by P J Tierney
Jamie couldn’t let her do this — the part of Cheng that was Zheng would kill her. He stepped out of his hiding place. ‘I challenge Cheng,’ he called out.
All eyes turned to him. Master Wu was clearly surprised: he frowned, then opened his mouth to say something but stopped.
‘Cool,’ Edwin said. He looked at Bruce and added, ‘Gets you off the hook.’
Bruce scoffed. ‘Gets you off it, you mean.’
Cheng watched Jamie through narrowed eyes. Jade watched him too, her expression unreadable. She didn’t seem surprised, or even relieved. Didn’t she know he’d come to rescue her? She could at least be a little grateful, Jamie thought.
She stared at him, then very, very discreetly shook her head. Jamie ignored her, took a deep breath and walked towards the sparring circle.
Cheng positioned himself across from Jamie, and smirked when Jamie hesitated on the other side of the white line. Now that he was so close, Jamie could appreciate the difference between a twelve-year-old boy and one of sixteen: like about twenty centimetres and twenty kilos.
His gaze flicked around the training ground, looking for an advantage over his much bigger opponent. He saw Jade watching him and sent her an imploring look for a hint that would help him. She remained expressionless, then bowed her head again.
Why won’t she help? She must know he was doing this for her — she was a Recollector, after all. Then a wave of panic rose up from his belly. What did she know? She wouldn’t look him in the eye. Did that mean he was going to …? He couldn’t say it, couldn’t even think it. He had too much to live for.
Cheng grinned at him and moved slowly, like a cobra mesmerising its prey. He kept his body turned towards Jamie all the time, never conceding an advantage.
Jamie swallowed and adjusted his wet and heavy pants. He put his hands to his waist — he didn’t even have a belt. He was without a weapon.
A weapon, he thought. That’s what I need.
A little flutter coursed through his body and he forced himself not to look at the weapons rack. If he did, Cheng would know his intention. He had to get close enough without it being apparent.
He looked to his left past the rack to where Master Wu was standing. Master Wu nodded encouragingly. It would be rude to ignore him, Jamie thought. He veered towards Master Wu, paying the weapons rack not even the slightest amount of attention as he passed it. He stopped in front of Master Wu, put his palm to his fist and bowed. While he was bent over, he dared a look at the rack. The closest weapons were the spear, the fighting blade or the long staff. He judged the distance, then he stood up and turned back to the sparring circle.
Cheng crouched into a defensive stance, held his palm out to Jamie and beckoned him.
Jamie bowed to him, but Cheng didn’t return the gesture as Jamie had hoped he would. Instead, he said, ‘Come on, Spirit Warrior, we haven’t got all night.’
Jamie stepped into the circle.
Cheng lunged and Jamie jumped back outside the line. He even managed a little squeal, which made Cheng laugh.
Cheng glanced towards Jade to check she was watching, and in that fraction of a second that he was distracted, Jamie reached behind him, felt the hard, polished timber of a weapon beneath his palm and drew it out. He flipped the bottom forward, tucked the midsection under his arm and charged.
It was the long staff.
Cheng leaped sideways and raised his arm as Jamie ran past, then swung his arm down on the back of Jamie’s head. Jamie wobbled; he thought his knees might buckle. He turned to Cheng with the staff held out in front of him. Cheng attacked again and Jamie held the staff high to block. When Cheng hit it, the shudder ran all the way down to Jamie’s feet.
Cheng struck again. Jamie blocked it with the staff, but this time he angled it so Cheng’s arm slipped downwards. When it was near the bottom, Jamie twisted the staff around Cheng’s wrist and shoved it aside. Cheng’s chest and head were exposed and Jamie flipped the top of the weapon around and clipped it up under Cheng’s chin. As the end of the staff marked a line across Cheng’s throat, Jamie regretted that he hadn’t grabbed the fighting blade instead.
A look of surprise flashed across Cheng’s face. He raised his arm up under the staff and flicked it away. Jamie twirled the staff as he spun and swung it towards Cheng’s midsection. Cheng blocked it and at the same time kicked Jamie’s leading foot out from under him. Jamie grounded one end of the staff to stop himself falling, then he pushed with all his weight up onto the handle, levered himself up and kicked Cheng’s head.
Cheng reeled and his face flushed bright red. He repositioned his feet and pulled his lips back in a snarl so fierce Jamie hesitated. Cheng flung his whole body into a spinning round kick. Jamie dived underneath him and skidded across the grass. Cheng twisted and led with a punch. Jamie lunged with the staff and slipped the point between Cheng’s arm and the sleeve of his robe. Cheng twisted to break free, but Jamie ran with him, pushing the staff till it poked out the other sleeve. Cheng was trussed up like a scarecrow. He flailed around while Jamie dodged the end of the staff that stuck out beyond his sleeve.
Cheng roared like a wounded beast.
Edwin giggled.
Cheng stopped and his whole body seemed to swell with indignation. He brought his arms down, snapping the staff across his back. He shook his sleeves and the two pieces of the staff fell out. He looked at Jamie and his eyes flared. He flipped his wrist and brought his hand up, poised like a cobra about to strike.
He wasn’t Cheng any more. Now he was Zheng.
Jamie crouched into a defensive stance, with one arm high to protect his head, the other pulled back with his eagle claw formed. He held Zheng’s gaze.
He heard Master Wu say, ‘That’s enough, boys,’ but that wasn’t going to stop Zheng. He charged.
Jamie tensed and steadied himself to punch. But at the last second, Zheng slid along the ground. Jamie jumped too late and his toes caught on Zheng’s shoulder. He fell flat on his face. He pushed up, but Zheng was already on his feet and he grabbed him. Jamie struggled and squirmed, but Zheng held him tightly. He heaved him up above his head, walked towards Jade, then slammed him onto the steps beside her.
Jamie landed on his back on the uneven surface and felt the rush of air from his lungs. Winded and concussed, he struggled to breathe. Everything blurred. He saw two Master Wus come rushing forward, then there was a shadow above him and he realised that Zheng was about to land on his knee. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t respond.
He heard Master Wu yell, ‘No!’ then there was a loud crack and a fierce pressure on his knee. He felt the back of his knee pressing into the hard stone.
And then the pain hit. A bolt of agony that raced down to his toes and up through his gut and chest, bringing bile and salt water with it. It felt as if his leg had exploded. He puked, and a shriek pierced his eardrums. He wasn’t conscious of it coming from him, only that it was reverberating through his brain.
He felt someone hold his head firmly. Master Wu was leaning over him.
‘Take a breath,’ Master Wu said.
Jamie sucked in a long, gasping breath, and in the lull before he exhaled, Master Wu said, ‘Take control.’
He looked so intense and so determined that Jamie did exactly as he said. He took another deep breath and forced the pain back down towards his knee. Master Wu put his hands over Jamie’s leg and Conjured a light so bright Jamie had to look away.
The agony became bearable, and Master Wu moved him so he was lying flat on the ground. Jamie saw Zheng at the weapons rack, saw him reaching for the fighting blade, then he was swinging it around his head. He moved to the centre of the sparring ring, twirling the blade so fast it roared. His eyes flared. Jamie couldn’t look away.
There was something about this scene that felt familiar: the kung fu display, the mesmerised audience, the threat. Then Jamie remembered: the fable about the princess which decorated Master Wu’s screen. In Jamie’s fuzzy mind it suddenly became clear. Zheng had used Ja
mie to shred the carving not to gain access but to stop anyone making the connection.
Jade was staring defiantly up at Zheng. Run! Jamie wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn’t work. And then it was like slow motion: Zheng pulled the fighting blade back; Jade closed her eyes.
Jamie tried to get up, but his leg failed and he fell back down. Master Wu tried to calm him, but Jamie pushed him aside. His eyes were trained on that blade. Zheng lunged and threw it like a javelin, directly at Jade’s throat.
Jamie pushed up, airborne and parallel with the ground. He swung his shoulder around and spotted the blade. The steel was centimetres from Jade’s throat. He threw his shoulder around again and pivoted, twisting through the air, never once taking his eyes from the weapon. His feet were almost touching the handle. He willed himself to twist again, clamped a foot either side of the long handle and completed his turn. The end of the handle hit the ground and he felt the midsection break between his feet. He saw the point of the blade trace a thin line from Jade’s sternum to her chin.
Jamie landed on his side, sending another bolt of pain through his knee. Jade was motionless, her eyes clamped shut. Very slowly she opened one eye then the other. She blinked and looked around.
Jamie breathed again. He lay back down as the wave of pain threatened to overcome him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on controlling it.
He felt a shadow across his face and opened his eyes to see Jade looking down at him. There was a fine line of blood all the way down her throat.
She said, ‘You surprise me, Jamie Reign.’
And then he slipped into a pain-free nothingness.
Someone was calling him; he wished they would go away. He tried to tell them, but his throat wouldn’t work. All that came out was a mumbled, garbled sound.
‘Jamie,’ the voice said. It was louder this time, and more desperate.
He waved his arms to make it stop. It didn’t hurt where he was, it was peaceful, he wanted to stay there.
Then another cry: ‘Jamie, help me!’ It was a girl; she sounded young and upset.
He fought his way through the fog back to consciousness and hit a wall of pain. He was lying on the ground. Jade was holding him down while Master Wu healed his knee.
‘What?’ he said to her, annoyed at being called back.
She looked surprised. ‘What do you mean, what?’
‘You were calling me.’
She frowned and shook her head. ‘No-one was calling you.’
Jamie pushed her hands away and sat up. ‘Where’s Cheng?’
‘Don’t worry about Cheng for now,’ Master Wu said. ‘I will speak to him about this. It is obvious he is not ready to Pass the Gate.’
‘Where is he now?’ Jamie asked again.
‘He can’t be far. I suspect he’s taking some time to consider his behaviour.’
‘Don’t let him leave the island,’ Jamie said. He tried to stand, but it hurt too much. Jade put her arm around his waist and supported him.
Master Wu looked puzzled. ‘He can’t leave, Jamie. Without a boat, the only way to get off the island is by Riding the Way and Cheng can’t do that.’
‘Cheng mightn’t be able to Ride the Way,’ Jamie said, ‘but Zheng can.’
‘Zheng?’ Master Wu said.
Jamie said, ‘His spirit is inside Cheng.’
Master Wu stood up, Conjured a bright light all around him and disappeared into the Way.
Chapter 16
Jamie watched Master Wu fade into the Way, then said to Jade, ‘Help me to the gates.’
‘You’re going after Cheng?’ she asked.
He nodded.
She said, ‘You don’t think Master Wu will find him through the Way?’
Jamie grimaced as he hobbled alongside Jade. ‘I think Master Wu would find him if it was just Cheng he was chasing, but this is Zheng. Master Wu’s been searching for him for generations.’
‘So what makes you think you’ll find him?’
Jamie sucked in sharply as his knee bore some weight. ‘I’ll find him, Jade, because I know where he’s going.’
She stopped and seemed to appraise him. ‘Good,’ she said, ‘’cause I’m coming with you.’
‘Why?’ he said with a trace of frustration in his voice. ‘You want to rescue Cheng even after what he did to you?’
She looked at him as if he was stupid. ‘No, I want to get those bugs before they join up with the rest of Zheng.’
Jamie suddenly felt much better, even though she thought he was an idiot. He leaned into her support and felt her long hair brush against his cheek.
Jade tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced over her shoulder. ‘I, um, need to get something before we go.’
She propped him up against the Moon Gate and charged off towards the Western Pavilions. Jamie stared through the round hole in the gate to the Dragon Rock. He thought of his mother and hoped she would be proud of him.
Jade returned quickly with her satchel slung across her chest. She carried with her some dry clothes, which she handed to Jamie. He gratefully accepted them, but as he held the folded fabric he felt something solid hidden inside the pile. He flinched at first, then recognised the shape and weight. He looked quizzically at Jade, who smiled and nodded. Jamie bowed to her, then tucked both the dry clothes and his dive knife into his waistband. He felt comforted having the blade so close.
Jamie and Jade made it out through the gates of Chia Wu and all the way to the dock without Jamie passing out from the pain in his knee. They waited in the shadows at the edge of the dock. Jamie listened consciously and heard the drone of the Lin Yao from beyond the headland. He also heard other noises from the boat: Lucy’s guttural heave followed by a splatter.
Jamie’s ears seemed more attuned than usual: they picked up every rustle in the leaves, every wave that lapped against the dock, every squeak of the bats in the canopy above.
The Lin Yao’s engines grew louder, then they spotted the beam from her bow light across the opening to the bay; it slashed the darkness like a sabre. The red port light bobbed into sight, then the boat must have turned because the green starboard light came into view too. The Lin Yao was heading straight towards them.
Jamie watched as Wing brought her alongside and gently eased her against the dock. Mr Fan wrangled the mooring lines, then bent to pick something up from the deck. It seemed heavy and emitted a low moaning sound.
Mr Fan rested his burden on the side of the boat and awkwardly got one leg over onto the dock then the other, all the while making sure the heavy load didn’t slip. He picked it up again, adjusted the weight in his arms and walked along the dock towards Jamie and Jade. As he got closer, Jamie could make out legs dangling from one side of the shape and a head lolling from the other. It was Lucy and she was moaning.
Jamie started forward, but Jade grabbed him and pulled him back into the shadows.
‘Take care on the galley steps,’ Mr Fan said as he passed by. ‘They’re slippery. And the port side deck as well.’
Jamie froze and Jade swore under her breath, but Mr Fan kept going.
When Mr Fan and Lucy had been swallowed up by the darkness, Jamie and Jade came out of hiding and Jade helped him limp to the Lin Yao.
Jade climbed aboard first. Forgetting Mr Fan’s warning, she put her foot in a puddle of vomit and it slipped straight out from under her. She landed on her back in the foul, stinking mess and cursed Lucy in language befitting a fisherman.
Wing and Jet rushed to the top of the galley steps, drawn by the commotion. Wing couldn’t stop laughing, till Jade shot him a ferocious glare that silenced him mid-guffaw.
They got underway again quickly, with Wing at the wheel. He told Jamie that the engines had kept cutting out so he’d had to stop and refuel from the fishermen’s tank on Penglai. And it was the diesel fumes that had made Lucy sick all over again.
‘Who would have thought she had that much puke in her?’ Wing said, peering out the galley door.
Jade h
uffed from the gantry, where she was washing down her pants with a bucket of water.
Jamie healed his knee a little with both hands, then went straight to the chart table. When Zheng was inside him, he’d felt an inexplicable pull to the northwest. The same direction the rivercaft with Zheng’s men onboard had been heading. He studied that section of the chart. A chill ran through him as he considered that was where Zheng was reassembling his spirit, piece by ugly piece.
As the Lin Yao approached the straits again, Wing started shuffling his feet and glancing back at Chia Wu.
‘It’s okay if you want to go back,’ Jamie said to him.
Wing made an expression like he was in pain, then shook his head. ‘I think she’ll be okay.’
‘Well, she’s got nothing left inside her to vomit up, that’s for sure,’ Jade said crossly.
‘He’s not talking about Lucy,’ Jamie said. ‘He’s talking about his mum.’
Jade looked at him as if he was being ridiculous, then saw Wing’s pained expression. ‘Oh, right, sorry,’ she said.
The little tug nosed beyond the headland and got swept up in the fast-moving current. Jamie and Jade hung on tightly as Wing gripped the wheel. It was almost pointless steering — the boat raced along at the water’s mercy. One moment she was bouncing up against the cliff face, her engines whining as the propeller tilted up beyond the surface; the next she was wallowing with her deck awash with waves.
At last, they shot out the other side of the straits and drifted into calmer waters. They all breathed a deep sigh of relief and Wing nodded in a self-satisfied way.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘Which way?’
Jamie pointed to the northwest, then returned to the chart to figure out exactly where in the northwest they should be heading. There was a scattering of islands in the area: some looked as if they were just clumps of rock jutting out from the sea, while others seemed bigger than Chia Wu. The topography helped to narrow it down because Jamie had an idea of what he was looking for. If Zheng’s men were using a rivercraft, that meant the island had a shallow approach. Jamie scanned the cluster of dots and picked out an oddly shaped island called Castel Rock. It had widely spaced depth lines on its southern side, which meant the approach there would be too shallow for anything with a keel. The other side of the island was just sheer cliffs over deep water, an impossible approach for any boat.