the Grandmothers gaining such knowl-edge was enough to make Lunae grow cold, for she knew, without understanding precisely how, that the Grand-mothers would punish the kappa and not herself. And she did not want to see the kappa punished.
She sighed. Sometimes it was as though the old kappa was the child, to be protected and sheltered, and she the nursemaid. If she told anyone of her feelings about the Grandmothers, it would have to be Dreams-of-War, and her Martian guardian had a frustrating habit of appearing to ignore such pieces of information, only to store them up and deploy them when one was least expecting it. Lunae would simply have to keep her feelings to herself.
It was a long way from the inner chamber to the Grandmothers' room, and the kappa was unable to move quickly. Lunae, as always, wondered whether the kappa had originally been intended to perform household tasks, or whether she had been bred for another purpose entirely.
Lunae and the kappa walked along dim corridors, passing the familiar demon-swarming tapestries that the Grandmothers had brought from the volcano lands. They depicted figures of legend: the moon-spirits of the lunar craters; the great Dragon-Kings who, it was said, had risen from the depths of the oceans when the Drowning first be-gan, to help humans hold back the surging tide.
"Nurse, where do you come from?" Lunae asked.
It had never occurred to her to ask this before and she felt faintly embarrassed by it, as though the kappa was too much a part of the furniture even to have such an ordinary thing as an origin. But the kappa only smiled and said, "I come from the north, just like those tapestries. From the Fire Islands, the lands of the change-tigers."
"Where are the Fire Islands, exactly?" Lunae won-dered aloud, but even as she spoke, her buried memories were bringing forth an image of a scattered chain beyond the water-ringed summits of Fuji and Hakodate, beyond Sakhalin. Then memory supplied her with a name: Ischa . This was the word that Lunae next spoke.
"Yes," the kappa replied. "I am from the clan-warren of Hailstone Shore, near Ischa, the southernmost town of the Kamchatka chain." Her head swiveled around. "It is the only land left in that region of the world. All else has gone, under flood and fire."
"Why did you come to Fragrant Harbor?" Lunae asked.
"I was sent here. I had no choice."
"Do you miss your home?"
"If I did," the kappa said, still smiling, "would you ask the Grandmothers to send me back?"
"I could try," Lunae ventured, but she already knew what the answer would be. To the Grandmothers, as to Dreams-of-War, the kappa was no more than a useful thing. They would no more consider her desires than they would consider the wishes of a household kettle. The kappa said nothing more, but Lunae knew that she under-stood.
The shadowy corridors, each lit only by a single lamp, were comforting and familiar. When they reached the pas-sage leading to the Grandmothers' room, however, Lunae's heart began to beat faster, lumping along beneath her ribs.
The kappa paused outside the Grandmothers' door.
"Wait," she said, then pressed her wrinkled palm against the lock-release and hobbled inside. Lunae fidgeted in the hallway, impatience mingling with reluctance. She wanted the meeting to be over, to leave Cloud Terrace far behind.
The kappa reappeared at the doorway and surveyed Lunae with a nervous, rheumy squint. "They say you are to come in."
CHAPTER 6
Mars
Yskatarina stood upon legs of iron and glass, artificial feet planted firmly on the old stone floor. Her hands rested on each side of a window, from which she gazed out across the Crater Plain. Used as she was to the dim vaults of Nightshade, the brightness of Mars hurt her eyes. She reached up and touched the setting of her eyeshade, turn-ing it to maximum. The light made her feel bleached and weak; for a moment, she hated the need that had brought her to Mars. Then guilt kicked in once more. Elaki had
She sighed. Sometimes it was as though the old kappa was the child, to be protected and sheltered, and she the nursemaid. If she told anyone of her feelings about the Grandmothers, it would have to be Dreams-of-War, and her Martian guardian had a frustrating habit of appearing to ignore such pieces of information, only to store them up and deploy them when one was least expecting it. Lunae would simply have to keep her feelings to herself.
It was a long way from the inner chamber to the Grandmothers' room, and the kappa was unable to move quickly. Lunae, as always, wondered whether the kappa had originally been intended to perform household tasks, or whether she had been bred for another purpose entirely.
Lunae and the kappa walked along dim corridors, passing the familiar demon-swarming tapestries that the Grandmothers had brought from the volcano lands. They depicted figures of legend: the moon-spirits of the lunar craters; the great Dragon-Kings who, it was said, had risen from the depths of the oceans when the Drowning first be-gan, to help humans hold back the surging tide.
"Nurse, where do you come from?" Lunae asked.
It had never occurred to her to ask this before and she felt faintly embarrassed by it, as though the kappa was too much a part of the furniture even to have such an ordinary thing as an origin. But the kappa only smiled and said, "I come from the north, just like those tapestries. From the Fire Islands, the lands of the change-tigers."
"Where are the Fire Islands, exactly?" Lunae won-dered aloud, but even as she spoke, her buried memories were bringing forth an image of a scattered chain beyond the water-ringed summits of Fuji and Hakodate, beyond Sakhalin. Then memory supplied her with a name: Ischa . This was the word that Lunae next spoke.
"Yes," the kappa replied. "I am from the clan-warren of Hailstone Shore, near Ischa, the southernmost town of the Kamchatka chain." Her head swiveled around. "It is the only land left in that region of the world. All else has gone, under flood and fire."
"Why did you come to Fragrant Harbor?" Lunae asked.
"I was sent here. I had no choice."
"Do you miss your home?"
"If I did," the kappa said, still smiling, "would you ask the Grandmothers to send me back?"
"I could try," Lunae ventured, but she already knew what the answer would be. To the Grandmothers, as to Dreams-of-War, the kappa was no more than a useful thing. They would no more consider her desires than they would consider the wishes of a household kettle. The kappa said nothing more, but Lunae knew that she under-stood.
The shadowy corridors, each lit only by a single lamp, were comforting and familiar. When they reached the pas-sage leading to the Grandmothers' room, however, Lunae's heart began to beat faster, lumping along beneath her ribs.
The kappa paused outside the Grandmothers' door.
"Wait," she said, then pressed her wrinkled palm against the lock-release and hobbled inside. Lunae fidgeted in the hallway, impatience mingling with reluctance. She wanted the meeting to be over, to leave Cloud Terrace far behind.
The kappa reappeared at the doorway and surveyed Lunae with a nervous, rheumy squint. "They say you are to come in."
CHAPTER 6
Mars
Yskatarina stood upon legs of iron and glass, artificial feet planted firmly on the old stone floor. Her hands rested on each side of a window, from which she gazed out across the Crater Plain. Used as she was to the dim vaults of Nightshade, the brightness of Mars hurt her eyes. She reached up and touched the setting of her eyeshade, turn-ing it to maximum. The light made her feel bleached and weak; for a moment, she hated the need that had brought her to Mars. Then guilt kicked in once more. Elaki had
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