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The raft was big enough to carry eight people It was pulled against the current by a tea paths worn in the shore by generations of such passage Otah slept in the back, wrapped in his cloak and in the rough wool blankets the boathter - a child of no more then nine summers - lit a brazier and cooked sweet rice with alht, after they tied up, her father made a meal - most often a chicken and barley soup

In the days spent in this routine, Otah had little to do besides watch the slow progress of treespast them, listen to the voices of the water and the oxen, and try to win over the daughter by telling jokes and singing with her or the boat to his answers By the time they reached the end of the last full day&039;s journey, both boatman and child were comfortable with him The boatman shared a bowl of pluone to sleep They never irl&039;s mother, and Otah never asked

The river journey ended at a lon larger than any Otah had seen since Yalakeht It had wide, paved streets and houses as high as three stories that looked out across the river or into the branches of the pine forest that surrounded it The wealth of the place was clear in its food, its buildings, the faces of its people It was as if some nameless quarter of the cities of the Khaiem had been struck off and moved here, into the wilderness

That the road to the Dai-kvo&039;s village ell kept and broad didn&039;t surprise hiher than he wished to pay - he could hire a litter that would carry him the full day&039;s steep, uphill journey and set him down at the door of the Dai-kvo&039;s palaces did He passed men in fine robes of wool and fur, envoys fro houses or other places, further away Food stands at the roadside offered sureat ruel and chicken for the lower orders like himself

Despite the wealth and luxury of the road, the first sight of the Dai-kvo&039;s village took Otah&039;s breath away Carved into the stone of theto the world of reat forces of the world He stopped in the road and looked up at the glittering s and streets, stairways and garrets and towers A thin golden ribbon of a waterfall lay just within the structures, and warlow like bronze Chi when the breeze stirred thened to huner could rest well Maati, he realized, had lived in this place, studied in it And he, Otah, had refused it He wondered what it would have been like, co to his reward; what it would have been like to see this grandeur set out before hirand offices was easily found, and well peopled Firekeepers - not members of the utkhaiem, but servants only of the Dai-kvo - kept kilns at the crossroads and teahouses and offered the proht Otah didn&039;t pause at theh, arched hall open to the west so that the lowering sun set the white stone walls ablaze Men - only h the hall on one errand or another, passing froh doors of worked rosewood and oak Otah had to stop a servant as lighting lanterns to find the way to the Dai-kvo&039;s overseer

He was an old man with a kind face in the brown robes of a poet When Otah approached his table, the overseer took a pose that was both welcorace that he had seen only in the Khai Saraykeht or the andat Otah replied with a pose of greeting, and for an instant, he was a boy again in the cold, empty hallways of the school

"I&039;ve co the memory aside "From Maati Vaupathi in Saraykeht"

"Ah?" the overseer said, "Excellent I will see that he gets it immediately"

The beautiful, old hand reached to him, open to accept the packet still in Otah&039;s sleeve Otah considered the withered fingers like carved wood, a sudden alar in him

"I had hoped to see the Dai-kvo ed to one of sympathy

"The Dai-kvo is very busy, my friend He hardly has time to speak to me, and I&039;m set to schedule his days Give the letter to me, and I will see that he knows of it"

Otah pulled the letter out and handed it over, a profound disappoint in his breast It was obvious, of course, that the Dai-kvo wouldn&039;t meet with simple couriers, however sensitive the letters they bore He shouldn&039;t have expected hi to carry a reply?"

"Yes," Otah said "If there is one"

"I will send word toh intends to respond Where will I find you?"

Otah took a pose of apology and explained that he had not taken rooave hiined a grandfather randchild It ilight - the distant skyline glorious with the gold and purple of the just-set sun - when Otah returned to the street, his errand complete

On the way back down, there was tiht around hi It struck him for the first time that he had seen no women since he had left the road The firekeeper&039;s kilns, the food carts and stalls, the inn to which he&039;d been directed - all were overseen byhim in the steep, dim street had a woman&039;s face

And as he looked ns, subtler ones, that the life of the Dai-kvo&039;s village was unlike that of the ones he had known The streets had none of the grirasses pushed at the joints of the paving stones, no ularity of gender, the unnatural perfection of the placeand sterile

He ate his dinner - venison and wine and fresh black bread - sitting alone at a low table with his back to the fire A dark mood had descended on him Visions of Liat and some small house, some simple work, bread cooked in his own kiln, meat roasted in his own kitchens seemed both ludicrous and powerful He had done what he said he&039;d set out for The letter was in the Dai-kvo&039;s hands, or would be shortly

But he had come for his own reasons too He was Otah, the sixth son of the Khai Machi, who had walked away froreatest power in all the nations He had been offered the chance to control the andat and refused For the first tiined what that must be to his brothers, his teachers, the boys who had taken the offer gladly when it had been given To a, this simple laborer with simple dreams? He had come halfway across the lands of the Khaiem, he realized, to answer that question, and instead he had handed an oldout from Saraykeht, that it had seemed an important adventure, not only to Heshai and Seedless, the Khai Machi and Saraykeht, but to hiht delivering a letter would iven a sh for the stretched-canvas cot and the candle on the table beside it The blankets arm and thick and soft The mattress was clean and free of lice or fleas The room smelled of cut cedar, and not rat piss or unbathed humanity Small as it was, it was also perfect

The candle was snuffed, and Otah more than half asleep when his door opened A sh His round face was marked by two bushy eyebrows - black shot hite Otah aze, at first bleary, and then an instant later awake and alert He took the pose of greeting he&039;d learned as a boy, he smiled sweetly and without sincerity

"I ah Dai-kvo"

Tahi-kvo scowled and moved closer He held the lantern close to Otah&039;s face until the brightness of the flame made his old teacher shadowy Otah didn&039;t look away

"It is you"

"Yes"

"Show me your hands," his old teacher said Otah co close, exa the callused palertips The old

"It&039;s true then," Tahi-kvo said "You&039;re a laborer"

Otah closed his hands The words were no surprise, but the sting of the what opinion Tahi-kvo held He s smile like a mask and kept his voice mild and amused

"I&039;ve picked my own path," he said

"It was a poor choice"

"It was mine to make"

The old man - Tahi-kvo, the Dai-kvo, thehis head in disgust His robes whispered as he moved - silk upon silk He tilted his head like athe ht It may take some days before I draft my reply"

Otah waited for the stab of words or the re At length Otah took a pose of acceptance

"I ait for it," he said

For a ht have been sorrow or ione, the door closed behind him, and Otah lay back in his bed The darkness was silent, except for the slowly retreating footsteps They were long vanished before Otah&039;s heart and breath slowed, before the heat in his blood cooled

THE DAYS that folloere a the most difficult of Amat Kyaan&039;s life The comfort house was in disarray, and her coup only added to the chaos Each individual person - whores, guards, the men at the tables, theher Three tihts had broken out It seemed once a day that she was called on to stop some small liberty, and alith the plaintive explanation that Ovi Niit had allowed it To hear it told now, he had been the most selfless and open-handed of men Death had improved hiht not have kept her awake in the nights But also there was the transfer of Maj into the house No one else spoke Nippu, and Maj hadn&039;t picked up enough of the Khaiate tongue to make herself understood easily Since she&039;d come, Amat had been interrupted for her needs, whatever they were, whenever they came

Torish Wite, thankfully, had proved capable in reed to spread the word at the seafront that A for infor the case against House Wilsin would be like leading a second life The comfort house would fund it, once she had the place in order, but the ti as she had been

These early stages, at least, she could leave to the hts, she would remember conversations she&039;d had with traders fro with a freehold or ward that relied on paid soldiery As long as she was in a position to offer these irls and money, they would likely stay If they ever became indispensable, she was doomed

Her room, once Ovi Niit&039;s, was spacious and wide and covered - desk, bed, and floor - with records and papers and plans The ht-fit shutters wereShe sipped fros specifically of the house, paced the length of the room The papers in her hands hissed as she shifted from one to another and back

"It&039;s too ht I&039;d say it, but you&039;re giving them too much freedom To choose which men they take? Aer When a ive hiirls and a chicken, if that&039;s what he&039;s paid for If the girls can refuse a client "

"They take back less h she already knew that Mitat was right "Those ork et most And with that kind of liberty and the chance to earn ood house"

Mitat stopped walking She didn&039;t speak, but her guarded expression was enough Amat closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat

"Don&039;t beat them without cause," Mitat said "Don&039;t let anyone cut them where it would scar Give therand like this, but to do it noould be a sign of weakness"

"Yes I suppose it would Thank you, Mitat-cha"

When she opened her eyes again, the woman had taken a pose of concern Arand"

Mitat hesitated visibly, then handed back the papers Before A her, steps came up the stairs and a polite knock interrupted theuarded

"There&039;s someone here to see you," he said to Aht, but she only took in a deep breath

"Is anyone with him?"

"No He stinks a little of wine, but he&039;s unarmed and he&039;s come alone"

"Where&039;s Maj?" she asked

"Asleep We&039;ve uard on her rooo in, and she&039;s not to co that we have her here"

"You&039;re going to see him?" Mitat asked, her voice incredulous

"He was my employer for decades," Amat said, as if it were an answer to the question "Torish-cha I&039;ll want a man outside the door If I call out, I want him in here immediately If I don&039;t, I want privacy We&039;ll finish our conversation later, Mitat"

The pair retreated, closing the door behind the to the doors that opened onto the private deck It had rained in the night, and the air was still thick with it It was that, Amat told herself, that made it hard to breathe The door opened behind her, then closed again She didn&039;t turn at once Across the deck, the soft quarter flowed street upon street, alley upon alley Banners flew and beggars sang It was a lovely city, even this part This hy she was doing what she&039;d done For this and for the girl Maj and the babe she&039;d lost She steeled herself

Marchat Wilsin stood at the doorway in a robe of green so deep and rich it seerayish, his eyes bloodshot He looked frightened and lost, like a mouse surrounded by cats He broke her heart

"Hello, old friend," she said "Who&039;d have thought we&039;d end here, eh?"

"Why are you doing this, Amat?"

The pain in his voice alo to him, comfort him She wanted badly to touch his hand and tell hi would end well, in part because she knew that it wouldn&039;t It occurred to her distantly that if she had let hiht not have been able to leave House Wilsin

"What happened to the poet To the girl It was an attack," she said "You know it, and I do You attacked Saraykeht"

He walked forward, his hands out, palms up before him

"I didn&039;t," he said "A"

"Can I offer you tea?" she asked

Bewildered, he sank onto a divan and ran his hands through his hair in wordless distress She remembered the n h back then, and power in his gaze She poured a bowl of tea for him When he didn&039;t take it from her hand, she left it on the low table at his knee and went back to her own desk

"It didn&039;t work, Amat It failed The poet&039;s alive, the andat&039;s still held They see that it can&039;t work, and so it won&039;t happen again, if you&039;ll only let this go"

"I can&039;t," she said

"Why not?"

"Because of what you did to Maj She wanted that child And because Saraykeht is my home And because you betrayed ht have

"Betrayed you? How did I betray you? I did everything to keep you clear of this I warned you that Oshai aiting for you And when you ca you alive I risked my life for yours"

"You er in her own voice, to feel the warmth in her face "You did this and you put- everything - in order to redeem myself If I had known in time, I would have stopped it You knew that when you asked uard You hoped I&039;d find a way out"

"I wasn&039;t thinking clearly then I a besides this, Marchatkya? If I keep silent, it&039;s asI approve of the cri hard Slowly, he lifted the bowl of tea to his lips and drank it down in one long draw When he put the bon - ceraain the man she&039;d known He had put his heart aside, she knew, and entered the negotiation that ht, if he could convince her, even save her from the path she&039;d chosen She felt a half-sht win

"Granted, so was done," he said "Granted, I had soh I didn&039;t have a choice in it But put aside that I was coerced Put aside that it was none of it my plan Let me ask you this - what justice do you expect?"

"I don&039;t know," she said "That&039;s for the Khai and his men to choose"

He took a pose that showed his impatience with her

"You know quite well the mercy he&039;ll show me and House Wilsin And Galt as a whole And it won&039;t be for Maj It&039;ll be for himself"

"It will be for his city"

"And how much is a city worth, Amat? Even in the name of justice If the Khai chooses to kill a thousand Galtic babies out of their mothers, is that a fair price for a city? If they starve because our croplands go sterile, is that a fair price? You want justice, Aeance"

A breeze thick with the smell of the sea shifted thecloths The doors to the private deck closed with a clack, and the roo with your heart," he continued "What happened was terrible I don&039;t deny it We were caught up in sorotesque and evil But be clear about the cost One child How le year? Howbeaten by their , or from illness? I can think of six in the last five , Aht again But not at the cost of s worse"