by Crane
“Fu was captured by a man called HaMo,” Hok said.
“I've heard the name,” PawPaw said. “He is not a nice man.”
Hok's mind flashed back to the rainy day in the river. “I heard him say something to Fu,” she said to PawPaw. “HaMo said, ‘I like your spirit, boy. Forget your sister, I'm taking you to LaoShu instead.’ “ Hok sighed. “I don't know what he meant by that, though.”
“I might,” PawPaw said. “Try not to think about what I said earlier concerning river pirates. I suggest you head to Jinan City—the City of Springs. It's the next big city downriver, only a day's travel from here. Seek out a place called the Jinan Fight Club.”
“What is that?” Hok asked.
“It's exactly what it sounds like,” PawPaw said. “It's a place where people fight and spectators gamble on the outcome. Many lives are foolishly lost for blood sport. It's an evil place in the very heart of the city's most elite section.”
“Is it difficult to find?” Hok asked.
“No,” PawPaw said. “But it's difficult to get into. The crowd consists mostly of powerful officials. Jinan is the capital of the next province—Shandong. I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
Hok shook her head. “You've helped us so very much already.”
“That's right,” Seh said. “We'll never be able to thank you.”
PawPaw sighed. “Just take care of each other like you have been. That's thanks enough for me. Now you two should be on your way.” She looked up at the sky again. “You should be able to travel as long as you'd like by moonlight. If you can do without sleep, you can probably reach Jinan by sunrise. That might be best. The longer you're on the water during the day the greater the chance that someone will see you and perhaps recognize you.”
“I understand,” Hok said.
“I do, too,” Seh said.
“Then that is all,” PawPaw said. She stepped between Hok and Seh and threw an arm around each of them, hugging them simultaneously. “I hope to see you both again someday.”
“You will,” Hok said, wiping her eyes. “I'll make sure of it.”
“Me too,” Seh added with a hint of a sniffle.
PawPaw wiped her own eyes, then helped Hok get Seh into the skiff. Hok and PawPaw pushed the skiff into the river, and Hok jumped aboard. She turned back to PawPaw and nodded once. PawPaw bowed back, then turned and headed up the hill toward her house.
Hok wiped her eyes again. She was going to miss PawPaw tremendously.
Hok grabbed the long push pole and quickly set a course down the center of the river. She missed her little brothers, too.
“Malao!” Fu said. “Can you hear me?”
Malao groaned and opened his eyes. “Huh … ?” he mumbled. “Where … where are we?”
“I don't know exactly,” Fu replied.
“Is it … morning?” Malao asked. He glanced sleepily around the pitch-black room.
“I don't know,” Fu said. “It's hard to tell without any windows.”
“Ohhh,” Malao said. “My whole body hurts. How long have I been asleep on this hard floor?”
“About a month,” Fu replied.
“A month!” Malao said, sitting up. He bumped his head on a length of bamboo. “Ouch!” he yelled. “Hey—what … what's going on? Is this your idea of a joke?”
“I wish,” Fu said. “We're in a cage. Don't you remember?”
“No,” Malao said, rubbing his head. “All I remember is a bunch of crazy dreams. You wouldn't believe some of them. I dreamt about a cobra, a mantis, a toad, and a—” Malao stopped and stared in Fu's direction. “A tiger, too. I was locked in a cage with it.”
“I don't think those were dreams, Malao. You've been drugged.”
“Drugged?”
Fu nodded in the darkness. “HaMo sprinkled a little bit of powder on your face every day. He called it Dream Dust.”
“Yeah …,” Malao said wearily. “I had a dream about a river toad sprinkling dust beneath my nose. That was real?”
“Yes.”
“I had a dream about a cobra choking me unconscious on a dragon boat in Kaifeng, too,” Malao said. “Was that—”
“That was real, too,” Fu said. “Hok, Seh, and I, plus Cheen and Sum from the bandit stronghold, tried to rescue you. We were ambushed by HaMo. Tonglong and AnGangseh showed up, too. That's how I got captured.”
“Oh, no,” Malao said. “I'm sorry.”
Fu shrugged.
“Where are the others now?” Malao asked.
“I don't know.”
“Hopefully, they're all right,” Malao said.
“Yeah,” Fu said. “Hopefully.”
Malao yawned. “I can't believe how sleepy I am. Everything seems cloudy. Do you feel the same way?”
“No. HaMo tried to drug me at first, but I wouldn't let him near me. He tried to put some of that Dream Dust in my food, but I smelled it mixed in there. I refused to eat, and after a couple days he began to give me food without drugs.”
“Whoa,” Malao said. “You didn't eat for days? That's a first.” He giggled weakly.
“This is serious, Malao. Although I'm glad you're awake, you should save the jokes for some other time.”
Malao stopped giggling. “Sorry, Pussycat.” He stretched and let out a long moan. “Everything seems to ache. If all I did was lay around asleep or drugged or whatever, why do I hurt so much?”
“Because you haven't moved around enough,” Fu said. “Your muscles tighten up if you don't use them for a long time. HaMo pulled you out of your cage a few times to exercise your arms and legs, but that probably wasn't enough. Or maybe you're sore from what he did do. He bent and twisted you like a rag doll.”
“I think I remember that,” Malao said. “And I remember having my own cage. How did I end up in here with you?”
“HaMo put us in here a day and a half ago. Before that, we were locked in the same room, but kept in separate crates.”
“Crates?” Malao said.
“They smelled like fruit,” Fu said. “Apples, maybe. Whatever they were originally built for, they were too strong for me to break out of.”
Malao scratched his head. “Are we in an orchard?”
“No, we're in a city called Jinan. HaMo nailed us inside the crates and shipped us here down the Yellow River along with a bunch of food.”
Malao swallowed hard. “You don't think we're going to end up as … dumplings, do you, Pussycat?”
“I don't know. They've referred to us as ‘fresh meat’ several times. On the way to this room, we passed other rooms that had men in cages.”
Malao shivered. “Who are ‘they’? You don't mean that crazy old couple from the Divine Dumpling Inn?”
Fu shook his head. “I don't think so. When I say ‘they,’ I mean HaMo and his helpers.”
Malao scratched his head again. “I wonder why they put us together.”
“I think they have plans for us,” Fu said. “Once they put you in here, they stopped drugging you. They probably want us to do something.”
“Or maybe they're going to eat us!” Malao said. “They probably want to get all the drugs out of my system before they chop me up and …” His voice trailed off. “We need to get out of here, Fu.”
“I know.”
“So you've tried to escape?”
“A few times,” Fu said. “Besides trying to break out of the crates, I've tried to break out of this cage. But it's no use. This bamboo is too strong. I thought about putting up a fight when they first dumped you and me in here together, but several men with spears surrounded us the whole time and they had two ropes around my neck. I didn't have a chance. I—” Fu stopped in mid-sentence.
“What's wrong?”
“Shhh!” Fu whispered. “I hear footsteps.”
“Over here, sir!” a muffled voice called out from outside the room. “You're just in time. It sounds like the small one has come out of his stupor, and they're discussing escape!”
&nbs
p; “Escape?” a commanding voice replied. “We'll see about that.”
Fu and Malao turned toward one another in the darkness. Someone had been listening to their every word. More than that, Fu and Malao both recognized the second person's voice!
A powerful teenager threw open the heavy door and stormed inside the dark room. His intense eyes reflected the dancing flames of the torch in his hands. “Well, well, well,” he hissed at Malao and Fu. “How fortunate that you two should show up here at this time. We are expecting hundreds of guests soon, and they will be hungry for some fresh meat!”
Fu and Malao stared with their mouths agape.
The teen smirked and turned to the guard standing in the doorway. “Give me some time alone with these boys. I need to see what they are made of. A quarter of an hour should be sufficient. Make sure you lock the door behind you, too. If you hear screaming, pay it no mind. It will cease soon enough.” “I understand, sir,” the guard replied with a wide grin. “Fresh meat always squeals the loudest.” He laughed and bowed, then took a step back and closed the door.
Hok squinted downriver, staring into the rising sun. She and Seh had had an uneventful night. In fact, it had been downright boring. They hadn't encountered a single boat the whole time, and the traveling was easy. Hok was tired, but glad they'd stayed on the river without stopping. Jinan shouldn't be too far ahead.
Hok's stomach growled and her gaze drifted to the large basket PawPaw had placed in the skiff for them. They hadn't bothered to open it during the night.
“Are you hungry, Seh?” Hok asked.
Seh twitched, but didn't answer. He was asleep. Hok decided to leave him be.
Hok hooked one of the basket's large handles with her foot and pulled it toward her. It was surprisingly heavy. She lifted the lid and found the two large hats PawPaw had mentioned, plus numerous containers of dried fruit and roasted nuts. There was enough food in there to last her and Seh at least a week.
Hok began to rummage through the items, taking care to keep the skiff on its steady course down the center of the river. At the very bottom of the basket, she noticed a corner of blue cloth. She grabbed hold of it and tugged. It was a large silk bag that matched her pale blue silk robe. Hok opened it and found an impressive collection of dried medicinal herbs. She grinned. PawPaw was the best.
Hok slipped the bag's single long strap around her neck and over one shoulder, then glanced over at Seh. He had curled into a ball on the floor of the skiff. Hok watched him sleep. The gentle rocking motion of the boat made keeping her eyes open a bit of a challenge, but she wanted to keep pressing onward. She also wanted to eat.
Hok looked up and saw a particularly narrow bend in the river ahead. Until now, the river had been growing increasingly wide, as PawPaw said it would. Hok sighed and replaced the lid on the basket. She would eat after she steered the boat through the bend and on to wider waters.
Hok glanced at the shore, then at the water, then back at the shore. She noticed that the current in this section of the river was pulling them along faster than previous sections. Uh-oh, she thought. With the fear of rapids creeping into her mind, Hok grabbed the rudder with both hands.
As she steered the boat into the curve, her grip tightened. Hok didn't see any rocks in the water, but there was an obstacle ahead that could prove to be far more dangerous. If the river had been a road, she would have been better prepared for the sight. However, being on the water, she had failed to recognize the bend for what it was—a natural choke point. The perfect place for an ambush.
Seh suddenly sat up, instantly awake. “Hok!” he whispered. “I sense something.”
“Yes,” Hok replied. “River pirates.”
Hok scanned the river ahead of them and didn't like what she saw. Three sleek boats were anchored in a line across the width of the river. Each boat held four men wrapped head to toe in black cloth. The only thing visible was their eyes, which were staring in Hok's direction down qiang barrels.
“I sense a lot of negative energy,” Seh said. “How many pirates are there?”
“Twelve,” Hok replied, “and they all have qiangs.”
“What do you think our chances are?” Seh asked.
“We don't have a chance,” Hok said.
The pirate in the bow of the center boat waved his qiang and called out to Hok, “Steer toward me and prepare to be boarded!”
Hok lowered her voice to a whisper. “What should we do?”
“Do what they say,” Seh replied. “Unless you have a better idea. Remember what PawPaw said about them.”
Hok frowned. She was out of ideas. They were going to be boarded.
The center pirate boat was anchored with its bow facing upstream, and Hok pointed the bow of Paw-Paw's skiff at it. She let the strong current carry them downstream. The pirate boat was coming up fast.
“Slow down,” the pirate leader called out.
Slow down? Hok thought. How am I supposed to do that?
The pirate leader raised his qiang. “Slow your vessel down immediately.”
“I don't know how!” Hok said.
“Do you expect me to fall for that?” the pirate leader said. “Slow down and turn to port.”
“I have no idea what ‘port’ is,” Hok shouted back. They were getting dangerously close to the pirate leader's boat. “Help me!”
“Port is left!” the pirate said. “Turn to port now, young lady! Men, cut the lines and heave us to port, too! We're in opposition. We'll swing around each other.”
“Hang on, Seh!” Hok cried, and she shoved the rudder with all her might to the left. The skiff made a sharp turn—to the right. She had forgotten that the rudder steered the boat in the opposite direction. They were going to collide! Hok slammed her eyes shut.
THUMP!
“Arrgh!” the pirate leader shouted as his vessel rocked violently sideways. Hok opened her eyes and watched the bow of PawPaw's skiff scrape along the side of the pirates’ boat. Hok avoided eye contact with the scrambling pirates, who were close enough to touch.
Hok felt PawPaw's skiff begin to slip away from the pirates’ boat, and she straightened the rudder. The skiff began to nose its way downriver again with Seh at the bow, gripping the sides like his life depended on it.
“After them!” the pirate leader shouted. “Perimeter sailors, take aim! Vessel One, fire at will!”
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Four shots rang out. Hok heard two qiang balls slam into the bow of the skiff a hand's-width from Seh.
“No!” Hok cried. She looked back at the pirate leader's advancing boat. The three men with him were paddling frantically, trying to catch up with her and Seh. She heard the pirates shouting to one another in a different language.
“Vessel One, reload!” the pirate leader commanded.
“Stop it!” Hok shouted. “Please! I didn't mean to ram into you! It was an accident!” The pirate leader's boat was gaining on them. Hok looked at the pirate leader's masked face, and they locked eyes. Hok nearly tumbled out of the boat. His eyes were round and blue as the sky, just like Charles’.
“Vessel Two, prepare to fire on my command!” the pirate leader roared.
“No!” Hok said. “Why are you doing this?” She heard more shouting in another language.
“On my mark!” the pirate leader shouted.
“NO!” Hok screamed. She had to think of something. She heard more foreign language shouting and saw several pirates point toward the sky. A shadow passed overhead and Hok looked up to see a large crane flying straight toward the pirates that were taking aim with their loaded qiangs. The bird appeared frightened, probably startled by the qiangs that had just been fired. A black-and-white sticky goo began to pour from beneath its tail feathers, and several pirates shouted angrily as their heads and shoulders were splattered with globs of the foul stuff. One of the men yelled a string of words that Hok didn't understand, finishing with the word crane.
Hok could hardly believe her ears. She realized the
pirate hadn't said the word crane in Mandarin or even Cantonese. He had said it in Dutch.
Something clicked inside Hok's head, and many of the words the men were shouting to one another began to make sense. The pirates spoke her father's language!
“Take aim!” the pirate leader bellowed, raising one arm high.
“NEE!” Hok shouted at the top of her lungs. “NEE! NEE! NEE! NO! NO! NO!”
The pirate leader's body went rigid, and pirate mouths across the river dropped. Hok stared at the pirate leader, desperation on her face.
The pirate leader lowered his arm and spoke to Hok in Chinese. “What did you just say?”
Hok answered in Dutch. “I said, no?”
The pirate leader's eyes narrowed. “Pull alongside them, men!” he ordered, and the men in his boat eased their vessel alongside PawPaw's skiff.
Hok watched Seh release his grip on the skiff and form snake-head fists with both hands. He sat perfectly still, his snake writhing beneath his sleeve.
The pirate leader stared hard at Hok, and he spoke in Dutch. “So, you understand me, girl?”
“Yes …,” Hok replied, struggling to remember words she hadn't used in more than nine years. “I … understand some. Chinese is better for me, though, if you please.”
The pirate leader switched back to Chinese. “Why didn't you say something when the men were shouting among themselves in Dutch?”
“I don't know,” Hok replied. “It all happened so fast. I didn't realize they were speaking Dutch until the crane flew overhead. I have not used the language in many years.”
“Who taught you to speak it?” the pirate leader asked.
“My father.”
“What is his name and occupation?”
“His name is Henrik,” Hok said. “He is the captain of a trading ship.”
The pirate leader's eyebrows went up. He glanced around at his men. “Lower your qiangs!” he shouted. To Hok he said, “Remove your turban.”
