[concluding chapter 2]
The laughter was coming from the Jade Maiden's crew, or at least those members of it who had been able to fit into the cabin. Chin Gwai wasn't one of them, and Wen wondered about that. Surely he'd want to see what the soldiers and this young woman had been so determined to protect.
That was an interesting point. What if it had been the young woman the soldiers were protecting? "Why," he asked One-Eyed Lum, "is this fascinating young woman so important?"
"Who knows?" Lum scratched himself. "All I care about is the rice, really. Unless we can ransom her. Though I can't imagine any father or husband wanting her back. Can you imagine her doing to you what she did to poor Chen?"
"What about him, by the way? Is he dead?"
"No, just very embarrassed. He's drying out on the Maiden. I wouldn't want to be him, though: he's going to be hearing jokes about this for years."
"She must be a member of an important family," Wen said. "As far as I can tell she was the only one in this cabin when we boarded this ship. Where's Chin?"
"General Chin is dealing with the prisoners," one of the rebels said. "Probably intends to deal with her the same way."
Wen got to his feet. "What do you mean?"
"What do you think?" Wen walked to the door, unhappy with the knowledge that, much as he might pretend, he knew what the man had meant. And it was as bad as he'd thought. All but one of the soldiers lay on the deck, naked and extremely dead. The captured ship's crew huddled around the mainmast, evidently deeply unhappy.
"You are being given a glorious opportunity!" Chin said to them. The blade of his huge dadao sword, Wen noted, was crimson and dripping. "You can join the Green Turban Movement and help to destroy the corrupt regime that sentenced those men to death, or you can join those who stand in the way of the Green Turbans! In death!"
"Did you make them the same offer?" Wen asked, pointing to the dead soldiers.
"Of course not! They would never be trustworthy Green Turbans. Their deaths are a message I will drive into the throat of the unjust usurper Zhu Yizan. Let him fear the honest wrath of the people!"
I have to get out of here, Wen thought. Quickly, before this madman kills me or drives me to kill myself.
First, though, I think I've earned a reward. "There's a hostage in there," he said, nodding toward the cabin. "She obviously is the daughter or wife of somebody important. Should be worth a couple of taels of silver at the least."
"I'm not interested in silver," Chin said. "I'm more interested in the message her death will send to all who support the tyrant Zhu."
"You can't be serious," Wen said. "Everyone needs money. With the ransom you'd get for this woman you could put armor on every member of your crew, and buy enough explosives to sink a hundred ships."
"Everything we need to overthrow the government we will be given by the people in whose name we fight," Chin said. "It has been foretold by Liang Sheng through the oracle bones." He glared at Wen. "I am beginning to find your attitude disturbing, Wen Xia."
"Oh, nothing disturbing intended," Wen said, backing toward the cabin. "You just carry on, and I'll go see to—to whatever needs seeing to." He ducked inside the cabin and closed the door.
"He's mad, isn't he?" Wen said to One-Eyed Lum.
"Utterly." Somehow Lum had contrived to switch his eye-patch from one eye to the other in mid-battle. "But that's what it takes to remove a bad dynasty, some times. And you have to admit, we have a very bad government just now."
"I agree," Wen said. "They tried to execute me, after all. But do you really think Chin Gwai is going to be any different, once he's torn out the throat of Prince Zhu with his teeth and declared himself emperor?"
"Maybe he will, maybe he won't," Lum said. "But there's one significant difference."
"And that is?"
"Chin knows who we are, and will treat us with as much respect as we show him. Prince Zhu doesn't know us from dung, and doesn't care."
As much respect as we show him, Wen thought. I am in a great deal of trouble here.
And about to be in more, he added. Walking to the woman—little more than a girl, he now saw—he picked her up. She struggled, and the gag in her mouth did not prevent Wen from realizing that she was using words no well brought-up young woman should know, much less speak. At the largest of the stern-facing cabin windows he leaned close to her ear and said, "This is to save your life, whether you believe me or not." He untied the knot that held together the ropes binding her. "I hope you can swim," he said, "if you can't fly."
Then he pulled the gag from her mouth and dropped her out the window, holding onto one end of the rope so that it unrolled as she fell, spinning her like a child's toy.
Next Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2
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