Jeannie Lin - Butterfly Swords

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JOURNEY TO THE VERY EDGE OF HONOUR, LOYALTY…AND LOVEDuring China’s infamous Tang Dynasty – a time awash with luxury, yet littered with deadly intrigues and fallen royalty – betrayed Princess Ai Li flees before her wedding. Miles from home, with only her delicate butterfly swords for a defence, she enlists the reluctant protection of a blue-eyed warrior…Embittered barbarian Ryam has always held his own life at cheap value. Ai Li’s innocent trust in him and honourable, stubborn nature make him desperate to protect her – which means not seducing the first woman he has ever truly wanted…‘If Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon merged with A Knight’s Tale, you’d have the power and romance of Lin’s dynamic debut.’ – RT BOOK Reviews

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He didn’t answer immediately. ‘I suppose I am.’ He cast a sideways glance at her. ‘Your people do love their legends.’

His smile made her pulse skip. He was different and mysterious, and curiosity made her bold. Bold enough to kiss a man she barely knew. She was suddenly out of breath. Her mind kept falling like water down the mountainside back to that moment.

‘They say those swordsmen marched on Changan during the palace rebellion. Were you with them?’ she continued.

This time his hesitation was obvious. ‘Maybe the less we know about each other’s stories, the better.’

‘What do you mean?’

He halted to turn to her. ‘The rest of the empire is not as tolerant as you towards unwashed barbarians.’

She stared at the coppered spots where the sun had darkened his cheeks and the rugged growth of his beard. It was a face unlike any she’d ever known.

‘I don’t think of you as an unwashed barbarian,’ she said softly.

He started to speak, but stopped. The intensity of his gaze made her shift uncomfortably. ‘We need to get you to Changan as fast as possible,’ he said. ‘And then I need to disappear.’

As if to make a point, he forged ahead in long strides that left no room for conversation. She couldn’t deny what he was saying. The empire had become fearful and suspicious. No one trusted anyone in the capital, let alone outsiders. She hated living with that dark cloud always over her.

At the end of the passage, Li Tao’s proclamation had been pasted on the wall. She tore down one paper. Ryam stared over her shoulder at the black brushstrokes.

‘What does all that say?’

So he couldn’t read the characters. That was fortunate. She didn’t know how he would react if he discovered who she truly was.

‘Li Tao is offering a reward of a hundred taels of silver for my return.’

He whistled. ‘The man must be as rich as the Emperor.’

With a scowl, she crumpled the paper into a tight ball and tossed it aside.

Ryam wove a path through the alleys with Ailey close behind. He had never been this deep within the borders before, but the change was noticeable even to a foreigner. The regional armies were wary. Soldiers were authorised to confiscate weapons and imprison anyone they thought was a threat.

They would need to stay off the main roads from here all the way to the capital. He had travelled for the last month in hiding, sleeping beneath bridges and seeking refuge in remote monasteries when they would let him. But he was responsible for Ailey’s safety now as well. Having a woman with him made things more difficult.

He ducked through a broken section of the wall.

‘How do you know where we are going?’ she asked.

‘These towns are all the same once you’ve been to enough of them.’

Vice lurked in the forgotten corners of any city of this size. Hideouts for smugglers, thieves, and citizens who wanted to escape into anonymity for the evening. He knew he had found their destination the moment they emerged in front of a dingy building tucked into a dead end. Red lanterns swayed from the eaves.

Ailey stopped short. ‘Is this a brothel?’

‘No. Let me see your money.’

She kept her eyes on the shadowed figure perched just inside the doorway as she handed the purse to him. He picked out several coins and then untied his cloak.

‘Put this on and stay close,’ he instructed.

The flash of silver was enough to get them past the guard. Once inside, the entrance hall glowed with the gritty light of oil lamps and pipe smoke. Ryam pushed through the beaded curtain and the strands clinked and slid around them. The shuttered windows of the main room cast it into perpetual night-time. Copper coins changed hands from one huddled figure to another at the tables.

Ailey pulled his cloak tight around her and inched closer to him. Ivory and wooden dice clinked into porcelain bowls and the low hum of conversation did not rise the slightest at their arrival. The gamblers looked up with casual disinterest as Ryam and Ailey passed by. After a brief glance, the betting resumed. A man could be tattooed as a criminal and still show his face in a den like this.

An ancient-looking man with a white beard that tapered to a point sat in the far corner, surrounded by cronies. One of them blocked Ryam’s path when he came forwards. The den master continued to sip his tea, staring at the bottom of the cup as if contemplating something profound.

‘A room,’ Ryam said, handing over the two coins.

The den master glanced once at the silver and pointed a bony finger to the stairs. With a nod of thanks, Ryam ushered Ailey across the floor and up the steps. He pushed the first door open just as a man stumbled past with a woman in a flowery robe on his arm. Her cloyingly sweet perfume wafted into the narrow space of the hallway before the couple disappeared into the adjacent room. Ryam tugged Ailey into their chamber and, within minutes, faint moans and an unmistakable pounding came from the other side of the wall.

Ailey threw back her hood and planted her hands onto her hips. ‘Are you certain it’s safe here?’

‘Yes.’ He shut the door and dragged a chair to block it. ‘A place like this doesn’t care about silver if it means contact with authorities.’

Ailey stared at the bare walls in dismay. She wrapped her arms around herself, sticking them close to her sides as if not wanting to touch anything. ‘I’ll trust your judgement.’

‘You take the bed,’ he said. ‘I’ll take the floor.’

The bed was made of wooden slats covered with a thin, padded mattress. She made a face at the ash-coloured quilt lying rumpled upon it. The thread was worn bare in spots and marked with dark stains.

‘I think I would rather take the floor.’

Chapter Four

Ailey watched from the alley as two of Li Tao’s soldiers strode into the stable the next morning. She berated herself for not dropping an extra silver coin to convince the stableman to keep quiet. But what did she know about bribery and double-dealings?

‘Time to think of another plan,’ Ryam muttered from behind her.

She reached down to pull the butterfly swords free. The weight of the steel emboldened her as she headed in the opposite direction. ‘We’ll leave on foot before Li Tao’s men can assemble.’

Ryam caught up to her. ‘Put those away. Having your weapon drawn only invites trouble.’

She hesitated, but did as he said. He had experience surviving among strangers. That held more weight than all her hours in the practice yard. They hovered in the alleyway at the edge of the central market. Merchants had set up their stalls in the square and the morning crowd gathered. A cluster of soldiers prowled the plaza in their black-and-red uniforms. They scanned the market without particular interest. It seemed that no one had yet reported her presence.

Ryam gestured towards several workmen loading earthenware pots onto a wagon. ‘That shipment is leaving town. Get in the back.’

‘But Li Tao’s men are everywhere.’

‘Walk with purpose. You’ll blend in.’

‘What about you?’ She looked him up and down.

His fingers tightened briefly over her shoulder. ‘You go first. I’ll be watching.’

Were all his people so fearless? Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from the cover of the shops. Sunlight slanted over the rooftops and blinded her, but she kept her pace steady even though her heartbeat thundered in her ears. If Li Tao’s men detected her, she might be able to fend off two or three of them, but the rest would surround her. Ryam would be dragged into the struggle.

She fought the urge to glance back. She had wanted to warn him to leave if there was trouble, but he would have considered it an insult. A swordsman would never run like that. The workmen disappeared into the storehouse as she came near. She climbed onto the wagon and ducked beneath the canvas. The coarse packing straw scraped against her.

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