The Pirate Empress (13 page)

Quan collapsed cross-legged on the temple floor and stared at the Jade Fountain where water trickled from the rock wall above his head. Tao slumped down beside him and his voice when he spoke was thick. “They tortured me, dripped water on my forehead for days, thrust bamboo shoots into my fingernails and watched them grow. I wouldn’t speak. I refused to betray my Lotus Lily and I did not know where she was. But they threatened to carve out my heart while I watched, and give it to her when they finally caught her. So I told them they dared not do that to a princess, and after that stupid, stupid slip, they realized what I meant, that I had rescued Ling She’s newborn and raised her under their very noses.”

“So they broke you,” Quan said, angrily.

“They broke me,” Tao admitted, shamefaced.

Tao was not a warrior; he was a tutor and there was no shame in that. Quan forced himself to be kind, shut his eyes to obliterate the horror of Li’s broken feet, and composed himself. “How is it that you’re still alive?”

“They released my bonds and left me unwatched, thinking I would simply die. They didn’t even lock the dungeon door so I crept away.” Tao fixed tearful eyes on Quan. “We haven’t much time, Captain. His Majesty has no intention of keeping his promise. He has no intention of marrying her to you, Zheng Min, or any other officer. The fox faerie controls his will.”

“But how did you escape the sentries?”

“How did you pass through the palace grounds like a ghost? After I learned what they meant to do to her, to me, and to any who came to her aid, I had no other thought but to escape, and ran here. A secret chamber sits behind the fountain. That’s where I hid when they came to search, that is where the infant Lotus Lily was taken, and where we should go now.”

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It was morning when the guards came for her. She had been locked in her room all night with the windows shuttered and boarded. When she was brought before the Emperor he stared at her with such rage in his eyes that she couldn’t believe this man was her father. But he had ordered the decapitation of Ling She, the Empress, so what was a daughter?

What if she told him she was carrying his grandson? Would he have mercy then? Jasmine stood by His Majesty’s side as beautiful as ever, smile dripping malice and revenge for her Mongol lover. Over her head, emerald green tiles rippled across the throne room’s ceiling, and Li locked eyes with her for a second before turning away. She wasn’t sorry that she had killed the arrogant warlord. He deserved nothing less.

Would Zheng Min petition for her? He wanted to marry her, didn’t he? She could barely stand. Beneath the flimsy dancing girl skirt, her broken feet had swollen and if they had wanted smaller feet, they had created the exact opposite. Nausea engulfed her with each step she took, but no one offered to help, and it wasn’t until she crumpled to the floor that the military governor rushed over to proffer his arm.

“Uh-uh,” Jasmine said. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

Zheng Min’s desire for the fox faerie was obvious, but he couldn’t make a play for her in the presence of His Majesty. As a consolation prize, he wanted the princess. After all, she had been promised to the first high-ranking officer who found her, and no officer ranked higher than he. “I will teach her manners when she is my wife. She will learn not to run away.”

“Observe her feet,” the fox faerie said, miffed at her near escape. “It’s obvious she had help. Who was with her?”

The military governor had belatedly sent out a search party after the guards had locked her in her room. “No one,” he said, resorting to his habit of twisting the facts in order to save face.

“
Someone
helped her. Look at her, she can hardly stand—unless she’s faking it?”

“She’s not faking. I am supporting practically all of her weight.”

“Well, Military Governor, you won’t want her after the Imperial physician examines her.”

Examine her? Why? What would the Imperial physician examine her for? After Jasmine had left her mutilated on her bed, she was given nothing for the pain. Jasmine returned Li’s gaze, causing every muscle in her body to tense. Her mother, her father, her allies, the Empire, the fox faerie was taking it all. Heart swollen with rage, she turned to His Majesty and tried to bow without collapsing on her broken feet.

“Sire,” she said. “I am your daughter. I may even be carrying your grandson who is destined to be a great warrior. Ask the concubine. She’ll tell you.”

Zheng Min dropped Li’s arm and stared at her. “What? You’re not a virgin?”

Li fumbled for control of her body, and managed to remain standing. The look on Zheng Min’s face was frightening. Had she made a mistake? But at least now she wouldn’t have to marry him.

“No, Lotus Lily is, most definitely, not a virgin,” Jasmine cut in. “She’s a trollop.”

The pain in Li’s feet was blinding, but she needed only her mouth, not her eyes, to make her rebuttal. “And what does that make you? You are Number One Concubine and you have slept with every man in this room!”

Of all the men present at her inquisition, none seemed to grasp the truth. The sneering eyes of the scheming seductress suddenly widened; Li tried to blank out the memory of Lok Yu’s cruel pleasure just before she obliterated his face with the heavy brick. Jasmine’s red lips glistened. “Lotus Lily is not only a trollop, but she is also a murderer. The young man whose jade spear she took is dead. Summon any of the workers from the border wall, they will tell you. A boy’s body was found beside a tumble of bricks. It was no accident. That girl pretended to be a boy. When she was exposed, she killed her exposer.”

The Emperor seemed to have lost all will, and his flat eyelids lifted to seek counsel, which the fox faerie blithely gave. He tore his gaze from Jasmine, and when he returned to Li to pronounce judgement, his eyes were dead.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The Scimitar of Yongfang

Beware of false promises.
Yongfang’s last words echoed in his mind.

Master Yun should have been out of here by now. Instead, he was in a maze, going around in circles. Where, exactly, was he? He stopped to collect his thoughts, shone the Moonstone at the walls around him, and saw that he was inside a dirt tunnel. The more he moved forward, the farther away from his destination he seemed to go. In that case, he must move backward. If going ahead only got him more lost, then reversing his steps would return him to where he started. Master Yun touched the hilt of the bronze scimitar, lowered his Moonstone and shut his eyes. This way, then, back the way he had come. He moved by feel rather than by sight and allowed his senses to mingle with the geo forces that controlled the shifting of the earth tunnel. Direction was a state of mind and the balance of body, and he was lost as long as he used his eyes.

By the time he came full circle, he had no idea how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes he saw what he wanted to see—blue light, and the shadowy figures of the Night Guards Army. For a moment he lingered among the statues before walking between the aligned ranks, conscious of eyes watching. At the very front, the battle formation stood exactly as he had left it—only now he saw that some of the warriors were missing their weapons.

Master Yun raised the bronze blade, which vibrated in his hand, and nearly dropped it. A crack of light appeared in the vaulted ceiling, widening. Air swirled around his body before a vacuum sucked him up and out of the tomb, and then he found himself atop First Emperor’s death mound, in scorching daylight, with the scuffed remains of the azure dragon at his feet.

Someone had been here. Master Yun shoved the Scimitar into the sash beneath his robes. Not since Lotus Lily was born had he solicited the help of the Moonstone. Only out of desperation, and at the request of First Emperor’s apparition, had he succumbed to the urge and sought the visions. The eyes interfered with the senses, the forces of
Chi
, and he did not need to look to know that things fared badly for Lotus Lily.

His robes caught the wind, lifting him with the earthly forces of the geomancer. He had summoned the
Chi
from Esen’s massacre. Quan’s men at the border wall were slaughtered days ago—on the night of Li’s abduction—and the bloodbath had flooded Master Yun with power.

His horse was long gone. Xingbar would have returned to the stables of the Forbidden City, meanwhile Master Yun must fly. Executions always took place at midday. If he sent his steps flying fifty times a man’s natural stride, he would reach Beijing before noontide. He loped like a tiger, crossed the plains of the Yellow River loop, bounced off the treetops that lined the dirt road until he reached the outskirts of the capital; and bounded onto a farmer’s rooftop to view the crossroad below. A mounted legion of men were city-bound, and at the head marched Lieutenant He Zhu. Master Yun landed on the ground behind the black-roofed farmhouse and slid out into full few of the horsemen, and bowed.

Startled, He Zhu reined in his horse and nodded, puzzled. “What is your business, strange soldier?”

Soldier? Master Yun glanced down at his robes, at his armament.
Strange
? In his hand was the bronze scimitar. Other than that he wore nothing remotely resembling combat gear; nonetheless he decided to be cautious because if He Zhu truly did not recognize him, there must be a reason for it.

“Not a good time to be a stranger. Where do you hail? Your uniform is unfamiliar, it looks like something out of the past.”

The fabric of his robes, with their wide bell sleeves, was weatherworn and beat up from his adventure, but hardly military attire. What was Zhu seeing, a battle tunic from First Emperor Qin’s units? Master Yun tightened his grip on the Scimitar. Did Zhu’s strange words have something to do with Yongfang’s blade?

“Where are you headed?” Master Yun asked. “May I accompany you?”

Zhu’s gaze turned to the impressive citadel. The sun was still low in the sky, not yet noon. “We make for the Forbidden City where the princess is to be beheaded. Join us if you wish.”

Master Yun blended in with Zhu’s regiment, following on foot. Moments later, the red brick wall of the citadel came into view, and beyond it, the golden tiered roofs of the palace, curved like hats, cut across the sky. The horsemen rode slowly through the town, and at the palace gates Master Yun fell back. The Imperial convoy entered the gate, and he slipped away to the Koi Gardens and his temple.

No sound came from inside, and at the doorway, he stabbed the Scimitar point-end into one of the nearby planters, and went to the fountain to drink. When he’d refreshed himself, he dried his hands on a soft cloth, closed his eyes for a few minutes to rest them before noticing that the jade fish at the basin’s bottom had been disturbed. He glanced over his shoulder at the temple entrance. No soldiers would be coming here today; all would be in the public square awaiting the spectacle. It wasn’t every day a princess was beheaded.

“You can come out now,” he said, aiming his voice in the direction of the water trickling from the rock wall.

A shadow moved from behind the curtain of rock and water, and Tao and Captain Chi Quan stepped out. They exchanged relieved greetings. Master Yun briefed the men on his quest to First Emperor’s tomb and how he had met the ghostly mound keeper and acquired his sword. When he finished, Quan recounted all of Lotus Lily’s mishaps including her kidnapping by the Mongol warlord and Zheng Min’s capture of her.

“When Jasmine exposed Li’s deception and the murder of the boy, His Majesty decreed her beheading,” Quan said. “Tao and I were plotting her rescue when you arrived.”

Master Yun raised thoughtful eyes from where they had been fixed on the water streaming down the rock wall into the stone basin of the fountain. “And how did you plan to do that?”

“Tao will create a distraction and I will whisk Li away from the executioner’s blade by horseback.”

“Too risky. You are fast, Quan, and agile, a spirited fighter and expert horseman. But you forget—there will be sentries and soldiers far outnumbering your effort. You forgot about the fox faerie. Both you and Tao will be slain.”

“We have no choice. I won’t leave her there. You don’t know what they’ve done to her. Death by trying is better than not trying at all.”

The expression on Master Yun’s face remained stoic. “I didn’t say we weren’t going to save her. Naturally, we will and must. But control your emotions, Quan. I expect that kind of impulsiveness from He Zhu, but not from you.”

“Zhu can’t be trusted.”

“I know. Now listen to me, both of you. We must move quickly.”

Master Yun motioned to Tao who was cowering with shame. His forehead was bruised from the water-drop torture and his fingernails black with crusted blood. No one had to tell Master Yun how Li’s cover was blown for he had sensed the disturbance even while inside First Emperor’s tomb. “Tao, you will have a chance to redeem yourself. I don’t blame you, nor does the captain. Lotus Lily loves you—and that won’t change. Without my magic you were powerless to prevent the course of events.
Huli Jing
is too powerful.”

“I should’ve let them cut out my heart.”

“What purpose would that have served? We need you alive.”

At the jade plant Master Yun seized the bronze scimitar where he had left it, hilt-end up, projecting from the planter, and raised it to the sun’s rays that shot through the entrance to the marble floor. A gasp rose from his companions as his appearance changed. “I don’t know what else this blade is capable of, but I know Yongfang gave it to me for a reason. He brought down one empire and inadvertently allowed the Mongols to infest the land. Though he didn’t speak these sentiments in words, I know his heart. He wants restitution. This blade will help him to do it through our actions. Lotus Lily must be saved.”

Master Yun handed the ancient weapon to Quan. “The magic in Yongfang’s scimitar will mask your identity. Bridle your horse; we go to the palace. Tao, prepare us for a long journey. We need food, water, blankets and horses. Quick now. The sun rises swiftly.”

When all was ready, Tao was instructed to take the horses and provisions to the outskirts of town to wait by the farmhouse at the crossroad, while Quan and Master Yun rode to the Forbidden City and told the sentry that they had come to witness the execution of the princess. Because Master Yun was still respected by one of the guards—a former student of his—they were allowed to pass through the gates with no questions asked.

“That was the easy part,” Master Yun said when they were safely inside the gate. “Now comes the hard part. Find somewhere to hide yourself and your horse. When the moment is ripe, you know what to do. I have a meeting with an old friend. Or rather, an old
enemy
.”

“Where are you going? Li needs you,” Quan said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there. We shall execute the rescue as planned. But first, there is something I must do. Go now. The sun is high!”

Quan walked his horse to the back of the public square where rider and steed could be hidden by the shade of a massive green pillar.

Master Yun slipped under an arched doorway and entered the palace. He must act quickly. He stood in one of the Imperial audience halls and stopped to take in a breath. He must gather all of the forces that remained to him. He knew this was not the day he would defeat the fox faerie, but it was a day when he must divert her eye and her power from the public square. To wish Altan would act to avenge Esen’s death was duplicitous, for it was the only way he could increase his strength until First Emperor released his ghost warriors—but this did not happen. Altan did not choose this day to avenge his brother’s death.

“
Huli Jing
,” Master Yun jeered. “Come to me, I am waiting for you. I saw your marks upon the mound. You wished to trap me in the mound of First Emperor, but you have failed. Try again, entomb me in my temple, you know you have the power. Just as you trapped First Emperor and his army, you can do the same to me, but this time, let’s do it face to face.”

The faint scent of jasmine blossoms clotted his senses. The swishing of a silk gown came from somewhere in the room. A few seconds passed and a flash of gold forked in the window.

Master Yun gathered his robes together and followed.

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So, the old warlock had found a way out of First Emperor’s tomb. He dared to challenge her? She would give him something to remember her by. She must finish this quickly, and return in time to watch Lotus Lily’s head roll to the floor in front of her beloved captain. The fox raced through the palace grounds, past the sentries to the Koi Gardens and finally to the temple where she reverted to her human form. The old warlock was getting slow, which meant his power was fading, and if he didn’t arrive in another few minutes she would go in search of him. She went to the Jade Fountain and stuck her hand into the water, and screamed as the water burned. Damn the old man. Even in his absence, the temple repelled her.

Jasmine paced the floor. She had not tried a sealing spell since she tired of Emperor Qin. As she recalled, it was simple: an incantation to call on the forces of reversal—one could not exit if one could not enter—and then a spell to collapse the pillars of the temple. That might thwart his powers, or not. Either way, he would be trapped for eternity because a warlock, like a fox faerie, was immortal, and they could only die if their heads were sliced off.

“Jasmine,” Master Yun said from the doorway. “You have come.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t? Come inside. Refresh yourself. It’s hot outside.” She yawned. “It must be almost noon.”

“It is indeed.”

“I’m sorry it had to be this way.” She was feeling superiorly confident because the old warlock looked like he had gone to hell and back. She smiled smugly. His robe was ratty and torn and he looked nothing like the warrior sorcerer he used to be. “So, you want to miss the beheading of your favourite student?” she heckled.

“How long have you known about Lotus Lily?” he asked.

“Not long. You did well protecting her identity. But no more.”

“She no longer needs me to protect her identity.”

“Indeed.”

Master Yun ignored her scorn. “She is destined to marry Captain Chi Quan and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

She shot a glance over his shoulder to the sun. “I think not. I think already the executioner is positioning his blade over her lily-white neck. And I want to get back in time to see her head bounce into the dirt. Let’s get this over with. Stop dawdling and come inside. We shall see who is the most powerful.”

“You brought down an empire once, Jasmine. Your treason has not gone unnoticed.”

“Get in here, you annoying old man!”

Master Yun leaped backward, raised his hands as she charged toward him, and an invisible force stopped her cold. A powerful stream of thick air spun, pushing her away from the entrance every time she tried to leave the temple.

“What have you done?” she screamed.

“I have given you a taste of your own treachery.”