Wong wasn't looking good. When Dane had last seen him, Wong had been looking very fierce - at least he was before he transformed into a fox and ran off. But the Wong in front of him was nothing like that fierce man (nor the fox, to be truthful). Wong looked tired. There were circles under his eyes. Instead of a beard or mustache, he now had stubble on his jowly cheeks. His face was slack, as if he lacked even the effort to keep it from drooping, showing how drained he was. His clothes were nondescript, just a green t-shirt and jeans. This was Wong hiding again. On the table in front of him was a pint of beer that looked untouched.
"Thank you for coming," said Wong tiredly, just a vague hint of a welcoming smile trying to fight against the inertia of his features.
"You know that I'm not usually one to hold a grudge," said Dane, "but the last time I saw you, you ran out on me in the middle of danger. A danger I was only in because I was helping you. So while I won't say I'm angry, I'll say I'm annoyed."
"I know, you have my greatest apologies for that," said Wong, his head bowed. "There is no excuse for myself. However, I did not expect them to bother with you once I fled."
"The damage was already done when you left! Your shop was burning and Abby was inside! Nobody helped when it burned down! I thought she had died..." said Dane.
"Did... she?" said Wong. His voice was heavy, emotion twisted in it. His eyes were downcast, but Dane could see the pain in them.
"No," said Dane. He realized that he hadn't gotten the time to ask just how she survived, but unless he had met with Ghost Abby, she was okay. He was glad she was alive.
The bartender came by. An older woman and a fixture at the bar, she had a stern yet friendly face.
"What'll you have?"
"Oh, I'm not drinking," said Dane.
"The bar's for paying customers," said the bartender. "If you're occupying a chair, you gotta buy something. Walking past the bar and not ordering anything on your way in didn't make you immune to that rule."
"But there's nothing I really want," said Dane. "Except... do you have espresso?"
"This is a bar, hun. If you want to hit the coffee place a few blocks over, I'm not going to stop you, but you're going to have to get your butt outta that chair."
Dane paused for a moment, trying to think what he could order that he might drink or what simply would be cheap. "I want... I want an Irish Coffee! Yes! An Irish Coffee!" said Dane, proud of himself. "You have Irish Coffee, right? That's alcoholic, right?"
The bartender paused, looking him over. "Fine, I'll get you an Irish Coffee. Gonna take a bit, though."
"That's fine!" said Dane.
The bartender nodded and walked back to the bar. Reaching under the counter, she pulled out an old disused coffee machine. She blew dust off it and then started looking for where was best to plug it in.
"So what's this all about, Wong?" said Dane. "I'd say you're not telling me something, but that's the elephant in the room, isn't it? There's a lot you're not telling me. About the Thousand Hands of Fire, about what they're doing here, about why you're so afraid of them. Even when you knew I was investigating them, you held back. What's the deal? We've been friends for years, and I feel like I've always been pretty honest with you. And you're keeping me in the dark on all of this when I really need to know."
Wong sighed. "This is an old conflict. A past I thought I was done with. A chapter in my life that was long gone. When we moved to Avalon, I thought it was over and done with. I thought I could move on and never look back. Instead it seems it has finally followed me here."
Dane nodded. "The past is a harsh mistress. So how far back are we talking? A decade or so? It's been nearly that long since we met."
"A decade?" said Wong with a sad laugh. "I guess I'll say I haven't been entirely truthful with you. I am older than I may have let on."
"Because you're not human!" said Dane with a dawning understanding.
Wong nodded.
"So how far back does this all go?" said Dane. "Twenty, thirty years? I would have just been a little kid!"
Wong shook his head sadly. "No, Dane, you're not getting it. This is a conflict that goes back centuries."
"What?" said Dane with shock.
"Let me tell you a story..."
The mountain village burned, the roaring fire lighting up the night. The scent of the flames mixed with the blood of the corpses in the mud, the former residents of the village. Sitting on her horse surveying the destruction, Mingxia breathed deeply.
"I'll never tire of this smell," she said with a smile. She finished cleaning her sword and sheathed it. As she stared down on the village from their overlook, her face showed delight at the flames and death.
On a horse next to her, Fei Zhang did not agree. Where she found enjoyment in this destruction, he did not. He would never get used to the smell and never enjoy it. He only knew that the action was necessary. The village had opposed the Thousand Hands and this was the penalty. A cat spirit had been discovered in the town and the villagers had killed her. To add insult to that injury, the villagers had brought in a hack exorcist to defile the corpse with his pointless ceremonies. The village would never accept them. If Fei Zhang had entered the village and revealed his true nature, they would have killed him as well. That's why he knew this was necessary. Those that would kill them would die instead. Such was the mission of the Thousand Hands of Fire.
It had been a long time since the old man had gifted Mingxia and Fei Zhang with enough power to take on their own form of existence as more than simple foxes. They had taken this gift and cultivated it, bringing them to the point where they could walk amongst men in the guise of a human and do things beyond what both foxes and men could do. They wanted to make the old man proud of them.
However, things had been destined to change. One day the world they knew shattered. Under the sheltering sky of the forest, they woke up and immediately knew something was different. Not willing to accept it, they ran through the forest, looking everywhere they could think. Finally they had to admit the truth - the old man was gone. No goodbye, no mention of a trip, no warning. One day he had been with them and the next he was gone. Mingxia and Fei Zhang were confused. They searched far and wide in the forest, but never found him. For weeks they waited, hoping each day for him to return. As time passed, they began to fear that he was never coming back. They were distraught in a way animals couldn't feel, evidence of how much more they had become. For better or for worse, they came to a decision, one they feared making, but one they knew was inevitable.
One day they decided to use their new gifts and leave the forest.
It was a different world outside the borders of the forest. It was a world of newness, wonder, and exhilarating beauty. However, it was also a world of hatred, violence, and intolerance. Despite looking like men, they were not men, a fact that they discovered quickly. Initially naive, they did not know to keep their true nature hidden. When they walked among humans and let their secret slip, it never ended well. Words like "demon" and "monster" were hurled at them. They barely escaped angry mobs and a few times they didn't. One horrible time, they were severely beaten and left for dead, Mingxia more than Fei Zhang. Only by retreating to a secluded glade were they able to nurse themselves back to health. This was when their hearts hardened and secrecy became their most important virtue.
From then on they had lived in disguise, pretending to be just regular humans, never letting anyone know their hidden nature, despite how strong the bonds of trust felt. Whenever they felt some were close to discovering their secret or they had simply stayed too long in place, they moved onto the next town, creating new identities for themselves.
It was years before the Thousand Hands of Guan Yin first contacted them. A secret society of mystics, magicians, and spirits, it was an organization whose members all hid within society. In that society they could come together and in that meeting be themselves, sharing information and skills. Mingxia and Fei Zhang first joined with hopes of finding the old man
. The members seemed his sort of people, but they did not find him numbered among them. But what they did find was solace. The other animal spirits knew their problems firsthand. The magicians and mystics might be human, but they respected the animal spirits and suffered similar intolerance, though not to their extent. Mingxia and Fei Zhang were accepted there. The Thousand Hands of Guan Yin was a brotherhood based on camaraderie, of trust, of helping each other. It was a place of discussion and the free exchange of ideas. It was benign.
And then things changed.
It started with another incident of violence. Two animal spirits, snakes that belonged to the Thousand Hands, were burned to death by inhabitants of a small village. The news was well circulated so everyone knew it when the Thousand Hands met again. First there was talk, then there was argument. While all were sad, while all wanted tolerance from the world of men, some wanted change. Direct, volatile, messy change. This contingent argued that hiding was never enough. They'd all eventually be found out. Once discovered, their lives were in danger, and even if they survived, they'd have to give up all they had achieved. Since many members of the Thousand Hands, particularly the animal spirits, lived far longer than men, giving up their belongings and achievements was a particularly sore spot. Many had been forced to flee their old lives with only the clothes on their backs.
For two days the members talked and argued. At sunset of the second day was the end of the Thousand Hands convention, and the members ended the meeting without a resolution. No policy or action was sanctioned by the group; in fact, many felt the Thousand Hands of Guan Yin should not be political. It was a group for exchange of ideas, for solace, for communication. But others felt more could be done.
The inaction of the group did not stop some of its members from acting. Retribution for the two snake spirits was swift. The village was burned to the ground, nearly every resident killed.
When the Thousand Hands next convened, it was too late. Despite arguments, the side who wanted action was already decided. They had blessed their position with blood and there was no going back. There was no other possible course other than striking back at their oppressors. Secrecy had been shown to fail, so now they would use violence and they would use fear. They would make the world of men afraid of them and so secure their safety.
The group fractured. The disagreement was so strong that the group could not survive it. The animal spirits particularly pushed for violence, as they were not human and always had to lie to survive. They had venomous words for the mystics and magicians who preached peace - these others were still men, despite their interests. It was safer for them, as they were not inherently different. The others tried to calm the violent faction, but the fire had already been set. The mystics, who almost all believed in peace and not harming others, left the group. Of the magicians, some stayed and some left, owing the choice more to personal ideology than anything else. Among the animal spirits, a few did leave, having no stomach for the violence that was coming, but most stayed. Animal spirits were now the majority. Without the others to try to balance the society or keep it from the violent path, the organization changed dramatically. Becoming the Thousand Hands of Fire, they started their own war, a purge against all those who had harmed them and all who ever might.
Mingxia had been in passionate agreement of this new direction. Fei Zhang had been more hesitant. He recognized that fighting back might be necessary, but he only ever wanted to do it when all other options were exhausted. He was particularly hesitant about attacks on those that had not yet hurt their friends. But he stayed with Mingxia because she had been his only friend for so many years. As the Thousand Hands became their work, both Mingxia and Fei Zhang found that their skills made them effective at the purges. It was natural that they climbed the ranks of the organization. Where before they were just two foxes pretending to be human, they soon became warlords in a long campaign against those that had hated and hurt them. They became its star generals, responsible for its key victories. Responsible for countless deaths.
As they sat on their horses overlooking the burning village, Mingxia reveling in the destruction, Fei Zhang knew this would not be the last. He was beginning to realize that there would be no end to it all. The Thousand Hands' brutality did indeed make some afraid. But because their violence was so far reaching, it created many enemies. Humans were beginning to stand up to them, not because they hated animal spirits but because they didn't want their own villages burned. They were creating their own future enemies. Where would this crusade ever stop? Where should it stop? At this kingdom's border? The next? How far was far enough? How far was too far?
Fei Zhang was distracted from his thoughts by a shout that went up from the troops. There was a survivor from the village. Without even a word, Mingxia took off, an excited scream as she spurred her horse into motion. Fei Zhang took off after her, pursuing Mingxia as she rode down the fleeing survivor. This survivor was on foot, so they caught up easily, Fei Zhang flanking. They ran the survivor up against a ridge, a rocky cliff that overlooked a wooded valley below.
Mingxia dismounted. She drew her sword and with her other hand she created fire, an art she had learned from one of the organization's magicians. She stretched the flaming hand toward the survivor, trying to get a better look. Huddled against the cliff edge was a shivering woman. Her body was a bundle of fear, her form crouched and protective of what she carried.
"You thought you could escape us?" said Mingxia with relish. "Know that your hatred dies here!"
As she stepped closer to the survivor, Fei Zhang noticed something. He dismounted his horse, his serpent spear already in his hands. "Wait!"
Mingxia paused, her arm already drawn back to strike. "What is it, beloved?"
Fei Zhang came closer and grabbed Mingxia's wrist, lifting the flame higher so that more light fell upon the survivor. The haggard woman held a small baby in her arms. As the light fell on it, the baby let out a cry.
"She has a child!" said Fei Zhang.
"So?" said Mingxia.
"The child is innocent! It is too young to hate, too young to be judged!"
Mingxia laughed. "You would have me spare this child? So it would be brought up to hate us? We have killed its town and ancestors! Of course it will hate us! It would then perpetuate just what we are trying to cleanse! The children we spare today will spit on us tomorrow! It's even more important that the children die!"
Fei Zhang paled. "That is not what I agreed to! I only want to stop those who hate, those who wish us death! This child knows nothing! You would kill it because of what you fear it would do! That's why they hate us!"
"Would you have me just kill its mother then?" said Mingxia. "If it lives, it will hate us to the end and come for us later! We must purge their hatred at the root! In the children!"
"We don't know what the child would do! The child gets to make its own choice!" said Fei Zhang. "We can't judge it based on a choice it hasn't even made! Would you be judged by the same standard?"
"We know what choice it will make!" shouted Mingxia. "We know what choices they all make!"
"They don't all make that choice! Remember the old man who gave us his gift!"
Mingxia paused at the mention of the old man. Her face softened for a moment in memory, but then remembrance reached the old wound. "He abandoned us! How dare you bring him up, especially to defend one of them!"
Fei Zhang stepped in front of her. "I can't let you kill them." His serpent spear dangled in one arm. He was confused. Mingxia and he rarely disagreed. They had been together for so long. And when they did disagree, one of them would relent. Their bond was too important for discord. Yet right now he couldn't agree with her. He couldn't just let her kill this mother and child, even though he knew he was responsible for so much other death, probably many more children.
She looked at him strangely. "What are you doing?"
"They should live," said Fei Zhang.
"They should die!"
"I've seen too muc
h death, it's meaningless and endless," said Fei Zhang. "If every mother and every child are needed to see an end to this all, then it is an undertaking I lack the stomach for."
"Step aside then!" said Mingxia. "I will kill them if you cannot!"
"Then you need to go through me," said Fei Zhang. He understood their relationship, having known their conflicts over their years together. He knew this would quiet her down, and then they could talk about this calmly later and find an understanding. They would never harm each other.
"If that's what needs to happen to cleanse them from this kingdom," said Mingxia, gritting her teeth and tightening her grip on the sword. "So be it."
"What?" said Fei Zhang. "I don't understand."
"Either step aside or prepare to fight," said Mingxia. She let the fire go from her hand, casting shadow over both their faces. She put her other hand on the sword as well.
"Stop this!" he said. "It's madness!"
"Step aside," growled Mingxia.
"No," he said, certain of what he believed but confused about Mingxia's behavior.
Mingxia seemed to fight with her decision for a moment, but rage had already consumed her, the good parts of her lost behind a roaring fire within her. Then she screamed, her voice a shrill cry of anger and pain. She lunged forward, thrusting her sword.
There was a piercing pain that flashed through Fei Zhang. He looked down to see her sword in his gut, knowing the other end had just existed out his back. He looked to Mingxia in askance as blood dripped from his mouth.
Burning Monday: (Dane Monday 2) Page 21