Free The Destroyer Goddess by Laura Resnick Page A

been promised."
    She glanced sharply at him. "By whom?"
    He smiled. "I still have enough time left to tell you that. And more." He shook his head. "But not tonight, sirana . Tonight, I'm tired."
    "Do you have visions?" she prodded.
    Baran stared at the cracked ceiling over his head as he said quietly, "Visions? My dear Mirabar, I don't even have dreams anymore. Now leave me in peace, won't you?"
    "No. There's something else," she began.
    "Of course there is," he said wearily. "Do you know, you've already learned to nag like a wife?"
    "I didn't realize it was missing at first..." When he gave her a brief, questioning glance, she said, "Your power."
    He looked insulted. "I assure you—"
    "Oh, I know you've still got it. I can feel it when we're in the same room like this." She shook her head. "But I used to feel it even before I saw you. Not anymore, though. You're getting weak."
    He stared at the ceiling again.
    She asked, "Does Kiloran know?"
    "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I've tried to keep him from finding out. But he..." Baran sighed. "No one knows better than I do how hard he is to fool, to trick, to defeat."
    "Tansen knows," she murmured absently, since Tansen was among the few who had ever succeeded. He had killed his bloodfather, Armian, thereby taking away from Kiloran all that Armian promised—unchallenged rule of Sileria. And then he had escaped the old waterlord's wrath. Mirabar wondered what Kiloran's next move would be if he knew about Baran's illness.
    "Ah, yes. Tansen." Baran perked up a bit as he asked, "Why does Kiloran hate him so much? Possibly even more than he hates me—which, I confess, makes me feel rather jealous and left out."
    "It's not for me to say." Mirabar decided to change the subject. And she had learned from Baran himself that shock tactics were usually effective in this respect. "Why did Kiloran murder your wife?"
    He drew in a sharp breath through his nostrils. "Does it matter now? I've promised you—"
    "Yes, yes, you'll protect me. But since I'm your wife now, I am more than a little curious about it." 
    He had refused to say more about it that day in Velikar's Sanctuary. After making his startling announcement about the original source of enmity between him and Kiloran, Baran fell into a morose bout of brooding, rudely rebuffing any further attempts at conversation. Then Velikar had arrived and started an argument with Mirabar.
    Now Mirabar meant to know more. "Did you love her?" 
    "I don't want to talk about this," he said.
    With a surge of impatience and a sharp gesture, she set his bed on fire. A violent enchanted inferno nearly destroyed it within moments.
    Baran shouted in surprise and leaped up, moving faster than he had moved in days. At his bidding, water came pouring through the open window, from the lake outside, to douse the flames, filling the chamber with smoke. 
    The door to the chamber flew open. Two assassins came running into the room, their shuddering shir drawn and ready for combat. " Siran! Siran! " They started coughing, looking around for the source of danger as Baran and Mirabar stared at each other in consternation.
    Baran, who was patting his singed clothing, held up a hand. "It's nothing," he assured them. "Just a little argument with my bride."
    They looked warily at Mirabar.
    "He annoyed me," she informed them. "And that's never wise."
    One assassin bowed his head and backed out of the room without another word. The other looked questioningly at Baran.
    "I can handle my own wife," Baran said dryly. "You may go."
    When they were alone again, Baran suggested, "In future, if you could perhaps call me nasty names prior to attempting to kill me, I would appreciate—"
    "I wasn't trying to kill you. I was just trying to get your attention."
    He laughed. "I'd have remarried years ago if I knew it would be so entertaining."
    "Why did you marry the first time?" she pounced.
    Baran's face went suddenly serious and wistful. "Believe it or not, sirana , I was in