Read Online Under A Velvet Cloak by Piers Anthony - Free Book Online Page A

is art.”
    “And I did not realize it until it was done,” Kerena said, awed in retrospect. “Now I understand.”
    The Fey smiled, pleased in much the way Morely would have been by an apt pupil. “But if my taste happened to be in women, you would be the type I preferred. You have a marvelously fresh young body and face. Hone your skills; you should be good with women when that time comes.”
    “I will try to be,” Kerena agreed.
    There were other men, and she crafted her skills, managing the marks precisely. She almost invariably gleaned the information desired, and seldom did the men realize what they had revealed. Sometimes the object was not to gain information, but to gain influence. She cast her spell on key men, so that they would act as the Fey desired, resulting in modifications of court procedure that benefited her. It seemed that the Fey never approached her brother directly; in fact he was unaware of her presence at the capital town. She preferred subtlety, and was remarkably successful in accomplishing her designs. Kerena wasn’t certain what those designs were; they seemed obscure. But the Fey definitely had an agenda of some sort.
    Kerena mused on what that agenda might be. Power? Perhaps, in part. More likely power was but a means to some other inscrutable end. The Fey was said to be half faerie, and once to have seduced her brother the king and conceived a quarter faerie son by him. There were other stories. Kerena knew she could ask, but she doubted that was wise, and in any event she had more than enough other questions to tackle day by day. Such as her quest to find Morely.
    “First you must master your cloak,” the Fey said. “That will require time. It is a marvelous device, exceptional magic.”
    “It is Morely’s cloak, not mine. I merely hold it until I can return it to him.”
    The Fey turned a disturbingly intense gaze on her. “Perhaps. Nevertheless, it is the key to your quest. Only when you master it will you be able to locate him.”
    “You will teach me?”
    “It will require several questions and much practice to unriddle it. Meanwhile, of course, you will continue to serve me.”
    “If the cloak is so valuable, and you understand it so well, I am surprised you do not simply take it from me for yourself.”
    The Fey made the Morely type of smile. “You are learning to phrase questions correctly. I would of course take it from you if I could. But it is crafted to resist the faerie element that is the source of my power. It is bound to you; the man surely loves you. Were I to seize it, it would crumble into dirt and be useless. If I am to have use of it, I must do so through you. You will be more useful using its powers, until you learn the last of them; then you will go your own way and I will not be able to stop you. So my hold on you is limited. But we can do each other some good in the interim.”
    Kerena knew the woman spoke literally: she had no love for Kerena or anyone else, but did have use for her. If the cloak helped her be more useful, the Fey would encourage its use. But the cloak would eventually free her from the Fey. So the Fey would be careful about the lessons, and not give the last one until she had to. Meanwhile, they were indeed doing each other some
good:
the Fey was gaining much information and influence, and Kerena was learning what she needed. It was a worthwhile association. They understood each other.
    Kerena normally slept alone when not using her sexuality for business purposes. One night she discovered a dark figure in her room. Had someone sneaked in? “Who are you?”
    The figure did not speak He extended his shadowy hand and touched hers. She was both amazed and thrilled: that touch had more sheer masculine presence than she had felt from anyone in the past.
    She didn’t speak again. She joined the figure in her bed and they made phenomenal love. Whoever he was, he was the best sexual partner ever. He made her float like a flower on a pool,