Read Online Claire Delacroix by Pearl Beyond Price - Free Book Online
Authors: Pearl Beyond Price
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Thierry knew them to be in truth. Was this some sorcery of the shaman’s? He looked into the ancient eyes of the shaman and felt as though they had been magically shifted to some other world.
Indeed, the world he knew seemed too far away in this moment.
Nonsense ‘twas. But the shaman’s smile widened despite Thierry’s conviction.
“Naught have I to fear from you and your ambitious dreams,” the shaman intoned as he leaned closer to Thierry. Nogai took a tentative step back, but Thierry refused to follow suit. He would not let this man intimidate him, no matter how close his words struck.
“Shown to me ‘twas,” the shaman hissed when Thierry said naught. He rattled the bag of sacred sheep bones he carried for making his predictions and his eyes narrowed as he leaned yet closer.
Thierry did not dare recoil or break the man’s regard.
“The gods showed me their hand in your fate and ‘twas not a pretty sight, Qaraq-Böke. Aspirations have you, ‘tis evident to all, but all your ambitions will amount to naught. Tiflis was but the beginning.” The shaman arched his brows high and sneered. Thierry knew a moment of dread but he stifled his fear, hoping it did not show in his eyes.
“Naught,” the shaman repeated. He smiled with relish as he cast a scornful glance over Thierry. “A failure will you make of your life and, worse, ‘twill be by your own hand that you fail.”
That last proved the fallacy of the tale. Success did Thierry want and well enough did he know himself to understand that he would never forsake his own ambitions.
“Naught do you know of this,” Thierry argued skeptically. The shaman’s eyes widened at his disrespectful tone.
“Do I not?” he mused, his arching brow eloquently conveying his skepticism. “Mayhap you know better than I. Mayhap you can divine the future better than I. Mayhap you have garnered the support of more powerful spirits than I in your short life.” His lip curled as he paused to glance over Thierry.
“Mayhap,” the shaman sneered. “But I think not.” He spun on his heel and his white cloak swirled out behind him, the colorful strips that hung from it dancing in his wake. “Mayhap we shall see on the morrow who knows best.” He cast the words over his shoulder with a carefree air and they hung ominously in the night.
Thierry refused to respond. Nogai shivered openly when the shaman turned away, but Thierry resolutely held his ground as he watched the man go.
Threatened he had been before and he would not take this taunt any more seriously than the others. ‘Twas but a game to disarm him and undermine his confidence.
Victory would be theirs on the morrow and Thierry knew the fact well. And when ultimately his own success was rewarded, as Thierry had no doubt it would be, the shaman’s error would be clear for all to see.
* * *
Thierry let his horse run with the others for the night so that it might graze. For a long moment he let the harness swing from his hand, his gaze tracing the beast’s path. What had he wrought of his life this day? Naught but trouble, as far as he could see.
And yet more trouble, of an entirely different nature, awaited him at his own hearth. He turned with a frown and stalked back to his yurt in poor humor. ‘Twas humiliating enough for Nogai to joke about who would sift the woman’s leavings, but ‘twas doubly unnerving to find himself resenting the other men’s delight in discovering that the woman was not his whore.
Never mind his rising anticipation at the knowledge that she awaited him just steps ahead. He should not have returned to Abaqa’s yurt. Even if Nogai had insisted on a fortifying shot of qumis in the wake of the shaman’s warning.
Thierry would ignore the woman. No use had he, after all, for women or the vulnerability they created. Thierry wondered if he had imagined the glint in the khan’s eye when he had confessed to taking her. Foul luck it had been indeed that a flushed Nogai had
Indeed, the world he knew seemed too far away in this moment.
Nonsense ‘twas. But the shaman’s smile widened despite Thierry’s conviction.
“Naught have I to fear from you and your ambitious dreams,” the shaman intoned as he leaned closer to Thierry. Nogai took a tentative step back, but Thierry refused to follow suit. He would not let this man intimidate him, no matter how close his words struck.
“Shown to me ‘twas,” the shaman hissed when Thierry said naught. He rattled the bag of sacred sheep bones he carried for making his predictions and his eyes narrowed as he leaned yet closer.
Thierry did not dare recoil or break the man’s regard.
“The gods showed me their hand in your fate and ‘twas not a pretty sight, Qaraq-Böke. Aspirations have you, ‘tis evident to all, but all your ambitions will amount to naught. Tiflis was but the beginning.” The shaman arched his brows high and sneered. Thierry knew a moment of dread but he stifled his fear, hoping it did not show in his eyes.
“Naught,” the shaman repeated. He smiled with relish as he cast a scornful glance over Thierry. “A failure will you make of your life and, worse, ‘twill be by your own hand that you fail.”
That last proved the fallacy of the tale. Success did Thierry want and well enough did he know himself to understand that he would never forsake his own ambitions.
“Naught do you know of this,” Thierry argued skeptically. The shaman’s eyes widened at his disrespectful tone.
“Do I not?” he mused, his arching brow eloquently conveying his skepticism. “Mayhap you know better than I. Mayhap you can divine the future better than I. Mayhap you have garnered the support of more powerful spirits than I in your short life.” His lip curled as he paused to glance over Thierry.
“Mayhap,” the shaman sneered. “But I think not.” He spun on his heel and his white cloak swirled out behind him, the colorful strips that hung from it dancing in his wake. “Mayhap we shall see on the morrow who knows best.” He cast the words over his shoulder with a carefree air and they hung ominously in the night.
Thierry refused to respond. Nogai shivered openly when the shaman turned away, but Thierry resolutely held his ground as he watched the man go.
Threatened he had been before and he would not take this taunt any more seriously than the others. ‘Twas but a game to disarm him and undermine his confidence.
Victory would be theirs on the morrow and Thierry knew the fact well. And when ultimately his own success was rewarded, as Thierry had no doubt it would be, the shaman’s error would be clear for all to see.
* * *
Thierry let his horse run with the others for the night so that it might graze. For a long moment he let the harness swing from his hand, his gaze tracing the beast’s path. What had he wrought of his life this day? Naught but trouble, as far as he could see.
And yet more trouble, of an entirely different nature, awaited him at his own hearth. He turned with a frown and stalked back to his yurt in poor humor. ‘Twas humiliating enough for Nogai to joke about who would sift the woman’s leavings, but ‘twas doubly unnerving to find himself resenting the other men’s delight in discovering that the woman was not his whore.
Never mind his rising anticipation at the knowledge that she awaited him just steps ahead. He should not have returned to Abaqa’s yurt. Even if Nogai had insisted on a fortifying shot of qumis in the wake of the shaman’s warning.
Thierry would ignore the woman. No use had he, after all, for women or the vulnerability they created. Thierry wondered if he had imagined the glint in the khan’s eye when he had confessed to taking her. Foul luck it had been indeed that a flushed Nogai had
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