Shadow and Betrayal

there’s no question he’s conducting an investigation.’
    ‘He’s the one who gave you over to the Khai in the first place, isn’t he, Otah-cha?’ Lamara said in his ruined voice.
    ‘He’s also the one who took a knife in the gut,’ Sinja said.
    ‘Can we say why he’s looking?’ Otah asked. ‘What would he do if he discovered the truth? Report it to the utkhaiem? Or only the Dai-kvo?’
    ‘I can’t say,’ Shojen said. ‘I know what he’s doing, not what he’s thinking.’
    ‘We can say this,’ Amiit said, his expression dour and serious. ‘As it stands, there’s no one in the city who’ll think you innocent, Otah-cha. If you’re found in Machi, you’ll be killed. And whoever sticks the first knife in will use it as grounds that he should be Khai. The only protection you’ll have is obscurity.’
    ‘No armsmen?’ Otah asked.
    ‘Not enough,’ Amiit said. ‘First, they’d only draw attention to you, and second, there aren’t enough guards in the city to protect you if the utkhaiem get your scent in their noses.’
    ‘But that’s true wherever he is,’ Lamara said. ‘If they find out he’s alive on a desolate rock in the middle of the sea, they’ll send men to kill him. He’s murdered the Khai!’
    ‘Then best to keep him where he won’t be found,’ Amiit said. There was an impatience in his tone that told Otah this debate had been going on long before he’d come in the room. Tempers were fraying, and even Amiit Foss’s deep patience was wearing thin. He felt Kiyan’s eyes on him, and looked up to meet her gaze. Her half-smile carried more meaning than half a hand’s debate. They will never agree and you may as well practice giving orders now - if it goes well, you’ll be doing it for the rest of your life and I’m sorry, love .
    Otah felt a warmth in his chest, felt the panic and distress relax like a stiff muscle rubbed in hot oils. Lamara and Amiit were talking over each other, each making points and suggestions it was clear they’d made before. Otah coughed, but they paid him no attention. He looked from one flushed, grim face to the other, sighed, and slapped his palm on the table hard enough to make the wine bowls rattle. The room went silent, surprised eyes turning to him.
    ‘I believe, gentlemen, that I understand the issues at hand,’ Otah said. ‘I appreciate Amiit-cha’s concern for my safety, but the time for caution has passed.’
    ‘It’s a vice,’ Sinja agreed, grinning.
    ‘Next time, you can give me your advice without cracking my ribs,’ Otah said. ‘Lamara-cha, I thank you for the offer of the tunnels to work from, and I accept it. We’ll leave tonight.’
    ‘Otah-cha, I don’t think you’ve . . .’ Amiit began, his hands held out in an appeal, but Otah only shook his head. Amiit frowned deeply, and then, to Otah’s surprise, smiled and took a pose of acceptance.
    ‘Shojen-cha,’ Otah said. ‘I need to know what Maati is thinking. What he’s found, what he intends, whether he’s hoping to save me or destroy me. Both are possible, and everything we do will be different depending on his stance.’
    ‘I appreciate that,’ Shojen said, ‘but I don’t know how I’d discover it. It isn’t as though he confides in me. Or in anyone else that I can tell.’
    Otah rubbed his fingertips across the rough wood of the table, considering that. He felt their eyes on him, pressing him for a decision. This one, at least, was simple enough. He knew what had to be done.
    ‘Bring him to me,’ he said. ‘Once we’ve set ourselves up and we’re sure of the place, bring him there. I’ll speak with him.’
    ‘That’s a mistake,’ Sinja said.
    ‘Then it’s the mistake I’m making,’ Otah said. ‘How long before we can be ready to leave?’
    ‘We can have all the things we need on a cart by sundown,’ Amiit said. ‘That would put us in Machi just after the half-candle. We could be in the tunnels and tucked as safely away as we’re likely to manage by dawn. But there are going to be some people in the streets, even then.’
    ‘Get flowers. Decorate the cart as if we’re preparing for the wedding, ’ Otah said. ‘Then even if they think it odd to see us, they’ll have a story to tell themselves.’
    ‘I’ll collect the poet whenever you like,’ Shojen said, his confident voice undermined by the nervous way he fingered his rings.
    ‘Also tomorrow. And Lamara-cha, I’ll want reports from your man at the council as soon as