Sweep of the Blade Read online

  His lips trembled in the beginning of a growl. He smiled wide, showing his fangs, and lowered his mouth on hers. Her instincts screamed in panic, not sure if she was mate or prey, but she had waited for so long for this and she met him halfway.

  They came together like two clashing blades. His mouth sealed hers and she opened for him, desperate to connect, to feel him, to taste… His tongue glided over hers. He tasted of mint and warm spice. His fangs rasped against her lip.

  Her head swam. She felt light, and strong, and wanted…

  He kissed her deeper, his big body bracing hers. She nipped his lip. A snarl rumbled deep in his throat, the sound of predatory warning or maybe a purr, she wasn’t sure. He kissed the corner of her mouth, her lips, her chin, her neck, painting the line of heat and desire on her skin. She was shaking with need now.

  “I’ve wanted this for so long,” he groaned.

  “So did I.”

  “Why now?”

  He was kissing her neck again, each touch of his lips a burst of pleasure. She could barely think, but she answered anyway. “We almost died today. I can’t wait any longer. I don’t want to be careful, I don’t want to think about the consequences or things going wrong. I just want you. I want you more than anything.”

  “You have me.”

  “Always?”

  “Always,” he promised.

  #

  Maud stretched, sliding her foot along the heated length of Arland’s leg. He pulled her tighter to his body. Her head rested on his chest.

  “What were they? The creatures?”

  “The closest thing to Mukama in my generation. On the vampire homeworld, there were predatory apes, like us, but not quite us. A distant relative, less intelligent, more feral, more vicious.”

  “Primitive?”

  “Yes. The Mukona, the creatures that attacked us, are the Mukama’s primeval cousins. They are to the Mukama what feral apes are to us. An earlier evolutionary branch that didn’t grow. This is the birth place of the Mukama, after all. The Mukona possess rudimentary intelligence, more of a predatory cunning, really, and inhabit caves deep below the planet’s surface. When we took over the planet, we had hunted them to extinction, or so we thought.”

  “There were three of them,” Maud said. “A mated pair and an offspring?”

  “I don’t know. Possibly. I’d never seen one before today. I’d heard stories.” He made a low growl. “Once this damn wedding is over, we’ll have to send survey drones into the caverns. Find out how many of them there are, and if any are left, we will have to take measures to preserve them.”

  She raised her head and looked at him.

  He smiled at her. “Today we are legends. We killed a Mukona, the next thing to the Mukama, the ancient enemy, the devourer of children, the cosmic butchers who almost exterminated us. Once the word gets out, every House will be beating on our door for a chance to hunt one. They really are magnificent beasts. We have to protect their future and manage their numbers. I have no idea what brought them to the surface, for this hunt of all hunts. Oh well, at least something good will come out of this wedding.”

  “It was Helen,” Maud said.

  Now it was Arland’s turn to raise his head and look at her.

  “When I was a little girl, a Mukama came to stay at our Inn.”

  Arland jerked upright in bed. “A living Mukama?”

  “Well yes, it wasn’t a dead one that somebody brought with them. No, he was very much alive and wanted a room. They are out there somewhere, Arland. Think about it. They were an interstellar civilization with an armada of ships. You didn’t really think you got them all, did you?”

  “Yeah, I kind of did. What happened?”

  Maud frowned, tugging on the string of a half-forgotten memory. “I don’t remember any of it. I was told about it later, but Klaus, my brother, was there and it gave him nightmares. The Inn had lain dormant for a long time and my parents had just recently became its Innkeepers. They were not in a position to turn down guests.”

  She didn’t really want to remember, but she had started the story and now she had to finish it. “My parents offered him a room with a separate exit, completely away from all other guests, on the condition that he refrain from harming anyone. Supposedly, I had walked into the garden at this point. I was maybe five. I should remember it, but I don’t. All I remember is my father standing and something huge and dark looming over him. And then there were teeth. Really scary teeth.”

  She slid deeper under the blanket. Arland lowered himself next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

  “The Mukama saw me and chased me through the garden. My parents had restrained it. It had taken all of their combined power and everything the Inn had. When my father demanded to know why he shouldn’t just kill the Mukama now, the creature told him that it couldn’t help itself. That I was full of magic and he would do anything to devour me. He offered them a fortune. He told them that they had my brother and they could always make more children, but it was vital that he be allowed to eat me.”

  Arland swore.

  “He raved about it. My father was worried that they wouldn’t be able to contain him and he appealed to the Innkeeper Council. They sent the ad-hal and the ad-hal took him away. That’s why the Mukama are barred from Inns where there are children.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me? Why didn’t anyone tell us?”

  Maud sighed. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t get a chance. All of my energy was spent either tending to your wounds or trying to not throw myself at you. I’m now telling you because you are the Marshall and I am the Maven. As to why nobody told the Holy Anocracy, the vampires are just one of the thousands of species who come through Earth’s Inns. We maintain our neutrality and we keep the secrets of our guests.”

  Arland kissed her shoulder. “That’s troubling news.”

  The kissing made it difficult to carry on a conversation. “Mhm. Did you know your mother made me a Maven?”

  “She informed me after the fact.” He nuzzled her neck. “Do you like being a Maven?”

  “I’m thinking about it. What are you doing?”

  “Since my wounds don’t need tending, I am seeing if I could get you to throw yourself at me.”

  “Already?”

  “A knight always rises to the occasion, my lady.”

  The end came simply and without fanfare.

  The three of them were eating breakfast on her barren balcony. She and Arland sat at the table, enjoying mint tea and a platter of meats, cheeses and fruit, while Helen had taken her plate and sat cross-legged on the stone wall, contemplating the dizzying drop below. Every time she shifted her weight, Maud had to fight the urge to leap into action and pull her back from the edge.

  “The child is completely fearless,” Arland said quietly.

  “Karhari was flat,” Maud said. “I’m not sure if she understands the danger or is just ignoring it.”

  Arland raised his voice. “Helen, do not fall.”

  “I won’t.”

  Arland glanced back at Maud.

  Well, of course, that fixes everything. She hid a smile and drank her mint tea.

  “I have a gift for you.” Arland pushed a small tablet across the table.

  On the tablet, a slightly worse for wear but still impressive vessel appeared on the screen. It was patched, repaired and obviously scarred but the battle-damaged nature of the ship seemed to make it even more imposing. It was like an aging fighter, battered but unbowed.

  “The Star Arrow? Renouard’s ship?”

  Arland nodded. “The pirate.”

  “What about it?”

  “Would you like him killed?”

  She blinked.

  “He insulted you. You seem to dislike him, so I sent a frigate to track him down. We’ve been watching him for the past half-cycle and we have more than enough firepower to reduce him and his ship to cosmic dust.”

  “Let me see if I understand correctly. You didn’t
like the way a pirate and slave trader spoke to me, so you sent a frigate to track him down and murder him and his crew at my convenience?”

  “You seemed to really dislike him.”

  She stared at him for a long moment and began counting on her fingers. “Fuel cost, hazard pay, an entire crew sent into deep space…”

  “The man is a menace, and the galaxy would be better off without him.”

  She squinted at him. “Are you jealous of Renouard?”

  “Not anymore. You are here with me and he is somewhere in the Malpin Quadrant about to impersonate a super nova.” Arland sipped his tea.

  She laughed. “Would you like me to tell you about him?”

  “If you wish.”

  “We met at a Road Inn, a year and a half ago. He is a smuggler, occasional slave trader, and pirate of opportunity. I don’t know which House he was in, but I do know that he was born out of wedlock and it caused an issue. Depending on who you asked, he was either cast out or he left of his own free will, but he has been a pirate for the last two decades. I ran into him again after Melizard died. I was desperate to get off planet, and he offered me passage.”

  “At what price?”

  Maud shook her head. “Human, vampire, doesn’t matter. You want to know if I slept with him.” It was rather adorable that it was bugging him that much.

  “I would never presume to ask.” Arland’s face was very carefully neutral. If he appeared any more disinterested, he would fade into the stone wall.

  “I never had sex with Renouard. He had hinted at first, then he offered me passage for it, but even if I had found him attractive, which I didn’t, I never trusted him. He is the type to screw you until he’s bored, and then sell you to the highest bidder to make a quick credit. Even if I had been by myself, I wouldn’t have taken him up on it. I was responsible for Helen. I wasn’t about to take any chances. Shooting him now serves no purpose. Are you really that threatened by his existence?”

  “I am not the least bit threatened by him. We are here, having a pleasant conversation, while he is very far away and at my command, he will cease to exist entirely.” Arland smiled wide, showing her his splendid fangs.

  Maud rolled her eyes. “Keep him. He’s not stupid. He’s been a pirate for twenty years, he’s a survivor. He knows a lot of creatures. He’s also vain and he hates the Holy Anocracy, which makes him predictable. He may prove a valuable resource. Alternatively, you can storm his ship, put him in chains, have him dragged here and hidden in some dark hole, and when you’re suffering from an attack of melancholy, you could go and poke him with a stick. It would cheer you right up.”

  “I don’t do melancholy.” Arland sat up straighter. “I am the Lord Marshall of House Krahr. I have no time to mope.”

  Maud shrugged. “There is your answer then.”

  Arland took the tablet back and typed something in a very deliberate fashion.

  “I recalled the frigate. The man is a scumbag but blowing him to pieces after this conversation would be unseemly. I have to avoid the appearance of pettiness.”

  “What happens the next time somebody is mean to me? Will you scramble the fleet again?”

  “I’ll handle it. I just won’t tell you about it until it’s done.”

  She laughed. “Do you feel I need assistance defending my honor?”

  Arland leaned back and glanced into her quarters.

  “What are you doing?” Maud asked.

  “Checking to see where your sword is before I answer.”

  She leaned back in her chair and laughed again. She couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun at breakfast. You could have this every day, a small voice told her. Just like this, the three of them, together, making jokes about pirate hunting and watching to see if they need to rescue Helen.

  “Do you think I could get some plants for this balcony?”

  Arland stopped chewing halfway through his smoked meat. “Do you want plants? Make a list. I’ll have them delivered before sunset.”

  “Thank you. It needs some flowers,” she said.

  “You don’t need to even ask. Anything you want is yours, if it is within my power to grant. Besides, as a Maven, you have a discretionary spending account and the authority to use it as you wish.”

  Maud toyed with her spoon. “I don’t even know what to get…”

  “Can I have a kitty?” Helen asked.

  The two of them turned to her.

  “If mommy gets flowers, can I have a kitty?”

  Arland looked abashed. “We don’t really have kitties. Would you settle for a rassa puppy or a goren puppy?”

  Helen checked her personal unit. “Yes!”

  “Then we’ll go to the kennels when we finish breakfast. If your mother approves.”

  Smart man. “I approve,” Maud said.

  Their personal units chimed at the same time. Maud read the short, one-sentence message, and her stomach tried to crawl sideways.

  The happy couple want to wed on the battle station.

  – Karat.

  Chapter 17

  Maud followed Arland into the HQ of House Krahr. The large room churned with activity. Desks and displays sprouted from the floor, each station a focal point for the House Krahr elite, and between them a dozen knights and retainers hurried to and fro. Screens shone on the walls, flashing with data and images. A clump of retainers surrounded Ilemina on the left and an equally large group crowded Lord Soren.

  “Lord Marshal!” Knight Ruin emerged from the rush, the look of determination on his face. As far as she could tell, Knight Ruin’s mission in life was to ensure that Arland was where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there, so he could be taking care of pressing matters of which Knight Ruin always had a long and detailed list. She had a feeling the russet-haired knight considered her to be a permanent threat to his success.

  Arland veered left to what had to be his desk, with Ruin following and speaking in urgent low tones. Several knights peeled off from the crowd and closed in on Arland like starved sharks.

  Maud halted, taking in the controlled chaos around her. The entire wedding venue had to be relocated to the battle station, where things would finally come to an end. The logistics of moving the celebration alone were enough to give one kittens but selecting who would be in attendance to the wedding added an entirely new dimension. Planetside, House Krahr had an overwhelming number advantage. In space, with a limited capacity, half of which was taken up by the wedding “guests,” every attendee counted.

  The gauntlet was thrown, the war banner unfurled, and the fangs bared. House Krahr had risen to the challenge.

  In his wildest dreams that’s what Melizard had envisioned. A thriving House, bustling with activity and preparing for war. The hum of voices, the chimes of communication alerts, the rapid rhythm of running footsteps… Spacecraft taking off on the monitors. Knights in battle armor. An electric excitement saturated the hall, sizzling along her skin. Her former husband would have drunk it in like it was the nectar of the gods. Melizard would’ve killed, in a very literal sense of the world, for a chance to be a part of this. He had once told her he felt like he was born into the wrong House. She never understood it until now. House Ervan could have never delivered this, not on this scale. This was what he must’ve seen in his head.

  He must’ve felt suffocated.

  She imagined his ghost standing next to her, a thin translucent shadow and waited for the familiar pinch of bitterness. It didn’t come. Maud puzzled over it.

  I’ve moved on.

  She was free. Finally. All her memories and bitter lessons were still there but they lost their bite. The present mattered so much more now.

  Everyone around her was busy. She should make herself useful. At least she could contribute in some small way. Someone somewhere could use her assistance…

  A young vampire knight slid to a halt in front of her. If Melizard’s ghost had any substance, she would have torn right through him. She was tall,
with a deep grey skin and a wealth of blue-black hair, braided from her face. She held a tablet in her hands, a communicator curved to her lips, and a secondary display projected over her left eye.

  “Lady Maven.”

  Maud moved to step aside and froze in mid-step. She was the Maven.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m Lady Lisoun. I’m your adjutant. What should we do about the chairs?”

  “What about the chairs?” What chairs? Adjutant?

  Lady Lisoun took a deep breath. The words came out of her in a rapid sprint. “The battle station banquet hall chairs.”

  Maud waited.

  “They are sojourn style chairs.”

  Sojourn style chairs had a solid back. There was no way the tachi would be able to sit in the sojourn chairs. Their vestigial appendages would be in the way.

  “Your desk is this way.” Lisoun began weaving her way through the crowd.

  Maud marched next to her. “Can we substitute different chairs?”

  “No, my lady. They are part of a unit, one table and eight chairs.”

  “Are they attached to the table?”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “Whose bright idea was that?”

  “I don’t know, my lady. They stove away for the ease of storage.”

  “Are they at least height adjustable?” The lees couldn’t sit in a vampire-sized chairs either.

  “I don’t know.” Lisoun braked to a stop before a desk surrounded by people. “I will find out.”

  The rest of the knights swarmed them. Everyone spoke at once.

  “One at a time!” Maud barked.

  A familiar looking retainer – where had she seen them? Ah, feat hall – thrust a tablet under her nose. On it glowed elaborately arranged platter of fruit and vegetables. “Menu for approval!”

  Maud stared at the arrangement. “Take out all of kavla – the tachi are allergic. Make sure the honey doesn’t contain any kavla either.” She waved her fingers at the tablet, scrolling through the pictures. “No. None of these make any sense. The tikk igi dishes need to have a pattern. You can’t just put a bunch of pretty fruit randomly on a platter. There must be a progression of taste or color, ideally both. A circular arrangement would start with sour fruit on the edge and then progressively get sweeter toward the center. Or, you start with purple berries and work your way through a spectrum to yellows. This is a haphazard mess. Take this back, bring me an updated menu.”