He turned back and mounted the steps again. “Find General Tzu and bring him to me. I would have his service. Or, at the least, not his enmity. Begone.”
Echion resumed his seat as Wuluju was hefted to his feet and taken away by his guard. The ancient ruler leaned back in his throne, gazing down at the prisoners. His eyes drifted past Rowen, who quickly looked down so as not to be caught staring at him.
“Jidi Majia. Kneel before me.”
Rowen’s heart clenched with worry. The pale-skinned advisor slowly rose, and the guard behind him butted him in the back with the pole of his spear. He looked weary and forlorn, but he shuffled forward and prostrated himself before the throne. Rowen turned his head and gazed at his sister. Her body trembled with fear, and although he dared not reach for her hand, he gave her a reassuring look.
“You served King Shulian and his eldest son.”
“I did, dread sovereign,” said Jidi Majia.
“I, too, respect and admire the role of counselor. It is a position of great power and honor. It was my greatest counselor who solved the riddle of immortality. Who learned the Immortal Word.” Rowen stared at him, feeling a strange burn inside his own heart. He’d thought his ambitions lay in ashes, but there was a spark still. A little curl of smoke. What was this?
“Every person must serve a role,” said Echion. “Some catch fish. Some harvest crops. Some provide order. Some execute the intransigent. One must learn their part and do it without murmur or complaint. Do you not agree, Jidi Majia?”
The wizened counselor gazed up at the dragon. “And what is the role you wish me to play, Your Highness?”
“First, I must see how useful you will be to me. The one I seek, the girl. The phoenix-chosen. Do you know where she is?”
Jidi Majia shook his head no. “I do not.”
“Do you know where she is going?” Echion asked, seemingly unsurprised by the answer.
“I do not,” said Jidi Majia.
“You disappoint me,” said Echion. “I had hoped you would be more useful. But I still have need of your service. The Qiangdao are not learned. To work in my palace is a symbol of trust. You must sacrifice part of yourself. Take him away and make him a eunuch. When he has healed, bring him back for his role.”
“Your Majesty!” Jidi Majia said, his eyes widening with horror.
“Begone,” said Echion dismissively.
Rowen’s stomach dropped, and he gaped in shock as the Qiangdao grabbed Jidi Majia by the arm and led him away. His insides squirmed with discomfort. Glancing at his sister, he saw tears in her eyes.
After Jidi Majia had left the throne room, Echion turned and faced Rowen. “It is your turn, princeling.”
The man behind Rowen lowered the sword and grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet. Rowen felt light-headed, queasy. His heart was pounding in his chest. He did not want to become a eunuch. Death was preferable.
When he was brought in front of the throne, his eyes were level with Echion’s feet. The ruler wore sandals studded with gems. Rowen’s ears were ringing with fear and dread. He dropped down on his knees and paid obeisance. Then he waited, breathless, worried.
“Prince Rowen. Or do you prefer Wuren?”
Rowen shouldn’t have been surprised, but he flinched. His mouth went dry. “Whatever you would call me,” he said in respect.
“Rise.”
Rowen did so. He blinked quickly, trying to calm his emotions. To project a sense of ease. But he was terrified.
“I will ask you the same question. Do you know where the phoenix-chosen is? The girl called Bingmei?”
Rowen cleared his throat. “Yes.”
A hush fell on the audience hall.
“That is useful,” Echion said, sounding a little surprised. “I will tell you this, young man. If you do not assist me in finding her, then I will have your sister murdered in a most cruel, painful, and prolonged ritual, which, I assure you, will make her suffer beyond anything your puny mind can imagine.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, where is she?”
The words sparked dark inside Rowen’s heart. He’d just lost his brother. Although he hated the thought of putting Bingmei at risk, losing Eomen was unthinkable. He told himself that he was the only one who could protect Bingmei. That if he were sent after her, he might be able to help her and Eomen.
He tried to believe it.
“She’s traveling, my lord,” said Rowen. “Near . . . Wangfujing.”
“And you know this . . . how?”
Rowen bit his lip. He swallowed, steeling himself. “Because of the Phoenix Blade. I can sense it. I know she has it. And so I know where she is.”
Silence filled the great hall. Rowen stared at the sandaled feet, waiting, agonizing. But he didn’t show his feelings. He didn’t reveal the care he felt for the girl the Dragon of Night was hunting. His connection to her.
“That is useful. But I do not trust you, princeling, and I am not a fool. You will take a band of Qiangdao and find her. And you will bring her to me. Bring me the phoenix-chosen, and I will spare your sister. And you. I will reward you beyond your ambition’s hunger.”
There was a pause.
“Begone.”
Rowen bowed again to the Dragon of Night. He had studied effigies of him all his life, but seeing him in the flesh had made Rowen shrink with terror.
Forgive me, he thought in his mind, feeling the tangles of loyalty ripping him apart.
There was no way to proceed without harming someone he loved. If only Juexin hadn’t asked to take his place. The memory of sensing Bingmei, hidden behind the grate, stabbed him.
Forgive me.
CHARACTERS
Batong——member of Damanhur’s ensign
Bingmei——orphaned main character, has winter sickness
Budai——ruler of Wangfujing
Damanhur——leader of Gorilla Ensign from Sajinau
Echion——the Dragon of Night, past emperor of the known world
Eomen——King Shulian’s daughter
Fuchou——ruler of Renxing
Guanjia——Budai’s steward
Guoduan——captain of the merchant ship the Raven
Heise——captain from Tianrui, leader of mercenaries
Huqu——member of Damanhur’s ensign
Jiao——Bingmei’s grandfather
Jiaohua——master of Shulian’s police force, the Jingcha
Jidi Majia——Shulian’s advisor, also has the winter sickness
Jiukeshu——Qiangdao leader
Juexin——crown prince of Sajinau, Rowen’s brother
Keyi——greedy fisherman
Kunmia Suun——owner of an ensign, Bingmei’s master
Lieren——part of Kunmia’s ensign, the hunter
Mao Zhang——businessman in Wangfujing, owner of fishing boats
Marenqo——translator for Kunmia
Mieshi——member of Kunmia’s ensign, sharp tongued
Mingzhi——ruler of Tuqiao
Muxidi——Qiangdao leader who murdered Bingmei’s family
Pangxie——an officer in General Tzu’s army
Qianxu——ruler of Yiwu
Quion——fisherman’s son who joins Kunmia’s ensign
Rowen——prince of Sajinau, younger brother of Juexin
Shulian——king of Sajinau
Tzu——general of all of Sajinau’s military
Wuren——a man without a country, Rowen’s disguise name
Zhongshi——Kunmia’s nephew, guards her quonsuun during absences
Zhuyi——member of Kunmia’s ensign, keen listener
Zizhu——guardian of Bingmei’s grandfather’s quonsuun
AUTHOR’S NOTE
A few years ago, I visited the wilds of Alaska for the first time. The seed idea of this story came when we hiked to the Mendenhall Glacier, an enormous mass of ice that had carved between mountains and emptied into a bay. That was where I got the idea of Echion and his kingdom hidden beneath the ice. In my mind�
��s eye, I saw a small group of people, treasure hunters and adventurers, who found his stone coffin. One of them revived him unwittingly, unleashing a powerful being on the earth. She was the only one who could turn back the tide, only it would require her to sacrifice herself, and she didn’t want to. She wouldn’t be Frodo and take the ring to Mordor. She’d want to get the heck out of there and just stay alive, thank you very much.
All these ideas came to me in a rush, and I jotted them down on my phone and filed it under the category “book ideas,” where many of my ideas stew for months or years.
Then in early 2018 I was invited to visit China through the International Writing Program and my Chinese publisher, who had just released six of my books in Mandarin. It would be a month-long trip in the fall. Would I come? It turned out that the dates coincided with my kids’ fall break from school. I said yes and brought my family with me. We visited the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and even “Scorpion Alley” (Wangfujing).
To say that the trip inspired me is a complete and total understatement.
I learned a lot about Chinese mythology and culture, including how much of their past has been lost. As I studied the life of the First Emperor, I found he reminded me a lot of the ancient ruler I’d envisioned on that trip to Alaska, including his quest to find and gain eternal life. Suddenly these two ideas began to mesh together, and a new world was born inside my mind. Something a little different. Something new. As I visited the intriguing palaces and places, and tasted the amazing food, my imagination went into overdrive.
I hope you enjoy the Grave Kingdom Series. In it, we’ll go to a place that my imagination hasn’t taken us before.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
What I love so much about my team is their willingness to explore new ways and to brainstorm together ideas that are original and interesting. I never thought I’d use dragons in a book until this one. Everyone on my team contributes to the ultimate goal of making my novels the best they can possibly be.
When I pitched this idea to Jason Kirk, my editor at 47North, he was about as excited for the story as he was to learn it was something new. And he was very open to layering in an Asian flair that will hopefully resonate with readers around the world.
I also want to thank Angela, who helps improve the ideas already here and make them even better with her brilliant suggestions. She’s an integral part of the team.
I’m also so indebted to my first readers: my wife, Gina, and my sister Emily. They got to be the first ones to jump into this story and provided helpful suggestions and feedback. To Dan and Wanda, who also help with the editing of my books and keeping them so professional and as free from error as humanly possible. To my street team: Shannon, Robin, Sandi, Travis, and Sunil—thank you! Your encouragement and early feedback helped give me confidence that this book, while a departure from my earlier books, was still a fun ride.
And finally, to my daughter Isabelle, who will get to read this when she returns from her mission around the time this book is published! Before she left, I started teaching her Shaolin kung fu, which I’d studied while in college. It was fun having a disciple after all these years, and I certainly enjoyed our early morning workouts with swords, staves, and fists!
And last, but not least, I’d like to acknowledge Sifu Kwong Wing Lam from Sunnyvale, California, who passed away in April 2018. I trained at his school in the early nineties and still practice martial arts today because of him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2016 Mica Sloan
Jeff Wheeler is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Harbinger and Kingfountain series, as well as the Muirwood, Mirrowen, and Landmoor novels. He took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. He is a husband, father of five, and devout member of his church. He lives in the Rocky Mountains and is the founder of Deep Magic: The E-Zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction. Find out more about Deep Magic at www.deepmagic.co, and visit Jeff’s many worlds at www.jeff-wheeler.com.
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