The Dragon Gods Box Set

by Resa Nelson

  Asu Chu stared into space and hummed while moving his fingers as if using them to count. “Oh, I know! The Kite Festival begins in two days. There’s always an opening ceremony where the emperor parades around with a new kite that represents the royal family. It’s usually a guard that runs the kite until it flies. All the advisors have to be there.”

  “The Kite Festival,” Ti said, pausing to think it through and make sure nothing could go wrong. “Yes. Make the tableau about the opening ceremony.”

  Humming again, Asu Chu went back to work. First, he emptied the box of fabric remnants and turned the box upside down to form the base of the tableau. Using the quill and ink, he drew shapes on the base to represent the royal grounds. He made other clay figures and dressed them with the remaining fabric remnants. He even found a scrap of parchment, shaped it, and drew a design to mark it as the new royal kite. Asu Chu pulled a long thread from a strip of fabric and tied it to the royal kite to make its string.

  Ti had only witnessed this annual opening ceremony from behind the windows of the royal palace, because royal women weren’t allowed at public ceremonies, even ones held within the confines of the royal complex.

  Maybe that’s one way they’re protected from being captured.

  “Aren’t the concubines always at the ceremony?” Ti said.

  Asu Chu rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh of dismay. “I can’t make that many figures! Besides, there’s no room for all of them in the tableau.”

  “It doesn’t have to be all of them,” Ti said. “Can you make ten? That could represent all of them.”

  Again, Asu Chu heaved an exasperated sigh. “I don’t see how. But I can make ten.”

  “Can you make one of them look like my distant cousin?”

  “Cousin?” Asu Chu scrunched up his face as if Ti had turned into a horse. “What cousin?”

  “The tall Far Eastern girl. About five or ten years older than me. She’s Madam Po’s great-granddaughter.”

  Asu Chu’s face remained scrunched.

  “Madam Po took her north of the city, toward the mountains. A country man—Ming Mo—captured her, but Madam Po had my father bring that man and his family and my cousin to court. Father sent the royal guards to escort my cousin safely to court. And Father ruled that the country man had no claim to my cousin.”

  “Why?”

  Ti smiled at the memory of standing by her father’s side in court and then brought into his counsel before he made his ruling. “My distant cousin may look like she’s a Far Easterner, but she was born in another country. That makes her a foreigner. And it is unfair to expect foreigners to abide by our laws when they have no way of understanding them.”

  Asu Chu’s expression returned to normal. “Wait. She got captured, but the emperor said the man who caught her had to let her go?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the emperor didn’t punish her?”

  Ti considered the question for a moment and how to answer it. “Not any kind of usual punishment that he hands down in court. He did exonerate my distant cousin. But he also put her in the Hall of Concubines—not for his pleasure, but to protect her.”

  Asu Chu shifted some of the figures around on the tableau, but he stared at Ti. “Why?”

  “She’s blood family. Distant, but still royal.” Ti’s voice hardened. “My father believes in protecting all members of the royal family, no matter how distant.”

  “What do you believe?”

  “I believe I live in a country where every woman must fight for her life. And too many times the law binds her in ways that don’t allow her to fight.”

  Apparently satisfied with that explanation, Asu Chu returned to the tableau. “Now that the magic knows when to happen, we have to show it what to do. How do you want it to happen?”

  Ti leaned forward to study the tableau. She didn’t see an obvious solution. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “There’s always the weather.” Asu Chu picked up what was left of the dark blue silk and held it above the tableau. “I can hang this above like the sky. What if lightning comes down and strikes Ming Shen? Boom!”

  “I like that,” Ti said. “And he’s the only one who will die?”

  “Probably.”

  Ti studied the tableau, where the doll version of the emperor held the royal kite in one hand and its string in the other. She plucked the kite out of the doll’s hand. With the string still held by the doll, Ti used the kite to stretch that string past the dolls representing the concubines and Frayka and toward the edge of the tableau. “Could the wind pick up the kite like this while the emperor still holds onto the string?”

  “Sure. But why?”

  Ti looped the string around the neck of one doll. “Could the magic make the wind pull the kite like this? Strong enough to kill?”

  Asu Chu scrunched up his eyes, now perplexed. “You want to kill someone else? I thought it was just going to be Ming Shen.”

  “Yes,” Ti said. “One more.” She pointed at the doll she wanted to target.

  Like a mathematician studying a troublesome equation, Asu Chu stared at the tableau. “I can make that happen. If it’s what you truly want.”

  “Yes,” Ti said. “It’s how I must fend for myself.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Madam Po trekked to the top of the fingerling mountain, completing her journey. The ground was barren stone. Clouds swirled around her as thick as soup. The wind whistled past her ears. The pungent scent of pine berries made her sneeze.

  Sensing the presence of others hidden by the thick clouds obstructing her vision, Madam Po announced, “I come here to seek audience with Kikita.”

  Large wings beat the air and whisked the clouds away from Madam Po. Feathered people came into view, and she suspected the feathered man she encountered earlier today had alerted his fellow creatures as well as Kikita of Madam Po’s impending arrival.

  A handful of them stared at Madam Po while beating their wings, their eyes shining like jewels. Beating their wings faster, each one bent their knees and pushed off the ground into flight, soaring straight up toward the sky.

  When the feathered people launched from the ground, it looked as if they took the cloud cover with them. Madam Po now saw that she stood before a shimmering tall arch, like the grand entrance to a palace.

  Once the clouds cleared away enough for a stray beam of sunlight to shine through, the light revealed an elaborate archway made of clear crystals.

  The Gate of Air.

  Madam Po gave a brief wave of thanks aimed above at the feathered people and then walked through the gate.

  Just as she expected, the world on the other side of the gate looked nothing like the barren mountaintop from which she had just stepped. Madam Po entered a lush green garden filled with roses, lilac bushes in full bloom, and lilies ranging in color from white to green to black. Instead of chilly air, the climate felt comfortable and warm. Water meandered through a brook lined with flat brown stones.

  “Madam Po.” At first glance, the speaker walking toward Madam Po looked like an average young woman from the city of Zangcheen.

  But Madam Po knew better from past experience. She bowed deeply. “Kikita.”

  Kikita placed her hand on top of the old woman’s head. Kikita’s touch felt like a cool summer breeze. “No need to bow, old friend.”

  Again, Madam Po knew better. Keeping her head bowed, Madam Po said, “I show my respect for the honor of being allowed to pass through your gate once more.”

  “You are always welcome,” Kikita said. “Especially after all we’ve been through together.”

  Assured by the warmth in Kikita’s voice, Madam Po stood straight and met her gaze. “It has been a very long time since we’ve seen each other.” She smiled. “You look the same.”

  When Kikita laughed, her body flickered like a flame in the wind. “I always do. Unfortunately, my friend, you have changed.”

  Madam Po gave a good-natured laugh. “I may not be pretty
as I once was, but I would trade my good looks every day for the little bit of wisdom I seem to have acquired.”

  Kikita grew somber. “I dare say it’s more than a little bit.”

  Madam Po smiled. “One can hope.”

  Kikita matched her smile. “I can see the wisdom in your eyes. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m as gullible as your fellow mortals.”

  “Of course not,” Madam Po said. “I know better.”

  Kikita invited Madam Po to join her on a walk through the garden. They strolled alongside the brook on a path covered in tiny stones that crunched beneath Madam Po’s feet while Kikita glided a few inches above it. “Tell me,” Kikita said. “What has brought the pleasure of your company to me?”

  Madam Po knew better than to ignore Kikita’s request for the truth. The time for niceties had ended. “My great-granddaughter. One of my children married a Northlander, and that side of the family drifted away from me. I met her for the first time a few days ago.”

  “A Northlander,” Kikita said wistfully. “I remember the Northlands.”

  Before you helped destroy them.

  The thought made Madam Po feel neither sad nor happy. She considered it simply as a fact. “I tried to bring my great-granddaughter to meet you, but she was captured as a bride.”

  Kikita shook her head in dismay. “Barbarians.”

  “In some ways they are,” Madam Po said. “In other ways they’re not.”

  “And now you’ve lost your great-granddaughter to them?”

  “No. I called upon my connection to the royal family, and the emperor dissolved the capture. But he placed my great-granddaughter among his concubines. He believes that will protect her.”

  Madam Po hesitated. “He has also charged me with entering the Gate of Air and bringing back a cup filled with water from the Fountain of Immortality because his youngest child is so ill that he fears she’ll die.”

  They continued walking next to the brook as it wound around a sharp bend, crowded with flowering bushes.

  “Mortals,” Kikita said with a laugh. “How long will it take them to learn that the Fountain of Immortality is for gods, not for them?”

  “The emperor is desperate.”

  “There is no guarantee a drink will help any suffering mortal, even the child of the Po Dynasty,” Kikita said. “And you know the effects can be harmful.”

  “Yes,” Madam Po said in a soft voice. “I know.”

  “And you know the effects if a healthy mortal were to drink.”

  “I have no reason to believe Emperor Po would drink any of the water. I’m certain he wants it only to save his child’s life.”

  They came upon a stone bench next to the brook. Kikita sat on it and patted the empty place next to her. “Sit with me. We have much to talk about.”

  Madam Po considered the situation. Rejecting Kikita’s invitation could make things worse and maybe even be dangerous.

  But Madam Po wasn’t convinced of Frayka’s safety in the Hall of Concubines, and she’d had no luck finding out what happened to Njall or where he could be found. She felt the pressure of needing to help the young people as quickly as possible.

  In the Far East, matters had to be handled with a certain delicacy. Despite her absence from Zangcheen, Madam Po still had one advantage in that city, which resulted from a very long friendship with a merchant who had become her most trusted ally.

  The time has come for me to place my trust in TeaTree. He will keep an eye on Frayka, and he might find Njall.

  “I agree,” Madam Po said. She sat next to Kikita on the stone bench while the brook ran noisily beside them. “We have much to discuss.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Two days later, Emperor Po paced at the foot of his youngest daughter’s bed while the royal physicians examined the girl. Her hacking cough distressed the emperor. He worried that she no longer ate or drank tea. When offered water, she managed only a few sips.

  The royal magician lit incense in all corners of the room and chanted quietly.

  When a physician approached the emperor with a saddened face, Emperor Po said, “Why does nothing work?”

  “We find it unclear,” the physician said. His voice weighed heavy with shame and sorrow. “Her illness appears to be a simple cold that has wandered into her chest and refuses to leave. You had a similar ailment years ago. We’ve treated her exactly as we treated you. No one understands why you recovered perfectly well and she hasn’t.”

  “She’s just a tiny thing.” The emperor paused to run his hands over his face. “Do everything within your power to make her comfortable.”

  The physicians gave a quick bow and then returned to the girl’s bedside.

  The magician joined the emperor’s side. “I’m as perplexed,” the magician said. “I’ve tried everything I can think of. Nothing makes a difference. It could be that she suffers a normal illness bearing expected consequences. Or some negative force may be at work. In either case, her only hope might be divine intervention.”

  “Negative force?” Emperor Po cast a sharp glance at the magician. “Who would do such a thing? Especially to a little girl?”

  The magician shrugged. “It could be anyone. I suspect you are the target. What better way to harm the emperor than to harm one of his beloved children?”

  “That can’t be.” Emperor Po paced again, willing tears to stay out of his eyes. “I will not be the cause of my daughter’s suffering.”

  A soft rap sounded on the bedroom’s closed door, and it eased open to reveal a royal guard.

  Emperor Po recognized him at once as one of the guards he sent with Madam Po. To the magician, he said, “Watch over my child.” The emperor then slipped outside the bedroom and shut the door behind him. To the guard he said, “Where is Madam Po?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Emperor Po stared at the guard in disbelief. “How can you not know where she is?”

  “She disappeared. We escorted her safely to the mountain and up part of the path. She dismissed us.”

  The guard’s words rang true to Emperor Po.

  Of course, she did. Only the members of the Po Dynasty understand that to reach the Fountain of Immortality one must first pass through the Gate of Air. Madam Po could not allow any of the guards to see her do so.

  Feeling somewhat calmer, Emperor Po said, “When did this happen?”

  “Two days ago,” the guard said. “We knew her climb up the mountain would take enough time that she would have to spend one night on it. But we assumed she would climb down yesterday. We climbed back to the point where we saw her yesterday afternoon. There was no sign of her.” The guard looked at the emperor in alarm. “We left Madam Po where the path ended at a large boulder. We tried climbing around the boulder and beyond the path. It’s impossible. If we can’t do it, how could an old woman like Madam Po proceed?”

  The thought of Madam Po befuddling the guards lightened Emperor Po’s spirits. “Don’t worry about Madam Po. She has always succeeded in fending for herself. What about the rest of the guards? Did they come back with you?”

  The royal guard shook his head. “They stayed behind.”

  “Good. Return to them. Tell them to have faith that when Madam Po is ready, she will descend and make herself known to you. When she does, I expect all of you to escort her back to me.”

  Giving a brief smile of relief, the guard said, “By your bidding.”

  Emperor Po watched the man hurry down the hallway and wondered if Madam Po would return with water from the Fountain of Immortality in time to save his daughter’s life.

  * * *

  Kikita sat next to Madam Po on a stone bench. “This is a complicated affair,” Kikita said.

  “Not as complicated as it could be,” Madam Po said. “But more complicated than most.”

  “The one thing you haven’t told me is what your great-granddaughter wants me to do.”

  “She may not know. But it is her question to ask, not mine. You will ha
ve to speak to the girl.”

  “I see,” Kikita said. “And I will allow you to take one cup of water from the Fountain of Immortality with the understanding that the results may not be what you or anyone else hopes for.”

  “Understood,” Madam Po said. She reached into one massive sleeve of her robe and pulled out a small silver cup embossed with the mark of the Po Dynasty. Showing it to Kikita, Madam Po said, “The emperor wished to give me proof that I come at his request.”

  Kikita laughed. “Then he knows nothing of our history—either what we’ve experienced through knowing each other or what we’ve seen come to pass.”

  Madam Po smiled. “No, he does not. No mortal does.”

  They stood and continued walking along the stone-lined brook until they reached its source, spring water bubbling up from the ground. Madam Po leaned forward and dipped the cup into the water.

  Kikita looked up at the sky. “Something stirs.”

  Madam Po stood, holding the cup of water between her hands. She then poured the water into a bottle and fit a cork in its neck. The sky above looked clear and bright. “All looks well.”

  “But it isn’t.” Kikita extended her hand to Madam Po. “I feel something peculiar at work. If you want to help the emperor, there’s no time to waste.”

  Madam Po knew what to expect. She held and sheltered the bottle of water while reaching out to grasp Kikita’s hand.

  The moment their hands touched, Kikita’s appearance turned into a cloud-like outline. The wind swirled loudly around them, drawing mist from the mountain’s cloud forest below. White clouds churned out of the mist and obliterated Madam Po’s sight until she could see only Kikita, who stood within arm’s reach.

  “We must go now,” Kikita shouted above the wind, “before it’s too late.”

  Madam Po held on tight to Kikita’s hands as the windstorm carried them off of the mountaintop and toward the city of Zangcheen.