I said, 'I will not say any words like 'I agree,' because you know how much trouble that causes.
But I will remind you that my self-interest is bound up in living as discreetly as possible; I do not want either Olympos or Chaos tracking me down.'
He nodded. 'Very well; then we have an agreement.'
I said, 'Not as such. I have dictated terms to you; you have acknowledged that I can carry out the threat I said. And you know it is in our best interest to help you maintain the fiction that you are our emissary and go-between. It is not a deal, not a promise. You have no hold over me.'
The look in his eye changed. The chess player's wariness was replaced by a brimming lustiness, a look of confidence and power.
It was like seeing the eyes of a hawk. I started to flinch back. But, naked, dressed in nothing but a memory of cold water, there was nowhere to go.
Boreas strode hugely forward, seized me roughly by the shoulders, lowered his head, and, before I could protest, bruised my lips with a savage and forceful kiss. I was crushed up against his wide chest, and the embrace pushed the breath out of my lungs.
A sensation of warmth and weakness traveled up my spine and spread to my limbs, making them feel tingly and heavy. I am sure I tried to say something, but it just came out as Mmf-mm, Mm-mml I could smell the scent from his body.
Wow. He was a good kisser.'
He drew his head back and looked quickly to his right and left. There was moisture on his chest where I had been pushed up against him, little moist droplets.
'Well, your beau is a man of greater self-control than I had given him credit for.' He looked left and right again, calling out loudly, 'Come out, come out, wherever you are, or I shall surely kiss her again!'
'Don't kiss me again.'
He kissed me again.
When he was done, Boreas set me down on the edge of the bathtub, and he stepped back, still looking slightly puzzled that he had not been attacked.
He stepped over to the window and had one foot on the sill, his wide red wings to me.
I put my hands to either side of me on the bathtub rim and pushed myself upright. My feet were flat on the floor, knees together. My wet hair lay heavily along my spine.
I said, 'My cell phone number is-,' and I told him the number.
Boreas turned his head and looked over his wing-cloaked shoulder. 'I can find you at any time.'
I said, 'Not for long. Good evening, Headmaster.'
He looked for a moment as if he were about to question me on that point, but then he shook his head, whether in amusement, or sorrow, pride, or disgrace, I could not guess. He said, 'Good evening, Miss W- Amelia.'
'What?'
'May I call you Amelia? I did save you from certain dangers you encountered, and have acted to protect you on other occasions. Since this apparently will be my role henceforward, I do not think it improper to ask. May I?'
I frowned. 'Headmaster, I do not understand you, and I certainly cannot trust you. I don't understand any reason for anything you do. So perhaps, considering the circumstances, we had best keep our relationship formal.'
He snorted. 'My reasons for doing what I did are very simple. Pellucid.'
'Tell me.'
He drew a deep sigh, but his brow furrowed. 'My lord Terminus sent his dying message to me.
Not to his wife, not to his sons. Me. He was a great man. You have seen how dangerous and willful his sons are; you can guess how powerful his foes in Chaos are. Yet, he ruled them all.
Under his reign, there was peace, order, and even some justice. I have done as I have been bid; it is a measure of his foresight that things have turned out as well as they have. Does that explain my soul to you, little girl? I do not think you know the love a loyal follower can feel for a great leader, or know what a leader must do to win that loyalty.'
I said softly, 'I think I can imagine it...'
'Then farewell for now, Miss Windrose. I imagine I shall hear great things of you in the future.'
And he fell from the window, caught the night air in his great wide wings, rose, and was gone.
Colin shimmered and appeared as he yanked the ring of Gyges off his finger. In his other hand, he brandished the truncheon he had from his demon-form, a scepter glittering with black
