“What power does the book hold? Why do men seek it?”
“The power of creation and destruction. It is the beginning and the end.” She channeled more of the book’s energy through her arms and into Kang. He nodded as though he understood.
“How will I protect myself from the men who seek it?”
“This will protect you. Master Jing left it to me.”
She pulled the jade dagger from beneath her robes and held it up between them. When she released it, the knife hung in the air, spinning slowly, casting green bands of light over their faces. He reached out to touch it.
Xi Shi put up her hand. “Only call upon it when you need it.”
Kang pulled his hand back like a scolded child.
“It is yours to use when the time comes. For now it should stay here where it can draw some of the book’s power into itself.” She smiled. “When you reach out for it with your mind, it will come. Your enemies will tremble.”
The ground shook and the air popped with electricity. Our enemies are upon us, Protector. It is time for the boy to set his feet on the path. The book’s words were ethereal as though its attention was focused elsewhere.
“Come.” Xi Shi took Kang’s hand.
***
The Sea Dragon shuddered. Timbers creaked and split and the deck heaved. Xi Shi and Kang fell against the ship’s railing, the book held firmly in their hands.
“Open your shirt.”
Kang looked bewildered, but he complied. Xi Shi shoved the book back into the leather pouch. She tore off the strap and cinched the book to Kang’s waist.
“When we are close enough to shore, jump off the ship and get as far away as you can. Do not wait for the others. They will find you.”
Kang nodded. She was heartbroken to put so much on this young boy. She knew the book would forever change him, alter his destiny. It would likely be the death of him. She kissed his cheek, and before he could react, she stood and pulled him up.
The Sea Dragon had managed to right itself a bit, but they were still on unsteady footing. How long had they been inside the Eye? Their pursuers ships were already upon them. In fact, the lead ship had rammed them, pushing them even closer to shore. She could see that they were in shallower waters now. Not much further and they would run aground.
That was apparently the intention of the crew. They cut the sails, guiding the Sea Dragon ever closer to the shallows. Wood splintered as the Sea Dragon fought to free herself from the grasp of the enemy’s ship. They were close enough to see men assembling on the deck, strange dark men unlike any she’d seen before. They held long curved blades and they beat the hilts against their bronze breastplates. She estimated their number to be twenty.
A single figure stood apart from the men. Unlike the others, his skin was fair and his golden lochs fell over his shoulders. He wore no breastplate, only a long red cape fastened at his neck. His breeches appeared to be some sort of animal hide. His emerald eyes locked on her, piercing into her core. She felt his voice in her head.
Bring the book to me, child, and no harm will come to you.
She covered her ears and screamed, trying desperately to drive him out of her thoughts. She fell to her side, landing on top of Kang. When she looked up they were moving away from the enemy. The Sea Dragon had broken free.
Wang Xu ran to her side. He helped them both to their feet.
“I had hoped we would make it to a cove where we could bring the ship closer to shore, but our enemy’s ships were too swift.” He pressed the hilt of a long narrow sword into her hand. “We have no choice but to face them. I will stand with you so that Sheng-Li’s crew might escape.”
She was about to protest when the ship lurched and threw them all forward once more. This time they managed to keep their footing, but only because they fell against the railing along the bow. They had finally run aground.
Wang Xu looked back toward their pursuers. “They’re coming on fast. They mean to ram us and board the ship.”
Sheng-Li and the rest of the crew were already drawing blades, preparing for attack. She rushed to the Captain’s side.
“You must abandon the ship and get your men away from here.” She pulled on his arm.
“We will stand with you, Princess.” His eyes were warm, unwavering. “These bastards will rue the day they tangled with the Sea Dragon and her crew.”
“There are too many of them. Twenty alone on the lead ship. I have entrusted the book to Kang. I need you to go with him.”
Before she could say another word, the doors from the aft cabin flew open. It took her a moment to make sense of what she was seeing. Kang sat atop Sheng-Li’s horse. He had the reins firmly in his hands. He looked at her and shrugged, just before he dug his heels into the steed’s sides.
“Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll guard the book with my life.”
The horse burst into a fury of movement, charging past them and toward the front of the ship. Xi Shi ran after him, but the horse leapt over the railing and into the water below. She made it to the side just in time to see both horse and rider emerge from the water. The marvelous beast kept its head above water, Kang swimming at his side. A few moments later, the horse found solid footing and its back rose above the water. Kang wasted no time. He jumped on the horse and guided him to shore. She knew then she had chosen well, or perhaps the book had.
Once more the Sea Dragon was rammed. This time she was ready, sword in hand. They will rue the day indeed, she thought.
Their enemy had already boarded the ship by the time she made it to the stern. Counting herself and Wang Xu, Sheng-Li and his crew numbered fourteen. Respectable, but not enough to hold them off for long. Their enemy looked to be a trained fighting force, and their mysterious master had abilities beyond this world. She knew now he was one of the three, a protector.
She chanced a quick glance out to sea. One of the other six ships was heading their way, but the remainder kept their distance. They were considerably larger vessels and probably not able to come this close to shore. Or perhaps they knew they were not needed.
The first throng of attackers jumped aboard. Sheng-Li’s men didn’t back down. Three of the crew advanced and engaged the enemy, swinging their weapons wildly. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A moment later, fire erupted on the deck of the enemy’s ship. Sheng-Li was already lighting another torch.
“Might keep ‘em busy for a time.” He winked at her and hurled another flaming torch. She wondered what he had doused it with to keep it lit as it hurtled through the air.
Wang Xu, for his part, had already taken on two men on his own. He held a blade in each hand, batting one man away and then the other, occasionally drawing blood on their legs or forearms.
I admire your spirit, child, but I will soon break it. The menacing voice echoed through her skull.
A thousand years of rage heeded her call. It sprang from her like a fountain, driving the voice from her head. “You will never break my spirit,” she pushed back into his mind.
From across the distance she saw him stagger backward, then three men were on her and the connection was broken. The first screamed and lunged at her, sword above his head as if ready to bring it down like a hammer. She brought her blade up to meet his, metal scraping metal. With her other hand, she pulled him toward herself, bent to the side and used his own momentum to throw him headlong over the side of the ship.
She didn’t have time to admire her handiwork before the next man was at her. He kept his blade lower, apparently a quick learner she thought. They exchanged thrusts and blows in an elaborate dance. She managed to keep this man between herself and the other, so that she only had to face one at a time, but she could see the other was looking for an opportunity.
A quick dodge kept her from bearing the brunt of a blade across her chest, but as it was, a warm line of blood opened up on her arm. She blocked his relentless onslaught again before jumping backward in a move that served to distance herself from the enemy
, as well as confounding him just a bit. She balanced on the rail and kicked at his head. Her heel connected with his throat and sent him sprawling to the ground. The other man hesitated a moment before stepping in. She took the opportunity to jump back down and rake her blade across the downed soldier’s throat. Warm blood misted her ankles.
From her periphery she saw several more men board the ship. What horrified her the most, and almost distracted her from her attacker, was that the mysterious leader now engaged Wang Xu. Although Wang Xu was a fine warrior, the man seemed to be toying with him like an animal that has caught its prey.
Instinctively she brought her blade up to block a thrust from her new attacker. His eyes were wild and he cursed at her in a foreign tongue. The death of his compatriots appeared to have driven him into a rage. He swung mercilessly. With each blow her arm became weaker and weaker, and it became increasingly difficult to fend him off.
She dove to her right, letting the man’s momentum drive him into the railing. His sword arm flailed and caught her leg, opening up another crimson line. The rage welled up again and she pushed the pain from her mind, leaping on the man’s back. Her weight, although slight, was enough to pin him. She pulled his head back and drew the blade across his throat. His body convulsed, slacked, and lurched forward. She jumped backward and helped him overboard with her foot.
Again the Sea Dragon shook. The second ship had rammed her. She turned and surveyed the scene. Wang Xu still seemed to be holding the mysterious man at bay. Only seven of Sheng-Li’s crew were still alive. For his part, Sheng-Li hurtled himself into the next mass of soldiers boarding his ship. She rushed forward to assist, but he fell before she could reach him. It was like a swarm of insects. He managed to injure one and stab another through the eye before he was torn apart.
The rage surged once more. She thrust her blade outward, sending out a wall of energy. Four of the soldiers fell backward. They didn’t die, but they stayed on the ground, blood trickling from their eyes and mouths. The men behind charged her. She allowed the energy to surge through her arms and down into the blade. Each thrust, each lunge reinforced with the energy the book had bestowed upon her. It was a finite source, but she would use it until none remained. The longer she could hold them, the farther Kang would be able to take the book.
A group of the men broke away and advanced upon what was left of the crew. She hoped her noble comrades would be able to take one or two more with them before they died. The remaining soldiers encircled her. Did they intend to rush her from all sides? She took up a defensive stance and waited.
The familiar voice came to her mind again, only this time it wasn’t directed at her. The leader was calling for a third ship. Apparently he had underestimated her abilities.
Another ship broke free from the grouping. It was remarkably fast. She adjusted her stance and twirled her body around, willing energy from within and out through the blade once more. Her spiraling movement unleashed a cyclone of destructive force that caught a third of the men around her. The others lunged.
Again her body moved with grace and deliberation. She met every blade blow for blow, stealing brief moments to channel more energy up from her core.
There were only three soldiers remaining when the third ship made contact with the Sea Dragon. The arrival of reinforcements seemed to embolden the men around her. They charged her in turn. The first she dropped quickly, driving her blade through his groin. She was forced to block her next attackers blow with her shoulder while she pulled her blade free from the first. The pain was searing, but she managed to push the man back with her foot while she readied her blade.
She was set to take on both attackers when one of Sheng-Li’s men jumped to her aid. He hacked through the nearest man’s neck, pivoted and drove the hilt of his blade into the face of the other. The soldier slumped lifelessly to the ground.
“Thank you.” She managed a weak smile.
He only nodded in reply and pointed toward the side of the ship. Another twenty or so soldiers poured over the railing. A quick scan revealed Wang Xu still exchanging blows with his attacker. None of the crew remained besides the man who came to her aid. He took a position next to her.
“I will not think less of you if you jump overboard and swim for shore.” She nudged against him as if giving him approval.
“I would think less of myself, Princess.”
“Very well. We die together.”
This time the soldiers advanced in one massive horde, weapons raised, screaming and howling in a wild frenzy. Her well was running dry, but she called on whatever was left. A burst of light erupted from her palm and drove a wedge right through the middle of the group. Some fell over each other and sprawled across the deck. The man at her side leapt into action, slashing and impaling as many of the men as he could before they had a chance to get up.
Xi Shi pushed the last trickle of energy down the length of her blade. It jumped to life in her hands, hacking and slashing away at whomever it came in contact with.
The scene in front of her was a red blur. She swung wildly after a time, not knowing whether or not her blows found their mark. Her limbs and sides ached, throbbed, bled. The sword fell from her hands as a blow landed against her head. She fell hard against the deck, her eyes fighting to refocus.
There, across the ship, stood the leader, Wang Xu’s head held in his hand like a trophy. She could see the vile man’s lips moving, but she couldn’t hear the words. The men standing around her backed away as their master strode forward. He dropped Wang Xu’s head in front of her. She closed her eyes, feeling the warm tears escaping. She sobbed and struggled, but could not move.
“I told you I would break your spirit, child.” This time the man spoke aloud, but it was no less vile than when it was in her head. His words were thick with satisfaction.
“You have broken nothing,” she managed.
“Enough!” He knelt down beside her. “Where is the book?”
She laughed, spit up blood, and then coughed. “I have sent the book away.”
The man’s face contorted, a bright flush of red coloring his bronze skin. He screamed until she thought the veins in his neck would rupture. “You have only delayed me, child. I will find the book and I will hunt you down in the next life to harness its power.”
She used every bit of strength she had left to smile. “The next time we meet, I will kill you.”
The man’s screams faded away as the last sands of life left her. One last vision of Kang atop the wild steed charging through the water and up the shore eased her journey to the next life.
The Protector
The suffocating embrace that Martin held over her mind lessened. It did not retreat entirely, but it was enough for Ana to reach out to the Eye of Jupiter. Although the Horsemen probably hadn’t intended to, they had unlocked something within her. Self-awareness. The power of the book was indeed great, but it required a conduit, and every time it channeled its energy through one of the protectors it left an imprint. The book had interfaced with no other protector more than Ana. Every piece of the timeless tome was scribed across her soul. She was the living embodiment of all it represented.
This time the command she sent the book was her own. She no longer needed the artificial interface she had programmed into the book so long ago when the world had been at war. Everything the book was capable of was interwoven into her psyche. She had but to think it, and the book responded.
The glimmer of jade flashed brighter. It took shape and erupted from the Eye, arcing on a path that ended inches above Ana’s palm. The jade dagger that Master Jing had given her so many centuries ago hovered between her open hands, spiraling, waiting.
Martin held Frederick off of the floor by his neck. Her father’s feet twitched and his hands clawed at his throat. When the crazed demigod noticed the dagger, he threw Frederick against the opposite wall. The force cracked the stone and he fell limply to the floor. Verner and Flins stepped out of their coffins and took up flanking
positions.
“You think your little trinket from that old fool will save you?” Martin’s voice bellowed through the chamber. “Jing wasn’t wise enough to flee from me when he had the chance. I crushed him as I will crush you, you wretched little whore.”
The flash of fire that flew from Martin’s fingertips left her little time to react. She willed the dagger forward, making it spin furiously. Sparks flew and a sound like thunder boomed through the space when the jade dagger met the fire. The two forces pushed against each other, the fire fanning out around the spinning blade.
Verner and Flins both walked away from Martin, skirting around opposite sides of the wall, slowly closing in on her. Verner had been the biggest of the three before the transformation, but now he looked like a Norse god. All that was missing was the golden hammer, and she had a feeling he didn’t need it. The same fire that erupted from Martin’s fingers danced behind Verner’s malevolent eyes. He balled up his fists and flexed his arms as though he was testing out the new form he’d acquired.
Sixth Seal Page 27
