"The young peach tree is beautiful and tender," said Li, "but it bears little fruit."
Veseene smiled again. "You have a certain charm to you, Kuang Li Chien."
"Just call me 'Li,'" he told her. "I regret that it is a borrowed charm-that verse was written by the poet Kar Wuan many centuries ago. I studied it as part of my training for the imperial bureaucracy."
"Knowledge is its own grace," said Veseene. "How do you like that? I made it up just now."
"Truly immortal wisdom."
They walked almost half a block in silence. Every few paces, Li stole a look at Veseene. She was still tall for her advanced age and only a little bit stooped. The tremors that shook her body and rendered her voice strange and wet were really the only sign of the infirmity of years.
Veseene didn't return his glances or even look at him at all, but just kept her eyes on the ground, alert for treacherous footing. When she spoke again, she said, "Tell me the short version of your story, Li."
He hesitated for a moment and told her the essence of his tale. "Pirates on the Sea of Fallen Stars attacked and killed a trading party from my home city a year and a half ago. My brother was spared but taken prisoner. We have heard nothing of him since then. I came west to find him."
"AndBrin?"
"Brin was mate of that pirate ship. He is the last survivor of it and may be the only one who knows what happened to my brother. Tycho has agreed to make inquiries and try to arrange a chance for me to talk with Brin."
"Ah," said Veseene. "And you've heard nothing at all from the pirates? No ransom demands?" Li shook his head. "Ah," she said again and they walked a little farther before she added, "Tycho is clever, but he's also a hothead. He doesn't always think things all the way through."
Li stiffened. He glanced at Veseene, but she was still watching the ground as she walked. "Pirates," she continued, "generally don't take prisoners for sport. They take them for ransom. And why take only one prisoner when they could have ransomed the entire trading party?" She looked up finally and met his eyes. "And why," she said bluntly, "do you need a sword if you just want to talk to someone?" Li pressed his lips together. Veseene's eyes narrowed. "You're not telling me-or Tycho-the whole story."
"No," Li admitted tightly. "I'm not. And I can't. But what I'm not saying doesn't concern you. I owe Tycho my life. I won't put him in danger."
"I hope not. Because if Tycho comes to harm, I'll come after you." She stopped. "Every peach has a stone, Li. I may be old, but I'm tough. I drink wasp venom for fun."
"I understand, honored mother," Li said politely. Ve-seene raised an eyebrow.
"You don't believe me." She pointed above her head. Li glanced up. There was a sign there, words he couldn't understand written out in western script. He recognized the picture that went with them though. A bundle of herbs beside a mortar and pestle. An herbalist's shop. "Come inside with me," said Veseene.
She drew him through a door and up a flight of narrow stairs. The shop was at the top of them, a dim, fragrant space with crock-lined walls and dry, leafy bundles hanging from the rafters. A slender, dusk-skinned woman with long black hair and eyes rimmed with dark paint looked up from a worktable, first at Veseene and, with a lingering glance, at Li. Veseene greeted her. "Olore, Sephera. I'm here for my tea."
The woman nodded and rose. She went around the room, selecting crocks and jars from the wall. When she had a collection of half a dozen, she returned to her table and began mixing the contents of each together in a mortar. "Sephera," said Veseene, "my friend here was wondering what went into my tea."
"Things to energize muscles made weak and quicken nerves made dull," said Sephera. Her voice was soft, with a resonant, chanting quality. "Laspar needles and pepper, blackroot and winterberry seeds." She took two spoonfuls of rust-colored flakes from a small jar. "Redflower leaves." The last jar was tightly sealed with waxed cloth and Sephera held it at arm's length as she opened it. She reached inside with thin wooden tongs and removed a pale amber lump, holding it up for Li to see. It was only about the size of the tip of his smallest finger. "The crystallized venom of a giant wasp," said Sephera. She added it to the mortar, re-sealed the jar, took up a pestle, and gently began to crush the assembled ingredients.
Li looked at Veseene. The old woman shrugged. "All right," she said, "maybe I don't drink it for fun." She gave Li a harsh look. "You understand though?"
He bent at the waist, bowing to her. "You've made your point."
"Tycho is family to me, Li. I'll do anything to protect him."
"Believe me, Veseene," said Li, "I understand the importance of protecting family." Veseene looked at him curiously, her head tilted again. Li didn't return her gaze. "Do you want to come with me to meet Tycho?"
She shook her head. "I'll have a cup of tea with Sephera then go home. Tell Tycho we talked, though." She nodded toward the stairs. "Go back to the last intersection and follow that street toward dockside. It will take you right to the Wench's Ease."
Li bowed again. "Thank you," he said.
"Don't get Tycho in more trouble than he gets himself," Veseene replied. "That will be thanks enough."
Chapter 6
1 he sun was low in the west. The last of the day was kissing the rooftops of Spandeliyon and the underbellies of thick clouds moving in low from the east. There would be more snow overnight. Thick, wet snow. Tycho knew it with the instincts of someone raised beside the sea. The temperature of the air was hardly dropping at all. It might even have been getting a little bit warmer, but he couldn't really be certain of that. He simply felt cold all over.
His boots sent slush and muck splattering up with every long, running stride. As he rounded a corner, the slick surface of the street betrayed him and sent him skidding in a wide arc, arms flailing as he fought to keep his balance. A few people stared at him. Tycho barely noticed. One thought kept flowing through his mind.
Bind me, bind me, bind me, bind me
He kept running. He couldn't get the vision of Black Scratch's mad yellow eyes out of his head.
The sight of the Wench's Ease was a blessing. Tycho slid to a stop, clutching at the great, bare tree in the yard outside the tavern for support. He shrugged out of the strap that held his strilling, stripped off his coat, and began scrubbing with handfuls of coarse, icy snow at the patches of dung that smeared it. He had lost one of his mittens somewhere. He shook the other one off his hand and flung it away. "Bind me, bind me, bind me!"
"Tycho?" A shadow fell over him. Tycho flinched and looked up.
It was Li. The Shou was dressed-mostly-in his own clothes again. "Just getting here?" Tycho asked. His voice sounded brittle even to him. "I thought you'd already be inside."
"I ran into your friend Veseene. We talked." Li's face was drawn in concern. "Tycho, what's wrong?" His nose crinkled. "Pearl of night, that stinks!"
"I slipped."
"Did you find out anything about Brin or Yu Mao?" asked Li cautiously.
"I asked around," Tycho lied. "Put it out that you were just-"
The words caught in his throat. Noon tomorrow. He couldn't lie to Li. He'd promised to help and now… He flung the last handful of snow away and rubbed his face. "No," he confessed, "I didn't find out anything. I didn't even get the chance to. Bind and tar me, Li, I'm deep in the bilge."
Li's eyes widened slightly and he drew a breath. "Because of me?"