by Cyci Cade
“Of course you can.” She fanned her tail.
“I want that green sapphire necklace.” Liu moved nervously, he hoped she agreed to his request without questioning him.
“Why?” Her expression became suspicious.
If he told her about his intention, she wouldn´t give him the necklace so he didn´t reveal the entire story. One day she might understand and forgive him. “I had a dream about it.”
“It is yours, my son.” She licked his face.
“Thank you. Goodbye, Mom.” He agreed with his mother´s absurd idea to stay in that place, but it sounded so wrong. He had to protect her, not leave her behind to cover his escape.
“Goodbye, my son, take care.” Xuan took off before he said that he wasn´t sure about her decision, maybe in order not to see him leaving.
How difficult it was to leave his mother behind. It would be more difficult to meet Wei. He didn´t have time to ponder the pros and cons, better, he didn´t have any choice. Liu had a job to do and with or without his brother he´d fix his mistakes, break the curse, set free his parents, pay for his mistakes, and restore the Dragon´s Dynasty.
Liu raised his head and paced slowly forward; his tail shoved Fu Chow inside the cave. “What are you doing here?” The dragon released smoke from his nostrils trying to frighten the woman.
“I have seen one dragon, and I wondered where the other one was.” She scratched her chin.
“Hunting.” Liu backed off and blocked the cave´s entrance.
“You aren´t like the other. You are…” she grimaced.
While she seemed to picture a word to describe Liu, he completed the sentence. “I am not docile as my mother is. To be honest, I hate human beings.” He lowered his head and approached Mary to intimidate her.
“What do you want here, Mary?” Xuan landed near them. “You know the rules better than me. Don´t think you are not disposable because all of us are.”
The woman raised her head. “I was only checking if you were fine. Mr. Jin Quan would like to know if his dragons have suffered some kind of… accident.”
Xuan sniffed the woman. “Are you threatening us? I sniff fear in your skin, and don´t think I won´t kill you because you are Jin Quan´s servant. I can eat you in one bite, and no one would notice your absence.”
Mary spun on her heels and ran away like a scared animal. Xuan followed her some steps, waited until the woman disappeared from the trail to the building and then she turned to Liu. “You must leave now.”
Liu nodded, clasped Fu Chow and left, excited for the trip; he was heading back home. Liu had thought he might never go home again, and that possibility affected his nerves. The time to prove his value arrived, Liu´s family destiny was in his hands, worse, his and his brother´s hands.
He decided to give Wei a chance, a truce, an opportunity for his brother to prove that Liu could trust him again. The only way to fix that mess was with his brother´s help. For that, they had to work together and even thinking Wei was an inconsiderate man, he believed that his brother also wanted to see their family restored.
Chapter 18
Kate
Kate tried to wake the man but got no reaction, so she grabbed his coat and dragged him some distance. She´d spent hours trying to put him in a safe place. With a starving lioness on their heels, the only safe place was in the trees and that was, without shadow of a doubt, out of the question.
The lioness drew near; its roar froze the blood in Kate’s veins. She tossed her bag away, picked up the rodent she had killed, and threw it to the animal. The lioness sniffed the dead animal then ignored it; its interest was in Kate. She became a better prey or a challenge to the animal.
She prepared her bow; put an arrow in the bowstring. The battle lines drawn, her thoughts were that this fight was a losing battle, though she couldn´t run and leave the man to the lioness. She sucked in the fresh air and held her breath; the predator paced slowly, carefully, eyes connected with Kate´s, it was a great hunter, the lioness knew what it had to do to be successful.
Kate waited for the best moment to shoot, patience was the order of the day, if she delayed or got ahead a second, everything would be lost. The lioness circled her; Kate mimicked it, kept visual contact and a dance started with rhythmical movements where no one wanted to take the initiative.
A salty drop of sweat ran on her forehead, entered her eyes and blurred Kate´s vision. “Fine, when I don´t have anyone to help, there are a lot of things to distract,” she complained to no one, blinked fast several times and widened her eyes never losing the animal from her field of vision.
The lioness took advantage of her short distraction and ran toward her. Kate loosened the bowstring, the arrow traveled without power and hit the animal´s shoulder, the lioness roared angrily, in pain, ready to kill. Her shot wasn´t strong enough to kill or even frighten the predator, just to irritate it still more. They had unfinished business; Kate knew it was the same lioness that chased her a month ago, that day Kate won, today, her future was uncertain.
In one flowing movement, Kate rolled across the ground, caught the sword near the man´s body, dragged herself away from him and got up holding the sword in front of her. She didn´t have any idea how to use it; there was always the first time for everything. The animal seemed outraged, maybe it had thought that Kate was an easy target. Even she was surprised that she was still alive.
When Kate least expected it, the animal lunged. She just yelled; she didn´t have time to do or think anything else. Her body crashed against the earth, the air left her lungs, her vision became cloudy, her body numbed.
What would ensue now? Which part of her body would the lioness eat first? Why was she still thinking?
Kate kept her eyes shut and waited. Perhaps the animal was resting before eating her or waiting for its family, worse, a lion could be near them, only expecting the female signal. Yes, because the female hunted for the male and the cubs, her father told her about this once and Phillip might have mentioned something.
A few minutes passed without incident, the animal remained as if paralyzed over her. Kate took a risk and opened one eye; she couldn´t see much, but she realized that the animal didn´t breathe. Kate pushed the lioness with no success; she might die crushed by an animal. What would her family think of that scene?
She pushed the animal as she slid her body out to the side, with numerous pushes and slides she was able to get free. She saw the sword, planted in the middle of the chest of the lioness. Kate sat up trying to control her trembling body; tears gushed out from her eyes and wet her face. A weird sensation that she didn´t have before possessed her, and she thought that she´d never be able to move her body again.
That was the worst idea she had ever had. The lioness almost killed her, what would a dragon do? Kate didn´t have any chance fighting against dragons, she didn´t know anything about them, and they were bigger than a lion, more dangerous than any predator she knew. Stupid girl! She could take advantage of Liu´s unconsciousness, kill him, and solve her problem once and for all, he was defenseless. He deserved it; he took Sam and lied to her. He broke her heart; he deserved it. He did!
Kate approached the man, scrutinized him, and cast the absurd idea from her mind. She´d never be capable of killing her love, there was a sturdy bond between them, she couldn´t deny or simply ignore it. She loved him and no matter what happened she´d never allow anything bad to happen to him; no matter how many animals she had to kill, she´d protect him, with her life if necessary.
She grabbed her backpack and looked for a shelter. Near the man´s location she found a cave with some clothes and food. Kate took a coat, examined it and wondered what Liu was doing in this cave. Was this his place, his home? She looked to the man sprawled on the ground, let the coat fall, undressed her clothes covered in blood and dressed in other jeans and a long sleeved T- shirt.
She strode to the lioness, pulled the sword out, flung the bloody clothes on it, and set up a bonfire. That blood smell wa
s ascent signal to other predators, and she had to quell it. After that, she dragged the man to the cave.
“When will you wake?” she whispered and brushed back the long strands of hair that partially covered his face.
While she rested beside him, her stomach rumbled and she remembered her prey. She rushed to look for it wondering where she had thrown the rodent. Kate scanned every inch of the soil.
The sun set quickly, dimming Kate´s vision, making her quest more difficult, but she didn´t give up. She knelt and traced the ground until she reached her dinner near the bushes. The lioness´ corpse clicked in the fire, the smell of burning meat flooded the small glade.
Kate put aside any thought of celebration; it never worked like she wanted. She was too tired and needed to set up another fire to prepare her dinner. She trudged to the cave, collecting some brushwood on the way, uncertain which kind of dangerous animal might appear at night. A big fire ought to provide safety for her. She used one of the bottles of water to clean the rodent, skewered it with a branch and left it in the fire, rotating it once in a while.
It was completely dark when her dinner had roasted. She bit a small piece and chewed it, the taste was awful; she wanted to toss that disgusting animal away, but her hunger was colossal and food wasn’t abundant. It explained why the lioness wasn´t interested in her dinner. Kate sliced bread, put a piece of the animal in the middle, and imagined Hannah´s delicious stew, an attempt to disguise the disgusting taste.
She glanced at the man; he remained unconscious. Kate took water and approached him; he seemed in peace as if just sleeping. She lifted his head, wet his lips dropping water slowly, and washed his face.
“You are feverish. I hope you don´t die.” Kate soaked a shirt and draped it on his forehead; she repeated that gesture and prayed for his recovery several times. The fever ceased in the morning. When she at last slept, the sun already shone strongly through the branches.
Kate woke up in the evening; the fires had gone out, the sun hidden behind the trees; the last rays passed through the branches, lit the ground and part of the cave´s walls showing a wonderful pallet of colors in orange, yellow and green. She checked the man´s fever, it had ceased. She wet his lips once more; that was all she could do for him.
“When will you wake? I have so much to tell you, I am very angry because you lied, but I love you. When I saw you unconscious and the lioness threatening us…” She shook her head and cried; her body shook. “I couldn´t run away and leave you, I thought we´d die. I´d like to die instead of losing you, our connection grows, it´s strong, unbreakable, and eternal.” The man remained unaware, only his chest moved in a constant rhythm, up and down.
She set another fire, walked around him and unzipped his bag. He wouldn´t bother if she checked his belongings; he wouldn´t bother if he didn´t know. She found food and water. Kate wet his mouth, sipped the water and returned the bottle to his bag. She bit the bread, meat, and looked at him. “I don’t think you will be angry if I eat a little?” She shrugged and continued chewing the meal.
If he remained unconscious, what should she do? They were so far from the village and she couldn´t leave him alone to ask help. If she stayed, he´d die without proper care. A new emotion rushed through her body, fear. She didn´t trust in herself enough to feel confident that she´d be able to save him, herself, and Sam.
Kate awoke at dawn, sensing the man´s movement. She lay and waited for his reaction when he saw her next to him. The man opened his eyes and grinned. She glided her hand across his face, approached him, and touched her lips briefly on his. The man´s arms pulled her closer; he squeezed her against his muscular body and turned an almost nonexistent kiss into a very real one. She opened her eyes, interrupted the kiss and examined him. Something was wrong, very wrong, and she didn´t know how to explain it.
“You are not Liu!” she exclaimed.
She didn´t believe what she saw in front of her—a man with Liu´s face but a different kiss. She was positive about that because she had kissed Liu many times to be able to distinguish his lips from another man.
“No.” He smiled and kept his eyes and hands on her.
She held his chin, turned his face to the sides and noticed that he had something different from Liu, or didn´t have. No matter. “You don´t have a brown spot on your nose.”
“No, but don´t bother with this.” He tugged her closer; his lips moved against hers fiercely and in an amusing way she almost forgot that the stranger wasn´t Liu and it was totally wrong.
Kate leaped. “Oh my gosh!” Her hands covered her lips. “Sorry.”
“Don´t apologize, please.” The man got up and moved toward her. “I haven´t kissed a beautiful girl for a long time.” He smiled; his well-drawn lips seemed an invitation to continue to kiss.
Kate darted her glance from those mesmerizing lips. “You are a stranger, and I spent almost two days taking care of you. I slept near you, hugged you because you were freezing, and do you know why I did so? Because I thought you were another person.”
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Wei…” He stopped and seemed to think a little. “I can´t remember my surname now, sorry.” He approached her. “Well, I know that you confused me with another guy…” His hands stroked her face; he gave a lopsided smile. “But can you kiss me again?” He grabbed Kate and leaned toward her lips while Kate put her hands on his chest and pushed him away.
“Take your hands off of my girl.” A rough voice hit Kate´s ears. Actually, it sounded like the roar of a non-human voice.
Kate and Wei turned their heads at the same time. “Liu? What are you doing here?” She stammered and wondered if he was Liu, the real one, the only Liu. It was madness.
“Who are you?” Wei wandered off; he seemed surprised, misunderstood, completely lost and as astonished as Kate.
The identical men studied themselves like two predators before they started a battle, a kind of ritual where they evaluated their chances and the strategy needed to defeat the enemy.
“Are you making a joke of me?” Liu clenched his fists and darted toward Wei; an old man held his arm and looked seriously at them. Liu backed off.
The guys’ body tensed, but the old man smiled and said while he scrutinized Kate. “The female dragon.”
What? Kate looked to the sides. She didn´t see a dragon there, the only dragon she knew was in her front and was a male, Liu. What was going on, she wondered. They were identical, but they didn´t know each other?
“Can someone explain what is happening?” Kate threw her hands up, her eyes raced from Liu to Wei and vice versa.
“First, we need to cross the border.” The old man started to move, Liu frowned, grabbed Kate´s elbow and pulled her with him.
Kate stopped, shoved him and protested, “I won´t go with you.” She gazed at Liu. “I told you. I´ll save my sister, and I have lost precious hours saving and protecting him.” Kate pointed to Wei. “Thinking he was you.” She pointed to Liu.
Liu´s palms cupped her cheek. “You cannot do this alone. If you get there, Jin Quan will kill you before you reach Samantha. I’ll help you, I promise, my mother is there too and I´ll come back to release her and those girls, but you need to trust me.”
The old man added, “My name is Fu Chow, I am these men´s master. Your destinies are intertwined, young lady. I wish I could tell you the entire story, but we don´t have time, they are in a great danger here.”
She escaped from Liu´s hands. “Are you insane? Sorry for my disrespectful behavior but how are our destinies intertwined?” She squealed, her hands appeared to gain life and waved uncontrollably.
“You carry the dragon mark on your body.” The old man spun and walked away without making himself clear.
Kate touched the scar on her shoulder. Wei followed the old man and Liu waited for her. Uncertain what to do, she went to the cave, collected her belongings and marched with them. Liu held her hand and smiled. She smiled back, unsure if she should go or stay. Tha
t was the weirdest story she had ever heard, and she didn´t know one percent of it. The aged man should have lost his mind years ago and yet the guys obeyed him. Would she be the only sane person in that group? No, because she left her family behind to follow them. She left everything behind to follow strangers, worse, to follow the man she loved but he had lied to her. How much could she trust them?
Hours passed by quickly as they trekked around the mountain. Fu Chow kept guiding the group, no one said a word. Kate had lots of questions burning in her mind, but she was unable to break the silence until the man stopped and ordered that they should camp there.
“At night the temperature will drop drastically. We´ll freeze in an open space, we need to find a shelter,” Kate objected, thinking that man didn´t know anything about camping in chilly mountains.
“Don´t worry, young lady, the boys are going to warm us.” Fu Chow left his bag on the ground, ignoring her concerns.
“How?” Kate looked at the men; no one answered her.
“You must go hunt.” Fu Chow gazed at the boys and ordered.
“I will go with them, I am a great hunter.” She lied, not knowing why she did it.
Fu Chow shook his head negatively; she didn´t dare defy him as she used to do with Phillip and her parents.
Kate walked alongside the rocks, collected logs, and sat down. Liu and Wei darted toward the trees, morphed, and took off. Kate´s mouth fell open while her eyes followed them. The dragons, one green and another blue, disappeared into the clouds. In silence, she looked at Fu Chow and pointed to the sky.
“It seems frightening, but you get used to,” he told her before she could say anything.
“Who are they? When I saw them, I thought they were brothers, but they don´t. Wei didn´t know Liu,” Kate asked while she made a fire.
“They are twin brothers. Wei lost his memory.” He rolled his eyes up; he appeared to choose the right words.