by JC Kang
“Tell me again,” Jie said. “What did you and Lilian talk about?”
“I don’t remember.”
Jie sucked on her lower lip. “What can you tell me about the contents of the safe? Stock certificates, a yue ball, a gold nugget, and some bloody sheets.”
“My employer wanted them, not me,” she said.
“Who’s your employer?”
Tang Li’s mouth clamped shut. In the last two years, she’d worked hard to make connections, and to betray an employer would be a blow to her reputation.
And this particular employer was particularly ruthless: knowing that Lord Shi had planned to expose his involvement in the illegal yue trade, he’d plotted to frame Lord Shi for attempting to sink Lord Wu’s ship.
It’d been a dud—she knew, because she’d procured it. Had she been able to prevent Wen, Meisha, and Yangyang from reaching the barge, her contact onboard would’ve conveniently discovered it just after the fifth waxing gibbous.
Which meant… “We need to leave here, soon. Imperial soldiers will be swarming here before the full moon.” And if they caught her here, it’d mean torture. Still, something drew her to the safe. “Wait, there was something else in the safe.”
“I heard it,” a new voice chirped. The boy.
“Shhh,” Jie hissed.
More shuffling about the room. Tang Li tilted her head and found the boy. He must’ve been hiding out of her line of sight earlier.
Jie sucked in a sharp breath. Then she held up a hairpin, shaped like a lotus. “Was this what you were looking for?”
Tang Li’s eyes went wide as memories of her meeting with Lilian came flooding back, as if a shuttered light bauble was suddenly open. They’d talked about Lord Ting and the North. And then, Lilian had waved her hands and wiggled her fingers. It was then Tang Li had forgotten the conversation and developed the urge to open the safe. Now, though, one detail came back, and it would keep her alive for the time being. “Lilian was the daughter of the late Lord Yu Qian, the last prince of the Yu Dynasty. She was the last heir of the North.”
And there was more, a poem repeating over and over in her head.
She spoke it out loud: “When three eyes open. More truths shall be revealed. Hero or traitor.”
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.
Turn the page for a preview of Last Heir of the North, Part 5 of Scions of the Black Lotus.
Preview of Last Heir of the North
Prologue: One Mother’s Treasure
Mama had told three-year-old Yu Mei to stay quiet. Since she was a good girl, she did. It was hard, because they were playing hide-and-go-seek in the root cellar, and she was afraid of the dark. It smelled so dirty and moldy, and the shouts and screams above got louder.
She put a hand on Mama’s big tummy. She was going to be a big sister soon, and big sisters had to be brave. Just like Big Brother Ken. He was up above, keeping the Seekers from finding them.
The door to the root cellar flung open. Bright, afternoon sunlight streamed in. Mei’s eyes hurt. She put a hand on her forehead to see better, and blinked several times.
“Get out,” said a man in a Big Voice.
The Seekers had found them! That meant they’d have to find a new hiding place, and the game would start again.
No. Something was wrong. Mama was sniffling. She took Mei’s hand and rose to her feet. Her voice sounded scratchy. “Come on.”
“Hurry,” the mean mad said.
On wobbling feet, they climbed up the steps.
It was so bright outside. But it smelled different. Smokey, like when the cooks burned the pig. And people were crying.
Mei blinked away the orange in her eyes.
Daddy’s friends lay on the stones. They were bleeding. So much blood. And armored men with blue banners surrounded them, pointing bows.
Mei’s heart hurt. She grabbed Mama’s leg.
Maybe the dark would be better.
Big Brother Ken was on his knees, hands on his head.
Mama pat her on the head. “It’s all right, my Beautiful Lotus. Be a good girl.”
“Young Lord Yu Ken.” A man with a pig face walked over to Big Brother. His armor jingled.
Big Brother bowed his head. “Lord Tong.”
“Your father has been claiming descent from the Last Yu Emperor, and been inciting unrest in Cheng Fu County.”
They were all big words. What did they mean?
“It’s not true!” Big Brother shook his head. “My father is loyal to the Emperor. He went to the court with proof that the rumors are lies.”
“Lord Yang.” Lord Tong beckoned to someone behind all the other men.
A skinny man strode forth, a round basket in hand.
“No,” Big Brother said.
Sobbing, mama pulled Mei’s head into her fat tummy. “Don’t look, my Beautiful Lotus.”
“Your father never made it to the court,” Pig Face said.
Around them Daddy’s men gasped. Mama pulled her closer. What was going on?
“You are a traitor to the North.” Big Brother was using his Big Voice, now. “A running dog to the Emperor.”
“You had promise, Young Lord Yu,” Pig Face said. “Too much.”
Big Brother let out a strange sound.
Mama shrieked.
Heart thumping, Mei pulled away and turned her head.
Big Brother lay on the stones. Blood came from his neck. His eyes were looking at her. But he wasn’t seeing. Pig Face stood over him. He held a bloody knife.
Behind him, Skinny Man was holding…
Daddy’s head.
Mei screamed. It was just too much. She couldn’t be a good girl. She turned her head back into Mama’s tummy.
Hands grabbed her, pulling her away. Mei looked up to see Daddy’s gardener. She never liked him. His skin was so tight, he looked scary.
“Little Sister.” Pig Face drew closer to Mama, and gestured first to Skinny Man, then to a fat man. “You should’ve married Lord Yang or Lord Shi, and joined our families. Then, the North would’ve been stronger.”
“You’re all vile. I won’t marry him. Not then, not now. May Yanluo drag you down to Hell.”
Mama never used such mean words. She was always nice. Gentle.
“Sadly,” Pig Face said, “you don’t have a choice.”
“I refuse.” Mama shook her head.
“Oh, you misunderstand me. You carry Lord Yu’s heir.”
Mama always had a pretty color. Now, her face was white. One hand was on her tummy. She backed away. “It’s a girl. The doctor said it was a girl.”
A girl? Was Mei going to have a sister?
“It’s a boy,” Daddy’s gardener said.
How did he know? Tears ran down Mei’s face. Something bad was going to—
“I’m sorry, Little Sister.” Pig Face grabbed Mama, and put a knife into her chest.
Mama’s eyes grew big. She sank to her knees.
Screaming, Mei pulled free of the gardener and ran over.
Mama fell onto her side.
Tears blurred Mei’s vision. She pulled and pulled. If Mama didn’t get up now, she wouldn’t ever.
“My Beautiful Lotus,” Mama whispered. Blood ran from the side of her mouth. Her next words were almost too soft to hear. Her hand wrapped around Mei’s. Something bit into her palm. Cold and hard. “Remember, you are the last Princess of the Yu Dynasty.”
Mei wiped the blood with her sleeve. She shook Mama. “Mama. Get up. Please get up.”
Bony fingers pulled her off. She shrieked and kicked.
A hand clapped into her cheek. It burned, and she quieted.
Pig Face’s face filled her world. His breath smelled like garlic
when he spoke. “Niece, you would have grown up to be a pawn, married to form an alliance. We can’t have that, not even now.”
Pawn? Daddy and Big Brother played a game with those little pieces. She wasn’t one of those. Mei opened her palm. Mama’s favorite hairpin. Silver. Shaped like a lotus.
“What will you do with her, My Lord?” the gardener asked.
“She has to die.” Pig Face leaned over and pulled the knife out of Mama.
Mei looked from Mama to Big Brother. Then to the basket. Father’s head was in it. Her tummy twisted into knots. Her mouth tasted sour. Tears made everything look strange.
“Please,” the gardener said. “I’ve always wanted a daughter. After I’ve trained her, and a few years go by, she won’t even remember today. And, a decade from now, if your dreams come closer to reality, I can bring her back: the long-lost descendant of the Yu Dynasty, whose husband can claim the North.”
Pig Face’s jaw wobbled back and forth. He looked like more like a cow now. He looked over his shoulder. “What say you, my lords?”
Fat Man exchanged glances with Skinny Man, then both nodded.
“Come.” The gardener gave Mei’s hand a tug.
Sobbing, she pulled and pulled, trying to get back to Mama. “Mama. I want Mama.”
“Mama is going somewhere you can’t follow,” the gardener said. “Not yet. Now come.”
He was wrong. Mama was just asleep. She’d get up.
Something soft and wet touched her neck. It smelled like flowers.
Her head felt strange. Her eyelids were heavy. And all went black.
✽ ✽ ✽
Many weeks had passed since the gardener had taken Mei away from home. Most of the time, she rode on his back. He wanted her to call him Father.
He wasn’t her father.
Her daddy was Lord Yu Qiang.
And Mama. She wanted to see Mama.
The gardener made her act and talk different.
Mama wouldn’t like the way she acted and talked.
He wanted her to eat.
But food tasted like wet paper.
And every day, her arms, legs, and head felt heavier. It was almost impossible to stand.
“You’re a bad girl,” he said one day, when she refused to eat. “You’ll die.”
Die. That’s what Mama said when Mei had once stomped on a worm. The worm was gone forever.
Just like Mama.
Her eyes wanted to cry, but nothing came out.
Eventually, they came to place with big walls and lots of buildings. Inside this place was a bridge over water and a big red lantern.
All the buildings had pretty red flags and lanterns, with even prettier women walking around. But none were as pretty as Mama.
Skull Head took her to a nice room in one of the biggest houses. Two women with the same face were there.
“I can’t raise her,” Skull Head said. “She won’t eat. Raise her as a Seedling.”
The first woman shook her head. “You’ve messed her up with the Tiger’s Eye. It’s beyond anything a doctor can fix. She’s going to die.”
Skull Head threw his hands up. “What should I do?”
“I know only one person who can fix your fuck-up.” The second had the same voice as the first.
“Wait. If we are going to do that….” The first pulled the others together, and the whispered in low voices.
Mei could barely lift her head. She couldn’t hear, no matter how hard she tried.
Skull Head came over. He moved his fingers in front of her. Mei followed the motion, and her head got heavier and heavier.
“Forget,” he said.
Grey on the sides of her vision darkened to black.
✽ ✽ ✽
She opened her eyes.
“She’s awake!” a voice, which chirped like a bird said. A beautiful girl appeared over her. She had pretty pointed ears and big eyes. Maybe she was a faerie. A messenger from the gods. “You’re awake. What’s your name?”
Name… what was her name? Who was she? Where had she come from, and how did she get… “Where am I?”
The faerie held up a hairpin, shaped like a lotus. “This is yours. Does it look familiar?”
A lotus. It looked familiar. Her heart beat fast. It was a name. Her name. “Lotus. My name is Beautiful Lotus.” Wasn’t it?
The faerie sucked on her lower lip. “Beautiful Lotus... Lilian. Hello Lilian, I’m Jie. You are at the Black Lotus Temple.”
Last Heir of the North, available September 2019.
Join my mailing list and get a FREE copy of Prelude to Insurrection, a story about Tian and Jie ten years after Wretches of the Trench.
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, Pat Wicks, 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.