Jade War

Ven’s jade aura gave a perceptible pulse of gratification, but he let out a dramatic sigh and waved a hand vaguely over his shoulder, dismissing the idea as if he’d been told it so many times already that he was tired of having to disappoint people. The gesture struck Shae as so contrived and self-important that she was forced to mask a stab of deep dislike. Ven said, “I’m flattered, Kaul-jen, I truly am, but I have a company to run, and besides, I’m getting to be an old man, nearly retired. People always expect the Pillar to be green.” The only jade Ven wore was a heavy gold watch with a jeweled case. “Wearing so much jade—that’s for young men. It would suit the clan best to have a leader who’s in his prime, who has the right image but also the backing of family resources and social capital. Myself, I’m content to simply be the voice of age and wisdom in the background.”

Shae looked past Ven Sando to his son. She saw Hilo’s eyes shift in that direction as well. Ven Haku was about the same age as they were; he was said to be a reasonably good Fist and popular among his peers and subordinates, in no small part because he was not shy about flaunting his family’s wealth by throwing parties and rewarding those under him. He wore his hair gelled back and his jade studded on a bold black leather choker around his neck, like a gem-encrusted dog collar. He sat partly slouched, with an alert but slightly scornful expression on his face, and even the low, steady buzz of his jade aura seemed to emanate privilege and insolence. For a strange, disconcerting moment, looking at Ven Haku and his perfectly unlined face, Shae was reminded of the Hilo she’d known six or seven years ago.

Ven Sando intended to install his son as Pillar after Ayt Mada was gone. Hilo looked between the elder and younger Ven and inclined his head with a half-concealed smile. “A dutiful son and supportive father working together? I’m not sure any clan has ever been so fortunate.” Hilo’s jade aura, normally so bright and expressive, hummed as smoothly as a wide river, betraying almost nothing. “I’d like to help bring about such a change. But Ayt Mada and I sat together in front of both our clans and the public and declared truce. I don’t break my promises, not even to my enemies. I have to make that clear before we talk further.”

Ven Sando gave Hilo a shrewd look. “No one wants another street war between the clans. But you wouldn’t have asked to meet unless you had something to give besides encouragement.”

Hilo’s manner hardened a touch, into formality, and he spoke more slowly. “Ayt Mada will never step down willingly. She’ll have to be forced out. When you move against her, No Peak will offer you our friendship and complete support, against those who might be resistant or who would take advantage of the transition when it comes about, and there are always those people. That’s not a small thing and I don’t promise it lightly. There are also the people who need to have practical reasons to accept a new leader. There are things that my Weather Man can do to help you persuade them.”

The prompt caught Shae off guard for an instant; she’d begun to think with some annoyance that Hilo had forgotten she was even there. “K-Star Freight is one of Kekon’s largest and most profitable companies, so I imagine you already hold a great deal of sway in the Mountain,” she said to Ven, laying the flattery on a little thick. “Even so, some of your potential supporters might be encouraged if they knew there were financial incentives involved. No Peak’s influence in certain industries might be of interest to those who can’t normally take advantage of it. There are even parts of our business where we would be open to discussing purchase offers or partnerships… if the clans were on friendlier terms. Naturally, that’s information we expect you would share judiciously.”

Ven appeared to consider all of these assurances before blowing out a heavy breath, as if coming to a difficult but inevitable decision. “What we’re talking about would not be easy to accomplish. Ayt carries a great deal of jade and surrounds herself with those who are loyal to her. It would take time and planning to bring about the sort of change we want to see. But knowing that I have the promise of your friendship, Kaul-jen—it fills me with determination to fix what’s wrong with the Mountain, and to put things right between our clans.”

So there it was: Ven would secretly garner the support for a coup within the Mountain clan. If successful, such a thing would almost certainly end in the death of Ayt Mada and her inner circle. No Peak would quietly back the usurpers with bribes, payouts, and financial concessions in addition to, when the time came, the might of their Fists and Fingers to help put down Ayt’s supporters. Afterward, the Ven family would control the Mountain, and there would be true and lasting friendship between the clans, not merely the cynical truce that currently existed.