She made quick work of the wards on the second door and it opened smoothly. Baiyu was still inside. “Brynn,” she called out. “We need your help again. Hurry.”
The boy was by her side in an instant, working on the thick, iron manacles around Baiyu’s wrists and ankles. It took only a few moments for him to release each one but the sound of iron clattering on stone seemed frighteningly loud.
As Brynn re-locked the mechanical parts of the doors behind them, Jade, Phoenix, and Long Baiyu followed Zhi Hui back to where the guards were stationed. They slept on but twitches and groans showed they were not far from recovering.
Jade caught a glimpse of herself in the warped shine of a bronze shield hanging on the wall. She looked ghastly in the torchlit guardroom – ghostly, in fact. Blood smeared her skin and her white hair and pale silken clothing hung in tatters. Behind her, Baiyu looked far worse. Thin and haggard; his long, dark hair tied back with a strip of cloth torn from the remains of a dark red robe that now hung like a sack from his wasted frame. He would have been handsome, once. Now, sallow skin and dark shadows framed sunken eyes. Those eyes were the only alive part of him: they sparkled with intelligence, wisdom and humour. They were the eyes of a Master.
Knowing his martial arts background, she was not surprised when Phoenix bowed as he would have to his Sensei in his dojo back home.
Baiyu smiled, laying on hand on his shoulder. “No, son, it is I who should honour you for your bravery and persistence. Now let us go. We need to get away from here quickly. Well,” he swayed slightly on his feet, “as quickly as we can.”
Phoenix reached down to grab a sword from a sleeping guard.
Zhi Hui stayed his hand. “If we can slip past, they may not notice we’re gone for many hours. If we are very lucky, your escape may not be discovered until just before the ri shi. We will get you a weapon elsewhere.”
He hesitated, staring at the sword with longing in his eyes. “I hate feeling defenceless.”
Long Baiyu chuckled. “In your world, had you ever before used a true sword in a real battle for your life?”
Phoenix shook his head slowly, his expression bemused. “No. Aikido is about the empty-handed swordsman.”
“So why do you feel defenceless now?” Baiyu smiled. “Your skills are the same - better even.”
Phoenix blinked and looked now at his own empty hands. Jade could see he was turning the idea over. Maybe it was just what he needed to break his dependence on Blódbál.
One of the guards groaned and shifted in his sleep.
“Here,” wanting to get moving but not liking the weakness she could sense in Baiyu’s life-energy, Jade handed him two needles of the ma huang herb. “We have to move but you need this, too.”
Baiyu nodded and ate it. Soon the flush of false energy sprang into his cheeks and he waved at Brynn to lead the way out. Zhi Hui and Jade draped his arms around their shoulders. Phoenix followed, watching the stirring guards for signs of alertness.
Jade only breathed again when they had left the guard room and were stumbling through darkened corridors toward the servants’ wing. With Brynn scouting ahead and Zhi Hui giving directions in whispers, it took only minutes to reach a low door leading to the outside world. It seemed like a week. Three times they had to take refuge in darkened doorways to avoid being seen by scurrying servants or patrolling guards. Each time, Jade awaited the inevitable outcry with dread and anticipation. Each time, they passed undetected, somehow.
Brynn laid his hand on the last door handle.
“Wait,” she whispered. Brynn snatched his hand back, looking around fearfully. She slipped out from beneath Baiyu’s arm and squinted at the door.
“There’s a magic ward around the whole palace. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were set to detect the passage of Baiyu himself,” she explained, as the moment stretched tensely out and Phoenix twitched with impatience.
Baiyu laughed painfully. “You are wise beyond your years, child. I had not thought of that but you are probably right. It would be very much in keeping with Zhudai’s character.”
She held her hands out and closed her eyes again, feeling the unbelievable power of Zhudai’s magic pulsing just inches away. She reached behind, touching Baiyu lightly – just enough to get an image of his unique aura. To her, even in his diminished state, his energy tasted a white so brilliant it was almost shocking. That very brilliance should make it easier to find any trap in the shields. Yes, there it was. Interwoven in Zhudai’s shields was a trigger spell. Set to detect Baiyu’s individuality, it would immediately activate a magical snare and hold him prisoner until Zhudai came. It was a magic way beyond her ability to break or change. She wasn’t sure she even understood it.
Jade opened her eyes, biting her lip in consternation. “There’s no way I can break down these wards without Zhudai noticing, even if I had the power. We can’t take Baiyu through, either, because it will set off the alarms. Is there another way out? Some way that isn’t magically guarded?” she asked Zhi Hui.
The old woman shook her head. “Zhudai spent many hours finding every tunnel and door. He knows and has warded all of the entrances, secret or not. This is the only entrance servants are allowed to use and it is the only one so lightly guarded.” She nodded toward a sleeping soldier, slumped in the shadows.
“Can’t we disguise him somehow?” Phoenix suggested. “We have to get him out. We need him to defeat Zhudai.”
“Really?” Jade said, surprised. “You didn’t tell me that before.”
“Sorry. We had other things to worry about, remember?” Phoenix grimaced.
She closed her eyes briefly against the surge of pain. Marcus’ death was still fresh in her heart, too. Now was not the time. She could grieve later. Now she had to think of a way to get them out. What was it Phoenix had said? Disguise...
“Hang on…” she held up a hand as he opened his mouth to speak again. “Disguise him. Yes. Good idea.”
“But,” Brynn protested, “just changing his clothes won’t stop Zhudai’s magic from sensing him, will it?”
Jade shook her head. “No, but changing his energy signature will. Hold still.” She took Baiyu’s hand in one of her own, and Zhi Hui’s in the other. “You two will have the most similar aura’s, being family. I’m going to try and mask Baiyu with yours.”
“Whatever you do,” Phoenix said in a low voice, “do it soon. I hear people stirring in the palace.”
“Yes, the slaves and eunuchs begin work at midnight. We must hurry,” Zhi Hui agreed.
Trying to put aside worry and fear, Jade extended herself, reaching out to feel the aura of both Zhi Hui and her son. She was right, their magical fingerprint was very similar, although Baiyu’s clearly had the potential to be vastly stronger than his mother’s – once his strength returned. Slowly, Jade drew the two closer together, using herself as a conduit to mingle their energies until Baiyu’s unique luminosity was dulled, merged with his mother’s yellow-white and a hint of Jade’s own green-gold.
Finally, she released their hands and drew a deep breath. Phoenix was there, holding her as weakness swept through her once more and her knees sagged.
“I’m ok,” she managed. “It’s done. The effect is only temporary but it should be enough to fool Zhudai’s wards.
“Let’s hope so,” Brynn muttered, “or this will be a very short excursion.” With a quick glance around, he squared his shoulders and opened the door to the outside world.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
One by one, they passed beneath the stone arch, holding their breath. Baiyu came last – at his own insistence. The others waited tensely as he stepped beyond his prison walls for the first time in many months. He moved through, pausing in the darkness beyond the stone wall; waiting for an outcry; a bolt of magic..anything.
Nothing happened.
Baiyu’s thin face broke into a broad smile. He turned to look up at the stars and closed his eyes. His chest rose as he drew his first breath of freedom. The half-light
hid many of the marks and scars of imprisonment, transforming his face until it seemed as though he, himself was glowing; reflecting the starlight. When he looked down at them again, Jade saw it wasn’t entirely an illusion: he really did look a little better.
“Even the rays of distant suns are better than none at all,” he murmured. “Come. Let us continue our journey in all haste before Zhudai discovers our absence.”
Brynn nodded and began to lead the way along darkened, silent streets. The boy slipped soundlessly from shadow to shadow with skilled invisibility. The others followed as best they could but Jade was conscious that her pale hair and clothing made her more visible than the rest. Her heart raced.
After several blocks, Baiyu touched her lightly on the arm. She jumped then nodded as he held up a hand to indicate they needed to stop. Quickly, she passed on the message and soon they were all huddled in a narrow alley between a fish market and a fruit stall.
“Where are you taking us, little one?” Baiyu whispered.
“Back to Zhi Hui’s house, of course,” Brynn raised his brows in surprise.
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“We’re not exactly swamped with choices,” the boy returned acerbically. Jade laid a calming hand on his arm and he closed his mouth with a resentful glare.
“I meant that, should our absence be discovered,” Baiyu said gently, “the first place they will look will be my family home.”
Brynn frowned, glanced at Zhi Hui, who nodded back. He shrugged. “Where then?”
Zhi Hui chuckled, plucking at Jade’s loose, tattered clothing. “How about a bathhouse?”
Baiyu smiled. “The Red Lotus?”
His mother pursed her lips, a wise, wicked gleam in her eyes. “Hua Mei-Lien will be glad to see you again. She has little enough reason to trust Zhudai and he has found no reason to suspect her. It should be safe for the night. This way.”
The woman slipped further into the alley, vanishing with astonishing spryness and skill for one so old. Brynn raised an eyebrow at Baiyu, who shrugged and nodded for him to follow.
Less than twenty minutes and considerably more than twenty twists and turns later, the tired group emerged into a noisome courtyard behind a three-story wooden building. Every window glowed warm with red-shaded lanterns; steam escaped in long, thin trails from gaps between doors; the sound of laughter, music and the chink of plates drifted out into the night; the mouthwatering scent of food enticed them closer to the back door.
Zhi Hui scurried across the open, starlit square and knocked on the plain back door. After a few moments, it opened slightly. A whispered conversation ensued then the door opened further. Golden light spilled into the courtyard, welcoming and warm. Zhi Hui waved them over.
“Come in, quickly,” a pretty girl of about seventeen or eighteen urged. She bowed the group in and closed the door behind them with a quick, searching look outside to make sure no-one spied. She looked at her unexpected guests. Her almond-shaped dark eyes widened in surprise as she took in their bedraggled appearance and Western looks. She smiled shyly. Her porcelain skin flushed, matching the delicate pink-embroidered flowers on her cream silk robe. Long, shining black hair was pulled back into an elaborate hairdo that made Jade’s head ache in remembrance.
“My mother is in the front room with guests but I will send her a message and make the baths ready for you, too.”
“Wait, Hua Xinyu,” Baiyu laid a hand on her silk-clad arm. “Your mother – and you – are you both well?”
Xinyu bowed again, more deeply this time. “Yes Father, Zhudai has not harmed us since your capture. Mother believes he still does not know.”
A look of relief flickered across Baiyu’s face and he returned her bow before waving her away. Xinyu shot a quick look beneath her lashes at Phoenix then ran with tiny, elegant steps, through a beaded curtain toward the front of the house.
His young companions stared at him as Baiyu turned back toward them. He raised a shoulder deprecatingly. “I was worried Zhudai might have discovered my family and used them against me.”
“Er…” Jade searched for something to say. “You don’t look old enough to have a daughter. I’m glad she’s ok. She’s beautiful.” She glanced across at Phoenix, only to find him staring blankly at the exit through which Xinyu had vanished. A nudge in her ribs drew her attention. Brynn jerked his head toward Phoenix, made a face like a dog panting then rolled his eyes. Jade elbowed him back, frowning.
“Come then,” Zhi Hui said briskly. “My granddaughter has had two of the bath rooms emptied so we may have some privacy. Jade, come with me. You boys go that way and make yourselves tidy. Baiyu, Xinyu will have given you the Lantern Room in the hopes that it will add to your strength. You know where it is. Go now. We have much to do before morning and little time to achieve it.”
Jade tried to catch Phoenix’s eye but he was still staring after Xinyu like a bewildered puppy. She allowed Zhi Hui to lead her away, trying hard to ignore the rush of pain that made her chest and throat hurt. She missed Marcus. She tried to focus on what Zhi Hui was muttering but could not make the words out – only that the woman seemed unusually worried.
“Ah,” the old woman’s wrinkled face lit up as Xinyu reappeared. “Granddaughter. You must send a message to my house. If, as Baiyu suspects, Zhudai attacks my house, the servants will be in danger. Also, I need someone to bring all of the things belonging to the Westerners. All of them, do you understand? Is there somewhere their horses can be stabled without arousing suspicion?”
Xinyu gave her grandmother a knowing look. “Of course. Mother is the best at helping her guests to be discrete, Grandmother. I will arrange it – and some new clothes to replace yours,” she nodded at Jade’s shredded garments.
“Can I have something like the loose pants and tops that men wear?” Jade asked quickly. Xinyu blinked at her, apparently shocked by the suggestion, so Jade hurried to explain. “I can’t stand tripping over flimsy skirts and long sleeves again.”
“Of course,” Xinyu bowed, casting a sidelong, speculative look from beneath long black lashes.
“Thankyou,” Jade bowed awkwardly. “I’m Jade, by the way. My friends are Brynn, the boy and Phoenix, the warrior.”
Xinyu smiled and Jade managed a tentative one in return. Her smile faded as she remembered Li Lei’s false friendship. Could this girl be trusted? Could any of them, here? They didn’t really know Zhi Hui, Baiyu or his family at all. They had only his word that he was the one who brought them here; that he was needed to kill Zhudai; that he was the one who could return them home.
She followed Zhi Hui into a steaming bath room in thoughtful silence, determined not to trust so easily this time. She would not make the same mistake a third time.
*****
Phoenix was startled out of his bemusement by a blaze of lights. The room they entered glowed with the light of dozens of lanterns in white, red and gold paper frames. It was hot, too, from the candlelight and steam. In the centre rippled a deep plungepool on which floated lily-shaped candles. Standing beside this stood three, large, wooden bathtubs, filled with scented, steaming water. An array of soaps, oils and scrubbing brushes were carefully laid out nearby.
Brynn took one look and backed away to sit on a bench. “Oh no! Zhi Hui made me take one bath already today. I’m not taking another. I’ve had four baths in the last three weeks – that’s more than I usually have in a year. I’m clean.”
Phoenix was too tired to argue or care. He shucked his filthy clothing and climbed readily into the warm water, wincing as it connected with scrapes and bruises he didn’t even know existed. “You keep watch then. I’m going to enjoy this.”
“And I,” Baiyu sighed, easing into a bathtub with an expression of bliss.
For several long minutes nothing could be heard except the occasional splash as Phoenix and Baiyu scrubbed the grime of imprisonment from their skins. At last, when Brynn began to fidget with impatience, they both clambered out. Phoenix reached for
a towel. Baiyu stayed his hand and waved toward the plungepool.
“Come, it is better if you follow with a cool bath. The body is invigorated and you will think more clearly.”
Phoenix eyed the water dubiously. He was nicely warm and more than a little sleepy. The last thing he wanted was to be awake again. Still, he conceded, they did have a lot of thinking and planning to do tonight if they wanted to defeat Zhudai in the morning.
Clenching his teeth, fists and a few other bits, he slid into the water, yelping as his missed his footing and cold water closed over his head. He shoved off and floundered back to the edge, gasping and sputtering. Baiyu was already out again, drying off and watching him with amusement.
Teeth chattering, Phoenix snatched at the square of linen Brynn laughingly threw at him. “Th…that’s insane.”
Baiyu smiled then sobered and shook his head. Drops of water flew from his long hair, sparkling in the lantern light as he swiftly braided it away from his face. He already looked more muscular and healthy than they had when he had first emerged from prison.
“No, a cold bath is not insane. What we will attempt tomorrow, however, probably is. Come. We must make plans.”
A short while later they joined Jade and Zhi Hui in a small room laid out for dining. A long, low wooden table dominated the centre of the room, surrounded by cushions of gold and red silk. The table had been tastefully set with white and black plates and chopsticks. Again, numerous lanterns hung from the white and black paper-thin walls.
An elegant woman, dressed in a beautiful, royal blue robe embroidered with silver dragons, sat straightbacked and cool at the head of the table. Her strong resemblance to Xinyu, seated to her right, told him she must be Hua Mei-Lien. Xinyu did not look up. She sat with hands folded in her lap, eyes downcast.
Jade was across the table but she had left two spare seats between herself and the two Chinese women. Phoenix saw she had chosen to dress in a plain black, loose outfit much like what he and Brynn had been given. Not a jewel or bit of embroidery to be seen. Her pale hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail. He wondered why.
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