Vaerana made a half-nod. "Sure, but then they wouldn't rule Elversult. If they control Yanseldara, they

control the city."

Though not entirely satisfied with Vaerana's explana- tion, Ruha lacked a better one and saw no use in jeopar- dizing their developing truce by contradicting the Lady

Constable.

"Assuming you are correct, the cult may be further

from its goal than we think," Ruha said. 'To complete the

theft ofYanseldara's spirit, the Cult of the Dragon needs something more from Prince Tang."

"What?" Vaerana demanded, once again sounding impatient and pushy. "If we deny them, can we stop

Yanseldara from getting any sicker?"

"I could not learn the answer to either of your ques- tions." Ruha looked away from Vaerana's disappointed face, restraining the urge to add that the Lady Con- stable's'rescue' had ruined her chances of discovering more. "The cult could need anything: an instrument from

Lady Feng's apartment, ingredients from the palace's warehouse, perhaps something from Yanseldara's home."

"No, nothing from Moonstorm House," Vaerana objected. "They wouldn't have one chance in ten thou- sand of getting anything from there."

"How do you suppose they got her staff?" asked Fowler.

Vaerana shot the half-ore a murderous glare, then turned back to Ruha without answering his question.

"Your mission wasn't a total loss, Witch," she said, trying to be magnanimous and failing miserably. "At least you gave me some idea of what I'll need to ask."

"Ask?" Fowler grunted. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking you are, I want my gold now."

Vaerana frowned at the half-ore. "I can't pay out of

Elversult's treasury. You'll get your gold after we take the palace."

"You intend to storm the Ginger Palace?" Ruha gasped.

"Can you think of a better way to get my hands on

Tang?"

Ruha shook her head. "No, but I doubt interrogating him will do you any good. The prince is too afraid of

Cypress. He refuses to believe I destroyed the dragon."

"Well, you did," Vaerana growled. "Hsieh will tell him that!"

"Somehow, I do not think it will matter." Ruha thought for a moment, trying to recall Tang's exact words when she told him she had destroyed the dragon. "He said 'Per- haps you do destroy Cypress, but if you think that means

there is no reason to fear him, you know nothing.' I

thought he was referring to the Cult of the Dragon, but

now that I reconsider…"

"Something strange is happening," Vaerana agreed.

"I've heard reports that the cult's paying good gold to fishermen for tiny pieces of that dragon you killed."

"That'll hardly drain their treasure boxes," Fowler observed. "The sharks got most of the carcass."

Vaerana nodded. "For nearly a tenday now, the cult's been shipping wagon-loads of shark out of Pros, but none of it ever shows up in Elversult."

"Where could it be going?" Ruha asked.

Vaerana shrugged. "With all that's going on, I didn't think it was worth the trouble of tracking down. Maybe I

was wrong."

"That'd be a good idea," Fowler said. "Cypress might not be as gone as we thought."

Tombor the Jolly came stomping through the trees.

"Vaerana, the Shou want their mandarin. Archers are beginning to gather along the walls."

"Let them!" Vaerana turned to go back to the road.

"We're going to have a battle soon enough."

Ruha grabbed the Lady Constable by the arm. "But the Shou do not have Yanseldara's staffi"

"They're still my best hope of stopping the cult-or

Cypress-and saving Yanseldara."

"I may know of a better way," Ruha said, thinking of

Lady Feng's abandoned familiar. "Give me another day, and I will find Tang's mother-and Yanseldara's staff."

Vaerana shook her head. "I don't know if Yanseldara has another day-and even if she does, Elversult may not. The Cult of the Dragon is growing more powerful by

the hour."

"How long'll it take you to storm the palace?" Fowler asked. "And even if it's less than a day, can you be sure

Tang will tell you what you want to know-or that it'll do you much good?"

{Vaerana looked to Tombor. "What do you think?"

The cleric's gaze darted from Fowler to Ruha to Vaerana.

Finally, he smiled and shrugged amiably. "It's all the same to me. I just need to know what you're doing."

Vaerana bit her lip, then finally said, "Tell Hsieh that he's free to go." After Tombor left, the Lady Constable gently took Ruha's arm and, in a tone that was almost pleading, said, "Witch, you can't foul this up."

"I shall not." Ruha glanced toward the road to make certain that she was still shielded from the view of any

Shou, then whispered the incantation of the same sun spell she had used to vanish the day before. A shimmer- ing wave of heat rolled down her body, leaving both her clothes and her flesh as transparent as air. "Just give me until tomorrow at dawn."

With that, the invisible witch returned to the road, where Tombor was just giving the order to release Hsieh and the caravan drivers. She went to the nearest wagon and raised the edge of its tarp just far enough to slip inside, and nearly gagged on the cloying odor that rose from the cargo box: fresh ylang blossoms.

Nine

The servants had brought a small, triangular table of polished mahogany into the Hall of Amity and placed three teak thrones around it. Prince Tang and his wife sat close together on one side, staring at their reflections in the burnished surface, and Minister Hsieh sat alone at the opposite point. The shape of the table represented the trio's nominal equality as members of the Imperial Household of Shou Lung, the seating arrangement reflected their actual status in the Emperor's eyes, and the absence of any guards except the minister's was a concession to his office: only the Emperor himself could bring personal guards into the presence of

a mandarin.

"Why does table have only three sides?" Hsieh demanded. "Where is Lady Feng?"

The knot in Tang's stomach tightened even further, but he forced himself to slacken his face muscles and meet the mandarin's eyes. "Lady Feng is not here."

The mandarin accepted the prince's nonanswer with stern inexpressiveness. "Is most worthy concubine avail- able? I travel many thousands ofli to speak to her."

The prince hazarded a glance at his wife, whose face remained as unreadable as the mandarin's. They had not expected this. Though Hsieh and Lady Feng were cousins, they disliked each other vehemently and had taken pains

to avoid each other for years. It was even whispered that, after some incident involving Lady Feng*s familiar, it had been the mandarin who had arranged the exile of the