Intruder

Tano said: “The returning officers of the Guild are dealing with some difficult judgments, nandi, whether certain persons who left and are now considered outlawed did so in good conscience, to resist illicit orders. Murini was essentially a figurehead, with a new Guild leadership guiding his hands. The culpable Guild that went south when the coup collapsed—the Ajuri that went south with them may have been guilty. Or they may only have feared partisanship. It is yet to be decided.”

“Certain ones went south,” Banichi said grimly, “but certain ones even more dangerous had covered their tracks with skill the Guild teaches—and the younger leadership of the Guild had already targeted the Marid lords for removalcwithout telling Tabini-aiji, without consulting senior Guild, without respect for the tradition that keeps the Guild from altering the political makeup or balance of the aishidi’tat. Thatadventurism is what we saw operating, Bren-ji—a great enthusiasm for far too much intervention without restraint. And very possibly with motives we are still unraveling.”

“If the Guild operation against Machigi had gone forward as the Guild leadership of that hour had intended,” Algini said, “the Guild would likely have created a separate administrative district—one Guild administration governing the Marid, where only the Guild would give orders. The information broke first, you may surmise, when Cenedi cracked the wall of secrecy—how he did that, best not to know. But that Guild operation is what the dowager moved instantly to prevent.”

“And she sent me to snatch Machigi back from the brink. The plan was to assassinate Machigi and then the others and rule the Marid from Tanaja, to take care of the Shadow Guild—do you think? To put the Guild itself at the top of the aishidi’tat?”

“We are still finding out,” Algini said. “Now you know far more of Guild affairs than you should, and we are all but Jago in violation of a general directive.”

“By all means, add me to it,” Jago said. “I refuse to be left out. At least, Bren-ji, we believe the Guild will now stabilize, if we do not have another upset or a revelation of more problem man’chiin. Very high officers are being eliminated. And Ajuri influence has gone from very high to ruin.”

“We are again operating clan by clan,” Banichi said, “a principle that ought not to have been abandoned by certain Shejidani units who made a critical decision to accept central leadership and directives above those of their clans, because certainclans persuaded them they were acting selflessly. Machigi’s bodyguard functioned excellently—they areregional, and they obeyed the old rules, defending their own lord, as they should, in every respect.”

“Unfortunately,” Algini said, “no place including the Bujavid will be as safe as we would wish, for perhaps several years to come, and those who have retaken power in the Guild are not young, nor was the retaking of power without bloodletting. We have a relatively limited time to mortar these arrangements back together before we start losing key elements.”

It was a grim report. One hardly knew what to say.

“Protecting you, Bren-ji,” Banichi said, “is of critical importance right now. You intend certain things that your enemies will wish to prevent. The renegade Guild—Shadow Guild is an apt name for them—is particularly anxious to see the cell phone bill pass. It would immensely aid their communications, since they are being worked out of the Guild network, and they still believe you are in favor of it, so they have not moved against you. Your opposition to that bill will upset them almost as much as your support of Lord Machigi, and it will surprise them far more.”

“You are one of five individuals,” Tano said, “that the Guild intends to protect at any cost.”

Tabini, Cajeiri, Ilisidi, Geigi. And him. He would have thought, until this morning, that Lady Damiri would certainly be on the list.

But perhaps no longer.

God, what a mess.

He would add two more to the Guild’s list: Machigi and Tatiseigi; but they might be in the second tier.

Granted that he was at all right about who was in the first five.

But he should not ask. If Tano had wanted to tell him, Tano would have. And if not Tano, Algini.

“One will not ask to know further,” Bren said, “and one will cease all levity regarding the detested vest, nadiin-ji. One will not wish to make your job harder.”

“One is gratified by that, Bren-ji,” Banichi said.

“One is, from this side, gratified to have this much information,” Bren said, “and one assures you of confidentiality, unless you signal me that you wish me to pass along certain things.”

“Leave that to the Guild itself, Bren-ji,” Algini said, “on Guild cha

“Will you need to leave us during this, Gini-ji?”

“No,” Algini said. “No, nandi. I shall not leave your service. I have made that clear in the Guild. But information to this household will never be deficient again, unless Tano and I go missing, and it will get to the aiji’s guard if wehave to deliver it. We have established our own checks to make a silence detectible in certain quarters. We shall know. And should a signal come, that there is an assault on that system—we shall inform you, you will inform Tabini-aiji, we shall track it, and we will act. Enough—before we rouse more questions.” Algini gave one of his rare gentle smiles. “One is beyond glad to stay in this aishid, Bren-ji. Fortunately your position on the target list makes that possible for us.”

“Then one is glad to be a target,” Bren said with a definite nod, and rose and left his bodyguard to discuss things they might not say in his hearing.

Tatisiegi was likely one topic of interest. He was sure his bodyguard would tell him if there were the least whisper of a response from Tatiseigi. But there still was apparently no answer, no query, no action. Yet. And one could only worry.

The old man could do several things with the porcelain. He could refuse the gift. He could refuse the meeting. One would think, in that event, the crate would turn up back at his door fairly expeditiously, with or without an explanatory note. Tatiseigi had not done that—so he had, at least temporarily, accepted it.

Tatiseigi might be, at this moment, meeting with his own associates and deciding what to do about the itemcand the paidihi-aiji.

His bodyguard might know that answer. But inquiring into that sort of knowledge was like lifting the lid on something cooking: the intervention might ruin what mighthave worked itself out, given time, given the passing of delicate, unofficial hints. There were things one should not know until it was time to know.

It might have been a thorough mistake, sending that gift. Now that the deed was done, he had no dearth of second thoughts, and more of them since he’d talked to Tabini. The old man simply detested humans, on a visceral level, never mind that they’d had to deal with one another, and there was no sign of that opinion shifting. That was a problem, not only dealing with Tatiseigi but in dealing with any of the conservatives. By the very nature of what they believed, they detested humans and never wanted to deal with one, or the effect humans had had on the world, and that was that.

But the world was the world, and there was no changing what had happened. They’d tried living side by side. They’d tried ignoring one another. Now—

Now they had to try living side by side again. Ultimately.

If Tatiseigi didn’t declare war on him. PossiblyIlisidi could get him out of it, if it went utterly bad. But Tabini had said it: he was in it, he had started something, and that was that.

He had a little lunch in his office. He answered a few letters between bites of sandwich and sips of tea.

He had had the meeting he had most dreaded. He did not yet have the one he wished for.