A PERFECT IRONY

An Oantran Short Story

Kathy Hurley

RavenSidhe Publishing

Meridian, Idaho

Copyright © 2001, 2015 Kathy Hurley

All rights reserved. This e-story is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, and may not be sold or given away to other people. It may not be transmitted or reproduced in whole or in part by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, recording, or other, without the written consent of the publisher. Brief passages may be quoted for the purpose of reviews.

This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to actual persons whether living or dead, names, places, or events are coincidental and unintentional.

Published by RavenSidhe Publishing, LLC

Meridian, ID

www.ravensidhe.com

Published in the United States of America

Second Edition

Ebook Edition

However innocent-looking it may be, this free short story is a prequel to RavenSidhe Publishing's first epic fantasy trilogy, The Oantran Triad. Obviously, the trouble does not end here! To read more about what happens to the characters a year and a day after this little misadventure, look for the first novel of the trilogy, Aspects of Illusion, due out in 2015.

A Perfect Irony

Raena shifted the heavy hemp sack to her other shoulder and paused to catch her breath. Nothing moved in the darkness around her, and the light cast by the street lamps revealed no cause for alarm—yet. She’d just scaled the wall that surrounded the palace cattery and come safely over into the alley on the city side. As far as she could tell, no one was the wiser. Not a bad night’s work, if she pulled it off.

A slight movement from the sack set her walking as quickly as she dared. Shortly she could rejoin King’s Avenue, which led out of the city. If she picked up a pursuer, though, she’d have to take to the shelter of the decorative dwarf whitewoods that lined both sides of the neatly cobbled street.

With any decent luck, such a detour wouldn’t be necessary. If she had to hide out, she’d be delayed in getting back to the manor, and she really had no wish to contend with a half-drugged lirix while dodging the infamous King’s Guard, affectionately known as the Blackguards.

Ro, the second of the Sister Moons, lit the sky just enough to keep Raena from stumbling in the dark. Of course, her thief’s reflexes helped, rusty as they were, but the heavy bundle of feline in the sack wasn’t exactly a typical night’s haul. Or what had been a typical night’s haul, before she’d made a stupid mistake one night nearly seven months ago and been sentenced to debt-service in Lord Ralenak’s stinking cattery.

A stray lock of ash-blonde hair fell into her eyes, and she brushed it back irritably. The action brought her hand briefly into contact with the crescent moon earring that hung from her left ear, and she jerked her fingers back as if stung. Though made from good quality silver, it was the goddess-cursed mark of a debt-bonder.

If she strayed too far from her bondholder, the House Ralenak upper servant to whom her physical well-being was linked, she’d die in excruciating pain—or so she’d been told. That curse, invoked by the Priests of the goddess Shamaia at the time of sentencing, was really the only thing that stood between any debt-bonder and freedom. It might as well have been a set of iron bars. Come to that, confinement in a dungeon would be far preferable to this particular form of criminal rehabilitation, as the nobles called it.

As things stood, she knew she had enough leeway to walk the distance between Ralenak Manor and the city of Toramar. She’d no idea how much farther the debt-bond might stretch, but she didn’t intend to test it; she’d never had a death wish. Besides, Lord Ralenak had promised to end her year-and-a-day sentence early if she succeeded with tonight’s little errand.

Ahead, the Avenue merged with the hard-packed dirt of the Commerce Road. Raena passed the last few silent shops and warehouses, gaining a respectable distance before she allowed herself to stop again and lower the sack to the ground.

Her muscles ached in silent protest of the unaccustomed abuse she’d dealt them. Even the knowledge that her bondholder was feeling at least a small portion of the strain she incurred was scant comfort, as she’d still a goodly distance to go before she reached the boundary of House Ralenak’s ancestral lands.

“I sure hope you’re worth all this trouble,” she murmured to the sack as she carefully worked her shoulders to ease their discomfort.

Far behind her now, Gondrevin Palace rose pale and stark in the moonlight like a great white sentinel, dwarfing all the other buildings around it except for the Temple of Shamaia. At least Toramar had no outer wall; another climb would have been torture. In truth, very few Oantran cities had outer walls—not that they needed any. The war fleets could easily repel any invasion from the sea, and for long years now, the coastal Kingdom of Oantra had been at peace with her inland neighbors.

No one at the palace expected real trouble from either direction, and to all reports, no thief or spy had scaled the palace perimeter walls for the last three generations.

Until tonight, Raena thought with a grin. Looking back at the palace, she felt a burst of pride at her accomplishment, but hard on its heels came a feeling akin to awe. The sheer audacity of stealing an animal from the king’s cattery hadn’t fully hit her until this moment. Even Lord and Lady Ralenak wouldn’t have supposed she’d go so far.

She exhaled shakily. Hazen take it! Lord Ralenak had said to steal the best tom she could find. Gathering the neck of the sack and hefting it over her shoulder again, she resumed her trek back to the manor, doggedly coaxing herself on with lavish imaginings of freedom.

The two moons had nearly set by the time she crept into the secluded inner courtyard of House Ralenak’s cattery. The lirix in the hemp sack was beginning to stir more vigorously, and an angry growl had Raena undoing the ties at the top as quickly as she could without pausing to light a lamp. From the alcoves and low trees of the grotto came the plaintive yowls of female liricats in heat.

The tom in the sack began to thrash in earnest, hooking several stiletto-sharp claws through the loosely woven fiber. With a muffled exclamation of relief, Raena finished loosening the neck of the sack and backed quickly away. The silver-colored lirix emerged, streaking toward his admirers like a loosed arrow.

“Right, big boy,” Raena muttered. “All the males here went sterile after some kind of sickness hit last year, and they’ve got to have a kitten in time for His Majesty’s birthday gala. So you just do your job, now. Most likely, no one will even notice there’s one less tom in the palace cattery. I’ll win my freedom early, Lord Ralenak will have his royal reward for producing the best lirix of the year, and everyone’ll be happy.”

Oddly enough, the lirix stopped and turned toward her, the tips of those large tufted ears twitching slightly. For a moment, it almost seemed as though the wretched creature could sense her dislike of it, could tell how much she loathed being here. She stared at it for a breath or two, then chuckled. What a completely nonsensical notion. No animal was that intelligent.

Slanted blue eyes regarded her calmly, glowing as if lit from within. Eerie thing, she thought. After a moment, the lirix turned and deliberately padded toward one of the growling, posturing females, following her deeper into the grotto until the trees and bushes hid them from sight.

Raena chewed her lip thoughtfully. She really didn’t like the creatures. Still, it would be interesting to see the kittens this one sired. With the imperious way he acted, he might as well rule Oantra himself.

“You must take it back at once!”

Raena blinked in sleepy disbelief. She must be dreaming. Lady Ralenak would never come here, of all places. She’d consider it beneath her to enter a debt-bonder’s garret even when she wanted to deliver a well-deserved upbraiding, and Raena was certain that she’d done nothing to merit the lady’s ire. Quite the contrary, in fact, if the yowls of the liricats all during the remainder of last night were any indication.

She started to roll over and return to sleep when a forceful slap startled her into a grudging wakefulness.

“Don’t you know what you’ve done, you foolish girl? We told you to obtain the best male lirix available in the area. Most of the neighbors have males that would have done nicely—easily returned, and with no one the wiser. But you just couldn’t resist breaking into the royal cattery and taking Prince Xander’s favorite pet! You will bring us to ruin! You must take the beast back tonight!” Lady Ralenak’s bosom heaved with her fury. Her face was flushed, and her usually perfectly coiled hair was askew. In fact, she looked as though she would burst into a shower of sparks at any moment, like a Firemasters’ Guild fountain cone.

Something the woman had said penetrated Raena’s sleepy haze. “The…Prince’s pet?”

“Yes, stupid girl, the Prince’s own prize lirix, Shefareze! I shudder to think what would happen to us if someone discovered him here. You will hide him today and then take him back tonight. If, by some miracle, you succeed in your task, we will take you to the priests on the following day and have them release you. A bargain is, after all, a bargain. However, if you are caught, you will be at Prince Xander’s whim, and he can do with you whatever he sees fit.”

Raena opened her mouth to speak, but Lady Ralenak forestalled her. “You may forget the idea of trying to accuse House Ralenak of any involvement in this scheme. As far as we are concerned, you concocted the whole preposterous scenario all on your own. No one, the crown heir least of all, will take the word of a debt-bonder over that of Lord Ralenak. You do understand your position, do you not?”

“Perfectly, my lady.” Raena allowed some of the icy contempt she’d hidden for months to enter her voice.

Of course she’d succeed; the alternative didn’t bear thinking about. And after tonight, she’d be free of this disgusting, smelly cattery and all of its beautiful, obnoxious occupants. How she hated liricats! After this night, she didn’t intend to set foot in another cattery again as long as she lived.

Although still drugged, Shefareze seemed to be stirring, a bit earlier than Raena had expected. It was just as well; shortly he’d be back in the royal cattery.

Carefully, Raena secured her climbing hooks at the top of the grotto wall and began to lower herself and the lirix toward the fragrant grass beneath. From somewhere nearby came the sound of running water and the steady chirping of crickets—just as on the night she’d taken Shefareze. No other noises disturbed her preparations, and there was no sign of increased security in the area. Apparently, no one had missed the lirix after all.

Well and good, then. She’d be in and out of here quickly and still make it back to Ralenak Manor in time to catch a little sleep before morning. Why, she was already halfway down the wall. Returning Shefareze was going to be even easier than stealing him had been.

By the Sister Moons, freedom was going to be wonderful! As soon as the Shamaian priests released the debt-bond, she’d head downcoast, perhaps look up some old acquaintances. Then again, the marketplace in White Sands always provided plenty of gainful diversion for a person with her particular skills.

A laugh bubbled up in her throat, but she held it in. In truth, it didn’t really matter where she went. After months in the cattery, just about any destination other than Toramar would be welcome. Carefully, she lowered herself another two steps.

The sound of heavy boots on stone caught her by surprise, and she bit back a curse. She just couldn’t allow them to catch her—not now, when she was so close to freedom. She judged that she had just enough time to get back up the wall and away before they reached her—as long as she wasn’t hindered by the weight of the lirix. But if she dropped Shefareze from this height, drugged and in a sack, the impact would likely kill him.

For a moment that seemed to stretch into forever, Raena hesitated. Her freedom, or the life of a worthless feline? Shefareze’s blue eyes burned into her memory and his limp weight hanging from her shoulders reminded her of just how helpless he was right now.

He was just a lirix, and a particularly obnoxious one at that. But he was also someone’s beloved pet. She could feel his warmth through the hemp sack against her back, feel every breath he took. He was just a stupid lirix….

Groaning, Raena took a deep breath and resumed lowering herself and Shefareze into the grotto. Just as she reached the ground, three guards stopped in front of her. One of them took the sack from her while another restrained her arms behind her back.

“It’s Shefareze!” The guard with the sack had pulled the lirix out and was gesturing excitedly to someone standing nearby in the shadows.

That someone came forward at once, and Raena gasped involuntarily as she got a look at his face. With those proud, chiseled features and that light hair, he had to be Xander ven Orlys, Crown Prince of Oantra. He knelt to touch Shefareze, stroking the liricat’s great silvery head and putting a hand to the ribcage as though to reassure himself that the creature was still breathing. Then he rose smoothly and fixed Raena with a gaze nearly as blue as the cat’s.

“So you were the one who made off with him. Quite a feat, actually. Whatever made you bring him back?”

Raena gulped. His scrutiny unnerved her and she suddenly felt the need to sink into any available crack in the ground. Her pride, however, dictated otherwise.

Looking up at him defiantly, she squared her shoulders and resolved to brazen it out. “Not what, Your Highness, but who. I’ll tell you everything, of course.”

After listening with rapt attention to Raena’s recounting of House Ralenak’s recent activities, the prince nodded thoughtfully, studying her with an almost amused expression.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to catch House Ralenak with their breeches down. I must say I’m extremely grateful that you did not choose to drop Shefareze and make your escape. For that, I’ve a mind to give you a somewhat lighter punishment than I would normally enforce. Such an obviously talented young woman simply doesn’t belong in an oubliette.”

At that, Raena looked up hopefully. Perhaps Prince Xander would only give her a lashing and let her go, since she’d only been doing her master’s bidding. Perhaps he’d even give her money for passage to Bantray or Miravar. She’d gladly take ship to somewhere far away and never trouble him again if only he’d let her go. She'd been waiting for freedom for such a long time.

Prince Xander smiled at her and she felt her heart leap. He was going to be lenient! This Crown Prince was surely the most generous, most understanding—

“I could use another attendant in the cattery, and as you’ve had recent experience, you should serve very nicely in that post. We’ll make it a year and a day of debt-service, to begin.” Xander turned away on the last words, leaving Raena staring after him in horror.

Perfect. Just perfect. Her gaze fell on Shefareze, whose eyes held awareness now as he began to recover from the drug. He regarded her with the kind of glittery-eyed stare that only a feline could manage. If Raena hadn’t known better, she’d have sworn that he was laughing.

About The Author

Kathy Hurley has been writing for several decades and has tried her hand at various genres including epic fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction. Her previously published work, a short story called "The Truth One Sees" appears in the Warrior Wisewoman 3 anthology from Norilana Books, 2010.