The Dragon Songs Saga: The Complete Quartet: Songs of Insurrection, Orchestra of Treacheries, Dances of Deception, and Symphony of Fates

by JC Kang

  His men pounded on their chests. “We will fight!”

  Geros grinned and strode toward the stands. It was an answer he planned to deliver himself.

  Ming watched from horseback as a group of Hua imperial officers approached the amphitheater under the flags of parley. Teleri soldiers appeared at the top of the stone amphitheater seats. Though out of earshot, he could guess what message they delivered.

  Alas, the poor communication between the provincial lords and the imperial army had allowed the enemy to reach Qingjingtian Amphitheater and meet up with the garrison they had left. If they refused to surrender, they would lose, but not without inflicting devastating losses first. He turned to his aide. “Where is the regent now?”

  “Word has it she is heading to the Temple of Heaven.”

  “What?” Regent or not, now was not the time to pray. The Heavens rewarded those with the most guns and a better field position. Ming gestured back at his provincial soldiers, who now stood in orderly ranks along the northern end of the enemy’s hastily erected wall of carts, house doors, furniture, and Heavens knew what else.

  “Look.” His aide pointed to the top of the amphitheater seats.

  The sun gleaming off his breastplate, Geros stood tall and imposing at the top of the amphitheater’s stone seats.

  Ming’s heart skipped into his throat. The last time he had met the Teleri to discuss terms, he had lost a battle and fallen into the emperor’s hands. His hand tightened on his dao hilt.

  “Deliver this message to the girl.” Geros’ voice echoed through the streets. “I will surrender only if she spreads her legs for me.”

  Beyond the barricades in the basins, Bovyans erupted into laughter.

  Emperor Geros raised a hand, silencing them. “Otherwise we will set your precious city ablaze.”

  CHAPTER 46:

  Wash Out

  Kaiya listened to birds chirping in the eaves of the Temple of Heaven as she approached the compound’s front gates on horseback. The birds’ part in spring’s song echoed off the compound’s elliptical walls, carrying the sound over her own horse’s clopping and the sporadic musket shots in the distance.

  It had been over a year since she’d last visited, the day Zheng Ming failed to accompany her to the temple as he’d promised. She’d been a naïve, infatuated girl, who rode off into a city on edge in hopes of nursing handsome Zheng Ming back to health.

  Now, she scoffed at her younger self. If anything need be taken from that day, it was Father’s prayers and the way the temple grounds magnified his voice. With the magic here, maybe she could finally break the Tiger’s Eye for good and do something impactful in this war.

  The bald, yellow-robed temple abbot shuffled forward, head bowed. “Jie-xia, welcome to the Temple of Heaven. I regret to inform you that the Fallen Star was stolen and—”

  Kaiya withdrew the relic from her saddlebags. It pulsed in her hands as she presented it. “See it returned to its rightful spot.”

  The abbot gaped and bowed as he received it reverently in two hands. “Yes, Jie-xia. However, there is another security concern inside the temple grounds. I do not think it wise to—”

  Several sets of horse hooves cantered toward her. Her honor guard clattered into defensive positions. Her own cavalry formed into a circle. Behind her, Brehane and Cyrus shuffled as they prepared their own magic. She turned.

  Three cavalrymen approached, their green flags with the sun rising over twin mountains marking them as Dongmen provincial soldiers. The one in the lead rode his horse with such ease, it seemed horse and rider were one entity.

  He swung out of the saddle before his mount came to a stop and dropped to knee, fist to the ground. Glossy black hair spilled out as he removed his helmet and looked up, revealing Zheng Ming. “Jie-xia, welcome back to the city.”

  Flamboyant as ever. Kaiya suppressed a smile. “Lord Zheng. I was just thinking about you.”

  “Oh?” With his eyebrow raised, his grin was all the more charming.

  She gestured toward the Temple. “I was thinking of the last time I was here, and how you broke your promise to me.”

  Her men exchanged glances, and Zheng Ming’s face flushed.

  Brehane pushed past the men and came to Zheng Ming’s side, placing a hand on his shoulder. She winked at Kaiya. “Your Majesty, if it is your wish, I will make this predatory dandy disappear.”

  “Perhaps later.” Kaiya chuckled. “He might still prove useful.”

  Zheng Ming bowed. “Jie-xia, I have come ahead of your messengers. The Teleri refuse to surrender. In fact, Emperor Geros…” His gaze shifted to the assembled soldiers. “Emperor Geros made uh, inappropriate counter-demands.”

  It didn’t take much imagination to guess what those were. It might be worth it, to save the city without more losses, if she wouldn’t lose face among all the soldiers whose loyalty she’d gained. Alas, the fact that she didn’t bristle or blush at the suggestion showed the Tiger’s Eye must still be in place, no matter how tenuously. She gestured to a runner. “Go to the palace and tell Chief Minister Song to come up with a plan for fighting potential fires.” She looked to Brehane and gestured to the Temple of Heaven’s gates. “Now, perhaps you would like to see one of the marvels of our capital.”

  “I can already feel it,” the Mystic said.

  Kaiya nodded toward Zheng Ming. “You will accompany me into the temple this time.” An honor, for his loyalty. Not to mention that eventually she would have to marry, and he was certainly pleasant on the eyes.

  He gawked, then bowed. “I do not think that would be appropriate, Jie-xia.”

  “Why not?” She raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t as though he ever stood on propriety.

  His eyes darted back and forth, taking in all of the assembled soldiers. “Some matters can only be discussed in confidence.”

  She studied his expression. He must know about Tian’ death, then. Of course, Ming had already confronted his father, and surely those details would have come out. “In any case, I am setting up the army headquarters here, since it is close to the invading army. Fall in line with General Tang and the other hereditary lords.” She pointed her chin toward the commanders and aides behind her.

  Zheng Ming’s mouth hung agape, but then he bowed. “Yes, Jie-xia.”

  As he joined the other commanders, Kaiya gestured toward the temple guards. The abbot opened his mouth in protest, but she silenced him with a pursing of her lips. Bowing, the guards opened the double gates into the temple grounds. She dismounted, squared her shoulders, and strode through.

  She stopped mid-stride. Sitting atop the three-tiered marble base, in the center of the near focus, was…

  Jie? At her side stood Fang Weiyong, fiddling with acupuncture needles in Jie’s shoulder while a familiar yet unfamiliar young woman stood over his shoulder.

  The stranger looked up with blue eyes. Beautiful, luminous eyes, like…Doctor Wu’s. The resemblance was uncanny. Perhaps this woman was a granddaughter—though, since no one knew how old Doctor Wu really was, this could be her great-great-granddaughter. She beckoned. “Jie-xia, come.”

  The voice. It was Doctor Wu’s.

  Kaiya’s mind spun. The last she’d seen the Taoist Master was before the confrontation with Cousin Peng. There was no way the aged doctor could possibly make it back to the capital first, let alone un-age. Kaiya took tentative steps forward, unsure if her legs could hold her. The Tiger’s Eye must’ve all but faded.

  A firm hand took her elbow. She turned and blinked through her misty eyes to find Zheng Ming there, as well as other soldiers trying to peel him off of her. She raised a hand and feebly gestured them off. Zheng Ming’s support felt so reassuring, so…right. Even if it was wrong.

  With his help, she climbed to the raised marble base where Jie sat. No, this must be one of those bizarre dreams again. Jie was dead. Killed by Fleet. Still, up close, the half-elf sitting there was unmistakably the Insolent Retainer, eyes closed. And beside her, a younger version o
f Doctor Wu.

  “How?” was the only word she could manage to choke out.

  Young Doctor Wu smiled. “Jie-xia, you know I was always looking for the secret to immortality. You helped me find it when you retrieved the Dragon Pearl.” She winked.

  Kaiya couldn’t find words at the moment.

  Doctor Wu rolled her eyes. She took Kaiya’s head and pressed it to her bosom. Her heart thumped, setting the rhythm to a resolute, powerful song. The same song as…the Guardian Dragon.

  Kaiya’s jaw slackened. Her mouth moved, but no words came out. Doctor Wu, her physician for so many years, was the mythical Guardian Dragon. Who wasn’t supposed to be a dragon in the sense that Avarax was, as much as a messenger from the Heavens.

  Doctor Wu nodded. “You know the secret. Keep it that way.”

  With a slow nod, Kaiya turned from Doctor Wu— the Guardian Dragon—to Jie, then back to Doctor Wu. All she could do was point.

  “She has lost the use of her arm, and neither my best student—” she gestured toward Fang Weiyong—“nor I can figure out why. There is nothing physically wrong, and even in this spot, where the energy of the world is strongest in the capital, we cannot heal her.”

  That much would make sense, except the fact Jie was dead. Words stumbled out of Kaiya’s mouth. “How is she alive?”

  Jie’s eyes flew open. She and the two others stared at her with curious expressions.

  “Fleet killed you.”

  Jie cocked her head and patted herself with her good arm. “I don’t think so.” Her tone sounded just as bitter as when they had last parted, in Dongmen. When she’d given the order to kill Zheng Ming.

  “I think I know what is going on,” Zheng Ming said. “Jie has an identical twin.”

  Two? Kaiya shuddered at the thought of two insolent half-elves. Ming’s sour look suggested he felt the same.

  Cyrus appeared at their side. “That would explain it. I was wondering how you had made it to the pyramid so fast, after we had seen you in the Wilds.”

  “And you fought so differently,” Kaiya said.

  Jie nodded and sighed. “It’s a shame. Kiri wasn’t bad. I don’t know why the madaeri would kill her.”

  “So where have you been all this time?” Ming demanded. “Tian said you’ve been missing for days.”

  Tian? Tian was dead; unless he too had a magical twin. Kaiya’s gaze swept from Jie to Ming. Surely he had misspoken, or this was one of those realistic dreams. She pinched herself, sending a flare of pain through her arm. No, quite awake.

  Jie’s gaze met hers. “Jie-xia, your city has a rampant altivorc infestation I have been trying to eradicate.”

  Pulling Brehane forward, Cyrus said, “Since you can’t figure out the armor, perhaps you should give it to someone it fits.”

  Brehane clutched her pack to her chest.

  A messenger presented himself at the bottom of the dais. “Jie-xia, the Bovyans have set fire to the area surrounding Qingjingtian Amphitheatre.”

  Kaiya looked up. Beyond the Temple walls to the east, thick plumes of black wafted to the heavens. Winds typically swirled off of Sun-Moon Lake, which would carry sparks from wood building to wood building. It wouldn’t be long before the entire southeast quadrant turned into a hellish conflagration. She turned to Doctor Wu. “Legends say the Guardian Dragon controls weather and water.”

  “Would that the Guardian Dragon were to make an appearance,” Doctor Wu said. “However, legends also say she only comes during the time of greatest need, to anoint a leader with the Mandate of Heaven.”

  It couldn’t be. Doctor Wu, who revered life so much, would let tens of thousands perish in a fire. Kaiya plead with her eyes.

  “Have you learned nothing?” Doctor Wu shooed Jie off the foci. “Stand here. Feel Mother Earth course through you. You read Xu’s book on how Yanyan brought a rainstorm.”

  Kaiya swept her gaze around all the assembled people. Mouths agape, all the generals and officers looked from the doctor to her and back again. They probably couldn’t believe a mere doctor was ordering a regent around on matters unrelated to health.

  With a sigh, she strode to the focus. Sinking into a high horse stance, she gripped the marble through her shoes with her toes. The song of the world resonated in her soles and vibrated up through her legs.

  Still, it stopped at her waist. The scent of burning wood drifted on the air, and she looked east. An orange gleam gathered on the horizon, like a sunrise in Hell. Pulse racing, she turned to the doctor. “The energy is there, but I can’t connect to it.”

  “Link to it. Lower.” Doctor Wu pressed her hand into Kaiya’s shoulder, pushing her into a deeper stance. She then turned to the temple and yelled, “Hurry up with the fallen star.”

  The energy welled beneath her feet, calling to her from so close. Tears collected in her lashes. If she couldn’t do this, so many people would die. Geros would win, would probably gloat at her from beyond the grave. Just like the world’s resonance, taunting her.

  She glanced around at all the expectant faces. Cyrus nodded at her, while Brehane smiled. Doctor Wu and Fang Weiyong, too. All of the soldiers knelt, fists to the ground. The Heavens must have a sick sense of humor to place the fate of so many people on a nineteen-year-old’s shoulders.

  A low pulse throbbed out of the Temple of Heaven, washing over her from all directions. The fallen star, that was it! The energy she could borrow if that of Mother Earth refused to answer her call. On the next pulse, she sang Yanyan’s rain song. Letting the frequency of Doctor Wu’s heartbeat guide her, Kaiya enunciated each word.

  Doctor Wu’s eyes brightened ever so slightly, still pathetic compared to Avarax’s eyes glowing to her song in the past. “Connect,” the doctor said. “Let the song of the fallen star link with the hum of Mother Earth.”

  Another messenger ran up to the base and dropped to a knee. “The Teleri are pouring out of the amphitheater. They are slaughtering citizens.”

  The star’s and earth’s melodies were there, in her chest and in her lower abdomen, and yet they didn’t merge. Yells and screams mingled with intermittent musket shots in the distance. The story of her failure would be written in blood. Her shoulders shuddered, rattling at the speed of her racing heart. The Tiger’s Eye had to be gone for her to have such reactions, yet the energy of the world remained walled-off, rising no higher than the dantian point beneath her navel.

  “You can do it,” the doctor said.

  A tear rolled down Kaiya’s cheek. The Guardian Dragon could do it, too, but refused. Voice cracking, she sang again, elocuting each note of the song once more. Clouds formed overhead, and a drop of rain splattered on her nose. Unless it was just another tear.

  A commotion erupted near the entrance to the temple grounds. Had the Teleri gotten here so fast? Kaiya hazarded a glance. It looked like Zheng Ming in the corner of her eye, deftly avoiding the imperial guards.

  “Focus!” Doctor Wu’s stern reprimand drew her back to the task at hand.

  The power in her was gone. She gripped her toes to the ground again and listened for the pulse. The energies were all there, but beyond her ability to use. The forces in her chest and belly struggled to meet, even though they had merged so easily and automatically in the past. Screams grew louder. As regent, she was quickly becoming a failure, at the cost of so many lives. Her hands trembled as tears filled her eyes again.

  “Let him through,” Zheng Ming said from somewhere.

  Cyrus and Brehane both evoked magic around her, through his uplifting prayers and her grunts and snarls. None of them helped her. Jie’s forlorn sigh sounded miserable.

  She was failing, and nothing in this world could save the city’s southeast, and maybe more, from burning.

  Arms enveloped her, warm and heartening. They lifted her out of her stance, breaking her connection with the ground, and turned her around. Her cheek pressed against coarse fabric, and the toned chest beneath. The heartbeat…so familiar. She looked up.

  Intel
ligent dark eyes gazed back at her. The high-bridged nose and strong chin resembled Zheng Ming, but—no.

  No, it was impossible.

  If this was a dream, would that she never woke. If she were awake, she never wanted to sleep again.

  “It’s all right. You can do it.” He spoke with concise economy as always, yet his words could have been an epic novel for all the affection in their warm tone.

  Pulse racing, she dried her tears in his high collar. His hand ran through her hair. Her stomach flipped in twists and turns worthy of a zigzagging dragonfly. “I can’t. It’s stuck. Here.” She placed her hand over her belly.

  His hand covered hers, then slid down over her womb. “They need your strength.” Their babies. His hand rose up toward her waist, pausing at her sash, right over his lockpick pouch.

  She pushed back, just enough to reach into her sash. She pulled it out, her only memento of him. With the Tiger’s Eye, she had kept it not for any type of emotional connection, but rather as a reminder that she had once known love. With him here, she didn’t need it anymore. She looked up into his eyes and pressed the pouch into his palm.

  As his fingers closed around it, a surge flowed through her body. Rising from the ground, sinking with her breath, mingling in her core. Power, like that around the Wild Turkey Island and the Temple of Shakti in Palimur, coursed from toes to fingertips. It built up, ready to explode unless…

  She started to sing.

  Tian looked up as a raindrop splattered onto his cheek, hopefully hiding his own tears. Several more followed, pattering in a light drizzle, then building to a downpour.

  Like all the memories flooding back. Kaiya, the Doe-Eyed Girl. His childhood friend, separated from him by Peng Kai-Long’s cruel joke. Reunited in Iksuvi to learn that she had changed. But then they had found each other, the spirit of who they had been as children not lost in adulthood, despite the responsibilities that suppressed them. Here they were again, reunited after his death and rebirth.