The Yellow silk

CHAPTER 14

Sunset raked across the west end of Spandeliyon's waterfront, lending warmth to the light if not to the air. The snow might be melting, but it was still cold enough that every exhaled breath produced a little cloud of vapor and every inhaled breath sank a chill into Li's nose and throat.

He said nothing as they-he, Tycho, and Laera-walked. The streets were empty, as empty as they had been two nights ago when he first arrived. Then, however, they had been empty because of the hour and the beginning of a snow flurry. Now they were empty because of a storm of a different kind: the fire at the Wench's Ease had drawn everyone who might otherwise be on the street to either fight the blaze or watch it. Thick smoke still reached into the sky, though it had gotten no thicker and the biting smell of it no stronger. The fire was slowly coming under control.

If Brin had planned the fire to get everyone off the streets as well as bring Tycho running to the scene, he couldn't have done a better job. The streets were so quiet that Li could hear the waves seething against the docks a short distance away.

As they approached the Eel, Laera stared at the sinuous form on the festhall's wall and shivered. Li touched her shoulder. "That's only a painting," he reminded her. "Don't be afraid of it. Be afraid of what we'll face."

She gulped. Tycho glowered at him.

"No more reassuring talks, Li. I don't think they're helping." The bard checked the strilling on his back and the dagger at his belt and glanced from Li to Laera. "Ready?"

Laera nodded. Li nodded, too. His fingers curled and uncurled around the scabbard of his dao. Tycho shoved against the Eel's painted door.

To Li's surprise, the Eel was as quiet within as the street without. No desperate drunkards, no brass-clad women, no sorrowful gamblers. The place had been cleared out entirely. There wasn't even any sign of Brin-not that the hin's absence came as that much of a surprise. Tycho had reasoned everything out before they left Bakers Lane. Brin will wait for us in the sty behind the Eel. It's where he always does his business.

One figure moved in the dim light of the empty festhall. The big bartender was at his post. He jerked his bald head toward the back of the Eel. Li drew a deep breath. So far it seemed Tycho was right. He hoped that the bard was wrong on his next guess, though.

He'll have us outnumbered. Lander will be there for sure, and likely Serg, Bor, Nico, and Ovel, too. And Black Scratch. With Brin, that will be seven against three.

Tycho had counted Laera to be polite, but not even she believed him. It would be seven to two. A hard fight, hand-to-hand. They would need Tycho's magic-and the magic of the Yellow Silk. Tycho had protested the use of the ancient artifact-they were trying to protect it, weren't they? — but Li had argued him down. His father had entrusted him with the Silk for use in desperate situations. What was this situation if not desperate?

Better to use the Silk than surrender it without a fight, he thought as well, especially when the Silk wasn't the only thing at stake. Tycho hadn't been able to guess at Veseene's condition or circumstances in Brin's grasp.

Li's fingers curled against his dao again. He needed Brin to answer one question for him. And after that…

"Li?" Tycho nudged him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm almost done here, Tycho." He looked down at the bard. "One way or the other, I'll be done. I'll have an answer about Yu Mao. If Brin says he's dead, I can go back to Keelung. If Brin says he's alive somewhere else, I'll be leaving Spandeliyon to find him."

"And if Brin kills us before he gives you an answer?" Tycho asked in Shou.

Li glanced at Laera, but of course the young woman didn't understand the language. His mouth twitched in a grim smile. "I thought you said no more reassuring talks?" he said to Tycho.

"You're not scared?"

"Witless," said Li, quoting Tycho's own words back at him. "It's the only smart way." He held out his hand in the Western manner. "If Brin kills us, Tycho, then I'm glad to have met you."

Tycho took his hand and bowed over it.

One of the curtains that had previously been drawn at the festhall's rear was pulled aside to reveal a door of rough, black-painted wood. Tycho paused. "Here we go," he said, and opened it. The smell of pigs washed over them, almost suffocating in its strength. Li followed Tycho through the door and into Brin's infamous sty.

Tycho had described it perfectly. The shadowed alley behind the Eel was wide-as wide as a house. Perhaps five paces to the right, it ended in a tall plank fence. An equal distance to the left was a lower, more open fence of rails. Beyond, the alley twisted back out to the street. A heap of wet straw slumped against the wall of the Eel on the rail fence's far side; against the fence and inside the sty were a long trough and a stout table and bench. At the back of the sty, a low roofed shelter had been built against the wall of the neighboring building. Perhaps a dozen pigs were huddled within, all of them staring out with a frightened intensity.

Brin sat on the table with Veseene, a gag in her mouth and her hands loosely bound, beside him. He held a sharp dagger in his right hand. His left rested on the head of Black Scratch. The boar sat like an angry guard dog beside the table, barely restrained by his master's touch. Lander, Nico, and Serg stood arrayed between the table and the door.

They weren't alone. Against the plank fence lounged five rough-looking men. All armed. Beyond the rail fence stood two other men, one in red robes, the other in normal clothes but wearing confident power like a cloak. Wizards? Li's breath hissed out. His fingers curled against the scabbard one final time then stayed still.

They had expected to be outnumbered, but not like this. "Tycho…" Li murmured.

Brin nodded and Li caught sudden movement out of the corners of his eyes as Bor and Ovel stepped away from the wall behind them. Ovel reached out and shoved the door closed. Laera squeaked in alarm.

"Stick to the plan," Tycho whispered back, but his voice was thin. Li fought to keep a wince off his face. Their plan was meant for seven, not thirteen.

Did they have another choice now? He glanced around, taking careful note of where their opponents stood and trying to guess how they might move, as Tycho stepped forward. "Olore, Brin," the bard called. "You didn't mention that there'd be such an audience."

"But you still brought the full chorus." Brin looked at Laera with a hungry leer and she shrank back. "Dantakain's daughter. Mard's been tearing up the town looking for her and you had her the whole time."

"I don't have her," said Tycho sharply. "/ don't take hostages."

Brin smiled. "Why, neither do I. Is it wrong to invite people around for some conversation?" He pricked Ve-seene with the dagger and the old woman hissed. Her face was pale and she was shaking badly, though Li couldn't tell whether that was because of her palsy or the cold. Above her gag, however, her faded blue eyes flashed angrily-at them. If she'd been able to talk, Li guessed, she would be berating them for walking into so obvious a trap.

Tycho's eyes narrowed. "Take the gag out of her mouth. Let me talk to her."

"I don't think so," said Brin. His gaze shifted between Tycho and Li. "Do you have the Yellow Silk of Kuang? "

Tycho reached into a pocket of his coat. It seemed as if half the people gathered-but especially Brin and the two wizards-leaned forward in anticipation. Li tensed. Tycho, however, produced only a small velvet bag. "The beljurils, Brin," he said, spilling the winking gems into his hand.

"You know it was Jacerryl who stole them. He sold them. I got them back." He tipped them back into the bag and held it out. "How about you take them and we part ways? All square?"

Brin's sneer was no surprise. In fact, they had been counting on it. Li forced his expression to remain neutral. Let the hin think they were desperate, he thought, that he had them backed into a corner…

That if he let them simply exchange the Yellow Silk for Veseene and walk out of the Eel, he would be losing the valuable beljurils. Blood in the water draws sharks, Tycho had pointed out. And in spite of his sneer, Brin's eye followed the bag as Tycho passed it to Laera. Lander's eyes followed it as well. Li murmured a silent prayer to Hsing Yong, the patron of fortune and prosperity. The sharks had the scent. It was time to whip them into a feeding frenzy-and, he hoped, to draw out an answer to the question that had brought him from Keelung to Spandeliyon. He stepped forward.

Black Scratch shifted at the sudden gesture and let out a snort, hot breath producing a great cloud of vapor. Brin's hand tightened on the boar's head. Li ignored the beast and glared at Brin with all of the confidence he could muster. "You know who I am and what I carry," he snarled. "You must know why I'm here."

"Kuang Li Chien," Brin replied without hesitation, "dutiful younger son of Kuang." His sneer grew even broader and more mocking. "Seeking vengeance for the death of his beloved brother, Yu Mao."

In spite of himself, Li felt anger rising inside him. "Seeking vengeance on him," he said. "I know how he betrayed his ship and our people to join the Sow." It was gratifying to see Brin stiffen in surprise. So the hin hadn't guessed everything. Li returned his sneer. "You sailed with him for a year before the Sow sank. That's how you came to know about the Yellow Silk." He reached for his own pocket. "Before you take it, tell me this and I will not also seek my vengeance on you: where is Yu Mao now?"

Brin released Black Scratch and grabbed Veseene with both hands, dagger tight to her throat. The old woman's eyes were wide. "You're in no position to make demands!" he spat above the enraged bellows of Black Scratch. Lander jumped in to grab the boar and hold him back, but the beast's squeals spread to the pigs in the shelter. The din was deafening.

Li's hand moved closer to his pocket. "Tell me! The Silk is mine to give. Without an answer, you will never get it, no matter who you threaten!" Brin's face twisted and Li added, "If Yu Mao told you about the Silk, he told you I'm stubborn. Vengeance drove me along the Golden Way. Will one old woman's life stop me?"

"All right!" spat Brin. His sneer was fading, but his eye was as hard and bright as one of the beljurils. "He's gone. Yu Mao died when Sow sank."

The words hit Li like a hammer in the gut, even though he had been half-expecting them. Even though he had been half-hoping for them. The captain's curse-Yu Mao had not lived to forget Sow. Yu Mao was already dead. Suddenly it felt as though a great weight had been lifted from him. The fire of his rage faltered.

Brin must have seen it in his face. His grip on Veseene tightened. "Now give me the Silk!"

Li clenched his teeth and his rage flared back to life. His hand dropped away from his pocket. "Give us Veseene first."

The trick to dealing with Brin, Tycho had said as they made their plans, is always to give him exactly what he wants. Do that and you're safe. It's when he's thwarted that he gets angry, and when he's angry, he's dangerous. Just like a shark.

"The Silk!" Brin snarled.

Li braced himself. "Veseene," he said. In his mind's eye, he saw Tycho's crooked smile. And when a shark is angry, it can't control itself. Try to spear a shark when it's in control and you'll never hit it. Get it mad and it will throw itself on your spear.

Brin's lips curled back. His dagger-bearing right hand flinched away from Veseene to point at his gathered thugs. "Get them!" he howled. "Get the Silk, get the beljurils, and kill them!"

The men lounging against the plank fence hurled themselves across the sty. Lander, Serg, and Nico lunged forward. Bor and Ovel closed from behind.

Words had done all they could do. It was time to spear the shark.

Li drew in a sharp breath, focusing himself. Grace and strength seemed to flow into his limbs. In a single smooth motion, he whirled around, left leg snapping out in a spinning kick that cracked into first Ovel then Bor. The thugs staggered back, stunned. Li let his momentum carry him over into a whirling horizontal flip that took him halfway across the sty. He rose with his sheathed dao held horizontally in front of him and a shout on his lips. "Hrah!"

Stunned by Li's acrobatics, Lander and his men pulled up sharply in confusion and turned to face him-just as Tycho had hoped they would. Mostly as he had hoped, at least. Extra men and wizards? Red Wizards, too. Tycho knew them-Mosi Anu and Hanibaz Nassor. He growled a few choice words for Brin under his breath. In their original plan, he had counted on Li's stunning fighting to keep attackers back. The halfling's additional men, gathered up from across dockside, complicated things. At least he was still in the clear. He spun around to face the thugs from the fence, his hands swirling through the air and his voice ringing out with a song of gentle power.

Four of the thugs dropped to the ground in mid-step, fast asleep. The fifth stumbled, startled by the display of magic. Tycho stepped forward and kicked him viciously in the groin. The man dropped hard. Tycho turned back to face Ovel and Bor as they shook off Li's kick and came back to their feet.

Laera grabbed a spade that was leaning against the wall of the Eel and swung it against Bor's back. The blow was clumsy, but it was enough to send him staggering again. "Tycho!" she called and hurled the spade at him. The bard snatched it out of the air and spun it in a high, menacing sweep. Ovel rocked back, avoiding the heavy metal, but Bor wasn't quite so lucky. The flat side of the spade hit his head with a clang. Bor went sprawling across the floor of the sty. Ovel had his sword out, though. Tycho only barely managed to get the shaft of the spade up in time to catch the blow.

"Laera!" he shouted. "Go!"

Lander caught a brief glimpse of Laera Dantakain ducking past Ovel and Tycho and darting across the sty, the velvet bag of beljurils whirling over her head. A bloody fortune twirling like a sling. Ovel stared. Nico and Serg half-turned as well. Lander cursed and dived for her. He caught her, too, locking one hand around her arm and the other onto the velvet bag — just as Ovel caught Tycho's spade in the gut then across the back of the head.

— just as Li Chien launched himself at Nico and Serg with another roaring shout. "Hrah!" The Shou's saber swept out of its scabbard. Nico's sword was out and Li Chien turned the saber against him first, slicing up in a backhanded arc that rang off Nico's hastily raised blade. Li Chien spun with the blow, bringing his weapon down and back around, slashing underneath Nico's sword. Nico fell back with blood pouring out of a wound that crossed his chest from ribs to shoulder.

The same whirling momentum spun Li Chien's off-hand wide and sent the empty scabbard slapping into Serg's face. As the thug stumbled back, Li Chien stepped around behind him, scabbard beating a stinging rhythm about his head until Serg brought his arms up to protect himself. Quick as a thought, Li Chien stooped down, dropped the scabbard and grabbed the tail of his own long coat, hauling it up and over Serg's head to trap his arms inside. His knee came up and drove sharply into Serg's belly three times in rapid succession. He released his hold on the coat. Serg, still shrouded in the long coat's thick folds, dropped to the ground with a groan.

Lander froze as the man who had just taken down two of his men in a heartbeat turned to him. Laera wrenched herself free and scooted back. The velvet bag of beljurils fell away as well, drawstrings tugging open as it slipped from his grasp.

Chunks of ordinary gravel tumbled out.

"Bind me!" he choked. Another switch. The girl had been nothing but a distraction! He scrambled to draw his sword. A hollow bellow of rage, however, froze him a second time. Froze him and Li Chien, and even Tycho. Lander had just enough time to spin around and see Black Scratch, bloodlust in the creature's eyes, thundering toward him. No, not toward him. Toward Li Chien.

He just happened to be between them.

He tried to scramble away, but he wasn't fast enough. A toss of Black Scratch's head caught him and jagged pain ripped across his hip. Suddenly he was up in the air, the world spinning around him. Then he was down, flat out on the ground and the only thing spinning over him was sky. Pigs were squealing like mad and pouring out of the shelter as if Black Scratch were the commander of an army, leading his troops into battle. Lander couldn't feel his leg for shock. He managed to turn his head, though. His trip through the air had taken only a heartbeat. Black Scratch was only just reaching Li Chien-except that the Shou wasn't there to meet him. Just as at the Wench's Ease, he was leaping up, letting the boar charge right under him. The ground in the sty wasn't the smooth floor of the tavern, though. Black Scratch came around in a tight circle for another pass, shouldering lesser pigs aside with ease.

Pain sank into Lander's head. He turned the other way and looked down the length of his body. He saw blood. A lot of blood. Too much blood. He didn't look any closer, but twisted his head up and away.

He wasn't too far from the table. His eyes met first Veseene's-then Brin's. The old woman's gaze was horrified. Brin's was just stunned. Lander reached out an arm.

"Brin!" he screamed. "Help me! It was your damned pig that did this!"

The halfling just spun around. Lander saw Hanibaz Nas-sor and Mosi Anu standing behind him on the other side of the fence, safe from murderous Shou and rampaging pigs. "Do something!" Brin bellowed at them. Lander's head was spinning, but he heard Mosi's answer distinctly.

"We're here for the Yellow Silk, Brin, not to fight."

Lander found the breath to shout a pain-filled curse at the bald wizard and all of his family. He could feel the rumble of Black Scratch's new charge through the ground and he twisted his head around. The boar was bearing down on Li Chien again-and if the Shou leaped again, Black Scratch would be rumbling right at him! With another scream, Lander shoved against the mucky ground and sent himself rolling out of the way. He slammed back into Brin's table, sending the halfling and Veseene swaying and new pain flaring through his leg and side.

Black Scratch's hooves tore up the ground where he had just been lying. Lander pressed himself back against the table and transferred his curse from Mosi Anu to the mad boar.

Behind him, Hanibaz chuckled as if this were the funniest thing he'd ever seen or heard. "Ah, Mosi-how can we let a show like this just come to an end?" A firm hand grabbed onto Lander's flailing arm. Hanibaz spoke a word and new energy seemed to pour into Lander's body at his touch. The thug gasped at the shock as the magic sank into him. His wound didn't stop hurting, but suddenly he could bear the pain. He rolled to his feet.

"Liked that, did you?" Hanibaz asked. "Let's put you on a more even footing with the Shou, then." He spoke another word and touched Lander a second time.

This time the energy didn't fade away. When Lander turned and took a step toward Li Chien, it almost felt like he was floating.

"Yes," he breathed. "Oh, yes!"

Li Chien turned away from Black Scratch for a moment and froze.

Lander was up and walking on a leg so deeply wounded he shouldn't have even been able to stand. Muscle flexed beneath torn skin, bone flashed white against red blood, and yet Lander flowed forward like a flame. Magic, Li knew. It could only be magic. He fell back a step and his eyes darted to the wizards standing behind Brin. "Tycho!" he yelled.

"Li!" The bard's hand flashed a warning. Li whirled back around.

Black Scratch was charging again. The pig had an animal's dumb relentless determination. Li clenched his jaw. He could keep leaping out of the boar's way, but the beast would just come back at him again. And now he had Lander to worry about as well.

He tightened his grip on his dao and settled his stance. From the corner of his eye, he saw Brin's mouth drop open as he realized what was about to happen. "No!" the half-ling screamed. Too late. Black Scratch closed.

Li whirled aside, dao sweeping down as he came back around. The heavy steel slashed into the thick flesh of Black Scratch's hindquarters, bit deep into muscle and grated across bone. The enormous boar's legs collapsed instantly, changing his bellows and squeals to a horrible deep shriek. He tried to drag himself around with his front legs, but the weight of his once-powerful hindquarters was too much. Li stepped in, swung low, and sliced up under the beast's neck.

Hot blood gushed steaming into the air. Black Scratch collapsed.

Triumph was short lived. The pigs of the sty went mad, swarming in around the giant boar's corpse. Li cursed as he staggered clear, only to be met by a snarl as Lander swept his sword up from the ground and lunged at him like a striking panther. Li brought his dao up and blocked the strike, but Lander just whirled with effortless grace and struck again. This time stopping his sword cost Li ground. Lander began forcing him back toward the swarming pigs.

Brin's face was pale with rage, and he was very nearly foaming at the mouth. "Li Chien!" he screamed. "Li Chien!" He made a wild grab for Veseene, though the old woman writhed and shifted away from him. He growled and snagged her arm and slashed his dagger threateningly through the air. "The Silk! I want the Yellow Silk now!"

Caught in his deadly dance with Lander, Li made no reply. Tycho swallowed. They'd wanted the shark angry- but maybe not this angry. He swept his gaze around the sty and found Laera. His would-be apprentice had taken refuge just inside the pigs' now-abandoned shelter, just out of Brin's sight. She gave him a grim nod of readiness. Tycho swallowed again and swept his arms up wide.

"Brin!" he roared with his most forceful voice. "You want the Yellow Silk, you bastard? Here it is!" He brought his arms together overhead, dipped one hand into the opposite sleeve-and sang, letting music ripple out of his throat.

His fingers emerged from his sleeve clutching a glowing thread. As he swept his arms down again, the thread pulled out-and out, thickening and lengthening. Its glow intensified, pulsing in time with his song. He drew back the arm holding the bolt.

Brin gaped and flinched. Flinging Veseene to the ground, he scrambled for safety as Tycho whipped his arm forward and hurled the bolt at the table. Radiance burst out, splashing around the sty. Brin shrieked, pigs squealed, and even Lander staggered, though he recovered with a single graceful step before Li could swing his dao.

Mosi Anu snorted derisively as the light faded. "An illusion."

Hanibaz Nassor shrugged. "Nicely done though. A good distraction."

Brin's shriek choked off. "What?" He whirled around. Halfway between the shelter and Veseene, Laera froze.

Tycho took a step forward, still singing desperately, and drew another thread from his sleeve. This time when he threw it, neither wizards nor Brin so much as flinched.

The explosion of heat and light from the real Yellow Silk knocked the wizards to the ground. It picked Brin up bodily and sent him tumbling through the muck. Tycho grinned as he raced across the sty. "That's right," he crowed. "A very good distraction!"

The force of the Silk's bolt sent Lander staggering again. This time Li was ready. He dropped his dao and hurled himself at the thug. A sharp blow knocked Lander's sword from his hand; another hammered into his injured hip. He gasped in pain. A third cracked hard across his face and sent him reeling.

It seemed supernatural grace, Li thought, wasn't quite as much good close up. "Didn't I tell you my reward was easier earned than taken, Lander?" he spat. He spun around and leaped, putting all of his weight into a kick.

His foot took Lander squarely in the chest and sent him flying into the pigs' shelter. The thug slammed into the back of it hard enough to make the whole structure shake and groan. Something snapped and the roof sagged down. Any pigs that had lingered inside came running out with frightened squeals.

Some of them charged right over the huddled bundle that sprawled in the filth of the sty. Brin yelled, opened his eyes, and scrambled to his feet. Or tried to. Li scooped him up by his belt, swung him around twice, and flung him into the shelter after Lander. The hin screamed as he flew, twisting desperately in mid-air, but he still hit with a thump.

Li charged after him-but not into the shelter. Three posts across the front held up the rickety structure. Li hurled himself at the center one with a shout of "Hrah!" His shoulder hit the wood and cracked it in two. Inside the shelter, Brin yelped. Li whirled and slammed his foot against the nearest outside post. "Hrah!"

The post shattered. The shelter collapsed entirely. Under the roof, Li could hear Brin screeching and squealing like one of his own pigs. He spat on the ground and turned away.

Tycho's smile faded as he slid to a stop beside Laera and Veseene. His old mentor's chest was stained a deep red. "Blessed Lliira!" he groaned and slid his arms under Veseene's shaking body, lifting her into a sitting position. Laera had her gag off and was fumbling to cut her hands free. "Veseene! Are you all right? "

The old bard's eyes fluttered open. "Tycho?" she said distantly.

"I'm here."

She reached up and slapped him. "That was a rescue?" Her face trembled and she pulled him close. He gasped.

"Veseene, you're bleeding!" He pushed her back and looked at her chest. She looked down-and laughed.

"My tea, Tycho!" She reached under her shirt and pulled out a dampened pouch. Red oozed between her fingers. "It got wet when I fell!"

His mouth worked, but no sound came out. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Veseene, I…"

Li squatted down beside them. "She's all right?"

"I'm all right," Veseene said irritably, pulling back to glare at the Shou. "I'm right here-"

Laera's shriek interrupted her. Tycho twisted around.

Where the second bolt from the Yellow Silk, the real bolt, had struck, the portion of the rail fence that had been his target-close enough to catch the two wizards and Brin, but not Veseene-was charred and smoldering. Wet, steaming ground, any trace of snow melted away, made a perfect circle all around it. Within the circle, Hanibaz and Mosi were picking themselves up. Hanibaz's front was covered in mud. Likewise Mosi's back, matting his fine robes against a skinny backside. The two looked at each other and almost in unison muttered spells. The mud simply slid off of them in a rain of dirt, leaving them clean and unsullied. They looked at the little group huddled within the sty.

Specifically, they looked atTycho. "That," said Hanibaz, "was impressive. The Yellow Silk of Kuang, I presume?"

Tycho swallowed. Mosi's eyes narrowed. "Cooperate now, duel for it later, Hanibaz?" he proposed.

The bearded mage smiled. "That seems fair." The wizards moved forward as one.

Tycho eased Veseene out of his arms and stood up quickly. Li rose as well.

A horrid coughing grunt and a chorus of porcine squeals stopped them all.

Out in the middle of the sty, Black Scratch was climbing heavily-impossibly! — to his feet. "Li?" breathed Tycho.

"I killed him!" the Shou said. "I swear I did!" The boar's bristly head turned at the sound of his voice. His dark eyes were intense. For a heartbeat, he stared at the stunned humans-then reared back and stood upright. Animal legs lengthened and thickened into powerful human legs and heavy arms. Hooves became hands and feet, tusks shrank to teeth, and bristles shriveled into thick hair on a broad, muscular torso. Dark, intense eyes remained dark and intense, but folded and blinked behind almond-shaped lids.

A Shou man stood where Black Scratch had been. Li gulped. "Yu Mao!"