by Cindy Lin
With a final push, the butterfly wriggled from his grasp and rolled its proboscis back into a tight coil. It launched into the air, flapping its massive wings and taking the ring with it.
“No!” Inu shouted. He reached for his bow.
“Stop!” cried Usagi. “Don’t shoot it!”
Before he could nock an arrow, she took a great big rabbit leap, soaring into the air above them all. The butterfly was lifting higher with each beat of its wings. Usagi focused on its stout gray body as she began to fall, and landed on the butterfly’s back. The great insect bucked and wobbled for a bit, but then continued to push its way into the sky. Usagi wrapped her legs around its abdomen and pressed herself against its furry back.
On the ground, the others shouted and screamed. Tora jumped and waved by the empty chrysalis, while Inu stood slack-jawed and Goru hollered through cupped hands. The butterfly flitted and darted, circling over the hidden forest, the ring still curled in its long proboscis. Usagi waved back. “I’ll get the Treasure!” she called. She had no idea whether they heard her, but as the butterfly dipped and soared, there was no time to worry about it—she needed to stay on.
The butterfly pulsed beneath her, as if it were taking deep breaths. With each contraction of its body, its massive wings rippled through the air like enormous sails, speeding them through twists and turns that left her gasping. Usagi knew that butterflies didn’t fly in straight lines like birds did, but it was one thing to watch an ordinary one flutter about, and quite another to be riding a giant one. It felt as if she was being tossed about the rapids of a rushing river.
With a few stirring beats of its colossal wings, the butterfly took off down the length of the rift valley, swooping and swerving over rolling meadows and clusters of trees. The landscape below shimmered, the colors of butterfly swarms shifting with their tremulous fluttering. As Usagi became more comfortable with the erratic pattern of the butterfly’s flight, she sat up a little higher. A grin stole across her face. She was flying. Not even her rabbit leap compared to this.
Under the bright morning sun, the roar of the wind filled her ears, her hair whipped nearly out of its plaits. Usagi was still clutching a handful of flowers, though they were getting badly windblown. She stuffed them in her tunic, squealing as they wheeled through the air over Butterfly Kingdom. She could see everything from here—the long, tree-covered holloway, the hidden forest where they’d found the giant chrysalis, the rising walls of the rift valley, the streams that ran along the valley floor.
It was amazing, and a part of her didn’t want it to end. But Usagi still needed to get the ring. She was getting tired, her arms and legs aching from hanging on for dear life. Her stomach was barely keeping up with the butterfly’s unexpected twists and turns. Trying for the ring seemed impossible. Surely the great purple emperor had to stop and rest sometime. Otherwise, how was she to get down? She prayed to the gods that the massive insect wouldn’t fly out of the valley to some unknown corner of the island.
At last, after flying the long span of the rift valley several times over, the butterfly circled back to its hidden forest home. Please land, Usagi begged silently. It felt like they’d been flying for hours. She spotted a glimmering pool deep in the heart of the trees, in the midst of a small clearing that grew larger as the butterfly dipped toward it. She braced herself as they alighted on a large boulder in the middle of the water. The butterfly’s flapping wings slowed.
“Spirits.” Usagi sighed in relief. It felt good to be near solid ground again, her stomach no longer flip-flopping with each unexpected turn. Now for the ring. She pulled the flowers from her tunic and examined them. Bruised and battered, they were all that she had, but were thankfully still fragrant. Stroking the butterfly’s furry back, Usagi leaned forward and held the flowers over its enormous eyes. The butterfly uncurled its proboscis toward the blossoms as if to sniff them, the ring gleaming tantalizingly over its tip. Usagi held her breath. Don’t move. Have patience. She mustn’t make the same mistake Goru did. As the end of the long yellow tongue appeared before her, she slowly reached out and plucked off the ring. “Got it!”
The tongue lashed about wildly. Usagi ducked and thrust out the flowers. It batted away the blooms and the butterfly’s knobby antennae twitched and gyrated, as if searching for the ring. Usagi balled a fist around the ring, then dove off into the pond with a splash. Kicking to the pond’s edge, Usagi clutched the Treasure so hard her hand hurt.
Dripping wet, she staggered out of the water and turned to look at the giant emperor butterfly. It remained perched on the rock, its shimmering spotted purple wings opening and closing like a heartbeat. Usagi stared at its golden eyes, seeing herself reflected a hundred times in the faceted globes. “Thank you for guarding the ring,” she said. “I promise we’ll take good care of it.”
She didn’t know if it understood her or not, but the butterfly’s feelers waved, and it made no move to attack her. Slowly she backed away, and then darted into the trees, moving as quickly as she could through the undergrowth. The Treasure was theirs!
Usagi perked her ears, scanning her surroundings until she located the others. They had left the hidden forest and were out searching for her in the valley. She followed their worried voices at a brisk trot until she was standing at the edge of a rolling meadow. Usagi spotted Goru’s tall bulk in the distance, and bounded toward them with spirit speed.
“There she is!” Tora cried.
“Thank the gods,” said Goru.
Upon reaching them, she grinned and jumped straight into the air, high above their heads in celebration. She held up the ring. “I got it!” She bounced into the air again and twirled.
“All right, calm down and let us see it,” said Inu with a laugh. He put away his bow.
Usagi clutched her heart. “I’m glad you didn’t shoot,” she said. “It’s actually a very gentle creature.”
“It looked like a monster,” Inu admitted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the power of the ring made it grow like that.”
“Just because something’s unusually big doesn’t mean it’s a monster,” said Goru self-consciously. He looked at Usagi. “Quick thinking on your part, Rabbit Girl. I thought I could wrestle it away, but scared the poor thing instead.”
With a smile, Usagi put the ring in Goru’s hand. “Well, I got to fly—and now we have the Ring of Obscurity!”
They gathered around to admire it. The central amber stone glowed like a miniature sun, cradled by mother-of-pearl that shone with an iridescent light, as if it were the arms of the moon. Now that they could look more closely at it, Usagi noticed twelve tiny animals of the zodiac carved into the mother-of-pearl. It was all set in a dark tortoiseshell band that gleamed with flecks of gold.
“Beautiful,” Goru said. He began to polish it on his sleeve, but Tora and Usagi cried out, and Inu grabbed his arm.
“We’ll be overtaken by clouds if you rub it,” Inu reminded. “It has power. Let’s wait till we get back to the shrine.”
“Sorry, I forgot.” Sheepishly, Goru handed it to Usagi. “Here, Rabbit Girl—why don’t you hold it for safekeeping.”
It was time to head back to Mount Jade. Usagi strung the ring on the chain around her neck, and tucked it under her collar alongside her rabbit pendant. They traipsed along the shaded holloway, butterflies fluttering all along their path, making their way toward the mouth of the valley. Usagi lifted her hand and let the butterflies land on her palm as she walked, thinking of the great purple emperor butterfly. It no longer had to guard the Treasure. It was free.
They emerged from the sunken path when Usagi’s ears pricked. There was a rustling in a sprawling thicket nearby. “Something’s in those bushes,” she muttered to the others, pointing. “And I don’t think it’s ghosts.”
Tora stopped, surveying the underbrush with narrowed eyes. Usagi clutched her walking stick close, and Goru flexed his fingers, frowning. Inu sniffed the air. “Half a dozen unwashed bandits,” he growled.
&
nbsp; A rock came sailing through the air and clonked Goru on the head, hard enough that Usagi gasped at the sound. His eyes rolled back, and he hit the ground like a felled tree, shaking the earth. “Goru!” Usagi cried.
Loud yells erupted and a group of thin, ragged men charged. Usagi and the others formed a protective circle around Goru’s prone body as the bandits surrounded them. They weren’t very tall but carried wooden clubs and hid their faces behind cloth kerchiefs—and they all had a tattoo of a butterfly inked on their wiry forearms. A few of the bandits clutched hefty stones and slings. “Give us your packs,” ordered one, his voice thin and reedy. His eyes were a startlingly pale gray, almost silver. “Or we’ll do the same to the rest of you.”
Inu exchanged glances with Usagi and Tora. His hands tightened on the sections of his walking stick. He shook his head. “You’ll have to come and take them, I’m afraid.”
“That’s not very smart,” warned the silver-eyed bandit. He nodded at the other bandits, and one of them twirled a leather sling over his head, launching a stone straight at Inu’s temple. Inu ducked in the nick of time and pulled his hidden steel claw out of his walking stick. He threw it at the bandit’s sling, hooking it. With a yank on his claw’s metal chain, he tore the sling from the bandit’s grasp.
A couple of bandits came at them, hefting their clubs. Usagi ran to meet them, throwing up her stick. She blocked their blows, then swung her stick in a wide circle, aiming to get them both. But they spun out of the way more quickly than she expected and she only grazed the shoulder of one, who yelped. The untouched bandit attacked her again, and Usagi barely managed to deflect the blow. These bandits were surprisingly strong and fast. Could they have animal talents of some sort?
She glanced over at Inu and Tora, and saw that the Dog Heir had faced off against the silver-eyed bandit, who was dodging all attempts by Inu to nick him with his sharp hook on a chain. Unusually, the hook appeared to swing back at Inu each time he threw it, hard enough that he had to duck. The silver-eyed bandit must have a metal gift.
Tora’s fangs had come out, and she’d already clawed two of the bandits so that their sleeves were in bloody shreds. But a third was sneaking up on Tora from behind. Usagi shouted a warning, and when Tora spun around, the bandit disappeared.
Usagi’s mouth fell open, as did Tora’s. The bandit had vanished into thin air. It was only the swish of a club coming at Usagi that jolted her out of her shock. She jumped straight into the air, higher than she meant to, and stared down at the group of bandits. They had zodiac powers, too. As she landed, she could see the surprise in the bandits’ eyes, and they all froze for a moment. The disappearing bandit materialized, looking at Usagi with wide eyes.
Then Goru rose to his feet, roaring, and grabbed the bandits by the scruffs, crashing them together like cymbals and casting their limp bodies aside. Within a few moments, all six of the bandits had been knocked unconscious. Goru rubbed the raised bump on the back of his shaved head and glared at their attackers. “Let’s tie these fools up,” he growled.
Inu had a coil of rope, which they used to bind up the bandits. While they worked to tether them all together, a few of the kerchiefs over the bandits’ faces slipped off.
“Gods’ guts—they’re all younglings,” Tora exclaimed, pulling down the rest of their masks.
Usagi looked closer. “They’re not all boys, either.”
The lead bandit stirred and opened her silver-gray eyes. “No, we’re not. But neither are you. Who are you?”
Cleaning the Ring of Obscurity is slightly more complicated, but not difficult if the number of activating strokes is kept in mind. Rubbing must be done with care.
Swish the ring in a bowl of lukewarm water, then pat dry with a soft cloth. The various parts of the ring may be wiped in a set number of strokes, then repeated as necessary. Do not exceed the number of strokes per set, or else the ring will be triggered to spew thick clouds of mist, dust, or smoke, depending on which section was rubbed. Therefore, wipe each part of the ring minimally.
A light coat of oil can be added for sheen.
ACTIVATION STROKES
Amber: Rapidly rub the stone twelve times to release yellow dust.
Mother-of-pearl: Circle the setting three times to produce white mist.
Tortoiseshell: Rub the band four times for black smoke.
If the ring has accidentally been set off,
open all windows and doors and air out the room.
—Care and Maintenance, from Warrior’s Guide to the Treasures of the Twelve
Chapter 12
Gang of Ghosts
GORU LOOMED OVER THE SIX bandits, younglings all. Except for the silver-eyed girl, the rest were still unconscious, their hands and feet trussed so they wouldn’t cause any more grief. The rapidly swelling bump on Goru’s head was turning an angry red from the rock the bandits had hurled at him. He glared at the bandit and repeated after her question. “Who are we?” His nostrils flared. “Who are you? How dare you attack us when we were just minding our own business?”
With a grunt and a grimace, the youngling sat up. Her hair was cropped short, and there was a growing lump on her forehead. She scowled and her eyes flashed. “You have no right to be trespassing here. The four of you may have zodiac powers, but so do we, and the Butterfly Kingdom is ours.”
Goru folded his arms. “Says who?”
“We’re not trying to stake out territory, if that’s what you think,” Inu interjected. “We were just passing through when you and your little band attacked.”
The girl raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? You weren’t running all over the valley, using our signal lantern for target practice, and trying to capture the emperor butterfly? Don’t look so surprised—we saw one of you riding it, trying to bring it down.”
Tora shifted uneasily. “That lantern was yours?”
“Yes, and you had no right to shoot it,” snapped the bandit.
“We weren’t trying to capture the butterfly,” objected Usagi. “It was carrying something that belonged to us.”
Rolling her eyes, the bandit scoffed. “And what could that possibly be? That chrysalis was sacred. You shouldn’t have bothered it.”
“It couldn’t be helped,” Usagi insisted. “We had an obligation to fulfill.” Out of habit, she reached nervously for her rabbit pendant, but remembered the ring was attached. She scratched her neck instead.
Goru put a giant hand on Usagi’s shoulder. “You don’t have to explain anything to them. We got what we came for, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Hold on now,” said the Dog Heir. “If someone came to our home uninvited and disturbed things, we’d be upset too.” He bowed to the silver-eyed girl. “We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you.”
The bandit gave him a disdainful look. “We’re not scared. We’re the Ghosts of Butterfly Kingdom. Those who wander here fear us.”
“Ghosts? You all seemed pretty solid when I knocked your heads together,” snorted Goru. He paused and regarded her for a moment. “But folks in the nearest town did warn me that the valley was haunted.”
Usagi had a realization. “Are you from Woodwing originally? Do the townpeople say that to keep the Guard away?”
The girl’s silver eyes widened. “Yes,” she admitted. “Our parents sent us here when the invaders started going after anyone with powers. They warned us to never show ourselves to the Guard and started spreading rumors about the valley being haunted so people would avoid it. You’re the first ones to come through in a long time.”
“That’s pretty smart,” said Tora. “I wish we’d had more people willing to cover for us in our hometown. All the younglings with powers ended up exposed.”
“Even so, I’d be careful if I were you,” said Inu. “The Dragonlord is still looking for younglings with powers, and he’s doing much more than sending them to the mines these days.”
“He’s training them for his strike force,” said Tora. “A growing number of Dragonstrikers
out there are those with zodiac powers. They’re a lot harder to fight off.”
Nodding, Usagi added, “When we ran into some, we barely managed to get away.”
Goru tested the bump on his head and flinched. “And trust me, you don’t want to become a Striker. They tried forcing me to join—and I saw nothing good about them.”
The other younglings began to stir, and a couple of them groaned as they came to. Inu looked at them and gestured to Usagi and Tora. “We should free them.”
“Here, let me,” said Goru gruffly, and bent to untie the ropes that bound the younglings. But he got a little dizzy and reached out to steady himself. “Bumps and bones, whoever threw that rock has a good arm.”
The silver-eyed girl cracked a smile for the first time. “That would be me. You can call me Miru.”
They freed Miru and her companions. Head bumps and scratches were attended to with medicines from the Apothecary, while apologies and introductions were made all around.
“It’s not often we meet others with powers,” said a scrawny boy named Puli. Born in the year of the Tiger, he was the one with the talent for disappearing, seemingly into thin air. He grinned at Tora. “You gave us the toughest fight we’ve ever had!”
“I’d expect no less from a fellow Tiger,” said Tora loftily, baring her tiger-toothed smile.
The younglings of Butterfly Kingdom, who called themselves the Ghosts, invited them to stay for a meal. They brought them to their encampment, a small sheltered bower deep in the valley, not far from where Tora had shot down the sky lantern.
Over a simple meal of boiled greens, roasted caterpillars, and a makeshift tea of flower petals sweetened with nectar, Miru explained that they hardly had any contact with the outside world, though sometimes meager supplies were hidden for them at the entrance to the valley. Each month, during the new moon, they would send up a sky lantern as a signal to their families of their survival. They painted their wishes and prayers on the lantern for good measure, in hopes that they would reach the gods. “When it got shot down last night, we knew there were intruders.”
