III Korimenei
Under the prodding of her brother-in-eidolon Korimenei sailed south along the coast to the Jade King’s city, Jade Halimm. She was on her way to steal Frunzacoache from the spiritpouch of a Rushgaramuv shaman and take it to the Cave of the Chained God where her brother waited for her to touch him awake.
“No, no, no,” her brother screamed at her. The eidolon of the sleeping boy floated beside Korimenei as she leaned on the sill of her bedroom window and looked out across the busy harbor at Jade Halimm.
“Why?” She watched a Coaster from the north glide in and drop sails. “What’s wrong with taking a Merchanter to Bandrabahr, then a riverboat up to Dil Jorpashil? The Rushgaramuv pass the Lake on their way to wintering in the Dhia Asatas; it’ll be easy to pick them up there and follow them until I know enough to take the talisman. I’ll have to go more miles that way, but a well-found Merchanter can outpace a caravan in anything but a calm. I don’t get seasick, so it’s more comfortable than land travel. The most important thing is, it’s safer, Tre. I’m a woman traveling alone. I’m young and not hideous. Let me tell you what that means. I’m fair game, Tre. Anything on two legs that fancies his chances will have a grab at me.”
“Kori, listen to yourself. You sound like AuntNurse lecturing naughty girls on chastity and virginity. That’s not you.”
“You think I’m just being female? You haven’t been watching the past few days. Aaahl I was spoiled by Silili. I had the school back of me there. I’m not in school now and no one’s backing me but me. It makes a difference, Tre. A big difference. I went to the Market this morning. It was like I was running a gauntlet. Ailiki bit one man. I singed another who wouldn’t back off. I got pinched and fondled and squeezed and rubbed against. I spent an hour in the baths when I got back here and I still feel dirty. I want to go by ship, Trй, I want civilized surroundings, I want folk around me who know I’m not safe to mess with and who’ll leave me alone.”
“You’re not doing it right, that’s all. Don’t go out by yourself. Hire a guide, that’s what they’re for.”
“Dream on. Tre, all I have is the money Maksim gave me. It has to last until I can get to the cave and wake you. I can’t waste it on extras like guides.” She tried to see him more clearly, gave up after a minute. Foolish. It was just an image he was projecting, not him. She felt like crying. They’d been so close, once. He didn’t even sound like him any more. I’ve changed too, she thought. For a moment she rebelled against his demands; let him lay there, he was safe enough; let me get on with my life. She sighed and pushed the temptation away. He was her brother, her dearest. Well, he had been, and she owed something to that memory. “Another reason for going by ship. When you, count in everything you need for land travel, the sea is cheaper.”
“Not when you count in Amortis.”
“Who said anything about Amortis? You won’t let me near Cheonea.”
“Who said anything about Cheonea? I’m talking about Havi Kudush. That’s where her Temple is, that’s her ground, the well of her power, where she went when Settsimaksimin fell. By now she’s replaced what the Drinker of Souls stripped from her, but she hasn’t forgot it.”
“The well of her power, hmm. You sound like one of my teachers.”
“Kushundallian discoursing on the fundamentals of god-hood?”
“Right. You were watching?”
“You know I was. Stop dithering. If you go upriver from Bandrabahr, you pass through the heart of her ground. Do you think she’s forgot you, Kori? Do you think she doesn’t know who brought the Drinker of Souls to Cheonea? Do you think you can slip by her? Well?”
“No, I don’t think any of those things. You’ve made your point. What 1 don’t understand is why you let me come this far south. I could have gone north to Andurya Durat and been on my way by now.”
“Durat? Don’t be an idiot, Kori. It’d take you a year and a small fortune to get a pass to the Silk Road. No. Jade Halimm is the place to start if you need to travel the Road. You take a riverboat up the Wansheeri to Kapi Yuntipek; you get what you need there and take the Road to Jorpashil. It’s too late for caravans; you’ll have to travel by yourself. You can handle that, Kori; you know you can.”
“What if the passes are closed?”
“They aren’t. Not yet.”
“How do you know?”
“Trust me. I know. There’s been one storm in the mountains, it laid down three, four inches, but they’ve had rain since, so most of that snow is gone. You’ve got around a month before you’ll have trouble getting through.”
“So now you’re Kiykoyl tosNiak, weather wizard?”
“I see what I see.”
“That’s the fact, huh?”
“That’s the fact, yeh.”
“You weren’t around on the Mountain. I needed to talk to you, Tit.”
He didn’t answer. As he hadn’t answered then. She straightened. “It’s suppertime. catch Our Host, see what riverboats are in and when they’re leaving. With a little luck, I’ll be out of here tomorrow.”
2
The Miyachungay cast off and started upriver an hour after dawn, her slatted sails clacking and booming in the wind that came sweeping onshore most mornings as if it had dragons on its tail. After counting and recounting her coins, Korimenei had paid the premium that bought her a tiny cabin for herself; it wasn’t much larger than a footlocker, but it had a bar on the narrow door so she’d sleep in peace and comparative comfort. As a cabin passenger she took her meals at the Captain’s table, which meant she’d eat well and since the cost was included in the price of her cabin, she felt she’d made herself a satisfactory deal.
She stayed in the cabin as long as she could that first morning. She was uneasy; she didn’t know how to behave as a traveler; she didn’t know what the rules were. Settsimaksimin had translated her directly from Cheonea to the school in Silili. And she hadn’t traveled after she’d got to school,
Shahntien Shere kept a thumb firmly planted on her students. She’d gone from one tight supportive society to another. She didn’t want to make mistakes. The short trip downcoast on the Merchanter hadn’t helped, she’d stayed in her cabin the whole way. She was scared to stick her nose out now. It was funny. She could see that. She could even laugh at herself. It didn’t help. She sat on the bunk with Ailiki on her lap, singing nursery songs to her, trying to convince herself she didn’t mind the stuffy darkness of the room.
The walls closed in on her; the cabin was turning into a coffin.
“I’ve got to do it sometime, Aili my Liki. And you have to stay here, my Lili. Watch my things for me, hmm?” She tapped Ailiki on her tailbone. “Shift yourself, luv. I’ve got to unpack my meeting-people suit,”
She’d bought Temueng traveling gear, a padded jacket and loose trousers gathered at the ankle over knee-length leather boots, a veil that went over her head and extended in two broad panels that hung before and behind, brushing against her knees. The veil had embroidered eyeholes, a knotted fringe on the edges; it was heavy cotton, a dusty black, and she hated it. Bumping elbows, knees, buttocks every time she had to shift her body, she changed to her new clothes and pulled the veil over her head. She coughed; she couldn’t breathe. She knew that was stupid, she was doing it to herself. She reached under the veil and pushed the cloth away from her face, groped for the door and went out.
When she climbed onto the deck the wind took hold of her; it nearly ripped the veil off her and used the loose cloth of her trousers as a sail. Blinded and more than a little frightened, she clung to the doorjamb and struggled to get control of her clothing. Hands closed on her arms; someone large and strong lifted her, carried her down the ladder and set her on her feet in the companionway.
“Get rid of that damn veil, woman; it’s a deathtrap. You’re no Temueng; what are you doing dressed up like one?”
Korimenei dragged the veil off and glared at the man. He was a big man, broad rather than tall, his eyes on a level with hers. His shoulders were wide enough for two, his bare arms heavily muscled, his hands large and square; she remembered the strength in them. A Panday sailor. His ear dangle had three anchoring posts it was that heavy; it was ovals of beaten gold set with pearcut emeralds; it swayed with every movement of his head, the emeralds catching the light, winking at her. He was grinning at her, his green eyes glinting with an amusement that infuriated her even more. “Who do you think you are and why’s it any business of yours what I do?”