Jade War

“And I haven’t forgotten that you massacred dozens of my Green Bones and murdered Gont Asch. We both used whatever methods and ruses we deemed necessary in a time of war. Unexpected losses were to be expected.” Ayt stood up, taking her plate with her to the window and opening the shade enough to look out at the countryside: low green hills cut into neat terraces, laborers working in the distance, a muddy pickup truck passing an oxcart on the road behind Durn’s property. Slowly, Ayt ate the food on her plate and turned around, the light from the window framing her, shadowing her face. “Kaul Lan was born and trained to be the Pillar; you were not. Do you really believe you can succeed at diplomacy, at business, at anything where you don’t have a talon knife in your hand?

“Set aside blind vengeance and find it in yourself to think dispassionately for a minute, if you’re capable of doing so. I didn’t order your brother’s death, and I’d hand his killers over to you if I knew who and where they were.” Her voice lowered and for the first time that Hilo could remember, Ayt spoke to him in a tone approaching reasonableness. “A merger between our clans is still possible. It would be better for everyone: no more fighting in the city, no more vying for every bit of business and political influence. Together, Green Bones could wipe out smuggling, control the jade and shine trade, and present an unassailable force against encroaching foreigners.”

Ayt stepped away from the window. “There are two things even your enemies say about you, Kaul-jen: You always keep your promises, and you’re a natural Horn. Nau Suen is too old to be Horn of the Mountain for more than a few years. You can serve both yourself and the country: Pledge to end the blood feud and join our clans, and you’ll return to your rightful place, ruling the streets, keeping jade out of the hands of criminals and smugglers, being the Green Bone you’re good at being, the sort that leaves a trail of blood in his wake, like you did on Tialuhiya.”

Hilo sat back and tilted his head slightly to one side. “You’re an unusual sort of person, Ayt-jen,” he said at last. “I wonder what it’s like, to think like a machine and not care about anyone.”

Ayt’s manner hardened instantly at Hilo’s words. Her thick jade aura rolled like a wave. She did not raise her voice, but it emerged slow and deadly. “Don’t presume you know me, Kaul Hilo.”

Hilo rose from his seat in one smooth motion and stalked forward. “I know a few things about you. You whispered the name of your own brother. You colluded with a traitor in my clan and seeded criminals in No Peak territory. You stole and sold jade behind our backs. You’re the reason Lan’s dead. You tried to have me assassinated, and you tried to convince my own sister to kill me. Are those enough things, Ayt-jen?” He glanced at the penitents standing unmoved in the corners of the rooms, as if suggesting they ought to be listening carefully to his accounting of her sins. Each of Hilo’s words came out as distinct as a slowly drawn knife cut. “I will never swear oaths to you.”

Ayt’s expression simmered with a scorn that suggested she was fed up with predictable reactions. “I’m extending a hand instead of a blade. Refuse it, and it won’t happen again.”

“So we understand each other,” Hilo said. “It’s obvious you’re still dreaming of one-clan rule in Kekon, which means that truce or no truce, you’re going to have to kill me eventually.” Hilo shrugged, but there was nothing nonchalant about the motion. “If I don’t get to you first.”

Ayt’s mouth moved imperceptibly, but her powerful aura bathed Hilo in the furnace heat of a menace as unforgiving as a wildfire. “I’ve tried enough times to reason with the stubborn Kaul bloodline.” She adjusted one of the coils of jade on her arm. “Ree Tura will work with your Weather Man to arrange how we announce the agreement between the clans to the Royal Council and the public. I’m sure the people of Kekon will be relieved and pleased by our change of heart.” The Pillar of the Mountain strode past him, set the small plate down on the table, and left the room.

CHAPTER 13 After the Show

A formal press conference was held two weeks later, the morning after Boat Day, on neutral ground in the Monument District. The grand ballroom of the historic General Star Hotel had hosted foreign heads of state, government officials, diplomats, and dignitaries of all stripes, but Hilo doubted it had ever seen two clan Pillars and this many Green Bones within its four walls. Through the expanse of windows behind the raised platform, one could see the west side of Wisdom Hall, and beyond a row of blossoming trees, the tiered roof of the Triumphal Palace. No one in attendance, including the journalists sitting in the front rows of chairs, could fail to grasp the significance: The announcements being made today were as consequential to the country as anything that came from the official government.