Shae explained the situation at the family table after dinner the following Seventhday. “Ayt faces pressure to clarify the line of succession in her clan, but she’s understandably avoiding the issue. The Koben boy’s only nine—too early for anyone to judge his abilities, and Ayt’s had no part in his upbringing. Iwe Kalundo’s brand-new in his job. Ayt surely plans to be Pillar for a long time and wants to keep her options for a successor open; naming an heir now would only undercut her authority by raising the status of some other family.”
Hilo rolled an unlit cigarette between his fingers, eyes narrowed in thought. “You say Doru thought the Kobens had the strongest claim.”
“The others seem like long shots,” the Weather Man replied. “The Vens have wealth and influence but no legitimate claim, and they’re outside of Ayt’s favor; they were slow to declare their allegiance after Ayt became Pillar, initially supporting her brother until that wasn’t an option anymore. She might want to hang on to the Ven family’s money and support, but she’s unlikely to let them anywhere near the leadership.”
Shae took a sip of tea and pushed the rest of her dessert toward Wen. “The Iwes, on the other hand, are completely loyal to Ayt and wouldn’t talk to us if we approached them. Iwe Kalundo’s personal reputation is entirely solid, but his father died of the Itches and there’s been shine addiction in his family. There are a lot of people in the Mountain who wouldn’t support the leadership of the clan going to that bloodline.”
Kehn scratched his eyebrow and frowned. “It’s what the Pillar thinks that matters,” he pointed out. “If Ayt trusts Iwe enough to make him the Weather Man and he does a good job, maybe she won’t care what the other families say.”
“Maybe,” Shae replied slowly, “but the Kobens have far more people and the Ayt family connection.” Succession in a Green Bone clan was not strictly hereditary, but there was a strong historical and cultural bias in favor of keeping it within family.
“The boy doesn’t have any blood in common with Ayt Yu or Ayt Mada,” Tar said, throwing up his hands. “If that’s the strongest claim, it still seems pretty fucking weak.”
“Which is why it’s not a foregone conclusion,” Shae said. “I can see why Doru would suggest forming an alliance. If we were on friendly terms with the Koben family, it could strengthen their position by suggesting to both clans that peace would continue under their leadership. And with the Kobens on our side, Ayt might think twice about openly coming after us.” The Weather Man made a grudging noise. “It makes sense, as a defensive move.”
Wen looked around the table. Then she spoke to her husband, in a mild but meaningful way. “Doru was a good strategist. He obviously thought a great deal about how to bring the clans together.” She touched Hilo’s knee. “That was what he wanted, what he tried to arrange behind Lan’s back: unification. So now we know what not to do, if we want something different.”
Kehn and Tar and even Shae seemed surprised at Wen asserting herself in the discussion, but Hilo smiled at her approvingly. “It seems that old weasel Doru was a help to us in the end after all.” He turned to Shae. “Find a way for me to meet with Ven Sandolan.”
CHAPTER 16
Not a Thief
Anden became accustomed to the routine of his life in Port Massy. The summer days lengthened and grew hot and muggy, although the city more often than not remained overcast and colorless. Despite himself, Anden grew to be on cordial terms with his classmates, and he got to know a few of the Hians’ neighbors. On two other occasions, he saw the Green Bone on the bicycle—once speeding by in the opposite direction on the other side of the street, once standing on the street corner talking to a trio of other young men while Anden passed on the city bus.
Anden was inordinately curious and wanted to ask the man a thousand questions. When he mentioned his encounter to the Hians, they said, “Ah, that’s Dauk Corujon. He’s going to law school; we’re all very proud of him. Yes, of course he’s green; he’s a true Kekonese son. How many Green Bones are there here? In our neighborhood?” Mr. Hian shrugged. “Thirty? Forty? Who knows.”
Anden was amazed. Shae had studied in Espenia but had never mentioned anyone wearing jade. He suspected she had never come across any during the time she resided in graduate school housing in the college town of Windton where there was no significant Kekonese community. Port Massy contained twenty times the population of Windton, and showed its roots as a trading hub in the people, food, and goods that could be found from every part of the world. Riding the bus every day, Anden had heard many different languages spoken, and he imagined it would be possible to survive in Port Massy without actually learning Espenian, by sticking closely with one’s own people. Now that Anden knew there were Green Bones living near him in secret, he kept trying to spot them. He studied ordinary-looking men and women in the grocery store, standing in line at the bank, strolling down the sidewalk. He queried Mr. and Mrs. Hian frequently.
“Mr. Tow? Of course not. Can you imagine him as a Green Bone?” Mrs. Hian snorted. Later on, “Oh, yes, the Ruen family—all Green Bones. Ruen-jen has been teaching the jade disciplines for years.” They were amused by his extreme interest, not fully appreciating that Anden had been surrounded by Green Bones all his life and from his first day in Port Massy had found the absence of them one of the most disquieting things about Espenia. Conversely, discovering their covert existence in the Southtrap neighborhood was oddly reassuring.
No matter how hard he looked, however, he didn’t see any jade on display—no piercings, no rings or bracelets or gem-studded belts. It was entirely bewildering. In Janloon, jade was an unmistakable mark of status—it commanded respect in the darkest alleys of the Coinwash district and the boardrooms of the highest skyscrapers in the Financial District. Green Bones wore their jade openly and proudly and would not think to hide it unless they had some desire to appear especially modest or unassuming.
It made social interactions in Espenia difficult, Anden felt, not even knowing who to address as jen. “This isn’t Kekon,” Mr. Hian reminded him. “The Espenians don’t appreciate that jade is part of our culture. They would think we’re trying to threaten them or stand out as different. Showing off jade would only be asking for trouble.”
As fascinated as Anden was by the unusual jade subculture, he didn’t make any special effort to meet the neighborhood Green Bones or to find out where they trained and socialized. He was, after all, not a Green Bone himself—a fact that still stirred a sense of shame in him every time he thought about it, although the feeling had diminished over the months. Far away from Janloon, his disgrace within the No Peak clan was unknown and he wasn’t reminded of it constantly the way he had been back home. Here in Southtrap, where a person couldn’t tell who was and wasn’t green, it didn’t seem to matter as much. He had no expectation that he would become personally involved with Green Bone matters ever again—until he made an understandable but serious mistake.
With the student allowance Shae had provided for him and Mr. Hian’s help in perusing the classifieds section of the local newspaper, Anden had purchased a secondhand bicycle, which he kept chained in the alley behind Mr. and Mrs. Hian’s row house and hoped to use more often now that the weather was agreeable and sometimes even sunny. One afternoon late in the summer, he rode his bike to a nearby park, where he settled under a tree to complete the week’s assigned readings. He ended up dozing off afterward. When he awoke, he gathered his belongings, fetched his bike from the rack, and headed back to the Hians’ home.