Iron Jaw and Hummingbird Read Free Page A

question or perform a task correctly, guards were summoned who escorted the child out of the antechamber, through a doorway, and out of sight.
    As the evening wore on, one by one the other children faltered, taking a misstep in their dancing, or incorrectly parsing a grammatical fragment, or misremembering trivial bits of historical data, until only Gamine was left standing at the center of the room.
    Then each of the adults questioned her once more, one examination from each, and again Gamine answered them all without error.
    She beamed with pride, her chest thrust forward, eyes seeking her mistress’s approval. Whatever Madam Chauviteau-Zong’s purpose in bringing her to this gathering, Gamine had performed admirably. Her mistress’s features were, as always, calm and unreadable, sapphire blue eyes in a face of flawless porcelain, but her posture and the slight movements of her hands suggested deep satisfaction.
    A chime sounded somewhere in the hall, and the other six adults all turned their attention to Gamine’s mistress.
    Madam Chauviteau-Zong swept forward, stopping just short of where Gamine stood, and regarded her, blue sapphires briefly meeting Gamine’s own jade green eyes. Gamine stiffened. Might the mistress be preparing to embrace her? Had Gamine performed well enough to be so regarded? Gamine had never come into physical contact with Madam Chauviteau-Zong, and she readied herself for the jolt and the joy. But the embrace never came.
    The guards who had escorted the other children away returned, as though awaiting instruction.
    Madam Chauviteau-Zong regarded Gamine for a long moment, and then turned aside momentarily, directing her attention to the merchant with whom she’d spoken on their arrival.
    â€œI told you, Fong, that mine was the likely contender.”
    â€œYes, Cerise, and you’ll have your winnings in the morning,” the merchant said. He paused, and said with a smirk, “But don’t expect to be so lucky next time.”
    Madam Chauviteau-Zong nodded regally and then turned and glided toward the door.
    Gamine’s throat constricted, and she found it difficult to breathe.
    â€œMistress?” Gamine said, in a tentative voice, the first time in living memory that she’d addressed her mistress without being spoken to first.
    Gamine’s mistress, not pausing, glanced back at her, and then motioned to the two guards with a languid movement of her hand.
    â€œDo see to the child,” Gamine’s mistress said distractedly, and then left the antechamber behind.
    Gamine did not understand what was happening. Her mind raced. The two guards stepped to her side, and each took an arm.
    â€œWhat do we do with this one?” one asked the other in a loud whisper.
    â€œThe same thing we’ve done with the rest,” the other answered. “Remove any articles of value she might have squirreled away, and toss her out the nearest door.”
    The men searched her quickly, with rough hands, and came away with a tortoiseshell comb her tutor had put in her hair and a jade pendant at her throat.
    â€œWh-what have I done wrong?” Gamine managed to say as the guards pocketed her valuables and dragged her from the room. “What is happening?”
    The guards refused to make eye contact, their expressions hard.
    â€œPl-please! What have I done?”
    The guards took her through servants’ corridors, far away from the light and warmth of the main hall, coming at last to a back entrance. The night air outside was cold, and the streets were empty and dark.
    â€œSorry, kid,” one of the guards said, picking Gamine up off her feet. “Tough break.”
    The guards threw her bodily out of the doorway like a sack of rice, then closed the door behind her, shutting off the last faint light from inside. Gamine was left in the dirt, cold and alone.
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    Huang’s parents had scarcely had time to question him about his audience with the