Page 90 of Kiss of Light

He waved his hand and uttered a guttural command that sounded vaguely Arabic to Lemar’s ears.

“Jahiz.”

Eight jointed legs slid from the metal casing and raised the ball several metres off the ground. It loomed above them like a giant steel spider, the lights around the courtyard glinting off its metal carapace.

“Shit. That’s cool as fuck.” Tala approached the mechanoid and touched a leg. “It can propel itself?”

“Faster than a horse. It should get you to the border with Palissandra in forty eight hours. It responds to voice commands but it will need a route programming into it. Lemar, if you would oblige?”

“Of course. We’ll need to be precise. There’s only one safe path.”

“How do we get inside?” demanded Tala.

“Use the Arabic word for ‘open’.” Shade raised an eyebrow. “Do you remember your Arabic?”

“I speak every language under the sun, as you well know,” Tala reminded him tartly. She turned to Lemar. “I got languages as part of my skillset. And superhot looks, obviously.”

She was making a joke but Lemar didn’t respond. After an uncomfortable silence, Tala directed a word at the sphere.

“Aftah.”

Immediately a section of the rounded exterior slid back. The inside was padded in luxurious silks and satins. Plush seats were lined against one wall. A heavy damask cloth partitioned off one end.

Curious, Tala pointed upwards.

“What’s behind the curtain, boss?”

“A bed.”

Oh. One bed for forty eight hours. Tala avoided Lemar’s eyes. Luckily, he seemed more preoccupied with the design of the transport.

“You say sorcerers came up with this?” he asked Shade.

“It is mostly the work of Vyamedes. He is one of the older warlocks. He will tell anyone who listens that he is distantly related to a human inventor known as Leonardo da Vinci.”

“Hm. Before my time. But I’ve seen some drawings of da Vinci’s sketches and there are similarities between his ideas and this contraption. Though da Vinci didn’t have magic at his disposal, of course.”

“Any windows in this thing?” Tala asked.

“Yes, beneath the metal shutters. You may open them at night.”

“But during the day they keep the light out. Clever.”

“We will have food and water loaded. The sooner you set off the better.” Shade glanced at Lemar. “We do not have iron in the, erm, form you require it. How will you…?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a problem. Palissandra has a ready supply of nutrients. I can wait till we reach there.”

Tala looked at him, worried.

“Are you sure? You haven’t fed for days, not since…”

“I said it’s not a problem.” His voice was curt and Tala closed her mouth. Shade looked from one to the other.

“Lemar, perhaps you could make a list of instructions for the correct route and I will have the sorcerers embed it in the transport. Tala, may I speak to you alone?”

He strode out of the courtyard, not waiting for her answer. Tala rolled her eyes and shimmered after him. It took three shimmers before the jinn finally slowed down, satisfied they were out of earshot of the vampire.

“It is imperative the Vetali do not give their support to Salaq,” he told her.

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