Betrayer: Foreigner #12 (23 page)

“So what is your distress, Grandmother of the Edi?” mani asked pleasantly. “Be clear, even blunt, and we shall hear you.”

“Why
is the paidhi-aiji in Tanaja, Grandmother of the East? And
where
is our agreement?”

“If you have news other than the news we have consistently relayed to you, nandi, one would be interested to hear it.”

“He
is
there, is he not? Negotiating with the lord who attacked your own great-grandson at Kajiminda and who assassinated
your
sister, Maschi lord!” This with a jut of her chin toward Lord Geigi. “You cannot forgive that!”

“One does not
forget
it, honored neighbor,” Lord Geigi said.

“One will never
forget
it. But rather than see more of your people die, rather than see the Dojisigi in the ascendant over the Marid tomorrow morning, I have shut the door on some reckonings and count them a private grievance.”

“Your own sister, Maschi lord!
Shame!”

Geigi frowned. Cajeiri had never seen Geigi frown that darkly, never imagined that pleasant, happy face could take on so dark an expression.

“At our request,” mani said sharply, and
thump!
went the cane on the carpeted floor. “And for the good of the people, Maschi, Parithi,
and
Edi, we have asked the paidhi-aiji, though injured, to use all available leverage with a lord who,
yes!
has been troublesome to this district, and troublesome to my grandson—but
not
as troublesome as his northern neighbors.” Up went the forefinger.
“On
which matter we have recent news, Grandmother of the Edi, which contradicts some of the things we have taken as fact, and the news is not good!”

The Edi lady looked as if she had met a strong wind; she drew in a breath and folded her shawls closer about herself. “If you have news more than ours, Ragi Grandmother, we will be interested to hear.”

“Senji,
not Machigi, has been behind the corruption of the Maschi lord in Targai, over a number of years. Lord Machigi of the Taisigi moved to do the same with the
other
Maschi lord, Baiji in Kajiminda. The Maschi lord Pairuti, in the hire of the Senjin Marid, attempted to move his own allies into Kajiminda. But there they
all
ran onto the rocks, Grandmother of the Edi, because a
clanless
agency has moved in on the Senjin Marid and the Dojisigin Marid alike and poses a threat to all the aishidi’tat and to the displaced peoples.”

Mani paused there, to let the Grandmother of the Edi take that in; and Cajeiri found himself confused, having no idea what mani was talking about.

“The Assassins’ Guild has fragmented,” mani said next. “The Guild who supported Murini, the force behind the Troubles in Murini’s years, fled south when my grandson retook the aijinate. And
they
have infiltrated the northern clans of the Marid! We suspected it. The Guild has tracked these individuals as to location, but only recently, as late as today, it has communicated its findings to us, and they present a very disturbing picture. We can now state with some assurance that the two northern clans of the Marid were heavily infiltrated by these lawless elements. Taisigi clan, though not infiltrated to the same extent, found its operations in Kajiminda taken over by these persons. Its allies of the Southern Association, the Sungeni and the Dausigi, have been troubled, but to a lesser degree.”

“What has this to do with us?”

“We are stating, Grandmother of the Edi, that the enemy is
not
who we assumed it to be. In fact, this enemy has attempted to bring down an attack on the Taisigi lord because he is their major obstacle. We do not maintain that he is innocent of offenses. But this renegade group, a splinter of the Guild, is bent on creating chaos in the south of the continent, and we cannot afford to pursue any grievance that takes out the Taisigin lord. He is the focus of their attacks. He is the stone in their path. So for the moment, he is
not
our objective.”

“So we abandon our grievances? We do
not!”

Thump!
went the cane. “Grandmother of the Edi, we are your allies. We have gone to the aishidi’tat to right wrongs done you. We have called on the aishidi’tat to defend you. We have sent the paidhi-aiji into a hostile district as a personal favor to negotiate an end to Marid adventures in your district.”

“Without consultation!”

Nobody talked to mani like that. Mani could snap her fingers and that would be the end of it. Cajeiri paid strict attention, in case he and his had to dive for that table.

“The information was classified,” mani said, “and the opportunity to get the paidhi-aiji there without raising a general alarm throughout the Marid required decision within half an hour, Grandmother of the Edi. While one appreciates your willingness to consult, one could not consult without disseminating sensitive information across a broad area. Lord Geigi will inform you that we did not consult with him, either, though the message went to Lord Bren within his district.”

“That is so, Grandmother of the Edi,” Lord Geigi said. “All these things were done in support, not to the detriment, of the agreement between the Edi and the aishidi’tat. When one exists within the framework of the aishidi’tat, one has to accept that one’s neighbors will move in their own defense, and likewise one has a right to expect they will move as energetically in one’s own defense in return. It was, initially, your time to be defended. And now it is your time to defend.”

The Grandmother of the Edi hitched her shawls tight about her and glowered, but she said, “We are here. Explain why we should abide this situation.”

“Indeed you are here,” mani said. “You are in this room, with arms and attendance. No outsider to our councils would have access here. You are
part
of this undertaking, Grandmother of the Edi. We confidently left to you the defense of Lord Geigi’s estate at Kajiminda, while, reciprocally, Guild from my district
and
directly from my grandson have defended this peninsula and Najida village as well as this estate. We have at no time operated in indifference to the Edi people. You continue within our counsel, and we look to you to go on defending Kajiminda and the deeper peninsula as part of this operation—which is far from over!”

A second resettling of the shawls. “Then tell us, Grandmother of the East, what the paidhi-aiji is doing. What is he trading to the Taisigi?”

“He is seeking abandonment of any Marid ambitions in the West.”

“That will never happen!” Another nervous rearrangement of the shawls. The Grandmother was not as furiously angry, but she was still agitated. “Machigi is our enemy, Grandmother of the Ragi. And he would destroy us without hesitation!”

“And we have made him an unexpected proposal. We are prepared to see him and his ships visit
our
coast, Grandmother of the Edi, far, far to the east, to give you peace. We have offered him trade—deep-sea trade—if he leaves you in peace.”

“He will grow strong and fat,” the Edi lady said, “and come take the West as well.”

“This supposes you will have done
nothing
for your own strength in the meanwhile. We have not gone back on our offer of a lordship, a seat in the tashrid, a favored position on this coast, not to mention an alliance with us and an association with Lord Geigi of the Maschi.”

“Add the Parithi,” Geigi said, “who will sit between the Senji and the west coast, presiding over the road that runs to the Taisigin Marid, in which arrangement they will expect the staunch support of the Edi people to keep that territory free of encroachment. We are establishing a strong buffer between your new lands and the Marid.”

The Grandmother looked at Geigi and looked at mani, rearranged her shawls once again and took several deep breaths in the silence of the room. “And what arrangements is the paidhi-aiji making, Grandmother of the Ragi? Tell us that!”

“The paidhi-aiji, who has the insight of a lord of this region, and who also knows our resources in the East, has crafted a broad solution, which will divert Marid shipping from this coast and remove any reason for the Marid to covet a west coast port. We consider the paidhi’s proposal, outrageous though it is, to have a great deal of benefit to all sides—except the northern Marid. It has apparently caught the strong interest of the Taisigi lord, whose position within the Marid right now is under attack by the renegades we have named. Of the five major clans of the Marid, he cannot trust two of them. He would be very wise to negotiate the offer on the table and divert himself from centuries of warfare to a settled agreement that will bring benefit to all sides.”

There was a moment of silence. Another adjustment of the shawls, and now the Grandmother was thinking hard.

“He will attempt to trick us, Grandmother of the Ragi.”

“Oh, one would be surprised if not, Grandmother of the Edi. And we are old, and we are wise, and we have seen a good many youngsters try one thing and another. Have we not?”

There was a lengthy silence.

“We have seen a good many things,” the Grandmother said grimly. “And we will not be taken by surprise.”

“We shall not, Grandmother of the Edi. And once he has gotten to like the taste of Eastern goods, he will have to keep his agreements to go on getting them.”

“I shall inform my people,” the Grandmother said. “We will be watching. And if we are attacked, we will expect assistance from our allies.”

“We shall assuredly provide it,” mani said. “How encouraging to find us in agreement.”

That, and a nod, was a dismissal. The Grandmother of the Edi got up, and Geigi got up, and escorted the lady personally to the hall, with her two young men. There followed a little renewed commotion out there, but not angry shouting. Cenedi left immediately, to get them all out the front door, Cajeiri was sure.

But there was still no loud shouting, and mani called for a cup of tea. The servants rearranged the chairs to what they had been, and they all sat and listened until the outside door opened and shut again.

That had been scary, Cajeiri thought.

But mani had gotten her way and the Grandmother of the Edi had backed down.

He noted that, too.

 

The day crept on toward evening with no further great to-do. Bren managed to do a little bending and stretching, trying not to overdo it.

And the surreptitious flow of messages went on. His bodyguard variously came and went.

He almost expected a dinner invitation from Machigi tonight, since things seemed to have settled. He didn’t look forward to it. He’d much rather be sure things
were
settled; but it seemed in Machigi’s character to push things and test the limits.

They had the three tall windows of the sitting room shuttered. The shutters were available inside, and his staff had employed them, making it just that much more difficult for snipers, in this room without a view of much of anything. He went close to one and reached to tip the slats up just to see whether it was dark out yet.

“Bren-ji,” Jago said sternly.

He stopped with his fingers on the slats. He knew better. “One regrets,” he said with a little bow, and resisted the impulse to pace the room.

He had not taken his watch with him on this trip. It was not part of an atevi gentleman’s dress, and he had left it, along with his computer, in Najida. There was no clock in the room.

But it seemed to him that dinner was late. He was getting hungry, and he supposed by now the dinner invitation was not going to come, but he was surprised, in that instance, that supper had not arrived in their room. He hoped Machigi’s servants were going to show up with a cart.

A stir in the hall gave him a certain hope of food.

Until he saw the attitude of his staff . . . grim and on alert. He suddenly thought maybe he shouldn’t be near the door. Maybe he shouldn’t be in the room. He made a quiet move toward the door of his bedroom as whoever it was, and it sounded like several persons, came toward their door.

There was a pause, a few muttered syllables from his bodyguard, their attention all toward what was going on outside. Staff was talking to staff.

Suddenly Tano oriented toward him, while the other three stayed on strict alert, positioned so a shot incoming from the door wouldn’t find them. Tano just quickly herded him into the bedroom, and without a word—which said that they didn’t trust the monitoring—Tano snatched up his duffle, and set it on the bed.

Leaving?

He caught Tano’s eye with a questioning look, and Tano gave him the sign for someone listening, and caution.

Not good. His gun was in the dresser. He went and slipped it into his pocket, brought his linens and put them in the duffle. Tano didn’t object. Tano started hauling out clothes from the closet and packing, not with his usual neatness.

They were leaving and with luggage? It didn’t sound like an on-foot dash for the stairs and the back streets of Tanaja. It sounded as if they were going with transport of some sort. Which argued for official cooperation.

But—damn!

The outside door opened, in the other room. Tano didn’t look surprised. He said two syllables that didn’t make sense and then signaled Bren to come with him as he led the way back into the sitting room.

Machigi was there with his guard. It was Machigi’s second trip to his room today, and it was clearly not to pass the time of day. Machigi was not looking at all happy.

“Aiji-ma,” Bren said with a courteous nod.

“Aiji-ma!
If I find you treacherous, paidhi, and a liar, expect not to live safely, not in Sarini, not in Shejidan itself. I will find you, or if I am dead, my successors will find you!”

“Kindly do me the honor of explaining the source of your displeasure, aiji-ma.”

“The
source
of my displeasure! The incursion of Shejidan Guild into Dojisigi territory, and into the Senjin Marid! Now my guard advises me we are required—required!—to vacate and allow the Ragi Guild to set up operations in
my
premises! I am told to leave my people to the judgment of Guild from Shejidan. My guard says I should accept this and
trust
there will not be assassinations at the whim of Shejidan or the guest under my roof! Tell me why, nandi! Tell me why I should not shoot you with my own hand!”