“A shame that you killed that man.” Hao laughed. “You probably would have like him. Maybe even loved him. Such a fool you are. So easily manipulated.”
Lady Jin attacked him again with hate shaking her bones. Hao knocked her back with a bolt of electricity coming from his fingers. Hao waved his hands. Thunder exploded. A portal appeared. Hao jumped for it and was gone.
“Noooo!” Lady Jin screamed and swung her sword around madly.
“Mistress! Please stop!”
Lady Jin stuck her sword in the ground and walked away. Tears flooded her eyes. “Damn it!”
“We’ll get him later.” Nu rubbed Lady Jin’s tense shoulders.
“Yes.” Lady Jin pulled her sword out of the ground. Damn it! I stuck my sword in the ground. I could’ve damaged it. Stupid!
#
They returned to the inn. Nu went to speak with the innkeeper’s wife, so they could get a bath. Later Lady Jin placed her bottom in a wooden tube across from Nu.
“Nice and hot. They way I like it.” Lady Jin sighed.
They were in the woman’s side of the bathhouse. A servant girl stood nearby quietly. Maybe I should have gotten this damn bracelet. How has it helped me defeat Hao? Just a piece of metal that I killed an innocent man for. Who was he? He had friends who fought and died for him. How could I have done it? Maybe I just stay away from Hao. Not look for him. Just give up. Maybe he’ll leave me alone.
“What’s wrong, mistress?”
Lady Jin looked up at her apprentice. She was suppose to be teaching the girl how to live her life with honor. Right?
“Did I make a mistake in all of this?” Lady Jin pointed at the bracelet. “Was an honorable man’s life worth this?”
“Didn’t you tell me that sometimes in life there is sacrifice?” Nu replied.
“I didn’t sacrifice anything that belonged to me for this bracelet.” Lady Jin slapped the edge of the tube.
“Are you sure?” Nu tilted her head.
“I think I should just go away far from her and leave Hao be.” Lady Jin told the girl.
“Run away?” Nu snapped. “You! How could you run away from Hao? I’ve seen you take on other men and creatures of magical powers and win. A demon! A hundreds of years old wizard! What do you have to fear of this mortal wizard? You have the weapon that can help you best him. What else do you need? If you ran away he would follow you. You can’t run away! Even if you could how could you live with yourself?”
Lady Jin ran a hand through her wet hair. Lady Jin nodded. “You’re a smart kid, Nu.”
“I had a good teacher.” Nu laughed.
“Really?” Lady Jin sighed. She looked at the servant girl. “I want a massage.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The servant girl bowed. “I will go get my mistress.”
#
The innkeeper’s wife appeared and gave Lady Jin a massage. While the wife gave Lady Jin the massage Nu asked her if there was a temple of Xi Wang Mu nearby. The goddess Xi Wang Mu was a favored god of Lady Jin.
“Yes.” She nodded. “There is one. Do you want directions?”
“Yes. We do.” Lady Jin told her. Lady Jin gave Nu a wink.
After the massage they changed into dresses and walked out of the inn. With the directions that the innkeeper’s wife had given it didn’t take them long to find the temple. Lady Jin walked into the temple and bowed to the temple’s priestess. An elderly woman with a scar on her nose. Lady Jin gave the priestess a coin and stepped towards the statue of the goddess Xi Wang Mu or Mother of the West. Nu followed her.
Lady Jin knelt before the goddess. She was reminded of Cai. The city where she had first crossed paths with Hao. A place where another wizard had tried to take over with his dark magic. After the wizard’s death Hao somehow stole the dead wizard’s power. Lady Jin still wasn’t sure how that had happened. Lady Jin had permitted the goddess to use her body as a vessel in order to stop the wizard of Cai. Had I unwittingly empowered Hao by accident? Hao must have had magical powers to begin with, but stole what he has now. What if later he stole powers from Mountain Lady? He tried it once. He might try again.
Lady Jin looked up at the statue. Oh goddess! Help me. I beg you. What must I sacrifice for you help? I will give it. Like she did many months ago Lady Jin sliced her forearm with her knife. She let her blood drip into the bowl before the statue. Lady Jin kowtowed to the goddess.
They left the temple and returned to the inn. Along the way Lady Jin told Nu her plan.
“I think Hao is waiting for me at the Wan forest.” Lady Jin said. “We’ll changed our clothes and ride off as soon as possible.”
Chapter twenty-three
“It feels strange here.” Nu watched the leaves shiver on the trees. “I’m not sure what it is, but I feel something is here. It’s watching us.”
“I know.” Lady Jin agreed. “I felt it the first time I came here. I almost feel that if I turn my head fast enough I will see eyes looking at me.”
Nu turned in her saddle to look back. Lady Jin stopped herself from looking. Four skeleton warriors rode up on skeleton horses.
“Maybe they’re just passing through?” Nu shrugged when Lady Jin gave her a grim smile with a head shake. They both drew their swords.
The skeleton horses snorted. Dust and cobwebs blew out of the nostril holes in their skulls. Lady Jin and Nu’s horses also snorted. They stomped their hooves and reared up.
“I am Lady Jin! Let us pass!” Lady Jin raised her sword.
The skeleton warriors raised their swords in unison and twirled them. Dust and cobwebs flew through the air. They charged. Shit! Lady Jin kicked her horse with her heels. “Charge!”
Lady Jin headed her horse towards the two skeleton warriors on the right. Her sword hacked through the first horse’s dusty skull. The skull burst apart. Lady Jin leaned away from the skeleton warriors chop. The headless horse skeleton tumbled to the ground. It broke apart into dust. The skeleton warrior jumped and twirled his sword at Lady Jin.
“Damn you, bitch!” It yelled at her.
Lady Jin raised her sword to block another skeleton warrior on a horse. Lady Jin sneezed from the dust that flew around the skeletons. Is there some magic in that dust? They’re like the skeletons we met on the mountain. Lady Jin parried another attack and stabbed at the lower spine. The spine was severed, but the skeleton didn’t fall.
“My legs! I can’t move my legs!” the skeleton screamed. “Damn you, bitch!” It seemed to have trouble getting its horse to turn around.
“Brainless skeletons!” Lady Jin charged after the two mounted skeleton warriors harassing Nu. Damn it! Nu’s in trouble! Nu’s left arm had a nasty gash in it. The girl raced around blocking one way and then the other. The mounted skeleton warriors continued to follow her. Lady Jin closed in on one of them. Lady Jin hacked through a skeleton’s arm. The skeleton didn’t drop its reins for it had them between its teeth.
“Hay! My arm!” The skeleton turned in his rotten saddle to swing its sword with the remaining arm. Lady Jin blocked and swung at the ribs. Missed! The two of them exchanged some more blows. Bang! Clang! Bang! Living and dead hooves thundered on the ground. He’s good! Or rather was. Lady Jin lightly pulled on her reins to slow her horse just a little. She hacked into the skeleton’s skull. Lady Jin’s sword split it in two. The skeleton warrior dropped to the ground. It burst into dust. The skeleton horse escaped through the bushes.
Lady Jin pulled her horse to stop. She saw Nu cutting down her own opponent. “Good job! That’s the last one!”
Nu slowed her horse and turned toward Lady Jin. “Look out!”
Lady Jin’s horse screamed and tumbled to the ground. Lady Jin hit her head, but didn’t lose consciously. She shook it and looked up. A skeleton warrior hacked its blade through her horse’s belly. Shit! Now Lady Jin remembered killing that skeleton’s mount. I forgot about that one! My leg is trapped! Lady Jin raised her sword to block the first attack. The skeleton warrior laughed at her.
“
Did you forget about me, bitch?” It stepped on her blade with its bony foot. “Too bad! Are you going to beg for mercy?”
“No!” Lady Jin kicked with her free leg.
The skeleton warrior raised its sword with both hands. Is this the end of my life? Lady Jin watched in horror. The blade came down. Lady Jin twisted to avoid it the best she could.
Nu hacked through the skeleton’s head. The skeleton burst into dust all over Lady Jin’s face. Yuck! Lady Jin coughed. Nu jumped off her horse.
“Mistress?” Nu knelt by her. “How do you feel?”
“Better, Nu.” Lady Jin laughed and coughed. “Though my horse is dead.”
Nu get Lady Jin’s leg out from under the dead horse.
“There.” Nu patted Lady Jin’s arm. “How does your leg feel?”
“It hurts, but I can feel it.” Lady Jin told her. “I guess that’s a good sign.”
Lady Jin sat up and rubbed her leg. Nu helped her stand up carefully. Lady Jin put some pressure on the foot. “It’s holding. I think I’ll be fine.”
“You can ride my horse.” Nu offered.
“Thank you, Nu.” Lady Jin sighed. “No point in stopping. We just keep going. He’s probably waiting for us at the hut.”
#
Lady Jin wanted to exercise her hurt leg, so she didn’t take Nu’s offer. Nu wouldn’t ride anyway. The walked in front of the horse with Nu’s leading it.
“Maybe you should wait for me.” Lady Jin said.
“What?” Nu frowned. “I just saved your life. And that Hao has pissed me off too. He turned me into someone that I wasn’t. I tried to kill you! I want a chance at payback too.”
“Fine.” Lady Jin rubbed the girl’s back. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
Lady Jin found the simple hut, but this time no one stood in the yard chopping wood. She saw a light coming out of the hut’s open door. Lady Jin drew her sword and approached. Nu followed. Lady Jin opened the door further with her sword.
“Lady Jin! You’ve made it!” Hao shouted from within. “I wasn’t sure if you would, but you have. Good!”
Hao walked out of the hut. He wasn’t smiling. “Oh wonderful! Your apprentice is here to die with you. Good!”
“Are you going to run away again, Hao?” Nu asked.
“No, stupid girl. I’m not.” Hao stuck Nu with a bolt of lightning. Nu screamed and fell.
Lady Jin charged. Hao struck at her. The bracelet absorbed the lightning bolt. The bolt stopped her forward momentum, but it harm her.
Hao formed a ball of fire and threw it. The bracelet swallowed the fire. Lady Jin felt the heat, but wasn’t burned. It’s working!
Hao raced back into the hut. Lady Jin ran inside after him. Hao had a strange sword in his had with a twisted blade. They exchanged blows, until their blades met. A burning energy flowed into Lady Jin’s arm. Her body shivered from the sensation. What is that? Lady Jin was sure she would have been dead without the power of the bracelet.
“Did Mountain Lady give you that bracelet?” Hao pulled his sword back and swung again. “You don’t deserve it!”
This time when their blades met Lady Jin was forced backwards by his power. Lady Jin gritted her teeth and charged on. The blades of their swords sparked when the stuck. The sparks started a fire at the edge of room. Some old blankets had started on fire. They continued to fight. The fire burned.
Lady Jin screamed with hate. Now her sword beat Hao back. Again and again she struck at him. Hao fell to a knee.
“Damn you, bitch!” Hao snarled up at her. Sweat fell from his temple. “I should have killed you the first we met!”
“You weren’t strong enough.” Lady Jin laughed. “And you were too afraid to try!”
Lady Jin grinned chopped down with all her heart and hate. Hao held up his sword to block. Sweat Their blades impacted and broke. Both swords broke in half.
Lady Jin looked down at her broken sword. Her lungs burned and she panted like a dog. Hao looked even worse. Hao shivered and glared up at her. His arm was bent in an ugly way. Sparks off lightning bounced around his body.
“Look…what you’ve done!” Hao reached out with his other hand. He burst into flames.
Lady Jin rushed backwards. She looked around. Everything’s on fire! The fire in the blankets had spread to the rest of the single room inside the hut.
“Mistress! Mistress!” Lady Jin heard Nu screaming from outside. The fire was in her way. I don’t want to die here! The fire was everywhere. Lady Jin sped forward. She felt the frightening heat from the fire, but it didn’t burn her. Lady Jin ran outside.
Lady Jin stumbled to the ground. She felt Nu’s arms around her.
“Mistress!”
Lady Jin looked up at the girl. She glanced back as the hut burned down quicker than it should have. “Magical fire.” Lady Jin whispered.
Chapter twenty-four
After Lady Jin spent most of her money on a new sword and horse at a city called Bojing they rode on to Guanxibo. It was far to the west, but Lady Jin wanted to speak with Blue Dove about everything that had happened to her. Lady Jin felt she needed some closure on everything that had just happened to her. She wasn’t sure why.
Lady Jin and One-eyed Nu stopped at an inn where they left their horses. After a bath in the women’s quarters they changed into dresses. Nu decided to go to the marketplace to see what was there, even though she didn’t have much money left. Lady Jin walked to Blue Dove’s house to speak with him.
Blue Dove sat quietly on his blue cushion and Lady Jin had told him her story.
“Are you asking for my approval?” Blue Dove tilted his head. “For the killing of Hao or the man that Mountain Lady wanted you to kill?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Lady Jin snorted. Lady Jin leaned forward against her knees as she sat before him on a yellow cushion. “Why did Mountain Lady want me to kill that man? I don’t even know who he was.”
“Mountain Lady is very old.” Blue Dove said. “She is neither good nor evil.”
“I know.” Lady Jin placed her elbows on her knees and leaned her chin on her hands. “Was he a good man? What right did I have to kill him? Did I have a choice in the matter? Am I a good woman?”
“We all have choices that we make, Lady Jin. We can try to make the right choice on the side of good the best we can. We may not always succeed and sometimes we make mistakes. We are human.”
“Human?”
Feather’s Blades #8 will be out in Dec. 2016.
Space Assassins will be out in Jan. 2017.
Mutiny on the Guinevere will be out in Feb. 2017.
Fall of the Airship Falcon will be out in March. 2017.
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Did you love all of those sword fighting movie classics as a kid? What ones did you see at the theater? Did you rent them? Did you buy them? How about the Samurai flicks? And all the movies you’ve seen since.
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Clash of the Titans
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Destroyer
Red Sonja
Jason and the Argonauts
The Beastmaster
Zorro
Star Wars (All of it!)
Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Ran
Throne of Blood
13 Assassins
The Great Killing
Eleven Samurai
Samurai Assassin
One Armed Swordsman
Come Drink With Me
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
Kill Bill
Mask of Zorro
Highlander
Not to ment
ion all of those awesome tv shows both animation and live action.
Highlander the series
Hercules
Xena the Warrior Princess
Samurai Champloo
Bamboo Blade
Thundarr the Barbarian
Bleach
Game of Thrones
Let’s not forget all the great sword fighting books and stories that have been written.
The Three Musketeers
The Lord of the Rings
Robert Howard’s Conan and Kull stories
The Broken Sword
Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories
The Chrystal Shard
The Shattered Chain
The Oathbound
I’m sure you can think of more and better classic tales of sword fighting. The book I have written is the first of many future adventures that Lady Jin and her apprentice One-eyed Nu will have in ancient China during the warring states period. Another book will come out in November 2016 called Evil Wizard Hao.
Check out my website:
garywfeatherauthor.com
Evil Wizard Hao: A Lady Jin and One-eyed Nu novel Page 12
