting cheers and bows from the townsfolk. Jorqel acknowledged their welcoming enthusiasm with a wave, then led his men into the castle through the one and only gatehouse, dismounting in the grassy courtyard. Stable-hands came to take the equines to their stalls and for a good feed and rub down, and to remove the saddles and harnesses. They would need to be cleaned, rubbed and even possibly oiled, but that was of no concern to the tired and stiff riders. Two of the men returned to their barracks, glad to be off duty once again, but Jorqel, Gavan and the two others made their way up the single staircase to the entrance of the keep, high up on the mound of earth.

  Inside, Jorqel pulled off his gauntlets and threw them onto the table that dominated the hall. The soldier of guard saluted. “Is the princess in?” Jorqel asked, stretching his back and arms.

  “Sire, she is upstairs.”

  “Very well. Gavan, I’m going to my quarters. Make sure everything’s in order here. Any issues let me know, otherwise I don’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Sire,” Gavan slapped his chest and waved the two others to follow him to the small office on the ground floor.

  Jorqel stiffly climbed to the next floor and passed through a low archway, bending slightly. A high-pitched voice came to him, that of a child shouting. He smiled. Merza was letting her opinion be heard by everyone again. She was quite a little madam. He passed a guard who bowed and he opened the nearest door and stepped in.

  The room was littered with sheets and furniture. Three beds lay against the walls and a row of small wooden boxes lay underneath them. The middle of the floor was covered in a small rug which was half hidden underneath cloths, blankets, a few play things and children.

  “Daddy!” a small dark-haired child shouted, seeing the looming bearded figure in the doorway. The girl, dressed in white, sprang up off the rug and dashed to him, arms flung out wide.

  Laughing, Jorqel picked Merza up and held her above his head, giving her a little shake from side to side. “How’s my big girl, then?”

  “Daddy! You’re back! You were gone a long time!” she accused him, but smiled as her father held her close. “What did you see?”

  “Clouds, lots of water, farms. What have you been doing?”

  “Talking non-stop, dear,” another voice answered, close behind.

  Jorqel turned and saw his wife, Princess Sannia, standing there, a pleased look on her face. They kissed and half embraced, mindful of the muttering Merza. “I wasn’t too long, just long enough to satisfy myself all is in order.”

  “No Venn, then, I take it.”

  “Nope. How’s the tummy?”

  Sannia smoothed her stomach, just beginning to swell. It was her fourth child in three years and she was getting tired of being pregnant. No sooner had she given birth, it seemed she was getting pregnant again. Jorqel was a fine figure of a man and very desirable, but there were limits. She would have to have a word with some of the wiser old women on taking something that stopped all this, at least for a while. Sannia wanted to have the energy to be able to be a mother, rather than feeling exhausted and throwing up. “No different than normal, dear. Number four is growing nicely.”

  “Only ten more to go, then,” Jorqel smiled, winking.

  “No chance of that, Jorqel Koros.” She took Merza who protested. “Now, now, Merza, your father has to get out of those smelly clothes and wash, hasn’t he?” she said, staring hard at him.

  Jorqel rolled his eyes and grinned. “I take the hint, although it was hardly subtle.”

  “You wouldn’t have understood it if it had been,” Sannia answered. “Go and clean up. Time the little ones were in their beds anyway.”

  “Aww, I want to see daddy more!” Merza complained.

  “Tomorrow you will. He’s not going out again for a while.” Sannia held Merza up for Jorqel to kiss he
r goodnight, then carried the still complaining girl to her bed. The two other girls were still on the rug along with a middle-aged woman who had been employed as a nurse and carer. She picked up the youngest, Zora, and Jorqel embraced the little girl briefly before the nurse put her to bed. Krista put her hands up to Jorqel who picked her up. The girl, a brown-haired fair-skinned delicate looking individual, squealed in delight. “Daddy!” she said in a tired, young voice. She was beginning to speak now, after a long time of not really doing so. Jorqel theorised it was because Merza talked so much it was impossible to get a word in edgeways.

  After the girls had all been put to bed and kissed goodnight, Jorqel went to change. As he passed another doorway he halted and stepped back to confirm what he’d seen. Seated by himself in a room set aside for the girls for their daytime activities, was a short, nondescript man with a cloak and hood, but the hood was thrown off his face. He was recognisable which, in all probability, he wished for. “It’s been a long time, Kiros Louk,” the prince said, entering the half-lit room and gently shutting the door.

  Louk bowed briefly but remained in the chair. Jorqel’s chief spy, Kiros Louk, had spent time in both Slenna and Romos before each had fallen to Jorqel over the past eight years. He had been absent for a year and a half, but now, like some half remembered dream, had returned. “Indeed, sire. I have brought you news.”

  Jorqel slowly sat in another empty chair and gestured with his hand for the man to continue.

  “Nikos Duras is alive and well in Tybar lands.”

  “As I thought, that canine! Where is he?”

  “Nowhere and everywhere,” Louk said enigmatically. “The Tybar recognise his value in undermining your rule here and have allowed him to wander the frontier recruiting bandits, brigands and displaced people, all of whom have no love or affinity for either you or the empire. He appears not to be forming one army, but a general movement designed to spread rebellion and dissent in both Lodria and Bathenia.”