Page 10 of Suffer No Fools
Gods, he was weeping again. He pulled the moisture in the air to him, letting it drape over his shoulders like a cloak.
"I'm as volatile as a child first coming into their power," Hugo said when he could speak again. "I'm sorry if it's too cold."
Klaus pulled his jacket closer around his middle and grinned. "Not at all. You need a friend, and Vadim and Yvette are working with Niall to make sure we aren't being followed, though everyone will know where we are soon enough."
"Aquarion."
"For the initial meeting with Glamiere's dignitaries, at least. Afterward, we'll go wherever you wish. If you want to go back to Hearthstone and retake the palace, we will."
Hugo shook his shoulders and his cloak of frost dissolved into the air. "I wish I could have grabbed a few things before we left, but I don't want to return to the palace until we've dealt with Coryn's abomination on Stony Eel Island."
"Do you know what she's doing there?" Klaus asked.
Hugo swallowed down another piece of hard tack. "It was meant to be a school for weavers, built from stone mined from the depths of the ocean and raised by earth weavers into a beautiful lighthouse. The stone changed its builders. It made them power-hungry, and they started using it to steal others' powers to strengthen their own. Supposedly, that's how the first spectral weaver came to be, and all others have descended from her. Emperor Horatio toppled the tower and sank the entire coast beneath the waves so no one could access it again."
"Can Coryn raise it?" Jermain was back in the doorway, the light globe reflecting off his bald head.
"Not with her current resources. She's run out of earth weavers. There was a report of five children hauled from themountains south of Landale, but pirates sank the ship she sent to retrieve them." Hugo grinned. "You?"
"Nola andWildfire," Klaus said, returning his conspiratorial grin. "You'll meet the rest of her crew soon. We sent them to steal the five earth weavers before Coryn sends another ship. Hannah said they could feel them on the water, but they're still out of my reach."
"If Coryn can't get her five earth weavers, what is she planning?" Jermain asked, drawing Hugo's attention back to the original discussion.
"War with Glamiere." Hugo shook his head in disgust. "She knows you've been transporting weavers to their port cities, and many stay there. She suggested a raid on those cities to take back anyone from Embertide. In her head, it seems perfectly reasonable, but it would violate every trade agreement and treaty we've ever had with Glamiere to raid their ports, even to retrieve our own people."
"So it's true," Jermain said. "I should tell Efren. Will you be all right?"
"I won't light the ship on fire, I promise."
Jermain bowed, and then he vanished from the doorway.
"I wish I could take you to the crow's nest," Klaus said. "It's so freeing."
"Sounds cold."
"So cold! Frost mentioned freezing the water from Equis Island to Landale when we get there, so no ships can go through the southern pass until spring." Klaus glanced at the doorway, as though testing the older man's hearing. If he heard his name, he didn't react to it.
"That will give us time to plan, at least."
"It will take both of you to maintain it," Klaus said. "Keep working on your ice weaves. I've got a little something for your joy, too." He stared at the doorway for a moment, as thoughwaiting for Frost to appear. Then, he pulled a vial of clear liquid from the pocket of his coat.
"What is it?" Hugo asked, keeping his voice low to match Klaus's furtive glances toward the door.
"Oil." Klaus winked.
"For what?" Hugo often doused his salad greens with oil to make them more palatable, but he doubted Tim would serve many salads this time of year.
"Your cock."
Hugo laughed. "You're joking."
"If you'd rather use spit, you can do that, too, but rubbing it dry will chafe, especially since yours is cut."
"Mine is ... what now?" When had Klaus seen him naked?
"Your foreskin was removed when you were a baby. The royal family seems to think it prevents illness. It's a damn shame, if you ask me." Klaus sighed.
"Why are we talking about my cock, again?"
