by JC Kang
The first soldier lifted his sword, but it clanged into the ceiling. In that moment, she leaped forward with a thrust, which punched through the man’s unarmored belly. He grunted as the second hip-pushed him aside and started to swing his sword. It caught on the wall in a shower of sparks.
Jie yanked the dagger free of the first man, the backward arc slashing through the second’s palmar tendons. As his sword clattered to the ground, she jammed her knife between his ribs. Three steps back put her into the cavern.
The second man stared at his lifeless fingers while holding his other hand over his flank wound. Sword dangling in a limp grip, the first stumbled into the cavern after her. His mouth hung open, and blood flecked his lips.
Surging forward, Jie set the dagger on his sword arm, and stabbed to the base of his throat with the knife. His attempt to lift his weapon drew his wrist across her blade. Her knife bit deep into his neck. Behind him, the second man crumpled.
She blew out a breath and surveyed the carnage. She’d just defeated two superior warriors by using the terrain to her advantage. Spinning around, she scanned for another exit from the cavern.
The walls had been scraped clean of saltpeter. At least a dozen kegs marked firepowder stood in the middle of the room. And there were no exits.
Trapped.
A commotion of voices rumbled from the first grotto. No doubt they would check on the firepowder supplies and find two bodies and a bloodied half-elf girl in a stealth suit.
She stripped down to her undergarments and wedged her suit and knife between some kegs. She yanked the pants off the dead man. Lying down, she lugged and tugged him on top of her. Then, she conjured the saddest thing she could think of: being abandoned by a philandering elf father, adopted by a Black Fist clan just because she had superior senses. Tears welled in her eyes and clogged her nose.
Footsteps approached. A shadow appeared above her. He turned back toward the entrance. “There’s a girl here.”
More footsteps grew louder as he pulled the body off her. He offered a cape. “Are you all right?”
Lord Shi came up behind him.
Sniffling, Jie took the cape and covered herself. Freeing a hand, she pointed at the body and forced a distraught tone. “He... He tried to…” She hung her head and tightened the cape around her. “He was on top of me, but I grabbed his…dagger…and…”
Lord Shi studied her through narrow eyes. “What were you doing down here?”
She sniffed. “The Young Lord. I heard the shouts and came out. I saw the Young Lord run past the sleeping guards and into the mine. But then, the men grabbed me. They ripped my clothes. They…” She burst into tears.
“Find my son,” Lord Shi said. “Take the girl to my receiving room. Bring clothes and keep a close eye on her.”
Trembling all over in a performance worthy of a stage actor, Jie hung her head and followed the escort of guards. Hopefully, an escape route would present itself before they uncovered her stealth suit.
Part 5
Wearing a simple dress that must’ve belonged to a water buffalo, Jie knelt on the carpet in Lord Shi’s audience room, head bowed before his chair. The clothes hung from her small frame like laundry left out to dry. Guards stood at each window, blocking all escape routes. General Lu watched her through narrow eyes.
The doors behind her opened. A set of heavy footsteps matched with lighter ones. Lord Shi came around and sat in his chair, his son at his side.
“My son says he was in his room sleeping.”
Jie raised her head and faced the boy.
His eyes widened.
She turned to the lord. “I swear. Young Lord Shi wanted to see the mines. He thought he’d find candies.” She shot the kid a meaningful look. Would he take the tacit bribe? Her fists clenched tight.
The boy hung his head and burst into tears. “I’m sorry, Father.”
Lord Shi patted his son on the head and faced her. “It looks like I owe you a debt of gratitude. You will be rewarded.”
More than he could imagine, once she escaped. Jie bowed her head. “Thank you, My Lord. The best reward would be to allow me to go to bed.”
“Yes, of course. You will stay in the keep.” Lord Shi peered at her.
A reward, or precaution? Either way, it would be harder to escape compared to the servants’ hovel. She shook her head. “I would rather stay with my friends. My things are there, too.”
“Nonsense. It will be more comfortable, and you will be protected, close to the officers’ quarters. I’ll have your things brought to you.” He motioned to General Lu. “General, escort the girl to her room.”
“As you command.” The general bowed and gestured her out.
For now, she was stuck deeper in the dragon’s jaws. She followed General Lu through the chirping halls.
When they were alone, he stopped. “One thing I don’t understand is, we didn’t find your clothes in the mine.”
Jie’s stomach leapt into her throat. Perhaps he was sharper than he appeared.
Time to use his suspicions against him. She looked left to right, then pulled him into a side room. She yanked his straightsword free and placed the tip at his throat. “I’m a scout for the imperial army, which waits a days’ march away. My partner has already revealed your troop numbers and supplies. Even if all three thousand of your musketballs find their mark, they’ll still outnumber you a ten-to-one. Then, there’s the Rotuvi army to consider.”
If his mouth could gape any wider, a fist would fit in. “Why are you telling me this?”
“To give you a chance to resolve this problem with minimal bloodshed. The emperor has an offer: capture Lord Shi and turn over your firepowder, and His Majesty will give you a command of an imperial outpost here.” Or at least, she’d suggest it to the clan, in hopes that they’d suggest it to the emperor.
General Lu’s forehead bunched up and his lips squeezed tight. Good, he was at least considering the offer. Or perhaps he was constipated. If he strained any harder, smoke might blow from his ears. “I agree to His Exaltedness’ terms.”
Part 6
Jie zigzagged in silence over the nightingale floors to the Young Lord’s room. Sliding the door open, she crept inside.
The child jolted up from his bed. His startled eyes met hers before softening. “Miss Jie, why are you here?”
It was amazing how alert and perceptive he was. Perhaps it helped him find candy better. “You’ll be in big trouble if you stay. I’m taking you somewhere safe.”
“Will there be candy?”
Jie sucked on her lower lip. After a pampered childhood, he’d face hardships. But better that than being executed as a traitor’s son. “No. But you’ll play lots of games. Pin the Knife in the Donkey, Dodge Blades, Hide-and-Go-Stalk…”
THE END (for now)
Excerpt from Songs of Insurrection, Book 1 of the Dragon Songs Saga.
Two years after Prelude to Insurrection...
Jie picked her way among the cargo, glancing back at every voice and footstep. Red paint marked contents and destinations. The bulk of the crates were labelled as Ayuri gooseweed and Levanthi spices, imported by Golden Fu Trading Company, bound for Nanling Province’s villa in the capital. Tian’s suspicions, though rarely wrong, were wrong now. Hardly worth the risk of mingling among boisterous sailors. If they discovered her, found out she was a girl—
The smell of rotten eggs, unmistakable but likely undetectable to a human nose, caught her attention. She sniffed, following the scent to several kegs. The writing marked the contents as turmeric, a ubiquitous ingredient of Ayuri cooking, originating from Pelastya and bound for Wailian County.
Jie examined one of the kegs. Well-sealed, no residue. There was no way of telling the contents without opening it. However, turmeric didn’t smell like rotting eggs, and Pelastya did not grow turmeric. It did have volcanoes and sulfur mines.
Sulfur, bound for Wailian County, the world’s only major source of saltpeter. As clan master’s daught
er, she was privy to the closely guarded recipe for firepowder. The only major ingredient left would be charcoal.
Against the laws of interdependence that kept the nation at peace, someone was making firepowder in the rebellious North. If that was the mysterious substance they’d found in the warehouse, it was being sent south to Yutou Province. An alliance of North and South, ready to fall on the capital.
Jie needed to alert the clan. She started back toward the hatch.
“You!” a male voice called.
Trapped like a rat. Avoiding the sailor’s gaze, Jie ducked back down among the kegs of sulfur bound for Wailian County. It might be used to cure scabies and ringworm, but there was enough here to put every herb store and acupuncture clinic in the North out of business. No, against the Tianzi’s law, someone in Wailian was undoubtedly making firepowder and shipping it south.
Getting the message to the clan would be difficult now that someone had spotted her. Near the only exit, seven different voices and hurried footsteps of varying lengths and weights echoed in the cargo hold.
“Are you sure it wasn’t just rats?”
“It would have been a huge rat. No, it’s an intruder.”
“Inform the quartermaster.”
Jie sucked her bottom lip. They knew she was here, and there was only one way out.
Winches and gears creaked. The platform to the main deck clunked up, and the door clanked shut.
“Fan out,” a male voice called from near the hatch.
Jie leaned forward from between two kegs and peeked out. Three men congregated near the now-raised platform. Four others searched among the crates and kegs. Shadows danced as they raised and waved their light bauble lamps.
Until the hatch opened, there was no way out. At least the patches of darkness allowed her to work her way in that direction. As one man turned his head away, Jie scooted over one crate. When another swept his lamp in her direction, she used the arcing shadow to move to the next. Child’s play. Though if information won wars, the time wasted down here could mean the difference between quelling a rebellion in its infancy, and taking years rooting out a well-established insurgency.
A large man near the hatch crossed his arms. “We know you are down here. Just save us the trouble and show yourself.”
Oh, she’d give them plenty of trouble. Unless they suddenly figured out a systematic search method, she could keep them circling for hours if need be. Still, precious time slipped away.
“Damn stowaway,” another muttered.
So they thought her a stowaway. Better that than a spy. It would get her above deck sooner, which would make escape all the easier, as long as the boatswain didn’t recognize her as one of the recruits. Just better not to let these ruffians know she was a girl. Jie ran her hand through dust and grime and smeared her face.
She then stood and stepped into the light. Lowering her voice, she said, “I’m sorry. I’ll give you all my money. A silver yuan. Just let me out.”
The large man guarding the hatch favored her with a sneer, exposing a long incisor. “Normally we’d take it, brat. Unfortunately, all the gold in Sun-Moon Palace won’t buy you out of this situation.”
Since when did a sailor not take a bribe? And what did they have in mind? Jie’s pulse might have ticked up a beat. Or not. Seven men with more brawn than brains shouldn’t be too hard to escape.
A sailor with a scar on his cheek came up and cuffed her on the side of the head, sending flashes through her field of vision. The stubby fingers of another clamped her shoulder.
Jie froze, feigning fear.
“We got ‘im.” Snaggletooth rapped on the door above with a belaying pin.
The hatch above opened. Standing on the platform as it lowered were two men, one a sailor from the look of his clothes, and a man in robes.
Fat Nose.
Or at least that’s what Tian called him. The short sword, which he’d kept hidden in the warehouse, now flashed in his hand. He pointed it at her. “You, boy, what are you doing here?”
Jie threw her hands up. “I ran away from home.” Hopefully he wouldn’t ask where home was, since Tian, in his usual laconic manner, hadn’t bothered to say where the Wild Orchid had sailed from.
“What did you see?”
Jie stared at the floor, pretending to be ashamed. “I ain’t see nothin’. Just some curry-lovin’ brown folk.” Right, she could always tell them she’d travelled with the Ankirans, though it wouldn’t exactly explain why she’d stayed behind when they disembarked.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, Fat Nose sheathed the sword and turned back to the platform. “Just a stowaway. Not my problem.”
“One with a high-pitched voice,” Snaggletooth said. “You didn’t even bother to check for weapons.” He nodded toward a thick-necked sailor.
No Neck patted her down, pausing where no gentleman would. “A girl.” His leer left a stain on her clothes. He continued down, stopping again when his hand found one of her three knives. “What is this?”
“A knife?” Jie flashed a guilty grin.
Scarface smacked her on the side of the head again. “You’re in no position to make jokes.”
Looking at Fat Nose, Snaggletooth harrumphed. “She’s been in the hold for Heaven knows how long. A runaway, who might have seen too much. Nobody will miss her. Save yourself the risk. We’ll gut her.”
“Afterwards.” Grinning, No Neck slapped Snaggletooth on the back. “Just like that brownie refugee girl whose little body we threw overboard.”
Rapists and murderers! Jie’s muscles clenched, ready to break free of Stubby Fingers’ grip. Nine men to avoid on her way to the ropes leading out of the cargo hold, though perhaps Snaggletooth and No Neck deserved a knife between their ribs first.
“She’s just a girl,” Fat Nose said. “Let her go.”
“Wait.” Scarface held the lamp closer to her face and yanked off her headband.
Jie shot her hands up to cover her ears.
“An elf?” Fat Nose cocked his head.
“Half-elf,” Scarface said. “The one we saw on Ayudra.”
Stubby Fingers nodded. “Yep. That’s her, all right.”
“It wasn’t me!” Jie shook her head. She’d never left Hua before. Though trying to convince them might prove difficult, since elves hardly ever left their secluded valley kingdom, nor mated with humans like a certain dastard of a father.
“Hah! You want us to believe you have an evil twin?” Snaggletooth looked at his companions, who took up his chorus of laughter.
Jie’s fists squeezed tight. They had to be making this up.
“It makes sense now.” Stubby Fingers nodded. “She must’ve stowed away when we docked at Ayudra.”
Snaggletooth turned to Fat Nose. “Mister Jiang, no need to waste your time. We’ll take care of her.”
Jiang held up a finger. “I don’t think—”
With a jerk of his hand, Snaggletooth pointed the belaying pin at Jiang. “Our ship, our rules. Now, you can watch if you want—”
Jie lowered her chin, loosening his grip. With one hand, she seized his wrist and twisted it; with the other, she whipped her third knife out in an arc, slicing Stubby Finger’s wrist tendons. His fingers went limp on her shoulder. Twirling toward the platform, she continued with a backslash through Snaggletooth’s wrist.
He stood, staring at his lifeless fingers, his belaying pin forgotten in his other hand. Jie swept under that arm, dislocated the elbow over her shoulder, and caught the weapon as he dropped it. Finishing her spin, she stepped on the platform with the knife pointed at Fat Nose Jiang’s flank.
Thank the Heavens. Without the element of surprise, she wouldn’t have stood a chance. But now, gaffer hooks, belaying pins, and knives swept out from boots and belts. While Stubby Fingers and Snaggletooth held their wounds moaning, the six remaining sailors encircled the platform.
And exposing her weapon skills would now alert the conspirators that someone might be on to their plans. Time t
o find out as much as possible. Keeping eyes and ears on the sailors, Jie pressed the tip of the knife into Jiang’s ribs. “Tell me, what are you trying to hide here?”
“Silly girl, nothing.”
“By now, you’ve surmised I’m more than a stowaway. Talk.” Jie pushed the point through his clothes and ran it over bare flesh.
Jiang yelped. “Okay. I am an inventor.” He nodded toward some crates. “I have the prototype for a new repeating crossbow. I didn’t want any of my competitors to know.”
And Jie’s father was a pig. Well, he probably was, but… “Why bother when we have muskets?”
“Muskets have limitations. If it rains. If you need to arc projectiles over your own men.”
It was almost believable. Might as well play along; make them think this was all about industrial sabotage. “Then the rumors are true. Open one up and show me.”
Jiang nodded toward Scarface. “Go show her one.”
Holding his injured wrist, Snaggletooth jerked his head back and forth. “No, that bitch is going to pay!”
“What’s going on here?” a voice called from above.
Jie dared a glance. A burly longshoreman stood at the hatch’s opening, hands on his hips.
“Nothing,” Jiang said. “We will load up soon.”