Free The Queen's Blade Prequel II - God Touched by T C Southwell Page A

back of it,
into a dingy corridor. Four curtained doors led off it, and grunts
and gasps came from all of them. Two men hung around in the
passage, evidently waiting for the next available harlot. Blade
went to the last curtain on the left and leant against the wall
outside it, trying not to listen to the sounds coming from within.
The two men eyed him, but looked away when he glanced at them.
Moments later, the noises stopped and a fat, greasy man emerged,
tugging at his clothes.
    Blade
hesitated, then thrust aside the curtain and stepped into the
darkness, glancing around. The naked woman who lay on the straw
pallet gasped and dragged a dirty sheet over herself.
    “ Blade!”
    He turned to
scan the room, his anger rising like a black tide. Spotting a
bundle of ragged frocks in the corner, he grabbed one and threw it
at her.
    “ Get dressed.” He averted his gaze. “You stupid bloody
trollop.”
    “ Why? Where are you taking me?”
    “ What do you care? Do you want to stay here?”
    “ No, but...” Her voice became muffled as she pulled the dress
over her head.
    He glanced at
her, relieved to find her covered. “I'm going to take you to a dark
alley and slit your throat, how about that?”
    She snorted.
“A likely story.”
    “ I would consider it a mercy killing.”
    She looked a
little uncertain, then shook her head. “I still don't believe you.
You're a liar.”
    “ Get up.” He stepped closer, his brow furrowed.
    Lilu struggled
to lever herself to her feet, and he gave an impatient growl and
gripped her arm, yanking her upright. She tottered, stumbling after
him when he dragged her into the corridor.
    “ Hey, slow down,” she protested.
    Blade glanced
at her and slowed, thrust aside one of the waiting men and sent him
stumbling into the wall. As he approached the curtain that led into
the front room, she hung back.
    “ I'm not allowed in there.”
    “ I don't care.”
    “ I'll get into trouble, maybe even be thrown out, and
–”
    “ Be quiet.”
    Blade hauled
her to the front door, shoving drunken men from his path, and was
relieved to be out in the crisp night air after the whorehouse's
cloying, perfumed atmosphere. Releasing Lilu's arm, he wiped his
hand on his jacket and set off down the street without glancing
back. Her footsteps followed, stumbling a little, and fell behind
until he was forced to stop and wait for her. She panted up to him,
her face flushed in the light of a street lamp.
    “ Where are we going?”
    He gazed past
her. “To my rooms.”
    Her breath
caught in a little gasp, and her eyes glistened with joy.
“Truly?”
    “ Temporarily. Don't imagine I want a stinking trollop in my
room, or her bawling brats.”
    “ Then... what do you want?”
    “ Never you mind. Walk faster, I'm tired.”
    Blade set off
again more slowly, fuming with impatience. Lilu tried to cling to
his arm, but he shook her off with a curse.
    “ Don't touch me,” he snarled. “You stink, and I don't want
dognits.”
    “ I don't have dognits.”
    “ Then it must be one of the few disgusting infestations you
don't have, and I don't want any of them.” Lilu stopped, and, after
he had walked a few more paces, he turned to scowl at her. “That's
not walking faster, Lilu, that's not walking at all.”
    “ Then stop insulting me, or I won't go with you.”
    “ You'd rather go back to your straw pallet and endless supply
of smelly men, I suppose?”
    She rubbed her
eyes. “No. Nor do I deserve your anger. What have I done?”
    “ You've become pathetic, even more so than you were
before.”
    “ And why does that bother you?”
    Blade walked
back to her. “Either come with me or go back. Choose.”
    Lilu sighed,
but followed when he swung away and continued down the street. By
the time he reached his rooms, he could tell from her rasping
breaths that she was exhausted. When she gazed at the staircase
with despairing eyes, he gripped her arm and trundled her up it,
shoved her into his room and slammed