The Yellow Silk - Don Bassingthwaite [30]
Tycho leaned forward sharply. If the chains hadn't held him back, he might have lunged at Li Chien. "What happened last night? You mean how you insulted me, ignored every attempt I made at warning you, and then, when I saved your life, how you snuck away like a thief without even saying 'thank you'?" He wrenched fruitlessly on his chains. "You're right, I should have supported you-0 Emissary of Imperial Shou Lung! You want to talk about lies, how about that one? If you're an ambassador, I'm the Witch-Queen of Aglarond!"
Li Chien started to snap a reply but stopped. His face fell and he looked away. "That lie is between Mard Dantakain and me," he said stubbornly. "But for walking away from you this morning-" He glanced up again and Tycho was startled to see that anger was actually fading from his face and a look of shame taking its place. "-I apologize. What I did was no way to repay your kindness. I'm very sorry. You are right to be angry."
For the first time in a very long while, Tycho found his mouth opening and closing in speechless astonishment. "Well," he managed finally. "All right then."
He sat back against the cold wall and just looked at Li Chien. The Shou looked back. Neither of them said anything. Uncomfortable silence hung in the air-until Li Chien's stomach broke it with a loud, hollow growl that echoed off the stone walls. He flushed. "Excuse me. I haven't eaten."
"It might be a while before you do. I don't know if they'll bring us anything before dinner." He turned his gaze up to the ceiling of the cell, almost lost in the darkness. It was hard to tell what time it was. His own stomach was empty, though. He'd guess that it was at least well into the afternoon now. "Are you an ambassador, Li Chien?" he asked.
"Just Li, Tycho. Li Chien is what my mother calls me." The Shou sighed. "I'm no ambassador. I'm just a clerk in the imperial bureaucracy."
Tycho raised his eyebrows. "You fight well for just a clerk."
"You healed me, didn't you? Are you just a singer?"
"True enough." Tycho shifted and his chains rattled again. "So what brings an imperial clerk all the way from Shou Lung to Altumbel? " Li said nothing. Tycho looked at him. The Shou had his head down and was staring at the floor between his knees. "Not the sort of thing you can talk about?" Tycho shrugged. Li shook his head. "That's fair."
"Tycho," said Li without looking up, "tell me about Brin. Is there anyone in Spandeliyon who isn't afraid of him?"
"Mard Dantakain. Crazy old Riverhand the Sage out on the edge of town. A few people in the middle and high-towns who haven't actually heard of him, maybe. Anyone with any sense is afraid of Brin. He came to Spandeliyon just about a year ago and set himself up by finding the biggest gang boss in dockside and burning his house down. With him inside. Then he just moved in and took over. He's slick. When he doesn't want to be linked to something, he'll trick someone into doing his dirty business, but when he wants to make a point, he makes it in a very big way. A lot of people in dockside and middle town who cross him have problems with knives. Or pigs." "Pigs?"
"Brin passes himself off as a swineherd. He even likes to do his business in a sty. I don't know who he's trying to fool, but it sure gives him a crazy edge. People aren't just scared of him because he's mean. They're scared of him because there's a very good chance he might be insane, too."
"What about you? Are you scared of him?"
"Witless. It's the only smart way." Tycho considered Li for a moment. "You know, for someone who's looking for Brin, you don't seem to know a lot about him."
"I don't. I only heard about him in Telflamm-rumors that said he was here in Spandeliyon." He hesitated then added. "Brin isn't actually the reason I came west from Shou Lung. He's just a link."
Tycho had to stop himself from leaning forward too eagerly. "Oh?" he asked. "A link to what?" He tried to dredge up everything he had heard about Brin's career as a pirate before