Vows of Gold and Laughter (The Immortal Beings Book 1)

by Edith Pawlicki

“Shush,” she said. “We most definitely do. I have twenty-thousand years of pent-up sexual frustration to release.”

  Xiao’s head spun a little just thinking about that.

  “But first, I want to know, can your parents wait until I’ve spoken with my father?”

  Xiao blinked. “Yes, of course. We won’t leave here until you are ready – regardless of what anyone else wishes.”

  Nanami smiled, then lifted her head for another kiss.

  NANAMI woke slowly, appreciating the warmth that enveloped her. She knew immediately that the smooth skin against her own belonged to Xiao, and her lips curled up without conscious thought. Her head was pillowed by his shoulder, and if she listened carefully, she could hear the steady beat of his heart.

  “I love you so much it frightens me,” she whispered and then immediately tensed – what if he weren’t asleep after all? But he did not respond, his heartbeat slow and steady.

  She would have liked to go back to sleep, but thoughts were rushing into her head, faster than she could process. She hoped Xiao was right and they would have forever. Fear that they wouldn’t was one of many things weighing on her. Another fourteen were her forsaken family members. Maybe she shouldn’t stay any longer. Part of her felt guilty for making love with Xiao in their guest suite. Was it asking too much to stay and accept their hospitality?

  Someone scratched at the door and Nanami went stiff. She waited, hoping she had imagined the sound, but it came again. With a sigh, she sat up. The thick coverlet fell to her waist, and Nanami shivered in the cool air.

  “Mmmm?” Xiao whimpered. “Wha-” he yawned, “happening?”

  “Either someone else has come to ask me to leave or Ao is ready to see me.”

  Xiao sat up as well, and despite the person at the door, Nanami took a moment to appreciate his glorious torso.

  “What are you looking at?” he smirked.

  “My lover,” she said boldly, poking his belly.

  He flinched from the jab and smiled. The scratching came again.

  “Hold your horses,” Xiao scolded the scratcher. The two of them dressed quickly.

  When Nanami went to open the door, Xiao put a hand on her shoulder. “Let me.”

  Nanami had been expecting Nimi, or, hopefully, a conciliatory Kaihachi, and she couldn’t quite stop herself from stepping back when Xiao slid the door to reveal the Ao himself.

  He wasn’t scowling for once. Nanami swallowed and stepped forward again, stopping at Xiao’s side.

  “You’re well enough to talk then?” Nanami asked, feeling a bit ridiculous.

  He nodded once. Nanami tugged Xiao out of the way and used her stump to direct Ao into the room. His eyes rested briefly on where her hand should be, but he stepped into the room without saying anything.

  Nanami arranged three zabuton cushions, and Ao immediately took a seat. She supposed he must still be in a great deal of pain to put his comfort before his pride.

  Nanami and Xiao sat as well. She glanced at him for reassurance, and he winked at her. It was quick and his face was so devoid of expression that she might have imagined it, but she felt reassured anyway.

  “What do you want?” demanded Ao.

  “I want an apology,” Nanami said.

  He snorted. “I’m sorry you became a thief, living off of others’ honest achievements.”

  Nanami’s brows snapped together. “That’s not what I do – I steal only when it is justified.”

  “Oh? And how was the theft of your aunt’s hair stick justified?”

  Nanami grit her teeth. “That was different–”

  “But you said you only steal when it’s justified.”

  “Now! Back then I just wanted to see what it would take to get someone to notice me!”

  “Such pride,” scoffed Ao.

  “And who did I get it from?” returned Nanami. Her hands fisted. This wasn’t going the way she wanted. She wanted to have a calm, adult conversation. But instead she felt just as she had thirteen millennia ago when she’d been caught stealing Aunt Atsuko’s magic hair stick. Of course, no one would have even noticed if it hadn’t been magic. If it hadn’t been, maybe she would be unhappily married by now, popping out children to honor her parents.

  No, she would have just stolen something else, have kept stealing until she was caught.

  “I’m glad – I’m glad you kicked me out, so that I could be me instead of the Sea Dragon’s seventh child!”

  “Then what are you still doing here?” he growled at her, brows beetling.

  Nanami stared at him. “Wasting my time,” she finally answered. “Xiao, please, I’m ready to leave now.”

  Xiao wrapped his arm around her waist and effortlessly moved between.

  Chapter 17: How Four Fears Were Faced

  NANAMI regretted her impulsive request to Xiao as soon as they reappeared in New Moon Manor. She should have told him to take them somewhere else first, so they could prepare. Zi, the Moon Goddess, and Hei, the Night God, sat on thrones of silver, amethyst, and obsidian. The whole room gleamed, a depiction of the moon’s phases on silver walls that would never dare to tarnish. The air was thick with lavender and star anise incense – prayers, Nanami supposed – but it did not obscure her messy hair or sloppily tied tunic. Zi’s eyes had touched upon both as soon as they appeared in the room.

  Nanami should have created a new kimono for the occasion, a formal one that would make her look like someone impressive. She now knew how to make them so that they flattered her slight figure.

  Hei rose and offered his hand to Zi. She accepted it, and the two of them advanced toward their son. Zi had a dozen or so large silver hair ornaments in her elaborate updo – Nanami’s head ached in sympathy – and layers of chiffon and silk floated about her tall, slim form like a violet cloud. Hei wore his hair shockingly short and with no adornment. His robes looked like cotton, unrelieved black matte, and did not go past his ankles.

  Despite their thoroughly contrasting appearances, they were unnervingly in sync, partners in a way her parents would never be.

  “Laughter in the Shadows,” said Zi, “You have been remiss in your filial duties. We have not seen you since your betrothal. Who is this woman?”

  “Why, you don’t remember meeting her, divinity?” Xiao’s voice was overly cheerful. “This is Nanami the Thief. And she is very good at what she does – I’m afraid she has stolen my heart.”

  Zi’s eyes narrowed at her son, while Hei assessed Nanami. “I don’t care where your heart is, as long as you do your duty to your parents and marry Sunlight turns Petals Gold in ten months.”

  Xiao very gently nudged Nanami away from him. She moved to give him room, and as he stepped forward, his hands spread.

  “See, I’ve been thinking about that. Duty to parents, I mean. And I decided, being filial isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. So how ‘bout we cut ties?”

  “Elaborate,” ordered Hei.

  “I’m no longer your son, and you’re no longer my parents.”

  “We don’t find that acceptable,” said Zi. “It appears you need to be punished – the next ten months in confinement while you study the virtues of filial piety.”

  Xiao rippled, and soon the black and purple Night Dragon filled the silver hall – but this hall was much larger than her father’s, and the ceiling arched above Xiao’s head.

  Nanami had expected Zi and Hei to back away – to gasp in surprise, if not fear. But they barely seemed to notice that their son had become a massive dragon.

  Instead, threads of raw power emanated from them, purple and black blending into twilight shadows. The threads wrapped themselves around Xiao, and he roared in pain, as if they scalded him.

  XIAO was excited to face his parents, to make them acknowledge him at last. He wasn’t a scared child any longer – he was the Night Dragon, the God of Love.

  As he let his power pour outward, Xiao loomed over his parents. But to his disap
pointment, his parents were unmoved by the revelation of his power. As if they had been expecting this for years, they immediately moved into action, threads of twilight and shadow flowing from their fingers and wrapping around his neck and legs.

  Xiao couldn’t tell if the threads were colder than ice or hotter than the fire, but either way the pain threatened to overwhelm his ability to think. He pulled and bucked against the threads, but they might as well have been made of steel.

  They are stronger than me, Xiao realized, and he looked at Nanami. He had rescued her from her father’s wrath only to bring her into worse danger. After his parents defeated him, what would they do to Nanami?

  He roared, trying to tell her to flee, to get out of there, but she just stared back at him.

  The teleportation ban, he realized. She can’t break it.

  Suddenly Nanami disappeared. He wasn’t sure how she had managed to go, but he was grateful that she had.

  HOW are they so much more powerful than he is?

  Nanami looked for a way to help.

  Her gaze was drawn to the incense; its smoke fed into the threads, making them thicker and stronger.

  They have more worshippers than he does.

  Someone needed to steal their power if Xiao was to stand a chance – good thing Nanami was the second-best thief in the world.

  Zi and Hei weren’t paying her much attention anyway, but Nanami grabbed the pouch of nishikai powder to shrink herself. There wasn’t much left – she’d have to find more or visit the Sanctuary Caves to return to normal size. But better to risk being stuck small for a few days than to fail Xiao in his moment of need. She used the last of it to shrink herself smaller than a mouse, making it child’s play to sneak through the hall and take the incense.

  Zi shook her head when Nanami broke the sticks, but she didn’t turn around to see what had happened. Hei didn’t even react.

  Nanami looked at the threads again. They were still absorbing other power.

  This isn’t enough, she realized. If only Jin or Bai were here – they might be able to counter this.

  Nanami looked at the threads of power again. Or maybe not. They must have millions of worshippers.

  Nanami looked at Xiao, a writhing mass. She could feel his pain so clearly that her nails dug into her palms.

  XIAO tried to teleport himself, but he was caught fast in the web of his parents’ power. It was strange – everyone had told him that he had the same power as the two of them, but as he pitted his will against theirs, it was obvious that they were far stronger. Running away seemed the best option, but the thin whips of power that wrapped around his legs and neck wouldn’t snap. He tried biting them. They blistered his mouth, but he persisted, and yet all he accomplished was feeling smaller.

  Or maybe he really was smaller? He seemed to be shrinking – the hall loomed higher overhead and his parents no longer seemed miniscule compared to him. These whips – the pain they caused was not purely physical, they were actually siphoning off his power. The harder Xiao struggled, the more pain he felt. He laid down, trying not to struggle at all.

  When he no longer actively fought them, the whips stopped stinging so badly but they thickened and glowed, more power than ever flowing down their lengths. Xiao began to shrink more rapidly, and he belatedly began to struggle again, but too late.

  One moment he was a small dragon, the next he was in his natural form. He lay splayed on the floor, too weak to even sit up. The cords of twilight and shadow disappeared.

  NANAMI concealed herself in the skirts of Zi’s voluminous robes. She hoped that Xiao didn’t think she had abandoned him.

  It was torture to hide while Xiao roared in pain, but nothing compared to how Xiao must feel, so Nanami grit her teeth and bore it, waiting for an opportunity.

  Xiao’s cries abruptly stopped. Peering through the gauze of Zi’s skirts, Nanami found him sprawled on the ground, once again a man. Zi and Hei let their power whips fade, and both stepped close to Xiao’s head. Nanami was both relieved to see him closer and horrified at the wanness of his face. His eyes were closed, and she wondered if he were conscious.

  “Should we call someone to carry him?” Zi asked.

  “No, I’ll do it myself,” Hei replied.

  Xiao was about the same size as his father, both in height and build, so it was a very awkward business of grunts and heaves for Hei to pull Xiao up on his back. Zi had to help prop Xiao up, and they shuffled down the hall like a crippled beast. At the door, Zi went out first, and she told a disciple to clear the hallways. They encountered no one as Hei dragged Xiao through the corridors.

  They stopped before a pair of double doors and Zi opened them. Hei stumbled through, banging Xiao against the frame. Nanami winced and decided that Xiao must indeed be unconscious – he didn’t so much as moan, never mind open his eyes.

  They managed to get him in the bed. They both stared at him a moment, and then Zi arranged his limbs in a more dignified manner, even removing his shoes, and pulled a blanket over him. Nanami had trouble believing this was maternal kindness and decided it was a distaste for awkward things. At least it gave Nanami a convenient moment to disengage from her skirts and conceal herself in Xiao’s clothes.

  “We’ll talk about this when you are recovered,” Zi announced, as if Xiao could hear her, and she and her husband left together. When the door shut, Nanami heard the falling of a lock’s tumblers. She slipped out cautiously and examined the room.

  It was oppressively dichromatic, with violet wall hangings and lots of black ceramic.

  And on the windows were bars of black iron.

  But wasn’t this Xiao’s bedroom?

  Suddenly Nanami remembered how Xiao had gripped the bars of the bamboo cage she had made, glaring at her and throwing insults.

  At the time she had thought him unable to handle any hardship. Now...

  Now she realized that he was used to being in cages and that she had triggered his childhood trauma.

  Nanami pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, pushing back her emotions. How had he been able to forgive her? Become her friend and then her lover?

  She ran up his body to his face.

  “Xiao! Xiao!” There was no response, and Nanami sat down on the bridge of his nose.

  “I’m sorry. I should have saved the nishikai powder for you – I should never have agreed to come here. I’m so sorry.”

  She stayed like that for several hours, overwhelmed by guilt, begging fate to smile upon him. Her thoughts were tumbling, chaotic as she tried to think of something, anything she could do to help him.

  Finally, as the sun set and threw the room into darkness, one idea clarified into coherence. If anyone is to have a chance at rescuing Xiao, I need to stop the prayers from reaching the Moon and Night deities. I need to steal the incense burners from their temples.

  She stood and examined his face once more. She didn’t want to leave him – she still remembered the way he had nearly panicked when she teleported away to sink the Infinite Jug, and that situation had been far less desperate than this one. But she couldn’t just sit here and do nothing when he was suffering.

  She tried teleporting, just in case, but indeed the ban here was far beyond her strength. Knowing it would be all but impossible to return unless she succeeded in her task made it that much harder to leave. She walked down Xiao’s nose and planted a kiss between his brows. Then she slid down the side of his head. She paused at his ear to say, “Wait for me, my love. I will rescue you.”

  It took her a ridiculous amount of time to climb down the intricately carved bed, cross the room, and crawl under the door. She doubted that she would make it to the gate of the manor before sunrise, and she felt quite thirsty and tired already, but the fear of discovery kept her alert and fast.

  Probably because everyone assumed her already gone, Nanami made it through the manor undetected. Even after slipping through the cracks at the edge of the iron gate, she wa
s still unable to teleport. With no other way to escape, she jumped off Zi and Hei’s heavenly territory.

  She had to test the teleportation ban periodically as she plummeted, but finally she passed its boundary and moved between.

  XIAO woke slowly, his head pounding and his limbs heavy.

  “I shouldn’t have drunk so much,” he groaned.

  Then he realized where he was. The most hated place in the whole world. His room.

  Not that he had slept here in, oh, maybe a whole millennium. Why would he choose to be here when there were so many other beds that welcomed him?

  He sat up slowly, but the room spun around him. To steady himself, he focused on the violet wall hangings and black pottery that had nothing to do with Xiao’s taste and everything to do with his parents.

  He hadn’t drunk anything after all. The aches he felt were because of his parents’ power whips draining away his magic.

  Xiao lurched across his bed to vomit on the floor, but his stomach was empty and only produced dry heaves. He slipped out of bed, and found his feet bare against the basalt floor. Whoever had carried him here must have removed his shoes.

  Xiao stumbled to the door. It was locked. He hadn’t doubted that it would be, but he still had to make sure. He looked around the prison of his youth, complete with black iron bars blocking the windows of the outer wall. He closed his eyes and checked in with his body.

  He wondered how long it had been since his parents had siphoned away all of his power – his whole body ached, as if the power whips had bruised his muscles. Every slight movement scraped his skin. He pulled back a sleeve and saw the whips had in fact left burns.

  I was a fool to come here. But... at least I achieved my purpose. I have disowned them and am free of the vow.

  He knew that with the same certainty one could tell which way was up and which way was down. He had felt the vow break; he had felt the tie to his parents dissipate. He wondered if Nanami was actually free of her family, since she hadn’t mentioned such a feeling.