Pathway

"What is it?" Chang Chang asked. "Are you still in pain?"

"The bones are reknitting," Ju Feng said. "Painful though."

Chang Chang ran her hands over his robe's sleeve and across his body. "You're right, they're mending," she said. "Gods above, she must have broken every bone. How could she hit so hard?"

"Don't let her height fool you." Ju Feng said as a guard poured healing potion down Zu Ruo's throat. The dwarf was already stirring. When the liquid hit her tongue, she spluttered and opened her eyes. "She's much stronger than she looks."

Zu Ruo sat up and looked around at the crowd filtering off the ships. Chang Chang thought she must be looking for her master. She didn't realize he'd left her unconscious on the Haven floor.

"Suppose I owe you congratulations," Zu Ruo said, offering a hand to Ju Feng.

"It was a good fight," Ju Feng said. "You're still too merciful, champs. You should have taken my legs first."

"I won't make the same mistake twice," the dwarf assured him.

"Merciful?" Chang Chang said. "She broke practically every bone in your body."

"He knew the rules," Zu Ruo said. "No magic allowed in the Cradle and your powers are of no use too."

Chang Chang decided not to tell the dwarf about her miscast spell. "Why would Ju Feng need magic to protect himself?"

"You didn't tell her." Zu Ruo snickered, her eyes alight with humor. "Well, that's interesting, isn't it?"

Ju Feng glared at her. "Cultivation levels dont work here, as you've already seen," he said to Chang Chang. "Magic would have aided me most."

"He means size means nothing here. Only magic," Zu Ruo said. "Can't you tell by how broken he is? Without the magic to strengthen the bones, he's going to get pulped in any fight."

"Sarugai knew that going in, didn't he?" Chang Chang said. "He knew how hard it would be for you to win."

Ju Feng shrugged. "He can't fix his own game. Like Zu Ruo said, there's no magic allowed in the Cradle. That's the rule."

"But he made you stand longer than was needed," Chang Chang said fiercely. "He But he made you stand longer than was needed," Chang Chang said fiercely. "He wanted you to fall."

"Maybe, maybe not. He can't break 'em, but sometimes Arowall tries to bend the rules," Zu Ruo said. She stood. "He's a twisted creature, make no mistake."

"Why do you serve such a man?" One guard spoke up.

The dwarf looked at the guard for the first time. "He pays me well. I don't want for anything, and I like the crowd's attention. Might be I'm a bit twisted myself." She shrugged.

"We should be going," Ju Feng said. "He'll be waiting for us. Coming, Ruo?"

Zu Ruo's face hardened. "Don't have a choice, do I? You won the side challenge."

"What did you win?" Chang Chang wanted to know. They climbed the gangplank and joined an escort of guards. Ju Feng smiled cryptically. "You'll see."

Unlike the sparse ship's cabin they'd slept in, Saragui's quarters were carpeted with blue rugs that looked as if they'd been meticulously cleaned. The furniture was dark wood; an oak table and matching chairs were arranged in one corner of the room. Saragui sat at the desk. A guard stood behind him.

In the middle space, a couch and another small table sat against the hull. Fist-sized globes of magical light floated along the ceiling. The portholes had been blacked over. There was no seeing in or out of the ship.

Chang Chang could sense the tingle of enchantments protecting the cavern. This room must be where the master's more interesting audiences take place, she thought.

Their escort indicated the chairs for Chang Chang and Ju Feng, then returned above.

"You fought well, Zu Ruo," Saragui said, waving a dismissive hand at the dwarf. He looked at Ju Feng. "I'm pleased you survived, Ju Feng." He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a ring. He handed it to Ju Feng. "The Soul Of Saints. Yours, with my thanks."

Ju Feng took the ring. He slid it into his spatial sac. "These are the people I wanted you to meet," he said. "Chang Chang you already know—"

"Of course," Saragui said. His gave one of the guards a disinterested glance before turning his full attention to Chang Chang. "My pleasure, Chang Chang." He held out a hand.

Reluctantly, Chang Chang took it, surprised at how warm his hand was. She'd expected a cold, clammy grip. He held her hand for a breath and released it.

"Well, Chang Chang, your champion has won in the Haven," Saragui said. "You've earned the right to ask for what you need. If it is in my power, I will provide it."

Chang Chang exchanged a glance with Ju Feng. He nodded.

"I would request protection," she said, "for myself and my two companions. "We are hunted by the Catchers and a party of yaos and men. You've given us a place to rest, but we need concealment during the day. If you hide us, we will leave at nightfall and not trouble you again."

Saragui inclined his head. "Easily done. I have a place where you could be concealed quite well"—he leaned forward—"if you've the stomach for it."

Chang Chang met his calculating gaze. "What place do you speak of, sir?"

"He calls it the Isle," Ju Feng spoke up. "A half-sunk ship behind the Haven."

"I appropriated it some years ago to take care of a minor inconvenience to my operation explained.

"What sort of inconvenience?" Chang Chang asked, knowing instinctively she would not like the answer.

"WaterWay is a unique entity in this place," Saragui said. "We welcome all folk, no matter how desperate or murderous, so long as they've coin to spend. Unfortunately, being such a large enterprise, the Aven attracts its share of… lesser beings."

"The diseased, the starving, the scarred," Ju Feng said. "The beggar folk, shunned even among the damned."

"We used to dispose of them—discreetly," Saragui said. "It was a mercy, I assure you. Their conditions were affronts to nature; whitewasting and darkrot, godscurse and worse. A few here or there were never missed."

"I wonder why you stopped," Chang Chang said sarcastically. The man's callousness knew no bounds.

"Some days I wonder that myself,"Saragui said.

"Don't let him lie to you," Ju Feng said. "He knew that mass murders would not go unnoticed for long, no matter what sort of folk were dying. He devised a surprisingly merciful solution."

"I took them in," Saragui said. "They live on the Isle now, in relative comfort and, more importantly, out of sight of normal folk."

"No one goes there," Ju Feng said. "They're afraid of catching somethingat

"Don't worry," Ju Feng said. "If he intends to send us there, he will provide us with disguises and spell protection against the sicknesses."

"Absolutely," said. "I would not send you off unprepared. You will have your disguises, which I daresay will continue to serve you after you've left us."

"Then we are agreed," Chang Chang said. She stood and extended a hand, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "We thank you for your hospitality."

He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her fingers. "You are not easily unsettled, my dear," he said. "I admire your nerve."

He looked past her shoulder, his brow furrowing in consternation. "Zu Ruo, you may go. I have no further need of you."

The dwarf shifted uncomfortably. "There is a matter I must discuss with you, Master. It concerns Ju Feng Morleth, and a wager we made during thefight."

Her master raised a brow. "I have the distinct impression I'm not going to like this, Zu Ruo."

"It was my doing," Ju Feng said. "I made a side bet with Zu Ruo. If I won the match, she promised to accompany us for three nights—to whatever destination Chang Chang names—as a bodyguard."

"And you agreed?" Chang Chang said, looking sharply at the dwarf. "I did," Zu Ruo said. "No offense meant, lady, but at the time I believed I could win the fight."

"You discovered differently," Saragui said. He kept his voice even, but Chang Chang saw his cheeks flood with color. "Your arrogance will be the death of you yet."

The dwarf said nothing, only bowed her head.

"I will honor the wager,"Saragui said, rising and coming around the desk. He towered over Zu Ruo. "Take her, but don't be gone long, little one," he said softly "And don't displease me again."

"Yes, Master," Zu Ruo said.

Chang Chang turned to leave, but Saragui held up a hand. "Ju Feng, a word with you in private, if you please?"

Chang Chang started to speak, but Ju Feng shot her a quelling glance. "I'll be along soon," he told her.

"If you say so." Chang Chang nodded to Arowall and climbed the ladder. She wondered if she would spend the rest of her life passing from the belly of one strange ship to another. "Well," Ju Feng said to Saragui when they were alone. "What is she?"

"Your friend is a human girl and nothing more," Saragui said. "I detected no concealment magics, nor modifications to erase her memory. No wizard, in the Watch's employ or any other, has tampered with her."

"Why is she so powerful, then?" Ju Feng said. "Is it the bloodplague?"

"You already know the answer to that," Saragui said, waving an impatient hand. "She is bloodscarred, and her powers are debilitating. But her condition is perhaps more serious."

"In what way?" Ju Feng demanded.

"I can sense the spellplague as clearly as you smell the rot coming off the harbor. I have met few individuals living with so strong a taint in them.