Spirit Gate

"Do the Qin burn witches?"

"There are no witches among the Qin. Some among the clans have power to see into the spirit world. A few have climbed the axis of heaven and returned to tell of it."

"What is the axis of heaven?"

"It's the center-pole of the world. Just as in a tent."

"I've never been in a tent."

"Ah. Of course not. When we set up our wedding tent, I will show you."

She thought of Cornflower's silence as that Qin soldier had worked at her, hump hump hump. "When will we set up our wedding tent?"

"I went to get this," he replied, as if he hadn't heard her. She bit her lower lip, noticed she was doing so, and relaxed her mouth shut as he went on. Be like finest silk, Grandmother had told her, be smooth and without blemish. "Just before the demons attacked us. It's the custom among the Qin for a man to give his bride a black ba

"Race?"

"Race, on horseback. If he can catch her, then he has earned the right to marry her. He captures her ba

Mai watched as the captain unfolded cloth. He had a neat, efficient way of moving without being fussy. He was a man at home with himself, not self-conscious but not self-effacing either. Perfectly balanced.

Unfurled, the ba

When she did not speak, could not speak, he carried on. "I have wondered why sheepherders chose the wolf as their clan sigil."

She found all her breath caught in her lungs, and she let it all out in one gust and after that discovered she could talk, at least to answer the implied question. "Because our fortune rests on sheepherding, we bind the spirits of wolves into rings to protect our herds and make our family prosper."

"A wise precaution. Here." He stepped forward. "Take it, Mai. It's our custom."

She extended her hands, heart racing as he came closer. Once he draped the ba

"You are not a Qin woman, and I am not a Kartu man, so we will have to come to some accommodation."

"We will?" Her cheeks were so hot! Yet she couldn't stop seeing Cornflower lying there all limp, like a corpse, eyes staring sightlessly at the heavens.

His gaze held hers. She knew better than to look away or shrink back. She had a good instinct for people, honed in the marketplace. This man wanted flirting with his commerce, while this other preferred to be treated with reserve and respect; this woman wanted a friendly ear and this other a spirited and not entirely amiable disagreement over the price of windfall peaches. Captain Anji did not want a wife who cowered before him, so she would not be such a wife. He encouraged her to speak forthrightly, so she did. He hadn't even been angry when she had scolded Shai. He was not like Father Mei at all, and maybe that was what she had feared more than anything else in the world: that she would end up married to a man just like her father.

"I married you not just because you are beautiful, as this was obvious to any man with eyes, but also because of your graceful ma

She flushed.

He smiled. "Since my first wife is now dead, I could suit myself with my second marriage. However, the last thing I promised my mother, fifteen years ago, is that I would take no woman into my bed unless she possessed the rights given to Qin women upon marriage to a man of the Qin. I promised I would treat no woman as my father treated her. For although they were married according to the laws of his land, she had no more rights than a slave concubine. This ba

He flicked a lock of hair away from one eye, and walked away out of the fire's ring of light. A shadow met him; Mai recognized Chief Tuvi's stocky form and sharp gestures. They vanished into the night, heading toward the sentry lines.

Mai stared after him, mouth aflop like that of a fish tossed out of water. He had known market prices! She didn't know whether to laugh or to berate herself for foolishness. She had been complimented many times, even for her skill at bargaining, but no man had ever complimented her for seeing "beyond the surface of things." It was one of the ways she had kept up her garden of tranquillity. By learning to see beyond the moods and day-to-day comments of her customers and of her family, she had discovered that most of the anger or envy or sorrow or pain we bleed onto ourselves is just a wound cut into our own selves. The blood of another that splashes onto you can be washed off. You only suffer, as Priya would say, when your own injuries hurt you.

"He is not what I expected," said Priya softly.

"What did you expect?"

"Women are like silk. The finest cloth is reserved for the noblest man."

"Or for the Merciful One and Her avatars and temples."

"How soon will you invite him into the marriage bed, Mistress?"

"Do you think he meant what he said? That I could choose the time?"

"I don't know. Yet why else would he speak so? He can have you when he wants. It is clear he desires you."

"Does he?"

Priya laughed, a liberty she took only with Mai, certainly never with any of the aunts. "You are wise but i

"There was no other reason for him to marry me but desire. The Mei clan is not an important one. We have no particular wealth. We bring him no advantage even if he weren't Qin, but he is, so an alliance with Father Mei brings him nothing at all. He said so himself."

"Why do you fret so, Mistress?"

"I fret because I don't know where we're going, or what will happen when we get there."

"It is out of your hands, Mistress. He has given you the ba

"Why must each choice be weighed as in a game of spirals? Is there no honesty to be had between men and women?"

"Honesty is a pearl, Mistress: rare and precious. Walk this path cautiously."

"Do you remember that song about the bandit prince and the gold merchant's daughter?" She sang the refrain. " 'Your eyes speak to me of love, but I remain silent. It may be I am in love, but how can I know?' " The words always made her cry. She wiped her eyes, wondering how foolish she looked. "I just want to be happy, Priya."

But when Mai looked into her face, she thought Priya looked sad, and even a trifle anxious.

The slave rested a hand on Mai's shoulder. "Be careful, Mistress. The gods may hear your wish and grant it."

AT DAWN, SHAI refused to speak to her as he tottered to his horse. He was so angry! Yet if he would not comfort her, hold her up when she was frightened, then who would? Priya coaxed her with soothing words. Captain Anji brought her a placid mare, helped her mount, and rode beside her. At the steady pace they took it wasn't so difficult, since she didn't need to do anything but hang on. Midway through the morning, with the sun well up above above the dusty horizon, he kindly suggested she rest in the palanquin.