Tao, Kai and Pema stood together. They had suceeded against all odds. Tao couldn’t help smiling. His visions hadn’t betrayed him. It was his own mind that had misled him. His visions had only ever told him the truth.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DEPARTURE
Tao and his allies limped back to the Huan compound, and allowed themselves just one night to rest, one day to heal. All the wounds, dragon and human, were cleaned, stitched and treated with red cloud herb. Pema’s broken arm was bound and strapped to her. Throughout that day and night Sunila and Kai took turns to pace the top of the wall, their dragon eyes piercing the surrounding countryside for any sign of a Zhao attack.
Darkness had fallen. Baoyu was drifting around the courtyard, her ghost gown billowing around her.
“I’m grateful that you are staying here to guard my family’s home,” Tao said to her. “You aren’t my true sister, but you are my shadow sister. And now it is your home too.”
Wuji circled Baoyu’s head like a crown and crawled beneath her like a moving carpet. With them to keep her company, she wouldn’t be lonely. Sparks of moonlight twinkled among the tendrils of her hair. Tao knew she was happy. And so was he. He had achieved everything he’d wished for. His friends were safe. All of them.
The ghost girl had begun her work before she left to assist them in the battle. She had thoroughly terrified Lady Wang. Judging by all the cockroaches, scorpions, ants and huntsman spiders they found in Wei’s room, the wuji had also done their part in ridding the compound of the nomad woman. By the time Tao and his friends returned from the battlefield, wounded and weary, Lady Wang and her entourage had gone.
The goat pen was empty when they returned. Tao didn’t know what had happened to Fo Tu Deng. He guessed that he had escaped to find a new place to taint, new people to exploit to his own advantage.
Tao had told the surviving Black Camel Bandits that they were welcome to make the compound their headquarters, but they had chosen to take off their masks and black clothing and melt back into life in Luoyang. They hadn’t given up their resistance to Zhao oppression, but before they could defeat the Zhao, they needed to increase their ranks. Tao was relieved that Pema didn’t go with them. She was too recognisable.
Tao said goodbye to Baoyu. They’d decided to follow the bandits’ example and travel only at night. It was no longer safe for them to stay at the Huan compound. Jilong and his men knew where they’d be.
They waited outside the gate while Sunila dropped the bar in place and then flew over the wall to join them. Then they set off into the night, heading west. Tao was still too weak from blood loss to walk. He was sitting in the cushioned wheelbarrow once used to transport Wei. Kai was pulling it. If anyone had seen them, they would have seemed a strange travelling party – two dragons, a blue-eyed girl and a boy in a barrow. No one would have guessed that they were victors in a battle. But no one saw them.
Though their futures didn’t lie in the same direction, they all wanted to get far away from Luoyang and the Zhao. Tao shivered as he recalled Jilong’s parting threat. Tao had no doubt he would seek revenge for his humiliating defeat.
Despite the worsening weather, Tao wasn’t cold. Lady Wang, in her haste to leave, had abandoned several boxes of clothing. Pema had gone through them and found fur-lined boots and coats made of squirrel and fox pelts for herself and Tao. He knew he would need them to survive the winter, so he’d said a prayer of thanks to the animals who had been sacrificed to help him.
Kai was leading them away from Zhao territory. Their first task was to escort Pema safely to Chengdu. Tao was looking forward to this journey. As soon as he was strong enough, he would walk at Pema’s side, talking to her day after day. They would have to say goodbye eventually, but for now they had time together.
“I hope I will never see Luoyang again,” he said.
He knew in his heart he wouldn’t. That filled him with relief and anxiety in equal measure.
“It is a big decision to leave behind all human contact,” Pema said. As happened so often, she had read his thoughts. “Are you ready to spend the rest of your life in the wilderness with dragons and no human companionship?”
“Yes.” It was time to be honest. “There is only one human I will miss. And that’s you.”
It was a clear night. The moon lit Pema’s face. Tao could see that she was troubled.
“I told those boys they would succeed against the Zhao and take back Luoyang,” she said. “They trusted me. It was a foolish plan.”
Five of the young bandits had died in the battle.
Tao reached out and took her hand.
“You didn’t force them to join you. It was their decision.”
“I have finished with revenge. It only brings more sorrow,” Pema said. “I am beginning to understand your reluctance to end the lives of any creatures.”
Sunila flapped down out of the darkness. He had been scouting ahead. The naga would stay with Tao and Kai for part of their journey, but he could not go with them to the dragon haven. He would struggle to survive in the cold mountains. Now he had wings, it would be easier for him to find food and, with luck, other nagas. But while his wings were still growing, he had decided to travel with them until they got to the northern borders of Tianzhu.
After that, Tao and Kai would leave the world of men behind. They would head north to the mountains where the dragon haven was hidden.
Sunila took a turn at pulling the wheelbarrow, and Pema kept him company. Kai dropped back to walk alongside Tao.
“I will lead us through valleys as far as I can,” the dragon said. “But sooner or later we must climb to the snowy peaks. It will not be easy.”
“I’d rather face any hardship that nature has to offer, than the suffering humans can devise.”
“The conflicts of men are behind us.”
“Jilong still lives,” Tao said. “All I have done is turn him against all dragons.”
“We have achieved many things. Firstly, none of us is a captive of the Zhao.”
“I suppose so. And now I think Pema really has let go of her wish for revenge.”
“You have unleashed your qi power. And your visions, though sometimes hard to understand, have never let us down.”
Tao smiled at a dragonfly that was hovering over his head. His was a strange qi power, but it had proved useful. And his visions had all combined to give them success, to enable Tao to face his destiny.
“How long will it take to reach the dragon haven?”
“A long time.”
“Is that a long time in dragon or human terms?”
“It will be months, but not years.”
“But look at me. I can’t even walk!”
“You are weak now, but I am strong. At times it was the reverse. That is why we need each other. We are opposites, you and I – beast and boy, impulsive and cautious, fast and slow, aggressive and passive.”
“Arrogant and modest.”
Kai’s jingling laughter rang out in the night.
“Together we are whole. Most important of all, we are both ready to fulfil our destiny – me as leader of the haven dragons; you as dragonkeeper, not only to me but to all dragons.”
Tao had told him about the qi message from Wei.
“There has never before been a dragonkeeper for all dragons,” Kai said. “Are you ready for that burden?”
“It has taken me some time to break the bonds that I didn’t know existed – leaving behind my home and any chance of seeing my family again, any possibility of returning to a monastic life – but I have.”
“Life at the dragon haven will be more solitary than a monk’s.”
“But I will be in control of my own destiny. Being a novice meant that I had no responsibility. My life, every day of it, was laid out before me. I never had to make any decisions.”
“Now you are facing an unknown future where you must be responsible for many dragons.”
“I am ready,” Tao said. “Are you?”
; “I am. I left the dragon haven unintentionally, without a word. I acted like a dragonling. Before returning there, I was determined to achieve something that made me worthy to lead the other dragons. I wanted to be a hero. I did not wish to return with nothing but sore paws and drooping spines. I wanted to take back some knowledge or skill that would impress the other dragons.”
“You are a hero. You saved us all from the Zhao, but I don’t think that will impress wild dragons. And you’re returning with nothing.”
“I am returning with something that will be of great benefit to the haven dragons.”
“What?”
“I am returning with you.”
GLOSSARY
ALMS
Food or money given to the poor as charity.
BUDDHISM
A religion based on the teachings of Buddha, a man who lived in India in 6th century CE.
CHANG
A measure of distance equal to about 2.3 metres.
CINNABAR
A bright red mineral whose chemical name is mercuric sulphide.
HUAXIA
An ancient name for the country we now call China.
JUJUBE
Another name for the fruit called the Chinese date.
KARMA
In Buddhist belief, the justice by which deeds done in one lifetime affect a person in a later lifetime.
LI
A measure of distance equal to about half a kilometre.
LIUBO
An ancient Chinese board game. Archaeologists have found liubo boards and pieces, but no one knows what the rules are.
NOVICE
A person who has been accepted for a training period before taking vows to become a member of a religious order.
PALANQUIN
A rectangular covered box for travelling in, carried on poles on the shoulders of four men.
QI
According to traditional Chinese beliefs, qi is the life energy that flows through us and controls the workings of the body.
REBIRTH
Buddhist belief that after a person dies they are born into another life.
SANSKRIT
A language used in ancient India.
SHU
A measure of weight equal to about half a gram.
SUTRAS
Buddhist teachings.
TIANZHU
What people in early China called India.
WUJI
The Chinese word for invertebrates. This is the term that covers all creatures that do not have a backbone, including insects and other creepy-crawlies such as scorpions, worms and snails.
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
All Chinese names and place names are written in pinyin. These words aren’t always pronounced the way you’d expect them to be pronounced. This is a rough guide to the correct pronunciation.
Baoyu Bow (rhymes with “cow”) you
Chang’an Chang-ann
Chengdu Chung-do (rhymes with “two”)
Fo Tu Deng Foe too dung
Gu Hong Goo (rhymes with “too”) Hoong (oo pronounced as in “look”)
Huan Hwarn
Huaxia Hwar-she-ar
Jiankang Gee-en-kang
Jilong Gee-loong (oo pronounced as in “look”)
Kai Rhymes with “buy”
Luoyang Lwor-yang
Pingyang Ping-yang
Puqingshuo poo-ching-shwoar
qi chee
Shenchi Shen-chee
Shi Le Shir Luh (rhymes with “blur”)
Tao Rhymes with “now”
Tianzhu Tee-en-ju
Yinmi Yin-mee
Wei Way
Wuji Woo-gee (Woo rhymes with “too”)
AFTERWORD
Writing a sequel is both a pleasure and a challenge. I enjoyed continuing Kai and Tao’s journey and discovering myself what happened to them next. Although I had a fair idea of the bones of the story when I start writing, as often happens the most interesting developments appeared during the writing process. It is a matter of faith that it will happen.
It was very convenient that I had an entomologist as a next-door neighbour. I’d like to thank Dr Sabine Peronne of Museum Victoria for answering my many questions about insects. Dr Jacqui Mulville of Cardiff University provided very helpful information about ancient cremation.
As always I couldn’t have written this book without the support of my family, John and Lili, who helped me overcome my fears and doubts, put up with general grumpiness, and, in Lili’s case, helped me fix major plot problems. Lili also lobbied for the “foreign” dragon to be a naga and I’m glad she did.
My thanks to Jess Owen for her thorough edit, which improved the manuscript no end, and to Nicola Robinson for a forensic proofread. Thanks also to Gayna Murphy for the lovely design and Sonia Kretschmar for another absolutely gorgeous cover illustration.
Finally, I am very fortunate to have Maryann Ballantyne as my publisher. My sincere thanks to her for her skill and encouragement throughout the writing of this novel – and for rescuing me from a tracking-changes induced meltdown towards the end (partly while she was boarding a plane). She has the unerring ability to put her finger on the very thing that needs fixing. Her help and support is invaluable.
First published in 2014
by
an imprint of Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 22, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
www.walkerbooks.com.au
This ebook edition published in 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Cover Illustration © 2014 Sonia Kretschmar
Text © 2014 Carole Wilkinson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Wilkinson, Carole, 1950– author.
Shadow sister / Carole Wilkinson.
Series: Wilkinson, Carole, 1950– Dragonkeeper; bk. 5.
For children.
Subjects: Dragons – China – Juvenile fiction.
Fantasy fiction.
A823.3
ISBN: 978-1-925081-13-8 (ePub)
ISBN: 978-1-925081-12-1 (e-PDF)
ISBN: 978-1-925081-14-5 (.PRC)
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