Conspirator

“Be ready,” Ilisidi said.

That was a dismissal. Bren bowed, gathered his aishid, and went out into the hall, where Ramaso waited.

“We have disposed nand’ Baiji in staff quarters downstairs,” Ramaso said, and with a distressed look. “It is the only place we can secure.”

It had no windows. His brother and Barb, Cajeiri, the aiji-dowager, Cenedi, her physician and her young men—guests had collectively taken the last suites left in the house. He could draw his own aishid into his suite and gain that room, but better Baiji have just a little less lordly accommodation. No windows was a good idea, not only considering Baiji trying to go out a window—he could not imagine it—but considering someone trying to come in.

“Are the storm shutters in order?” he asked. “I want them ready, if you get the word.”

“They are, nandi.”

“And Iscarti,” he said. “Is there news regarding Iscarti?”

“Awake, nandi. Very weak, but the dowager’s physician is encouraging.”

“I will see him as soon as I possibly can,” he said. “He saved us, Rama-ji. If he had not gotten the bus to us despite being shot, we might all be dead. He deserves the best we can do. The very best. One will never forget it.”

“One will convey that to him,” Ramaso said, “nandi.”

His bodyguard had gathered around him. “Nadiin-ji,” he said to them as Ramaso left, “the paidhi-aiji owes you the greatest of apologies. My foolishness divided the aishid, sending you to Barb and Toby. It was even numerically infelicitous.” None of them believed in the superstitions, not in the least, but there were reasons, with the Guild, that they worked in odd numbers—counting the one they protected. He had slipped that far from ordinary, and basic, considerations. “One ca

“We were taken by surprise,” Banichi said ruefully. “Not by the Guildsmen. We would not letthem position themselves. We would have shot them had they had made a move—we would have taken them down when shots were fired.”

“But?”

“But the young lord moved to disadvantage relative to his guards. Return fire would have come at him.”

“He moved apart,” Jago said, as if that summed up everything. To a certain extent, it did.

“Everyone has worked hard to waken the proper sensibilities in the young gentleman,” Banichi said. “And he moved in his own direction.” A rueful shrug. “Aiji.”

“ Wheredid he go, ’Nichi-ji?”

“Into the bushes, the nearest cover. They may not have found him. If his companions have learned anything in their training, he will not stir until dark. Then he may attempt to come here. Thatis our greatest concern. The Southerners may not have the equipment in place to find him—yet; and they may not have clearly seen that we did not get the youngsters aboard the bus. But there will be action, tonight. They will be expecting us. They may come herein the thought we may throw all our resources into attacking Kajiminda.”

“One fears we may have to. To what extent do you think they have taken over nand’ Geigi’s estate?”

“If the nephew is truthful,” Tano said, “and some Edi staff have stayed on—possibly out of man’chi to Lord Geigi—we must use caution. Certainly all armed staff are likely to be infiltrators.”

Any of the Edi that had tried to leave—would be lucky to survive the attempt. It was a terrible thought. These were decent people, all of them, staff of a good lord, who had appointed a reasonably decent woman to stand in his stead.

“One wonders how Baiji’s mother died,” Bren said. “She was sickly, but not that old.”

“She was not,” Jago agreed. “And one is suspicious.”

“One would not accuse the man of matricide,” Tano said. “Of weakness, of stupidity, both these things. The Tasaigi may have well known who they wanted in such a key position, and taken action to put him there.”

“They well may have,” Algini said. “And hoped, perhaps, eventually to get Lord Geigi himself in their sights. They may not have been that anxious to attack us. They may have been most worried that Baiji might talk to us. They had to put pressure on him.”

“Baiji rushed out to rescue a village child gone adrift,” Banichi said, “and says he considered ru

“If that was so,” Jago said, “he lost his best chance when he went back to Kajiminda.”

“ Guildmay have known very well who was lost out there,” Banichi said. “Guild back at Kajiminda would surely have found out the aiji-dowager had landed at the airport. At least late in the operation, they had to have an idea.”

“And have time to call in reinforcements of their own,” Tano said.

“We ca

“Granted they are ready for a confrontation with Tabini-aiji,” Bren said. “Which may give them some hesitation. Are they here yet?”

His guards’ faces were uncharacteristically blank of expression for a second. Forbidden topic. Highest security. Some were here, and had been ever since Cajeiri had taken the train in: he took that on faith.

“One does not need to ask,” he said. “But, nadiin-ji, the dowager herself has it in mind to go out there tonight. Can we intercede with Cenedi to argue against this?”

“We are fortunate she does not call in mecheiti for the venture,” Banichi said. The dowager, not that many years ago, had ridden under fire with noprotection. Hell—she’d done a stretch of it this winter, for all practical purposes. The dowager’s great-grandson was in danger, and the dowager was going after him— no argument about it.

“Then I shall be with her,” Bren said. “At the rear, one assumes. Have we a plan?”

“Jago and I will go in,” Banichi said, “having had a chance to see the current layout of house and grounds. Cenedi and Nawari will be with the dowager and with you. Tano and Algini will be assigned to you. Five of the dowager’s men will stay at Najida, and the village will be on alert.”

He didn’t like it. Banichi and Jago proposed to go inside, and he didn’t like it at all. He couldn’t pick and choose among his bodyguard, who took the risks, and who didn’t: it wasn’t, for one thing, his choice: it was Banichi’s.

But God, he didn’t like it. Noneof their choices were palatable.

“I have to go talk to my brother,” Bren said, “very briefly. All of you have things to do: I shall be safe to do this much alone. Call me immediately when we need to leave.”

“Yes,” Banichi said. “But do not go outside without us, Bren-ji. Do not stir from this hall without us.”

“I shall not,” he said. And headed off down the hall to talk to Toby.

Chapter 12

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Dusk was coming, and Cajeiri was bored. He sat, jammed in the little tower as he’d learned to sit in a worse situation— very, very still, the way the Taibeni sibs had also learned to sit from very early, being hunterfolk, and used to waiting—all in silence. They knew voices carried and small movements caught attention, and they were sitting right at the feet of the security system that swept the forest beyond.

Occasionally they made handsigns. People had eventually come out and searched the orchard, which was a situation worse than being bored, and to Cajeiri’s great relief, they had finally gone back in.

The figures on the roof had gone away for a while, too, giving them some hope everybody would just go inside, but after a while the man reappeared near the chimney, and sat there on the red tiles, holding a large rifle with a sight.

That probably meant, in Cajeiri’s best guess, one of two things: the people who had tried to kill them were watching the road for nand’ Bren coming back with help.