Cenedi glanced toward Baiji with the first gleam of inner heat in his impassive facade, but said nothing.
“One needs urgently to speak to the dowager,” Bren said, “if she will see me.”
Cenedi gave a jerk of his head, said: “Nandi,” and turned and led the way.
Toby had showed up at the door. Barb, thank God, had not. Toby made a sudden move to grasp his arm that sent hands to pistol butts—a motion restrained as Bren lifted a hand and then laid it on Toby’s shoulder, sweeping him along with him. “Toby, this is very serious. Get back to your suite and stay there. WithBarb. Assassins made a try at us. Cajeiri’s missing. Go. Nobody’s in the least patient here. Ask house staff if you need anything.”
“Any way we can help,” Toby began.
“There isn’t. Not at the moment. Just go. Stay low.”
Toby had that basic sense; and he trusted Toby, at least, to stay put—even to sit on Barb, for her own protection.
One of Cenedi’s men, Kasari, had now moved in to take charge of Baiji. Bren headed down the hall as far as the door of the dowager’s suite of rooms, and Cenedi and Nawari, in the lead, opened the door.
The dowager was on her feet, waiting, leaning on her cane.
Her eyes flashed sullen gold as they took in the bloody spectacle that confronted her.
Bren bowed his head, met her eye to eye with: “Our driver was shot, aiji-ma.”
“Cajeiri separated himself from the paidhi, aiji-ma.” Cenedi said in a flat tone, “seeking cover. He was left behind.”
“How?” Ilisidi snapped, and the cane hit the floor. “What occasioned this?”
“We were about to board the bus,” Bren said, having gathered the atevi-wise salient facts from Jago’s initial explanation. “Shots from the roof, the driver fell, Jago grabbed me and took the wheel. Banichi took Lord Baiji into keeping, aiji-ma. He is here. Cajeiri is there.”
Ilisidi actually, astonishingly, relaxed a little, hearing that set of facts. “In their hands?”
“Uncertain, nand’ dowager,” Banichi said. “One saw no such thing. Nand’ Baiji was addressing nand’ Bren, pleading to go with us to Najida. Shots met us outside. And the young people separated from us in the confusion of motion.”
The cane hit the floor much more gently, twice. The dowager was thinking, and her jaw was set.
“You have Baiji,” she said.
“The young gentleman moved toward cover,” Banichi said. “The young companions were between me and him.”
The Taibeni youngsters—an untrained guard—had moved between Banichi and their young lord: Banichi would have had to flatten them to reach Cajeiri. That might have taken one precious second, and two more to bring Cajeiri back to the bus—a time in which Jago might have been shot and the whole situation unraveled. Their bus in jeopardy, unknown man’chi around them, and Cajeiri andhim to protectc Banichi had saved what he could, and picked him.
The dowager nodded slowly, grimly. “The paidhi is the more valuable,” she muttered.
He understood it all right down to the point Ilisidi said that, regarding her precious great-grandson. He was appalled. Didn’t know what to say.
And Ilisidi turned and walked away into the inner hallway of her suite.
“Cenedi-ji,” he said. He thought maybe, under the circumstances, Cenedi might not favor the familiar address, but he knew the man, and did it anyway. “I will personally move the heavens and the earth to get Cajeiri back safely. One begs you let me and my staff assist you in what we do next.”
Cenedi nodded shortly in the affirmative. “We shall begin,” Cenedi said, “by asking nand’ Baiji what he knows about this. Will the paidhi wish to question him? The paidhi heard his prior responses.”
“Yes,” he said, and looked at Banichi and Jago, who gave him no sign to the contrary. “Nadiin-ji, I shall have to call the aiji.”
“One believes ’Sidi-ji is doing so at this moment,” Cenedi said. “There will be reinforcements within a few hours, asked or unasked.”
“Baiji’s household is suspect,” Banichi said grimly. “We did not recognize the men with him. Not a one. And we did not see all of them. Nor do we know about the servants.”
“Number?” Cenedi asked.
“Four uniformed, downstairs. The shots came from the roof.”
Crack. Tap. Ilisidi came back outof her room down the hall and said, with perfect and terrible calm, “We shall have a personal word with Baiji. I will spare half an hour. Come dark, we shall go get my great-grandson.”
Diplomacy might be his job. But security was wholly Guild business, and Guild was going to be in charge when they moved tonight. Dangerous enough, that they’d apparently just called Tabini to respond to the situation. Communications were a leaky business ever since the new technology had taken hold; and the Messengers’ Guild, in charge of the phones, had never been wholly reliable. The matter had gotten noisier and noisier, and if the lines were compromised, there might be more moving than a handful of Assassins over in Kajiminda.
Jago left quickly and quietly, and a very short time later came back in with two of the dowager’s security and Lord Baiji between them.
Baiji immediately bowed, a deep, deep bow, an apology, with: “I am innocent, aiji-ma.”
Thump! went the cane on the carpet. “I care nothing for your innocence or guilt or competency, man! I care for the whereabouts of my great-grandson! Where is he?”
“I—do not know, aiji-ma.”
Ilisidi flung up a dismissive hand. “Then you are useless! Why are you breathing?”
“I know who is behind this, aiji-ma! I am sure—I am certain— I am relatively sure I know—”
“Gods less fortunate! Make up your mind, man!”
“His guard,” Banichi said ominously, “left him under fire. They were new men attending him, not born to the house. And one is not certain we met a single Edi on the premises.”
“There were,” Baiji protested. “There were. My staff served you! And those Assassins on the roof—my guard—my guard was as stunned as all of us.”
“Splendid!” Ilisidi’s voice was like the damning crack of the cane. “Splendid. His guard was stunned into retreat, and there may or may not have been Edi! Give us your wisdom, lord of Kajiminda, while we have any patience left!”
“They might have known Lord Bren would visitc”
“They might have known,” Ilisidi said, and now her voice had sunk, silken soft. “Are you a total fool, boy?”
“I—”
“—you have no idea how they would know this? And you are not sure? Do you know to whom you are currently speaking? Do you imagine we will be taken in by lies and maybes, considering the offense against our house and the breach of man’chi with your own uncle?”
“My guard—”
“Your guard is dead, incompetent, or in collusion! Where are the Edi?”
“My staff is there, aiji-ma, they have always been there.”
“But some have gone to Dalaigi Township,” Bren muttered. “Tell her.”
“They are there! Some left—long ago. But the faithful ones, the ones that know I am a good lordc”
“And your bodyguard?” Banichi asked. “Why did they desert you?”
“They—they were confusedc”
“They have no man’chi!” Ilisidi’s dreadful cane extended, upward, and rested on Baiji’s shoulder. “They are not yours, or they would not have retreated.”
“They—they—are mine. They just—”
“ The truth, man! Out with it!”
Baiji bowed, hands on knees, and came upright again, waving his hands desperately. “Aiji-ma, the Tasaigi of the Marid came to me, Lord Bren knows, during the Troubles. I temporized with them regarding a marriage—a marriage, a marriage which kept this peninsula safe, nand’ dowager! I—”
“So. The Marid. The Marid.”