Lips next to his ear and a gentle simultaneous reorientation toward the other door. “Lord Machigi’s guard is coming.”
Lord Machigi’sguard was coming.
Reinforcements? Or was Machigi attacking them? All of a sudden he didn’tunderstand what was going on, and not understanding, he could offer no help at all to his bodyguard. He yielded to Jago’s insistence and went out into the hall, down to their room, at a fast walk.
The table right by the door had a small array of odd objects he didn’t recognize,and a gun: and the wedge. He picked the wedge up, shut the door, started to bend overc
With the vest, thatwas a problem. He dropped the wedge on the floor, managed to nudge it into place with his foot, picked up a secondary doorstop, a clever metal piece that fitted into the crack on the hinge side.
Then he took up the gun, which was rather large even for atevi hands, and took the safety off.
He wished they’d left one of their communications units with him. He was standing here holding the fort—but the people he cared about weren’t in the fort in question, and everything he’d thought was going on, wasn’t going the way he’d thought it would.
It was either fairly all right out there or going very damned bad.
And if he had to set off this cannon he was holding, the recoil was going to blow him across the room.
He waited. He heard the outer door open. No shots followed. That was good.
He waited a very long time.
And finally footsteps approached the door. If Guild was involved, they wouldn’t rush a door dead center, and they’d expect a stop to be in place. They might blow the door out. And maybe him with it. He shifted over against the inside wall.
A knock, then.
“Bren-ji?”
Jago’s voice, calm and ordinary. He lowered the heavy gun and let go the breath he’d held the last several seconds.
“Shall I open?” he asked.
“You may,” she said, and with great relief he laid the gun on the table, pried out the top doorstop, and kicked the bottom one out of the way to unlock and open the door.
Jago looked entirely unruffled. “Tano and Algini have gone into the hall to speak with Machigi’s men. They declare they have just taken care of the local problem. They say certain other suspects have left the city or are headed in that direction—not as good news as might be, but one can at least rest easier here.”
So his bodyguard was talking directly with Machigi’s security, who had taken out infiltrators.
And maybe let others escape. Or not. Damn, he hated partial information.
“Of what man’chi were they?” he asked. “Do we have any clue, Jago-ji?”
Granted they could believe the information Machigi’s guard was passing them.
Jago didn’t sign him to silence. Shewas trusting it was now safe to talk. She said, “We have no information yet, but Tano and Algini will be asking for details.”
“One would like to sit by the fire for a while.” He began to walk with Jago down the hall, toward the sitting room. The thought of his comfortable chair and a cup of strong tea drew him.
And information. Whatever had just gone on—he needed to know. There was division in the Marid. Or someone was attempting to foment division. Whether one or more of the other clans was behind whatever had happened, or whether it was renegade Guild either independently or associated with one of—
Jago stopped in her tracks. He stopped, just short of the door to the sitting room. She was listening to something—and then she reached and opened the door for him.
He walked ahead. Banichi was there, standing by the outer door, listening to something, too.
He didn’t ask. Things were going on. Tano and Algini were out there exposed to whatever politics might be afoot.
Could there be any issue between Machigi’s intentions and his bodyguard? The bodyguard, granted they were both native and Guild, should have solid man’chi to their lord.
They might, however, disagree with their lord about what posed a threat and what didn’t.
They were capable of acting contrary to orders on that issue—God knew his own bodyguard would do it. He and Machigi were in a similar situation in that regard: there were two sets of bodyguards doing their own negotiating and, in the case of Machigi’s, apparently deciding a certain interest in the household posed a threat, under the changed circumstances of the paidhi’s talks with Machigi. So they had moved to take it out before it could so much as twitch in self-defense.
Machigi might find himself having to mop up the diplomatic consequences inside his own district.
Which could be an advantage, if Machigi’s bodyguard had just, in the process, tipped the scales toward the dowager’s proposal.
“Lord Machigi wishes to see you, nandi,” Banichi said, breaking his silence, “in half an hour, in the map room.”
Guild talked with Guild. Lords talked with lords. Hehad Machigi to deal withc the thought struck him—it was Tano and Algini out there talking to at least one of Machigi’s bodyguard.
Algini, who had been high-up Guild, under the previous Guildmaster.
The question was—and he likely would never know— exactly what Algini was now and whether Algini had done any negotiating on Guild matters that neither Machigi nor the paidhi-aiji knew about. Possibly Banichi and Jago didn’t know that answer. Possibly even Tano didn’t.
Damned right the Guild’s ruling hierarchy up in Shejidan was concerned about what was going on down here. In one single day they’d gone from a debate on outlawing all of Machigi’s Guild members to—
Maybe they were adopting a different position and were making their own offer.
Hell of a situation. He had come here representing the dowager.
By the terms on which Machigi was willing to talk, he was now representing Machigi.
And now half of his aishid was very likely representing the Assassins’ Guild in what was a districtwide crisis.
“One doubts we will be discussing the maps or my proposals in this meeting,” he said wryly, wishing he could stay safe in this apartment for, oh, the next few days. “But yes, Banichi-ji, one will be glad of the opportunity.”
6
« ^ »
Nand’ Toby ought not to be coming upstairs, but there was no reasonable way to stop him.
And Barb-daja was with nand’ Toby, helping him.
Cajeiri just climbed the steps behind them, with Antaro and Jegari in front of him, on the theory that the two of them could stop both of them falling backward.
Nand’ Toby wanted to talk to Great-grandmother directly. And there were very few people Cajeiri thought might go up against mani to get an answer, but nand’ Toby, while ordinarily very quiet and polite, had gotten himself dressed and declared he was going upstairs, and that was that. Barb-daja had wanted her cosmetics, which were down on the boat, and had gotten upset about it, but nand’ Toby had talked her out of that.
So they all went upstairs. Nand’ Toby was out of breath by the time they reached the upper hall, and Jegari unceremoniously took hold of his left arm—Barb-daja had his right arm—
and made him stand still a moment.
It was a chance to get out in front of the expedition and maybe to keep mani from blaming him for nand’ Toby being mad at her. “You wait there, Toby-nandi,” Cajeiri said. “I’ll find Cenedi.”
Nand’ Toby was too out of breath to argue. Cajeiri took that as agreement and hurried off with Antaro in close company, past two worried household servants and Ramaso-nadi. The whole household knew that nand’ Toby was supposed to stay downstairs, and it was clear to anyone now that there was some sort of trouble keeping him there.