People of the Morning Star(55)
She said nothing as she studied him, feeling the rightness of his presence, and finally beginning to understand his value. For long moments he just returned her inspection, expression completely neutral. Confident bit of bird shit, wasn’t he?
“What do you want, thief? Call it your ultimate goal in life?”
He shrugged. “I like fine food, good clothes, willing women in a warm bed, and having it all at someone else’s expense.”
“Bah! If I supplied you with your desires, within a half moon, you’d be as frantic as a squirrel without a nut. You like the challenge and thrive on the game. Knowing that you got away with it? That allows you to really savor your success. Therein lies the true sweetness of the food, the added thrill of driving your peg into some woman’s sheath, or the delight in trading off some forbidden trinket. And there’s your weakness, the one that will eventually bring you down.”
“You do me an injustice, Great Lady. If there were any other way for a clanless man like me to survive, be assured that I’d immediately—”
“Now you’re lying again.”
He started to protest, then gave her a sly smile. “Well, perhaps I like a little bit of a challenge.” It broke into a grin. “You’re pretty good yourself, Keeper. Only one other woman has ever picked her way down to my souls the way you have.”
She grunted, then noted, “You may not believe in Power, but I do. Tonight isn’t the first time in recent days that an attempt has been made on someone’s life. Someone very important.”
“I’ve heard nothing, and believe me, I would have.”
“I wouldn’t be the cunning Clan Keeper I am if you had,” she retorted. “But let’s just say that I have a proposition for you.” She paused. “If you’re up for the challenge.”
He crossed his heavily muscled arms, the smile widening. “Working for you comes with considerable risk, Clan Keeper. I’d be tainted, never trusted again. I have a reputation among certain kinds of people. One that serves me just fine, thank you.”
“As do I.”
“I know. You’re known for eliminating individuals once they have fulfilled your purpose and might become a liability.”
“Then perhaps I’m wrong about you.” She reached up to finger her chin, remembered the stitches, and winced in irritation. “I thought you had a better opinion of yourself and your abilities.”
“Oh, I do. That I’m still alive speaks for itself.” He narrowed an eye in what might have been a wink. “At the same time, a man who underestimates his adversaries suffers a short life. And you, Keeper, are one of the most capable and dangerous people in Cahokia.”
She gestured toward her sleeping quarters where the dead assassin still lay. “Apparently not everyone shares your sentiment.”
“Actually, they do,” he countered. “But for my chance presence, you’d no longer be a threat to them.”
She met his eyes and nodded. “You weren’t here by chance, thief. No matter what you think of Power. Nor are you a tool of the Four Winds Clan. You serve Power.”
He shrugged dismissively.
“Believe what you will. The recent attack on the Morning Star, and here tonight, have taken me by complete surprise. The fact that I had no warning from any of my sources tells me that this is something new, and very dangerous. That Sky Power and Underworld Power are aligned, tells me the threat is greater than just politics. Therefore, I’m giving you a choice. Help me find the assassins. Doing so will require all of your cunning and guile, and may very well get you killed. I’d call it the greatest challenge of your life. Or, if you’re not up to it, help yourself to whatever you can carry away, vanish down to Pacaha, or sell them on the riverfront for all I care.”
Oh, yes. She had him. No way he could turn his back on the challenge. Not now.
“I don’t take orders well.” He inclined his head to make the point.
“How could I have missed that?” she asked dryly. “If we can’t work together, that offer to take what you want and leave remains open.”
She glanced back at her sleeping quarters where the assassin lay dead on her floor. “But you might want to consider the stakes, thief. Whatever this is about, apparently they have no hesitation about killing people who get in their way.”
He gave her an irritating grin. “I think I like you, Keeper.”
“By the Piasa’s balls, don’t tell anybody. I couldn’t stand the shame.”
At that moment, Smooth Pebble burst in the door, crying, “Keeper! A runner just arrived from the Matron Wind. Your brother, the Tonka’tzi, he’s murdered!”