by Cindy Lin
“It’s all going to disappear anyway,” he said, slurping up a bowl of finely shaved ice drenched in sweet syrup. “Better stuff yourself while you can.”
“Don’t you get some . . . side effects after eating food from the hammer?” Usagi asked. She gave an involuntary little burp.
The youngling grinned and shrugged. “It’s worth it. If you’d rather, there might be some millet porridge and snails left over from the other day.”
“Maybe some of that iced jelly then.” Usagi hiccupped. “And a couple of honey blossom cakes.”
But after eating her way through every course, Usagi looked around the banquet, the tables littered with empty plates, picked-out shells, and bones sucked dry, and felt rather ill. She turned to Inu and Goru. “What are we going to do? We can’t stay here forever—and we can’t leave without the Treasure.”
“Did Tora ever talk to her brother?” asked Inu.
“She promised to ask him again tonight.” Usagi tugged at the gold brocade of her belt, which pressed uncomfortably against her full belly, and hiccupped. “I can’t see him giving it up—not when it can do all this. And if it weren’t for that hammer, we wouldn’t have gotten out of that botched raid, let alone have turned it into a victory.”
Goru leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Well then, we’ll just have to take it.”
“That might be tricky.” Glancing across the stone circle, Usagi saw Tora making her way toward them. “Let’s see if Tora got Imugi to agree.”
Her face aglow, Tora plopped down beside them. She plucked an uneaten cube of dragon fruit off Usagi’s plate and popped it in her mouth. “Isn’t this all marvelous? Don’t you wish we could live like this always?”
“It’s lovely, but none of it is real,” reminded Usagi. “We can’t forget why we came. Did you explain to Imugi about the Treasure?”
A little of the light went out of Tora’s eyes. “I did, but he hasn’t had time to think about it.”
“What’s there to think about?” Inu demanded. “He can’t keep putting this off. And we just helped them with their most successful raid ever. Let’s just go talk with your brother now.”
“Oh, all right.” Reluctantly, Tora led them to Imugi. Most of the Miners had finished feasting and were either up and dancing as the musicians played or lazing on the rug and playing games like six sticks. Lounging on a cushion in posh silk robes, Imugi watched two Miners playing a game called containment, each trying to control the most space on a board with black and white stones, and commented on their moves. He beamed as Usagi and the others approached.
“Warrior Heirs!” He winked at Goru and Tora. “And Heirlings. How are you enjoying yourselves?”
Inu bowed. “Very much. May we have a word with you in private?”
“Of course,” said Tora’s brother. “Have a seat.” He glanced at the revelry around them and pulled out the wooden mallet. With a quick whack on the floor, an opulent tent with thick carpeted walls sprang up around them. Imugi grinned. “This way, we don’t have to leave the party.” He slid the mallet back in its drawstring bag and patted it. “This truly is a gift from the gods.”
“We wanted to talk to you about that, actually,” said Inu. “We need to return to Mount Jade—and I’m afraid we’ll be needing the Conjurer.”
Imugi sighed and slumped back on his cushions. “Yes, my sister mentioned it to me. But I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Not possible?” The Dog Heir frowned. “It belongs to the Warriors of the Zodiac. We’re obligated to take it back to the Shrine of the Twelve. Our mission—and the future of Midaga—depends on it.”
Imugi cleared his throat, fidgeting with the strings of the bag. “I understand your dilemma, but you have to understand that I’m responsible for all these people. We can’t get by without the hammer.”
“But what about the loot from the raid?” Usagi asked. She glanced at a bag of raw gemstones at his feet. It was one of many that had been brought back, not to mention baskets of smelted metal ingots. The new haul had stuffed the Miners’ vault to overflowing. “You can buy what you need—you have enough for everyone to live comfortably several lifetimes over.”
“Besides, you said yourself that the Miners owe us a debt,” Goru pointed out. “Everyone at the banquet heard it.”
The brand on Imugi’s cheek jumped and twitched. “Without it, we wouldn’t have escaped the mines. I’m sorry. I can’t let it go.”
Inu leaned forward. “If you give it to us, you will be giving the people of Midaga another chance. The horrors at the Eastern Mines won’t stop until the Dragonlord is stopped. And the best way to do that is to keep the Treasures from him.”
“Well, I’m not about to let him have it,” said Imugi indignantly. “Besides, I was the one who found it.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s yours,” Usagi blurted.
There was a silence, and as Imugi’s stare grew steely, Usagi felt her face flush, but she lifted her chin. “It’s not,” she insisted. “The Conjurer is one of the Treasures of the Twelve—and it needs to be returned.”
“What, so you can use it?” Imugi shook his head. “The Twelve are no more. You call yourselves their Heirs, but what does that mean, really?”
“We’re trying to restore the Circle of the Twelve,” Inu said stiffly. “But it takes time, and training, and the right candidates.” He turned his dark eyes to Tora. “And the Treasures.”
She looked away, rubbing at the scars on her arm. Finally Tora straightened and moved to her brother’s side. “You heard him,” she snapped. “The hammer belongs to the Miners now.”
Usagi, Inu, and Goru stared at her in disbelief. “What about our mission?” asked Inu softly.
“I don’t know if it’s my business anymore,” Tora replied.
A panicky feeling pressed against Usagi’s chest, making it hard to breathe. “Are you saying you’re not coming back with us?”
“Wait, you have to come back,” said Goru. “You’re so close to becoming Tiger Heir.”
A strange look flickered across Tora’s face. She regarded them soberly. “My brother is everything to me. He’s my family. All that I do is in service to my family.” She looked at Imugi. “You know that, don’t you, brother?”
Imugi’s eyes reddened, and he took his sister’s hand. “Of course I do. Nothing can sever our bond, but knowing that you want to be here makes me happier than I thought possible.” He turned to Usagi and the boys. “You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like, but we cannot let the hammer go.”
Dismissed with a wave, they exited the private chamber without the Treasure—or Tora. Usagi fought to keep from crying. In stunned silence, they walked through the Miners’ revelry and went to their nook. As soon as they were alone, Usagi looked at Inu and Goru in despair. “Now what do we do?”
“Start packing,” said Inu. “Since he won’t give it to us, we’ll need to steal the Conjurer—and we’ll have to make a run for it as soon as we get it.”
A tear slid down Usagi’s cheek. It was just as she’d feared—her best friend had made a choice, and it wasn’t them. “I knew this might happen, but I still can’t believe she’s staying.”
Goru patted her awkwardly on the back. “We’ve all seen how happy she is to have found her brother.”
“It’s a blasted shame,” said Inu. “But we can’t force her to come back with us. That’s not what becoming part of the Twelve is about.”
They packed their meager belongings into their packs. The sumptuous conjured silks they wore would disappear within the day, so they changed into their own clothes of dark roughspun cotton.
“We’ll wait until the hour of the Rat,” said Goru. “I’ll stand guard, and you two will go take the hammer from Imugi.” He dug in his pack and brought out a small paper envelope. “Here—Rana gave me something. It’s a bit of her paralyzing venom mixed with sleep powder. The effects only last a couple of hours, but this’ll keep them from moving if they wake up.”
Inu chuckled wryly. “That’s brilliant.”
A noxious smell filled their nook. Inu grabbed his nose and groaned. “Ox Boy. Forget the sleep powder—we should just have you fart in Imugi’s general direction. It’ll knock him out for days.”
Goru smirked. “It’s not me.”
“Sorry,” mumbled Usagi, reddening.
“Gods!” Inu pulled his scarf over his nose. “Just goes to show, the small and silent can be more powerful than the big and loud.”
They took turns dozing while waiting for the moon to show itself through the crack in the cavern ceiling. When it reached the highest point, splashing the stone circle with moonlight, Goru shook Usagi and Inu awake. “It’s time.”
Stealthily they put on their travel packs. Usagi listened for signs of activity in the cavern and heard nothing but snoring and the tinkling notes of a soothing sleepsong. “Sounds like everyone’s asleep,” she whispered. They slipped through the cavern. The festive lanterns had dimmed, and all the Miners had either passed out amid the remains of the banquet or retired to their sleeping alcoves. The expressionless musicians of the hammer continued to play, and the conjured servants blankly went about cleaning up the mess, paying them no attention.
Inu took the envelope of sleep powder that had been enhanced with Rana’s paralyzing venom and tipped a small amount into a hollow reed. He crept toward Imugi, who was sound asleep atop a pile of cushions, preparing to blow it in his face.
Usagi’s ears pricked. Padding toward them, so quiet that her footsteps could only be detected with rabbit hearing, was Tora. Usagi whirled to see her friend holding something, but it was half in the shadows. Tensing, Usagi squinted, and then her eyes widened. She stopped Inu. “Wait!”
As Tora moved into the light, the gilt handle and brightly lacquered head of the Conjurer gleamed in her hand. Her eyes were red and puffy, but her jaw was set. “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” Usagi whispered.
Tora nodded. “If I stay here, I don’t know how much things will change. This is just one Treasure. If we get them all . . .” She looked down, then took a deep breath. “Maybe everything can change.”
With a look of relief, Inu squeezed Tora’s shoulder. She handed him the mallet. “We better leave before my brother wakes up and finds this missing. I put a big bone in his bag, but it won’t fool him for long.”
They hid the hammer away in Inu’s pack and hurried out of the cave into the dark gorge, led by Tora and her tiger vision. Usagi felt like a huge weight had been lifted, though she knew that Tora had left a piece of herself behind, just as Usagi had when she’d left her sister at the palace. Perhaps Tora’s brother would be more forgiving than Uma. The Miners had so much in riches now—surely they would be able to survive just fine without the Conjurer.
But they had hardly reached the river when Usagi heard Imugi’s voice ringing in the distance. “They’ve taken the hammer!”
She could hear Miners scrambling to get out of the cavern. “Imugi knows we’re gone,” Usagi warned. “They’re coming after us.”
Goru cursed. “Squealing scabs.”
They kicked into spirit speed, racing alongside the river. At the sound of shouts, Usagi glanced back and saw the bobbing of torchlight not far behind.
“They’re gaining on us!” she cried.
Inu grunted and ran even faster. “Now I wish we hadn’t showed them how to use spirit speed.”
Reaching the tunnel that led out of the gorge, they darted underground and hurried through the long passageway. They emerged into the abandoned quarry and careened around cracked boulders and piles of shattered marble, all the while trying to keep ahead of the Miners. Usagi listened for their footsteps and urged the others on whenever their pursuers sounded too close. Her legs and lungs were beginning to burn.
At last they reached the path that they’d first taken into the pit. They clambered out and ran along old twisted roads that once led from the quarry to the Ring Road. They crested one ridge and sped down a curving trail, when Usagi caught the sound of something just ahead. “Stop!” she shouted. “Turn around!”
But before they could take another step, a figure landed before them, blocking their path. It was Imugi. Two more Miners jumped down from the steep hillside and joined him, torches in hand. Usagi turned and looked behind her—more Miners were rushing toward them. They were trapped.
“Tora!” Imugi’s eyes blazed in the torchlight, and his fine silk robes from the Conjurer were torn and dirtied from his pursuit. “What’s the meaning of this? I thought you were going to stay.”
“I said that I was going to do everything I could in service to my family, and that’s what I’m doing,” said Tora. “If I become a Warrior Heir, maybe I can find out what happened to Papa. I told you—he could be in Waya right now, making swords for their emperor and the Dragonlord.”
Her brother shook his head. “I’m sorry, little sister. I know you miss him. Papa was a fine blacksmith. But he—he’s dead. I’m all you have left. Don’t fool yourself.”
Tora bristled. “How can you say that?”
“And what about this?” Imugi held up the empty drawstring bag that had held the Conjurer. “You know we need the hammer.”
“No, you don’t,” said Tora. “You have a vault bursting with gems and gold—you’ll be fine. Besides, look at how you’re using the hammer. For ridiculous outfits and servants that are hardly human and fancy fake food—for what?”
“We didn’t realize just how powerful that tool was until this raid,” said Imugi. “We can create armies with it, Tora. If you really want to make a difference against the Dragonlord, stay here and help me take over the Eastern Mines. We’ll have everything if we have the hammer. Stay, sister. Don’t worry about your friends—we’ll give them all the treasure they need.”
Usagi glanced around. They were surrounded now, the path blocked by Miners both before and behind them. She peered to the side, where the slope dropped off steeply. In the torchlight, she saw a path running below.
“We don’t want any jewels or gold,” Inu said. “The only Treasure we need is the hammer.”
Out of nervous habit, Usagi reached for the pendant at her neck, and was jolted as her fingers found the Ring of Obscurity. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner? She glanced at Goru, who saw the ring in her hand. She flicked her eyes to the side of the path and raised her eyebrows. Goru made to twist and stretch his neck as if it were sore, taking a good look in the direction she indicated. He gave a tiny nod.
Together they inched closer to Tora and Inu as they argued with Imugi. Tora pulled back her sleeve and shook her arm at her brother. “Don’t ever say that I abandoned you—I got these scars trying to save you! Every day I’ve had to look at them and think about how I failed.” Her voice broke. “I’m not going to let myself feel that way anymore.”
Usagi had to act fast. She tried to remember what she’d read in the shrine’s library about the Ring of Obscurity. Would dust, fog or smoke be the most effective? Dust, she decided. Fog might be risky. Though Imugi’s dragon talents with water were slight, there was still a chance he’d be able to sweep it away.
Rubbing the amber stone as if she were trying to polish it, Usagi prayed to the spirits of the Twelve that it would work. They hadn’t even tested the ring. What if it had been damaged? Or worse, what if it wasn’t even the real Treasure? Her thumb passed over the pale stone once, twice, thrice—on the twelfth stroke, the ring vibrated, as if coming alive. A swirl of yellow dust shot out from the ring, billowing about them and stinging their eyes. Within seconds they and the Miners were enveloped in a churning cloud of powdery grit, unable to see anything beyond their own noses.
Usagi reached for Inu and Tora, with Goru right behind her. “Jump!” she choked, grabbing their hands. Together they leaped off the trail to the path below.
His Majesty was warned against using the Conjurer for anything that had to do with the body. Food, no matter how fine, would cause ter
rible indigestion, and altering one’s appearance inevitably led to immense dissatisfaction. But the king did not listen, and ordered my sister-in-arms, Kuri the Ram Warrior, to take the hammer and create a great banquet for his birthday, and make him the most handsome man in the room. The results were predictably disastrous.
—From Memoirs of a High Priest on Mount Jade, by Ondori, 13th Rooster Warrior (Retired)
Chapter 18
The Newest Heirs
BRILLIANT RED MAPLE LEAVES LITTERED the stone tiles of the shrine courtyard like spots of blood on a jade slate. Usagi picked up a particularly vibrant one and placed the Ring of Obscurity on it. Set off by the crimson leaf, it glowed in the slanting afternoon light. She held it out to the others.
“That stone’s the size of a dragonberry! It looks like one too, except it shines so.” Admiring the ring, Rana’s dark eyes sparkled.
Saru leaned companionably over Rana’s shoulder and reached for the ring. “The First Tribes called amber ‘tiger soul,’” the Monkey Heir said. “Doesn’t it look like a bit of light from a Summoning, just before turning into a tiger?” She slipped the ring on a finger and splayed out her hand, where it gleamed. “Beautiful. You did well, all of you.”
“If it hadn’t been for Usagi’s quick thinking, that ring might still be flying around Butterfly Kingdom,” said Goru, looking sheepish.
Inu chuckled. He grew serious as he looked at the Conjurer in Nezu’s hands. “And we didn’t need to use your sleep powder, Rana, because of Tora. Thanks to her, we have the hammer.”
Ducking her head, Tora scratched behind Kumo’s ears as the cloud leopard leaned against her with a rumbling purr. “I hope my brother forgives me,” she said softly.
“You did the right thing. And he’ll come to understand that.” Usagi reached out and squeezed Tora’s shoulder.
Tora sighed. “I hope so.”
“I wish I’d seen Usagi on that giant butterfly.” Nezu flashed a grin. “That must have been a wild sight!”