I have never had a taste for rum. This would surprise those who knew me in my days of exile, for a drank quite a bit of it. This was a case of drinking what was available rather than what one desired. They distill it from the cane that grows all over Uazica, with numerous local varieties infused with all manner of fruits, seasonings, and minerals. They will drink it straight or mixed with any number of other liquids. My favorite, unsurprisingly, is aroyam. The name comes from the word for mud from a riverbed, and mixes rum with chocolatl. Between the complex interplay of bitter and sweet that characterizes the best chocolatl, I could barely detect the disagreeable cloying sweetness of rum.

On the afternoon I met Anqaspuma Huazha, a fresh mug sat in front of me on the stone surface of the bar. The fluffy cloud of froth at the top was a gentle harbinger for the rich taste within. I had spent the bulk of my day in one of the taverns along the waterfront in the great city of Cahuanaca. Wide windows looked out onto the street, a breeze, fragrant from the Edda, flowing through the expansive room. Ur-Anu, my obsidian spear, leaned against the bar next to me, drawing more than a few looks from the patrons.

From the street, if I turned to the south, I would see the king's palace glittering on the hill. An edifice of impossible luxury and beauty, it was a strange sight standing beside the stinking waterfront. Ships laden with goods came from both east and west to this city, all tying up along the expansive wharf. The banks of Cahuanaca had been entirely covered, ornate stone stairs rising from the river itself, keeping the city above the limits of the regular floodwaters.

I was alone. Quiyahui had stayed outside of the city. I planned to return to her that evening and sleep in the wild. The city didn't have a job for me, nothing beyond spending my silver. To that end, my mug of aroyam, my fifth of the day, surrounded by sailors and stevedores drinking their wages. A few ladies worked the patrons, and the mood was a bright one.

In one corner of the car, three men sang in harmony while a flautist and drummer accompanied them. The music was energetic, lubricating every elbow in the place. I sipped my drink, enjoying the lightness in my head. I was already planning to buy another round for myself. The pouch I'd gotten from Sumatika Malvica was growing light, but there was likely another couple months of ease in it. Yet, money or not, I was growing restless. It was time to quit Cahuanaca for other destinations. Silver would spend there just as easily.

I was weighing my eventual destination, wondering if it would be along the Edda, across the river to the northern shore of Kharsoom, or south into the verdant jungles of Uazica, when I first saw her. It was like a thunderbolt in my chest. A pure, physical need for her covered my limbs in the bright buzz of desire.

She was tall for a woman, with powerful, slender limbs. Her figure reminded me of Alia's, in the way that every movement of her body revealed lean muscles coiling beneath taut skin, an expression of lithe power. Her flesh was a reddish bronze, catching light like burnished metal. Her black hair was short and tousled, giving her a puckish, spunky air. Her eyes were mahogany, with a mysterious slant to them. She wore a short kilt in a masculine style, and her vest was cinched over her modest breasts. Though I had grown used to the more revealing modes of dress in this area of the world, seeing it on a creature so alluring was undeniably arresting.

Our eyes met for but a moment, and then she passed by me. I felt her hands on me, the casual touch of one gently moving another aside. I found myself turning unbidden to watch her as she made her way to the far end of the bar. I was already considering my approach, to see if she would appreciate an evening of revelry. I was looking better now that I had begun regularly trimming my hair and beard.

The next moment was confusing and I don't have a clear memory of it. The people around me gave a jostle, with a group shoving through the crowd. A call came from the direction the woman had disappeared in. "It's him! The outlander has it!" The crowd in front of me parted, revealing four city guards, recognizable by their spears and red feathered headdresses. All four were focused on me, their eyes stern. Ur-Anu called to me, but I left it where it was. They wanted me for something, but I had not done anything other than drink.

"You!" one said, jabbing a gnarled finger at me.

"Yes?" I asked, speaking Huyu.

"You are an outlander," he said in Nahlor. Between my time in Toranam and my knowledge of Huyu I was able to follow it.

"I am. I'm enjoying this establishment."

"You are a thief."

"I'm not. I've been here all afternoon. Ask them." I gestured around the tavern. None of the patrons seemed eager to speak up for me.

"You have the naqamar."

Here, I find I must explain something. "Naqamar" is a Nahlor word, meaning literally copper but its true meaning is considerably more complex than that. Centuries before, a single empire stretched along the entire northern edge of Uazica. The Yzhata were a powerful force, even rivaling great Kharsoom for a time. They fell long ago, leaving many cultural markers that persist to this day. One is the wealth of languages spoken along the Edda that all share the same mother tongue. Another is the aforementioned naqamar.

These objects are oval pieces of metal hammered flat, about the size of a woman's palm. Most of the metal in them is appropriately enough copper, but it is often veined with other metals, most commonly silver and gold. They often have additional adornments around the borders in the form of precious stones and sculpted pieces of shell. They are valuable for their material, as any piece of precious metal and jewels will fetch a price. In Uazica and parts of Obai, they have a greater value for their artistic and cultural import.

Naqamar used to signal allegiance to one of the great noble houses of the Yzhata, a sign of power and a signifier of the great web of loyalties that supported the old empire. Since then, naqamar have become popular for the local nobles and wealthy merchants to collect, with more than one noble claiming their bloodline reached back to the Yzhata. They have a second life of conferring power and importance, as a collection of naqamar is a sign of both power and influence. Some carried enchantments, and Ixumone the Conqueror was famous for her shirt, dripping with naqamar, each one with a different power. I had never held one, seeing them only in a visit to the local museum.

"I have no naqamar."

He grabbed me. And this is perhaps where I am at fault for what transpired. Call it the effects of the rum in the aroyam. Call it the harsh realities of my life in exile over the past several years. Call it an atrophy of my peaceful manner. In any case, I shoved him back. Perhaps I had not passed the point of no return by this point, but I would pass it in heartbeats.

One of the guards grabbed Ur-Anu, my spear, from where it leaned against the bar. He said something about taking my weapon, but I did not hear anything over a sudden burst of fire within me.

I reached for Ur-Anu, and Fate found my hand. The thread found me, and I followed the pathway illuminated. I do not feel good about this, and I think I would have resisted had my body not been filled with rum. This guard did not deserve to have his head split in twain, but we do not always get what we deserve.

In a second, I stood over a dead guard holding a dripping weapon, the other three brandishing their spears. The patrons at the tavern screamed, and a mad press of them pushed for the front door to get away from the guard-killing madman as quickly as they could. Beyond, on the street, I glimpsed more guards trying to shoulder their way in.

Fighting my way out would mean slaughtering these men, and drunk or not, I had no stomach for such senseless butchery. I leapt up onto the bar itself, running the full length, my stride kicking beverages ahead of me. The guards continued to push through the crowd, momentarily hung up by the fleeing patrons. Ahead, the wide windows beckoned, and with a leap that would have been more agile after my first aroyam, I jumped out onto the street. I rolled over the cobbles, scraping myself but suffering no other effects, then scrambled to my feet.

A shout found me, and more guards were running up the street. Threads in my mind's eye reached to each of them. I saw, in horrifying detail, how I could stand my ground and butcher the lot of them. I had no desire to do more, especially not over a simple misunderstanding. Sadly, my chance of expressing any kind of innocence was gone along with that one guard's life.

I fled, sprinting down the mazelike streets of Cahuanaca. The sun was setting, turning the sky pink and orange and purple. The dark gathered, torches and lanterns beginning to be lit.

The guards were tenacious, pursuing me with impressive skill and foresight. They knew all of the shortcuts and alleys of their city, and used them to try to corner me. When they finally trapped me in a blind alley, I scaled the building to the roof, thanking my time in the jungle for turning me into a skilled climber. Then I was running over the rooftops of the buildings, leaping over the narrow alleys while the guards pursued from street level.

The chase was an exhausting one. It did not end until I made it to the city wall, vaulting over it and fleeing into the dark of the jungle beyond. I finally collapsed in a clearing not far from the city, the air aching in my lungs. I was covered in scrapes and bruises and my muscles burned, but I was exhilarated, my mind bright and clear.

I had not yet caught my breath when a voice came from the trees. "That was impressive. I nearly lost you a few times."

I sat up, clutching Fate, telling myself I would get to my feet when I had to and not a second before. The woman I had seen in the tavern strode into the clearing, her hips swaying. Her skin glistened with sweat, her breath was heavy, but she was still upright.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

She switched to Huyu, and though it carried the local accent, which I found pleasantly jagged, I could understand her easily. "That's a little rude. I pursued you through the city and that's what you say?"

"The pursuit doesn't seem to have affected you."

"I wasn't backtracking and climbing quite as much. Once I saw which way you were going, it became considerably easier to follow. Though even I didn't think you would leap from the city walls."

"I am flattered, but what do you want?"

"I can't see a handsome outlander and want to learn more about him?" She made her way over, dropping to her knees next to me. Once again, I was struck with her beauty. The feline grace of her muscles called to me. I wanted to see all of her, squirming in pleasure. Though the pursuit had cleared my mind somewhat, I was still feeling the effects of my afternoon at the tavern. While I suspected ulterior motives, by now it is obvious that the swiftest way to make a fool of me is with a beautiful woman. She is well aware of how irresistible she is, and she is known to wield it like a weapon.

"I am Ashuz," I said.

"Anqaspuma Huazha." Her name was like music. She touched my torso, and for a moment, it was Sumatika's caress I felt. "Anqa, if you want."

"Anqa, then. You pursued me for a purpose."

"And a purpose is achieved. I am here with you." She slid her hand around me, leaning close, her breath tickling my lips.

I succumbed, pressing my lips to hers. Her tongue pushed into my mouth, her kiss insistent. I felt a tapping at my waist. At first, I thought it was a singularly inept attempt at a caress, but it persisted, and one with her confidence could never be so unskilled. I broke from the kiss and her eyes were open, and looking away as she hunted about my loincloth for something.

"Where is it?" she snapped in frustration.

"Where is what?"

"The naqamar!"

I moved, and she was just as swift, leaping backward, catlike, ready for me. "You stole the naqamar!"

"Of course I did. And I hid it on the Blackspear because I thought I could trust him to spirit it out of the city, but you've apparently lost it!"

I realized then what happened. My fingers, familiar with the magic of the loincloth I wore, produced the naqamar from its hiding place in one of the folds of the garment. "This."

"Impossible! I felt nothing there!"

"I have my secrets."

She was impossibly swift, snatching the object from my hand. "And I have mine. Thank you for your help, Ashuz. I will be away."

"I do not think so."

"You couldn't catch me when you're rested and fresh, and you are neither."

"True," I said. "But I am not the one who would pursue."

She turned, and Quiyahui was right behind her, rearing up, her hood of feathers frilled. Anqa barely reacted, feinting to the left and then running for the right. The coatl wasn't fooled, striking like lightning, wrapping her thick coils about the thief. The two of them fell to the jungle floor, Quiyahui tightening her grip. I picked up the naqamar from where it had fallen. "I will keep this," I said, secreting it in the loincloth.

"You won't kill me," Anqa said, though her voice was strained with the effort of breathing.

"Why not? I killed a guard."

"A guard," she said dismissively. "There is a difference in killing a guard in the heat of a moment and watching a monster choke the life out of a woman."

"If you say so."

Fear was a shadow in her mahogany eyes. "Let me go, Ashuz. Let me go and I will be your slave for a night. Anything you want."

I snorted. "I'll not extort you. Tell me, what did you want with the naqamar?"

"It is more than a mere naqamar. That is the Eye of Ctheltek."

"I don't know what that is."

"Ctheltek the Great." When I showed no more recognition, she sighed. "Outlanders. Yes, well, Ctheltek was one of the greatest emperors of the Yzhata. What you hold in your kilt is nothing less than the token he was given when he was upjumped from a simple warrior to a noble. It is valuable, then. Not as valuable as some naqamar, but yes. To the right collector, it is worth a fortune."

"And you know such a collector."

"I know one who will buy."

I nodded to Quiyahui. The coatl uncoiled, leaving Anqa lightly gasping for air on the jungle floor. "Very well. I suppose we are partners."

"Partners? I stole the damned thing."

"And you gave it to me. We will go to your buyer together and split the reward. Where?"

She watched me with annoyance. "No. You'd go on your own. The river Cahuan. You know it?"

"Of course." The river Cahuan ran through Cahuanaca where it joined with the Edda Aroyac.

"Go to where it disappears into the walls of the city tomorrow. I'll be there."

"As you wish."

She looked at Quiyahui ruefully. "I should have been prepared for that." Before I could say anything else, she vanished into the shadows and it was like she had never been there at all. I found myself already missing her, and though I was annoyed with myself for being so easily smitten, I could not deny her allure. Beautiful and roguish, and she reminded me of Alia.

Then, as I had so many times, I settled into the boughs of a tree, the day and the rum enfolding me in exhaustion. Quiyahui wrapped her coils about me, and the two of us slept well and deeply.

In the early dawn, Quiyahui and I traced the gray stone of the city's wall, always staying beneath the jungle's canopy. I found myself lamenting my lack of food. I should have taken something from one of the street vendors before escaping. I reassured myself by promising that next time I was accused of a crime, I would fetch myself breakfast.

By mid-morning I found the river snaking into the stone drain that ran beneath the wall. I stopped there, waiting for the thief to arrive. I scanned one section of the jungle, and when I was turning back, she was suddenly there, as though she had been standing before me the entire time. Even Quiyahui uttered a surprised hiss, coiling to strike.

Anqa took a step back, putting her hands up. "It's only me. Calm your serpent."

I touched Quiyahui's head, and the serpent uncoiled. "You shouldn't sneak up on us," I said.

"I wasn't trying to," she lied. "Do you have the naqamar?"

"I do."

She smirked. "But you won't show me. Very well. Our destination is this way."

We followed the river until the afternoon, following a tributary that flowed down from a hillier section of jungle. It was not far before we came upon a settlement along the river. The structures were built on stilts, leveling them out upon the slope. A tavern, in the local style, with wide windows and an expansive patio, welcomed us onto the village. The smoky scent of meat permeated the air, the source a pig roasting over an open fire.

"We wait here. My contact will meet us," Anqa said. "I saw you were drinking aroyam the other day. Will that do?"

"Please. And some of that pork."

I sat down outside on the wooden patio, overlooking the briskly-flowing stream through its rocky bed. I settled back, the cool air washing off the river and refreshing me. The locals gave Quiyahui and I a few superstitious looks, I sensed no hostility.

Anqa returned, putting a clay mug of aroyam in front of me, the beige froth soft on top. She also set down a plate of pork and fruit, each with a healthy char, within reach. My stomach rumbled and I ate, drinking heavily to wash it down. She sat opposite me, sipping from a smaller cup and eating occasionally. When my mug was empty, she promptly ordered another. Another came after that. She never once objected, and always ordered the instant I was finished.

Soon my head was feeling light, and everything sloshed through the haze of liquor. The food had filled me and I was sluggish. "Where is this contact of yours?" I asked, my voice a bit louder than I intended.

"I don't know," she said. "Do you need more to eat or drink?"

I finished my aroyam. "This is making me sleepy."

"There's an inn right over there. Get a room, get some sleep. I'll wake you when he arrives."

After my night in the tree, a bed sounded good. "I am getting soft," I decided.

She laughed. "Perhaps you are. Will you be all right?"

"Yes, I can manage."

"Will you give me the..."

I laughed. "Try again."

I climbed down to the banks of the stream, clumsily retrieving my sweetwater goblet from my loincloth. I dipped it in the river. Water filled the cup and turned clear and fragrant. I swallowed several cupfuls, banishing the worst of the drunkenness. Then I made my way to the inn, a cozy building on the far bank of the stream. The innkeeper, a heavyset woman with a pretty smile, installed me in a small room with a window overlooking the stream. She seemed mildly nervous at the coatl's presence, but was not overly frightened. A simple bed sat against one wall, in my present state as comfortable as anything I had ever seen.

Quiyahui slithered to the window., pausing there to look at me with her blue-white eyes. I nodded in response to the unspoken question. The coatl struck into the air, heading for the jungle to hunt.

I settled back on the bed, and with my full belly and liquor-addled senses, I soon found myself drifting off to a comfortable sleep.

My eyes opened. Anqa's face was inches from mine, and I felt her hands on me. Her face froze, and a smile spread over her face. "You're awake."

The liquor was still addling me, making my mind light. "I am now."

I wrapped my arms about her, and in one easy motion I flipped her over. Now she was on the bed, me partly atop her.

"Blackspear!" she yelped in surprise.

"If you wished to bed me, all you need do is ask," I said, nuzzling the soft flesh of her neck. My hand fell to her breast, sliding into her vest and coaxing her nipple to hardness. "I will take you here and now. Hard as you like."

She was tense against me, even as I felt her hands beginning to roam. I kissed her lips once, and this time it was my tongue in her mouth. I gave her nipple a tweak, and she yelped again, this time in my mouth. I broke the kiss, looking into her eyes.

"Or you could stop trying to take the naqamar from me," I murmured.

I sat up. Though I was painfully hard, I would not take her thus. I smelled her sex, musky and alive. It called to me, and I had to resist the urge to reach between her kilt and explore the soft folds. I would take her when she truly wanted me, not when it was part of her scheme.

She broke into a smile. "You can't blame me for trying."

"This was your plan? Get me sluggish with food and drink and steal from me?"

"It should have worked. You drank your weight in aroyam."

I let out a thunderous belch. "Yes, well. Sadly, I've learned to drink."

"You forgive me?"

"Forgive? No, of course not." I patted her thigh, leaving my hand on her flesh. "But I'll not take it out on you. Where is this contact of yours? Does he even exist?"

"He does, but he is downriver aways in the other direction."

"Downriver? You mean in Cahuanaca?"

"Not down this river. Down the Edda. He's in Michnamacac."

"I've heard of it."

"I imagine you have."

"And you would tell me this?"

"You won't find him without me, Ashuz. You need me."

"And you need me."

"As long as you have the naqamar, I do." She stood up from the bed, and I settled back down. "I'll get a room."

"You could stay," I said. "I think we could find a fun way to pass the time."

She smirked. "Events might have conspired to make us partners, but we'll not be bedmates." With that, she was out the door.

"Yet," I murmured. "Not bedmates yet." With that, sleep claimed me once again. The next time I awoke, it was Quiyahui who had joined me in bed. Sadly, it was not quite the full moon. I returned to sleep.

We journeyed back down the river, making our way to the Edda Aroyac. Once there, we purchased a canoe and some food from a local and made our way west, past Cahuanaca. Seeing the great city from the water was even more impressive. Its wharf was expansive, though what impressed me the most were the staircases rising from the water. People covered them, some fishing in the brackish water, others bathing and washing clothes. I couldn't imagine the Edda getting anything clean, but that hardly stopped them.

Dragonfish cavorted in the deep water at the middle of the river, and I kept my eye on them when I dipped my sweetwater goblet in for a drink. They were tasty things, and unfortunately they thought the same of anything they could catch.

"You can't drink the water of this place," Anqa said. "It will kill you."

"You don't want me dead? You can get the naqamar then."

"I can't find the naqamar and I don't look forward to the idea of handling your corpse."

I laughed. "You're practical. I'll give you that."

"A woman like me has to be practical."

"You're a thief."

"The most practical of all professions. Wealth is there for the taking and the rich are kind enough to put it all in one place."

"The rich are the ones who get angry when you take their money. A poor farmer will give you the shirt off his back without a thought."

"The one flaw in my outlook, I'll admit. Keeps me moving."

"Are you from here?"

"The Edda? Of course. An island off the Ocaital. I go up and down, either side. There's always some rich man with too many things. Not all of us can be wandering fighters."

"Is that what you've heard of me?"

She shrugged. "An outlander from far away with an obsidian spear and a coatl whose feathers shimmer like the rainbow." She nodded to Quiyahui, who was overhead, slithering like a pennon through the air, the light caressing her feathers.

"More accurate than most."

"What I could not understand is why one like you would travel all this way. Surely there are bandits to fight where you're from."

"I like the weather."

"Fine, lie to me." She paused. "Where are you from?"

"Rhandonia."

"I've never heard of it."

"No reason to. Barely a country. A backwater flyspeck across the Gray Ocean."

"Chassudor," she said, a smile creeping over her lovely features. "I've always wanted to see it. What's it like?"

"Colder. Drier. You might like the south."

"Is that where Rhandonia is?"

"No. Rhandonia is in the northwest where cold rain falls from the sky every third day. The only remarkable thing about it is that so many choose to stay."

"Perhaps I'll visit Rhandonia. Find out why."

"There's nothing there to steal. No, you'll want Castellandria."

"I've heard of that place." She sighed. "A whole world to plunder and here I am, the same stretch of the same water."

"You want to leave?"

"The Edda has its own pull. It's easy to go up and down forever. It's a place to get lost."

I looked out over the water. "I know what you mean."

"You do, don't you. One of these days I'm going to cross the border into Kharsoom and I'm going to keep going. I'm going to see all the horizons I've been robbing myself of."

"You should. Get lost somewhere far from home." I looked her over. "You will need warmer clothing."

She laughed. "I'll remember that."

The first night we found a tiny island in the middle of the river and camped there. We made our way to a small clearing at the highest point, and though it was out of the water now, I suspected this place submerged whenever the river swelled. I started a fire without difficulty, and we reclined on opposite ends of it, regarding one another over the flames as we ate from our meager provisions. I pillowed my head on Quiyahui's muscular body.

I still did not trust Anqa. Only a fool would trust her. My attraction, what in weaker moments I would call my love, demanded it. Yet she was too wily an opponent. I believe this was what made her so alluring. She was a worthy opponent, but most importantly, she lacked true malice.

As I closed my eyes, she was still across the fire, watching me with that same, faintly predatory air. Before sleep claimed me, my jungle-honed hearing caught the faintest whisper over the crackle of the fire. "Stay where you are," I said without opening my eyes.

"You still don't trust me," she said.

"Your voice sounds close enough that I'm right."

"Oh, very well," she said, the sound of her voice moving away.

I settled back and soon sleep washed over me. I stirred several times that night, and though I could not be certain, I believe I heard her retreating to her side of the fire. I should have been annoyed with her, but I found only affectionate amusement. Am I a fool? Certainly I am, but I do not believe there are any alive who could resist Anqa's charms.

When I awoke the next day, she was across the dying embers of the fire, sleeping peacefully. I rose as silently as I was able, creeping over the soil to the other end of the fire.

"Stay where you are," she said, her eyes closed.

I burst into laughter. "It's time to get up. The Edda's calling."

Late the following day as the sun was sinking into the river ahead of us, Anqa pointed to a swampy area on the southern coast of the Edda. "There." Gnarled trees with wide, weeping canopies grew from the river's own mud. Its aura was menacing, a place of both life and death constantly at the other's throat.

I turned the boat, rowing hard. The current spat us out into the relative calm of the swamp, and soon we were in the cool dark. The sun peeked through the trees, the shadows spreading. I watched dragonfish, sunning themselves on rocks, flopping back into the water at our approach, the evil things no doubt thinking to take us by surprise.

"This isn't some misguided attempt to get me eaten."

"I don't think your snake would let me," Anqa said.

Quiyahui slithered between the trunks, her flight uncanny and graceful. The sunset light caressed her feathers, the iridescence of every color exploding on the snowy white canvas. "I should be grateful."

"Where did you find it?"

"Her," I corrected absently. "In the highlands of the Ocaital."

"I heard stories," she said.

"But you can't steal a feathered serpent."

"Exactly."

I had to laugh. I found myself wanting to sweep her in my arms, and when she looked back at me, her eyes flashed with pleasure.

Night fell over us. Fireflies danced over the water. Anqa directed me down avenues I never would have seen. The night scent of the swamp was heavy in my nose, the trees clinging to the sultry heat of the day.

"There," Anqa said, pointing to the trees. "We'll spend the night there."

I squinted into the dark. I saw only branches and canopy. It looked thicker than other places, but I couldn't see it clearly. "What is that?"

"They're all through the swamp," she said. "Built by smugglers."

We drew close, tying the boat to the tree. Finally, I saw the edges of what she meant. A platform had been built in the trees, out of reach of the swamp's predators. The way up wasn't instantly obvious, but Anqa found the hand- and footholds easily. I pulled myself onto the platform. It was wide enough for the two of us, and though we couldn't very well make a fire, it was warm enough. I could tell we were nearly invisible from the swamp below, only the boat at the base of the tree betraying our presence. I settled down, my back against the trunk, Anqa across from me. She took out some dried fish and bread from our pack, handing the food over to me.

"How close are we to your contact?" I asked, selecting my own meal.

"Another day through the swamp," she said, chewing her food thoughtfully.

"You're running out of time to betray me."

"I have all night. You have to sleep sometime."

"You believe you're the equal of my senses? Of hers?" I nodded to Quiyahui, now draped in meaty coils on the branches above me, regarding us with her blue-white eyes. Menace lurked in the coatl's impassive gaze.

"Perhaps I have not yet deployed my true skills."

"Perhaps," I agreed.

She cocked her head. "You're looking at me like a fresh mug of aroyam."

"Yes, well," I felt my face growing hot. Something about her made me feel like an apprentice again. "I was thinking of a wager."

"A wager?"

"For the naqamar."

"I assumed." She sat up on one hip. "Out with it."

"The naqamar is hidden somewhere on my person. Get it, and it's yours."

"There is more to it than that."

"I will attempt to stop you."

"Stop me?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"When does the game end?"

"When you either have the naqamar or you give up."

"I watched you kill a man."

"I won't hurt you. Nothing permanent anyway."

Her eyebrows went up. "You're serious."

"Quite."

Her eyes went to Quiyahui. "And her?"

"She will stay out of this."

"You're certain."

"I am."

She was silent, considering. Her eyes met mine, flashing with curiosity. "Interesting."

I spread my hands. "What do you say?"

"You have your wager."

She gave Quiyahui another superstitious glance as she stood. Without warning, she sprang upon me with the sudden grace of a jaguar. Anqa was strong. I once again thought of my old friend Alia, similarly blessed with such surprising power. When one is capable of hanging from one's fingers, one develops a certain strength. She had a similar control of her body, not only knocking me back, but keeping herself poised above me. The muscles of her belly went taut under her skin.

"Only one place it could be," she said, her eyes flashing. Her reach went around the back of me, her agile fingers running over the cloth, hunting for a shape they would not find.

I grabbed her waist, wrestling her and we rolled over and over on the platform. In my Mythseeker days I never could have overpowered her, but years in the jungle had covered me in tigerish muscle. We ended the struggle with her on her back, her wrists pinned. I pushed my knee up between her legs. I felt her against my flesh, her body wet though I could not tell how much was sweat and how much arousal. Certainly, the look on her face, the flush in her cheeks and the fire in her eyes implied some was the latter.

"You can yield," I said. I pushed my knee hard against her.

"I could," she said, straining against me. She leaned up, taking my mouth in hers. Her tongue pushed over mine, caressing me. I must have taken the weight off her wrists, because the next thing I knew, pain exploded in my lip, and she was on top of me, scrambling through my loincloth.

I tried to rise, but she leaned down on me, pressing her elbow on my gut. I felt her patting around the loincloth. "There are folds," she muttered, and her fingers wormed into one.

A bolt of fear took me. It was hidden in a fold, though not the one she was probing. If he learned that they could hold far more than would be apparent by their size, she would have the key that would give her the wager.

I grappled with her, pushing her off and down. I was against her now, my mouth by her neck. Already the two of us were breathing hard, our skins wet. Her body against mine was already doing its work, and I felt myself swelling against her.

She grinned, her buttocks pushing against me. "Losing your concentration, Ashuz?"

"No more than you," I said.

She wriggled like a fish, hurling an elbow back into me. I blocked it, but she managed to flip over, wrapping her legs around me. She was strong, and I was locked in. I pulled her vest open. Her nipples, a dark bronze, were hard. I covered one with my mouth, sucking it hard. She groaned.

"That's not fair," she said. And then, a moment later, "Harder."

Her fingers burrowed into my hair, clenching as I licked and sucked at her nipples. Her breasts were small but they were soft and buoyant. I felt a trill through her body with every lick. Her nipples seemed connected to every part of her body.

She uttered an absolutely filthy curse in Huyu, and I could not help myself. I covered her mouth with mine. My hands went to her breasts, now slick with her sweat and my saliva, and I teased and rolled her nipples, kissing her hard.

One hand fell to my loincloth, hunting for that place she could not find. I pushed hers up, bunching around her hips.

"What do you think you're doing?" she gasped.

"You know exactly," I breathed, kissing her hard.

I brought my staff out, pushing it into her with a groan. She was wet, taking half of me before clenching down. Now she held me with her legs and her sex, a delicious vise. Her eyes met mine. "I've caught you in my trap."

I licked her lips. "Or you in mine. Can you find the naqamar?"

"I'm getting close," she breathed. I pushed more of me into her, a fire stoked between us. She let out a cry, then bit my neck, hard.

"You'll find nothing," I taunted.

"You've wanted this from the instant you looked at me," she shot back.

I kissed her again, pulling back to look into her eyes as I buried the last of myself inside her. "Yes. And now it's mine. You're mine."

She spat in my face, but before I could react, she leaned up, licking the spittle from where it landed. "I belong to no one." Her hands went to my back, her fingernails digging into my flesh. She sighed once, and then, "Are all Rhandonian men so gifted?"

"I have never lain with a Rhandonian man," I chuckled.

"Maybe I'll make a study of it." I eased out of her, then plunged myself home once again. She rolled her hips up. "Harder, or I'll find the naqamar."

One and fell to my loincloth, and I felt her hunting about. I rocked back, and then hammered the stroke in. She let out a choked cry, her hand momentarily spasming, ceasing its search. Her mouth found mine, her legs flexing as she pulled me deeply into her. The lick of pure bliss ran over and up my spine, lighting brightly behind my eyes.

I held her, thrusting again and again. She moved with me, spurring my rhythm, demanding both speed and power. I knew then that she had wanted this as much as I, though whether it had been from the moment she saw me or started now as he frantically coupled on that platform, I have no idea. I only knew that she felt the need. Her mouth was hungry on mine, first kissing me, then nipping, her tongue insistent and powerful.

I longed to rear up, but she would not allow it. Her powerful legs kept me where I was, helping me bury myself to the hilt. She cried out every time I touched the back wall of her. I could not contain the roiling lust within me.

"You are close," she said breathlessly, her eyes wide and smoky.

I nodded, concentrating on holding it off.

She opened her legs then, and I was no longer pinned against her sex. "Do not spill inside me," she said.

I nodded again, and this time I was able to rear up, hauling her hips to me. She arched her back, only her head and feet still upon the wood of the platform. I pounded into her, staring at the wonderful landscape of her body, the sweat glistening on every muscle, standing out over her taut flesh.

I knew that I could no longer hold back. I fought, one, two, three more, and finally, with a grunt, I pulled myself from her. My seed splashed over her belly in hot streaks. Then, the shuddering took her, and a long throaty moan announced her own bliss.

I sat back, facing her as the two of us caught our breath. She looked at me, then down at herself. "That was a fun game."

"We can play again."

"I bet we can." She laughed, then looked over at Quiyahui. "If I didn't know better, I would say that she is jealous."

The coatl had coiled up and was facing away from us. Though she had yet to show jealously, she had only witnessed me lay with two other women. "She is a mysterious creature."

Anqa lay back, easing her loincloth down, hiding the patch of black fleece that now glistened with our passion. "As long as she doesn't eat me."

"I would hope that would be my job."

She grinned. "Well, if you insist."

We played our game once more before sleeping, and she still did not find the naqamar. Though to be fair, I do not think she was looking for it very hard.

We set out on the boat the next day, and by mid-morning I glimpsed lanternlight winking through the trees. We approached a settlement that reminded me of Red Zuhreii's pirate fort. Not in structure, for it had not the permanence or elegance of an abandoned Kharsoomian fort. It resembled most closely Tlaican, the village I had once defended from bandits, as the buildings were all built on wooden pilings over the swamp, connected with boardwalks, ropes, and bridges. It resembled Zuhreii's fort in the people I saw. They had the rough and ready appearance of pirates, smugglers, and brawlers. This was a place of semi-retirement, where former criminals could still live free of the crown's laws. As they beheld me, they tensed. An outlander with a magical spear traveling with a coatl was undeniably dangerous.

"Don't start hostilities here, Ashuz," Anqa said. "I want to be able to come back."

"You'll not have to worry about me. Tell them."

"They won't. They just want to make sure you won't."

We brought the boat to a dock, tying it up. This looked like a wharf of sorts, the boats small, but laden with barrels and chests. As we climbed onto the planks, a heavy man, his expansive belly covered in scars, approached us. I handed him some silver and he left us alone, apparently satisfied with the transaction. Our destination was close, a low building whose windows were hung with a wealth of curiosities. It looked to be a spot that might normally be taken by a harbormaster, but in this place, it was a purveyor of ill-gotten gains.

Anqa opened the door. "Ah-Tol," she called. "It's Anqaspuma."

The shop was cramped, smelling of exotic spices and mold. Barrels were everywhere, along with shelves stuffed with art, bottles, and coils of rope. The man who came out of the back was small and wizened, almost a gnome. His hair had gone iron gray, and his skin, once Kharsoomian crimson, was a washed-out pink. He reached under his eyepatch and scratched whatever was there.

"Anqaspuma. I know the contents of my shop. Anything turns up missing I'll know it was you. Or..." he fixed his good eye on me. "I've been hearing tales of a madman with an obsidian spear, but he has a white..." his voice trailed off as he looked out the front window where Quiyahui presently peered in. "What in the name of all the gods have you brought to me?"

"Show him, Ashuz."

I produced the naqamar. "It was here all along," I teased.

She shot me an amused glare. "Let me see that," Ah-Tol demanded.

I handed it over. "It's the Eye of Ctheltek," Anqa said.

"I can see that's what it appears to be," Ah-Tol said, "but this would not be the first time you have said something is one thing and it was not that thing, hmm?"

"It's real," she said.

"Hmm. Yes, well. I can sell it at the very least. I've got some stones here. I can pay you now."

"I want coins."

He blew a raspberry. "Coins." He set the naqamar down on the counter and went into the back of his shop. A moment later, he returned with a small chest and a scale. He opened the chest and began to weigh finely cut, flawless gems, setting each of them aside. Finally, having assembled a small hillock, he pushed them across the table to us. "Here."

Anqa laughed. "You're joking. The Eye is worth ten times that."

"And everyone knows it's stolen. I have to move it far along the river, or into Kharsoom, if I want a proper buyer. Such things cost time and money. This is more than fair."

She reached into the chest and sat a topaz and an emerald onto the pile, then gave him a challenging look.

"Very well," he said, snapping the chest shut. "Take it before I come to my senses."

Anqa picked up a small bag from a shelf and swept the jewels into it. "Come, Blackspear. Let's drink some of this."

"Hold," Ah-Tol said. "There is something. Something that pays well."

"Keep talking," Anqa said, turning about.

"It wouldn't be suitable for one. But for two..." he paused, his eyes flicking to Quiyahui, "and a half. It might be possible. Do this task for me, you're looking at a similar payment. Heavier bag." His good eye went from me back to Anqa and stayed there.

"I'll talk it over with--"

"We'll do it," I said.

He broke into a smile. "Then tonight the two of you eat and drink for free. I'll settle your bill with Mimaq."

The two of us walked out onto the boardwalk. Anqa looked at me, her expression somewhere between intrigued and annoyed. "I don't have partners."

"You made me your partner when you put the naqamar on me. This time, I know what I'm getting into."

She sucked on her lip. "I suppose things could be worse."

I held out my hand. "Partners."

She clasped it. "Partners."

"Good. Now let's make Ah-Tol regret offering to pay our dinner bill."

She laughed, sliding an arm about my waist. "Perhaps this partnership won't be so bad after all."

"I don't have anything hidden in there," I said.

She patted my hip. "I know."

And thus was my partnership with Anqaspuma Huazha forged. It would not break for some months, in the fabulous city of Xoc-Nehar, but for a time, it was wonderful.