Chapter Six
A cold rain fell the next day, making travelling pure misery for Kerrion. The hood was plastered to his face, his clothes chafed him in every conceivable place, and his wrists stung. The wound in his side kept up a dull throbbing in time with the jolting of his horse's strides. By the time Blade made camp that evening, the drenched Prince's hands and feet were numb. The assassin built a fire, ignoring Kerrion's violent shudders and chattering teeth. The inclement weather did not appear to affect Blade. The water streamed down his face and slicked his hair to his head. When he passed Kerrion a bowl of hot stew, the Prince had warmed a little, and huddled close to the fire while he ate.
Once again, his curiosity prompted him to ask, 'So what made you become an assassin?'
'I would have thought that was obvious, and it is none of your damn business. Do you never tire of yapping?'
'You must have had an interesting life.'
'Is that what you would call it?'
Kerrion shrugged. 'Well, it must have been hard, but I would dearly like to hear about it.'
'Did you enjoy last night's tales so much then?'
'No. But there must have been some good times, even for you.'
The assassin shot him a dark look, and Kerrion changed the subject. 'I have had some good times, but with fifteen brothers who hated me, I have had some bad times too.'
'Did they pull your hair?'
The Prince ignored Blade's sarcasm. 'They did their best to humiliate and discredit me as often as they could, and their mothers helped.'
'Mothers?'
'My father had six wives and dozens of concubines. I have fourteen sisters, too.'
'That is a lot of women under one roof.'
Kerrion chuckled. 'Indeed it is. A lot of children, too. Of course, as soon as they were old enough, my father married his daughters off to his lords and officers. There were plenty to go around.'
Blade put aside his empty bowl, leant back against a tree and closed his eyes with a sigh. 'You talk too much. Have you nothing interesting to say?'
The Prince plucked at his chains. 'You could take these off now. I cannot possibly escape; I would never make it back to the mountains.'
Blade opened one eye. 'You jest.'
'No, I am in earnest.'
'You expect me to trust you not to kill me in my sleep? What kind of a fool do you take me for?'
'I am a man of honour. I accept that I am your captive, and I will not attempt to harm you, you have my word.'
Blade laughed. 'Your word! You are my prisoner, and you will remain in those chains until we reach the Queen.'
Kerrion glared at him. 'Whatever it is your Queen wants from me, I will not do it.'
'You probably will not have a choice, especially if it is your head.'
'If she wants peace, as you say, she is not likely to do that.' Kerrion shook his head. 'She must think that she can negotiate some sort of truce. Perhaps she will offer me part of her kingdom in return for an end to the Cotti onslaught and inevitable victory. If she does, I shall ask for you as part of the bargain.'
Blade sat up, frowning. 'She would not offer you a grain of Jashimari soil, and you would never get me, but why would you do that?'
'So it is possible that she wants a truce?'
'I have no idea what she wants, but why would you ask for me?'
'We have a score to settle, regarding my father, and my treatment.'
Blade gave a derisive snort. 'I would kill you first.'
'That would put my brother on the throne and ruin all your queen's plans.'
'I do not care.'
'You should, if you want the war to end,' the Prince said.
'I do not care about that either.'
'Is there anything you care about?'
'No.'
Kerrion smiled. 'Perhaps I will just ask for your head, in that case.'
Blade growled, 'Is this your idea of a friendly conversation?'
'I doubt that we will ever be friends.'
'I know we will not.'
Kerrion's smile broadened. His goading was starting to annoy the assassin, which was precisely what he wanted. Sensing that the time was ripe, he asked, 'Does the Queen neuter all her assassins?'
Blade stared at him with chilling hatred. 'If you cannot control your tongue, I shall cut it out for you.'
'No, you will not. So why did she neuter you? Was it a punishment?'
Blade leapt up and stepped towards the Prince, then swung away and walked off to stand with his back to the camp. Kerrion grinned. He enjoyed tormenting Blade. When Kerrion had been kidnapped, he had not doubted that Blade would have killed him in a moment. Now that the assassin was so close to delivering his prize, however, Kerrion knew that he was safe. A little verbal abuse was trifling revenge for his abduction and harsh treatment, but it was all he could inflict.
'So who was it?' he insisted, 'A jealous husband? A jilted girlfriend? Perhaps an angry customer?'
Blade swung around and strode over to the Prince. Yanking a dagger from his belt, he pressed it to Kerrion's throat.
Kerrion glowered up at him. 'You will not kill me.'
'If you think that, you are a fool. Killing you would give me more pleasure than delivering you to the Queen.'
'You would not get your reward.'
'I do not care.'
A chill of apprehension ran down Kerrion's spine. 'Do it then. I am not afraid to die.'
'You should be.' Blade sheathed the dagger, and the Prince relaxed. For a moment he had doubted his reasoning, and was glad that he had been right. Reassured of his safety, he tried again.
'So did the Queen do it herself?'
The assassin whipped around and hit Kerrion hard enough to make his eyes water. The salty tang of blood invaded his mouth.
'You do not learn, do you?' Blade snarled.
Kerrion blinked, shocked by the suddenness of the attack and its violence. Until now, Blade had seemed too well controlled to resort to brutality, but apparently he had found the one subject able to enrage the assassin beyond the point where he could control his temper. He longed to strike back, but the chains made him helpless, and he glared up at the assassin. Even Blade's mocking smile, ever on hand to rile his opponent, had deserted him in this instance.
Kerrion spat blood. 'So you do care about something.'
'I dislike nosey Cotti bastards who pry into another man's business like a fishwife into her neighbour's household.'
'So why did she do it? To punish you for some indiscretion? Did you forget to grovel properly?'
Blade's eyes glinted, and he grabbed a cloth from one of the packs and stuffed it into the Prince's mouth. 'If you will not be quiet, I shall make you.'
While the assassin hunted for a cord to bind the gag in place, Kerrion pulled it out. 'How does it feel to be a half man? Do you hate her now? Why do you still serve her?'
Blade rammed the gag back in with such force that the Prince almost choked on it, then wound a strip of
