Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [192]
"The Divine Thunder?" I asked.
"Sorcery," Bao said darkly.
"Not sorcery." Master Lo's voice was filled with sorrow. "Only alchemy and engineering. The possibility to use fire-powder to create such a terrible weapon has existed for many, many years. It is a secret that many of us have kept for a long time, and for many years, I have feared that someone would discover it. Now it seems it has happened. But I never thought it would be him."
"Was he your pupil?" I asked.
"No." He said no more. I raised my brows at Bao, who shook his head, knowing no more than I did.
And then General Tsieh gave the order, and we were off once more.
We rode through the day and into darkness, coaxing and pleading with our mounts. A little while after nightfall, we saw the faint sparks of lanterns on the road behind us. The sacrifice of thirty men may have delayed them, but our pursuers were drawing nearer.
"Moirin." Master Lo spoke for the first time in hours. "If we are caught, use your gifts to escape unseen. Bao, go with her. Black Sleeve will see that I come to no harm. I cannot guarantee the same for you."
"Aye, Master." I felt heartsick at the prospect, and too weary to argue. Bao merely nodded, looking as sick as I felt.
We dismounted to lead our staggering horses up a long mountain pass. My thighs were quivering with exhaustion after hours in the saddle. The satchel over my shoulder seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. The sparks behind us were drawing closer. I put my head down and trudged, praying that my diadh-anam hadn't led me halfway around the world to abandon me. All the gods knew, I wouldn't be the first of the Maghuin Dhonn to misunderstand Her intent and pay the price for it.
At the crest of the mountain, shouting.
I lifted my heavy head. Bao pointed wordlessly.
There was a walled city in the valley below, dimly visible in the starlight, lamps burning in its watchtowers.
"Ride! " General Tsieh shouted. "Ride! "
I scrambled gracelessly back into the saddle. Sensing our urgency, the horses found one last burst of panicked strength as we plunged down the mountain slope. Feeling Blossom's lungs and valiant heart labor, I prayed for her forgiveness.
Behind us, more shouting. Our enemy was in hot pursuit.
Had it been daytime, I daresay we wouldn't have made it. They began loosing arrows at us when we reached level ground. Two soldiers slumped and went down, crying out in pain; then, an order countermanding the attack.
"They can't see," Bao said breathlessly beside me. "Don't want to hit Master Lo."
"Lucky for him!" I gasped.
"Lucky for us all!"
General Tsieh was shouting at the watchtowers as our ragtag party drew near. "Emperor's men! We're Emperor's men! If this city is still under the Mandate of Heaven, open the cursed gates!"
More torches flared atop the walls. Men yelled, ran and scrambled atop the walls.
Slowly, slowly, the massive gates swung open.
We swept past them—only to find ourselves trapped in a high-walled courtyard, the inner gates yet closed. Hot on our heels, Lord Jiang's men surged inside after us.
My heart sank.
"Disappear!" Bao was yelling at me. "Disappear!"
Blossom checked and wheeled at the closed inner gate. I lurched in the saddle, the heavy satchel falling from my shoulder. One of Lord Jiang's soldiers was bearing down on me, a fierce grimace on his face. "I can't!"
Bao grunted, wielding his staff. The butt end of it caught Jiang's man under the chin, knocking him from his horse. "Heh." Bao grinned; and then his mount collapsed beneath him, pinning him under its bulk.
Another soldier on horseback came at me, leering, a raised cudgel in one hand. He meant to capture, not kill.
Cold anger came over me.
Spoils of war—that's what Master Lo had meant to imply. That's what I would be considered if I were captured. That's the fate that may have already befallen Suyin and Mei and the other women from the ship.
I couldn't summon the twilight, not with the soldier's gaze on me. But in