Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [208]
"I will help," I assured it. "Look into the mirror and be at peace for a moment. The Noble Princess and I need to speak."
It sighed and obeyed.
Beneath the shimmering veil of twilight, we waited until the dragon was calm, soothed by the hypnotic coiling and uncoiling of its reflection.
Snow Tiger raised her brows in inquiry. "What passes?"
I gazed at her slight, regal figure. Despite her luxurious, embroidered crimson robes, she looked like a weapon, a slender dagger, bright and deadly. "My lady, I must ask this formally. Master Lo Feng's honor demands nothing less. Your father, the Son of Heaven, has resolved that he will not wage war against Lord Jiang. On the day that Jiang Quan's forces assail Shuntian, he will cede the throne and the Mandate of Heaven."
Her shoulders tensed. "Yes. I know."
"Is it your will to defy him?" I asked. "Is it your desire that we find a way to convey you to White Jade Mountain?"
Yes!
"Yes." Snow Tiger's gaze flicked to the mirror, then me. "I would defy my father. It is my will and our desire, Moirin of the Maghuin Dhonn." She took a deep breath. "It is a difficult thing for me to confess. How many times must I say it?"
"I only needed to hear it once more," I assured her. "Master Lo insists that you must have a guard. Are there none left who are loyal to you?"
"No." Her head turned, showing her delicate profile. "None."
I tried not to show my disappointment. "Then we will find others."
Her head swung back to me. "Where?"
"Oh…" I shrugged. "Somewhere. Anyway, we must settle the problem of the cage also. I must find a way to free you from it, and obtaining the key will be a tricky matter."
The princess laughed humorlessly. "This cage?" Aye.
"Come." She rose with that unnerving, boneless grace and crossed the twilit courtyard. I trailed in her wake. Slim fingers grasped the iron bars and pulled.
The bars bent, opening a gap large enough for both of us to pass through.
I gaped.
"The cage is for show," Snow Tiger said to me. "It helps ease my mind, and the minds of those who attend me, although they do not know it. But there is no cage that can contain the dragon, save the cage of my mortal flesh."
Iron screeched as she straightened the bars.
I swallowed hard. "Duly noted, my lady. That eliminates one obstacle."
"Good." Her expression softened briefly. "I'm sorry. It is a hard task I've laid upon you. I wish I had more to offer."
"We will find a way," I assured her with a confidence I didn't feel.
On the heels of my assignation with the princess and the dragon, I reported to Bao and Master Lo Feng. Like me, they were awed at the demonstration of her strength; and like me, they were disappointed to find that the princess had no other allies save us.
"She must have a guard!" Master Lo fretted. "Honor and common sense alike demands it!"
Bao was silent a moment. "I can get us men."
"Where?" I asked.
He jerked his chin in the direction of Shuntian's city center. "There are men out there who were loyal to me once. All I need to do is challenge their new leader and take over once more."
"Thugs and bullies?" Master Lo asked in horror. "How can you possibly think to trust them?"
Bao laughed. "You trusted me, Master."
"On my own behalf, yes," he observed. "Forgive my candor, but on first acquaintance, I would not have trusted you with the Emperor's daughter, my magpie. And what would happen if you were to lose your challenge ?"
"I won't lose," Bao said simply. "And I will treat only with those willing to swear the Thieves' Oath."
"You were a thief, too?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Untrustworthy men must have some way of trusting one another. That is why the Thieves' Oath was created, and it is the one oath none of them will break. To do so involves many, many years of hideous torment in the courts of the Yama Kings," he added. "I can describe it to you if you like."
I shuddered, remembering the Chamber of Ripping Tongues. "Thank you, no."
We went around and around with the matter, but in the end, there were no better options. As highly regarded as he was, Master Lo had