Battle Magic

Now the twins were staring at him.

“So you mean to leave us,” Parahan said.

Briar shrugged. “We’re supposed to be on our way home now,” he reminded their friend. “If we don’t catch our ship when it makes port in the southernmost Realm of the Sun, we risk getting caught in your monsoons. We have family at home we won’t have seen for three years if we have to wait.”

“You could make the difference between victory and slavery if you stayed,” Souda explained.

“You know Weishu,” Parahan added. “He destroys what he cannot keep.”

Briar glanced at Evvy, who had sunk almost to her nose. She was weeping silently. The others saw him looking at the girl.

Souda reached out and stroked Evvy’s hair. “What is it?” she asked gently.

Evvy sat up enough to clear her mouth of the water. “He’ll torture us,” she whispered. “He’ll whip our feet till we can’t walk and he’ll murder our friends. His people killed my cats because they were in the way. They killed the villagers and Captain Rana’s soldiers for the same reason. They don’t care about anyone.” She was shivering so hard her teeth chattered. “I want you to kill me. Don’t let him get me.”

“No one will let —” Rosethorn began, putting an arm around Evvy.

She got no farther. The door blew off its hinges and fell onto the floor. A deep, powerful voice boomed, “Why does Evumeimei weep? Who has terrified her so much that her bones shudder?”

Luvo stood at the door. For someone that’s a chunk of crystal, he looks seriously angry, Briar thought. “We were just talking, Luvo.”

“Your talk has meddled with the healing I did with her,” Luvo said. He waddled into the bathing room. Several novices peered through the open doorway, but they did not seem to want to come in. “Much rockfall singing, much time spent with Big Milk, yet now Evumeimei is as frightened as she was when I called her to me. Why? She was good when she had slept and eaten. You are her friends. What have you said to do this to her?”

“Luvo, it’s all right, I’m fine,” Evvy said. She wiped an arm across her eyes, but the tears kept coming. “We were just talking about staying for a while because maybe Gyongxe needs us, that’s all. I’m being silly.”

Briar realized this might take some time. With a grunt he lifted the rock creature up onto the bench where the women had placed their robes. When he leaned the fallen door back over the opening in the wall, he wasn’t surprised to find it weighed less than Evvy’s friend.

“Evumeimei,” Luvo said slowly, “you wish to leave here? I can find you small furry creatures. There are many of them here.”

“No!” Evvy shouted, standing up. “I don’t want any more cats! I don’t want anything that can get killed! Look at Briar, he got wounded, he could have died….” She looked down and realized she was naked. Climbing from the tub, she dragged her robe over herself and squeezed through the opening between the leaning door and the frame.

They heard a novice outside ask if she could help. Evvy shouted, “Get away from me!”

Luvo turned his head knob toward the others. “She wishes to leave this land.”

“She’s afraid to stay,” Briar said quietly. “She’s afraid the emperor will get her and torture her — or us. You did a splendid job of putting her back together after what those monsters did, Luvo.” He had to stop talking then. He was afraid he might weep.

“Only time heals such deep wounds,” Rosethorn continued. “Briar, perhaps you should take Evvy home. The First Circle Temple is the home of my religion. The obligation is mine.”

“Why don’t you take Evvy home and I stay?” Briar asked sharply, the idea of leaving Rosethorn here cutting into his heart like a dagger. “You’ve got a cool head for a long journey, and Lark is waiting for you.”

“We are all tired and hungry still, and truly, I did not mean to start a quarrel when you have helped us so much already,” Parahan said. “Come. Let us set this aside for later. Souda and I have warriors to see to.”

Briar and Rosethorn exchanged looks. “We should look in on the healers,” Rosethorn said.

“No,” Souda told them flatly. “If the enemy returns while you are still here, you are battle mages. Do what you can to restore your strength, but do not heal, please.”

“I will speak with Evvy and sing to her,” Luvo said. “If it is for the best, of course she must go home. I had only hoped to show her all of my mountain.”

Parahan climbed out of the bath and lifted the crystal creature down to the floor. “Welcome to the human world, my friend,” he said quietly. “We all have those we wish to show our favorite treasures, if only there was enough time.”

22

FIRST CIRCLE TEMPLE

GARMASHING, CAPITAL OF GYONGXE

Evvy didn’t stay in the room once she had dressed. The others would be asking her questions and trying to understand her when she didn’t even understand herself. Instead she fled the Living Circle temple to wander Garmashing.

There were people in the streets, all busy. Most were hauling debris out of the yards of houses and temples. The imperial army had rained stones and zayao bombs on the city for days before General Sayrugo came to distract the soldiers. Now even the smallest children helped to clean up, dumping little baskets of trash into wheelbarrows and carts. Evvy felt guilty to be loafing, but her power was still not what it had been a week ago. Even her body was exhausted: Her arms and shoulders felt like overcooked noodles when she tried to use them for lifting.

She had not considered that people might care that she was Yanjingyi now. It was hard to keep her temper when someone did and spat on the ground at her feet. Luckily this did not happen often. When Evvy saw others with Yanjingyi blood, she nodded, and they nodded back. They knew what it was like to have the enemy’s face, even if they had lived here all their lives. Evvy had seen a couple of baita temples here when they lived in the city that winter. They were built for the worship of Kanzan, the goddess of mercy and healing, and for Tuyan, the god who was heaven itself. It made sense that there would be some Yanjingyi people in Garmashing, with so many foreign temples in this country. Had they been watched, or even locked up, during the siege?

Briefly she considered going to a baita, but she changed her mind. She didn’t know how long she could wander before she got too tired and had to hitch a wagon ride back to the Living Circle temple. She did mean to walk as far as she could, though it was sad to see all the damage done to the vividly painted homes and temples. At least they had put a stop to that, she and her friends.

She stopped to stare at one untouched temple wall. It was illustrated with a number of Gyongxin figures. Since her time underground with Luvo, it seemed that every painted image she saw was moving. These had decided to rejoice in the siegeless day. An ice lion danced with a snow leopard, then leaped across it to chase a large yak. The snow leopard chose to keep dancing with a spider the size of the leopard itself, while several of a naga’s heads read a scroll and the other heads looked bored.

“Sometimes I throw pine nuts over their heads,” the God-King said, “and they get angry because they can’t catch them.”

Evvy looked him, startled. “Should you be wandering around by yourself?” she asked. “What if there are spies in the city and they grab you, or —” She blinked at what she was thinking, and her voice shook. The thought in her head was too awful: The God-King strapped up like she had been, lashed like she had been. “There are bad people in the world.”

He slung an arm around her shoulders as she began to cry. “Come here,” he said, and led her to a bench against an unpainted portion of the wall. He sat with her there, her head on his shoulder, letting her cry out the tension and fear that had swamped her. “I am protected,” he said. “You would be surprised how protected I am.”