Their Spirit Unbroken (Relentless Book 3)

by Ryan Kirk

  Delun drove the dagger into the man’s stomach. He stabbed once, twice, three times, his arm moving back and forth of its own accord. The captain grunted but made no other sound.

  The captain tried to spit at him, but Delun saw the motion coming. He backhanded the man’s face, snapping it to the side. The spit ended up against the wall that supported the man.

  Delun crouched down next to him. “Any final words?”

  The captain grinned. “Someday, you’ll be betrayed too.”

  Delun shook his head. As far as final words went, he wasn’t impressed.

  He drove the dagger into the man’s heart, giving him a few more seconds to contemplate his failure.

  The captain closed his eyes, and Delun nodded to Ping. He wiped the dagger on the captain’s clothing and sheathed it. Ping gathered his energy and shot it into the air.

  Delun felt the answering signals burst into the air throughout the city. The signal spread throughout Jihan. The captain was dead, the head of the serpent decapitated. Now it was time to destroy the rest of the body.

  Their evening of vengeance was just beginning.

  Delun and Ping’s orders were to meet up with another group of wraiths before they began their own assault. The other team consisted of two younger wraiths, eager but unused to the rigors of combat. The younger team took point while Delun and Ping provided support. Delun began to suspect that Chao was using him as a battlefield mentor.

  Their assigned target was a large, squat building. The two young monks who staked out the building reported that nearly a dozen men were inside, possibly with powder.

  Delun stepped back, letting Ping take charge. The younger monk craved the responsibility. Ping would lead them inside while Delun waited nearby outside in case anyone escaped.

  The wraiths moved in without giving warning. Off in the distance, Delun heard an explosion. Somewhere, at least a barrel of black powder had gone off. Delun thought he saw the glow of fires reflected off the low-hanging clouds. Parts of Jihan might burn tonight, but when the fires burned out, a healthier community would be left behind. Fire cleansed and prepared the way for the next generation of growth.

  Sounds of fighting soon escaped the building, the whole structure groaning as the monks within unleashed their gifts on the surprised traitors. Delun heard footsteps and drew his dagger. He stabbed the first man out through the door, barely glancing at his target as he moved to the next man escaping.

  There was a shout from within. Delun sensed the three monks running back toward him, toward the exit.

  The rear of the building suddenly erupted, sending chunks of stone and wood high into the air. The blast knocked Delun off his feet, but he had the presence of mind to cast a shield over himself as the debris crashed down around him.

  When the dust finally cleared, Delun saw two of the monks hiding under a shield. He looked more closely. Ping had cast the dome over them, protecting them from the explosion and the collapse.

  The final wraith was nowhere to be seen. His fate was certain.

  The serpents had blown themselves up instead of fighting like honorable warriors.

  Delun’s hatred of the Order deepened. How could they act in such a way? Were they completely without reason?

  Ping dropped the shield, his face ashen. He looked around. “Where?”

  Delun picked his way through the rubble. He kneeled down next to Ping. “Are you okay?”

  Ping didn’t seem to hear him. “Where is he?”

  Delun put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. Their eyes met and Delun shook his head.

  Ping bent his head.

  The older monk gave the others a few minutes. But there was more to do. Delun felt the energy rippling throughout the city. The battle hadn’t been won yet. “Can you fight?”

  There would be no shame in saying no, but Ping nodded.

  The three of them took off into the night.

  There was much work yet to be done, and another life that called for vengeance.

  24

  Lei and the questioner walked the polished hallways of the castle. Lei wondered if it was possible to become used to such opulence. The feats of architecture and design inspired him, reminded him that people were capable of great deeds.

  The questioner didn’t push Lei to hurry. Lei knew he wouldn’t be back in time for the evening meal, so he forced himself to relax and study the palace. Lei inspected the paintings, the gold-leafed furniture, and the displays of weapons. To him, the empire had always been more of an idea than something physical. It was a set of laws he largely ignored, a system of power and control he had little use for. But here, walking these halls, the empire represented something different. History was tangible. Lei saw gifts that had been sent from rival lords hundreds of years ago when the empire had first unified.

  Eventually they came to a room with two guards standing watch. The guards let the questioner through without a second glance. They gave Lei searching looks, but accompanying the questioner was enough.

  The room they entered was a study in contrasts. Like the other rooms in the palace, fine art and decoration adorned the walls, but the resulting emotion was different. Other rooms and halls were packed with items, overwhelming the visitor. In contrast, this room felt spacious and considered. Whoever lived here took great care in arranging their space.

  The effect was considerably diminished by the gaping hole in the opposing wall, and the destruction of nearly half the room.

  “The princess’s chambers,” the questioner announced.

  Lei stopped a few paces into the room, letting himself soak this place in. He wasn’t sure what the emperor or the questioner expected from him. He was no investigator. But perhaps there were clues.

  Lei sniffed the air. A faint whiff of incense tickled his nostrils. A calming scent still clung to the space. He found that unusual. He turned to the questioner. “The hole is from the attack several weeks ago. Did the princess still use the chambers after?”

  “She did. She hosted visitors elsewhere, but otherwise, she was often found here. She slept here, also.”

  The bedroom was unharmed, a room set apart from the rest of the chambers. Lei supposed nothing prevented the princess from a comfortable night’s rest there, but he imagined having a hole to the outdoors in the next room over would be odd.

  These rooms meant something to her. Lei noted it and moved on.

  His hair stood on end. Some detail bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  The first half of the main chambers, the part he’d seen when he first stepped in, was pristine, a study in the character of the princess. Lei looked at her space and saw a calm, determined woman. He knew next to nothing about the imperial court, but if her room was a reflection of her character, Lei was impressed.

  He focused on the other part of the room. Here, the evidence of a fight intrigued him. He saw broken furniture, torn tapestries, and gouges along the walls. Repairs had begun on the outer wall, but the original damage was still visible. The scope of the damage indicated the strengths of the warriors involved.

  The hole drew his attention, and Lei gave in to his mounting curiosity. He walked to it, leaning out until he saw the ground below. Broken stone lay in a pile of rubble below. Outside, the sun had just fallen below the horizon.

  “The blast was from inside?” All evidence pointed that way, but Lei wanted to be sure.

  “Yes. Flying debris killed a guard. All of that is from the first attack.”

  Lei frowned as a thought occurred to him. He stepped back to take a look at the hole again. The wall of the palace was another ten paces past the wall of the princess’s room. To blow stone large enough to kill a man, and to make a hole that size, required impressive strength. The monk who made that hole had to be strong and had to have used at least the fourth sign. That sign only had one purpose: to kill.

  “Was there anyone else in the room for either attack?”

  “No.”

  Lei turned to
face the man. “What do you think happened here?”

  The questioner thought for a moment. “There are no secrets here. A couple of weeks ago, the princess met with a group of monks who turned out to be wraiths. The monks, unwilling to accept that the princess was gifted, attacked. The princess killed most of her assailants, but we know at least one escaped. No doubt the wraiths planned revenge. We still don’t know how they captured the princess last night, but no other suspects seem reasonable.”

  Lei wondered at that. The explanations sounded reasonable. But something about them rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn’t see why the monks would kidnap the princess. If they hated the idea of her, Lei imagined they would try to kill her. But they hadn’t. Or, if they had, they had gone to a great deal of trouble to hide it. He sensed that there was more happening underneath the surface, something he didn’t understand.

  He also wondered how the monks had gotten to the princess. If she’d survived the fourth sign in her first encounter, her training was beyond what Lei had assumed. Why didn’t she fight the second time?

  He backed up, taking in the whole room again, this time with new eyes. What were her powers? Now that his attention had a focus, more details emerged from the chaos. He saw how some of the furniture had been broken by the monk’s attacks, the blunt damage familiar to his eye.

  Other details didn’t make sense, though. A tapestry hanging on the wall caught his eye, the design cut in two with a single sharp stroke. “Does the princess know how to use a sword, or a dagger?”

  “No.”

  Lei approached the fabric. The tapestry hung on a stone wall. From a distance, the cut looked like a clean sword cut. When Lei came closer, he saw that whatever had cut the tapestry had cut the wall behind as well, the stone gouged with a narrow gash. Such damage required more physical strength than even Lei possessed.

  At both the beginning and end of the slice, the cut was shallow, deepening near the middle. It made no sense. Cutting through stone required the gift, but if the power of the gift had made this cut, the cut would be more uniform. Lei didn’t understand. “How much do you know about the princess’s gift?”

  The questioner shook his head. “Neither Master Yang nor the princess ever shared that information.”

  Lei stood back from the wall. He wouldn’t understand the princess’s gift, not today. It was unique, and it was strong enough to defend against monks. The information wasn’t much, but it would get him started.

  A plan for recovering the princess began to form in his mind. If her gift was this strong, there were ways to find her. He turned to the questioner one more time. “Are you certain she is still in Jihan?”

  “As much as we can be, yes. From the moment her disappearance was discovered, all the gates have been watched as closely as we can. Nothing and no one is leaving without our knowledge.”

  The comfort was slim, but it would have to be enough. He could begin the search.

  Lei was just about to dismiss himself when he felt tremendous surges of energy throughout Jihan. He started. He’d never felt so many flares of energy. If he could feel them all the way from the palace, the power being released was incredible.

  The questioner’s sharp eyes noticed Lei’s expression. “What is it?”

  “Jihan. Something is happening.”

  The questioner didn’t seem concerned, but he couldn’t feel what Lei felt. So many monks coordinating their efforts meant disaster.

  Memories of thirty years ago came rushing back, the explosions of energy that tore apart a city.

  Daiyu was there.

  Lei didn’t have time to explain. There was little the city watch could do against such a force, anyhow. Lei needed to be down there. He bolted from the room, beginning the long run to the city.

  Lei wished, not for the first time, that he had some small measure of Bai’s gifts. For all the strength he could summon, he still couldn’t move faster than a run, and at his age, he didn’t run like he used to. His legs were strong, but his age was undeniable. It took him far too long to exit the palace, cross the courtyard, and reach Jihan.

  Distant rumbles of power kept him moving, fear for the city and one visitor in particular pushing him far past his normal boundaries.

  In retrospect he should have stolen a horse from the palace, but the thought hadn’t occurred to him and it was too late now.

  The streets of Jihan were eerily quiet once he arrived. Of course, most people wouldn’t feel the surges of energy, but Lei had expected more chaos. If not for the power manifesting throughout the city, he almost would have guessed the night was no different than any other.

  Lei ignored the wells of power that surrounded him. He wasn’t looking for a fight, only Daiyu. Whenever he felt powers gathering nearby he angled away from them.

  His luck ran out about a half mile from the Heron. Two groups of wraiths were coming together. Going around would take too long. Lei pulled in power, feeling the energy rejuvenate his tired limbs. He cast a shield over himself and kept running. With any luck they would ignore him and move on to other targets.

  The wraiths came into view. Lei saw the blood on their clothes. This wasn’t their first encounter of the evening.

  He ignored them, but the groups focused on him, following him as he ran.

  Lei wouldn’t bring six monks to the Heron. He refused to allow fighting to approach the inn.

  So he stopped and turned. He raised his hand to stop them, but the gesture was misinterpreted as an attack. Several waves of energy crashed against his shield, but it held. Either they weren’t aware of his strength or they were fools.

  In other times Lei might have had the patience for a different approach. But tonight he thought only of Daiyu’s safety. He dove deep into the rivers of power flowing around him and called upon them. Then he replied to their attacks, sending blast after blast of energy at them. His attacks furrowed ditches in the road as they roared toward his enemies. Four of the six monks crumpled to the ground before the others ran.

  Lei didn’t care about the fate of the wraiths. They had initiated the violence. The consequences rested on their heads.

  Lei turned and ran toward the Heron.

  25

  Bai and Rong returned to the safehouse that evening, the walk through the city having done wonders for Bai. Her body was still sore, and her limbs still felt as heavy as iron, but she was up and moving. The rest would heal in time.

  Shu stood outside the safehouse. She spoke to Bai. “May we talk for a moment?”

  Bai could smell the meal being cooked within the house. Her stomach, amazingly, still craved more food.

  “We’ll be done in time for supper.”

  That was all the argument Bai needed. She’d been wanting to speak more with Shu, also. Rong went inside to help with the preparation.

  Shu led Bai on a short walk around the block. “The others look up to you.”

  Shu’s voice wasn’t accusatory, but Bai still felt the weight of the woman’s suspicions. “They are too kind. If it concerns you, I have no desire to lead this group.”

  Shu didn’t respond immediately. They walked for a minute in silence. Shu’s next question caught Bai by surprise. “You love your gift, don’t you?”

  She’d never been asked such a question. “I suppose. I can’t imagine life without it.”

  That wasn’t strictly true. Bai knew well the path her life would have taken if her gift had never manifested. She’d still be in Galan, poor and hungry and mending clothes for men who leered at her. She would have turned into her mother. But knowing her life now, she couldn’t imagine returning to that role.

  Shu stopped. “I wish mine had never manifested.”

  Bai turned so she was facing the woman. “Really?”

  Shu gave a small shrug, as though to say it didn’t really matter. The gesture didn’t fool Bai, though. “I had a family.”

  Bai noted the tense. “What happened?”

  “When I realized I was gifted, I ran away
from them. I didn’t want them to know, and I didn’t want to put them in danger.” She gave a grim smile then that Bai didn’t understand.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Shu’s eyes came up to meet Bai’s. They held a sudden, unexpected intensity. “I think you should lead Yang’s students.”

  The offer took Bai aback. The thought of giving commands was even more reprehensible than having to obey them. She had no desire to order others about. She shook her head. “Thank you, but no. If you don’t want the position, why not ask someone else?”

  “There is no one else. The others look up to Rong, but her blood boils with a desire to fight. She cannot keep them safe. If you won’t, I’m not sure anyone can.”

  Bai didn’t know how to respond, but Shu saved her the difficulty. She walked quickly away, back to the front of the house. After a moment Bai followed.

  The food that had been prepared smelled delicious enough to make Bai’s mouth water. Though she’d eaten no small amount of food when she’d woken up, her body still demanded more. She figured she could eat all the food in Jihan right now.

  Bai pushed aside her conversation with Shu. She could understand the other woman wanting to shed the responsibility, but Bai was not the one to pass it off to.

  The more Bai learned about the other warriors Yang had taught, the more comfortable she became. They all shared a common physical language. In the group, Shu acted like an overprotective mother. Rong typically sat apart from the others, quiet and with her eyes focused on some distant point.

  Wu was the heart of the group. He was young, not just in age, but in spirit. Life was an adventure to him. Bai didn’t think she ever saw the young man without a smile on his face. Being among them made her feel at home in a way she never had since her mother died.

  As much as she enjoyed them all, Bai found herself drawn to Rong’s company. Gliding across rooftops with the other warrior had sealed a bond Bai couldn’t articulate. She’d never had a sister, but perhaps this was how it felt. Even their temperaments were similar.