Wild Card (48 page)

He grabbed Naryn and almost dragged him out.

I sank back down into my chair and blew air at the ceiling.

“Thank you, Bian.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You created that
accidental
meeting.” I made quote signs in the air.

“I couldn’t influence someone like Tarez. And whatever you think he came in for, that offer of affiliation is not to be treated lightly.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

“Don’t get comfortable, Round-eye. I’ve just had a very interesting conversation with Alice and now that you’re here, and you’re free, we need to act straight away.”

I sat up. “I thought you wanted to chuck Alice overboard.”

Bian’s mouth twisted.

“Maybe I still do, but between the two of you, you’ve given me an opening that Skylur asked me to work toward.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“You wanted to know if Alice had any contacts with Adepts in the Empire of Heaven?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. Mary and Liu wanted to connect with Adepts in China and ask them how to base a community around a dragon spirit guide. Kinda essential advice, if we didn’t want to learn by making mistakes. If we hadn’t already.

“I’m supposed to open a dialogue with the Empire in preparation for discussions between Skylur and the Emperor.”

“Okay, you’ve got the number, presumably. So, call them.”

She snorted.

“They’re prickly at the best of times, and talking to the Empire is like Kirithia, the Game of Dominion.” She waved her hands. “That’s the Athanate version of chess between multiple players. You never,
ever
open a discussion with what you want to talk about. Not the first play, not the second, maybe not even the third.”

“Unless you bluff.”

“Maybe. I’m not that good a player. So, I want to open with something else. Something like what you and Alice want—to talk to their Adepts—not what Skylur wants.”

“I’m not sure about this.”

The problem was that Mary and Liu would say that this was confidential Adept business. It was all right to go through the Athanate channels to get to the Chinese Adepts, but I had a suspicion Bian would want to know exactly what was behind it.

“I’m not sure,” I said again.

Bian slunk around the table and arranged herself over the back of my chair. I was getting pretty good at handling this. Breathe evenly. She couldn’t embarrass me into doing what she wanted. No way. Not even—

“You said blank check, baby,” she whispered against my neck. “And this is such a little thing.”

I had said that. I owed her.

“Wait, didn’t you call on that?” I asked.

“Not for the full amount. Come on,” Bian said. Grabbing my hand, she led me down the hallway toward the other end of the house.

In the entrance hall, she picked up a house phone and dialed a number.

“Alice? We’re on,” she said and put it back.

I was looking up at the blank spot above the main house corridor. The spot where the huge eagle had spread its wings. The room looked unbalanced without it. I hoped that didn’t say anything about the state of Panethus.

She saw where I was looking. “It’s gone. Time to move on.” She grabbed me again and pulled me onward.

Bian and Alice. Things were moving too quickly for me. Everything seemed to be sliding out of my control. Should I stop this now? Call Mary, despite the late hour, and clear it with her?

I was still debating when we turned a corner and I saw Alice already waiting for us at the end of the corridor.

Bian entered a seven digit code into a keypad on the wall and then leaned into an iris scanner.

A metal door slid aside, just as my cellphone buzzed in my pocket.

“Turn it off,” Alice said. “No signal in this room anyway.”

I looked at the name as I obeyed. Melissa. What on earth was she calling me for at this hour? It was nearly midnight. I’d call her back once we’d finished.

The door closed behind us. We were in a dark, windowless room with a huge screen on one side and a conference table in front of it with chairs.

Under instruction from Bian, we quickly moved the table and chairs and knelt in the empty space, Bian in the middle.

The conference system came up and showed us as we would appear. Bian looked at the clocks on the wall. Exactly midnight. It was 3 p.m. in Beijing. She dialed a number.

The screen cleared to show an empty white pavilion with fine gauze curtains screening out the background.

“Come on,” muttered Bian. “Don’t brush us off.”

A Chinese man walked to the middle of the pavilion, his eyes downcast, the model of humility. He was dressed in dark brown pants and a white, long-sleeved shirt with an open neck. His feet were in sandals. His hair was short and neatly parted.

Bian straightened her back.

This guy? This was the Diakon of the biggest independent Athanate group in the world?

Then Bian bowed and held it. Right down, head-on-the-floor bow.

Alice and I glanced nervously at each other and followed suit.

“
Garheem
,” he said.

Athanate for hello, for semi-formal meetings. Pia was teaching me some standby words.

Bian sat up and Alice and I followed again. The guy was kneeling in the same position as us. I’d had my head on the floor, so I didn’t know if he’d bowed back. Somehow I doubted it.

Bian spoke in Athanate and the man’s eyes turned first to Alice and then to me, with interest.

I was starting to worry that I’d need to do everything through an interpreter, but after what I assumed were introductions and polite, formal questions, Bian said something short and stopped.

“Yes, it is acceptable to speak in English,” he said. “Greetings, House Farrell, Adept Emerson. My name is Xun Huang, and I am Diakon of the Empire of Heaven.”

“Greetings, Xun Huang,” I said, and tried a short bow with just my head.

“I understand from Diakon Trang that you have a request to make of me.” He smiled. “I am most interested.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or just politeness.

“We are honored, Diakon Huang,” Alice said.

I guessed he’d said he would listen to us, and Alice had said thank you. This diplomatic language was tricky stuff.

“We would ask a favor of you,” Alice went on. “That you allow us to communicate with Adept communities in the Empire.”

 “I am most sure they would enjoy such contact.” He rocked back a little on his heels. “You understand that, here in the Empire, the community is more unitary than elsewhere.”

Well then, we could learn lots from you.

Alice and Xun played verbal ping pong for a few minutes. Xun explained that Adept communities in the Empire were organized along the same lines as Houses, with the oaths and loyalties under the Athanate structure, but it was always accepted that Adepts had interests of their own.

It looked as if this was going to be relatively easy. I sat back on my heels and kept my smile in place.

“I understand the general academic interest of Adepts to communicate and compare their cultures,” Xun said, nodding to Alice, before looking at Bian. “I always welcome contact from Panethus, and I hope to continue discussions another time with you, Diakon Trang, especially on the matters of our southern Houses.”

He meant Vietnam and the countries of the Indochina peninsula. I could feel Bian’s satisfaction. I could see that this might be the sort of contact that Skylur wanted her to develop with the Empire, as a first or second step, so that Skylur could then casually introduce what he really wanted to talk about.

“And House Farrell, about whom we have heard so much.” He turned finally to me, and I tensed. “I am fascinated to meet you, even in this manner. I am even more fascinated to hear why you want to talk to Adepts in the Empire.”

“It’s more that friends of mine, who are Adepts, want to talk.”

It was as if I could see beneath his face; the surface remained polite and interested, but beneath that, he was starting to switch off. I concentrated on breathing evenly. I couldn’t let this slip away. Tullah, Mary and Liu were depending on me.

Trust and Jump. Oh, boy.

“The topic that most interests them are the Adept communities built around dragon spirit guides.”

Bian didn’t move, but I sensed the shock ringing through her marque. Alice’s nose flared and her eyes widened.

Xun remained motionless, courteously attentive. The screen showing him might have frozen, except for the idle flapping of one of the curtains behind him.

Then his eyes flicked to one side.

“Ah. Excuse me. I am called away. My most sincere apologies. I remain fascinated by this discussion and I look forward to meeting your friends and talking many more times with you all, and listening with such interest to your conversations with our Adepts.”

Bian did the bowing thing, which was diplomacy. I did it, and it was more to cover my face.

Damn. Have I done the right thing? What the hell just happened?

The screen had faded to gray when I came back up. Alice’s face wasn’t far off the same color.

Bian got up, as slinky as a leopard, and led us out.

Automatically, I turned my cell back on. Messages from Melissa.

Neither Bian nor Alice said a word, but they were both staring at me.

“What? What did we just do in there?” I said.

It was Alice who answered. “We’ve woken the sleeping dragon.”

Chapter 49

SUNDAY

It was freezing outside, and Bian’s team had taken my car to drop the couple back to their trailer. Bian had already disappeared with Alice, taking quietly and quickly in Athanate.

I called Melissa.

“Melissa? What’s up? Where are you?”

“I’m at Clayton’s home. He called me to come see him. Amber, he’s dead. I mean, someone killed him.”

“Shit! Get
out
of there. Where’s your car?”

“Uhh. Right outside.”

“Stay on the line. Get into your car now.”

“But I should—”

“Listen to me! This isn’t a police crime scene. You don’t have backup. Whoever killed Clayton could be watching. Probably is. Now get out.”

I’d gotten through to her. I could hear her car door open and close and the sound of the locks engaging.

“Okay. I’m in my car.” Her voice was much quieter, but she was in control.

“Drive away. Use the hands-free and stay on the line. I’m coming.”

I heard the car start in the background.

“But shouldn’t I just get back?” she said.

“I’m working on the assumption you’re going to be followed, so no.”

Breathing came a little easier as I heard her pulling away.

This could be a random murder. Clayton had made enemies—all the people he’d put in jail, for a start. But I didn’t believe in coincidences.

“Where are you?”

“Just turned onto Grand View.”

“Anyone pull out behind you?”

“I’m not sure. There’s another car just coming out now. It’ll be a couple of cars back.”

Exactly where a tail would want to be. “Type?”

“It’s a Chrysler sedan. Dark.”

“You get a plate?”

“Too far.”

“Okay, concentrate on the driving. Take the bypass down to the interstate. Nice and steady.”

I grabbed a passing Altau.

“I need a car, urgently. Life or death.”

“Ahh, the parking garage, House.” He pointed me at a door. “Through there, down a level. Most of the cars will have the keys on a board next to the elevator. Should I call security?”

“Get a message to Bian.” I held up my cell. “I’m talking someone through evading a tail. I’ll try and call her.”

“Got it,” he said, and was heading for the house phone as I ran down the stairs.

I burst into the parking garage. Right across from me was a yellow-edged board with keys hanging on it. I sprinted across and grabbed the first one, pressed the key fob.

An Audi, the twin of mine, flashed its lights.

I got in and checked the gas. Plenty. It’d have to do. I hoped the owner didn’t need it soon.

“Still there, Melissa?”

“Yes, just coming to the junction.”

“Get on I-70 westbound toward Grand Junction. I’m going offline for a second while I get this cell connected.”

“The Chrysler’s still there,” she said. She sounded frightened now. My gut said she needed to be.

Connecting the cell was easy and the motor that I started was
not
the twin of the one in mine. I’d been lucky in my choice—this was the same model, but the complete sports package. Someone’s favorite. I’d have to be careful, if I got the chance.

“…now that weather front,” said the radio, “is just starting to push down along the Rockies, but it’s okay, folks, we might just see some dusting on the mountains…”

I turned it off. Duane-Leatherface had got it wrong.

On the gravel drive I left a ten-second summary voicemail for Bian on her cell, and then I hit the speed dial to get back to Melissa as I headed out the gates.

“Any change?”

“No.”

“Keep it completely normal. You know the Cabrini turnoff?”

“To the shrine in the hills? Yeah. I come off on US 40 and turn up the hill.”

“You should be there in fifteen minutes; take that whether you can see anyone behind you or not. There’s a gas station on the way. I’ll be waiting there, and you drive past without stopping.”

“Yes, Amber.”

She was subdued, but working with me. I could handle that.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

I got to the gas station and sat there with the engine idling. I checked the HK and made sure there was nothing loose in the cabin. I didn’t know how this was going go, but it was always best to be careful when I had time.

The way it was kept suggested this wasn’t a pool car. Out of curiosity, I checked the glove compartment.

Crap. Double, triple, quadruple crap.

Out of all the cars in the garage, I had to pick Naryn’s.

“Coming off onto 40.”

Less than five minutes away. There was nothing I could do about my appalling bad luck in choice of cars. At rock bottom, I couldn’t be in any worse position with him anyway. I put it out of my mind.