Kautilya Jati, who has recently returned from Sirpur, says that trade has been picking up there, and the merchants are anticipating an improvement in their businesses, as the depredations of Timur-i have ceased for the time being. He reports that many merchants who have been forced to leave Delhi have now begun to make a living once again, one that can flourish beyond the Delhi Sultanate. He has heard that it is acknowledged as the truth that Timur-i was deposed and abandoned alone on the roads, and that the reason for his army's retreat to Samarkand is to fix the new lords in place, and to seize the power Timur-i has held for so long. Many travelers, pilgrims as well as merchants, have said that there are many looking for Timur-i upon the roads, for it is known that his officers will follow him rather than his usurpers if they are given the chance. He says he himself has tried to find Timur-i, to avail himself of the power that man can command, as even a merchant knows the worth of an army.
Chandra Chauris, who has been in the north through the rains, says that there has been damage done to the roads by flooding, but that nothing is so wholly destroyed that it is impossible for anyone to travel upon the roads without coming to grief. He informs you that if
you decide to go north, that you would be well-advised to send builders ahead to make the repairs you will require, for it will benefit no one if you are unable to make progress due to the impassability of the roads. They do not need full reconstruction, but there are ruts and holes and other impediments that would be better for the attention of builders, particularly if the Rajput should wish to move a considerable number of men and animals over them. Elephants, of course, can manage for themselves, but even they make more progress over well-repaired roads.
Ghangal Sunpavar has seen gold and jewels from China more than he has from the West, so it must be assumed that Timur-i's Empire is in disarray, for no trade is making its way through his territories. If this is the case in a year, it will be a very bad thing for all merchants, but for now, it can be made less destructive by improving the level of trade with Assam and other eastern regions, all the way into China. Gold and jewels are recognized everywhere as having value, and Ghangal Sunpavar believes that the more the merchants of Devapur have of each, the more powerful all Beragar will be in the world, for it will be known that gold flows to the coffers of Hasin Dahele, not out of them, and those who might consider opposing the Rajput will know that such a venture will lead to ruin, because that fight would be too costly in men and animals as well as in gold. To that end, Ghangal Sunpavar has decided to conduct all his business in gold and jewels, and to place at the disposal of the Rajput Hasin Dahele half of his fortune, as a show of faith in all the Rajput's endeavors.
This is the sum of the report of the merchants of Devapur whose wish it is to assist the Rajput in his efforts. They all proclaim their fealty to the Rajput, and will report to him regularly on any facet of their dealings that may have significance to the Rajput's expansion of territory.
Submitted by the scribe Shivaji Prata, with his avowal that this account is full and accurate, and in accord with the words of the merchants, on this, the first full moon after the dark of the year.
4
"You have honored the Rajput by visiting his stables again, I am told," Vayu Ede said to Sanat Ji Mani as the two encountered each other in the main corridor of the palace at dusk; the servants were busy lighting the oil-lamps and setting handfuls of aromatic wooden chips to burn on the braziers that stood in the junction of two corridors, just ahead of them.
"Last night, yes," said Sanat Ji Mani as disinterestedly as he could; it was his third such visit in ten days. He was wearing yet another set of pyjamas, this one in a rich bronze shade the color of lamplight; his boots were also new, of tooled, dark-red leather that reached to his calves; they were handsome but lacked the earth-filled soles he craved, and his right foot remained painful and tender.
"How good of you, to take the opportunity to view the horses the Rajput has made his own." If there was any sarcasm in Vayu Ede's observation, it did not make itself heard in his voice.
"The Rajput has many horses," said Sanat Ji Mani. "He has much to be proud of."
"And you are a fine judge of such animals," said Vayu Ede.
"I have some knowledge of horseflesh," Sanat Ji Mani answered carefully.
Vayu Ede laughed aloud as if this were a great witticism. "The Rajput has said he would like to inspect his stables with you."
This was so unexpected that Sanat Ji Mani could not at first decide what to answer. Finally he bowed his head. "I am at the Rajput's service, of course."
"And so I shall tell him. It might be as well to do it tomorrow night, before the Rajput takes his cavalry on maneuvers. He has planned to have an inspection in any case, and you will make it far more worthwhile; you have your experience and he has his. Between you there should be a most useful discussion."
"I welcome it," said Sanat Ji Mani with the odd sensation he and Vayu Ede meant very different things.
"Excellent," Vayu Ede said, pressing his hands together and bowing deeply. "Shall I tell him you will meet him— shall we say?— just before sunset in the marshaling yard? Your companion should have finished her performance for the day, and that way, the soldiers will be in good fettle."
"That would be satisfactory," Sanat Ji Mani said, wondering if it had been wise to allow Tulsi to continue her demonstrations; it had seemed useful when she suggested that since her first performance had been so enthusiastically received, offering more of them would be strategically useful, but now it seemed that this was less beneficial than it had appeared.
"Then I will wish you good sleep. In these long nights, who is safe beyond his bed?" With that, Vayu Ede was gone.
Sanat Ji Mani, who had endured winters in the far north, found these nights hardly worth recognizing, but he kept this to himself as he made his way to the room he shared with Tulsi. As he walked, still favoring his right foot, he was struck with the last thing Vayu Ede had said:
In these long nights, who is safe beyond his bed?
Was that only a remark of a man ready to sleep, or had there been a threat hidden within it? He considered all the possibilities and decided he could not be certain either way; Vayu Ede was given to flights of language that were the mark of his profession of poet, so it was difficult to discern his purpose. The isolation within the Rajput's palace made it difficult to establish any sense of proportion in such remarks, and it would be easy to overestimate their importance as to underestimate them. Sanat Ji Mani was still pondering the ramifications of those words when he entered the door of his room and found Tulsi in trousers and a tunic of light-weight cotton half-way up the wall in a corner, using the angle to climb higher. "More practicing, I see," he said.
She sighed and dropped lightly down. "The wood is oily, and that makes the climbing difficult. I could not do it at all in silk."
"I am agog, no matter what the condition of the wood, or your clothes," he told her.
She heard the coolness in his tone. "And you seem caught up in— in what?"
"Rumination," he answered, taking his place on the side of the bed. "I will venture out later. For now, it is fitting that you and I give the appearance of sleeping."
"Sleeping?" She came to stand beside him. "Why should we sleep?"
"It is expected of us, I gather," he said, stretching out without removing the tunic or trousers he wore. "I think we may be watched for part of the night."
"More spies," she said, sighing again. "This is most wearing."
"That it is." He held out his arm, making a place for her beside him. "But for the time being, we can do nothing more than keep their suspicions at bay."
She lay down next to him. "True enough," she said. "I have a handful of coins from the soldiers tonight. I have added it to what they have thrown to me already. If nothing else, we will not have to leave here wholly without means."
"That is a very good thing," Sanat Ji Mani said, then added, "I am supposed to inspect the stables with the Rajput tomorrow evening."
"What on earth for?" Tulsi exclaimed, sitting up abruptly.
"I hope to find out," said Sanat Ji Mani. "Vayu Ede has noticed that I have been looking at the stables, and made the offer just as I was coming back here."
"And what does it mean, do you think?" She got up and began to pace. "Have they learned our plans?"
"Not that I can tell," Sanat Ji Mani answered. "But I intend to find out as much as I may tonight, so that I will not be wholly unprepared tomorrow evening."
"Very well," she said automatically. "And what if you discover we have been trapped— what then?"
"Then we must try to leave before dawn. I hope it will not be necessary. Neither you nor I are quite ready to leave this place. But if we must perforce—" He gestured resignation. "I will return well before the sky lightens."
"If we have to flee." She sat down on the side of the bed once again. "I should have saved food from supper."
"We will manage food, for you and for the horses," he said confidently.
"I will rely upon you for that?" She jumped into a back-flip. "I cannot perform anywhere near Devapur. Word of it would get back to Hasin Dahele and we would be hunted down." She sank, cross-legged, onto the floor. "No, if we slip away from here, we must travel
as we did before— we must go a long way, staying off the main roads, and bringing as little attention to ourselves as we can. We will have to hide often, and move by night." Then she looked directly at him. "It would be wisest if you rely upon me for nourishment."
Sanat Ji Mani sat up. "Does that mean you want to come to my life?"
"I have not yet decided. But I know you will not be able to travel quickly unless you have more than birds' blood to sustain you." She saw the dismay in his face. "It is the prudent thing to do."
"Becoming a vampire is not a matter of prudence," he said sharply. "Do not argue with me. I will not lie with you again unless my life is what you want. Anything else would be repugnant to me, and disastrous to you; believe this, for I am in deadly earnest." He steadied himself and went on, "If this is not what you seek for yourself, the intimacy that has grown will be lost, and there will be nothing more than necessity in our bond. You may be satisfied with that, but I would not."
"But it would make our escape—" she began.
"That is too high a price for getting away." He met her eyes.
"Is it so terrible, then? your life?" Her voice was angry. "Have you lied to me?"
"It is so terrible, and I have not lied," he replied in a quiet voice that did not permit any argument. "It is a rare thing, to come to this life, to the shared blood-bond that is the gift that comes with knowing. But for those reasons, and others, you must not make the change a sacrifice or an act of defiance, or anything that would taint it, turn it to something unwanted or cruel. And, Tulsi, it would be cruel to use you as a source of food." He said it bluntly and deliberately, and watched her take it in.
She stared at him a short time. "Well, I must take your word for it," she said at last. "I only thought it would be worthwhile…"
Sanat Ji Mani sensed her ambivalence. "You were more generous than you know to make such an offer," he said softly. "That is the crux of the matter: you do not know what you offered and it would be unkind of me to exploit your selflessness."
Tulsi quivered where she sat. "That sounds a bit daunting," she admitted.
"Good; I intended it should," he responded.
"All right; I will not ask to come to your life—
if
I ask to come to your life— for your advantage." She rose gracefully. "I will ask for mine."
His smile surprised and reassured her. "That would suit me entirely."
She came back to the bed. "We're supposed to sleep, you said?"
"Yes." He once again made a place for her at his side. "I will leave about midnight, before the Guards change, and the ones on duty are getting sleepy." He fingered the bronze silk he wore. "I shall change my clothes; I might as well carry a torch with this on."
"Is that its purpose?" Tulsi suggested.
"Possibly," he said. "More likely, it is our host displaying his opulence. This is much grander than that mulberry silk that has been taken for washing."
Tulsi peeled out of her cotton garments and reached for the robe of magenta silk, the most recent one the Rajput had provided her. "These are very nice," she said, meaning all the clothes she had received. "I never thought to have so much fine apparel as I have now." She knotted the sash loosely around her waist. "We look like a fire together, do we not?"
"I suppose so," Sanat Ji Mani said, thinking back to his years in the Court of Karl-lo-Magne, when royal favor was a costly privilege.
"Will you tell me what you see in the stables?" she asked, and yawned.
