Li yuan STOOD at the window, letting himself be dressed. Outside, the garden lay half in shadow, half in light, the dew-misted top leaves of the nearby rhododendron bushes glittering in the dawn's first light. He held himself still as the maid drew the sashes tight about his waist, then turned, facing his Master of the Inner Chamber.
"And have you no idea what they want, Master Chan?"
Chan Teng bowed low. "None at all, Chieh Hsia. Only that the Marshal said it was of the utmost urgency. That I was to wake you if you were not awake already."
Li Yuan turned away, hiding the smile that came to his lips at the thought of Tolonen's bluntness. Even so, he felt a ripple of trepidation run down his spine. What could Chancellor Nan and the Marshal want at this hour?
They were waiting in his study. As he entered they bowed, Tolonen stiffly, Nan Ho more elaborately. Impatient to hear what had happened, he crossed the room and stood before them.
"Well, Knut? What is it?"
Tolonen held out a file. Li Yuan took it and flicked it open. After a moment he looked up, giving a small, strange laugh. "How odd. Only last night, I dreamed of dragonflies. And now this . . ." He studied Tolonen a moment, his eyes narrowed. "But why show me this? It's nasty, certainly, but it is hardly the kind of thing to wake a T'ang over, surely?"
Tolonen bowed his head, acceding the point. "In ordinary circumstances that would be so, Chieh Hsia. But this is a matter of the utmost importance. The beginning of something we would do well to take very seriously indeed."
Li Yuan turned, looking at his Chancellor. "So what makes this different?"
Nan Ho lowered his head again. "This, Chieh Hsia."
Li Yuan set the file down on a nearby chair, then took the pamphlet from his Chancellor. It was a single large sheet that had been folded into four, the ice paper no more than a few mols thick, the print poor, uneven. He realized at once that it had been hand set; that whoever had produced this had wanted to avoid even the slightest chance of being traced through the computer network.
He shrugged. "It's interesting, but I still don't understand."
Nan Ho smiled tautly. "Forgive me, Chieh Hsia, but it is not so much the pamphlet, as the numbers in which it has been distributed. It's hard to estimate exactly how many copies went out, but latest Security estimates place it at between a quarter of a billion and a billion."
Li Yuan laughed. "Impossible! How would they print that number? How distribute them? Come to that, how on earth would they finance it?"
And yet he saw how grave the old man looked.
"This is something new, Chieh Hsia. Something dangerous. Which is why we must deal with it at once. That is why I came. To seek your permission to make the elimination of this new group our number-one priority."
Li Yuan stared at his Marshal a moment, then turned away. A billion pamphlets. If that were true it was certainly something to be concerned about. But was Tolonen right to be so worried, or was he overreacting? He went to his desk and sat, considering things.
"What is Major Karr doing right now?"
Tolonen smiled. "Karr is on their trail already, Chieh Hsia. I put him in charge of investigating the murder of the Hsien L'ing Shou Chen-hai."
"And?"
Tolonen shook his head. "And nothing, I'm afraid. Our investigations have so far drawn a blank." "Nothing even from our Triad friends?"
"I am afraid not, Chieh Hsia."
Li Yuan looked down. "I see." Then Karr had told Tolonen nothing about his meeting with Fat Wong. About the message he had passed on from the Triad leader. That was interesting. It spoke lucidly of where Karr's ultimate loyalty lay.
"All right. But I want Karr in charge, Knut, and I want a daily report on my desk concerning any and every development. You will make sure he gets whatever resources he needs."
"Of course, Chieh Hsia."
He watched Tolonen go, then turned his attention to his Chancellor.
"Was there something else?"
The Chancellor hesitated, as if weighing something, then came forward, taking a small package from within his robes and offering it to his T'ang, his head lowered, his eyes averted. "I was not certain whether to give this to you, Chieh Hsia."
Li Yuan took the package, smiling, then felt his breath catch in his throat. There was the faintest scent from the silk. The scent of Mei hua. Of plum blossom.
"Thank you, Nan Ho. I. . ."
But the Chancellor had already gone. Even as Li Yuan looked up, the door was closing on the far side of the room.
He sat back, staring at the tiny package on his desk. It was from her. From Fei Yen. Though there were no markings on the wrapping, he knew no other would have used that scent. No one else would have used his Chancellor as a messenger.
He shuddered, surprised by the intensity of what he felt. Then, leaning forward, his hand trembling, he began to unfasten the wrappings, curious and yet afraid of what was inside.
There was a note, and beneath the note a tiny tape. He unfolded it and read the brief message, then lifted the tape gingerly, his eyes drawn to the gold-leaf picto-grams embossed into the black of the casing. Han Ch'in, they read. His son.
He swallowed, then closed his eyes. What did she want? Why was she doing this to him? For a moment he closed his hand tightly on the tiny cassette, as if to break it, then loosened his grip, letting the tension drain from him. No. He would have to see it. Suddenly he realized just how much he had wanted to go to the estate at Hei Shui and simply stand there, unobserved, watching his child at play.
Even so, the question still remained. What did she want? He went to the long window. Already the sun was higher, the shadows on the eastern lawn much shorter. He breathed deeply, watching the sunlight flicker on the surface of the pond, then shook his head. Maybe she didn't know. Maybe she didn't understand what power she had over him, even now. Maybe it was a simple act of kindness. . . .
He laughed quietly. No. Whatever it was, it wasn't that. Or not simply that. He turned, looking across at the tape, the note, then turned back again, staring outward. Whatever, it would have to wait. Right now he must prepare himself, clearing his mind of everything but the struggle ahead. Tonight, after Council, he could relax; might let himself succumb to his weakness. But not before. Not until he had dealt with Wang Sau-leyan.
He sighed and turned from the window, making his way back to his rooms and the waiting maids.
Out on the pond, in the early morning light, a dragonfly hovered over the water, its wings flickering like molten sunlight, its body a bright iridescent green.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
In a Darkened Eye
IT WAS just AFTER seven in the morning, but in the Black Heart business was brisk. At the huge center table a crowd of men pressed close, taking bets on the two tiny contestants crouched in the tight beam of the spotlight.
They were mantises, brought up from the Clay, their long, translucent bodies raised threateningly, switchblade forelegs extended before their tiny, vicious-looking heads as they circled slowly. To Chen, watching from the edge of the crowd, it was an ugly, chilling sight. He had seen men—Triad gangsters—behave in this manner, their every movement suggestive of a deadly stillness. Men whose eyes were dead, who cared only for the perfection of the kill. Here, in these cold, unsympathetic creatures, was their model; the paradigm of their behavior. He shuddered. To model oneself on such a thing—what made a man reduce himself so much?
As he watched, the larger of the creatures struck out, its forelegs moving in a blur as it tried to catch and pin its opponent. There was a roar of excitement from the watching men, but the attack faltered, the smaller mantis struggling free. It scuttled back, twitching, making small, answering feints with its forelegs.