Shadow Gate

34

Joss had never seen the Qin captain lose his temper, and it made him cursed uncomfortable the way the man did not shout or gesticulate but rather grew still and cold.

'Mai could have been killed.'

'Here, now,' said Joss, with hand raised, as he might try to calm an angry eagle with the gestures used as signals to train the birds. Hoods worked best, but not on humans. 'It was a shock to me, as well, when I first heard. I came myself to find you. I wouldn't let anyone else deliver the news.'

Joss had tracked Anji well north of Olossi, to the village of Storos-on-the-water, where lay a temple of Kotaru. Anji was attended by his usual pair of guards, Sengel and Toughid, and by Chief Deze. The rest of his company – about forty soldiers – waited in the outer training yard with several hundred locals. Three Olossi men had accompanied Anji on this expedition, a militia captain named Lison and a pair of merchants, one an older Silver man wearing a full set of bracelets and the other a robust woman representing the council, whose names Joss had missed. These three had invited themselves into the sanctuary courtyard to hear the news Joss brought. Two local officials – the censor of the temple and the village council mistress – waited also, looking torn between uneasiness and confusion.

'You did not witness the attack yourself,' said Anji finally.

'I did not. Chief Tuvi alerted the reeve stationed in Olossi, who flew to Argent Hall at dawn and brought the matter to my attention. I returned to Olossi immediately and interviewed a number of people who were in the compound at the time as well as townsfolk who reported seeing a light and a winged horse above the city. Then 1 came to find you.'

The temple of Kotaru stood on high ground between road and

river; the creak of wheels as wagons rumbled along the Rice Walk melded with the flowing song of the River Olo. With towers raised at each corner of the square temple, it was a good place to oversee both river and road traffic. A good place to station a significant contingent of armed men.

'It's bad enough,' said Anji, 'to suspect Red Hounds from the empire are hunting me. To imagine that even after my mother cut my ties to the palace when I was twelve and sent me for safekeeping to her kinfolk among the Qin, my brother – and cousins, I suppose – still wish to kill me. Yet they are human, and might be reasoned with or outwitted. Nowhere is safe from demons.'

'If it was a demon,' said Joss.

'It was a demon,' said Anji. 'The person you describe was the slave. She died in the desert. No human could have survived such a sandstorm. You're sure the horse had wings?'

'The testimony comes from your own men. And from others in the compound who witnessed, the servants of your household as well as Ri Amarah guards. In addition, as I said, there were independent sightings from elsewhere in Olossi.'

'Why were Ri Amarah guards at the compound?' asked the Silver. The man stood aloof from his Olossi comrades with his arms crossed and his slanted eyes giving him a suspicious expression.

What was the cursed man's name? Isar sen Haf Gi Ri. 'Your son and daughter were visiting, in the private garden.'

This statement surprised everyone except Anji. Isar muttered, skin suffused with blood. The hells! He was cursed angry, if Joss was any judge of expression. But he said nothing more.

'You do not think it was a demon,' said Anji.

'If you have to choose between what seems the most reasonable explanation, and what the cold, hard evidence reveals, go with the evidence. It was a Guardian.'

'The Guardians have vanished,' said the temple censor, called Guri.

'A Guardian,' said Anji, 'who according to your tales hold an exalted position as guardians of justice. Yet a creature matching the description of these Guardians has murdered two of my men. Now that I think of it, it would explain Eitai's death some weeks ago in the Barrens. Sayan's report of the incident was so disjointed that we

thought both men suffered a sun-sickness from heat and lack of water, and that Eitai died of it, but perhaps we were mistaken. Which means the Hieros was also mistaken in her assessment of the envoy of Ilu she thought was a Guardian, the one who removed the demon from her care.'

'I would not lightly dismiss the testimony of the Hieros,' said Joss. 'She is no fool. He likely was a Guardian, but considering the subsequent behavior of the outlander girl, she was already corrupted.'

'Or bringing what she thought was justice,' said Isar.

Joss was surprised to hear him speak; the others regarded him as if his horns were suddenly visible.

'What do you mean?' asked Anji.

'My people do not sanction slavery. According to the testimony of the witnesses, the demon – the Guardian – the girl – accused three of your soldiers of rape. Those who are slaves have no right to say yea or nay over what is done to them. Therefore, a slave woman who is in that condition made to have relations with a man has no choice. That is rape.'

'Not according to the laws of the Hundred,' said Censor Guri. 'We are not ruled by Silver laws.'

Anji frowned. 'She belonged to Shai. He sold her services to certain of my men one night only, which was certainly his right. When my wife objected, he ceased the practice.'

'Your wife is an honorable woman,' murmured Isar.

'I agree, although that is not the issue at hand. It would be easy enough to ascertain if the three soldiers who died are, indeed, the three who used her on that occasion.' He indicated Joss. 'But that does not explain how she killed them without leaving a mark on them.'

Censor Guri stepped forward. He was a burly, muscular man in the prime of life, vigorous and a bit aggressive, a typical adherent of Kotaru the Thunderer. 'Every Guardian carries a staff. So the tales say. Their staff "measures life and death". What if the Guardians walk the land to take vengeance, not to bring justice?'

Joss shook his head, his throat too tight to speak.

'Just because you don't want it to be true doesn't make it false,' pressed the censor. 'Just after the turn of the year, a family of

refugees walked through Storos on their way to relatives farther north. They'd escaped from their village on West Track. They said folk saw a man riding a winged horse with the invading army.'

'Which doesn't answer how it was done.' The fury that had scorched off Anji earlier had subsided, to Joss's relief. 'Is it sorcery? A sword has an edge, and can be met with other weapons. What weapon protects us against another attack such as this, whether demon or – as you say – Guardian?'

'Nothing,' said the censor. 'The gods set the Guardians over us, to serve justice.'

'We cannot raise our hands against the Guardians,' said the Storos councilwoman, Volla. 'They possess a second heart and third eye, to see into the heart of every woman and man.'

Anji looked skeptical. 'That being so, I should think they would be frightening to meet. Who among us wishes his innermost thoughts flung open?' He tilted his head, considering his own words. 'Although it might explain Chief Tuvi's lapse, which I can comprehend in no other way.'

'No, indeed, Captain,' said Chief Deze. He was a thin, phlegmatic soldier, tough as best quality rope. 'Tuvi would die before he would fail you.'

Joss wondered. If the Marit he had met at the refuge had not been a dream, as he imagined, then she had seen into his innermost heart. Now that he thought of it, she had often looked away while talking to him, as if she did not want to see the truth of what he had become. Aui! Blindness between lovers was a blessing.

'Marshal Joss,' said Anji, calling him back to the muggy courtyard under cloudy skies. 'I'd like to see for myself that my wife has weathered this storm before I continue my efforts here on the plain. Can you convey me to Olossi?'

'I can, and I will. My eagle needs rest, and meat. We've been a full day searching for you, and in any case he can't fly at night. We'll leave at dawn.'

Anji turned to the censor and the local official. 'That being so, we should finish our business. I have a proposition to make in my capacity as commander of the Olo'osson militia.'

They walked back to the training ground, Joss falling to the rear. Every temple of Kotaru was arranged in four quarters, with four

gates and four corner watchtowers. This temple had prospered and been requartered in the past. The walls of the original temple now constituted the barracks quarter, and new quarters for the sanctuary, workshops, and training ground extended from the old square, careful to keep a strict north-south and east-west axis despite irregularities of ground.

As they passed through the central crossing gates between the four quarters, Isar dropped back to walk with Joss.

'You said you interviewed everyone at the compound for their story of the incident. I trust you were not allowed to speak to my daughter.'

'No, indeed, ver. That had all been settled before I arrived and everyone returned to their place. But I did receive written testimony from her hand, which was read out to me by your son, Eliar. I must say, hers was a forthright and clear-sighted account, very useful to me.'

By his tightly clenched mouth, Isar was as angry, in his own way, as Anji had been earlier. And even less likely to be placated. 'It should not have been allowed.'

'That she give testimony, in such circumstances? Every free person who witnesses a crime is required to give testimony.'

Everyone said the Silvers were cunning merchants. The look in those dark, slanted eyes was angry, certainly, but calculating in its own way. 'But not slaves? Still, I was speaking to myself, Marshal, not to you. Forgive me for showing a father's vexation. I knew such a reckless scheme would come to no good. Grandmother and I argued against it, but Eliar twists his mother around his heart, and likewise several of the uncles could not say no to the pleas of the captain's charming wife, for which I am sure I do not blame them.' He nodded toward Anji, who was walking beside the censor, deep in conversation. 'But it is to be understood that the virtue of a Ri Amarah woman is only safe within her own household. Now my daughter is compromised.'

'Compromised, ver? For visiting the house of a friend?'

'You Hundred folk cannot understand.'

it is your people who live in the Hundred, not ours who live in a land of your making.'

'So it may seem,' he agreed. 'Forgive me for speaking intemperateIy.'

'Neh, think nothing of it. We are all upset to hear such strange tidings.'

'Do you really think it was a Guardian, Marshal?'

'Not as we know of Guardians from the tales and the records of the assizes kept by the Lantern's hierophants. We hear no accounts of summary execution. But the other elements – the light coming from no visible source, the winged horse, the cloak – how are we to think otherwise?'

'The tale of the Guardians speaks of corruption: "I know that in the times to come the most beloved among the Guardians will betray her companions".'

'I fear the evidence suggests that such a terrible shadow has indeed consumed some of the Guardians,' said Joss, feeling the weight of the words in his heart.

On the training ground, as the light deepened to a hazy gold in the last drawn sigh of afternoon, about two hundred persons had assembled: mostly young men with a few women and older men among them. Most were seated cross-legged on the ground, listening as a Qin soldier recalled the battle of Olossi in some detail. The soldier's precise descriptions, rendered without the gestures and chant usual to tales, brought a stark power to the narrative and held the locals quite fascinated. The rest of the Qin stood at the back of the group or had taken watch positions on the walls, keeping an eye on road and river.

Anji hung back, evidently not wanting to disturb the flow of the story. The censor bent his head close; the two men were still talking. Joss fell in beside them.

'I am aware,' Anji was saying in a low voice, 'that your militias are organized into cadres, companies, and cohorts. If you have experienced men to serve as sergeants, I am prepared to leave as many of my own men here to serve as captains, over companies, as you have companies to fill. How many companies can this area raise?'

'Who would command these gathered companies?' asked the censor.

'Naturally they will serve under your formal command and oversight, since you know the region best. Consider, if an army marches out of the north, it is likely they will use either West Track, as they did before, or Rice Walk, to approach Olossi.'

'Having used West Track once, they might try Rice Walk the second time. Better forage, too. More paths to Olossi, won't be confined to the one road as they are on West Track.'

'Exactly. Therefore, we must be prepared, and we must have trained, disciplined soldiers to face them. If I learned one thing from the battle at Olossi it is that the army – however large – that marched against us did not have good discipline. They expected that brutality and fear – and sheer numbers – would win the day for them. But it did not.'

'How many soldiers do you want?' asked the censor, scratching his beard.

'Can you raise six companies?'

'A full cohort? The hells! That would be over six hundred men. Maybe in the tales you could gather so many. We're moving into transplanting season. Folk are needed in the fields.'

Volla said, 'How will these soldiers be fed and clothed?'

'Taxes, both local and regional. In kind and in coin. You are paying to protect yourselves.'

Volla was about Joss's age, with a healthy girth and healthy color in her brown cheeks. Not a woman, Joss supposed, who dismissed danger lightly in the hope it would flit away. 'We have seen refugees on the road, and resettled a few families in this area in the months since the year's beginning.'

'You know what is at risk,' said Anji.

'A standing army.' The censor shook his big head like an ox dealt a blow. 'I don't like it. Seems like too much. What do you think, Marshal Joss? I hear tell you came out of Clan Hall, before you was appointed marshal at Argent Hall. Not a day too soon, if you ask me, for there was trouble at the hall.'

'There'll be worse trouble sooner than you dare think,' said Joss. 'There was confusion within our enemy's forces after the defeat in Olossi, but the northern army has redoubled its efforts to bring Haldia and Istri under its control.'

'Haldia and Istri?' asked Volla. 'That's a lot of country.'

'Clan Hall sends reports that a huge army is marching south down the Istri Walk toward Toskala. If they take Toskala, and after that Nessumara, what's to stop them from striking against Olossi? Do you want to take the chance that they won't?'

'They might kill themselves, trying to do too much,' said Guri. 'Wear themselves so thin, they break.'

'They might,' agreed Joss. 'I hope they do.'

'Eiya!' said Guri. 'I catch your drift. Well, then, Captain Anji, you're saying you'll leave a few men here to do the training, whip these colts into shape, and maybe keep the captaincies of what companies I can raise?'

'Trained men can go home to their farms once they're no longer needed,' said Anji. 'As I hope they can all do in time.'

'I doubt I can raise an entire cohort, but I'll fling my net wide, as it says in the tale.'

A delighted shout rose from the assembly as the soldier reached the part where the eagles had dropped ceramic vessels filled with oil of naya over the army. Yet the memory of what Joss had seen when oil burst into flames gave him no delight.

'We'll have some trouble raising taxes, in coin or in kind,' said Volla. 'Folk will want protection, but they won't want to pay.'

'Do what you can,' said Anji, 'and apply to Olossi's council for additional supplies of rice and cloth if necessary.'

Guri grunted, frowning as he narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Joss. 'Giving Olossi's council another rope around our necks.'

Volla nodded, but she looked skeptical. 'Marshal, there's another thing, since you're here. We've need of a reeve to preside over our assizes. We have a number of cases to settle.'

'I'll sit this evening, if that will help you. What I cannot clear, I'll be sure to let the stewards at Argent Hall know needs attention. They'll send a reeve out.'

'I thank you, then. I'll see an assizes table is set up after supper.'

'I have one other request,' continued Anji. 'If there are respectable young women available, looking for husbands, I'd ask that the men I leave here be allowed to marry according to the custom of your country and set up a household. I could have women sent up from Olossi, but it might provide my men with more stability within the local area if their wives come from local families.'

'Outlanders.' Volla eyed the dour Qin soldiers as they listened to the tale of their bravery and bold counterattack. 'That won't be easy.'

'Any woman who marries one of my men will live well, and be treated properly.'

Guri shook his head. 'Why is it necessary? They can visit the temple of Ushara, if that's what you're worried about.'

'My understanding is that any man can visit a temple, or other such establishment,' said Anji, 'but that is not how a man would propose to conduct his entire life. Is that what you would want for your own sons, censor?'

'I have no sons. I've never married. I'm dedicated to the Thunderer.' He chuckled as he looked Anji up and down. 'I'm not fashioned in the same way you are. I like the same flesh Volla does.'

She slapped him on the chest, in a jesting way. Joss smiled. These two trusted each other, which meant they could probably work together effectively in dire times.

Anji had a way of marginally tightening his eyes that revealed, to Joss, that the captain, however clever he undoubtedly was, had not worked out the meaning behind the exchange.

'Dedication to the gods is a worthy service,' the captain said finally, 'but nevertheless, my men want to get married. The temple is not part of the custom of the land we come from. No man of my people will feel himself complete without marriage. That's just how it is.'

'Did none of these men leave behind wives in your old country?' Volla asked.

'Some did, but since we are exiles and can never return, those women may as well be dead to them.'

She pressed him. 'How can we be sure they will not mistreat a woman here? No offense intended, I'm meaning, just we hear stories about how badly the Southerners treat women.'

'We are Qin, not Sirni,' said Anji. 'However, it's true not every mating is a happy one. It is dishonorable for one party to leave another without proper negotiations. If there is trouble, you may bring the matter to the attention of my wife, in Olossi. I can assure you she will not allow any woman to be mistreated. If any of my men does so, I will whip him myself.'

This coolly delivered promise satisfied Volla. 'I suppose a woman who marries one of your men will be assured a decent house and furnishings, utensils, clothing.'

'The opportunity to set up a workshop of her own, if she has a trade, which is a condition my wife insisted on. I only insist that you deal fairly with my men in this issue, that only hardworking and healthy women come forward, not leavings that no other clan would take. If you would prefer negotiations on these matters to go through my wife, you will find her better prepared to answer your questions and deal wisely with your concerns.'

Volla examined the captain, then gave a swift and rather admiring once-over in Joss's direction, enough to sweeten his grin. 'I'll see what I can do. Guri, what do you think?'

'I think he's not your type,' said the censor, tilting his chin toward Joss. 'I don't trust them when they're that handsome and they know it.'

She chuckled as Joss felt himself redden. Then she sighed. 'It isn't only rumor that discontented lads have walked north looking for adventure and never come home. That debt slaves in greater numbers than usual have vanished up country as runaways. Villages have been burned. The roads aren't safe. Trade is hurting. We must be prepared. I just don't know why we need outlanders to raise and train companies. What's wrong with the likes of Censor Guri, here, and Kotaru's ordinands, and the local militias? No offense meant, Captain Anji.'

Captain Anji had a tough hide, able to take these repeated slings without showing their impact.

'No offense taken, verea. Your militias and ordinands are sufficient for local traffic, but in terms of disciplined troops who can act in concert at range, and under severe conditions, you need a different sort of training, a thoroughgoing element of toughness. That's what my troops can provide. We are the skeleton of a new fighting force, one that will protect Olo'osson. Every man willing to take up arms can receive the same training.'

'I don't see we have a choice,' said Guri. 'It's true enough that Kotaru's legions are trained to serve local matters and local manners, not to march in cohorts under the command of a single general. But this is my question. Put our men under control of the city, then what's to say the city doesn't decide it controls us? Neh, Marshal?'

'The man's got a point,' said Volla.

'It's a fair enough question,' said Joss. 'But these aren't ordinary

times, Censor Guri. If the Northerners attack again, having learned from their last attempt, we can't fight back as a scatter of small units. We'll be crushed.'

'Let me tell you something about my mother's people, the Qin,' said Captain Anji. 'Our ancient enemies are demons who live in the west. There are a lot of them, I assure you. They steal young men and women from our people when they can.' His gaze drifted to a point somewhat above his listeners' heads, and for a pair of breaths he stared pensively into the sky. By the way his jaw tensed, he was thinking about a matter that displeased him. Then he blinked, relaxed, and continued.

'Why have the demons not overrun us? Because we have a var -a king – while demons always fight among themselves. They have no leader, no general. So we ride as a united people, and they scatter themselves into tribes.' With a half smile, he nodded at Volla. 'Not that I'm comparing you folk to demons.'

She snorted, pleased with his turnabout joke.

'But bear in mind,' he went on, 'that those who lead the northern army don't care about niceties of Hundred custom. You can take your chances with an army in which you have some say, or you can take your chances with the invaders, who won't stop to ask your leave. That's how I see it. I came here to make a home for myself. I don't want to ride to war. I want to live with my wife and raise my children – if I have many children, as I hope – in peace. So I'll do what I must, to get what I want.'

At dawn, Joss rose after too little sleep, washed his face, dressed, and slouched out to the gates of the temple. Thank flu that Volla had kept the assizes polite, swatting down witnesses and offenders who threatened to become unruly or loud. She had kept him supplied with a good stock of decent wine. His head ached, but so far it was a dull throb.

A number of locals, some he'd heard from yesterday evening, had gathered at the gates of the temple, come to purchase vials of oil of naya – best-quality water-white – from the Silver merchant before the troop rode on. Anji finished delivering instructions to the five soldiers he was leaving behind in Storos, then walked over to Joss.

'If one of the reeves can return me to my company after I've

assured myself all is well with Mai, I'd be doubly appreciative,' he said, pulling on gloves.

Joss rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to to find the root of the ache and smooth it out. 'Your company is not riding straight back to Olossi?'

Anji shook his head. 'We must set up additional training camps and muster in as many recruits for training as possible, immediately. Just as you're training reeves – and I'm training more soldiers – in the Barrens.'

'Ah, yes. In the Barrens.' Joss nodded toward the gate. 'Do you have an arrangement with the Silvers?'

'With the Ri Amarah? What do you mean?'

'Isar is selling oil of naya. A precious commodity, found within lands you've now claimed, in the Barrens.'

'King's oil – that's what they call it in the empire – is renowned for its healing properties. The Ri Amarah concentrate on physic and ointments, items easily carted in small amounts and used for healing. Which they sell at a fair price, and make available to all, not just the wealthy.'

'Captain,' said Joss with a laugh, 'was that an answer?'

Anji's smile when it came was full with real amusement. Aui! The man had dimples. Who would have thought it!

'Better to speak truth to the man on whose harness my life will be dependent, eh?' he said. 'Lest, like an arrow, I be loosed to fall to earth.'

'I'd not loose you for anything less than, say, stealing your beautiful wife.'

That was the wrong thing to say. Anji's grin vanished, but after all he was still looking at Isar. The other Olossi merchant was talking to various local men and women, but she hadn't brought anything to sell to the villagers.

'I've been betrayed three times, Marshal. I don't give my trust easily. The Ri Amarah have dealt honorably with me, and given sanctuary to my wife.'

'I was joking about stealing your wife,' said Joss hastily.

Anji raised a gloved hand as a customer dismisses an offered cup of cordial at an inn. 'I know it. You're an honorable man, and you're too old for her anyway.'

The silky way the words slipped out made Joss wince.

'And there's your weakness,' added Anji, a wicked gleam sharpening his straight-lipped expression. 'You're vain of your good looks and your ease with women.'

'Ouch. So what's your weakness, Captain?'

'Not for me to say.'

'Your love for your wife?'

'Not at all. She is my strength. It's not my place to go naming my weaknesses. That would be like showing my enemy where I'd placed my most inexperienced tailmen.'

Joss laughed. 'You're a hard one to catch out.'

'I trained in a hard school, the palace school of the imperial palace in Sirniaka.'

'Would the Red Hounds who serve the emperor really track you into a foreign country?'

'Track the emperor's half brother? Especially now that the emperor is facing a revolt from his cousins over whose claim to the throne is most legitimate? My brother considers me a danger to his position, and my cousins likely more so, as I am the only other surviving son of Emperor Farutanihosh, who was their father's older brother. Or do you think Tam was killed by the demon you're calling a Guardian?'

'He was murdered with a poisoned knife. And your other soldier poisoned as well.'

'Seren's life was saved by Ri Amarah healing, I remind you. He and Tam had nothing to do with the demon girl, ever. Indeed, Seren complained bitterly about her traveling with the company. Many of the men did. They wanted no demon to bring ill luck down on us.' He stroked his tightly cropped beard. 'Listen, Marshal. The local militia has looked into the death of Tam. But if the deed proved to be of local origin, some malcontent, would the Olossi militia hesitate to turn on one of their own?'

'You don't trust them, even though you are – as I believe – their new commander?'

'I'm an outlander in their eyes, however appreciative they might be that my men saved them. That's another reason I must recruit more widely. I mean to create an army out of men drawn from all over the region who will be trained under banners, not with their

local cousins but with strangers. They will learn to be loyal not to their village but to Olo'osson.'

'A dangerous thing, an army,' said Joss. 'As Censor Guri pointed out.'

'As you must all know by now, seeing what havoc an army can wreak on an unprotected population. Nevertheless, if your reeves might investigate, I'd be grateful. I want justice for my dead soldiers, as any captain would.'

Joss nodded. 'We have our ears and eyes open. Are you ready, then? I'll call Scar.'

'I'm ready.'

Joss raised the bone whistle to his lips, but lowered it before he blew. 'You never answered my question about the Ri Amarah, and the oil of nay a.'

The dimple flashed again. 'Marshal, don't you know that I leave all trading arrangements to my wife?'

Mai placed flowers on the altar, a table raised on bricks and covered with a red cloth. An image of the Merciful One gazed upon them with a gentle, almost detached expression of compassionate enlightenment, an upraised hand to signify awakening and another hand cupped at the belly to signify comfort. The colors in the painting glowed, not quite yet dried. The features and robes had more straight lines than curves, reflecting the style of the Hundred, but the artist had done a decent job in a short time with an unfamiliar subject.

'I offer these flowers at the feet of the Merciful One. Through the merit of offering may I walk the path of awakening. The color and fragrance of flowers fades, so does the body wither and disintegrate. Receive this with compassion.'

She sat on the floor beside Priya. Sheyshi and several of the younger Qin soldiers sat behind them in the small room, while at the open doors several soldiers and a few of the local women watched. Priya led the chanting.

'I go to the Merciful One for refuge. I go to the Truth for refuge. I go to the Awakened for refuge.'

As Priya chanted on through the Four Undertakings, the Five

Rewards, and the Six Virtues, Mai heard voices elsewhere in the house punctuated by the clack of doors slapped open and shut. Men shuffled by the entry, rustling and murmuring, and she lost track of the thread of Priya's prayer. A little annoyed, she looked over her shoulder to see who had the audacity to disturb them.

The onlookers made way as Anji stepped into the room. With only the barest flicker of a glance in her direction, he knelt at the back of the room, sitting with hands open on his thighs. He closed his eyes. The disturbance raised by his entrance stilled. Priya had not faltered, and she worked on through the Seven Candles, lighting each stick of incense, and the Eight Truths, while Mai struggled to regain the momentary peace she had felt when she placed the flowers before the image of the Merciful One.

'Merciful One, your wisdom is boundless. Excuse me for the transgressions I have made through thoughtlessness, through neglect, through fear. May the rains come at the proper time. May the harvest be abundant. May the world prosper, and justice be served. Accept my prayers out of compassion. Peace.'

Mai rose and walked out of the chamber to her private sleeping chamber where no person but Anji or Priya would dare follow. As Anji did. She turned to face him as he slid the door closed. He remained by the door, she by the wide pallet and its neatly piled coverlets.

He studied her with a frown. 'You are well? Unharmed?'

As with a cloudburst, the sky opened. 'She had only to look at me, and it was as if she ripped free every terrible memory I ever had. There was one time I was not more than six or seven, and Uncle Girish wasn't more than thirteen, and he sat down beside me in the garden and started stroking my hair in a way that made me feel dirty. When I tried to get up he dragged me back by the wrist to sit beside him. Then Father came out into the garden, and he beat Girish until his nose bled and one of his teeth cracked, and told him that if he ever touched any of the household children again that he would kill him. Afterward when Grandmother saw I fncle Girish's bruises she went crazy yelling and screaming at everyone because she never liked Father even though he was her eldest. He was Grandfather Mei's favorite so she hated him because she hated Grandfather Mei, and anything Grandfather

Mei liked, she hated. It was an arranged marriage, but the matchmakers weren't careful enough, and it poisoned her. So because Grandfather Mei thought Girish was too fussy and spiteful, she loved Girish best even though it spoiled him until he fermented. Well, she loved Hari, too, but everyone loved Hari. And then after Grandmother's tantrums, Girish tried to lord it over Father, and Father made all of us little children come into his office and then he choked Girish until he blacked out, and then he said to us, if he ever touches one of you, tell me. So Girish left us alone except to say ugly things to us, but of course now I see he must have gone elsewhere where folk weren't so particular about what he did to children. Cornflower poisoned him, and then tried to poison herself, but the poison didn't kill her. Mother and Aunt wanted to sell her, and Grandmother was delirious with grief, but the men refused to sell her away. They couldn't let her alone. In a household like that if there is one female who gets special attention from all the men, then usually the other women are jealous of her, but no one hated her. They wanted to be rid of her – which is how she got sent with Shai – but they didn't envy her. Maybe they were grateful to her for killing Girish.' She was in a sweat, mouth dry. 'Merciful One! I'm babbling.'

'No, you're making a good deal of sense.' Still, he did not approach her. 'She is a demon, Mai. That you resisted her testifies to your strength. Chief Tuvi says you saved O'eki's life, when everyone else was helpless. Let us hope she has taken her revenge and will leave us alone.'

The knot that weighted her heart unraveled in a scalding explosion of tears. 'B-B-But she's going north to kill Shai! Because of what I said.'

She sobbed so hard she was only vaguely aware of Anji drawing her down to the bed, sitting with arms around her, holding her close as she wept. As the storm faded, he wiped her running nose with a cloth, pressed a cup of juice to her lips. She sipped, and hiccoughed. He wiped her eyes with a finger, kissed her, explored the curve of belly with a tentative touch.

She hiccoughed again, and blew her nose. 'Isn't there any way to warn Shai? Couldn't the reeves look for him?'

'The demon has to track him down first. I'll talk to Marshal

Joss.' He startled, sitting straight, and pressed a hand against her belly. 'What was that?'

She shifted his hand to a lower spot. 'Did you feel him move?'

'A boy? How can you be sure?'

'It's what the Ri Amarah women say. Oh, Anji, now I've gotten Miravia into all sorts of trouble. The men came crashing into the courtyard – breaking everything – the new doors aren't in place yet – and Keshad came running from the office, not to mention the Ri Amarah guards and O'eki. All those men who aren't her kinsmen saw her unveiled. That won't be forgiven, you know. They'll never let her come here again. Because of you, and the oil of naya, they've let me visit her once there. She's so unhappy'

'We cannot interfere with the customs which the Ri Amarah hold among themselves. There, now, Mai.' He flicked a finger against her chin, smiling softly. 'Did you get it all out?'

She took in a shuddering breath and let it out as a shuddering sigh. 'I suppose so.'

'I will stay in Olossi for a few days. The marshal and the Hieros mean to call a council meeting to address this business of the demon. I've words to speak about the formation and disposition of the militia.'

'Then you'll leave again?'

'I will.'

'Why must you be gone so much?' She hated the way her voice sounded, and with an effort, finding her market face and her market voice, she pressed two fingers to his lips to silence his reply and went on in the tone she would use toward customers, light and cheerful. 'I know you must. It's just that I miss you. I got accustomed to being with you every day'

He kissed her fingers, grasped her wrist, and drew her hand away. 'I'll keep you beside me every waking and sleeping hour while I am here. But these matters will need my attention for some time. We have to prepare. You're going to the Barrens.'

'I don't want to go to the Barrens!'

'It's the only way I can know you are safe. We've seen it's impossible to guard you here. I don't know who killed Tam, or who sent the demon to kill Chaji, Umar, and Eitai.'

'Demons walk on their own feet, as it says in the songs. They

have volition, and thought, and they can hate and love, just as humans can. Maybe no one sent Cornflower. She walked on the trail of her own grievances. Anji! If I'm sent to the Barrens, there'll be no market, nothing but grass and sheep like out on Dezara Mountain back home. I won't be able to see Miravia!'

He released her, stood and, after a moment, extended a hand. She considered pleas and protests, but discarded these useless thoughts at once. She knew better. Taking his hand, she allowed him to pull her to her feet.

'I will do what I can,' he said. 'This is a temporary measure, but I have decided. There will be no more discussion.'