‘This morning? But… I do not understand. We only met a short time ago.’
Quaint laughed. ‘It’s just you and me, Han-Lo, you can drop the act.’
Makoi emitted a slow burning hiss, like a pot coming off the boil. He slumped his form slightly, as though he was deflating. ‘How?’
‘In the battle I saw the way you swung that axe,’ Quaint replied, taking no pleasure from his unmasking. ‘I’ve seen that swing before, remember? Up close, too.’
Han-Lo cursed. ‘Do you know how hard I have worked to shield my identity? How much effort it takes? How much self-control it takes? Not even my own men know my true face.’ He raised his hands to remove his mask, but Quaint held it in place.
‘Leave it on, my friend,’ Quaint said. ‘These people need to believe in Makoi. Without that mask, you lose all of Makoi’s power. You would be hunted like a dog. Nowhere would be safe. You wouldn’t be able to trust a soul for fear they might betray you to Cho-zen Li. And then what would happen? With Makoi gone, the people would have no one to follow, no hope to cling to… and this little insurrection of yours would be over.’
‘You do not know what sacrifices I have made so that Makoi can live. Tell me, Cornelius, this morning in Xia X’ian when I told you of my wife’s death, did you think me a coward for not taking my revenge on Cho-zen Li?’
Quaint frowned. ‘Why would I think that?’
‘Because a coward is how I have allowed myself be painted!’ Makoi snapped, his voice louder than he had intended. He looked nervously around the camp. ‘My son detests me. He rises before me in the mornings and returns home once he thinks me asleep. He does not understand that I wear this mask to protect him. If Han-Lo the blacksmith had marched into Cho-zen Li’s stronghold and demanded revenge for his wife’s murder, what do you think would have happened?’
‘Cho-zen Li would have killed him where he stood, I expect,’ offered Quaint.
‘Or perhaps he would do far more,’ Makoi replied. ‘Perhaps he would have sought out anyone that knew Han-Lo, or knew of him, anyone that Han-Lo cared for, and he would have ensured that any life I had touched was destroyed. My children, my friends… no one would be left untouched. No amount of revenge is worth that price, Cornelius. And so I knew that if I were to feel like a man, like a husband, I had to hide my identity. I created Makoi to fight against Cho-zen Li in ways that Han-Lo could not. But I often wonder… did I really don this mask to prove Lao wrong? I have often thought about telling him. If I revealed my identity he would know that his father is not a coward after all.’
‘So why don’t you?’ asked Quaint.
‘Sadly, I fear that it would only make matters worse,’ said Makoi. ‘The irony is that Makoi is something of a local hero in this province. My son idolises him. And if I ever told him the truth, I would only be placing him in danger. He would be forced to keep Makoi’s identity secret. He would become as I have become; always guarded, always living two lives… one out in the open and one hiding in the shadows.’
‘So where do you see this ending?’ Quaint asked, casting another stone into the stream. ‘Are you content to be nothing more than a minor annoyance to Cho-zen Li, or are you interested in taking the fight up a notch? We need to act now! Whilst Makoi is still capable of rallying support! We must take the final step closer to quashing Cho-zen Li’s hold over the people once and for all.’
‘You sound just like the All-Knowing One,’ said Makoi.
‘The who?’ quizzed Quaint.
‘Our wise man,’ Makoi explained. ‘He was imprisoned many years ago by Cho-zen Li. One night, my band and I raided the prison and there he was, sat alone in his cell with open arms. He said that he had been waiting for me. I asked him how that was possible and he replied that he knew everything. As unbelievable as it sounds, the All-Knowing One is an oracle, the last of the elders gifted with foresight.’
‘It’s not that unbelievable, actually,’ muttered Quaint. ‘Let me guess, most of his so-called prophecies amount to riddles and mysteries that can be translated any number of ways, and in his eyes, he is never, ever wrong.’
‘How did you know? Do not tell me that you also are gifted with foresight?’
Quaint grinned. ‘Not quite. It’s just that I’ve got one just like him back home.’ He stood up sharply and offered his hand to Makoi. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Go? Go where?’
‘To see this oracle of yours, of course,’ said Quaint.
‘Now?’ asked Makoi. ‘But it is late.’
‘And?’ asked Quaint. ‘If he really is all-knowing then he’ll be expecting me, right?’
Chapter XXIV
The Disinclined Destiny
Quaint stood outside the All-Knowing One’s tent and looked over at Makoi, who hovered several paces away. Had the conjuror’s eyes been able to pierce the golden exterior of the outlaw’s mask, he would have seen an anxious expression.
‘Aren’t you coming in?’ Quaint asked him.
‘I hardly think there is room for three of us, plus the incense in that tent makes my eyes itch,’ replied Makoi. ‘A word of warning, Cornelius. The All-Knowing One’s soul is at one with the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky. He has watched the world turn for generations, and there is nothing that escapes his notice. He has witnessed much of the future – perhaps too much. His mind has touched all that once was and all that is yet to come. Being party to such knowledge has had an effect on his faculties, and as such he can be a little… unpredictable.’
‘Define unpredictable,’ said Quaint.
‘His concentration is like a frog, hopping from one lily pad to the next, never resting in one place long enough for you to catch up with it. It can send you to the point of madness.’
‘Thanks for the concern, but you’ve met my troupe. They’re enough to send anyone mad.’ Quaint pulled back the tent’s entrance and slipped inside.
Immediately, his sight was obscured by a thick curtain of white smoke, rising and falling before his eyes like a mass of airborne serpents.
‘Hello?’ he began. ‘I’m—’
‘I know who you are,’ said a voice through the smoke, ‘Cornelius.’
Quaint lowered his head. ‘Ah, yes. Your mystic powers.’
‘Not all that mystic really,’ said the old Chinaman. ‘You and Makoi were talking rather loudly outside my tent and it is deer hide, not solid brick. But we shall not speak of names here. I cannot abide being called “the All-Knowing One”. It makes me sound so egotistical.’
‘Oh? I just presumed that you’d earned the title,’ said Quaint.
‘Earned it?’ said the All-Knowing One. ‘Let me tell you, being all-knowing is hardly something to be proud of. Do we congratulate the crane because it flies, or the fish because it swims? So why should me being all-knowing be a cause for celebration?’
Quaint scratched his head, more than a little confused. So far, this meeting was not going at all how he had pictured it.
‘And how did you picture it?’ asked the All-Knowing One.
Quaint gasped. ‘You can read my thoughts too?’
‘No, but I can read faces. They say a lot about people, you know. Your eyes, the edges of your mouth, that tiny little muscle in your jaw. I know exactly what you are going to say even before you do. Although, Makoi tells me that this is extremely unnerving. Why do you think he wears a mask?’
Quaint humoured the old man with a smile. ‘Quite.’
‘You might as well take a seat,’ said the All-Knowing One, offering Quaint a cushion on the floor. ‘So… where were we? Or is it where are we? I am always muddling up my tenses. Have we got yet to the bit where I tell you about how everything in your life is connected? No… no, that comes much later. Ah, yes! You came here to seek a way to destroy Cho-zen Li.’
Quaint’s mouth fell open. ‘Amazing! You were able to tell that just from my face?’
‘You look surprised, and yet we have already established that I know everything there is to know, have
we not?’ The All-Knowing One tapped a crooked finger to his temple. ‘In my mind you and I have already had this conversation… as well as the one that we shall share once your mission is completed. And I am sorry about that. I can imagine that it was – will be – rather difficult to take in considering your loss.’ Quaint was about to ask the obvious question, but the old man did not give him a chance. ‘My consciousness just gets a little lost sometimes, so I apologise ahead of time. I know everything there is to know, but not necessarily in any sort of comprehensible order. Have I done this, will I do that, why did I do it, and was it even worth doing it in the first place?’
‘Do you know whether Cho-zen Li has a weakness?’ asked Quaint, trying to get the conversation back on track. ‘Something that I can use against him?’
‘You speak of a weapon of some sort?’
‘If you like,’ said Quaint. ‘So… is there such a thing?’
The All-Knowing One nodded slowly. ‘There is.’
‘Excellent! So where can I find it?’
‘Look in a mirror.’
‘Pardon?’
‘You asked me if there was something that will destroy Cho-zen Li and I replied that you should look in a mirror,’ replied the All-Knowing One. ‘Only Cho-zen Li’s equal can destroy him; a positive force of good to counteract his power over evil. Cornelius, your immortality makes you his equal, do you not realise?’
‘My what?’ said Quaint, shifting uncomfortably on his cushion. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Your secret is quite safe with me,’ the oracle chuckled. ‘So, what do you wish to know first? How I knew about your immortality, or how I know that you are Cho-zen Li’s equal?’
‘Both,’ said Quaint.
‘The universe relies upon its synchronicity, Cornelius,’ said the All-Knowing One. ‘Order against chaos, good against evil, light against dark – you get the idea. Cho-zen Li is no ordinary adversary; the totality of this, you will soon discover. Events are unfolding just as I predicted, and soon the immortal man shall see the end of the eternal man’s world.’
Quaint blinked. ‘A friend of mine said that to me several weeks ago. Word for word. She said she’d heard it spoken in one of her premonitions. I have to admit – and this is rare for me – but that’s an amazing coincidence!’
‘Listen to me very carefully, Cornelius,’ said the Chinaman. ‘There is no such thing as a coincidence.’
‘I’ve been saying that for years!’
‘Everything of consequence is connected.’
‘Connected to what?’
‘Your debt,’ replied the All-Knowing One.
‘My debt?’ asked Quaint. ‘My debt to whom?’
‘To Fate,’ replied the All-Knowing One. ‘Immortality is not a gift that is bestowed lightly, Cornelius, nor does it come without its cost. Have you not yet realised that ever since you consumed that magical elixir, everything in your life has been in accordance with Fate’s wishes?’
Quaint laughed. ‘I’ve got to get you and Destine in a room together. Go on then, I’d love to hear this.’
‘How can you deny that it is true, Cornelius?’ asked the All-Knowing One. ‘Every single event since you gained eternal life has been but a prelude to your destiny – even your confrontation with Cho-zen Li. But be warned, for one day Fate may expect to be reimbursed, and then you will learn just how steep the price will be.’
Quaint considered letting an awkward silence fall between him and the old man, but then decided against it. He would sleep much better if he vented his anger instead. ‘I think you’ve overdone it on the incense! Fate had nothing to do with me coming here! I came to China to get even with Cho-zen Li for the deaths that he’s caused, and that’s the real truth!’
‘In my experience man is not a very reliable character witness for the existence of truth,’ said the All-Knowing One. ‘Man laughs at those who claim that one day we shall sail amongst the clouds in ships of the sky. Man laughs at those who speak of a war that will sweep across the entire world. Man laughs at those who speak of our species’ extinction at our own hands. Man finds all these things laughable… but nevertheless, they are true… or they will be in time.
‘Know this, Cornelius Quaint; your destiny is out of your hands. You may spend the rest of your eternal life hiding from it… but if you were to seek it willingly… perhaps there may still be time to change it.’
Chapter XXV
The Endless Death
The sun rose slowly above the mountains, and its early morning light bathed the forest surrounding Cho-zen Li’s stronghold. The Chinaman left his silk curtains open, allowing the warmth to invade his bathroom. He ate no breakfast, nor consumed any refreshment of any kind throughout the day. His vast body craved no tonic, not even sleep. But he was spending more and more of his time feeling weary of late and he did not know why. Laid out in his marble bath, he stretched out his bloated arms as the water soaked his skin – and what skin it was. Not just a mass of corpulent flesh; it was greyed and discoloured like decaying meat.
The shuffling of feet alerted him to the approach of another. His bodyguard Li-Dao entered, but she was not alone. Bound at her side, and led by a leash of rope like a dog, was young Ruby Marstrand. Li-Dao snatched at her ponytail, dragging her to her knees. From his raised position, Cho-zen Li moved to the nearest corner of his bath and rested his head upon his hands, looking down at Ruby with interest.
‘I see you have taken to bringing me gifts in the morning, my little kitten. And such a pretty little gift it is too.’
‘She was captured during the battle last evening, Master,’ replied Li-Dao. ‘Wuan confirmed that she does not belong amongst his number of slaves, and I suspect that she is part of Makoi’s band.’
Cho-zen Li focused his eyes upon Ruby. ‘Where are you from, young lady?’
Ruby desperately wanted to retreat from the grotesque warlord, but Li-Dao did not take her eyes off her for a second. The bodyguard yanked on Ruby’s leash.
‘The Master asked you a question, vixen!’ she snapped.
Ruby gaped, ‘I… I don’t know what you’re saying! I can’t?’
‘Ah… English,’ said Cho-zen Li, in a language familiar to Ruby’s ears at last. ‘No wonder you look so bewildered, my dear. I am fluent in many languages, English being one of them. After all, I have had the time to learn. My bodyguard here seems to think that you are allied to the outlaw Makoi’s movement.’
‘She’s wrong,’ answered Ruby. ‘I’ve never even heard the name Makoi before now! We’re just travelling circus performers! We were at the mountain last night, that’s true, but we just got caught up in it by accident!’
‘You were captured during an assault against my forces, yet you deny any involvement with Makoi’s upstarts?’
‘Are you deaf? Of course I do, you fat pig!’ yelled Ruby – receiving a cuff across the cheek for her impertinence from Li-Dao.
‘That is enough, Mistress Li-Dao,’ said Cho-zen Li. ‘What more can you tell me about the circumstances of her capture?’
‘There were many others causing an affray at the foot of the mine, Master. Captain Hienko notes that this female was with the same group that caused them some trouble earlier in the evening. They seemed to be led by another. He was tall and broad… with a shock of white hair, and he spoke with the voice of authority. This man was an Englishman, and definitely allied with Makoi.’
‘Then no matter whether this woman is part of Makoi’s band or not, she is at least affiliated with this Englishman.’ Cho-zen Li paused, pondering this development. ‘It cannot be coincidence that my plot to kill Queen Victoria fails, and now we have an Englishman in an alliance with my greatest enemy. I wonder how they came to mix in the same circles.’
Li-Dao nodded. ‘And what of this one, Master? Shall I kill her?’
‘Not just yet,’ replied Cho-zen Li. ‘She may yet be of use. I need to know if this Englishman acts alone, or if he is part of an advance attack party.
Take her down to see Dr Shinzo. He will loosen her tongue.’ The Chinaman turned his back on his audience, and slopped back into the cloudy water. ‘And just as I was beginning to think today was going to turn out to be dull.’
Chapter XXVI
The Hard Choice
In his tent, Prometheus opened his eyes with a startled yelp as a face gradually formed into focus an inch from his nose.
‘What are you playing at, Butter? You scared me half to bloody death!’
‘Shh!’ Butter said, pressing his finger to the Irishman’s mouth. ‘There is arguing afoot. Come outside.’
‘I’m telling you, Makoi, my mind is made up!’ yelled Cornelius Quaint, stood out in the middle of the camp, exchanging heated words with Makoi.
‘In daylight, are you suicidal? You will be killed!’
‘I’ll take that chance.’
‘Cornelius, at least wait until I can rouse my men!’
‘Last night you wouldn’t help me, and now you’re trying to make me wait until your men are ready? I’m not just going to leave Ruby in that place to rot.’
‘And tell me, once you have freed your friend, how exactly are you going to get inside Cho-zen Li’s fortress to kill him?’ quizzed Makoi.
‘By surrendering,’ said Quaint. ‘Well… not really surrendering. I’m just surrendering long enough for the guards to lower their defences.’
‘That sounds incredibly reckless. We must think of another plan.’
‘We don’t have time to think of another plan!’
‘Cornelius, we need to discuss this further,’ advised Makoi. ‘Cho-zen Li’s mine is well fortified. It is hard enough getting past the sentries, let alone making your way in the tunnels down to the jails… and even then getting out is impossible!’
‘It’s not impossible,’ said Quaint, rounding on the outlaw. ‘You’ve done it. When you freed the All-Knowing One, remember?’
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