With a cry the hawk fell, turning, straining after its prey. For a moment it seemed as if the other bird might yet regain its perch, then, with a sickening thud, the hawk struck.
A roar of triumph erupted from the men below.
In the clearing the three men leaned forward, watching the hawk spread its wings wide, slowing its fall, the fowl held tightly in its talons, then settle on the ground among the trees to their right.
Tsu Ma leaned down, patting the dark neck of his mount fondly, then turned his head, looking across at his fellow T'ang. "Well, cousins, what do you think?"
Wu Shih placed one hand carefully on the pommel of his saddle and turned slightly, inclining his head. They were talking of their cousin, Wang Sau-leyan, T'ang of Africa. "I don't trust him," he said. "He has been too quiet these past six months. Too damned polite."
"He's up to something," Li Yuan added, sitting straighter in his saddle. "Something deep. Something we can't see yet."
Wu Shih nodded. "I agree. I am not certain about much in these troubled times, but of this I can be sure . . . Wang Sau-leyan has not changed his nature these past few months. He is still the same devious little shit-eating insect he always was."
Tsu Ma looked past them momentarily, watching his falconer run across to where the hawk had brought down its prey, his lure out, ready to draw the hawk off, then looked back at Wu Shih.
"I think you are right," he said. "But exactly what it is ... Well, it's very strange. My servants in his household have heard nothing. Or almost nothing . . ."
"Almost nothing?" Wu Shih stared at him intently.
"Just that there is a woman in his life. Or so it seems. A Hung Moo. He has her smuggled in. Late, when he thinks no one will see. I'm told he even visits her."
Li Yuan looked away. "How strange. I would not have thought it. A Hung Mao . . . And you think it is serious?"
Tsu Ma shrugged. "Maybe it is nothing. Or maybe this is why our cousin has behaved himself so well recently. Perhaps he has been distracted."
"In love, you mean?" Wu Shih roared with laughter. "The only one that ingrate will ever love is his own reflection. Love!" He shook his head, then reached down, slapping his horse's flank. "No . . . that moon-faced bastard is up to something. I guarantee it!"
"Chieh Hsia..."
A servant stood at the edge of the clearing, his head bowed.
"What is it, Cheng Yi?"
At Tsu Ma's summons, the man came across, his body bent double, and took his T'ang's foot, kissing it, before falling to his knees beside the horse.
"News has come, Chieh Hsia. There have been riots in City Europe. Many have died..."
"Riots . . ." Li Yuan urged his horse forward sharply. "What in the gods' names has been happening?"
The servant bowed his head lower, answering as if his own T'ang had spoken. "It began at Zwickau Hsien, Chieh Hsia, at the dedication ceremony for the new statue, and spread quickly to surrounding stacks."
"And many have died?" *
"That is so, Chieh Hsia. A great number. Tens of thousands, some say. Among them the merchant, May Feng."
Li Yuan looked across at Tsu Ma, alarmed. May Feng had been a leading figure in the new peace. Had sat on committees to discuss the proposed Edict changes and the reopening of the House. What's more, he represented a whole class—of powerful First Level merchants—who had been won back to the Seven and their cause. And now he was dead.
Li Yuan leaned toward the man, anxious now. "What happened? How did he die?"
The servant swallowed. "It is not clear how he died, Chieh Hsia. All we know is that his body was returned to his widow shortly afterward. He had been cut open, it seems, then stuffed with dirt like a sack and sewn up again."
Li Yuan shuddered and sat back. "Do we know who was responsible?"
"It is too early yet to know for certain, Chieh Hsia. Early rumors attributed it to the Yu, but General Rheinhardt believes that the Hun Mun had a hand in this."
Again, Li Yuan felt a ripple of shock pass through him. The Hung Mun—the Triads, or Secret Societies—had kept out of things before now. But that was clearly changing. If they were involved . . .
"I must get back," he said, turning his horse, looking from Tsu Ma to Wu Shih. "If the Hun Mun are involved, I must act."
"No, Yuan," Tsu Ma said, putting out a hand to him. "I would counsel against acting too rashly. Take some measures to calm things down, by all means, but consider before you take action against the brotherhoods. Your father's scheme, for instance . . ."
"Buy them off, you mean?" Li Yuan sat back, shaking his head. "No, Tsu Ma. I will not bow to them in my own City!"
"Nor am I asking you to, cousin. Pursue your father's scheme—offer them funds, assistance, power of a kind—while all the time undermining their position."
Li Yuan narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"The new force. Karr's shen t'se ..."
Li Yuan looked down, then he smiled. "You know of that?"
Tsu Ma nodded. "My cousin's business is my business. How can I know how I might help him unless I know his needs, his plans?"
Li Yuan turned, looking to the older man. "And you, Wu Shih?"
Wu Shih shrugged. "You have a special force, I take it. Good. Then use it. Do as our good cousin, Tsu Ma, says. Play a double game. Buy time. For it's time we need right now, not another war. Not yet."
Tsu Ma nodded. "Wu Shih is right, Yuan. Fight a war against the brotherhoods now and it would weaken us greatly. And who would benefit?"
"Wang Sau-leyan."
"Exactly. So do not be goaded into a futile war." Tsu Ma smiled bleakly. "Oh, the time will come—and not so long from now—when we must take on the Hun Mun. But let us pick that time, neh? Let us be prepared for it."
"Besides," Wu Shih added, coming alongside him, "we have problems enough already, neh? The Yu, the Younger Sons . . . Why add to them?"
Li Yuan was silent a moment, calming himself, then reached out, taking Wu Shih's arm. "Thank you, cousin. And you, Tsu Ma. But we must get back, neh? There is much to be done. Besides, watching the hawk has whetted my appetite for other sport."
Tsu Ma stared at him a moment, then laughed. "For once, Yuan, your meaning escapes me, but let it pass. You are right. There is much to be done. Nonetheless, we must meet more often, neh? Just the three of us."
"It shall be so," Wu Shih said, giving a brief, decisive nod. "We shall be like the three brothers of the peach garden, neh?"
Li Yuan, watching the two older men, felt the darkness subside a little. So it would be. So it had to be from now on. The Three, he thought, trying the term out in his head for the first time, and finding it not strange but strangely comforting. Yes, we shall be The Three.
There was a sudden flutter of sound. Behind Li Yuan, on the far side of the clearing, the hawk lifted, stretching its wings, then settled on its kill once more, ignoring the lure.
CHAPTER TWO
In the World of Levels
Jelka was stretched OUT on the sun bed, looking out across the brightly lit expanse of tiles to where her two school friends splashed noisily in the pool. Beside her on the chair lay the compact computer notepad she had been using, its display screen lit.
For a moment she watched their antics thoughtlessly, enjoying the warmth on her skin, the faint scent of jasmine and pine from the nearby rock garden. Then, with a tiny shiver, she returned to the matter she had been considering.
Yesterday had been the last day of school; the end of her childhood, of twelve years preparing for her adult life. Ahead of her, tonight, lay the ordeal of the College Graduation Ball, and beyond that the rest of her life—fifty, sixty years of it, maybe, needing to be filled.
But how?