Chapter 52. Scheming

riel strode quietly along the garden path in the direction indicated by the servant.  It was just after dawn and she was mildly annoyed that Zhou had decided upon this time to grant her an audience.  She had wanted to talk to him two days ago but he had spent one of those in bed and the other busily marshalling resources to fix the compound.  It did not help matters that there was a small amount of enmity between them.  Uriel could not quite forgive him for sending Morisedd needlessly into danger while she had been a captive of Red Lotus Clan.  It was impossible to forget the pain of nearly losing her beloved.

Zhou was at the farthest end of the compound near a high wall of closely fitted stone that warded them from the rest of the city.  She had only walked through this part of the compound a few times before, noting the garden shed, the large pile of compost, and a dove cote.  The mesmer was clad in his dour black and gray robes, unusual for his peacock kindred.  Currently a dove was pecking seeds from his open palm while he extricated a small leather capsule from its leg.

“Good morning,” he said to her, setting the bird aside and scattering the seed on the ground.  A small flock of doves immediately swooped down and began pecking eagerly.  He unrolled the long piece of translucent paper that had been jammed inside the little pouch.  She murmured the greeting back to him and inhaled, steeling herself to give him a piece of her mind.

“I have good news for you,” Zhou said to her awkward silence, “Morisedd will be arriving on the evening tide.  His ship is the Wind Maiden.  So what was it you wished to discuss?”

“I… Morisedd?  But he wouldn’t come here…”

“His sister is in need of him and I assumed he would want to say farewell to Nandao.  As well, I thought you would also be eager to see him again.”

Uriel flushed a deep shade of crimson.

“What are you playing at, Zhou?  You’re always scheming and you don’t particularly care who gets hurt.”

“I do care,” he replied coldly.

“Yet you freely admit to scheming!”

“I am the leader of a powerful guild.  It is part of my job.  You do not think the Emperor invited us within the confines of his palace merely to throw an elaborate celebration?  How is it that a guild like Red Lotus Clan could operate openly in this city despite numberless complaints?  These are dangerous times, Mrs. Ninnocha.  You would do well to remember that.”

“Why do you fear? You do good works.”

“My guild is beloved of the people of this city, we keep order and protect the weak. Some of the mightiest heroes of Cantha serve in our ranks.  You do not think this might be perceived as a threat?  And with Red Lotus Clan no longer keeping us in check, what is to stop us from growing greater still?  These thoughts prey upon those who rule this corrupted city.”

“People are just pieces in some big game to you, aren’t they?”

“I do not play games, Mrs. Ninnocha.  I own that I scheme, but I value every life that falls under my care.”

“You had better not be thinking about sending Morisedd on some insane mission to save Pendaran.”

 “Pendaran is beyond our help,” he said bitterly, “That is the other reason I asked Morisedd to come.  I want him to escort Teleri and Mabane back to Tyria.”

Uriel’s jaw dropped, aghast.

“What are you playing at?  Just like that, you’re abandoning Pendaran?”

Zhou glared at her, his narrow brows pinched with rage and possibly pain.

“He made his decision.  I abide by it.”

“He agreed to serve you even though you’d sell him out?”

Zhou’s golden flesh flushed with anger or perhaps shame.  Uriel sensed she might be going too far, but she cared not.  It needed to be said and she was tired of everyone tiptoeing round the Great Master Bei.  She was singularly unimpressed with him.

“He sacrificed himself to save us,” Zhou said coldly, “If he had not allowed the demon to take him away that night, you, and everyone in my study, might very well be dead now.  Never forget that.”

Uriel bit her lip, aware of the grief clenched in Zhou’s throat.

“I’m sorry.”

Zhou folded his hands behind his back and walked away without a word.

“Look, I’ll help you find him.”

“I do not know where he is, Mrs. Ninnocha.  I had to set aside our bond and I fear to restore it. The demon wanted me, not Pendaran.  You are right to be angry.  The moment I made Pendaran my Adept I should have taken greater measures to protect him.  I waited too long and he has paid for my folly.”

“Master Tasos told me once that the first student always gets it in the teeth.”

Zhou raised a brow at her, stopping in his tracks.

“I never wanted a student,” he said, “I knew it would be too dangerous for whomever I chose.”

“But you can’t do your kind of work alone and Shikai appears to be gone.  So maybe Pendaran was a good accident in your life.”

“Perhaps.  He had potential.”

“He wasn’t a charlatan after all?” Uriel said.

“No, he was not.  He simply lacked belief in his abilities.  In time, our work would have restored him and he might have become my equal.”

“We’ll find him.  He has a talent for springing back from the worst situations.”

“I pray that you are right.”