"A weapon? I can't help you. I don't carry them. Forbidden for me to even-" Li rose and stomped toward him. Giras swallowed hard. Darting over to a large trunk, he twisted on a handle. There was a click and both the lid and front of the trunk swung open with graceful majesty. An array of weapons glittered within. Li looked them over and chose a sword that was curved like his dao, though with a lighter, Western blade. Giras nodded. "Calishite scimitar. Excellent choice-"
"Be quiet." Li took the sheath that went with the scimitar, slid the blade into it, and gave Giras a final glare. "You should find another trade." He turned and stalked out of the shop.
He was so wrapped up in his anger that he barely even noticed the tottering old woman in the street until he had practically walked right over top of her. She gasped and he caught her arm, helping her steady herself. "Your pardon, honored mother," he apologized and started to turn away.
The woman grabbed his wrist and said sharply in a thin, liquid voice, "Kuang Li Chien!"
Li froze, startled, and looked down. The woman was looking at him intently, eyes of a faded blue focused on him. Her grip was frail and quivering. Her entire body shook slightly. He could have pulled away easily. There was something familiar about the woman, though. "You live with Tycho," he said. She had been asleep on a couch when he had slipped out that morning. Another memory came back to him-her face as she prodded his aching body. "You helped Tycho heal me."
"My name is Veseene. I'm Tycho's friend. He did the work of healing you, though." Her eyes hardened. "If I let you go, will you run again?" Li flushed.
"No. And I apologize for leaving this morning. I have seen Tycho and spoken with him. We have made our peace." He gave her a little bow. "I hope you can forgive me as well. It was rude, but I felt there was something I needed to do. I've explained it to Tycho. He's even agreed to help me."
Veseene's eyebrows rose like pale wings. "Did he?" She released his wrist. "Would you care to explain to me, too?"
Li hesitated. "It is a long story, Veseene. Do you speak Shou?" Veseene shook her head. "Perhaps Tycho could explain it to you later then?"
"Perhaps he could." She cocked her head, though the shaking of her body almost made it look like she was nodding. "I heard what went on Giras's shop."
"Tycho sent me here to buy back what Lander took from me."
"It sounded like a very violent purchase."
"Giras forced me to haggle."
A smile creased Veseene's face. "Lander won't be happy about that." Li smiled back.
"Lander," he said, his grip tightening on the scimitar, "is welcome to discuss the matter with me at any time." He nodded toward the water and the dockside district. "I'm supposed to meet Tycho at the Wench's Ease now. Would you like to come with me? "
She shook her head. "I'm on an errand," she said. "Why don't you come with me?" Her arm slipped through his.
The gesture was very easy, very natural, but Li could sense a steel-like will and purpose behind it. "Do I have a choice?"
"No, not really." Veseene began to stroll along the street, pulling Li along more by force of personality than physical strength. Her steps were short and careful over the slippery slush that remained from the night's snowfall. Li frowned and shifted his arm so that he gave her more support. She nodded gratefully. "Thank you. I'm not quite as graceful as I used to be, I'm afraid."
"The young peach tree is beautiful and tender," said Li, "but it bears little fruit."
Veseene smiled again. "You have a certain charm to you, Kuang Li Chien."
"Just call me 'Li,'" he told her. "I regret that it is a borrowed charm-that verse was written by the poet Kar Wuan many centuries ago. I studied it as part of my training for the imperial bureaucracy."
"Knowledge is its own grace," said Veseene. "How do you like that? I made it up just now."
"Truly immortal wisdom."
They walked almost half a block in silence. Every few paces, Li stole a look at Veseene. She was still tall for her advanced age and only a little bit stooped. The tremors that shook her body and rendered her voice strange and wet were really the only sign of the infirmity of years.
Veseene didn't return his glances or even look at him at all, but just kept her eyes on the ground, alert for treacherous footing. When she spoke again, she said, "Tell me the short version of your story, Li."
He hesitated for a moment and told her the essence of his tale. "Pirates on the Sea of Fallen Stars attacked and killed a trading party from my home city a year and a half ago. My brother was spared but taken prisoner. We have heard nothing of him since then. I came west to find him."
"AndBrin?"
"Brin was mate of that pirate ship. He is the last survivor of it and may be the only one who knows what happened to my brother. Tycho has agreed to make inquiries and try to arrange a chance for me to talk with Brin."
"Ah," said Veseene. "And you've heard nothing at all from the pirates? No ransom demands?" Li shook his head. "Ah," she said again and they walked a little farther before she added, "Tycho is clever, but he's also a hothead. He doesn't always think things all the way through."
Li stiffened. He glanced at Veseene, but she was still watching the ground as she walked. "Pirates," she continued, "generally don't take prisoners for sport. They take them for ransom. And why take only one prisoner when they could have ransomed the entire trading party?" She looked up finally and met his eyes. "And why," she said bluntly, "do you need a sword if you just want to talk to someone?" Li pressed his lips together. Veseene's eyes narrowed. "You're not telling me-or Tycho-the whole story."
"No," Li admitted tightly. "I'm not. And I can't. But what I'm not saying doesn't concern you. I owe Tycho my life. I won't put him in danger."
"I hope not. Because if Tycho comes to harm, I'll come after you." She stopped. "Every peach has a stone, Li. I may be old, but I'm tough. I drink wasp venom for fun."
"I understand, honored mother," Li said politely. Ve-seene raised an eyebrow.
"You don't believe me." She pointed above her head. Li glanced up. There was a sign there, words he couldn't understand written out in western script. He recognized the picture that went with them though. A bundle of herbs beside a mortar and pestle. An herbalist's shop. "Come inside with me," said Veseene.
She drew him through a door and up a flight of narrow stairs. The shop was at the top of them, a dim, fragrant space with crock-lined walls and dry, leafy bundles hanging from the rafters. A slender, dusk-skinned woman with long black hair and eyes rimmed with dark paint looked up from a worktable, first at Veseene and, with a lingering glance, at Li. Veseene greeted her. "Olore, Sephera. I'm here for my tea."
The woman nodded and rose. She went around the room, selecting crocks and jars from the wall. When she had a collection of half a dozen, she returned to her table and began mixing the contents of each together in a mortar. "Sephera," said Veseene, "my friend here was wondering what went into my tea."
"Things to energize muscles made weak and quicken nerves made dull," said Sephera. Her voice was soft, with a resonant, chanting quality. "Laspar needles and pepper, blackroot and winterberry seeds." She took two spoonfuls of rust-colored flakes from a small jar. "Redflower leaves." The last jar was tightly sealed with waxed cloth and Sephera held it at arm's length as she opened it. She reached inside with thin wooden tongs and removed a pale amber lump, holding it up for Li to see. It was only about the size of the tip of his smallest finger. "The crystallized venom of a giant wasp," said Sephera. She added it to the mortar, re-sealed the jar, took up a pestle, and gently began to crush the assembled ingredients.
Li looked at Veseene. The old woman shrugged. "All right," she said, "maybe I don't drink it for fun." She gave Li a harsh look. "You understand though?"
He bent at the waist, bowing to her. "You've made your point."
"Tycho is family to me, Li. I'll do anything to protect him."
"Believe me, Veseene," said Li, "I understand the importance of protecting family." Vesee
ne looked at him curiously, her head tilted again. Li didn't return her gaze. "Do you want to come with me to meet Tycho?"
She shook her head. "I'll have a cup of tea with Sephera then go home. Tell Tycho we talked, though." She nodded toward the stairs. "Go back to the last intersection and follow that street toward dockside. It will take you right to the Wench's Ease."
Li bowed again. "Thank you," he said.
"Don't get Tycho in more trouble than he gets himself," Veseene replied. "That will be thanks enough."
CHAPTER 6
The sun was low in the west. The last of the day was kissing the rooftops of Spandeliyon and the underbellies of thick clouds moving in low from the east. There would be more snow overnight. Thick, wet snow. Tycho knew it with the instincts of someone raised beside the sea. The temperature of the air was hardly dropping at all. It might even have been getting a little bit warmer, but he couldn't really be certain of that. He simply felt cold all over.
His boots sent slush and muck splattering up with every long, running stride. As he rounded a corner, the slick surface of the street betrayed him and sent him skidding in a wide arc, arms flailing as he fought to keep his balance. A few people stared at him. Tycho barely noticed. One thought kept flowing through his mind.
Bind me, bind me, bind me, bind me
He kept running. He couldn't get the vision of Black Scratch's mad yellow eyes out of his head.
The sight of the Wench's Ease was a blessing. Tycho slid to a stop, clutching at the great, bare tree in the yard outside the tavern for support. He shrugged out of the strap that held his strilling, stripped off his coat, and began scrubbing with handfuls of coarse, icy snow at the patches of dung that smeared it. He had lost one of his mittens somewhere. He shook the other one off his hand and flung it away. "Bind me, bind me, bind me!"
"Tycho?" A shadow fell over him. Tycho flinched and looked up.
It was Li. The Shou was dressed-mostly-in his own clothes again. "Just getting here?" Tycho asked. His voice sounded brittle even to him. "I thought you'd already be inside."
"I ran into your friend Veseene. We talked." Li's face was drawn in concern. "Tycho, what's wrong?" His nose crinkled. "Pearl of night, that stinks!"
"I slipped."
"Did you find out anything about Brin or Yu Mao?" asked Li cautiously.
"I asked around," Tycho lied. "Put it out that you were just-"
The words caught in his throat. Noon tomorrow. He couldn't lie to Li. He'd promised to help and now… He flung the last handful of snow away and rubbed his face. "No," he confessed, "I didn't find out anything. I didn't even get the chance to. Bind and tar me, Li, I'm deep in the bilge."
Li's eyes widened slightly and he drew a breath. "Because of me?"
Tycho shook his head and pulled his coat back on. It was wet and cold from the snow, but most of the pig stench was gone. "No, it's all my fault. When we were arrested, I had a package with me that I was supposed to deliver to-" He hesitated. Considering the way the Shou had reacted to Desmada's corruption, Tycho didn't think he'd want to hear that his new friend did jobs for the one-eyed halfling as well. Or that he'd known all along where to find him. "That I was supposed to deliver," he said and left it at that. "While we were in jail, someone stole what was in the package. I've been given until noon tomorrow to get it… them back."
"What was in the package?" Li asked. Tycho told him. Li's eyes went wider. "Who in Spandeliyon could want something that valuable? "
"The man I was supposed to deliver them to!" Tycho wrapped his arms around himself. "Bitch Queen's mercy! What am I supposed to do? Li, this man is insane. I'm amazed he didn't break my legs before sending me out to look. If I can't find the beljurils, I'm dead. I'm worse than dead." He shuddered.
"This man sounds as bad as Brin," said Li.
Tycho couldn't hold back the strangled choke that rose up out of his throat. Li looked at him sharply. For a moment he was silent. "Tycho," he said finally, "that was pig dung on your coat."
"There are a lot of pigs in Spandeliyon," Tycho said defensively. "Every third house keeps a few."
"I haven't seen a pig since I've been here."
"It's cold! They like to stay in shelters where it's warm."
"Then you must have been standing around in a pigsty when you slipped."
He met Tycho's eyes. The bard ground his teeth together and stared back. Li's gaze was steady. Unflinchingly steady-and ever so slightly disappointed. A shiver crawled down Tycho's back and settled in his gut. Li's eyes tensed, not quite narrowing with suspicion, but just flickering as if a bit of trust had slipped away. Tycho's gut clenched and rose in anger, most of it directed squarely at himself. "All right," he groaned, "it was Brin! I deliver packages to him. Mard Dantakain's brother Jacerryl uses his influence to bring things into Spandeliyon-I pick them up when I give Laera her music lessons and take them dockside to Brin." He leaned against the tree and banged his head on its rough bark. "I told you a lot of people in Spandeliyon work for Brin. I'm one of them."
"Veseene-"
Tycho looked up. "Veseene doesn't know. This is how I make the extra coin to pay for the tea that keeps her palsy in check. Without it, she'd be bedridden."
There was a look of struggle on Li's face. Tycho sighed. "Li, I'm sorry. I should have told you. I've always known where you could find Brin. He really is dangerous, though. I wouldn't wish his bad side on anybody." He made a sour expression. "Of course, now I'm on it. You probably don't want to talk to him right now, but if you want to look for him later, you'll find him at a festhall called the Eel."
Li did a double take and made a sour expression as well. "Last night when I asked directions to a tavern, I was told I could look for the Wench's Ease or the Eel. If I had chosen the Eel, none of this would have happened?"
"Well, no." Tycho screwed up his face. "But there's a pretty good chance you'd be dead."
"Then I'm glad I chose the Wench's Ease." He held out his hand. Tycho just stared at it. "You were willing to help me, Tycho. I'll help you."
Tycho gaped at him. "You're kidding. I thought you'd be mad when I told you I worked for Brin."
Li shrugged. "Veseene gave me instructions that I wasn't supposed to get you in trouble. You were arrested because of me, so I am in a way responsible for the loss of the beljurils. You had your reasons for not telling me everything, Tycho." Tycho gave him a narrow glance. Li coughed. "And Veseene is very intimidating."
Tycho's lips twitched into a smile. "You're more afraid of Veseene than you are of Brin?"
"I haven't met Brin yet." Li's mouth narrowed. "Though I keep trying." He reached out and grabbed Tycho's hand, pulling him away from the tree and upright. "First we find your beljurils; then we talk to Brin."
"We don't have any clue of who took the beljurils at the jail, though!"
Li looked at him. "But we do. Who did we see there?" Tycho shrugged. Li snorted. "There is a saying in Shou Lung: A snake is never less than a snake."
Tycho frowned, puzzling through the proverb. "Once a thief, always a thief?" He sucked in a breath. "Desmada! We know she's corrupt already-what's to stop her from stealing from a prisoner's belongings?"
"That was my thought," agreed Li. "But would even she be brave enough to steal gems meant for Brin?"
"She wouldn't have known they were going to him." He smiled grimly. "This time of day, she'll be out on patrol. Let's go look for her and see if she's in the mood for a talk."
"There!" Tycho pulled Li around a corner and into a narrow street. "Desmada!" he called.
Up ahead, the guard twisted around and peered through the twilight then relaxed-slightly-with recognition. "What is it, Tycho?" Her hand dropped to the hilt of her sword. Recognition didn't mean trust-it could just as well mean she had guessed why they had come looking for her. Tycho quickly spread his hands.
"Easy," he said with a casual smile. "We just wanted a word with you."
Her eyes narrowed. She glanced at Li and back to Tycho. "You pull
ed off a slick argument this morning. You know Mard isn't going to forget that."
Tycho shrugged. "I make enemies every now and then."
"Mard isn't a good man to have as an enemy. If he brings you in again, he'll make sure you aren't able to talk your way free past a magistrate-he knows the law and he'll take advantage of it."
"Better that than knowing the law and abusing it," muttered Li. He was glaring hard at Desmada. Tycho poked an elbow into his gut, but Desmada's attention was already back on him.
"You know," she said, "I've been trying to figure out why you look familiar. It was nagging me all through the hearing, too."
"Imagine me being held down in the snow-"
Tycho jammed his elbow back again, this time hard. Li's words ended in a thick gasp. They had talked about this as they searched for Desmada. Li favored a rather direct, physical form of questioning; Tycho something more subtle. He thought that they'd had it worked out which they were going to try first. Desmada stared at them suspiciously, but Tycho just turned a broad smile on her.
"Speaking of the hearing," he said, "I was wondering if you could help us out with something." Desmada snorted.
Tycho gritted his teeth behind his smile. "Something was missing from my things when I retrieved them after the hearing."
Desmada grunted and shrugged her shoulders. "Ask at the guard station," she said and started to turn away.
Tycho moved with her, crunching through the snow. "We're not really likely to be welcomed with open arms at the guard station right now."
"Not my fault."
Just over her shoulder, Li made an angry face and flexed his fingers. Desmada must have sensed something because she spun around sharply, her hand shifting to a better grip on her sword. "What are you trying to-?" She drew a quick breath. "You think I stole something from you?"
She took two fast steps to the side so she faced them both. Tycho glanced quickly up and down the street. They were-for the moment-alone, most other citizens of Spandeliyon having already sensibly retired to their homes or favorite taverns for the evening. There were still people abroad though and he had no desire to be caught threatening a member of the guard, even one as corrupt as Desmada.
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