‘This,’ said the Rajnee, ‘is Yu Yu Liang, the burden of which I spoke.’
‘We fought demons together,’ said Yu Yu.
Waylander glanced at the Rajnee. ‘Demons?’
The man nodded. ‘That is part of the mystery.’
‘Come inside,’ said Waylander, moving past the man and opening the door to his quarters.
Moments later they were seated by the fire, the room bathed in the glow of lanterns and firelight. Yu Yu Liang sat on a rug, while the other two men occupied the only chairs in the room. ‘The man who owns palace should give you better rooms,’ Yu Yu told Waylander. ‘I walk through palace. Much silver and gold, and velvet and silk. Probably he is rich bastard, and mean with money?’
‘This man is the owner of the palace,’ said the Rajnee in Chiatze.
Yu Yu glanced around the bare walls and grinned. ‘And I am the emperor of the world.’
‘You mentioned demons,’ said Waylander. Briefly, and with no hint of melodrama, the Rajnee told him of the attack, the coming of the mist, and the strange creatures who walked within its depths. Waylander listened intently.
‘The arm! Tell him about the arm!’ said Yu Yu.
‘I cut a limb from one of the creatures. The skin was pale, white grey. When sunlight touched it the flesh began to burn. Within a few heartbeats it had vanished entirely.’
‘I have not heard of any such creatures in Kydor,’ Waylander told him, ‘nor any attacks of the kind you describe. I do recall reading about swords of bright light. I cannot remember the tome, but it is in the North Library. I will search for it tomorrow.’ He looked into the Rajnee’s dark eyes. ‘What is your name, swordsman?’
‘I am Kysumu.’
‘I have heard of you. You are welcome in my home.’
Kysumu bowed, and said nothing.
‘Recently I saw such a mist as you describe,’ said Waylander. ‘I sensed there was evil in it. We will discuss the mystery further when I have searched my library.’
Kysumu rose. Yu Yu scrambled to his feet beside him. He tugged at Kysumu’s robe. ‘What about assassins?’ he asked.
‘The dead man was the assassin,’ said Kysumu.
‘Oh.’
Kysumu sighed. He bowed again to Waylander. ‘I will send your guards to fetch the body.’
Waylander nodded, then walked away from the two men, entering a lantern-lit room at the rear of the building.
Chapter Five
Matze Chai slept without dreams, and awoke feeling refreshed and invigorated. The suite of rooms assigned to him had been decorated with sublime taste, the colours of the walls delightfully matched in pastel shades of pale lime and pink. Works of art by the most famous and sought-after Chiatze artists adorned the walls, and the hand-painted silk curtains filtered the morning light, allowing Matze Chai to appreciate the beauty of the dawn without the harshness of the sun’s glare upon his delicate eyes.
The furniture was exquisite, embellished with gold leaf, the bed wide and firm beneath a silken canopy. Even the pot beneath the bed, which Matze had used three times during the night, was embellished with gold. Such elegance almost made the trip worthwhile. Matze Chai rang the golden bell alongside his bed. The door opened and a servant stepped inside, a young man employed by Matze for the last two years. He couldn’t remember his name.
The servant offered Matze Chai a goblet of cool water, but he waved it away. The young man left the room and returned with a ceramic bowl filled with warmed, scented water. Matze Chai sat up and the servant pulled back the covers. The old merchant relaxed as the boy helped him remove his night-shirt and hair-cap, allowing his mind to wander as the servant gently sponged and dried his skin. The boy then opened a pot of sweet-smelling cream.
‘Not too much,’ warned Matze Chai. The servant did not answer, for Matze Chai did not allow conversation so early in the day. Instead he lightly smoothed the cream into the dry skin of Matze Chai’s shoulders and arms. After this he pulled loose the long ivory pins in Matze Chai’s hair, applied fresh oils, then skilfully combed and brushed the hair, drawing it back into a tight bun at the crown, before slipping the ivory locking pins into place.