Shadow and Betrayal

with the scent of cedar and pine resin.
    Even when he returned to the storehouse and the voices and faces he knew, he found his mind lingering in the dark corridors and galleries, unsure whether the images of the spaces lit with the white shadowless light of a thousand candles were imagination or memory.
    A sharp rapping brought him back to himself, and the door of his private office swung open. Amiit and Sinja walked in, already half into a conversation. Sinja’s expression was mildly annoyed. Amiit, Otah thought, seemed worried.
    ‘It would only make things worse,’ Amiit said.
    ‘We’d earn more time. And it isn’t as if they’d accuse Otah-cha here of it. They think he’s dead.’
    ‘Then they’ll accuse him of it once they find he’s alive,’ Amiit said and turned to Otah. ‘Sinja wants to assassinate the head of a high family in order to slow the work of the council.’
    ‘We won’t do that,’ Otah said. ‘My hands aren’t particularly bloodied yet, and I’d like to keep it that way—’
    ‘It isn’t as though people are going to believe it,’ Sinja said. ‘If you’re going to carry the blame you may as well get the advantages from doing the thing.’
    ‘It’ll be easier to convince them of my innocence later if I’m actually innocent of something,’ Otah said, ‘but there may be other roads that come to the same place. Is there something else that would slow the council and doesn’t involve putting holes in someone?’
    Sinja frowned, his eyes shifting as if he were reading text written in the air. He half-smiled.
    ‘Perhaps. Let me look into that.’
    With a pose that ended his conversation, Sinja left. Amiit sighed and lowered himself into one of the chairs.
    ‘What news?’ Amiit asked.
    ‘Kamau and Vaunani are talking about merging their forces,’ Otah said. ‘Most of the talks seem to involve someone hitting someone or throwing a knife. The Loiya, Bentani, and Coirah have all been quietly, and so far as I can tell, independently, backing the Vaunyogi.’
    ‘And they all have contracts with Galt,’ Amiit said. ‘What about the others?’
    ‘Of the families we know? None have come out against them. And none for, or at least not openly.’
    ‘There should be more fighting,’ Amiit said. ‘There should be struggles and coalitions. Alliances should be forming and breaking by the moment. It’s too steady.’
    ‘Only if there was a real struggle going on. If the decision was already made, it would look exactly like this.’
    ‘Yes. There are times I hate being right. Any word from the poet?’
    Otah shook his head and sat, then stood again. Maati had gone from their first meeting, and he’d seemed convinced. Otah had been sure at the time that he wouldn’t betray them. He was sure in his bones. He only wished he’d had his thoughts more in order at the time. He’d been swept up in the moment, more concerned with his lies about Liat’s son than anything else. He’d had time since to reflect, and the other worries had swarmed out. Otah had sat up until the night candle was at its halfway mark, listing the things he needed to consider. It hadn’t lent him peace.
    ‘It’s hard, waiting,’ Amiit said. ‘You must feel like you’re back up in that tower.’
    ‘That was easier. Then at least I knew what was going to happen. I wish I could go out . If I could be up there listening to the people themselves . . . If I spent half an evening in the right teahouse, I’d know more than I’ll learn skulking down here for days. Yes, I know. You’ve the best minds of the house out watching for us. But listening to reports isn’t the same as putting my hands to something.’
    ‘I know it. More than half my work has been trying to guess the truth out of a dozen different reports of a thing. There’s a knack to it. You’ll have your practice with it.’
    ‘If this ends well,’ Otah said.
    ‘Yes,’ Amiit agreed. ‘If that.’
    Otah filled a tin cup with water from a stone jar and sat back down. It was warm, and a thin grit swam at the cup’s bottom. He wished it were wine and pushed the thought away. If there was any time in his life to be sober as stone, this was it, but his unease shifted and tightened. He looked up from his water to see Amiit’s gaze on him, his expression quizzical.
    ‘We have to make a plan for if we lose,’ Otah said. ‘If the Vaunyogi are to blame and the council gives them power, they’ll be able to wash away any number of crimes.