bad idea!” she said softly, shining eyes fixed on Ah Yee.
Ah Yee screamed, yanking back his arm, but Guet Imm wouldn’t let him go. He shoved his other hand into his robe. When it emerged, it held a blade.
The men were all on their feet.
“Come, brother, enough already,” said Ah Wing, hovering apprehensively behind Ah Yee. “There’s no need for all this!”
“Sister, get back!” shouted Ah Hin.
“I am going to chop off everybody’s dicks!” snarled Fung Cheung.
Guet Imm did not seem to notice the noise. When Ah Yee lunged at her, he found she was no longer there. She pinned his arm behind his back and slipped the knife out of his hand.
“Argh!” said Ah Yee. He twisted around, his face purple. “Go and die, you fucking whore, and your precious deity too!”
Guet Imm elbowed him forcefully in the side. As he gasped, she hit the back of his neck, downing him. Once he was on the ground, she kicked him in the stomach for good measure.
“Sister, that’s enough,” said Tet Sang. To immobilise Ah Yee was one thing, but that last kick had been pure spite.
But Guet Imm wasn’t listening, to him or the others, who were each loudly articulating his opinion on what she should do or stop doing. She dropped to her knees, seized Ah Yee by the forelock and pulled back his head. Firelight gleamed off metal as she raised the blade she had taken from him.
It was not the time to remind Guet Imm of the Pure Moon’s decrees against unnecessary violence. Tet Sang grabbed Guet Imm’s arm, squeezing mercilessly. When she loosened her grip in surprise, he snatched the knife out of her hand.
“I said, that’s enough,” he said.
“Quiet, all of you,” he added over his shoulder to everyone else. “They could hear you from Kempas! You want the mata to come and catch us?”
Guet Imm was still clutching Ah Yee’s hair as though she was considering simply breaking his neck now that Tet Sang had deprived her of the knife. He had no doubt she could do it.
“He insulted the deity!” she said.
“So what?” said Tet Sang. “She’s a goddess. What does Ah Yee’s insult matter to her? If she wants to punish him, let her punish. For humans, she set limits. You are about to go over.”
Everything Tet Sang said was unarguable according to the doctrines of the Order. Still, Guet Imm wavered. “None of the deity’s rules are set in stone. You’re allowed to exercise discretion.”
Tet Sang gave this sophistry the attention it deserved. “You’ve done enough, sister. Let Ah Yee go.”
After a moment, Guet Imm released Ah Yee’s head, letting it drop to the ground. A groan confirmed that Ah Yee was conscious, but—with the most sense he’d shown that evening—he stayed still while Guet Imm stormed off.
Ah Hin made an aborted movement, as though he was thinking of following her, but Tet Sang caught Fung Cheung’s eyes and shook his head.
“Never mind her,” said Fung Cheung. “Someone help Ah Yee. Ah Boon, go and have a look at him.”
“He said I fucked cows,” protested Ah Boon.
But Fung Cheung had exhausted his fund of patience for the day.
“Who hasn’t said you fuck cows?” he snapped. “We’ve all said it. You want to be sensitive, you can go find another group. You all are too much. Any more and I’ll report us to the mata myself. At least then I might get some peace!”
Ah Wing helped Ah Yee to sit up. Ah Boon went to tend to him, grumbling under his breath. The others started tidying up—a fair amount of rice porridge had got distributed across the camp in the course of the quarrel.
Fung Cheung turned to Tet Sang.
“What the hell was that?” said Fung Cheung.
* * *
Guet Imm was sitting cross-legged in the shelter Ah Hin had built for her, her hands folded. The uninitiated might have thought she was meditating.
“You’re sulking,” said Tet Sang.
“Where got?” said Guet Imm sulkily.
Conscious that this was less than convincing, she retreated into aloof silence. Her bad mood was palpable—Tet Sang could almost see the black cloud above her head.
Tet Sang stood for a while, considering his course of action, then sat down on a convenient bundle. He allowed himself to grimace while he did it, though there was merely a slight twinge from his wound.
Guet Imm glared at him.
“The relics are in there,” she said.
Tet Sang looked down at the mud-stained bundle. It was something of a comedown for the sarira from having