by Jeff Wheeler
He’d hoped they would kill him. But no, they were taking him somewhere. The Death Wall? It was probable. Anguish ripped at his feelings. He was afraid and alone, except he heard the trill of the siskin in a nearby tree. Was it following them?
A nightmare he hadn’t suffered in years came back to him. As a child, he’d had recurring dreams in which he was a blind boy living at his father’s palace. He’d memorized things by touch, just in case the dreams should come true. As a youth, he’d felt it was preferable to die rather than endure losing his sight.
He’d last dreamed of blindness soon before he left the palace of Sajinau with Damanhur. The dream had been impossibly vivid. In it, he was blind again, living in a palace. A woman came to see him, and although he feared she would be repulsed by his blindness, she kissed him. Passionately. He kissed her back, but while he could smell and taste her and feel her hair tickle his check, he could not see her. She didn’t speak a word, but she acted as if they were familiar, as if they knew each other. In his dream, she was his wife, although he couldn’t, in the fog of it, remember her name.
He’d awakened from the dream gasping, his vision restored. Many times he’d thought about that dream, marveling at how real it had felt. Wondering who the woman had been.
When he’d first met Bingmei, she’d seemed vaguely familiar to him. Her scent had evoked memories of that dream. It had been the first sign of a connection between them. The next indication had been the Phoenix Blade. They had been drawn to it from the first, and he’d recognized the sword from one of his dreams. He hadn’t seen it in the dream, of course, but he’d traced the carving of the phoenix until he knew the feel of it by heart.
He had finally realized that the vision was one of the future. That just as two dragons were needed for each to achieve their fullest power, so there were two phoenixes. She had chosen him. She would choose him. But how could he tell her that? He couldn’t. If he did, he wasn’t sure it would happen. And yet, he knew it was important that it should come to pass. She needed to choose him before she died.
It struck him that he’d been blind in his dream. Did this mean he’d always be blind? His heart panged with loss, not just of his sight, but of Bingmei. She had continued to the Death Wall to fulfill her destiny. To die. He could sense her still, to the north. He always knew where to find her.
And then he realized in dread that Echion would want him alive for that reason.
Because he was the only person who could still find her.
CHARACTERS
Batong——member of Damanhur’s ensign
Bingmei——orphaned main character, has winter sickness
Budai——ruler of Wangfujing
Cuifen——princess of Sihui
Damanhur——leader of Gorilla Ensign from Sajinau
Echion——the Dragon of Night, past emperor of the known world
Eomen——King Shulian’s daughter
Faguan——concubine of Echion
Fuchou——ruler of Renxing
Fupenzi——Bingmei’s grandmother
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
Kexin——chancellor of King Zhumu of Sihui
Keyi——greedy fisherman
Kunmia Suun——owner of an ensign, Bingmei’s master
Liekou——part of Echion’s ensign, practitioner of dianxue
Lieren——part of Kunmia’s ensign, the hunter
Li Jinxi——Xisi’s eunuch lover from the ancient kingdom
Mao Zhang——businessman in Wangfujing, owner of fishing boats
Marenqo——translator for Kunmia
Mieshi——member of Kunmia’s ensign, sharp-tongued
Mingzhi——king 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
Xisi——Echion’s queen, coruler of the Grave Kingdom
Yanli——part of Echion’s ensign, the archer
Zhongshi——Kunmia’s nephew, guards her quonsuun during absences
Zhumu——ruler of Sihui
Zhuyi——member of Kunmia’s ensign, keen listener
Zizhu——guardian of Bingmei’s grandfather’s quonsuun
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In this book, I got to begin exploring a world that I’ve not ventured into before—what happens in the afterlife set in a fantasy novel? One of my favorite scenes in the Lord of the Rings is when Gandalf tries to describe to Pippin what lies beyond, that there isn’t anything to fear. My daughter loves the Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman, which also has an inventive take on existence after death.
I’ve read many books about near-death experiences and wanted the feelings of these accounts to resonate with readers as well. But interestingly, it was the research of Dr. Christopher Kerr, which he shared in his TED talk, that really gave me many of the ideas here, including the predeath dreams that Bingmei begins to experience. It’s a fascinating talk and led to some other examples of people who met ancestors or had dreams of meeting them in the afterlife.
Another major influence has been the TV show Relative Race, which my family has been enjoying this year. The series is about four teams who have missing links from their family history, and while it is a competition, they also spend ten days meeting family members and learning about ancestors they didn’t know about. The depth of emotion in these true stories is absolutely riveting. And I can only imagine how Bingmei would react to experiencing the feelings from these contestants as they finally embrace family they’ve never known.
I have had so much fun writing this story, and I hope you look forward to the final chapter, where answers that have been hidden and lost for thousands of years will finally be revealed. It is a journey I’ll enjoy taking with you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Every book is a team effort. And no matter how well I think I’ve done crafting an original and unique story, it takes the perspectives of many individuals to see it through to completion. What you have read is the culmination of many points of view, and the final product has experienced a transformation from my imagination to a polished product.
Thanks to Jason Kirk, my editor at 47North, and Angela Polidoro for their enthusiasm in this series as well as their thoughtful and intelligent suggestions. We always try to raise the bar to the next level and make each book the best it can possibly be.
I’m also so indebted to my first readers: my wife, Gina, and my sister Emily. It was Emily’s suggestion to end the book where it ended up being. Great call, Sis! 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 as always: Shannon, Robin, Sandi, Travis, and Sunil—thank you! You are all critically important to the team.
And I’d also like to take a moment and thank you, my readers. You have enabled this journey as well, and your encouragement, positive comments, and sharing my books with others has truly made all the difference. Wish I could know each of you by name and say thank you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2016 Mica Sloan
Jeff Wheeler is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Killing Fog in the Grave Kingdom series; the Harbinger and King
fountain series; and the Muirwood, Mirrowen, and Landmoor novels. He left his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. Jeff 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.
