The Stone Road

by G R Matthews

  “Before the Empire and recorded time began, we moved among the world in harmony and peace. We understood our place in the web of life. We nurtured, killed, died and the priests oversaw it all. They brought us to the spirit and created the Wu.”

  Zhou closed his eyes to the flames and rested his head upon a folded arm.

  “But not everyone could see the spirit and they became jealous of the Wu. They moved apart from us and started their own villages, their own religions. And because they did not understand the harmony and balance of the world the people grew in numbers, using up the resources they came across. Their villages became towns and they sought out other magic and a different understanding of the world.”

  Zhou stopped listening to the other man’s voice and drifted off. The aches of his body fading away to nothing.

  # # #

  “Open your eyes, Zhou.” Boqin’s voice intruded into the quiet darkness.

  Zhou struggled to raise his eyelids but even through the membrane of skin a bright light began to glow.

  “Open your eyes. You are on the path and you must move on. You cannot stay here for long.”

  Zhou squinted towards the sound of Boqin’s voice but instead of the man, an enormous brown bear stood in front of him. Zhou staggered to his feet and stumbled backwards, away from the bear. Fear pounded in his chest.

  “This is who I am, or at least what I look like in the spirit world. This is my spirit.” Boqin’s voice came from the bear but its jaws did not move. “We must move on quickly, your spirit has no shell here. Until you find your animal you are weak. Here the weak are prey for others, the quick, the strong and the hungry. That is the way of the world. Come.”

  The great bear turned and began to lope across the earth. Zhou followed. The world around him was similar to the physical world he had fallen asleep in, but there were differences. He was on the mountain, but turning back towards the lights of the village he could see nothing. Of the fire that Boqin had started, there was only a dying ember of orange. The trees looked the same but they were edged with a blue glow and a similar glow surrounded Boqin.

  The bear that was Boqin set a steady pace and Zhou could match with little effort. The ground under was warm and he could feel the individual blades of grass as he crushed them underfoot. A familiar smell tickled its way up his nostrils, the aftermath of a thunderstorm, fresh and electric. He took a moment and stooped down to touch the earth. A tingle of electricity ran up his arm, down his spine and out through his feet.

  “I wouldn’t do that too often.” Boqin had stopped and turned to face Zhou. “Every spirit for miles around will feel the transfer and passage of life. I told you we don’t want to draw any attention, if we can avoid it. We’ll need to pick up the pace a little.”

  “Where are we going?” Zhou asked as the bear resumed the journey.

  “To higher ground. We need to find your doorway and higher up we’ll get a clearer view of where it is,” Boqin answered.

  The bear increased the pace and Zhou was now hard pressed to keep up. They pushed their way through the trees and further up the mountain. The grass became sparse and rough, bare stone became the ground underfoot.

  Suddenly, Boqin stopped and swung his large head from side to side. A low growl rumbled from the shaggy form.

  “Beware, Zhou. Something is following us.” The bear began pacing in a circle around Zhou and, as before, glowing runes appeared on the ground. “Stay inside the circle. This world has dangers. We will be safe inside. Let us see what comes.”

  Zhou stood in the centre of the circle trying to look in all directions at once but Boqin sat on his rump and waited patiently. For tense minutes Zhou strained his eyes and ears to pick out any clue to the coming danger. The sky was dark and clear, stars shone down upon the mountain and the air was still. Then Boqin raised himself to all fours and turned to face the north side of the circle. A few moments later Zhou could hear a heavy beating and thrumming noise reverberating through the night air. The unchanging rhythm came louder and louder. It was getting closer.

  “Remember, do not leave the circle.” Then, defying his own instructions, Boqin padded out of the circle and once again sat down on his haunches, raising his ursine face to the stars.

  Zhou followed his gaze and saw the stars wink out of existence, one by one at first, and then great swathes were snuffed out as if a great gust of wind had blown out the many candles in a temple. It took him a few minutes to realise that the stars were still there but were blocked by a great shadow. A shadow that was getting larger and, he took a step back, therefore closer to the earth. Zhou focused on the edge of the shadow, watching stars appear then disappear, again and again. Then the rhythmic sound made sense. Wings, this creature had wings but, and he forced himself to stay still, they were massive. The central temple of Wubei was not as wide as the wingspan of the creature above him.

  Great down drafts of air kicked up and swirled the dust from round his feet. His tunic flapped in the wind and he clasped the loose material close about him. Still the wind grew in power and soon he was finding it difficult to stand still. Zhou crouched within the circle, lessening his profile to the wind and reducing, he hoped, the chance that a mighty gust would send him tumbling out of its protection.

  With an earth shaking thump the creature landed in front of Boqin, the clearing being just large enough for its bulk, and folded its wings against its great body. A snake-like neck extended from the creature's scale covered torso and ended in the head of a lizard, though the head seemed to be the size of Boqin’s house. This gigantic head lowered and looked directly into Boqin's eyes. To Zhou, it was easy to see that with one small snap the great bear would be swallowed up whole.

  “Master Boqin, what a surprise to see you here?” the creature said. Like the bear, its lips didn’t move but the voice came out loud and clear.

  “Though no surprise to see you, I am afraid,” Boqin responded without backing away or cowering in fear. Zhou was sure he would have done so if faced with the massive monster.

  “We are what we are, Boqin. I know your Master taught you that,” the creature snorted.

  “We are our natures but we exercise control is, I believe, the lesson we were taught by our master.” Zhou detected the definite stresses on the words that spoke of a relationship between the two.

  “Ah, it is good to argue with you, Boqin. There are so few now who would stand up to me with the open frankness that you do.”

  “There are few left who know you as I do,” Boqin responded.

  “That is also true. Now, enough raking over of our old histories, tell me what you are guarding tonight? I tasted the surge.” The creature flicked a forked tongue out between its sharp teeth, tasting the air.

  “He is not for you,” Boqin said.

  “A human? You brought someone here? Interesting, Boqin.” The creature swung its head towards Zhou. The tongue flicked out again, “Very interesting, great bear.”

  Zhou found himself staring into the golden irises of the creature’s eyes and instead of fear he felt peace and curiosity. If he just stepped out of the circle he was sure he would learn so much more about this magnificent creature and he so wanted to learn all he could. He took a step forward.

  “Zhou, stop.” Boqin’s voice came from a long way away.

  “Come, Zhou, I have so much to teach you. You could learn a lot from me. You want to learn don’t you? You have such a desire to learn and gain control of this new power you have found.” The creature’s voice whispered into his ears, promising everything. “You want something don’t you? There is such a desire in you. Ah, you want revenge. I can get you that. I can help you with that. I can give you the power to do whatever you want to whoever you want. All you have to do is step out of the circle and come to me.”

  “Zhou, stop,” and then he could not take another step. He wanted to but something was blocking his path. Zhou pushed against it but it did not move. He pushed harder.

  “Zhou, stop.” Thi
s time Boqin’s voice was louder and clearer. Then, suddenly, Zhou came back to his senses, realising he was about to step out of the circle. The only thing preventing him was the shaggy hide of a great brown bear. He stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

  “He is under my protection,” Boqin turned back to the great winged lizard. “You cannot have him unless, of course, you want to go through me?”

  “Do not tempt me, Bear,” the dragon answered Boqin's growl with one of his own. “It has been a long time coming and nothing would give me greater pleasure than devouring your spirit here and now, but I have other things to do. So, out of respect for our master, we will postpone your death for another night.”

  The lizard spread his wings, hunched his body and leapt into the air. Great gusts of air battered the ground with each downbeat of the leathery wings and then it was gone. Zhou could hear the rhythmic thrumming of air disappear into the distance. He stayed where he was until Boqin told him it was safe to leave the protection of the circle.

  “We should be safe from any other interference for quite some time,” Boqin said as they resumed their journey. “Nothing else would have followed him, they’d be too frightened.”

  “You call it a him? You know him?” Zhou asked.

  “Yes, he is a Wu like me and, soon, like you.”

  “He said you had the same Master?”

  “Yes”

  “Who is he?”

  “As I said, a Wu. Zhou, there are many things you have to learn and one of those will be when to be quiet and not ask questions,” Boqin said and Zhou cast him a look but stayed silent.

  A few minutes later Zhou pointed out a glow, like a star at ground level, to Boqin.

  “That will be your doorway,” Boqin explained. “I cannot, nor can any other, see it. You must lead us there and pass through.”

  # # #

  “That is it?” Zhou asked and pointed at the spark of incredibly bright light that floated a few feet off the ground.

  “Yes, this is your doorway,” Boqin said.

  Zhou circled the spark at, what he considered, a safe distance. It was bright but he could detect a regular pulse to it. There was even a sense that, somehow, it was observing him in return.

  “What do I do?” Zhou asked.

  “Simple. Reach out a hand and touch the spirit. After that, well, for everyone it is different. Remember only one thing, you must be in control of the spirit, it must not be controlling you.”

  Zhou stared at Boqin for a moment then reached out with his right hand and grasped the spark.

  He shrieked in agony. Liquid fire speared through his hands as if he had grasped an acid covered cactus. The burning pain spread up his arm, twisting and turning, devouring every cell it touched. Zhou doubled over, forehead touching the floor as he cradled the arm against his belly with the other. On contact, the fire spread to his torso and other arm. It was excruciating. The fire worked its way up past his chest and towards his head. The pressure in his skull was growing and his eyes felt as though they were about to explode out of their sockets. Then the fire reached his brain.

  # # #

  He woke.

  Standing up he looked around, taking in his surroundings. The trees were swaying in the gentle warm breeze of afternoon. Beyond the line of trees the long savannah grass rippled into the horizon.

  Something had woken him but he could not be sure what. He cocked his head to the side, concentrating and listening. There was something, just on the edge of his hearing. He moved his head from side to side trying to determine the direction the sound was coming from.

  Ducking through the trees, he moved at pace but stopped every so often to listen for the sound, re-adjusting his course a few times on the way. He knew he was closing in on the source.

  Then, on the air, he caught the scent. It was new, something he had never encountered before. Through the trees ahead a light was glowing. The breeze flicked leaves across the light, obscuring it. He stalked onwards, low to the ground and careful, step by deliberate step. The light got brighter and brighter as he closed in.

  The trees thinned until between him and the light. Through the swaying high grass, he got his first look at it, the source of the scent he had caught on the wind. He slunk lower in the grass and tried to see the animal more clearly. It was tall and stood upright on two legs.

  Tasting the air again he struggled to understand the strange beast in front of him. Was it prey or not? His belly felt empty so it must be.

  He gathered his legs beneath him and dug his claws through the fallen leaves and into the soft earth. The creature was not looking his way. The best time to strike, catch it by surprise, don’t give it a chance to run though, even if it did, nothing could escape. Nothing was faster than him. Muscles tensed and heart beat faster. The time to kill was now. He launched himself forward, jaws opening to bite down on the creature’s throat. He felt alive.

  Then the creature turned and there was no fear on its face. No move to run or escape. Instead, it reached out with one of its upper legs, towards to him. He could not stop himself.

  # # #

  The animal came out of the undergrowth with incredible speed. Zhou could see the blue glow surrounding it and could clearly make out the fangs that were rushing towards him. He had been expecting it. He had felt the spirit animal close by for some time but despite searching carefully had not seen it camouflaged by the undergrowth.

  Zhou turned to face the animal’s leap and opened his arms to embrace it.

  # # #

  “Wake up.”

  Zhou heard the voice through the thick fog in his brain. He struggled to open his eyes but they would not respond.

  “Come on, Zhou, get up.” It was Boqin’s voice, he recognised that much. Again he tried to open his eyes and was rewarded by a blur of light finding its way past his eyelids. “Lad, you can’t stay here all day. We have things to do.”

  “Day?” Zhou croaked.

  “Aye, day. You’ve been out of the spirit world for long enough to recover now. I brought you back to my home last night. You were just conscious enough to walk though I had to carry you for the last mile or so,” Boqin said, and Zhou peered hard at him, starting to see more than just a blurry shape.

  “Drink?”

  “Here, take some water.” Boqin pressed a rough surfaced cup into his hands and Zhou sat up enough to drink. “The bonding can take it out of you but you have to get up and start moving around. We have company on the way.”

  “Company?”

  “Company.” Boqin stood and moved over to the wooden chest and opened it. “A group of soldiers are coming up the trail.”

  “Soldiers?”

  “Aye, soldiers. Do you think you will be able to form a complete sentence soon?” Boqin took travel clothes and two back-packs from the chest. “We’re a small mining village. An occasional tax collector comes by when they remember we are here, but never soldiers. Just to be on the safe side, we are getting out of here and letting the mine chief handle it. You’re the only new thing here but they'll keep quiet.”

  Zhou struggled out of bed, feeling like he had a bad hangover. He wobbled for a few seconds then shuffled over to the chest and started to pull on the clothes that Boqin handed to him.

  Once outside, Boqin shook the hand of the mining chief and spoke to him whilst Zhou shifted and shrugged, trying to get the back-pack comfortable on his shoulders. He saw the chief give Boqin a slight smile and then the bear-shouldered man picked up his own pack as if it were full of feathers and swung it into place on his shoulders.

  “Zhou, we’ll head up the trail then cut off into the forest,” Boqin said. “I want to get up high enough so we can see the town but they can’t see us.”

  “You’re worried about the soldiers?” Zhou quizzed.

  “I told you, there haven’t been any soldiers up since, well, I can’t remember the last time and I have a very long memory.” Boqin turned his eyes back down the mountain trail
. “The chief’s a good man but the news of the soldiers has him unsettled. He has sent a man off to find out how many there are. So far, all he knows is that there are a lot coming up the trail and I want to be close enough to help if I’m needed.”

  Chapter 28

  “Haung,” Jiao cried out, her voice full of pain.

  Haung sprung up from the bed where he had been resting and darted through the bedroom door into the living space. Jiao was on all fours in the middle of room. She raised her head as he came in and he could see the panic in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked as he knelt down next to her.

  “It’s coming. I think it is coming,” she said.

  “What do we do?” Haung asked.

  “I don’t think you do anything. You did your bit nine months ago. Get the nurse,” she grimaced and clutched one hand to her belly. “Just get the nurse.”

  “Let me get you into bed,” Haung began pulling Jiao by her arms.

  “Get off me. Haung, just get the nurse,” Jiao spoke in calm, measured tones. “Getting me into bed was what caused this in the first place.”

  “Bed, first.” Haung began pulling her again and Jiao reacted by wrenching her arms out his grasp.

  “Haung, get the nurse. Now.” Jiao shoved him away and towards the door.

  He took one last look at Jiao then slammed the door behind him and took off at a full run down the stone corridors. The sound of his bare feet slapping against the floor echoed from the walls. He rounded corner after corner in his quest. There were few people around at this late hour but everyone he saw jumped out of his way. Many of them gave him a strange look that he decided, quite lucidly for a moment, to ignore for now and puzzle over later.

  A few more corridors and turns later he was banging on the door of the nurses’ quarters. There came some brief shouting from inside. He waited for the door to open, bouncing from one foot to the other, feeling a chill from the slight breeze in the corridor.

  “What is it?” The nurse who opened the door was rubbing the sleep from her eyes.