Snake (12 page)

“That's good,” Seh said. “And as long as he's shaking, he's alive. When we get to the beach, we'll take him into the forest and figure out what to do next.”

Fu nodded.

“I wish I could make this thing go faster,” Seh said. “Do you see any sign of the twins? I haven't sensed them.”

Fu lifted his head and scanned the water. “No.”

Seh banged his foot on the bottom of the boat three times.

Nothing.

Frustrated, Seh returned his attention to working the large oar. He remained focused on moving the boat forward as quickly as possible. He didn't look back.

Perhaps Seh should have. He might have noticed the small, hollow reed that surfaced in the boat's wake.

He might have also caught a glimpse of the long, thick ponytail braid drifting next to it.

Y
ing stood inside the banquet hall, flanked by several of his men. He grinned as he listened to the bandit leader's shouts from outside.

“Evacuate! We are no match for the soldiers’
qiangs!
Abandon the stronghold!”

Commander Woo approached Ying. “What should we do?”

“Leave five good men here in the hall with me,” Ying replied. “Lead the rest down to the boats. If the bandits escape with the boats, we will be stranded.”

“What if they have other boats hidden somewhere and use those to escape?” Commander Woo asked.

“Then let them go,” Ying snapped. “We can't spread ourselves too thin. Our men are no match for the bandits individually.”

“Understood,” Commander Woo said. “Have you heard about Captain Yue, sir?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Ying growled. “I knew he shouldn't have come along. I understand his head is missing. We need to find it. If one of the bandits delivers that head to the Emperor without me there to explain myself, there could be trouble.”

“Right, sir. I'll do my best. What about the young monks?”

Ying adjusted his robe, and the scroll Tonglong had taken from Seh pressed against his chest. “Tonglong is following the boys to determine their next move. We'll catch up with those three troublemakers soon enough.” Ying glanced over at the large pool of blood where Malao had lain, and smirked.

“Make that
two
troublemakers.”

S
eh stood on the moonlit beach, staring at Malao in Fu's arms. Malao's dark-skinned face was unnaturally pale, and his whole body continued to tremble.

“Now what?” Fu asked in a hushed tone.

“First we need to get clear of the soldiers,” Seh whispered. “Then we need to see if there's anything we can do for Malao. Follow me.”

Seh walked along the shore until he found the trail Gao had followed to get to the beach.

“This way,” Seh said. “It's risky following a trail, but it will be easier for you to carry Malao.” Seh pulled the monkey stick from the folds of his robe. “You go first. I'll watch your back.”

About half a
li
into the forest, the pit of Seh's
stomach began to tingle, and the snake on his wrist tightened its grip. Seh stopped to listen.

“What is it?” Fu whispered.

“I don't know,” Seh said. “I think someone is following us.”

“What should we do?”

“Keep going,” Seh said. “Let me know if you see or hear anything.”

Two hours later, they were still walking. Seh had stopped often to scan the area, but each time he failed to identify the source of the
chi
he thought he detected. He was beginning to think stress was getting the best of him. Maybe they weren't being followed after all.

Fu finally stopped. “I need to rest,” he panted.

Seh shook his head. “I don't know, Fu. We should probably keep moving.”

“Then you'll have to carry Malao. I can't take any more of this.”

Seh looked at Malao's tiny, unconscious body in Fu's arms. Malao was shaking from head to toe.

“Is that you shaking or Malao?” Seh asked.

“A little of both,” Fu said. “My arms are killing me. Let's stop here for the night.”

“Here?” Seh said. “We might get caught.”

“We're pretty far from the stronghold,” Fu said. “I think we'll be okay.”

“I don't know—”

“Those soldiers are not going to come this far looking for us tonight,” Fu interrupted with a feisty
snarl. “And I really don't think anyone is following us. They would have attacked by now.”

“Not necessarily,” Seh said.

“How many people do you sense?”

“One,” Seh replied.

Fu rolled his eyes. “I could beat
one
person with both hands tied behind my back. That's how angry I am.” Fu raised his voice. “Does somebody out there want to cross hands with me? Show your face!”

“Shhh!” Seh said.

But it was too late. High in a nearby tree, leaves rustled.

Fu growled and they both looked up. A large, white one-eyed monkey leaped from its perch into an adjoining tree, then scurried down the trunk. It looked like the same monkey Seh had seen leading the troop that raided the bandits’ gold carts.

“Uh-oh,” Fu said as the monkey began to approach them.

“What are you worried about?” Seh asked. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was the monkey he'd been sensing all along. “That's Malao's friend. Malao mentioned it back at the stronghold.”

“Did Malao tell you what that monkey did to Hung's hand?” Fu said. “I saw the scars during our food fight. I'm not taking any chances.” Fu took several steps back.

Seh had forgotten about Hung's hand.

The white monkey looked at Malao in Fu's arms, then at the carved monkey stick Seh carried. It locked
eyes with Seh and bared an impressive set of four razor-sharp fangs, each as long as Seh's little finger.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” Seh said in a soft voice.

The monkey's upper lip curled back and he looked at the stick again.

“Maybe I should put this down,” Seh said. He laid the carved stick on the ground and stepped back.

The white monkey rushed over and picked up the stick, then spun around to face Fu. It bared its teeth again.

“Great,” Fu said. “Now it's going to beat me with it. Help me out—I've got my hands full with Malao.”

Seh took a step toward Fu, and the white monkey shrieked. It jumped up and down, slamming the stick on the ground each time it landed.

Seh stopped. “I don't think it likes me very much.”

“You think?” Fu said, rolling his eyes.

Seh took two steps back, and the white monkey took a step toward Fu. Seh took several more steps back, and the monkey took several more steps toward Fu.

“What are you doing?” Fu said. “Get over here!”

“No, wait,” Seh said. “I think it wants to see Malao, but it's wary of me. I'm going to take a few more steps back. If it attacks you, I'll be there before you can scream my name.”

“Great,” Fu said.

Seh took several more steps back, and the white monkey walked all the way up to Fu, its eyes fixed on
Malao's shaking body. Fu held Malao out in front of him and the white monkey slipped the carved stick into the folds of Malao's robe. Then the monkey lowered its nose to Malao's nose and inhaled deeply. It ran a finger across Malao's shaky forehead and scurried away.

Fu looked at Malao, and Seh thought he saw tears welling up in Fu's eyes again. “Ying is going to pay for this,” Fu snarled.

“Let's stop here for the night,” Seh said. “I think we could both use some rest. I don't sense anyone now that the monkey is gone. Does Malao still have the pouch with the fire stone and metal strike bar?”

Fu glanced at Malao's sash and nodded.

“Maybe Malao will stop shaking if we can warm him up,” Seh said. “Step off the trail and stay with him. I'll go find some firewood and a place to spend the night, then I'll come back for you two.”

Fu grunted and carried Malao into the underbrush.

“Don't go too far,” Seh said. “You'll want to keep your eyes on the trail while I'm gone, just in case someone comes along. We don't want any surprises.”

Fu growled, low and deep. “A visit from Ying tonight would be one of the best surprises of my life.”

T
onglong raced through the moonlight atop his pitch-black stallion. His wet silk robe and pants clung to his body, his long, heavy ponytail braid slapping his back in rhythm with the horse's powerful strides. He had to hurry.

Tonglong needed to get to the Emperor's summer palace and back to the bandit stronghold in a reasonable amount of time. He didn't want Ying to get suspicious, especially since he'd already accomplished his objective as far as Ying was concerned—find out where the young monks were headed. They were headed to Kaifeng, and that was all Ying needed to know. For now, at least.

Tonglong gripped the sack in front of him, and a
crooked smile rose to his thin lips. He wondered who would be more surprised in the coming days, the Emperor when he was handed his nephew's head or Ying when he found out who had delivered it— and why.

S
eh awoke with a jerk, the pit of his stomach tingling. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep. In the bright morning sunshine, he saw the white monkey sitting in a nearby tree, staring at Malao. Fu lay next to Malao, snoring.

Seh decided he must have fallen asleep soon after building a small fire to warm Malao. That was several hours ago. A pile of coals in front of Fu and Malao was all that was left. Seh scanned the area, trying to pick up signs of Ying or his troops. He sensed nothing.

The monkey climbed down, and Seh saw that it carried four long sticks with numerous round objects skewered along each. They were mushroom caps. The
monkey dropped the mushroom skewers next to the campfire remains, then sat down beside Malao.

Seh watched, ready to intervene, as the white monkey gently shook Malao like it was trying to wake him. Malao didn't respond.

Seh glanced at the ground around Malao's injured leg. It was dry. At least Malao was no longer bleeding.

The white monkey reached out and began to rub the back of Malao's head. It appeared as though the monkey was mimicking a pressure point massage used to revive an unconscious person. It was the same technique Gao had used to revive the bandit swordsman outside the stronghold.