Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress XXIII

by Waters, Elisabeth

  Two hours later, she stirred from a semi-trance and opened her eyes, releasing the images in her mind. Nearby the two cats yawned in weariness, settled down on a mat, and dozed off. She didn't blame them; they had had a tiring two hours. So had she, for that matter. But she was beginning to have an idea of what was going on.

  She could see with the cats' eyes, hear with their ears, smell and feel what they did. And, to some extent, she could direct their actions. At any rate, she could plant suggestions or ideas in their minds, and they might, or might not, act on them.

  She looked about at the walls of their quarters. Biao Mei had not yet returned. Well and good. This was something she needed to think about for a bit. She stirred, easing cramped muscles, and stood. Shoving her sword and dagger in her sash, she went outside.

  Kin Shin was at the well. Lin Mei went to stand by her in the shadow of the roof that sheltered it from the sun.

  "Any news?" she asked. The older woman shook her head.

  "We must wait for Ro Min to return," she said. "And your brother as well." At Lin Mei's look she smiled slightly. "He has been in the market and in the tea rooms inquiring about the Dragon Inn. I think he makes a better swordsman than a spy."

  Lin Mei laughed. "He has his value, usually when swords are drawn."

  "Wait for Ro Min to return," Kin Shin said soberly. "There may be more useful news then." With that she turned and went back into the women's quarters, leaving Lin Mei puzzled.

  After a moment's thought, she sought out Shin Hu, and, after getting his approval, went out into the streets of Kendar, knotting her conical sun hat as she went out through the gates. A short walk later and she was in the center of town.

  Normally the streets would be bustling with shoppers, people on errands, and strollers. Now the traffic was sparse, and the few people out went about their affairs hurriedly. There was an air of worry.

  She stopped and bought a pair of pork buns from a vendor near the Magistrate's compound, and leaned against a wall nearby to eat them.

  "Are they any good?" a voice asked. She turned her head and saw Ro Min.

  "They go down and stay down," Lin Mei replied. "That will do."

  Ro Min made a face. "I don't want to know where you've eaten," she said. The wall was in the shade; she took up a spot next to the younger girl. "Your brother has been asking questions," she commented. "The Dragon Inn seems to be an object of interest."

  "It keeps him busy," Lin Mei replied. "I had some things to consider." Ro Min looked at her for a moment before nodding.

  "The interest is not misplaced. The owner of the inn, Chin Ma, is no one I want to see unless it is his turn at the execution grounds."

  "He is that bad?" Lin Mei asked, looking at the archer, who nodded.

  "He was a business partner of the prior owner, Feng Ha, with caravans going as far as Samarkand and Khoand. People say they did more than trade, often arriving at destinations with more goods than they started out with. Others say they knew routes not on the Imperial census, with profits not listed or taxed."

  "Bandits and smugglers," Lin Mei translated.

  Ro Min nodded. "Their dealings with people in this city were just as bad, and no one was sad when Feng Ha was found dead, drowned in his own blood, after a late night of wine and singing girls. The doctors said it was a ruptured liver, after all the wine, but some suspect he drank more than wine."

  "His partner took over the business?" Lin Mei said.

  "He paid a small price for it, and the compound as well, but the family did not contest the offer. They took the money and left for the South. Chin Ma's son runs the caravan business now, and he is more of the same."

  "Does his bad character affect business at the Dragon Inn?"

  "He has few lodgers, and people wonder why he keeps up the pretense of running an inn."

  "Perhaps he has other business an innkeeper's trade will hide," Lin Mei said. Ro Min looked at her for a moment.

  "You know more than your years should allow," she said. Lin Mei just looked back.

  "The Empire has an interest in his dealings with the lands beyond our borders," the archer went on after a moment. "Gold from Tifun is rumored to rest in Chin Ma's treasure room. His ambitions exceed those of an honest merchant." Lin Mei pondered that for a moment, and then it dawned on her. The furtive pre-dawn meeting, and Kin Shin's cryptic comment by the well.

  "Chin Ma is suspected of being a traitor," Lin Mei said, "and you are not just a bodyguard." Ro Min looked sideways at her for a moment, as if considering something.

  "The game of shadows requires discretion," she said. "Do not say more than needed. Come with me."

  Lin Mei followed her into a maze of alleys and short narrow streets. Kendar had grown from a small frontier outpost into a moderately large city, and the inner city reflected its modest origins.

  After a while, Ro Min stopped at a seedy noodle and tea shop and entered, Lin Mei behind her. It was empty, and the wizened shopkeeper bowed low in greeting. Ro Min ordered tea, and they sat down at a small table, quietly sipping their tea, until a young man entered. Lin Mei recognized him. She had seen him meeting Ro Min, but that was in her dream.

  "Xi An, the shopkeeper's son, and one of our men," Ro Min introduced him. "Xi An, Lin Mei, a trusted friend." Lin Mei and the young man bowed in greeting.

  "Did you learn anything?" Ro Min asked.

  "Only that there appears to be a lack of cooperation with the Magistrate on the part of Chin Ma," Xi An replied. "He has allowed his servants to be questioned, but is slow to allow a search of his compound."

  "Odd," Ro Min said, "considering that there are a hundred Tifun warriors in his compound and a thousand more outside the city, and the ambassador has threatened to destroy the city at dawn if the Bronze Fish medallion is not found."

  "The ambassador does not seem concerned," Xi An went on. "He spent the morning with a cool jar of wine and two of his favorite singing girls." Lin Mei wondered how he knew all this. She began to suspect that there were more young men like Xi An in Kendar, and that Ro Min and Kin Shin were much more than they seemed. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. She was swimming in deep water here. But as she listened an idea began to percolate in the back of her mind.

  "Is there some way we can get in and do a search of our own?" she asked. "Perhaps the Bronze Fish is in Chin Ma's treasure room."

  "There may be," Ro Min said slowly. "Men like Chin Ma avoid the light for their own reasons. So do we. But it is only in poems of the heroic age that heroes sneak into heavily guarded compounds and carry out daring feats."

  "We may have a slight advantage," Lin Mei said. "And with the death of Kendar as the alternative, what is there to lose?"

  There was no arguing with that, and after a few quiet instructions to Xi An the meeting broke up, and she and Ro Min returned to Wang Liu's compound.

  Later, after a short demonstration, Ro Min looked at Lin Mei with a look akin to one who has seen a ghost. The cats were in a corner, lapping up some mare's milk from a bowl.

  "You can see with their eyes?" she asked.

  "And hear with their ears, and smell with their noses," Lin Mei replied.

  "And they will take your orders?"

  "As much as cats will," Lin Mei replied. Ro Min looked aside for a moment, as if forming a plan in her mind.

  "Get some rest," she said. "I will make some arrangements and talk to some people. We will say nothing about the cats for now." Lin Mei nodded, and the older woman left.

  Biao Mei arrived soon after, with very much the same information as Ro Min had given her. "Get some rest," she told him. "Ro Min and Kin Shin may be planning something for later and may need our help."

  "Planning what?" he asked, clearly excited.

  "She didn't say, but whatever it is, we should be ready and rested." To emphasize the point, she retreated to her sleeping mat and lay down, her blades by her side. After a short while, Biao Mei followed her lead.

  Kin Shin came for them just af
ter sunset. Biao Mei and Lin Mei were armed and ready in dark clothing, and their blades were freshly honed. They joined Ro Min, Shin Hu, and three of his men. No one said anything about the pack Lin Mei had slung on her back with two small heads sticking out of the top. They went over the plan, leaving out only a small portion that Ro Min and Lin Mei had worked out earlier.

  The streets were already dark, with only a few people out. They were not the only armed groups out, but everyone seemed to have a mission, and, except for the night watch, who let them pass when Ro Min showed them a placard from the Magistrate, no one stopped them. For a moment, Lin Mei wondered what was on the placard and how it had been obtained. Then she decided she didn't want to know.

  They passed the Dragon Inn and two more compounds before turning into a narrow alley that wound around an attempt at a garden and ended at the Red Carp, one of Kendar's less reputable establishments. They all stopped to wind black silk scarves around their heads, hiding their faces but for their eyes. Kin Shin knocked on a side door, three quick taps, and it was opened by a middle-aged woman in heavy make-up and an elaborate brocaded gown. Silently she led them down a hallway to a door at the end.

  Even with impending doom hanging over the city at dawn, there appeared to be a lively amount of activity in that place, if the sounds from some of the rooms were any indication.

  The door at the end of the hallway opened onto a stairway going down into darkness. Torches were lit, and the party went down, hands on the hilts of their weapons. Lin Mei noted that Ro Min and Kin Shin had left behind their long bows in favor of short nomad-style bows.

  A door waited at the bottom that opened onto a tunnel cut into the hard soil. They made their way through the tunnel, lit only by the light of their torches. It was a long tunnel, and she noted that there were two side tunnels that led off in opposite directions. So there were ways for patrons to enter the Red Carp without being seen. Interesting. They went to the end of the main tunnel and found a stairway.

  "This leads up into the shrine to Chin Ma's ancestors," Ro Min whispered. "It can be locked from within and allow him to be undisturbed after he enters."

  "He uses the shrine to his ancestors as a means to visit a brothel?!" Biao Mei asked.

  "Not all are as filial as you," Kin Shin said wryly. Ro Min suppressed a smile as Shin Hu led the party upstairs.

  The shrine was a small building in the standard design, with an altar to Chin Ma's ancestors at one wall. It was bare save for some candle sconces and a mat on which Chin Ma would presumably kneel and pray to the spirits of his ancestors. A double door at the other end was closed, with a beam of wood that could be used to bolt it shut leaning against the wall next to it. With a few gestures Shin Hu posted his men next to the door.

  "Chin Ma's treasure room is in the large building next to this one." Ro Min whispered, unfolding a map she took out from beneath her jacket. "The veranda is screened by Red Flower vines, so once we reach the veranda we will be hidden from view. The treasure room is at the end of the main hallway. A double door opens on the hallway. The treasure room is strongly built, and the walls and the door are of double thickness with a brass lock. This may help us open the door." She took a pouch on her belt. Inside were various hooks and thin pointed rods which Lin Mei recognized as lock-picking tools used by thieves. Merely possessing them was taken as proof of evil intent by most courts.

  Shin Hu nodded and went to the small window, peering out. "There are still a hundred men in the courtyard," he reported back.

  "We have made arrangements," Ro Min said with a slight smile. "For the moment, we wait."

  They settled down on the floor, Shin Hu and his men resting against the wall with the stoicism of veterans. Ro Min and Kin Shin settled into lotus position, their bows and quivers by their sides. Biao Mei imitated them while Lin Mei let Shadow and Twilight loose, letting them roam about and stretch after the confinement in her pack.

  "I think they are ready," she said in a low voice after a while. Ro Min nodded and went to the door, opening it just enough to peer out. Lin Mei settled into lotus position, resting her hands on her thighs and closing her eyes. After a few moments, she was in a trance.

  Suddenly she was in a large, brightly lit room, which she recognized as the shrine room, only larger. Scents were sharper, the slightest sounds now seemed louder, and she could feel the grain of the wood underfoot.

  She thought about going out, and Shadow and Twilight slipped out the door. Outside it was bright with moonlight. A crowd of men sat about fires in the courtyard, drinking and talking. The two cats jumped up on a rock near an ornamental pond and watched, Lin Mei seeing the scene through their eyes. She thought about looking around and the cats swiveled their heads, taking in the whole courtyard.

  "No one is looking this way," she said quietly, still in half-trance. Shin Hu nodded.

  "We go now!" he said. Lin Mei nodded, calling the cats to her, and stood, breaking the connection. Quickly she followed the rest out the door and through the darkness to the veranda next door, taking the stairs two at a time to end up crouching next to her brother. Shadow and Twilight came scampering up the steps after them.

  Ro Min had her lock picks out, and she made quick work of the lock while Kin Shin covered her, an arrow nocked on her bow. With a soft click, the door came unlocked, and she teased it open barely a hand's width. She looked at Lin Mei and nodded.

  Lin Mei relaxed against the wall and made contact with the cats, who quickly slipped through the slender gap in the door. By now, Lin Mei was getting the knack of seeing through their eyes and had no difficulty in adjusting to their viewpoint. She was in a large hallway, brightly lit, with two men who stood as the two cats entered.

  "Guards," she whispered. "Two, at the end!" Ro Min grabbed her bow, nocked an arrow, and nodded to Shin Hu, who grabbed one of the doors while one of his men took the other. Ro Min stood to shoot while Kin Shin knelt. The doors were barely opened when the arrows were let loose, speeding through the gap.

  They heard a sound of impact and then two bodies falling. They all entered quickly, closing the door behind them. Ro Min took a moment to lock it.

  Lin Mei scooped up the cats and followed the rest. In moments they were at the treasure room door. Shin Hu's men dragged the dead guards out of the way. Interestingly enough, they were Tifun warriors.

  Then they heard the faint sound of splashing water, and voices. Ro Min and Kin Shin looked at Shin Hu, who nodded. The archers nocked fresh arrows, and the rest drew their swords. The sounds were coming from the door next to the treasure room.

  Lin Mei slid to the door, twisted the knob, and pushed it in. Ro Min and Kin Shin stepped to cover it, bows ready, while Shin Hu and his men rushed it.

  It was a bath, ornate and redolent with the scents of sandalwood, aloes, and incense. In it were a man, corpulent, with an elaborate topknot, and two pretty girls, who seemed as if they would scream until Shin Hu made a suggestive movement with his sword.

  "Who are you?" the man asked angrily, starting to rise until Kin Shin's bow motioned him back down.

  "Servants of the Empire," Ro Min said from behind her mask. "And you must be Chin Ma, traitor."

  "Bind them," Shin Hu commanded. In moments they were all bound and covered with robes taken from racks at one end of the room.

  "We have come for something that is not yours," Ro Min said. "It belongs to the Empire, and will be returned to Chang An."

  "Fool!" Chin Ma spat. "The Emperor came to power by the assassin's knife, and so will I."

  "Installed by the hordes of Tifun," Shin Hu said. "You will let barbarians sack and loot the capital? And divide the empire?"

  "It has happened before," Chin Ma said, "and the empire has recovered. Tifun will get the Western lands, and be a shield against the Turks, and the Empire will be reborn."

  "The man is mad," Biao Mei said, wonderingly.

  "These types always are," Ro Min said. "We came here to recover a bronze fish. Let's get to work."


  It took a bit longer to pick the lock of the treasure room, but eventually they were inside, gazing at stacks of gold bars, copper cash, and jade and silver scroll rollers.

  "Enough to pay a rebel army," Sin Hu breathed. "Chin Ma has been planning this for a long time."

  "If we do not recover the bronze fish, the empire may fall anyway," Ro Min said. "Let's search."

  They found it at the bottom of a stack of scrolls of Sung Poetry, wrapped in a bolt of heavy silk. On one side was the name of Tifun and the sign for the third moon. After ensuring that Chin Ma and his friends were securely bound, they headed back to the door.

  * * * *

  Dawn broke soon after the first temple bells finished ringing. The city rose, a sense of dread hanging over it like a heavy fog. Lin Mei and her brother dressed in clean clothes and joined Ro Min and Kin Shin in the courtyard. They were armed with their regular longbows. Shin Hu and his men were arrayed behind them, armed and armored. Wang Liu's regular guards, also armed and armored, ringed the courtyard. He nodded.

  "Let's go," he said quietly. They all turned and, in double file, went out through the main gate and into the street, where they met the Magistrate and his guard. They turned and marched down to the Dragon Inn, the Magistrate leading the way.

  At the gate of the Dragon Inn, they stopped, and the Magistrate addressed the guards in a loud voice.

  "I, Sin Wai, Magistrate, arrive to see the master of this house." Slowly the main gate opened, and Chin Ma, surrounded by guards, came out.

  "I, Chin Ma, will see the Magistrate," he said. Lin Mei looked at the guards, saw they were all Tifun, and a chill ran down her back.

  "I request the presence of the Ambassador of the Khan of Tifun, who is the guest of this Inn."

  "I will see the Magistrate," a loud voice said from within the compound. A tall, lean man strode out, clad in gold-chased robes and a turban.

  "Yesterday something was taken that is the Empire's," Sin Wai began. "In the Empire we have justice. We have found the thief and recovered that which was taken." He motioned, and one of his clerks came forward, bearing a box. He opened it and took out an object wrapped in heavy silk. Slowly, ever so slowly, he unwrapped it to reveal the bronze fish.