“Yes, you’ve earned it. Maybe even more. Stay here, I’ll…”
En-hedu slipped into the room. “Keep silent,” she whispered. “There are men with swords in the lane, looking about. Stay here and don’t move about.” She went back into the common room.
Tammuz felt his heart pounding in his chest. How had they tracked him here? Could he have been followed? He heard Sargat’s rapid breathing and reached out and gripped the thief ’s arm. “Stay still, and don’t make a sound,” he ordered.
They sat like that, not moving, not making a sound, until En-hedu returned. “They’ve gone. They’re checking all the houses on the street, putting their ears to the doors, listening. Thank the gods your customers are still snoring their ale away.”
So Korthac’s guards hadn’t followed him, Tammuz realized. They’d just headed to the places most likely to be frequented by thieves. They weren’t listening for sounds, but for the absence of sounds. If they found a place without the little murmurs of slumber, they would have forced their way in. He wondered who gave them the idea, then answered the thought himself. Korthac. Only he would have the cunning to think of such things.
Something else occurred to him. “Sargat, you’re not cut or anything, are you?” Tammuz, still worried about anyone overhearing, kept his voice to a whisper.
“No, the sword missed by a handbreadth, thank the lazy god who watches over thieves. Though my tunic got torn, and…”
“Show me,” En-hedu ordered, startling both men.
Sargat fingered his shoulder. “It caught when the ladder slipped, probably on some splinter or a nail. I heard it rip.”
“Don’t leave the alehouse,” En-hedu said. “Tomorrow I’ll get you a new tunic.”
“Why, what’s the matter?” Sargat asked.
Tammuz took a moment to catch up with his slave. “They’ll be walking the lanes tomorrow, looking for someone with a torn sleeve. If they saw that… you’ll stay inside the alehouse for a few days. If any of the Egyptians come wandering in here, they’ll find nothing.”
“There’s nothing else to do tonight,” En-hedu said. “Kuri, Sargat, get some sleep.”
Sargat emptied another cup of ale before he left, going into the common room to try and sleep. Tammuz checked the outer door before returning to his chamber, fastening the inner door, and climbing into bed.
En-hedu moved against him, so she could whisper in his ear. “If they’d caught him, they would have beat your name out of him,” she said. “I don’t think you should risk anything like that again. Korthac is leaving the inn soon. I’ll watch his new house as we planned. It will be safer than trying to break in.”
Tammuz knew she never liked the idea of sending in Sargat, but she didn’t remind him. “You’re right,” he admitted. “If Sargat had been captured and put to the torture, it would have been bad. Damn the gods! I just wanted to find out something about Korthac for Trella, something useful.”
“You just did. You learned how alert his men are, and how well he guards his secrets. Lady Trella will want to know that, before she makes the same mistake. Now go to sleep.”
He felt her thigh brush against his, and suddenly Korthac and Trella were forgotten. The urge to take her, mount her right now, surged over him, and he had to struggle to keep control. Be patient. He had to say the words to himself a dozen times before he finally drifted off to a restless and uneven sleep.
For En-hedu, the days with Tammuz seemed like a dream, a happy dream she hoped would never end. Her brief stay at Lady Trella’s house had mended her body, but she knew her soul still needed more time to recover. Her years as a slave had nearly ruined her mind, but Lady Trella had assured her that, in time, her spirit would heal.
The experience of living with Trella, Annok-sur, and other strong women in Lord Eskkar’s house showed En- hedu that she could make a difference, that her life wasn’t entirely under the control of others. In Lady Trella’s household, En-hedu saw that even slaves could be treated well, respected for their talents, and rewarded for their service. For the first time in her life, En-hedu began to appreciate the many unique and special talents a strong woman could possess, and how they might be used.
She also came to understand some of Trella’s reasons for rescuing her. Pity had little to do with it; Trella wanted allies, those who could help her keep control of Akkad. She offered En-hedu the opportunity to shape her own destiny, if she could grasp it. En-hedu determined to make the most of this chance at a new life.
Her childhood had consisted of hard labor on her parents’ farm, and the brutal existence she’d endured the last three seasons now helped her more than she realized. Physically strong, she could labor long hours without tiring. En-hedu soon comprehended the simple business of running an alehouse, far less complicated than the craft of tanning leather. After the first day, she took over almost all of Kuri’s duties, leaving him free to assist Tammuz as needed.
Her new master helped her more than he knew. Even as he gave her the time she needed to heal, he offered something else, a life she could share as an equal partner. With each day, En-hedu grew more accepting of both him and the life Trella had restored to her.
Tammuz had almost no possessions, much less than her former master, and En-hedu owned nothing but the dress she wore each day. But he had something more valuable than goods to give her: the trust of Lady Trella. If the ruler of Akkad considered Tammuz a friend and a valuable ally, then En-hedu would devote her days to helping him, and, indirectly, Lady Trella. That common purpose helped bind them to one another.
And Tammuz listened to her. That gave En-hedu more pleasure than anything she’d known in her life. No man or woman had ever asked her advice or cared about her thoughts. Sharing her confidences with him benefited them both, and she saw that Tammuz felt much the same. One night he confided to her that, for the first time in his life, he felt happy.
For En-hedu, the discovery that someone cared for her, really cared, awakened feelings she’d never experienced. Tammuz filled her thoughts, as she knew she filled his. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she began to think about giving herself to him, to give him the one pleasure he lacked.
To her surprise, the thought seemed less repugnant than she’d expected. Now that her body had healed, she began to think more often about submitting to him, though she still had misgivings. Still, En-hedu worried that Tammuz might not be satisfied with her, that afterward he would turn from her, like her former master. She sought to banish such thoughts, but they returned, seemingly strongest the closer Tammuz and she were drawn to each other.
Nevertheless, they shared a common purpose that drew them together. As the days passed, master and slave worked equally in their effort to unravel the mystery that was Korthac. They both wished to please Lady Trella, and for much the same reason. En-hedu out of gratitude for saving her life, and Tammuz for giving his life purpose.
Their first day together, En-hedu and Tammuz talked for hours about Korthac. When they finished, they had a plan, and the next day they began the preparations necessary to set it in motion.
Taking advantage of En-hedu’s experience in the tannery, Tammuz approached an older woman, Ninbanda, whose husband had died a few weeks earlier. He, too, had worked with leather, cutting, trimming, and shaping the cured hide into finished goods that Ninbanda sold in the market. But with his death, his duties had passed to his brother, who could do little to help his brother’s widow. He gave her some work and a place to live, and allowed her to sell some of the poorer quality goods that came through the tannery, but she often didn’t earn enough to offset the hardship to her family.
The woman quickly accepted Tammuz’s offer to share in the selling of additional goods that Tammuz would provide. Ninbanda also agreed to his one condition: that she and En-hedu sell their wares not in the market, but in a particular lane and at a specific location. Tammuz, of course, didn’t mention that this was where Korthac decided to dwell.
Ten days after En-hedu came to the alehouse, Tammuz received word that Korthac had finally settled on a new house. The largest houses in the better parts of Akkad remained occupied, and no amount of gold could entice their occupants to leave, to Korthac’s obvious annoyance. He eventually had to compromise on his new dwelling: the Egyptian’s new residence actually consisted of one large house, flanked by two smaller ones. Unfortunately for Korthac, the large central house remained occupied by its former owners, who delayed their departure an extra week or so, thereby preventing Korthac from taking possession.
Moving quickly, Tammuz established Ninbanda and En-hedu as sellers of goods, in the lane outside Korthac’s
