"Kindly refer to the woman as her," Conan said with a broad grin. "Or do you think she is some wizard"s creation?"
"Ah-well, there"s magic in her, more than in most women. But-to think of hiding her!"
"Does a wise man show a purse of gold to a band of robbers?"
Achmai was too bemused by Illyana to reply for a moment. Conan used that moment to study the room. If Illyana truly needed her maidenhood to work her magic, she"d best have ready to hand either mighty spells or a fleet pair of heels.
"Such a woman-it"s an insult to compare her to gold," Achmai said at last. Something seemed to be stuck in his throat. He was trying to clear it with wine when Illyana began dancing.
Clearly there was only Illyana"s own suppleness and skill under the glamouring. She did not vie with Dessa in somersaults and other feats.
Nor did any music follow her, except the beat of the drum when the drummer stopped gaping like a thirsty camel.
Instead she whirled across the floor, her feet moving too fast for even Conan"s eye to follow. She wove a complex path among the rugs, over and around the piles, swaying from head to toe like a blade of gra.s.s in a spring breeze. Her head swung from side to side, tossing the veil. Not that it concealed anything even in those rare moments when it hung straight.
Conan felt his head pounding with more than the fire in his blood and the beat of the drum. He turned his wine cup mouth down and searched for Dessa. She stood by the doorway, ignoring one of the guards" arms resting lightly across her shoulders. She stared at Illyana with the look of a barely-fledged journeyman watching a master display her art.
Now Illyana bent down, one leg thrust out gracefully for balance, swaying as she gripped a rug. A howl of outrage rose as she lifted the rug and wrapped it around herself from neck to knees. Then it died as she whirled across the room again.
Far from concealing her movements, the thick rug seemed to make them more provocative. Crimson and wine patches leaped like flames under the thrust of hips and b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
A spearlike thrust of Illyana"s head cast the veil aside. It floated across the hall as if a breeze blew it. Conan knew magic lifted it. No one else knew or cared. Tables tilted, spilling their loads, or toppled entirely as men leaped for the veil. A half-score reached it in the same moment. Without drawing steel, they rent it into a piece for each man.
Or had the veil rent itself, before the men reached it? Conan could not have sworn one way or the other.
Illyana now essayed a somersault. The rug stayed almost in place.
Magic, of a certainty. Again Conan saw none who seemed to either understand or care.
The headring leaped free of Illyana"s flame-hued hair. It rolled across the floor, chiming with an insistent, maddening music, avoiding all the rugs. It rolled almost to Achmai"s feet before anyone thought to catch it.
Before any could move, Achmai"s hand s.n.a.t.c.hed up the ring. Conan noted the sureness and grace of the man"s movement. He would still be clear of wit and swift of sword if matters came to a fight.
Then everyone surged to his feet as Illyana cast off the rug and the loinguard in the same movement. The rug rolled itself up as it crossed the floor. The loinguard flew like an arrow to Conan"s outthrust hand.
"Cimmerian, my friend," Achmai said. "I offer you and your-friend-a place in my service. Now, next year, five years from now. What me G.o.ds allow me to give you, you shall have!
"Only-that woman..I want her for a night. Just one night. By all that either of us holds sacred, I will not force her or hurt her. No other shall so much as give her an unseemly look-"
"I call you friend too," Conan said, laughing. "But I also call you mad, if you think your men will cast no longing looks. Indeed, the lady would be much offended if they did otherwise. Only promise what the G.o.ds will allow you to do, and one thing more."
"Anything-if the G.o.ds allow it," Achmai said, without taking his eyes from Illyana"s sinuous writhings.
She now lay on the rugs, describing a serpentine path toward the high table.
"Dessa, for tonight."
For a moment both wine and desire left Achmai"s eyes and a shrewd bargainer looked out at Conan. Then the man nodded.
"As you wish." He clapped his hands. The guard removed his arm from Dessa"s shoulder, patted her, and gave her a little shove. She strode across the room, head high, too proud to show that she knew every man"s eye was on Illyana.
"Tonight, be a friend to this new friend of mine," Achmai said. "I did not think you found him unpleas-ing, and certainly no man ever found you so."
"As you wish, my lord," Dessa said, with a smile that widened as she saw Conan now had eyes only for her. "Since it is no secret that this is my wish too..."
She vaulted over the table and settled on Conan"s lap. Illyana showed no sign of ending her dancing. Still less did she show any sign of telling Conan what her plans were-if any.
Conan had asked for Dessa with the notion that the closer she was to him, the easier their escape would be if matters went awry. Of course they might now go awry from Illyana"s jealousy, but Conan knew no cure for jealous women and expected to find none tonight!
He shifted Dessa to a more comfortable position on one knee and picked up Illyana"s discarded loinguard. As his fingers tightened on it, he felt a tingling. Surprised, he nearly dropped the garment. His fingers would not obey his will. The chilling presence of sorcery drove out both wine and pleasure in Dessa"s company.
Then a familiar voice spoke in his mind:
Be at ease, Conan. I have other glamourings besides
this one. One of them will make Achmai think he has taken more pleasure from me than he could have imagined from six women. Neither of us will lose anything we yet need.
When I am done, I shall come to you. Be ready, and Dessa likewise.
The voice fell silent. The tingling ceased. Conan"s fingers obeyed his will, and he stuffed the loinguard into his tunic.
Dessa ran her fingers up his arm and across his cheek. "Ah, you will soon forget her. That I swear."
Conan tightened his grip. Illyana seemed to have her wits about her, he had a willing bedmate for the night, and the rest could be left to chance.
Nine.
DESSA LAY SNUGGLED on Conan"s shoulder like a kitten. Had they been elsewhere, her gentle breathing might have lulled him as deeply asleep.
Instead he was as alert as if he had been standing sentry on the Hyrkanian frontier. Only a fool slept in the house of a man who might swiftly become an enemy, in spite of good wine and willing women.
A faint knocking sounded at the door. Conan listened for the rhythm until he heard three strokes, then one, then two. He pulled his sword out from under the blankets, padded catlike to the door, and drew the bolt.
Illyana stood in the doorway. She wore her man"s clothing save for the headdress. Deep indigo circles beneath both eyes made them look twice as large as before, and her face was pale.
She stepped into the room, pushed the door shut, then slumped onto the chest beside the bed. Conan offered her wine. She shook her head.
"No. I am only a trifle weary. I would like to sleep, but not as soundly as our friend Achmai. He will have sweet dreams of what he thinks happened between us, as sweet any man could wish."
"How does a maiden sorceress learn of men"s dreams after bedding a woman?"
Illyana shivered, then bowed her head. Her throat worked. For a moment Conan thought she was about to spew.
The moment pa.s.sed. She drew in a rasping breath and stared at him without seeing.
"I have learned. That is all I can tell you."