Guardians of the Desert (Children of the Desert) Read Online Free PDF Page A

ferocious snarl. “Say accusation; say! I love to hear this.”
    “So you can declare blood feud on my family and muddy the issue past all recognition or sense?” Scratha bellowed, the veins in his neck standing out and his face nearly black with fury. “Not godsdamned likely , you little ta-karne !”
    Alyea felt scarcely able to breathe through the tension cresting in the room. Several other desert lords rose to their feet, clearly unsure whether to physically intervene or let events play out.
    Deiq showed no such hesitation. He stood and in one smooth movement leapt onto the table itself, stamping both his feet loudly.
    “ Stop ,” he said; and while his volume remained low, the command, along with his leap, drew every eye to him. “That’s enough, my lords. With all due respect: that’s enough. You cannot afford to lose your tempers with a full ha’rethe below you. You —” He turned to point at Lord Scratha. “You most of all. So stop it. ”
    He turned in a slow circle, looking down at each lord in turn, then sprang to the floor as lithely as he’d ascended and took his seat amid utter silence.
    “What would Conclave be without everyone losing their tempers?” someone said a bit shakily, obviously attempting to make a joke out of the moment; it fell flat.
    Deiq didn’t even smile. “Other places,” he said, “fine. But not here. Not here .”
    Evkit, Alyea noticed, had lowered himself into his seat once more. He studied Deiq with a speculative, narrow-eyed stare, seemingly unsurprised by the ha’ra’ha’s pronouncement.
    “I suggest, Lord Scratha,” Deiq said, his tone still level, “that if you cannot discuss that particular matter calmly , you drop it altogether for the moment.”
    Scratha’s face flushed dangerously again; Deiq met his stare without flinching.
    After a moment Scratha straightened and said, in a reasonably steady voice, “Lord Evkit. During my travels, I saw marks on the hidden ways that indicated, to me, that the teyanain had left directions on which tunnels led to Bright Bay, the Wall, and Scratha Fortress, among others. Can you explain why the teyanain, who should know such things by heart, felt the need to mark out such spots in kaenic ?”
    Evkit studied Scratha, his gaze thoughtful; he passed a slow glance around the table, then said, flatly, “No. No can explain.”
    Scratha made a choked sound and clenched his hands, dropping his chin to his chest and glaring at the teyanin lord. After a visible struggle to keep from bellowing, he said, rather hoarsely, “Lord Evkit. As host of this gathering, I have the authority to require an answer.”
    “No can explain,” Evkit repeated stubbornly. “Without knowing answer, no answer to give.”
    Deiq’s eyebrows lowered into a dark frown, and he regarded the teyanin lord with deep suspicion but made no open protest.
    “You claim you don’t know why those marks were made?” Scratha demanded, incredulous and openly disbelieving.
    “No answer to give,” Evkit said, crossing his arms and sitting back in his seat. He caught Deiq’s hard stare and shrugged, pursing his lips as though amused.
    “Can you guess ?” someone else said, sounding exasperated; Evkit shook his head, obdurate.
    “No guess at such important answer. Not fair to Scratha, no? But I say again: teyanain not kill Scratha Family. Not one drop, not one hair, not one wound. We not kill.”
    “I think that’s the best you’re going to get, Scratha,” Lord Rowe murmured, his face puckered in deep worry.
    Scratha drew in a deep breath, let it out, and said, “Then can anyone at this table answer the question of who —”
    “Don’t ask that,” Deiq cut in swiftly, on his feet faster than Alyea had ever seen him move before and his face closer to white than she’d thought it could go. She felt an icy chill dribble down her spine, and her bladder felt overfull for a moment.
    “Move on to something else , Lord Scratha. Right now .”
    Everyone stared