She saw the cords of Dudo’s neck stand out as he screamed.
“This jade is from No Peak’s own vaults,” Shae heard the short barukan leader say thoughtfully as if from a great distance. “Isn’t that poetic?”
CHAPTER
47
What Must Be Done
Hilo sat on the edge of the bed, watching the blankets rise and fall gently in time with Wen’s breath. After the tearful relief of coming home, there had been utter exhaustion; she’d finally fallen into a deep slumber. He touched the back of his hand to her cheek, reassuring himself that she was truly there, that he was not in a hopeful dream from which he would awaken to the nightmare of her still being lost and in danger. Slowly, he bent and pressed his lips to her brow, careful not to wake her.
He rose, dressed quietly, and went downstairs. Anden was sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, his shoes already on, waiting. “Let’s go,” Hilo said.
Anden drove the Pillar’s new Duchesse Imperia south on Lo Low Street. The sun was not up yet and the streets of Janloon were shambling through the shift change between the city’s nighttime denizens and its earliest risers—drunks, prostitutes, and graveyard shift workers stumbling home while street hawkers, newsstand owners, and shopkeepers opened up for business.
Hilo broke the silence. “This reminds me of that time you drove us to the Twice Lucky on New Year’s Day.”
Anden said, “That was a long time ago.”
“A long time ago,” Hilo agreed. “You’re a much better driver now.” When Anden glanced over at him with a furrowed brow, Hilo broke into his famous lopsided grin.
“I’m glad you’re not counting on me to kill anyone today,” Anden said. On the other side of the Lo Low Street tunnel, he took the interchange onto Patriot Street and turned into High Ground, navigating the large bulk of the Duchesse up hilly residential roads. The corners of Anden’s mouth lifted a little. “I didn’t think we’d ever joke about that day.”
“Let’s hope we’ll feel the same way about today in another twenty years.” Hilo draped an arm out the open window and gazed at the sunrise crawling over the manicured trees. “Gods. We were young men back then, Andy,” he said, losing the lightness in his voice. “That day, I was ready to die at the hands of Gont Asch if I had to. Now . . . I could still do it, but I think it would be harder. You’d think it would be easier to face death as you get older, but it doesn’t work that way. You get more attached to life, to people you love and things that are worth living for.”
Hilo saw his cousin eyeing him with concern, and he said, “Don’t look so worried, Andy. As much as I didn’t want to hear it, you were right, what you said last night. We lose no matter what, so this is the only way. You know what to do if you have to.”
Anden said, “I know, Hilo-jen.”
“When something has to be done, there’s always a way to do it,” Hilo said quietly. They pulled up outside of the enormous iron gates of the Ayt mansion. The security cameras mounted along the approaching road had already alerted the guards to their arrival. Four Mountain Green Bones armed with moon blades and handguns met the Duchesse in front of the gates. Anden stopped the car and shut off the engine, then lifted his hands off the steering wheel, holding them open for the guards to see.
Hilo opened the door and stepped out. His Perception buzzed with the hostile alertness of the four Green Bones in front of him and two others inside the gate that he couldn’t see. He raised his voice to the guards. “I’m here to see your Pillar.”
_______
One morning when he was twenty-two years old, Hilo met his older brother, Lan, for breakfast at the Twice Lucky restaurant. It was the first time he’d ever eaten there, and he was pleasantly surprised that although it was an older place, loud and a bit stuffy, the food was much better than anything else in the Docks. Lan, however, did not appear to be paying attention to either the meal or their conversation. He seemed troubled and didn’t smile at anything Hilo said.
In Hilo’s opinion, there was little for Lan to be unhappy about. His brother wore plenty of jade, was recently married, and their grandfather was giving him an increasing amount of responsibility over the day-to-day running of the clan. At last, Hilo threw his napkin down. “What’s wrong with you, anyway? You have this look on your face like you’ve been constipated for days.”
Lan’s expression twitched with surprise, then annoyance. “I have things on my mind, Hilo,” he replied. “I don’t happen to share every single issue that’s bothering me.”