The door shut quickly, leaving them back in the dark.
“We’re all right,” Jase told his guards. “Tano and Algini are with us. The house seems secure but we’ve had an intruder out by the mecheiti.”
“There’s nothing we can do at the moment,” Bren said. Two ship’s security officers trying to assist would only add to the problem—especially with Taibeni riders coming in. “We just sit in the dark and let the Guild figure this one out.”
“Cenedi sent Nawari down the hall to see to the children,” Algini said. “The young gentleman’s aishid reports they opened the window very slightly to retrieve the parid’ja, not having their lights on at that point. They say no one was exposed.”
Cenedi was going to have an extensive word to say to the young gentleman’s aishid, Bren thought. They were all young. Cajeiri was hard to tell no. Thank God they hadn’t had a shot fired through that window.
“The second shot was from a member of Lord Tatiseigi’s Guild, who fired from an assigned position to try to stop two fugitives along the back of the house. Lord Tatiseigi’s man did not pursue. This was his order—not to leave his post for any reason.”
Twofugitives.
Algini was silent a moment. “Taibeni are coming up, part of them through the woods. The western camp has riders out now to sweep the perimeters.”
One would not want to be in the fugitives’ situation. Tatiseigi’s herd was locked in, stout doors and heavy bars assuring that herd was not going to break loose and take after the Taibeni, who were going to be fanning out along the hedges, through the woods, and looking for a scent trail—
Once the mecheiti found it—it was going to be an ugly business out there. The fugitives couldn’t run fast enough—no one could. They could try the powder, they could try shooting from ambush, and they might bring riders and mecheiti down—but not all of them, not before the riders would run them down and the mecheiti would take them apart. They’d saddled fast—the Taibeni might or might not have the war-caps on those tusks, but with or without, they were lethal. He didn’t want to see the result. But it was a near certainty he would have to. They needed to know whose these men were.
He sat down, feeling his way by the table edge. In the house, everything was quiet.
“Unfortunate,” he said. “The Taibeni aren’t going to go half-measures. The Taibeni value their animals—and control in a hunting herd is on a thin thread, as it is. If they try that powder trick again—we may not have anyone to question.” He heaved a sigh. “I’m sorryabout this.”
“Seems to us your security is handling the problem.”
“I’m very glad they are.”
“Any bets it’s the Kadagidi?”
“We have no few choices.” Tano turned the lights back on. “Are we clear, Tano-ji?”
“Not yet,” Tano said. “But this floor is clear.”
It was late. It had been late before the trouble began. But there was no chance they were going to go to bed until they had answers. And Supani had stood up, standing at the side, but back on duty, the room having guests. “Tea?” Bren asked Jase. “It seems we’re going to be a while at this.”
“There’s a chill,” Jase said. “Not sure whether it’s the night or the events.”
“Tea,” Bren said, “all around.” Supani nodded and set about it, Koharu moving to help him, while Tano and Algini talked to someone who presumably was in touch with those outside.
“It’s not the way the Kadagidi normally go about things,” he said to Jase, “up close like this. Usually it’s sniping from a distance. Political maneuvering. However, they’ve been pretty well confined to their own borders this entire year. The people can come and go, but Aseida’s been bottled up—not his bodyguard, but Aseida himself. If he’s picked this time to make a nuisance of himself to Tatiseigi, it’s a bad time.”
“Not part two of the grandfather’s assassination.”
“I don’t rule anything out—from either side of that matter. If it’s a probe—they already suspect their answer. And finding that out’s fairly inevitable. We only figured the Malguri story to last a few days, as is—possibly not past a Kadagidi spy on the road here. There’s a reason the Taibeni met us at the train station. They were sweeping the area before we got there, and they’ve been watching the road between Kadagidi and here. The Kadagidi have their own train station, two of them, one in the township, one closer to the Kadagidi estate. It’s not as if they need to be using the road past Tatiseigi’s estate. As far as I know—it’s not been an issue.”
Koharu poured tea for them, as Supani was doing the same for Kaplan and Polano. Bren took a sip.
“The Taibeni have located them, nandiin,” Algini said. “The signal is located but not taken.”
Damn. A complication?
“What do you think is going on, Gini-ji?”
“One rather suspects,” Algini said, “that our problems are up a tree.”
• • •
They could have the lights on now, Nawari said as he arrived, and kindly turned them on.
Cajeiri was relieved that the alert seemed to be winding down, and he drew easier breaths with Nawari in the room to look things over. He trustedhis own aishid, that they could take care of things if they happened, but he by no means wanted things to happen tonight, with gunshots going off. He had heard that sound all too often in his life, and one could not trust being absolutely safe even on the second floor.
And his guests were impressed and seemed reassured, now that the light was on. Nawari walked around with his rifle in hand—Nawari was lean and particularly good-looking and very professional-looking in his glance over things.
“Good you had the lights out,” Nawari said.
Antaro said firmly, “The moment the alert came, Nawari-nadi.”
Nawari looked at the window latch, took a look outside, moving the filmy curtain with his hand, and looked satisfied.
Then he looked at him. “One understands you recovered the parid’ja, nandi.”
Cajeiri took a careful breath: Nawari would notchastise him or his aishid in front of his guests, no.
But he could not let his aishid be pulled aside for a reprimand, either. “Nawari-nadi, I ordered it. We heard the mecheiti. And then we heard Boji scratching at the window. We had turned the lights out.”
“We put the lights out immediately when we heard a disturbance,” Veijico said, which was right. “Records will note we notified security simultaneously.”
“Then Boji tapped the window,” Cajeiri said. “He makes this sound. My aishid was very careful. They opened the drape from the sides, we had the lights out, and we did not open the window but a crack. I had an egg, and Boji came in on his own.”
Nawari looked at Antaro and Jegari.
“The tap is distinctive, nadi,” Antaro said, “and we at no time presented a target.”
“Bear in mind that the window-glass would not stop an intruder, nadiin. —Our allies have deployed riders from both camps, tracking two targets. Do not look out the windows, even after the all-clear.”
“Great-uncle’s herd—” Cajeiri said, thinking instantly of Jeichido out there.
“Shut in,” Nawari said. “Safe and shut into their stable. Our allies are dealing with the matter. There may be unpleasantness. Your guests, young gentleman, should not be confronted with the view.”
He understood, then—he absolutely understood. “Yes, Nawari-nadi,” he said.
“You seem to be in good order here. Are you anxious about being by yourselves tonight, young gentleman? There will be guards in the hall all night.”
“We are perfectly fine,” he was quick to say. “Only no house servant should open our door.”
“That word is already out, for all the house.” Nawari headed the door, and Cajeiri cast a fast look about the tops of the curtains and hangings.
“Please,” he said as Nawari laid his hand on the latch, “please be very careful with the door, Nawari-nadi. Boji is hiding somewhere in the suite, and one does not wish him loose in Great-uncle’s house.”