Serpentine (16 page)

He kneeled to swipe his blade across the demon’s thigh, wiping the blood against the feathers. He was breathing hard, she could tell, by the rapid rise and fall of his chest. Another undead creature hopped toward Kai Sen’s bent figure, arms outstretched. Oblivious, he remained by the fallen demon, head bowed.

Without thinking, Skybright slithered past the tree line, hissing. It twisted around, as if called to, and jumped toward her. She slid backwards into the safety of the forest, but before it reached cover, a torch lit its ragged clothes, and its long hair caught fire. The thing stumbled in a tight circle twice before crumpling to the ground.

Kai Sen stood behind it, illuminated by the blaze.

Skybright gasped—a gasp that erupted as a long hiss. He leaped over the flames and was upon her in an instant, chanting again in that strong voice. She tried to slide back, face averted. The words of his mantra lilted and swelled. It was a spell, she realized, and it immobilized her, rooted her serpentine body to the earth. She threw an arm up to protect herself, only to see Kai Sen raise his saber in one smooth motion.

Terrified, unable to speak, her arm jerked aside and she looked him full in the face. Kai Sen’s dark brown eyes widened even as his saber fell. It was only in the last moment, and with amazing deftness, that he checked his stroke, and the blade sliced across her cheek instead of decapitating her. He had stopped chanting as he stumbled back and released her from his spell. She didn’t feel the cut, but tasted the warm blood on her lips. Skybright swiped her muscular coil, knocking him from his feet, and slithered into the forest.

He sprang up in one breath and chased after her. She felt his pounding footsteps vibrating through the earth. He was fast, faster than any man she had ever seen, but she was faster. Her serpent senses let her know exactly where all the obstacles were in the vast forest, and she could have navigated it with her eyes closed. Her heart was in her throat as she slid amongst the ancient cypress trunks, feeling the distance increase between herself and Kai Sen. Blood pounded in her ears.

Then something sharp pricked the side of her neck. The world grew hazy, and darkness seized her like a giant fist.

“She hasn’t woken?” The rich voice resonated, echoing across the chamber.

Skybright opened her eyes to mere slits, trying to gauge where she was. It was still night, and torches blazed along the cavern walls. A squat man stood some distance from her, dressed in crimson robes. He spoke to a tall, young monk beside him. She was in a cage with thick wooden slats. A small twitch of her tail let her know that she was somehow still in serpent form.

“We’ll interrogate her when she wakes. Imagine what we could learn from her. She might even change into her human form. If so, do not let her beauty deceive you.”

“Yes, Abbot Wu.”

“She’s the first shape shifter we’ve seen since the demons began crawling out of the underworld. The opportunity is too great. Call me the moment she wakes, brother.”

The young man inclined his head. “Yes, Abbot Wu. But what will we do with her after?”

Skybright closed her eyes before the abbot turned to consider her. “Kill her, of course. Then we can cleanse the site.”

She heard the crunch of gravel as the two walked away, and her stomach twisted. She tried to rise, push herself up with her hands, but was too weak. Her vision blurred, and the world tilted. Skybright laid her head down and lost consciousness once more.

When she awoke next, she felt someone scrutinizing her so intensely it was like sunlight on her skin. Cautious, she opened her eyes to slits again, not wanting the person to know that she was awake.

Kai Sen crouched in front of her, his hands gripping the wooden slats.

She almost jerked back to see him, and it took all her will power to keep still, to keep her face smooth, as if she were asleep.

“Skybright?” he whispered.

Her chest ached to hear his voice, to feel his presence so near. She could smell him, his wonderful scent made stronger by her serpent senses, and it stirred something primal within her.

“Is it … truly you?” His voice broke. “It can’t be. This is the hell lord’s work.”

Skybright didn’t breathe, too afraid that she would give herself away with a hiss. She was grateful she couldn’t cry in serpent form, because then Kai Sen would have seen the tears slide down her face.

He rose and ran out of the cavern, his footsteps light.

She watched until he vanished into the darkness, although she could feel his easy tread for some time after. Skybright curled her coil tighter after she lost track of his vibrations, and her chest felt hollow, as if he had carried her heart away with him.

Skybright awoke to faint morning light, her mouth dry and bitter, like it had been stuffed with dirt from the graveyards. No one was inside the cavern, and the torches burned low. She pushed herself up with shaking hands. Her body ached, and it felt as if her face was pulled too tight, like a poorly fitted mask. The cage wasn’t tall enough for a person to stand in, but she could rise on her serpent body. Skybright gripped the thick slats of the cage with numb hands. They would be impossible to break.

But the center slats weren’t resting flush against the rest. Skybright touched one, and it swung outwards a little, a square door that wasn’t latched.

Kai Sen.

Her heart raced as she pushed through the cage. The only nearby human was outside the cavern, pacing. She slithered to the opening and glimpsed the tall monk who had been speaking with the abbot. His back was half-turned to her, and she slid as fast as she could toward the tree line in the distance.

He caught the motion and shouted in surprise, giving chase. But he ran slower than Kai Sen.

Skybright’s head pounded and her cheek stung, but she slithered faster than she ever had across the forest floor, as squirrels and rabbits leaped out of her path. She lowered herself so her long serpentine body fully connected with the ground and gathered its power, propelling herself at an inhuman speed through the trees. She drew her arms close to her sides, and tucked her chin, so she was more streamlined. The monk was no match for her. It wasn’t until she glimpsed the tall monastery walls that she got her bearings and veered toward home. Her clothes were still where she had left them when she followed the ghost the previous night—what seemed like a lifetime ago. She shifted into human form and pulled her clothes on before running back to the Yuan Manor.

Everything was comfortingly familiar. Servants bustled as they tidied bedchambers while others carried lacquered trays, ready to serve the midday meal. Skybright kept her head down as she hurried to her bedchamber on trembling legs, and no one took notice of her. She ducked into the safety of her quarters and almost cried out when she saw Zhen Ni sitting on her bed like a statue. Her hands were folded in her lap, and the sunlight from the lattice window emphasized her cheekbones and chin. She had lost weight since Lan had gone.

“Mistress,” Skybright said, bunching her tunic in sweaty hands.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Zhen Ni stated simply. She rose and drew closer, then grimaced when she saw her face. “What happened, Skybright? You’ll need stitches. That cut is deep.”

The cut.

Skybright picked up the hand mirror and stared. She barely recognized herself. Her face was dirt-smudged and bloodied, her braided hair in wild disarray. A cut ran down the left side of her face, from the top of her cheekbone until it was level with the corner of her mouth. The wound was split, an angry red, pulling her face tight. It throbbed, and the pain seemed to increase the longer she stared at it.

“Where did you go?” Her mistress asked.

She laid the mirror down with a quivering hand. “I went into the forest. And a branch cut me.”

“I never thought the day would come that you would lie to me,” Zhen Ni said.

Tears blurred Skybright’s vision and she crossed her arms, trying to steady herself.

“You’ve changed. I was too distracted to notice while Lan was here. But I’ve been watching you this past week … ”

“Mistress—”

“Is it a boy?”

Skybright choked, lowering her chin.

“A girl then?”

She lifted her head and her mistress arched her delicate eyebrows. “You’re right. It’s a boy,” Skybright finally whispered.

“Sky, how could you keep this from me! Are you in trouble? Are you with child? Did
he
do this to you?” Zhen Ni gestured to her face, worry conflicting with anger.

Oh goddess
.

“No! No, we haven’t … done that. And this, this was an accident.”

Zhen Ni put a light hand on her shoulder and examined her face more closely. The scent of her jasmine perfume filled Skybright’s senses. “I’ll fetch Nanny Bai.”

“Don’t!”

“It must be stitched. We can’t risk an infection. Leave the talking to me. You don’t say a word, understand?”

Skybright nodded dumbly as Zhen Ni left her bedchamber.