Threads 175-Emissary 10

No matter how their Alaniar hosts seemed at this first meeting, Ling Qi could not countenance leaving her sister behind. She could feel Hanyi tensing up under her hands, and the young spirit looked like she was going to say something

Ling Qi kept her mouth shut, sealing back her instinctive denial, and tapped her finger on Hanyi’s shoulder. The young spirit paused, looking up to meet her eyes. Ling Qi gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Hanyi had the right to speak, but Ling Qi wanted her to be polite. The whole exchange only took a few seconds. Then Hanyi was looking back up at the towering tree woman.

“I’m sorry,” Hanyi said sweetly, smiling up at the Voice. “But I have too many responsibilities to just leave for that long.”

Ling Qi kept her expression even. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but that line wasn’t it.

“You are unmoored with no place,” the Voice said dubiously.

“Mhm, I don’t have a place of my own, but that’s okay. I like traveling!” Hanyi said. “And I already promised a whole lot of people I would sing for them. If I don’t give them my blessing, who knows what’ll happen when winter comes? I gotta keep my word.”

For a long moment, the Voice and Hanyi remained still, meeting each other’s gaze. Ling Qi felt the cold whispers of qi in the air as the fifth realm examined her for duplicity.

“You are small to carry word between men and gods,” the Voice retorted.

“I am,” Hanyi agreed. “It’s probably not a lot to you, but I don’t wanna disappoint them.”

Branches creaked, and there was a long, tense moment of silence.

“Oaths must be kept,” the Voice finally rumbled. There was a note of dissatisfaction there.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Ling Qi said politely. “Perhaps in the future, there will be such an opportunity. Your people’s hospitality has been exemplary. Thank you very much for judging our case.”

“Your gratitude is noted.” The speck of human emotion she had felt from the Voice was gone now. Only the cold observation of a spirit remained. “Emissary, duty is returned to you. I must return my attention to the Land.”

<Heh, that little stinker can be smooth when she needs to be,> Sixiang chortled. <I think you definitely made the right choice.>

Ling Qi had to acknowledge that. She would not have thought of Hanyi’s performances as a ritual of sorts, but that framing was probably the right way to deal with the Voice. And if the Voice accepted that answer, then it seemed that Hanyi really did think of her performances that way. Ling Qi didn’t give her enough credit.

Ling Qi bowed respectfully as Jaromila made the appropriate genuflections and showed them the way out. The door boomed shut behind them.

“I apologize for that rudeness at the end,” Jaromila said.

Ling Qi gave her a sharp look and glanced back at the door.

“She is not listening,” Jaromila dismissed her unspoken concern.

“I was not offended,” Ling Qi replied, not quite believing her.

Jaromila cocked an eyebrow dubiously. She gestured for Ling Qi to follow her, and she did with Hanyi at her side. “One must be respectful of the gods, great and small, but they are not always respectful back. This is why it is best to avoid involving those on the path of apotheosis in human matters.”

Ling Qi studied her companion as they walked through the halls. “You were the one who said that you needed us to speak with her.”

“It was necessary,” Jaromila said. “Your words… They are disturbing to us. Ice does not make life. At best, new life comes after the slate has been wiped clean. But if it is possible? That is a matter of interest to us.”

“The Voice did not seem to think it was wholly possible.”

“The Voice is on her first step of apotheosis and has enough human left in her to speak deceptively. If she truly believed those words, would she have made that request?” Jaromila asked.

“It had occurred to me,” Ling Qi allowed, “but I did not want to make any accusations.”

“That’s rude,” Hanyi said sourly.

“It was,” Jaromila agreed. “This is why I ask your forgiveness, little singer.” She stopped in front of one of the closed doors that lined the hall. A tap of her fingernail against the blank iron plate that sat where a handle should have been saw the door creak open.

“May I ask where we are going?” Ling Qi asked.

“My rooms. I would like to speak with you, but if you would not care to, then I will simply offer you a drink for your troubles,” Jaromila replied, pausing in the doorway.

It was a little pushy, Ling Qi thought, but she really had no reason to say no. “I would not mind speaking with you, though I hope that you will not imply again that I am a child.”

She still remembered that cut-off statement, and it rankled.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Jaromila looked troubled as she showed them into the room. A bright fire burned in the air behind a grate on one wall, warming the room, and thick rugs covered the iron floor. Ling Qi felt awkward walking on them with her shoes, but Jaromila made no motion to remove her own.

“You are certainly a woman and not a girl. I will not dispute that. I will not lie and say that I am not troubled by your words though. Do all of your people bind themselves to a single way so young?”

“Not all have the talent to reach this level at the age my companions and I have,” Ling Qi replied. She took the offered seat at the small round table in the center of the room. Like most of the furniture in this outpost, it was carved from polished bone, but the thick upholstering made it comfortable regardless. “What of you? I met a young initiate who said she had sacrificed her heart and eyes to reach the third realm. Is that normal?”

“Young Sveta?” Jaromila asked over her shoulder. She was standing in front of an open cupboard which held a great number of covered iron pitchers. “She is precocious, but yes, it is, although normally one does not offer their heart upon ascension.”

“What did you offer?” Ling Qi asked, morbidly curious. Hanyi hopped into a seat beside her, and Jaromila returned with one pitcher and three large clay cups.