the plain wooden sticks fixed to the ends. I would miss describing our neighbourhood to him and laughing at his wicked comments.
The small inner courtyard was quiet. I tucked the scroll into my sleeve and stood for a moment in the doorway, the soft morning air and stillness moving through me like a meditation. Should I chance calling the Rat Dragon? One last look before the ceremony?
Maybe this time he would acknowledge me. I took a deep breath, narrowing my mind's-eye to the north- northwest. A shimmering outline of the dragon formed, a hint of the huge horse-like head and snake-shaped body Then the edges of the vision began to fray. My legs buckled as a hollowing drain dragged at my consciousness. I snatched all of my self back, falling painfully to my knees. I had never seen anything like it
before. Panting, I leaned against the doorframe and turned my attention inwards, clumsily tracing the flow of my Hua. There didn't seem to be any damage and my strength was already returning. Maybe it had happened because the Rat Dragon was ascending today. I took a few deep breaths, then pulled myself upright and headed slowly to the kitchen. At least the strange mind-sight that had brought me to this day was still within me. Whether that meant anything to the Rat Dragon would soon be made clear.
At the kitchen door, I slipped off the shoes then stepped inside. Kuno was standing over the stoves stirring my master's morning soup. The smell of the rich broth and steaming buns made my stomach pinch. I licked my lips, remembering the piece of bread hidden in my room.
'E…on?' Chart peered around the leg of the preparation table. He rolled his eyes at my finery
'Little lord.'
Kuno sniffed at me as I brushed past him and squatted painfully beside Chart.
'There'll be hell to pay if he dirties those new robes of yours,' Kuno said. He stamped across the kitchen and disappeared into the dry-goods pantry.
Chart twisted closer to me. He touched the bottom of the tunic. 'So soft…like a girl's bottom.'
'How would you know,' I scoffed.
'Know more…than you.' He waggled his eyebrows. 'Maids think…poor Chart…doesn't…know what he's doing.'
I shook my head at his cheerful lewdness. 'I have something for you,' I said, pulling the scroll out and placing it on his mat.
He touched it, his eyes wide. 'Real paper?' He looked up at me quizzically 'You know…don't read.'
'It's not words,' I said. 'Open it.'
He hoisted himself onto an elbow and slowly pulled apart the wooden handles. I watched his puzzlement smooth into understanding. Then his face tightened.
'I know it's not very good,' I said quickly 'But see, that is the crossroad at the bottom of the laneway' I pointed to the place on the scroll. And that is old Rehon's pig. See, I've drawn it in the middle of Kellon the moneylender's vegetable garden…' I stopped. Chart had turned his face away
'I know it's not very good,' I said again.
Chart shook his head, pushing his face into his shoulder.
Was he crying? I sat back. Chart did not cry
He touched my hand, a clumsy press of bone-thin fingers against mine, and took a deep, trembling breath.
'I have…something…for you too,' he said. He glanced at the pantry doorway.
'Quick…before…Kuno comes.'
I held out my hand, expecting more bread or cheese. Instead something heavy hit my palm. A coin, covered in grime. I ran my thumb over it and saw a flash of gold: a Tiger coin, more than three months' wages for a freeman. And a certain flogging if discovered.
'Where'd you get it?' I whispered.
'I…not stuck…to this mat,' he said, grinning slyly
'Did you steal it from the master?'
He pulled himself towards me with his elbow, his contorted hand batting the question away
'Heard Kuno…and Irsa talking…last night,' he whispered, his shoulders and throat tense with the strain of lowering his voice. I bent closer until I felt his warm breath against my ear.
'Master… sell you…back to salt farm..if you…not Dragoneye. Sell you…like the boys before.' I flinched back, but Chart raised his body to follow me, frowning with the effort. 'If you not…chosen…you must…run away. To…the islands.' Panting, he dropped back against his mat.
Run away? But I was in bond — I had always belonged to a master. I tightened my grip on the coin. That was not quite true. There had been a time when there was a family and no master. I had memories, more impression than image, of a mother on a beach, a father hunched over nets, and a baby brother beside me in a straw bed.
'What about you?' I said.
Chart snorted. 'Run?'
I held out the coin. 'You should keep it,' I said. 'You and Rilla might need it.'
Chart caught hold of my hand. The muscles in his neck twitched and bulged as he struggled to hold his head still. 'Mother knows. She said…give it…to you.'
I stared at him. Rilla thought I should run away too?
'You still here?' Kuno said, swinging a sack of beans onto the table. Chart and I jumped apart.
'You'd better get moving or you'll keep the master waiting.'
Chart closed my fingers around the coin. 'Goodbye… Eon…Go…with…good fortune.'Amidst the twitches of his head, I saw a nod of encouragement.
I stood up and bowed, low and deep — a bow for an honoured friend. As I straightened, he turned his face away his narrow jaw set.
'Thank you,' I whispered.
He didn't look up but I saw his hand clutch the scroll closer to his chest.
Outside, I stood for a moment in the half-light, steadying my breath. Could I really run away if I was not chosen? Maybe I could look for my parents. But then, they had sold me and I would be returning as a runaway. I doubted I would be welcomed back.
It was only a few minutes to dawn. I still had to pack my belongings. And hide the coin. The warm weight of it pulsed in my hand. Where would it be safe? I pushed my feet back into the leather shoes and ran across the courtyard. Perhaps in my brush and ink box? I paused in the doorway, my eyes adjusting to the gloom. Just inside was a straw travel basket, already packed. Rilla must have done it for me. If I was chosen, my master would have it delivered to me at the Rat Dragon Hall. I opened my hand and
studied the coin. It wasn't big — maybe I could press it into the soft back of my ink block. I scrabbled through the basket and found my writing box. What was I thinking? If I failed and had to run away, I could not come back for my things. The coin had to stay with me. I looked down at my costly silk tunic. Would it fit in the tea pouch? But Chart always said you should never hide two forbidden things together. The hem? I turned the tunic over and studied the fine stitching. If I unpicked a section covered by the embroidered tail of a dragon, I could slide the coin inside and no one would see its outline.
I found my eating knife and slit a stitch, carefully pulling out a section to save the thread.
Nearby, the dawn bell rang. It was nearly time. With shaking hands, I worked the coin into the hem. Would it show? I smoothed the tunic back in place and tried to gauge the effect. It dragged at the cloth, but not enough to be noticed. I lifted the shelf in the clothes press and pulled my needle tube out of the hole I had carved in the wood. Dolana, my only friend at the salt farm, had given it to me before she died of the coughing; a precious gift. My fingers were clumsy as I tried to thread the fine silk into a needle. Finally it slipped through the eye. The hem closed with a few large stitches. Just as I tied off and cut the strand, Irsa appeared at the doorway
'What are you doing?' she demanded.
I let the tunic drop. 'Loose thread.' I closed my fist around the needle, hiding it from view. 'Is the master ready?'
Irsa eyed the tunic suspiciously. 'He says you are to go to the front courtyard.'
I ostentatiously tossed my knife back into the travel basket. 'Thank you.'
She didn't move.
