Death's Handmaiden Page 7

  ‘Much as I’m grateful, why?’

  ‘You’re a Trenton Sonkei.’

  There was a barely audible sigh which Melissa failed to register. Nava heard it and glanced at Mitsuko briefly before returning her attention to her surroundings. ‘You’re voting for me because of my family and clan?’ Mitsuko asked.

  ‘No,’ Melissa replied, which surprised both Mitsuko and Nava. ‘Well, sort of, but it’s not because your family is powerful or anything. Well, yes it is, but the point is that you’ve grown up with power. You’re used to it and you know how it should be used. Plus, I thought you were nice when we met in the b-bathhouse. You’re the only one of the candidates I actually know. Well, not know, but I have met you, which is more than I can say for the rest.’

  ‘I think that was quite carefully reasoned.’

  ‘If not quite so carefully explained,’ Nava said. ‘We should return to your apartment, Mitsuko Trenton. You need to prepare for your own speech and it’s safer there.’

  This time, the sigh was more audible. ‘I suppose you’re right. Melissa Connelly, are you doing anything at the moment?’

  ‘Uh, no,’ Melissa replied. ‘I don’t need to be on the Flight Club stand today.’

  ‘In that case, I’d like to invite you to my apartment. Having an audience while I practise my speech would be useful.’

  ‘I-I-I–’

  ‘And you can use the shower if you want.’

  ‘I’ll come.’

  ~~~

  ‘That shower is as wonderful as you said it was, Nava,’ Melissa said as she emerged from the bathroom. She was rubbing at her hair with one of Mitsuko’s enormously fluffy, very absorbent towels and wearing a robe that Mitsuko had supplied. It was, therefore, short and a little translucent. Melissa did not seem to have noticed yet.

  ‘I’m so glad you enjoyed it,’ Mitsuko said, smiling warmly. ‘Do you also like the robe?’

  ‘It’s wonderful! It feels so silky. Uh, it’s a little short…’ The robe in question was silvery white, glossy, and it fell to mid-thigh on Melissa. Nava figured Mitsuko was somewhere between eighteen and twenty centimetres taller than Melissa…

  ‘Hm, yes. Why don’t you keep it?’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘What?! I couldn’t!’

  ‘You could and can. You think it’s short on you? Imagine it on me.’ Apparently, Melissa did as Mitsuko asked, because her cheeks reddened. ‘I seem to recall that I bought the wrong size. Or maybe I thought a robe which barely covered my dignity was a good idea. Either way, it fits you better and you look good in it.’

  ‘But–’

  ‘No buts.’

  ‘I think it’s thinner than the red one,’ Nava observed. Mitsuko flashed her a glare which probably meant something like ‘You weren’t supposed to mention that.’

  ‘Thinner?’ Melissa asked, frowning. She looked down. Her frown deepened. Then her cheeks got redder.

  ‘We’re all girls here,’ Mitsuko said quickly, ‘and you’re just out of the shower. Take the robe, Melissa Connelly. It’ll give me more room to buy one that fits me.’

  Melissa’s fists clenched and she stood there trembling for a couple of seconds. Watching her was kind of a nail-biting experience: would she or would she not? ‘I am going to be adult ab-bout this, Mitsuko T-Trenton. You s-saw me n-naked in the b-bathhouse.’ She was losing it and she paused to gather her resolve. ‘I thank you for your lovely gift. I would be honoured to accept it.’

  ‘In that case, I think we can dispense with the formality. Please call me Mitsuko. No, call me Suki. My friends call me Suki.’

  Nava had been granted the privilege the night before, sometime just after Mitsuko’s second orgasm, if she remembered correctly. It was a relief that she would not need to keep using the formal form of address in front of Melissa from now on. ‘The robe does look good on you, Mel,’ Nava said. ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of.’

  ‘I’m not ashamed,’ Melissa said quickly. ‘I’m shy. Please, Suki, you must also call me Mel, if we’re friends now. You wanted to practise your speech?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I really should give it one more read through…’ She waved Melissa to take a seat beside Nava and then paced for a few seconds as she collected her thoughts. Then she turned to her very small audience and opened her mouth to begin. She closed it again and frowned.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Nava asked.

  ‘I was always told that, if you are nervous about speaking in front of an audience, you should imagine them all naked.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes. It has to be the stupidest advice I’ve ever heard.’

  ~~~

  Courtney was on the stage of auditorium one when Nava arrived with Mitsuko and Melissa. The SSF captain was watching a couple of students as they went over the lectern for any signs of tampering. She glanced at the trio and then went back to watching the workers, though her commentary was clearly meant for Nava and Mitsuko.

  ‘They’re from the Magitech Club. Two of the best technicians they’ve got. I couldn’t find anyone with demolitions experience, but these two’ll know if there’s anything out of place in here. And I got a couple of people who can cast Sorcerer’s Eye to check the cabling void under the stage.’

  ‘You still haven’t figured out how they got the device into auditorium two, so you’re taking no chances here,’ Nava said. It was not a question; she was summarising her thoughts and figured Courtney would object if she was wrong.

  ‘That about covers it,’ Courtney said. ‘We’ve been over the security recordings millimetre by millimetre. There’s no way someone got that bomb into that podium without being seen. And yet, they did.’

  ‘C-could they have t-teleported it in somehow?’ Melissa asked.

  Courtney looked around at the timid redhead, who appeared to shrink on the spot. ‘Not an easy trick to pull off, Melissa Connelly. It would take someone with pretty impressive skills to teleport an explosive device into another object with that kind of pinpoint accuracy.’

  ‘Oh w-well, I’m s-sorry–’

  ‘On the other hand, they couldn’t have done it any other way either, so we checked the magic sensors. All the cameras are fitted with sensors to detect quintessence surges. The original idea was that it would be used to spot problems quickly by alerting security to impending magical arguments.’

  ‘Went off all the time?’ Mitsuko asked.

  ‘Whoever thought something like that would work in a magic school was an idiot. So, the automated alerts got turned off, but the data is still recorded. Normally, we ignore it due to all those false alarms, but there was no sign of anything like translocation magic being used in auditorium two prior to the meeting. So, Melissa Connelly, nice try, but no, they couldn’t.’

  ‘I believe I could have planted a device there,’ Nava said. ‘It’s extremely difficult to detect invisibility effects without specifically looking for them. Your terrorist was probably invisible.’

  ‘You can cast– You know, I’m just not going to ask you things like that anymore. I’ll just assume that you can cast every spell in the databases and you can correct me when I’m wrong.’ Nava opened her mouth to object, but Courtney just kept on speaking. ‘Invisibility is a possibility I can’t discount. It might explain how the sniper got away from me after the first attack too.’

  ‘There’s nothing in here that isn’t supposed to be, Courtney Martell,’ one of the two techs said. The other was busy bolting the access panel back onto the lectern.

  ‘Thanks,’ Courtney replied. She turned her gaze toward Mitsuko. ‘Now it’s up to you not to die on stage.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Mitsuko replied with a small grimace. ‘I’ll try to get to the end of my speech without the need for life support.’

  ~~~

  Nava had read that people had once expressed their displeasure with political candidates by throwing rotten fruit. It was better than rocks or bullets, she supposed. Mitsuko appeared to be in no danger of getting her dress so
iled by tomato juice, or blood for that matter. No one had even thrown an insult thus far and she was wrapping things up. Nava kept watching the audience anyway, just in case.

  ‘Those who are admitted to the Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery are among the smartest and most capable young adults in the Clan Worlds,’ Mitsuko said. Her voice projected well into the auditorium, carrying with it a sense of authority, but also a hint of familiarity. You felt as though she was addressing you, not just a room full of people. ‘Many will go on to serve our society in the Alliance Security Force. Others will advance the science of magic or go on to create new technology which will make life better for our people. But right now, we are all here to learn. We are all students, equal in the eyes of the school’s administration.’

  She paused briefly, smiling. ‘“Equal,” you might say. “You sleep in an apartment bigger than my family’s home while I sleep in a shoebox.” Of course, you’re right. We are differentiated by the wealth of our families and the power of our clans. Wealth and power don’t make us better than anyone else – they just give us a better start. Those without those advantages who have made it to this school have earned their right to be here. They deserve more respect, not less.’

  Another pause. There were some murmurs in the audience, though Nava could not tell whether they were positive, negative, or both. ‘Those who have chosen to concentrate on non-combat studies in this school are still students,’ Mitsuko went on. ‘They contribute as much to the life of our school as the combat-oriented students do and should be treated with as much respect.’ Louder noises from the audience, though still indistinct. Mitsuko did not raise her voice, but she easily spoke over them. ‘This, then, is what I believe in: fairness. We come to our school to spend six years learning all we can in our chosen fields of magic, but, more, to grow into useful members of clan society. These should be some of the best years of our lives. I intend to make sure that they are, for every student of the Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery. Whether you are born into a powerful family or a weak one. Whatever your chosen field of study. Even those without a clan are students, equal under the rules of this school, and all of us should be able to look back on our time here with pride.’

  Mitsuko stepped back from the lectern, lowering her eyes, and the audience burst into applause. A wave began at the rear of the seating and swept forward, and the applause became a standing ovation. But not everyone clapped, and not everyone got to their feet. There was nothing to say that combat stream and wealthier students were to take the front ranks of seating while everyone else sat further back, but it was the way things tended to work when no one gave seat assignments. It was noticeable that those more toward the front seemed less pleased with Mitsuko’s speech than those at the back.

  ‘How did I do?’ Mitsuko asked as she moved to the back of the stage between Nava and Courtney.

  ‘Depends who you ask, I think,’ Courtney said.

  ‘You actually presented policies,’ Nava said, ‘which puts you ahead of the others in my view. You had them all listening, even if some seemed to be less pleased with your closing statements than others.’

  ‘Well, no one tried to kill me, which is a plus,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘We haven’t got you back to your apartment yet,’ Nava replied.

  ‘Remind me to speak to you about optimism, Nava.’

  Nava shrugged. ‘Optimists are never pleasantly surprised.’

  ~~~

  ‘Were you hoping to get Mel into bed with us this afternoon?’ Nava asked. She was lying with her head on Mitsuko’s shoulder; that worked a lot better than trying it the other way around and, despite the fact that Nava was older by a month, Mitsuko liked the ‘older sister’ vibe the position gave off. Of course, sisters did not usually lie in bed together naked after sex.

  ‘Hoped is too strong a word,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘I had a couple of fantasies about it, but I realise that she’s too shy to just spring something like that upon. I was quite surprised that she accepted the robe after you pointed out that small detail.’

  ‘She’s determined to overcome her shyness and sufficiently educated in the dictates of polite society to feel that she should only put up so much resistance to accepting a gift. She was flattered by your attention, though I’m not sure she got half your inferences. She isn’t clueless, but if you want her, you’ll probably have to pursue her more aggressively.’

  ‘You don’t seem like you’d be upset if I did.’

  ‘Well, you did seem to wish to include me. However, I’d not be excessively put out if you dumped me for her.’

  ‘Oh?’ Nava could not see the frown on Mitsuko’s face, but she could hear it in her voice. ‘Another of your peculiarities. You rarely show your emotions. You keep them hidden. I know you have them because, to be a little crude, I’ve seen your sex face, but you act as though there’s nothing behind that mask of yours. Wouldn’t you be even a little jealous of Mel if I took her to bed without you?’

  ‘I might be jealous of you…’

  Mitsuko chuckled. ‘She is gorgeous. She’s so… cute. And her breasts…’ There was a sigh and then a change of subject. ‘I value your opinion.’

  ‘On Mel’s breasts?’

  ‘On my chances. You seem to have done a lot of research. I have my own estimates, but what do you think my chances of winning are?’

  ‘Too early to tell,’ Nava replied. ‘However, I think you have a better than average chance, especially after that speech. You’ll get a strong showing from the support students. Some may be put off by your family and clan, but most will see that as a positive. Among the combat stream, you probably lost some votes today. Those will be pushed toward Tracey Spears. Not every combat student is so convinced of their superiority, however. I don’t believe you’ll see a landslide in your favour, but I believe you’ll win. As things stand.’

  ‘You’re not just saying that because we’re fucking?’

  ‘Do I strike you as someone who lets sex get in the way of objective analysis?’

  ‘Well, no.’

  ‘Then you can take my analysis as my considered opinion of the current situation with the information I currently have.’

  ‘See? Now that’s just weird.’

  ‘Shut up and turn the lights off.’

  ‘Okay. Lights out.’ The room went dark at Mitsuko’s command. It went really dark since there were no windows in the room to allow light in. Mitsuko liked it that way when she slept. For a few seconds, there was silence. Then… ‘Ah! I thought you wanted to go to sleep!’

  ‘All I asked was for you to turn out the lights…’

  235/2/5.

  ‘I’m not entirely sure about this,’ Rochester said. He was trailing along behind Nava and Melissa, not entirely happily, as they went to pick up Mitsuko for lunch.

  ‘I’m her protection detail,’ Nava said. ‘That means I have lunch with her, or she has lunch with us. She opted for the latter.’

  ‘Sh-she opted…’

  ‘Yes.’ Lessons were once again in operation. Mitsuko was on the combat stream, so she was in a different class, but lunchtime was another matter and Courtney had made it clear that Mitsuko was to have her bodyguard with her whenever she left the classroom. Nava was not saying it to anyone, but she suspected that Mitsuko preferred Nava’s company at the moment anyway. She was not worrying over what would happen at the end of the month when they would no longer have an excuse to be together. Mitsuko, Nava thought, had not had time to think that far ahead. ‘So long as you remember not to look at her chest, you should be fine.’

  Rochester made a strangled sort of sound, but they had arrived at room one-oh-three where Mitsuko had homeroom and most of her lessons. There were still students at their desks, or in groups chatting before heading out for food. Mitsuko was talking to a small mixed group in a casual manner which suggested that it was nothing to do with her run for president. Then again, Mitsuko seemed at ease with more or less everyone when discussing more or less anything, so you
never knew.

  ‘Wait here,’ Nava said as she continued at the same pace into the room, heading directly for Mitsuko. Nava was pretty much at ease wherever she was too. She was within two strides of her charge when one of the men in the group noticed her. His face hardened instantly and Nava suppressed a sigh.

  ‘What are you doing in here, clanless?’ the man snapped. He was the kind of big, strapping young man who would, in earlier times, have been a jock. He might have been captain of the football team, but football was no longer played in any recognisable form, so he was just a big, moderately handsome blonde with blue eyes and, if Nava were any judge, more muscle than brains. Given that no one got into SAS2 without a fair modicum of brains, Nava was wondering about the use of muscle-enhancing drugs in his training regimen.

  Without turning to look who had drawn his ire, Mitsuko spoke before Nava could. ‘Siegmar Tate Orlando, if you cannot keep a civil tongue in your head around me, we will not be friends. Nava Ward has consented to act as my bodyguard during the presidential campaign. I will not see her insulted. She has a name and you clearly know it, so use it.’

  Nava gave a shrug. ‘He’s right. I’m clanless. I don’t care what he thinks of me.’

  ‘All the more reason for me to care.’

  ‘If you needed a bodyguard,’ Siegmar Tate said, ‘why didn’t you pick one of us?’

  ‘Because, quite frankly, Nava could beat anyone in this class without much difficulty. I include myself in that list. If you doubt me, recall why you know who she is. Are you ready to leave, Nava?’

  ‘Yes. Ready when you are. Though sooner would be better. Melissa has been hungry since eleven.’

  ‘Then we’ll avoid keeping her longer from her food.’ Mitsuko waited until they were outside the room and starting for the refectory before saying anything further. ‘I apologise for Siegmar Tate’s–’

  ‘Don’t,’ Nava said. ‘Unless you provoked him into saying that just so you could defend me, apologising for him is nothing more than a platitude. I meant what I said. Nothing someone like that says to me bothers me.’