“Get you gone,” the spitting man said. “I’ll have no truck with foreign whores . . .”
Ellese blurred into a pirouette, her stave lashing out to strike the spitter across the face. He staggered back, blood streaming from his nose, then fell hard onto his back as Ellese spun again, the stave sweeping his legs away. She retreated as he let out a roar, shoving away the hands of his fellow soldiers as he scrambled to his feet, his sword coming free of its scabbard. He lowered himself into a crouch, advancing towards Ellese with deadly intent writ large on his bloodied face.
“Corporal Wei.”
The scout came to an abrupt halt at the sound of Sho Tsai’s voice. The commander stood with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on Vaelin rather than the now-stalled confrontation.
“Dai Shin!” the corporal said, coming swiftly to attention, a reaction mirrored by the other scouts.
“Do not embarrass yourself or this company further.” Sho Tsai’s gaze remained fixed on Vaelin as he spoke. He sees this as a calculated insult, Vaelin concluded. Perhaps he’s right. The commander hadn’t spoken a single word to him since leaving Muzan-Khi, ignoring questions and leaving all contact with the foreigners in the hands of his son. Consequently, Vaelin remained unenlightened regarding the man’s knowledge of Sherin, something Tsai Lin proved equally unwilling to discuss.
Corporal Wei quickly returned his sword to its scabbard before turning to bow to his commander, another gesture copied by his comrades. “Apologies, Dai Shin! No excuse, Dai Shin!”
Sho Tsai’s gaze lingered on Vaelin a fraction longer, then flicked to the corporal. “You will sleep in the open for the next three days. Consider yourself fortunate I don’t demote you.”
The corporal’s bow deepened. “Yes, Dai Shin.”
Sho Tsai ignored him and switched his gaze to Tsai Lin. “Dai Lo, if these barbarians insist on cavorting so, find somewhere beyond civilised eyes for them to do it.”
Tsai Lin’s bow was even deeper than the corporal’s. “I will, Dai Shin.”
The commander turned and walked back to his tent without another word. A shamefaced Corporal Wei quickly strode off, head lowered and apparently deaf to the supportive murmurs and backslaps of his comrades. “They won’t have the Merchant King’s favour forever, brother,” Vaelin heard one of them mutter.
“If you would, lord.” Tsai Lin bobbed his head at Vaelin, the shame on his face matching that of the corporal’s. “I believe there is a field beyond that hill . . .”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Vaelin said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I think we’re done for the night.” He nodded at the bloodied stave in Ellese’s hand. “Clean that. It’ll be practice for when I find you a real one.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The High Temple stood atop the summit of a mountain rising from the northern extremity of a shallow river valley. It remained shrouded in cloud as they approached, the covering apparently immune to the heat of the noonday sun.
“Can’t remember it looking any other way,” Erlin said, peering up at the misty flanks of the peak. “The temple can only be seen once you get above the clouds.” His expression was mainly one of fond nostalgia but also tinged with a frown of trepidation. “I must say my legs don’t relish the climb.”
“Is there any point coming here?” Nortah enquired. “She’s gone after all.”
“To catch prey you have to find its trail,” Vaelin replied. “And this is where it starts.”
Sho Tsai ordered the company to halt at the base of the mountain where they were greeted by an old man in the red and black robe of a Monk of Heaven. He had emerged from a small but richly decorated house situated alongside a small arched gateway of ancient stone. Beyond the gateway an equally aged and weathered stairway, no doubt carved from the flesh of the mountain countless years ago, traced its way into the misted sky. The old man bowed a shaven head at the captain, the small bells that adorned his staff tinkling as he raised it in what Vaelin took to be some form of blessing.
“The Keeper of the Gate bids you welcome, Brother of the Spear,” the monk intoned in prolonged, sonorous tones.
Vaelin saw Sho Tsai stiffen at the unfamiliar title, his response clipped and cautious. “You were not here when last I came, yet you know me.”
“All who study at the temples are known to the Servants of Heaven. The Temple of Spears keeps us enlightened as to the progress of its students. How gratifying