The simplest solution was to drop out of the contest; give up all claim
to Clearwater. But even this had its dangers. If she ceased to visit
his hut, eyebrows would be raised, tongues would start to wag. And if,
as he suspected, she and the cloud warrior had laid between the fox and
the wolf, it would not remain secret from her clan sisters for long.
Women had a way of knowing these things. They were also unable to keep
a secret. Once the news spread it would not be long before both of
them were called to account before the clan elders.
No. Regardless of his feelings, the most sensible course of action was
to take her with him to BethLem.
By so doing the truth could be concealed from the clan until their
return - perhaps for ever. Given time, a reconciliation was not
impossible. His pride had been hurt but he was not too proud to admit
that her presence on such a perilous journey would still be welcome.
What had happened was the will of Talisman. So be it...
But understanding had not dulled the pain. Even now, almost nine
months later, when his mind and his days were happily filled with the
myriad problems that arose from his new responsibilities, the invisible
wound would occasionally open, spoiling his newfound contentment.
Fortunately, the Iron Masters had a potent cure for this type of
affliction - a fiery liquid called 'sake' that gave him a new, reckless
courage, gave his tongue a new edge, and awakened desires that his
body-slaves eagerly satisfied. And when all passion was spent, and the
bittersweet pain had been numbed...
Oblivion.
1!
CHAPTER ONE
The summer palace of Yoritomo Toh-Yota was situated at Yedo, on
Aron-giren, a huge tract of land that he had christened his 'floating
domain'. Yedo was a place-name plucked from the distant past of his
own race; Aron-giren was the name given by the people of a long-dead
nation which had once inhabited the land on which his palace stood - a
fish-shaped island with a ragged forked tail reaching out into the
Eastern Sea. A hand-painted silk map on the wall of his book-lined
study showed its great shark head lying close to the mainland, with
several smaller islands trapped like tiny minnows in its gaping jaw.
Long slender reefs of sand hugged the line of its belly like pilot fish
hoping for scraps from the feast.
