Anden listened to all this with a growing sense of anger and disgust. In Janloon, the combatants in a clan war would not attack blameless civilians, not even if they were Abukei or foreigners. If either side started doing that, what was to stop a society from losing all sense of aisho and descending into savagery? And the police! They had taken tribute from the grudge hall—Anden had seen it with his own eyes—yet they did not protect it. Dauk Losun had likened the local law enforcement to another clan, but they were not a clan at all, simply another predator, like the Crews. Meanwhile, it was the Kekonese who were persecuted and treated like criminals simply for wearing jade to defend themselves and manage their own affairs.
Dauk Losun’s heavy frame seemed to sag into the kitchen chair. In a resigned voice, he said, “I’ve been in this country for forty-five years. In truth, I’m almost Espenian. Maybe that’s why I prefer to solve problems quietly, with money and influence. But all these years, I also knew we could back up our words with force if needed, because we were the only ones with jade, and the only ones who could use it.
“But times have changed for the worse. With jade now illegal, the Crews no longer see the need to respect us. They know we can’t retaliate against them without making ourselves vulnerable to prosecution. The experienced Green Bones from the old country, the ones to really fear, like Rohn Toro—they are few and aging, and the younger ones who were born here are not as well trained or serious. Look at my own son for example, as much as I love him. Or someone like Shun Todo, who has talent in the jade disciplines but is too Espenian—he wants to leave home and join the military.” Dauk shook his head. “I’m worried there’s no longer any way for us to stand up to tyrants like Blaise Kromner. Rohn is the greenest man in this city, but he’s only one man. And I lie awake at night afraid they’ll get to him; sooner or later, they’ll kill my good friend. It seems we have no choice but to agree to whatever terms the Bosses lay on us: paying their protection rackets, shutting down our grudge hall, letting their drug dealers and pimps into our neighborhood.”
No one was eating anymore. Mrs. Hian covered her mouth in distress and her husband put a comforting hand on her back. Anden had been picking heartlessly at his meal, but now he noticed that the Dauks were both looking at him. Slowly, Anden met the Pillar’s eyes. Dauk Losun continued speaking to the Hians, but his gaze remained on Anden. “I’ve thought long and hard about the terrible situation we’re in, and now I have to ask something of our young friend, Anden. And because you’re his host family, I must ask it of you as well.”
Dauk Losun said to Anden, “You’re from the old country, and your family rules one of the most famous and powerful Green Bone clans in Kekon. I still have friends on the island and rumors reach even across the Amaric Ocean, so I’ve known for a long time that you’re more than you say you are. You and your cousins went to war against a stronger enemy that might’ve destroyed your clan, but you prevailed.”
When Anden had first met Dauk Losun, he’d thought him too homey and unimpressive a man to be called Pillar. Now Dauk’s wrinkled eyes were steely and unwavering. Anden understood what was being asked of him; he recalled that he’d anticipated this since that first time he’d dined at the man’s table and accepted his help.
Dauk said, “The Kaul family has far greater resources than we do. Jade, money, people, even influence over governments. Perhaps they have no reason to care about what happens here in Espenia, but if there’s a chance they would offer their friendship in some way, it might help us now, when we have nothing else to rely on.”
Quietly, Anden said, “Dauk-jen, if I had sway over my cousins in the No Peak clan, I wouldn’t be in Espenia.”
Dauk Sana held up a finger and made a skeptical noise in her throat. “I’ve seen and heard enough about you to believe that your cousins, if they have any sense or cunning at all, wouldn’t throw you away. How can you be sure they didn’t send you to Espenia for other reasons? They’re your family, after all.”
Mrs. Hian stood up from the table and took the green ceramic teapot from the kitchen shelf, the one that Anden had brought with him and given to his host family on behalf of the clan on the first day he’d arrived in Espenia—a token of the clan’s friendship, the promise of a favor to be returned. She placed it in front of Anden, and said, “For the sake of the Kekonese community, Anden-se. If you have any affection for us, as we have for you, we beg you to please try.”
CHAPTER 35
Stranger Allies
A year after the Republic of Espenia entered the Oortokon War, the secretary of international affairs made his first visit to Kekon as part of an eight-country state tour. He was welcomed by a formal military procession in front of Wisdom Hall, as well as a crowd of silent antiwar protestors and scathing editorial commentary from the Kekonese press. On the last day of his three-day visit, the secretary held a closed-door meeting on Euman Island Naval Base with Chancellor Son Tomarho, selected members of his cabinet in the Royal Council, and the top leadership of No Peak. The government of the ROE had learned over time that political power on Kekon was openly underwritten by the jade warrior class, and nothing in that small country was ever accomplished without the backing of at least one of the major Green Bone clans.
Hilo tried to leave the dealings with politicians to Shae whenever he could get away with it, but he couldn’t reasonably refuse a meeting with such a high-level Espenian diplomat without appearing to be deliberately insulting the ROE, something his Weather Man would counsel him against in no uncertain terms for a variety of reasons. Hilo, Shae, and Kehn were transported by private helicopter from Janloon to the airfield at Euman. When they arrived, they were met by the commanding officer, who Shae recognized and introduced as Colonel Leland Deiller, and his executive officer, a man by the name of Yancey, who escorted them across the grounds.
As they walked past a large training field, the low collective hum of unexpected jade auras caught Hilo’s attention. Two lines of soldiers carrying heavy packs of gear faced a smooth ten-meter wall. At a signal from their instructor, the first line sprinted forward, turned their backs to the wall, and crouched in readiness. The second line raced toward their comrades, who boosted them into the air in one simultaneous heaving of jade-fueled Strength. The heavily laden soldiers flew Light and hoisted themselves to the top of the wall—at least a majority of them did, a number did not make it and fell back to the ground. Those who succeeded turned around and used their own Strength to seize their fellows at the peak of their bounds and haul them up alongside.
Yancey noticed Hilo’s interest and explained, “Cadets of the Navy Angels, the most elite special ops division in the ROE military. Only thirty percent of those recruits will make it through basic IBJCS training.” Yancey had to nearly shout to be heard over Euman’s stiff wind.
At Hilo’s questioning glance, Shae translated both the officer’s words and the unfamiliar acronym. Hilo had heard of the Integrated Bioenergetic Jade Combat System—the long and sterile term the Espenians used to describe their version of the jade disciplines, adopted and modified from what they knew of Kekonese methods—but he had not actually seen it before. Kehn muttered, in a low aside, “You’ve got to hand it to the Espenians. They know how to cook scraps into a meal.” A Green Bone skilled in Lightness could get over the wall unaided. From their auras, it seemed the Espenian soldiers wore only as much jade as a middling graduate of Kaul Du Academy, but IBJCS trained them to act together to amplify their collective effectiveness. Kekonese culture revered the prowess of the superior jade warrior, accorded respect to the victors of duels, celebrated the heroism of patriotic Green Bone rebels in times past—but the Espenians took jade and issued it as military equipment with unsentimental uniformity. Hilo’s mouth twitched in a grimace of distaste. He was certain it was no coincidence the Green Bone visitors had been escorted along this path and allowed to witness the demonstration on the training field. Whatever the Espenians wanted to talk about this afternoon, they were underscoring their message by situating it in the center of their military presence on Kekon and prefacing it with a reminder that they, too, could use jade.