The shadows fell long in the dying light, my chamber grew dark and cold, and Kai pulled the edges of the comforter over our legs but otherwise remained still. The silvery ringlight winked off the reflective surfaces of my possessions. If Master was gone, I'd lose them all. Would Mistress keep us, or would she sell Kai and I to the highest bidders? Was I destined to lose them both, just when we had found each other? The handle of my razor glowed on a shelf, and I made my decision without conscious thought. I'd slit Kai's throat and then my own before I let us be parted.
A commotion at the front of the compound stirred us from our torpid state, the guards cheering and applauding. Kai and I exchanged looks, hope flaring like a brilliant flame between us. As one, we leapt off my bed and ran through the house.
Master was standing in the entrance, black with dirt, his beautiful robes ragged and stained in blood, but he stood unaided and half-lifted us both as we flew into his arms.
"I'm not hurt," he said, a smile in his voice as he clasped us close. I peppered him with kisses everywhere I could reach, while Kai seemed determined to touch every last inch of him and see for himself he was unharmed.
"Where were you?" I demanded reproachfully. "We thought you were dead!"
"You can see for yourself I'm not." He cupped my face with one hand, and rested his other on Kai's shoulder. "I was on the outskirts when the bomb went off. We made for the marketplace immediately to assist the injured."
"You should have come home." Kai scowled. "What if whoever set the bomb had attacked you?"
Master grimaced. "The bomber is dead."
"How can you be sure?" I asked.
"I spoke to enough witnesses. The man was the bomb."
"What?"
Kai winced. "He blew himself up," he explained.
"People do that?" I felt sick. What kind of indoctrination made someone so fanatical they would commit suicide in a busy marketplace in order to harm innocent people?
Master looked as ill as I felt. "I'd heard rumours the Granthians were using such tactics, but I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen the results for myself."
"You're covered in dirt." I touched his robes. "We should get you clean."
Master nodded, and for the first time I saw the pain in his dark eyes, the shock of what he had seen that day finally sinking in. I put his arm around my shoulders, Kai doing likewise on his other side, and together we led him to his chamber, barking an order at a passing house slave to fetch hot water for his bath.
In the sanctuary of his chamber, Kai lit a fire and helped me strip him, the two of us checking him over thoroughly. Some small scrapes on his hands and arms aside, no doubt caused when he'd joined the other men in digging bodies and survivors from the rubble of blasted buildings, he was unharmed. He trembled lightly and followed our orders as meekly as a kitten when we put him in the bath the other slaves had filled and gently sponged him clean. The water quickly turned a dirty brown, a thin layer of scum floating on the surface. We emptied and refilled the tub and washed his hair in the clean water, and I took my time massaging his scalp and shoulders, offering us both a small measure of comfort.
Kai found the largest towel Master owned, and we wrapped him in it and sat him before the fire. I dried his hair with another cloth, and Kai surprised me by wanting to be the one to brush it. I sat on the floor by Master's feet and rested my chin on his thigh, content to watch Kai taking care of him. I didn't know if my fellow slave realised how taken aback I was at his behaviour, or if he even realised he'd all but admitted how much he cared for the man who owned us. Kai had been as scared as I was when we thought Master had been killed, and not out of fear for himself, I was sure. With a dawning sense of wonder, I realised Kai was growing to love him.
"What happened today?" Kai asked at length, when Master's hair lay neat and almost dry about his shoulders. "Was it a lone bomber, or was it the Granthian forces? What was their target? Were you in danger?"
"One question at a time," Master admonished gently, putting his hand on Kai's arm and guiding him to sit beside me. "We don't know what happened," he admitted after Kai settled. "I sent a guard to the military base in Riga to inform the army what has happened. They'll investigate and send more troops to protect the outpost."
"Why here?" I asked. "There's nothing of significance in Otiz, surely?" It made no sense. Riga was a day's ride away towards the mountains, and from what I'd read, the base there was small. Being on the edge of the desert protected Otiz; nobody expected enemy forces to cross the bewildering expanse of sand in order to launch an attack on a small market community of no political or strategic worth.
Master looked at Kai. "What do you think?"
Kai frowned. "It doesn't sound like an army attack," he said. "Where were the other troops? If the Granthian forces wanted to overrun Otiz, they could do it easily. They wouldn't send one man to blow up the marketplace."
"That's what I thought." Master nodded agreement.
"But it doesn't sound like mercenaries, either," Kai continued. "They work for hire. They don't care about the cause. A mercenary would never become a suicide bomber."
"Do you think we're in danger?" I asked. "Is that why you've called in the army?"
"I'm taking precautions," Master said, teasing a strand of my hair. "The people are frightened. They want to see that something is being done. The presence of the army will reassure them and hopefully dissuade any accomplices the bomber may have had."
"But we've never had trouble so close," I continued. "Won't the Granthian soldiers follow our army if they come here? Will they start fighting? Is that why Mistress left?"
"What about you?" Kai interrupted, looking at Master. "If the army comes here, will you have to join them?"
I stared at him in horror, waiting for an answer. The idea of staying at home while Master was out fighting a war was too terrible to contemplate.
"You're getting ahead of yourselves," he said, his smile encompassing us both. "There's no indication this was anything more than the work of a lone fanatic."
"But you said the war was getting closer," I pointed out. "You're already gone far more than you ever were, and you work harder when you're here. Now a bomb's gone off not two miles from our home, and-"
"Tam." His tone was brusque. "Enough."
I closed my mouth, crossed my arms, and pouted.
"Don't sulk," he chided, chucking me under the chin. "You're letting your imagination run wild. You're perfectly safe here, and whatever's happening elsewhere you needn't concern yourselves with. Either of you."
"But-" Kai started to protest but fell silent at a look.
"I'm tired," Master admitted. "I've had a long day, and I've seen things I'd have happily never looked upon. All I want to do tonight is sit quietly and be grateful that we're all here and we're all safe. Can we do that?"
I nodded acquiescence and, after a moment, Kai followed suit.
"Good."
Kai shuffled nearer on the bearskin until we flanked him, one pressed against each of his legs. I took one of his hands in mine and pressed it to my lips, content to touch him and hear him breathing and know that he was alive, unharmed, and safe at home where he belonged.
He scratched his fingers up through the short hairs on the back of Kai's head, moving his hand almost unconsciously, and Kai shivered at the sensation, as responsive to Master's touch as he was to mine. His eyes hooded, and he inclined his head to grant Master better access, not flinching from him as he usually did. I smiled to see it, and when Kai opened his eyes, he smiled lazily back. I held out my hand and he took it, each of us giving and receiving comfort from the others, shutting out the darkness which loomed large in the distance, threatening to engulf our once-peaceful household.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The army marched into Otiz two days later. Kai and I listened to the tramp of feet all morning, a seemingly-impossible number of soldiers responding to Master's summons. The generals called at our door a little before first-noon, and Master left with them, assuring us he would return by nightfall. So began our new routine.
Master spent his days with the army, whose presence was everywhere. Kai said the guards grumbled about having to share their quarters with the soldiers, a company of which were stationed around the compound to provide extra security. I thought it logical, given Master was underlord of the surrounding area, but Kai's green eyes flashed with suspicion every time we passed a soldier doing his rounds.