by E. M. Hardy
The jinni shook his head at that, opening his mouth to rebut both Cui Dai and Enin in some way. Yao Xiu, however, interrupted him by chuckling nervously.
“Please do not take offense, honored mentor. Inqiz is merely worried for my sake, and he is correct in his appraisal of my wellbeing. It’s just that I’m really not used to being surrounded by so much water. And this bridge! I… I am deathly afraid of it being washed out from under our feet.”
Cui Dai favored Yao Xiu with a gentle smile. This genuineness, this earnestness, was one of the things she really liked about the young lady—especially when her timidity hid a fortitude few normally possessed.
She kept her wits around her when making first contact with Martin Fuller, successfully identified Cui Dai’s connection with the Balancers, and even helped form the Empire’s first successful Sahir corps during the Shogun’s rebellion.
Cui Dai’s jinni felt the pride through their connection—as well as her reservations about Yao Xiu being left alone. The girl was skilled in her own little way but dangerous if allowed to move around unsupervised.
Her connection to Martin was the most dangerous of all. It was strong enough that she managed to convince him to remain friendly to the Empire despite becoming aware of the Empress’ attempt to subjugate him.
This was precisely why Empress Zi Li ordered Yao Xiu to join the Balancers with Cui Dai mentoring her along the way.
“While I cannot vouch for the safety of this bridge,” Cui Dai said, nodding out the window of their carriage, “I must note that the journey would have been no safer by boat. The sudden storms have a way of churning the waters so violently that the resulting waves can capsize boats caught out in the open.”
Yao Xiu gulped at that revelation. “And this will reassure Yao Xiu how?” quipped Inqiz with an evil chuckle.
Cui Dai continued staring out the window, not even bothering to glance at the jinni as she gave her reply. “Do you see those tall, chimney-like tubes ahead of us? The ones built atop the pylons?”
Yao Xiu leaned out the carriage window, spotting the structure being pointed out. “Yes. Yes, I think I see them. I’ve been seeing those structures almost at every obelisk along the bridge. Um, do you know what they are, honored mentor?”
Cui Dai wanted to grin at the way Yao Xiu fell back to honoring her peers when she was nervous. She instead kept her face schooled into neutrality. “Those are ventilation shafts leading down into underwater shelters. Those shelters are where we will stay for our nights, as well as during storms. They are built deep into the foundations holding the pylons. Trust me when I say they are much safer—and far more comfortable—than the cramped confines of a ship’s cabin.”
Yao Xiu gawked in amazement as she took in the significance of the tall structures all along the bridge. “That’s… that’s quite impressive. And Martin did all this in… in just a year?”
Enin nodded at Cui Dai, seeking and receiving permission to answer.
“Indeed. With the end of the hostilities, the Purifier was able to focus on building infrastructure all throughout the Imperial lands. And besides, he needed to build his network of obelisks toward the Isles of Taiyo anyway. He first built a series of pylons and obelisks, then a small footbridge for his constructs.
“He expanded that small bridge to accommodate more traffic, then expanded it even further for use by humans as well. He then realized that frequent typhoons would be problematic for travelers so he built these shelters for people to take refuge in.”
Cui Dai shook her head at that. “It is ugly, true, but the sheer scope is enough to impress. This Continental Bridge effectively merges the Isles with the mainland, and will make trade and transport so much easier now.”
“The Purifier?” Yao Xiu asked, her head inclined in confusion. She then tapped into her connection with Inqiz, a jinni specializing in mnemonic talents, to clear away the fog of forgetfulness in her mind. “Ah. I… see. I remember now.” Yao Xiu went silent for a moment, no doubt finding the information that she needed.
Cui Dai also remembered the time when the jinni called Martin the Corrupter. It was only a few weeks later that they called him Purifier, and the name seemed to stick. The ethereal creatures remained tight-lipped about what happened that day.
Even Cui Dai’s own jinni, Enin, refused to go into detail about the events of that time. The only thing that they agreed to divulge was that Martin had become their so-called Purifier—a mystery that not even Cui Dai’s contacts in the League of Merchants could explain.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Yao Xiu perked her head up and decided to change the topic. “I just want to ask: why does the bridge curve around so much? Wouldn’t it be faster if Martin simply built the bridge in a straight line?”
Cui Dai hummed to herself tapping her chin. “Yes. About that. Martin said that there are actually mountains, hills, and valleys hidden under the water. The support pylons of the Continental Bridge are built atop the peaks of those mountains, which is why the bridge itself curves this way and that.”
She smiled at that with a gentle shake of her head. “It was a marvel to hear that mountains exist deep under these waters. I wonder what he sees down there, what the floor of the seas and the oceans look like? What kind of creatures dwell in the inky darkness down below?”
Cui Dai remembered another detail and allowed a gentle laugh to pass through her lips. “I even heard that some fishermen wanted to make their homes in the shelters, establish small villages here, but Martin refused any form of permanent settlement.
“He said that he can’t guarantee the integrity of the bridge in the event of an earthquake, tsunami, or particularly powerful typhoon. It was bad enough that travelers could be caught out in the open, but entire villages? That’s something he said couldn’t be risked.”
Yao Xiu shivered at the thought of perishing in the sea while Inqiz laughed out loud. “I must say that you are doing a wonderful job of reassuring us of the safety of this trip.” Enin didn’t even bother to scold Inqiz this time, as she silently registered her disapproval through their shared bond.
“My pleasure,” Cui Dai said innocently with a polite nod of her head, completely ignoring Inqiz’s sarcasm. The jinni just laughed louder as he floated above his seat, twinkling green with merriment.
“Excuse me,” said a familiar voice, interrupting the banter between the two people and two jinn inside the carriage. An eyeball hovered just outside the window beside Yao Xiu, its singular eye taking in the passengers of the caravan.
“Oh! Hey there, Yao Xiu, Cui Dai! Didn’t know you were taking the bridge today! Oh, and hey there as well, Inqiz…”
“Hey yourself,” huffed Inqiz in mock-outrage. “Leave it up to you to greet the fair maidens with enthusiasm while I get nothing more than a bland greeting.”
The eyeball quivered up and down as Martin chuckled at that. “Yeah, that’s because I don’t like you as much as I like them.” Speaking of which, Martin’s eyeball swiveled its gaze around and finally spotted Cui Dai’s bonded partner. Cui Dai didn’t blame Martin for that since Enin’s black visage made her difficult to make out within the dark confines of their carriage.”
“Oh! I didn’t see you back there! Um, sorry, I don’t think we’ve met yet.”
Cui Dai’s jinni nodded her head. “Greetings, Purifier. I am Enin, and I contracted with Cui Dai just a few weeks ago.”
“Ah, yeah. Um… a pleasure to meet you as well, Enin.” Despite speaking through an eyeball, Cui Dai clearly made out the flustered tone in Martin’s voice. It would appear that being called Purifier made him ill at ease—an interesting note that Cui Dai filed away for later use.
“Anyhow, I’m just passing through to warn everyone in the caravan that a storm is moving toward the bridge.” Cui Dai peeked out of her window in the carriage and sure enough, a dark cloud hung out on the horizon. “It’s moving pretty fast though and I think it’ll make contact in a few more hours. Th
e caravan master decided to pick up the pace, just keep moving forward and stop at the next shelter a couple miles ahead.”
Her training as a Balancer allowed her to keep her fear in check, but that didn’t quite stop the fear itself from coursing through her veins. Yao Xiu did an admirable job, but even she couldn’t resist clutching the hem of her dress. It was one thing to scare a young woman with frightening tales of typhoons drowning the bridge of clay. It was quite another to actually live through one.
At least her apprentice brought meat buns.
***
A week later…
“Dry land! Oh, thank the ancestors!” Yao Xiu exclaimed as she knelt down, all but kissing the ground at her feet. Quite a few others in the caravan joined her there, with one person crying out thick tears of joy and another actually kissing the dirt.
Truth be told, Cui Dai would have very much liked to join them in their celebrations. Only her iron discipline kept her in check, though it did nothing to prevent Enin from comprehending the depth of relief in her heart.
The bond with her jinni was convenient and gave her a powerful new tool to enhance her capabilities, but she still felt uncomfortable about the way she bared all her thoughts and emotions to her partner. She breathed secrecy, pretense, and deceit—not this open sharing of everything with someone else.
Enin picked up on all these sentiments, of course. She sent trust and reassurance through their bond as she approached. “Worry not, my hesitant partner,” whispered Enin low enough for only Cui Dai to hear. “We jinn are bound to the lives of our partners, sharing both their most intimate secrets and their darkest desires. You need not fear any betrayal on my part, oh nameless one.”
Cui Dai breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Enin’s words, upon hearing someone acknowledge one such as her. She didn’t know if the feeling was just genuine or some sort of emotional manipulation on Enin’s part, but it felt good just the same. Enin simply smirked and shook her head at Cui Dai’s distrust. Both women, however, wiped the emotions away from their faces when their contact approached them.
“Historian Cui Dai and… Historian Yao Xiu, I presume? Welcome to Chishima!”
The man approached them, nodding his greetings as he studied them both. He wore the rough-spun cotton clothes of Taiyo merchants, though his brown skin, bushy beard, and tall stature marked him as someone born and raised in the hot sands of the Bashri Basin.
“Yes, I am indeed Historian Cui Dai,” she said with a polite nod before gesturing to her companion. “And this is Historian Yao Xiu.” The young lady bowed low, earnestly, though not low enough to debase herself—a bad habit she picked up during her time as an Aspiring Historian. “This is my jinni, Enin. Yao Xiu’s jinni is…”
“Um, resting in the Invisible World. Inqiz was a bit strung-out by the trip across the bridge so he decided to regain his strength up over there.”
Cui Dai nodded, fighting back a smile. Inqiz was all high and mighty during the ride, but it was abundantly clear to her that he wasn’t as immune to fear as he boasted. She then turned back to her contact with a respectful nod of her head. “May I be so bold as to presume that you are Merchant Majdi al-Nassib, the man we are supposed to meet?”
“Ah, no. It’s actually el-Nassif. Majdi el-Nassif, at your service,” the man said with a grin, a bow, and a flourish. Cui Dai nodded, accepting the countersign and releasing the chi she discreetly harnessed within the loops of her war threads.
“Would you like me to lead you to your lodgings? I have only crossed the Continental Bridge once myself, and I must admit that the experience is… quite exhilarating. I even managed to get caught in a storm! A typhoon, if I remember it correctly.” The man’s eyes sparkled with wonder. “All that water, just falling from the sky with such regularity… my people would rejoice at the idea of something similar happening in the Basin.”
Cui Dai smiled at that, switching to return the man’s courtesy with one of her own. “I heard that Martin’s dolls are building canals all over the Bashri and that they are helping dig up aquifers at the same time.”
Majdi’s grin softened into a wistful smile at those words. “So I have heard from my contacts back home. My home village is even getting a deep well of its own, which will allow my parents and other families to better irrigate their crops. Some were even considering raising cattle if they can manage to grow enough grass.”
The man’s smile morphed into an expression of thoughtfulness as he scrunched his lips and looked up at the sky. “Though it is strange. In the last letter I received from my family, they said that Martin pulled his dolls out of the village as soon as they finished the well. He promised that he would help with the irrigation system, but then claimed that he needed the dolls for some vital project.
“Now that I think about it, many dolls and walkers are being pulled out of the Isles as well. Some remain to help maintain the existing roads and bridges, but the number of constructs leaving the Isles… I wonder what’s going on.”
Cui Dai nodded in agreement, pretending to ponder Majdi’s words. She knew the true reasons for the pullout, however, and could only assume that the ‘rogue’ construct army coming from the deserts turned out to be hostile after all.
That, and a serious enough threat for Martin to pull both his combat and non-combat constructs into the fight.
Majdi maintained his thoughtful gaze for a few moments longer before he remembered himself, his purpose. His smile hardened back into a professional grin as he bowed once more to his guests.
“Well then. Please follow me to your lodgings, where warm food and a hot bath await. You absolutely must try the grilled beef strips from Kusajima. It is so soft and marbled that it practically melts off the bone!”
Cui Dai fought a smirk, suppressing the growl in her stomach at the idea of trying the fabled beef strips of the island. Either Majdi was being extremely, unreasonably generous with his hospitality, or that the fabled meat had become so readily available that even a merchant like him could so easily acquire some of it for insignificant guests like her and Yao Xiu.
***
“Down to business, then?”
“Yes.”
Majdi nodded in confirmation before sparing Yao Xiu a glance. “Will she be alright?”
Cui Dai didn’t even bother to look at the young lady just behind her, who she suspected was fidgeting badly enough for the League Operative calling himself Majdi el-Nassif to be concerned about. “She will.”
Majdi nodded curtly before leading both Cui Dai and Yao Xiu into one of the League’s safehouses. Cui Dai placed her senses on high alert, one finger inserted into the loops of her threads and ready to inject chi into them at a moment’s notice.
She felt the gaze of hidden eyes assessing her, gauging her threat as she walked briskly through shadowy streets. Majdi’s fingers twitched, forming signs that Cui Dai couldn’t comprehend, and the hidden eyes all around her melted back into the darkness—their hostility disappearing with them.
Cui Dai silently clicked her tongue inside her mouth. The Balancers were the Empire’s secret warriors, the hidden eyes and ears of the Empress. These operatives working for the League of Merchants, however, made her feel like a rank amateur when it came to matters of deceit and subterfuge. It downright embarrassed her the way that her people could only identify League operatives when they approached the Balancers and identified themselves as such.
This was one such scenario, where the League approached the Empire with a request to identify possible agents from the Order of Rats. A welcome surprise, especially if it meant rooting out more of these Rats from their hidden nests.
“This way,” commanded Majdi with a twist of his neck. Cui Dai and Yao Xiu followed suit, exiting an alley and going down a road that led to a secluded, dilapidated manor near the edge of the town.
The property looked like it once belonged to a daimyo, though it had definitely seen better days. Overgrown vegetation, rotting wood fe
nces, missing shingles, and a stagnating fish pond filled with green and brown scum marred the former beauty of the property.
Majdi nodded at the guard in front of the estate, who nodded back even as he kept his eyes glued to Cui Dai and Yao Xiu. The unnamed man’s gaze was not that of an old pervert undressing them with his eyes. No, his was the careful analysis of a man ready to throw a spray of poisoned needles hidden in the sleeves of his shirt the moment he perceived a threat.
Cui Dai spared a glance at Yao Xiu and was pleased to see that she too was on high alert, keeping her eyes on the man’s hands. She clutched her staff a little too tightly, but that was not much of an issue for Cui Dai. After all, she herself was ready to whip out her threads and fill them with chi at a moment’s notice.
Majdi knocked three times on the door and whispered words when someone unlatched the peephole. A few moments later, and he was leading Cui Dai and her charge down into the basement of the estate. Two additional guards, a man and a woman, moved to pat them down and quite possibly disarm them, but Majdi waved them away on his authority.
They glanced at him, wordlessly questioning his decision to allow them in unchecked, but a second more assertive nod of his head caused them to back off and let them pass.
And now the three people stood, tense and alert, in a room with five figures bound to chairs, black bags covering their heads.
Majdi removed the hood covering the head of the first man, who blinked and sputtered at the suddenness of the action. Cui Dai squinted as she studied the captive. A man in his late fifties, a crooked nose, a scar on the left side of his neck, his cheek turning an ugly shade of purple from a solid smack to the face.
“What the hell do you people want from me?” groaned the man, attempting to look strong even as he quivered against his bindings. “I keep telling you that—aw, crap.” The man ceased his useless protests the moment his eyes glanced down at the taijitu badge that Cui Dai pinned to her lapel.
“Deng Yishun, also known as Qiao Yijun,” rattled Cui Dai drily, without a hint of emotion in her words. “Suspected leader of the cell behind corrupting Wu Er, masterminded the spreading of rumors that caused the city’s residents to defy the call for an evacuation.”