Rule looked at her. “You think someone did?”
“That is obvious.” The magical imprint on those creatures sang out their engineered status clearly to one who knew what to listen for. To be fair, one also had to be able to sense that magic in the first place. “You may take my word for that,” she added graciously so he would know it was not his fault he was unable to perceive what she did.
“Hmm,” he said.
Rule was in a better mood today, no doubt because they were in motion once more. They had been forced to wait over a day for a chún-chún to arrive. Rule had not handled the delay well. He might be on two legs again, but he was a very grouchy wolf. Gan had avoided him by wandering around dashtu for most of the day yesterday.
The time had not been wasted, however. Li Lei had sold four diamonds, allowing them to obtain additional clothing and supplies, including what she would need to copy the translation charm and what she hoped might work for the disguise ointment.
Yesterday she had studied Gan’s charm. Not surprisingly, the Chancellor of Edge had the very best translation charm available—one that the beautiful Cullen Seabourne would have said was not a charm at all, but a minor artifact. It was both self-renewing and what was known in Gnomish as gvortikh, and in Elvish as á hemambri. Dragons knew it, also, although the thought-engrams that served as words in their speech did not translate precisely into other languages. Human languages did not have a word for it, unless you counted “artificial intelligence.” Li Lei did not count it. Gvortikh mimicked sentience, but had little in common with the processing of computers.
The translation spell itself was a lovely bit of work, tricky but within her abilities. Imprinting it upon a charm would be challenging. The difficulty lay in weaving the pseudo-sentience into the charm along with the spell. Process mattered, particularly with such high-order magic. She rather thought it would take her more than one attempt.
The delay had also allowed them time and privacy for her to use the healing cantrip on Rule again. She was depleted now, but she would fill up quickly on the river. That was an excellent place to absorb power, if one knew how. Water did not hold tightly to power the way Earth did, and this river had drained magic from all the land it had passed through.
They advanced slowly along the crowded pier. Today people did not expect Li Lei to step aside for them. This might be because she was dressed with more prosperity, but she did not think so. No, more likely it was the man with her who made a difference. Rule was tall and thin, strange-looking and wounded—and not at all the sort of man people expected to step aside. He moved as if the crutches were accessory, not necessity. And, of course, there was the very large knife now sheathed on his hip, a blade close in size to a machete. Another recent purchase.
They reached their goal—a long boat with a pointed bow widening to a flat stern, which held a small cabin. Its deck was crowded with crates, which two men were moving into tidy stacks. No doubt they had sold or taken on cargo and needed to redistribute their load. Both men were Gifted and . . . her eyebrows shot up.
Rule bent and whispered near her ear. “What is it?”
“I will explain later,” she said in English, raising her voice slightly as she switched to Chinese. “I would speak with the honorable chuán fùqīn.” The title she had been told to use translated as “boat father.”
The older man glanced at her, frowning, and set down his box. His eyes were an odd topaz color. “I am the boat father. How may I help you, madame?”
“I am told you go to Lang Xin.”
He gave her a small bow. “That is so.”
“I wish to buy passage for myself, this lái, and the daughter of my late husband’s brother’s son.”
His gaze flicked to Gan. “That one is related to you?”
His face was stony. His body was alarmed. Li Lei caught his gaze and spoke clearly, putting force behind her words. “She is harmless. You do not find her appearance startling.”
The tension eased out of his shoulders. After a pause he shook his head sadly. “But only look at my poor, small boat, madame.” He gestured, indicating the tidy but crowded deck. “You see how little room we have. We could not properly accommodate such worthy passengers.”
Pleased to deal with someone who knew how to do things properly, Li Lei settled in to bargain, dropping the ensorcelling gaze. It would not be fair to use it for this. It would not be as much fun, either.
? ? ?
“HE’S a what?” Rule repeated.
Li Lei shrugged. “‘Beastmaster’ is the term I know. I do not know what they call them here.”
Rule’s voice was developing a growl. “It’s not a term I know.”
She looked at him. “Perhaps you should have more meat.” She had allowed him chicken yesterday after receiving his promise to report accurately on his reaction. His temper had improved despite the painful cramping that hit later, and there had been no blood in his stool. A good sign.
“I am stretched, madame,” he snapped, forgetting he was to call her Grandmother. “I am not out of control.”
She chose to ignore his forgetfulness and his temper and looked out over the cheerful brown water.
She and Rule sat on their packs near the sun-warmed pier, waiting for the boat owner and his sons to finish loading and unloading. Gan was swimming in the river. The little one was fond of swimming, especially if there were “fishies” to chase. Li Lei had cautioned her not to allow anyone to see her eating what she caught. Human people did not consider live fish a delicacy. Raw fish, yes, for some. Live ones, no.
After a few moments Rule spoke carefully. “I am not accustomed to having someone else make decisions for me. I would like to have been consulted before you agreed to terms with these beastmasters.”
“That was not practical. The person I am supposed to be would not consult her hired guard. I obtained the terms we sought. They will make only a few stops on the way to the capital—those stops they must make to pick up official mail.”
“Couldn’t you . . . persuade them not to stop at all?”
She gave him a withering glance. “You are not thinking. First, the boat father’s honor is involved. Using ensorcellment to cause an honorable man to do something he considers dishonorable would damage his mind. Second, if this boat does not abide by its contract with the government to carry mail, its owners would be arrested. This would not help us get to Lang Xin.”
Rule ran a hand through his hair. “All right. I get it. I take it this Mei Bo controls the chún through his beastmaster Gift.”
His pronunciation was not bad. Unlike many Westerners, Rule had an ear for tones. “Mei Bo and his children, yes. It is a rare Gift and not normally found in humans, but the boat father and his family all possess it. This disturbs you?”