by Leigh, J.
Jathen chuckled and asked, “I saw you today, didn’t I?”
“Hmm?”
“Earlier in the day, when we were riding in, you were waiting to cross the street. You held my eyes.”
A little shadow fell over her face as she stretched. “Perhaps. I do tend to be a bit forward when I see something I like. Come.” She rose from the bed. “We’d best get you dressed and returned to your friend.”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” She giggled, tossing him his shirt and then planting another kiss on his lips. “But it’s quite taboo for a partner to sleep over in a meison. And it’s getting late, even by my standards. Your friend is probably waiting.”
“All right,” he said, sitting up in the bed. “And, Ishane, thank you.”
“Oh, thank you, my Tazu prince.” She put her arms around his neck. “We mei really are nothing without a good partner. Beleskie smiles on us when we can offer love and healing.”
“Love?”
She winked at him. “A kind of love. Not the forever or eternal variety, but a compassionate sort of love, a reminder that not everyone out there is driven by lust or fear or prejudice. Would you not agree?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She kissed him one last time, long and sweet. “Now get dressed.”
Smiling wide enough his face might crack, Jathen pulled on his clothes. Holding his hand, Ishane showed him back to the main room, where the crowd had thinned considerably. As predicted, Ass’shiri was still chatting with Mei Clemi, but they were sitting on a different couch and seemed more subdued and intimate. Guess he had his fun, too.
Ishane squeezed his hand. “Come see me again anytime. You are most welcome.”
“Thank you again.”
“There you are!” Ass’shiri said. “I was wondering what happened to you.”
“And I told you Ishane is not a mei to be rushed.” Clemi laughed, pinching Ass’shiri’s arm playfully. “Hence, why I offered to keep you company.”
“Does that mean you’ll be abandoning me now?”
“Such is the life of the mei,” she said, ruffling his dark hair. “Can you boys see yourselves out? I hate to admit it, but you wore me out, Clansman. I’m tired.”
Ass’shiri stood. “Yes, yes. Sleep well, Miss Clemi!”
“And a fine goodnight to you both.”
“Well?” Ass’shiri asked Jathen once she was gone. “Was I right?”
“Yes. You were right, Ass.”
“Told you.” Ass’shiri grinned and walked toward the door.
Following him, Jathen watched as Ass’shiri placed an envelope on the Way shrine in the foyer. The shimmering pink paper rested heavily atop others at the feet of a little Beleskie dragon made of rose quartz.
“Tithes,” Ass’shiri said, answering Jathen’s unspoken question. “There’s no rule that says you must pay a mei, but they are like all Walkers in that they rely on those who seek their help to compensate them for their services.”
“Should I leave something, too?”
Ass’shiri waved him off. “I took care of it, given you probably had no idea what was proper, anyway.”
“Thank you again. You’re a good friend, despite the threats and physical violence.”
“I try.” Ass’shiri mock-bowed. “Now come on. Let’s get back so you can get some sleep. We’ve accomplished what we set out to do tonight.”
“Right,” Jathen said, quickening his pace to match his friend’s. He couldn’t help glancing back at the dimming lights of the meison. A Tazu that isn’t quite a Tazu, he pondered, thinking of Neek, twin-flames, and Ishane. I wonder…
Chapter 27
Jathen bolted awake.
He could only recall pieces of the nightmare, images of horror and death. There were cliffs, insanely high cliffs reaching into the sky. And Dumas again, talking about artifacts as he pulled out his teeth. Blood and bone… rotting away. But then Ishane, smiling… before all this smoke filled the air… and then there were flowers… blue flowers amid the gray… He shook his head, clearing his mind.
“You all right, Jath?” Ass’shiri asked, peeking one lavender eye out from under a pillow. “You look like you’re in a cold sweat there.”
The blackout curtains were mostly drawn, but a sliver of light rested on that eye, giving Jathen an icy shiver. “I’m fine,” Jathen said, peeling off sticky sheets. “Nightmare. Bad one.”
“Not prophetic, I hope?”
“No.” Jathen stood, slightly unsteady on his feet but glad to be moving. “At least, I don’t think so. I tend to remember those very clearly. This was blurry.”
“Well, good. Defusing dark prophecies is not in my job description. At least not while the sun is so bright.” Ass’shiri repositioned the pillow so he was no more than a dark lump on the bed. “Go bathe and get dressed, then I’ll take a turn, and we’ll have some breakfast. We can talk about bad dreams later, when I’m feeling more myself and less like Hatori on a bad day.”
Jathen snorted and headed into the bathroom to dress.
When he returned, the curtains were open and Ass’shiri was up. While his friend made use of the bathroom, Jathen plucked up his watch-cuff from the nightstand. A high-pitched buzz caught his ear. I don’t care what Hatori says, there is a buzzing coming from this watch.
As he started to unpack, he spotted something protruding from under the bed skirt. Investigating, he discovered it was the bottom half of the spin box. Getting on his hands and knees, he felt around under the bed but only found the lid.
Where did that star get off to? Jathen raised his head and spotted the tiny puzzle sitting in the center of the tightly tucked sheets—a signature of work completed. He swallowed hard and spoke aloud to the wayward ghost. “Thanks.”
Ass’shiri walked in, drying his dark locks with a bright towel. “You made the beds?”
Jathen shook his head. “Not me.” He returned the puzzle to the box then put it into his pack under the bed.
“Pfft, ghosts.” Ass’shiri took a seat on his bed to put on his boots. “Don’t look so spooked. You’ve not even had breakfast yet, and you look about ready to lose your stomach.”
“It’s not that. Something’s got me on edge.”
“After last night?” Ass’shiri whistled. “We’re going to have to go through a lot more mei to get you relaxed, it seems.”
“Ass…”
“Sorry.” Ass’shiri chuckled. “Weird stuff happens, Jathen. More often than not. But I’ve spent enough time with dear Cy’shā and some other precognitives to know it’s no good worrying over an unsettled feeling when you don’t have any information to go on. Now, let’s get some breakfast.”
They ate without incident. Alodie fussed over them, making certain they had enough hot tea, scrambled eggs, and bacon to feed a full-grown Tazu.
“Have you seen our friends?” Jathen asked around a mouthful of the best bread he’d ever tasted. “They weren’t in their room.”
“Your charm master woke with the dawn and set out immediately for the shed.” She nodded in that direction. “Gave Cook an awful fright, tearing through the kitchen at that hour. Sweet Jephue has been out there with him for the last hour.”
“Thanks.” Jathen stood, followed by Ass’shiri, and headed toward the back door.
“Wait,” Alodie said. Pressing a basket laden with goodies into Jathen’s hands, she said, “Take them some tea and biscuits! That Hatori doesn’t strike me as one to take a break!”
Outside, the morning air was strange with an acidic haze hovering in the sky, smudging the daylight.
“What is this?” Jathen squinted into the muted sun. “It’s not a fog, is it?”
Ass’shiri sniffed. “Smells like a fire. Got to be a large one, too.”
“Should we do something?”
“We’re probably way too far away. The way these air currents move down here on the coast, it could be a forest fire in the Furōrin-Iki that we’re smelling.”
“From this far away?” Something prickled at the base of Jathen’s neck. Images of Dumas on a funeral pyre came to mind, then the vision of Dolomith. “Let’s find Hatori. He always seems to know everything that’s going on. Maybe he’s heard word, or there’s been something in the Continental Courier.”
“Good idea. Maybe it’ll shed some light on your unsettled feeling, too.”
“I had the same thought.”
They crossed the large back courtyard complete with a garden fountain and lush greenery on the verge of blooming. The makeshift workshop was at the end of a neatly bricked path and hidden under a few trees at the edge of the garden. The shed was more in keeping with a small barn, large enough to have a loft above and plenty of floor space.
“Impressive.” Jathen saw Jephue inside, working a cleaning rag over one of several dusty worktables. “I can see why Hatori picked this place.” Walking in, Jathen was startled to hear Ass’shiri curse loudly. His outburst was followed by an equally loud thud. Turning, Jathen saw his friend sitting squarely on his butt before the threshold. “What happened?”
Rubbing his nose, Ass’shiri said, “Ruddy ward is what happened! Ugh!”
“Oh!” Jephue scampered over, his blue eyes wide. “I’m so sorry! Hatori said he was putting them up before the delivery, but I didn’t think he’d gotten that far yet!” Flitting through the doorway, he squatted beside the younger Clansman. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Ass’shiri muttered. “Though I want to ask the charm master why the blasted thing is prejudiced against me.”
“Yeah,” Jathen said, as Jephue helped his friend up. “How come it let me and you through, Jeph, but not him?”
“Oh,” Jephue said. “Hatori probably set it to recognize us already but not Ass’shiri.”
Hatori came down from the loft to join their huddle around the doorway. “What am I supposedly doing now?”
“You’re getting forgetful in your old age, old man,” Ass’shiri griped. “You set your ward to recognize everyone but me.”
Hatori’s silver-green eyes narrowed. After staring at them for a touch longer than Jathen thought necessary, he said, “Huh. Forgot about that.”
“See?” Ass’shiri snickered. “He’s going senile.”
“Be careful there,” Hatori retorted, “or I might become so senile as to forget to pay you. Now hold still.”
“Fair enough.” Ass’shiri said, becoming rigid.
While Hatori manipulated energies around Ass’shiri, Jathen looked around for the ward charms. He spotted the unobtrusive clusters of silver-soldered crystals hanging in the workshop’s four corners. Hatori finished, and Ass’shiri came inside to join Jathen.
“Whew, those are something!” Ass’shiri whistled. “Five vibrational barrier layers, two masking layers, a tripwire spell, and”—he ran his foot over the dirt floor, sensing what Jathen could not—“it looks like the anchor stones are buried inside.”
Jathen asked, “That’s significant?”
“It means it’s got an unending power source of earth’s vibrational energy to continuously loop the spell with from within the ward, as well as the added protection of extending the ward below ground level.” Ass’shiri called out teasingly, “You expecting a Red attack, Chann? Because this is just a step below a charm engineer’s work, you know.”
“If one is going to protect something, he’d better protect it well,” Hatori said. “What’s incoming is no small matter in terms of value, and I mean to keep any manner of thief out.”
“What you are going to keep out are the customers,” Jephue complained. “How do you expect us to show anything when no one can get in the front door? I don’t know why you couldn’t just limit the wards to the cases and the backrooms like in Kidwellith.”
“I told you this is temporary, Jephue.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Until I have enough work completed to fill up our own shop, this will have to do. Besides, you get to go hunting for proper real estate in the meanwhile.”
Jephue’s eyes lit up, and he began firing off a list of areas and essentials they’d need to investigate in the nearby city of Fauve. When Jephue paused to take a breath, Jathen asked Hatori about the fire smell.
Hatori hesitated. “I haven’t read anything, but the rumor on the street is it’s on one of the uninhabited off-islands. One of the excavation digs had an accident, most like.”
“Aren’t all the off-islands haunted or something?” Jathen asked. “I think I recall hearing some dribs and drabs of rumors on the subject.”
“They were talking about it in the meison last night,” Ass’shiri added, investigating what Alodie had placed in their basket. “Would make sense in my opinion. Off-islands are the only dry land left over from before the continent was razed. Got to be lots of ghosts still banging about where the last of the Old World that can be seen in sunlight is.”
“Meison?” Hatori snorted. “Is that where you two puttered off to last night?” He rolled his eyes as Jathen reddened. “Ruddy Republic. It gets to everyone.”
There was a tentative knock at the shed door, then Alodie called, “Master Chann, the delivery you were expecting has arrived!”
Hatori was gone in a blur, out the door faster than Jathen would have thought possible.
“Someone’s excited,” Ass’shiri said. “He forgot to pretend he’s not as old a Clansman as he is, for once.”
Hatori returned moments later, his arms laden with a large wooden crate. Bits of straw and twine puffed into the air when he ripped off the lid, heedless of the two-scales-long nails holding it on. He sifted through it, then with a happy squeak—an odd sound indeed coming from the charm master—he fished out his prize.
“What is it?” Jathen asked
“Amber,” Hatori announced, holding up the raw piece to the light. “This is why we are here, gentlemen. The largest new vein to be discovered in over three thousand years, just off of the coast.”
“You came all this way for new rocks?” Jathen raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t you have just hired an earth mage? Or is a Talent who can manage making minerals far too expensive?”
“They can’t make amber, Jathen,” Ass’shiri explained. “It’s organic, like pearls or bone, a plant resin or something that has hardened over a long time. No Talent can create organic matter, not even Avatars.”
“Which is why it’s so precious.” Jephue took the piece and rubbed it between his fingers. “Even rough, this single piece would be enough for us all to eat well for a year.” He bestowed an admiring gaze upon Hatori. “And once you shape it, it will be worth a hundred times that.”
“Oh, hardly,” Hatori took the piece back. “At least, not until I refine my technique. I’ve not worked with amber anywhere near as much as everything else. It will take time and practice before I have anything truly astounding. This shipment is just a first round.”
Ass’shiri whistled, staring into the open crate. “That’s a lot of practice pieces. I don’t suppose they’re worth ‘practice money’?”
Hatori smirked. “No.”
“Didn’t think so.”
Jathen did a few quick sums in his head. “Spirit, Hatori. For all your griping about money, how can you possibly afford all this?”
“Hey, Jathen’s right,” Ass’shiri said. “I want to renegotiate my salary if you’re going to be turning a profit on this stuff.”
“The ignorance of the two of you astounds me,” Hatori said. “I’d think you’d know better, Jathen, given that I worked for your family for so damn long.” He tapped the rim of the crate. “I do not own any of
this here, any more than I owned any of the gemstones the Monortiths gave me to fashion into charms for them. The commissioner buys the gems and gives them to me to use. When I am done, they pay me for my time and effort, and then the new master charm goes with them. This all belongs to my new patron.”
“And who is this mysterious patron who’s got you molding amber en masse?” Jathen asked.
“You’ll know in due time.”
Ass’shiri tried to stifle a chortle and failed.
“What?” Jathen asked.
“Nothing.” Ass’shiri waved a hand. “It’s just that sometimes you sound more Clan than I do!”
“Pah,” Hatori said, hoisting the crate onto a nearby chair. “A Manna’s throw rug can sound more Clan than you at times, Ass. Now help me get the rest of these in and open before I reconsider my choice to keep you.”
While the two Clansmen went about their task, Jathen assisted Jephue with unloading the amber pieces.
When Hatori and Ass’shiri returned with another two crates each, Jathen asked the charm master if the amber was why he had been so pressed for time.
“What makes you think that?” Hatori asked with a sly smile.
“Well, I’m not exactly the most well-informed person, but the first amber vein in three thousand years is probably something someone would have mentioned hearing about in the Tazu court before we left. Or am I wrong in thinking this find is going to cause a pretty big impact on the Lu’shun economy?”
“No, you are right there. This is going to cause a rather major shift in the economies not only of the Lu’shun but of every one of the nations on the continent.”
“Like I said, I think I would have heard something about it. Just how new is this ‘new’ vein?”
Hatori grinned approvingly. “Good boy. You are starting to pay attention.” He patted the crate. “This represents part of the first expedition’s mining efforts, what was used to confirm the vein. In spite of insurmountable delays, we’ve managed to beat the official announcement by nearly a week.”