her beautiful face illuminated by the soft, clearly magical glow of green glass globes, was Ibakha! Ong kissed a finger, then pressed it to Ibakha's lips.
'Are you teasing me?' he asked. Ibakha shook her head and replied, 'You, O protector? Never!'
Her fingers paused and Ong gasped as she tweaked a hair.
'Perfidious wench!' the Shou growled. 'Do you think that familiarity will protect you from a dragon's wrath?' He forced his voice deep so that it rolled in his chest. 'My rage has wiped villages from the face of the world and carved canyons through mountains. I have become a man for you, and your beauty is all that stands between your people and my anger! Do you dare to displease me?'
'Never, great guardian of the oasis, never!' gasped Ibakha in mock fear, then lunged into Ong's arms with such force that they both rolled off of the heaped carpets.
Tycho stifled his laughter as he wriggled back away from the peep hole and stood.
'Ong has what?' exclaimed Li in disbelief. 'He's seduced Ibakha.'
Tycho leaned back. The main chamber of the tavern was growing empty. They were the last of the caravan travelers in the tent and only a few of the oasis's women, playing one last round of the knife game, were left. A pitcher of millet beer had been abandoned on the table-Tycho drank straight from it. '
'He's told her that he's the water spirit of the oasis incarnate,' Tycho added, 'the sly dog!'
Li scowled and said, 'I knew there was something I didn't like about him! When he said the Tuigan would do anything to avoid offending their spirit…'
'I don't know if Ibakha really believes her people will be punished if she doesn't keep Ong happy,' Tycho said, 'but she does believe that the guardian of the oasis has fallen in love with her. I could see it in her eyes.' He tapped one finger under his own eye. 'Believe me, I've told enough stories to women myself to know the look.'
'It's still wrong.'
'Ha!' Tycho took another drink from the pitcher. 'Where's Chotan? I'd like to know what she'd say about this!'
'Gone,' said Li. He nodded toward the door flap. 'Possibly to organize the women into a mob to hunt you down. She found the flower you made for Chaka and it vanished while she was holding it. She knows you worked magic in the oasis.'
'Ong should hope-she never finds out about the magic lights he has back in his love nest then. He's probably breaking Tuigan taboos with every step.' Tycho chuckled. 'But I guess he doesn't need to worry. After all, if he's the water spirit, he's the source of them!'
'Hoi! Hoi! Hoi!'
The last women finished their game with a rousing cheer and a final swallow of beer, then rose and swaggered out of the tavern. Li's eyes followed them.
'I think,' he said grimly, 'that Ong should be careful. I wouldn't want those knives turned away from the gaming table.'
'Shhh!' Tycho hissed, kicking him under the table.
Li winced but Tycho flicked his eyes toward the back of the chamber. Ibakha was stepping out from the flap ¦ that led to the back rooms. She saw them and blushed a deep red. Her eyes darted to the floor and stayed there as she rushed out of the tavern. A few moments later, Ong emerged from the back rooms as well. If he was startled or if he saw Li's glower, he hid it well.
'Still here, my friends?' Ong called. He came over and joined them at the table, producing a mug and holding it out for Tycho to fill. 'You'll have a hard ride tomorrow if you linger too long, I can guarantee that.'
'I've traveled under worse conditions,' Tycho said. He tapped the pitcher against Ong's mug in a toast. 'To good health and bad beer. Tell me, Ong, how does a Shou come to run a tavern at an oasis haunted by a Tuigan water spirit?'
Ong drank a mouthful of beer, wincing as he swallowed, and explained, 'Through a tragic disagreement. Offend the wrong powers in Shou Lung, Tycho, and you can find yourself exiled to-well, to such a place as this.' He waved a hand around them. 'Still, it's possible to make the best of a bad situation. This is a good oasis. It's safe, the water is good, caravans stop here fairly frequently-'
'The men leave their women in the care of the oasis spirit when they go raiding,' said Tycho, fighting to hold back a grin.
Li just grunted in distaste. Ong's cup hesitated briefly in its journey back to the tabletop. He glanced at each of them.
'The women can take care of themselves,' he said, cautious.
'No doubt they can,' Tycho replied, 'so long as they don't displease the-'
It was too much. He tried to give Ong a knowing smile, but as soon as his lips even twitched, the grin he had been fighting broke out across his face like a riot. He clapped a hand over his mouth, trying to keep his laughter from bubbling out as well. Beer slopped out of the pitcher as he rocked back and forth. Ong's eyes were narrow. Tycho shook his head and lifted his hand away from his mouth.
'I'm sorry, Ong,' he gasped. 'I was in the back looking for Chaka and I saw you and Ibakha. It's just…' He choked off another chuckle. 'Well, you saw how Chotan reacted to my just smiling at her!'
He reached across the table to pour Ong more beer.
The Shou put his hand over his mug.
'No,' he said.
Tycho shook his head.
'Don't worry! It's your business, not mine!' He raised the pitcher to Ong and added, 'But you're a clever one, taking advantage of the Tuigans' own superstitions!'
'The Tuigan are no more superstitious than they should be,' said Ong. He reached out and pulled the pitcher from Tycho's hand. 'You should go now.'
Tycho stared at his empty fingers then at Ong. The tavernkeeper looked back with a flat expression. 'Ong…' he began. 'Get out.'
Tycho could feel blood rush to his face, but Li was the first to move. The Shou pushed his chair away from the table sharply and stood up, leaning forward with his fists on the tabletop.
'Your tavern reflects your soul,' he said in distaste, 'and both offend me. I don't find this so amusing as Tycho does. I'll leave with pleasure. Perhaps I understand now why you were exiled from the Great Empire.'
Ong scowled and said, 'Or perhaps you do not. Are all the sons of Kuang so rude?'
Li's breath hissed between his teeth and his hand reached for the sword he hadn't worn. Tycho jumped up.
'Whoa! Easy!' he said, hands held between the two Shou. 'Easy, both of you. This is-'
'Oh, be quiet!' Ong snapped. He jerked his head toward the door. 'That is the way out. Go, take this ill-bred dog with you, and never foul my presence with your flatulent singing again!'
Tycho stopped and turned slowly to glare at Ong, meeting him harsh gaze for harsh gaze.
'If my singing is flatulent, then I guess no one will listen when I break wind with a new song.' He gave Ong a thin smile. 'What do you think, Li?' he asked over his shoulder. 'The Water Spirit's Lie?'
'For a song,' said Li, 'it smells very good.'
For a moment, Ong regarded them with narrow eyes, then rose slowly from his seat. His massive chest rose and fell with deep, slow breaths.
'If you will not leave on your own,' he growled, 'maybe you will leave if I take you outside myself!'
'Outside?' Tycho spread his arms. 'If you want to try something, O great guardian of the oasis, try it right here.'
'It's bad enough when customers break up my tavern,' Ong grumbled as he stepped around the table and walked to the door flap, holding it aside for them. 'I don't want to do it myself.'
Li passed though stiffly, as if the tavernkeeper were invisible, but Tycho spat at Ong's feet as he passed. Outside, the night air of the steppe was cool and still. On the other side of the oasis, the caravan lay silent, the shapes of carts, beasts, and sleeping men indistinct in the moonlight. Nearer to hand the yurts of the Tuigan settled into similar silence as the women of the oasis finally took to their beds. A few paces from the pavilion, Li turned and dropped into a disciplined fighting stance, his hands up and open. Tycho, however, stripped off his strilling and loosened the sleeves of his shirt, stalking back and forth and swearing angrily under his breath.
