‘You have to find your connection to him,’ Wei-Song said, brushing the crumbs from her fingertips.
‘I already know there is a connection, from the other stories, and I know we can work together.’
‘Although he isn’t really willing to work that way now,’ Yang said. ‘He won’t visit, and the last time he came…’ He shivered.
Lis remembered the dark and fiery look he had given her. She closed her eyes, and he grinned at her in the darkness. The fire had leapt so quickly into his hands. And she had felt her father’s fear. ‘He won’t work with me,’ she whispered. ‘But he has been working with someone,’ she added.
‘Who?’ Yang asked sharply, and she looked up at his serious face.
‘Magics,’ she and Wei-Song said at the same time.
‘You have to talk to him,’ Yang said, and Lis raised her eyebrows. ‘I know it seems like a strange idea, and I would rather keep you as far from him as possible, but he may listen to you. You could explain the dangers, let him know just what might happen.’
‘I think he has a very good idea of what might happen. Something he hopes for.’
‘You think he wants the power?’
‘I think he is lost. He doesn’t know what he has or what to do with it, and then there is the fear from what his father will do when he is discovered. If I were him, I would be trying to find strength to ensure I would stay alive.’
‘But it is corrupting him,’ Wei-Song said, nodding slowly. ‘I think Yang is right. The child is sure you must work together. He cares for you; you could convince him, and maybe we can help each other.’
Lis blinked at her for a moment. ‘I don’t think he cares for me as he might have done. It is my fault that he is what he is,’ she whispered.
‘No,’ Wei-Song said, leaning across the table and taking her hand.
‘I need to see the Imperial Healer,’ Yang said loudly. Lis looked at him confused for a moment as he nodded towards the door.
She shook her head, but he glared at her before taking another step towards the door. With a sigh, Lis hid and followed him from the little palace across the garden. As the gate was closed behind Yang, he bowed to her and nodded towards the prince’s palace, then headed towards the Imperial Healer’s.
Lis walked slowly towards the prince, unsure just what she could say to him if she managed to find him at home at all. She had no idea of his movements, or if Mu-Phi was still present. Had he told her what was going on? Had he shared with her what he wouldn’t share with Lis? She knew it was his brother who Mu-Phi still cared for. And again, she wondered what the girl had been doing when he’d died. Why hadn’t she been watching over him as closely as she appeared to watch over this prince?
Lis entered the small palace with surprising ease and found the prince pacing back and forth across the small room. Energy buzzed around him, almost sparking. Lis wondered if it was fuelled by his fear of what he was and what he could do. She stood for a long while, watching him, growing more fearful by the minute of what he might do to her, and then she took a deep breath. It was his fear fuelling her own.
She unhid as he paced away from her. When he turned, he continued forward at the fast pace and then stopped suddenly, looking her over. She felt a stab of sadness before his anger filled the room.
As the power of his anger pressed on her, she wondered what other skills he might have. ‘I would like to talk,’ she said softly, trying not to step back and press herself into the wall.
Mu-Phi appeared beside him, a sword held towards Lis, but he pushed her out of the way and put himself between them. He grunted as the sword sliced through his arm. Lis reached forward as Mu-Phi dropped to her knees.
The prince grabbed Lis by the wrist and dragged her out of the house into the yard. With a quick glance behind him, he let her go. ‘What do you want from me?’ he asked.
‘Nothing,’ she said quickly. ‘I only want to talk. So much has happened; I am worried for what is to come.’
‘What else have you heard? What else do you think I could give you?’
Lis shook her head, unsure how to ask him what she needed to ask. Unsure how to convince him of the importance of the child’s words. ‘Wei-Song has heard more from someone with visions.’
He scoffed then and turned his back. Lis bit her lip.
‘You can’t trust what she says,’ he murmured.
‘The child or Wei-Song?’
He turned, the anger flaring behind his eyes, and she took a step back.
‘I don’t want you to become what they say you will,’ she said quickly.
He drew his sword, surprising her, holding out the sharp point towards her. The rain started to spit.
Lis drew a deep breath. ‘We must work together.’
‘Must we?’ he asked, the grin making her skin crawl.
‘If we don’t, you will destroy it all.’
‘The magic?’
‘The Empire,’ she whispered.
The rain started to fall more heavily, pushing its way into her clothing, running down her cheeks.
He shook his head. The small tendrils of hair that had escaped their tie stuck to his face, and she wondered why it wasn’t as perfectly smooth as it usually was. Even after sleep, he always appeared so perfect.
‘If we don’t do this together, you will destroy the world,’ she said, stepping forward closer to the end of the sword.
He shook his head again. ‘I don’t need you to be the emperor I am meant to be.’ But there was an uncertainty about him, as though he wasn’t sure it was the right answer. The wind started to blow about them.
‘The magics only want you for the power you will give them.’
‘It is you who wants power.’
‘No,’ she called above the noise of the weather. ‘That isn’t what I want. We can do this together. They are using you.’
‘I can do this,’ he screamed above the noise as the wind tried to push against her, the rain almost hiding him from her. ‘You will only stop what needs to be done.’ But he lowered the sword. ‘I know you don’t want to be here. I know this is not your choice.’
‘I chose to be with you,’ she said, hoping he could hear her words above the increasing wind. She tried to shield her eyes from the pelting rain.
‘You lie,’ he said. The energy was gone from his voice, yet his words reached her with his overwhelming pain. He sheathed his sword and swung around, leaving her alone in the garden.
She headed into the street. He wasn’t going to help her. He wasn’t going to consider working together. And despite what they had all suggested, she was certain he didn’t care for her. Although it hurt that he thought her words were a lie.
The rain continued to push against her, and then an arm closed around her shoulders and she stifled a scream. She looked up at Hui Te-Sze, who nodded and guided her back to her own palace, the wind and rain lessening as they moved away from the prince.
Lis sucked in a sob as they neared her palace, and the hunter’s arm closed tighter around her before he stopped. ‘It is not safe,’ he said.
She nodded slowly, wiping her fingers across her face. She wasn’t sure if it was rain or tears, but the world appeared blurry around her. When she looked up, she blinked into the sunlight. She tried to twist back towards the prince’s palace, but the hunter held her tight.
‘He needs us,’ she said.
‘There may not be much I can do to help him. He is not what he was.’
Lis shook her head slowly as the tears started to flow again. What did I think I could do? What difference did I think I could make to the fates?
Te-Sze sighed and continued towards her palace.
‘Do you want me to hide?’
He shook his head but kept them moving quickly forward. It was only as they reached her gate that he released her and bowed before her. ‘I am sorry, Your Highness, for my forceful ways.’
She pushed at the gate, and the few soldiers who were present in the yard turned and bowed
to her. She feared she would cry again. One man opened his mouth to ask something of the hunter, but he didn’t.
‘Where are the others?’ she asked.
Wei-Song raced from the house, then stopped and bowed. ‘Come inside and change, Your Highness,’ she said.
Lis looked over the men and then back to the hunter, and she tried not to shiver. She was soaked through. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
‘They had more important work to do,’ he said.
She raised her eyebrows, and he laughed. ‘You are offended now that they don’t need to watch over you. That there is a bigger threat to the Empire than a girl who can hide.’
She wanted to laugh with him, but she knew the truth of it—and she didn’t know what she could do or how she could face him. She covered her mouth to stifle the sob that threatened to erupt as the tears flowed too freely down her cheeks. The hunter stepped forward, but she put her hand up. ‘I am crying for myself,’ she said. ‘It is my fault we are here, and there is nothing I can do to prevent it. And selfishly, I don’t know how I will face it.’
‘Come inside,’ he said kindly, taking her arm and guiding her past Wei-Song into the house. ‘You need to change before you catch your death.’
She turned slowly on the spot and his eyes widened. She was dry, but she shivered. ‘I can’t reach him,’ she murmured.
‘I don’t think anyone can,’ Te-Sze said, staring at her.
‘I am sorry,’ she said.
‘What else?’
She waved her hand at the table, and it filled with cakes. Then she moved back to the door, looking out at a grey sky. ‘Where did they go?’ she asked, turning back to the hunter.
‘There are more magics on the streets. They seem to hold no fear, and I worry that this will escalate beyond what we can fight.’
‘Yang went to the healers.’ Lis strode towards the gate, and a young soldier stepped into her path. She turned back to the hunter to plead her case when the young man bowed low before her.
‘I shall go, Your Highness,’ he said. ‘Hui Te-Sze is correct. The fighting will soon be upon us, and you should not be in the streets.’
‘I may be the only one to prevent this.’
She could feel the doubt radiate from the young man before he bowed again and disappeared through the gate. This was happening much faster than she had expected. In her vain attempt to fix things, she may have made them worse. She looked up at the sky, the clouds thick and dark and low as they moved towards her.
‘What can I do?’ she asked the hunter, heading back inside. ‘He won’t work with me. I have only made things worse.’
Wei-Song shook her head. ‘He cares for you,’ she repeated.
‘It isn’t enough. I don’t care for him in the same way. I care more for stopping this.’
Wei-Song looked down, and the hunter glanced at her. ‘What do you know?’ he asked.
‘We have heard various prophecies and visions that all lead to the crown prince and the hidden princess,’ Wei-Song said.
‘That they will work against us with their magic?’
‘No,’ she said sharply. ‘That they must work together to save the Empire. If they don’t, the crown prince will destroy it.’
The man ran a hand over his scarred face. ‘He won’t work with you.’
‘Not now,’ Lis agreed. ‘I fear that I am the reason he is what he is, and he cannot forgive me.’
‘Mu-Phi cannot know the truth, or she would have come to me.’
‘She cares for the prince. I don’t know what she might do if she were to discover the truth of him. He is strong, and I fear he is stronger than anything I can do.’
‘Then we must ensure you are strong enough to help us save the Empire.’
‘Do you propose to tell the emperor?’ Lis asked.
Te-Sze stared beyond her.
‘He should know,’ she answered for him.
Yang stumbled in, the soldier beneath his arm, and Lis raced forward.
‘There are magics in the streets,’ he said.
‘Stay here,’ the hunter said, heading for the door.
‘The crown prince is with them,’ Yang said, his voice barely audible above the loud beat of her heart.
‘I’m not ready,’ Lis said.
‘I’m not sure any of us are,’ the hunter agreed.
‘It will not be safe anywhere if they have started this. The only way to end it is for us to face each other.’
Chapter 30
General Zho-Hou stared at Lis across the table as though she had lost her mind completely, then turned to the hunter, Te-Sze. ‘You cannot seriously consider this.’
Hui Te-Sze looked to Lis before he nodded. ‘It might be the only way. Being able to hunt them out is not enough. They have already brought this to the streets.’
‘The emperor will not like this turn of events,’ the general said. ‘I have already had to explain to him that his son has appeared amongst the enemy.’
‘How did he take the news?’ Lis asked carefully.
The general shook his head. ‘He thinks the prince is trying to infiltrate them in some way.’
Lis nodded slowly. ‘If we are able to turn things around, if I could gain his trust, then he would not have to face his father’s anger when all of this is over.’
‘You said yourself that the connection is missing, that he will fight you.’ Te-Sze said.
‘We can’t unleash the armies of the Empire on the crown prince,’ she said.
‘We can’t face an army of magics with the hidden princess at the front of ours,’ the general returned.
‘I may be able to prevent this. I may be able to protect everyone.’
‘And if you can’t?’ Yang asked.
Lis laced her fingers together and studied them rather than the four looking over her.
‘What if she were towards the back? Out of sight, but helping in some way?’ Te-Sze asked.
‘You are talking of using magic to fight magic,’ the general boomed. ‘I can’t believe we are even discussing this. I can’t believe you have let her live this long.’
The hunter moved so quickly that the table shifted, and Lis was knocked back. He put himself between them.
‘I wouldn’t hurt her,’ the general snapped. ‘I have known her father longer than she has lived. This would destroy him.’
‘He knows what I am,’ she murmured.
‘But does he know you plan to run into battle against we don’t know what? Does he know the risk we face?’
She shook her head.
‘Perhaps the princess’s skills will help end this sooner.’
The general sighed and stepped back from the table. ‘Show me this barrier,’ he demanded.
Lis held her hand out and he raced forward, then bounced back as he hit her invisible wall. The hunter wasn’t quick enough when the general drew a sword and pushed forward, but it too was deflected.
He sheathed the sword, and the hunter gaped at him. ‘What if it hadn’t held?’
‘Then we would know it would do nothing to protect her when faced with whatever we might face out there.’ He pointed out beyond the palace, where Lis noticed the dark clouds still hung over the Palace Isle, growing darker with every moment. Was that the prince’s doing? Had she upset him by trying to talk to him? Could she be the true cause of all of this?
A soldier ran into the house, startling Lis.
‘Magics are gathering in the main square,’ he said. ‘The soldiers keep a close watch, but the storm seems far worse there.’
Lis nodded. He bowed towards her, then turned expectantly to the general.
‘Tell me you can do more than grow flowers,’ he murmured.
Lis nodded once, but she wasn’t sure just what she could do, particularly when faced with the fear of so many, and the prince across from her. She didn’t know what he might be able to do with his fire. As she watched the dark clouds swirl and lightning flash, she was even more certain the storm was caused b
y him.
‘What if he twists what I have?’ she asked Wei-Song, who had remained silent at the back of the room.
Wei-Song shook her head once.
‘Could that happen?’ the general asked.
‘We worked together briefly. He changed what I made, and I did the same. What if we can still influence each other?’
‘If that were the case, you may have been able to reach him before we got to this point. Is there any sign of the emperor?’ he asked the man who had entered.
He shook his head.
‘He will let us deal with this,’ Te-Sze said softly. ‘We might all be dead by the end of the day.’ He looked directly at Lis. ‘Or you may be able to save us after all. We have no choice but to take you with us.’
‘I will come too,’ Wei-Song said quietly.
‘I think you would be best served here.’
Wei-Song held out her hand, and the temperature in the room dropped dramatically. The steam disappeared from the kettle, and the coals died. Lis shivered as she noticed the general’s face pale.
‘What can you do?’ the general asked Yang sharply.
‘Other than heal others quite quickly, not much. But that may be useful with so many swords around.’
Lis shook her head.
‘We are all a part of this,’ he said.
She was scared of what they might find, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to do anything in the face of the prince with his fire.
They had barely made it out of the gate when the first fireball sailed towards them and a scream went up from the nearest soldier. Lis threw her shield forward. It deflected the fireball, but the barrier disappeared around them as another fireball skimmed the general’s shoulder. She tried again to push out her barrier, but it wasn’t working like it had before. She couldn’t hold it in place—it moved in a wave and disappeared. She wasn’t sure she could maintain it.
She sucked in a deep breath as a man strode forward and lightning struck the ground before him. Lis pushed her hand slowly forward, focused on the ground, and it moved in a wave beneath the men growing closer. Some fell while some only stumbled, but continued towards them. The rain started, not as heavy as she had experienced before, but it was cold and sharp.
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 51
