Mei Li regretted pretending to be asleep just then, as she would have dearly loved to ask questions at this juncture. Would it really be that soon? She’d felt like she had more time to settle on her theory. Or maybe she’d simply hoped for that, considering it would take all of her considerable intellect and focus to get through re-sealing Jingfei.
She had not been given much time to think about her conclusions from last night—not with all the work and planning that went into sealing up Lost Souls Bridge. Her subconscious mind had not thrown up any objections to her theory, at least. How much that said for the validity of it was anyone’s guess. Mei Li didn’t have much experience in handling magical theory.
But if Shunlei thought he’d be able to fully explain in a week or so—and Jingfei and Zaffi absolutely needed to be handled in the next two weeks—then that didn’t leave her much time to figure this out. Mei Li absolutely did not want him telling her before she even had a chance to throw a reasonable guess out there. She was far too competitive to be handed answers.
The one part of the conversation that confused her was Shunlei’s declaration that this was more important than the work Mei Li focused on now. How did he judge that? Were problems looming ahead that he had personal experience with, that surpassed the potential destructive power of even the demonic couple? Were the lost records the key to the safety of the world?
Or was she missing something?
Mei Li stood at the base of Jingfei’s retable and felt every hair on her body stand on end.
The demoness was indeed awake within her seal, glaring at them with hatred so intense she felt it even hundreds of feet away. She was huge—tall and broad enough to make even the largest of dragons look like a pet pony. Five thousand years of being sealed had not been kind to her. Her skin resembled cracked magma, her body misshapen by the power that had warped her. If someone told Mei Li Jingfei was the result of a monkey mother and a volcano father, she would believe it. Her body was more of an ape’s shape now, her spine hunchbacked, the hair sprouting out of her head half-missing. She looked entirely odd to Mei Li’s eyes, utterly different from the illustration in the Tomes record. She had been beautiful then, in a nightmarish way. The dark energy within her had not taken well to being locked in, and she bore the brunt of those consequences.
The dirt crackled noisily as Shunlei came up to stand at Mei Li’s side, sitting low on his stomach to put them a little more at eye-level. She appreciated that, as this way she didn’t have to crane her neck up or shout at him. She surveyed the world with a sweep of the head, her mouth drawing back into a flat, pinched line. When the seal of Jingfei was properly powered and operational, the land around her looked like any other mountain shrine, grass, trees, insects singing in the background. Perhaps not a lush area—the mountain region they were in was too arid for that—but not this. This was a desert wasteland with nothing but the ashy remains of trees and dried out soil underneath. It smelled of decay and dust. Frankly, the area gave Mei Li hives.
“She’s awake.” Mei Li glared at Jingfei, as outraged by this as the demoness was. “The report could have mentioned she was awake.” She was going to eviscerate the report writer for the oversight.
Shunlei grunted in sour agreement, a hot puff of breath escaping from his mouth with the sound. “If we don’t move very, very quickly, this won’t be a matter of re-sealing her.”
“No, it’ll be a pitched battle before we even get the chance. Shunlei, I need the dragons on standby, in case it does come down to a fight.”
He nodded instantly. “I’ll arrange it. What else do you need?”
“A miracle.” Mei Li turned and called, “Everyone, to me!”
Mages and dragons alike gathered in a loose semi-circle, facing her. Half the dragons were in human form, the others remaining in the more defensive, tougher dragon forms. They focused attentively, their manners grave, and she met each of their eyes in turn. “The situation is not as we thought it was. In layman’s terms, we’re up a creek with no paddle.”
She got a few weak smiles from her attempt at humor. Mei Li sighed, the tension rising in her like a tidal wave. “The mages are already clear on what to do, so I’ll explain to you dragons so you have an idea of how to gauge things. Basically, we have to rebuild the seal from the ground up. We’ll be expanding her area a little, not taking the first seal down, but building up another one around it. We’ll need to stand in specific spots—a nine-point star—in order to do this.”
Ling Ling was quick to do the math. “That means you’re taking part this time?”
“Have to. We’re short a hand if I don’t.” And that worried Mei Li, as her magic wasn’t the strongest. But she was better than nothing. “The sealing will be built in layers from ground up. Mages, I know you’re not used to sustaining magic like this—Evocation’s easier on the user in many ways. But once I’ve written the sigil into the ground, you must pour a constant stream of magic into the sigil.”
Dolan requested dryly, “And when we have a proper minute after this, you’ll teach us the basics of Wu Xing so we’ve got a better understanding of what you’re doing and why.”
Mei Li grimaced a smile at him. “Assuming we can find that time, I’d love to teach you the basics. This will take at least an hour. Keep the magic constantly in motion between the sigils and the person to your right. It will establish a flow of order. Please do not rely on any of your bound spirits while doing this—they’ll get sucked into the creation of the seal and we won’t be able to untangle them again.”
More than a few winced at that mental image.
Mei Li didn’t know what else to tell them, so turned to the dragons. “If things go very wrong, and you have to enter the fray with her, understand that you have to leap clear before the top closes. We can’t take it down or scale it back in order to retrieve you. We’ll destroy the barrier if we try and will have to start over.”
More than a few people looked dismayed to hear this.
Shunlei cleared his throat before chipping in, “I know none of you are old enough to remember her first sealing, so I’ll explain. Jingfei is a formidable opponent. We lost two mages the first time we sealed her. We almost lost the full team. I hope this time it’ll be easier, less disastrous. Then, I was the only dragon helping them fight, but we had more mages, too. I’m not sure if this group will work in our favor or not.”
Huan asked with a worried look over his head, “Does what you said earlier still stand?”
“Yes. Do not use fire against her. It will only power her further. Don’t unfurl your wings near her—her claws will tear them to shreds. Try to either use claw or tail to batter her about. It doesn’t do a great deal of damage, but it distracts her and throws her off-balance.”
Bai asked what they all wondered. “Will we fight?”
“I hope not. Mei Li is doing everything in her power to make sure we do not have to. None of us want that seal to fail and have a repeat of the events of five thousand years ago. But just in case, spread out. Be a support behind each mage. Don’t interrupt them, but shield them if you have to. Buy them time to cast.”
They all nodded, agreeing, and the ones still in human form shifted back to dragon. Shunlei himself had not changed over to human form since landing. Mei Li was just as glad. A bad premonition curled sourly in her stomach. This would go very wrong, she was sure of it. Even someone who didn’t have a magical bone in their body would be able to see the cracks in the shield, feel the heat pouring out of it. It felt like standing near an out of control bonfire.
Jingfei eyed the mages moving around her, saw the preparations they made with their talisman flags, and she howled in rage. Her fists slammed against the magical barrier keeping her in place, and the cracks widened just a bit more, rending audibly. Everyone heard it and twisted sharply around to look. Seeing the effect, an ugly smile curled Jingfei’s wide mouth up and she slammed her fists again against the barrier.
Wind and stars, bu
t if she kept doing that, they wouldn’t have a day or two to seal her. They’d have minutes. Mei Li shouted, “Get to places now!”
Everyone scrambled, spreading out in a precise nine-point star. People coughed and shielded their eyes with their hands to avoid being blinded by the fine dust storm all the movement kicked up, but it was unavoidable. Once in place, the mages jammed the white talisman flags into the ground, calling out as they were ready. They were spread out wide, wide enough that dragons could dart in between them, and that made it difficult to keep the magical lines of energy flowing. That would add more difficulty onto the task, but the sealing had to be large enough to completely cover Jingfei, so they had little option about that.
Mei Li drew out spiritual chi from her forehead in a sweep of two fingers, pasted it on the back of a talisman, and then directed the talisman sharply forward. It landed over the nearest seal with a wet-sounding smack. The next slam of Jingfei’s fists sizzled, the sound reminiscent of a hot pan hitting water. She jerked back with a howl of pain, lips curling up to reveal fangs.
“That won’t hold her,” Mei Li muttered under her breath. A water talisman, in this dry area, had very little to work. Just whatever moisture it could take from the air. Against this powerful of a being, it was akin to swatting a charging boar with a fly swatter. “But it’ll buy us a few minutes. Everyone ready?”
A chorus of assents answered her.
“On my mark! Three, two, one, mark!”
In unison, the mages spread their palms out to each other, power flowing. Mei Li had seen and/or participated in something like this many times while growing up, but it never failed to be awe-inspiring to watch. Magic moved in a visible spectrum, white and charged like lightning, hopping from one palm to the next and becoming more powerful with each connection. It was like watching ball lightning move, an entrancing image, almost hypnotizing in its own way. Mei Li didn’t let herself be distracted by it, instead keeping her magical energy steady and flowing, melding with the others’ power.
Without any warning, the temporary patch Mei Li had thrown at the seal failed utterly. Jingfei had her claws into the largest tear and was physically battling her way through the seal. It tore like frayed cloth, allowing the demoness to get her head and torso through.
Shunlei uttered the vilest curse Mei Li had ever heard before leaping past the line of mages, turning, and slamming his tail against the demoness trying to crawl out. Even from this distance, Mei Li felt the impact as volcanic flesh hit rock hard scales, heard her grunt and stagger back, but Mei Li couldn’t see much from this angle. Shunlei seemed to have the same trouble. He reared back, and struck blindly in that direction again, almost missing Jingfei. He got a glancing blow against her arm instead of a solid hit.
Over the shouted magical instructions, Rone belted out in Long-go, “She’s come to my side to try and tear free, move back!”
Shunlei promptly did so, returning to Mei Li’s side in a single bound, careful to not accidentally hit either Leah or Teoh in the process, as the sisters flanked Mei Li. Even as he moved, Mei Li was aware of Ling Ling shifting to the other side, of Rone belting out a warning.
Re-sealing a demon wasn’t a quick and easy matter. It wasn’t like the smaller, less powerful objects that gained power and awareness over time. Those were easily subdued in a matter of minutes. Jingfei was in a different category from those entities. She was the product of a volcano deity gone mad, born from the heart of a volcano itself, and her power was not so easily tamed or leashed. She belted out a stream of fire through one of the cracks, and it was only Bai’s quick motion—throwing a wing in front of Dolan—that kept the mage from being burned to the quick. Even then, judging from the quick hop and yelp from Dolan, he’d gotten singed at least.
But he did not move.
None of the mages did. No matter what Jingfei did or tried, they didn’t move from their spot. Sweat already dotted Mei Li’s forehead and streamed down her temples, the heat from Jingfei overcoming the cold winter air. She kept her palms up and steady, the power growing double what it was, forming a thick ribbon instead of a string of yarn. Each piece of the seal would be formed from the base up, one layer at a time, until it covered Jingfei like a dome. Even at the dedicated rate they were working, it might take a full hour to build the seal.
Did they have that kind of time before Jingfei broke free?
Mei Li knew the answer without even asking.
Another line of the barrier came up, then another. It stood as high as Mei Li’s ankles now. The cost of that magic wore at her heavily. Mei Li was frank that she was not a mage, not really. She was a scholar with some magical training, which wasn’t at all the same. They truly needed another mage here. A full force of twelve mages was what sealings of this level called for. The mages Dolan had reached out to hadn’t been able to get to Jingfei in time, instead choosing to rendezvous at Zaffi. Which was all well and good for the future.
But that assumed they succeeded and survived here.
Jingfei lashed out in a flurry of fists and kicks, concentrating not on any one point, but the seal surrounding her as a whole. It collapsed in slow degrees, parts of it disintegrating into wisps of smoke, other parts hanging on by magical threads, worse than any beggar’s coat. Even as it crumpled around her, Shunlei threw himself back into the fray. A low war cry vibrated in his throat, a growl of warning and anger.
The demoness snarled as he approached her, bellowing fire at the nearest mage. Shunlei twisted mid-air, desperate to block that blue fire from hitting any of the mages. Mei Li’s heart leapt in her throat as she watched that acrobatic move. Fear for his safety and hers lodged a ball of spikes in her throat, making it impossible to swallow properly. Even a dragon felt the heat of Jingfei’s fire. It would burn a human to ash in a second. Still, there was awe, too. He fought like a deity, each move precisely calculated and efficient, and she could finally see the warrior king who tamed an entire race to his will.
Jingfei cackled, head thrown back before lowering her golden eyes to stare at him. “Still protecting the weak, Shunlei the Red?”
“The weak defeated you, as you might recall.”
Mei Li blinked. She talked? That wasn’t in the records anywhere. Although if she was willing to waste time talking, hopefully Shunlei indulged her. They could use every second.
“I shouldn’t call you Red anymore. You’re Black now. That tells me a great deal. It tells me I’ve slept a very long time.” Jingfei’s expression morphed and twisted as rage overtook her. “You’ll pay for keeping me separated from my husband.”
“We wouldn’t actually care if you two went off on a second honeymoon or whatever,” Chen threw in recklessly. The Red had his wings half unfurled, ready to protect the mages at his back. “It’s just your habit of setting everything on fire we have an issue with.”
“It’s not like we don’t understand,” Huan added, maneuvering to stand in front of her mage with such nonchalance that Mei Li almost didn’t track the movement for what it was. “I mean, dragons. Fire. We like to do it as well.”
Bai trash-talked as well, and his words were harder, not as mock-playful. “But there’s limits, y’know?”
Jingfei threw a sneer at them all. “You’ve been taught that because of him. Trust me, in the old days, dragons knew power. You’ve defanged them thoroughly, Shunlei.”
“I’m not being hunted by humanity or sealed, either,” he riposted neatly, keeping an eagle eye on her. “I think I made the saner choice.”
“Of course you think that, with her here—she tamed you thoroughly, didn’t she?”
She, who? Mei Li didn’t understand the reference. Did one of the dragons or female mages look like someone from the past?
Shunlei chuckled in a dark, humorless way. He clearly understood what Jingfei meant by that. “If you’ll recall, I was set on becoming humanity’s ally well before I teamed up with the mages. You can’t blame anyone but me for this decision. How about it,
Jingfei? Prove you won’t be a walking disaster this time. That you’re capable of showing remorse. We’ll take you to your husband if you do.”
For a split second, she looked tempted. Either tempted to fold, or tempted to play along with the offer. But it was only for that moment. Then her sneer was back, the words like flashes of fire as she spat out, “I’ll see him on my own terms!”
The demon broke to the right, the remains of the barrier shattering under the force, heading toward the ‘weakest’ link, that of the smaller Tengfei and the delicate-looking Simeon. Anyone who knew Tengfei could have told her that was a poor life decision. He might have been the smallest dragon of the bunch, but there was nothing weak about him. Mei Li had known him for all of a day before seeing for herself he was formidable. Tengfei used his smaller size as a weapon. It enabled him to do acrobatics no one else could keep up with, and his attack speed was double anyone else’s. The small Red whipped about, smacking her face full on with his tail, sending her spinning before dropping.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Tengfei griped as he whipped back around, immediately pouncing. Jingfei rolled, barely avoiding his claws and weight, coming up and shaking her head to get oriented again. “What’s with that, huh? What’s wrong with you? ‘Let’s go for the little one, he looks weak’ is what you were thinking, wasn’t it? SUPER offensive, lady, I’m really mad. Smaller does not mean weaker, am I right, Ling Ling?”
“Excuse you!” Ling Ling snarked back from across the circle. “I’m not as short as you are!”
“You totally are, but that’s not the point. The point is, I’m offended right now. Everyone always picks on me first, like I’m the weak link, and you—” Jingfei charged him again, but she wasn’t trying to engage in a fight, she was trying to get past him. To get past the rising barrier building around them in an ever-growing circle.
Tengfei met her charge like a bull, slamming his forehead into the center of her chest and knocking her back to the center of the building seal. He had to shake himself a little before he spoke again. “You’re not getting past me. No one ever does, and I’ll be thrice-cursed if you’re the first!”
Tomes Apprentice Page 22