Traitors Gate

'She said that she would never harm Atani-'

'Of course my mother would never harm my son. You'll take Miravia.'

'Keshad should go with O'eki back to Olossi to see to the business.'

'That's fine. You only need your personal attendants. Chief Tuvi and your usual guards. Reeve Miyara and Siras — a few others — can fly in supplies. I'll assign a specific group, and the chief will have standing orders to kill anyone else who attempts to land. You will see no one until I have returned.'

'But, Anji-'

'I can only fight one war at a time.'

'Will you marry the emperor's sister?'

'You are my wife.'

'Are you only saying that because you're angry at your mother?'

'No.'

Chief Tuvi snorted, raising his gaze to the ceiling.

Anji shrugged. 'Perhaps.'

'Wouldn't it be prudent to seal a contract with your cousins?' Mai said. 'To marry their sister?'

'I must fight this war in the north. And since I must fight, I must know you are safe. The rest can be discussed afterward.'

Footsteps stamped outside. The distinctive sound of a slap, hand meeting cheek, cracked. One of the doors was wrenched sideways to slam against the frame. Sheyshi stood sniveling on the steps, a hand on her reddening cheek where the old bitch had struck her.

'What a stupid girl!' said Anji's mother as she swept in. 'What useless doors!' She did not look at Mai. 'You will escort me to my dwelling place, Son.'

'I will let you make your own way within the considerable security of your impressive entourage to my wife's house in which you are temporarily lodged. If you must entertain yourself, I suggest you set yourself to discovering the extent and competence of the spies set in this town by the Hieros who sits in authority over the temple of the Merciless One. Surely you can outwit an elderly priestess from a land as provincial as you must believe this place to be.'

He pushed the curtain aside with the riding whip and gestured.

Head held high, his mother departed from the chamber; he followed her out.

Mai's face was burning, as if the scorching heat of Anji's tone had scalded her as well. It was better to move than to think. 'Sheyshi, come inside. Here's some water to wash your face. Was she quite rude to you?' She wrung out a linen cloth and offered it to Sheyshi, even dabbed her cheeks as she sniffled.

'I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble, Mistress.'

'Do not cry, Sheyshi. There is kama juice in the kitchens.'

The curtain stirred. Anji had returned, this time without boots.

'Sheyshi,' said Priya. 'Let's go to the kitchens. Come along.'

The chamber cleared, leaving Mai with Anji.

He had the ability to stand still, not restless at all; his self-control was impressive and a bit disconcerting. Had he ever worshiped at Ushara's temple? Somehow she could not see him relaxing in a garden that belonged to someone else. Probably she was just being naive.

'What are yoit thinking, Mai?' he asked in a low voice. 'There is a piece of you that you always hold apart.'

She licked dry lips, thinking of his mother's words.

Sheh! She would not let that woman's poison do harm!

'Tomorrow you will ride to war because you must, and I will hide, because you say I must.'

'Mai-'

'I do not object to your concern. Atani and I will go, as you wish, to keep you easy in your heart so you can think only of the battle you must win.' She approached him, and it was odd to note how he reacted with each step bringing her closer: his breathing quickened, his body tensed, he began to cant toward her. But he let her come to him. 'Because you must win this battle. So.'

She rested her palms against his chest and gazed into his eyes, which were measuring her, as always.

'Mai-'

She touched a finger to his lips, silencing him.

He might die. So might anyone die. No one could draw breath as they woke in the morning knowing for sure they would still be alive at day's end.

You could only know you were alive now, in this moment.

33

Ushara's temple had not even a proper entrance court, just a high wall of rocks. The outer gates were canvas, and a youth sat cross-legged on a rough approximation of a rock bench illuminated by a lamp hanging from a tripod.

'Haven't seen you before,' the youth said to Keshad in the rude way kalos and hierodules often had, as if the goddess chose them for their impertinent speaking. 'We don't have a proper Heart Garden yet. Just so you know, the Hieros has come to detest you folk complaining about how things aren't so very nice out here.'

'You're grumpy this evening. Did I offend you somehow?'

The youth grinned. 'The Hieros has only been here for one month. You can't believe the things we've heard. Folk should be grateful we've been able to set up at all.'

'Why is that?'

'Eh, the captain didn't want the the temple here at all when the verea was in residence. There was a rumor he's afraid the mistress will come find some pleasure while he's out fighting, but that can't be true. What man would begrudge his wife a little sex if he's off traveling all the time?'

'He's an outlander. They have different customs.'

'Aui! Hard to believe. Anyway, the new Astafero council voted to establish a temple, so the Hieros in Olossi sent a kalos to stand as hieros.'

'Can I go in?'

'The devouring urge is eating you badly, isn't it? Anyway, I know who you are.'

'How can you know who I am?'

The youth grinned maddeningly and waved him inside as several Qin soldiers strolled up. Kesh pushed past the canvas entrance to avoid speaking to them. An elderly woman sat on one of a chain of rocks set up as benches in a square of ground that would perhaps one day harbor a garden with flowering shrubs and troughs of blooming yellow-bells or stardrops. Torches bound to iron posts flared.

'Don't you have pretty eyes?' she said wickedly. 'If only I were younger.'

Instead of gates, they had hung canvas to either side, these painted with the proper colors although in such dim illumination it was impossible to distinguish gold from silver except by the pattern: a round disk to mark the gold and a crescent to mark the silver.

At the entrance, the Qin soldiers were laughing at something the obnoxious gatekeeper had said, as jovial as you please in that calm way they had of never finding offense. He suddenly recalled the chief who had offered to take the Sirniakin palace concubine as a wife rather than see her killed. Would he have made the woman a good husband? Would he, like Anji, have threatened to kill a young man who had no designs on his wife purely for the unfortunate accident of having been made an offer for that wife he had no intention of accepting?

'No one will bite you,' the elderly woman said with a laugh. 'Unless that's how you like it.'

He hurried to the men's side and rang the bell. The Qin soldiers came into the Heart Garden, but the old woman engaged them in conversation and like all the Qin they had very polite manners and therefore listened and responded dutifully as Kesh shifted, wondering how the hells long it was going to take and what if Miravia was already here waiting for him?

Away in town, the sixth bell rang its pattern, closing the day.

A young man twitched the curtain aside and looked Kesh up and down. He grinned in a friendly way, whistled sharply, then beckoned. They had done their best with the dusty environs. There was a cistern and a bathing tub, and several screens set back in the shadows for more private ablutions. Where normally a garden would sprawl with winding paths and hidden glades and ornamented private alcoves leading through the grounds to buildings set up in the back for those who preferred more traditional comforts, they'd thrown up a maze of canvas hanging from ropes strung between posts. It had a certain rustic charm.