Jade War

Hilo was waiting in the lounge of the Inheritance when Ven Sando boarded his boat as usual the following Sixthday morning. The president of K-Star Freight was understandably nonplussed to see the Pillar of the No Peak clan sitting by himself in one of the deck chairs with a drink that he’d taken from the onboard minibar. Ven appeared shocked, then angry, then a little frightened. The man opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Hilo raised a hand to forestall him. The Pillar stood up in one smooth motion. “Ven-jen, I thought we were friends.”

The words were spoken with a chillingly soft disappointment. Ven Sando turned pale. “We are, Kaul-jen,” the heavyset businessman protested. “Why would you think otherwise?”

“Friends don’t make promises they don’t intend to keep,” Hilo said, walking slowly toward Ven. “The last time we were on this nice boat of yours, you gave me the impression that we would work together to create a better situation for both of our clans. That was over a year and a half ago.” Hilo pursed his lips to one side. “With everything going on in the world these days, I can appreciate that things have been busy for everyone. But my biggest problem is that Ayt Mada is still the Pillar of the Mountain. My Weather Man tells me you’ve stopped returning her calls. I can’t help but think that you’re not taking our agreement seriously.”

“Kaul-jen, I’ve been quite vocal in my criticisms of Ayt’s leadership. I’ve had fruitful discussions about the future of the clan with innumerable influential colleagues and gathered strong support for a change in direction—I dare say a return to our more honorable roots.” Ven cleared his throat forcefully and crossed his large arms. “It takes time to prepare properly for change of such an… irrevocable nature. I’ve overseen more than a few major business acquisitions during my long career, and can say—”

“This isn’t a corporate acquisition,” Hilo interrupted. “Ayt Mada came from the business side as Weather Man, but when her father died, it only took her six days to kill her rivals and take control of the Mountain. You called Ayt an inept, ambitious woman who’s made misstep after misstep. So tell me how is it that in nearly two years you haven’t managed to accomplish what took her six days?” When Ven didn’t answer, Hilo said, with a thoughtful but menacing sympathy, “I think you’re losing your nerve. The war in Oortoko has been bad for the world, but good for the national economy. With so many foreigners needing to move things around Kekon, business is going well for K-Star Freight, so you have other things on your mind. The public and your shareholders have grown to like this supposed peace between the clans. So now you’re less sure of risking your own life. Maybe you think that it wouldn’t be so bad to leave things as they are, to forget that we ever talked.”

Ven moved away from Hilo and went to stand at the boat’s railing. “I haven’t forgotten anything we discussed,” he said shortly, though he sounded less sure of himself now. “But I need the backing of the clan to make a move. The Koben family has their supporters, including the Tems and the Gams. The Iwe family has its own allies. After Koben Ento was murdered”—Ven gave Hilo a deeply suspicious look—“there were people out for blood on both sides. Ayt held an urgent, private meeting with the leaders of the Koben family and somehow quieted down the crisis, but with all this tension, it’s difficult to gather support for a third option. And with Guim taking over from Son as chancellor of the Royal Council, even Ayt’s detractors within the Mountain don’t want to show internal dissent right now.”

“Spoken like a politician instead of a Green Bone.” Hilo replied with rough contempt. “I didn’t have the full support of my clan when I became Pillar. And if Ayt had had the full support of her clan, she wouldn’t have had to kill her father’s Horn and her own brother. If you want to lead, you can’t wait for everyone to line up behind you.” The Pillar stalked over to stand at the railing beside Ven. “It’s possible that I didn’t make myself completely clear the first time around. I offered you the support and friendship of No Peak because we shared a desire to see Ayt Mada out of power and in the ground. If that’s no longer the case, if our wishes are no longer aligned, then there’s no reason for us to talk further.” Hilo tilted his head in a musing way, his voice softening ominously. “If there’s no one I can count on to challenge Ayt, then I might as well resign myself to turning over a new leaf with my old enemy and informing her of the traitors in her clan.”

Ven’s face went still. “You would place a death sentence on my family?”