Page 27 of The Silver Spider
Chapter Nine
Kailigh and Maddughwere met by a Dwyrkin as soon as they disembarked.
“Lord Maddugh,” a tall, flame-haired man with deep brown eyes said.
Kai stared, blinking several times. She’d never seen hair quite that color, and she knew henna when she saw it. This wasn’t henna. The man—dragon, she was sure—strode towards them. She just hoped he stopped before plowing into her or Maddugh.
“Welcome, I’m Tanavue. Lady Nahasha sent me to escort you to our quarter.”
Maddugh crossed his arms. “Was she afraid we’d get lost?”
Kai poked him in the ribs. “Manners. I’m the commoner, you at least should know better.” She held out her hand, not caring if it was proper protocol or not. And knew it wasn’t when Maddugh’s lip curled in a snarl as Tanavue shook it, eyes glittering with mischief.
“You must be Lady Kailigh, the new wife,” he said.
“Mate,” Maddugh snapped.
“Of course, of course. Well, we’ve arranged to have your baggage delivered shortly. Would you like to stop for tea? No? Well, let’s go straight to the quarter, then.”
Kailigh followed on the man’s heels, Maddugh subtly attempting to push his body between hers and Tanavue’s back. After her heeled boot accidentally dug into his toe—no mean feat while they were both walking—he suddenly began walking at her side again.
His mouth lowered to her ear. “That’s alright, Kai. I’ll get you back for my poor, broken toe. Tonight.”
She snorted. “I have no time for you tonight. I have a daughter to hunt down—and your errant son.”
Maddugh growled. “I’m going to wallop that boy.”
Tanavue glanced over his shoulder, brows lowered. “Your son is in town as well? We haven’t been informed.”
“I wanted to explain to Nahasha in person,” Maddugh said. “The little bastard took off after his sister without my permission. No patience. Just wants to run around flaming things. Figuratively, of course.”
“Of course. I’m sure our Lady will be delighted to hear your additional news.”
Once they cleared the dock that was supposedly the only entrance into Seattle, they stepped out into a city out of time.
The Dome shimmered overhead. Clear if one looked straight up, but a milky luminance if one looked out of the corner of the eye. She wondered how much the damn thing had cost, and how many mouths could have been fed, how many kilometers of air could have been decontaminated in the radioactive zones, if the wealthy hadn’t wanted their little oasis built. There were plenty of areas to live where the soil had been decontaminated, magically enhanced trees grown to filter the radiation in the air.
The roads were real brick, either treated to look antique, or actual reclaimed bricks from the wreckage heaps scavengers picked through for salvageable goods. They would have had to decontaminate them if they were genuine antiques—which meant even more money wasted.
Tanavue stepped off the curb of the sidewalk, lifting a hand to hail one of the conveyances that lined the curb.
“My Lady doesn’t keep her own fleet,” their guide explained.
“She’s always been thrifty,” Maddugh said.
“Thrift is a superior quality in a leader,” Kai said. “Nothing worse than someone in charge who can’t balance a budget. Then wonder why the house is short three days’ food at the end of the month.”
Tanavue glanced at her. “Ahh…exactly.”
Maddugh snorted.
The conveyance stopped, the pumps underneath the belly hissing as brakes were applied.
Tanavue stepped forward and opened the door, gesturing that Kailigh should precede the men inside. The seats were leather, trim a glossy reddish wood. She pushed back the curtains on the window, so she could see as they lurched forward. There was no clopping of horse hooves, no scent of dung in the street. The lampposts, currently unlit, were tall and ornamental rather than merely functional, and she recognized some of the blooms in shop windows as being of the pricier variety, the kind that only grew in hot-house nurseries. She knew, because several were on her wish list. It occurred to her that she could afford to indulge herself now—but it still seemed a waste of good money, plants that didn’t feed a body.
"You’ve had no word on disturbances in the city?" Maddugh asked Tanavue. "Strange explosions, young dragons in the air?"
Tanavue smiled. "Your children can't be all that troublesome, for we've heard nothing."
