Read Online No Quarter by Tanya Huff - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tanya Huff
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction; American, Assassins, Canadian Fiction
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that would convince her uncle, the king. She held out both hands and said instead, trying to make it sound as if there could be no question, "I can handle him."
Before the king could speak, Liene leaned forward. "Majesty, she might very well be the only person in the whole world who can handle him."
"I'm…"
*Surprised.*
"… surprised they let you be alone with us."
Magda grinned. "We aren't exactly alone."
"I know." Her tone low and matter-of-fact, Vree kept her eyes on the flagstone path beneath her feet lest she provoke a reaction. "Two people watch us from the middle window on the second floor, one from the roof of the building on the east side of this courtyard, and a guard with a crossbow who believes the ivy at the end of the…"
*Cloister.*
"… cloister is hiding him." She lifted her head and glanced at the girl circling the courtyard with her. "But still, I expected…" A wave over the empty herb gardens indicated the hordes not present.
Her brows drawn into an indignant ebony vee above her nose, Magda glared at the places Vree'd listed. "I told them you weren't dangerous," she muttered.
"If I were targeted on you," Vree told her softly, "even the crossbow wouldn't be fast enough."
"Really?" Magda's eyes widened. "Wow." Then she smiled. "But you aren't targeted on me, and you won't be, so you're no danger to me. Right? And besides, you need me. Actually, they're more worried about Gyhard."
"Then the crossbow is less than useless."
"I've always thought so. You should see my father with a mountain bow. Or even my brother." She dropped onto a weathered plank bench with careless grace and patted the place beside her. "But that wasn't what I meant when I said we aren't exactly alone."
Vree turned her face into the breeze, and the breeze moved away to dance across the tops of the flowering mint. "Kigh."
"Uh-huh."
"Can you…"
"Sing them? Nope. I thought you knew; I'm not a bard, I'm a healer. Well, I will be a healer. Eventually. They keep saying that I Sing the fifth kigh, but I don't, not really . It's more like I know the fifth kigh." Her right fist thumped into her chest.
"In here and when I reach out, I can touch it. I can't do much with it yet, but I'm learning. My mother says she can hear me Sing while I do it, but I'm not so sure that it's me she's hearing." Kicking off a sandal, she brushed the bottom of her bare foot over the thyme growing between stones of the path. "Why did you expect there'd be more people around?"
Wrinkling her nose against the smell of the crushed herb, Vree sank down onto the bench. If she sat facing Magda, she could keep an eye on the guard with the crossbow. "Everyone thinks you're special."
"Really?" Magda looked pleased, then shifted uneasily. "They weren't supposed to tell you."
"I already knew about the fifth kigh."
"Oh. That."
Vree waited patiently. She was good at waiting, most people weren't. Most people had to do something or say something to fill the time.
After a few moments, the tips of her ears bright red, Magda murmured, "My mother's the king's youngest sister, but you're not supposed to know, so please don't tell them I told you."
*That explains a lot they didn't say,* Gyhard murmured thoughtfully.
*Doesn't it.* "They said your mother is a bard."
"They didn't go on about her, did they? I mean, that's so embarrassing."
"No, mostly they hummed at me."
Her giggle held as much relief as amusement. "Was it Petrelis? He always hums when he's concentrating. He's leaving on a Long Walk this afternoon, and he wanted to get the shape of a kigh before he left." Pulling a damp curl out of the corner of her mouth, she tucked it behind her ear and grinned. "You don't understand, do you? That's okay. You see," her fingers sketched patterns in the air,
"a fifth kigh is usually an intricate part of the body it wears, everything all mixed up together, and it's really hard to tell where the kigh ends and the body begins. But if you want to do anything with the
Before the king could speak, Liene leaned forward. "Majesty, she might very well be the only person in the whole world who can handle him."
"I'm…"
*Surprised.*
"… surprised they let you be alone with us."
Magda grinned. "We aren't exactly alone."
"I know." Her tone low and matter-of-fact, Vree kept her eyes on the flagstone path beneath her feet lest she provoke a reaction. "Two people watch us from the middle window on the second floor, one from the roof of the building on the east side of this courtyard, and a guard with a crossbow who believes the ivy at the end of the…"
*Cloister.*
"… cloister is hiding him." She lifted her head and glanced at the girl circling the courtyard with her. "But still, I expected…" A wave over the empty herb gardens indicated the hordes not present.
Her brows drawn into an indignant ebony vee above her nose, Magda glared at the places Vree'd listed. "I told them you weren't dangerous," she muttered.
"If I were targeted on you," Vree told her softly, "even the crossbow wouldn't be fast enough."
"Really?" Magda's eyes widened. "Wow." Then she smiled. "But you aren't targeted on me, and you won't be, so you're no danger to me. Right? And besides, you need me. Actually, they're more worried about Gyhard."
"Then the crossbow is less than useless."
"I've always thought so. You should see my father with a mountain bow. Or even my brother." She dropped onto a weathered plank bench with careless grace and patted the place beside her. "But that wasn't what I meant when I said we aren't exactly alone."
Vree turned her face into the breeze, and the breeze moved away to dance across the tops of the flowering mint. "Kigh."
"Uh-huh."
"Can you…"
"Sing them? Nope. I thought you knew; I'm not a bard, I'm a healer. Well, I will be a healer. Eventually. They keep saying that I Sing the fifth kigh, but I don't, not really . It's more like I know the fifth kigh." Her right fist thumped into her chest.
"In here and when I reach out, I can touch it. I can't do much with it yet, but I'm learning. My mother says she can hear me Sing while I do it, but I'm not so sure that it's me she's hearing." Kicking off a sandal, she brushed the bottom of her bare foot over the thyme growing between stones of the path. "Why did you expect there'd be more people around?"
Wrinkling her nose against the smell of the crushed herb, Vree sank down onto the bench. If she sat facing Magda, she could keep an eye on the guard with the crossbow. "Everyone thinks you're special."
"Really?" Magda looked pleased, then shifted uneasily. "They weren't supposed to tell you."
"I already knew about the fifth kigh."
"Oh. That."
Vree waited patiently. She was good at waiting, most people weren't. Most people had to do something or say something to fill the time.
After a few moments, the tips of her ears bright red, Magda murmured, "My mother's the king's youngest sister, but you're not supposed to know, so please don't tell them I told you."
*That explains a lot they didn't say,* Gyhard murmured thoughtfully.
*Doesn't it.* "They said your mother is a bard."
"They didn't go on about her, did they? I mean, that's so embarrassing."
"No, mostly they hummed at me."
Her giggle held as much relief as amusement. "Was it Petrelis? He always hums when he's concentrating. He's leaving on a Long Walk this afternoon, and he wanted to get the shape of a kigh before he left." Pulling a damp curl out of the corner of her mouth, she tucked it behind her ear and grinned. "You don't understand, do you? That's okay. You see," her fingers sketched patterns in the air,
"a fifth kigh is usually an intricate part of the body it wears, everything all mixed up together, and it's really hard to tell where the kigh ends and the body begins. But if you want to do anything with the
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