Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [238]
"Uh-huh." His hands descended to my buttocks. "Want me to prove it?"
I did, actually.
Snow Tiger stiffened and the dragon rumbled. I loosed Bao. "Later, yes."
He eyed the princess. "Yes. Later."
* * *
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
We found the camp as promised. After travelling so simply, it was a luxury to have mounts to spare, pack-horses, and ample supplies. It was strange, though, to see the men in fish-scaled armor, their shaved heads hidden under pointed helmets. I'd grown accustomed to seeing them as monks.
Snow Tiger bade farewell to Abbot Hong and his acolytes, thanking them for their aid and apologizing for the trouble we had brought upon them.
"The fault is not yours," he said kindly. "And it was one of my own who brought the trouble to our doorstep. I have seen a dragon reflected in the hands of Guanyin herself. It is a thing to remember. For the sake of the Celestial Empire, I will pray for your success, Noble Princess."
She bowed. "And I for your health, Revered Brother."
His bright gaze shifted to me, so youthful in that wizened face. "Master Lo's most unusual pupil. You seemed taken with this place. If ever you have the chance to return, I would be pleased to speak with you, and to learn more of your people, too." His reedy voice took on a puzzled tone. "Is it true you worship a bear?"
I smiled. "Yes. But She is not any mortal bear. If I have the chance, I would be honored to speak with you, Revered Brother."
As soon as our farewells were said, we set out.
One unforeseen difficulty arose immediately; neither Tortoise nor Ten Tigers Dai had ever been astride a horse. Neither of them looked anything remotely like warriors, sliding and jouncing, clutching desperately at their saddles. Despite his aching head, Bao laughed until tears came to his eyes.
"It is not funny, Shangun!" Dai's face was red with anger and humiliation. "You were nothing but a peasant-boy once, too! If you had not been wandering the world with Master Lo, when would you have learned to ride a horse?"
"My cursed rapist of a father was a Tatar," Bao said with far better humor than the statement deserved. "If nothing else, I come from horse-riding stock. I am quite certain I did not bounce in the saddle like a sack of cabbages my first time."
Dai gritted his teeth. "You need not mock me. I swallowed a great deal of pride to serve under you on this quest."
Tortoise merely grunted, concentrating too hard to quarrel.
"I suggest that you ignore Master Lo's rude apprentice," the princess said mildly. Everyone fell silent, chastened. A faint smile curved her lips. "Perhaps the blow to the head has addled his wits. And I suggest that we have a brief lesson in horsemanship, since it is inconceivable that I would have been taken prisoner by men who ride like sacks of cabbage. The first thing you must learn is to grip the horse's barrel with your thighs."
They listened and learned.
I watched them practice riding at a walk, then a trot, then a canter, stroking my mount's withers as it seized the chance to graze. Snow Tiger was a good teacher, patient and firm, borrowing Bao's eyes to gauge their progress. I could imagine her as a child, her delicate face set and grave, absorbing hours of instruction, drilling on foot and on horseback, learning to handle all manner of edged weapons, while I had been wandering the Alban wilderness with my mother, learning to summon the twilight, harvest greens, and catch fish with my bare hands.
Strange, indeed.
By the time we passed through the first village, Tortoise and Dai had grown comfortable enough in the saddle that their inexpert seats didn't give us away. Although the village was little more than a humble collection of farmsteads, it was the first test of our new guises and I tensed as we passed through and folk in the fields lifted their heads to stare at the small party of Lord Jiang's soldiers with the blindfolded princess and me in their midst.