Jade War

CHAPTER 39 A Meeting of Pillars

Anden went to Port Massy International Airport with Rohn Toro to meet Kaul Hilo when he arrived. The flight was an hour late. While they waited, Rohn bought a cup of coffee from the food court and browsed the spinning racks of paperbacks in the convenience store in the terminal. Anden sat in one of the molded yellow chairs near the gate and tried unsuccessfully to read a magazine. He hadn’t seen his cousin since the day of their grandfather’s funeral, when the Pillar had essentially banished him from Janloon, and their last words to each other had been curt and painful. When Anden had phoned home and spoken to Shae, explaining the situation and the Dauks’ request for assistance, the last thing he had expected was for her to phone back two weeks later and tell him that Hilo was getting on a plane and coming to Port Massy himself.

It had taken another month to secure all the necessary travel papers and free up the room in Hilo’s schedule. In the meantime, the leaves turned golden in Port Massy and the sky darkened to a creamy gray. Harvest’Eves decorations went up: garlands of acorns and dried apples, dolls and pictures of Straw Jack, rows of yellow candles in windows. Flyers and signs littered the streets and walls of the city; grocers and restaurants advertised feasts of corn cake and fatted rabbit; stores proclaimed the year’s steepest retail discounts.

In Southtrap, the Crews continued to target Kekonese people and businesses. After the body of one of Boss Kromner’s midlevel drug dealers was found floating in the Camres River, three gunmen burst into a restaurant where Rohn Toro was eating. The Green Bone sensed them coming and escaped out a back door, but whenever Anden saw Rohn now, he was almost always wearing his leather gloves. He was wearing them now, even here in the airport. He kept his peaked cap pulled low and he often paused in whatever he was doing, his eyes going momentarily distant as he cast his Perception about for threats.

To pass the time, Anden tried to engage the man in conversation. “Do you have family coming to visit you over the Harvest’Eves holiday, Rohn-jen?”

Rohn looked up briefly from the travel guide he was flipping through. “My daughter is coming for a few days.” Anden had not been aware that Rohn had a daughter or any family at all; he’d known the man for as long as he’d known the Dauks but had instinctively treated him with a certain respectful distance and so knew little about him as a person. “She’s older than you. Lives in Evenfield, near her mother. I’d like to see her more, but that’s up to her, not me.” Evenfield was five hours away by train or bus. Rohn appeared pensive for a moment, then shrugged. “Maybe there was once a time I could’ve been a better family man, instead of what I am. But I owe the Dauks. They’re the closest thing I have to family now.”

The flight from Janloon arrived at last, and the passengers began to disembark. Hilo and Maik Tar were two of the first people off the plane. Anden stood up nervously and went to greet his cousin. They stopped ten paces from each other, as if struck by the same simultaneous hesitation. “Kaul-jen,” Anden said, lowering his gaze and touching his clasped hands to his forehead in salute. He raised his eyes again. Hilo looked slightly older than Anden remembered; his expansive energy seemed a little more contained, though perhaps that was because Anden was seeing him here, in the middle of a bustling airport in a foreign country, where he appeared like just another jet-lagged traveler. Hilo carried his jacket over one arm, and the buttons of his blue shirt were done up all the way, hiding the jade studs on his collarbone that Anden had always seen prominently displayed. He was not smiling, but as Anden watched, a reluctant softness came into Hilo’s eyes. His mouth moved in an indecisive way, as if torn between a painful grimace and a grin of pleasure. Hilo crossed the rest of the space between them and greeted Anden with an unrestrained embrace. “Andy,” he said, and kissed his cousin firmly, once on the cheek.

A wave of unexpectedly strong relief washed over Anden and weakened his knees. The smoothly humming intensity of Hilo’s jade aura so close to him was more blindingly familiar than even Hilo’s voice or the smell of his clothes—the faint odor of cigarette smoke mingled with the indescribable spicy fragrance of Janloon that made Anden feel instantly homesick. Anden began to stammer something in reply, then he remembered his role. He stepped back and greeted Maik Tar, who also embraced him warmly if less exuberantly, and then he turned slightly over his shoulder and said, “Kaul-jen, this is Rohn Toro. He’s the…” Anden realized he didn’t know if Rohn had an official title in the clan, indeed, if any Green Bones besides Dauk had titles. “Think of him as the Horn. Among Green Bones here in Port Massy, he’s second only to his good friend, Dauk Losunyin, whom we’re going to see.”

“We don’t stand much on ceremony here,” Rohn said, in his usual even, wary voice, “but I’m honored to welcome you to Espenia, Kaul-jen.” He began to bend into a salute, but Hilo surprised him by extending his hand and shaking Rohn’s in a firm and friendly way. The two men’s gazes met over their jade auras, and Anden saw Hilo immediately recognize Rohn Toro in the same way Anden had recognized him when he’d first walked into the room at the Dauks’ house after dinner—as a certain sort of man every clan must have.

“I’ve heard a lot about Espenia, but this is the first time I’ve been here myself,” Hilo said, smiling now, in a manner that was amiable and disarming yet subtly formal. “I’m a guest in this country, so I’m grateful to be welcomed and hosted by my cousin’s friends.” He nodded to Tar. “This is my Pillarman and brother-in-law, Maik Tar.” Rohn and Tar greeted each other with perfectly equal shallow salutes, like a meeting between two dogs of the same size.

“It’s good of you to come on nothing but Anden’s word,” Rohn said to Hilo.

The Pillar’s smile stayed stiffly in place as he said, without looking directly at his cousin, “Andy wouldn’t ask me here for no reason. Who can we trust, if not our family?” and Anden knew that even though Hilo was glad to see him, he was not entirely forgiven.

After Hilo and Tar claimed their baggage, Rohn Toro led the way out to the short-term parking area and a rented black town car. Rohn explained to the visitors that Dauk Losun had arranged for them to stay at the Crestwood Hotel in downtown Port Massy. Would they like to go directly there to rest for a while? Hilo was looking through the window with interest as Rohn drove the car out of the airport and onto the freeway. No, Hilo said, he’d slept on the plane and didn’t need to go to the hotel right away if it meant keeping another Pillar waiting; they ought to go meet with Dauk Losun now.

Rohn drove through the center of Port Massy, intentionally taking a longer route to give the visitors a chance to see some of the cityscape. Hilo remained silent for much of the ride, but several times, he nudged Maik Tar and remarked on this or that interesting sight: the world-famous Mast Building, the garish orange buses, a familiar brand name on a billboard. Anden wanted to tell his cousin a thousand things; he felt a strange compulsion to act as a tour guide and point out tidbits that he hadn’t known when he’d first arrived in Port Massy but had subsequently learned and that the Pillar might appreciate—but he was tentative, no longer sure how familiar to act with his cousin, whether his comments would be welcomed or scorned.

Anden turned partway around in his seat and remarked, “That’s Port Massy College, Hilo-jen. Those arches are the entrance to the campus.” As they entered Southtrap, he said, “The place I live is about three blocks that way. If you have time, maybe you could meet the Hians—they’re the couple who’ve been hosting me.” Hilo did not answer, but when the car came to a stop in front of the Dauks’ home a few minutes later, he leaned forward and gave Anden a pat on the shoulder before opening the door and getting out. Anden stayed put for a second, feeling foolish. He’d lived in Port Massy for nearly two years, he’d done well in his studies, could speak and read Espenian, had a part-time job that paid a reasonable wage. He had friends and a home of sorts. Yet in the presence of Kaul Hilo, he felt like an anxious boy again. He hadn’t realized until now how much he still craved his cousin’s approval and forgiveness. It must’ve been obvious not only to Hilo but to everyone in the car. Anden got out and followed the other men.

Dauk Losun and Dauk Sana greeted the visitors at the front door. Cory was there too, home from Watersguard University for the two-week-long Harvest’Eves break. Fortunately, after fruitless months of surveillance, the police appeared to have given up on staking out the Dauks’ home, or perhaps they too were taking a holiday break. The Dauks had gone to some effort to make their modest home look presentable to an important visitor. The counters and the banister gleamed from polish; new, brighter lights had been put in over the kitchen; a vase of fresh flowers on the dining table scented the air pleasantly. Dauk Losun was more formal than usual; instead of his typical sweater, he was wearing a gray shirt and a red tie with a gold clip, and he was not quite his normal unassuming self. He greeted Kaul Hilo with a respectful salute, saying how pleased he was to meet the Pillar of the great No Peak clan in person and inquiring as to his flight. From behind his father’s shoulder, Cory flashed Anden a quick smile, which Anden barely acknowledged with one of his own before averting his gaze. He’d spent months impatient to see Cory again, but right now he was too unbalanced by his cousin’s presence and the strangeness of different parts of his life coming together under one roof.

Hilo quickly put his hosts at ease by smiling his lopsided smile, complimenting them on aspects of their house, and joking about the food served on Kekon Air. As they entered the dining room, Anden saw his cousin’s gaze fall on the statues and vases carved from bluffer’s jade. A smirk tugged at the corner of Hilo’s mouth, imperceptible to anyone but Anden; it was gone in an instant. When Dauk Losun brought out a bottle of fine hoji and opened it to serve in advance of dinner, Hilo told them about one of his Fists who’d been maimed in a battle and lost his arms but now ran one of the best hoji distilleries in Janloon. Was Dauk a hoji connoisseur? Hilo would be pleased to send him a case. Maik and Rohn stood silently near their bosses, watching the exchange and each other with respect and subtle caution.

Dauk Sana, wearing a high-collared, matronly green dress, brought out dish after dish of food to the dinner table, apologizing for the meagerness of the meal even though it was obvious that she’d been slaving in the kitchen all day to cook a dozen dishes. Hilo said that his own mother could not have done so well, which made Dauk Sana beam with pleasure. “I had plans to make one other seafood dish and a sweet cake, and I would have, if my daughters had been here to help, but one lives far away, another is home with a sick child, and the third is traveling for some sort of industry conference.” She sighed and said, “At least Coru was good enough to lend a hand in the kitchen this afternoon.” She doled more food onto her son’s plate with obvious affection. “The youngest child is usually the most helpful.”

Hilo seemed to consider this comment as he regarded Cory, no doubt Perceiving him to be a Green Bone like his parents and Rohn. Anden felt a tremble in his stomach, a sudden, ridiculous protectiveness. Hilo smiled in a teasing, friendly way and raised his hoji glass to Dauk Coru. “The youngest is also the most spoiled, the one who gets away with anything.”

Cory laughed a little uncertainly and glanced at his father. “I’m not sure that’s true.”

From across the table, Dauk Losun said, “Do you have children, Kaul-jen?”

Hilo said, “I have two sons. They’re one and three years old. My wife and I are expecting a third child.”

Dauk Losun and Kaul Hilo were separated in age by thirty years. “The gods favor you, Kaul-jen, to have given you two sons already and perhaps a third on the way,” Dauk said.

“The third will be a girl,” Hilo said. “That’s how it seems to be in our family.”

“Nevertheless, a blessing.”

After dinner, Dauk Sana cleared the empty dishes and leftovers to the kitchen. There was still plenty of food left; Hilo, Anden, and the Dauks had dined heartily, but Maik Tar and Rohn Toro, seated next to their respective Pillars, had eaten little and spoken less. It was their unstated but mutually understood role to remain observant and on guard. This was a friendly meeting, but nonetheless one between clan Pillars that did not know each other.

Cory stood up to help his mother clear the table. Anden got up as well, wanting to be helpful and feeling suddenly out of place at the table of Green Bone men. In the kitchen, Cory put a stack of dishes on the counter and whispered, “Your cousin’s not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?” Anden asked.

“Someone like you but a lot older. Serious and intimidating. Black suit, sunglasses, carrying half a dozen knives on his body. Jade on gold chains hanging off his neck and wrists.”

“You’ve been watching too many of those idiotic Shotarian crime movies.”

Cory laughed softly, a sound that always made Anden’s heart skip a little. “Do you think he’s really going to do anything to help us with the Crews, or is he here for some other reason?”

Anden felt oddly accused, as if he was expected to know the Pillar’s mind, and it was his fault the Dauks had gone to so much trouble to prepare for this evening. “I don’t know,” he said.

Dauk Sana took a fresh pot of tea back out to the dining table. “When are we going to get together?” Cory whispered, now that they were alone in the kitchen. He put his hand on the small of Anden’s back and slipped his fingers under the waistband of Anden’s pants.

Anden moved away, extricating himself. How could Cory think about that right now, with his parents and the Pillar of No Peak sitting in the room next to them? “Maybe Secondday,” he said, when he saw the faintly hurt expression on Coru’s face. “We’ll talk later.”

They went back into the dining room. Tea and cigarettes and glazed quartered plums were on the table. Maik and Rohn had edged their chairs back, so that they sat slightly behind the two Pillars. Anden stood in the doorway for a second, unsure of where he ought to place himself, but Maik Tar hooked the leg of Anden’s empty chair with his foot and moved it deliberately next to his, so it was clear that Anden was expected to sit on the Kaul side, behind Hilo.

Anden did so. To his surprise, Sana’s and Cory’s seats remained where they were at the table, on either side of Dauk Losun. Dauk said, with an air of casual explanation, “Kaul-jen, I hope you don’t mind if I ask my wife and son to remain a part of our conversation. We’re usually not formal around here, and even though the people in our neighborhood call me Pillar, it’s more as a sign of respect than an official title. Someone has to lead the community when needed. It’s my honor to hold that responsibility, but I’m not ashamed to admit that most of the time I rely on the straightforward good sense of my wife. My son is the only one of our children who wears jade. He’s like a bee that sips from every flower—he’s known and liked by everyone, and, Heaven help me, he’s also a lawyer-in-training, so I like to keep him close.”

Anden had rarely heard Dauk Losun speak at such length and so humbly. With this opening, however, Dauk was setting the terms of the conversation and signaling his own standing as a man of influence. He was like a leopard facing a tiger; he possessed far less jade, less wealth, and less power in his country than Kaul Hilo held in Kekon, but he was a Green Bone leader in his own right and not the sort of man who would be pushed around by a visitor in his own home.

Hilo said solemnly, “I would never question how another Pillar runs his clan, especially not in another country. I know how important it is to have good counsel on your side.”

Dauk relaxed a little. There was no denying, Anden thought, that Kaul Hilo knew how to take the right tone at the right time. During the dinner he’d been the perfectly cheerful guest, complimentary, quick to smile and laugh. Now he sat almost unmoving, his attention cool and animal steady. “I have a lot of questions about Espenia, Dauk-jen, and about jade in this country. Ever since I became Pillar, my attention has been focused at home. That was out of necessity. Also, I came from being the Horn, so that’s where I feel most comfortable. But like you, I have good counsel on my side, and thanks to that I’ve come to realize that jade is an international issue now, and the threats to Kekon and the Green Bone way of life stretch from across the ocean.”

Dauk Sana said, “Many of the Kekonese in this country are from families that came here to escape the Shotarians. We held on to some of the old ways but sadly also lost touch with our kin back on the island. Some families, like mine, brought jade with them, and that was never a problem because we kept to ourselves. Now it seems the world is changing and everyone is turning against us.”

“We haven’t made connections with our countrymen overseas either,” Hilo said. “We Kekonese have never been good at looking beyond our own shores, but my friends and my enemies have taught me that needs to change. That’s why I wanted to come in person to meet you, Dauk-jen, and to learn how we Green Bones might help each other.”

Three hours of intense discussion followed. The Dauks told Kaul Hilo about the secretive life led by Green Bones in Port Massy, explaining that they could not openly wear jade and had to train in the disciplines covertly, using their abilities to handle affairs in their own community and to defend themselves from the predatory Crews and on occasion the hostility and mistrust of Espenians, which had only increased in recent years due to the strained relationship with Kekon over the Oortokon War and Espenian government propaganda about the dangers and evils of civilian jade use. They spoke of how they had kept the grudge hall running for a long time by paying off the Port Massy police but now the greatest threat came from the Crews, who saw the opportunity to expand their protection rackets, gambling, and drugs into neighborhoods that the Kekonese had long controlled—and to steal jade.

The hour grew late. Dauk Sana brought out more tea and a bowl of roasted nuts. She opened the windows to clear the air as the dining room grew hazy with smoke. Outside, it had turned dark some time ago. Hilo asked increasingly specific questions: How many Green Bones were there in Port Massy? Were they organized? How many could Dauk reliably call upon if needed? What was this Boss Kromner like? What about his foreman, Skinny Reams? How many coats did he command? What were their main businesses? Who were their rivals? This was a side of Kaul Hilo that Anden knew about but had not witnessed in person before: the mind of a Horn at work.

Anden saw Cory slide slowly lower into his chair and his eyes lose focus, his attention drifting like a bored student in a college lecture hall. His mother prodded him to sit up, and he excused himself to go to the bathroom before taking it upon himself to wash and dry the dishes in the kitchen. Anden heard him running the water and clattering about in the other room, and stifled a flash of annoyance. He was also stiff and tired, but he didn’t think it appropriate to get up and do something else when the Pillars were discussing strategy that would affect everyone. Dauk Losun did not publicly scold his son or order him back into the discussion, but Anden saw the man’s mouth press together in disappointment.

At last, Hilo said, “I’d like to meet these Bosses. All of them, together, in one room.”

Dauk Losun was silent for a minute. Then he spoke with obvious concern. “Kaul-jen, I doubt that’ll be possible. Even if you could trick them into such a thing—and I don’t think you could—the laws are extremely strict about violence, even against criminals who deserve it. It would be too risky and costly for you personally as well as for the Kekonese community. If anything were to happen to the Bosses at this meeting, the Crews would retaliate against all of us, including against innocent people in Southtrap.”

Hilo leaned back in his chair. “My friend, what do you think I’m planning to do? Kill all the Bosses myself?” It was apparent, in the following moment of uncomfortable silence, that was exactly what Dauk had thought. A faint smile played over Hilo’s lips; he seemed amused that despite being a Green Bone himself, Dauk had been so quick to jump to assumptions based on the stereotype of the Kekonese as instinctively violent.

Hilo broke the awkward moment with a shake of the head. “My Weather Man had to get a special government waiver for me to even visit the country wearing jade. I’m not allowed to stay in Espenia for more than twenty days; I had to declare every piece of green I carried in and I’ll have to carry the same amount out.” He shook his head again in amazement. “I can see how different things are here, and I don’t intend to cause problems for myself. More importantly, it’s not my place to whisper names or to take lives in another Pillar’s territory, not when I respect him and would like to remain his friend.” He smiled to show that he had not been at all offended by what Dauk had said. “There’s a lot you can learn about people when you’re in the same room with them. That’s why I want to meet the Bosses. Or rather, for you to meet with them. I’m only a guest here.”

Dauk Sana spoke up. “Kromner will be suspicious. There’s been killing and property damage on both sides for months now. They’ve caused us problems, but we’re not helpless, especially because we have Rohn-jen. Why would the Bosses agree to sit down with us now?”

Hilo said, “I know something of clan war, and one thing I know is that they’re fought on many levels. The war on the street between Fingers goes on in one way, but the war that happens over telephone calls, and in closed rooms, and in tall buildings—that goes on in another way. If this Boss Kromner has any real skill as a leader, he won’t let a little bloodshed in the streets get in the way of getting what he really wants: a piece of the jade trade. You have a little jade. The No Peak clan has much more. He’ll be interested to meet with us.”

Sana was disbelieving. “Are you truly willing to negotiate with the Crews over jade?”

“We’ll see about that.” For the first time that night, Hilo looked at his watch. “We have more to talk about, and a lot more to plan, but it’s getting late.” He stood up; Tar and Anden stood with him. “Thank you for a delicious meal, Mrs. Dauk. We’ll meet again tomorrow; I’ll buy dinner this time. You’ll have to suggest where we should go for good Espenian food—I want to try some while I’m here.” Hilo was his casual self again; the meeting was over.

The Dauks stood up and saw them to the door. “Rohn-jen is at your disposal while you’re here,” Dauk said. “He’ll take you to the hotel.” Hilo accepted graciously. Rohn said he would drive Anden home as well. With a backward glance at Cory, Anden got into the town car.

When they pulled up in front of the Crestwood Hotel, Hilo said to Anden, “Come inside and have a drink with us at the bar, Andy. I’ll pay for a taxi to take you home afterward.”

With a parting nod to Rohn Toro, Anden got out of the car and followed Hilo and Tar into the lobby of the hotel. The bar was almost empty; people were spending the night before Harvest’Eves at home with family. The Pillar dropped into an armchair behind one of the empty tables while Tar went to the bar to order them drinks. Hilo took off his suit jacket and threw it onto another seat, then undid the top two buttons of his shirt. Green glinted under his unfastened collar, capturing motes of light from the bar’s chandelier lamps. He rubbed a hand across his face; he looked exhausted now, when minutes ago he’d shown no sign of fatigue. “Sit down, Andy,” he said, and Anden did so, taking the seat across from his cousin.

Hilo shifted onto one hip; he took out his wallet and removed a couple of small photographs, which he passed to Anden. “Your nephews,” he said, pride and affection lightening his voice despite the jet lag that was obviously crashing over him fast. “They’re getting big. They fight sometimes, but all brothers fight.” In one of the photos, Wen was holding both the boys on her lap on the bench under the tree in the Kaul courtyard; in the other, the boys were squeezed together riding a large toy car, Ru in front, Niko behind. Niko was much larger than he was in the last photograph Anden had seen. He looked happy and robust, more like Lan than ever.

“I told them they have an uncle going to school in another country, and that they’ll get to meet him someday. Ru’s too young to understand, but Niko does.” Hilo sounded more tired by the minute. “Keep the photos; I brought them for you. Shae never sends the latest ones.”

Anden looked at the photos another minute, then put them in his own wallet. Tar came back with drinks. “I don’t know what this is,” he said. “I just pointed to the most expensive-looking bottle behind the bar and asked for three glasses.” It was brandy, they discovered upon tasting it. “Well, how about that,” Tar said, smacking his lips. “A bit sweet, but not half bad.”

“Here we are,” said Hilo, “together on the other side of the world.” He drank from his glass, then leaned his head back against the cushioned chair and closed his eyes for a minute. When he opened them again, he turned his chin toward Anden. For a moment he didn’t speak, then he said, quietly, “You look good, cousin. Not as pale and underfed as I worried you might be. Tell me how you’re doing, what you’ve been up to these past couple of years.”