I snatched up the parchment and slid the ribbon off the end.
'I am not fast with my letters,' Ryko said, looking over my shoulder. 'What does it say?'
'One of the poems has been marked with a crescent moon. The title is 'A Lady Sits in the Shadows of Her Room and Sighs with Love'.'
'She's in the harem. In her house,' Ryko said. He scooped up the ribbon and pearl from my hand and carefully folded them into the pouch at his waist.
'How did you get that from the title?'
'She told me that Lady Jila wrote that poem for her.' He cleared his throat. About her.'
I nodded. 'So we go to the harem.'
Ryko's laugh was hollow. 'You say that as though it is a trip to the market. The harem has the best fortifications in the palace. And it holds a most precious jewel that Sethon will be keen to get his hands on.'
For a moment I did not understand. 'You mean the second Prince.'
'Sethon is a traditionalist,' Ryko said drily. 'He will not want either Prince alive. But there is a chance that our men got the little Prince and the women out of the palace. Lady Dela could be with them.'
I studied his grim face. '%u don't think they got out, do you?'
Ryko looked around the silent room. 'There are no soldiers left here on watch. All the palace occupants have been rounded up into the larger courtyards. I think all available manpower is being directed elsewhere. It's my guess that Sethon is attempting to breach the harem.'
I looked around the wrecked chamber, suddenly overwhelmed by the odds against us. 'Then how are we going to get into it?' My voice sounded very small.
'With the goodwill of the gods,' Ryko said. And a lot of luck.'
I had as much faith in the gods and good fortune as the next person, but we needed more than that. We needed an army Since that was not available, we at least needed more weapons. And I needed the rage and whispering voice of an ancient Dragoneye. I turned to the rack against the wall, readying myself for the spike of fury that always came with touching the swords.
This time I would not ignore their advice.
The brackets were empty
'They're gone.' Stupidly, I waved my hand through the space, as if it would make them suddenly appear again. 'Someone's taken my swords.' I searched around the rack then lifted the mounds of linen on the floor. They were definitely gone.
Ryko grunted. 'It's not surprising. They would be worth a lot to a soldier. We'll find you a sword on the way'
'But you don't understand. They…' How could I explain that the swords told me how to fight?
That without their rage and knowledge, I was only a cripple who knew a few ceremonial forms.
'Come on, we have one more chance,' he said, starting for the door.
I forced myself to step away from the rack — there was nothing I could do about their loss.'
You've got a plan?'
'I've always got a plan,' he laid.
'Wait.'
Although I had lost the brilliant fury of the Dragoneye swords, I could at least have the consolation of my ancestors' death plaques. I snatched up the thin wooden tablets and forced them in between the tight folds of my breast-band. Perhaps these women, these unknown forebears, would protect me. And if that failed, then perhaps whoever found my body would bury me under the emblems of my ancestors.
CHAPTER 22
I wrinkled my nose against the smell of decaying plants and peered into the small tunnel.
'Is this it?' I whispered. 'Is this the Concubines' Gate?'
I remembered the Prince — the Pearl Emperor — whispering to me about it, his bawdy grin turning to embarrassment. Had his guards got him away in time? Was he safe? I touched the plaques at my breast; let him be safe, I prayed. As if in answer, the pearls around my arm lifted and settled.
Ryko crouched in front of the grate and cleared more of the vegetation away.
'It's a hidden emergency bolt hole. What did you expect?'
'It looks like a drain.'
'Exactly'
I laid down the heavy sword that Ryko had taken from a dead soldier two courtyards back, and helped him pull away the tightly wound vines. He had also taken the dead man's leather armour. An old ruse, but a good one,' he'd said as he tightened the fastenings around his waist and pressed the tough leather helmet on his head. A good ruse for him — too bad there was no armour small enough to make me a convincing soldier.
'None of these vines are broken. No one's been through this exit,' I whispered. Were the ladies all still in the harem?
'No, they wouldn't have come out here,' Ryko said. 'The tunnel has another exit futher along, beyond the palace walls near the river. The ladies would be escorted straight through to the royal barges.'
He carefully rolled the grate aside. The metal ground across the stone. We both tensed at the sound, listening for signs of curiosity from the small troop of soldiers stationed near the Gate of Officials. Ryko had been right — Sethon was throwing most of his manpower at the harem.
It had taken us over a half bell to carefully circumvent the build-up of soldiers around the women's sanctuary and then another half bell to get to the far west wall. The strain was beginning to tell on my body, and my nerves felt so thinly stretched that madness seemed only another hacked body or shrieking maid away.
'The escort guards should have already lit the lamps along the passage, but just in case…' He drew out two candles from his waist pouch, passing them to me. Then he unbundled a clay dish from a wrap of leather and picked out a striker. His sap powder trick.
'There are five steps down into the tunnel,' he said. 'Keep close to me.'
I picked up my borrowed sword and, bending double, followed him into the stinking hole.
Five slimy steps. And damp, cold air. Ryko tugged at my sleeve, leading me further into the darkness. We turned corners, at least it seemed we did — I had lost all sense of direction. The rough stone floor suddenly softened under my feet.
'Here,' he breathed.
I sensed him squatting down to the floor and heard the scrape of the striker. Light flared. My eyes scrunched shut against the sudden brightness. Ryko tapped my arm.
'Candles. Quick.'
I held them out, blinking at the tiny flame in the dish. Ryko quickly lit the wicks then the sap powder flittered into tiny wisps of smoke. As he passed me one of the candles, its light shimmered across gold and turquoise. My breath caught. The tunnel was no longer a slimy drain. Intricate tilework covered the walls and curved across the ceiling in patterns of gold-edged flowers and fruit. Rich blue carpets were laid end on end along the narrow corridor. It was still cold and damp, but a heavy perfume scented the air.
'It's beautiful,' I whispered. I looked down at the thick floor coverings. 'How is it the carpets do not rot?'
Ryko gave an amused snort. 'I believe they are replaced every month.' He studied the rugs.
'No one has been through here,' he said slowly 'No marks on the carpet. No lamps lit.' He collected the clay dish and bundled it into his pouch. 'Something has gone wrong with the evacuation.'
'Couldn't they have got out another way?'
He chewed on his lower lip. 'The Scholars' Gate, maybe.' He stood up. 'If we are separated, get back to this tunnel and follow it straight through to the river. There is a man waiting with a boat. He will take you to safety' He saw my reluctance. 'Do you understand? You must not be taken.' J
I nodded, and kept my face under better control.
We walked in silence, our footsteps lost in the thick pile of the carpets and our candlelight catching the inlaid gold and blue gloss of the tiles like sunlight across water. Every so often, Ryko paused and held his small flame
