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Rosethorn kneed her horse past their guide. “What is this?” she demanded.
“Evvy, have some tea.” Briar nudged his horse closer to hers. He offered her a flask. In a normally loud voice he said, “I bet you didn’t even eat breakfast.” Softly he added, “Drink some tea and stop looking guilty.”
Evvy obeyed. She eased her horse back until she was next to Monster’s carry-basket. She reached her fingers in and stroked the big animal.
The Mistress of Protocol bowed to Rosethorn. “Forgive me, honored Rosethorn, friend of the emperor,” she said, not meeting Rosethorn’s glare. “This … officer insists that you will not be allowed to pass until each member of your company is inspected. Please forgive the, the inconvenience. You have my deepest, deepest apologies.”
Evvy wouldn’t have thought the Mistress of Protocol could ever be so upset. Just after their arrival this intimidating lady had spent several mornings with them, educating them in the ways of the court. At the time Evvy had wondered if she was carved of the same white marble favored for so many of the imperial buildings.
“Inspect, then,” Rosethorn said. “Except for the three of us and our guide, everyone is palace staff. The guide was approved by palace officials.” She said nothing else as every member of their escort had been inspected top to toe by an armed soldier. Even their baggage was poked, as if the soldiers expected them to be hiding someone in it.
As the guards inspected the pack animals under Briar’s eye, Rosethorn nudged her mount over to that of the Mistress. Quietly she asked, “Is it permitted to inquire why one is being subjected to this degrading inspection?”
The Mistress used her fan to hide her face for a moment, then lowered it and leaned very close to Rosethorn to whisper in her ear. Evvy knew that normally torture would be required to get an extra word from the older woman, but she had a bad case of arthritis. A balm from Rosethorn, and its recipe, had made her life much easier. Very much easier, Evvy thought, if she was willing to give Rosethorn any information.
The captain was returning; the two women separated.
“Done,” the captain said. “They may go.”
The men cleared away from the road. The Mistress of Protocol, badly rattled, presented the travelers with the horses and their burdens, gifts personally chosen by the emperor. Rosethorn said a few diplomatic, grateful phrases.
Evvy admired her all over again. Rosethorn said those things, and she acted as any noble lady might, but when she took a drink of tea from her belt flask, Evvy could see that Rosethorn’s hand was shaking. Given Rosethorn’s nature, Evvy was fairly certain she wasn’t scared, but furious.
Were they looking for Parahan? Evvy wondered, nibbling the inside of her cheek. It’s early, but maybe they know he’s missing. Once they had passed through the last gate out of the palace and were on the long avenue that led into the city, Evvy and Briar rode up to Rosethorn. Their guide had drawn closer as well. “In all my days of service to the imperial palace, I have never seen imperial guests subjected to search upon their departure!” the guide said, indignant. “Did the most honorable Mistress of Protocol hint as to the cause of such extraordinary behavior? The emperor will be furious to learn of this!”
“I don’t believe so,” Rosethorn said, her voice very dry. “He’s missing an even more prized guest.” She pursed her mouth, then said, “Apparently his captive Parahan of Kombanpur has escaped. They don’t know how. His chains — locked — and his cage — also locked — were discovered this morning when they went to take him to his bath.”
“Oh, that’s bad,” Briar commented, his face and voice suitably grave. “His Imperial Majesty won’t like that.”
Admiring her teacher more than ever, Evvy decided to add her bit. She sighed, careful not to overdo it. “He won’t get very far, not with the whole palace looking for him.”
Rosethorn looked at them suspiciously. “Very true. If he’s lucky, once he’s recaptured, no one will say anything about it,” she commented. “No one will want the emperor to know how badly they slipped up.”
Their guide shook his head. “That’s the kind of secret that always comes out,” he said. “But you’re right, they’ll catch him. They have ways. Now, if you will look ahead, you will see the Gate of Lowly Welcoming. They call it that because anyone who is coming from the palace is assumed to be less happy, even upon entering our glorious city. We will be going around Dohan, though, so we will not pass through.”
He trotted on ahead to ride with the leader of their guards. Rosethorn rode for a while in silence, before she said, “We’re going to be in Yanjing two more weeks or longer, if the roads aren’t good. The imperial spy service will have eyes on us constantly to see if Parahan tries to get in touch. There’s no reason why he should. But brace yourselves, all the same.”
Good luck, Parahan, Evvy thought. I hope you get out of Yanjing soon.
ON THE SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY OF DOHAN
The caravansary was the biggest Evvy had ever seen, with beautiful paintings of flowers and fish on the inside plaster walls, and a large square well in the middle. There were two levels of rooms, with the bottom level reserved for the bigger caravans and the upper for smaller traveling parties. This was a Trader place, very clean and in good repair.
The ride leader of their caravan came running as they rode through the gate. As soon as she and her people took charge of their group, the imperial escort bowed to Rosethorn and Briar and left them.
The ride leader, who had introduced herself as Rajoni of Twenty-eighth Caravan Datta, frowned. “That’s odd. Usually some of them stay for tea and any news we care to pass on, but this year the imperials have been very … distant.” She shook her head, as if shaking off bad thoughts. “Dedicate Rosethorn, you and your companions are blessed. I was unable to send a message before your departure from the palace, but as it happens, we leave in the morning, a day early, for Hanjian.” She looked at their animals. “You have more horses than your note said.”
“The emperor was an overwhelmingly gracious host,” Rosethorn explained.
“Well, then, we shall make accommodation.” Rajoni looked around. The Trader boys and girls who had taken charge of the pack animals stood a little straighter, knowing the ride leader’s eye was on them. When Rajoni nodded, the youngsters led the animals off to the stables. Only those who held the reins to the cats’ horses, the shakkans’ bearers, and the horses Rosethorn pointed to, the ones with the mage kits and their next day’s clothing, waited and followed as the ride leader showed them to their rooms in the caravansary. Once they had stowed everything they wanted to keep with them, Rajoni said, “Midday is being served now, if you wish to eat. There are tables by the fountain, or you may carry your food here.”
“I can bring the food here,” Briar said. “We’ll take supper with the rest of your company tonight.”
Evvy sighed. She wanted a nap, but she also wanted time to herself, to think about what Parahan had told her. She hadn’t had a moment alone with Briar and Rosethorn since they had ridden away from the palace. She had hoped to talk to them here, but what if there were listening spells on the walls? If they were Trader listening spells, that wasn’t so bad. But what if they were imperial ones?
Rosethorn said, “Rajoni, I saw a stream outside the walls. Is it safe for me to meditate there?”
“This area is very safe,” the ride leader assured them. “We only ask that you be inside our walls by dark, when we close and lock the gates for the night. We leave at dawn.”
Evvy and Rosethorn went inside to inspect their rooms. Using her guard stones, Evvy set the cats up in a corner of the main room by the entry. She filled a shallow basket with dirt in which they could relieve themselves, fed them from the sealed jar of cooked pork scraps the palace servants had left for her, and put down several dishes of water. Constant travel had made Evvy inventive when it came to providing for her companions. When she went to set up her own bedroll next to the cats’ place, she discovered that Bria
r had returned with food.
It had been a long time since the rice she’d had at dawn. Evvy did her best not to slop the bowl of chicken and lemon stew all over her face as she ate, but it was a near thing. She thought she might die happy when she saw the plate of spicy seminola cake that Briar had also brought.
“I love Trader food!” she cried.
“Do you know, when I don’t particularly want to eat, all I have to do is watch you devour whatever is before you and I feel hungry,” Rosethorn remarked.
Evvy and Briar carried the empty dishes back to the Trader washing tubs and did their share of washing up in thanks for the meal. By the time they returned to their chambers, Rosethorn had left in search of her meditation.
“I’ll be back,” Evvy told Briar and the cats in Chammuri when she saw the woman was gone. “Unless you want to come along. Actually you should.”
Briar, who had picked up one of his shakkans, looked at her with suspicion. “Go along where? I thought you would want a nap.”
At least he’s quick enough to speak Chammuri, Evvy thought. “I have to talk to Rosethorn.”
Briar’s lips went tight and his eyes went hard. “You have to do no such thing. You heard her. She said meditation. She needs quiet. She needs to relax. All of that imperial carrying-on was hard on her.”
Evvy crossed her arms on her chest. “I know that almost as well as you, Briar Moss. Maybe I’m not a brilliant, dung-nosed nanshur like some people, but I’m no paperwit, either. You might think that I have something important to say. Something she ought to know, even if I don’t have a cartwheel of metal hanging around my neck.” She marched out of the building, bound for the gate.
It wasn’t long before the tiny rocks on the path behind her let her know that he was following. She had found the stream and entered the wood before he said, “Evvy, stop. Look at me.” She did. “Don’t pout,” he ordered. “I just don’t think she needs to know we helped, you know.”
“That isn’t what I was going to say,” Evvy snapped. “What I am going to say? She’ll bite my head off if I wait too long to tell her.” She set off down the stream bank again. “You don’t believe I care about her almost as much as you do.”
“I know you care about her,” he retorted, trotting until he could walk beside her. “Or I would’ve just pushed you into the water.”
“Do you think you could talk any louder?” they heard Rosethorn call. “Because I am reasonably certain my meditations did not include the two of you squabbling like a nestful of birds.”
As they rounded a bend in the stream, they saw Rosethorn seated cross-legged on top of a large, flat boulder. “He started it,” Evvy replied. “I didn’t ask him to follow me. He invited himself.”
“I was trying to stop her,” Briar said.
“What part of alone did either of you not hear?” Rosethorn wanted to know.
“I’m sorry,” Evvy said, climbing up until she was close enough to Rosethorn to whisper. Briar came to stand beside her. “Bend down, please? Parahan told me something yesterday. This is the first time I think it’s safe to tell you.”
Rosethorn frowned and leaned toward them. The three were so close that strands of Rosethorn’s hair brushed Evvy’s head while her sleeve covered Briar’s face until he held it back. The woman braced herself gently on Briar’s shoulder.
“He said the emperor is going to Inxia to join the rest of the army that’s been gathering there since Inxia surrendered,” Evvy whispered in soft Chammuri. “As soon as the emperor gets there he’s going to invade Gyongxe. They’re already near the border. He doesn’t trust his generals anymore. He’s going to lead the attack himself.”
Her legs hurt from standing on tiptoe when she was so tense. She lowered herself until she was flat-footed. Looking up again, she realized Rosethorn had covered her open mouth with her hand. She was stricken, and Evvy had done it.
“I’m sorry,” Evvy said, still whispering. “I know it was bad. I told you as soon as I thought it was safe. Briar didn’t know. I was scared to say anything in the palace, not when I didn’t know what had spells on it!”
Rosethorn stared off into the distance. Evvy wanted very badly to ask what she was thinking, but sometimes it was best to leave Rosethorn to her thoughts. Finally the woman clambered down the boulders.
“So much for quiet meditation,” she muttered. “I’ll have to consider this for a while. You two will mind your tongues and behave, do you understand me?”
“Yes, Rosethorn,” they chorused.
She set off down the path back to the caravansary, her pace brisk. Briar held Evvy back until Rosethorn was out of earshot. He then demanded quietly, “You couldn’t have told me this before?”
“I didn’t dare,” Evvy said as they followed Rosethorn, walking more slowly. “It was last night. We were seeing him off. Then we were going back and I was so tired. It’s not like there’s anything we can do.”
Briar rubbed the top of his head, looking tired. “I just hope she feels the same way.”
“I’ll be glad when we leave Yanjing,” Evvy told him. “I’m scared we’ll trip over something really bad. It hasn’t happened yet, but I keep expecting it.”
“There are shrines to the gods in the walls all around the inside of the caravansary,” Briar said. “First thing we do when we get back inside the gates, you take an offering to that Heibei luck god of yours. A nice offering, mind. And you ask him to get us out of here safely!”
Evvy beamed at her teacher. “That’s a splendid idea.” She had a piece of white jade that would be perfect, and a piece of lapis lazuli for Kanzan the Merciful. Even gods couldn’t be able to resist such fine bits of stone. She would feel better once she had enlisted their help. Heibei had to like her more than he did the emperor, who handed out bad luck to so many, and how could Kanzan like someone who hurt and killed so many people?
At the back of her mind she felt a dark flicker of fear — what about the gods of Gyongxe, and Parahan’s gods, who also had something at stake now? She stomped on that flicker until it didn’t bother her anymore. Prayers and presents to her two favorite gods would fix all of this, just as giving Parahan’s news to Rosethorn had meant passing a hateful burden to someone who could handle it. She could concentrate on the journey, and only the journey.
Later in the afternoon the three of them were cutting vegetables into a soup to share with some fellow travelers when they heard the thunder of horses approaching the gate. They drew together, dropping their knives into the bowls of vegetables.
Caravansary guards ran to the gate, iron-shod staves in their hands. An archer on the wall turned and whistled three sharp notes that sent the men away from the road as a company of imperial troops, accompanied by three mages, rode in. Ten of them galloped through the caravansary in the direction of the rear gate.
Evvy felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. “Relax,” Rosethorn murmured softly.
Rajoni and Changdao, the master of the caravansary, walked up to the haughty man who appeared to be in command. Changdao and Rajoni bowed deeply.
The noble did not speak at all. The younger man who carried his banner did that. The older mage who rode next to him made a series of motions with his hands, forcing Briar to look away. Evvy knew he could see the magic being done. When the bannerman spoke, his voice was loud, much louder than it would have been without magical help. She was certain it was being heard everywhere inside the caravansary walls.
“Travelers and those who keep this place, attend. A valuable slave of southern Realms blood has escaped from the grounds of the Winter Palace!” the bannerman proclaimed. “Remain in your places as the imperial warriors search. No harm will be done unless you are sheltering this runaway. Any who do shelter this Parahan of Kombanpur will receive the utmost of the emperor’s displeasure — those persons, their parents, grandparents, families, cousins, to the third degree of relationship both older and younger, no one will be spared.”
“Mila, save us,” Rosethorn
whispered.
“Those who give us useful information will receive great rewards and advancement at the hands of our glorious lord, Wielder of the Dragon Sword, Holder of the Orb of Wisdom, Emperor Weishu of the Long Dynasty,” the bannerman continued. “Go about your tasks unless our warriors require your assistance.”
The soldiers dismounted, leaving the horses with a few of their number, and dispersed among the stables, supply buildings, and housing. Only the captain, his bannerman, and the mage who had amplified his speech remained where they had halted. Changdao stayed with them, though they did not talk to him at all. Rajoni trotted off in the direction of the brightly painted Trader house carts, presumably to act as middle person between the soldiers and the caravan.
“Back to work,” Rosethorn said. “Not you, Evvy, not chopping, anyway.” Evvy looked at her hands and had to agree. They were shaking too much for her to risk picking up a knife.
Briar sent her for a bucket of water. She got it, looking at the ground rather than the warriors. She almost dropped it on him when she saw three soldiers enter their set of rooms.
“The cats!” she cried. “They’ll knock over the gate stones!” She put the bucket down and ran to their quarters before Briar or Rosethorn could grab her. Two of the soldiers were looking into the bedchambers. One knelt just outside the line of gate stones and was scratching Ball under the chin.
“I’m sorry,” Evvy said. It was hard to think badly of anyone who petted her cats, even if it was Ball, who liked everyone. “I just wanted to warn you, the stones are magicked so they stay on that side of them.”
“There’s a nice trick,” the soldier said with admiration. “Useful when you’re traveling, I’ll wager. But … do they run alongside, or how do they keep up?”
Evvy showed him the carry-baskets and the basket the cats used as a privy. He told her about his own cats, to the point where she almost forgot to be terrified. She walked out with the three of them and, once the inspection of the caravansary was done, waved good-bye as they rode away.
