Jade War

“I was born in Kekon,” Anden said, “but I came to Espenia as a child.” It was the first half-truth that Anden had told, and even though Wen doubted any of the barukan were skilled enough in Perception to detect such a minor deception, with each subsequent falsehood, the subtle tension in Anden’s body would grow until it became suspicious. Wen uncapped her fountain pen and held it poised over the blank pad of paper. She glanced at Rohn Toro, crouched down on the other side of Zapunyo, snapping photographs.

“As for why my family came to Espenia,” Anden went on, “I think they believed there was opportunity here. They thought I could make a better life for myself in Port Massy, because I was born looking Espenian, and because Kekon was a dangerous place at the time. What about you, Mr. Zapunyo?” he asked, pivoting the conversation. “How did you get to where you are now?”

“That is the question we’re all asking ourselves every day, isn’t it, Mr. Caido? How did we get to where we are now?” Zapunyo smoothed the top of his dark, coarse hair, looking thoughtful. “How is it that in my family, there were seven children but only four of us survived, and out of the four of us, I was the one who made it out of the ghetto, who made something of myself even though I was always the smallest and the physically weakest of all the boys?”

Each of the barukan and Zapunyo’s son were armed with handguns and two of them carried durbh blades as well. Rohn Toro had circled back to where Wen sat. He attached the camera onto the tripod. Anden said, “What do you think is the reason, Mr. Zapunyo? Do you believe that perhaps it was your fate, being directed by a higher power such as the gods?”

Zapunyo held up a stumpy finger and his eyes glistened with satisfaction. “I do believe the gods have some say, that is true, but men set their own destinies. For example, who’s to say what brings any two people together at a certain time and place for them to change each other’s lives?”

The smuggler turned a shrewd look on Anden. “I have many enemies, and naturally, before I agreed to meet with you, I had to check your credentials. Mr. Caido indeed works for the Kekon Journal and has written many articles and conducted many interviews. But you are not Ray Caido, are you?” Zapunyo fished a small black-and-white photograph from the front pocket of his suit and held it up. It appeared to be a yearbook photograph. “You don’t look like him. But you insist on meeting me, unarmed and on my terms, so you’re not here to kill me.”

Wen felt sweat break out on her back. She twisted the barrel of her pen and dropped it. It rolled off her lap and onto the floor. Rohn bent to retrieve it for her. Anden didn’t look at them; he sat completely still and stone-faced, not speaking. Zapunyo, looking smug, said, “Who sent you to seek me out? The Mountain clan? Or is it the Kekonese here in Espenia who want jade?”

Wen’s fountain pen broke easily. As Rohn pulled the thin string of tiny jade stones from inside the barrel, Anden leaned forward. “You’re wrong, Zapunyo. I am here to kill you.”

All of Zapunyo’s guards drew their guns at the same time, ready to unload a dozen bullets into Anden’s body. Two of them began to turn toward Rohn, detecting the sudden flare of a jade aura a split second before the Green Bone unleashed a Deflection that tore through the small confines of the hotel room. It knocked over the camera tripod, sent the water from the glass spraying, and slammed into the men who were standing, shoving them into the walls and furniture.

Gunshots rang out. Wen dropped flat to the ground, ears ringing, heart in her throat. She saw Anden throw himself onto Zapunyo, covering the smuggler’s body with his own. As he dragged them both out of the chair and onto the floor, Anden maneuvered behind Zapunyo and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and thin shoulders, pinning him, then rolling over and ducking his own head so the smuggler lay struggling with his back on Anden’s chest, trapped as an unwilling shield; the bodyguards couldn’t shoot Anden without hitting their boss as well.

With her face against the carpet, Wen saw Zapunyo’s son shout, “No, Pap!” His eyes widened with panic as he tried to decide where to aim his gun. With a burst of Strength, Rohn Toro flew at him and struck him in the throat, crushing his windpipe. As Zapunyo’s son collapsed, Rohn twisted the gun from his grip and whipped it up, firing it—one, two, three times. One of the bodyguards went down; another brought up a desperate blast of Steel and Deflection that sent the final bullet into the hotel room window. The two remaining barukan returned fire; Rohn dove to the ground and fired twice, blowing out the kneecaps of the nearest man, who screamed as he fell, before Rohn’s next two shots silenced him.