“Let me keep this,” he said, twisting the gemstone on his finger.
“It will be of no use to you now. I have disabled it. But if you give it to me, I will show you what you need to see to help you make up your mind.”
Dahlia instructed him to warm it in the sun. Zheng Min turned his hand, fist down so that his knuckles felt the heat. As the gemstone warmed, so did his hand and he withdrew it. It intensified to a brilliant orange colour. In the center, an image bloomed, growing ever larger until it cleared before their eyes. He recognized the scene, but not the location. “The circle of choice,” he said.
“The Emblem of Balance,” she corrected. “The original Taijitu, created in ancient times and sent to the Etherworld for safekeeping.”
The two simple elements that formed the backward S—one side Black and one side White—was broken into two pieces along the center, and lay separated on the ground.
“Do you remember what you chose last time, Military Governor?”
He had been demoted and was no longer Military Governor.
“Ah, but there you are wrong.” Dahlia’s yellow eyes gleamed as she read his mind. “You can be a leader once again if you choose wisely. Last time you chose Black on top, a choice, which will inevitably lead to an ignoble death.” She raised her hand as he tried to object. “But I can give you a reprieve.” She traced a finger along his forearm for emphasis, raising the hairs on his skin with pleasure. “That deed is done, the path set. You made your choice. And now, I give you another. You made a bargain with me, Zheng Min. You chose Black on top and you took the Fire Opal.” Her eyes mocked and a small, evil smile curled the Fox Queen’s lips. “Your days are numbered—unless you join me.”
%%%
Master Yun and Chi Quan dismounted and led their horses to the riverside. Quan stooped to drink beside his horse, but Master Yun smacked his hand, making him choke up the water. The river was steeped in the bones of the dead, he warned. They must drink only what they had brought with them. Quan left his horse and followed Master Yun who retrieved a stick from the grass, then scaled the mound until he reached the plateau. He breathed deeply, calling on the Chi of all that thrived in the vicinity.
The key to the gate was outside their grasp, but perhaps First Emperor would cooperate. Master Yun crouched on the hilltop and emptied his pouch before scraping away vegetation. With the stick, he scored the outline of a triangle into the dried earth and scratched within it the image of a dragon. Hands outspread, he summoned the forces of the stars and the planets, the weather and the earth, then clamped his hands together and stamped his foot three times.
“Master Yun,” Quan asked. “What are you doing?”
“I am trying to awaken the Night Guards Army before Jasmine can solicit their aid.”
“Ghosts? But why would a ghost army join her?”
“Why not? She and her fox queen have promised them new life outside their dark tomb. Which would you choose?”
“I see your point. But if the inhabitants of the mound will not meet with us, why are we here?”
From the hill’s rise, the beautiful Jasmine emerged in her human form. “To wait for me, of course. You should give up now, while you still can. All is lost Master Yun.”
“Do you have it?” Master Yun demanded. “Do you have the key?”
“And what if I do?” she replied. “It will do you no good. Even if I gave it to you and let you lead those miserable ghost soldiers to battle against my queen, you would still lose. I know your game. It’s already lost. Because, you see, I know you need the Emperor—and the boy—and you have neither.”
“What do you mean, Fox? His Majesty is safe within the palace. I placed him there myself.”
“You did, Master Warlock, but you made the mistake of allowing his usurper to remain among his ranks. Esen has had a taste of power. He was ruler for a short time. Even now he sneaks about the palace walls with a dagger in his fist.”
“No!” Quan shouted.
“And I’ll tell you another thing. It is your sweet Li who will allow the traitor into his chambers, dagger and all. Because, you see—and please don’t ask me how I know this because I won’t tell you—she does not remember that Esen was once her worst enemy.”
Master Yun made to leap into the air and fly to His Majesty’s aid, but Jasmine spun to reveal a large white rib bone concealed behind her.
The earth beneath the warlock’s feet crumbled. “Ride, Quan!” he shouted as he fell.
“Yes, ride, Brigade General,” Jasmine taunted, “and maybe, just maybe, you will get there in time to see your emperor roll off his golden throne, dead as a swatted fly.”
%%%
The force that sucked Master Yun into the mound resisted his spell of reversal. And just before the ceiling clamped shut something shiny sailed through the opening and plunged straight at him. He stretched out a hand, caught it—the Scimitar of Yongfang.
Thank you, Quan. That should help. But he wasn’t in a position to barter. He did not have the key. She did. Would the ghost soldiers obey him, despite the fact that it was Jasmine who held the fifth rib of Dilong? The shadowy figures that surrounded him were the Night Guards Army. Master Yun walked among the familiar scene. This time he knew where he was going. He passed through a corridor between the aligned soldiers and continued until he reached the rearguard. If only his bargain with Yongfang still held.
In here, there were infantrymen, cavalrymen, wooden chariots, hundreds of horses and thousands of armed soldiers. At the front of the T-formation two hundred crossbow archers stood shoulder to shoulder. Almost the same number knelt in the center. A further two hundred stood in a strategic circle. The remainder were tall cavalrymen. Bow in one hand and the reins of their horses in the other, they watched.
Another hundred meters, and he entered the third vault where Master Yun recognized the seat of the Military Command.
A clunk shattered the silence. Then all went quiet and he turned to see what followed. He raised his fist at the sound, but his Moonstone refused to light. A statue materialized out of the darkness. It wore a clay helmet and scalloped chest armour. Its eyes had a steely look about them that reminded him of Quan. It held a staff of polished bronze, pointed end up.
“Why have you returned, Warlock? You will find no help here,” it said.
Our days are numbered, Sentinel. I am pleading with you to take me to your ruler.”
The ground beneath Master Yun’s feet began to move. He clamped his arms to his side just as the earth gave out, and vertigo overwhelmed him. A vacuum hoisted him above the vault of the Emperor’s Military Command. Then slowed, stopped before his head crashed into an invisible ceiling. Below him, the air solidified to stable ground and he stood on his own feet once more. When his vision adjusted, he saw what he was looking for. Strong shapes of soldiers, armed with scimitars and the same sharpened bronze staffs as the sentinels below. Nearly a hundred of them flanked the golden horse-drawn chariot of Emperor Qin.
“Majesty,” Master Yun said, bowing deeply. “I have returned to beg for your help.”
“I have been waiting for you, Warlock. Where is the fox faerie?”
“She tricked me and trapped me here.”
The statue of Emperor Qin roared with laughter. “So, she has the rib of the Emperor’s Dragon. Do you know what power it possesses? There was a time when I could not leave this place, but now I can!”
“I need your army,” Master Yun said.
The statue of First Emperor snorted. “It’s too late, you have broken the bargain.”
“All of the Middle Kingdom is at risk. The Fox Queen has returned. She threatens to bring down the Empire, and place herself as empress.”
“I asked you to bring me the fox faerie, so that I could grant you your wish. Now it is you who will hold my place! No, don’t speak. You failed to bring her to me, so you must take her place. The army will be freed and victory ensured. But not the victory you hoped for.” The statue of First Emperor shattere
d and a nebulous, swirling form took its place. A deep smirk creased his face. “You are free to roam these tombs, Warlock. Enjoy your eternity!”
Master Yun shivered. Silence met his ears and a black veil descended over his eyes. He frowned into the dark, just as the floor gave way. He clamped his arms to his side and squeezed his eyes shut as he fell a hundred feet. When he raised his eyelids, he saw that he had regained the vault of the seat of the Military Command. Swiftly, he skirted the sentinels, which he knew could shatter to ghostly life at any moment, and exited the polygon-shaped cavern, retracing his steps to the chamber where the pottery soldiers stood in T-formation. He left through the rear exit into the corridor, and stopped. A ten-foot-tall statue blocked his retreat.
“Yongfang? Is that you?”
The brittle clay shell of the warrior splintered. The rust-grey pieces of terracotta clattered onto the floor. A ghost emerged. Only the weapon in his hand remained solid. “Have you come for us?” he asked.
Master Yun sighed with relief. “I have, but the fox faerie tricked me and trapped me here. Your emperor prepares for battle and soon you will hear his call. But he fights for her. Will you go?”
“They used to call you Ghost Catcher. Can’t you stop him?”
He stared at the ghost warrior without hope. “Alas, no. I failed to bring the fifth rib of Dilong.”
“You must fight him.”
“You would betray your emperor?”
The red and yellow colours of the phantom soldier deepened into an angry hue. They swirled, dissolving his face, then reformed into a sharp scowl. His rage was just. Jasmine had destroyed his life. Master Yun removed the Scimitar from under his robe, and stabbed it into the ground in front of Yongfang’s feet. The bronze blade impaled itself five inches deep.
“So you remember,” the ghost warrior said. “May the fox faerie rot in hell!”
“Then you will not join her and her queen?”
“I will not.”
Master Yun withdrew the Scimitar, bowed and extended the blade, hilt first. The Scimitar was strong and sharp. Yongfang had stolen it from the crypt itself, and had armed his rebels with the weapons with which First Emperor meant to enter eternity. One quarter of the Night Guards Army were without weapons. First Emperor had trapped the rebel leader here as punishment. Yongfang shook his head. “Return it to me when we claim victory.”
Master Yun hoisted the Scimitar. The bronze from which it was hewn was old but it still shone with the brightness of new metal. “Huli Jing will pay,” he assured the ghost warrior. “But first I must find a way out of here. Any suggestions?”
“No. But rest assured that although First Emperor’s ghost armies are freed, they will not rise to attack on his voice alone. Not all of the soldiers are faithful. Some of the terracotta faces are the faces of my rebels. The statues were erected before they turned against him. They will follow me.” Yongfang hesitated for a second, before continuing. “I must take the bone of Dilong from Jasmine. Meanwhile, you have no choice but to stay here.”
Master Yun slid the bronze Scimitar into the sash at his waist beneath his robes. He sought the ghost for further instructions. Yongfang bowed, and looked to where the rust-grey terracotta fragments of his likeness littered the floor. The pieces remained where they were, and the nebulous apparition floated away. His last words came in a deep breathless echo. “I will return for you.”
And then there was nothing but black for as far as he could see.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Esen’s Ambition
Esen stepped back against the wall, the nervous slaver drooling from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away, pressed his back hard into the shadows. Sentries were posted everywhere with orders to keep him from entering the Forbidden City, while Lotus Lily, that pirate girl with the lives of a cat, was free to come and go as she pleased. Here she came now, head high, with a little boy in tow, but not the boy he had once kidnapped from her. This one was a strange little bugger, with a white stripe down the side of his hair. She walked past even as their eyes locked. How dare you look right through me!
“Lotus Lily!” he shouted.
The frown she gave was odd. Had he changed so much in ten years?
“Your father is waiting to see you,” he overheard her saying to the boy. “We must clean you up and make you look presentable. Otherwise, he’ll think we’ve been maltreating you at the royal court.”
Impossible. I was your nemesis. He caught up to her before she finished crossing the public square, and stepped in front of her. She stopped, recognizing the rank of his uniform. “What is it, Captain?”
“Let me escort you inside. These are dangerous times. And the boy—” He suddenly realized where he had seen that striped hair before—on the White Tiger. “The boy must be protected from the strange creatures that have been seen around the town. He is clearly the son of an important man.”
“Thank you for your concern, but we are almost inside. We’re quite safe.”
Esen realized that Lotus Lily, whom everyone now called Li, did not know him. “I was sent to be your bodyguard. You and the boy.”
“Master Yun sent you to protect us? Why would he do that? His father has arrived at the palace, he will protect him.”
“But who will protect you? From him, I mean.” He had heard the stories of Admiral Fong’s vendetta against his former wife. “The White Tiger wants you dead.”
Li frowned. “Master Yun does not trust the White Tiger? He was the one who sent me to bring him here.”
Esen nibbled on his lower lip. “Well, I didn’t mean him exactly; he only agreed to the idea. It was Brigade General Chi Quan. He doesn’t trust Fong.” Esen was guessing all of this, and was surprised when Li nodded.
“Yes, well, that does sound like Quan. You’re one of his captains, I take it?”
“I am,” Esen said. “And not only is the brigade general concerned for your safety, he worries over His Highness as well. As soon as I have seen you and the boy to your chambers I am to report for a private consultation over security matters. Will you announce me to His Majesty?”
By now, they were at the palace door. The sentries crossed their lances to block him from entering. “No one is allowed inside except the princess and her son.”
“Oh, it’s fine, sentinel,” Li said. “He can walk me inside. I will send him back out in a moment.”
“My orders—”
“Whose orders?” Li demanded, cutting him off.
“Brigade General Chi Quan specifically requested that no one be allowed inside the palace without escort.”
“I am escorting him.”
The sentry looked nervously at her; she was His Majesty’s daughter. “Quan may give you orders, but he doesn’t give me orders,” Li said. “I want this man to accompany me.” The sentry bowed, and Li shook her head. “Sometimes Quan goes too far in trying to protect me. I understand he is trying to make up for years of what he perceives as neglect, but this is not the way to do it.” She raised her hand and the guards extricated their crossed lances.
“As to your request, Captain” she said. “Not right away. I have an important audience with Lao’s father and His Majesty. Perhaps I can mention your request when we’re done. Now, you have fulfilled your duty to the brigade general. When next you see him, you can tell him that all is well and that I am in no need of a bodyguard. I’m assuming he is still abroad with Master Yun? Then, please, see yourself out.”
Li led the boy away and disappeared down one of the marble hallways. The sentries had returned to their posts. He made his way to the throne room, but the Emperor was busy consulting with some of his generals. Esen fumed. His Majesty had promised to make him General, and had relegated him to Captain instead. Now was his chance for revenge. Esen was familiar with the palace layout and located the royal bedchamber. This was the best place to wait, the least likely place for His Highness to be accompanied by a blade-bearing escort. Silk draperies, satin bedding and pillows, exquisite tap
estries surrounded him. Larceny and resentment welled up in Esen’s chest. He had spent a good month enjoying these luxurious trappings before the return of the warlock. His plan was to take some of it back.
One of the tapestries on the walls looked crooked, and he touched the woven image—an azure and gold phoenix. Interesting. The wall had edges. He swept the tapestry aside and poked at the nearly invisible frame behind it. A passageway appeared, and he followed it along a gravel path to a private pleasure garden. The sun had arced to the top of the sky and now he stopped for a moment to get his bearings. Beyond the rocky terraces, shrubberies, and twisted fruit trees was a path to a gate.
Esen stood atop Coal Hill. Below him the armour of marching sentinels winked in the midday sun. Pavilions and temples flanked the sprawling alleys between the Forbidden City and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. South of the city walls, the Temple of Heaven peaked like a mountain as it broke the surrounding parkland. He was about to retrace his path when he noticed a flash of yellow. So, the Emperor had finished his business with the generals and was out on the town, reacquainting himself with his subjects. He was bowing to them even as they bowed back. Never had he seen the Emperor act like that. In the days when he had paid tribute to the Son of Heaven, he kowtowed while His Royalness snorted in disdain. Even now, Esen was not treated like a loyal subject. Not like that foreign hero, they called the White Tiger. Even before he knocked up the princess, he was a Manchurian outcast. And yet they treated the striped freak like royalty, and Esen like horseshit.
He fingered the blade at his hip, narrowed his eyes to focus. Beneath the Imperial yellow satin was a heart that beat just like his—a heart that pumped blood. All he had to do was stop that pump.
But it wouldn’t be easy. The new bodyguard was not human, nor was he mortal. The blue soldier went everywhere with the Emperor, and Esen recalled his first glimpse of the dragon—pale blue like water, scaly and horned, with wings and a whip for a tail. It was the biggest creature he had ever seen.
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