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The day of the grand audience caray and wet After the ceremonies at the temple, Liat and Marchat Wilsin had to wait their turn to leave, the fa precedence Even the firekeepers, lowest of the utkhaierand audience Epani-cha brought them fresh bread and fruit while they waited and directed Liat toward a private rooe of the delay to relieve the rain had not stopped, but it had slackened The sun had not appeared, but the clouds above theray for a white that prohtfall And heat The canopy bearers met them in their turn and House Wilsin took its place in the parade to the palace of the grand audience

There were no walls, precisely The canopies fell behind as they reached the first arches, and walked, it see was so far above theht, it seemed hard to believe that they were sheltered - that the pillars held up stone instead of the white bowl of the cloudy sky The hall of the grand audience was built to see in the stone forest The Khai sat alone on a great divan of carved blackwood, calm and austere - his counselors and servants would not join hiun Now, he alone co the presentation floor like the audience at a performance spoke to each other in the lowest voices Wilsin-cha seeently to a bench a other traders

"Liat," he said as they sat "Trade is hard sos you&039;re called on to do They aren&039;t alhat you&039;d wish"

"I understand that, Wilsin-cha," she said, adopting an air of confidence she only partly felt "But this is a thing I can do"

For a ain Then a flute trilled, and a truan Each faht so house or foreign guest Servants in the colors of their fa chests and tapestries, gilded fruits and bolts of fine silk, curiosities and wonders The Khai Saraykeht considered each offering in turn, accepting thenition She could feel Marchat Wilsin shift beside her as the bearers of his house stepped into the clearing Four men bore a tapestry worked with a map of the cities of the Khaie the cloth tight, and they stepped slowly and in perfect unison, grave as rave as mourners The fourth, while he kept pace with his fellows, kept casting furtive glances at the crowd His head shifted subtly back and forth, as if he were searching for so Liat heard an a the spectacle, and her heart sank

The fourth man was Itani

Marchat Wilsin lanced over, his expression puzzled and alarmed Liat held her countenance e and willed it to be faint The fourto provide a better view of the work Itani, at the rear, seehtened The Khai betrayed no sense of aift and sent it on its way Itani and the other three moved off as the bearers of House Kiitan came forward Liat shifted toward her employer

"Wilsin-cha If there&039;s a private roo anxious does the same to me," he said "Epani will show you Just be back before the Khai brings in his wise ot half a hand, but don&039;t test that"

Liat took a pose of gratitude, rose, and wove her way to the rear of the asse there for her She gestured with her eyes to a column, and he followed her behind it

"What do you think you&039;re doing?" she deht "You avoid me for days, and then youyou do this?"

"I know the man as supposed to be the fourth bearer," Itani said, taking a pose of apology "He let me take his place I didn&039;t intend to avoid you I onlyI was angry, sweet And I didn&039;t want that to get in your way Not with this before you"

"And this is how you don&039;t co disar

"This is how I say I&039;m at your back," he said "I know you can do this It&039;s no otiation, and if Amat Kyaan and Wilsin-cha chose you - if they believe in you - thento your audience without knowing that I know you can do this"

Her hand strayed to his without her realizing that it had She only noticed when he raised it to his lips

"&039;Tani, you pick the worst tied its rhyth her hand free The audience proper was about to begin - the counselors and servants about to rejoin the Khai Itani stepped back, taking a pose of encourageaze was on her, his ernails were still dye-stained

"I&039;ll be waiting," he said, and she turned back, h the seatedto run She sat at Wilsin-cha&039;s side just as the two poets and the andat knelt before the Khai and took their places, the last of the counselors to arrive

"You&039;re just in time," Wilsin-cha said "Are you well?"

Well? I&039;ined Aed her features tonow and then in an atte asleep It wasn&039;t working as well as he&039;d hoped The Khai Saraykeht sat off to Maati&039;s left on a blackwood divan Heshai-kvo and Seedless sat somewhat nearer, and if the Khai couldn&039;t see his discomfort, they certainly could In the clear space before them, one petitioner after another came before the Khai and made a plea

The worst had been awith a cart the size of a dog that carried a s water set the cart&039;s wheels in motion, and it had careened off into the crowd, its hed as the er models that they used as war machines Whole wards had been overrun in less than a month&039;s time, he said

The Khai&039;s phrase had been "an army of teapots" Only Heshai-kvo, Maati noticed, hadn&039;t joined in the laughter Not because he took the ridiculous ht, but because it pained him to see a ies were of no consequence to the Khaie as the andat protected them, the wars of other nations were a curiosity, like the bones of ancientwas the second son the Khai Udun He held the court enraptured with his description of how his younger brother had atterisly detail of his elder brother&039;s death had Maati almost in tears, and the Khai Saraykeht had responded with aas any other pronouncement he had made in the day - that poisons were not the weapons of the Khaiem, and that the powers of Saraykeht would co down the killer

"Well," Seedless said as the crowd rose to its feet, cheering "That settles which of Old Udun&039;s sons will be warone You&039;d alh Saraykeht&039;s ancestry had offered his brother a cup of bad wine"

Maati looked over at Heshai-kvo, expecting the poet to defend the Khai Saraykeht But the poet only watched the son of the Khai Udun prostrate himself before the black-wood divan

"It&039;s all theater," Seedless went on, speaking softly enough that no one could hear hiet that This is no , drawn out epic that no one composed, no one oversees, and no one plans It&039;s why they keep falling back on fratricide There&039;s precedent - everyone knows more or less what to expect And they like to pretend that one of the old Khai&039;s sons is better than another"

"Be quiet," Heshai-kvo said, and the andat took a pose of apology but smirked at Maati as soon as Heshai-kvo turned away The poet had had little to say His derim fro in the downpour As the cererow ue a fine point of city law, and the Khai cou, his court historian, to pass judgment The old wo old stories of the summer cities that dated back to the first days of the Khaiate when the E to tie her stories in with the situation before her, she made an order that appeared to please no one As the firekeepers sat, an old Galt in robes of green and bronze cae or perhaps a year more stood at his side Her robes matched the old Galt&039;s, but where his deirl&039;s face and hty Even as she took a pose of obeisance, her chin was lifted high, an eyebrow arched

"Ah, now she&039;s a lousy actress," Seedless nored the comment and sat forward, his eyes on the pair Seedless leaned back, his attention as much on Heshai-kvo as the pair who stood before the Khai

"Marchat Wilsin," the Khai Saraykeht said, his voice carrying through the space as if he were an actor on a stage "I have read your petition House Wilsin has never entered the sad trade before"

"There are hard tih," the Galt said He took a pose that, though forar at the end of a street performance "We have so hter passed over the crowd, and the Khai took a pose acknowledging the jest Heshai-kvo&039;s frown deepened

"Who will represent your house in the negotiation?" the Khai asked

"I will,forward "I am Liat Chokavi, assistant to Amat Kyaan While she is away, she has asked that I oversee this trade"

"And is the woman you represent here as well?"

The old Galt looked uncomfortable at the question, but did not hesitate to answer