第3节

him that her mind and heart had parted company with his.

He also knew that, as a fellow-summoner, Mr Snow was bound to leap to

her defence, leaving him completely tongue-tied. The degree of respect

and obedience demanded by the ancient code of the wordsmiths made it

impossible for an apprentice to contradict his master publicly. To do

so would have been an unforgivable breach of etiquette. But even if he

had been foolish enough to try, he could never have won an argument

with Mr Snow. Far from gaining any sympathy, he would find himself

being mocked by those who envied him and sought to bar him from the

ranks of the Bears.

The simplest solution was to drop out of the contest; give up all claim

to Clearwater. But even this had its dangers. If she ceased to visit

his hut, eyebrows would be raised, tongues would start to wag. And if,

as he suspected, she and the cloud warrior had laid between the fox and

the wolf, it would not remain secret from her clan sisters for long.

Women had a way of knowing these things. They were also unable to keep

a secret. Once the news spread it would not be long before both of

them were called to account before the clan elders.

No. Regardless of his feelings, the most sensible course of action was

to take her with him to BethLem.

By so doing the truth could be concealed from the clan until their

return - perhaps for ever. Given time, a reconciliation was not

impossible. His pride had been hurt but he was not too proud to admit

that her presence on such a perilous journey would still be welcome.

What had happened was the will of Talisman. So be it...

But understanding had not dulled the pain. Even now, almost nine

months later, when his mind and his days were happily filled with the

myriad problems that arose from his new responsibilities, the invisible

wound would occasionally open, spoiling his newfound contentment.

Fortunately, the Iron Masters had a potent cure for this type of

affliction - a fiery liquid called 'sake' that gave him a new, reckless

courage, gave his tongue a new edge, and awakened desires that his

body-slaves eagerly satisfied. And when all passion was spent, and the

bittersweet pain had been numbed...

Oblivion.

1!

CHAPTER ONE

The summer palace of Yoritomo Toh-Yota was situated at Yedo, on

Aron-giren, a huge tract of land that he had christened his 'floating

domain'. Yedo was a place-name plucked from the distant past of his

own race; Aron-giren was the name given by the people of a long-dead

nation which had once inhabited the land on which his palace stood - a

fish-shaped island with a ragged forked tail reaching out into the

Eastern Sea. A hand-painted silk map on the wall of his book-lined

study showed its great shark head lying close to the mainland, with

several smaller islands trapped like tiny minnows in its gaping jaw.

Long slender reefs of sand hugged the line of its belly like pilot fish

hoping for scraps from the feast.

Several other islands lay between Aron-Giren and the mainland; Sta-tana

and Mana-tana were the largest; others, like Govo-nasa and Eris-iren,

were very small.

These too formed part of Yoritomo's domain and, depending on their

size, had one fortified harbour or more, garrisoned by sea-soldiers.

Day or night, no vessel, be it sea-going junk or one-oared dory,

escaped inspection by the everpresent watchboats that patrolled the

surrounding waterways, and no one was allowed to dock on Aron-giren

when Yoritomo was in residence without a special pass. The vigilance

of the sea-soldiers prevented his island retreat from being invaded by

what were politely termed 'foreign bodies', and ensured safe passage

for Yoritomo, his family and their high-ranking entourage on their

journeys to and from his vast estates on the mainland.

The Toh-Yota, who had emerged as one of the leading samurai families in

the previous century, had held the reins of power for the last

eighty-two years. Yoritomo, its present head, was the sixth su