“My scheming grandmother is perfectly well,” Tabini said. “Get aboard. Sit down. Nadi, get the paidhi a drink.”
Alcohol would not do well at all. He did not intend to drink it. But Banichi and Jago put him into a seat, and then Algini helped Lucasi up the steps: Tano made it under his own power, but barely.
“We shall leave the Najida truck to transport the Edi wounded,” he heard Banichi say, and Tabini came back aboard, and the door shut definitively.
“We need to contact the Taisigi,” he said to Jago, who had sat down beside him in a largely empty bus.
“That will be done, Bren-ji,” she said, and just then the drink arrived, orange, which he wanted more than anything; he tasted it carefully, and found no hint of alcohol. So he sipped it, a hit of sugar, moisture, and a relief to his throat. It was almost beyond him to hold it. But the plush seat had a drink holder. And a cushion for his head. He was filthy, head to foot. His hands left muddy marks on the sweating glass.
“Everybody needs orange,” he said. “Tell them that.”
“That can be arranged.” Tabini leaned on the seat, as the bus started up. “Quite the storm you raised, paidhi. You try to drown my son, you invade the Marid—when you come back to Shejidan, kindly manage things more quietly.”
“One is grateful,” he said in an unsteady voice, “one is exceedingly grateful for your understanding, aiji-ma.”
“Ha!” Tabini said, slapped the seat back, and walked up to take hold of the upright pole beside the driver, while his bodyguard moved back into the seats. The bus pulled up beside the truck, backed around.
“The equipment,” Tano said. “The paidhi’s—”
Notes were in the baggage, Bren thought.
“Hold the bus a moment, aiji-ma,” Algini said, and went back down the steps toward the truck. A handful of Edi stood in view of the open door. They said nothing, just leaned on their rifles and watched.
A moment or two more and Algini brought the baggage onto the bus and left it on the bus steps.
More fruit juice arrived. Algini took one and sat down next to Tano.
Bren heaved a sigh. Thought about unfastening the coat and the damned vest, but it was beyond filthy, and he was, and he told himself if he just didn’t move for the length of time it took to get to Kajiminda or Najida or wherever they were going, he would be fine.
He drank another sip. Two. And set the drink back in the holder and let his eyes shut. Jago was beside him. Banichi and the kid were aboard, Banichi talking to the senior of Tabini’s bodyguard, somewhere back there; Algini and Tano were in the seat opposite, and they were going somewhere safer, aboard a powerful huge bus that had left a sizeable force of Guild in Tabini’s personal service.
He’d done as much as he could do. He rested his head against the backrest and shut his eyes, which began a short, confusing slide toward sleep.
Safe, he said to himself. Whatever happened. Safe. He’d gotten his people out. That was what he knew for certain.
20
« ^
Mani and Father were shouting at each other. That was not unusual.
It did make it a good time for one to be out of range. And Cajeiri did not want to go back to his rooms, where he would hear nothing at all, and he was not supposed to be downstairs in the area where nand’ Siegi was operating on Tano.
He had been down there when Lucasi came down to see Veijico, but he had decided that it was better to stay outside and not interfere. Veijico was happy, and Lucasi was happy; in fact, there was happiness just all over the house, for most everybody. The staff had gotten nand’
Bren back, and they were running like mad trying to prepare Lord Geigi’s rooms for Father to stay the night. Lord Geigi was in the security station relaying messages to his bodyguard, who were still off where the fighting had been—they were waiting for the bus to come back and get them.
He and nand’ Toby and Barb-daja had all been outside when the bus had come in the first time, with Father and his guard, and nand’ Bren and Banichi and Jago and all; and nand’
Bren had walked off the bus on his own, limping just a little and incredibly dirty. Nand’ Bren had bowed a hello to him—to him, right after his father had passed, and he had bowed back and asked nand’ Bren if he was well, which had been a stupid question.
“I have someone to see you,” nand’ Bren had said, and Algini had just started to help Lucasi down from the bus.
“Nandi,” Lucasi had called him, and had bowed very contritely, and had not even asked questions.
“Your sister will be very happy,” he had said.
And meanwhile nand’ Bren hugged Toby and even hugged Barb-daja, which did not surprise anybody who had been much around humans. And Barb-daja had made a fuss, and Toby had said Bren looked like hell, but he knew nand’ Toby meant it kindly.
Besides, it was fairly true. Nand’ Bren was a mess. And he limped on, with his bodyguard, and with nand’ Toby and all, and mani had met Father in the hall, and then nand’ Bren.
“Pish, pish,” she had said, waving him away. “Your guard will debrief. Go. Go, paidhi. Well done! Extremely well done!”
“Aiji-ma,” nand’ Bren said, with a bow. “Thank you.”
“Pish! Thank us? It seems rather the other way about, does it not? Ignore the damage, paidhi-ji. We shall see it set to rights. Shall we not, Grandson?”
That, to Father. Who was already scowling and probably thinking of things to say. Probably mani had been thinking of things to say for several hours, too. Cajeiri would not go into that room for anything.
Lucasi had gone straight downstairs to see Veijico, and he had gone down to talk to both of them, but nand’ Siegi had nabbed Lucasi after he had no more than told his sister he was there. Nand’ Sieigi had said he was a hazardto health and to go bathe, and he was going to take x-rays once he had gotten through with Tano. And nand’ Siegi had taken Tano right in hand, but Tano said he did not think it was that serious; he thought Algini had gotten all the pieces of the shrapnel out.
So Tano was getting x-rays.
So all the pieces were falling into place, with all the excitement over, and he was glad about it. He was tired of being scared. He wanted to have his aishid, and to get some sleep in his own bed, and not to have his father lecturing him about coming here and causing trouble.
Besides, he had not caused the trouble. The trouble had beenhere. He had just helped turn it up.
Lord Geigi was at the security station getting the news from his aishid, who were still out where nand’ Bren had been; and so was Nawari and several of mani’s guard. They said they had the Edi all on one side and the Taisigi separated from them by a number of real Guild, and that Machigi was going to go back to a hunting station just across the border and stay there running his government. Meanwhile, Lord Machigi was going to write a letter to Lord Geigi and ask Lord Geigi to settle agreements with him.
Geigi’s nephew Baiji was not going to be any happier. He was still locked in nand’ Bren’s basement.
But Geigi said he would look forward to the letter, and he told his aishid to tell Machigi’s aishid, which was how things were done.
It was going to be different if Lord Machigi turned out to make an agreement with mani and with Lord Geigi andwith his father, because the Marid had been at war with the aishidi’tat over and over, and Machigi had sponsored Murini, or at least been somewhere involved in what happened.