Naamah's Kiss (79 page)

Bao's grin returned. "I told you so," he said cheerfully to the boy he'd refused to teach. "She's dangerous."

The other merely grunted, fighting for survival.

After that it didn't last long. The young leader was good; Bao was better. Somehow he got inside the lad's guard, hooked his ankle with one sandaled foot, and shoved hard with his staff, sending him sprawling to the flagstones. Bao reversed his staff, holding it poised to jab at the other's heart. "Do you concede?"

The lad closed his eyes.

Bao poked him none too gently. "Huh?"

"Yes, Shangun," he murmured. "Yes, all right!"

"Good." Bao planted his staff and extended one hand. After a moment, the lad took it. Bao hauled him to his feet. "You're pretty good. Must have found good teachers. What do you call yourself?"

"Ten Tigers Dai," the other said stiffly.

"Tigers, huh? That's a good omen." Bao patted him on the back, then turned to survey the others. "So. Who's willing to swear loyalty to me on the Thieves' Oath?"

The burly fellow he'd called Tortoise stepped forward, raising one meaty hand. "Me, boss!"

As it transpired, six others agreed, Ten Tigers Dai among them. The tall man with the hat declined.

We retired to a nearby teahouse, where the hostess' eyes lit up at the sight of Bao, although she clasped her hands and bowed formally. "Shangun! We had rumors of your return. I am pleased to find them true. Will you have your old room?"

"Yes, please," he agreed, kissing her cheek and making her giggle and blush. "You are as lovely as ever, Liling."

I raised my brows at him.

"What?" He smiled. "Don't worry, you've no cause for jealousy. No other woman in the world would have shot a man's hat off his head in my defense. I like it when you lose your temper."

I shook my head. "And you call me strange."

Our motley band was ushered into a private room upstairs, where we were served tea and an array of steamed dumplings with a spicy dipping sauce, as well as tiny fish fried up hot and crispy. Once we were alone and the door firmly closed, the seven men swore loyalty to Bao on the Thieves' Oath, replete with gory details that would result from breaking it. He listened to them with eyes half-lidded.

"They speak the truth?" he asked me in D'Angeline.

I shrugged. "How should I know? I've no gift to determine whether or not a man speaks the truth."

"I will tell them you do," he informed me.

He did, and one man paled and left, trembling. It occurred to me that Bao had a considerable gift for theater. The men who remained hung on his words, perishing with curiosity, and none more than Ten Tigers Dai.

"So." Sitting cross-legged, Bao laid his staff across his lap and steepled his fingers. "You have heard the gossip. You have heard the stories. I am here to tell you the truth. Black Sleeve is a traitor. Lord Jiang is a traitor. The Son of Heaven has been tricked. He has not lost the Mandate of Heaven. His Noble Daughter has been tricked. It is not a . demon that possesses her." He paused to let them murmur and speculate, his eyes glinting. "She houses a dragon's spirit within her flesh. And we . mean to free them both by conveying her to White Jade Mountain, where the dragon is meant to reside. Men, I offer you an opportunity. Will you be petty thugs and villains all the days of your lives, or will you be heroes and claim a place in an epic tale? May I count upon your aid?"

They roared in agreement.

"Hopeless romantics," I murmured.

"Uh-huh." Bao nudged me. "A lot like you, eh?"

I smiled. "Mayhap."

It took some days to formulate a plan. There were three men willing to participate to the fullest, to risk the wrath of Heaven in escorting the princess to the mountain. Slope-jawed Tortoise, steady and none too bright; and his boon companion Kang, a clever wiry fellow with a narrow, pock-marked face.

And Ten Tigers Dai.

There were three others reluctant to commit to the journey, but willing to give their aidand that was enough.

Piece by piece, we put together a plan. Our unlikely allies assisted us, gathering the necessary implements of our disguises and making arrangements.

"Are you certain we can trust them?" Snow Tiger mused when I told her of our evolving plan. "These thieves and ruffians?"

"I trust Bao," I said, surprised to find the words true. "And we have little choice."

I trust you.

I smiled at the dragon in the mirror, touching the smooth surface in which its opalescent gaze was reflected. "I will try to be worthy of it."

Snow Tiger was tense, her posture rigid. "The disguise that Master Lo Feng proposes may be a blasphemous one. Those who follow the Path of Dharma will be sorely offended, and perhaps the gods, too."

"Not by you," I assured her. "It is only the men who will take on the guise of travelling monks."

"Still"

NO . The dragon's coils lashed, curling and uncurling. Its horned and whiskered head surfaced to regard us, its luminous gaze intent and grave. There is no blasphemy here. There is only need. The balance must be restored .

"I understand," we said in unison.

"And I will need my sword," Snow Tiger added. "Especially since we will be travelling with ruffians. We must retrieve it before I leave the Celestial City."

I sighed. "Aye, my lady."

"Moirin." She caught my wrist in that unnaturally strong grip, her eyes searching mine. "Forgive me. I question the method, but not the purpose. I will leave a letter for my father detailing my purpose. It is my belief that once we are committed, once I am gone, my father will shake off his doubts and rise to the occasion. He will commit his armies. The Son of Heaven will rise to Lord Jiang's challenge and seek to thwart him."

"I hope you're right," I said. "Because if he delays, Lord Jiang will have enough weapons to conquer all of Ch'in. And once he does so, why should he stop there? Why not conquer the world?"

The dragon reflected in her pupils coiled uneasily. "You voice my fears," Snow Tiger said soberly. "How soon may we go?"

"Send for me in two days."

She nodded. "I shall spend the time composing my letter."

If anyone had suspected what we were about, we'd never have gotten away with it. And twilight or no, if Snow Tiger had not been dragon-possessed, I'd have had no chance of spiriting her out of the Celestial City. Of course, it also wouldn't have been necessary; but if it had been, it would have been impossible. She would have been surrounded by attendants at all time. But she had banished her retinue after her husband's death, and no one had argued against it. The princess in the cage had no attendants save those who came and went as quickly as possible to bring her meals and fresh attire or empty the chamberpot.

And no one suspected us. It was simply too unthinkable. Children did not defy their parents, and ordinary folk did not plot against the Son of Heaven's edict.

Even so, I did not expect it to be easy. Snow Tiger was insistent that we retrieve her sword, and I could not find my way alone through the endless labyrinth of halls and chambers that comprised the Celestial City.

And then there was the outer city, teeming with people. The twilight would conceal us, but it wouldn't remove us from the physical world altogether.

We would have to be very, very careful.

Early in the morning on the appointed day, I bade farewell to Bao and Master Lo. They would depart Shuntian before me and leave a false trail for any pursuers to follow before doubling back in disguise to await us at the designated meeting place, an empty farmstead some leagues southwest of the city.

With great regret, Master Lo Feng had resolved to sacrifice all but three of his Camaeline snowdrops, hanging them to dry in the courtyard we would be abandoning. The remaining three were nestled in a small, tight-lidded porcelain jar. I stored it carefully in the bottom of my satchel.

Bao was unhappy, dark eyes worried. "I do not like leaving you, Moirin."

"I know." I tied my satchel closed. "Nor do I like being left. But Master Lo is well known, and you to be his pupil. You're the ones they'll follow. No one else can leave the trail."

"And I fear no one else can take Moirin's role in this, my magpie," Master Lo added. He had regained his customary serenity, though it was more strained and careworn than before. "We have set this thing in motion. Now we must let ourselves flow with the events as they unfold."

Bao sighed and kissed me, cupping my face in his hands. "Try not to get yourself killed."

My eyes stung. "You, too."

They left.

A few hours later, Snow Tiger's eunuchs came with a palanquin to fetch me. They looked askance at my battered satchel and yew-wood bow, but offered no comment. I was the foreign witch who soothed the dragon, and the Son of Heaven himself had ordered it so. My barbarian ways were a strangeness to be tolerated.

I found the princess wound tighter than a child's top, pacing her encaged quarters. "All is in readiness?" she inquired abruptly.

"Yes." I set down my satchel. "Peace, my lady. Attendants come and go. You must not be seen to be restless in my presence."

She shuddered to a halt, wrapping her arms around herself. " He is restless."

I didn't need her to tell me. I could sense the dragon's eagerness, its essence spiraling and cavorting throughout her being. In its excitement at the prospect of home and freedom, its thoughts were an inchoate jumble, vibrant and joyous, with a deluge of images and single spoken refrain.

Home, home, home, home!

"Aye." I smiled at its happiness. "But it is a long and dangerous journey, treasured friend, and nothing is certain. You can help best by remaining calm that the Noble Princess may do the same."

It quieted.

"Thank you." Snow Tiger unwrapped her arms. "Although it wards off his madness, the blindfold is no longer as effective as it was. Ever since you came, I sense his thoughts and presence more clearly. Each day, it grows."

"I'm sorry, my lady."

She shook her head. "Do not be. It is better this way. Better to know it is a being of such beauty and majesty that dwells within me, and not a demon. It is only that he is so very powerful, and he does not know his strength."

I am trying . Insofar as a dragon's voice could sound small, his did. He says

The princess smiled. "I heard. We are learning, I think, he and I. Will you call your magic, please?"

I did.

While the dragon drifted and dreamed in the mirror, we waited. As was our wont, I released the twilight and Snow Tiger donned her blindfold when a servant came with the midday meal, placing it fearfully on the table and hurrying out, the iron bars clanging shut behind her, a key turning in the lock. I breathed slow and deep and called the twilight back. A musician sat in the courtyard, playing a haunting, plangent melody with a bow on a two-stringed instrument that was unfamiliar to me, notes shimmering in the gloaming light. The Emperor had sought many ways to ensure that his daughter's life was not without pleasure.

Snow Tiger listened, not touching her food. "I hate that I am doing this."

My heart ached for her; and yet I did not think this was the time for kindness and comfort. "You needn't do it. But if it is your will to choose otherwise, tell me now. If it is not, my lady, I suggest you eat. We cannot afford weakness."

She inclined her head and picked up her chopsticks. "As you say."

After we had dispatched our meal of steamed fish in a ginger sauce with rice and crisp slices of lotus root, the servant returned to take away our dishes. Snow Tiger tied her blindfold in place and I banished the twilight. The musician bowed and took her leave.

"Now?" The princess' voice was fierce.

The dragon cavorted in joy. Now ?

"Now," I agreed, summoning my magic.

It came in a rush, dusk descending for the third time that day. I would need to hold it for a very, very long time. Mindful of the fact, I breathed the Breath of Earth's Pulse, grounding myself.

"Come." Driven by the dragon's excitement, Snow Tiger surged to her feet and extended one hand. "Moirin, now!"

"I am here," I said softly, letting her tug me upright.

In the courtyard, the iron bars of her cage bent and screeched beneath the pressure she exerted on them. I winced, knowing the sound was audible in the physical world. Still, no one came. We slipped through the bars, and then the princess straightened them with no visible effort.

"Your letter" I began.

"It will be found." She caught my hand once more. "Come! We seek the Armory of Distinguished Blades."

Those are not hours I would wish to relive. The Maghuin Dhonn are a solitary folk. So we have been time out of mind; and my gifts were meant to serve a solitary existence in the wild woods and hills of Alba.

Not this.

Not this cloistered labyrinth of humanity, filled with people hurrying to and fro. Servants, attendants, councilors. Time and time again, I was forced to flatten my back against the crimson walls and let the world surge past us. For the first time in many months, I found myself breathing hard at being confined in a man-made space. Only the discipline of Master Lo's teaching let me keep a grip on the twilight.

"Here!" Snow Tiger darted past a pair of guards into the chamber beyond.

I hurried after her. "My lady, please! Go slowly and do not leave me behind."

She nodded briefly, scanning the room. There were swords in elaborate scabbards displayed on a multitude of tables, each one with an etched stone tablet beside it. One sword was more slender, more delicately wrought than the others, with gilded filigree on the small round guard and a tassel on the hilt.

That was the one the princess seized. She withdrew it a few inches from the scabbard of lacquered wood, gazing at the blade. Shimmering coils were reflected in the steel.

My anxiety was rising. "My lady, we must go."

"Yes." Snow Tiger shoved the blade home. "Follow me."

It felt as though it took hours longer to navigate a path out of the Celestial City, although I daresay it was less. We eased our way around corners, dashed through brief openings in busy doorways. My heart was pounding the entire time. Again and again, I nearly lost my focus in the midst of a close encounter. When at last we gained the vast outer courtyard, I could have wept with relief.