Part 20 (2/2)
”Few of the horses will take much harm, if the men lead them out of the stable in time. Fewer still will be fit for work tonight.”
”They won't be coming after me?” Dessa sounded half-outraged, half-relieved.
”With no horses and their chief so sound asleep an earthquake couldn't wake him? Those are men, not wizards!” Conan growled.
”She's a wizard,” Dessa said, pointing at Illyana. ”And you're some kind of soldier. Why did you take me away from the Hold?”
”We told you. We are returning to your betrothed.”
Illyana burrowed into her saddlebags and started pulling out clothes.
She had ridden naked from the Hold, uncaring of the night chill.
Dessa was less enduring. She s.n.a.t.c.hed the clothes from Illyana, then dropped them as if they were an armful of nettles.
”Now what?” Conan growled.
”I won't wear her clothes. They might be tainted with her magic.”
”Then wear mine,” Conan said. One of his tunics came down nearly to Dessa's knees, but it did more or less clothe her.
”I suppose I should thank you,” Dessa said at last. ”But-did you ever think I might have wanted to stay? I did, you know.”
Conan's and Illyana's eyes met above Dessa's head. The sorceress was the first to find her tongue.
”Dessa, Ma.s.souf loves you. Or so he says,” she added.
”What he says and what he does are two different things, lady. His real love is gold. That's why he was enslaved. Even if he'd succeeded at his schemes, he wouldn't have given me half as much as Achmai and his men.
I was better off even at the Three Coins, for Mitra's sake!”
She looked beseechingly at Conan. ”Captain, if I might have something for my feet, I'll trouble you no more. I can make my own way back to-”
”Crom!” The oath flew out of Conan's mouth like the flame from the Jewel. Both women flinched. Conan drew breath.
”Dessa, we swore an oath to bring you back to Ma.s.souf. We're somewhat in his debt. The G.o.ds do not love unpaid debts.” Dessa opened her mouth but a glare from Conan pushed the words back into it unuttered.
”You won't find yourself welcome back at the Hold, either,” Conan went on. ”They can't be sure you didn't want to escape. You'll be scrubbing the pots and being scrubbed out by the potboys if you go back.”
Dessa still looked obstinate. ”If you don't fear the G.o.ds or Achmai's men, try fearing me,” Conan finished. ”Dessa, if you take one step toward the Hold, you'll have to meet Ma.s.souf standing. I'll leave you in no state to sit down!”
Silently consigning all women to a place as far as possible from him, Conan unhooked the water bottles and went in search of a spring.
Ten.
THEY RODE OUT at dawn, as the Iranistanis measured it-when a man could tell a black horsehair from a white one.
For a while Conan and Raihna led their mounts, to ease their way across the broken ground. With the two hired horses for Dessa and Ma.s.souf, no one needed to ride double for lack of mounts.
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