Dragonwall Troy Denning

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venerable builders had intended the building for summer use only, they had made no provisions for warming
even the emper-or's seat. The Divine One sat in his throne wrapped in a colorless wool robe.
Keeping his own cloak wrapped tightly about his chest, Ju-Hai Chou bowed to the emperor, then took
his chair. No one had told him the reason for this dawn meeting, but the minister felt sure it concerned the
army of horsemen that had camped outside the city last night.
"I am glad we are finally assembled," the emperor said, glancing at Ju-Hai with visible annoyance.
In response to the Divine One's irritation, the minister simply bowed his head in apology and offered no
excuses for his tardiness. He had come as soon as the chamberlain had summoned him, but no doubt the
messenger had called upon him last. Thanks to Ting Mei Wan, Ju-Hai had grown accustomed to such
treatment.
After destroying the Batu household, the beguiling Minister of State Security had mounted a propaganda
campaign to convince the emperor that Wu had been a spy working for her traitorous husband. The cunning
female mandarin had prevented Ju-Hai from contradicting her story by hold-ing him prisoner at her house
for several weeks. Ting had justified this unusual measure by claiming that Wu's death had unbalanced the
Minister of State. She had further un-dermined Ju-Hai's influence by implying that the "spy" had become
the minister's lover. By the time Ting had released the Minister of State, even his own servants had looked
askance at him.
Fortunately, Ju-Hai had come across a way to restore a lit-tle of his credibility. A few days after his
release, the minis-ter had learned that Ting's subordinates were searching for the ebony tube Wu had taken
the night before her death. Assuming the tube contained evidence of Ting's betrayal, Ju-Hai had quietly
begun his own search. So far, neither he nor Ting had met with success. It seemed as though the tube had
simply vanished.
Ju-Hai's reverie ended when the emperor spoke to Kwan Chan Sen. "What is our situation?"
The old man slowly rose to his feet and addressed the en-tire Mandarinate. "From what we saw last
night, the bar-barians have ten thousand men, twice the number of our defenders."
Ju-Hai stood and turned to the emperor. "Divine One, may I speak?"
The Son of Heaven studied the Minister of State with a look of strained patience, but finally nodded his
head. "Please be brief. We have serious matters to consider."
"Thank you, Emperor," Ju-Hai responded, quickly bowing. "Shouldn't we consider what the messengers
told us?"
Sighs of exasperation rustled around the room. In the last two weeks, two messengers had arrived from
Shou Kuan. The first had come sixteen days ago. He had reported that Batu and the provincial armies had
trapped the barbarians in Shou Kuan. The exhausted rider had presented a request for siege equipment,
reinforcements, and food. The second messenger had arrived just four days ago, reporting that General
Batu was riding to Tai Tung with a Tuigan delega-tion and a peace proposal.
Although they had carried the proper seals, the men had been greeted with nothing but suspicion. Both
times, Kwan Chan Sen had suggested that Batu had sent the messengers to lay the groundwork for a
traitorous trap. The emperor and the other mandarins had agreed, and the men had died at the hands of
Ting's interrogators.
The other mandarins were no more inclined to listen to Ju-Hai Chou than they had been to believe the
messengers were legitimate. Without exception, they greeted the Minis-ter of State's suggestion with
intolerant scowls and impa-tient moans.
Noting the reaction of the other mandarins, the emperor said, "Minister Ju-Hai, we have considered the
words of the messengers and have all reached the same conclusion." The Divine One turned back to the
Minister of War. "How do you plan to defend the city, General?"
The ancient mandarin answered immediately. "With the exception of your guard, I have placed all forces
in Tai Tung under my personal command—"
"Take my guard as well," the emperor interrupted. "If the city falls, they will do me no good."
Kwan bowed his head. "Thank you, Divine One. They will prove most useful—"
The ancient Minister of War was interrupted again, this time by the chamberlain. "Excuse me, honored
ones," he said, moving toward the center of the room. "I thought you would want to know that General Batu
is at the city gate de-manding entrance."
"He dares show his face personally?" The emperor asked, pushing himself to the edge of his throne.
The chamberlain nodded. "He is dressed like a barbarian, but several guards recognized him."
"To believe we would open the gate to ten thousand ene-mies, he must take us for imbeciles!" Kwan
objected.
"The impudent knave!" Ting said, speaking for the first time that morning. "Have an archer plant a
feather in his breast!"
"No!" Ju-Hai shouted, rising to his feet. "Shouldn't we hear him out?"
Ting whirled on Ju-Hai, her eyes burning with anger. "The traitor will make no promises we can
believe!"
A chorus of agreement ran through the Mandarinate and Ju-Hai realized that nothing he said would
persuade his peers to listen to him. To gain entrance into Tai Tung for Batu, he would have to appeal
directly to the Divine One. He was risking the little that remained of his prestige, for the emperor had
already indicated his displeasure with Ju-Hai once that morning. Nevertheless, the Minister of State knew
Batu was no traitor. The young general would not have re-turned to Tai Tung if he did not feel that doing so
was in Shou Lung's best interests.
Ju-Hai turned to the emperor. "Divine One, what harm can come from admitting Batu into Tai Tung?
Does anyone believe a lone man capable of defeating an entire city?"
"There is magic," Kwan countered. "With sorcery, one man can accomplish much."
"Batu is no wu jen," Ju-Hai returned.
"Neither are you," Ting said. "How do you know he does not carry some trinket to block the gate when
we open it?"
"Then let him climb the wall!" Ju-Hai snapped, returning his eyes to the emperor. "The man has been
accused of trea-son. Allow him to come and speak in his own defense. If his words do not convince us of
his innocence, then at least we will have him in our grasp to punish!"
The Divine One studied Ju-Hai for several moments, his face, as usual, an unreadable mask. Finally, the
emperor turned to the chamberlain. "Have the guards lower a rope to General Batu."
After the chamberlain left, Kwan outlined his plans for defending Tai Tung. The emperor asked a few
questions, but it was clear that the court was more concerned with Ba-tu's arrival than the Minister of
War's report. Ting con-stantly fidgeted, rearranged her fur, crossed and recrossed her legs. Ju-Hai
suspected she could hardly keep from rising to pace back and forth, for it was certainly possible that the
general's return would expose her treachery.
Finally, the chamberlain returned with Batu. The two men were accompanied by a dozen imperial
guards. As the small entourage advanced into the Hall of Supreme Har-mony, a murmur of shocked
disapproval rustled through the Mandarinate. The general wore a conical skullcap trimmed with oily fur, a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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