by Glen Cook
Lord Kuo said, “I should shift to enlisted garb.”
“Good idea. Pan ku, assemble a decurion’s kit and uniform. Northern Army badges.”
Later, in his quarters, Shih-ka’i studied the result. “Pan ku?”
“We need less arrogance, Lord. A soldier doesn’t bear himself as if he expects Candidates to throw roses in his path.”
“I see what you mean,” Wen-chin said. “Drill me.”
Shih-ka’i watched the time closely. The night was proceeding. Dawn would reach the island before it arrived here. He wanted to get there before sunrise. He explained, “Hsu Shen and his men should get used to you before daylight begins accenting your little lapses.” He examined Lord Kuo’s kit with a drillmaster’s eyes. “Mask and robes on the bottom? Good. Pan ku, yours is ready?” They would all take kits to make Wen-chin’s less conspicuous. His and Pan ku’s would remain with Lord Kuo.
Shih-ka’i was a worried man. How long could he shelter Lord Kuo? He owed the man, but how much? Wen-chin’s enemies would not see this as a private matter.
Too, Lord Kuo needed a secondary cover if he were to be long exposed to Hsu Shen. That he was Tervola could not be hidden indefinitely. Special investigator? That might do it.
“I think we’re as close as we can get on short practice, Lord,” Pan ku said.
“Then let’s make the transfer. Lord, don’t say anything unless you have to. Best they don’t notice you. Pan ku, you go through first. Get their attention.”
“I’ll be invisible,” Kuo promised, apparently amused.
Shih-ka’i supposed he was overly worried. Who would be watching for Lord Kuo? The man was believed killed during Mist’s attacks on his headquarters.
The Lioantung end of the transfer went perfectly. No one seemed surprised that Shih-ka’i had gotten his man a helper. Other senior Tervola maintained retinues.
Shih-ka’i went through last. He arrived, found Hsu Shen galloping toward him, trying to put his apparel in order. “Lord,” he gasped, “you should have warned us. We would’ve provided a more fitting reception.”
“Receptions are of no moment, Hsu Shen. You needn’t have interrupted your sleep.”
“But... “
“Never mind. It’s time to try our luck with the stone thing. They’ve reached Lioantung. We don’t want them doing what they did at the Tusghus.”
Hsu Shen nodded. “We’ve watched as closely as we dared. There’s a great rage in the thing. Its servants betrayed it.”
“Uhm. Could we enlist it? No. We don’t need that kind of ally. Did you find any weaknesses?”
“Have you eaten, Lord? Can we discuss it over breakfast?”
“Fine. We’ve been up all night, and had nothing since yesterday noon.”
Over the meal, Hsu Shen said, “We observed what happened both before and after the battle on the Tusghus.” He explained how the woman in white had removed and returned the godling to its home.
“Very good,” Shih-ka’i said. “I appreciate it, Hsu Shen. I’ll remember you. How dangerous is it in its current circumstances? Can it stop us?”
“I don’t know, Lord. When the woman removed it, it seemed happy. No reason to dispute what was happening. When she returned it, it was unconscious. It awakened furious.”
“And now?”
“Angry somnolence? Yes. It’s in a dreaming rage. But we’re really too far away to tell anything for sure.”
“I understand.” After a few minutes, Shih-ka’i said, “We’ll go over tonight. I’d better rest.”
“Tonight, Lord? That’s cutting it fine. I’ll have to send someone now in order to get a portal placed in time.”
“Right. Be careful. Don’t alert it. And wake me if it does get excited.”
“As you command, Lord.”
Shih-ka’i retired to quarters hastily prepared for him. Pan ku and Lord Kuo accompanied him.
Lord Kuo took a chair. “This monster... It’s what I sensed back when?” Shih-ka’i nodded. “What’re you going to do with it once you’ve taken it out of the stone thing?”
“I’ll consider my options when the time comes.”
“Did they notice me? I was too nervous to tell.”
“No. Let’s get some sleep. I’ve been too long without.”
Hsu Shen himself wakened Shih-ka’i. “Sunset, Lord. I’ve moved a team to within a mile. Hard on the men. The heat was insufferable.”
So are you sometimes, Shih-ka’i thought. “Let’s have supper before we go.”
“It’s ready. I’ll have the stewards set it out.”
“Give us time for our rituals.”
“Of course, Lord.” Hsu Shen seemed surprised.
“Yes. I still perform mine. We don’t outgrow the need, Hsu Shen.”
Pan ku came striding into the apartment as Shih-ka’i completed his rituals. “Where have you been?”
“Prowling, Lord. To see if there was any talk about our friend.”
“And?”
“Nothing. And they’d come to me if they had questions about my master.”
“Good. Satisfied, Lord Kuo?”
“Eminently.”
“Pan ku, we may have to leave in a hurry if this raid sours. Be ready. In any case, you’ll be the last man off the island.”
“It’s a good hiding place,” Wen-chin observed.
“One thing, Lord. I’m not a political man. Don’t involve me.”
“You’ve done more than I deserved already. I won’t put you at risk.”
“Thank you. Pan ku, suppertime.”
Shih-ka’i went through the transfer first. One by one, Hsu Shen’s men followed him into the cooling desert. This promised to become a chilly night’s work.
Shih-ka’i prepared protective spells, then seated himself on the crest of a dune. The stone monster loomed before him. The thing within was sleeping. The transfer had not alerted it.
Hsu Shen settled beside him. “We go in between the forepaws. There’s a stairway to its back. Up near the shoulder there’s a plug that lifts out. I’m not sure what we’ll find inside. I couldn’t probe that closely.”
Shih-ka’i nodded. “I want complete silence when we go in. I don’t expect it sees or hears in mortal fashion, but why take risks?” He stared at the dark bulk. “I wish we knew more about it.”
The last men arrived. Hsu Shen spread them in a skirmish line. Shih-ka’i wondered why he wanted so much help. Numbers meant nothing tonight.
“Let’s go.” Butterflies mated in Shih-ka’i’s gut as he stalked forward. What am I doing here? I’m an army commander. I’m supposed to have people do these things for me.
Lord Kuo remained close, spells of his own prepared. Pan ku carried his longsword at the ready.
Shih-ka’i laughed at himself. Arrogant, puny mortal, attacking what might be a god. Such gall!
There was no moon yet. The desert was illuminated only by stars. They seemed more numerous here than in the skies of Shinsan. The darkness seemed more intense.
Shih-ka’i moved into the deeper darkness between the thing’s forelegs, carefully picking his way through the rubble. He paused, knelt. Water. Here and there, plants clung desperately to life. Curious.
He had trouble finding the stair. Its base was masked by rubble. Seconds fled. His heart hammered faster and faster. The thing had to know he was here. It must be waiting to trap him... Still, he sensed nothing but sleeping anger.
He began the climb. Pan ku and Lord Kuo were right behind him. From behind them, Hsu Shen whispered, “Lord, must these men-”
“Silence!” Shih-ka’i hissed. He listened. The thing had not stirred. “They go.” He resumed climbing.
From the beast’s back he could just make out the men below. Again he wondered what point there was to their presence. To comfort their commander?
Hsu Shen eased past him, felt the stone of the thing’s battered shoulder. He lifted the plug out. Shih-ka’i felt the godling grow restless. He shook an admonitory finger at his co
mpanions.
Pan ku and Wen-chin bore lanterns. These they now lighted. Shih-ka’i took one and started down into the stone thing’s heart. It stirred again, but did not waken.
There was one chamber down deep inside, perhaps fifteen feet by ten. At one end stood a stone altar. Upon it rested a small black box.
Once that chamber had been richly appointed. All that remained was dust and scraps, a few ceremonial weapons, and the altar itself. Shih-ka’i advanced carefully, stood over the altar, stared at the box. He returned the lantern to Pan ku.
Still no more than a restlessness in the box. Shih-ka’i reached for it. His hands quivered.
Hsu Shen sneezed. And sneezed again.
The thing in the box stirred.
Shih-ka’i lifted gently and turned, glided toward the stair.
Pan ku sneezed, cursed softly. Shih-ka’i grimaced behind his mask. Carefully, carefully, he climbed the steps.
Now Kuo was sneezing. It was catching. Shih-ka’i felt the dust in his own nose. He fought the sneeze... There was nothing he could do. He hurried to the top, spun, shoved his burden into Pan ku’s arms. Pan ku had gotten his own nose under control by grinding at it with his free hand. Shih-ka’i doffed his mask till the sneezing passed.
The god in the box seemed to have settled back into sleep. “That was close,” Shih-ka’i muttered.
“What now, Lord?” Hsu Shen asked.
“Back to the island. We’ll put weights on the box, spells on one of the boats, and sail it out to sea. It’ll run into a storm and go down.”
Hsu Shen nodded. He took Lord Kuo’s lantern, signaled his soldiers. They began withdrawing. Most of them had departed by the time Shih-ka’i reached the transfer point. “I’ll go last,” he said. “Just in case.” The godlet still had not wakened. “Be ready when I arrive. Hsu Shen, you go now. Prepare the boat, and begin sending your men on to Lioantung.”
“As you command, Lord.”
The minutes rolled away. At last there was no one left but Lord Kuo and Pan ku. “Lord,” Shih-ka’i said, “I’ll give you a few minutes before I come through. Have a good ambush ready. The transfer may waken it.” Wen-chin nodded and departed. “Go, Pan ku.”
“Lord... “
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“As you will, Lord.” Pan ku disappeared. Shih-ka’i stared down at the box. What would the godlet do? Surely transfer would waken it. Could they control it long enough to put it into a boat? How powerful was it?
He waited five minutes. Before transferring he set the portal to collapse behind him. No one would return the box to the desert should it grab a man as it did the dead. He took a deep breath, stepped into the portal.
The thing wakened as Shih-ka’i reached the island. A finger of power stabbed his brain. He staggered. “You!” the thing in there bellowed. He moaned. Its rage was stronger than he had expected. Its angry, greedy tentacles drove into him, taking control...
Ssu-ma Shih-ka’i was stubborn. He turned, threw the box. It bounced across the floor.
Lord Kuo smacked it with a bolt of power that did no harm at all. Shih-ka’i dove after the box, smacked a fist against its side. It tumbled onward, into the pulsing black maw of the portal.
A dwindling scream faded from Shih-ka’i’s mind.
Pan ku reached his side. “Are you hurt, Lord?”
Shih-ka’i allowed himself to be lifted to his feet. “I think I’ll live, Pan ku. Damn my bones, I’m afraid I’m going to.” He leaned on his batman. “It almost caught my soul.”
Hsu Shen came roaring in. “What happened?”
“It woke up,” Lord Kuo explained. “My Lord threw it back through the transfer.”
“Oh, no! It’s back in the desert? What’ll we do?”
Shih-ka’i caught his breath. “No. Not the desert. No. Caught in the transfer stream. Done with this world. Forget the boat, Hsu Shen. Let me rest before I return to Lioantung. We’re done here.”
Pan ku was helping him leave when the air crackled behind them. A man stepped from a portal. “Lord?” he inquired.
Shih-ka’i turned. “Lord Lun-yu?”
“The Princess Mist is in Lioantung, Lord. Thought you’d want to know.” Tasi-feng surveyed his surroundings. He seemed puzzled. Lord Kuo tried to make himself invisible.
Shih-ka’i sighed. “All right. I’ll be there directly. Pan ku, let’s collect our gear. Hsu Shen, send the rest of your men out.”
Lord Kuo remained apart from Shih-ka’i till Tasi-feng departed.
“Pan ku,” Shih-ka’i said as they approached their quarters, “I think I’ve aged a hundred years.”
A deputation of nervous Tervola waited in the transfer chamber. Tasi-feng said, “Lord Shih-mihn is entertaining the Princess, Lord.”
“What’s that racket?”
“Harassment from outside, Lord.”
“Tell the lady I’ll be with her as soon as I’ve studied the situation.”
“Lord?”
“You heard me. Lord Lun-yu, come with me. Tell me everything she’s said.” He led the way to a high gallery in the old fortress at Lioantung’s heart. From it he could see most of the city and much of the countryside beyond. Pan ku dogged their steps.
“This was a monastery in the old days,” Tasi-feng said.
“Really? Interesting. But I’m more interested in current events. What’s the Matayangan situation?”
“She gives the impression it’s under control. Lord Kuo struck a particularly savage blow before... before... “
“I see. What did she say she wants?”
“She’s investigating our position. The army is stretched thin. If either front sours we might have to abandon the western provinces.”
Shih-ka’i leaned out a window, watched dragons circle. “The worst is over here. We’ve eliminated their godling. There’ll be no more debacles like the Tusghus. What have they been doing?”
“Getting ready to storm.”
“Storm? That’s crazy. They don’t have the manpower.”
“They didn’t have it at the Tusghus, Lord.”
“So true. But they haven’t the weapon they had then, either.” Shih-ka’i scanned the darkness. “When will they start?”
Tasi-feng shrugged. “If he follows precedent, not for a few days.”
“Don’t count on it. He’s learning.” Shih-ka’i glared at the night. “Damn. I’d like to get my hands on him.”
Something skittered behind them. Shih-ka’i whirled. “A mouse, Lord,” Pan ku said. “Strangest thing. Sat there just staring at you.”
“Let’s see what’s on the woman’s mind,” Shih-ka’i said.
“Lord... “
“Not to worry. I’ll comport myself properly. I’m as fond of my position as you are of yours.”
Shih-ka’i had encountered Mist twice before, during her first reign, and each time his first glimpse had hit him like a blow between the eyes. Though he steeled himself, the result was no different this time. Hard to believe that anything that beautiful was human. Hard to believe that she was the child of that ugly old madman, the Demon Prince.
She rose when he entered the small chamber where she was holding court. As his legion commanders bowed to him, she extended her hand. Never having been formally presented to any of Shinsan’s masters, Shih-ka’i was not sure how to respond. He made the slight bow due an army superior. The woman seemed satisfied. “Lord Ssu-ma.”
“A pleasure, my Princess.”
“The pleasure is mine.” She seated herself. Lord Shih-mihn remained at her right hand, a man smitten. “I’ve been reviewing your campaign.”
Shih-ka’i bowed again. “Mercy, Mistress,” he said. “I’ve done my best, but I’m only a pig farmer’s son.” His tone did not match his words. They were mere formality.
“Mercy isn’t necessary, Lord Ssu-ma. Not even the great Lords Chin or Wu could have done more.”
Shih-ka’i surveyed his brethren, surprised. They stood tall and silent, unre
adable behind their masks. What was this? They had spoken for a pig farmer’s son?
The woman continued, “I have complete confidence in you. I’m not here to interfere, only to familiarize myself with your situation. These are trying times for the empire.”
Shih-ka’i did not respond immediately. Tasi-feng stepped into the breach. “Lord Lun-yu, Mistress. Commander, Seventeenth.”
“A legion I remember well, from times when Lord Wu commanded.”
“Those days are gone, Mistress. As is Lord Wu.”
“Gone, forgiven, and forgotten.”
“Thank you, Mistress. There’s a way you could help. The Deliverer has a companion of great power. We’re unable to defeat her. To make the point directly, you might match yourself against her.”
Shih-ka’i regained his composure. “My commanders tell me she’s almost as strong as yourself, Mistress.”
“This woman is the Deliverer’s source of power?”
“One source. He had another, a godling of ancient times, that resided in the desert to the east. Tonight a Tervola named Hsu Shen and I destroyed it. Now the Deliverer and his woman are on their own.”
“They’re outside now?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Let’s have a look.” Shih-ka’i bowed. His entire staff started to follow. Mist said, “You gentlemen return to work. Wait. Lord Shih-mihn. Your granaries are full?”
“Yes, Mistress.” Puzzled.
“This place is filthy with mice. You might do something if you anticipate a long siege.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Softly, Shih-ka’i said, “It won’t be long. They’re down to the lees of their strength. He’s planning another surprise.” Mist glanced over her shoulder, gave Pan ku a look filled with meaning. The decurion was not intimidated. Shih-ka’i said, “Pan ku is my shadow.”
“As you will.”
Ten minutes later, as they approached the city’s northern wall, Shih-ka’i heard a scrabbling sound behind him, then a meaty thump as one body hit another. He spun, saw Pan ku push a large dog away from himself. The hilt of the decurion’s shortsword protruded from the beast’s chest. The dog twitched, whimpered, lay still. Pan ku retrieved his weapon, separated the beast’s head and limbs. “Pan ku?”
