The Dragon Gods Box Set

by Resa Nelson

  Determined to do anything necessary to protect her missing husband, Frayka smiled pleasantly at Empress Ti and then walked toward the guards, hoping they would imprison her somewhere in the royal complex so GranGran and TeaTree could find her after they freed Njall.

  CHAPTER 5

  Madam Po made her way through a short and narrow hallway to her sleeping quarters. A large mattress stuffed with cotton dominated the floor. Although she had once heard that dark colors in a bedroom were more inviting to portents, Madam Po learned long ago that vivid colors worked just as well for her. Bright orange cotton sheets covered her mattress, and yellow pillows piled across it. The faint light of sunset filtered through the windows near the ceiling.

  She welcomed the end of the day. Madam Po felt the most peace twice each day: dawn and twilight. She often walked just before sunrise because she enjoyed the stillness and quiet while others slept.

  It was at such times that she felt the calmest in entering the portents. Madam Po eased to sit on the edge of her mattress and stretched her legs. Every so often one of her knees ached, and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it. She bent the suspect knee a few times to knock the stiffness out of it.

  She’d failed to mention all of her reasoning to her great-granddaughter for returning home instead of demanding entrance to the royal complex tonight. Everything Madam Po relayed to Frayka was the truth: she wanted to consult the portents. But Madam Po also found it wise to rest and contemplate actions before committing to them.

  Madam Po believed that concept was one that Frayka would find difficult to grasp.

  Closing her eyes, Madam Po spoke her prayers to the dragon gods. “Most honorable gods and goddesses of the Far East, the Wulong Province, and the city of Zangcheen. I seek your wisdom and guidance for myself, my colleague TeaTree, and my great-granddaughter Frayka. Please show me the path of greatest acumen and reverence toward the goal of finding my great-granddaughter’s husband Njall and helping him regain his freedom.”

  Madam Po took a deep breath. Without opening her eyes, she allowed her body to fall back on her mattress. “Please send my guide to me in my dreams tonight.” She then gave all of her attention to every breath she took and released, shutting out the rest of the world.

  It seemed like it took mere moments before Madam Po opened her eyes and found herself standing in a field of wildflowers. She recognized the Mountains of Dawn undulating all around her like the waves of a gentle sea. In the far distance she saw Zangcheen.

  But in her field of wildflowers, Madam Po relished the warm sun on her face and the gentle breeze that kissed her skin. The tangy scent of thorny wild weeds mingled with the softer scent of hillside lilies, sweet cloud flowers, and ginger posies. The bleat of a mountain goat echoed among the slopes.

  Madam Po walked through soft grass as tall as her waist and swept her hands across the blades.

  I could lie in this field and snooze for days.

  “Madam Po.”

  She turned around to see her guide walking toward her. No matter how many times he appeared in her portents, the sight of Hsu Mao always made her catch her breath. Thankfully, he always chose to appear as he had in the prime of life: handsome and strong. She wished he would dispense with his formalities and sweep her up in his arms.

  But the portents forbid such familiarity.

  After all, the portents were gifts about serious matters, not frivolities. The fact that the portents allowed Madam Po to see Hsu Mao again spoke volumes about the respect the dragon gods held for her.

  Honoring the customs of the portents, Madam Po bowed and said, “Hsu Mao. Thank you for seeing me tonight.”

  Hsu Mao’s black eyes twinkled. “Funny that the sun should shine so brightly at night.”

  “You know what I mean. We both know my body lies asleep in my Zangcheen home.”

  “Ah, yes,” Hsu Mao said. Wistfulness softened his voice. “But your spirit walks with me. And I much prefer the welcome warmth of daylight to the heartless cold of night.”

  Madam Po laughed. “As I know too well.”

  “Your body sleeps for hours,” Hsu Mao said. “Walk with me a while.”

  Madam Po joined his side, and they ambled through the field of wildflowers and up a hill. When they reached its crest, they stared at the rest of the Mountains of Dawn behind them, the distant city of Zangcheen, and the stretches of cracked earth in between.

  “It is my great pleasure to see you, Madam Po,” Hsu Mao said.

  “And mine as well,” she replied. “But the time has come for me to ask for the portent I need.”

  Hsu Mao gave her a sad smile. “Your request is my duty.”

  He waved his hand across the vista before them, and a large black cloud hovered over Zangcheen.

  “I saw this cloud not long ago,” Madam Po said. “But it stayed above Zangcheen for a short time.”

  “Just because you don’t see it anymore doesn’t mean it isn’t still there.” Hsu Mao crossed his arms and scuffed at the ground with the toe of his boot. “Trouble befalls the city.”

  “The dragon goddess flew with me to Zangcheen when I sought her help. When we arrived, a strange force took control of the goddess’s wind and used it to kill Emperor Po. She sensed sinister magic.” Madam Po shook her head in defiance. “But I know the court magician! He’s a good man. He has helped the Po Dynasty all his life.”

  “The goddess is right,” Hsu Mao said. “Malevolent magic rises from Zangcheen. But you’re right as well. The magician is not the one conjuring up this malevolent magic.”

  Startled, Madam Po said, “Who is it?” She knew the portents preferred that such direct questions not be asked. To this day, the portents still mystified her, but she believed there would be no harm in asking a question even if she knew it was unlikely to be answered.

  “A new force rises in Zangcheen,” Hsu Mao said while he fixed his sight on the city. “A dangerous force that has the ability to bring about change for good as well as change for bad. It is unclear which way that wind will blow. Either way, you must use caution at every turn. The safest action would be to leave the city now and seek safety elsewhere.”

  His words gave Madam Po pause. Throughout her life, she’d seen many changes in Zangcheen. Some minor, some significant. While she had never sensed the need to abandon her home, she understood that the day might come when leaving would be the best course of action. “But my great-granddaughter’s husband is held as a slave in the royal complex in Zangcheen. We can’t leave him behind.”

  “You face challenging times.” Hsu Mao pointed at the dark cloud hovering above the vista of Zangcheen. The cloud transformed until it looked like a huge plate of iron hovering between the city and the sunny sky, blocking the light from the people below.

  Hsu Mao continued. “Although your safety will be in jeopardy, you can choose to stay in order to unearth the disorder and protect the Po Dynasty from it.” Hsu Mao snapped his fingers. The view of Zangcheen dissipated, and the vision of a robust garden surrounded by woods replaced it. An insurgence of flowers and fruit crowded bushes, trees, and vines. A narrow path paved in flat polished stones cut through lush emerald grass. Dozens of colorful birds crooned their songs in the trees of the woods circling the garden.

  “I don’t understand,” Madam Po said. “There is no garden like that in Zangcheen or anywhere near it.”

  “When you find the garden,” Hsu Mao said, “you will find Frayka.”

  “Find her?” Hsu Mao’s words startled Madam Po. “I don’t need to find Frayka. She’s here.”

  The garden also dissipated, leaving the dream world of Madam Po filled with gray.

  Hsu Mao reached out and took her hands. “My wife, my love,” he said. “It is already too late.”

  Madam Po awoke with a start. She sat straight up in bed, and spent a few moments focusing to determine her reality. Early morning light filtered through the windows above. Outside, the crow of a rooster broke the silence.

  I’m b
ack in my body. I’m back in the mortal world.

  I have to keep Frayka safe!

  When Madam Po attempted to spring from her mattress, her knees protested in pain. Every morning required exercise to keep all her joints free of soreness. She had no time to tend to her knees. She hobbled to the corner where she’d left her cane, and used it to stagger out of her bedroom and into the common areas of her home. “Frayka!” Madam Po shouted.

  She found TeaTree heating water in the kitchen. He spoke with a soft voice as if not wanting to wake anyone. “I believe Frayka is asleep in the front room.”

  “Come with me!” Madam Po cried. Still using her cane, she walked with difficulty through her home.

  The front room stood empty, its pillows lined neatly against the wall.

  TeaTree gaped at the neatness of the room. “I don’t understand. I taught her more of the language early last night. When I left her, Frayka was barely awake.” He paced about the room and studied every corner as if she might be hiding in plain sight. “How can she not be here?”

  “I saw it in my portents.” Madam Po cried out in a panic. “We have lost Frayka.”

  Concern strained TeaTree’s face. He stepped forward and took Madam Po’s hands in his own. “Why do you say that? What did the portents tell you?”

  The warmth of TeaTree’s soft hands acted like a soothing balm. Madam Po released the panic that had seized her and regained her composure. “The portents told me that I must remain in Zangcheen. I must root out trouble that threatens the city. And I must protect the Po Dynasty from that trouble.”

  TeaTree searched her eyes. “The trouble we saw from the Gate of Air?”

  “I believe so,” Madam Po said. “But I was also shown a garden.” She shook her head in dismay. “But it is a garden unlike any I’ve ever seen before. Nothing like it grows in Zangcheen or anywhere else I’ve been in the Wulong Province.”

  “Could it be in another province?”

  “Possibly.”

  TeaTree gave Madam Po’s hands a light squeeze and then released them. “Or perhaps even another country? You are well traveled, Madam Po.”

  “I don’t know.” She looked steadily at TeaTree. “The time has come for us to put together a careful plan. We should look for Frayka, but we must not forget her husband. I suspect if we fail to find him now, he could disappear forever.”

  TeaTree frowned. “But Njall was to become a servant to Emperor Po—”

  “And Emperor Po is dead. We don’t know where the trouble comes from or who is behind it. We must assume that any decision Emperor Po made is now at risk.”

  CHAPTER 6

  In the early morning hours, Jojen led the royal guards to take Frayka and Luan Lu to the western gate of Zangcheen and appropriate a small ship. The royal shipyard stood outside the city gate, with dozens of moored ships bobbing in the river leading to the sea.

  While Jojen made arrangements with the keepers of the shipyard, Frayka made an effort to control her feelings. Frayka reminded herself that she’d made a decision to follow Empress Ti’s apparent orders to go with Luan Lu for more than one reason. First, the cold and calculating look in the empress’s eyes made Frayka believe her life and possibly Njall’s life might be at stake. Also, TeaTree had warned her when she had first arrived in Zangcheen that Far Easterners were forbidden to marry foreigners. So, anyone who suspected she and Njall were married could take them to court where they would be sentenced to death.

  Frayka tried to see the logic in her own decision.

  But although Frayka looked like a Far Easterner, she considered herself a full-blooded Northlander.

  And Northlander women didn’t cower under the gaze of an empress.

  Northlander women were warriors.

  Frayka’s nature convinced her to attempt an escape. She studied her surroundings. Jojen’s discussion with the shipyard keepers had become heated, and he paid no attention to anything else. The other guards had become lax—they chatted and laughed among themselves. Luan Lu stood quietly and looked at the nearby ships.

  Although the moon and stars dulled in the pale light of the approaching dawn, Frayka could see a path behind a building in front of the ships. If she could slip away, it would be easy to run along the city wall until she reached another gate where Frayka knew how to regain entrance.

  After taking several steps in that direction, Frayka halted when she heard Jojen call her name. Frayka paused and stared at the ships, pretending to be as bored as Luan Lu looked.

  Gravel crunched under Jojen’s feet when he marched toward Frayka. The other guards stopped chatting and stood at attention.

  Jojen faced Frayka and spoke in Far Eastern, his face strained with anger.

  Genuinely puzzled, Frayka felt her own face strain with confusion.

  Jojen stopped talking. He stared into Frayka’s eyes for a few moments and then removed her dagger from where he kept it tucked beneath his belt. He held the grip with the blade pointed at Frayka.

  Frayka felt her awareness flip into the readiness of a warrior. She became aware of every limb and kept her body relaxed and ready to defend and fight back if needed.

  Jojen put the dagger back under his belt but held the same hand up, pantomiming holding an invisible dagger. He slammed the base of his fist between Frayka’s collarbones and dragged it down her sternum to her belly.

  Knowing she was in no danger of being hurt, Frayka watched him in deeper confusion.

  With the imaginary dagger, Jojen cut across Frayka’s neck and then across her belly. He pantomimed opening up her torso as if pulling sod off a rooftop.

  His actions showed Frayka what she stood to risk by trying to escape.

  He would cut my body open. All of my innards would come pouring out. It would be a most unpleasant way to die.

  Jojen stared into Frayka’s eyes, and the hint of tears in them surprised her.

  He doesn’t want to hurt me. But he’s telling me that he will if he has to.

  This time, instead of speaking rapidly in Far Eastern, Jojen chose a few simple words with care. He pointed at Frayka. “You.” He then pointed toward Zangcheen. “And Njall.” The hint of tears in Jojen’s eyes glistened in the early morning light. “Understand?”

  If I try to escape, he’s been ordered to kill both of us.

  The fight went out of Frayka, making her feel limp and exhausted. “Understand.”

  * * *

  Luan Lu finally felt relief at the thought of returning to her homeland on Dragon Mountain. She sailed with Jojen, the other guards, and Frayka in a mid-sized ship bearing a bright yellow and orange sail and captained by a young man who paid little attention to anything other than the water and the weather. The ship glided through the calm waters of the wide river to the choppy ocean that led them down the western coast of the Far East.

  By noon, they travelled inland on a narrow river cutting through gentle mountains with jagged peaks. Luan Lu smiled at the sight of them.

  When they arrived at a bank covered in polished stones, the young captain steered the ship to coast alongside the bank. He hopped onto it and quickly tied the ship to one of many moors.

  Luan Lu followed the others who climbed out of the ship. She smiled at the sight of Frayka looking in wonder at the port that always struck outsiders as being strange.

  The same type of polished stones covering the bank also formed a small plaza leading to a massive stairway made of lumber and rope that climbed up the side of the mountain. Pine trees with twisted limbs jutted from the slope and appeared to hang in mid-air. The breeze carried the familiar metallic taste of iron weed, whose thick vines curled around the stairway rope.

  “This way,” Luan Lu said, leading the way to climb up the stairway that looked precarious but felt comfortable under her feet. Used to making the vertical trek, Luan Lu made her way up to the top platform with ease. Like the river port below, her people had laid flat stones to ensure good footing.

  She had to wait for the others to catch up
. Luan Lu then led them toward a well-hidden path in the forest surrounding the platform.

  By mid-afternoon, they arrived in Luan Lu’s village, a collection of dozens of small houses built of lumber on top of stone foundations similar to the river port’s plaza. The rooftops were sharply angled peaks that made the houses look like young birds offering their beaks skyward to feed from their mother. Also like young birds, the houses jammed so close together that they appeared to be piled on top of each other.

  The villagers streamed down from the sharp inclines bordering their homes. Small plots of vegetables and rice plants sliced into the slopes that benefitted the most from the sun’s path, and everyone spent their days tending those crops. A middle-aged woman dressed in black pants and a simple shirt waved and shouted. “Luan!”

  Luan Lu brightened and waved back. “Mother!” She raced uphill, dodging her neighbors, who stared openly at the party arriving in their village.

  Although Madam Lu accepted her daughter’s embrace, Luan sensed the tension in her mother’s arms.

  “Who are these people?” Madam Lu said.

  Luan Lu stepped out of her mother’s tentative embrace and walked downhill by her side. “They are the fruit of my success in Zangcheen. These are royal guards. And the woman is a member of the Po Dynasty!”

  Madam Lu gasped. “Who sanctioned this? Did you see Emperor Po in court?”

  Luan Lu hesitated. She dreaded giving the report of what she’d learned in Zangcheen, knowing how frightened people would be of any type of change, especially one so unexpected. “Emperor Po is dead.”

  “Dead?” a man walking in front of them said. He stopped and turned to face Luan Lu. “That’s impossible. Who told you such nonsense?”

  “I arrived when it happened,” Luan Lu said. “I was walking toward the royal complex when a great storm came over it. I saw a kite drag the emperor up into the sky and strangle him with its tail.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t him,” Madam Lu said. “You don’t know what you saw.”