Jade Fire Gold(57)

Journey to the East





21


Altan


It doesn’t take long to get to the outskirts of the capital. Just before dawn, we switch horses as planned in a small town. The streets are quiet, but I sense the rest of the town waking. Low murmurs, the creak of doors and windows, the shuffle of feet . . .

We should leave. It won’t be long before the guards from the palace wake from the sleeping draughts I foisted on them. Once the alarm sounds, both priests and soldiers will be looking for us.

Ahn pokes a hand over the wooden door of the public bath and waves wildly. I reach over, and she snatches fresh clothes from me. A minute later, she appears, wet hair dripping over her shoulders. Out of politeness, I avert my eyes, wishing the water from her hair wasn’t turning parts of the pale blue fabric translucent.

She shrugs on her navy outer robes, secures everything with a chiffon sash, and marches right up to me. Keeping a deathly glare on me, she wrings her wet hair and flicks the water from her hands at me like a slap.

“I held back my questions like you told me to.” She speaks finally. “Now that we’re away from the palace, I want answers. First, who are you?”

“I told you my name,” I say, wiping my face.

“Who knows if Altan is even your real name?” I don’t react. “And how are you related to Leiye? I thought he’d be the one who’d get me out of jail. Are you friends? Are you a priest?”

“No,” I say, insulted.

She continues firing questions at me before I can explain. “But you have magic.” Her eyes widen. “A Tiensai? Why would you be working with Leiye? Everywhere and nowhere, that’s what you said. Do you wander around busting people out from jail—oh gods—” She jumps away from me. “Are you a vigilante or an assassin?”

I hold up my hands. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?” she yells. Her hair unravels as she flings her dirty old robes in my direction. I dodge neatly. “Do you have any idea what I’ve gone through in the past few weeks? I . . .”

She takes a deep breath and turns around. Her shoulders heave and I panic a little. I won’t know what to do if she cries. But when she faces me again, her eyes are dry.

“Tell me what’s supposed to happen next. Does Leiye have a plan?”

“We’re going to find the White Jade Sword. My associate has gone ahead with preparations to procure a ship to get us across the Emerald Sea.” It isn’t Leiye’s plan. Not exactly. The fool should have known that I’d never go along with his scheme.

Ahn scrunches up her face in distaste. “Your associate . . . procure . . . Who talks like that? Never mind. How much did Leiye pay you to get me out of the dungeon and onto that ship?”

I pause for a beat before deciding to play to her assumptions. I quote a random number and she curses. She slips something off her finger and holds it up. A jade ring with silver etchings.

“I’m not going with you. Take this as my payment. Leave but don’t tell Leiye anything. Pretend we’re on our way to the ship or something, send him updates or whatever it is you were supposed to do.”

“Where are you going?” I hope I don’t have to use force to stop her. I can’t have her derailing my plan.

“None of your business. Pawn the ring, take the money, and leave me alone.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Look, I don’t have any money—this ring is worth more to me than you’ll ever know, but it’s all I have now. Take it!” she snaps.

Somehow, the thought that she sees me as nothing more than a mercenary bothers me deeper than it should. I brush it aside.

“It’s a long way back to the desert. The priests and the palace will be after you.” That twitch of her jaw tells me my hunch was correct. “You have a grandmother back in that town where we met?”

Her jaw twitches again. “Did Leiye tell you?”

I shrug.

“She’s in danger, I have to go—”

“Already handled. Someone’s gone ahead to make sure your grandmother is safe. It’s all part of the plan.”

Shīfù left for Shahmo the day after Leiye found me on the roof. The pieces are falling into place. Only thing I need to do now is to keep the Life Stealer by my side. I need her to find the sword of light. But my real reason for getting immunity from her life-stealing magic remains. The world cannot be safe when such a powerful being exists.

Ahn steps closer. I force myself to stay, despite wanting to keep a distance between us.

“Why should I trust you?” she asks.

You can’t.

“Simple,” I say out loud. “If everything works out, I get my due.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we’re all doomed.”

She looks at me with scorn. “This isn’t a joke.”

“I’m not joking.” She doesn’t believe me. Time to play to her expectations of what a mercenary would do. “Look. We can make a small detour. I’ll take you to the safe house where we planned to bring your grandmother, but you have to go to the port after that and get on that ship.”

“What’s in it for you?” She is still suspicious.