Galeb's hand, holding a knife swished through the air, his eyes opened at the moment the sharp blade touched the pale skin just below the Adam's apple of the person who dared lean over him while he was sleeping. In the semi-darkness his eyes met Lintai's green ones. The knife flew back into the sheath tied on his left forearm, while his body slumped, hands in lap, back in the seat, his eyes fluttered closed and his mind retreated back into a sluggish fog. It was just Lintai.
"Did you just dismiss me?" Lintai towered over Galeb, his arms on either side of Galeb's body.
"Dismiss my master?" Galeb half-opened his eyes. "I wouldn't dare." Then he straightened, quite awake now. He shouldn't say that. The plan was to be a perfect obedient servant, to try to swallow as much of Lintai's crap as he could without talking back for two years, not to provoke him.
"Somebody is being cheeky again." Lintai's lips curved into a predatory grin. "I think I'm going to punish you for your transgression."
Galeb's body stiffened. Punish? Just hearing the word left a sour taste in his mouth and for a second or two he could feel the strike of a whip on his back, its knotted rope drenched in a liquid that made his wounds tree times as deep and that slowed down the healing. His ex-master, Shiern, liked to add personal touches to the punishments for offenses and mistakes that were defined in the contract just to hear his servants screaming. Not that he ever heard a sound leave Galeb's throat.
Galeb looked at Lintai, at those eyes sparkling with mischief and he doubted that Lintai had that kind of punishment in mind. The tension disappeared from his body, but his senses stayed alert.
Lintai closed the distance between them and his nose touched Galeb's.
Galeb's heart started to hammer in his chest; he knew what was coming, but the thought of resisting didn't even cross his mind. Soft lips touched his, just a brush, the simplest of touches, but it became the focus of his all being for the short moment that it lasted.
Galeb opened his eyes, which he didn't even know he had closed, and wetted his lips. It was too short, too chastise. His eyes widened at his own thoughts and his hands fisted the folds of his cotton shirt. This wasn't his first kiss, but why had just that small peck felt ten times more powerful than any make-out session he'd ever had?
Lintai, so uncommonly serious, stared at him. His mouth opened, but then without saying anything he closed it again and his hand caressed the side of Galeb's face.
"Master?"
Lintai blinked and snapped out of whatever daze he had been in. A grin flashed on his face before his body pushed Galeb into the softness of the sofa and he pressed his lips against Galeb's again. His hot tongue licked the seam of Galeb's mouth.
"Master Black! Master Black!" Somebody knocked on the door of the wagon.
Galeb reluctantly tore himself away from that seductive brush.
"Just ignore it." Lintai's lips slid over Galeb's cheek and his hand slid under his shirt causing goose bumps on Galeb's skin.
"Stop it." Galeb pushed Lintai away and wiggled out of his hold.
"So uncooperative." Lintai flashed a half-smile, his fingers grabbed Galeb's short hair and tugged on it, drawing Galeb close. He caught Galeb's lower lip between his teeth and bit into it before he released him and straightened up. "I'll deal with your behavior later."
Galeb watched Lintai open the wagon's door.
A boy with a stupid smile of welcome on his heart-shaped face stood by the door. His build was similar to Galeb's but his frame was slightly slimmer. "Master Black, welcome."
"I told you not to call me that." Lintai ruffled boy's jaw-length brown curls.
"I'm sorry, Master Blackmoon."
"That's not it, either. How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my name?"
Galeb stood up and went toward them, stopping behind Lintai.
"No, I couldn't." The boy shook his head, then his gaze landed on Galeb.
"New Tashi?"
"Yes." Lintai turned, put his hand on Galeb's shoulder and pushed him forward. "Galeb, meet Shita."
Shita reached out and as Galeb grabbed his hand, he shook it, his shake firm and warm. "Hi. I'm the first, the original Tashi."
Lintai softly slapped Shita's head. "Remember what we said about your big mouth."
"To use it sparsely." Shita rubbed his head where Lintai had hit him. "But master, you chose him for your new Tashi. You wouldn't have chosen him if he weren't trustworthy."
"I don't know about that, Shita. He was an assassin who tried to kill me." Lintai's eyes were on Galeb. His fingers touched Galeb's neck and went under the collar of Galeb's shirt. "Can I trust you, Galeb? Or will you slit my throat at the first opportunity?"
"Like you said yourself: I can't kill you. So you have nothing to worry about." Galeb's voice was soft and even, almost kind as he turned away from Lintai and stepped out of the wagon. They were in a garage again, so similar to that one in the brothel. The artificial light was shining down from small orbs in the ceiling, lighting a space with no windows, just two doors-- a large garage door and a normal entrance door on opposite sides of the room. He looked around, his gaze travelling over the two wagons and a small single unit. Where was Aros?
"No respect whatsoever. Do you see, Shita, what I have to put up with?"
"Master, I can come back. I can be Tashi again."
"Ah, Shita, still such a loyal boy." Lintai patted Shita's head. "But I can't. Our contract is broken, and besides, with time and a little training, Galeb will do just fine. He wasn't trained like you were, so he's still rough around the edges." He pushed a braid of long hair over his shoulder and onto his back. "Now, I assume my usual room is waiting for me?" When Shita nodded, he continued, "I'm going to take a long, hot shower and in the meantime, you two be good boys and carry up my chest." He waved over his shoulder as he directed his step toward the door.
Galeb watched Lintai's back, the sway of his hips and the elegance of his stride.
"Hey, c'mon, help me." Shita climbed into the wagon.
Galeb tore his gaze away from Lintai and went back into the wagon where Shita had his hands on the handle of the simple wooden chest, dragging the big box toward the door. He went to the other side of the chest, wrapped his fingers around the handle and picked it up.
Shita gave him a smile as they carried the not-so-heavy chest through the wagon's door and across the garage.
"Is it true? Are you really an assassin?" Shita opened the door and they stepped on the long, red-walled, poorly lit hallway, a thick crimson carpet beneath their feet.
"Yes." Galeb kicked the door shot behind them. "A licensed one."
"You really don't look like one and when the master said… I thought it was one of his… jokes."
Since the hallway was wide enough, they walked abreast now. Galeb wrapped his fingers tighter around the handle as they started to climb the stairs. "You mean lies?"
"It's not that he lies, he just likes to twist the truth to his liking."
"I see." Galeb could hear hushed voices and laughter and then from the corner of his eye he saw somebody moving behind the half-opened door on the first floor. But when he directed his gaze toward the movement, there was nobody there. Just darkness.
"Don't mind them." Shita turned around the corner and they climbed another set of stairs. "They are just curious."
"Huh?"
"The girls and boys. They would probably like to be all over you and the master, but they know that I wouldn't like that and because I am their madam they have to respect my wishes." Shita said.
"A madam?" Shita was a madam? Such an innocent looking boy was the most influential person in the house of carnal pleasure -- aside from the House guardian, who was usually one of the local nobility appointed by the founder of the brothels Madam Ravi's descendants? And that meant that this was another brothel. No wonder it its layout and its furniture looked so familiar. He wasn't even surprised when they entered the room to find it an exact copy of the room in which he had entered as an assassin and left as a Pet. He could swear even the two armchairs that stood in the corner of the room with a table between them were the same shade of crimson.
They put the chest down before the big closet and Galeb sat down on the floor, his ears catching the barely audible sound of falling water that told him that Lintai was still showering. "So you are the first Tashi?"
"Yes. Tashi was my birth name." Shita opened the chest, pulled out the rich brocade and silk, unfolded it and hung it in the wardrobe. "I was raised as a Pet and I was a gift for master's eighteenth birthday." He caressed the fabric.
Galeb crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on them. Since Lintai liked to take long showers, there was still some time before he would appear in the room. "You are young. You must have been a child when master got you?"
"I look younger than I really am. I was sixteen years old then and he treated me like a child for a long time. Which was actually good, since I was terrified of him. You have it easy now. He's more open, warmer and kinder than he was back then." Shita looked him.
Galeb tried to imagine a colder and more withdrawn Lintai and it wasn't that hard. "What changed him?"
"You'll have to ask him that." Shita looked at him and changed the subject. "How did you become an assassin?"
Galeb propped his chin in his hand. An answer for an answer. He guessed it was only fair.
"I thought that only coldhearted people or people without conscience were recruited by the Consul." Shita said. "I always was a good judge of people and as I see it, you don't belong in either group."
"Don't be so sure." Galeb smiled, even when cold death coiled inside his soul. The memories twisting into a knot wedged in the pit of his stomach, even though he wasn't sorry. No, there was no regret there. "I killed a man when I was ten years old. No, actually I killed two men. And since I was young and there was a lot of anger in me, they thought I was very promising candidate." Not that it mattered when he didn't fulfill their expectations, only a few trainees could. They used failures like him as bodyguards, teachers, personal trainers or, as in his case, a gift.
Shita nodded in understanding and took another item from the chest. "Why did you kill those men?"
"They attacked my grandmother." And killed her, the poor wretched soul who had nothing but a small hovel, a little land, and him. As if losing his parents and most of his memory three years earlier hadn't been enough, he had to lose the old crone too. He felt pressure in the corners of his eyes and he pressed his nails into the soft skin of his palm. It had been a long time ago, more than ten years.
Shita put the garment he held back in the chest and crawled toward Galeb, to wrap his arms around him. "I'm sorry."
Galeb discreetly took a deep breath and in the silence noticed that water had stopped running. He didn't need consolation. "You are like a puppy."
"Probably." Shita smiled, not releasing his hold of Galeb. "Deep down I will probably always be a Pet, even though he set me free." He looked over Galeb's shoulder at the bathroom door. "He is beautiful, our master, isn't he?"
Galeb nodded.
"He can be a bastard, but it's so easy to love him." Shita sighed. "Don't get attached to him. If you do, he will get rid of you, just like he got rid of me and the ones before you. You, me, we are all just substitute, somebody to keep him company and warm his bed until he finds Kai."
Galeb heard the opening and closing of the door and without turning around he knew that Lintai was at the door, with only a towel wrapped around his hips because he always forgot to bring fresh clothes with him.
"I like this one." Shita leaned his chin on Galeb's shoulder.
"Well, get off him, he's mine, not yours." Lintai stepped toward the chest, opened a drawer in it and rummaged through it. He pulled out a brush and a Triliti box, then went to the bed and sat down. "Shita, I won't say it again. Get off him!"
Shita's arms fell away from Galeb like he had burned himself and he crawled back to the chest. With head bowed he resumed putting clothes into the wardrobe.
"Shita, don't sulk." Lintai put his accessories beside him "Galeb, you don't expect me to dry my hair on my own, do you?"
"No." Galeb stood up, closed the distance to the bed, and climbed onto the soft mattress behind Lintai.
"I'm sorry, master."
"Come here, Shita." Lintai said.
Galeb took the Triliti box, with the button at its side he adjusted the thickness of the surface so that it radiated enough heat to use as a dryer. Triliti boxes fitted into one's palm and the ability to adjust the thickness of its sides, or to join them together into a bigger box or a string of boxes gave them versatility. The fact that Triliti was rare gave them a price not everybody could afford.
Shita went toward Lintai on his knees and stopped before Lintai's spread legs.
Lintai leaned his elbow on his knee and his chin in his palm. With his free hand he cupped Shita's chin and gave him a smile. "You know how I hate to repeat myself?"
Galeb picked up the brush.
"I won't do it again." Shita said. "And master..."
Galeb took a blonde tassel into his hand. First he combed it, then with Triliti box an inch above the hair, went over the whole length of the tassel.
"What is it, Shita?"
"Madam P dropped by. She has some information for you."
"I know, I got the message. That's why I'm here." Lintai nodded.
Galeb took a new tassel and repeated the procedure.
"She also asked if you could give her a show." Shita inched between Lintai's legs and put his hand on Lintai's towel-covered knees.
A show? Galeb took a new tassel and repeated the procedure.
"She knows the price." Lintai released Shita's chin. "If she is willing to pay…?"
"Price was never an object to her." Shita pressed himself closer, his knees bumped against the frame of the bed, his body pushed the white, fluffy towel higher on Lintai's thighs.
"I assume you had yourself in mind as my partner."
"You might want to use Galeb, but… can I?"
"Of course. Now, run along, get your house ready." Lintai's fingers caressed Shita's face and he got a smile in return. "And prepare yourself." He swished his arm around, looked at the small, narrow display with lines that was attached to his silver bracelet. "We leave in an hour and a half."
Shita nodded, a big smile on his face. He stood up and with a joy in his step almost ran out of the room, and the door closed with a loud thud behind him.
Lintai crossed his legs and leaned an arm against the bed's surface. "Such a delightful creature, isn't he? But a little too clingy."
Galeb murmured agreement, focused on the job at hand, his fingers holding the silken strands, trying not to let his eyes linger on the towel that pooled dangerously high on Lintai's legs. After the hair was dried, he braided it, his hands here and there touching the perfection of Lintai's skin and small shivers travelled in waves through his body. He hated that - the reactions of his body which he couldn't control.
A line and a half joined the lines on the bracelet's display when Lintai dressed in a black cape with a hood over his black, tight pants and black shirt, giving Galeb a half- smirk and the words, 'don't wait up' before he was out the door.
As soon as the door closed and the sounds of steps outside moving away became silence, Galeb was at the chest. He pulled out a small bag containing his work 'accessories' from the thin black 'uniform' to the small thimbles with blades at their ends. He had brought the bag from the wagon while Lintai was getting dressed and had even managed to put on the black pants and shirt, then hidden both under the bluish overdress. He didn't need it anymore, so he pulled it down and replaced it with his favorite black hoodie, and decorated his waist with the belt pouch and, just in case, he also put a sheath with his katana over his head and fastened it across his chest. Then he went out of the window into the night, a shadow on the rooftops following the two dark-clothed figures down below.
They didn't go far, just three streets down, where they disappeared into a large well-lighted villa.
Galeb squatted down at the edge of the roof on the opposite building. From his pouch he pulled a small telescope, extended it and observed the house. He caught the shadows moving through the high, lighted windows, ground floor, first floor, second floor, and adjusted the lens on his telescope-- not that that helped him when the shadows disappeared from his sight and the next window in their path was covered with a thick curtain.
There's no way around it. Galeb sighed. Three metal clicks sounded when he collapsed the telescope. He put it away in his pouch and pulled up a round box with two steel hooks on the either side. He pulled on the hook which was attached to a thin rope. He eyed a small decorative balcony in the third floor, a drain pipe beside it, above the strings of globes in the middle of the street emitting an artificial light, and calculated the distance. He pulled additional rope out of the box and with the box in his left hand, he used his right to swish the rope around and with calculated precision throw it toward the balcony. With a small thud the hook bounced against the wall and around the pipe and hooked back around the rope. He tugged on it and, satisfied, he looped the other hook around the telepath amplifier, a white pole, which was announcing to the world that this house was rich enough to have a license to converse at a distance. With a press on the box's surface he adjusted the tension of the rope.
He pulled leather gloves from his belt, put them on and in the next moment he wrapped his hands and arms around the rope and pulled himself to the other side of the street. And because it was a cloudy night, he didn't have to worry about the people who walked down on the pavement, who even if they had looked up couldn't have seen the dark shadow above the light globes.
He didn't land on the balcony, but he swung himself onto the window still one floor below, then using tiny claws in his gloves climbed toward the window beside the one with closed curtains. Squatting on his heels he silently fiddled with the window, then slipped through the opened crack.
The room was dark and small, with two sofas, a low table, a ray of light coming from under the door casting shadows against the wall and floor.
Galeb inched toward the door, his ear starting to pick up small murmurs coming from the next room. He looked through the lock just in time to catch something exchanging hands between Lintai and a small woman in red. A few words passed between them, too quiet for Galeb to catch them before they disappeared through the door on the opposite end of the room.
Galeb waited, the minutes ticking away, then when his knees started to tremble because of his kneeling position, he stood up and sneaked through the door and across the room. He shook his head at his behavior. Why was he even doing this? He had never gotten involved before in things that didn't concern him. He looked through the lock, but this time he couldn't see anything except the foot of the bed. He leaned his ear on the wooden surface, he could hear something, but he couldn't quite distinguish what.
His fingers wrapped around the door knob and turned it, the click of the lock loud in his ear, but there was no shift in the sounds from the other side. He pushed the door open just a crack and without the obstacle, the hushed sounds became soft moans and the sight of naked skin on the bed almost made Galeb gasp.
With his hand still on the door knob he stared at the seductive arch of Lintai's naked back as he thrust in Shita's trembling body beneath him, Shita's legs high on his shoulders.
He shouldn't have been surprised, but… Galeb descended onto his knees, his eyes slid over Shita's brown hair sticking to his face grimaced in pleasure and the line of his body as he moved against Lintai's powerful plunges.
"Look at me, Shita." The woman in red dress that kneeled beside the bed touched Shita's face, her fingers caressing the side of his face, brushing away his damp hair. She pulled herself higher and leaned over Shita to press a kiss on his lips. "Look at me. Only me."
Shita turned his head, his eyes blinking, his breath rushed, moans and gasps leaving his throat.
Shita was beautiful and Lintai's skin and hair glistened in the light of the globe above and he moved so powerfully, with such control.
Galeb wished to see more than just the side of Lintai's face, he wanted… He wanted what? To feel those fingers holding his hip? He swallowed, his fingers slid down from the knob, over his hip, abdomen, under the waist of his pants. He leaned his cheek on the doorjamb. He shouldn't have followed them. He shouldn't be here. And damned if he shouldn't imagine himself there in Shita's spot.
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