The Honored One stopped before the throne and bowed, then flourished his hand at Abazm. "The dwarf
Abazm, Princess."
Abazm stopped before Wei Dao's throne and kneeled on the floor, then leaned forward and pressed his fore- head to the wood. Ruha cast a questioning glance at
Fowler, who scowled at the dwarf's gesture and merely bowed. She did likewise, hoping they were not inadver- tently insulting their hostess.
If they were, it was impossible to tell. The princess glared at the back ofAbazm's skull as though she wanted to stare a hole through it. The Honored One slipped away from the dwarf, and no one took any notice whatsoever of
Ruha or Fowler.
At last, Abazm could no longer stand the silence. The dwarf cautiously allowed his gaze to creep across the floor to the princess's feet. "Princess Wei Dao, you honor me with your radiance."
"Abazm, how surprising that you return so soon to
Ginger Palace." The princess fingered the scarf at her neck. "And how fortunate."
Abazm raised himself so that he was merely kneeling before Wei Dao. "I am your servant, and the servant of the Ginger Palace as well." He twisted around to gesture at his clients, and Ruha glimpsed a bewildered gleam in the dwarf's eyes. "I have brought traders from a distant land-"
"No! No more foreign powders!" Wei Dao ripped the
scarf from her throat, exposing an ugly swath of partially healed skin eruptions. "See effects of your pearl dust?"
Abazm gasped at the sight of the princess's ravaged complexion. Incoherent, half-voiced explanations regard- ing Lheshaylian sorcerers began to pour from his mouth, and he looked to the Honored One for help. The Shou fixed his gaze on Princess Wei Dao and pretended not to
notice.
"You say, skin shine like moon!" Wei Dao waved a hand toward the sky, gesturing so angrily that the effort car- ried her to her feet. "Skin shine like harvest moon, craters and all!"
Abazm leapt up, but before he could turn to run, two guards caught him by the arms. They lifted the dwarf into the air and held him before the princess, his feet dangling six inches above the floor.
"I b-b-beg your forgiveness!" the dwarf cried. "I did not know this would happen! I made my own wife try the powder before I sold it to you!"
"You give me same powder as dwarf woman?" Wei Dao snarled.
"Only to see if it was safe, Princess!"
The princess's eyes narrowed. "Liar-it is not safe!"
She tied her scarf around her throat and nodded to the guards. "Take deceitful dwarf to tanning vats."
Ruha cringed at the punishment. It was unlikely that the tubs would be deep enough to drown Abazm but, unless the Shou tanned leather differently than the
Bedine, the vats would be filled with harsh fluids and the foulest offal gathered from the pens of dogs and swine.
The witch knew better than to think she could intercede on the dwarf's behalf, but she would not leave him behind after she recovered Yanseldara's staff.
As the guards carried him out the door, Abazm jerked one arm free and swung around to face the throne. He glanced briefly at the witch and Fowler, then yelled,
"Wait! Spare me. Princess, and I will tell you something you should know!"
Ruha's stomach grew as heavy as lead. Fowler gnashed his tusks; then the Honored One's panicked voice echoed across the chamber. "Take him away!"
The guard recaptured Abazm's arm and turned to obey.
"Wait." The princess leaned forward in her throne, peering past Ruha and Fowler to the dwarf. "Say what I
should know, Abazm. Then I decide whether to spare you."
The Honored One stepped forward, positioning himself squarely in front of Wei Dao. "Frightened dwarf say a- anything, Princess. We cannot b-believe him."
There was a catch in the Shou's voice-and Ruha thought she knew why. "But you can believe us." The witch bowed to the princess, tugging on Fowler's sleeve so he would do the same. "We have no reason to lie."
Wei Dao studied the witch and her companion, then asked, "You know what insidious dwarf says?"
Ruha turned to face Abazm, trying to decide whether it would be wiser to expose the chamberlain's corruption herself, or to restrain herself and hope the treacherous dwarf realized that his best interests now lay in working with her.
"Do you know what dwarf says?" the princess demanded.
Ruha fixed her gaze on Abazm and let her hand drift toward herjambiya. Without turning around, she said, "I
think I do, yes."
Abazm swallowed hard, then looked away from Ruha.
"Most Merciful Princess," the dwarf began. He glanced at the witch's hand, then continued, "Most Compassionate
Lady, I beg leave to report that it is necessary to pay your trusted chamberlain in order to secure appointments within the Ginger Palace."
Ruha sighed behind her veil. She turned to face the princess, fully expecting to be called upon to confirm
Abazm's story.
The chamberlain was already kneeling before Wei
Dao's throne, his brow pressed to the floor and his arms stretched out before him. "Compassionate Princess, I beg mercy for my family."
Wei Dao raised her thinly plucked eyebrows. "Then you acknowledge this crime, Chuang?"
"I do. My pockets hang heavy with silver." Chuang's muffled voice was barely audible. "It is way of this land, and I am weak. At first, I am surprised and grateful when visitors pay me silver. But soon it is expected, and I
do not open gates until-"
"Enough. You do not lie to me, and I grant mercy to your family." Wei Dao stared at the prone chamberlain until his body began to tremble and great, racking sobs reverberated across the floor. "But you dishonor your ancestors before Mandarins of Heaven, and it is beyond me to ask that they make you welcome."
"Yes, Princess. I know."
Wei Dao looked up, then turned to a squat, flat- cheeked man with an unwavering scowl and granite eyes.
"Please, General Fui."
Before Ruha realized quite what was happening, the general had drawn a heavy, square-tipped sword from one of the guard's scabbards and stepped to Chuang's side. There was a sharp, wet thunk, and the witch saw just how swiftly and surely death would come if the Shou found her out.
The general cleaned the blade on the headless cham- berlain's silken robe, then returned the weapon to its owner and stepped back to his place. His face remained as impassive as ever.
Wei Dao studied the chamberlain's disembodied head for a moment, then seemed to remember herself and looked toward the chamber entrance.
"Perfidious dwarf is permitted to leave."
The guards set Abazm down. As soon as the mer- chant's feet touched the floor, he spun on his heel and bowed very low.