What could he be doing? More to the point what would a sorcerer need with a simple steel sword anyway? The answer arrived a moment later. Lee began a sword dance. The slender blade darted and flashed through the predawn gloom, a random shard of light occasionally glinting off its razor edge.
She watched in silent fascination as he flowed from one position to the next. Lizzy had seen men wield weapons in battle. It was always an ugly, brutal affair, but this, this was beautiful. Lee’s movements were graceful and elegant, but at the same time powerful. It didn’t take much imagination to picture his sword piercing flesh and slicing limbs, yet at the same time his dance seemed peaceful.
He finally stopped and turned to face her. “Did you enjoy the dance?”
Lizzy sat up in her conjured cot. “It was beautiful.” She didn’t even have to feign her admiration.
“Thank you.” He walked past her and collected his sheath. “I’ve been practicing for years. The dance helps me focus.”
“It seems you’ve mastered it.”
He chuckled and called the water once more. “No one ever masters it and only the truly arrogant claim to. My teacher said that only a perfect person could perform a perfect dance. And since there are no perfect people all we can do is strive to do a little better the next day.”
While he drank she asked, “Who was your teacher?”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have heard of him.” Lee dug around in his satchel for breakfast.
“I’ve traveled a bit. It might surprise you who I’ve heard of.” She took a sip of water and accepted another dried sausage when he offered it.
“His name was Gon Shen.”
“Was?”
“He was killed five years ago in a duel. There were two contenders for Grandmaster of the Iron Path. Gon was one. He offered to step aside, but the second contender, Non Wen, refused to accept his withdrawal. Gon always said he’d never kill a fellow member of the path. I believe he died rather than strike a fatal blow to his opponent.”
Lizzy finished her breakfast and stood up. “Did you avenge him?”
Lee sealed the spring and joined her. “It wasn’t my place. Gon has a son, Gin, a very talented young man. I suspect when the time is right Gin will avenge his father and a member of the Shen clan will once again lead the Iron Path. Shall we resume our search?”
Lizzy nodded and they took to the air. His invisible soul force shot out again and Lee moved a little in front of her. She understood now why his movements were so graceful. If he studied with a master of the Iron Path it was only to be expected. They were one of the five preeminent martial arts schools in the empire. In fact, several emperors had studied at their dojo in the capital.
They flew deeper into the mountains, leaving civilization further behind. An hour after they broke camp Lee pulled up and hovered. Lizzy stopped beside him. “What is it?”
He pointed to a pit below them. A nasty looking gray sludge filled it to the top. “That mess is filtering down into the spring. There are so many toxins in it I can’t even identify them all.”
“And we were drinking from that spring? Ugh.” She gagged even though, as a demon, simple poisons wouldn’t trouble her.
“I told you, I purified the water before we drank. Besides it’s entering the water in a trickle not a river. It’s still enough to sicken the villagers and cause a miscarriage. I need to clean this mess up before anyone else dies.”
“Where’s it coming from?”
A man pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with more crud came around the hill along a crude path. “There’s your answer. Must be a mine on the other side of the hill. They’re dumping their waste in the pit. I can’t let that continue. Even if I cleanse the spring they’ll just mess it up again.”
They waited until the man had dumped his load and returned back the way he’d come before following. On the far side of the hill a small mine had been dug into the side of the mountain. Two large tents had been set up a short ways away. The scent of cooking food came from one and the stink of unwashed bodies came from the other.
The man they followed was pushing his wheelbarrow up a narrow path to the mine, probably to get another load of debris. Lee landed five feet in front of him. Lizzy stayed a couple feet behind him in keeping with the role she’d created for herself.
“Excuse me,” Lee said to the silently staring miner. “Is your employer around? I need to speak with him.”
The miner finally worked up the nerve to speak. “The boss isn’t much for talking, especially to strangers.”
“I suspect if you tell him Lee Ben Lai is here to speak with him he’ll consent to join me for a chat.”
The miner’s over-large Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to swallow. “You’re that Lee Ben Lai?”
“I’m the only one I know,” Lee said with considerable patience. “Where is your master?”
The miner pointed toward the cook tent. “He’s in there. The boss prefers to eat alone while he counts the day’s take.”
“What are you mining?” Lizzy asked.
The miner looked over Lee’s shoulder as though noticing her for the first time. His eyes about popped out of his head. That was more the reaction Lizzy was used to. “Gems, purple ones. Not sure what they’re called. I hear they’re all the rage in the capital at the moment.”
“Thank you.” Lee offered the man a little bow. “Would you mind not taking another load out of the mine until I’ve had a chance to speak to your master?”
“Whatever you say, sir. I’ll just wait here for now. You don’t mind talking to him without an introduction, do you?”
“No, thank you again.” Lee turned for the cook tent and Lizzy offered the miner a parting wave. His face went beet red, bringing a smile to her face.
Chapter 4
They followed the path down to the cook tent. The heavy, off-white canvas flapped in the breeze making an annoying crinkling sound. A chimney jutted out the roof, and faint wisps of smoke leaked out. Lee held the flap open for her and she brushed against him as she ducked inside. It was a subtle move, but still a good start. He showed no reaction and followed her inside.
Four tables, each surrounded by six chairs, filled most of the space. At the far end, a cast iron cookstove and prep station took up the rest. A massive, broad-shouldered man sat in the chair farthest from the flap. He had a shaved head and no shirt. Wide, ragged scars covered his chest and arms. On the table in front of him a small pile of at most ten rough-cut purple stones glittered in the diffused light.
The master of the mine swept the stones up into his giant hand and dropped them into a leather pouch. He stood up to face them, his blocky face set in a deep scowl. “Who are you and what do you want?” His voice was as rough as the rest of him.
Lee bowed to the man. “I’m Lee Ben Lai. I’ve come to tell you your mine waste is polluting a spring that feeds the wells of many small villages at the base of the mountains.”
“And I care about them, why?”
Lee’s good-natured expression went hard. “People are getting sick; some have died. You need to find a different place to leave your waste material. I’d be happy to find you a more suitable location. Better yet you could simply find a new place to dig. Somewhere—”
“I have an imperial writ giving me permission to dig anywhere I please.” He pulled a rolled-up scroll out of a pocket in his baggy pants and waved it in Lee’s face. “These are the best amethysts we’ve found in years. I’m not stopping and I’m not wasting any time finding a new dump site. I recommend your villagers find a new water source.”
His writ was reduced to fine dust in an instant. Lizzy hadn’t even sensed him tapping his core before the burst of soul force destroyed the parchment. “Your permission has been revoked. Take your men and your dirty mine and go somewhere you won’t poison innocent people.”
“And where would that be?” the mine boss roared. “I dig where the stones are, not where the water isn’t. My patron needs gems and he won’t look kin
dly on me walking away from such a fine source.”
“And I care about his needs, why?”
Lizzy failed to hide a smirk when he threw the man’s words back in his face. Even apart form destroying an imperial writ, she could could definitely understand why the minister wanted Lee brought under imperial control.
The giant miner sprang at Lee who glided to one side. When the mine boss spun back he found razor-sharp steel an inch from his throat.
His face went from furious to frightened, his voice from angry to pleading. “You don’t understand. Lord Kang expects a certain number of stones every month. If we don’t provide what he needs me and my men can easily be replaced. Permanently, if you take my meaning. Either of your suggestions will decrease production, putting our lives in danger.”
“I know Kang. He’s a boil on the ass of the world. I’ve had to correct his errors on several occasions. I’ll explain the situation to him and make certain he understands that if anything happens to you or your men I’ll be upset. Now, how about we find you a new dump site?”
The mine boss’s grateful expression was truly pitiful. “Thank you, sir, thank you. We never intended to harm anyone. I didn’t even know about the spring.”
“Of course not. Come along.”
Lizzy was impressed by the lengths Lee went to help the miners. He found a deep pit three-quarters of a mile from the mine, used soul force to fuse and harden the stone, then carved them a smooth path from their camp to the new dump site. The miners all gathered and watched him with silent awe.
When he finished they flew back to cleanse the spring. “I’m surprised you went out of your way to help them.”
“Why? Those men are just trying to survive, the same as the villagers they were inadvertently poisoning. The only true villain in this is Kang and we’ll visit him tomorrow.”
“From what you said it sounded like you and Kang have some history?” Lizzy used her power to remove the larger pieces of broken stone from the pit.
“Kang is a pig, an immoral, arrogant official whose only thought is to increase his own wealth and influence and damn whoever he has to step on. He’s responsible for at least twenty, make that twenty-two, deaths that I know of for sure.”
“Did you try reporting him to his superiors?” Lizzy hurled away the last of the stone. It felt odd through her soul force, almost demonic.
“Oh, I’ve reported him to every official I’ve met since I learned of Kang’s actions. It’s a waste of time. Kang has so much dirt on the others they don’t dare move against him.” Lee’s soul force shot out and began filtering the fine particles from the water. “In their own ways the other officials and ministers are as corrupt as Kang. They won’t do anything that risks exposing their own secrets. The whole system’s disgusting, but I’ve made my peace with the fact that one man can’t change the entire empire. I counter them where I can and try to help the regular citizens.”
A pile of black sand had accumulated at his feet. “There, that’s the last of it. The spring should be safe now.”
He bent down and rubbed a pinch of sand between his fingers, frowning.
“Feels strange, doesn’t it?” Lizzy said. “I noticed something off about the rock when I moved it.”
“It reminds me of demonic corruption, but old and soaked into the stone. Something happened here long ago, a battle, a ritual, I don’t know. Something bad.” Lee shook his head and straightened. “It’s nothing that concerns us. Kang lives on an estate just outside Nop Chong City. Do you know it?”
“I’ve heard the name, but I never visited before.”
“Then you’re in for a treat. The city is every bit as corrupt as the official in charge.”
Chapter 5
If Nop Chong City was a treat Lizzy wouldn’t have minded skipping it. They arrived just after sunset. The smell of the place reached them before the city itself was even in sight: the overwhelming stench of too many people crammed into too small a space with not enough bathrooms. The Nop River snaked around the eastern edge of the city then through the nearby plains. It looked like a manure slick, thick and brown as it wound its way past. If the river ever flooded it probably did a wonderful job fertilizing the local farms. It wouldn’t have surprised her to discover most of the stink came from the river rather than the city itself.
At least that’s what she thought before she caught sight of the city. A haze of smoke from hundreds of torches and dung fires hung over a sprawling collection of huts, shacks, inns, and whorehouses. There were probably other business, she certainly hoped there were, but those were the ones that stood out. Lizzy had spent most of her existence in hell and this place made it seem appealing. How could humans stand to live in such a place?
Lizzy coughed against the stink as they grew closer. She wished she dared use internal soul force to turn off her nose, but she feared Lee might sense it. He’d hardly spoken a word as they flew southeast away from the mine. They’d made a brief stop to let the villagers know that the water was safe again before taking off once more.
“How do you stand it?” She coughed again.
Lee glanced back, stopped, and waved his hand, conjuring a soul force barrier around her head. The stink vanished instantly. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d know how to create an odor barrier. I learned the trick from an old friend that traveled regularly through Nop Chong. I doubt I’d get within a hundred miles of the city if I couldn’t use it.”
Lizzy tried to analyze the construct, but it was too complex for casual study. She’d need time to duplicate it. “Why would anyone visit here if they didn’t have to? And why would anyone live here?”
“The reason my friend used to visit is related to the reason people live here. This city is the main production site for Shadow Bliss. They make the drug here and ship it out all over the empire. The addicts living in the huts work to make the stuff in exchange for enough food to keep them alive. Dozens die every day, but there are no shortage of replacements.”
“That’s horrible.” Lizzy didn’t even have to pretend outrage. It never ceased to amaze her the different ways humans had found to kill themselves and each other. Demons weren’t really necessary. Left to their own devices humans were more than capable of destroying their lives. “What about your friend?”
“Ip Yong is a healer. Every two or three months he’d visit and try to help anyone that wanted to escape the drug. Sometimes he’d leave with eight or ten people, other times one or two. Once in a while mothers that hadn’t completely lost themselves to the bliss would ask him to take their children out of the city. That’s why he stopped visiting. All his time is taken up with running an orphanage now. He can’t handle both tasks.”
“He sounds like a saint.”
“No, but Ip’s a good man. He lost a son to Shadow Bliss and made it his life’s work to save as many as possible from the poison. It’s largely thankless work, but he is determined.”
Lee flew toward the northeastern section of the city. The area wasn’t quite as blighted as the rest of Nop Chong. He landed in front of a surprisingly clean and inviting two-story inn. A sign hung in front proclaiming it The White Lotus. In smaller letters underneath it added, “No Shadow Bliss allowed.”
“What’s this place?”
“Another friend runs it. Mai Lin’s a Bliss orphan. Both of her parents died in the sheds when she was young. She lived for five years at Ip’s orphanage then decided to return and build a place where visitors and those looking to escape could live away from the poison until they grew strong enough to flee the city.”
“Will she have room for us?” Lizzy asked. Maybe they’d have to share a room. That would be perfect.
Lee smiled and walked up the steps to the door. “Since I helped her build this inn I suspect she’ll find room.”
He pushed the door open and Lizzy followed him into a clean but empty common room. Considering it was getting on toward dinner time she’d expected to find at least a few customers. A door in the rear
of the room burst open and a tiny woman in her late teens or early twenties came screaming out.
She lunged toward Lee in a flurry of fists and feet. Lee ducked, dodged, and used a single hand to redirect all her attacks. He never took so much as a step.
When the initial rush ended the girl stepped back and bowed. “Master Lee. An honor to see you again.”
Lee nodded. “Mai, your technique has improved. Quiet tonight.”
She straightened up and sighed. “It’s been quiet for the past two weeks. No guests, local or out of town. Don’t know where everyone is, but they’re not here.”
Mai leapt towards Lee and hugged him. “I’ve missed you.”
Lee patted her back then disengaged. “I’ve been busy.”
Mai seemed to notice Lizzy for the first time. “So I see. Who’s your new friend?”
“Ah, forgive my manners. Mai, this is Liz En. She wants to study with me.”
Lizzy offered a shallow bow. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Mai nodded back and immediately returned her attention to Lee. It appeared Lizzy had a potential competitor. “So you finally decided to take on an apprentice?”
“I haven’t decided anything yet. We’re traveling together for now, trying to find out if we get along. Liz has great potential.”
Lizzy smiled at the compliment and Mai frowned. “Well take a seat and I’ll fix you something to eat. Stir fried pork and rice noodles are your favorite if I remember right.”
The door rattled and a group of six rough young men entered. They were dirty, smelly, and looked like trouble.
Lizzy tensed, but Mai just pointed toward the door. “You know better than to come in here with your filthy boots on. Take them off and find a table.”
The young men ducked their heads and scurried back out.
“I swear they’re no better than the kids at the orphanage. Find a seat. I’ll need a minute to heat the wok.”
Mai returned to the kitchen and Lee walked over to a table by the back wall where he had a clear view of the whole room. Lizzy sat across from him and leaned closer. “I guess rooms won’t be a problem after all.”
Lizzy's First Bearer Page 2