Banichi said. “We should take the house. That must be done, efficiently and completely, Bren-ji. If you say preserve him, we shall do that.”
“If,” Bren said uneasily, “if you can do it without risk to yourselves.” He took a deep breath and wiped his face with his hand. “This is whythe Guild has a policy against involving outsiders, is it not, nadiin-ji? I am a fool. Forget everything I have said. I withdraw my statements. I place nosuch restriction or request. My intercession should have been with Tabini-aiji, notwith Guild assigned to carry out his decision.”
“Yet Lord Pairuti could provide useful information,” Banichi said. “It is not an unwise choice, Bren-ji. But the decision must be politically supported. That is not our decision. If you say help him live, we can do that.”
“What does Lord Geigi’s aishid say?”
“They are willing to go in andto take down the lord,” Jago said. “But they are notcurrent with technology down here. It would be a risk we would not wish them to run. And they may have a personal connection with members of the household. That is another risk.”
“We and the dowager’s men can take the house,” Banichi said. “We have no question.”
“The aiji’s menc” Bren began.
“We do not discuss that, Bren-ji,” Jago said—which told the story. They were undiscussable and they were going to vanish at some critical point. It took no great wit to know they were going overland and across the local border, and in what direction, and why they were not lingering to assist his operation.
Bren absorbed that information, and Jago said, further: “There are others. Many others.”
So thatwas how they were staying current with the situation. Relays—possibly something set up on Maschi landc and there were Guild out there—many others, Jago said, moving by stealth. Bren cast a look forward, where Geigi and his aishid sat—the bodyguard reading or with heads together in converse, Geigi still seeming to be asleep.
And one could not leave hanging the question of what to do with Lord Pairuti.
And one could not ask Geigi, either, nor get any useful opinion from Lord Geigi’s bodyguard.
Though one had this most uneasy notion that Geigi’s drowsiness might notbe due to the schedule they had kept—that Geigi might be far more aware of things than he wanted to be, and intended to minimize what he did know.
The paidhi-aiji could have done the same thing—sit still while his bodyguard arranged things.
But his aishid had outright invited him into it—which meant, he thought, that they wanted him to make the political decision on what wasleft vague in their orders.
He went back to his seat. His aishid settled around him. Lord Geigi stirred somewhat, but never opened his eyes.
They sat, on a bus rolling along toward a major problem, and stayed in silence for a while, in a landscape no longer even relatively safe.
God, he had promised Toby. He had promised and offered assurances he had thought were reasonable, knowing the way political kidnappings usually ran, and now Barb’s safety was nowhere assured in this. A whole quarter of the aishidi’tat was about to go up in major hostilities. Tabini was using their visit to the Maschi as cover for the wholesale movement of major forcesc to attack the Marid in what amounted to war.
It was Tabini’s right to do it to them, and Tabini would naturally regret doing it—but—
Damn!
There might be villages deeper in the folded hills; they likely were numerous, with market roads leading elsewhere. This road bore an overgrowth of brush, opportunistic plants that sprang up in the clear spot a road madec indicative of a road unused for a space of time.
Except that this growth of brush had been broken down by a recent passage that might or might not be intermittent trips to the Separti road. One rather thought of the appearance of Marid Guild turning up at Kajiminda, and then at Najida, and Marid cells in Separti and Dalaigi.
Tabini’s reinforcements would have gotten ahead of them, clearing out any ambush. He had to rely on that.
One had no idea what they might arrive to find at Pairuti’s estate, Targai: the place in a shambles, or standing pristine and only this morning in reception of an official notice that there wouldbe assassination attempts, an endless succession of them until one succeeded or until the contract was set aside. The Maschi were of course entitled to send theirGuild members to assassinate the aiji without legal consequence, but it would be an enterprise little likely to succeed: the odds were somewhat lopsided.
The official notification of the Filing, which they had to pass to Geigi at some point before they stepped off the bus, would lend a certain flavor to their arrival. That was dead certain.
17
« ^ »
Mani had gotten a courier message. Jegari could not find out what it was.
That was interesting.
It was more interesting that mani ordered better dress and all of a sudden more men on the roof and had a private conference with Ramaso.
“You stay here with nand’ Toby,” Cajeiri said to Antaro, who was the more level-headed and the gentler of his aishid. “If he wakes up, say this.” And he said, in ship-speak: “Cajeiri is talking with his great-grandmother,” and made her say it three times so he knew she had it. “And if he insists he needs me, send a servant to find me. We told nand’ Bren we would stay with him, so we can never leave him.”
But he went and put on his best coat and gathered up Jegari, and went and asked permission to visit mani.
He halfway expected mani would say no and go away. But Nawari let him in, and told Jegari to stay outside.
Mani was sitting by the fireside in her usual chair. She was very formally dressed and very grim. Cajeiri went up to her and bowed very properly.
“Well?” she asked.
A second bow. “Nand’ Toby is still all right, mani. He sleeps a lot. Why are we all dressed for court?”
“Because my fool grandson—your father—has launched a war and Filed on the lord of the Maschi!” Great-grandmother snapped. “A war long overdue, and one we have counseled long since, but it is highly inconsiderate of him to do so with the paidhi-aiji and Lord Geigi in such a position. We asked for support, not, baji-naji, a general conflict with the Marid! We are highly incensed!”
“Are they in danger, mani?”
“Oh, doubtless they are in extreme danger! The Maschi may by now have been advised that they will be attacked, they will draw an immediate conclusion when the bus arrives, and if they have Guild borrowed from the Marid, thoseclans will also have been notified they are to be a target. And if you were Lord Machigi, what would youdo?”
“I would be very careful to keep Barb-daja alive and I would try to take nand’ Bren prisoner, too.”
“Brilliant! Unfortunately that is exactly what he will do. And your father did this in full knowledge of where the paidhi-aiji is going. Oh, he has committed an extraordinary number of Guild to protect them, but this is a high risk. One assumesthe Guild has notified the Marid—or is in the process of doing so. And has it deliberated with noadvance word getting to the Marid or to the Maschi?”
“They did not tell you, mani.”