The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom)

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The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom) Page 1

by Jeff Wheeler




  ALSO BY JEFF WHEELER

  Nonfiction

  Your First Million Words

  The Grave Kingdom Series

  The Killing Fog

  The Buried World

  The Immortal Words

  The Harbinger Series

  Storm Glass

  Mirror Gate

  Iron Garland

  Prism Cloud

  Broken Veil

  The Kingfountain Series

  The Poisoner’s Enemy (prequel)

  The Maid’s War (prequel)

  The Poisoner’s Revenge (prequel)

  The Queen’s Poisoner

  The Thief’s Daughter

  The King’s Traitor

  The Hollow Crown

  The Silent Shield

  The Forsaken Throne

  The Legends of Muirwood Trilogy

  The Wretched of Muirwood

  The Blight of Muirwood

  The Scourge of Muirwood

  The Covenant of Muirwood Trilogy

  The Lost Abbey (novella)

  The Banished of Muirwood

  The Ciphers of Muirwood

  The Void of Muirwood

  Whispers from Mirrowen Trilogy

  Fireblood

  Dryad-Born

  Poisonwell

  Landmoor Series

  Landmoor

  Silverkin

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2020 by Jeff Wheeler

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by 47North, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and 47North are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  ISBN-13: 9781542015073

  ISBN-10: 1542015073

  Cover design by Shasti O’Leary Soudant

  To Isabelle

  CONTENTS

  MAP

  GLOSSARY

  In warfare nothing...

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Being deeply loved...

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Love is composed...

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Coming events cast...

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  A little impatience...

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  A bird does...

  CHAPTER FORTY

  EPILOGUE

  CHARACTERS

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  GLOSSARY

  Baobei——term of endearment for a beloved child

  Dan——the Immortal Word for protection

  Diyu——afterlife of darkness and shadow, ruled by the dragon

  Dianxue——a long-rumored skill of rendering killing/paralyzing blows by touch

  Dongxue——series of caves where the Qiangdao had hidden

  Ensign——a band of trained warriors for hire

  Hongshui——flood

  Jingcha——the police force in Sajinau

  Li——an approximate unit of measurement, less than a mile, used to estimate

  Meiwood——rosewood, a hardwood used for magic and construction

  Mudi——the garden of bones beyond the Death Wall

  Namibu Desert——a coastal desert far to the south

  Ni-ji-jing——killer whale

  Qiangdao——roving bandits

  Qiezei——a thief, cat burglar, picklock; professional criminal

  Quonsuun——a temple, fighting school

  Shijian——the Immortal Word controlling the concept of time

  Shu——the glyph that protects one from the killing fog

  Sudu——the Immortal Word for speed

  Taidu——one’s attitude, demeanor, bearing

  Taoqi——disobedient child

  Tian——the afterlife of light, ruled by the phoenix

  Tianshi——angelic beings from the Grave Kingdom

  Tianxia——the mortal world

  Weili——the Immortal Word for might

  Wenming——culture, civilization

  Woliu——the vortex separating the Grave Kingdom from the mortal world

  Wuxing——the Immortal Word for the unseen, invisible

  Xidan——port town on trade route to Namibu Desert

  Xieyi——the Immortal Word that forms a formal pact, agreement, a sealed bond

  Xixuegui——the undead

  Yongqi——the Immortal Word for valor

  Zhu——the Immortal Word for death (a dianxue glyph)

  In warfare nothing is too dishonest.

  —Dawanjir proverb

  PROLOGUE

  The Last Sunrise

  General Tzu knew they would lose. There really hadn’t been much of a hope for victory anyway. The sky roiled with smoky fumes, and a bloodred sun had ascended over the expanse of the Death Wall. At least the darkness had lifted and they could see the rubble in the shattered streets of Sihui. The dragon had, perhaps, wished to show them their doom. The general knew another attack would come soon. And this one would spell the end of Zhumu’s reign. After he fell, only three independent kingdoms would be left. Or had some of them already fallen? They’d received no outside news since the first day of the attack.

  One of his underlings approached hastily, soot sticking to the sweat on his brow.

  “General, the third bridge has fallen,” he said with panic in his voice. “It crumbled into the river during the night.”

  “Draw our forces back to the final bridge,” General Tzu replied coolly. “That is where we will make our final stand.”

  “But will it be enough?” asked the desperate underling. “Can we hold back the Dragon of Night’s army?”

  “Oh, we will,” the general replied with bravado. “We will hold it with every last man. Today is the day that Echion’s army will retreat. I’ve received reports that some of his ships are full of disease. Yes, we will win this day. Gather to the final bridge.”

  The man’s face brightened. “We’ve nearly won?”

  “One last push,” General Tzu said confidently. “We’ve lasted this long. It’s almost over.”

  “Thank you, General! Thank you! I’d nearly g
iven up hope.”

  General Tzu clapped the man on his armored shoulder and turned to walk to the palace. Everything he’d told the man was a reassuring lie. Under Echion’s rule, the Qiangdao were more united than they had ever been, and they were chafing with impatience to loot Sihui. Just as he’d done in the other kingdoms, Echion would choose loyal governors to administer the Iron Rules once Sihui fell. King Zhumu would be executed. His daughter had already been abducted and spirited away to the dragon’s palace at Fusang. An ensign had been sent to free her and the phoenix-chosen, Bingmei, but no word had ever returned. General Tzu might lie to his troops to bolster their morale and courage, but he’d not lie to himself. Bingmei and the rest had probably died before they completed their mission. Which meant there was absolutely no chance of victory at all. Sihui would be destroyed like the other kingdoms. And there wasn’t anything in the world he could do to stop it from happening.

  As the general rounded the corner of the rubble-strewn street, he saw the palace ahead and dreaded the news he would bring Zhumu. Clenching his fists as he walked, he thought about the defense of Sihui and was amazed they had lasted as long as they had.

  All winter, he had prepared for the siege. He’d allowed his countrymen to be practically enslaved so they might build the complicated, layered bridges that were central to his plan. He’d hoped they would repel the huge ships Echion had used to destroy his people at Sajinau. In the end, Echion himself had arrived in the form of a giant dragon made of smoke. He’d tried to snatch General Tzu with his claws, but Bingmei had shouted a warning just in time. The general had jumped into the water moments before the great dragon opened its maw and spewed an impenetrable darkness. For three days, the entire city lay under a shroud so dark that not even a single flame could be lit.

  The darkness had caused terror and despair. It had blinded the Eagle Throne. And that was when General Tzu realized the reason for it—Echion was planning to attack from the rear, not from the sea. Despite the darkness, the general had marshaled his defenders to the swamps behind Sihui and hidden them in the woods. He’d put fake armor on ordinary citizens and sent them to man the bridges. If he had guessed wrong, they would all have died.

  But when the darkness had finally lifted, the army of Qiangdao was spotted coming in from behind. His troops lay in wait for them and ambushed them when they reached the river. It was a slaughter on both sides, but his strategy had worked, and they’d sent the invaders fleeing into the wild.

  On the second day of battle, the killing fog came.

  But General Tzu had already learned one of the fog’s secrets from Muxidi, a Qiangdao who had shifted his allegiance. In battling the first round of invaders, the general’s men had discovered sigils written in blood on their backs. It was this sigil that protected them from the fog. General Tzu had ensured every soldier and citizen had the mark before the next attack. On his instructions, his soldiers had dropped to the ground, one by one, as the fog touched them, pretending it had done its evil work. But that trick could likely only be used once, for Echion could change the sigil and had done so in the past.

  When the Qiangdao arrived on their ships and began to enter the streets, General Tzu gave the command to fight. The dead sprang to life and attacked, surprising Echion’s army and winning the day.

  The taste of victory was sweet. But General Tzu had known even then that each day would bring its own challenges. Past success meant nothing about the future. While the armies of Sihui rejoiced, he paced and worried. His concern was well founded.

  The enemy wasn’t disheartened at all. In fact, they were enraged. The next day, they attacked on both sides at once. The first bridge came down, and the second crumpled quickly thereafter, opening one side of the river. All the survivors had been evacuated to the palace side of the river, but many innocents had perished due to the brutality of the Qiangdao.

  General Tzu had been wounded on his thigh during the fighting that day, a wound that still grieved him days later. He felt it now, in particular, as he arrived at the palace. The building swarmed with soldiers and townsfolk. People shouted at him, demanding answers, the fear in their voices scraping down his spine. Guards with spears pushed the swelling crowds back, allowing him to pass.

  The captain of the palace guard, Captain Shan, reached him through the masses. “What news, General?” he asked. The rust of blood was still on his armor. He was a huge man, one of the strongest in the city, and had joined in the fighting at critical moments.

  “We’ve lost the third bridge,” General Tzu said curtly.

  Captain Shan’s face darkened. “Is it the end?”

  “Hush, man. Too many ears. Bring me to the king. I’ll give you both the news.”

  The interior of the palace smelled of sweat and cinders. When General Tzu had first arrived as a refugee, he’d been impressed by the splendor of Sihui’s wealth. But such things mattered very little in the thick of war. Gold couldn’t delay a sword thrust. And silk didn’t mop up blood very well.

  When they reached the throne room, he saw Zhumu dressed in his ceremonial armor, a two-handed blade strapped to his back. The usually confident king looked rattled. His eyes were feverish with worry. Despite the crowds elsewhere in the castle, he was alone.

  “Well, General?” he asked. “Has there been any word yet? Any word at all from my daughter, Cuifen?”

  “None, my king. Getting word through the defenses would be difficult. Do not succumb to fear.”

  The king gave him a haughty look. “I already know I’m a dead man, Tzu. But my heart groans for my daughter. I’d rather her drink poison than become one of that foul monster’s concubines.”

  General Tzu clasped his hands behind his back. Captain Shan shut the door. “We’re alone. What news, General?”

  “Today we fall,” he said solemnly. “I’ve done everything within my power. We’ve lasted longer than any of the other kingdoms. But our fate was assured as soon as Echion revived. We’ve prolonged our fate. But we cannot prevent it.”

  Zhumu frowned. The gray streaks in his black beard had become more plentiful in recent days. “I will not concede defeat, General. We must prevail. You must find a way.”

  General Tzu’s shoulders sagged. “I have done all that I can do, my lord. It is a simple deduction. If we had banded together all of the kingdoms, as King Shulian had suggested, we would have had ten times the resources. Instead, each kingdom has defended itself. Even with the men I brought from Sajinau, we cannot match the number of soldiers that Echion can throw against us. Right now, I have more wounded men than hale ones. Yet still they fight on, knowing most of them will be executed if we fail.”

  “Then we cannot fail!” Zhumu barked.

  Captain Shan looked at his king worriedly.

  “My lord,” General Tzu said, stepping forward. “There is nothing more I can do but rally the soldiers and defend the city to the last man. This is it. It ends today. When they attack us, we will all die. We cannot leave the city, for they’ve trapped us from behind. Every effort to break through their ranks has killed more men. There is nowhere left to go. Nowhere to hide. We fight and we die in Sihui. Come, my king. Fight with us. It will embolden the men.”

  One of the muscles in Zhumu’s cheek twitched. General Tzu stared at the king hard, trying to will him to make the right decision.

  And he did.

  When the enemy came, they arrived in wave after wave like the surf hammering the rocky shore during a storm. General Tzu watched as his wounded brothers fell and died, taking as many enemies with them as they could. Corpses floated down the river beneath the bridge. The last bridge was the final defense. It prevented the enemy boats from docking directly at the city, forcing the invaders to attack them across its narrow length. There were still attackers striking from the rear of the city, which meant there was no possibility of retreating into the hinterlands. As men died, their bodies were thrown over the walls to clear the path for more warriors. King Zhumu’s sword was streaked in red. H
is presence on the bridge, along with Captain Shan’s, had indeed increased the vigor of the defense. And Zhumu was highly skilled with his sword.

  Each rush of Qiangdao had been repulsed, but more kept coming. General Tzu gulped for air. He wondered why Echion hadn’t arrived in person. Every day, they would all look to the skies in fear, wondering if the Dragon of Night would return to lay waste. He dreaded that moment, knowing it would herald his death. Or, worse, he would be compelled to serve the monster.

  Screams of rage sounded as another rush of enemy soldiers stormed up the bridge. General Tzu watched as Captain Shan met them himself, battering them back with a meiwood glaive. The Qiangdao who made it past him were cut down by King Zhumu, who led the surviving guards. An enemy struck Captain Shan in the leg, and General Tzu watched the big man sag to one knee, still fighting. They battered his helmet and shoulder armor, shrieking in glee as their enemy foundered. General Tzu rushed forward, ignoring his own injury, and invoked the power of his meiwood weapon. They needn’t fear the killing fog—each of them still wore the protective word. The sword lifted out of his hand, spinning on its own and attacking those who crowded around Shan. King Zhumu attacked, slicing through armor, causing death with every stroke as he fought to free his honored captain from the Qiangdao.

  This is it, General Tzu realized, holding out his hand. The hilt of his weapon came flying back into it as if bound by an invisible rope. This is the end. He could feel the ridges and swirls of the glyphs under his fingers, and it struck him that he had never known, and would never know, what they meant. Were they some archaic words from a dead language?

  The general’s mind was sluggish with fatigue. An enemy rushed at him, and General Tzu dodged to the side, bringing up his blade and disarming the fellow in one move. The man howled in pain, backing away.

  The only laws Echion cared about were the Iron Rules. The ones that he had deemed fit for the people. Surely there were better laws. More just ones. King Shulian had been a just king. His laws were merciful. But where had that gotten him?

  “General! General! Look!”

  He turned around, seeing a soldier pointing downriver. Dread licked up his spine. Were the ships finally coming, then? He forced himself to look. Haze obscured his vision. Sweat stung his eyes. He wiped a gloved hand across his face, trying to understand what he was seeing.

 

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