by JC Kang
Jie would do this.
For Yuna.
For Lilian.
THE END
If you have enjoyed these three novellas in the Scions of the Black Lotus series, I invite you to participate in a poll about whether you would rather read more about Jie’s childhood training, or Tian’s training later. I’m always happy if you drop me a line and even happier if you leave a Goodreads or Amazon review.
Preview of Temptress of Fates, Part 4 of Scions of the Black Lotus.
Prologue
Yan Jie avoided the knife slash and countered with the twisting No-Shadow Cut. The wooden practice blade would’ve left an oil mark on Wen’s white padded armor had Lilian not slipped by and tried to seize Jie’s wrist. The sloppy technique would’ve bruised Lilian’s ribs had Jie not pulled up short.
As adopted daughter of the Black Lotus clan’s grandmaster, she felt the weight of responsibility for her juniors on her fourteen-year old shoulders. It was getting harder, now that ten-year-old Wen and eleven-year-old Lilian—both whom she’d taken under her wing when they came to the Temple—had outgrown her. She followed up with a stab slow enough that Lilian could evade.
“Break!” the master yelled. His gruff voice echoed off the walls of the Hall of Blades, the cushioned reed mats doing little to soften the sound.
With the precision of the antique dwarf clock in the Hall of Time, Jie and Wen disengaged and looked back to the wizened old man. Lilian stepped back a second late. With a knowing nod between them, Jie and Wen waited so all three could salute in unison, palms into fists. They had to take care of each other, after all.
“As usual, Yan Jie’s armor is clean.” How he could tell with his supposed nearsightedness? It was the talk among all the students, from initiates to apprentices. “As usual, Lilian has more stripes than a tiger and more spots than a leopard. What went wrong?”
Jie sucked on her lower lip. Poor Lilian always bore the brunt of criticism.
She bowed her head and saluted again. “Eldest Sister would’ve dealt Little Wen a fatal blow, so—”
“So you sacrificed yourself.” The master shrugged. “Perhaps if your team had to ensure Wen returned from a mission, that would make sense. Was that your intention?”
Lilian shuffled on her feet. “No. I was trying to disarm Jie.”
“Your failure would’ve cost you your life. A dead operative means more work for the Cleaners.”
Bowing her head, Wen took a step forward. “Master, my initial attack was poorly timed. It was my fault.”
“No, it was mine.” Jie advanced, palm in fist. “I—”
“Your fault was not finishing your attack. That might’ve been the third time you successfully executed a No Shadow Cut, had you not pulled up short.”
Heat flared to the tip of Jie’s ears. She’d been the youngest clan member to ever succeed at it, though only twice in the hundreds of times she’d tried.
The knife master wave toward the hall’s double doors. “Now, the Grandmaster is waiting for you in the Audience Hall.”
“Yes, Master,” they all replied in unison.
Jie exchanged glances with her friends. They must be in store for more reprimands. Dismissed, they filled out of the Hall of Blades in silence, and out into the whirrs and buzzes of insects in the Shadow Grove. The shade from the eldarwood trees did little to cool the stifling summer heat as they headed toward the Audience Hall.
Along the way, they passed by the Hall of Knowledge. A twin to the Hall of Blades, the vaulting wood building was crowned with a steeply pitched, green tiled roof. The open double doors provided a view of the long table where kneeling young initiates were learning to read and write. Two-year old Yuna, who’d Jie had just rescued from the Trench, jumped up and ran over. The precocious little girl had clung to Wen like a wet leaf ever since she’d arrived.
She did a front roll off the veranda, landed on the path, and wrapped her arms around Wen’s legs. “Jie, Wen,” she said, pronunciation perfect for someone so young. “Where are you going?”
It never ceased to amaze Jie how well she could already speak. She knelt down. “We’re meeting with Master Yan. Now go back to your studies.”
Pouting, Yuna climbed back up and shuffled back to her place at the desk and knelt.
Jie couldn’t help but smile. She turned to Lilian and Wen. “I remember when you two were here, trying to write your names. Yuna is already much smarter than you.”
“But I’m cuter.” Wen batted her eyelashes. As the daughter of a celebrated Floating World Blossom and abandoned as a baby at the Black Lotus Shrine there, she was one of the clan’s prettiest girls.
Jie looked sidelong at Lilian as they continued on their way. If anyone was the most beautiful, it was her, though her origins were a mystery: she’d been abandoned in the neighboring town as a three-year-old, starved to not much more than skin and bones. She’d almost died, and was so traumatized, she barely remembered her own name. The only clue they had to her identity was her Northern high-bridge nose, mixed with crude mannerisms and diction, and a central valley accent. Most likely, she was like many other abandoned children: born to impoverished families, sold to bondsmen. No doubt her birth and bond were registered at one of the thousands of magistrate offices in the central valley, and Master Yan had challenged Lilian to one day track down those documents, infiltrate the office, and steal them.
Jie shook the memories out of her head as they arrived in the Audience Hall to find six more apprentices kneeling in a row on the floor, five girls and one boy, all dressed in training robes. Five of the clan Elders formed a semi-circle at the head. Master Yan sat cross-legged in the middle, while to his right knelt a woman in her late twenties, who Jie had only seen a few times in the past.
Her eyes studied them as they walked in, like the village farmers evaluating prize pigs.
Jie dropped to her knees to the west of the others, and realized all the summoned students were close in age, all among the best looking. Of course. Master Yin came once a year, and usually a handful of newly-minted adepts left with her on assignment. Which meant…
“You nine have mastered the basics of our clan,” Master Yan said, “and are now ready for your first deployment. Master Yin?”
The woman had a hard beauty to her, which echoed in her tone of command. “Stand.”
Jie rose in perfect synchronicity with the rest of the students, save for Lilian just to her east, who as usual was half a beat behind.
Master Yin rose with the grace of a willow’s branches swaying in a breeze, and glided over to the west side of the line. Her eyes studied Wen, and with a nod, came to Jie. She looked back to Master Yan. “Your daughter is older than the rest. Has she flowered with Heaven’s Dew?”
“No.” Master Yan shook his head. “Given her age, and the doctor’s reading of her pulse, we think it will be within the year.”
Master Yin’s gaze scrutinized Jie, and her laugh sounded like a chorus of nightingales. “My predecessor said Jie’s virgin price would fund clan operations for the year. With such an exotic face, I don’t doubt it.”
Jie fought the urge to squirm. Adepts who’d left with Master Yin in past years always moved more gracefully when they came back for visits. The girls mentioned lying with men to collect information, and get paid to do so, the most when they did it for a painful first time.
Of course. Master Yin’s predecessor had died in the fire which had killed an entire cell in the capital’s Floating World. It had claimed the famous twins, the Steel Orchids.
“But,” Master Yin continued, “I also hear her fighting and stealth skills already equal seasoned operatives. Are you sure this won’t be a waste of her talents?”
“Yes,” Master Yan said. “She can sharpen the rest of the cell.”
With a nod, Master Yin continued to Lilian. “She is the most beautiful of this group. Given what else I’ve heard, the Floating World suits her the most of any other assignment.”
Jie’s stomach knot
ted. Everyone knew Lilian would be a fair operative at best. At least maybe in the Floating World, she could serve the clan well. And, they could be together.
Master Yin reached the end of the line, then returned to the head of the room. “You are all proficient in fighting and spying. From now, I’m going to teach you a very different kind of skill.”
Temptress of Fates, available August 2019.
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Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank my wife and family for the patience they have afforded me as I pursued my childhood dream of fiction writing.
A huge thanks to my sister Laura for her spectacular job with the maps.
And finally, an even huger thanks to the readers of The Dragon Songs Saga who contacted me, wanting to know more about Tian. You are the reason this book happened. Frances Phelps, Samantha Mikals, Brittany Timmins, Lana Turner, Anne Loshuk, Bethany Rheanne Hausen, Katie Tomas, Carole Harris, Bettie Womble, and Ticiana Marques deserve special mention.
And, no thanks could be complete without mentioning my long-time crit partners, JC Nelson and Kelly Walker.
About the Author
JC Kang's unhealthy obsession with Fantasy and Sci-Fi began at an early age when his brother introduced him to The Chronicles of Narnia, Star Trek, and Star Wars. As an adult, he combines his geek roots with his professional experiences as a Chinese Medicine doctor, martial arts instructor, and technical writer to pen epic fantasy stories.