As they ran out the front doorway, Sheng lingered behind, seeming to stagger. When no one was looking, he pointed a finger upwards. A small ball of light shot up from the finger, soaring up and to the north. Sheng’s companions did not notice.
“What’s the plan?” Beth asked as they ran past the fallen jiang shi near the doorway, who were still flopping helplessly on the ground.
“Put as much distance as we can between them and us,” Michiko said.
“After we’re done on the Bridge of Magpies,” Jiao added, “I’ll speak to Grandfather about—”
“Stop!” Michiko shouted. The others gathered behind her as she pointed with her staff.
They could see the jiang shi guards converging, moving towards them. Beth grimaced and aimed her wand at the nearest one. “Zap!” she shouted. The magic bolt struck the jiang shi in the chest; it staggered for a moment, then resumed its hopping march.
“Fools!” Beth and Michiko turned back to the temple. The necromancer stood in the doorway, barely visible behind the jiang shi that guarded him. “They are already dead! Only weapons crafted from peachtree wood can stop them!”
Michiko’s eyes widened. “Peachtree wood?”
“Yes! To ward off evil!”
The Monkey Queen smiled. “Guess what my staff is made of.”
“Oh,” the necromancer said in a small voice.
Michiko charged the nearest jiang shi and swung her staff hard at its head. It split the skull open like a melon. The jiang shi collapsed as its rotting brain oozed down its arms and torso. “Oh ick,” Beth said, trying not to vomit.
“They’re already dead!” Michiko shouted as she dodged another jiang shi. “No time to be squeamish!”
More and more of the hopping dead emerged from the woods, but Auntie Ting moved out towards them. She reached up her billowing sleeve and pulled out a handful of yellow papers with symbols marked on them in red ink. She dodged a jiang shi’s deadly grasp and slapped a paper talisman on its forehead. “Back to the grave for you!” the priestess shouted. “The gods command you!” The jiang shi froze in place, then slowly toppled over.
Beth watched as Michiko and Auntie Ting fought, but it seemed that for every jiang shi that fell, another took its place. “They can’t do it alone!” she said. “Jiao! How else do you stop these?”
“Fire,” the princess said. “But it takes too long.”
“What else? Think!”
“I’m trying…” Jiao raised her eyebrows. “Mirrors.”
“Mirrors?” Beth said.
“It’s believed that if a jiang shi sees itself, it’s overcome by shame for what it has become and loses its life force. But we don’t have any mirrors.”
Beth dug into a pocket and pulled out her smartphone. She tapped the screen three times. “Don’t worry,” she said with a grin. “There’s an app for that.”
A jiang shi had slipped past Michiko and Auntie Ting and was hopping towards them. In life, she had been a farmer, judging from her simple clothes and coned hat. Beth felt a pang of guilt mixed with fear, but she reminded herself that the woman’s soul was already gone as she held her smartphone, with the mirror app she had downloaded the year before and never used now running, in front of its face.
The jiang shi stared at the screen for a moment. With a soft groan, it sunk to its knees and then fell to its side, not moving. “Gotcha!” Beth shouted as she ran towards Michiko.
“Beth!” Michiko yelled. “Get back! It’s not safe!”
Beth ignored her as she brandished her smartphone at one jiang shi after another. They fell one by one as they saw their reflections, ending the hold that the Lord of the Temple had on them.
“Seize her!” Beth glanced over to where Jiao and Yun were standing, and saw three jiang shi moving towards them. More hopping dead advanced on her, blocking her way. “The princess will still be mine!” the necromancer cackled.
As the first of the jiang shi approached, Prince Yun stepped in front of Jiao. He lifted a leg and kicked the monster in the chest, knocking it down. As it flailed on the ground, he drew his sword and swatted away the outstretched hands of the other two jiang shi, following that with two more kicks to bowl them over.
Yun pointed his sword at the Lord of the Temple. “Send more if you want,” he snarled. “Send a dozen, a hundred, tens of thousands. I’ll fight and defeat them all. You will not take my true love from me.”
Beth smiled as she caught her breath. Michiko had kept up her assault, Auntie Ting was taking down the necromancer’s guards, and the seemingly endless horde of the hopping dead was down to a mere handful. She moved towards the downed jiang shi, but froze when she heard a loud scream.
She saw that Merchant Sheng had tried to close in on the necromancer, but a jiang shi had grabbed him from behind. The monster’s hands were glowing a sickly green, and Beth realized that it was draining Sheng’s life force.
Beth ran over and stuck her smartphone in front of the jiang shi’s face. It released Sheng and keeled over. As it did, Beth glanced at the merchant, and it was as if a fog had lifted. She looked below the surface with her second sight and gasped. Oh my God! she thought.
“Nooo!” the necromancer screamed as he ran towards Beth and Sheng. “My work! My beautiful creations! How could you!”
“Quiet!” Auntie Ting said. “Defiler! Monster!”
“Wait!” Beth shouted. “There’s—”
She stopped as Michiko’s staff flew past her head. It struck the jiang shi that was advancing towards them, cracking its skull. “Talk, necromancer!” Michiko said. “Who are you working for?”
“No!” Beth said. “Michiko—”
“What is Lord Hong paying you?” Auntie Ting yelled. “Tell us!”
“I…” the Lord of the Temple started to say. He stopped and gurgled, and Beth gasped as she saw the sword sticking through his chest.
As the necromancer collapsed, Sheng pulled his sword free. “He wasn’t working for Lord Hong,” the merchant said. “I am.”
As he turned to face Beth, she blinked. The seeming vanished. “A spell to confuse us,” she said. “That’s why we kept following you even though we had our doubts. That’s why I didn’t notice your seeming until you were weakened by—”
“I know you’re behind me, Monkey Queen,” the goblin sorcerer said. He was tall for a goblin, wearing a flowing bright red robe with a gold sash, and his eyes were a dark, piercing green. “Put your staff down.” He pushed the tip of his sword past Beth’s jacket, pressing it into her stomach through her t-shirt. “Lord Hong wants you all alive, but if you or anyone else takes one more step, I will kill this wizard.”
Michiko stopped and glared at the goblin as she dropped her staff. “You took Sheng’s place when we were crossing the rope bridge,” she said. “Clever idea on Lord Hong’s part.”
The sorcerer nodded. “His men had told me you and the princess were coming. We were fortunate that the merchant was polite enough to wait to be the last one to cross.” With a smile, he added, “And the goblin seeming we placed on him fooled this third-rate wizard long enough for her to blast him off the bridge when he tried to escape.”
“Where is he?” Michiko asked as Beth swore softly.
“With any luck, at the bottom of a canyon.” The goblin chuckled. “I hope the jackals there made a feast of him.” Princess Jiao started to weep.
“Seize them!” a deep voice thundered. “But leave the Monkey Queen for me!” Dozens of red-clad warriors charged out of the mist, surrounding Beth and the others.
Michiko looked around. “Let them go!” she shouted. “It’s me you want!”
“Ah, Monkey Queen. Always willing to give yourself up for your friends.”
A large, muscular man with a scarred face only somewhat covered by a full beard walked up to Michiko as the warriors parted to let him pass. He wore red armor, with a large sword hanging from his belt, and there was a cruel glint in his eye. “Long life to Lord Hong!” the warriors shouted.
“You must think me a fool,” the warlord said. “I want all of you alive, for now, but I’m not going to be stupid enough to meet your demand.”
“What do you want from us?” Jiao asked.
“Your hand in marriage.” Hong smiled.
“What?” the princess said faintly.
“You filthy—” Yun started to say, but one of Hong’s guards punched him in the stomach. Jiao screamed as he doubled over.
“Enough!” Michiko said, pointing at Hong. “Let us go, or I’ll make you regret it.”
“Such bold words!” Hong laughed. “Perhaps I’ll make you my number two bride, and your wizard friend number three.”
Michiko lunged at Hong. As she started to swing, he held up a hand and caught her fist in his palm. Michiko pushed against it as hard as she could, but Hong pushed harder.
“You won’t win, Hong,” Michiko gasped as she bent back under the warlord’s pressure and strength. “We’ll find a way to fulfill the prophecy.”
Hong pulled his hand back. Michiko stumbled, and he struck her in the head with his open hand. Beth gasped as Michiko slumped to the ground, out cold.
“Bring the others,” Lord Hong said as he picked up the Monkey Queen. “Leave her staff.”
“Baka!” Auntie Ting shouted as two warriors grabbed her. “The gods will punish you for your insolence!”
“Why would they? The prophecy will be fulfilled.” Hong smiled cruelly. “Just not in the way they first thought.”
Chapter Eight
Lord Hong had brought his fastest horses, and so it was a quick trip to the edge of the marsh, where he had taken over an old, abandoned fort. Prince Yun and Auntie Ting were thrown into a cell in a brig near the entrance, and Princess Jiao, Beth and Michiko were dragged into a large tent that had been raised in the center of the fort. A throne had been set against one side of the tent, and Lord Hong was seated there, watching everything intently. Jiao had been chained to a chair nearby, her fans confiscated.
Michiko, still out cold, was sprawled on the floor at Hong’s feet. Two guards held Beth’s arms behind her back as she watched the goblin sorcerer who had posed as Merchant Sheng. He pulled a golden circlet from his robe As he chanted, he set it on Michiko’s head. He bowed to Hong and withdrew.
Hong gestured. Two warriors walked up to Michiko and tapped her with the tips of their swords. As she stirred, Hong said, “No tricks, Monkey Queen. Do not attempt to summon your staff to you. If you do, you will not have any hands to catch it with.”
“Hong,” Michiko said. “What are you doing?”
“Claiming what is rightly mine,” he said. “Nui will again be part of my empire.”
Michiko raised an eyebrow. “You’re defying the prophecy, you know. You must like your wine sour.”
“I just choose to read the will of the gods a bit differently,” the warlord said. “The way my priests see it, all will be well as long as the princess’ engagement is announced on the seventh minute of the seventh day of the seventh month. I’ll just be the one announcing the engagement, and it will be to me instead of Prince Yun.”
“I can still stop you,” Michiko said. “Even without my staff—” The warriors who guarded her prodded her with their swords, and she fell silent.
“Not this time.” Lord Hong smiled. “Have you checked your forehead?”
Michiko reached up and patted the golden circlet. “That’s a really big engagement ring,” she said.
“That will be your last joke, Monkey Queen,” Hong said. “The stories of Sun Wukong’s journey to the west have spread here. And they included how Tripitaka the monk kept him under control. Khavorski?”
The goblin sorcerer stepped forward again and bowed. “Long life to Lord Hong,” he said. “I spent hours in libraries and wizards’ lairs, and this is the result of my research. I have rediscovered the Headache Sutra.”
“And you think that a little migraine will bring me to heel?” Michiko said calmly.
“It’s more than that,” Hong said. He nodded, and Khavorski started to chant softly. Michiko winced in pain as the circlet glowed. “Soon, you will obey my every command.”
“In your dreams,” Michiko said. Beth could tell that despite her defiance, Michiko was already feeling the effects of the spell. Beth felt her stomach churn; she had read how much pain the Headache Sutra had caused the Monkey King, and Tripitaka had only used it as needed to keep the trickster in line, and never for torture.
Hong leaned forward. “You will obey me! You will answer my question!”
“Who wrote the book of love?”
“No!” the warlord shouted. “Why did you reject me? Why did you turn down my proposal?”
“Aside from the fact that you’re a murderous monster with no heart?” Michiko said, head raised. “There’s the issue with your breath—”
“Enough!”
“And the nose-picking—” Hong gestured, and Khavorski chanted louder and faster. Michiko grimaced in pain. “See—what I mean?” she gasped.
“That’s not the reason!” Hong shouted. “There was someone else, wasn’t there?”
Michiko shook her head. “No,” she said. “There didn’t have to be for me to turn you down anyway.”
“Liar!” Hong gestured. The goblin sorcerer raised his voice again.
Michiko fell to her knees. “There wasn’t!” she said.
“What about now?” the warlord hissed. “Is there someone you care for instead of me?”
“Wow, is this petty or what?” Michiko said. “All the things we could be discussing, and you settle on my love life?”
Hong gestured, and the chant grew louder still. “Is there?” he demanded.
Michiko bent over, eyes squeezed shut. “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “There’s someone I care for. They don’t know, I haven’t told them, but there is someone. Happy?”
Holy crap, Beth thought as she stared at Michiko. Even though she was concerned for her friend, she couldn’t help but race through the possibilities of who could be Michiko’s crush even as she hated herself for doing so. Is that what’s been on her mind? Is it someone I know? Some old flame from her past? Merchant Sheng? Windsor? Jake Appleton?
“Who is he, Monkey Queen?” Lord Hong said, rising from his throne. “Who?”
Michiko clenched her fists. “Don’t…don’t make me say who it is. Please don’t. Please.”
“You embarrassed me in front of my entourage!” Hong shrieked. “You will tell me who you love!”
He gestured, and Khavorski sped up his chant. Michiko screamed in agony. “Stop it!” Beth shouted. “Stop!”
“Who is he!” Hong thundered.
“Please…” Michiko’s face was creased with pain, her eyes tightly shut.
“Who has stolen your heart!”
The room fell quiet except for the goblin’s chanting and Michiko’s painful gasps as she tried to breathe. It seemed like an eternity before Michiko spoke. “Beth,” she whispered.
“What?” Beth said softly, her eyes widening.
Hong smiled cruelly. “I don’t think everyone heard you, Monkey Queen.”
Michiko lowered her head. “It’s Beth,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’m sorry. Oh, Beth, I’m so sorry.”
Beth stared at Michiko, not quite believing or accepting what she had just heard. She could see Michiko on her knees, crying. Jiao was looking at her friend, almost as surprised as Beth was. Every other eye in the tent was on Beth, and as she realized that, she reddened and lowered her head.
Then, Lord Hong began to laugh. He was joined by all his men, and the laughter echoed through Beth’s ears. “You!” Hong said with a sneer, pointing at Beth. “The Monkey Queen could have chosen me! Instead she chose a girl! And not just any girl, but a third-rate wizard! You think you’d be worthy of her? You’re nothing special.” Beth winced as if she’d been slapped in the face.
Hong laughed again and made a chopping gesture. Khavorski nodded and ended his chant;
as he did, four warriors rushed Michiko. She did not resist as they slapped chains on her wrists and ankles. “Lock the lovers up together,” Hong said. “I need to travel with the princess and announce our engagement. We’ll deal with them on my return.”
The guards had dragged Michiko and Beth to a cell in the fortress’ brig. Beth had irons clapped around her wrists; at Khavorski’s recommendation, the chains had been kept just short enough to keep Beth from getting into her jacket pockets. Michiko had been chained hand and foot next to her.
As the guards worked, they taunted the two women, mocking Michiko’s confession, belittling Beth. Michiko kept her eyes on the floor, not saying a word, not looking at Beth, even after the guards had finished chaining them and left.
Beth saw the resignation on Michiko’s face, the sadness, the hint of defeat. She was reeling from Michiko’s words. It was obvious to her now, all the gestures of affection she had mistaken for friendship. Still, she wondered how she could have missed the clues, how it had gone on for so long without her knowing or guessing.
Underneath it all, though, Beth knew there was something more important than what was happening between her and Michiko, as she thought about Princess Jiao’s shocked reaction to Michiko’s confession. She started to ask Michiko if she was okay, but stopped when she realized what a dumb question that was under the circumstances. “Michiko?” she said. “How’s your head?”
“Huh?” Michiko looked up at Beth.
“How is your head?”
“Not good.” Michiko winced. “The Sutra may have stopped, but I’m still feeling the aftereffects. This must be what a hangover is like.”
Beth nodded. “I’ve got aspirin and water in my pocket if you think it’ll help any.”
“It couldn’t hurt.” Michiko stood up as best as she could and moved in front of Beth. She slipped her hand into Beth’s pocket, rummaging for a moment until she found the aspirin bottle and the water.
A Tiding of Magpies Page 9
