Crane (8 page)

The excited crowd began to form a large circle, and the lions trotted into the center. People flowed in their direction in droves. Hok felt her pulse quicken as the energy level around her rose to a fever pitch. The drummer began to beat harder and louder, and the lions started to shimmer and shake. The larger lion had enormous, expressive eyes that blinked and a huge mouth that opened and closed. Even the ears wiggled.

Without warning, the lion cub leaped straight into the air onto the back of the larger lion and began to spin around and around in fast, tight circles. The crowd roared with approval. The cub leaped to the ground and rolled sideways, then popped to its four feet and began to shimmer and shake again, bobbing its head up and down. The crowd roared again.

“Here,” GongJee said, and Hok felt something poke her in the side. It was a large empty basket. Bing had disappeared.

“Take MaMa's basket,” GongJee said. “She'll be right back.” She pointed to one end of the circle. “You walk that way, and I'll go the other way. If you fill up the basket, take it to MaMa right away. She'll give you another one. If you don't see her, the best way to find her is to whistle like a crane. Do you know how to do that?”

Hok nodded, and the veil over her face fluttered.

GongJee hurried off and began collecting coins from the crowd. Hok watched her for a moment, noticing how GongJee offered a huge smile to everyone she approached and followed each donation with a quick bow. She had obviously done this before.

Hok began to walk slowly in the opposite direction, keeping one eye on Charles’ fantastic dancing and the other on the crowd. Charles really was good.

Hok had no sooner received her first coin when she sensed someone staring at her. She glanced up and nearly tripped over her own feet.

“HOK!” a squeaky little voice shrieked. It was Malao. Even more surprising, Seh and Fu were with him. All three were wearing tattered gray peasant's robes and looked different because they all had hair. Seh's was particularly thick and unruly.

Hok was glad she was wearing the veil. It hid her enormous smile. Still, she felt she had to turn away to help hide her excitement. She took a few steps.

“Hey!” Malao called out. “Why did Hok—
mmmpfl
“

Hok didn't have to look back to know what had just happened. Seh had wrapped a snake-head fist around Malao's mouth. Seh was obviously trying to not draw any attention to her, or them. Seh had always been good about things like that. Hok thought it was best to do the same. As casually as possible, she began to limp toward the camp, certain her brothers would follow.

“T
here they are,” Tonglong said, pointing from the rear of his elaborate dragon boat.

“Yesss,” AnGangseh replied from the bow. “I sssee.”

HaMo shifted in his seat behind AnGangseh at the front of the boat. “What should we do?”

“Wait for my command,” Tonglong said. He adjusted the large black hat on his head and stood, causing the long, narrow boat to wobble in the water. He cleared his throat, and twenty soldiers—ten to a side—turned to look at him.

Tonglong pointed to a circle of people on the southern shore, near the main bridge. “Our targets are there. Remember, while most of them are young, they are far from children when it comes to fighting. Their
skills are superior to yours, so be sure to keep your distance. Rely on your weapons. The young monks appear to be separating themselves from the masses and heading for the camp. That is where we shall go ashore. It is time.”

The men put their paddles back into the water and Tonglong glanced over his shoulder. He waved one arm, signaling to five additional dragon boats trailing close behind.

Tonglong pointed toward the camp and sat down. All six boats heaved forward collectively. The five trailing boats soon passed Tonglong's vessel and ran themselves aground about two hundred paces from the camp. One hundred soldiers disguised in festive costumes quickly stepped out of the dragon boats onto the shore and formed ranks, while Tonglong and his twenty boatmen, plus AnGangseh and HaMo, stopped their dragon boat short of the riverbank, remaining afloat.

AnGangseh pulled a large black hood over her head and slithered off her seat, sinking down to the floor at the very front of the boat. HaMo sat up straight and stared at the crowd, puffing out his sizable chest.

People on shore and on the bridge began to notice something was wrong. It wasn't normal for dragon boat teams to go ashore in a single group like that and line up like soldiers, and it was unheard of for them to be armed with spears and broadswords. The crowd began to panic. They pointed first to the soldiers, then to Tonglong's dragon boat.

Tonglong looked over at the camp and saw his half brother, Seh, standing near a fire pit, next to the young Cangzhen monks Malao and Fu. Also standing there were a woman and a teenage girl, both wearing turbans; a very young girl with long brown hair; and a white teenage boy. It was an odd-looking bunch, so engrossed in each other that they failed to see what was happening around them. Tonglong decided to give them a sporting chance. He stood, removing his hat. His long, thick ponytail braid spilled out and he adjusted it over his front shoulder.

Tonglong stared at his half brother, Seh, and shouted, “Remember me?”

Seh didn't respond. However, Fu, the aggressive boy tiger, shouted, “Tonglong!”

Tonglong smirked. “Very good, Pussycat. Now it's the serpent's turn to talk. You have something that I want. Give it to me, and we'll be on our way. Deny me, and—”

Tonglong snapped his fingers and each soldier in his boat raised a
qiang.

The crowd lost control. Hundreds of bystanders scattered, stumbling and tripping over one another. A panic-induced tension filled the atmosphere, and Tonglong breathed it in deeply, savoring it.

Tonglong saw Seh turn away from the shore, and he followed Seh's gaze. A group of five adults was pushing toward the camp. Tonglong recognized all of them from the bandit stronghold.

In the lead was Mong, the enormous, bald, pale mountain of muscle who was AnGangseh's second
husband and Seh's father. Mong meant
Python
in Cantonese. He was the bandit leader.

Behind Mong was the gigantic, hairy bandit called Hung, or
Bear,
carrying a huge pair of golden melon hammers. The group also included the iron-body kung fu bandit with dirty, stubby limbs whose name was NgGung, or
Centipede;
the crazy, big-nosed, floppy-eared bandit called Gao, or
Dog;
and a beefy man with a scraggly beard and long, matted hair that Tonglong recognized as a famous drifter often called The Drunkard, but whose real name was rumored to be Sanfu, or
Mountain Tiger.

They were a formidable force, to be sure, but Tonglong had a hundred armed men on shore and twenty loaded
qiangs
in his boat. Tonglong knew he had the upper hand.

“Don't give up that scroll!” Mong shouted to Seh over the cries of the fleeing crowd.

Seh turned back to the river and looked at Tonglong. “I didn't plan to,” he shouted.

You had your chance, little brother,
Tonglong thought.
Goodbye.
He tucked his long ponytail braid into his sash and raised one arm high, then let it drop.

“FIRE!”

S
hots rang out overhead as Hok retreated from the waterfront hand in hand with GongJee. Their mother was beside them, as were Charles, Fu, and Seh. Unfortunately, Malao was not with them.

As they rushed into Kaifeng's narrow streets, away from the soldiers’
qiangs,
Hok glanced at the five men with strange but familiar animal names surrounding them. These men had risked their lives to help keep Tonglong's soldiers at bay.
Bear
had been shot in the arm, and another
qiang
ball had grazed
Mountain Tiger's
cheek. Both men were bleeding heavily, but they remained in a protective circle around Hok and the others, even now. These men were warriors, and they had very likely just saved her life, as well as the
lives of GongJee and Charles, not to mention her brothers.

Warning bells rang out from the city's central bell tower, and people everywhere began to scramble to lock themselves inside their homes and storefronts. Hok was grateful because it meant they could put even more distance between themselves and the soldiers on their trail.

In order to run better, Hok had abandoned her sling and turban back at the waterfront, and Charles had stripped himself of his costume. However, Charles was grumbling about having been caught without his
qiangs.
They were still back at the camp.

Hok felt that none of them were in a position to grumble. She was just thankful to be alive. She hoped Malao was as lucky.

It seemed Fu couldn't stop thinking about Malao, either.

“We have to help Malao!” Fu complained. “Didn't you see what happened to him? We need to go back!”

“We saw what happened to your little brother,” Bing said to Fu. “AnGangseh, Tonglong, and HaMo captured him. We'll discuss this at the safe house. We're almost there.”

The group soon slowed down and Mong stopped in front of a small shop. There was no sign on the building. The only thing that set it apart from the other buildings on the street was a small metal phoenix in the center of the door, painted green.

Mong banged on the door three times. A moment
later, the phoenix rotated up and Hok saw a concerned eye quickly scan their group.

“Come in, come in!” a woman said in a hurried, muffled voice from the other side of the door.

Hok heard several locks disengage, and the door swung open. The group rushed inside without a word. As the woman relocked the door, Hok glanced around.

The dark, dusty room was a ramshackle dining hall. Ten small tables were randomly positioned around the space, paired with broken, mismatched chairs. The place was a mess.

“I am so glad you all made it back here in one piece, and that you've brought friends,” the woman said as she straightened up. “The war bells are ringing and … oh, sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Yuen. Welcome to the Jade Phoenix.” She bowed to Hok.

Hok bowed back.

“We don't have time for formalities,” Mong said. “I am sorry. May we take shelter here? I must warn you, though, there is a chance we are being followed. Hung and Sanfu may have left a bit of a blood trail.”

Yuen glanced quickly at Sanfu clutching his face and Hung gripping one arm. “Oh, dear!” she said. “Let's get you upstairs. All of you. The room above the kitchen is the safest place. It will be cramped, but you can come down after nightfall. I'll see what I can do about the blood trail once you're safely hidden.”

“Thank you,” Mong said. He headed for a tattered
curtain at the back of the room, and the group followed.

Hok found herself pushed into a small kitchen with the others. Yuen pointed to the far corner, and Hok saw a rope ladder leading up into a hole in the wood-paneled ceiling. “Up you go,” Yuen said.

Hok watched Bing climb the rope ladder first with GongJee, followed by Charles. Fu and Seh went next. As each one grabbed the sections of rope, Hok couldn't help but think of Malao tied up somewhere.

Mong was standing next to Hok. She tapped him on the arm.

“Excuse me,” Hok said. “Shouldn't we do something about our brother Malao as soon as possible? I mean, wouldn't our chances of helping him be better if we acted quickly?”

“Perhaps,” Mong said. “But we must put the safety of the group first. We will develop a plan to help Malao as soon as possible. In the meantime, I don't think you should worry too much. I saw what happened, and I suspect the kidnappers intend to trade him for something Seh carries. The woman who knocked Malao unconscious—AnGangseh—could have easily killed him. Believe me, they will contact us.”

“But how are they going to contact us if we are hiding?” Hok asked. “Maybe a few of us should try and rescue him. I'll volunteer.”

Mong folded his enormous arms. “Tonglong will figure out a way to get a message to us. As for a rescue
attempt, we have no way of knowing where they are taking Malao. Tonglong has no relationships with anyone outside of his own circle that we can exploit.”