“She can’t be so thoroughly bewitched by Zhudai as that, can she?” Marcus murmured. “Doesn’t she remember what he has done?” His expression hardened.
Phoenix sighed. “She does but she says she’s tired of fighting. She just wants to go home and Zhudai has offered an easy way to do it. I can’t entirely blame her.”
Marcus hitched himself off the wall, frowning. “You don’t believe him, do you?”
“N..no,” Phoenix grimaced. “At least, I’d like to but I just can’t see it being that easy. Not after all we’ve been through to get this far. It wouldn’t make sense. Jade’s just blinded by….”
“Hope,” Zhi Hui interpolated. “As I said. She has given in to hope. Zhudai cannot fulfil his promise. Now you must decide what the right thing to do is.”
“We have to get her back,” Marcus stated.
“Well,” Phoenix shrugged, “we’d better come up with a damned good plan, fast. There’s only an hour and a half left until we’re supposed to meet her and Zhudai. Can you give us any advice Zhi Hui?” He turned to the old lady.
She shook her head. “Only he that has travelled the road knows where the holes are deep.”
“Helpful,” he sighed, turning away.
*****
Jade opened her eyes. A wave of weariness swept through her. She wasn’t as fully recovered as she thought. Zhudai’s study shimmered before her. She reached out a hand to steady herself. Zhudai caught it, holding her firmly upright, a look of concern on his angular face. Then he smiled, his expression softening as he looked at her.
“Here. Sit before you fall.” He guided her to a silk-covered divan.
She sat, grateful for his support. “I can’t believe I’m still so tired.”
He bowed apologetically. “That is my fault, I believe. I gave the poison to Cadoc and I instructed Yajat to take your life. I am deeply sorry.”
She said nothing, staring at her own hands in her lap. What could she say?
Covering the awkward silence, Zhudai took her right hand in his own, examining the yin-yang ring there. “I see Cadoc gave you his ring.”
“How did you…?” She looked at the ring apprehensively, wondering if it were somehow a thing of evil.
Laughing softly, the sorcerer shook his head. “No, it’s nothing uncanny. It is simply that I saw Cadoc in the markets when he purchased it. I’m glad to see it being worn by someone as beautiful as it deserved.”
Blushing, Jade withdrew her hand and leaned away.
“Come, child,” Zhudai tilted her chin up, examining her face in surprise. “Why do you blush? Surely you know you are exquisitely beautiful. I shall have to make sure our young Emperor does not lay eyes on you or he shall demand you as his concubine.”
She looked at him in horror, only to see a gleam of humour in those black eyes. She smiled uncomfortably back. “I know I’m pretty here,” she admitted, “and I’ve always wanted to be but it doesn’t seem to really do much good.”
He laughed and stood up, pacing around behind his desk. “Then you are not yet using your beauty to its full extent.”
“What?” Jade raised her eyebrows at him, taken aback.
Picking up a single sheet of paper, Zhudai held it lightly in the palm of his hand. “In any extreme, there is potential power. Extreme strength,” he crushed the sheet into a ball. “intelligence, skill; magical talent.” Now the paper burst into silent, purple-blue flame and vanished. “And extreme beauty.”
Zhudai sent her a quick look. “You have the ability, with just a look, to change men’s minds; to manipulate their desires; to control their decisions. Isn’t that what you really wanted when you chose this body to inhabit? To have people like you; treat you as something special; be swayed by your opinions?”
Dumbfounded, horrified and yet strangely drawn to the idea, Jade held his gaze for a moment then looked away uneasily. He was too close to the truth for comfort. It made her motivations sound selfish and small. She wasn’t really like that, was she?
“Come,” the sorcerer waved a hand at a low table. Food had appeared from somewhere and Jade suddenly discovered she was ravenous. “Eat and tell me what your friend, Phoenix will do.”
She shifted closer and picked up a small, doughy steamed bun. Biting into it, she frowned. “I’m not sure. I think he’ll probably come to meet us but I don’t know if he’ll come alone. I doubt it. Marcus and Brynn will be around somewhere.”
Zhudai grinned wryly. “I would be astonished if they were not.”
“He’ll probably try some stupid rescue attempt,” she warned, trying not to feel guilty. Phoenix had to at least talk with Zhudai. He could ruin everything if he came rushing in at his normal level of bullheaded anger.
“Again,” he bowed, “I would be amazed if he did otherwise.”
“You won’t hurt him?” Jade was suddenly unsure; worried that she might be making the wrong decision.
“I do not intend to hurt him, my dear,” Zhudai assured her. He sat down and began to eat as well.
Jade watched him narrowly but if he lied, she could not sense it. Absently, she rubbed the palm of her left hand on her knee. It itched.
*****
“Right,” Phoenix said. “Do we have everything now?” He stood at the front gate, waiting impatiently for Brynn to complete his preparations. Nearby, Marcus calmly picked at his fingernails with the point of his knife. Zhi Hui vanished into the house, leaving them with nothing more than a resigned shake of the head and a hope that she would see them again.
Nodding in wide-eyed innocence, Brynn spread his hands. “Sling, lots of rocks, dagger, lockpicks. What else do I need?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Phoenix growled. “Did you bring the Hyllion Bagia and the Horn of Aurfanon, just in case?”
“Of course I did,” the boy returned indignantly, “and a bunch of other useful stuff,” He patted his bulging pockets and grinned.
“Well,” Phoenix shrugged, “Let’s go, before you decide you have to bring the whole house.”
Together, the three flipped up the hoods on their cloaks and eased through the dragon-painted doors. Cautiously, they looked east then west along the cobbled, narrow street toward the Palace. There were very few people abroad. Most, it seemed, were attending various events for the Qingming festival. The streets would be relatively safe for three foreigners. Zhi Hui had given them clear directions and even drawn a sketch of the open, tree-lined courtyard before the Palace gates. The best vantage point for Marcus and Brynn to hide, and still be within bowshot and slingshot range, was the roof of a nearby house. The old woman had given them a slip of bamboo, covered in cryptic marks, which supposedly asked a friend to lend them roof-space. Phoenix was a bit nervous about that. It just looked like a bunch of squiggly black lines. Jade was the only one who could read other languages, as well as speak them. There was no way of knowing if their elderly helper had written what she said she had.
Phoenix shrugged off his misgivings. He had to trust someone, sometime, didn’t he? Zhi Hui could have turned them in last night if she’d wanted to. Besides, she needed them to save her son.
First, though, they had to save Jade.
As they neared the Palace, they slowed and began watching for guards. A beggar scurried out of their way; a small child watched them with wide, dark eyes; a skinny dog slunk by. Otherwise, they were alone.
Reaching the house to which Zhi Hui had directed them, they sheltered in the doorway a moment. It was a much larger, more grand residence than Zhi Hui’s. The tiled roof angled steeply to a peak covered in ornate, ceramic animals. Brynn eyed it with misgivings.
“Those tiles will be pretty slippery after the rain. Do you think you’re up for a bit of roof-walking, Marcus? Not really a soldier’s forte.” He elbowed the Roman sharply in the ribs.
“I’m sure you’ve had more experience sneaking about on roofs in the dead of night,” Marcus returned, “but I think I can manage.”
He laid a hand on Phoenix
’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to go alone?”
Phoenix nodded. “I’ll be fine. You two watch my back from here. Whatever happens, I’m sure Jade won’t let them kill me. At least, if we’re taken, you can get us out of prison – which you can’t if we’re all locked up. I know this is dumb but it seems extra-dumb to deliberately put all four of us in the firing line.”
Marcus grimaced. “I still think you’re underestimating Zhudai.”
“Maybe he’s underestimating me, too,” Phoenix grinned then shrugged. “Believe me, if I could think of another way to get her out of there, I would. From what Zhi Hui says, the palace is just too well guarded by men and magic to try a rescue without Jade’s help.”
Brynn knocked on the door and handed over Zhi Hui’s message to a servant. He and Marcus were ushered inside. They went, Marcus looking back over his shoulder dubiously.
Phoenix took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. With one hand lightly on Blódbál’s hilt, its war-song loud in his mind, he marched into the open Palace square. His feet kicked up the pink and white petals of cherry and magnolia tree blossoms that floated gently to earth all around.
*****
Jade walked out of the enormous Palace gate and into the open square outside with Zhudai on one side and Li Lei on the other. The entire square was surrounded by pink-wreathed trees, their branches laden with flowers and the tiny green buds of new leaves. Its grey-paved expanse was littered with petals but empty of people. She breathed a faint sigh of relief. If Zhudai had soldiers here, they were not in sight. It seemed he was going to keep his word after all. Now, if only Phoenix showed the same faith and came alone.
She looked up. There he was, striding toward them from the eastern side of the square. He held himself confidently; the hood of his cloak pushed back, one hand resting almost arrogantly on the hilt of his sword. With his long, dark hair unkempt and leather armour scuffed from recent battles, Phoenix looked barbaric compared to the sleek elegance of Zhudai’s dark robes and Li Lei’s delicate beauty.
As Phoenix neared, Jade ran ahead. She hugged him hard, searching his face for clues as to what he intended to do. He stared back at her blandly then inclined his head in the merest hint of a bow, toward Zhudai. It was deliberately insolent and Jade wondered how the sorcerer would react. Zhudai’s eyes narrowed fractionally but he kept a serene smile in place and bowed in return – deeper than Phoenix had.
“So,” Phoenix ploughed straight in. “I’m here. Talk.”
Zhudai straightened slowly, his hands sliding into his wide sleeves. He shrugged. “You know my proposal. I will send you home.”
‘How?” Phoenix’s retort was brusque to the point of being rude.
“The same way you got here,” the sorcerer returned without heat. “Magic.”
“Why?”
Zhudai smiled faintly. “Because I don’t want you here any more than you want to be here.”
“What about our friends?” Phoenix jerked his head back the way he’d come. Jade peeked over his shoulder, wondering where Marcus and Brynn were hiding; hoping that they didn’t have any stupid plan to interfere.
The sorcerer shrugged. “They can travel home by the portals as easily as they got here, if they wish. I will not prevent it.”
Phoenix glanced at Jade. She tried hard to look cool but knew she must look like a small child, pleading for a treat. It was such an easy decision. They could go home. Surely he would say ‘ok’. A gust of wind swirled pink and white petals around them and plastered the thin silk of her clothing against her legs. Jade shivered, gripped by a sudden sense of unease. Something was wrong. She looked uncertainly at Zhudai but his expression was unchanged.
Phoenix turned slowly back toward the emperors’ advisor with a poor impression of innocence. “And what about Long Baiyu?”
Jade glanced quickly between him and Zhudai in bewilderment. Who was Long Baiyu? Zhudai stiffened, his angular face hardening into an arrogant, sneering expression reminiscent of when they had first met him in the halls of the Norse Gods. Appalled, Jade shrank back toward Phoenix, who reached out and dragged her to his side, glaring at the sorcerer.
“When were you going to tell Jade about your plan to kill Long Baiyu on the day of the ri shi, in order to attain immortality?” Phoenix demanded. “Or were you just hoping you could get rid of us now so we wouldn’t interfere with your little quest for two-world domination?”
His overly dramatic words tickled Jade’s funnybone. She laughed nervously.
“You have to be kidding, Phoenix. World domination? That’s so clichéd.” She turned to the sorcerer, a hand outstretched. “Zhudai, tell him: you were just trying to protect yourself against us when you thought we were going to kill you. Right?”
Zhudai smiled again but this time, his smile made Jade shiver more than the chill wind had. His eyes darkened to black pits. He slid a look across to Li Lei, who nodded imperceptibly. The sorcerer withdrew his hands from his sleeves. His fingertips crackled with reddish, purple-blue light. He began to advance toward them. Phoenix drew Blódbál and shoved Jade to one side.
Finally, their arch-enemy replied. “No, my dear. He is right. You are wrong.”
“No!” she whispered, backing away. “You promised. You said you wouldn’t hurt my friends. You said you would send us home. That’s why you brought me here: to convince Phoenix.”
Zhudai’s expression of amused disdain became more pronounced. “Yajat did say you were extremely gullible. I didn’t quite believe it but it is true. You were so desperate to believe; so keen to impress me. Well, your need to be liked has blinded you, you foolish girl. I used you to draw Phoenix out. I knew that if I just killed you, he would seek revenge and I don’t have time for that.”
“No,” Jade shook her head, not wanting to hear it.
“Yes,” he nodded, raising his hands. “I cannot send you home. Only the one who brought you here can do that. I didn’t lie, however, when I said I didn’t intend to hurt your friends. I don’t. I intend to kill them, and you. Quickly. Right now. Then, with your amulets and knives, I will have the power to control both worlds.”
CHAPTER TEN
When it happened, the attack came from an unexpected direction: not from Zhudai but from Li Lei. The girl’s hands blurred as she threw a long, silver hair ornament straight at them. Instinctively, Jade threw up a shield spell around herself and Phoenix but her timing was fractionally slow. The lethal point arced past her and plunged its full length into Phoenix’s chest.
Jade choked his name and caught him as he sagged sideways. Angrily, he yanked the thin metal blade from his body and flung it aside. It bounced off the inside of the shield spell and clattered to the paving stones. He took half a step toward Zhudai then sank to his knees with a look of annoyed surprise on his face.
“Dammit. Not again.” He coughed and grabbed Jade’s arm for support. “I was too busy watching the monologuing badguy. That’ll teach me to ignore the sidekick.” Collapsing, he fell to the ground with Jade kneeling beside him. Angry tears burned her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Phoenix,” she murmured. “This is my fault. I’m so, so sorry. He used me as bait to get you here and now...”
He managed a weak grin. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth. “I’d say I’m getting used to it but I’m not. This is my last spare one, too.” He coughed again. “Sorry Jade. You’re on your own until Marcus and Brynn get here or I wake up. Some rescue, huh?” His eyes closed and he sighed as his last spare life slipped away.
Jade leapt to her feet. Rage pulsed life through her veins: anger at herself for being so completely stupid and self-absorbed; anger at Zhudai for manipulating her feelings so easily; anger even at Li Lei for pretending to be a friend. Mostly, though, it was a kind of black, despairing pain that she had allowed her old desire for approval to blind her to what was happening. She felt sick to the stomach at how easily Zhudai had twisted the situation to suit himself. Well, not any more. He was not going to kill them wit
hout the fight of his life. Whatever happened, she could not let him have their amulets. Maintaining the shield, she moved between Phoenix and Zhudai and lifted a hand.
The sorcerer raised his thin brows at her contemptuously. “Do you really think you can beat me with magic?” He gloated.
“I can try,” she grated. “Sky-hiti!”
The bolt of lightning she drew from a cloudless sky surprised all of them. It snaked and crackled to the ground, detonating on the pavingstones with a deafening crack that sent a shower of debris in all directions. When it cleared, blue smoke curled out of a blackened hole in the ground a mere foot from Zhudai.
He remained where he was, disdainfully motionless. “You’ll have to do better than that. Try this one.”
His long fingers crackled with energy. Jade strengthened her shield and drew it closer to conserve strength. Zhudai whispered a word and made a throwing motion. Something hard and invisible hit her shield, sending tremors through both it and her body. Jade gasped, clutching at her stomach. It felt like someone punching her. She could hardly breathe.
Before she could recover, he struck again with the same spell. She dropped to her knees, struggling for breath; angry and scared. On the merest whisper, she cast another spell, lauss hond, hoping to distract Zhudai long enough to gather her wits and breath.
Instantly, the feeling of being breathless vanished. Jade straightened, glancing down at Phoenix. Still dead.
Zhudai glared at her. With his left hand, he held his right wrist in a death grip, trying to keep it still. Jade’s ‘unsteady hand’ spell was working but for how long?
Dismay clutched her as the great, gold-coated palace gates swung outward. With a thunder of matched steps at least a hundred palace guards marched forth, all wearing Zhudai’s personal crest of a red bird on a black background.
The Yu Dragon Page 8
