Diablo 3: The Reaper of Souls (14 page)

"All right, my friend," Yao said when Jia had returned to the larder to make the tea. "Who are you, and how did you find your way in here?"

"Through the secret passage behind your bookcase," the old man said, staring at the cakes as if they were telling him secrets. "May I have that chocolate one with the yanberry stripes? It looks marvelous."

Yao frowned.

"I asked your name."

"Yes, I heard you."

"And?"

"I thought you were joking!" The old man laughed, flinging his hands into the air. "Everyone knows Covetous Shen!"

"I, sadly, do not," Stepfather Yao said. "Help yourself to the cakes, my friend."

Covetous Shen's jaw dropped at this unexpected generosity, and he lunged at the plate.

"Now, I would like to know why you have…" Stepfather Yao trailed off in amazed horror as Shen demolished the pile of cakes as if it held the antidote to the poisoned tea Jia was making.

"… why you have come here," Yao managed finally. Aunt Xa and Uncle Hao appeared hypnotized by the carnage.

The old man answered in muffled detail, spraying pieces of cake across the desk.

"I don't believe I understood that," Stepfather Yao said.

"I am not surprised," Shen said, swallowing the last bite. "It is a very complex plan."

"No," Yao said, taking a calming breath. "I could not understand what you said through your mouthfuls of cake."

"I apologize. Let me explain again… Oh, here is the tea!"

Porcelain clinked as Jia returned and set the steaming pot and two cups on the desk.

"Thank you, Little Sister," Yao said, and poured Shen a cup. Minute swirls the color of polished oak betrayed the dark tea's deadly contents, but the old man would never taste or feel a thing. He would fall asleep, and that would be it. But there was still the matter of—

Shen seized the cup and downed it in one gulp.

"Oh my," the old man said, breathing out steam. "That was delicious. May I trouble you for some more?"

Brow furrowed, Yao poured another cup. Shen sipped the tea and sloshed it thoughtfully around his mouth.

"Let me ask once more," Stepfather Yao said. "Why are you here?"

Covetous Shen pursed his lips in solemn thought, and he tasted the tea again. Delight bloomed across his face. He leaned conspiratorially toward Stepfather Yao.

"Is that scorpion root I taste?" he said, as though one of the deadlier poisons known to man were an unexpected hint of almond.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. And if you want to—"

"It's poisonous, you know."

"I know it is," Yao said, gritting his teeth. "And if you want the antidote—"

"Oh, there's no antidote," Covetous Shen said, pouring himself some more tea. "It's one of the deadlier poisons known to man. Luckily, I once spent an unfortunate month trapped on an island packed with scorpion roots and venomous snakes. I had to eat them to survive, of course. The experience left me quite immune to most poisons!"

Stepfather Yao glared at Shen. There was a mystery here. Yao hated mysteries. He met Uncle Hao's eyes and nodded.

The Great Families sent their magical prodigies to Caldeum's Yshari Sanctum to meditate on the wise use of power so they could return to Xiansai and use it unwisely. The Tenth Family preferred more direct approaches to murder, and trained its own in the use of subtly applied force on internal organs.

Uncle Hao raised his hand, mouthed a word, and closed his fist. The lanterns hanging from the ceiling flickered and swayed as if caught in a dark wind.

In the silence, Covetous Shen noisily slurped his tea. By all appearances, his heart was thoroughly uncrushed.

Beads of sweat dripped from Uncle Hao's forehead. His bloodless fist trembled in the air.

A tremor built. The desk shuddered. Covetous Shen finished his tea with a happy sigh and set the cup down.

The teapot exploded, sending glass shards in every direction.

Growling, and only marginally aware that his assassins were frantically checking themselves for poisoned scratches like frightened children, Stepfather Yao tipped the heavy desk out of the way with one hand, and pulled his knife. Covetous Shen sat, unmoving, brow creased with polite concern. Teeth bared, Yao drew back to strike…

… and paused. His forehead ached, and not from a scratch.

Letters could be intercepted, and messengers could be tortured for information. Through considerable expense and some painful enchantments, Stepfather Yao and the Broken Man had obtained another, more secure method of communicating at a distance.

Yao had carefully pictured the intruder when he had arrived, and had muttered the sending word under his breath. He hadn't expected a response.

A hundred mental whispers coalesced into a single powerful thought from the Broken Man.

Give him whatever he wants, and pray he leaves quickly.

Yao's breath caught in his throat. The Broken Man had taken control of the Tenth during the Purge, when the entire city was turned against the family. He was over six and a half feet of scarred flesh, muscle, and mended bone, and the only man Jagged Liang, the most powerful woman in the city, considered a rival.

Pray he leaves quickly.

The Broken Man was afraid of Covetous Shen.

Stepfather Yao sheathed the knife and looked, truly looked, at the intruder. Battered, dust-stained robes. Heavy pouches. And that smile…

Everyone in the Tenth had once taken the Orphan's Test and rubbed the head of Zei for luck. Everyone knew the legend of the trickster god, trapped in the mortal realm until he retrieved the jewels he had stolen from the heavens.

Licking lips that were suddenly dry, Yao said, "Who are you, grandfather? Who are you, really?"

"Just a humble jeweler," Covetous Shen said with grand satisfaction. "And I wish to hire young Jia for a most interesting assignment."

"The warrior's wife offered Zei an emperor's ransom in precious jewels, or a night of unbridled debauchery. Of course, for Zei, that was hardly a choice at all." —Zei and the Night of Unbridled Debauchery

The Shifting Estate was five subterranean floors of sleeping quarters and training halls connected by a fortified spiral staircase. Jia followed Covetous Shen up the winding steps sullenly. Somehow, the news of the visitor had already spread. Worried eyes peeked through murder holes, and frantic whispers echoed down in the dark as Xiansai's deadliest assassins jostled for position, trying to see.

Jia growled. She was never going to hear the end of this.

"I know you're not him," she said.

"Not who?" Shen said cheerfully.

"Zei! You're not Zei!"

"I never said I was."

"You never said you weren't!"

"Ah, but if I must spend the entire night telling you everything I am and am not, we won't have time to break into Jagged Liang's tower."

The whispered conversations outside the walls cut off abruptly, and a hundred indrawn breaths sucked the air from the stairwell. Jia stopped dead.

"What?" she shrieked.

Shen peered back at her around the curve of the staircase.

"Oh, didn't I say? Yes, we are going to steal secrets from the Tower of the Advisor. Isn't that wonderful?"

Zhou's laws were determined by a ruling council made up of one man or woman from each of the nine Great Families. As none of the Great Families was foolish enough to trust the others or work together with them, they had long ago created the role of advisor.

This powerful and dangerous position was generally held by a successful merchant raised from the teeming masses. He or she brought important matters3 to the attention of the ruling council and executed its orders4, giving the Great Families time to hold masquerades and plot the assassinations of loved ones. Advisors worked entirely without oversight and were the de facto rulers of Zhou. They also rarely lived to see the end of their one-year term.

This meant that the current advisor, Jagged Liang, was… unusual. She had used the increasing reports of demonic attacks in the bordering Dreadlands and the rest of the world to remain in power for four years, and had survived sixteen assassination attempts. Before she became advisor, the Great Families had filled the city watch with the dregs of their personal armies; Liang reformed, fired, or outright killed the drunks, spies, and criminals, leaving a well-trained and better-compensated force that answered only to her.

In short, Jagged Liang was the sole guardian of order in a city that thrived on chaos. And that put her directly at odds with the Tenth, which prospered from satisfying the whims of the rich and powerful. A silent war had been escalating for years now. Her watchmen raided storehouses and slaughtered Jia's adopted family in the streets. In return, uncles and aunts paid visits to watch houses and made sure the entire city could see the flames.5

No one, not even the Builders and the Landholders, hated each other more than the Broken Man and Jagged Liang.

Jia leaned against the wall. And we're going to steal from her.

"I'm dead," she said.

"Only if her guards catch us," Covetous Shen said, flapping his hands dismissively. "Or we fall during the climb."

"Climb?" Jia said, holding her forehead.

"Oh yes. We will be ascending the outside of the tower." Shen frowned. "Now that I'm hearing the plan out loud, it does sound quite risky. Luckily, you have a secret weapon."

"Yes? What's that?"

"Me!" Shen said, and he vanished around the curve again. Jia felt her family watching her.

"Be strong, Little Sister," one of them said, reaching through a murder hole to touch her shoulder. "Be silent. Be careful."

"Hide in plain sight," said another.

Jia sighed. The last was a quote. From the Book of Zei.

Covetous Shen bounded from the estate's false storefront, and Jia followed glumly. Rugged cobblestone streets reeled through clumps of sagging, multilevel tenements that blocked the stars above.

But not the entire skyline. Half a mile away, the serrated shape of the Tower of the Advisor rose haughtily from the surrounding squalor, waiting for them.

Covetous Shen stood absolutely still in the center of the uneven street. In the soft moonlight, his tangled beard almost glowed, and the faintest memory tickled the back of Jia's mind…

And it was gone. She shook her head and started toward Shen. Maybe the old fraud was having second thoughts.

No. He was hypnotized by the sight of a distant street vendor up the winding curve of the road leading to the tower. The sizzle of meat sent curls of fragrant smoke looping toward them.

"We should head over the roofs."

"There are curried beef vendors on the rooftops?" Shen said with awe. "I have been gone from this city of wonders for too long."

"No," Jia snapped. "It's safer."

"Ah, yes," Shen said, nodding seriously. "Safety is most important. Have no fear. If we need to jump off roofs and battle seven men, I shall let you go first."

He tottered toward the street vendor, leaving Jia gaping in his wake. He must have overheard, of course. But Stepfather Yao hadn't mentioned the roof…