We had listened to the carnage from a side wall of the Gray Dowager's estate, but whoever had stormed the mansion had done so from the front, the way state-sanctioned murderers often did. We slid out the far alleyway and across the street until we came to the estate that sat facing the Gray Dowager’s. This mansion, specifically, didn't interest me but I needed a vantage point. For those purposes, it would suffice. I led us down another alley.

  I beckoned to the small wooden side gate that all of these manors seemed to possess, for servants or perhaps trysts. “Windstopper?”

  “I Should Kick It Down.”

  I nodded.

  “Stand Back. I Will Kick It Down.”

  He did indeed kick it down, with one swift motion, no less. And then I slid in. I looked around the garden surrounding the main house. It was empty and silent. I waited a long while – perhaps longer than I could afford – to see if anyone had heard the small gate crashing inward. Silence, both from within the garden here and across the street.

  I padded through the gardens and around the main house to where two nervous looking guards waited within their estate’s main gate. No doubt they were hoping that the slaughter was specific to their neighbor, and it wouldn’t spill over to the whole city block.

  I pulled Windstopper close and whispered. “Don’t kill them, just subdue them. On my mark.”

  I slid up behind one guard, who played with the tassel of his halberd as boots resounded on the empty street beyond the gates. I had no trouble slipping an arm around the distracted man’s neck. Windstopped simply punched the other man’s helmet. Both slumped to the ground. Checking they were both alive and unconscious, I moved past to press my eye to the crack in the gate.

  I had gotten there just in time.

  A towering figure dressed in shimmering black armor emerged from the Gray Dowager’s estate wiping blood from his sword with a gray silken scarf. Every inch of the man galled me: the way he held his head high as if he knew himself to be a fearsome sight in the blood and lantern-light; the way he swaggered from the scene of an old woman’s slaughter as if it had been some great ‘achievement;’ the way he smiled, satisfied, by the cooling blood on the intricate gold-work of his sword.

  A spiked creature with a tiger’s body and vulture’s wings adorned it. Its cold, golden eyes seemed insatiable in the rocking lanterns. I realized that I recognized that sword. It was one of the few weapons that were famous enough to have its own Imperial card.

  BLADE OF THE FIRST PERIL: THE INSATIABLE BEAST, TAOTIE

  TYPE: Straight-sword

  WEAPON RANK: 5th

  LORE: Forged by the Living Blade Mandate of the Vicesmith in the time of the Dark Interregnum, it is said that the Blade of the First Peril represents gluttony, and it grows stronger with the blood of its victims. It is said its bearer can never be satisfied.

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  LAST KNOWN OWNER: The Demon

  I stiffened with fear as I recalled the card and realized who this man must be.

  “Who is it?” Lady Ding hissed. I stepped aside and motioned her toward the crack in the gate.

  “That’s the Dowager’s scarf,” she whispered. “But who is that monster?”

  “His given name is Lu Bu,” I said, “called the Demon. He serves a man called Snow Fox, but… something’s not right. The Demon’s in the wrong colors. And Snow Fox would never give such an order or condone such actions from his bondsman. He is a wise and gentle ruler, who has always preached wise administration above plots.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. The deed is done. Come. We need to leave here before we are noticed. Or before our absence in the palace is.”

  The flight back through the City of Lanterns was just that. A flight from the scene of a terrible crime. The further we drew from the Demon and the Gray Dowager’s household, the more my shame at doing nothing burned in my chest, which gave rise to an anger that nearly boiled through me. There was a ringing in my ears like a small bell being struck continuously and incessantly. Even Windstopper appeared cowed. When the lady led me back to the doorway of my quarters but made to depart, I caught her by the hand.

  “I will kill him for what he has done. I promise you this, my lady. One day I will kill that man with my own hand.” As I spoke, the ringing finally stopped and my anger abated.

  I must have been a sight in the dim light of the palace hallway, because Lady Ding studied me for a long moment. Then she dropped her gaze. “You are a good man, Sparrow. Better than anyone gives you credit for.”

  She turned to go, but paused once more.

  Looping a golden chain from around her neck, she handed me a pendant of pure gold.

  “When I first met the Gray Dowager, she named me Shadow River, though few men I have met have had any use for a courtesy name. You may call me River if you wish.”

  SHADOW RIVER

  RANK 105: Imperial Concubine

  WORTH: 1,000 dan

  CLAN: Unknown | STAR: Black | FATE: Unknown

  MANDATE: Shadow River

  I handed her pendant back with a small bow, as if meeting her for the first time. She took it and hurriedly departed.

  “River,” I whispered to myself, as she disappeared into the gloom and tunnels of the palace maze.

  After a moment, I realized Windstopper was standing next to me, so close I could hear his heavy breathing.

  I turned toward him. “Yes?”

  “She Just Gave You A Fake Name.”

  I snorted a laugh. “Not fake, Windstopper. It may be the truest name she possesses.”

  Windstopper scratched his head.

  “Come on in. I’ll ring for some dumplings.”

  Windstopper beamed and seeing how carefree he could be after everything that happened this night, I had to smile to myself as well.

  ***SILVER FALCON CLAN MISSION STATUS UPDATE: INTERBELLUM***

  Primary Objective: Prepare the Silver Falcon clan for general war among the clans.

  Secondary Objective: Ensure the Silver Falcon clan ends up on the right side of Imperial favor.

  Bonus Objective: Gain an ally in a province North of the Silver Falcon clan's holdings.

  Bonus Objective: Gain an ally in a province West of the Silver Falcon clan's holdings.

  Bonus Objective: Gain an ally in a province South of the Silver Falcon clan's holdings.

  SUCCEEDED Secret Objective: Gain an ally in the Imperial household.