by Resa Nelson
The night kept it cold. Preserved it.
Frayka examined the single wound made yesterday afternoon by Luan Lu with the stolen dagger, now tucked back under Frayka’s belt where it belonged. It appeared to have pierced the serpent’s heart. Blood had spilled onto the ground, still pooled in a sticky mess.
Frayka ran her fingers across the reptilian skin. While the scales on its back felt as hard as iron, the scales on its underside had more give and flexibility. Pulling out her dagger, Frayka tested its point against the softer scales, but the dagger slid across them. Surprised, she re-examined the fatal wound.
It looks like Luan slipped the point between the scales. She probably did it without trying. Luan got lucky.
Frayka continued examining the serpent’s underside until she found what felt like a weak spot between scales. This time, she slipped the dagger in easily. It took some time, but she succeeded in carving out enough meat to provide a hearty breakfast. After gathering brittle leaves, twigs, and small branches, Frayka used the flint she carried in her otherwise-empty pouch to build a fire.
By cutting the slab of serpent meat into thin slices, Frayka found she could cook it quickly. Filling her belly made her feel confident and strong again.
I can find my way back to Zangcheen. I paid attention when the guards brought me here. I noticed landmarks. All I have to do is retrace my steps.
Once I’m in Zangcheen, I’ll go to GranGran’s house. If she hasn’t already found Njall, we’ll work together to get him back.
Refreshed and renewed, Frayka doused the fire. When she stood up, her head grazed the low ceiling at the entrance to the cave. Rubbing her head, Frayka backed out of the cave and stared at its entrance.
She would have sworn that her head had cleared that low ceiling easily just minutes ago.
New strength surged through Frayka’s body. She shrugged off her confusion and began her journey back to Zangcheen.
* * *
Empress Ti woke up with a fright. Bolting upright in bed, her breath came hard and fast from the feeling of terror that overwhelmed her. Since her father’s death, she’d taken over the emperor’s bedroom suite in the royal palace and spent her nights inside it alone. Ti felt safe knowing guards stood outside her door throughout the night.
Dawn illuminated her room. She looked all around to make sure no one had entered.
With a start, the nightmare came back to her.
Moments ago, Empress Ti had dreamed about the day when Madam Po had brought a cup of water from the Fountain of Immortality at the Gate of Air, a place Ti always assumed was nothing more than legend. Her father, Emperor Po, had asked Madam Po to fetch that water for Ti’s youngest step-sister who suffered a mysterious and difficult-to-cure illness. He believed the water would cure his youngest child.
The dream had been true to life: Ti had convinced Madam Po to hand it over with the promise that Ti would deliver the water to her step-sister immediately. However, once Madam Po was out of sight, Ti drank all of the water herself.
In the nightmare, Empress Ti had been surrounded by advisors and giving commands to them. Without warning, her speech became jumbled. Her mouth felt strange, as if someone had forced pebbles into her mouth. Feeling around with her tongue paralyzed Ti with fear because she sensed they weren’t pebbles.
They were her own teeth coming loose and falling inside her mouth.
Horrified at what she might find now that she’d come awake, Ti raised her trembling hands to her face and pressed them lightly against her cheeks. She eased her jaw open, waiting for her teeth to spill out of her mouth.
But her teeth remained intact.
It was just a dream.
Ti remained sitting upright in bed with her hands pressed against her face.
Why am I still afraid?
For the first time since her father’s death, Ti felt lost and alone. For the first time in many years, she ached at the long-ago death of her real mother. Ti took little comfort from her step-mother and step-sisters. Whenever trouble overwhelmed her, Emperor Po always found time to listen.
Sorrow clutched at her throat, making it impossible for Ti to utter a sound.
Why did I kill the one person who truly cared about me? What have I done?
Awash with grief and regret, Ti’s chest heaved with sobs. She had no true family. No one loved her or even cared if she lived. She’d known since the day her father married his favorite concubine that her step-mother and step-sisters saw Ti as an inconvenience.
Her comfortable bed seemed like an ocean where she floated with no land in sight.
She wanted to drown.
A shriek of delight sounded in the hallway outside, followed by the stern voice of the guard by her door.
Ti wrinkled her nose in distaste when she recognized the voice of her youngest step-sister, Misa. If the girl was now out in the hallway, it meant that somehow, she must have recovered from the mysterious illness that had pushed her toward the brink of death.
It’s Misa’s fault. If she had simply died as soon as she got sick, none of this would have happened. Her illness stole Father’s attention away from me. If he’d spent more time with me, he might have found a better way to protect me, one that would make it impossible for me to break any laws favoring men. If he’d found a better way to protect me, I wouldn’t have had to kill him to protect myself by becoming empress.
And I would still have my father.
Ti’s thoughts hardened with hatred toward her step-sister Misa.
It’s all Misa’s fault.
Ti wiped away her tears. She composed herself and dressed for the day in her father’s yellow robes, noting that she should have new clothing made especially for an empress soon. For now, she pushed the long yellow sleeves up to her elbows.
Her jaw quivered, and her teeth wiggled slightly, although they remained in place.
But instead of fear, Ti felt anger. She didn’t understand why these strange sensations invaded both her sleep and her waking hours, but there had to be a solution. And even though she no longer had a father who loved her to consult, she did have a young friend with a considerable amount of mystical power.
When she opened her bedroom door, Ti addressed the guard standing outside it. “Summon Asu Chu and have him meet me in the emperor’s quarters at once.”
CHAPTER 14
A short time later, Empress Ti paced inside the emperor’s quarters while Asu Chu tried to make himself comfortable on a floor pillow.
“I don’t know anything about teeth,” Asu Chu said. “It’s been years since I had a loose tooth, and a new one grew in its place, just like all the others.”
“I’m not talking about baby teeth,” Ti said. “I have all of my grown-up teeth. And it’s not about a tooth going bad.” She frowned and reconsidered what she had just said. “At least, I don’t think it’s about a tooth going bad.” She shook her head to clear those thoughts. “That would be impossible, because I felt all of my teeth come loose.”
Asu Chu shuddered. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes! It is. That’s why I need your help.”
The boy shrugged. “But I told you already. I don’t know anything about teeth.”
Ti willed herself to hold onto her temper. Asu Chu was her only true friend, and she couldn’t afford to antagonize him.
Especially since she’d witnessed what he could do with magic tableaus.
“What if we go to the Temple of Dark and Light again?” Ti kept her voice light and full of hope. “Couldn’t you make an image of me and do something to make sure all my teeth stay put?”
Asu Chu laughed as if she’d told a funny joke. “That’s not what the tableaus are for! Besides, it’s usually best to figure out what caused the problem. Why do you think your teeth got loose?”
Before Ti could answer, she felt a seismic shift inside her mouth, and her teeth leaned slightly inward. The sensation made her stomach flip over. She leaned against the closest wall to steady herself. “I don’t
know. It just happened this morning.”
“Did you eat anything funny last night?”
“Funny?” Ti frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Did you eat food that might have gone bad? Or did you eat something you’ve never had before?” Asu Chu brightened with a new thought. “Or maybe your food wasn’t cooked all the way through. Do you remember eating anything that tasted raw?”
Shaking her head, Ti slid down the wall to sit across the floor from the boy. “No. Nothing like that. I ate all the same food as my step-mother and step-sisters.”
Curious, Asu Chu tilted his head. “And they’re fine?”
Ti grunted in disgust, remembering the happy shriek that her youngest step-sister Misa made in the hallway earlier this morning. “They’re especially fine. Finer than ever.”
“That’s all I can think to ask,” Asu Chu said. “You should talk to my father. He knows all about these things.”
The suggestion made Ti’s skin crawl. She remembered the way Asu Chu’s father had tried to convince her advisors that Emperor Po had been murdered. The court magician had even suggested that magic had been used. Thankfully, the mountain girl Luan Lu had interrupted before Tao Chu could make any more serious allegations against Ti. She didn’t want to see him so soon again.
“But you’re the court magician’s son!” Ti protested. “You know so much.”
Asu Chu rolled his eyes. “Not as much as you think. I’m good at tableau magic because I like it and I practice it all the time. But I’m not so good at most other kinds of magic. I don’t find them that interesting.”
Ti willed herself to ignore her initial desire to yell at Asu Chu, mortified that he couldn’t help her because he didn’t find it interesting enough. “You have to help me. I’m afraid my mouth will fall apart!”
“The only thing to do is talk to my father.” Asu Chu sighed. “He’s the expert. Not me.”
Ti weighed her options.
On one hand, she could ignore the nightmare about all her teeth falling out of her head. She could also ignore the strange sensations she’d had while awake that made it feel the nightmare might come true. If she ignored everything, maybe it would all just go away.
On the other hand, if she met with Tao Chu now, she would find out today whether or not her condition could be diagnosed and if any cure existed.
What good is being empress if I die of some strange illness?
Still, Ti hated the idea of facing the court magician again. She steeled herself.
He’s only the court magician. I’m the Empress of the city of Zangcheen and the Wulong Province. If the worst happens, I can have the court magician killed, and Asu Chu will take his place.
Ti walked to the door and opened it. She spoke to the guard she’d asked to stand outside. “Send for the court magician, Tao Chu. Tell him to meet me and his son in the council room in the Hall of Justice.”
* * *
When Empress Ti arrived at the council room with Asu Chu trailing behind, she was surprised to find his father Tao Chu already seated and waiting for them.
Tao Chu stood and bowed. “How may I be of service, my Empress?”
Has he decided to come around to my side? Or could he be trying to pacify me while he works against me behind my back?
Empress Ti smiled sweetly. “Your son has advised me to seek your advice.”
The court magician’s expression froze in surprise, and he stared at his son. “You seek my son’s advice first? Have you made him the court magician?”
“Of course not!” Ti kept her voice sweet, hoping to placate Tao Chu.
The older man spoke with concern. “But you consulted him first.”
“As my friend,” Ti said, hoping she sounded endearing. “Asu has been my friend for many years. You know that.”
Tao Chu’s expression relaxed. At the empress’s command, he resumed his seat. “What type of advice do you seek?”
Empress Ti sat across the table from him with Asu Chu by her side. “I had a nightmare this morning. I dreamed all my teeth had come loose and then fell into my mouth. Then after I woke up, I had the strangest sensation that my teeth were shifting. It felt like a small earth tremor in my mouth.”
“Did any teeth actually fall out?”
Ti blanched at the thought. “No.”
“I see.” Tao Chu sat back and contemplated the empress. “Did you eat anything peculiar of late? A new type of food? Or food so ill-prepared that it might be raw?”
Asu Chu said to Empress Ti, “I told you so.”
Tao Chu’s face darkened. “That is no way to speak to an empress! Even when the empress is your friend.”
When Asu Chu cowered, Ti placed a calming hand on his shoulder. To his father, she said, “I take no offense. Asu is right. He asked me the same questions. I’ve eaten nothing lately that could cause this.”
Once again, Tao Chu allowed his face to relax. In a non-assuming voice, he said, “And to drink? Have you consumed any unusual liquids?”
Ti stilled with a realization that made her speechless.
The water from the Fountain of Immortality.
Tao Chu leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table. “I take it that you have.”
Filled with fear of being found out, Ti lied. “Shortly before Father died, Madam Po brought a cup of water to me. I thought she’d done a simple kindness for me. I assumed she thought I was thirsty.”
“You drank the water,” Tao Chu said, keeping an intense gaze on Ti’s face.
“Of course! I didn’t want to insult a venerable member of my family dynasty. I drank so fast that she had no chance to stop me. It was only then that I learned she’d brought it for my step-sister Misa.”
Asu Chu sat up, now interested. “What was it? Medicine? Did you drink medicine by mistake?”
“No.” Ti became quiet. “It was a cup of water from the Fountain of Immortality.”
Asu Chu groaned and slumped with disinterest. “Everyone knows there’s no such thing.”
“But there is,” Tao Chu said in a soft voice. “It’s quite real.”
Asu Chu looked from the empress to the court magician in confusion. “But it’s just a legend.”
“Maybe it’s not,” Ti said. “I felt different after I drank the water.”
“The water intended for your dying step-sister,” Tao Chu said. His eyes gleamed dark with suspicion.
Ti’s instinct to protect herself kicked in. “You said yesterday that she’s no longer ill. I heard Misa laughing and running in the hallway this morning. She appears to have recovered nicely.” Ti smiled. “Maybe my drinking the water had a good effect on her. Maybe all she needed was for a family member to drink it.”
Although no one spoke, Ti sensed they were thinking about the fact that Ti was related to the rest of her family only because of her step-mother’s marriage to her father. The Po Dynasty blood running through her step-sisters’ veins was diluted at best.
“Possibly,” Tao Chu said. “But we should discuss the impact of drinking water from the Fountain of Immortality when not in need of its healing powers.”
“Fine.” Ti crossed her arms and leaned back. “Tell me about it.”
Tao Chu cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. For the first time, he appeared uncomfortable. “The Fountain of Immortality exists beyond the Gate of Air because it belongs to the dragon goddess of air and all those who serve her.”
Ti readjusted her position, now uneasy.
If I’ve crossed a line where the gods are concerned, then I made a terrible mistake in drinking the water Madam Po brought for my step-sister.
Tao Chu continued. “All those who drink from the Fountain of Immortality are invited to do so. The dragon goddess allows water to be removed from her realm only when it can heal or cure. The water is not intended for anyone who is already well.”
Ti shrugged, but she couldn’t shake off her unease. “I didn’t know. How could I have known? And if the goddess doesn’t k
now, what harm could it do?”
“Therein lies the problem,” Tao Chu said. “The water knows.”
Ti stared at him. “The water?”
Asu Chu laughed as if his father had told a joke. “Water? How can water know anything? It’s just water.”
The magician stared at his son until the boy’s amused expression faded. “The water,” Tao Chu said, “is more than just water. When imbibed by anyone or anything with permission, it recognizes them and casts a continued sense of wellness throughout. But if someone without permission drinks, the water fails to recognize the body into which it falls. The water senses that it has been forced into enemy territory.”
“Enemy!” Ti said. “I’m not its enemy! I wish the water no harm.”
“But the water has no way of knowing that,” Tao Chu said. “The water cannot see, because it has no eyes.”
Ti stood and shouted at her body. “I mean you no harm!”
Tao Chu raised his voice, trying to make himself heard above Ti’s panic. “The water cannot hear, because it has no ears. Neither can it smell or taste.”
Ti paced, now frantic. “What do I do?”
“The water can only understand through its sense of touch. All it knows is what it gleans from touching the inside of your body, and you have no control over that.”
Ti lit up with hope. “But water passes through bodies. I drank long enough ago that it should have come out by now. Doesn’t that mean it can’t touch me anymore?”
Tao Chu shook his head. “While most of the water has probably exited your body, its essence has been absorbed within. For any mortal allowed to drink from the Fountain of Immortality, the essence absorbed brings about good health and fortune. But for those without permission, the essence attempts to destroy by breaking the body apart from the inside out.”
Ti clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle a scream.
Asu Chu cocked his head and stared at Ti as if she were a curious insect he had never seen before. To his father, Asu said, “Is that why she dreamed about her teeth falling out?”
“Yes. The breakdown can begin anywhere within the body, but it often begins at the top and works its way down.”