The Way of Things: Upper Kingdom Boxed Set: Books 1, 2 and 3 in the Tails of the Upper Kingdom (110 page)

“A jumpsuit. Whaddayou know…”

“¿quién the hell shi shui?”

“Ah, one sec…” He stepped one
foot then the other into the suit, pulled it up over his shoulders, then ran
his finger over the tabs. They did not close easily and he could see how they
had fabricated clasps with twine and bits of metal. Fascinating. He stood up
tall, thrust out his hand. “Doctor Jeffery Solomon, Supervisor Seven, SleepLab
1.”

There was silence for a
moment in the room.

“Slabwun?”

“SleepLab 1, yeah.”

“Slabwun es SleepLab 1,
Doctor.”

She turned to the bald man
– “Jiǎnchá the archivos por Supervisor Solomon, Jeffery, Slabwun
hé
dédào jìyì memoria, Version san”— but took the hand he offered her. She
did not seem to know what to do but for his part, Jeffery Solomon held it for a
long moment, surprised at the tightening in his throat.

She arched an eyebrow. She
had nice eyebrows. He had never seen such nice eyebrows. Not in five thousand
years.

“Do you have any idea how
long I’ve waited to do this, just to touch another human being? Just like
this?” He swallowed back the tears that had sprung into his eyes. “It’s a
miracle.”

She cocked her head at him,
made a puzzled but slightly amused face. He took a deep breath.

“Kay, yeah, sorry. And you?
What is your name? Where am I, how many people are left and what have you done
with my friends? You know, all the typical questions a guy in my position would
ask.”

“Wǒ de míngzì es Damaris
Ward, Jiān d’Area CeeDee.”

“Damaris Ward.”

“Si.”

“Jiān? Uh…” He searched
his memory, trying to find the word. “Hah! Supervisor! Like me! Uh, CeeDee…”

“Si, Area CeeDee.”

“Columbia District. Got it.
Makes sense. East Coast. Maryland.”

“Mai-land,” she corrected and
looked down. He was still holding her hand. He let go just as the bald man
returned. He spoke too quickly for Solomon to understand but he passed
something to her. Damaris Ward held it up to the light.

“Damn,” said Solomon. “A
Plug.”

“Bug, si. Por nin de Feed.”
She passed it into his hand. “Zuò down first.”

He studied the Plug. It was a
receptor designed to fit on the end of the wire, giving him access to selected
programs or archives. He was hoping it was a translation program. Of all
things, that would be the most helpful.

He reached around to slide it
onto the wire at the base of his skull.

“So, Damaris, where are my
friends? Mis amigos? Wǒ d péngyǒu?”

“Guàiwù?” she said. “Los
matamos. Tāmen dōu sǐle. Zuò down.”

He was not prepared for the
sensations as wave upon wave of information poured directly into his brain and
his knees buckled beneath him.

 
“The monsters?” the Plug translated inside his head as he
went down. “We have killed them. They are dead. Sit down.”

It was the last thing he
remembered and they caught him as he hit the floor.

***

He could understand why people
loved the Sun Salute of Chai’Yogath. Dawn over the mountains was a beautiful
thing. He never did it himself, the Sun Salute. It seemed a perfectly good
waste of time. The sun wasn’t alive. She didn’t have golden brooms or a sister
the moon or any of the things people ascribed to her. No the sun was a welcomed
thing, a good thing, an enjoyable thing but she was not alive. Kerris knew this
because she never spoke to him. Not the way everything else did.

The earth was very angry here.
It told him of the indignities of being robbed, of having its flesh rent by
greedy cats for ore and gold and bits of metals. The snow told him of its plans
to stay long this year, past the New Year’s festival while the Year of the
Rabbit prepared to leap off the Celestial stage as the Dragon roared in. The
trees dreamed under blankets of snow, their blood cold and hard inside their
branches. The wind was strong this morning, chasing the clouds until they grew
heavy and wept their contents to the ground somewhere else for a change. The
skies would stay clear for days now, they told him. The skies would be clear,
the sun would be out and the cold would descend like a hammer.

Even the Wall was more alive
than the sun. Each stone had a story and if he had the inkling, he could
discover every one. Where they came from, how they had been taken from the
earth and brought here by cats. The Wall was a community now, of slate and
rock, gravel and clay, very much like a town or a city, only without the
barter.

He sighed. He could move any or
all of it if he tried.

“Kaidan,” came a voice from
behind and he turned to see Bo Fujihara walking towards him along the Wall. The
man had a pipe in his mouth and he was smiling. He was always smiling, but then
again, monkeys had smiles built into their faces. Their eyes were always
bright, their steps always springy. Their tails were a marvel and he found
himself envious. He wished he had a tail like that.

“Morning, Bo,” he called back.
“Are you up to perform your
ki?”

“Not this morning, Kaidan.
Although after last night, my
chi
could use a little
ki
I think.”

“It was dramatic, I’ll grant
you,” Kerris said, grinning. “But cats are, after all, a dramatic people.”

“I have learned this. That
woman, the cheetah—is that the one you told me about?”

“Yes, and what she’s doing here,
now,
has me very nervous.”

“I can understand.” He puffed a
few times and the smell of the tobacco was strong and sharp. “Your brother
reacted strangely to her.”

“He always did.”

They stood for a while, side by
side, watching the sun rise over the peaks, turning them from purple to blue.
All around them, soldiers moved about the Wall and at the top of all the battle
towers, cauldrons still burned with orange and white flame.

“Do we have enough cats?”

Kerris sighed and looked down at
the man. “Nowhere near enough, Bo. I don’t know if I can ask anyone to do this
with me.”

“Kaidan…”

“I’ve never had an army. It’s
always been just me and I’ve always landed on my feet. But this, this doesn’t
feel easy or clear to me. None of it does. Not any more.”

“Was it ever easy or clear?”

Kerris grinned. “No, you’re
right. Never. Never ever. I suppose I’m just not used to it, then?”

“Most likely not. Have you
pulled the sticks?”

“Was about to when you showed
up.”

And the grey lion reached deep
into his pocket, pulled out a tangle of carved sticks, wrapped with red thread.
He frowned, tried to separate them but the threads were fully entwined.

Fujihara narrowed his eyes. “Do
they usually stick together like that?”

“Never,” and he carefully pried
them apart to read the words painted along their narrow surfaces.

“Red, Yellow and Blue.” He
looked up at the ambassador. “That’s very strange. The odds of pulling only
colours…”

“Red,” said Bo. “Could that be
your brother?”

“Perhaps.”

“But the yellow and the blue?”

“No clue.”

He shoved the sticks back into
his pocket and together the pair turned back to watch the sun climb over the
crest of their mother, the Great Mountains.

***

The door creaked open and
emerald eyes peered in.

“Hi,” said Fallon Waterford-Grey
as she poked her head into the room where the dogs were being kept. “Can I come
in?”

Setse rolled out from under her
reindeer coat and sprang to her feet, light as a leaf on the breeze. For his
part, her brother slid up the stone wall to stand, hands falling to the bow and
quiver almost of their own accord. He growled, flattened his ears but did not
show his teeth.

The tigress pushed open the door
and entered. She was carrying three mugs in her hands. She bumped the door
closed with her boot and golden liquid splashed onto the floor.

“I brought tea. I don’t know if
you like tea, or if you can understand me or anything, but I thought, well, I
won’t know unless I try and you won’t know if you like tea unless
you
try, so well, here I am with tea. And well, naturally, me. Trying.”

She smiled brightly and held out
the mugs.

Setse stepped over and took one.

“Tea,” she said. “I understand.
Tea good.”

She turned and held it out to
her brother.

“Tsai,”
she said
.
“Rani, guij baina!”

He scowled at her.

“See?” said Fallon and she took
a long gulp, made a smacking sound with her lips. “Good. Good tea.”

“Good tea,” said Setse and she
too took a long gulp, made a smacking sound with her lips.

Fallon laughed. “I’m Fallon.”
Pointed to her chest. “Fallon.”

“Fall-on,” said Setse.

“Fa-
llon.”

“Fa-
llon.”

Fallon laughed again. “Yep.
Fallon Waterford-Grey. You?”

“Jalair Naransetseg.” But the
girl smiled. “Setse.”

“Set-say.”

“Yes, yes.” And she turned to
her brother. “Jalair Naranbataar.”

Fallon studied him.

“Jalair Naranbataar,” she said.
Her dialect was perfect and it was Setse’s turn to laugh now.

“Yes, yes! Jalair Naranbataar.
Rani.”

“Rani,” and Fallon smiled at
him.

He snorted and walked away to
stand at the window, looking out over the mountains.

“Husband?” asked Fallon.

“Worse.” Setse rolled her eyes.
“Brother.”

“You understand Imperial,” said
Fallon, grinning. “But not him. Why?”

Setse gulped down the rest of
her mug, tapped her head with her hand. “I see. Rani not see.”

“I see,” said Fallon.

“You see?!” The Oracle’s eyes
went wide. “You see too?”

“No, no, sorry. I see, but not
that way. It’s a saying, a phrase. I understand. Don’t bother with me. I talk a
lot, not all of it makes sense.”

“I like you,” said Setse.

“And I like you,” said Fallon.
“Can you teach me your language
?”

“The Language of the People?”

“Yes. That.”

Setse cleared her throat.
“Sain
uu.
It mean hello. Greetings. “

Fallon cleared her throat.
“Sain
uu.”

“Uguyai,”
growled
Naranbataar.

“He say no.”

“Uguyai,”
said Fallon.

“Zogsoogooroi,”
growled
Naranbataar.

“Uguyai,”
said Fallon.

Setse laughed.

And her brother turned and began
to speak very quickly to her. Fallon didn’t need to understand much to know he
was angry. The girl was adamant however and she wondered if in the Lower
Kingdom, all women were strong and fearless and bold. It would be a fascinating
thing and would explain much.

Suddenly, the girl gasped and
turned toward the door. Her mouth was open, eyes glassy and far away.

“Shar Ma’uul,” she said. “Shar
Ma’uul come.”

There was a rap on the door and
a jaguar in brown robes peered in.

 
“Hey,” said Fallon.
“Sain uu.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll, ah…”

“That means ‘hello’ in the
Language of the People.”

“Oh.”

“Shar Ma’uul, come, come!” And
Setse danced toward him, catching his gloved hand and dragging him into the
keep.

The leopards at the door looked
in, swords and staffs ready but Fallon slipped over, smiled and quickly closed
the door in their faces.

“Hey, about last night. We, um,
didn’t really get introduced or anything. I mean, you know lions. When they get
angry, everything gets a little scary. And then throw in some dogs and a
back-stabbing magical assassin, and well, it’s bound to get crazy, if you know
what I mean!” And she laughed to herself. “So are you really
Yahn-the-man-who-can’t-speak-to-falcons-Nevye?”

“Yes?” He blinked at her.

“Did you really study under Jet
barraDunne at
Agara’tha?
‘Cause if you did, you better be careful ‘cause
Kirin—that’s my brother-in-law, Kirin, the big golden lion Kirin, brand
new Shogun-General Kirin—he’ll kill you if he finds out. He’ll take your
head off with the Blood Fang. Or the Jade Fang, but I’m betting on the Blood.
The Jade is far too pretty. I’m Fallon Waterford-Grey, by the way. Enchanted to
meet you.”

And she bowed, fist to cupped
palm.

Setse gasped, released the man’s
hand and bowed, fist to cupped palm.

From the wall, Naranbataar
glared at him and growled, laying back his ears. This time, he showed teeth.

Nevye swallowed. “I, I should
go…”

“No, Shar,” said Setse, grabbing
his hand again. “Stay.”

Fallon grinned. “She likes you.”

“But
he
doesn’t.”

“Oh he’s fine, just a little
protective. I think.” She strolled over to where the young man was standing,
smiled and bowed to him.
“Sain uu, Jalair Naranbataar.”

He bared his teeth at her.

For her part, Setse seemed
fascinated by Yahn Nevye’s hands, held his one in both of hers, squeezing his
fingers, pressing his palms. He seemed quite discomforted and didn’t know where
to look.

“My name is—Hey, Setse!
How do you say ‘my name is?’”

“Mini neriig
…
gedeg.”
She did not look up
,
continued her study of the jaguar’s
hand. “But you put name in middle. For you, you say “
'Mini neriig
Fallon
gedeg.'
And then say, ‘
Tan neriig hen gedeg vei?'”

Her brother snarled at her
again, this time they sounded like curses.

Fallon took a deep breath. “
Mini
neriig
Fallon
gedeg. Tan neriig hen gedeg vei?”