Tricksters Queen by Tamora Pierce Read Free Book Online

morning? It looked as if all the crows in the Isles had decided to draw attention to our arrival."
    "The crows came to win our bet with the god," Nawat replied.
    Aly raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought that bet was just with the Tanair crows, and just for last summer."
    Nawat shook his head. "Not just with my cousins at Tanair," he explained, his dark eyes following a Stormwing high overhead. "He wagered with all the crows of the Isles."
    Aly stared at him. "All of them?"
    Her friend nodded. "While you are here, they will help to guard Sarai and Dove. Only when Kyprioth rules again may we collect the wager, if you are still alive."
    "That must be some wager, for you all to risk so much," Aly remarked. "You know, I would be so much more cooperative if I knew what the prize actually was!"
    Nawat gave a bird shrug, a lift of his shoulder blades more than his shoulders. "You would not like it," he said dismissively. "It is for crows."
    For the third time that afternoon Aly felt as if she'd been slapped by someone who had never even frowned at her. In a tiny voice she asked, as she had heard girls she despised ask, "Are you angry with me?"
    Nawat closed his eyes as if asking for patience. Then he cupped her face in both hands and kissed her mouth softly, lingering, holding them both absolutely still, as if only this connection between them existed. At last he released her. For once Aly could think of nothing to say.
    As she stared at him, he answered her. "Never. Never, never, never." Then he turned and walked away.
    Slowly everyone settled. The ladies ate with Nuritin, then retired upstairs. Before she joined them, Dove dismissed Aly for the night, reminding her that she could still take off a simple gown herself if she wanted to go to bed. Aly took a last walk around the grounds, knowing that her fellow conspirators would have to wait until most of the household had gone to bed before they could meet.
    At last Aly strolled into the kitchen and down the hall to the meeting room. Nawat was there already, as were Chenaol and Ulasim. Except for Nawat, who perched on a countertop, the others had taken comfortable chairs. They shared a pitcher of the liquor called arak and bowls of nuts and fruits. They knew better than to offer the potent arak to Aly. She never drank, fearing liquor would loosen her tongue.
    As Aly slumped into a chair, Fesgao arrived, then Ochobu. She brought with her a slender, young part-raka with ears like jug handles. In Aly's magical Sight he, like Ochobu, blazed with his magical Gift. This would be the mage who had laid all the fresh spellwork on the house.
    "Aly, this is Ysul," Ulasim told her, pointing to the new man. "Another mage with the Chain. He will live here, to help keep our ladies doubly safe."
    "He is mute," Ochobu said tartly as she sat. "King Oron's torturers did that when he was small. So don't go trying to talk his ear off just because he's defenceless."
    Aly shook her head. She'd known wolverines with more diplomacy than Ochobu. Then she grinned. Ysul was using military hand-sign code to say I’ m not defenseless.
    Don't tell Ochobu, Aly hand-signed back, her movements concealed by the arms of her chair. She's happy because she thinks she just insulted me.
    Ysul nodded gravely and settled on the floor beside one of the cupboards. The room was supposed to be a linen storeroom, but that was only in the daytime.
    "Where's Quedanga?" Fesgao asked, looking for the housekeeper. "Now that we're all in Rajmuat again, she ought to join us."
    "She's keeping watch," Ulasim replied. "One of us must stand guard for a third of every night, to take reports and deal with the unexpected. I have the time around midnight, and Chenaol gets the time from false dawn to sunrise."
    "I'll always take that one," Chenaol said comfortably. "I have to start the bread anyway."
    Nawat ate nuts, cracking them with his fingers before devouring them. As Ulasim handed Aly a pitcher of guava juice and a cup, Ochobu spoke a word