‘You appear to have some skill,’ the prince said. ‘I will let you rest, but I will be back with the sun to talk about what we need to do next.’
She nodded, her eyes still on her palm.
‘Did you find anything when you were out?’
‘An overwhelming buzz, nothing more. Has it subsided, or have I become used to it?’
‘The latter,’ the prince said. ‘It is still heavy in the air and confusing all my senses.’
Lis nodded slowly. ‘Rest.’
Once he had left the room, Lis lifted her hand and looked over the skin for herself. ‘How did you do this?’
‘The ointment,’ Healer Yang said. When she looked up at him, he looked a little nervous.
‘This has healed better than you would have thought?’
He nodded.
‘Do you have a healing magic?’
‘Don’t say that,’ he said too loudly, then leaned forward. ‘I don’t want to have magic.’
‘It isn’t so bad,’ Lis said, remembering the fun she’d had.
‘We are going to die,’ he murmured.
‘No, we won’t.’ She could only hope her words were true.
‘How did they not see her?’ he asked, waving his hand to indicate the room.
‘It is a skill of the Hidden. We can literally hide.’ She touched her hands together, and his eyes grew wide. She repeated the action. ‘I can’t show you, for no matter what I do, you can still see me.’
‘But I could see something different. Like I know that you are there but aren’t.’ He shook his head. ‘It is difficult to explain. Like the girl. I saw her, but there was something odd about how I saw her. I have thought that before,’ he said, ‘that I saw someone when others couldn’t.’
‘I can teach you, maybe, to do it too, but it is very draining.’
‘You ran away,’ he said, comprehension dawning.
She nodded and looked at the table.
‘Is life so bad?’
‘It was different at the hidden palace. With U’shi, and not seeing anyone other than my tutors.’
‘It is what the hidden princess is—hidden.’
She laughed. ‘So, I hid myself from the world and disappeared.’
‘It is safer for you here, for the crown prince will not allow anything to happen to you.’
‘I know he tries, but he may not be able to sense all threats. Like the high priestess.’
‘I cannot believe that all of them are tainted.’
‘I don’t know, but we need to be more alert.’
‘And I will stand guard,’ he said, standing slowly and pulling his little dagger from his pocket.
‘You need to rest,’ Lis urged.
‘As do you. Sleep. I’ll rest here at the table then, for it won’t be long until your prince needs you again.’ Lis nodded and twirled slowly, her clothes changing, and he smiled at her. ‘You could teach me that.’
‘I don’t know how I do it,’ she said, climbing into her bed. ‘But I could try.’
Chapter 33
Lis woke to a noise that shook the whole world around her. The healer groaned as he jumped to his feet. He opened his mouth to say something, but he snapped his mouth shut as the guards poured through the door.
‘Your Highness, we are under attack.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ she asked.
The prince appeared. ‘Outside,’ he cried at the guards.
‘I’m not staying here alone,’ she returned.
‘My mother, stay with her.’
As the soldiers moved downstairs, she took the healer by the elbow and led him down as well. They pushed into the empress’s room to come face to face with the princess and a sword.
She lowered it slowly.
‘The crown prince sent us,’ the healer said, looking around. ‘Your Highness.’ He moved to the bed.
She waved him off, but he took her wrist.
‘Something is not right here,’ he said, looking back to Lis.
She nodded.
‘There is a taint. I can feel it, but I can’t sense what has started it.’
‘The high priestess,’ Lis said.
‘I could…’ the healer said, looking at the princess, and the empress surprised him by grabbing his hand.
‘You can see her,’
He tried to move back, but he couldn’t release himself from her hold.
‘It seems he is also Hidden,’ Lis said softly. ‘And he has great strength as a healer.’
The empress nodded, and the princess stepped forward. ‘Let him look, Mother,’ she whispered.
The healer chewed on his lip, but said nothing. As another explosion seemed to rock the building, he stumbled forward, his hands landing on the empress. She scowled at him, and Lis expected him to rush backwards, but he closed his eyes and left his hands where they were.
‘I can feel it,’ he whispered.
The building swayed again. They could hear shouts and the sound of fighting coming from just outside the residence as the building groaned above them. If Lis gave herself over to them, they might kill her and move on. But then, she might also be the first of many. She didn’t know what else they wanted.
‘Who has visions?’ Lis asked the princess.
‘Some do to varying degrees. Why?’
‘Something I was told. Why don’t you tire like I do?’ she asked.
‘Practice, channelling your magic, finding a way to use it without burning through it.’
‘Would you be able to teach me?’
‘I’m not sure we will get the chance.’
The empress groaned, and the healer sighed. He had moved one hand over her stomach and the other over her forehead. His eyes squeezed shut, as though he was looking at something far beyond what was in front of him. Lis rested her hand on his shoulder and felt the energy that flowed through him. She wondered if the prince would also feel it, were he to touch Yang.
‘I can see it,’ he whispered, ‘but I can’t heal it. I’m not strong enough.’
‘You can feel him,’ the princess said. ‘He would be able to feel you. Give to him, and he can use us both to heal her.’
Lis placed a hand on his other shoulder and felt him straighten and strengthen under her hold. She closed her eyes and tried to tune into the feeling around the healer. Then she pushed forward.
She felt a final push or pulse from him, and then he went limp. They held him up, resting his head against the bed. The empress sat up and stretched before taking her daughter in her arms.
Lis leaned alongside the healer. She felt tired, but not as drained as she had been before, and not as weary as the healer himself looked.
‘Three of you,’ the empress said.
‘The three of what?’ the prince asked, throwing open the doors. ‘It is not safe here.’
The princess stepped back, and the empress stepped forward. ‘I’m not sure they can be moved,’ she said.
The prince looked at the healer and shook his head.
‘He has helped me greatly,’ the empress said, taking her son’s hands.
Another explosion shook the building and this time, Lis was sure it would collapse.
‘Now,’ the prince cried as another guard raced into the room.
The guard put his arm around Lis, shielding her from the building as dust started to fall around them like snow. The prince did the same to the empress. Lis barely caught sight of a woman, simply dressed, pulling the healer up and to his feet. Tucked under his arm, she guided him out.
There was a loud crack, and then it thundered. Lis was pulled forward by the guard into the bloody courtyard. She tried to stop, but he kept her moving forward. Bodies lay on the ground before her, soldiers and magic men alike. The empress drew in a sharp breath as they were pulled along. The building fell behind them in a rush of noise, and Lis pushed her hands over her ears. She didn’t have many belongings in her room here, but what she did have was gone. She was thankful that Mu-Phi had been sent a
way, despite her anger at it.
The healer squealed, then looked at the face of the woman under his arm and squealed again.
‘I may not be pretty, sir, but now is not the time.’
‘You… you…’ he stammered.
‘My maid,’ the empress said. ‘She had only just started.’
Lis tried to stop and look around her, but the soldier kept her moving quickly. ‘Where do we go?’ she asked.
‘Somewhere safe?’ Yang asked behind them.
‘Is there somewhere safe in all of this?’
He stopped dead and she almost slipped. Still moving with the momentum, the sudden stop was a surprise.
A man stood before them with a nasty grin on his face and a fireball in his hand. The guard raised his sword just as he let it go. Lis stretched out her hand, wanting to stop it as she had before, forgetting the danger to herself. But he was cut down from behind, a fizzle signalling his end, and the fireball faded as it hit her barrier. The strength behind it was gone.
‘I want off this island,’ Lis said, more to herself than anything, but as the guard turned to her, she realised she had said it aloud.
‘That may be an idea,’
‘No, get to my father,’ the prince said quickly.
Wei-Song cried out as a blade caught her arm. The healer wrapped his hand around the wound, swung her to the side and stuck his little knife into the man standing before him. He fizzled as the blade penetrated his heart. As he slipped from it to the ground, the healer turned to Lis with a horrified look. She didn’t know if it was because he had actually managed to save the princess, or if it was because of the sound the man had made when he died.
‘Go,’ the prince urged, pushing them forward.
As they made their way through the fighting, Lis recognised many of her own guards. Some more moved around them as they travelled, trying to protect them.
Lis wasn’t sure how it happened, but they made it safely to the throne room. The world was much quieter, and she was surprised by the amount of blood that splattered their clothing. The guard still had his arm wrapped tight around her, as though he was too scared to let her go.
‘What is this?’ the emperor asked, turning away from his discussion with an advisor.
‘Move more men to the doors—all the doors,’ the prince directed, and the guards surrounding them disappeared. ‘Where is Hui Te-Sze? Never mind, I have two more hunters here.’ He waved at the soldier holding Lis, who then reluctantly let Lis go and raced away.
Without him holding her up, she found her knees couldn’t support her, and she dropped to the floor. The empress rushed forward and took her in her arms.
‘I heard you were unwell,’ the emperor murmured.
‘Nothing like a fight to get me out of bed, and the royal residence now lies in ruins.’
The emperor stood slowly and stepped forward. ‘My love,’ he said, helping her to her feet and pulling her into his arms. She appeared uncomfortable in such a place, or perhaps it was just that she was not used to such affection.
‘Who is this?’ he asked.
‘Healer Yang,’ Lis answered, ‘and a hunter.’
The emperor grinned at him. His eyes barely travelled over the dishevelled girl standing at the back of the group, until she removed her hand from the wound on her arm and Yang and the empress rushed forward.
‘Sit down,’ the empress said softly.
‘And this?’ the emperor asked.
‘Wei-Song, my maid.’
The emperor stammered, his mouth working before he could clamp it shut. Then he nodded slowly.
‘Father,’ the prince said. ‘I think we should consider getting the women somewhere safer.’
‘There is nowhere safer than here,’ the emperor murmured, his eyes still on the maid.
‘What is it?’ the prince asked, looking to the girl.
Lis wondered if they could see the resemblance to her mother, although she had changed her appearance enough. She was wearing servant clothing now, and her hair was more simply pulled back.
‘We were to name our daughter Wei-Song.’
‘We didn’t have a daughter,’ the empress said, her voice tight, and the girl looked at her with a pained expression. She had done all she could with the lack of choices she had, Lis realised. Lis wondered what she might have done in such a situation.
Wei-Song tried to stand and gave a shaky bow to the empress, barely looking at the emperor. ‘I shall take my leave.’
‘You can’t go out in that,’ Lis said just as the prince stepped forward.
‘You have been a great help to my mother; you must stay,’ he said, his voice kind, and she looked to Lis.
The sound of fighting grew louder, and Lis knew the soldiers had not prevented them from reaching the throne room. She held her breath. Then the fighting crashed into the room, and the empress screamed. The maid stepped between her and the men flowing through the door, and the emperor pulled a sword.
Lis found herself shoulder to shoulder with the prince, although she wasn’t sure what she could achieve. She had managed to protect herself a little with her barrier, but she didn’t know what other skills she had—nor what skills these men had.
A storm grew quickly and swirled above her head. Thick, dark clouds moved through the rafters, blowing the lanterns and hangings. Thunder rumbled, and Lis bit back a scream. What would her father have done? What would he want her to do?
The prince had his arm out, pushing her behind him.
‘I can help,’ she offered, but she wasn’t sure how.
‘We don’t need your sensing skills.’
Lis bit her lip. Rain was heavy on the air. She wondered if it would cause problems for the fire bearers if it were to fall from the clouds above. She didn’t know enough about magic. She glanced back at the princess, standing as her prince was, only before her mother. Lis hoped they survived this so she could have a chance to learn from her. Although she doubted the prince would allow her to leave and travel to the school.
Men poured into the room, and Lis wondered if anyone had survived the attack outside. Lightning flashed through the room as the thunder nearly deafened her. As it faded, the empress screamed.
Lis looked around their small group, quickly being surrounded by the men in dark clothing, and she wondered if she could hide them all.
The emperor lay prone at the steps to his throne, his eyes closed. The healer raced forward, but a man nearby with fire made him pause.
‘We just want the little princess,’ he said, his voice clear despite the sounds of the room.
Lis stepped forward as the prince caught her arm. ‘Will this end it?’ she asked.
The man grinned. ‘It will start it.’
The prince pulled her back beside him, his grip tight around her arm, and she tried not to wince.
‘What have you done?’ the empress cried.
‘We have simply removed him from the fight. We want the hidden princess.’
The maid stepped forward and Lis shook her head.
‘You have some skill,’ one man said to the healer before glancing at the empress. The lightning cracked again, and the empress fell where she was.
Lis wanted to put herself between the madness and the prince. They could hide, although she wasn’t sure how quickly Yang could pick it up. He appeared to have tapped into his healing abilities, although she doubted he knew how he did what he did.
The group of men around them took a step in. The air buzzed and crackled with the magic as it swarmed around them and the storm continued to grow above them. The crown prince stood with his sword outstretched, but there were too many.
As the group surrounding them moved closer, they backed into each other.
‘Can’t you do something?’ Yang pleaded.
Lis didn’t know of whom he asked the question.
‘Can we protect them?’ Lis asked.
‘Who?’ the prince asked, briefly looking sideways at her, his focus moving back to th
e men around them.
She tried to visualise her barrier around them, hiding them away and keeping them safe. Wei-Song suddenly took her hand, and Lis felt the surge of magical energy through her. If only she could hide them all—but she didn’t know if that would save them. Just because they couldn’t be seen didn’t mean they couldn’t be killed.
‘Push,’ Wei-Song whispered.
Fire crackled at the edges of the room as the storm swirled above them, and Lis closed her eyes. She tried to concentrate on what she may or may not have. She raised her hands out to her side as she opened her eyes, just as Wei-Song pulled the prince to the floor and the healer ducked down with them.
She pushed everything she had out from her, concentrating on protecting what was closest to her.
The effect was immediate. The magic men surrounding them were pushed violently backwards. Some hit the wall; others hit pillars or each other. In an instant, the storm dissipated and wispy clouds floated down from the ceiling before disappearing. Steam rose from some of the men lying around the room, but they remained still.
Lis hadn’t heard the crackle or fizzle of their magic, and she didn’t know if they were dead or not.
The space was suddenly filled with soldiers. Lis remained as she was in the centre of the room. Wei-Song reached up to take her hand, and the healer let go of her legs. She realised that he too must have lent his energy to her, as she had when he had healed the empress.
People fussed over the emperor and empress, helping them to their feet. They were lifting the unconscious men and taking them away. Did they not want to spill blood on the rugs of the throne room, or would they drag them to the prison? she wondered.
Lis looked at the prince, who was standing still and staring at her. He took a step backwards, and she looked down at the ground.
‘We could run,’ Wei-Song whispered.
Lis shook her head. ‘My place is here.’
‘Wei-Song,’ the empress called, and the girl turned and knelt by her mother. The empress put her hand against the girl’s face, relief evident on her own. ‘Stay with me?’ she asked.
The princess nodded, and as the empress was helped to her feet, she ducked easily beneath her arm and assisted her. A contingent of guards and ladies appeared to help her, although Lis wondered where they would go.
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 27
