by Zen Cho
He had assumed from her levity that she could not have been a very senior votary, though all anchorites were given a certain measure of deference, treated as a class above and apart. Madam Yeoh’s failure to recognise her had seemed to confirm his assumption. But Guet Imm must have been a person of considerably more importance at her tokong than he had realised—so important that a transient acolyte like Yeoh Gaik Tin would not have been admitted to the secret of her powers.
Rimau was saying, “We should go,” when Guet Imm reappeared next to Fung Cheung. He jumped.
“There,” said Guet Imm. She was holding out a bag in which the sarira gleamed. “Go to Madam Yeoh before you leave Kempas, and collect the balance. If you ask her for help, I think you won’t have so much trouble with the mata. But even if she decides not to help, you can bribe the mata with the cash.”
Fung Cheung took the bag from her hand with care. All three men—Fung Cheung, Rimau and Ah Hin—were looking at Guet Imm as though she might hit them with a jampi if they made any sudden moves.
“And you?” said Fung Cheung.
“I’ll draw the bandits off your track,” said Guet Imm absently. She looked distrait, as if, having cut herself off from the group, she had already departed in spirit. “Don’t worry about me.”
Fung Cheung hesitated. For one who, like Tet Sang, had known him for so long, his feelings were transparently inscribed on his face—relief that Guet Imm was proposing to solve the problem of herself and the bandits in one go, but also a sense of obligation, a debt incurred. It would have suited Fung Cheung better to have deposited the nun at Yeoh Gaik Tin’s house—he would have felt then that she was properly settled.
Sure enough, after a pause, Fung Cheung said, “You don’t want to take up Madam Yeoh’s offer, sister? A safe haven is nothing to sniff at in these times.”
Guet Imm smiled faintly. It didn’t reach her eyes. “That was Brother Tet Sang’s idea.” She didn’t look at Tet Sang. “His intentions were good, but I am not qualified to be a rich woman’s tame priestess. You see, I was an anchorite at my tokong. You don’t go into seclusion because you are good at respecting authority. Brother Tet Sang will be able to explain.”
“No,” said Tet Sang, “because I’m coming with you.”
He hadn’t known what he was going to say before he spoke, but once the words were out, peace settled on him. His path was clear. He had not felt such certainty since he had left the tokong at Permatang Timbul.
“Wait, what?” said Fung Cheung.
“Second Brother!” said Ah Hin.
The blood drained from Guet Imm’s face. Then it rushed back and she went a brilliant red. “What do you mean, ‘coming with me’?”
“I mean, I am going to leave the group and follow you,” said Tet Sang, enunciating so as to avoid any possibility of a misunderstanding.
“But you can’t,” said Guet Imm. “You have to stay with the brothers.”
“That’s right,” said Ah Hin. “You have to stay with us!”
Tet Sang was gazing at Guet Imm, but he spoke to Ah Hin.
“I am not under any contract,” said Tet Sang. “There’s nothing to say I must stay here or go there. You were fine before I joined you all, and you’ll be fine without me.” He paused. “Of course, it depends on whether Sister Guet Imm minds if I come with her or not.”
“What are you talking about?” said Guet Imm. “You’re the one who wanted to get rid of me!”
“It would have been good for you to stay with Madam Yeoh,” said Tet Sang. “If you could take it.” He shrugged. “It was a wrong decision. I’m sorry, sister. I should have asked first. Do you want me, or should I stay with Ah Lau and the brothers?”
“Want you!” said Guet Imm peevishly. “Do you have to ask?”
Ah Hin turned to Fung Cheung. “Big Brother, say something!”
“You’re not going to let this happen, Cheung?” said Rimau.
Fung Cheung looked from Tet Sang to Guet Imm. He whistled. “Oh, it’s like that, is it?” He didn’t sound surprised.
Neither Tet Sang nor Guet Imm was paying any attention to the others.
“You’ll regret it in time,” said Guet Imm. “You’ll start scolding me…”
“Regret for what? If it doesn’t work out, then we go our separate ways,” said Tet Sang. “Nobody is swearing any oaths. But if you’re hoping I won’t scold you, then I better not come.”
Guet Imm tossed her head. “Oh, even I am not so hopeful, brother!”
“So, you’re going?” said Fung Cheung.
Tet Sang tore his eyes away from Guet Imm. “Sorry, Ah Lau.” There was too much to say—and yet there was no need to say anything. Everything of importance had always been understood between him and Fung Cheung.
But then Tet Sang remembered that there was a small matter worth mentioning.
“There’ll be more money to divide between everybody,” he said.
This consideration had evidently not occurred to Rimau and Ah Hin till now. They perked up at once. Only Fung Cheung seemed to derive little comfort from it.
“You told me not to take her on. Should have listened to you from the start,” he said. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would never have let sister join the group. No offence, sister.”
“None taken,” said Guet Imm.
Tet Sang had gone back to looking at her, and she was looking at him. A strange thought came to him, less painful than it should have been.
“I might never have met you if they didn’t burn the tokong,” he said. He meant his own tokong, but of course, it was equally true of hers.
“Ah!” said Guet Imm softly. “Don’t talk like that. You will make me glad of things I must regret.”
This was all deeply meaningful and of enormous interest to both of them, so neither was prepared when Fung Cheung seized Tet Sang’s face and kissed him.
Fung Cheung had ability as well as enthusiasm, but it was probably not the most successful of his kisses. Tet Sang gaped. He could hear a loud hissing, as from an enraged snake.
Fung Cheung let him go, laughing. Guet Imm, who proved to be the hisser, grabbed Tet Sang’s arm and yanked him away.
Fung Cheung put his hands together. “I had to try it once, sister. Don’t hurt me! You members of the elect must have compassion on us lower beings.”
“Try it again and I’ll cut your balls off!” snarled Guet Imm.
“Guet Imm,” said Tet Sang, but this made her turn on him.
“You didn’t believe me when I said Brother Lau liked you! Piece of wood, you said. Now you see!”
“Why are you angry at me?” said Tet Sang, starting to get annoyed. “I didn’t ask him to kiss me also!”
“You two already fight like husband and wife,” said Fung Cheung. “I should have seen it coming.” He shook his head, then put his hand into his robes and drew out a purse, offering it to Tet Sang.
“What’s this?” said Tet Sang, conscious of Ah Hin and Rimau’s eyes on him.
“Money. Not your full share,” added Fung Cheung. “Only about one hundred cash. The rest we will keep, don’t worry.”
“You don’t need to give me anything.”
“Don’t fight, Ah Sang,” said Fung Cheung. “If I’m feeling like being generous, you should give me face. It’s not so often I’m in the mood to gain pahala.”
“Don’t do me any favours, Ah Lau,” Tet Sang began, but Guet Imm cut off the brewing argument by reaching out and plucking the bag from Fung Cheung’s hand.
“Thank you, brother,” she said.
“At least one of you is sensible,” said Fung Cheung. “Now I’ll worry less.”
Rimau cleared his throat.
“Cheung,” he said. “We should make a move.”
Fung Cheung nodded without taking his eyes off Tet Sang.
“Go slowly, brother,” he said.
“Go slowly,” said Tet Sang.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my editor Jonathan Strahan fo
r shaking me until a novella fell out; my agent Caitlin Blasdell for making sure the shaking wasn’t too violent; Hana Lee and Tony Tonnu for the helpful beta; Sija Hong for the brilliant cover illustration and Sarah J. Coleman for the lettering; and the Tor.com Publishing team for bringing this book into the world: Ruoxi Chen, Irene Gallo, Christine Foltzer, Caroline Perny, Mordicai Knode, Amanda Melfi, Jamie-Lee Nardone, Lauren Hougen, and Richard Shealy.
As always, both I and my book benefited hugely from the support of my family, especially my mom and dad; my in-laws, Martin and Bernadette; and my husband, Peter. Finally, I would like to thank Teddy for delaying his arrival in the world for just long enough so I could complete the first draft.
This book is dedicated to Rachel Monte, in memory of a certain Millefeuille of Destiny.
ALSO BY ZEN CHO
Sorcerer to the Crown
The True Queen
Spirits Abroad
Cyberpunk: Malaysia (editor)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zen Cho was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and her short story collection, Spirits Abroad, was a joint winner of the William L. Crawford Fantasy Award. Her debut novel, Sorcerer to the Crown, won a British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer and was a Locus Awards finalist for Best First Novel. Her novelette “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again” won a Hugo Award. She lives in the UK. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Begin Reading
Acknowledgments
Also by Zen Cho
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE ORDER OF THE PURE MOON REFLECTED IN WATER
Copyright © 2020 by Zen Cho
All rights reserved.
Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Cover art by Sija Hong
Hand-lettering by Sarah J. Coleman
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
A Tor.com Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-26925-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-26924-9 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250269249
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First Edition: June 2020
