Jade War

“Of course she’s destined to be as green as her da,” Hilo said. He saw Eiten’s wife nod and smile. The old belief that fussy infants grew up to be better warriors used to apply only to boys, but these days, twenty percent of the students in Kaul Dushuron Academy were female; there were women Fists and even a woman Pillar—a colicky baby girl was cause for pride, not consternation. “I only worry she’ll be too green to be married,” said Eiten’s wife. Hilo caught her gaze flickering briefly toward Shae before dropping.

“Maybe by the time she grows up, people won’t think that way anymore,” Shae said with a small smile.

“The Weather Man is right, and besides, it’s too early to worry about that now,” Hilo said, placing a hand on Eiten’s shoulder and leading the family toward the chairs. A brown monkey scampered behind Eiten’s heels. When Eiten sat down, it jumped onto the armrest and sat perched beside him alertly, scratching its chest. Hilo pulled a few bottles of soda from the mini-fridge and placed them on the coffee table. At a word from Eiten, the monkey hopped onto the table, uncapped one of the soda bottles, inserted a straw, and carried it back to its master. Eiten slid one foot from his sandal and held the neck of the bottle firmly between his toes. A jade bracelet hung from the ankle he rested across his opposite knee.

Hilo sat down across from his former Fist. His voice took a serious turn. “How’re you managing? Is there anything else you need from the clan that would be of help?”

“You’ve done a lot for us already. Life has been hard, but it’s gotten easier since we got Zozo; he opens doors, he buttons my shirts, he even wipes my ass for me,” Eiten said with a chuckle. A Finger in the clan had given Hilo the useful lead about a Shotarian organization that trained monkeys to aid the disabled (there were a lot of war veterans in that country), and Hilo had had a Lantern Man make the arrangements.

Eiten bent forward to sip from the soda straw. When he straightened back up, he matched the Pillar’s gaze squarely. “When Gont Asch took my arms, you promised me that you would kill him and take his jade—and you did as you said. You told me to stay alive for one year, so I could see the clan’s vengeance, and see my child be born, and after a year, if I still wanted to die, you would honor my wishes yourself.” The man’s voice turned rough but did not waver. “A year has passed and I’m sitting in front of you, Hilo-jen. If I asked you to fulfill your promise to me without question, would you still do it?”

Eiten’s wife clutched their sleeping child tight and bent her head, biting her lips. Her husband did not look at her or the baby; his eyes remained on Hilo, who Perceived a strange and poignant insistence in the hum of the man’s jade aura. “Yes,” Hilo said. “As I promised.”

Eiten nodded. His aura relaxed and settled; he looked over at his slumbering daughter and his face softened in obvious adoration. “You were right, Hilo-jen; I have things to live for now and don’t wish to die anymore.” But it had been important, Hilo understood, for the man to know that the option had been there, that the decision had truly been his, and that the Pillar’s word could always be counted on. Eiten looked back at him. “Still, I don’t want to spend the rest of my days idle and dependent. I used to be a first-rank Fist of No Peak. I realize that I’m not of any use to you anymore, but if you’ll hear me, I’ve come to ask you for a favor.”

“Ask for whatever you need,” Hilo said. “I’ll happily grant it if I can.”

“My father-in-law makes hoji. His distillery is small, but it produces some of the best liquor in the country, and he sells it to upscale stores and restaurants. He wants to expand into a bigger location, but he’s getting old and needs a partner to run the company. I realize this would be a small thing to the clan, but I ask for the Weather Man’s office to offer patronage for me to take over my wife’s family’s business. My body may not be whole, but my mind is, and I think I could find satisfaction in growing the company, as a Lantern Man of the clan.”

Hilo turned to the man’s wife with a smile. “What do you think of this idea, Mrs. Eiten? Does your husband have what it takes to be a world-class hoji maker?”

“We’ve both helped my father with the distillery for years, and he’s always wished we would take it over at some point,” said Eiten’s wife, speaking quietly but confidently. “But my husband was a Fist, devoted to you and the clan, so of course that came first. I’m grateful he’s alive at all—thanks only to you, Kaul-jen—and I feel in my heart that this is our second chance. He would do well at it, and once our daughter is older, I would help too, of course.”