Treasure Read Free Page A

smelled like the sea and the last fragrant traces of flowers fading away as summer turned to autumn. He shivered in the cold, but the chill would vanish after a few more minutes of brisk walking. Down in the city, it was less strange to see people walking about well after curfew. The moon was fat and pale in the sky, gleaming here and there on the streets. Taka walked alongside Kyo, something he would never do by the light of day, where propriety dictated he walk two paces behind.
    He resisted an urge to touch the dagger tucked away at the small of his back, not wanting to alert anyone who might be watching as to where he kept his weapon. It was rare someone bothered them—Kyo just had that sort of presence—but it paid to be cautious all the same.
    "I wish you would tell me what we are about."
    "I am going on a journey, and I am looking to secure passage," Kyo replied, and the undertone in his voice made Taka wince. That particular hint of frost only ever came from one source:  Kyo's father. Taka stifled a sigh and looked at Kyo out of the corner of his eye.
    He was the image of his mother, and the only person as highly regarded for beauty was the Princess Umiko.  Taiheiyou was a loud, obnoxious, spoiled brat who would ruin his handsome figure long before age did it for him.  He lacked everything that Kyo possessed: discipline, refinement, a sense of responsibility, and the knowledge and acumen suitable to ruling a kingdom. It infuriated Taka that Kyo would never have the throne despite the fact he deserved it.
    No, it was the flamboyant buffoon who would sit on the throne and wear the Eye of the Storm until he passed it on to an heir—and Kyo would rot, neglected, never given a fair chance to sail.
    Storms spare him bratty, spoiled, flamboyant men who did not care who they hurt in pursuit of their own selfish wants. Kyo might have been ruthless and cunning, but he wasn't malicious. Taka blew out an irritated breath. "We are going on a journey, you mean," he said.
    "No," Kyo replied, employing a sharp tone of voice that Taka rarely heard—and even more rarely heard directed at him. "I am going; you are remaining here. That is final."
    Taka did not deign to reply because they both knew he was going to ignore that order. Everyone else might think Kyo was best ignored and left to his own devices, but Taka knew him far too well to do that. "So with whom are we meeting tonight?"
    "A merchant," Kyo murmured as they entered the warehouse district at the southeast edge of the city where it circled the main harbor.  The bulk of Kundou's money was made in trade, for nobody traveled the seas even half as well as the people of Kundou. For goods to go from country to country, they nearly always went by way of Kundou ships.
    Taka fell silent as they wended their way through the mazelike warehouse district until they reached the half-moon quadrant. He frowned, wondering why Kyo needed such a high-end merchant. Rent in the half-moon quadrant was nigh on obscene, though he knew it was little more than a drop to those who could afford it:  the wealthiest and most powerful merchants in the city, and all the lords and ladies who had shares in the various ships.
    Kyo stopped in front of a warehouse that seemed to bear no markings past those which designated its location and that it was rented. He did not knock, simply pushed open the small door on the right side of the front of the warehouse and slipped inside.
    Heaving a sigh, Taka followed him, tense as they wove through stacks of crates, barrels of wine and beer, bolts of fabric, and numerous casks of spices and other dried goods.
    Orange-yellow light spilled out of a room at the back of the warehouse—an office, likely. Taka frowned as they approached it, but resisted an urge to ask Kyo if it was really such a good idea. Of course it wasn't, and near as he could tell, that was at least half its appeal. Kyo wasn't happy unless he was risking life or limb to accomplish some goal that