by Cindy Lin
“Enough. You will never outnumber us, and your powers are easily equaled—and surpassed—by my new Dragonstrikers. This can be quick and painless, or it can be the last thing you ever do. Your choice.” The fan smacked against his palm repeatedly, like a threat. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Usagi’s heart pounded with the slap of the fan. They wouldn’t be treated with mercy if they handed over the Treasures. They had to do whatever they could to keep them from the Dragonlord. She glanced at the others and saw that they felt the same. “For the Tigress,” she whispered. “For Midaga. For the Twelve.”
“For the Twelve,” murmured the others. They faced off against the line of Strikers, the Blue Dragon and Tupa, with Uma still trapped beyond them in the fly-net.
Nezu waved his sword. “Come get the Treasures, you stinking blue toad!” With a stealthy hand, the Rat Heir uncorked the drinking gourd at his belt.
“Send in your little roaches,” Goru hollered. The Ox Heir hefted his power chain, casually letting the heavy metal ball swing, though it could easily crush a man’s skull with one blow. Hidden in his giant palm was the Conjurer, attached to the other end of his chain.
Her pale face looking determined, Saru tilted her moon blade at them, the curved edge shining in the sun. Meanwhile Inu had his bow and arrows ready, as did Tora. Usagi glanced at her friend and saw that Tora’s tiger teeth had lengthened into fangs. The Tiger Heir gripped her bow and nudged Rana slightly behind her. “Stay close, Snake Girl. You don’t have any weapons.”
“Oh yes, I do,” said Rana. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m not afraid of them.” She raised her voice and waved the Apothecary. “Come and get this!”
The Blue Dragon rolled his eyes. “This is tiresome. Shut them up now, Captain.”
“Attack!” roared Tupa, and the line of Strikers surged forward, sending up a racket of clattering, rattling armor.
“Hold your ground,” shouted Inu. “No one move. Saru, the fan! Steady, everyone . . . hold steady. . . .”
As the Blue Dragon’s forces got close, Saru whipped out the Winds of Infinity. Snapping it open, she slashed the fan through the air. A gust of wind knocked down every Striker like an invisible hand, and behind them, the Dragonlord and Tupa staggered, barely able to stay on their feet.
“Get UP!” Tupa roared at the Strikers. Grabbing his firehorn, he blew a torrent of flame at Usagi and the others. Nezu pulled a stream of water out of his canteen, turning it into a shield that kept the fire at bay.
Several Strikers scrambled up and aimed their firecannon. Tora’s keen vision caught a glimpse of what was in the barrels. “Bullets incoming!” she screamed.
Goru smashed the Conjurer on the ground, and a giant iron shield sprang up, as big and wide as the Ox Heir. He planted the shield before them just as the Strikers began firing. Usagi and the others crowded around him as a hail of bullets peppered the thick metal.
“We need to hold off fighting them one-on-one as long as we can,” panted Nezu. “There’s too many of them, and they all have powers.”
A bullet clipped the edge of the shield and hit the ground by Usagi’s feet. Wincing at the unrelenting clatter, she pressed closer to Saru. “Spirits save us, we’re too exposed,” said the Monkey Heir. “We have to get into the Sea of Trees.”
Over the barrage of bullets, Usagi caught the approach of footsteps and rattling armor. “Watch out, they’re advancing!”
Two Strikers appeared, running at them from either side. Rana reared her head back and spit at first one, then the other Striker. They scrabbled at their eyes and sank to their knees, screaming.
The torrent of bullets ceased. More Strikers charged, the rattle of their armor growing louder as they approached. “We can’t hide any longer,” cried Usagi. She reached into her pack and grabbed a handful of hidden blades that had been dipped in Rana’s paralyzing venom. Then she launched herself straight up, ascending into the blue sky.
Soaring so high that the Sea of Trees appeared to be a deep green carpet, she glanced down and saw the Strikers running to surround them, looking like a horde of shiny black beetles scuttling toward a meal. As she began to descend, Usagi threw the blades with a practiced flick of her wrist, stopping several roaches in their tracks. When she returned to earth, a young Striker who looked to be about her age raised his sword and sprang right at her, his leap much like hers.
Usagi raised her own blade, blocking the Striker’s swing with a clang. He landed on her, knocking her to the ground. With a grunt, Usagi flung him off and bounded to her feet. She struck at the roach, but he rolled out of the way and her sword bit into the soil. Yanking it back out, Usagi faced the young Striker with rabbit talents. He scrambled up.
“Just hand over that cloak,” he said, hefting his blade. “You don’t want to die over a stupid piece of clothing, do you?”
“Do you?” retorted Usagi. Over his shoulder she saw Tora and Inu firing arrows right and left. But two of the Strikers were fast enough to pluck them out of the air before they could reach their targets. Rana was having better luck. She spit burning venom at anyone who got too close, and had unleashed a handful of glittering white crystals that Usagi recognized as sand from the Dancing Dunes. The sand swirled about the heads of a couple roaches, pelting them hard enough that blood trickled down their exposed faces. Nezu and Saru were working together, using the Winds of Infinity and water from Nezu’s canteen to defend against Strikers and fireballs from Tupa’s firehorn.
The young Striker before Usagi scowled. Setting his jaw, he charged. As he tried again and again to strike Usagi with his sword, each blow would glance off hers, Usagi parrying his blade with her own. Then he spun in a different direction, and with a heave, his blade cut across as if he meant to chop her in two.
Usagi leaped up out of the way. As she landed, she swung down on him. He threw up his sword, smashing it into hers, and for a moment their blades rattled as they pushed against each other. The roach began to tire and bent farther and farther back while Usagi pressed as hard as she could. At last he gave a determined grunt and kicked her. Usagi heard a crack and felt a searing pain as his powerful rabbit kick connected with her leg.
As he darted free, she fell to the earth with a gasp. Looking across the battleground, she spotted the Blue Dragon, standing impassively with his arms crossed, watching as his Dragonstrikers fought the Heirs. But where was Uma? The fly-net was an empty tangle of charred rope behind him, her sister nowhere to be seen.
Usagi’s ears pricked as she heard the approaching footsteps of the young Striker. She turned and feebly swiped her blade. He struck it with his own, so hard that her sword slipped from her grasp. The point of his sword moved to a mere whisker from her throat.
“Give me the cloak,” he ordered.
Raising her hands, she tried to get up, then collapsed with a cry. “My leg!” It throbbed with a stabbing pain and her shin felt as if it had shattered. In desperation, she looked around for help.
But Goru was fighting half a dozen Strikers on his own. With his shield he deflected their cannonfire, then smashed their weapons to pieces with his power chain before knocking them to the ground. Meanwhile, Saru and Nezu were beating back another line of Strikers by hurling stinging sprays at them with the fan and water from Nezu’s flask. But some of the roaches had gifts of their own and managed to deflect the water back at the Rat Heir and the Monkey Heir.
A familiar growl caught Usagi’s attention, and she saw a blur charging out of the Sea of Trees. It was Kumo. The cloud leopard streaked toward Tupa and pounced on the former Ram Heir. As Tupa wrestled with the big cat, some of his fireballs began to burn the vegetation where they came to rest. Bushes flared bright with orange fire, a clump of tall grasses smoked and crackled, and the trunk of a small sapling smoldered before going up in flame.
On another front, Rana had managed to blind the Strikers who had super speed, allowing Tora and Inu to shoot their arrows without interference. The Tiger Heir hit several Dragonstrikers in the gap
s between their armor and leg guards, crippling them. Usagi felt a sudden prick of sympathy for them, for she was just as hobbled now, and there was no one to help her but herself. She glared at her attacker. “I’m not giving you anything. You’ll have to take it. If you can.”
The young Striker looked at her with something like pity. Then he reared up and stomped on her other leg. There was a loud crack and a blinding pain ripped through Usagi. She screamed louder than she ever thought possible.
Tora turned and her amber eyes blazed. “You leave her alone, Tuzi!” she shrieked, and launched an arrow at the young Striker. It glanced off his helmet, and as he ducked, she quickly shot another one that struck him squarely above the knee. He yelled in shock and collapsed, writhing. Tora ran up to Usagi with Rana close behind. “Are you okay?”
“He broke my legs,” gasped Usagi. “I—I can’t get up.”
Rana reached for the Apothecary. “I can fix it. Tora, cover us.”
As Tora stood guard, shooting arrows at anyone who dared approach, Rana took out the pillbox and quickly rummaged through it. She poured drops from a few vials into a mix of powders, combining them into a pungent black paste, and scraped it all up with a mother-of-pearl spoon. She handed it to Usagi. “Take this.”
The paste was so bitter that Usagi gagged and nearly threw up, but Rana was firm. “You have to swallow it! Don’t breathe—just hold your nose!”
The vile taste remained in Usagi’s mouth and was so strong that she forgot about her excruciating pain for a moment. Then she realized that the pain was slowly ebbing from her legs, and it felt as if her bones were vibrating. Her shins became itchy and she reached down to scratch, but Rana held her back. “Don’t touch!”
As the young Striker continued screeching in pain, Tora snapped at him to be quiet. “Or I’ll shoot your other knee!”
“Traitor!” spat the Striker.
“Evil tool!” she retorted, and let fly an arrow at another Striker aiming her firecannon at them. The arrow struck the Striker’s arm and she jerked the firecannon upward. It went off, and a fly-net went soaring straight into the air. As the Striker struggled to dislodge the arrow from her arm, the fly-net came crashing back down on her in a web of sticky rope. Tora spied the cloud leopard fighting Tupa and gasped. “Kumo!” She raised her bow, then grunted in frustration. “Can’t get a clear shot.” She loosed the arrow at a charging Striker instead, who dropped his sword and grabbed his thigh with a howl.
As Usagi’s bones knit together, a wave of heat cascaded through them. The itching became more like burning. She gritted her teeth and tried not to scream.
Though a good number of Strikers were down, Usagi’s friends were still terribly outstripped by the Dragonlord’s troops. Inu, Saru, and Nezu were surrounded by a circle of Strikers, while Tupa had managed to get on top of Kumo, even as the cloud leopard twisted, clawed, and growled, trying to clamp its jaws around the Striker captain’s throat. Tora shot an arrow at Tupa, but it only grazed his helmet, knocking a gold-tipped horn askew. “Spit and spleen!”
Goru knelt behind his giant shield. He took the Conjurer and pounded it on the ground as fast as he could. With each beat of the wooden mallet, an armored Guard emerged. The Guards were all identical, clad in metal and carrying curved swords. They immediately swarmed the Strikers, distracting them enough to draw fire away from the Heirs. Several set upon Tupa, and he let go of Kumo and began fighting off their attack. Tora immediately called for the cloud leopard to run. “Into the Sea of Trees, now!”
Shield in hand, Goru ran over to where Tora and Rana were protecting Usagi. “We need to get you to the forest too, Rabbit Girl. Can you get up?”
“Her bones are still healing,” said Rana, putting a hand on Usagi’s shin. “Can you carry her?”
With one arm, Goru scooped Usagi up, taking care not to jostle her. “I could carry all of you, actually.”
“We can carry ourselves,” countered Tora.
The Monkey Heir, Nezu, and Inu swiftly joined them, now that the conjured Guards were doing the fighting for them. “Once we get into the Sea of Trees, we have a better chance,” said Saru. “The Blue Dragon is afraid to go in there.”
In that moment, Goru’s shield disintegrated into a pile of iron shavings, leaving them all exposed. The Ox Heir let out a yelp of surprise. Usagi looked over and saw the Dragonlord’s lip curl with satisfaction. Rubbing his hands slowly, he fixed his gaze on the conjured Guard, then flicked his fingers. One by one, the false Guard crumbled into powder and blew away. He turned and strolled toward them, his dark eyes focused on Goru, and raised a palm. Usagi heard the clink of a chain, then saw to her horror that the heavy metal ball on Goru’s power chain was floating up, lifted by an invisible hand. With a sharp snap of his wrist, the Blue Dragon smacked the air. “Watch out!” Usagi cried.
The iron ball flew at them. Goru tried to duck, raising his free arm. The ball grazed it and glanced off his forehead, hard enough that his head snapped back. He teetered for a moment, then crumpled to the ground. Usagi was still cradled in his other arm. She wriggled free and got unsteadily to her feet. Her legs were wobbly, but they were holding, and the burning itch of her knitting bones had subsided considerably. “Come on, Goru,” she pleaded, trying to get him back up, but he groaned and didn’t move.
Tora and Inu both strung arrows to their bows, but the Dragonlord chuckled. “Really? Go ahead,” he sneered. Glaring, Tora fired hers, but he waved a hand and it went wide. Inu quickly followed with his shot, and the Dragonlord waved it aside, laughing harder.
Clutching her sword, Usagi stumbled forward, her legs buzzing as if they’d fallen asleep. With a twirl of the Blue Dragon’s fingers, her blade twisted into a tight knot. “You’ll give me that cloak if you don’t want to end up like your sword,” he growled.
Usagi stared at the useless clump of metal in her hand. Gods’ guts, his metal gift was strong. But she wasn’t going to give him anything, even though her legs felt like quivering bean curd and her weapon was destroyed. Hidden blades wouldn’t work against him. The only other thing she had with any power was the Coppice Comb. She began to reach for it, then stopped. What could it do but bring forth a stand of trees—in full view of the man who wanted that very comb? It was too risky. Nor could Saru use the Winds of Infinity—with its metal ribs, it would surely be snatched up by the Dragonlord. Already the power chain was slipping from Goru’s waist, the Blue Dragon trying to pull the Conjurer to him. Usagi dropped her ruined sword and grabbed at the power chain, tugging it back.
The others joined her, all of them taking hold of the power chain. But Rana had a better idea, and her fingers began working at the leather thong that tied the wooden mallet to the chain. She slipped the Conjurer off and stuck it in Usagi’s pack. “Let him have it!” Rana cried.
At once they let go, and the power chain went flying. The enormous ball barreled at the Dragonlord’s head, but he stopped it just before it reached him. His face grew indigo with anger. Bellowing, he hurled the power chain at them, and the ball streaked through the air, trailed by the long heavy chain. The links wrapped around all of them except Goru, who was out cold on the ground, and drew them tightly together, like a bundle of firewood. As they struggled to free themselves, the Dragonlord and his Strikers approached.
Chapter 26
Zodiac Rising
AS THE CHAIN BINDING THE Heirs grew tighter and tighter, the Dragonlord and his remaining forces closed in around them. In the face of the Dragonlord’s immense power with metal, their weapons were either destroyed or useless, and they were outnumbered to boot. The Blue Dragon would finish them off and get the Treasures after all. Usagi struggled against the thick links of the power chain as it pressed her against the others. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. In the shadow of Mount Jade, it seemed that all was lost.
Then Usagi heard the growing thunder of what sounded like hundreds of running feet. She turned her head. “Someone’s coming.”
Tora’s eyes
widened. “Is that . . . my brother?”
Masses of people were approaching—some at spirit speed, and others on horses and contraptions made of wood and bamboo. With a shock, Usagi recognized the grizzled, leaf-littered form of Yunja and his barkcloth-clad charges from Sun Moon Lake. Ji’s seagulls swooped in circles above them, flying alongside a flock of fierce black crows.
Next to Yunja’s crew was a small band of younglings, wiry and tough, carrying slingshots in their tattooed arms. “The Ghosts of Butterfly Kingdom,” Usagi breathed. “They got the message we sent!”
A quintet of younglings Usagi didn’t recognize ran alongside the Ghosts, but she heard Saru cry out. “Inu, the Dunelings are here!”
“What?” Inu craned his neck and sniffed the air, then yelped in surprise. “And the Miners!”
Nezu let out a whoop. “We have reinforcements!”
Sure enough, Panri the Boar Boy and an army of other scar-faced Miners raced for the clearing, all with weapons that looked like the spoils from caravan raids. Leading the charge was Imugi, Tora’s brother, sword in hand.
Tora’s eyes filled with tears. She bared her fangs at the Blue Dragon. “You see, Lord Druk? You may try to use our powers for your own ends, but not all Midagians will bend to your will.”
The Blue Dragon looked out at the approaching horde, many of them younglings and lightly armed, all of them ragged. He burst out laughing, his teeth white and sharp against his dark lips. He turned to Tupa. “You know what to do.”
The former Ram Heir saluted, grinning. “Yes, my lord.” He barked at the other Strikers. “Fall in! Counterattack! Take your positions!”
As the Strikers ran off, the Dragonlord squeezed the chain tighter. “Poor fools,” he said softly. “Your friends have come too late, and they’ll pay for choosing to side with you. You’ve lost everything.”
Usagi squirmed, laboring for breath as the chain contracted. She thought of her parents, and then of Tora’s father, of the Tigress, of her sister. Where Uma had run off to, Usagi didn’t know, but she realized that she’d lost her sister long before this day. So many they loved were gone. Beside her, Rana’s mouth worked, as if she were chewing something. They locked eyes and Rana nodded.