"You risk life?" Lady Feng slapped Tang on the back of the head. "You are Shou prince!"

"Rescuing you is only way to redeem honor of Ginger

Palace."

"Do I ask to be rescued?" Lady Feng grabbed Tang's chin and pulled his head up, then waved her arm around the glittering chamber. "Here is more wealth than all

Imperial treasuries!"

Tang scowled at this, for his mother had always been too wise to value wealth above freedom. "What good are these riches? Whole room of gold and diamonds is worth less than nothing if it makes prisoner of you."

Lady Feng's squinty eye rolled in its socket, perhaps in dim recognition of the wisdom she herself had imparted to the prince. Her pop-eye, however, darted around the room from bauble to bauble, as though checking to be cer- tain that each one remained in its place.

"Do not argue!" she ordered. "Wealth shown is wealth lost to thieves."

Tang shook his head sadly. "You have dragon sickness."

He started up the ingot slope. "Show me where Cypress hides spirit gem; then we leave."

"Go no farther, Tang."

Tang stopped in his tracks. When Lady Feng assumed that tone, she was not a woman to be trifled with. His mother was capable of killing a man with the merest wisp of an incantation. Though he believed she loved him as any mother loved her child, she was a Scholar ofYen-

Wang-Yeh, and to scholars of the Great Judge, life and death were merely aspects of one existence; even a son could not be sure his mother would care which state he happened to occupy.

After a moment's consideration, Tang realized how to solve his dilemma. He faced his cronish mother. "I only

The VeUed Dragon

try to protect your treasure, Lady Feng. Cypress thinks it belongs to him. We must destroy him."

Lady Feng's pop-eye flashed in anger, but the squinty one rolled around to study him. It was horribly bloodshot, with a milky iris and a black pupil that seemed as deep as the Well of Eighteen Hells itself, and Tang had not seen it since he was a little boy.

"Tang, you try to trick me?"

For the first time since his battle with the wyverns,

Tang felt like a coward. He let his gaze drop and nodded.

"But only to protect you from Cypress. Whether you understand or not, dragon sickness has made you his prisoner more than chains."

The squinty eye trembled as though from a palsy, but continued to linger on Tang's face for a long time. At last,

Lady Feng said, "Tunnel is long. If we destroy spirit gem, how do we escape?"

"We carry extra air." To demonstrate, Tang opened his water skin and filled it with breath. "Then I pull us through passage on rope I leave tied to other end."

Lady Feng eyed the air sack for a long time, then reluctantly nodded. "But we do not smash gem until we are outside." The squinty eye rolled back into her head, and she added, "Then we destroy Cypress and come back to cave of wealth!"

"Of course-if that is truly wish of Third Virtuous Con- cubine." Tang ran a troubled eye over the glittering chamber; a month ago, his mother would have looked on the vast treasure with the mocking disdain of one who recognized such things as a worldly illusion. Now, it was all too easy to imagine Lady Feng returning to live out her life among these lonely riches. "Perhaps we even build palace for you."

A pithy smile crept across the gray lips of the Third

Virtuous Concubine. "Most excellent idea. You know where to find spirit gem?"

"Cypress wishes to be with love. Gem can be only one place." Tang looked at the glowing gem in Yanseldara's

staff. "I get staff. You gather your things."

As the prince turned to climb the ingots, a gentle wave rolled up the beach, stirring the precious coins and soak- ing his feet to the ankles. Tang scowled at the rising water, trying to imagine what might have caused the surge.

Lady Feng grabbed his arm and shoved him into the water. "You must hide! Cypress returns!"

Fourteen

At the far end of the Ginger Palace's long audience hall, the new chamber- lain drew aside two silk draperies and opened a pair of teak doors. A double column of Minister Hsieh's yellow- cloaked guards marched into the room and split, one line filing to each side of

Ruha and Vaerana. Behind the war- riors followed a parade of servants bearing a triangular table, three teak chairs, and a tray with a steaming teapot and a trio of tiny, deep bowls.

As Hsieh's men took their positions, Vaerana scowled and leaned close to Ruha. "I don't know why I listen to you. This is going to be worse than Voonlar. They mean to take us prisoner."

"You are too suspicious, Vaerana. They intend nothing of the kind."

"Then why so many guards?"

"They are only for ceremony." Ruha shook her head at the Lady Constable's suspicions, remembering how easily

Minister Hsieh had disabled Wei Dao. "The mandarin is quite capable of defending himself."

Vaerana sneered doubtfully, but fell silent as the ser- vants arrived with the furniture. They put the table on the chamber's exquisite floor mosaic, carefully arranging it so the point of the triangle stood over the head of the flame-tailed bird and the base faced Ruha and the Lady

Constable. They placed two chairs on the women's side and positioned the third one before the tip of the table.

The man bearing the tea tray stepped to one side, then stood at attention while Minister Hsieh, with Yu Po fol- lowing close behind, entered the room.

The mandarin glided across the floor to the point of the table, then bowed to his guests. Ruha returned the ges- ture, making certain to bend lower than her host, but

Vaerana barely nodded. Yu Po pulled the mandarin's chair out. A pair of servants stepped forward to do like- wise for the witch and Lady Constable.

Vaerana astonished the servant by taking her own chair and placing it opposite the tea bearer. She dropped heavily into the seat, then braced her elbows on the table and faced Hsieh.

"The witch tells me you have some ylang oil."

Yu Po's face turned instantly scarlet. He slipped around Hsieh's chair. "You are ill-bred daughter of-"

"Yu Po!" Hsieh waited for his adjutant to stop, then waved at the tea tray. "You may serve."

Yu Po's jaw dropped, as did that of the tea bearer and the other servants; then the adjutant bowed to his mas- ter and stepped to obey.

Hsieh smiled at Vaerana. "Yes, ylang oil is ready." He looked to Ruha. "Where is Lady Feng?"

The witch found it difficult to meet the mandarin's gaze. "I am afraid we do not know." She saw Hsieh's lips tighten and had the cold, sinking feeling that she was doomed to appear a failure to everyone she met. "We were not able to follow the spy when he fled to the lair."