Vows of Gold and Laughter (The Immortal Beings Book 1)

by Edith Pawlicki

  Next to Guleum were Xiao’s parents. They sat so close to each other that their shoulders touched. Both wore large smiles, but Xiao could tell from their narrowed eyes that they had noted his mediocre attire.

  To the emperor’s immediate right was Neela the Wanderer, Jin’s grandmother. She was the only one of the line-up that Xiao genuinely admired. Powerful enough to be a god, she had never sought worship. Xiao envied her unfettered life; he wished his parents hadn’t established his divinity at birth. She was happily chatting with Jin’s eldest brother, Gang, the God of War. Xiao would have been hard-pressed to find two people more different, but as he considered their gray-hair and lined faces, the only two of the head row to show their age, he supposed they might have common experiences.

  On the other side of Gang was Salaana, Aka’s daughter from his first marriage, the Goddess of Justice, her fierce beauty and burning eyes making Xiao squirm internally. He still remembered when she slapped him as a child, though he no longer remembered his crime. Last on that side was Salaana’s full brother, Karana, the God of Destruction. He had the same intense beauty as his sister, but the fire in his eyes was banked – he was as nice as Salaana was mean, until he lost his temper.

  Jin’s hand on his arm, they genuflected just inside the hall, paying their respects to their families at the head table. They rose and inched down the hall, allowing everyone to study their appearance and gossip about them. Finally, they stood directly in front of the emperor.

  The emperor rose slowly, his rich vermilion robes sighing softly as he moved. He beckoned the Moon and Night deities with one hand, and Neela with the other. Xiao looked at Neela to avoid his parent’s gaze and was surprised to see tears marking Gang’s cheeks. Ah, that’s right – rumor said that Gang’s love had died the night he proposed. This betrothal must bring up painful memories.

  The emperor stepped off the dais which held his throne, and the three other immortals approached from the sides. Xiao gritted his teeth and let his parents clasp his hands, one on either side. Across from him Neela, Jin, and the emperor served as a mirror. Neela gave Xiao a wink when their eyes met, and Xiao’s forced smile became a little more sincere. He knew Neela had proposed this match, which had been endorsed by his parents and the Sun Emperor, and perhaps Jin’s mother too, though he had no memory of her.

  The Sun Emperor began his speech.

  “Good fortune to all who have joined us today. It is my pleasure to introduce to you all my beloved daughter, Sunlight Turns Petals Gold, the Goddess of Beauty.” He and Neela turned Jin toward the spectators for the expected sigh of admiration.

  Personally, Xiao thought Jin’s physical perfection was overrated. Yes, she was lovely, the same way a frozen waterfall was lovely. Better to look at than touch. And Jin was a little boring. It would be better to be unpredictable, to please oneself, to find one’s own meaning in life rather than trying to please one’s family... Xiao cut off his thoughts as he realized he was remembering how Nanami had run her nishikai-coated fingers through his hair.

  “And we have the pleasure of introducing our son, Laughter in the Shadows, the God of Pleasure,” said the Moon Goddess, and she and the Night God maneuvered Xiao to face the crowd.

  “Since their births five thousand years ago,” said Neela, “these two beings have been meant for each other.”

  “The time has come to formally pledge their troths,” said the Night God.

  “I, Aka, Sun God and emperor of the upper realms, pledge to give Sunlight Turns Petals Gold to the House of the New Moon in one year’s time.”

  “I, Sunlight Turns Petals Gold, pledge to marry as my father wishes.”

  “And we, Zi and Hei, the parents of Laughter in the Shadows, pledge to take Sunlight Turns Petals Gold as daughter of our house and the bride of our son in one year’s time.”

  “I, Laughter in the Shadows, pledge to follow my parents’ dictates.” Xiao felt the power of the vow course through him, an indescribable pleasure-pain. Should he break his word, he would lose his immortality and his magic. He summoned a smile for Jin. The one she offered in exchange was a little wan.

  When the clapping finished, all six of them were seated. Food was served immediately, and several immortals moved to the center aisle to dance. Xiao abruptly realized he was not the only one feeling troubled when Jin ignored the dancers in favor of her food. Dancing was Jin’s passion.

  “Hey.” He touched her knuckles gently with his own. “You okay?”

  Jin met his eyes, and after a moment said, “As okay as you are.”

  Xiao searched for a reply, but a crash and a shriek interrupted his thoughts.

  He looked to the dais, where the empress was continuing to vocalize her terror. The Sun Emperor had fallen from his throne; broken dishes surrounded his unmoving form.

  JIN was wishing so hard that something would interrupt the betrothal to which she hadn’t objected that when she saw her fallen father, she felt a brief surge of relief.

  A moment later it changed to horror – she dashed over to him while the empress fainted at his side. Jin had just ascertained he was still breathing when a powerful hand clamped on her shoulder.

  “He’s alive,” she told her oldest brother Gang, noting dazedly that this was the first time she could remember him touching her.

  “Move aside, young one,” he said gruffly. Jin did so, and Gang gently scooped their father into his arms. It was a strange sight. An outsider would think that Gang was the father and the emperor the son from their apparent ages. Jin supposed being the God of War was a heavy burden.

  Neela, Zi, and Hei had risen and were calming the guests. The God of Wind was attending his mother, the collapsed empress. Jin decided to go with Gang. Instinctively, she reached a hand out to Xiao. Faster than she expected, he was at her side, holding it, as they followed Gang out the back of the hall and through a gate into the emperor’s garden. Sun disciples slipped around them, several offering to carry the emperor, but Gang just shook his head impatiently.

  He took the shortest possible route to the Sun Pagoda, through the Concubine’s Hall – which under other circumstances would have mortified Jin – and across the arching bridges to and from the other pond’s pavilion. In the Pagoda itself, Gang managed the stairs with amazing speed for a man carrying another – Jin had to jog to keep up with him, and Xiao took the steps two at a time behind her.

  Gang laid Aka on the bed at the top of the pagoda, and Jin tried to make him comfortable, loosening his robe around his neck. His skin had turned sallow and his breath was irregular.

  “What’s wrong with him? What happened?” she asked Gang.

  Her brother had his lips compressed so tightly that they were bloodless.

  He turned to six sun disciples that had followed them. “You,” he ordered the highest ranking, “fetch Haraa the Warden. The rest of you, out.”

  When the room was empty except for Xiao, Gang and herself, Gang said, “I think he’s been poisoned.”

  Jin struggled to form words. “But... why? How?” She blanched. “Because of the betrothal.”

  Gang mouth twisted. “The betrothal made a good moment for him to collapse in front of many witnesses, but it is not the reason he was poisoned. Father has many who hate him.”

  Jin’s head spun. “Hate,” Jin repeated in disbelief. She remembered thinking she was flying as her father tossed her high into the air at New Moon Manor; him visiting Neela’s tiny caravan to have tea with Jin despite Neela glaring at him the entire time; his insistence she come home, to his side... Suddenly Jin’s heart clenched in dread.

  “NeeNee...” she breathed, unable to articulate more.

  “No,” Gang reassured her. “Not Neela.”

  “But she really dislikes him...”

  “She always resented his marrying her daughter. But this would not benefit her, and it’s not her style.”

  Jin tried to process that – did Neela have a style for killing people? And how
did Gang know? For his words rang with truth.

  Gang cocked his head, as if he realized his words had discomfited her. His gold eyes were luminous with unshed tears. “Father has always delighted in you. You love him very much, don’t you, Jin?”

  “Of course,” said Jin in confusion, just as the door opened.

  Haraa stepped in, her emerald hair wrapped around her like a sari. She was wearing only a cropped brown top and short skirt underneath it. Jin blinked; it was very strange to see Haraa outside of the Wood Pavilions. She hadn’t even come to the betrothal celebration, though Jin was sure she had been invited and she was a close friend of NeeNee’s.

  Haraa walked directly to the emperor’s side; Jin wasn’t sure if the Warden had even seen them. Jin pulled away from Gang and stood behind Haraa, folding her hands to stop their trembling. Haraa’s own hands were steady and graceful as they drifted a few inches above the emperor’s body, her face lost in thought.

  “It’s a death curse,” she said, her voice loud and ringing in the quiet room. “Nasty things.” She looked at Jin and Gang, and shook her head. Jin could feel her judgment and her contempt, though Jin didn’t know why. “It can be broken only with a black peony and the will of his blood. There’s nothing I can do.” And just like that, Haraa teleported away.

  “Death curse!” cried Jin. She whirled on Gang. “How do we get a black peony? What does that mean, ‘will of his blood’?”

  “Black peonies grow in the Underworld,” Gang replied. “As for the latter. Well, it means he can only be saved by a blood relative, showing extreme dedication to his life.”

  Jin rallied. “Papa has five children. Surely together–”

  “Jin...” Gang cleared his throat. “I have seen three death curses in my life – and two came to fruition. One, because the Underworld was locked, but the other... The reason a death curse can only be broken by a blood relative is it can only be made by a blood relative. The closer the relationship, the stronger the curse.”

  “Are you saying... one of our siblings...”

  “Yes. The curse that was broken – well, if you really want to save Father’s life, you had better go yourself to fetch the black peony.”

  “But...” Jin sputtered. “How do you know you can trust me?”

  Gang looked away. “Casting a death curse is one of the ugliest acts there is. You couldn’t have done it.”

  “Ah,” said Jin. “Because I’m a useless goddess. If I don’t have the power to cast the death curse, how do you think I could break it?” She looked at Gang suspiciously. “Why wouldn’t you go?”

  Gang touched his grey hair ruefully. “Most of this is from disagreements with Father.”

  “But the emperor has no gray,” objected Xiao, reminding Jin of his presence.

  “Perhaps if he did,” Gang said slowly, “then I could summon the dedication needed for this undertaking. As it is... I do not mourn this as purely as Jin does.” His words added anger to Jin’s roil of emotions, but she reminded herself that there was always beauty in truth. She could respect Gang’s honesty.

  “Besides,” Gang went on, “you are far from useless.” He cleared his throat. “You must know that your mother, the Goddess of Thought, was one of the most powerful deities that the Sun Court has ever seen. Do you know why your brother was murdered?”

  “Murdered?” echoed Jin, adrift in a world she did not know. “He was murdered?”

  “He was assassinated for being the God of Belief. Many feared the power he held over their own worshippers. And so your mother named you the Goddess of Beauty. She thought it a benign title that would keep you safe. But your potential is still there, even if...” Gang looked away, hiding his words from her. “You are far from useless,” he finally said.

  “Jin, I’m coming with you,” Xiao said, taking her hand and squeezing it.

  Jin could not see the look that passed from her brother to her betrothed, but Xiao’s eyes flashed angrily, and he declared, “If Jin is not a useless deity, neither am I.”

  “As you say,” Gang murmured. He cleared his throat. “You should both leave as soon as possible. I will keep the court from learning what has happened as long as I can – but of course, someone must already know the truth.”

  Jin hesitated. So far Gang’s words had held the beauty of truth, but he had not denied casting the death curse himself. If he had, surely both her life and Xiao’s were forfeit. Although her hand trembled fiercely at her side, she decided that she would rather end this here than have the God of War’s hounds at her heels.

  “Tell me,” Jin said, “that you did not cast the death curse yourself.”

  Chapter 3: How Xiao Worried, Argued, and Failed

  XIAO felt paranoid. When Jin had demanded the God of War exonerate himself, he had thought that they were never leaving that room. But Gang had sworn that he had not cast the death curse. As the two of them hurried through the palace to Jin’s residence, a thousand questions had bubbled into Xiao’s mouth, but he had swallowed them all until they reached Jin's residence. Then he asked the most immediate one.

  “Jin, how does one go to the Underworld? I thought your father locked the gate.”

  “Every lock has a key,” Jin said, her stride quickening now that they were away from curious eyes.

  He frowned and hurried to keep pace with her. “And it’s here? At the palace?”

  “According to the Sunrise Scrolls, he gave it to the Great Warrior to keep safe. As his final act, the Great Warrior carried the key to the White Mountain, where he gave his life to cast a powerful protection over it.”

  Xiao swallowed his snark – she always nagged him to read the Sunrise and the Shadow Moon histories – and asked, “So how do we get past that?”

  Jin stumbled slightly, and Xiao’s heart hurt for her. He’d be upset if his own father were dying, and Jin actually liked Aka. He caught her elbow to steady her.

  “Legend says the key can be taken if one is skilled enough. I thought...” She looked toward her pavilion.

  “Nanami.” Xiao breathed out slowly. He didn’t want to ask her for help. But of course his grudge was nothing compared to the issue at hand. “It seems that fate has been playing with us.” Xiao let her pull him to the pavilion.

  Nanami was sitting cross-legged on one of Jin’s floor cushions, eating the same dishes that had been in the hall – Luye or Yeppeun must have brought her food. She looked up in surprise when Xiao and Jin entered. Her eyes went immediately to Jin’s elbow, which Xiao was still holding, and her expression closed.

  “I didn’t expect the celebration to end so early,” she said neutrally.

  “My father collapsed,” Jin explained impatiently, shaking Xiao’s hand free of her arm. She took Nanami’s hands in her own. “Please, Nanami, I need your help. I must go to the Underworld to have any hope of saving him, and–”

  “The Sun Emperor collapsed? He’s dying?” Nanami asked, her eyes widening and her brows lifting.

  “Yes. Please, I need your help.”

  Nanami stood, her brows coming together and her lips pursing. “What kind of help?”

  “We need you to steal a key from the White Mountain.”

  “The key to the Underworld,” and Nanami’s suspicion shifted to excitement.

  Jin nodded, her eyes never leaving Nanami.

  “Before I agree,” Nanami said, “will you let me test your words?”

  Xiao scoffed, angry at the slight. “You, a kidnapper who Jin helped, won’t trust her words?”

  Nanami narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not the only kidnapper here.”

  Jin stepped between them, her palms raised. “Please, emotions are high. Nanami, I will take your test.”

  So a fat white candle was produced and set on Jin’s low table. Nanami sat on one side, Xiao and Jin on the other. Nanami withdrew yet another of her pouches and removed a small blue clay ball from it. She crushed it with the candle holder, and the candle’s flame t
urned deep blue.

  “What’s that supposed to do?” demanded Xiao.

  “If you speak the truth as you know it, the flame will remain blue. Lie, and the color disappears.”

  “Wait,” Xiao put in, “this is why you believed your client was Jin’s father?”

  Nanami nodded.

  “But then it’s useless!” he objected.

  “No, it’s not,” Jin disagreed. “I’m familiar with these balls – NeeNee makes them. Did you get them from her?”

  Nanami’s brows knit. “The Wanderer made them. I buy them from a friend who gets them from her.”

  Xiao snorted. “Yes, Neela the Wanderer – NeeNee.”

  Jin frowned. “Then perhaps it really was Father who hired Nanami, as I have never seen NeeNee’s truth detectors fail. Or Nanami’s friend cheated her. But, while I know you want to investigate this, Xiao, it’s not our first concern right now. Please, Nanami, ask your questions.”

  Xiao crossed his arms. It made no sense for Aka to have hired Nanami. He’d sooner believe that it was Neela, breaking her own spell. But no, Nanami said it had been a man, and Neela couldn’t cast any illusions as far as Xiao knew.

  Nanami’s first question pulled his attention back to the present.

  “Why do you wish to have the key?” Nanami asked Jin.

  “To enter the Underworld so I can find the cure for my father.”

  “What is the cure? Will you be hurting any of the immortal creatures?”

  “The cure has nothing to do with the immortal creatures. I won’t hurt them unless I need to protect myself.”

  Nanami cocked her head at Jin’s answer, but shrugged, as if deciding the cure wasn’t her business.