9

Dragon

            When we arrived at the lodge I was in for another shock: I was led straight into Eden’s temporary local office to find Lady Ciani.

“Hello, old friend,” she greeted me, “the Justiciar has asked me to help resolve the troubles with our young rebels, and with you.”

“And what trouble have I given him?” I snapped before I came to my senses. Then, after a deep breath, I bowed and offered an apology, which was countered with a dismissive gesture and one of Lady Ciani’s melodic laughs. A second gesture towards the chair followed with, “Please have a seat, Dragon. I will let him explain that.”

When he appeared, he had changed clothes and quite obviously washed. He apologized for keeping us waiting, pulled up a chair and sat down in front of us as if for judgment, something lost on neither of us. He collected his thoughts while one of his underlings served us choctea. When the acolyte had gone out again, he looked straight at me, but addressed her ladyship, “I’m afraid one of my acts has deeply offended our guest today. And since I need her, I cannot let it be a personal matter.”

I turned to him, “What would have happened if Kuan Kim had chosen not to go into ice?”

“She would be dead.”

“Why didn’t that man have the same choice?”

“It was not convenient.”
“You deceived him, didn’t you? You made him think he’d get a sentence similar to Kuan Kim’s young fighters.”

“Not completely.”

“The choice you gave her was . . . understandable. What you did with him was heinous, and I cannot countenance it.”

He did not argue with me. We both sat in silence, examining each other across the short distance between our chairs. How could I have spent months observing this man without even suspecting that he was a cold-blooded killer? Just a little logical reflection would have sufficed in alerting me to the possibility, but Justiciar Eden’s necessary job qualifications had never even crossed my mind, as if they were irrelevant!

It was Lady Ciani who spoke next, “In our eyes, the arms dealer shares equal responsibility in the crime. The debt weighs equally heavily on him as on Kuan Kim and her followers.”

“I understand that, your ladyship, and accordingly, he should have had the same choice of judgments.”

Eden stayed put.

Finally, I let out a frustrated sigh and asked him point-blank, “How many people have you killed?”

“I have held my title for three years, as you know.”

“That is not an answer.”

After a short silence, he angled his body slightly towards the regent. “Your ladyship,” he asked quietly, “Ashewe Dragon may be looking for new hosts now, and it would be a great favor indeed if you were to harbor her until she finds a clan to her liking.”

Lady Ciani looked from him to me and back again, then she spoke the traditional formula, “Friends brighten one’s house. You are welcome, Dragon,” making me sigh again.

She turned to him and asked, “How bad is it?”

He reported in his usual, almost inflectionless voice, “The situation is much more serious than any of us imagined. I still haven’t found the original murderers, and I sense a more experienced hand behind this last group of young fools. I think the heshtis will be satisfied with one death and the banishment for now, and for the ones that have chosen to leave, the move is going according to schedule, but others have armed. One more incident could unleash civil war.”

“Tomorrow I will ask Kuan House to give up the murderers. The Kuans know how important their conduct has become since my successor will be chosen from among them. They will tell me.”

“The heshtis will demand more blood for the original crime.”

“If they want a duel, that is their right.”

“I see.” After a short pause he continued pensively, “Dragon may have judged correctly. Convenience only counts with strangers.” Then he turned back to me, “Four, all with Arthmis. This was my second as Justiciar. So far.”

“What is it you want of me?” The anger in my voice betrayed me, and even as I spoke I knew he could tell.

“Help me avert a disaster. First, when we continue to negotiate, tell me where the agitators are.”

“You cannot be serious!”

That got through. “I did not come through three years of my office by killing indiscriminately!” he flared.

I had to recognize that, “And second?”

“We may need O’bonne. Make that: We need O’bonne mediation, and the sooner, the better.”

Wise thinking, I had to admit, however grudgingly. I leaned back into my chair and lifted my cup to my lips, contemplated wordings and communication methods. Oh Goddess, another cultural planetologist gone native! I would have to be prepared for some fancy talk on my own behalf.

Lady Ciani husked melodiously, “And if she agrees to help us, what have you to offer her in return?”

He said quietly, “I cannot give up the means to avert further bloodshed.”

Ignoring him, I proposed, “How about clan status for the newcomers?”

“Clan status?” He shook his head, “These heshtis reject our ties!”

Lady Ciani broke in and cut him off, “Clan status may be possible for their children, eventually. It certainly would be a good starting point for negotiations with our recalcitrant newcomers, if O’bonne would be willing to help us start such a process.”

He bowed to her, then said to me, “I can find you a new Arthmis company so our dissociation can proceed. I’ll arrange for Pallas Vai to broker introductions with her cousin. She won’t be pleased, but she’ll do me the favor.”

I came to a decision then, and informed my interlocutors of it presently, “I would be happy to be of service to Alnos and request O’bonne mediation if that is indeed what your ladyship and the Council of Eight decide. As for dissociating from you, Pallas Eden, that would make me a very poor planetologist, wouldn’t it? I would appreciate widening my Arthmis circle, of course, but I will finish what I have started first.” Even as I spoke my decision, I wondered how far I was letting personal convenience get in the way of my judgment and dictate my choices, an uncomfortably close parallel to the very behavior I was objecting to. After all, if I really had severed my ties with Pallas Eden and moved to another clan, I would have given up months of my work, and I would have had to decide what to do about Kyet.