'I am a descendant of the jade dragons. I have the rightful claim,' Sethon yelled. 'I invoke the tradition of Reitanon.'
'Reitanon, Reitanon,' the men chanted.
'No,' a woman screamed. 'No.' Through the shrill terror, I recognised Lady Jila's cultured voice.
I shifted against Ryko, trying to find a sightline through the jostling crowd. The large square was arranged as a scholar's garden. A series of paved terraces were bounded by sculpted trees, rocks and linked ponds designed to create a flow of tranquil energy But there was no peace or harmony today: soldiers trampled the elegant spaces, creating dense, ugly patterns of their own. Finally, a gap opened and I saw the central pagoda. Inside was a shining god of war: High Lord Sethon in a horned helmet and full armour, the precious metal plates and gold rivets catching the torch light.
Two soldiers hauled a woman across the floor and pushed her down at Sethon's feet. She was clutching something to her chest. At this distance, I had to strain to see the woman's face but my gut already knew who ii was: Lady Jila, and her son, the second Prince. I lurched forwards hut was stopped by Ryko's iron grip.
T know,' he hissed. 'I know.'
Where was Lady I )ela? I twisted around. Where was she? We could do nothing without her and the book.
'By the archway,' Ryko whispered.
She was slumped against the wall, one hand pressed into her shoulder, the other wrapped around her stomach — just another wounded soldier eager to see the entertainment. But this soldier's gaze was not on the pagoda. It was on something hidden under the cover of a bent elbow and hunched body.
She must have felt my desperation because she looked up. The despair in her eyes answered my silent question. She bowed her head back to the folio.
'You do not have rightful claim,' Lady Jila shrieked. 'My sons have the claim!'
A baby started crying. Fierce yells and shrill screams came from below the pagoda, at the foot of the rocks. For a brief moment I saw chained Imperial guards struggling with soldiers and a row of kneeling, weeping concubines. Then my sightline was gone.
A breathless tension had settled on the crowd, the faces around us set into savage expectancy.
I finally found another sliver of space straight through to the pagoda. Lady Jila was on her knees with her baby locked in her arms. Sethon was standing over them. A casual flick of his fingers sent a soldier grabbing for the child. Another flick started a lone drum into a slow beat. Lady Jila screamed, fighting to hold on to her son. Sethon stepped closer, his gauntleted hand swinging in a vicious blow. Lady Jila's head jerked back, blood running down her face, but she did not let go of her baby. 1 lis fist swung again. She hit the ground, the soldier dragging the infant free of her desperate grasp. Against my back, I felt Ryko's heartbeat pounding, every sinew in him tensed against the urge to run to their aid.
'We can't let this happen,' I croaked.
'We are too late,' he whispered. 'Too late.'
Lady Dela was still bent over the book. All I could hear was the beat of the drum and the sobbing pleas of Lady Jila. I had to do something. I had to stop Sethon. Stop him.
I touched the death plaques at my breast. Protect me from Ido, I prayed, then narrowed my eyes and plunged deep into the energy world; an arrow straight into the heart of the Rat Dragon. Blue energy exploded through me, warping my senses until the crowd and buildings buckled into swirling silver Hua. The sensation of Ryko's body against mine dropped away, as though I was floating in water. My mind-sight spun in a dizzy fall then sharpened.
Hovering above the square was the Rat Dragon, as big as a hall. The only dragon visible.
Foreboding swept through me. If all the other dragons were gone, were their Dragoneyes dead?
A set of lethal opal claws raked at the air and a terrible screech sent pain stabbing through my head. The iridescent blue pearl beneath his muzzle was pulsing. His huge spirit eyes locked onto mine and I knew the endless power of death and destruction and Gan. Beneath him was the figure of Sethon, his sword aimed at the child dangling helplessly from the soldier's hands.
'No!' I screamed and opened myself to the dragon's fearsome power. It hit me with the force of a thousand fists — an uncontrollable torrent of blue energy that roared with ancient annihilation.
The drum stopped.
Kill him, I ordered and behind the puny words was the earth's own life force, spiralling into a rush of destruction. Dimly, I heard the child's wail cut short. I was too late. Above the pagoda, the dragon threw back its huge horned head and howled with confusion. The terrible keening was joined by a woman's anguished scream. But even that was Iost in the nuiltitude of shouts and shrieks from the crowd as a si reaming column of blue power burst down from the beast towards the centre of the pagoda and the shining figure of Sethon.
Stop!
The order thundered through my head.
Ido.
He was in my mind, the grip of his will closing around mine. For a moment, I saw myself through his eyes: still pressed against Ryko, shaking with the fight for power, only the islander's grim support keeping me upright. Around us, soldiers crouched in uncomprehending terror, watching the deadly shaft of energy. The dragon shrieked, his power splitting and fragmenting. I tasted Ido's sour fury as he struggled to bend me and the dragon to his will, both the beast and I battling the Dragoneye's ruthless command.
Not yet, his voice gasped in my mind.
I felt him channel the blue power away from Sethon, his effort sending shudders of second-hand pain through me. The blue bolt of diverted energy punched into the portico at the far end of the garden, sending marble spinning into the air and raining down on the soldiers underneath. Ido's hold on my mind slipped, the fight to contain his dragon's power ripping at his control. It was my chance to escape. I dug deeper into my Hua, burrowing into the yellow energy of my third point, frantically searching for the strange opalescence that had once saved me from the overwhelming blue. It was there, still tiny, but brighter and glowing gold. I snatched at it, gathering the power into the desperate hold of my mind, and flung it outwards, praying it would find its mark.
The release was abrupt; the energy world snapping away leaving only the turmoil of the harem garden around me and a bone-deep ache that clenched me like a vice. I sagged in Ryko's
arms, his warm solidity my only anchor in the waves of overpowering pain.
He looked down at me, tears running from his eyes. 'The Prince is dead.'
I already knew it, but his confirmation was like a fresh wound gashed into my heart. 'Lady Jila?' I gasped.
He shook his head. 'Dead too.'
'Ido is coming,' a voice rasped behind us. 'Move!'
Ryko swung around. It was Lady Dela, her eyes tracking movement in the scrambling crowd.
Below the pagoda, the captured Imperial guards had broken past their jailers, using their chains as weapons, creating turmoil and blocking Sethon's exit. I followed her gaze, my eyes catching on the ordered intent of a small group of men forging past the building. Four guards in a diamond formation around one tall, dark man dressed in the gold and blue robes of the Ascendant Dragoneye.
Lord Ido.
The world dipped and spun into a haze of fear. I grabbed onto Ryko's arm.
'Go!' Lady Dela said.
She had already pushed her way into the archway as Ryko hauled me towards it. Around us officers were marshalling their men back into ranks with roared orders and the butts of their swords. The arch was thick with panicked men, some surging out of the garden, others being driven back. A red-faced sergeant stepped in front of us, blocking our escape with outstretched arms.
'Get back!' he yelled over the curses and scuffling.
'Orders to get her out of here,' Ryko shouted back, tightening his grip on me. He jerked his head at the pagoda.
The man's eyes narrowed. 'Whose orders?' He raised his sword. 'What regiment are you from?'
I felt Ryko tense for confrontation, but the sergeant's thin-eyed disbelief suddenly b
ulged into shock as another soldier
crashed into him. I heard the sinking gurgle of his breath as Lady Dela, her skin pasty with effort, swung his body around and pushed his weight against the wall. She pressed into him again, the hilt of a bloodied knife in her hand.
'Go,' she ground out, propping the dying man up with her uninjured shoulder. 'I'm right behind you.'
'Make for the grate,' Ryko said, then grabbed my hand and pulled me through the archway, all pretence of captor gone.
I looked over my shoulder. Ido was well past the pagoda, his men clearing an efficient pathway through the disorganised ranks. Ryko's drag on my arm jerked me into a flat run that strained my hip. We barged past the overwhelmed sentries, joining a straggling exodus of soldiers from the garden. I focused on the dark mouth of the alley across the square. Our escape. My breath snagged in my throat, my chest squeezing into airless agony. I forced more strength into my legs and snatched another glance back. Lady Dela had broken out of the archway and was following in a stumbling trot. She faltered and doubled over, coming to the end of her endurance.
I pulled on Ryko's hand. 'Lady Dela. She's not going to make it.'
For a moment, I didn't think he would stop. Then I felt him slow our momentum, pulling me up into an abrupt, panting standstill. He let go of me and drew the sword from his left scabbard, shoving it into my hand. As soon as the moonstone hilt touched my skin, a flame of ancient rage seared through me.
'Open the grate and hide,' Ryko ordered then turned around.
A soldier had stopped behind us, his body poised for attack. Ryko pushed me towards the alley then charged at him.
'Run,' Ryko yelled, and elbowed the man in the face.
I ran.
Through me, a rhythm pounded. Heartbeat and breath and the drum of another presence in my ears. I dodged a swordsman, his face a blur of flattened features and missing teeth, his fingernails raking my arm. Only a few lengths to go. I looked back. The swordsman was following me, his pace outstripping mine. Beyond him, Ryko had reached Lady Dela. I lowered my head and flung myself into the dark entrance of the alley, swinging around to see the soldier draw up a few paces into the passage.
'It's a dead end, girlie,' he said, grinning.
I raised my blade.
He cross-drew his two swords, holding them in the ready position. 'I don't want to hurt you, so put it down.'
1 backed up a few steps. Two swords against one. I needed another blade. A few more steps brought me level with the first row of bales. He followed, matching his pace to mine. All I had to do was hold him off until Ryko and Lady Dela arrived. I edged towards the second stack of bales, where Ryko had hidden the dead soldier's sword.
'Come on now' The soldier smiled encouragingly
I was alongside the narrow corridor made by the first and second stacks. I snatched a look.
The end was blocked by the bale that Ryko had pushed down. Small pieces of ripped pale silk littered the ground. No sword. Was it behind the bale? If I went down there, I would be well and truly trapped. But the alley was a dead end, anyway. And I would have no chance of holding him off and getting the grate open at the same time. I was trapped either way I plunged between the two rows, slipping on the dark patch of Lady Dela's blood and scrambling across the stone to the fallen bale. Behind me, I heard the soldier grunt. A fist of hessian helped me steady myself as I frantically groped between bale and wall. My fingers hit the leather of the grip. I pulled the sword out.
'Got you now,' the soldier said, advancing down the narrow space.
I swung around and spun both blades up into starting position, Kinra's sword held above my head, my left hand aiming the point of the other blade at his throat.
'Oh ho,' the soldier laughed, immediately Jingling his weapons. 'Who showed you that?'
I watched his eyes, wailing for the sign of attack It was a small huff of breath, a flicker of his eyelids us he lunged. My body was already moving into a block, Kinra's sword took the down thrust of his blade, my body singing with my ancestor's knowledge. With her rage. I swept the other blade around and connected with his hurriedly lowered sword. The impact jarred through my arm, but he was off balance and I pushed forwards. I had to get out of the confined space between the bales.
Tiger cuffs and claws.
This time I trusted the instinct that shifted my muscles and sinews into the form, riding the ancient skill that sent both blades working in quick punishing hits that the soldier barely blocked. One tip caught his arm and drew blood. His eyes widened, his breath quickening.
Slowly, my volley of blows forced him back into the alley.
'I can beat you,' I said levelly I did not want to hurt this man; I just wanted to get to the grate.
'I don't think so, little girl.' His face tightened as he put all his strength behind a vicious blow.
I just managed to deflect it, the impact bending my wrist back into sharp agony He sliced his other blade in a tight arc, the wicked move aimed at my throat. I swung into a block, his blade sliding up into the hilt of Kinra's sword. My muscles tensed, knowing that his next move was a lethal swing at my head.
Rat drops to ground.
I pulled free. My body fell back, landing heavily on the stone paving, all my breath punched out of my lungs. Above me, I saw the soldier's surprise as his sword swung through air, making him stagger. There was no time to think. Gasping, I pushed myself up at him and drove Kinra's sword into his thigh. The tip sliced through flesh and hit bone, opening his leg in a slash that pulsed with blood. He screamed and jerked away pulling himself off my blade. One sword dropped with a clang as he clutched at the spurtng wound. For a second we were both still with shock, then he staggered towards me, fuelled by rage and pain, his other sword raised for the killing stroke.
Dragon whips tail.
For a second, I was back fighting Ranne on the ceremony sands. But this time, there was no doubt, no hesitation. I spun over onto my hands and knees and kicked backwards, connecting with the soldier's down stroke. His sword hit the stone in a ringing toll as I twisted around on my knees and plunged Kinra's sword up into his body, her ancient knowledge guiding the thrust into his vital pathway of Hua. I pulled it free, severing his life force in a gush of blood.
His agonised cry was lost in the clicking rasp of a last breath. He collapsed onto the ground beside me, the sour release of urine mixing with the coppery stink of fresh blood. The smell of death.
I scrabbled back against a crate. The spirit had already gone from his eyes, but their flat stare held me pinned against the rough wood. My swords dropped from my hands. I had done this to him; stopped the flow of precious Hua. I groped for reason: he was trying to kill me. I was defending myself. I had survived. Relief surged into fierce exhilaration then just as quickly drained into shivering horror. He was so still. Death was so silent. So indifferent. It was only made to matter in the hearts and minds of men.
And women.
I looked away from the sightless stare. This man's death would matter to me forever.
The sound of running steps brought me onto my knees. I grabbed Kinra's sword as Ryko rounded the corner of the alley with his arm around Lady Dela's waist, dragging her in a half run.
'Get to the grate,' he yelled, 'They're coming.'
I struggled to my feet.
'Don't kill the girl!' It was Ido's voice.
CHAPTER 24
Ryko hauled Lady Dela past the first stack. Her body was slumped against his tight hold, her face ominously pale.
'Take her,' Ryko said.
I caught her weight, barely managing to swing her around and rest her against the crate. There was fresh blood seeping through the bandaging and ripped armour. Her eyelids flickered.
Ryko eyed the bloodied sword in my hand. Are you all right?'
'I'm fine,' I said.
'Here.' He passed me its twin, sending a surge of new energy into my exhausted reserves. 'Go.
I'll hold them off.'
The mouth of
the alley was suddenly blocked by men. Four of them in dark, close-fitting armour: Ido's private guard. Two men immediately came forwards, swords raised. Behind them, Ido swept a searching glance along the corridor, his height giving him a clear view.
Although his face was in shadow, I knew the moment his eyes found me.
'I want her alive,' he ordered and there was a caress in his voice. 'The others you can kill.'
Ryko picked up the dead swordsman's weapons. 'For Shola's sake, get going,' he hissed. 'I'm not going to last long.'
He ran to meet Ido's front guard. They were already past the first stack and angled themselves ready for his momentum. The crash of metal against metal reverberated off the stone walls, the force of the guard's blows pushing Ryko back towards us. He was using his body to block the narrow pathway Beside me, Lady Dela stirred, roused by the clanging danger. Ryko desperately blocked a simultaneous attack by both guards, barely managing to stop their slicing blades. He was not going to hold them off for long.
'Help me,' Lady Dela said. She was fumbling in the opening of her armour. 'I'll keep looking for the name.'
She withdrew her hand, unable to pull the folio through the tangle of waist bindings. We both knew it was too late, but I tucked my sword under my arm and jerked out the book, pressing it into her hand. The pearls lifted and unwound, clicking into a slide of welcome across my skin.
I pushed their weight back onto the folio.
'If things go bad,' I said, 'get to the grate.'
The swords were whispering to me, eager to fight.
Lady Dela's eyes flicked to Ryko. 'I'm staying right to the end,' she said through clenched teeth.
I turned and sized up the battle, my eyes seeing it through the ancient wisdom of the swords.
Ryko had been hit; blood was running from a deep slice in his forearm. Superficial but it would take its toll. One of his attackers was down, not moving. The other was close to breaking through to me, a young man with over-quick moves and a cocky smile. Two more guards were approaching. At the mouth of the alley, Ido was waiting for Ryko to fall. I took a deep breath and yelled, the release of Hua propelling me into the fight.
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