“I agree, your excellency,” one of them said, emboldened by Second Brother’s words. “We’re between a mountain of knives and a sea of fires out here. Please, let’s find out what the girl knows and put her in the ground.”
The Imperial Sword hesitated, but he sensed he wouldn’t get any better reason out of them.
“Two days, then.”
He didn’t rejoin the men around the fire. Instead he walked a little way apart, trying to calm his thoughts.
Do you think you’re a righteous man?
All he wanted was peace under Heaven. He’d counted the cost. He’d determined to pay it. But he wouldn’t compromise any further than he had to. So far as he could, he vowed he’d keep his hands clean.
Once again, Iron Maiden woke to the healing warmth of a qi infusion. Once again, the Imperial Sword ended the treatment long before she’d had enough, leaving her alive but tormented by thirst and hunger, the crusted wounds on her chest throbbing with fever. When he was finished, the Imperial Sword locked the cage and circled around to look at her.
“Is there anything else I can do, heroine?”
“You can stop mocking me. Even when he wants to show mercy, a wicked man is cruel!”
The masked man leaned closer.
“Heroine, please consider the possibility that I may not be wicked. I’ve been sent to retrieve the Golden Phoenix Sword for the emperor. That’s all. Where is the harm in that? Why suffer all this for such a little thing?”
“Because the Golden Phoenix doesn’t belong to you!” She glared at him from behind the ragged curtain of her hair. “And because I know what the so-called emperor will do with the sword once he has it! He will bathe it in the innocent blood of thousands.”
Imperial Sword’s eyes fell. “One cannot pour oil without tipping the bottle. Because of all those who refuse to recognise the Mandate of Heaven, peace cannot come to All-Under-Heaven without bloodshed.”
“Including my blood?”
Still he wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Those who resist the emperor’s righteous intentions have only themselves to blame. They will always be permitted to lay down their weapons and obey him.”
“Is that what you’ve done?” She dragged herself onto her knees, trying to ignore the pain. “Look at me. Look me in the eyes. Do you find honour in serving this self-styled emperor, then?”
He obeyed her command and looked at her, but not to answer the question.
“I’m here to make an offer. Lead us to Ten Thousand Thorns Temple, and then come back to Nanjing with us. There is nothing the emperor will refuse to the woman who offers him the Golden Phoenix Sword. Not just your freedom, but money, station, anything you might care to name. Even appointment as his concubine.”
Better to be a broken piece of jade than an unharmed brick. Better to die with honour than live in shame.
There was no point in saying it, so she kept silent.
“Heroine, I have to warn you.” His voice sank even lower. “It’s imperative that we know where to find Ten Thousand Thorns Temple, and soon. My men are fearful and growing impatient. Unless you tell us what you know before tomorrow night, I must allow them to question you themselves.”
His eyes were haunted, his voice earnest. She felt the cold certainty that he meant it.
“What is it to you, anyway, heroine? If the emperor has the Mandate of Heaven, nothing you do can stop him. My men are desperate to return home safely. If they fail, they die. If they succeed, they win a magnificent reward and the emperor’s forgiveness for the crimes in their past. We are looking for redemption, Miss Iron. The emperor will have the Golden Phoenix sooner or later, but we only get one chance to put ourselves right with him. So do you.”
“Put myself right with him!” She clenched her fists until the wooden fetter bit into her wrists. “Let him hang between Earth and Heaven three days, and then I will put myself right with him. But not before.”
The Imperial Sword stepped back, shaking his head.
“You have until tomorrow night. I implore you, don’t make this hard for yourself.”
He cupped his fists and departed to saddle his horse. As he left, Flying Crane was led up to be tethered behind the cart. Iron Maiden stared into the liquid eyes of the only other being in this camp that would sympathise with her in her captivity.
There was a thump. The whole cage shook. Iron Maiden jumped. The man leading the horse looked through the bars with an ugly sneer.
“Tomorrow night, Miss! His excellency will be taking a long walk.”
Her heart raced, leaving her sick and faint, but Iron Maiden tried not to let her terror show on her face.
All that morning she lay in the bottom of the cart with her eyes shut, shivering from her fever. At first she tried to circulate her qi, but it was a losing battle. She was too sick and weak to heal herself, and it was only the Imperial Sword’s infusions that kept her alive.
What could she do?
The hours passed like a nightmare. She paid no attention to her surroundings until the cavalcade lurched to a stop and the Imperial Sword unlocked the cage again. He eased her out of the bamboo cage and supported her to the grass by the roadside. They stood near the summit of a high hill on the borders of the mountains. The wind was cold, the sky a pearly cloud and below them for looping miles the road lay like a raw noodle on the hillside.
Far below, a solitary horseman plodded up the road.
“Heroine was right.” The Imperial Sword spoke as calmly as ever. “He has followed us.”
The horseman’s head was bent, but she could see the handle of the sword on his back, and the swinging red tassel which hung from its hilt. Iron Maiden felt life flooding back into her.
“Clouded Sky!”
Her voice perished in the wind, unable to reach him. In the same moment there came the sound of horn and cord groaning. Iron Maiden looked up to see one of the guards draw a bowstring to his ear. The short, curved bow was as thick as her wrist, the arrow wickedly barbed. It would fly fast and do incalculable damage.
She stopped breathing. The Imperial Sword looked down at her.
“Where is Ten Thousand Thorns Temple, heroine? Tell us. Or he dies.”
Despite herself, a whimper escaped her throat.
“No!”
“Is the Golden Phoenix Sword really worth your friend’s life?”
Iron Maiden wept without tears; all the moisture in her body was dried up. Despite his arrogance, Clouded Sky was the only person who had been kind to her for longer than she could remember.
“I don’t believe you,” she said at last.
“What don’t you believe, heroine?”
“That you only want the sword. What good is a sword to the Emperor? No. He will kill Morning Light, and the Heaven-Relying Dragon-Slaying Sword Skill will be lost forever!”
There was a moment’s silence.
“The Emperor means no harm to Morning Light. Our orders are only to retrieve the sword. I swear it, heroine. None of us will touch the princess.”
Maybe he was telling the truth. And maybe he wasn’t.
“You are willing to murder my friend. Why should I believe you about the princess?”
“Make your choice, heroine! Speak now, or your friend dies.”
She looked up at him.
“It’s your choice, not mine. If he dies, you’ll never find Ten Thousand Thorns Temple. I’ll never tell.”
The Imperial Sword’s eyes narrowed. Then he dropped his hand. At his signal, the bowstring sang.
“No!” Iron Maiden screamed. The effort was too much for her; there was a sudden roaring in her ears, and night fell on her vision.
When she awoke, she was in the cage again, and the endless march continued.
Night fell and the cart finally stopped moving. It was bliss to Iron Maiden. After being bumped over every rut in the poorly-kept road, she ached from head to foot. Her head pounded, the fetter chafed her neck, and because of her great thirst she had been unable to shed even
one tear for Clouded Sky.
Was he dead? Was she truly alone?
The Imperial Sword came to give her another qi infusion, but this time he remained in the cage much longer than usual. When he finally removed his hands from her back, she felt better than she had in days.
“Can you walk?”
She was surprised to find that she could. With the Imperial Sword’s help she climbed stiffly out of the cage and saw that they had stopped in a small town. Light glowed from the door of a tavern where the guards went in and out. A man in the blue robes of a minor official bowed low to the Imperial Sword and led them down the street.
Iron Maiden looked around the street in curiosity. Where was she? She clenched her fists inside the wooden fetter. If she could get her hands free, could she strike a blow for freedom? Could she overcome the ten guards that surrounded her?
They stopped, and the official bowed again.
“The prison, your excellency!”
It was a small building containing no more than two or three cells, all of them empty, but Iron Maiden’s hopes plummeted at the sight of its massive posts and bars. As the imperial guards shoved her into the nearest cell she yanked helplessly at the fetter, but her feeble strength was not enough.
“Is there anything else we can do for you?” the official asked anxiously as the prison keeper entered Iron Maiden’s description into his book by the flickering lamplight. “Your excellency is the emperor’s personal envoy!”
“My men are tired and need rest,” said the Imperial Sword. “Can I trust you here to watch the prisoner?”
“Yes, of course. And anything else? You will tell the revered emperor that we did everything in our power to assist?”
Their voices faded away down the street, the official still laying every amenity of his town at the Imperial Sword’s feet. Evidently, some in the western provinces hoped to avoid the emperor’s wrath through early submission.
Iron Maiden hadn’t had the chance to ask what had happened to Clouded Sky. She bent her head, fighting back despair. Two guards watched outside the lockup, two more in the dim lamplight within. Maybe if she broke her thumbs she could slip her hands out of the fetter. But it would expend too much qi energy to heal them. After that, there was no way she could fight her way past the bars that hemmed her in, or the guards, or the town gates. She could not fight her way out, and she was not clever enough to scheme or bargain her way out.
For a hundred years Morning Light had meditated in peace, waiting for her day to come. Once more Iron Maiden vowed that she would never betray the princess, but what if the unthinkable happened? What if they found a way to break her will?
A soft sound came from outside the lockup. Iron Maiden stiffened. That sounded like a fist! But that must mean…
Inside the lockup the two guards looked at each other and tightened their grip on their spears. Cautiously, one of them edged closer to the door.
“Who’s there?”
No answer. Which meant that the sentries outside must be gone or incapacitated.
Iron Maiden held her breath as the two guards stepped outside. For a moment, nothing happened. Then it was as if one of the very shadows had come to life. There was the sound of two blows, almost simultaneous, and both the guards crumbled to the ground with a faint chime of weapons.
Their attacker leaped into the lockup.
He wore a black night-traveller’s outfit and a mask. But a red tassel swung from the hilt of his sword.
“Clouded Sky!” Iron Maiden whispered.
“Heroine! Are you all right?”
She puffed strands of hair out of her eyes and nodded radiantly.
There was a whisk of movement beyond the door. “Behind you, dage! Imperial guards!”
Clouded Sky whirled, unsheathing his sword and attacking in the same motion. It was impossible to see anything, just a red flash as the sword left its sheath. Then the foremost attacker’s head toppled to the ground a moment before the rest of his body.
Two more guards immediately forced their way in, one on either side of Clouded Sky. Iron Maiden rushed toward the bars and watched with her lips parted, shackles forgotten. Clouded Sky’s sword flickered in both directions, stabbing and piercing. But trapped in a narrow space between two assailants, he was unable to see both attackers at once. As he pressed one back, the other aimed a swordpoint at his back.
“Behind you, dage!” she yelled. Clouded Sky reversed his sword and struck behind without looking. The attacker fell to his knees grasping a stomach wound. “In front! Use your fists!” Iron Maiden shouted. Clouded Sky stepped forward, feinting with his left fist and attacking with his sword-weighted right.
Suddenly, the night was silent again.
Clouded Sky turned on his heel and unlatched the heavy door of the lockup.
“Yellow Fisherman Hauls the Net? Guan Yu Heavy Fist? The perfect stances, heroine!”
“So that’s what they’re called.”
“Did they hurt you?”
Still beaming, she shook her head.
“Can you ride?”
“If you take this thing off.”
“Hold still, then.”
His sword struck the shackle between her neck and wrists. The wooden pieces split and Iron Maiden extended her arms with a sigh of relief.
“I feel better already! What about Flying Crane, dage?”
“I’ve already got him.” Together, the two of them rushed out into the night.
At once shouts split the air. The Imperial Sword ran from the tavern at the head of his men. Clouded Sky whistled, and Flying Crane emerged from an alleyway, surging into a gallop. He vaulted into the saddle and Iron Maiden alighted behind him, catching hold of the saddle with a laugh of pure joy.
Clouded Sky allowed himself to breathe more freely once they left the town. His plan was a hasty one, invented as he went along, and he’d had no way of knowing if the guards he bribed would keep the gate open past sundown as asked. To his relief, all went smoothly. Once safely outside the town wall, he turned off the road onto a narrow path running into the forest.
Iron Maiden had been silent since the lockup, her fingers linked on the cantle of his saddle, her head occasionally bouncing on his shoulders with the gait of the horse, as if fighting slumber or exhaustion. Now she spoke.
“Where are we going?”
“Not far, heroine.”
“I thought they shot you with an arrow, dage.”
“They missed me, but killed my horse. I had to buy another from a manor-house.” Later he’d used the second horse to bribe the town gatekeepers. Thoughtfully, he added, “The Imperial Sword doesn’t seem the kind of man to miss what he aims at. Did they kill the horse on purpose?”
“The Imperial Sword threatened to kill you if I didn’t tell them where to find Morning Light. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he thought you’d be more useful alive than dead.”
“A hostage for your good behaviour? Maybe so.” He thought for a moment. “I suppose that means you told them to go ahead and shoot me, heroine!”
“If a person does wrong, he alone must take the blame. Your life would have been lost for a noble cause, dage.”
It wasn’t quite the answer he had hoped for.
“Why are we going towards the moon?” Iron Maiden’s voice was dreamy with exhaustion. “Ten Thousand Thorns Temple is the other way.”
“Because we’re going here instead.” Flying Crane ambled to a stop. “Look, heroine. This is where we’ll spend the night.”
It was an ancient ruined manor house, hidden in a valley and overgrown with creepers. Discreet questions at the manor where he bought the horse had suggested this would be a good place to hide. He could only hope that the Imperial Sword would not make similar inquiries. After the excitement of her escape, Iron Maiden’s strength was clearly ebbing. Clouded Sky helped her inside and quickly found a still-intact room where some traveller or bandit before them had left a stacked pile of firewood.
Warmth, food
, water, and the salve he’d brought in his saddlebags soon revived Iron Maiden’s strength. He returned to the room just as she finished bandaging her wounds.
“You thought of everything, dage.”
“I knew you would need the medicine. I saw the scene of the fight at Wudang. Oh! I had forgotten.” He dug into his saddle-bags again and brought out a tiny box ornamented with white cranes.
“My tea!”
“You left it at Wudang.”
She pulled off the lid and breathed in its aroma with tears in her eyes.
“Tea, ‘the beverage that quenches thirst, and dissipates sorrow.’ Clouded Sky, dage…” Her voice trailed away.
He wanted her to go on. He wanted her to express the thoughts which brought that light of gratitude and admiration to her eyes. But she restrained herself, and a look of sadness quenched the light briefly before she straightened with a dutiful smile.
“Thank you, dage. I should be able to travel in the morning. Ten Thousand Thorns Temple awaits!”
Clouded Sky settled down cross-legged beside her. “That’s what we need to talk about, heroine. We can’t go any further. In the morning, we must return to Mount Jing.”
Her face fell. “But I thought…”
“You were wrong.”
When Iron Maiden was taken from Wudang, Clouded Sky had come to realise how profoundly he respected and even loved her. But who would act as his matchmaker for her? They were alone on a desperate mission. Now, hesitantly, he smiled. “I didn’t come in search of Ten Thousand Thorns Temple. I came for you, meimei.”
As soon as the word left his mouth, Clouded Sky held his breath. Calling her little sister like that was too flirtatious. But to his relief, she blushed and looked down shyly.
“Clouded Sky dage, if you hadn’t come, I think I would not have survived. Thank you.”
He opened his mouth to speak again, but she said quickly, “Dage, listen. If I had died, my secret would have died with me. On the road, in that cage, I decided that the secret must be shared! I must tell you the location of Ten Thousand Thorns Temple.”
“Me?” Clouded Sky stared, distracted from his thoughts of love. “But I’m nobody.”
Ten Thousand Thorns_A Fairy Tale Retold Page 9