Warlords Of Gaikon

Chapter 18

The hospitality of the Warm Gates quarter held firm against the Hongshu's soldiers. But this was not entirely a matter of the stubbornness of the courtesans or their debts to Lady Musura. It was not even a matter of the soldiers' arrows having killed and wounded several people within the quarter.

News that the soldiers were trying to break into the Warm Gates quarter spread swiftly through Deyun. Within an hour the soldiers at the gates were hemmed in by a mob at least ten thousand strong. More soldiers appeared to disperse the crowd. Fighting started between the soldiers and some of the tougher citizens-porters, sailors, bargemen. Within two hours a tremendous riot was raging through the streets around the Warm Gates quarter. Curses, shouts, screams of fear and agony filled the air. Then came sounds of splintering wood and crackling flames as overturned stoves set fire to mats and paper partitions.

Eventually somebody in authority gathered his wits together and called off the soldiers. He was just in time. From the roof of a building inside the walls, Blade could see the riot spreading slowly but surely across the city. If it went on much longer, the Hongshu might have a full-scale revolt on his hands. That would certainly be one way of avenging Lord Tsekuin and teaching the ruler of Gaikon a badly needed lesson. But Blade didn't much care for getting thousands of innocent people killed in the process.

He wanted to deliver the message to the Hongshu more personally. He suspected that the dabuni who were plotting to avenge their betrayed lord had similar notions.

By dusk the riot had burned itself out, and so had many of the fires started during the rioting. But others went on burning through the night, sending up clouds of smoke and a sinister red glare over the quarter. By dawn only smoking debris remained of nearly a dozen streets.

Standing with Lady Musura on the roof of the same building, Blade inhaled the cool morning air and looked out over the city. In the distance he could see the dark, sprawling mass of the Hongshu's palace.

Lady Musura rested a hand on his shoulder and followed his eyes with her own.

«You think again, perhaps, of striking back, for Lord Tsekuin's memory?»

Blade nodded. «There was a time when I didn't see any point in trying. If the dabuni did not trust me, so be it. But now-now I think I am angry enough to want to strike at the Hongshu alone, if necessary.» It was almost his last chance before returning to home dimension to make his whole journey to Gaikon worthwhile. Blade did not want to see an entire journey into Dimension X wasted.

«You will not be alone,» said Lady Musura. Her hand reached out and clasped his. «I will stand beside you in everything you may wish or seek to do. My eyes will be your eyes, my lips your lips, my sword your sword.»

Blade turned to look down at the woman beside him.

«You once served the Hongshu as a jinai. What makes you turn against him now?» He did not want to have to add, «What makes you think I should trust you not to betray me and any others who may join us?»

Lady Musura was silent for a long moment. «I swore an oath to serve the Hongshu until released and never lift a weapon against him. I have been released, and I will not forswear the second part of my oath even now. Do you think even Yezjaro and Doifuzan wish to strike at the Hongshu himself, and let loose chaos in Gaikon?»

«Not if they are wise.»

«Then assume I am wise also. Our blow will-must-fall on Lord Geron. We know whose orders he obeys, to be sure. But the words that drove Lord Tsekuin to rage and folly were spoken by Lord Geron. Lord Geron's death will go far to avenge Lord Tsekuin. It will also be a warning to the Hongshu. Perhaps he will think twice the next time he plots against a warlord, if he considers that it may cost him trusted servants. Diamond mines are often easier to find than second chancellors who will obey in silence.»

Blade nodded. He could not have described the situation more accurately himself.

The fact that Blade and Lady Musura were now working as a team toward a common goal didn't immediately work any miracles. Their work as guards in the quarter left them a good deal of free time, but information still came slowly for them.

Lord Geron, they soon discovered, was still convalescing at his private house inside the palace walls. Between Lord Geron and any possible assassins stood the mazes, traps, and guards of the great palace. Those guards were picked fighting men, unlike the soldiers Blade had killed in the streets.

But Lady Musura had been a jinai of the Hongshu's service. Perhaps she knew her way through the mazes to Lord Geron's house?

She shook her head when Blade asked her that. «The traps and passwords are changed every few months. I know nothing of what might have been done in the four years since I was last within the palace. Even if I could guide you, we would be only two. Any accident could doom us. We must go in force when we go. That means more men than could ever pass unobserved through the mazes.»

Obviously the Hongshu made sure that even those who ferreted out other's secrets for him did not ferret out his. Blade could recognize security-consciousness when he saw it. He could also curse it, when it stood between him and his goals.

But now memories awoke, memories of what Yezjaro had once said about secret routes for bringing Warm Gates ladies into the Hongshu's palace for the delight of the nobles. Those memories had slept since he had heard the instructor's words. Why not, when until now there bad been no prospect of ever doing anything with them?

He told Lady Musura. She lit up with delight. «Yes, I remember now. I never had anything to do with it myself. But several of the jinai I knew were once put to work spying on just that.»

«What did they find out?»

«They did not speak of it in detail. But it was decided that there was no danger to the Hongshu from it. I think no one tried to stop it.»

«Good. Did you learn the names of any of the Warm Gates people involved?»

«No. Even if I had, much would have changed since then. But I am sure that we can learn if we work quietly. I doubt if the hospitality of the quarter would be ours for long if they learned what we were planning.»

«That will take time,» said Blade.

«I know,» said Lady Musura. «But it seems the best thing we can do for our lord.»

Blade nodded. He was also happy that Lady Musura knew the matter was going to take time. If there was one thing he had learned in his home dimension espionage work, it was to give a project all the time it needed. Shortcuts were too often shortcuts to disaster. Two people working alone against the ruler of Gaikon couldn't afford even the smallest accident.

In a week they knew that the smuggling of Warm Gates ladies into the palace was still going on. But it took a month more before they had learned the route, with its underground passages, concealed stairs, and the rest.

Lady Musura, an expert at disguises, worked by day. Blade, his skin finally darkened by dye Lady Musura concocted, worked by night. They slept little, ate less, grew gaunt and tired, seldom spoke about anything but their latest discoveries. But it was a satisfying time for both of them. Lady Musura was working to avenge Lord Tsekuin and strike a blow against the Hongshu. Blade was doing the same, and he was also working with a fellow professional in the deadly but exhilarating game of espionage.

Eventually the job was done as well as it could be done. They sat in their tiny back room one evening, drinking the first jug of saga they had allowed themselves in weeks. A small charcoal stove burned in one corner, filling the air with pungent gray smoke and driving some of the chill out of the air. The year was wearing on. They would do well to strike soon.

«We can't wait much longer, Blade,» said Lady Musura. «I know of a certainty that the Hongshu keeps spies within the quarter. Sooner or later it will be known in the palace that we have learned what we have learned. Then a trap will be laid for us, or for anyone else coming through. Assassins may even enter the quarter, striking us down when we think we are safe.»

«I know,» said Blade. It was one of the classic problems in espionage. Ideally you should move as soon as possible after learning what you need, before the enemy learns that you have penetrated his secrets. But there are always practical problems.

«Two people aren't going to be enough, unless Lord Geron's guards are all too drunk to keep any sort of watch. Even if we could overcome the guards, we might not be able to keep Lord Geron from escaping. It would be a gesture, nothing more. I don't want to waste what we've learned on a gesture.»

«No more I,» said Lady Musura. «But where in the name of Kunkoi can we find-?» She broke off, and her eyes widened. «You think we should send word to the other dabuni?»

Blade nodded. «I think we would owe it to them even if we did not need their help. Do you doubt that Yezjaro and Doifuzan have plans for avenging Lord Tsekuin's death on Lord Geron?»

«None. But will they trust us or follow our lead or even listen to us?»

«I wish I could be sure. But I think Yezjaro will at least listen to me until I have told him everything.»

«Possibly. But where is Yezjaro?»

«We will have to find him.»

«That may take time, Blade. We may not have any more time.»

«I know. But have we any other choice?»