Diablo 3: The Reaper of Souls

by Vandoren, Elias

  "Thank you, Stepfather."

  "And if you are ever that reckless again, 'punishment' will be too gentle a term for what will happen to you. You must understand that we are at war with Jagged Liang, and every soldier is needed…"

  Jia straightened as Yao spoke of obligations, distracted by… something odd. The Stepfather's office was a small but lavish room, with the desk between them, a cabinet, and a doorway in the left wall, leading to the Stepfather's private

  chambers. She could have sworn she'd felt a breeze…

  She blinked. A bony old man in threadbare robes and battered sandals shuffled out of the doorway, sniffing the air, his wispy beard quivering. He noticed her, nodded gravely, and crossed over to the cabinet, quietly smacking his lips.

  After selecting an especially fine teacup, he surveyed the room with the gentle confusion of a guest wondering where his host kept the sugar.

  Jia glanced between Stepfather Yao and the old man. Was she supposed to ignore him? Rise to greet him? Was this another test? Was she failing it?

  Annoyance flashed across Stepfather Yao's face.

  "What in the name of all the Hells are you looking at?" he said, turning around. His jaw dropped at the sight of the elderly intruder happily spooning cubes of crystallized burrower venom into a teacup.

  "Guards!"

  "But even nude as a peeled chicken and tied to a stake atop a bonfire, crafty Zei had more tricks than the ocean has secrets." —Zei and the Tiger's Thirty Tails

  Five busy minutes later, Stepfather Yao sat at his desk, frowning at the old man who had somehow breached the most secure level of the most secret fortress in all of Xiansai. Yao had immediately sent news of the intrusion in the usual way to the Broken Man, who was… on business, but that was only a formality. Intruders died.

  Aunt Xa and Uncle Hao, two of the Tenth's deadliest assassins, stood on either side of the unwelcome visitor, blades drawn and ready to strike at the Stepfather's word. Apparently ignorant of the implied threat, the old man beamed at the luxurious surroundings and turned his attention to the desk between Yao and himself. He sighed.

  "I am famished," he said. "Do you have anything to eat?"

  "Of course," Yao said, turning to Jia, who waited unhappily by the door. Perhaps she had expected to be sent out of the room. Were she any other little sister, he would have done so. But Jia was different, and always had been. She needed to be harder. He pretended not to notice that Aunt Xa, who'd once bitten out a man's throat, was shooting concerned glances at the girl.

  "Bring us a plate of cakes from my larder, Little Sister. Then make some tea from the brown pot."

  Jia hurried away and came back with a plate piled high with cakes. The old man's eyes widened as it was set before him.

  "All right, my friend," Yao said when Jia had returned to the larder to make the tea. "Who are you, and how did you find your way in here?"

  "Through the secret passage behind your bookcase," the old man said, staring at the cakes as if they were telling him secrets. "May I have that chocolate one with the yanberry stripes? It looks marvelous."

  Yao frowned.

  "I asked your name."

  "Yes, I heard you."

  "And?"

  "I thought you were joking!" The old man laughed, flinging his hands into the air. "Everyone knows Covetous Shen!"

  "I, sadly, do not," Stepfather Yao said. "Help yourself to the cakes, my friend."

  Covetous Shen's jaw dropped at this unexpected generosity, and he lunged at the plate.

  "Now, I would like to know why you have…" Stepfather Yao trailed off in amazed horror as Shen demolished the pile of cakes as if it held the antidote to the poisoned tea Jia was making.

  "… why you have come here," Yao managed finally. Aunt Xa and Uncle Hao appeared hypnotized by the carnage.

  The old man answered in muffled detail, spraying pieces of cake across the desk.

  "I don't believe I understood that," Stepfather Yao said.

  "I am not surprised," Shen said, swallowing the last bite. "It is a very complex plan."

  "No," Yao said, taking a calming breath. "I could not understand what you said through your mouthfuls of cake."

  "I apologize. Let me explain again… Oh, here is the tea!"

  Porcelain clinked as Jia returned and set the steaming pot and two cups on the desk.

  "Thank you, Little Sister," Yao said, and poured Shen a cup. Minute swirls the color of polished oak betrayed the dark tea's deadly contents, but the old man would never taste or feel a thing. He would fall asleep, and that would be it. But there was still the matter of—

  Shen seized the cup and downed it in one gulp.

  "Oh my," the old man said, breathing out steam. "That was delicious. May I trouble you for some more?"

  Brow furrowed, Yao poured another cup. Shen sipped the tea and sloshed it thoughtfully around his mouth.

  "Let me ask once more," Stepfather Yao said. "Why are you here?"

  Covetous Shen pursed his lips in solemn thought, and he tasted the tea again. Delight bloomed across his face. He leaned conspiratorially toward Stepfather Yao.

  "Is that scorpion root I taste?" he said, as though one of the deadlier poisons known to man were an unexpected hint of almond.

  "Yes, I'm afraid it is. And if you want to—"

  "It's poisonous, you know."

  "I know it is," Yao said, gritting his teeth. "And if you want the antidote—"

  "Oh, there's no antidote," Covetous Shen said, pouring himself some more tea. "It's one of the deadlier poisons known to man. Luckily, I once spent an unfortunate month trapped on an island packed with scorpion roots and venomous snakes. I had to eat them to survive, of course. The experience left me quite immune to most poisons!"

  Stepfather Yao glared at Shen. There was a mystery here. Yao hated mysteries. He met Uncle Hao's eyes and nodded.

  The Great Families sent their magical prodigies to Caldeum's Yshari Sanctum to meditate on the wise use of power so they could return to Xiansai and use it unwisely. The Tenth Family preferred more direct approaches to murder, and trained its own in the use of subtly applied force on internal organs.

  Uncle Hao raised his hand, mouthed a word, and closed his fist. The lanterns hanging from the ceiling flickered and swayed as if caught in a dark wind.

  In the silence, Covetous Shen noisily slurped his tea. By all appearances, his heart was thoroughly uncrushed.

  Beads of sweat dripped from Uncle Hao's forehead. His bloodless fist trembled in the air.

  A tremor built. The desk shuddered. Covetous Shen finished his tea with a happy sigh and set the cup down.

  The teapot exploded, sending glass shards in every direction.

  Growling, and only marginally aware that his assassins were frantically checking themselves for poisoned scratches like frightened children, Stepfather Yao tipped the heavy desk out of the way with one hand, and pulled his knife. Covetous Shen sat, unmoving, brow creased with polite concern. Teeth bared, Yao drew back to strike…

  … and paused. His forehead ached, and not from a scratch.

  Letters could be intercepted, and messengers could be tortured for information. Through considerable expense and some painful enchantments, Stepfather Yao and the Broken Man had obtained another, more secure method of communicating at a distance.

  Yao had carefully pictured the intruder when he had arrived, and had muttered the sending word under his breath. He hadn't expected a response.

  A hundred mental whispers coalesced into a single powerful thought from the Broken Man.

  Give him whatever he wants, and pray he leaves quickly.

  Yao's breath caught in his throat. The Broken Man had taken control of the Tenth during the Purge, when the entire city was turned against the family. He was over six and a half feet of scarred flesh, muscle, and mended bone, and the only man Jagged Liang, the most powerful woman in the city, considered a rival.

  Pray he leaves quickly.

  The Broken Man w
as afraid of Covetous Shen.

  Stepfather Yao sheathed the knife and looked, truly looked, at the intruder. Battered, dust-stained robes. Heavy pouches. And that smile…

  Everyone in the Tenth had once taken the Orphan's Test and rubbed the head of Zei for luck. Everyone knew the legend of the trickster god, trapped in the mortal realm until he retrieved the jewels he had stolen from the heavens.

  Licking lips that were suddenly dry, Yao said, "Who are you, grandfather? Who are you, really?"

  "Just a humble jeweler," Covetous Shen said with grand satisfaction. "And I wish to hire young Jia for a most interesting assignment."

  "The warrior's wife offered Zei an emperor's ransom in precious jewels, or a night of unbridled debauchery. Of course, for Zei, that was hardly a choice at all." —Zei and the Night of Unbridled Debauchery

  The Shifting Estate was five subterranean floors of sleeping quarters and training halls connected by a fortified spiral staircase. Jia followed Covetous Shen up the winding steps sullenly. Somehow, the news of the visitor had already spread. Worried eyes peeked through murder holes, and frantic whispers echoed down in the dark as Xiansai's deadliest assassins jostled for position, trying to see.

  Jia growled. She was never going to hear the end of this.

  "I know you're not him," she said.

  "Not who?" Shen said cheerfully.

  "Zei! You're not Zei!"

  "I never said I was."

  "You never said you weren't!"

  "Ah, but if I must spend the entire night telling you everything I am and am not, we won't have time to break into Jagged Liang's tower."

  The whispered conversations outside the walls cut off abruptly, and a hundred indrawn breaths sucked the air from the stairwell. Jia stopped dead.

  "What?" she shrieked.

  Shen peered back at her around the curve of the staircase.

  "Oh, didn't I say? Yes, we are going to steal secrets from the Tower of the Advisor. Isn't that wonderful?"

  Zhou's laws were determined by a ruling council made up of one man or woman from each of the nine Great Families. As none of the Great Families was foolish enough to trust the others or work together with them, they had long ago created the role of advisor.

  This powerful and dangerous position was generally held by a successful merchant raised from the teeming masses. He or she brought important matters3 to the attention of the ruling council and executed its orders4, giving the Great Families time to hold masquerades and plot the assassinations of loved ones. Advisors worked entirely without oversight and were the de facto rulers of Zhou. They also rarely lived to see the end of their one-year term.

  This meant that the current advisor, Jagged Liang, was… unusual. She had used the increasing reports of demonic attacks in the bordering Dreadlands and the rest of the world to remain in power for four years, and had survived sixteen assassination attempts. Before she became advisor, the Great Families had filled the city watch with the dregs of their personal armies; Liang reformed, fired, or outright killed the drunks, spies, and criminals, leaving a well-trained and better-compensated force that answered only to her.

  In short, Jagged Liang was the sole guardian of order in a city that thrived on chaos. And that put her directly at odds with the Tenth, which prospered from satisfying the whims of the rich and powerful. A silent war had been escalating for years now. Her watchmen raided storehouses and slaughtered Jia's adopted family in the streets. In return, uncles and aunts paid visits to watch houses and made sure the entire city could see the flames.5

  No one, not even the Builders and the Landholders, hated each other more than the Broken Man and Jagged Liang.

  Jia leaned against the wall. And we're going to steal from her.

  "I'm dead," she said.

  "Only if her guards catch us," Covetous Shen said, flapping his hands dismissively. "Or we fall during the climb."

  "Climb?" Jia said, holding her forehead.

  "Oh yes. We will be ascending the outside of the tower." Shen frowned. "Now that I'm hearing the plan out loud, it does sound quite risky. Luckily, you have a secret weapon."

  "Yes? What's that?"

  "Me!" Shen said, and he vanished around the curve again. Jia felt her family watching her.

  "Be strong, Little Sister," one of them said, reaching through a murder hole to touch her shoulder. "Be silent. Be careful."

  "Hide in plain sight," said another.

  Jia sighed. The last was a quote. From the Book of Zei.

  Covetous Shen bounded from the estate's false storefront, and Jia followed glumly. Rugged cobblestone streets reeled through clumps of sagging, multilevel tenements that blocked the stars above.

  But not the entire skyline. Half a mile away, the serrated shape of the Tower of the Advisor rose haughtily from the surrounding squalor, waiting for them.

  Covetous Shen stood absolutely still in the center of the uneven street. In the soft moonlight, his tangled beard almost glowed, and the faintest memory tickled the back of Jia's mind…

  And it was gone. She shook her head and started toward Shen. Maybe the old fraud was having second thoughts.

  No. He was hypnotized by the sight of a distant street vendor up the winding curve of the road leading to the tower. The sizzle of meat sent curls of fragrant smoke looping toward them.

  "We should head over the roofs."

  "There are curried beef vendors on the rooftops?" Shen said with awe. "I have been gone from this city of wonders for too long."

  "No," Jia snapped. "It's safer."

  "Ah, yes," Shen said, nodding seriously. "Safety is most important. Have no fear. If we need to jump off roofs and battle seven men, I shall let you go first."

  He tottered toward the street vendor, leaving Jia gaping in his wake. He must have overheard, of course. But Stepfather Yao hadn't mentioned the roof…

  The vendor's cart and grill were built against an open kitchen, connected to its soot-stained walls and ceiling by a complicated array of chains and gears; it looked as though the entire contraption could be pulled back in a hurry so that the slab of iron over the cart would swing down and seal the shop. Jia caught up just as Covetous Shen nudged apologetically through the small line of people waiting their turn. He then ordered everything on the grill.

  "Everything, grandfather?" the vendor said, his brow crinkling beneath a wide straw hat with upturned edges. He ignored the grumbling crowd; selling everything at once meant he could go to bed early with a pouch full of gold.

  "Absolutely!" Shen said. "My young friend and I have a hard climb ahead of us and—"

  "We were here first, old man," growled a middle-aged woman with tired eyes and a heavy, clucking bag over her shoulder.

  "Were you? Impossible!" Shen said. "I would have noticed such a beautiful woman in line before me. But no one should go hungry!

  "Vendor!" he shouted, slamming his hand down. "Meat for all my friends!"

  Jia pushed past the faintly smiling woman and a street performer with a huge eighteen-stringed matar on his back.

  "What are you doing?" she hissed.

  "Preparing for our secret mission," Shen said in a whisper that was probably heard across the street. There was a sizzling sound.

  "You're making a scene!"

  "Ah. You may be right," Shen said. "I will proceed more subtly."

  "Grandfather," the vendor said, his eyes wide. "Your—your hand!"

  Shen looked at him. He looked at the hand he'd slammed down… on the red-hot grill.

  "No harm done!" the old man said, leaning onto the grill with his other hand. "I am quite resistant to burns, and it is chilly tonight. Now, where is my meat?"

  "Money first," the vendor said, wincing at the continued sizzle.

  "Oh, of course. My apologies." Shen straightened and sorted through his pouches with both hands, muttering. Finally, he brightened and brandished a ruby. His palms were unburned.

  "Will this do?"

  Eyes moved from the hands to the rub
y, then to Shen's wrinkled face. Someone whispered, "Jeweler," then, "Zei," and this time, even Jia was… uncertain. The jewel. The unblemished skin that should be scorched. The poison. The magic. Who was he?

  Still, she was young, and her natural cynicism bounced back hard.

  "You call this subtle?" she said.

  "It's not the largest one I have," Shen said, looking concerned.

  "It could buy this street!" Jia said. "And you're spending it on a cart's worth of beef?"