The Yu Dragon

by Aiki Flinthart

  His action must have caught the sorcerer’s eye, for Zhudai turned a contemptuous, sneering look on his captives. He considered Phoenix for a moment then gestured to his guards. Hesitantly, they backed away, leaving a clear space between Phoenix and Zhudai. Jade and the others were still securely held but Phoenix was now free to attack. Zhudai accepted a long, curved sword handed to him by his guard captain.

  Phoenix hefted Blódbál and its song exploded with joyous disharmony in his mind, obliterating reason and clarity. After all, he thought dimly, there was nothing left to lose. There was no way to return home and Zhudai was going to kill them anyway. It was best to go down fighting.

  Zhudai’s heavy eyelids drooped as he considered the warrior before him. “So you think you have the skill to defeat me, boy?”

  Phoenix didn’t speak; couldn’t speak through the veil of hatred that clouded his mind. He was lost in anger: anger at Zhudai for taking away their last chance; and at Baiyu for dying and abandoning them; anger at everything and everyone in this unreal reality. It was time to fight; time to die. Nothing else was important.

  He closed the gap between them with five swift steps, bringing Blódbál around in a vicious overhead strike. Zhudai blocked it, turning the blow aside with one hand and driving stiffened fingers into Phoenix’s stomach with the other. Gasping for breath, Phoenix staggered back, clutching at frozen diaphragm muscles. Zhudai waited, sneering.

  “You do not have what it takes to defeat me. You are lazy, just as your stepfather always said. Lazy and useless.”

  Anger flared higher. Phoenix struck again, more craftily this time. Faking another overhead blow, he changed direction at the last second, arcing the blade toward Zhudai’s exposed neck. Once more the sorcerer blocked with ease. His elbow came up, connecting painfully with Phoenix’s jaw.

  Phoenix fell back again, shaking his head to clear the multicoloured lights of pain. Again he attacked; a flurry of blows that Zhudai deflected easily, each in turn. Nothing Phoenix did could break through his guard. Blow after blow was turned aside yet the sorcerer did not retaliate in kind. He played with Phoenix, drawing the fight out for his own amusement. That dim realisation heightened Phoenix’s fury. He redoubled his efforts, striking faster and harder than he ever had before. No-one could withstand his frenzied attack, yet Zhudai did.

  At last, Zhudai blocked and followed up with another elbow-strike to the exposed side of Phoenix’s head. Phoenix stumbled back, half-stunned. He shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. It wouldn’t subside. In fact, it grew louder but it now sounded more like someone calling his name from down a long tunnel.

  Phoenix!

  Phoenix. Listen to me!

  Phoenix, please!

  It was Jade’s voice in his mind, not a delusion at all. Something of Phoenix himself surfaced briefly from beneath the sea of rage that swamped his mind.

  What? Kinda busy here. He asked curtly.

  He didn’t get to hear her reply. Zhudai chose that moment to launch an all-out assault. Phoenix could think of nothing except keeping his feet as Zhudai battered his defence with strike after strike, forcing him backward, step by step. His arm ached, lungs burned, his head rang with pain and the song of the sword. He couldn’t keep this up much longer, even with the sword feeding him energy. Stepping back again, Phoenix brought Blódbál up in a desperate attempt to deflect a blow that seemed to come from nowhere. His heel caught on an uneven flagstone and he stumbled, falling to his knees. Blódbál was struck from his hand and flew free, skittering over the paving stones with the bell-like tone of a gong; a gong that rang a death knell. Panting, Phoenix knelt on the ground, the point of Zhudai’s sword pricking the hollow of his throat. He looked up and saw finality in Zhudai’s flat gaze.

  Zhudai glanced at his audience and said something but Phoenix’s mind was too clouded to hear it. The sorcerer seemed to be taunting someone but Phoenix didn’t care. He wanted this to be over. Choking on hatred he gathered his remaining strength for one last attack. Even if he had to impale himself on the sword, he wanted, for just one moment, to get his hands around the throat of the man who had caused so much pain and humiliation. Just one moment.

  Phoenix. It was Jade’s voice again, faint but determined. Remember what Baiyu told you. Patience in a moment of anger will save you a hundred days of sorrow. Be patient. Just for one moment.

  *****

  Jade watched in despair as Phoenix succumbed to Blódbál’s berserker magic and attacked Zhudai. The flare of unreasoning anger in his face was impossible to miss. Even Zhudai saw and responded by toying with the young warrior as they fought. Time after time he did not take a killing opportunity when clearly he could have.

  Desperately, she tried to reach Phoenix. She broke through, only to lose him as Zhudai renewed the attack and he surrendered to the sword’s spell again. Laughing, the sorcerer forced Phoenix back until he tripped and fell only a few feet from where Jade and the others stood. Blódbál flew from his grasp, leaving the Phoenix kneeling before his enemy, death only inches from his throat.

  Then Zhudai looked up and caught her eye. He smiled slowly. “So you see, my dear. You could not defeat me with magic and this fool could not defeat me in the martial arts. I am unsurpassed. I am immortal. I deserve to be Emperor. You deserve nothing, for you are nothing.”

  Jade blinked, tears gathering as she finally faced the hopelessness of their position. He was right, she already knew she was not strong enough to beat him and if Phoenix could not either then what could they ever do? They were going to die here and she would never see her family again. She stopped struggling against her captors, her shoulders drooping in defeat. She had been stupid to think she could be good enough to succeed against a master sorcerer like him. She had failed…again. Now Phoenix would die.

  Zhudai laughed softly. “Yes. You are a failure. You were never worthy and will never be worthy. Now you and your friends will die having failed completely and I will have my Empire.”

  Then, surprisingly, in the depths of the despair that gripped her, Jade heard a faint echo of Baiyu’s last words: it is not who you are that holds you back; but who you think you are not.

  Blinding enlightenment flashed through her consciousness, clearing away the black heart of self-doubt. Belief. Self-belief. That was the key. Zhudai’s and hers, both. Suddenly, like a door opening in her soul, pure joy flooded into her, filling her body with warmth and her mind with clarity. It was so obvious. How had she missed it? It had been there all the time: Yin-yang. The symbol on their amulets; Balance and Harmony. It all made sense now. Light and Dark; Good and Evil; Dragon and Fenghuang bird; They were all two sides of the same coin. Together they were Balanced. Separately they skewed people and the world into wrongness and disharmony.

  Renewed, Jade raised her head and smiled at Zhudai. The sorcerer frowned at her, glancing around, seeking the source of her sudden reversal. At his feet, Phoenix tensed and began to rise, his eyes fixed on Zhudai with singleminded intent. Jade flashed him a warning thought; a reminder. She saw the red rage drain from his face, replaced by reluctant comprehension.

  She waited. There was a chance now. A faint one. She wasn’t sure if what she wanted to do was possible but if it was, it would only be through teamwork. Now for her part. Extending her senses, she sought the paths of energy that connected her to her captors, through their hands. It was the work of seconds to relax enough to ‘feel’ their life-force. In even less time, she had drawn enough of their brown-red energy to restore herself and weaken them without killing them. She shook their hands off, smiling a little as they stared at her in surprise before collapsing, unconscious, to the floor.

  Zhudai’s frown deepened. He jerked his head and four more guards laid hands on her. Jade’s smile broadened. Without hesitation, she drained their energy. They joined the others at her feet. In response, Zhudai flicked a peremptory hand at the men guarding her friends. The Emperor, Brynn, Marcus and Xinyu were held and knives put to their throats
. Zhudai shortened his own arm, preparing to thrust his sword into Phoenix’s body.

  She hesitated. There were only two variables left. If her guess was right then it was really only one. She flicked a sidelong glance at Xinyu. The Chinese girl managed to smile, just a fraction; a knowing, wise smile. That was all the confirmation Jade needed. She stepped a little closer to Zhudai, distracting him. There was a shimmer of purple-blue near the ground beside Phoenix. The final variable. The time had come.

  Perhaps sensing some disruption in his plans, Zhudai glanced back at the warrior. He caught the haze of magic near to Phoenix and saw the dim outline of two knives. With a faint, contemptuous smile, he lowered his sword and stepped back, arms outstretched.

  Zhudai laughed. “Ahhh... You bring me the final pieces I need to conquer your world as well as my own. Thankyou.” He sent Phoenix a mocking bow.

  At Jade’s unspoken instruction, Phoenix snatched the two Life daggers and the amulets as they appeared from Jade’s time-pocket. He shoved the amulets into a pocket and knelt, waiting, a dagger now in each hand, watching for the right moment.

  Zhudai raised his head, looking arrogantly down his nose at Phoenix. “But do you really think you can kill me with those little things when the mighty Blódbál could not? Have you both forgotten what I am? I am Immortal! I cannot be killed.”

  Jade smiled again. “I think what you are, is a bit self-deluded but by all means, let’s test that little theory.” She drew more energy from the guards around her friends. This close, she didn’t even need to touch them, now she knew the trick of it. One by one they slumped to the ground, insensible. Her whole body thrummed with the power she now held.

  “Sky-hiti!” Her spell drew an almighty lightning bolt from the clear sky. It exploded just an arms length from Zhudai, sending a shower of sharp stone fragments in all directions.

  He remained unmoved, sneering at her. “Your aim has not improved, has it?”

  “I wasn’t trying to hit you,” she returned calmly. “I was giving you a chance to end this peacefully. Look.” She pointed at his right arm; the arm that had been closest to the shrapnel. Blood dribbled down the back of his hand. It dripped to the ground, staining the paving stones black.

  Zhudai raised his hand and pushed his sleeve back, his expression shocked as he stared at the deep slice on his arm. Wildly, he looked around: at Jade, at Phoenix kneeling nearby and finally at Baiyu’s still body.

  “But… I…I spoke the Rite... I drank the blood of the White Dragon,” he stuttered. “I am Immortal. I felt his strength flowing into me. I healed myself.”

  Jade shook her head, stepping closer. “You believed you had inherited the strength of the White Dragon, so you felt more powerful. You have not changed. You’re still as mortal as the rest of us. Belief was all you gained. Thanks to you, I then realised that belief is all you really need. I can beat you now.”

  “No!” Zhudai hissed, taking several steps back. “It’s not true. I am immortal. I drank the blood of the White Dragon.”

  Xinyu tossed her head and moved to stand next to Jade. “No, you drank the blood of an ordinary man. My father passed on the inheritance of the White Dragon to me before you even touched him. I am the Dragon now.” To prove it, she morphed into a lithe, smaller version of the Chinese Dragon they had seen before then back into her human form again.

  Zhudai froze then his expression segued back into arrogance and he raised his chin defiantly. “It doesn’t matter. I defeated your father; I can defeat you, girl.” He gestured to his remaining elite troops. They ranged themselves behind their master, weapons ready.

  “It’s true that you probably could beat Xinyu,” Jade said softly, as Marcus and Brynn took up their positions on either side of the girls, “but can you overcome all of us, together?” She lifted her hands in preparation.

  The sorcerer snarled, his black gaze sweeping the five companions. “I have more men. The odds are in my favour. I will not be overcome by low-life foreigners and children.”

  “Yes,” Phoenix stepped up beside Marcus, his face calm once more. “I’m afraid you will, actually.”

  Zhudai growled his frustration, his hands crackling with power as he began another incantation. Grimly, Jade strengthened the shield around her friends. The spell Zhudai threw bounced off, earthing with explosive power into the stones at their feet. Pieces of rock were hurled into the air.

  When the smoke and dust finally cleared, the first thing Jade saw was Zhudai’s smiling face and his hand, outflung toward the wooden dais behind them. She glanced back quickly, her heart stuttering as she saw why he was so pleased. On the dais, composed and proud in the clutches of Zhudai’s men, were the Han Emperor himself and Zhi Hui. Zhudai threw back his head with a laugh.

  “I know you, you see. You are all weak and your weakness is that you care for others.” He laughed again. “Now lay down your arms and surrender or they die.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Phoenix caught the swift look and even swifter thought Jade sent him. He nodded slightly in acknowledgement. It was a risk they had to take. This had to end, and quickly. Jade’s plan was the only option. He heard her mutter kala as she cast a spell on the guards holding Zhi Hui and the Emperor, time-freezing them so the soldiers couldn’t physically harm their hostages but they still looked alert - enough to fool Zhudai for awhile, anyway. Now they just had to deal with the sorcerer once and for all.

  “You’re wrong, Zhudai,” she said aloud. “Having people you care about is not a weakness. Being in a team makes you stronger. No-one succeeds on their own.”

  Phoenix stilled, feeling the power of her words, realising their truth at last. Slowly, he nodded his agreement. Marcus laid a hand on Jade’s shoulder. Brynn began to twirl his sling.

  “But,” Jade sighed, “if that’s the way you want it.....”

  Zhudai threw up a personal shield, its glimmer turning the air around him into a thick, purple-red haze. Jade tilted her head.

  Now, her thought came into Phoenix’s mind.

  All of them attacked at once. Brynn flung stone after stone at the remaining loyal guards to hold them off. Marcus shot his quiver empty then drew his sword and engaged any who came within range. Xinyu morphed back into the White Dragon and dived from above, scattering the soldiers, sweeping them aside with great lashes of her tail.

  That left Zhudai to Phoenix and Jade. Jade divided up her own shield into individual ones around each of the friends. Her expression showed pure triumph, as though she couldn’t believe how simple it was, how much power she could now channel. Figuring he could rely on her to watch his back, Phoenix tucked the two life-daggers into his belt and made a dash for Blódbál, still lying on the ground near Zhudai. The sorcerer saw and threw a spell his direction. The force of it knocked Phoenix flying but Jade’s shield meant he came through unscathed. He rolled to his feet, circling around to try and get at the sword from behind, dividing the sorcerer’s attention.

  Zhudai threw spell after spell. Jade countered each, casting her own with a wave of her hand, deflecting the magic back at his own men. The ground around them erupted as paving stones exploded into lethal debris. The soldiers withstood the onslaught for a few moments then wavered, broke and ran like frightened rabbits, abandoning their master. Left alone in the courtyard, Zhudai glanced around as though finally realising his vulnerability. His eyes narrowed in fury.

  Everyone paused, watching the sorcerer cautiously. Phoenix crouched where he was, waiting with a patience he didn’t know he possessed. His moment would come. A breathless, still silence fell on the courtyard, as if the whole world awaited Zhudai’s next move. Warm spring sunshine poured down onto their heads in a benediction of life.

  Zhudai gestured to the guards holding the Emperor. When they didn’t respond, he made a noise of extreme frustration and threw everything he had at Jade instead. Flashes of red-purple energy rent the sky. The air tasted of electricity and blood. Her shields shuddered under the onslaught but held. Agai
n and again Zhudai flung bolts of pure power at her; again and again she turned them back at him. He shifted his attention to the others, the Emperor and Zhi Hui. Jade must have strengthened the shields around all of them, for Phoenix now saw the world through a strange, purple-blue shimmer.

  He looked over at her, seeing a hint of strain in her eyes. Even her newfound power must be stretched by the drain on her resources. Defending seven people had to be harder than attacking one. She still had limits. He figured she probably couldn’t take much more. Somehow, they had to break through and finish Zhudai off.

  Catching her attention through the miasma of smoke and haze of magic, Phoenix drew his finger across his throat in the classic symbol to end it. She grimaced, looked down at her own hands then raised them. Her face revealed that, whatever she was going to do next, she did it with extreme reluctance. She closed her eyes, lips moving. Phoenix backed away. Even at this distance, even with the sound of Zhudai’s magic crackling in his ears, Phoenix still heard her whisper.

  “Hata.”

  A shaft of pure purple-white light shot from her palms, slicing through the air with a tearing sound that jarred Phoenix to the toes. He held his breath as it speared into Zhudai’s shield. The ‘destroy’ spell smashed Zhudai’s protective barrier into fragments and exposed him at last. Zhudai flung up a new one. Jade ripped that apart, too. Nothing protected him now.

  Denied access to Blódbál by the raw power flying around the sorcerer, Phoenix decided he couldn’t wait any longer. With or without the sword, he had to get to Zhudai and end it. Responding to Jade’s thought-question with a terse command to drop the shield around him, Phoenix sprinted toward Zhudai, knowing Jade would not wish to kill if she could avoid it, knowing his time had come.

  Are you sure? her words in his head were distracting.

  Phoenix growled in frustration. I can’t even touch him if I’m inside a shield and you know it. Drop the damned thing now!