The Complete Empire Trilogy (134 page)

Hokanu glanced down at his hands, which were still and rested half-curled around his wine goblet. Impulsively Mara wished she could reach across the table and take his long, fine fingers into her own. But that would be awkward, if not improper…. She was not agreeing to become his wife. Yet she could not entirely hide her regret. ‘I… admire you more than you know. You are everything I could ask for in a father for my children. But we both rule. Our house would be an armed camp…. Where would we live? Upon this estate, surrounded by soldiers not loyal to you? On your father’s estate, with soldiers not loyal to me? Can we ask men sworn to our family natamis to obey those of another house, Hokanu?’

The sound of his name as only she could say it raised a bittersweet smile, and her words brought a surprised lift of his brows. ‘Mara, I assumed you would come and live with me upon my father’s estate, and that we would appoint anyone you chose to act as regent for Ayaki until he came to his majority.’ Hokanu made a disparaging gesture aimed entirely at himself. ‘Lady, forgive me for thoughtless presumption. I should have anticipated that you of all women would not react in the time-honoured, customary fashion.’ His expression turned dry with irony. ‘I have
admired your free spirit. To make an ordinary wife of you would be like caging a li bird, I see that now.’

He was beautiful, spangled in lamplight, with his eyes deep as the forest pools sacred to priests. Mara drew a deep breath to steady herself. ‘You assumed, Hokanu, but that was no grave fault.’ Before she realized she had indulged herself, she reached across the table and touched his hand. His skin was very warm, each tendon delineated clearly. ‘All these problems would be solved if Tasaio of the Minwanabi did not loom like a sword over my neck. If you and your family had not stood at the heart of the Emperor’s plan to force peace upon the High Council. If –’

Hokanu’s other hand moved and closed gently over hers. His expression shifted subtly, toward not anger, or pain, but rather, deep interest. ‘Go on.’

‘If we lived in a place’ – she hesitated, unsure how to phrase a concept largely inspired by Kevin – ‘where law ruled in deed as well as word, where politics did not countenance murder …’ She paused, and realized on the moment that his silence was a reflection of her own; that the hand upon her hand had tightened with shared resentment against the ingrained flaws in their culture she herself had reluctantly come to recognize. The easy rapport disturbed her, and to set it at a distance, she focused only on words. ‘If we lived at a time when we knew our children could grow without knives behind every door, then, Hokanu of the Shinzawai, I would be deeply honoured to become your wife. There is no man in the Empire I would rather have as the father of my next child.’ She looked away from him, fearful that his presence would tempt her to further breaches in protocol. ‘But until the council is more settled, and things as we know them are different, a union between us would bring risk to both of our houses.’

Hokanu was silent. He caressed her hand as he released her, and said nothing until she turned back to him, that he
might face her squarely. ‘You are wise beyond your years, Lady Mara. I cannot pretend I am not disappointed. I can only admire your staunchness.’ He tilted his head fractionally to one side. ‘Your rare strength makes you all the more to be cherished.’

Mara found moisture in her eyes. ‘Hokanu, some daughter of another house will be a lucky woman.’

Hokanu bowed at the compliment. ‘Such a daughter must be more than lucky before she could displace my feelings for you. Before I go, may I at least know that you look favourably upon friendship with the Shinzawai?’

‘Assuredly,’ she said, giddy with relief that he had not been angry or let her rebuff displace courtesy. More than she realized, she had been afraid her refusal might turn him against her. ‘I would cherish that as a privilege.’

‘Count it a gift,’ Hokanu said. ‘One you are worthy of.’ He sipped the last swallow of his wine, then smoothly prepared to take his leave.

Mara forestalled him, as much to delay the unhappy moment of his leaving. ‘If you would allow, I would beg a favour.’

He paused, balanced in the instant of rising. His dark eyes searched her, honestly, without suspicion that she might use his weakness for her to gain her own ends, but in an intense desire to fathom her motives. Mara read his look and knew, at heart, how alike they were: both of them had an instinct for the Great Game, and the will to play the stakes fully.

Hokanu said, ‘What would you ask, Lady Mara?’

She strove to lighten her manner, while weighing how to broach an awkward subject. ‘It is my understanding that a Great One calls frequently at your home.’

Hokanu nodded, his face now expressionless. ‘This is true.’

Across a pained stillness, Mara added, ‘I very much desire
to have an informal talk with such a personage. If you could facilitate a meeting, I would count myself in your debt.’

Hokanu’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not voice his curiosity about Mara’s motives. ‘I shall see what I can do.’

Then he did rise, briskly, and gave her a formal bow in farewell, along with graceful phrases. Mara rose also, saddened that the mood of intimacy had been broken. His charm was all on the surface now, and try though she might, she could not read deeper. When he was gone, she sat in the light of the paper lanterns, turning and turning her wineglass in her hands. She could not recall his last words, but only that he had masked his emotions all too well.

The cushions across the table seemed something more than empty, and the night a bit more than dark.

In time, Nacoya came, as Mara expected she might. The old woman’s instincts were unerring. After a look at her mistress, the old woman sat down at her side. ‘Daughter of my heart, you look troubled.’

Mara leaned against the older woman, allowing herself to be hugged as if she were a girl once again. ‘Nacoya, I did as I must, rejecting Hokanu’s suit. But I am disturbed by a sadness that has no cause. I would not have thought I could love Kevin as deeply as I do, yet feel sorrow at declining Hokanu’s proposal.’

Nacoya raised a hand and gently stroked Mara’s cheek as she had through painful years of growing. ‘Daughter, the heart can hold more than one. Each of these men has his place in it.’

Mara sighed, allowing herself a moment of comfort in the old woman’s arms. Then she smiled ruefully. ‘You always warned me that love was a tangle. I never understood until now just how much of one, and how many were the thorns.’

At the sound of the gong, Mara stiffened. Kevin had just begun to slide his hand down her back, but warm flesh slid
away and suddenly eluded his fingers. Left entangled in bedclothes, Kevin found himself alone. Belatedly he realized that never before had he heard the tone that had roused her. Glancing up from the sleeping mat, he said, ‘What is it?’

His sleepy question tangled with a flurry of activity as the door to Mara’s quarters slid open and two maids hurried in with combs and pins. Others followed, flinging open the wardrobe, and within an instant the mistress was inundated with formal robes, dressers, and women who started to comb out the hair left mussed from the bed.

Kevin frowned. Shaken rudely from a pleasant interlude, he realized his Lady had spoken no word to order such an untimely invasion. ‘What’s going on?’ he inquired, loudly enough that this time he was noticed.

‘A Great One comes!’ Mara said impatiently, then followed with instructions for her maids on which jewellery she would wear with her formal gown. ‘I’ll want the iron necklace for this occasion, and also the jade tiara.’

‘At this hour?’ asked Kevin, heaving himself off the mat. He picked up his grey robe and wrapped it around himself.

From the centre of the activity, Mara released a sigh of exasperation. ‘Most days I would already be an hour out of bed.’

‘Well,’ said Kevin, clearly the guilty party. He had done his best to detain her, and at first his efforts had been reciprocated willingly. ‘Do forgive the inconvenience.’ His tone was light, but he was plainly confused by her sudden departure from his arms.

Mara let the maids fuss over her pins and her sash. ‘Great Ones have no time to spare for vagaries.’ She seemed ready to add more, but at a second stroke of the gong the softness that started to become a smile vanished. ‘Enough! The Great One is here!’

The maids backed away and made their bows, while their mistress stood, satisfied that her hair was bound up simply,
but in neat fashion, with four pins holding the arrangement. The rare metal jewellery and jade tiara were enough to let this Great One know she did not take his coming lightly.

As she thrust on her slippers and headed for the door, her slave reflexively began to follow. ‘No. You may not come.’

Kevin began an immediate protest, and Mara said, ‘Silence! If this magician decided you had slighted him in any fashion, he could order the death of every member of this house. I would be obliged to do as he bid, no matter what the cost. A Great One’s words are as law. Knowing this, I refuse to risk your unguarded tongue within earshot of him.’

She permitted no more argument but hurried through the door and crossed the courtyard to another wing. There lay a small, five-sided room without furnishing or ornament beyond a shatra bird inlaid in onyx in the floor. The chamber had not been used in her lifetime, but every household had a similar room, or nook, or alcove, with a clear symbol set into the floor. Any magician in the Empire could focus his will upon the pattern of that house and call at whim. Such an arrival was traditionally announced by the gong tone, sent by magical means to the location where a Great One intended to appear. A second chime signalled arrival, and that had occurred several minutes past.

In the chamber Mara found Nacoya, Keyoke, and Saric already standing before a stern-looking man in a black robe. She bowed deeply as she reached the door. ‘Great One, forgive my lack of promptness in greeting you. I was but half-dressed when you arrived.’

The man inclined his head as if the matter held little consequence. He was of gaunt build and medium height, and though the robe concealed details, something about his carriage seemed familiar. ‘Through the agency of one for whom I have some affection, it has come to my attention that you desired to speak with me.’

The voice clued her: though older, this magician had the same rich intonation that Hokanu did. Mara’s eyes opened slightly. This was none other than Fumita, the Shinzawai heir’s blood father. Hokanu had taken her request very personally indeed; and it would seem her hunch was correct, that some tie to family yet remained between this member of the Assembly and the Shinzawai.

Yet Mara dared not speculate openly. If they chose, magicians were capable of knowing the minds of those in their presence. She could not disallow the part that magic had played in the downfall of Jingu of the Minwanabi. Politely she said, ‘Great One, I need the wisdom of one such as yourself, to serve the Empire.’

The man nodded. ‘Then we shall speak.’

Mara excused her advisers and led the way through a screen onto an adjacent porch furnished with low stone benches. As Fumita took a seat, Mara stole the moment to study him. His hair was deep brown, shot with the beginnings of grey. The face was clean-lined and angular, and the nose more aquiline than the son’s. The dark eyes were markedly similar, except that in the Great One the depths of mystery were veiled and unfathomable.

He rested himself upon a stone bench. Mara chose a seat opposite, a narrow path separating them.

‘What do you wish to discuss?’ Fumita asked.

‘A matter weighs upon me, Great One,’ Mara began. She took a deep breath and searched for a proper beginning. ‘Like many, I was in attendance at the Imperial Games.’

If the Great One had any feelings left over from that day, he kept them masked. His piercing attentiveness unnerved her worse than Hokanu’s directness. He was not unapproachable, but neither did he warm into welcome. ‘Yes?’

‘It is said that the Great One who was … the centre of the disruption freed the combatants who refused to fight.’

‘This is true.’ Noncommittal still, Fumita waited for Mara to continue.

He could not have made himself more plain had he spoken. She would have to plunge ahead on her own and risk the consequences. ‘This is my concern,’ Mara said. ‘If a Great One may free slaves, then who else may? The Emperor? The Warlord? A Ruling Lord?’

The magician said nothing for some time. During an interval that felt as strange as the isolation a fish might feel in a pond, Mara was aware of the breeze across the porch, and of a servant making the rounds of the estate house. Down the path, the broom strokes of a slave who was sweeping sounded preternaturally loud. These things were part of her world, yet somehow seemed sealed away as the eyes of the magician remained pinned unwaveringly upon her. When Fumita spoke at last, his tone had not altered; the words remained inflectionless and bitten off sharply. ‘Mara of the Acoma, your question shall be raised in the Assembly.’

Without further words, and before she could proffer reply, he reached into the pocket at his belt and removed a small metal object. Mara had no chance to express curiosity, even had she dared, before he ran his thumb across the surface of the talisman. The gesture seemed like one he had made many times. A faint buzzing suddenly surrounded him. Then the magician vanished. The stone bench stood empty, and an eddy of air teased the trappings of Mara’s robe.

Left open-mouthed, and distinctly at a loss, Mara shivered slightly. She frowned, as if the space where the magician had sat might answer her dissatisfaction. She had never tried dealing with a Great One, beyond that single encounter which had finalized Lord Jingu’s demise. This was the first time she had tried an overture on her own initiative, and the aftermath left her unsettled. There was no
fathoming the ways of the Assembly. She shivered again, and wished herself back in her blankets with Kevin.