Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

CHAPTER 18

The village man at the doorway dropped into a bow again. I stared at him, unable to break out of the horror that held me like a vice against the wall.

He slowly lifted his head. 'My lord?' he ventured. 'Please forgive me, but the messenger said it was most urgent.'

I took a deep shaking breath. Ido was gone. At least for now.

'Tell them…' My voice wavered. I stopped and took another breath, forcing strength into my words. 'Tell them I will be there soon. Now go.'

He backed away, leaving me with a view of the small courtyard garden and the grim understanding that Ido's control was complete. I shuddered. Not only did he have my mind and body in his grip — he had cornered me into betraying my friends and allies. Whatever I decided to do, I would be the agent of their defeat. If I found the courage to confess to the Council, I would be killed and the Emperor and the Prince left without their Ascendant ally and the Council's support. Sethon would take the throne. If I obeyed Ido, I would be forced to do his bidding in the Council and Sethon would have control of the Dragoneyes. In either case Ryko and his Resistance would have no Dragoneye to rally around, and Lady Dela would be at the mercy of a court who thought her a demon. I could not even run without placing Rilla and Chart in Ido's path. I had failed everybody. And behind it all was Ido's ultimate ambition: to create the String of Pearls with me and become Emperor.

Who knew if it was possible? But just the thought of it made me lock with terror.

There was one other course I could take, but Ido had seen my true nature: it was not in me to choose that final way Perhaps it was cowardice, but I was not ready to die. Not for my Emperor, not for the Prince, not even for my friends. And for this shameful lack of courage, I was now slave to Ido's desires.

Perhaps it was this unworthiness that had driven away the Mirror Dragon. I had not even seen a faint outline of the beast on the dais. It was as if the dragon had never existed. And now I had lost the last link to him: the red folio. I touched my bare forearm, missing the reassuring hold of the pearls. Ido had truly stripped me of everything.

Rilla appeared at the doorway 'My lord, Ryko is back.'

I stirred, my despair pierced by her words. 'Ryko?'

'I am here, lord.' Ryko stepped into the room and bowed. He was covered in mud and stank of stagnant water, but a huge smile lit his face. 'Well done, my lord. Your magnificent success has given us all hope.'

'Where were you?' I rose from the bed, suddenly furious. 'You said you would be back for the test.'

'I am sorry, lord.' He took a step back from my anger. 'I was looking for Ido's messenger. To find out what information he had delivered.'

'You should have come back.'

'My men had orders to guard you. Did they not do their duty?'

I was unable to meet his frank gaze. 'Yes, your men came.' I glanced across at Rilla, but her face did not register my lie. Ido's

dragon charm had obscured her memory too. 'Did you find the messenger?'

'I did, eventually,' he said. 'Thrown into an old channel with his throat cut.'

Rilla grimaced. 'But why?'

Ryko scrubbed wearily at the mud caked on his face. '1 would guess it was to stop someone like me forcing the message out of him.'

'Or perhaps someone else wanted the message and got there before you,' I said.

Ryko nodded. 'True. But my gut says it was on his orders.' He jerked his head towards Ido's room.

'Lord Eon!' It was Tyron's voice. 'The Emperor's own men are here. You must come now'

The old Dragoneye, flanked by Hollin, peered in through the doorway. Both Rilla and Ryko bent into bows.

'They will not deliver until you are present,' Tyron said.

I could delay no longer. I squared my shoulders, trying to find the courage to face Ido again.

'I fear this is bad news,' Tyron murmured as we entered the stone passageway. 'Six messengers to deliver one message — no chances taken.'

It seemed as though the whole village had congregated around the stone dais. Now that the King Monsoon had been defeated, the women and children were allowed back into the town centre. The small area should have been full of jubilation and laughter. Instead, everyone stood silently in the late afternoon sun watching the six emissaries from the Emperor. The men were still mounted on their horses, although the animals were lathered with sweat and fidgeting with the press of people.

A flash of gold and silky green cloth amongst the drab homespun caught my eye; Lady Dela, escorted by two of Ryko's men, was working her way along the shopfronts towards us. The warm greeting in her face drove a barb of guilt into me; I had put my friends into such peril. I motioned to Rilla to go and meet her, then turned to the messengers, every part of me aware of the tall figure of Ido staring at me from the dais. I clenched my hands, forcing back the wild fear that made me want to run from him. Hollin and Ryko cleared a path through the tense crowd. As Tyron and I stepped up onto the stone stage, the air thickened with expectation.

'We seek Lord Eon, the Mirror Dragoneye,' the leader said, his cultured city voice reaching the furthermost corners of the square.

'I am Lord Eon,' I said, unable to bring myself to finish the formal claim of dragon status.

All six men dismounted. The leader thrust his reins into the hands of the man beside him and withdrew a scroll from the holder strapped to his body The villagers hastily made way for him as he approached and then dropped to his knees beside the dais, bowing his forehead to the ground three times. Twin short swords were crossed over the man's broad back; he was one of the Emperor's own personal guard. He held up the scroll, his face solemn.

The parchment was sealed with the wax image of the Imperial dragon. Its message was short.

Lord Eon, Mirror Dragoneye, Co-Ascendant of the Dragon Council, My honoured father is dead. May his spirit walk with our glorious ancestors and bring good fortune to my reign.

Return to the city immediately to sit the ghost watch with me. Be advised by Lady Dela, who was given leave by my father to study the rituals and understands your part in the proceedings.

Pearl Emperor Kygo-Jin-Ran

I looked up at the intent faces around me.

'The Emperor has passed into the land of the ancestors,' I said.

My focus narrowed on Ido. Air hough his face was schooled into new regret, I was sure that it was old news to him. The morning message. Had he played a pan in the E.mperor's death?

The timing seemed too opportune to he just luck. And how else would his messenger learn of the death and heal the Emperial horsemen?

The villagers close to the dais whispered the news behind them until the silence around us broke into a slow moan that shivered through the village square, building into a keen so piercing that it must have reached the otherworld.

'We must all return to the city,' Lord Tyron said over the terrible sound.

I nodded numbly. 'I am summoned to sit the ghost watch with Prince…' I stopped; Prince Kygo was now the Emperor. 'With our glorious new overlord.'

'You are to sit the Imperial ghost watch?' Lord Silvo gasped. 'Then the Pearl Emperor makes you second mourner. You are a guardian of the old Emperor's spirit.' He bowed low. 'May your sacred duties ease his way to his noble ancestors.'

The keening around us trailed off, marshalled into the gentler rhythms of a prayer chant led by a holy man at the other end of the square.

'It is a wise move on our new Emperor's part,' Tyron said softly, his low tone drawing Silvo closer. 'Especially now that Lord Eon has proved his power and his leadership of the Council.

This should dissuade Sethon from making a claim.'

I stared at Tyron. 'What do you mean?'

'Prince Kygo will be Pearl Emperor for twelve days until his father's body is entombed, and then he will be formally anointed as Dragon Emperor,' Tyron said. 'But the Pearl Days are the most dangerous: any male of royal blood can make his claim for the throne. That is why it is also traditionally the time when the Pearl Emperor kills any younger brothers to stop the internal wars that come with a divided claim.'

The Right of Reitanon,' Lord Silvo said, nodding. 'But I doubt our new Emperor will follow that tradition. He is his father's son.'

'Yrs, I'm sure he will spare his infant brother — the child poses no threat,' Tyron said.

'However, Sethon has made no secret of his ambitions, and he has the armies, led by his own younger brothers, backing him.'

'I can't stop High Lord Sethon from making a claim!' I grabbed Tyron's sleeve. 'You must not rely on me to stop Sethon. I cannot!'

Tyron pulled his arm free from my desperate grasp. 'Be easy, Lord lion. It is not you, personally, who will stop Sethon. He will be stopped by the knowledge that his nephew has your power behind him. You are the Mirror Dragoneye, you are Ascendant, and you now have the Council's full support. He would be mad to go against all that. Even with the armies.'

I felt a sob thicken my throat. The Prince — the new Emperor — was building his fortress on the quicksand of my power.

I grabbed at Tyron again. 'You don't understand —'

'Lord Eon,' Ido's rich voice harnessed my words. '%u are greatly honoured by our new Emperor.' From behind, I felt his hand close over my bruised shoulder. 'He raises you higher and higher. Soon you will not be able to see the humble truth of your beginnings.'

With subtle pressure on the older pain he turned me until I faced Rilla and Lady Dela, standing nearby. Lady Dela's pale make-up was streaked by tears. Did she cry for the death of the old Emperor, or for the loss of her protector?

'I will never forget my beginnings,' I said through my teeth.

'Nor, I am sure, your responsibilities,' he added. I felt his thumb stroke my shoulder before he released me.

'Lord Eon is very aware of his responsibilities,' Tyron said firmly 'As we all are at this time.'

He motioned to Hollin. 'Rally everyone,' he ordered. 'We must leave now to mourn the old Emperor and give our support to the new.'

The leader of the Imperial messengers rose to his knees and bowed again. 'Lord Eon, to expedite your return to the city, His Glorious Majesty the Pearl Kmperor has ordered fresh horses to await you at the villages of Reisan, Ansu and Djin.'

Tyron nodded his approval. 'With three horse changes, you should be in the city by morning.

We will follow as quickly as possible. If we push, we should be with you by dusk.'

The village gong sounded the first of the twelve tolls of mourning. All around us the villagers dropped into kowtows, their foreheads flat to the stone flags.

'Help me down, lad,' Tyron said, 'I am so tired, I fear I'll fall off this dais.'

I grasped his forearm, bracing myself against his heavy weight as he lowered himself to his knees. Then I took my position alongside him and the other Dragoneyes kneeling around the dais.

As the gongs resonated through the square, I recalled the lesson in the library with Teacher Prahn and the Prince. Now, with hindsight, it was obvious that the Emperor's unscheduled visit had been orchestrated to win my support, but I believed his kindness to a frightened peasant-made-lord had sprung from genuine warmth. And although I was sure it would have meant nothing to one so exalted, I had liked him very much. The Emperor's loss lodged in my heart; a small ache compared to the loss of my master, but another sadness that ground its shards into my spirit. Now in the palace, the Prince — the Pearl Emperor — would be faced with the pain of losing his father, and his own dangerous ascension to the Imperial throne. He had made a pact with me for mutual survival, but he had made it with Lord Eon, not a worthless peasant girl in the power of his enemy I could no more influence his survival than I could my own.

The last toll echoed around the silent square. Beside me, Lord Tyron sighed.

'Go, Lord Eon,' he said. 'Go and stand your power behind our new Emperor. Make Sethon kneel before him.'

I moved along the cushioned seat as Lady Dela climbed into the carriage and released Ryko's hand with a murmur of thanks. She settled next to me, self-consciously smoothing down her heavily embroidered cream gown. In the brief time we'd had to prepare for the journey back to the city, she had fretfully rummaged through her repacked baggage, repeating that her gown was not suitable for mourning. It was not until Rilla grabbed her hands, steered her into a chair and ordered her maid to find a gown that would honour the Emperor, that Lady Dela stopped her frantic search.

As well as changing her outfit, the lady had removed her court make-up. Without the distraction of the pale mask, her angular face was muddy and shadowed with grief. She smiled wanly at me, her fingers plucking at the small travelling basket on her lap.

Rilla had also hurriedly stripped me of my red Dragoneye robe and exchanged it for a sombre tunic and trousers, ready for the hard night of travelling. Although it was probably just a strange fancy, I was sure the Dragoneye silk had stunk of vanilla and orange, and I was glad to have it off my body. Unfortunately, there had been no time for a bath as well to scrub away Ido's touch.

The carriage rocked again as Rilla took the small servants' seat facing us. She directed Ryko to place a large basket of food on the floor at her feet. I met her defiant gaze with a frown. We had already had this discussion — I did not want to eat.

'With respect, my lord,' she said briskly, 'you must take something otherwise you will not have the strength to honour the old Emperor.'

Lady Dela nodded. 'It is true, Lord Eon. The ghost watch is very demanding.'

I knew they were right. I would have to eat and replenish my body, but the thought of swallowing food made my gut jerk with

nausea. Perhaps another dose of the Sun drug would renew me — it was meant to kindle Sun energy and I still carried the pouch with me. Then again, the drug had failled on every level during the King Monsoon — it had not helped me unite with my dragon or kindled my energy. Maybe it only worked on men. Was that why it had not helped me see my dragon? Or had Ido somehow blocked me from my own beast? 1 felt the stranglehold of despair close around my throat again.

'Give me something then,' I said, trying to focus past the choking emptiness.

Rilla drew out a lacquer box from the basket. She pulled the lid off, bent into a quick bow, then passed it across the small space. Three spiced rice balls, bound with strips of seaweed, lay nestled on a bed of thinly cut cabbage like bird eggs in a nest. A beautiful dish prepared with care. I felt like vomiting.

'My lord, my lord! Please wait!'

It was Elder Hiron, running and waving something. Ryko stopped his approach with a raised hand.

'Lord Eon is about to leave,' he said. 'What is your business?'

The old man crouched into a bow, his thin back heaving with exertion.

I leaned past Lady Dela. We had already gone through the requisite thanks and farewells with the village leader. What did he want now?

'My lord,' he gasped. 'He is an honest man, he just didn't know how to approach you, what with the terrible news of our Emperor's…' The old man bent over trying to catch his breath.

'What are you talking about?'

'This, my lord.' Elder Hiron held up the ruby compass. 'Jie-can, our baker, found it near the dais. He is a good man. He came to me with it as soon as he could.'

I stared at the gold disc; I had dropped it when I turned to see the Mirror Dragon. And he was gone. The terrible loss twisted through me again.

Elder I Hiron paled and dropped into a low bow. 'Please, my lord, Do not be angry. It was —'

'I am not angry,' I said, drawing back into my seat. 'Pass it to Lady Dela.' I had not even noticed its absence nor did it matter; my dragon had abandoned me. I did not deserve to hold a Dragoneye tool again.

He scurried up to the carriage and held out the compass, sneaking a wide-eyed look at the court Contraire. Lady Dela took it gracefully, smiling gently at the overwhelmed villager.

'Thank you, Elder Hiron,' she said softly

'Yes, give your baker my thanks too,' I added.

The old man bowed and backed away, still staring at Lady Dela.

Ryko shut the low carriage door and mounted his horse, steadying the animal alongside the cabin. He bent over the saddle to look in at us, waiting for my order.

'Go,' I said.

He called the command and the carriage jerked forwards, quickly settling into its well-sprung sway I looked back at the dwindling figures of Tyron and Silvo — still and silent amongst the noisy preparations of their attendants — but could not return their grave salute.

Lady Dela held out the compass. 'You must forgive me, my lord, for neglecting to congratulate you on your glorious victory over Ido,' she said. 'The sad news of the Emperor's death…' She stopped and swallowed against her grief, the black pearl bobbing at her throat.

'The sad news overwhelmed me. But your courage and power have secured the Council. His Majesty was right — you were sent by the gods to bring the Prince to the throne.'

I could not bear the stinging lash of gratitude in her voice. 'I was not sent by anyone,' I said harshly.

Lady Dela blinked with surprise. 'I'm…I am sorry, my lord.'

Rilla cleared her throat. 'Can I offer you some wine, or water, my lord?'

'No, I want nothing.'

Hesitantly, Lady Dela held out the compass again. 'It was good fortune that this was found and returned,' she said, ignoring my rudeness. 'I know it is an essential tool for your art. And it is very beautiful.' She brushed her linger over the inscribed face.

I did not want to touch it. 'Just put it somewhere,' I said, waving her hand away.

But she was not listening. All her attention was on the compass. 'I know this,' she said, tracing an engraved character with her fingertip. 'It means Heaven. This is an old form of Woman Script.' Her finger skipped across to another character. 'Truth. This one is Truth.' She looked up at me. 'Why is a Dragoneye tool written in Woman Script?'

I could not move. A thousand lies were collapsing within me, the roar in my ears drowning out everything except two words: Woman Script.

'What does it say?' I whispered.

Lady Dela stared at me.

'What does it say?' I screamed.

She flinched back into the seat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the driver look around at us. Rilla was staring at me, her face hollowed with shock.

I forced my voice into a lower tone. 'Tell me what it says.'

Lady Dela licked her lips, her eyes darting back to the compass. Slowly, she moved her finger around the innermost circle. 'It says the Mirror Dragon is,' she paused, her eyes widening, 'the Mirror Dragon is the Queen of the heavens.' Her hand covered her mouth. 'By the gods, a female dragon.'

My dragon was female. The truth of it flooded through me; a cascade of wonder and hope and horror. She had chosen me and I had driven her away

Lady Dela met my stricken gaze. 'You didn't know? How could you not know?'

'She's the Queen?' Rilla said. 'Of course, it makes sense —'

I flung myself across the narrow space, slamming her against the carriage wall.

'I)o not say it,' I screamed, my forearm across her chest. 'Do not say it.'

The driver turned around again. 'My lord, what is it? Shall I stop?'

'Keep driving,' I yelled.

Rilla panted beneath me. 'I will not say it. I promise. I promise.'

'What can't she say, Lord Eon?' Lady Dela pulled at my arm, her man's strength dragging me back into my seat. 'What makes sense?'

I snatched at the gold disc but she jerked it away, the confusion in her face hardening into comprehension. 'You're not Moon Shadow, are you?'

I struggled to free my other arm, but her grip tightened. Are you a girl?'

Her fierce eyes held mine, but I could not say it. I must not say it.

Are you?' she shrieked. It was not anger in her voice. It was terror.

'Yes,' I whispered.

She rocked back, dropping my arm as though it was diseased. 'Sweet gods, a girl. In the Dragoneye Council. Do you know what they will do when they find out?'

I nodded.

'But you have the Mirror Dragon's power,' she said quickly 'She chose you because you are a girl, didn't she? Surely they will see that and —'

I could not keep the truth out of my eyes.

Lady Dela paled. 'You do have her power, don't you?' she asked, her voice rising into desperation. 'Tell me you have the dragon's power.'

'No,'

She closed her eyes and moaned, the terrible sound thinning into a ragged prayer. 'Merciful gods of heaven, may our deaths be swift and painless.'

'But you moved the King Monsoon,' Killa said

I looked away from her crumpled face. Ido moved it, He took my power and made everyone think I was directing the Dragoneyes. He said he would tell the Council I was a girl if I didn't do what he said. They will kill me, Rilla.' I reached out to her, pleading for her understanding, but she did not move. 'He said he'd give you and Chart to his men if I tried to get help.'

Lady Dela gave a low, strangled cry: 'So we don't have the Council. We don't have anything.'

She covered her face with her hands.

Rilla leaned closer. 'How could Ido take your power if you don't have any? I saw the red book. There was power there. I saw the pearls move by themselves.'

'I don't have the Mirror Dragon's power,' I said. 'I didn't unite with him…with her properly during the ceremony. But I can call on Lord Ido's dragon. I don't know how. That was the power he took.'

Lady Dela lifted her head. 'Why didn't you unite properly with your dragon?'

'I don't know. I felt her in the arena — we communed, I swear it. But afterwards she started to slip away' I paused, the awful loss closing my throat. 'And now she's gone.'

Rilla straightened in her seat and brushed down her dress, trying to reclaim some composure.

'Maybe she didn't like you pretending to be a boy' she said tartly.

I gaped at her, a tumble of connections falling into line. 'The Sun drug.'

Her eyes met mine and widened. 'The ghost-maker's tea.'

Lady Dela frowned. 'What?'

'Before the ceremony, my master gave me a tea to take every morning. It stopped my…' I could not say it.

'It slops the Moon days,' Rilla said quickly. 'And the Sun drug is taken by l he Shadow Men to keep their maleness.'

LAdy Dela nodded. 'Ryko takes it.' She eyed me narrowly. 'You mean, you took it?'

'I thought it would help me join withrny dragon,' I said defensively 'Ido takes it to strengthen his bond with the Rat Dragon.' I licked my lips, suddenly recognising another connection. 'I think the Mirror Dragon faded from me faster after I took the Sun drug.'

'Could it be the female dragon is called by female energy?' Lady Dela whispered.

Her words caught at my breath, their truth resonating through me. The Mirror Dragon was called by female energy, and I had done everything to quell it within myself.

'So if you stop taking this tea and drug, you will be able to commune with the Mirror Dragon,'

she said. 'Am I right?'

I bowed my head. 'There is another problem.'

Lady Dela and Rilla waited, their bodies tensing.

'I don't have my dragon's name. I can't call her power without her name.' The grim irony of what I was about to say warped my mouth into a wry smile. 'And the only place I could possibly find her name is in the red folio.'

'The one you and Ryko stole from Lord Ido?' Lady Dela asked.

I nodded. And the one he stole back a few hours ago.' The echo of his brutal control still lingered in my body. I could not bear to think of it. Instead, I tipped back my head and gritted my teeth, trying to stop the burn of tears. 'The folio is written in Woman Script too. You could have read it to me.' I swallowed. 'I could have had her name.'

Rilla touched my knee. The small gesture made it harder to hold back my grief.

Lady Dela frowned into the distance. 'But that means there is still a chance for you to claim her power.'The hard-headed courtier in her had reasserted itself. 'We must get the red folio back.'

Hope burst through me. If I had my dragon, Ido would not be able to come near me. 'We've got it from him once,' I said quickly 'We could do it again.'

She held up her hand.'But first,you must warn the new Emperor that he cannot rely on your power Or the Council's support.'

'No.' I shook my head. 'No, he will kill me. We must find the red folio first.'

She eyed me coldly. 'It is your duty to tell him,' she said. And if you do not, you will die anyway Ryko will kill you if you betray the Emperor again.' She looked out of the carriage at the dark figure of the islander riding ahead of us. As it is, I'll have trouble stopping him from cutting your throat when he learns of your lies.' She sighed. 'His faith in you was enormous.

As was mine.'

For a moment, I imagined Ryko's face when he found out the truth. I shuddered; not only from fear, but from the knowledge of how deeply my betrayal would wound him.

Lady Dela sat back. 'We must all pray to the gods that the Emperor does not have you killed immediately Let us hope you have time to tell him there's still a chance to claim the Mirror Dragon's power.'

'It is a very small chance,' I said.

'You should hold on to it as hard as you can,' Lady Dela said flatly 'It means your life.'

We sat for a moment, each of us silenced by the terrible possibilities that lay before us.

'Well,' Lady Dela finally said, 'I must tell Ryko.' She rose from her seat, swaying with the carriage's motion, and poked the driver's back. 'Pull up, man.' She looked back to me. 'Do not come out. Do not even show your face.' She smoothed her hair and I saw her hand was trembling. 'This is going to kill him.'

The carriage slowed and came to a juddering stop. Immediately, Ryko pulled up his own horse. Lady Dela gave me one last reproachful look then stepped down from the cabin, hurrying to deflect Ryko's approach.

Rilla stalled to unpack boxes from the food basket. 'You may as well eat something. It will probably be a while before we move on again.'

1 craned a look over the driver's shoulder. Ryko had dismounted and given his reins to his second-in-command, who had been riding at the front with him. As Lady Dela approached, the islander bowed, his head angled questioningly. She motioned him further along the deserted road, and as they walked away from us their voices became lost in the clattering calls of roosting birds. Suddenly Ryko stiffened and stepped back from Lady Dela. He turned to the carriage, his fists clenched. Even though I could not see his face clearly in the dusk light, his fury crossed the distance between us. Lady Dela grabbed his arm, and it was not a woman's hold. I watched him turn back to her, the tense lines of his body showing his fight for control.

'I am sorry,' I whispered.

'You should have told me,' Rilla said. She opened another box — full of silvery poached eel

— and placed it on the seat next to me. 'Maybe I could have helped.'

'How?' I asked. 'Do you have the dragon's name written on your forehead?'

Instantly, I regretted my sarcasm. At least she was talking to me. 'I'm sorry' I said. 'You're right. I should have told you.'

'More to the point, you should have told the master,' Rilla said.

'I thought I could find the name before anyone realised I had no power. Before he realised.

And then he died.'

Rilla sighed. 'Well, that's all history now.' She stacked the lacquered lids, placing them back into the basket. Then, folding her hands in her lap, she sat for a moment staring out into the new darkness.

'So,' she met my gaze, 'is it time, Lord Eon?'

I turned away from her quiet dignity. 'I'm not your lord any more, Rilla.'

'Oh, yes, you are,' she said, her sharp tone pulling me back to face her. 'You have to be Lord Eon fot us all. For me, for Chart, for those two out there. And for the new Emperor.' She lifted her chin. 'I ask you again, Lord Eon. Is it time?'

'Yes,' I finally said, 'Take Chart and get as far away as you can.'

Lady Dela returned to the carriage — her grim face forestalling our questions — and we resumed our journey. Ryko kept his distance, riding ahead, stiff and straight in the saddle. I watched for a while, but he did not look back. Even when we changed horses, he kept well away, his eyes averted from me.

As the night deepened into the spirit hours, I managed to eat some of Rilla's food while Lady Dela tersely explained the Imperial ghost watch. I tried to concentrate on my part in the elaborate rituals and ignore the unspoken dread that hung between us: that I would probably not live long enough to practise them.

Although my mind was past any point of rest, my drained body could hold out no longer; after the third and final horse change, I slept. Occasionally I was jolted awake by a rough piece of road and looked out to see the figure of Ryko still riding at the front. After the long hours of travelling, his body should have been bowed with fatigue, but I could see no change in his tense vigilance. Perhaps he was fuelled by his rage. Perhaps hate.

I was glad to return to the oblivion of sleep.

The calls of roadside hawkers finally pulled me out of my exhaustion and I awoke, huddled in the corner of the carriage, just as we approached the city gates. Lady Dela was sprawled asleep in the opposite corner, the harsh lines of her face softened by slumber. Rilla was already hunting through the basket for refreshment, her hair and gown smoothed into her usual neatness.

'Something to break your fast,' she said softly, passing me a small woven dish containing a shelled hardboiled egg and a few

pickled vegetables. At least I would not have to wash it down with the foul mix of Sun drug and ghost-maker's tea. 1 was done with both drugs.

'It is not much of a last meal,' I said, attempting a smile.

She ignored the comment, carefully shelling another egg. 'When we arrive at the apartments I will prepare the cleansing bath as Lady Dela instructed.' Her voice was low. 'No doubt the protocol officers will have sent the proper herbs. Then, while you are washing, I will air the Story Robe. It is a good thought on Lady Dela's part for you to wear it.'

'You should just go.'

She shook her head. After you are prepared for the ghost watch.'

I was humbled by her dogged loyalty. 'Thank you,' I whispered. 'But after that, promise me you will go.'

Beside me, Lady Dela stirred. She wiped her mouth, squinting in the morning light.

'I did not expect to sleep.' She looked out at the line of carts and foot travellers waiting to enter the city on the common dirt road below our paved carriageway. 'We have arrived, then.'

As we drew up to the city gates, Ryko rode back towards us. I sat up, my fingers tightening around the wicker dish, but he manoeuvred his horse alongside Lady Dela's side of the cabin.

'I will leave you now, lady' he said.

She nodded. 'Good luck.'

'Leave?' I said. 'Why are you leaving? We have to get the red folio back.'

Ryko finally looked at me and the hardness in his eyes stilled my breath. 'I must warn the Resistance to be ready' He pulled on the reins, his horse snorting at the brutal turn. 'But don't be concerned for your safety, Lord Eon. I will be back to guard you, as is my duty' His voice was bitter. 'T always do my duty'

And when have I not done my duly?' I muttered, but he was already gone.