by Resa Nelson
Overwhelmed, Ti sank back into her chair. “But I feel fine now.”
Tao Chu nodded. “And you will likely feel fine most of the time. The water’s essence absorbed into your body will work slowly. It could take days, weeks—even months before it succeeds in destroying you.”
Why did I drink that water? Why didn’t I do what Madam Po told me? Why didn’t I give it to my step-sister instead?
Ti pressed her hands together to keep them from trembling. “Is there nothing to be done?”
Tao Chu opened his mouth to speak but then looked down, remaining silent.
“Father!” Asu Chu said. “You know something. This is our empress. You must tell her what you know.”
Without looking up, Tao Chu said, “There is one possible solution, but it is gruesome. And there is no guarantee it will work. I came across it once in my studies years ago, and it is a solution that succeeds for fewer than half of the people who have tried it.”
Ti didn’t like the odds. “Aren’t there any other options?”
“None that have worked.”
“What is it, Father?” Asu Chu said. “What must the empress do?”
Tao Chu closed his eyes as if he could bear to look at no one. “The Fountain of Immortality welcomes new life. The theory is that the Fountain assumes that any new life that drinks must be a new member of the dragon goddess’s realm. If the essence of the water the empress has absorbed were to sense new life, it might reverse its attack and welcome her instead. That essence might perceive the empress as a new member of the dragon goddess’s realm.”
“I don’t understand,” Ti said. “You’re saying my only hope to live is to trick the essence into thinking I’m some kind of new life. What does that mean? What am I supposed to do?”
“The essence,” Tao Chu said, “will recognize the life form of a newborn mortal child.”
Asu Chu looked at Ti in dismay. “But you’re not a baby. You’re older than me!”
“Explain yourself,” Ti said to Tao Chu. “What am I supposed to do?”
Tao Chu’s voice wavered. “You would gather newborn children. A dozen or so. Slaughter them and harvest their blood. Smear some of the blood across your skin, and drink the rest. Your body can absorb the blood from your skin and from within. The presence of the newborn blood might convince the essence of the water to reverse its perception of you.”
Empress Ti steadied herself, not sure she had understood the court magician. “Are you saying that the only way I can stay alive is to have babies killed so I can use their blood?”
“Yes.” Tao Chu nodded. “It is the only choice, and it is an unfortunate one.”
The empress, her court magician, and his son sat in silence for a long time.
Finally, Empress Ti spoke. “If I had newborns killed, no one in Zangcheen would understand. They would hate me. They might even rebel and kill me. No children in this city must ever be harmed for any reason.”
Tao Chu smiled with relief. “It gives me great happiness to hear you say that.”
Ti felt the coldness rise within her as she looked steadily into his eyes. “For that reason, we must select men with great care and send them into the farthest reaches of the Wulong Province to perform this task. And it must be kept quiet at all costs.”
CHAPTER 15
For the next several days, Frayka made her way through the mountainsides of the southern reaches of the Wulong Province. Despite Frayka’s confidence that she could retrace her steps back to Zangcheen, she realized by the end of the first day that she must have missed a turn. Frayka remembered a stone stairway winding down to the river, but she couldn’t find it.
With every day that passed, Frayka felt less like a civilized Northlander and more like a wild animal. She forged for food, sometimes finding it and sometimes not. Keeping the furs from the serpent’s cave wrapped tightly around her, she didn’t dare bathe for fear of freezing in any frigid water she found. Merely drinking from springs and rivers made her shiver.
At sunset she huddled in whatever shelter she could find or cobble together, thankful for the furs that protected her. With every night that passed, Frayka thought more and more about her portents and why they seemed to have abandoned her at a time when she needed them the most. She kept thinking about the last time a portent tried to come to her. She’d been in the main room of the Hall of Concubines. Why had a portent tried to come to her at such an inopportune time?
One night, Frayka pondered that question in earnest.
Was it not an inopportune time? Did the portent try to come to me at a critical time to help me when I needed help?
Although other Northlanders in Frayka’s home of Blackstone in the Land of Ice knew about her portents, few people had been in Frayka’s presence at the time the portents actually happened. She had grown used to either being alone or being with people she trusted when the portents came upon her.
I was in a dangerous place the last time a portent tried to come to me. Surrounded by strangers. And these people in the Far East! From what I’ve seen, they treat each other with cruelty. If they’re cruel to people they know, what awful things would they do to a stranger?
Because Frayka had experienced portents since childhood, she thought of them as friends. Even though Frayka didn’t always understand each portent as clearly as she would like, no portent ever lied to her. No portent ever allowed harm to come to her. If anything, the portents gave her information about the future that she needed to protect herself and the ones she loved.
She had always considered the portents to be her closest and dearest friend.
A new thought occurred to Frayka.
I failed to trust the portents. And I failed to have the courage to trust myself to the portents when surrounded by concubines. Those women would have gossiped about me, but so what? How could they have caused me any real harm?
“No wonder the portents have stayed away from me,” Frayka said out loud to the dark of the night. “I betrayed them because I didn’t trust them. They earned my trust long ago, and I had no reason to abandon that trust.”
What kind of Northlander am I? All of my life I’ve been bold and strong. Why am I becoming weaker and fearful? How can this be happening?
“I’m sorry,” Frayka whispered. “It’s my fault. If you come back to me, I will never doubt you again.”
All she heard in response was the wind rustling through brittle, fallen leaves.
The next morning, Frayka decided to shed her fear and remind herself that she came from the Northlands. She moved forward with fresh intent and determination to make her way back to Zangcheen.
All morning, Frayka hiked across a mountainside where she saw no familiar landmarks. Finally, Frayka admitted to herself that she was lost in a foreign land. Despite the bearings of the rising and setting sun, she couldn’t figure out how to make her way to the ocean. If she could find the sea, Frayka knew that following the coastline of the Wulong Province north would lead her back to Zangcheen.
But until she could figure out which direction would lead her to the ocean, Frayka was lost.
I must go to the top of the mountain. If I reach the top, I should be able to see the ocean from there.
With that new goal in mind, Frayka climbed up into a pine forest until she heard the sound of trickling water. She made her way through the forest until she peered beyond the trees to spot a brook tumbling down a gentle slope. Before she could take another step, the sound of singing floated through the air. Frayka held still and took a closer look.
A man with long white hair walked into view on unsteady legs. He sang in a thin, reedy voice, but the melody sounded light and airy. He placed a flopping fish on a flat stone next to the water and then bowed. The song stopped, and the old man shouted with enthusiasm toward the river.
Frayka failed to understand his words, but she recognized one name that he said.
Kikita! Why is this man using her name?
The man shouted more words that so
unded like they might be names, but Frayka didn’t recognize anything else. With a gleeful laugh, he took a step back and tumbled to the ground.
If he’d been someone Frayka knew, she would have rushed to help him and make sure he hadn’t hurt himself. But for all she knew, this stranger might be someone who would have her arrested and condemned.
The old man giggled. After making several misguided attempts to right himself, he finally succeeded.
He’s drunk!
Frayka rarely drank any kind of spirit simply because she didn’t care for the strange way it made her feel. She found the world much too peculiar to let her guard down.
But she had no problem recognizing a drunken man when she saw one.
Back on his feet, the old man disappeared for a moment only to return with a basket full of freshly-caught fish. Once more, he bowed toward the river. He then patted the flopping fish he’d placed on the flat stone. He walked downriver and out of sight.
Frayka waited and listened for tell-tale signs that he might be approaching. But she heard no crunch of fallen leaves. She heard no breath other than her own. When enough time passed to make her feel safe, Frayka crept toward the edge of the brook and looked downriver.
A good distance away, the old man carried his basket full of fish down the mountain, following alongside the brook. Although less than sure-footed, he managed to stay on his feet.
Confident that the old man wouldn’t see her even if he looked back, Frayka knelt in front of the fish he’d put on the flat stone.
Her stomach rumbled. Although she ate every berry and fruit she discovered, she’d found few. Too much time had passed since she’d filled her belly with serpent meat. It would be easy to start a fire and cook this fish.
As if in protest, the still-living fish slapped its tail against the stone.
Why would anyone leave a perfectly good fish behind?
Other fish filled the man’s basket, but there had been room for more. He didn’t leave this fish behind because he couldn’t carry it.
Frayka leaned to one side to get a different view of the fish.
If he didn’t want to take this with him, why not throw it back in the brook? Why leave it out on a rock where it will die?
She thought back to the way the old man had shouted at the river and then bowed toward it. She remembered the enthusiasm in his voice.
Frayka’s stomach rumbled again, but a sense of unease kept her from touching the fish. Once more, she looked downriver and saw the man had made progress. In a few more steps, he’d follow the brook around a bend that would take him out of sight. If she took the fish he’d left behind, the old man wouldn’t be able to see her do it.
A new thought alarmed her.
He said Kikita’s name. She’s a dragon goddess of the Far East. Did he leave this fish as an offering to her? Was he praying to Kikita? Asking for her help?
Frayka didn’t know if her guess might be right, but she didn’t want to find out what would happen if she interfered with a fish that might be an offering to a goddess.
That man caught enough fish to feed a small village and left one behind. There must be plenty of fish in this brook. Why can’t I catch one, too?
Although Frayka didn’t make a habit of fishing in her homeland, she’d done it often enough to have developed a knack for it. She studied the brook and noticed a crooked bend a few steps downriver. She walked to the bend and saw a shallow area edged by jagged rocks. A few fish swam into the shallows and then wriggled back into the main flow of the brook.
So, this is how he caught so many fish!
Frayka placed her body prone on the ground so that her head and shoulders hovered over the shallows. She eased her hands into the chilly water and kept them still. Within minutes, the brook’s current forced another few fish into Frayka’s waiting hands, and she pulled one out of the water. The fish struggled so mightily that she embraced it to her chest to make sure it didn’t wriggle loose and flop back into the brook. The strength of the fight in the fish evoked a recent memory.
Frayka remembered her encounter last month in the realm of the gods, where she’d been confronted by the greatest of all Northlander gods, the All-Father. She remembered how he’d tasked her with convincing the gods of the Far East to make amends for their interference with Northlander affairs. So far, she had won the help of Kikita, the goddess of air. But there were other gods she had to convince. She had to succeed. Her life—and the lives of the ones she loved—depended on it.
Because of the excitement with the serpent dragon, I forgot I made a promise to the goddess Kikita. I said that we would look for Njall in Zangcheen. And that whatever happened, good or bad, I would then go to the Gate of Earth in search of the next god I must convince to make peace with the Northlander gods.
Frayka felt weak with hunger, but she cared more about the promise she’d made and the welfare of those she loved.
If I can catch one fish, I can catch another.
Following the old man’s lead, Frayka placed the fish she had caught on the stone where he’d left his offering. She cleared her throat and said, “I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this, so I’ll do it my own way. If you can hear me, Kikita, here’s a fish. I don’t know why a goddess of air would want a fish, but here it is, anyway. I’m making an offering and asking for help. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know where to go. But I will keep the promise I made to you about going to the Gate of Earth. I need some help figuring out how to get there.”
Frayka waited for something to happen. She imagined Kikita might materialize out of the surrounding air and give directions to the gate. Or maybe the dragon goddess would bubble up out of the brook, scarf down the fish offerings, and then point out the path that Frayka should take.
But nothing happened, even though Frayka waited patiently. More than ever, she wished the portents that apparently had abandoned her would return.
Although tempted to cook up both the fish for herself, Frayka left them on the stone. She had a longer wait but managed to catch another fish with her hands. When she looked around for a place to build a fire, a sudden influx of clouds darkened the skies above. Keeping a firm grip on the new fish that wrestled against her hands, Frayka stared at the clouds.
They reminded her of something she might see in a portent. Frayka wondered if the clouds might be some type of sign, maybe even one sent by Kikita.
While the air around her turned chilly in the dim light, Frayka kept a steady eye on the clouds. Two small clouds parted slightly, allowing a narrow shaft of light to fall on the earth below. Frayka looked along the shaft to where it landed on the other side of the brook.
The evergreen trees illuminated by the shaft of sunlight glistened.
Frayka took a closer look.
Those aren’t trees.
Squinting as if it would improve her vision, Frayka believed she saw a structure made of jade in the center of the forest on the other side of the brook. The more she looked at it, the more she became convinced that she saw jade surfaces carved with elaborate decorations.
It looks like a gate. Has Kikita sent the clouds to direct the sunlight and show me how to find the Gate of Earth?
Not knowing whether her guess was right or wrong, Frayka decided to act. First, she took note of the landmarks surrounding the gate. To its north stood a tree split in half. It looked as if it had been struck by lightning. To the gate’s south, the mountainside dropped sharply. Gauging distance, she estimated it would take about 50 steps to walk from the brook to the gate.
The clouds broke far apart, allowing sunlight to fall everywhere. Once daylight brightened, the gate blended in with the trees around it. Frayka could no longer distinguish it. When she looked skyward, no clouds were in sight.
After nodding her silent thanks, Frayka looked up and down the brook. She walked upriver until she came to a flat area where the water ran at a gentle pace around a fall of large rocks that spread from one bank to the other. Now holding the dying fi
sh with one hand, Frayka spread her arms like wings while she hopped from one rock to another to cross the brook. Feeling weaker by the moment, her foot slid off the last rock, but her momentum carried her to fall on soft grass.
Frayka reminded herself of the gate’s location.
The lightning-struck tree split in half marks the north boundary. The slope falls at the south boundary. Walk 50 steps from the brook to get to the gate.
Frayka gathered kindling and made a fire to cook her fish, confident she could find the Gate of Earth once she’d filled her belly.
CHAPTER 16
Still seated in the council room, Empress Ti became obsessed with the plan to save her body from falling apart. True, the idea of killing newborns to harvest their blood made her ill. But she’d come this far, and it made no sense to give in to her own death so easily when a solution to keep her alive existed.
The court magician Tao Chu spoke in a calm voice. “I understand your wish to send guards to the far reaches of the Wulong Province, but I don’t believe the royal guards will have the heart or the stomach to carry out the task of killing children.”
Ti frowned at the thought that the magician might have a point. She remembered how that lovely guard Jojen was quick to challenge the advisor who tried to capture her as his bride. Jojen took the danger she faced to heart, as if Ti had been his own sister in need of protection.
What would a lovely man like Jojen think if I ordered him to search out babies and kill them?
With a new thought, Ti brightened. “What if we tell the guards to simply bring the newborns to us? The guards won’t have to kill them. We can find other people to do that.”
“That’s dumb,” Asu Chu said.
Appalled at his son’s forwardness, Tao Chu said, “Asu! Do not forget that you speak to the empress!”
Ti waved a carefree hand. “I take no offense. Asu matters to me because I know I can count on him to tell the truth.” She rested her elbow on the table with chin in hand while she stared at Asu Chu. “Why is my idea dumb?”
Asu Chu looked at her and beamed.
