Dragonkeeper

by Carole Wilkinson

  The shaman said some words that Ping didn’t understand, then Liu Che began to walk up the steps. The shaman followed him. The goatherds stopped shivering. Their faces became serene. Without a word from anyone, the two boys herded the ten and five goats up the last hundred steps towards Heaven. These steps weren’t steep. After the trials of climbing up so far, so many steps, this last part of the journey would be relatively easy. The animals climbed the steps with nothing more than a pat on the rump from the goatherds. Liu Che didn’t look back.

  As the light increased, Ping saw that they were surrounded by a sea of cloud. The clouds turned luminous pink. Though they couldn’t see it beneath the clouds, the sun had risen. The Jade Emperor Summit pierced this soft sea and rose to Heaven in the still morning air. On the very top of the mountain there was a shrine. The boys looked tiny, the goats like toys, as they reached the peak. Ping couldn’t see Liu Che or the shaman. They had already entered the shrine. The building must have been big enough to house the goats as well, because one by one they disappeared from sight.

  Ping was expecting to hear the panicked cries of the goats as the shaman slit their throats, but no sound disturbed the still morning. The sun peeped over the edge of the clouds and flooded them with golden light. The rays reflected on gold patterns painted on the shrine far above them.

  Another hour passed. Two vultures started circling above the peak. Then a small figure appeared outside the shrine. He was alone.

  “Where are the boys and the shaman?” Ping whispered to Counsellor Tian.

  “The final steps to Heaven can be trod by the Emperor alone,” he replied. “The penalty for anyone else who does so is death.”

  Ping caught her breath. The cheerful goatherds who had shared the gruelling journey with her had been sacrificed along with their four-footed charges.

  “Did the Emperor kill them?” she whispered.

  ”No, that was the shaman’s duty, before he killed himself.”

  The Grand Counsellor looked at Ping’s stunned face. “They are blest,” he said. “They will have a special place in Heaven.”

  As the Emperor descended, the sun’s rays reflected off him. He was almost too dazzling to look at. The Emperor truly did look like a god. When he reached the last step, Ping could see the reason why he looked so bright. He had exchanged his sombre black satin robe for a golden yellow one. The ministers knelt down before him. The guards and the servant had been lying on their faces since the Emperor first appeared. Ping belatedly knelt and lowered her head to the ground.

  “Heaven has accepted my offerings,” Liu Che announced. “It has blessed my reign and proclaimed that it will be long and prosperous.” Ping glanced up. She saw him smooth his new robes. “It has also approved the change of the imperial colour from black to yellow.”

  Liu Che staggered. Counsellor Tian stepped forward and caught him before he fell.

  “You can break your fast now, your imperial majesty,” he said.

  He lowered the Emperor onto a rock. The servant gave him some millet cakes. Counsellor Tian handed a gold cup to Ping. “Fill that from the stream.”

  Ping took the gold cup and dipped it into the frothing stream. She was about to take the brimming cup over to Liu Che when two conflicting emotions struck her like a double slap on the face. One was a feeling of joy, which she felt as a rush of warmth through her body and heard as a sweet high singing. The other was a feeling of dread that lay in the pit of her stomach like a rotting melon. She dropped the cup and looked around. The scene about her had not changed, except that Counsellor Tian was now shouting at her for being clumsy. Ping ignored him. The feelings inside her made her gasp. It was as if her own emotions were battling each other. It could have been exhaustion or lack of sleep or the thinness of the air that were making her feel this way. It wasn’t though. She closed her eyes. It seemed impossible, but she knew for certain that the dragon stone was nearby. And so was the dragon hunter.

  • chapter twenty-two •

  BLOOD ON TAI SHAN

  A smile as bitter as apricot kernels

  crossed Ping’s face as she strode towards the

  dragon hunter.

  Ping didn’t open her eyes. She let her mind seek out the source of the singing, allowed her feet to take her to it. She felt a chill dampness surround her and knew that she was descending into the clouds. As she breathed, the cold, moist air filled her. It surrounded her heart like ice forming around the edges of a pond in winter. It was like breathing in sadness. This, combined with the lump of sour dread in her stomach, would have made her lose heart—if it hadn’t been for the singing. She was getting closer to it, closer to the stone. Then suddenly the singing turned to an anxious, high-pitched keening. A terrible sound of crashing copper bowls filled the air, along with another sound that set her teeth on edge like two rusty blades scraping together, also the agitated sound of someone banging a small gong. These were Danzi’s sounds of distress, anxiety and urgency. She had never heard him make them all at once.

  Ping opened her eyes. She no longer needed anger to trigger her seeking powers. She no longer needed to close her eyes to feel the threads connecting her to what she sought. Her path was as clear to her as if it were lit by torches.

  Ping started to run without any thought for her own safety. She reached Cloud Bridge. The mist was clearing as she stood there. She could see that it wasn’t a bridge built by men, but a natural formation, a narrow blade of rock no wider than three feet. The mist evaporated completely revealing a heart-stopping view. On each side of the slender path the rock plunged to earth. On one side the cliff fell to a wooded valley hidden within the mountain range. On the other side the sheer rock plummeted almost to the base of the mountain. She could see all the way to the plain far below. At any other time, Ping would have been sick at the sight of such a dizzying drop, she might have stopped to think of the danger she had faced crossing the perilous bridge in the dark. She didn’t pause though. She ran across as if it were as wide as an imperial road, with flat fields stretching safely on either side.

  At the other side of the bridge, to the east, there was another pinnacle. It was smaller than the Jade Emperor Summit. Ping looked down on its top which was flat, as if one of the gods had lopped off its peak in a fit of anger. There was a single pine tree growing on it, twisted and gnarled. Danzi was on this small plateau rearing up on his hind legs. Next to him was Wang Cao holding a bronze sword in one hand, clutching the reed basket containing the dragon stone with the other. It was too far away for Ping to see if the stone was alright. They were both facing a third figure. It was Diao.

  Between Ping and this lower peak was a valley littered with large, sharp-edged rocks. None of the three figures were aware of her presence. Danzi suddenly lashed out at the dragon hunter. His talons slashed Diao’s face. Diao swung his dagger at the dragon, but Danzi managed to get out of its way. He already had the purple stripe of a wound across his belly. Wang Cao didn’t move. It was as if his feet were stuck to the rock. Ping scrambled down into the valley that separated her from the plateau. The dragon hunter pulled his crossbow from his shoulder and trained it at the dragon’s heart. Ping cried out just as Diao squeezed the trigger. All three pairs of eyes turned to find the source of the cry as Diao’s bolt streaked towards the dragon. The sound of metal on rock echoed emptily against the cliffs of the higher peak as Wang Cao’s sword fell to the ground. The herbalist looked down at the crossbow bolt embedded so deep in his flesh that only the feathered flight was visible. Ping’s cry had made the dragon hunter miss his mark. He’d hit Wang Cao instead. Ping heard Diao curse as he pulled another bolt from his quiver without even glancing at his victim. Wang Cao crumpled to the ground. Diao put the bolt between his teeth. Reloading a crossbow was a job that needed both his hands. The dragon stone rolled from Wang Cao’s grasp. Ping’s mind was filled with the shrill sound of its anxious cry. She started running across the spill of rocks.

  Ping leapt across the rocks as surefooted as a mo
untain goat, until she reached the base of the lower pinnacle. She wished she had wings. It wasn’t a tall cliff, no more than the height of four men, but it was sheer. She could hear Diao swearing above as Danzi attacked him again. Then she heard the sounds of the dragon’s anger and distress ring out, echoing against the steep slopes of the Jade Emperor Summit. Ping couldn’t see what was happening. She had to find a way up. Hooking her fingers into the shallowest of cracks, finding a foothold on the narrowest of ridges, she climbed up the peak like an insect.

  Ping pulled herself up over the edge of the cliff.

  Diao’s back was towards her. His foul smell turned her stomach. Wang Cao lay motionless, a bloodstain spreading beneath him. Diao had reloaded his crossbow and had it aimed at Danzi again. The dragon looked dazed, glassy eyed, as if he didn’t know what to do next. Diao was concentrating hard, unaware of Ping’s presence. His finger moved to the trigger. Ping launched herself at Diao, knocking him to the ground, but not before he released the bolt from his crossbow. It pierced the dragon’s hind leg and embedded itself in the trunk of the pine tree, pinning the dragon to it. Ping had hold of Diao round the neck. He elbowed her in the chest. Close up, his ugly face was made more ugly still by fury. There were four deep cuts where the dragon’s talons had raked his cheek. He threw Ping aside and crawled towards the dragon stone and picked it up in his free hand. He ripped it out of the reed basket and his ugly face broke into a terrible smile. Inside Ping’s mind, the stone’s anxious keening turned to a piercing shriek of terror. It seemed impossible that no one else could hear it.

  Ping felt the power within her focus in a breathtaking surge. She was tingling from head to foot. She didn’t have to count backwards or imagine peonies, it was there at her command. She thrust out her arms and the power shot out through her fingertips, knocking the crossbow from Diao’s hand. A smile as bitter as apricot kernels crossed Ping’s face as she strode towards the dragon hunter. She was just a slave girl and she was a full head shorter than Diao, but he had fear in his eyes. The dragon hunter struck out at Ping with his ugly iron dagger. She turned the blade away with her invisible power. It was harder to direct the qi power at close range. She needed more space. Diao struck out at her again. Ping blocked the blow with her arm. His arm quivered with effort as he tried to force her to the ground, but she could match the dragon hunter’s strength. Just as she was about to overcome him, he kicked her in the stomach. Winded, Ping staggered back. She was on the edge of the little plateau where it curved over to become a sheer cliff. The rock had been worn smooth by wind and rain. Ping’s foot slipped. The soles of her shoes, worn from so much walking, wouldn’t grip. She lunged forward clawing at the rock, trying to find something to grab hold of. There was a tuft of wiry grass which had managed to find enough earth in a cleft of rock to anchor its roots. Ping grabbed hold of it with both hands. Diao had his dagger raised again. He aimed it at Ping’s hands. Ping looked down. It wasn’t a long drop compared to some she’d seen on Tai Shan. Just far enough for the fall to break her neck. As the dagger blade was falling towards her, a grey blur shot out of the folds of Ping’s gown and ran up Diao’s leg. The dragon hunter yelped in startled pain as Hua dug his teeth into Diao’s already wounded cheek. Diao dropped his dagger as he tried to get the rat off him. It clattered down the side of the mountain. He still had hold of the dragon stone with his other hand. The roots of the grass that Ping was hanging on to were being pulled out by her weight. Her feet scrabbled on the sloping rock surface trying to find a foothold. Diao let go of the dragon stone. The sound of it hitting the rock made Ping wince. It started to roll towards the edge. It was about to plunge off the peak and smash on the rocks below. Her right foot found a tiny ledge. She levered herself up, gripping the rock with her knees and reached out towards the dragon stone, grasping it with the tips of her fingers just before it rolled off the edge of the plateau. Diao was screaming as he tried to pull the rat from his face. Hua’s teeth were still buried deep in the dragon hunter’s cheek.

  Ping felt the dragon stone beneath her fingers. Her heart soared as its terrible shriek changed to a singing. She hugged it to her. Diao grabbed a club from his belt and struck Hua with it, even though the blow must have crushed his own cheekbone. Hua fell to the ground, a chunk of Diao’s cheek still in his mouth. Ping saw the club arc through the air towards her. Still on her knees, she thrust out her left hand and the qi power coursed out of her, even more powerfully than before. The dragon hunter was lifted off his feet and carried backwards across the plateau. He landed on the opposite edge. He looked behind him, saw that there was nothing but air separating him from the rocks below. He frantically tried to regain his footing, but his feet slipped on the smooth surface of the rock. He fell over the edge, his arms flailing uselessly. Ping waited, calm and cold-hearted, until a bone-crunching thud told her he’d hit rock below.

  Ping didn’t know which way to turn. Danzi was bleeding, speared to the tree by the crossbow bolt. Hua was lying motionless on the rock, blood oozing from a wound on his head, one of his legs twisted at an unnatural angle.

  She turned to the dragon and grasped the crossbow bolt and wrenched it out of the dragon’s leg. Blood flowed from the wound. Ping pulled a handful of moss from the earth beneath the pine tree. She staunched the wound with it. She untied the seal from her waist. With the purple ribbon she bound the moss to the dragon’s leg. Then she went over to Hua and picked up his small, limp body. She held him up to her face, felt his warm fur against her cheek. Tears filled Ping’s eyes.

  “Rat not dead,” said a voice in her mind. It was the first time Danzi had spoken.

  Ping looked at the rat’s broken body, but she knew the dragon was right.

  Ping was suddenly aware that she was being watched.

  The golden figure of the Emperor was standing at the edge of the Cloud Bridge. Counsellor Tian, the guards and the servant were with him. They were motionless, staring in her direction. Liu Che shouted out an order to his guards. They leapt into action, running across the Cloud Bridge towards Ping and the dragon.

  “Danzi must leave,” the dragon said.

  “You can’t walk to Ocean with a wounded leg and a gaping hole in your belly,” Ping said.

  The guards were across the bridge and clambering across the rocks.

  “Don’t have to walk,” replied the dragon. He opened out his wings. “Can fly.”

  Ping’s red stitches were still there, but they had done their job. The tear in Danzi’s left wing had healed completely.

  “Are you strong enough to carry passengers?”

  The tinkling sound of wind chimes filled the air. Ping gently placed Hua behind one of the dragon’s reversed scales.

  The dragon turned towards the Jade Emperor Summit. “Emperor will be pleased Ping has saved his dragon from Diao,” he said. “Ping will be honoured if she stays.”

  “I’m not staying with the Emperor, Danzi,” she said.

  The seal of the Imperial Dragonkeeper lay on the rock at her feet. She picked it up and traced the beautiful carved dragon with her fingertips. Then she raised it above her head, ready to hurl it into the distance. She looked across the valley to Liu Che. She lowered her hand and put the seal in her pouch. Though Liu Che didn’t realise it, she was doing what was best for the dragon. She was still the Imperial Dragonkeeper.

  Ping could hear the guards at the foot of the cliff, trying to find a way up.

  “Are you sure you can carry me?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  Ping heard a groan. She turned to Wang Cao. She hadn’t given him a thought. She kneeled at the herbalist’s side. The pool of sticky blood was widening around him.

  “I didn’t have the courage to fight Diao,” he whispered. “I failed Long Danzi again. You are the true Dragonkeeper, Ping.”

  He reached out to the dragon stone, but his hand fell back before he touched it.

  “He who tries to take carpenter’s place, always cuts his hands,” the dragon said softly. �
��Danzi’s fault.”

  The imperial guards had found an easier ascent. The first one was easing himself up onto the plateau.

  “Must leave,” said Danzi. “Get Wang Cao’s rope.”

  Ping took the coil of rope that was tied to the herbalist’s waist. She also took his leather bag and the reed basket. The imperial guard scrambled to his feet and ran at Ping with his sword raised. She easily knocked him aside with her qi force.

  Ping climbed onto the dragon’s back. The dragon took five steps and flapped his wings. The sixth step took him off the edge of the peak. He didn’t fall, he didn’t lose any altitude at all, his beating wings carried their combined weight easily.

  “Have long way to fly,” the dragon said. “Ping must secure herself and stone.”

  Ping put the stone in the basket. She had to push it hard to get it in. Then she hung the basket from Danzi’s horns. She wrapped the rope around the horns as well and then twice around her waist before she tied the ends in a firm knot.

  Danzi soared up and around Jade Emperor Summit. Ping looked down at Liu Che. He was watching them escape, his hands on his hips. Ping could see his face clearly. His mouth was pinched in the same angry expression as when she had first met him. She had enjoyed being the Emperor’s friend for a short while, but she had rejected his friendship and stolen his dragon. Now the Emperor was her enemy.

  • chapter twenty-three •

  OCEAN

  Ping watched the Ocean continue to grow