Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

CHAPTER 9

The next morning, I was woken by Rilla pulling back the bedchamber shutters. Dull pre-dawn light made the room a landscape of grey shadows, the flicker of red embers in the brazier the only flare of colour.

'Feeling better?' she asked.

I rolled onto my back and blinked away the blur of sleep. New shapes in the corner of the room slowly focused into a small altar — floor cushion, offering bowls, incense sticks, death plaques. I had not even noticed it last night; exhaustion had plunged me straight into a dreamless abyss. At least that deep weariness was now gone, but I was still floating in a warm lethargy. I stretched out my arms and legs, pushing past the sharp catch in my hip.

'Much better. Thank you.'

And then I remembered — I didn't have his name.

I sat up, all lazy comfort gone. Rilla crossed over to the brazier and lifted the water pot off the heat.

'I've got the tea ready' she said, pouring water into a waiting bowl. 'Do you think you can manage some food too?'

My stomach lurched then settled into a hollow ache. 'Maybe a little bit.'

I didn't have his name and no one must know. Not even my master or Rilla. Not yet, anyway.

Rilla whisked the tea then carefully carried it to the bedside table.

'Drink that up and I'll be back in a minute,' she said, heading to the door.

'Can you make it something plain?' I asked.

'No duck, I promise,' she said, smiling. The door closed.

I leaned back against the headboard. Even though the ghost-maker's tea was an arm's-length away, its dank smell was making my stomach turn. I picked it up and stared into the murky liquid. I had to think of some way to find my dragon's name.

Where did one look for the unknowable? Even if I wanted to risk asking someone, there was no one to ask — who would have the Mirror Dragon's secret name except the Mirror Dragoneye? No, the only one who knew the dragon's name was the dragon. And since I did not have his name, I could not call him in order to ask him his name.

I blew on the tea and drank the bowl in one long gulp, clenching my teeth against the vile taste and heat.

And now, whenever I saw the Mirror Dragon, he was shrouded in mist. I couldn't even feel his presence.

Except last night.

The thought made me sit up straight. When Lord Ido was trying to charm me, something had pulled me into my mind-sight. It must have been the red dragon — what else could it have been? He was calling me.

Was that possible? I had never heard of such a thing. But then I still knew very little about the ways of the dragons. Perhaps he was just waiting for me to merge into mind-sight. Waiting to give me his name. I set the bowl down and propped myself back against the headboard.

Breathing deeply I tried to relax my body

Tried to narrow my mind's-eye and concentrate on the energy world. But my muscles twitched, my hip ached and my mind skittered between hope and fear. It was like trying to find rest on a bed of thorns.

The last time I had seen the red dragon was in the warm quiet of the bathing room. Maybe another bath would help me see him again.

Rilla sloshed a bucketful of water over my shoulders.

'They say taking too many baths can weaken the body' she said caustically I shifted impatiently on the stool, pleating the loincloth between my fingers. 'I'll go and soak now.'

'But I haven't done your arms and legs.'

'They're not dirty'

Ignoring the stiffness in my hip, I shuffled across the tiles to the bath and sloshed down the steps, wading quickly through the warm water to the sitting ledge. Rilla crossed her arms, watching me with a frown.

'Is everything all right?'

I found the seat and settled back, leaning my head against the edge as I had done yesterday

'You can go now,' I said.

She blinked at the dismissal. 'Well, I'll be back on the half bell, then,' she said, picking up the buckets. 'Otherwise you'll be late for the Prince.' At the door, she looked back at me. Are you sure you're all right?'

I nodded, closing my eyes until I heard the click of the latch.

With a deep sigh, I lowered myself further into the water until it lapped around my chin. The warmth was working its way into my bones. I glanced around the edge of the bath: no sign of the dragons. The steam was leaving a taste of ginger on my tongue that cut through the bitter residue of the ghost-maker's tea. I stared at the mosaic of Brin, the river god, on the far wall and counted my

breaths. On the tenth exhale, I felt my vision blur as my mind's-eye reached towards the flow of Hua in the room. A slight pulse of energy beat at me, rippling across my skin. Around me, large shadowy forms moved and dark eyes watched. I pushed deeper into the energy. Like the creep of sunlight across shade, the circle of ghostly silhouettes brightened into the solid rainbow bodies of the dragons. All of them, except one. No red dragon. I pushed away the heavy disappointment and took a deep breath, inching along the Hua, feeling for the Mirror Dragon, my focus on the gap in the circle. The steam shivered and swirled. Gathered form: dark eyes, red muzzle, gold pearl. All swathed in a dense haze.

'I don't have your name,' I said. My voice echoed around the room. 'I don't have your name.'

The huge eyes looked through me.

'Please, what is your name?'

I stood up. Perhaps I needed to touch the pearl again. Stretching out my hands, I waded forwards. But each step I took thickened the mist around him until he was almost obscured by a wall of fog. I stopped at its edge. The faint outline of the pearl glowed through the opaque barrier. I reached up for it, but instead of touching a hard surface, my hand passed through air.

The dragon was not solid. I thrust both hands through, raking the mist. Nothing.

'What do you want? What do I need to do?' I pleaded.

A whiptail of memory flicked at me — my hands fused to a pulsing pearl, and a dragon's desire peeling back layers to a buried name, the name I could not risk shouting. Did he want that name before he would give his own? I glanced around the room. I knew there was no one else there, but I had not spoken the name in four years. My master had forbidden it, and I had trained myself not to say it, not to think it, not to remember it. The name belonged to another person in another life.

I leaned closer.

'Eona,' I whispered.

I stared into the mist, holding my breath. Nothing. The dragon was still shrouded in fog. I let out my breath in a hiss of despair.

Just as I pulled back, I saw a small gap open in the mist. The thick covering was separating into thin streamers that paled then disappeared. The colours of the dragon slowly sharpened into clarity: the lustre on the gold pearl, the fire of the orange and scarlet scales.

It was working.

'Eona,' I whispered again. I reached up for the pearl, shivering with excitement. 'Please, what is your name?'

But once more my hand passed through the gold orb. I groped into air over and over again.

Although the dragon was bright, he was still not solid. And his eyes did not see me.

My true name wasn't enough.

I sucked in a ragged breath and slapped both hands down into the water, sending a shower over the edge of the bath. Why wasn't it enough?

'What do I have to do?' I yelled.

To my left, a flash of pale blue scales and opal claws reared above me. The Rat Dragon filled my vision, his power fireballing through me. The water in the bath erupted, knocking me off my feet. I went under, struggled for the surface, then felt a force pushing me upwards. I broke into the air, gasping, arms and legs flailing for a grip as I was propelled out of the water. Then I hit something hard. The wall. Shoulder, thigh, knee. I bounced off the cold tiles, falling backwards onto the floor. A moment of quiet numbness, and then my whole side flamed into agony.

'Holy gods,' Rilla said, running from the doorway. 'What's going on?'

'I don't know,' I gasped, curling up against the pain.

And for once I was telling the truth.

The palace guide clapped for attendance at the ornate entrance to the Imperial harem. A porter appeared behind the gilded

laccwork of the gate. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, trying to find a comfortable position between the old pain in my hip and the new aches from the bathing room. Although Rilla had gently pressed along my bones and decided I was only bruised, it was still costing me to stand and wait while the courtesies of entering the harem were played out.

To take my mind off the painful failure to connect with my dragon, I concentrated on the two Shadow Men guarding the gateway Neither eunuch was as large as Ryko, but each had an impressive bulk of muscle across arms and chest. There seemed to be two types of eunuch in the palace: those who had kept the strength and body of a man, and those that were slowly transforming into softer, rounder contours. What made the difference?

I pulled at the high collar of the day tunic that Rilla had picked out for me. It was a deep burnt orange, the front richly embroidered with pale green bamboo for longevity and courage. A good choice, under the circumstances. Rilla had matched it with a pair of grey loose trousers that ended at the ankle. She had told me to come back and change after the lesson — it was not appropriate to wear a day tunic to the Dragoneye Council. Before, I had only ever had two tunics: one for work, one slightly less worn for best. Now I seemed to be changing clothes every few hours.

'Here is Lord Eon, come at the invitation of His Highness Prince Kygo,' the guide announced.

A clatter of locks and latches sounded, and the gate opened. An old man with a face that drooped in doughy folds bowed and motioned me into a dark narrow corridor. The clash of the gate closing behind me echoed off the stone walls.

The Imperial harem was a huge walled and heavily guarded complex of buildings and gardens set in the centre of the palace grounds. It was in the position of Great Abundance, but Lady Dela had told me that this Emperor kept only forty concubines and had fathered only twelve children, four of them to Lady Jila. Apparently he loves her, Lady Dela had said, raising her eyebrows. It was no wonder; Lady Jila had given him his only two sons.

I was led through the cold corridor into the bright warmth of a courtyard that was easily the size of my master's Moon Garden. At the far end, a high brick wall with three gates set into it shielded the rest of the harem from view A row of low buildings on each side, all of them with closed shutters, faced a carefully laid out central garden: narrow paved paths winding around flowerbeds, miniature trees hung with birdcages, and a pond that rippled with the orange gleam of carp. Through the whistling of the captive birds, I heard the faint staccato rise of a giggle. It was cut short by a sharp reprimand. I turned to look, and a cluster of women peering through the bars of the central gate stepped back out of sight.

'This way, my lord.'

I followed the old eunuch down one of the pathways, breaking into painful jogging steps now and again to keep up with his surprising pace. He led me past the pond to the last building on the right side and bowed me into an open doorway.

It was a small dim waiting room, the only light coming from the doorway and the small gaps between the carved flowers of the window shutters. A long bench padded with blue cushions was set against the opposite wall, a low table before it displaying a decanter and drinking bowls. A folding silk screen, painted with delicate scenes of long-legged cranes and tall grasses, stretched across the far wall.

The old eunuch motioned me towards the bench. 'My lord, may I offer you some refreshment?'

'No, thank you.'

He bowed and withdrew.

I had just stepped up to the screen for a closer look when a soft murmur made me turn. A lady in a long formal tunic of green had paused in the doorway to dismiss her eunuch attendant.

She

entered alone, sinking into a court bow in front of me, the top of her headdress swinging with jade pendants.

'Lord Eon, I am Lady Jila. Please forgive me for diverting you from your attendance upon His Majesty the Prince. It is only momentary, I assure you.'

She looked up and it was obvious that Lady Jila had passed some of her beauty onto her son.

Her delicate bones had, in the Prince, strengthened into bolder lines, but both of them had large dark eyes and a graceful symmetry to their faces that touched something deep within me. I found myself bowing to her — a breach of protocol — but a quick smile answered my courtesy It was so full of quiet understanding and intelligence that I could see why an Emperor might prefer her company to all others.

'I have come to ask something of you, my lord,' she said, her gaze as forthright as her words.

'In what way can I be of help to you, my lady?' I asked, although the last thing I wanted to hear was another request. The expectations of my master and the Emperor already weighed too heavily on me.

She rose and sat on the bench, clasping her hands together tightly in her lap. Reluctantly, I took a seat further along.

'It was the Empress's dying wish that Prince Kygo, her only child, study and live within the safety of the harem until he was eighteen,' Lady Jila said carefully 'But it has not been easy for the Prince: he chafes at the scholarly life and yearns to stand beside his father. It is now vital that he does so. You have seen how ill the Emperor —' She bit her lip and turned away When she turned back, her face was once again controlled. 'You may wonder why I have cornered you to talk of the Prince, but I have watched him grow up and I am very fond of him.'

Our gazes locked.

'Lady Jila,' I said, just as carefully, 'I am aware of your special interest in Prince Kygo.'

Ahh.' She smiled wryly. 'Lady Dela?'

I hesitated then nodded.

'You are fortunate to have won Lady Dela's counsel,' Lady Jila said. 'Nothing much happens in this court without her knowledge.' She turned a heavy emerald ring on her slim finger. 'So, you must know why I am here.'

'I can guess.'

She took a deep breath. 'Lord Eon, I add my voice to the Emperor's and ask you to protect our son. I ask you to use your power in his interests. I believe he is in great danger.' Tentatively, she touched my arm. 'But I also ask you to befriend him. There are not many young men at court who have both the rank and the political allegiance for such a bond. But you are close in rank and, I believe, have the same political agenda. He needs a friend, and he could help you as much as you could help him.'

'You want me to be his friend?'

'I do,' she said.

'But friendship is not something that can be forced. On either side.'

She smiled. 'Lady Dela told me your thinking was older than your years, and I see it is so.' I stiffened but she did not seem to notice. 'I am not asking you to force a friendship, my lord. I am asking you to think about the advantages of being prepared to like my son.'

I blinked at her phrasing; Lady Jila sliced up meaning as finely as a master cook cut up shark fin.

'Will you do that?' she asked.

A darkening at the doorway made us both turn. The straight-backed figure of Prince Kygo was silhouetted for a moment then stepped into the room, a quiet command sending his retinue of eunuchs back out the door. We both hurriedly dropped to our knees and bowed.

'Will you promise?' Lady Jila said, her voice low and urgent.

'Yes.'

The Prince's feet stopped in front of us, clad in soft leather slippers dyed the exact royal blue of his trousers.

'Greetings, Lord Eon, Ladyjila. Please rise, both of you,' he said. 'Lord Eon, we are waiting for you in the pavilion.'

1 pushed myself upright, sucking in a breath as my aching muscles unlocked. Ladyjila remained on her knees.

'It is my fault Lord Eon is delayed,' she said, bowing lower. 'Please forgive me, dear son.'

Prince Kygo looked down at her, startled. How long had it been since he had heard his true mother call him son? He glanced across at me, acknowledging the trust of the moment. 'Then there is no fault at all,' he said softly, 'Mother.'

He held out his hand and she took it, rising with the grace of a dancer. They smiled at one another, the same sweet hesitancy mirrored in their faces.

'I must, however, take Lord Eon away from you,' he said. 'Teacher Prahn awaits us.'

'Of course.' She patted his hand and let go, then nodded to me, her eyes holding my promise.

'Farewell, Lord Eon.'

'My lady' I nodded politely and followed the Prince out of the room.

In the courtyard, he beckoned me to walk beside him. A jerk of his head repositioned his eunuch guards further away, out of hearing range. We walked along the garden path towards the larger middle gate, the birds fluttering in their cages as we passed. I saw him glance at my limp and subtly slow his pace.

'My mother must think highly of you, Lord Eon,' he said.

'I am honoured, Your Highness.'

'Did she, perhaps, ask you to befriend me?'

My misstep answered his question. He smiled at my surprise.

'It was not so hard to divine,' he said. 'My mother is a woman and so believes the bonds of friendship and love are stronger than the bonds of political alliance.' He stopped and turned to face me. 'Which do you think is the strongest bond. Lord lion?'

I looked into his dark eyes, searching for some clue to the answer. Was he like so many others of rank who just wanted to hear his own thoughts echoed, or was he truly interested in my view? All I could see was curiosity and openness. I would have to guard against his charm — his warm manner could make it easy to fall into the trap of voicing an unguarded opinion.

'Political alliance, Your Highness.'

Even as I said it, my thoughts flashed to Dolana and the salt farm. The first night I arrived she pushed me against the wall and slept in front of me, her body a shield. The next morning she sewed a pocket in my rough tunic for my few belongings, and showed me how to hold my body to avoid the whipmaster's attention. Later, at the salt pit, when she fell to the ground coughing, I hauled her sack and mine to the carts and kept the line moving. In that one night and day, there had been no time for the higher pursuits of friendship or politics. Our immediate bond had been far more basic.

'Well, my father will be pleased,' the Prince said.

He started walking again. I matched his pace, pushing through the stiffness that was fast overtaking me. He was frowning. Was my answer wrong, after all?

'I believe love and friendship are stronger,' he said abruptly. 'Do you think me weak and womanly?'

'No,' I said, startled into bluntness.

He gave me a quick, self-conscious smile. 'Sometimes I wonder if my thoughts are too much influenced by living here. With the women.'

We paused in front of the large middle gate as the porter hurried to lift the latch. Through the gilded bars I saw another courtyard, this one dominated by an elaborate pavilion set in the centre of a large pond. A wooden bridge arched over the water to a small veranda, the corners of its gold roof sweeping upwards into a carved dragon at each point. Two large folding shutters had been pulled back and showed the figure of a man watching our approach.

The porter swung the gates open, falling to his knees as we passed under the arch of the wall.

'Men also think friendship is a strong bond, Your Highness,' I said, feeling the gods' whimsy in my sudden role as authority on manliness. 'But it is not something that happens on order and the trust at its centre can take a long time to ripen.'

The Prince nodded. 'That is true.' He tilted his head and gave me a long considering look.

'Lord Eon, I will speak plainly I doubt that you or I have a long time ahead of us if things are left as they are.'

It was said in a matter-of-fact tone but I saw him swallow hard. In the last few days of whirling fear, I had thought the danger and terror was all mine. But now the truth of the situation wrapped itself around me, like a giant web binding me to the destiny of this young Prince. Every move I made would send ripples through a dynasty of Emperors. A line in one of the Dragoneye texts sprang to mind: Beware the friendship of a Prince. I was sure it was good advice.

'We may not have friendship yet, Your Highness,' I said, my heartbeat quickening at the boldness of my next words. 'But there is a bond which we can agree upon immediately'

'What is that, Lord Eon?'

An image of Dolana, her thin chest heaving with spasms, flickered through my mind.

'Mutual survival,' I said.

We looked at one another; a silent sizing up of a new ally.

Agreed,' he said, and swept his hand from forehead to heart, sealing the bargain.

The Pavilion of Earthly Enlightenment was sparsely furnished compared to the opulence of the other palace buildings. The most interesting decoration was Teacher Prahn: an old eunuch with skin so pale it showed the blue of his veins, and a shaven head topped by a scalp lock that proclaimed his devotion to the scholarly life. Apparently he lived in the pavilion, although I saw

no evidence of his tenure. He must hide his bedroll each morning in the tall bureau that stood against the wall. Or maybe he pushed together the hard cushions we were sitting on and slept under the low table.

'…and the library covers nearly every subject known to mankind. It would be my honour to show you the holdings after our lesson,' Prahn said, sweeping his arms to either side to indicate the buildings that formed the courtyard.

I nodded guiltily, aware that I had drifted into my own thoughts. 'Thank you. I would be most interested,' I said.

Outside, the intricate weavings of ensemble music drifted from somewhere in the harem complex. The ladies practising their instruments, the Prince had whispered to me when the haunting melody had started.

'We have all the works of the great philosophers,' Prahn continued, 'and our maps cover all of the known world.'

'Teacher Prahn is the keeper of the library,' the Prince said. 'He knows everything in it.'

The teacher bowed his head modestly. 'I don't know about that, Your Highness. But it is my honour to care for the collection. It is truly superb — scholars from far and wide come to study our scrolls.'

'They come into the harem?' I asked.

'Only to this courtyard,' Prahn assured me. 'There is a small gate to the east, the Scholars'

Gate, that allows entry to the library And all credentials are strictly checked.'

'The library is only open to scholars in the afternoon,' the Prince said. 'The ladies of the harem have their lessons in the morning, after me. Is that not right, Teacher?' His voice was edged with amusement.

Prahn's complexion deepened into a blotchy red. 'Correct, Your Highness.'

The Prince leaned over to me. 'My sisters give him a lot of trouble. Always asking questions and debating his answers.'

'I did not know that ladies could be educated. Like scholars,' I said, my skin prickling with the idea.

The Prince nodded vigorously. 'My father says he will not have ignorant fools for companions. And my sisters will one day marry into high positions that will require more than music and dancing. Of course, there are some who say educating women can only bring disaster.' The Prince looked slyly at Prahn. 'But what the Emperor commands must be right. Is that not so, Teacher?'

Prahn bowed from the waist. 'The Heavenly Master is as wise as he is generous.'

'I am glad to hear it,' a voice said from the doorway We all turned to see the Emperor seated in a sedan chair carried by two sturdy servants. They were flanked by the royal physician and his pair of eunuchs.

'Father!' the Prince said. 'You did not say you would come today'

The Emperor waved his hand forwards, the gold nail cover on his forefinger catching the light. The two servants carried him into the room, setting the chair gently down at the head of the table. The royal physician, this time dressed in gaudy gradations of blue, hovered beside him, ordering the eunuchs to change the position of a small stool for the royal foot.

'Enough,' the Emperor snapped. His long purple day tunic looked oversized on his shrunken frame, and the Imperial Pearl, glowing pale and pure at the base of his throat, emphasised the yellow cast of his skin. He looked even sicker than he had at the banquet.

He waved his attendants away, the physician and servants bowing and backing out of the room. The Prince dropped to his knees in front of his father. I bowed my forehead to the floor, Prahn prostrating himself beside me.

'Come now, what is the rule of the Pavilion of Earthly Enlightenment?' the Emperor chided.

'All who enter are equal in the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge,' Prince Kygo said quickly, sitting back on his heels.

'Yes, all are equal in this room. All ideas welcome,' the Emperor said. 'Rise, Lord Eon. And you too, Teacher Prahn.'

I sat up, warily watching the three men around the table. I did not understand this idea of equality. There was rank even amongst slaves; it was the nature of men.

And what is today's lesson, Teacher Prahn?' the Emperor asked.

The scholar glanced sideways at me, his face flushed. 'We are studying the advantages and disadvantages of isolationism, Your Majesty'

A most worthy topic,' the Emperor said.

Again, Prahn looked across at me, and I realised that the subject was for my benefit.

The debate began, and although I did not understand all the words or recognise the names of the philosophers, I was able to follow the gist of the arguments. The Emperor, jabbing the air with his gold forefinger, mounted a persuasive defence of his policy to open the land to foreigners for trade and political alliance. Prahn took the opposition, and I knew from Lady Dela's instruction that the isolationist beliefs he put forward echoed those of High Lord Sethon. The Prince acted as mediator, adding a sharp comment here and there that won him smiles of approval from his father and tutor. Finally, the Emperor turned to me, his worn face vibrant from the battle of wits.

And what do you say, Lord Eon? Does the acceptance of foreigners into our land dilute our magnificent culture?'

My tongue clagged to the top of my mouth. What could I add to such a learned discussion? I had no knowledge of foreign policy No deep understanding of politics. Across from me, the Prince nodded encouragingly I groped for the only thing I had: experience.

'I like the coffee that Ari the Foreigner sells in the market, Your Majesty' I said, knowing my words sounded foolish and naive. 'I do not know about diluting our culture. It is just a drink and he is just a man who sells it.'

The Emperor's smile widened. 'Yes. Just a man, like any other.' He leaned closer, his gaze holding me still. And tell me, young philosopher, how can we know a man's heart? How can we know if he means us ill or good?'

There was something behind the question that I did not understand. Some kind of test. What did the Emperor want? There was no clue in his politician's face; he'd had a lifetime of hiding his thoughts. The full-hour bell rang through the courtyard, silencing the ensemble music. It was as though the whole palace waited for my answer.

'No one can ever truly know what is in another man's heart,' I said. That was the gamble my master and I were taking. I clenched my fists beside my thighs, riding out the long silence as His Majesty studied me.

'Indeed,' he finally said. All men have a hidden nature. I am glad you understand that, Lord Eon.'

I licked suddenly dry lips. Did the Emperor see through me to my true self? I tensed as he turned to the Prince.

'But it is also important to understand that a hidden nature is not always an evil nature,' he said to his son. 'Is that not correct, Lord Eon?'

I nodded, smiling with relief; there did not seem to be any special knowledge in the Emperor's looks or posture. His questions were aimed at other concerns: the instruction of his son and the protection of his throne.

The Emperor sighed and sat back in the sedan chair. 'A most invigorating debate, Teacher Prahn,' he said. 'My compliments. But now it is the hour for me to sign the daily edicts.'

He clapped and the two servants hurried back into the room, deftly lifting the chair under the unnecessary direction of the physician. I bowed low as the Emperor was carried from the room, the physician darting around the chair, murmuring orders to his eunuchs like a buzzing fly

'Teacher, show us the library's sword collection before the ladies come,' the Prince said, rising from his own bow.

Prahn smiled. 'It is always the swords with you, Your Highness. When will you have such enthusiasm for the philosophy texts?'

The Prince shrugged. 'You want to see the swords too, don't you, Lord Eon?'

I nodded, more to please the Prince than in true interest. 'And I would very much like to see more of your library, Teacher Prahn,' I said. 'Does it hold Dragoneye texts too?' Perhaps something in its collections might help my search for the red dragon's name.

'Of course not, my lord,' Prahn said, his colourless mouth puckering in shock. 'Dragoneye texts are always kept by the Dragon lords in their halls.' He stopped, frowning. 'Wait, that is not right — we do have one Dragoneye text. A red leather folio bound with black pearls strung on silk. A most beautiful thing. It is one of the Mirror Dragon treasures saved from the fire.' He rubbed between his eyes, as though his head hurt. 'I'm sure I saw it amongst the other things. The restorers will be preparing it for the Twelfth Day celebrations, when His Majesty returns the treasures into your keeping.'

'Can I see it? Can you show it to me now?'

'Before Twelfth Day?' Prahn shifted nervously.

'Yes, I need to see it.' I tried to control the urgency in my voice.

The Prince caught my tension. 'Surely there can be no problem with that, Teacher?' he said.

'The treasures will soon be Lord Eon's property'

Prahn twisted his hands together. 'I am not surc.no, no, it is not procedure.'

I bit my lip and looked across at the Prince. I needed to see that text.

The Prince's bearing suddenly changed. 'Lord Eon will see his property, Teacher Prahn,' he said, rising from the floor and standing over the scholar. For the first time I saw the young ruler within him. 'Take us there, now.'

Prahn froze for a moment, then bowed until his forehead touched the wooden floor. 'Yes, Your Highness.'

He scrabbled to his feet, hovering in a half bow as the Prince walked out of the pavilion. He stayed in that position as I struggled to my own feet and followed the next Emperor out of the room of equality and across the wooden bridge.

The low buildings that formed the library were similar to those in the first courtyard, but the shutters were plain and the doors were crossed with thick bands of metal. Prahn, his shoulders still hunched, led us towards the buildings on the left. The Prince dropped back slightly to match his pace to mine.

'Do you think this Dragoneye text holds the mysteries of the Mirror Dragon?' he asked softly He walked so close that I could smell the spice of the storage herbs in his clothes.

'I'm not sure, Your Highness.' I angled my face to watch him. It was hard to tell where the dark brown met the black in his eyes, making his expression oddly intense. 'It is possible.

Although if it does, then it seems strange that the text has not been studied before now.'

'Not so strange,' he said. 'My father told me the vault has been sealed since the dragon was lost.'

'Then it could have some answers,' I said, my excitement growing.

'That's the Scholars' Gate, Lord Eon,' Prahn said, calling my attention to a narrow alley between the first two buildings. At the end was a solid metal gate set in the harem's outer wall. One of the large eunuch guards stood at attention, only a slight move of his head showing he had noted our passage.

'There is another gate too,' the Prince whispered. 'The Concubines' Gate. An escape route for the ladies of the harem in case of danger. Only the Imperial guards know its whereabouts. But I happen to know that women can come in that gate as well as go out.' He grinned at me. 'We should look for it.'

I felt heat rise to my face. The Prince stared at me for a moment then his own face flushed.

'I apologise, Lord Eon. Of course, you would have no interest in such things. Forgive my vulgarity.'

I nodded, keeping my face carefully averted. Part of me wanted to claim interest, wanted to lean closer and listen, but a Moon Shadow would not continue the conversation. The Prince quickened his pace, leaving me to walk by myself.

We stopped at the door in the second building. The window shutters were closed, but yellowish lamplight showed along the edges. Prahn pushed open the door and entered, beckoning us inside. I followed the Prince into an overwhelming smell of dust and camphor sweetened by the rich honey of wood wax. A large bureau stood in the centre of the room, half of it darkened with polish and glossed by the soft lamplight. On the floor beside it, a young eunuch was kowtowing to the Prince, most of his grey tunic covered by a rough smock.

A long trestle table was pushed up against the far wall and held an odd collection of silver, jewellery and porcelain. Another smocked eunuch was prostrated behind an open lacquer chest stacked with bolts of cloth. I saw red velvet, orange silk and a rich brown satin, its folds rusty with age.

'The Mirror Dragon treasure,' Prahn said, bowing to me.

All of this was mine? I turned in a circle, noting a large brass incense burner and three carved stools under the window, one of them blackened on the seat.

The Prince slid open one of the bureau doors. 'This is a handsome piece,' he said. 'How was it saved?'

'We think it was a new order that had not yet been delivered to the Mirror Dragon I [all, Your Highness,' Prahn said.

I touched the oiled wood, leaving a smear on the glowing surface.

'Lord Eon,' the Prince called from the trestle, 'look at this Dragoneye compass. It is magnificent.'

It had to be the jewelled compass that Lord Ido mentioned at the banquet. I headed to the table, brushing my fingers across the smooth blue head of a porcelain lion as I passed. It was the male of a door-guardian pair. I looked for the female, but she did not seem to have survived the fire.

The compass was extraordinary: a gold disc with a large ruby in the centre and smaller rubies around the outer edge to mark the cardinal points that formed the first circle. The other twenty-three circles were defined by rings of tiny seed pearls set so closely together that they looked like shimmering paint. I stroked the fine etchings of the animal signs in the second circle. The cardinal points and the animals were the only levels I understood, but soon I would be taught how to use the mysterious characters that ringed each of the other circles. I would learn how to use them to calculate the strongest ley lines, find pure paths of Hua and focus my power.

If I could find my dragon's name.

'Where is the Dragoneye text?' I asked, inspecting the crowded table.

Prahn nudged his foot into the eunuch kneeling beside the bureau. 'Lord Eon wishes to see the folio bound by the black pearls.'

The eunuch lifted his head. 'Forgive me, Excellent Prahn. I have not seen such a folio.'

'What? You must have seen it. Red leather, about the size of my hand, with a string of matched black pearls wrapped around it.'

'There are no folios in the collection, most honourable Teacher,' the eunuch said, crouching into a smaller target.

'Are you stupid? I saw it myself when I opened the vault,' Prahn snapped. 'Bring me the manifest from the Dragoneye Council.'

The eunuch scrabbled across the floor on his knees, picking up a scroll from a low table.

Prahn snatched it out of his hands and pulled it open, scrutinising the list.

'Well?' the Prince said.

Prahn looked up. His wide eyes seemed to hold the only colour in his face.

'But I…' He stopped. 'My lord, I cannot find any folio listed on the manifest. But I saw one. I am sure of it.'

I crossed the room in a few strides and plucked the scroll from Prahn's slack grasp. 'There is none listed?'

The Prince followed, looking over my shoulder as I read the record.

There was no folio. I let the scroll slither back up into its roll.

The Prince's hand flicked out, clipping the old man across the face. It was a light blow, more formality than punishment. Prahn took it without a sound then dropped to his knees, kowtowing to his young master.

'I am sorry, Your Highness.'

'You should be begging Lord Eon's forgiveness for your incompetence,' the Prince said coldly.

The old scholar immediately gathered himself into a hunched apology. 'My lord, please forgive an old man's faulty memory'

The Prince turned to me. 'Do you want him beaten?'

I stared at his implacable face. I thought I had seen a hint of the young ruler in the pavilion, but that was nothing compared to the young Emperor who now stood next to me. I could truly believe he was descended from dragons.

'No,' I said quickly. 'I am sure he believed there was such a folio.'

The Prince nodded. 'I think you are right. A just decision.' He looked down at Prahn. 'We shall overlook this failure, Prahn. Your service up to this point has been exemplary. Do not let it happen again.' He gripped my shoulder. 'Come, let's go and look at the swords.' I le walked out of the room.

I'rahn bowed low to me. 'Lord Eon, I apologise again. I was sure there was such a folio.'

I studied his upturned face: puzzlement and hurt pride overlaid with deep unease. Teacher Prahn was a meticulous man — it did not seem likely that he would make such a mistake.

'Tell me, where did you get the manifest?' I asked.

'Lord Ido brought it to me himself,' Prahn said.

The crackle of parchment made us both look at my hand. I had crushed the scroll. I loosened my grip, using the moment to hide my fear.

'Lord Ido?' I said, trying for a tone of polite interest, but it came out tense and tight. 'Why did he bring it?'

'It was his duty, my lord. As Council leader he opened the vault and checked the contents with me. I am sure the folio was listed. And Lord Ido saw it too.' Prahn frowned. Although I cannot remember the occasion clearly Maybe it is true, I am getting too old.'

I remembered the flick of silver in Lord Ido's eyes as he tried to charm me. Had he succeeded with Prahn, using his power to confuse the old man?

'It was just a mistake, Teacher,' I said, handing back the flattened scroll. 'There is no harm done. Let us forget it and join the Prince. We should not keep him waiting.'

Prahn nodded and bowed, eager to leave his humiliation behind.

I took one last look around the room. There was no proof that there had ever been a folio amongst the treasures — who would believe an old scholar's ageing memory against the word of the Ascendant Dragoneye? But I was willing to gamble my good leg that it did exist, and that Lord Ido had stolen it.

Did the folio hold my dragon's name? I knew it was only a slim chance, but it was also my only chance.

Somehow, I had to get that folio back.