“Yeah,” Roger commented from the sky above. “I can’t see anything from up here aside from a bitchy-looking owl.”
“There are just some things you know,” Tashi said. “Head to the left of those bushes there, and careful, they have thorns. Once we get there, we’ll come to two caverns. Go into the cavern on the left; the cavern on the right is a trap.”
Following Tashi’s instructions, we entered the narrow cavern. The space smelled of wet stone, and the walls were overgrown with moss.
“This is but a taste of some of the forgotten locations in Lhasa,” Tashi explained as we continued down the dark tunnel, our path now lit by the fire spirit. “There are more mysteries than any person could ever record, from the highest peaks to the fertile valleys and everything in between. Have you ever heard of the bird people?”
“I have not,” Lhandon said. He looked to Altan, who also shook his head.
“They may still be there, but I’ve heard multiple times that some of the rarer relics in the kingdom were created by them.”
“Did you say bird people?” Roger asked.
“You haven’t heard of them either?”
“Sure haven’t,” he told the fire spirit. “And trust me, if there was someone else who was a bird that could potentially talk to me, and this person was possibly related to the human inhabitants of Lhasa, I would know about it.”
“Just how far up in the mountains have you been?”
“As far as I’d like to go,” Roger admitted.
“They may still be up there,” Tashi said.
“What do they look like?”
“Well for one, they have wings. Which should be obvious. Otherwise, they look like humans.”
“They don’t have bird faces?” Roger asked.
“No, no beaks either, although their ceremonial masks are carved like bird faces. They do, however, have talons, similar to yours.”
“So they have arms, wings, talons and normal human faces?” Roger laughed.
“You laugh now, but they can be quite intimidating. They attacked a group I was traveling with once, and only a few of us survived. Anyway, if even you haven’t heard of them, then maybe they have all died off. Still, if someone was interested in looking for a rare relic, it would be good to find their village.”
“It sounds like someone’s interested in doing some treasure hunting,” I told Tashi.
“Is that what you three have been discussing?” Lhandon asked.
“Sort of.”
“Considering the mission that you have tasked yourself with,” Tashi told me, “you may find something helpful there.”
I smirked at the fire spirit. “First we deal with Madame Mabel, then we look for the Exonerated One’s reincarnation, then we try to find my friends Hugo and Tom, and somewhere in all of that we look for the bird people.”
“When you put it like that, it sounds impossible,” Lhandon said.
“One step at a time,” I reminded him. Altan looked to me, and I could tell that the former slave was reluctant to go back to the plantation. I couldn’t really blame him. He had finally escaped, only to head back to the place of his imprisonment just a few days later.
But I had already assured him over breakfast that we wouldn’t be long, and that we wouldn’t be staying. And as gruesome as it sounded, Tashi had personally promised to kill him if it looked like we were going to be captured.
But we weren’t going to be captured; our plan was only to deal with the evil spirit that had clearly possessed Madame Mabel.
The tunnel opened up, a chill in the air making my teeth chatter.
While it was nice having a flaming sword, it wasn’t as nice as it would have been if the blade could actually warm me. Luckily, Tashi was close enough that I could feel his fire, and after Lhandon asked him to warm the place, the spirit grew even larger.
We walked for three hours and finally took a break, Tashi lighting the area so we could have a meal.
Three more hours and my legs started to get tired. I had grown more accustomed to walking, and it was better now that I had Fist of Force’s boots, but it still hurt to be on my feet for so long.
“The exit is about thirty minutes away, give or take,” Tashi said as we came to a steep slope, the space wide, the low ceiling making it so I had to duck slightly.
“We should rest here,” Lhandon said. “It is still daylight outside.”
“And the closer we get to the entrance, the more possible it will be for them to see our flames,” I added.
“Nope, they won’t be able to see anything,” said Tashi. “The exit point is sealed off.”
“Then how are we going to open it?” Altan asked.
“I remember the rune,” the fire spirit assured him. “I won’t be able to cast it in this form, but I can quickly show it to you, Exalted One. There will be a space for you to trace it.”
“I understand,” Lhandon said.
“Then let’s take a seat here,” I said, dropping to the ground and letting my legs relax for a minute. I even took off my boots, stretching my feet out.
“So the plan is to just go in there and kill her, right?” Roger asked. “Because it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds.”
“We’re not trying to kill her,” I reminded him, “we’re trying to see about the spirit that has possessed her. And to do any of that, we’ll need intel.”
“That’s where I come in,” Roger said. “It isn’t uncommon to see a bird like me in Nagchu. As soon as we are out of this dreary cave, I will scope the place out.”
“What’s he saying?” Lhandon asked.
“That he’ll fly around to see what kind of guards we’re dealing with.”
“Have you thought more about what should be done if Mabel is killed?” Tashi asked me. “I know that isn’t the plan, but these things do happen, and there’s no telling what kind of spirit has possessed her.”
“In that case, maybe simply her death, and the liberation it would cause, will create its own natural order.”
“In what world?” the fire spirit asked.
“It happens sometimes,” Roger answered. “At least in the animal kingdom. But someone will always become top dog. So Tashi is right. Simply killing her will not stop someone from just taking her place and claiming the slaves as their own, nor will it stop this spirit you saw from just doing the same thing again.”
“The simple fact that we have taken out their leader will create more issues than the management there has the ability to handle,” Lhandon said. “If the order that is finally formed will be good, that is one thing. But it could also be the reverse.”
The fire spirit nodded. “It may create a situation where there are countless deaths.”
“Not if we get the word out to escape,” I told Tashi.
“Some of the slaves, at least the smarter ones, will escape as soon as they know that Madame Mabel is dead or compromised. It will affect the morale of the troops, especially when it reaches whatever forces Sona has in the hills. I think the drop in morale alone is worth it,” Altan said. “Very risky, but worth it. It will take a much more complicated plan to actually liberate all the slaves, and do so in a fair way.”
“And I admit that that’s not a plan that I have. My plan is mostly to stir the pot,” I told them honestly.
Doubt came over me. I’d been so sure of this plan up to this point, and now I was wondering how it would leave Nagchu and its people.
I shook my head. “I told you what I saw at our dinner,” I reminded all of them. “There was something controlling her, floating just above her. I saw it; I felt it. Maybe things would be different if she wasn’t possessed. I was right there in front of her, I could almost reach out and touch the thing that was hovering over her. So that’s our target. I have attacked a spirit before, and hopefully, we can get to the bottom of this without killing a lot of people.”
“Or people killing other people,” Tashi added.
“Either way, we’re playing with so
me serious karmic forces,” Lhandon told the group. “We have to tread carefully here; it might take a lifetime of repenting and virtuous deeds to correct what we’re about to do. The fewer deaths, the better.”
“Agreed,” I said.
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Plantation
The rune Tashi taught Lhandon sounded complicated at four syllables, even if I recognized at least three of them.
Lhandon approached a piece of the rock wall that had been rubbed flat, its dark surface almost reminding me of a tablet PC.
He started with a downward curve, followed by a cross, then a character that reminded me of the pi symbol. It got more interesting once he added the new character I learned, “Go,” which was a box with a stem and a straight line attached to it. To finish it off, Lhandon followed it with what resembled a fancy acute angle.
“Ra-Ge-Go-Gyal,” Lhandon whispered, the rune coming to life and glowing yellow for a moment, before darkening into amber, and finally a burnt orange that caused a vein of energy to cut into the rock, forming a door.
Once it was cut, the door moved to the side, allowing us to step out.
We were on one of the lower cliffs that looked out over the plantation, vines and moss hanging from the trees in front of us reminding me of pictures of Savannah, Georgia. The city of Nagchu sat beyond the plantation, with its pagoda-style buildings and impressive statues and structures, the sparkling Dorje River running straight through the city and providing plenty of water for Mabel’s plantation.
I watched as Altan took a deep breath in, the man clearly remembering the years upon years that he’d spent in this area.
“Don’t worry,” I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’re not sticking around.”
“I’m aware,” he said in a faint voice. “I just got so far away, and to come back…”
“I’ve been there before,” I told him. “But we have an out; we can come back up here and disappear again into the mountains.”
“Or I will just kill all of you,” Tashi reminded us. “I’ll make it quick, too. Death by fire can be excruciating, but if I make it hot enough and you simply burn to a crisp in a matter of seconds, it won’t hurt for very long. And if that happens, I pray that all of you are reborn in the Overworld, that any of your karmic mishaps of the past are forgiven.”
“Oh my,” Lhandon said, taking a nervous step forward.
“Something to look forward to,” I said as I looked for a way down.
I could see that there was a path of sorts, one that likely hadn’t been used in a very long time. It appeared to work its way down the side of the cliff, and we started moving along it.
We reached the jungle on the edge of the plantation, all of us ducking down, Tashi now in his glass jar.
“I guess this is my cue,” Roger said, lifting into the air. “I’ll give you a headcount and any other details I can provide.”
“Good, we’ll be here,” I told him as we crouched near the edge of the jungle.
There were a few lights on the plantation, but everything seemed darker than it had when I was a slave here, and while I couldn’t see the field of lotus, I had a sense it was gone, razed to the ground. There was just something empty about the space where it once sat.
“We should meditate while he’s gone,” Lhandon suggested.
“Not a bad idea,” I said, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath.
It took me a moment to get in the correct headspace, but soon I imagined myself back in the dark meditation chamber underground, everything around me pitch black, my mind free to wander.
And it was there that I remembered exactly what Mabel’s plantation home looked like, the elaborate and welcoming stairs at the entrance, the servants, the room that I was led to, the dining room, Bobby…
I shook my head, returning my thoughts to the schematics of her home.
A little bit of doubt set in, voices at the back of my head asking if this was the right path, if I was indeed making the right move by going after the head of the snake.
I now sat before Madame Mabel, noticing the strange change in the air around her body, something swirling above her head.
She was possessed.
One look to Bobby and I saw that…
He was possessed too.
I opened my eyes just as Roger landed. “There aren’t many guards,” he said. “Sona’s guards are at the front of the mansion, but there are only a few of them.”
“If there aren’t many guards around her home, maybe…” Altan nodded. “Yes, I’m certain of it. There’s a large courtyard at the back of the house surrounded by beautiful gardens, which should give us plenty of shadows as we make our way to the servants' entrance. There is usually someone there, but if they see me, they should let me in.”
“Or I can just put the person to sleep,” Lhandon suggested. “I don’t like using the more nefarious runes, but if it will help us save lives, then it’s totally worth it. I have a few others I can use as well.”
“Okay, let’s do that,” I said. “Roger, stay above us, and be sure to drop down and tell me if you think that we're going to be spotted.”
“Got it.”
Keeping to the jungle, we began making our way in the direction of Mabel’s home. There were slave quarters to move through first, but that was relatively easy, especially since it was dark and many of the slaves were already asleep. Her mansion sat on a hill, surrounded by enormous trees with gnarled trunks.
The three of us moved quietly up the hill toward the courtyard at the back of the mansion.
I placed my hands around Tashi’s jar, feeling the warmth radiating off the glass. Roger circled above us, occasionally dipping down to let us know our path was clear.
Apprehension came to me; I mentally labeled it and moved on.
It was of no use to me at the moment.
We reached a tall hedge and once Lhandon caught his breath, we moved around to the right, through an opening in another hedge until we came to the courtyard.
“It’s just up there,” Altan said.
Because of the way that the place was designed, there wasn’t any way to reach the door without moving across the courtyard.
“See anything?” I asked Roger after he landed on my shoulder.
“There are just some lanterns in the air,” he said. “Other than that, there’s no one here. They’re all up at the front.”
“Odd,” I said, looking up at the plantation, at the second-floor balcony and its grand pillars.
I dropped my hand to the hilt of my sword as the sky was illuminated, all those lanterns blazing with light. Madame Mabel stood on the second-floor balcony surrounded by her elite guard, at least two dozen heavily armed women all ready to go.
“I was wondering when you would join us,” she called down to us, Lhandon still mid-gasp.
“How…?”
“You aren’t the only one that can speak to birds,” she said, as a black crow landed on the banister. “Goodbye, Nick Barnette.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Showdown
Madame Mabel’s elite guard all slipped into the courtyard at the same time, striking poses.
I pulled my flaming sword out of its sheath, a few of them raising eyebrows once the flame really got going. Three ran forward at once, two slowing so the first could come in for a strike with her katana.
I caught it with my blade and kicked her back.
I knew better than to overthink my actions. These were trained professionals; I just happened to have a flaming sword.
And they were cautious about it too, two of them coming in at once now, trying to throw me off balance. Little did they know about my other power courtesy of Fist of Force, which I used to send one of the women straight into a statue and from there to a fountain.
The other lunged for me and I managed to swipe my blade against her skirt, which caught fire.
“Stay behind me!” I told Alton and Lhandon. Another one of Mabel’s elite guards kicked into action, t
his one with two short swords, which she used in a blender fashion as she kept spinning, trying to get a cut in.
My instincts had taken over, and unfortunately for her, time had slowed.
I saw her foot coming to the ground, her calf muscle tensing as she twisted back into the air.
So that’s what I focused on, sidestepping her spinning attack and bringing my fists into her side, energy rippling the skin on my knuckles as she flew into a tall hedge.
I was holding my own. I could feel Tashi warming in my robes, screaming to be free.
Men in snow lion armor came running around the mansion, their masks down.
They had chain wrapped fists with spikes on their knuckles, the armor thick enough on their bodies to protect them from normal blows.
I swung my sword at the first one, who blocked it with his forearms and came back around with a kick that connected with the side of my face.
Launching into the air, I almost performed a complete cartwheel before landing on one knee.
I took my sword in my left hand as I charged the man with a fist full of energy. His fist met mine, both of our attacks tossing us backward.
A burst of energy cut forward over my shoulder, taking two of the elite guard off their feet.
I looked right to see Lhandon conjuring up another rune, a determined look on his face.
“What?” he asked me. “You aren’t the only one that can fight!”
Encouraged by his actions, I ran toward my next enemy, flourishing my Flaming Thunderbolt and cutting into one of Madame Mabel’s elite guards, who cried out in pain as her body ignited.
Seeing a flaming person running around was cause for alarm, and two of the elite guards immediately went to her aid while more men with metal-wrapped fists descended upon me.
Time slowed for just a moment, allowing me to sidestep the men, giving me the time I needed to deliver a blow to the back of one of their heads and stab my sword through the body of the other.
Time skipped back to its normal pace; I barely managed to duck a huge blow from one of the lion-masked men. I tried to respond by lopping his arm off, but my blade was unable to penetrate his armor.
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