to my lips so that I might drink as well.
Hold me, soothe me, touch me, love me.
“I have read another tale from your father’s book this afternoon, Boaz,” I said. “Would you like me to tell it to you?”
“Very much.”
“But not here, I think. Come, bring the wine.”
I stood pitcher and goblet by the pool, then slipped from my dress.
His hands fell to the knotted cloth at his hips.
“No,” I said, “let me.” And I folded the wrap away from his body.
The water was cool and very fragrant. I took a cloth and washed him down, smiling as he reclined against the side of the pool, sipping from the Goblet of the Frogs.
Hold me, soothe me, touch me, love me.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to say thank you for the box, Boaz. My kohl sticks look very good in it. Now, shush, I want to tell you a tale.”
I put my arms about him and rested my head on his chest, floating gently by his body, and I told him a tale about the Soulenai that held no dangerous overtones, but only spoke of their love for each other and for their brethren and their hopes for a peaceful world. And when I had finished I took his hands, and put them where I thought they would do the most good.
“Hold me, soothe me, touch me, love me,” I whispered, and this he did.
25
IN two days the capstone would be laid, the following day Threshold would be consecrated to the power of the One. Today Chad-Nezzar, the majority of his court, most of the nobles, all of the Magi and thousands of spectators were due to arrive from Setkoth.
I was very nervous. I dreaded the completion of Threshold, dreaded that day when it would flood with power. But I also dreaded its completion because that would trigger Yaqob’s revolt. While I could sense that preparations proceeded apace for it, I had no idea when…or how.
I looked about for Boaz, but I could not immediately see him. At home, with me, he relaxed more and more, but of what use was that if the Magus still reigned beyond the verandah? He was still no closer to admitting, let alone exploring, the Elemental side of his nature.
In fact, as Threshold slid close to completion, he was further from it than ever. He was so enthralled by Threshold, by the power it promised, that he had put aside thought of anything else. Over the past few weeks he had not touched the Goblet of the Frogs, nor let me read to him from the Book of the Soulenai.
The Soulenai fretted as much if not more than I. At night I heard them whispering from the Goblet of the Frogs, but Boaz slept on soundly.
I sighed and shifted, smiling my thanks to the boy behind me who held the shade above my head. The sun was a great, red orb in the sky, seeming almost to writhe in a haze of heat.
I was waiting just outside the gates of Gesholme, standing inconspicuously underneath the wall. Before me the stone wharf gleamed in the sunshine. Slaves had spent four days washing, sanding and sweeping to make it fit for the abundance of royal and noble feet set to alight upon it. Guards, their weapons and armour gleaming, the various tassels of their units fluttering in rainbows of colour in the breeze, stood to either side of the wharf. Before them ranged Magi, some two dozen, their blue and white robes immaculately arranged, their hair rigidly cubed into queues.
Boaz had allowed me to stand here to witness Chad-Nezzar’s arrival. The Chad, as everyone else with even a tenuous claim to distinction, was arriving for the laying of the capstone and would stay for Consecration Day. Threshold had been eight generations in the making and had consumed much of the wealth of Ashdod. I suspected that everyone arriving, whether Magus or noble, was here to grab what power was there for the offering.
I hoped they were truly prepared for what might be offered them, because Threshold’s shadow had been thickening by the day.
No more had died since the eleven. Thirteen next, and I thought I knew what Threshold had planned for Consecration Day.
A movement, and Boaz stepped through the gate and onto the wharf. He was the Magus, all the Magus, and he ignored me. I wondered how he would explain my presence to Chad-Nezzar. Perhaps he wasn’t going to. Perhaps I would be cast back to the tenements