by Laurence Yep
“Then the sooner we leave, the better. I’ll scout ahead,” Monkey said. He disappeared into the mist after only five yards.
“What’s that?” Tom pointed at a nearby bush where parts of a rusty wire frame showed through the branches.
“It’s a topiary,” Mr. Hu explained. “They grow the bush and trim it so it’s like a statue of something. Only it’s lost its shape because nobody’s tended to it.”
Tom squinted. “It used to be a seahorse.”
“It looks like no one’s been here for years,” Mistral said.
“I would have sworn the spy’s trail led here.” Mr. Hu’s whiskers twitched in confusion as Monkey returned.
“The way looks clear at any rate,” he said.
“Then let’s go,” Mr. Hu said, and turned to Mistral. “If there’s trouble, protect Master Thomas.”
The dragon compared her claws with the tiger’s. “I think it would be better if you did that.” She smiled. “This is no time for a tiger’s pride.”
Mr. Hu wriggled his large black nose as if he did not relish having his own words thrown back at him, but he shrugged. “Oh, very well.”
Though the high weeds and grass hid the ground, it felt fairly smooth as it swept up the slope. Tom gave a cry when he suddenly saw a shape.
Mr. Hu crouched while Mistral plunged ahead. A moment later, she padded back. “It’s only a statue,” she said.
Tom was feeling embarrassed as they passed the statue. It was of a mermaid sitting upon a rock and playing a harp. The weather had streaked the statue with dirt and softened the features of the mermaid’s face as if it was a pencil sketch that someone had half erased. Cold, blank eyes watched them as they left her behind.
When they came to a fountain, Tom glanced over the low marble wall to look at the basin, which was choked with leaves and weeds. Rising out of the basin was a statue of a tall, robed man with a trident, riding upon a shell like a chariot and pulled by dolphins.
They passed several more statues of sea creatures until they came to the mansion itself. Monkey was squatting, almost hidden by the weeds.
The large, two-storied building loomed in front of them. “This was some place,” Tom said.
Patches of green moss covered the stone walls, and the arched windows were covered with boards. The roof itself was slanted sharply, showing gaping holes among the rotting shingles.
Mr. Hu glided silently forward to join Monkey. Lifting his head, he tested the air. “There’s something musty,” he said finally, “but I can’t tell if it’s from the ocean or not.”
“I don’t like it,” Mistral said. “I think it could be a trap.”
“I’ll take a look around first,” Monkey said.
As the ape started forward, Mr. Hu grabbed him by the sleeve. “Don’t take any chances.”
Monkey grinned. “I’ve never been afraid of a fight.”
“And you’ll get plenty of that,” Mr. Hu promised, “but it won’t do any good to have you caught in the thieves’ snare. We’d have to go charging in after you.”
Monkey squirmed and then shrugged. “I guess it would be better to be careful than to be rescued by a dragon.”
“I’d never let you live it down,” Mistral swore.
Monkey slipped to the side, circling the mansion. The dragon waited until the ape had gone. “There goes a brave monkey.”
“And a wise one, I hope, for a change,” Mr. Hu murmured.
Monkey must have circled the mansion because shortly he returned from the opposite side. “I didn’t see or hear anything,” he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’ve just got this feeling.”
Mr. Hu tested the air. “This place smells of magic. Strong magic. Something has to be here.”
Suddenly they heard a girl cry, “Help me!”
“That sounds like Räv,” Tom said, craning his neck as he tried to see. “She’s still alive.”
He thought of her lying helpless and captive in the claws of the monsters. He couldn’t let her die like his grandmother. Before he knew it he was running toward the mansion.
“Come back here,” the tiger called after him. “We can’t just go rushing in. Didn’t I warn you to show some sense about your battles?”
Tom paused long enough to glare at the tiger. “She could be dead by the time we sneak up to the house.” He began to move forward again. “If you want to hide like a coward, you can.”
“As my apprentice, I command you to return,” the tiger said, jabbing a claw at the ground in front of him.
“I’m only a temporary apprentice,” Tom snapped as he ran on.
The closer he came to the house, the more details he saw and yet the darker the building seemed. Shadows hung like black banners beneath the gables and arches. Tom wasn’t sure what he could do against monsters by himself.
“Help me, someone,” Räv moaned.
Though he was more afraid than ever, Tom forced himself up the cracked stone steps. “Räv, where are you?”
“Is that you? I’m inside,” she said through the open front door.
Tom stepped onto the porch. “Is there anyone with you?”
“No, I’m by myself,” Räv said. “But I’m tied up.”
Relieved, Tom started forward, but after a couple of strides, a board creaked under him dangerously, so he stopped. Many of the boards ahead of him looked as if they were rotting away in the salty air. Cautiously he moved over the boards as if he were playing hopscotch.
He saw her sitting on the mosaic floor of the mansion’s lobby. Her hands were behind her back, and there was a bandage on one hand.
“Can you stand?” he asked.
Räv struggled to get up and winced in pain. “My ankle hurts too much.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” He started to cross over the floor. It had a strange design of dogs that were covered with red scales except for their spines and tails, which were covered with coarse blue hair that stuck up like toothbrush bristles.
As he walked over the angry faces, he couldn’t shake the feeling they were watching him. Behind him, he heard Mr. Hu and the others crossing the porch. There was a crash of breaking boards.
“Blast. These boards are rotten,” he heard Mistral swear.
“Leave it to a dragon to blame everything but her weight,” Monkey teased.
Mr. Hu was the first to reach the doorway and he beckoned impatiently. “Master Thomas, come back here at once.”
Räv begged, “Don’t leave me.”
Tom turned, pleading. “We have to get her out of here.”
Mr. Hu stayed on the porch. “Have you seen anyone, girl?”
“No,” Räv said. “They all left. Oh, they were horrible monsters.” She let out another groan. “I need to see a doctor.”
“Can’t you see she’s in pain?” Tom asked angrily.
The tiger twitched his whiskers in annoyance and then nodded to Monkey and Mistral. “Guard us while I tend the child.”
Monkey slipped away to the left while the dragon slithered to the right, her claws clicking on the stones.
“I think we’ll have to carry her,” Tom said.
Mr. Hu sniffed the air. “This place reeks of magic. It’s all I can smell now.”
“Let’s take the girl and go,” Monkey said, just as the room was filled with a loud noise like giant stones being struck together.
Suddenly, all around them, they heard cracking sounds. It was like a thousand giant eggshells breaking.
“It’s a trap,” Monkey yelled. He struggled to leap into the air, but red scaly paws reached from the floor to grip his ankles.
“Get out of here,” Mistral said as she also fought to move, but more paws held her legs.
Tom looked down. From out of the floor, he saw a snarling dog rise, its bloodred scales gleaming and the blue bristles along its spine and tail quivering.
Chapter 8
The Hsieh look like dogs with scales and tufts of hair like pig bristles.
—SHAN HAI
CHING
Tom froze as the dog opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs; instead of growling, it let out a wail like an angry baby. The rest of the pack answered in kind so that the room sounded like a nursery full of crying infants.
“Run,” Mr. Hu roared as he twisted to strike at the dog that had gripped his hind leg.
“Räv, grab my hand.” As Tom started toward her, he felt a paw grab his ankle. Instantly the dog let out another wail and jerked back its paw. Against his chest, Tom felt the charm in the phoenix pouch tingle and grow hot. The dog came no closer. Tom realized the pouch was protecting him, and he tried to head for the girl.
The determined dog rose, shaking the dust from its head and shoulders as it blocked his way.
“Get away!” Tom yelled, kicking at the dog, but it ducked. In the meantime dogs were rising from the floor all around him, forming a wall of crying, furry bodies. Even though they were unable to touch Tom, he still couldn’t get around them.
Next to him, Mr. Hu was struggling to break free from the grip of the wailing dogs.
“I can’t move,” Mistral said, wriggling angrily; all her paws and her tail were being held by the dogs. And more dogs swarmed up from the floor to clutch her neck. The whole pack was rising around them.
“Change,” Monkey shouted.
Tom turned to see the ape holding what looked like a metal toothpick in his paw. The next moment it had changed into an iron staff with a gold ring at either end.
He swung it at one of the dogs, but dozens of them seized it in their teeth. “Let go or you’ll be sorry,” Monkey swore.
With a sudden jerk the dogs pulled Monkey down so that he sprawled on the floor. Instantly more dogs leaped on him to hold him fast.
Räv rose from the floor, her ankle miraculously healed and her hands freed. She had only been pretending to be tied up. “Don’t try to fight, Tom, or you’ll get hurt,” she urged.
He stared at her as she stood in the middle of the floor, untouched by the dogs.
Too late he realized his mistake. “You weren’t being chased at all. You’re one of Vatten’s stooges. And now you were just the bait for the trap.”
“And you brought the others in as well,” a lazy voice drawled. “You make a most excellent cheese.” Loo rose up beside Räv as if on an elevator. The dogs threw back their heads, but instead of baying in triumph, they made shrill, gurgling noises.
Räv clasped her hands behind her back. “You won’t believe me, but I really am sorry, Tom.”
“Let the boy go, Loo,” Mr. Hu roared anxiously. “Your quarrel is with me.”
“It’s Mr. Loo to you.” He frowned. “My orders were very specific: let none of you interfere with Lord Vatten’s plans—which have worked perfectly so far. You let my spy lead you away at first, and now you’ve followed his trail right here.”
“I thought it was Vatten who wanted the phoenix.” Mr. Hu’s ears flattened against his head as he snarled, “But why did you need your spy to lay a trail if you had Sidney?”
“Why would I hire that detestable little pack rat?” Loo raised a gloved hand and yawned scornfully. “From what I’ve seen of the new Guardianship, I don’t see what Lord Vatten was so worried about.”
The tiger lunged so unexpectedly that he broke free of the grip of some of the hounds for a moment. Loo fell backward with a yelp.
Mr. Hu could go no more than a mere yard before the hounds swarmed all over him again. The Guardian heaved and twisted with angry yowls, trying to reach Loo.
“You might have the good grace to accept defeat,” Loo said as he stood up and brushed himself off.
“Never,” Monkey said.
Loo whirled. “Be quiet, buffoon!” Strolling onto the porch, Loo pivoted gracefully and tapped his umbrella against the boards. Instantly the doorways and windows began to glow with a sickly green light; from above the same light spread over both the ceiling and floor.
The dogs suddenly started to whine in fear. Letting go of their prisoners, they ran toward the doors and windows, but they bounced off as if they had hit an invisible wall. They kept throwing themselves against the openings, trying to break through.
Räv rushed to the doorway and shoved with them. “You can’t do this to us, Loo,” she called to him.
Loo gave a little apologetic bow. “I’m sorry, my dear. You have no idea how this pains me, but I was told to take no chance of our enemies’ escape. The hounds have to remain inside to hold our captives.”
“But didn’t I do everything you asked?” Räv demanded.
Loo jabbed his umbrella toward Tom. “You told me he was dead, but now I find him alive.”
Räv hunched her shoulders. “We got what we wanted. I figured we didn’t have to kill him.”
Loo clicked his tongue. “I’m afraid you have shown too tender a heart, my dear. Be grateful that I’m giving you such a merciful end. Since weakness is a major sin in Lord Vatten’s eyes, he would punish you with a death far slower and more gruesome.”
“You can’t do this to me,” Räv said, outraged.
“On the contrary, I can and will; but I’m sure I speak for Lord Vatten when I say your sacrifice is much appreciated. I wish there was time to get a little amber watch fob,” he said, grinning wickedly at Mr. Hu.
The tiger bristled and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why don’t you try?”
“Alas,” Loo said, “I must meet my lord.” Tipping his hat, he sauntered out.
Räv kept calling and pleading long after he had disappeared from sight. Finally, with one last push at the unseen barrier, she straightened in shock. “How could he?”
“Very easily, child,” Mr. Hu said. “Your master cares no more for you than he does for an ant.”
Tom stared at Räv angrily, wanting to blame her for this mess, but she already looked so miserable that he couldn’t. After all, this was really his fault. He’d been the one to let Vatten’s creature steal the rose and now he’d led the others into a trap. “I’m sorry,” he said to Mr. Hu. “You tried to warn me. I should have listened to you and not gone inside.”
Tom expected the tiger to scold him some more. However, Mr. Hu glanced from Räv back to Tom. “Your grandmother would have been proud of your impulse: to protect the weak. It’s not your fault that Vatten’s creatures know how to twist that noble instinct to their own purposes.”
Mistral was pushing a paw at the invisible barricade, trying to find a weak spot. “You know, Tom, you remind me of a young tiger cub I once met.”
“Really?” Tom asked.
“He was just as stubborn,” Mistral said, “and just as impetuous, and he hated taking orders from anyone.”
“I don’t know who you mean,” Mr. Hu snapped.
Mistral punched at another spot in the air. “Confess, Hu: If you’d had any other place to sleep and eat, you never would have stayed with Mistress Lee. She tamed you.”
Mr. Hu glared. “Have a care, or I’ll show you how tame I am.”
The dragon seemed amused by the threat. “I don’t think quarreling among ourselves is very useful. I was simply trying to remind you that apprentices are made, not born.”
Tom hung his head. “But I’ve let Grandmom down again.”
Mr. Hu began to prowl, whipping his tail back and forth furiously. “You’re not alone. You heard Loo. This trap was as much my making as it was yours. But I hate being caged.” Whirling around in frustration, the tiger slashed at the wall, but his paw bounced backward while the dogs retreated from him.
“Give me room,” Mistral ordered. When she thought she had enough space, she lashed her tail hard at the wall. There was a loud thump but that was all. She said in disgust, “Not even a chip. It’s dragonproof.”
Monkey somersaulted toward the green, glowing ceiling and struck it with his staff, which rebounded back. “This magic is stronger than steel or stone.”
Mr. Hu pounced upon the floor, striking with his claws, but the sharp tips didn’t even leave a mark. “The floor t
oo.”
The dragon had been pounding steadily at the invisible wall. But when she tried the next blow, she splashed water about. “The room’s starting to flood.”
Tom felt something wet around his feet. When he looked down, he saw a thin sheet of water beginning to seep across the floor.
Frantically the dragon and tiger tried to batter their way out until, as the quickly rising water reached their ankles, they sent up great sheets of spray. With frightened yelps, the dogs retreated into the center of the room, where they huddled, trembling.
Suddenly Monkey gave a cry and stopped pounding overhead. “The ceiling’s coming down.”
Startled, Tom looked up. The glowing light seemed to be lower on the stones.
“When Lord Vatten wants you dead, there’s no escape,” Räv said in despair.
The new threat sent the dragon and ape into a frenzy as they tried to smash their way out, but it was nothing compared to Mr. Hu. He had become an angry beast on the roof; but now the tiger was frightened as well. Whether personal or instinctual, the deadly cage was one of his worst fears. Yowling, he clawed at both the floor and the invisible walls until Tom was almost as afraid of the Guardian as he was of the falling ceiling.
Panting, Monkey slumped in midair. “This ceiling’s a little tougher than I thought. What about magic?”
Mistral was puffing as well, her sides heaving like a bellows. “We might as well try. Hu, work a spell, will you?”
The tiger was too far gone. Howling both his fury and terror, he clawed at the mansion, and all the others could do was stare. Even the hounds had stopped their frantic pawing to watch Mr. Hu.
“He’s reverted to pure animal.” Mistral sighed.
“There’s no reasoning with him when he’s like that,” Monkey said, and glanced at the ceiling. “By the time he snaps out of it, it’ll be too late.”
Tom felt sure that Mr. Hu, who made such a point of being civilized, would not have wanted anyone to see his naked terror. It was yet one more wrong Tom had done to the Guardian, and he felt even more stupid and worthless. Balling his hands into fists, he felt like pounding his own skull. But then he scolded himself. This was no time to feel sorry for himself.