"I know," I repeated.
She glanced at me. "I cannot do it alone, and your magic is the only thing that calms the dragon. May I count on your aid?"
"I meant what I said the other night, my lady," I replied. "If I may serve you in any way, I will."
The princess inclined her head. "Thank you."
We sat in silence awhile longer, breathing in the twilight, until the dragon's coiling and uncoiling slowed and it drifted like clouds in the mirror, dreaming once more, its opalescent eyes lidded.
"She must have been very wise and gracious to inspire such loyalty," Snow Tiger commented. "This foreign queen you served."
I laughed. "No. No, she was capricious, vain, and fickle. But she could be kind and generous, too. And when she was in a sweet temper, it was as though the sun shone and all the birds in the sky sang at once."
"I see."
There were thoughts and memories unfurling in her mind, doubts and questions. Musings on what might have been had she been raised differently, had her own mother survived. But she did not voice them, and I held my tongue and kept my knowledge to myself, breathing quietly while the dragon drifted and dreamed.
In a little while, Snow Tiger dismissed me.
At least this time, I did not think she was glad to be rid of me.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Lord Jiang refused. "He claims it is a trick." The Emperor paced in his council chamber, as restless as his daughter in anger. Dozens of councilors huddled on their knees, their heads bowed. I knelt behind Master Lo, keeping my eyes lowered. "A trick! As though I would resort to such subterfuge." He fetched up before my mentor. "Can you prove it otherwise, old friend?"
"Not beyond a shadow of doubt, Celestial Majesty." Master Lo's voice was heavy. "The way the incense smoke coiled around the Noble Princess indicates the dragon's presence. But I cannot prove its existence."
Bao nudged me.
"I can try, Master," I offered. "Your teaching has made me stronger. I can summon the twilight and show them the dragon in the mirror."
"Smoke and mirrors." Emperor Zhu waved a dismissive hand. "No, no. They will not believe it. Especially not when foreign sorcery is involved."
Master Lo inclined his head. "Then we must find a way to convey the Noble Princess to White Jade Mountain ourselves."
The Emperor stiffened. "And provoke a civil war?"
"It is coming whether you provoke it or not, old friend," Master Lo Feng said softly. "Forgive me, but my son has ensured that it is so, and I believe he has done so with Jiang Quan's knowledge and consent. If you hesitate, you lose what advantage is left to you."
"No." Emperor Zhu shook his head. Beads of gemstones dangling from his flat yellow crown swung and rattled. There were harsh lines of sorrow and grief etched in his face. "No, no, no. I will not do this thing. I will not plunge the Celestial Empire into war." He took a deep breath, his chest rising and swelling. "If I have lost the Mandate of Heaven, if I must surrender the throne, I will."
No!
"Peace," I whispered to the distant dragon.
It settled reluctantly.
"And the Noble Princess?" Master Lo murmured.
The Emperor looked away. "I grieve, old friend. I have grieved from the moment it happened. But I do not have the right to further offend Heaven on my daughter's behalf." He spared a glance in my direction. "Your jade-eyed witch soothes the dragon. Let her continue to do so."
I waited for someone else to implore the Emperor to take action, to convince him that he had not lost the Mandate of Heaven.
No one spoke.
They had not heard the dragon's thoughts, they had not seen its endless pearl-bright coils reflected in the mirror. Only Master Lo Feng's foreign witch and the possessed princess claimed to have done so. But they had seen the nuptial bedchamber drenched in blood, the dismembered corpse of Lord Jiang's son—or if they'd not seen it with their own eyes, they'd heard it described in horror a thousand times over.
Not a man among them would challenge the Emperor.
The decision was made.
Once dismissed, we backed out of the Imperial presence and returned to our quarters in silence. I thought of my promise to Snow Tiger and wondered how in the name of all the gods to broach the topic.
Bao did it for me. "So." He fetched a jar of rice wine from our humble kitchen and brought it into the courtyard. Master Lo glanced at him in surprise. "There is a time to drink strong spirits, Master," he said, pouring three cups. "This is one of them. Now, how are we going to save the princess and the dragon?"
I choked on the sip I was taking.
"You had other plans?" Bao turned his dark, ironic gaze on me. I shook my head. "No, I didn't think so."
"I promised to aid her if it came to this," I admitted.
"She would defy her own father?" Master Lo sounded appalled.
"It's not just her, Master," Bao observed. "There is the dragon, too. It is a celestial being, an immortal. It cannot stay a prisoner inside her. That is against all nature." He cocked his head. "Why did you give the pearl to Black Sleeve, anyway?"
Master Lo Feng picked up his cup, turning it around and around in his elegant, long-fingered hands. "He was called Yaozu then," he said softly. "That was the name his mother and I gave him when he came of age. When he was a babe, she called him Tadpole. The dragon's pearl was his favorite toy." In one swift gesture, he downed the rice wine in his cup.
Bao refilled his cup without a word.
Master Lo coughed, eyes watering. "I believe you are right about the time for strong spirits, my magpie." He took another drink. "Yaozu blames me for his mother's death. We parted bitterly. I gave him the pearl in the hope that it would remind him of happier times."
"How….." I hesitated. "How did she die, Master?"
"She died of old age," he said simply. "Peacefully, in her sleep. My Mingzhu never had the patience to practice the Five Styles of Breathing. She was like a hummingbird, restless and bright." He smiled with sorrow. "Unalike as we were, I loved her very much. Yaozu believed I failed her when I turned away from alchemy and the quest for the elixir of immortality. He begged me to return to it. When I refused, he begged me to teach him. I refused." He drained what was left in his cup. "He never accepted it. Now at last it seems he has found a way to punish me for it, and to punish the world along with me."
"Which is why we must stop him," Bao said pragmatically. "And the first step is to get the princess to White Jade Mountain and free the, dragon."
"What's the second step?" I asked.
His eyes glinted. "I am hoping one is all we need. After all, it is a very difficult one. It will reveal the extent of Black Sleeve's betrayal. And you seemed to find the dragon….. impressive."
I shivered. "Oh, it is."
Both of us looked at Master Lo.
"How can we possibly spirit the princess from the Celestial City itself….." Master Lo halted. The sorrow etching his features seemed to ease a measure. "Of course. Moirin's gift."
I nodded. "I do not know how long I can hold the twilight nor how many I can hold within it. To be sure, not enough to conceal us all the way to White Jade Mountain, no longer than a single day at best. But I can hold it long enough to get Snow Tiger out of the Celestial City unseen." A problem occurred to me. "There is the matter of the cage."
"Can you pick locks?" Bao asked hopefully. No.
"I could disguise myself as a eunuch," he mused. "Thump her jailor-attendant over the head and steal the key."
Master Lo raised one hand. "We pace ahead of ourselves, children. If we are to attempt this thing, we must be certain the Noble Princess and the dragon desire it alike. And we three alone do not suffice. There must be other guards to accompany us."
Bao gave him a skeptical look. "No disrespect, Master, but I think the Noble Princess can take care of herself."
"Not at the risk of revealing her identity. It will be necessary to travel in disguise." He inclined his head toward Bao. "And I mean no disrespect to your skills, my magpie, but they would be spread too thin. We must have others. Loyal others."
Bao grumbled.
"Mayhap Snow Tiger can help," I suggested. "She said there were warriors loyal to her once. If she is willing to take such a desperate step, surely she has other allies."
"Ask her," my mentor said.
I did.
When Snow Tiger sent for me the next day, she had already heard the news. She was as focused and contained as she could be under the circumstances, although the dragon within her was anxious and restless.
You will help? You WILL help?
"I will help," I assured it. "Look into the mirror and be at peace for a moment. The Noble Princess and I need to speak."
It sighed and obeyed.
Beneath the shimmering veil of twilight, we waited until the dragon was calm, soothed by the hypnotic coiling and uncoiling of its reflection.
Snow Tiger raised her brows in inquiry. "What passes?"
I gazed at her slight, regal figure. Despite her luxurious, embroidered crimson robes, she looked like a weapon, a slender dagger, bright and deadly. "My lady, I must ask this formally. Master Lo Feng's honor demands nothing less. Your father, the Son of Heaven, has resolved that he will not wage war against Lord Jiang. On the day that Jiang Quan's forces assail Shuntian, he will cede the throne and the Mandate of Heaven."
Her shoulders tensed. "Yes. I know."
"Is it your will to defy him?" I asked. "Is it your desire that we find a way to convey you to White Jade Mountain?"
Yes!
"Yes." Snow Tiger's gaze flicked to the mirror, then me. "I would defy my father. It is my will and our desire, Moirin of the Maghuin Dhonn." She took a deep breath. "It is a difficult thing for me to confess. How many times must I say it?"
"I only needed to hear it once more," I assured her. "Master Lo insists that you must have a guard. Are there none left who are loyal to you?"
"No." Her head turned, showing her delicate profile. "None."
I tried not to show my disappointment. "Then we will find others."
Her head swung back to me. "Where?"
"Oh….." I shrugged. "Somewhere. Anyway, we must settle the problem of the cage also. I must find a way to free you from it, and obtaining the key will be a tricky matter."
The princess laughed humorlessly. "This cage?" Aye.
"Come." She rose with that unnerving, boneless grace and crossed the twilit courtyard. I trailed in her wake. Slim fingers grasped the iron bars and pulled.
The bars bent, opening a gap large enough for both of us to pass through.
I gaped.
"The cage is for show," Snow Tiger said to me. "It helps ease my mind, and the minds of those who attend me, although they do not know it. But there is no cage that can contain the dragon, save the cage of my mortal flesh."
Iron screeched as she straightened the bars.
I swallowed hard. "Duly noted, my lady. That eliminates one obstacle."
"Good." Her expression softened briefly. "I'm sorry. It is a hard task I've laid upon you. I wish I had more to offer."
"We will find a way," I assured her with a confidence I didn't feel.
On the heels of my assignation with the princess and the dragon, I reported to Bao and Master Lo Feng. Like me, they were awed at the demonstration of her strength; and like me, they were disappointed to find that the princess had no other allies save us.
"She must have a guard!" Master Lo fretted. "Honor and common sense alike demands it!"
Bao was silent a moment. "I can get us men."
"Where?" I asked.
He jerked his chin in the direction of Shuntian's city center. "There are men out there who were loyal to me once. All I need to do is challenge their new leader and take over once more."
"Thugs and bullies?" Master Lo asked in horror. "How can you possibly think to trust them?"
Bao laughed. "You trusted me, Master."
"On my own behalf, yes," he observed. "Forgive my candor, but on first acquaintance, I would not have trusted you with the Emperor's daughter, my magpie. And what would happen if you were to lose your challenge ?"
"I won't lose," Bao said simply. "And I will treat only with those willing to swear the Thieves' Oath."
"You were a thief, too?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Untrustworthy men must have some way of trusting one another. That is why the Thieves' Oath was created, and it is the one oath none of them will break. To do so involves many, many years of hideous torment in the courts of the Yama Kings," he added. "I can describe it to you if you like."
I shuddered, remembering the Chamber of Ripping Tongues. "Thank you, no."
We went around and around with the matter, but in the end, there were no better options. As highly regarded as he was, Master Lo had spent much of his life in relative solitude. And he was a man of honor— he knew no one he could trust with such an unthinkable breach of propriety.
"They would think I have lost my wits," he mused. "And perhaps I have."
On the following morning, Bao was in surprisingly good spirits as he prepared to set out for the park where the stick-fighters dallied.
"You're not concerned that you'll be tempted to slip back into your old ways?" I asked him.
