Naamah's Kiss (84 page)

Thus began the pattern of our days on the road. Imperial couriers raced to and fro, passing us coming and going. Betimes they stopped to make inquiries of Master Lo or one of the others; betimes they passed us without a flicker of interest. Impossibly and consistently, they paid not the slightest heed to the veiled Lady Chan Song and her veiled maidservant. Merchants and other travellers paused to exchange gossip, and betimes offer alms in exchange for blessings.

None of them were interested in Lady Chan and her maid, either.

During the day, I endured the carriage and did my best to entertain the princess with tales. Our company begged and bartered for food, making camp on the outskirts of friendly farmsteads. In the evenings, the stick-fighters honed their skills, the blindfolded princess sparring among them.

They warmed to her.

It wasn't that their sense of awe at her presence among us was diminished, but it thawed considerably, turning into a complex mix that encompassed admiration, pride, and a possessive protectiveness.

Of me, they remained wary.

Betimes, it frustrated me. " Why?" I demanded of Bao. I gestured at the princess, who was talking with a tongue-tied but delighted Ten Tigers Dai. "Truly, am I more unnerving than her ?"

"Yes." His hand slid down my spine to settle in the small of my back, pulling me to him, my hips pressing against his. It felt good. I acceded willingly, gazing up at his face. "Moirin, if we succeed, the princess and the dragon will be parted. He will be free in all his celestial glory. She will be human once morethe daughter of the Son of Heaven, yes, but a woman of Ch'in nonetheless." His lips brushed mine, defying the customary prohibition against such public displays. "You will still be you. A witch, and a foreigner."

"Which doesn't seem to bother you," I commented.

"I may have exaggerated your perils," Bao admitted. "But it is better for your safety that the others remain fearful of your reputation." His eyes glinted with amusement. "Are you angry?"

"Yes." I kissed him. "No. Maybe."

The dragon rumbled.

Master Lo Feng cleared his throat.

With reluctance, Bao let me go. "When this is over"

"When it is over we will talk," I said firmly. "About this and fat babies and many other things. Assuming we live through it."

"There is always that," he agreed. "And hopefully we will do much more than talk."

A week into our journey, the mood of the Imperial couriers who hurtled past us on the road changed. No longer did they pause to ask questions, and a new pennant flew from the standards affixed to their saddles beneath the Imperial insignia: a crimson banner.

The first time one passed, a wave of cries trailed in its wake. Beside me, the princess tensed. "What is it?"

I shook my head. "I've no idea, my lady."

"War!" Bao's face appeared in the window, exultant. "His Celestial Majesty's riders are flying the red banner of war!"

"He's done it," Snow Tiger breathed. A ripple of relief ran through her; for a moment, she buried her veiled face in her hands. "Ah, gods be thanked! Mayhap there is a greater purpose in this."

"It must have been a powerful letter you left for him," I said.

"Yes."

I thought she would say more, but she didn't, not then. Not until later, long after we had made camp for the night, long after the simple supper and sparring, when she and I had retired to our tent of oiled silk. I was nearly asleep when her voice floated in the darkness, hushed and disembodied.

"I said many things in the letter I wrote," the princess whispered. "I begged my father to put his faith in his bravery and wisdom, not his doubts. I assured him that he had not lost the Mandate of Heaven, that he could lose it only through inaction. I told him that this was the battle he was born to fight, the battle of a lifetime, ten lifetimes. And"

"Aye?" I propped myself on one arm.

"I said that I would fight it if he did not," she murmured. "That once the dragon and I were freed from the curse Black Sleeve laid upon us, I would raise an army to confront Lord Jiang and his vile sorcerer. And that if my Noble Father had failed to stand by me, I would consider myself an orphan and the rightful heir to the Mandate of Heaven."

I caught my breath, aware of exactly how grave an offense this was for a dutiful Ch'in princess. "A dire threat, my lady."

"Yes." A rueful note crept into her voice. "But a necessary one. They tell me my mother was unafraid to cross him at times, and he loved her better for it. It seems there is a certain fondness for insolence in our lineage."

I reached out one hand in the darkness between our pallets. "I'm sorry. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for you to do such a thing."

She squeezed my hand in gratitude, then let go. "Thank you. If you would do me a kindness, I would ask you never to speak of it to anyone."

"Of course," I promised readily. "Your trust honors me."

"It is strange," Snow Tiger mused. "What you once shouted at me is true. There is great value in having a loyal listening ear into which to whisper one's troubles. Perhaps I begin to understand your D'Angeline customs better. Perhaps I am not so different from your Queen as I thought."

The dragon stirred, a hopeful thought beginning to form. If you are not so different

"Nor so alike, either," the princess added hastily. "It is friendship of which I speak, nothing more."

I smiled in the darkness, knowing she couldn't see me. "I do not think people are so different, my lady. It is only that in Terre d'Ange, the expression of desire in all its forms is sacred, so long as it is offered freely. They worship aspects of pleasure some peoples deny or reckon unsuitable. But they are not the only nation to celebrate the act of love." I paused. "Do not the Ch'in have manuals on the arts of the bedchamber? Bao told me as much."

"Oh, yes." Her voice turned wistful. "If my mother had lived, she would have presented me with such a book before my wedding night. None of my father's other wives saw fit to do a mother's duty."

"A pity." Although it was on the tip of my tongue to offer her whatever instruction she might desire, I managed to swallow the words. I did not want to spoil the moment. "From what you told me before, it sounds as though you and Jiang Jian would have managed without it."

"Yes." She was silent a moment. "But I would find it difficult to trust myself in such a way again. At least of my own will."

The dragon didn't speak, but the tenor of its thoughts was chastened.

"One day you will find a way, my lady," I assured her. "I do not doubt it."

Whether or not Snow Tiger believed me, I could not say; but she had begun to allow herself to trust me and accept my friendship. It was enough.

Now all the gossip that passed along the road was of war. Rumor ran rampant from every quarter. Imperial troops were said to be on the march, recalled from duty elsewhere. It was said that they meant to sail into Guangzho and strike at the heart of Lord Jiang's forces; it was speculated that Lord Jiang would move his army to the outskirts of Ludong and begin by taking that city.

Then it changed. Then it was rumored that Lord Jiang's army was withdrawing to the south, that the mere threat of war with the Imperial army had them in retreat.

I didn't believe it.

Nor did Master Lo. "They will have heard the rumors, too, my lady," he said to the princess. "Including the tale of your disappearance."

Her head tilted. "So?"

We were arrayed around a makeshift map etched in the loose soil of yet another harvested field. Master Lo's elegant hands sculpted a mountain in the southern provinces. "My son is not a fool. It may be that he and Jiang Quan have crafted enough of their terrible weapons to defeat any army your Noble Father raises. I cannot say. And yet there remains one battle they dare not lose." He guided her hand to the mounded soil. "White Jade Mountain."

Home ! The dragon's voice soared.

Kneeling, the princess was very still, listening.

"My son and Lord Jiang know we are coming, my lady," Master Lo said gently. "They know that I am here, and that we have puzzled out the nature of their deed. Although I counseled against it, your father tipped our hand. If we succeed in freeing you from this curse, it does not matter how many battles they win, how many weapons they possess, how many men they command. We will set loose a dragon in all its glory. If we succeed, the truth will be known, and ten thousand times a thousand hands will be raised against them. No one will take up arms against you. No one will man their terrible weapons. That loss, they cannot afford. Therefore, they will make a stand where it matters most."

"Here." Despite her blindfold, Snow Tiger's hand moved unerringly, drawing a line in the dirt. "In the pastures surrounding White Jade Mountain."

He bowed his shaven head. "Even so."

Her head returned to its considering pose. "Can we hope to outpace either army?"

Glances were exchanged, heads shaken.

"No," I said aloud for her benefit. "It seems we cannot, my lady."

Home , the dragon repeated, a poignant ache in his voice. Oh, home ! I yearned to comfort him. Her. Them. I couldn't help it.

"Home." The princess echoed the word. Her hand clenched into a fist. "So be it." She inclined her head, neat and precise. "Thank you, Venerable One. If your words be true, and I do not doubt their wisdom, it seems your son has chosen the battlefield." Her smile was tight and hard. "Let us bring the battle to them."

We took to the river. For my part, it was a relief, a blessed relief.

Our carriage was a less stifling affair than D'Angeline carriages, but it was still an uncomfortable way to travel. I preferred being in the open air, not jounced and battered along the road.

In a large fishing village, Bao and Dai scoured the waterfront until they found an entrepreneurial merchant willing to trade a boat called a sampan for the horse and carriage. It was a good-sized boat for its kind, long and low, with a midsection covered by an awning of tightly woven fronds.

Still, it was small enough that it dipped noticeably under each person's weight as we stepped aboard. I got the princess settled comfortably under the awning, then eyed Bao as he took up a post at the long rudder pole. Suddenly, the boat seemed more precarious and the current swifter. "Are you sure you know how to steer this?"