Warsinger by James Baldwin (most important books of all time txt) 📕

Karalti let out a high-pitched, strangled sound that accurately reflected our expressions. Suri actually gasped.

“It’s okay! It was a once in a lifetime find, I know.” She deflated slightly. “But I’m too low a level to use it anyway, and by the time I AM a high enough level to be able to use it, my Reverse Engineer ability should be high enough that I can rebuild it and recreate the artifact. Vash is more important. He saved our lives a lot of times, and, umm… Anyway, the point is, I learned enough to be able to make a different prosthetic arm, a better one! And there’s no steel or iron in it. I used titanium and aurum, from the scrap you gave me. The College has a smelter just barely good enough to smelt aurum, so…”

Blushing furiously, she pulled it out of her Inventory as she trailed off, and thrust it toward Vash like a bouquet of flowers. Superficially, it resembled the Gauntlet of the Arch-Smith, but it was made for fighting instead of magic, with brutal studded knuckles. Just by looking at it, I could tell it was a huge improvement over the last one.

“Hrrm.” He stroked his chin. “I like it.”

“There’s two parts to the prosthetic, though: the limb… and the osteo-implant graft.” She said the last word hesitantly. “I made one to replace the shoulder joint…”

“No. Absolutely not. The last one nearly killed him.” Istvan got to his feet. “Vash-”

Vash held his hand up, and Istvan stopped, fuming. “The problem was the steel, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. You’re allergic to steel implants,” Rin said. “This arm doesn’t have any steel in it at all, and the graft part for this arm is mostly titanium. And I’m sorry, I tried to make something that wasn’t invasive, but I’m just not a good enough crafter to encode artifacts that link to the wearer like the Gauntlet of the Arch-Smith. If you want a functional arm, you HAVE to have a graft.”

Vash looked to Istvan, studying him thoughtfully. Then he looked back to Rin. “When Masha is awake, I will discuss it with her. She can do the surgery, and I will go to Dakhdir with these idiots.”

“No!” Suri, Istvan, and I burst out at the same time.

Vash sighed, and rolled his eyes.

“It’s too soon, Vash,” I said. “Istvan can come with us. Sit this one out, for his sake.”

“Yes. Exactly. Listen to our liege,” Istvan added quickly.

The monk pressed his lips into a thin line. “Bugger off, Arshak. He is your liege. I am a Baru of Burna: I do not swear allegiance to anyone, not even my own god. What do you expect me to do for Myszno like this?”

“You can run things while I protect our lord and lady,” Istvan said icily.

“Run things? I can barely wipe my own arse like this.” Vash gestured sharply to his stump. “I can’t manage a kingdom, and wouldn’t know where to start. My place is out brawling among the people, and if I cannot be in my place, I will decline.”

“You stubborn ass!” Istvan clenched his fists. “If your place is with the people, what about the people closest to you?”

“I care about you most of all,” he said calmly. “And that is why I do not want you to go to Dakhdir. You are also invested in service, Istvan, but you are the one who knows how to keep masses of peasants fed, the army disciplined, the government functioning, the barons placated. Can you imagine me dealing with the Provincial Council? Holding court? Dealing with the King while I pick my nose? I am not suited to governing, no more than you are suited to running around the desert on errands.”

“I had no idea you thought so little of my martial skills.” And with that, Istvan turned, and coldly marched from the room.

“Oy.” Vash groaned, and massaged his forehead. “To think he was married, once.”

Suri shot me a meaningful glance. I smiled back at her.

“Let him cool off, man,” I said. “You too. Let’s get some sleep, and see what Masha says in the morning.”

Chapter 34

Karalti and I went to bed in my bathtub, nestling down into the soft sand. Neither of talked about what had happened earlier in the night. The stress of dealing with the assassin had wiped us both out, and even as we curled around one another, there was an awkward, unspoken tension. I was having to admit to myself that there was a reason I’d kept my virginity into my twenties, and it wasn’t just for lack of opportunity. No matter how hard I’d rebelled against my dad’s toxic ideas about when, how, and who I was supposed to bang, there were things about your upbringing that just stuck with you. Shame was tenacious, and Karalti and Suri were making me face the fact that… well... I wasn’t nearly as liberated as I thought I was.

I woke with Karalti lying on my chest, her hand curled by her face. I stroked her hair back, watching her eyelids flicker. Transformed like this, she seemed as delicate as an orchid. Her skin was opalescent, flexing with the light like the skin of a rainbow boa constrictor. She was perfectly relaxed in my arms, perfectly trusting. It stirred a lot of feelings: protectiveness, lust, guilt, shame. I wanted to kiss her, roll her over in the sand, maybe try making her first time… gentler, maybe. I was still thinking about how ridiculous that was when she murmured, stretched, and rubbed her jaw against my chest.

“Mmm…” Karalti licked her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and met mine. I fell into them, as always, and my breath caught as the Bond resurged. I held my hand up, fingers loose. Without asking, she slid her palm over mine, linked our fingers, and squeezed.

“I know we didn’t get far, but I’m going to have to tell her,” I said, haltingly. “She might be okay if we admit