Liz Williams (www.arkady.btinternet.co.uk) lives in Brighton, England. Her novels are The Ghost Sister, a New York Times Notable Book of 2001—a rare accomplishment for a paperback original; Empire of Bones (2002), nominated, as was the first, for the Philip K. Dick Award 2003; The Poison Master (2002); Nine Layers of Sky (2003); and Banner of Souls (2004). Her first collection, The Banquet of the Lords of Night, is out in 2005. She has published more than forty SF & fantasy stories in the last six years and is equally proficient in both genres.
“Ikiryoh” was published in Asimov’s. It is set in same future as Banner of Souls, a strange future in which genetically engineered creatures are part of court intrigues in an Indian or Asian imperial situation. A creature who was part of the court of a deposed regime (a previous goddess) is called upon to care for a strange child.