"She doesn't want me," Zhura said. "She wants you, Ngo."
They passed through the gate that divided Gigiri, where Kaj and Amina's little compound was, and Gold City. Gold City District capped the hill upon which much of Namu was built. There, House San and the other great Houses maintained sprawling palaces.
Goldshields looked the two adventurers over and waved them through white-washed walls. The city guard prohibited commoners from carrying most types of weapons within the affluent areas of Namu, so while Zhura carried her staff, Ngo had only a sheathed long knife. As ever, when they were alone together, they spoke in their home language of Sung.
"But she looks up to you. Bayati is a traditional woman. She courts me because I am a chief's son, and that's who traditional women want to marry. But it is you she admires."
Gold City was unlike anything Zhura had seen in the other parts of Namu, or the towns she'd visited. Its wide avenues were lined with date palms and manicured shrubs. Compounds sat comfortably back from the walkways, their outer walls whitewashed or gaily painted in pastels. Symbols for jewelers, money changers and scriptoriums hung in arched gateways.
"Traditional women don't desire other women."
"Until you kindle that flame," Ngo grinned. "Then..." clawing his fingers, he growled like a panther.
Ikanjans strolled by, covered neck to sandal in airy, rippling gowns and cloaks dyed in vermillion and indigo. Men sported wide-brimmed, bell-shaped hats, while women wore fluid headscarves. Even servants and laborers were covered, though in duller cloth.
Zhura felt practically naked by comparison. Her navel and shoulders were bare, and her shortened kanga wrap opened up to her loincloth when she walked.
But somehow, her spare garments made her feel more honest. Ngo, another denizen of the forest, had opted for a cloak and trousers, leaving his dark torso exposed to the subtle gaze of Zhura, and many female passersby.
The commercial area gave way to a wooded expanse, where pale-barked, copal and panga panga trees towered over the street. Shrub-lined paths wound away from the street, under flowering lianas that draped the boughs. Peering through the shaded garden, Zhura could catch glimpses of the domed citadel the Ikanjans called the Magisterium.
"You are like no one I have ever known, Zhura. I look at you, and I see doe-eyed virtue. And yet you control an infernal, and spark the desires of men and women alike."
Even though she doubted anyone nearby understood their tongue, unease that someone might overhear nagged at Zhura. She carried the summoning stone in her shoulder bag, always close to her person.
She had banished Mili before they returned from the marsh. Now that they had helped Hani get back to her home in the Hazard, and they were within the city warding stones, Zhura was eager to summon the demon again. As much as she loved rutting Kaj and Amina, the surge of power she felt from demonic cum was like nothing else.
They entered the grounds of the San House palace, passing between pairs of massive pillars sculpted like elephant tusks. House banners of black and green chased with gold hung from the caps.
A low wall surrounded the holdings, manned by guards in San colors with plumed headdresses. After a short wait, Zhura and Ngo were escorted inside.
Before coming to the city of Namu, Zhura had seen few buildings more than one story high. The city teemed with them, and the palatial homes of the Great Houses were most extravagant of all. The San manor boasted porticos with lush gardens and domed towers. Any of the countless outbuildings that surrounded it would have dwarfed Kaj and Amina's compound. Servants hustled everywhere, and even the guards wore brilliant cloaks of black and green.
Barasa San met them at one of the outdoor pools on a terrace lined with potted palms. As he had every time she had met him, the noble wore a golden mask that covered his entire face. Framed by a cowl, robe and cloak, the mask hid any hint of San's age or appearance. The House was ruled by a single family, but Zhura had never had as much as a conversation with any of the other members. She guessed that Barasa was a prince of some sort, not the patriarch. His tone always betrayed both the ambition and condescending pride of immaturity.
"The smuggler Bluejar was beheaded by the Goldshields in Dugong Marsh yesterday," San announced without preamble. "You were to turn him over to us."
"You demanded a demon. Bluejar was not a demon." Zhura pulled the slaver's mask from her sack. "I brought his mask. But he was only a man, nothing more."
The noble waved away the offer. "How did you determine that he was not an infernal?"
"He didn't move like a demon. He didn't look like one. He didn't know anything about demons."
"And you do?"
"I know more than he did," Zhura replied.
San paced along one edge of the pool. Tiny silver and gold fish flitted about under the pads that floated on the surface.
"We trained and equipped you and your companions because we believed you had knowledge of demons and would capture them for us. We underwrote your lodging. We even provided you with information on Bluejar. Yet it has been nearly a year, and you have produced nothing."
"We caught a notorious slaver and rescued eight people the other night," Ngo pointed out. "One of us was hurt."
"Then perhaps the Goldshields will support you," San replied smoothly.
"Every great House and even some lesser ones are studying demons and means of defense against the deadly threat they pose to the Empire," the noble went on. "They compile scholarly writings, fund expeditions, and dissect the creatures to contribute to our accumulated knowledge. House San has... you."
Zhura wondered how much any of the Houses actually knew about the creatures they hunted. "I will search the Hazard. It is more likely that demons near the city are in more populated areas."
"Explore the Hazard as you wish. I have a more immediate solution. Ranthaman told us that you have a stone that summons demons, and that a demon serves you. We have asked you for this stone before. You have refused. We ask no longer."
Zhura eyed the warriors posted around the pool, still as statues, with their spear butts and shield resting on the flagstones. Just like the gold-masked San, they displayed no emotion. There was so much power here. So little humanity.
"I cannot give you the stone."
"Tell me, Zhura. An upstart scholar at House Oko claims that demons can easily be brought within a warded perimeter. Is this true? Can a stone like yours do this?"
"It is possible," Zhura admitted.
"Then," said San, "we must have it."
*
"They're going to take away our home?" Bayati asked, taking food from their pot with her left hand, sparing her bandaged arm.
The five companions sat on a spread of mats near the firepit in the inner yard of Kaj and Amina's compound. Before she'd gone home for the night, the girl Amina hired had prepared a supper of coconut rice, stewed greens and braised fish, and they shared the common pot with jars of palm wine. It was the first proper meal the three of them had shared since returning from the marsh.
Zhura wondered if it would be the last.
"They're forcing us to pay back what we borrowed."
