Battle Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

through her bones. “They say humans tell them they are white marble from Sishan. They’ve been here for more wet seasons than they can count, if they could count.” She leaned back, letting the curtains shut. “They’re going back to sleep.” She sighed, feeling better. Carefully she smoothed one of her sleeves, then confessed in a tiny voice, “I wouldn’t fuss so, only I’m scared.”
    “I had noticed,” Rosethorn said quietly. “We are guests, Evvy. The emperor made promises to the God-King and First Dedicate Dokyi that we would be safe. We have to trust that he’s telling the truth. We have heard how much pride he takes in his gardens. From his letter to me, he believes I am a gardener of great renown. He wants to show off. Perhaps he would even like me to do a little work with some plants of his.”
    Evvy bit her lip. Until she was four, her parents had taught her that the emperor could do anything he wished. When she lived in her burrow in the rock in Chammur, the old Yanjingyi woman Qinling had told her stories of home. In them, the emperor had figured as being one step below the gods. Evvy had survived on her own for years by avoiding powerful people. This trip to the imperial court went against every survival instinct she possessed.
    Their palanquin bearers slowed to a stop, but when Evvy tried to get out, a frowning eunuch appeared in the opening of her curtain. He shook a finger at her and closed the curtain with a yank.
    “We’re hot !” Evvy snapped in Chammuri, vexed.
    Rosethorn slapped her arm lightly. “Manners,” she warned. “We aren’t in Gyongxe.”
    “I can’t breathe ,” Evvy whined. She felt cramped and suffocated in this cushion-stuffed silk box.
    Suddenly someone thrust a tray with two bowl-like cups through the curtains. Rosethorn frowned, then chose a bowl. Evvy took the other. It was chilly on the outside. There was no spoon, so the contents must be drinkable. She took the tiniest of sips. The taste was as refreshing as cold water, but with a slight, unfamiliar, fruit-like taste that cleared her head. She drank eagerly.
    “Very nice,” Rosethorn said appreciatively when they had returned their bowls to the tray and the patient arm. Both tray and arm pulled away. “It’s coconut water — I showed you coconuts in the market last week. You see, Evvy, there are benefits to this.”
    Evvy stared at her. “Yanjing has hungry ghosts that eat the insides of people and take their skins. Is that what happened to you? Is that why you’re all calm?” Then she noticed the beautifully carved supports around them. Rosethorn had run a hand over the wood once they were inside, telling her what it was called, though Evvy hadn’t listened. She was attentive now. The frame over Rosethorn’s shoulder had sprouted a couple of leafy twigs. Shame twisted inside Evvy’s belly. While she had fussed, Rosethorn had been so tense that the wood of the palanquin had grown saplings to console her, despite its layers of polish.
    Evvy smiled at Rosethorn. “The drink was very nice,” she said agreeably.
    Rosethorn raised her brows. “That was too polite. What is the matter with you? Are you unwell?”
    “I just don’t mean to be a burden to you,” Evvy explained as the palanquin surged into motion once more.
    Immediately Rosethorn set the inside of her wrist against Evvy’s forehead. “No, you’re not running a fever,” she said. “Where did you get this ‘burden’ notion?”
    The palanquin moved into the shade and halted again. This time eunuchs on both sides opened the curtains. They offered silk-clad arms so the emperor’s guests could climb out of their luxurious box.
    Once they were on their feet, imperial waiting-women rushed forward to straighten Evvy’s layers and even Rosethorn’s habit. They backed away when Rosethorn glared at them — or had they seen the tiny saplings that also sprouted on the outside of the palanquin’s box? Evvy wasn’t sure. She held still,