Sixth Seal

by Thornbrugh, Josh

  “Alright, Ana, I’ll buzz Joe and Hans and have them escort you back.” He reached for the intercom.

  “Do you have to call Hans?” I think he’s still holding a grudge.” She smiled and gave a shrug.

  “You’re right. I’ll just call Joe, just be on your best behavior. Just so you know, Joe doesn’t have access to get beyond the outer ward.” The doctor met her gaze.

  “Point taken, doc.”

  ***

  Ana’s dreams that night, as always, would be of the book and all of the protectors that came before her.

  Xi Shi

  Xi Shi knew her betrayal would mean death if she were caught, despite Fu Chai’s undying love for her. Her death and the love of a man were merely grains of sand to be blown away in the presence of the book. She knew this day would be her death or her triumph.

  She crouched low, her footsteps barely audible on the stone path in the eastern garden. The moon, full and bright, made her mission all the more precarious. She darted between raised lotus ponds and the towering lacquered pagodas lining the garden. She paused at the base of the nearest pagoda to take stock of her surroundings.

  She pressed her body to the ground and crawled to a position where she could see her objective and the eastern wall of the palace. Guards made their rounds, passing by each other under the stone corbels that supported the massive tiled roof. Satisfied she hadn’t been detected, Xi Shi turned her attention to the stone temple nestled at the end of the gardens.

  The temple was dwarfed by the palace, but it was no less opulent. Each corner of the tiled rooflines reached skyward, capped by gilded lions and dragons. The pillars were painted crimson and wrapped in golden ribbon. Paper lanterns hung between each pillar spilling soft, warm light down the temple steps and onto the periphery of the garden.

  Only two guards protected the entrance, but they were heavily armored. She would have to take them down as quietly as possible. She couldn’t risk alerting the palace guard. Although Master Jing had taught her well and she was confident in her skills, she was still only one.

  She pushed herself off the ground and resumed her crouched advance toward the temple. When she reached the last pagoda before the temple entrance, she stopped. Sliding close to its walls, she made certain she was out of the view of the palace guards.

  The two guards at the temple entrance talked to each other which kept their attention away from the garden. Even though she was unable to make out their words, she could tell from their tone they were speaking casually. If they had any idea of the value of that which they guarded or the determination of the predator just out of sight, they would have been much more vigilant.

  Xi Shi steadied her breathing and unclasped the thin silver chain from around her neck. She wrapped her hands in the ends of her robes and pulled the chain taught. She stepped out into the light, making sure she was still hidden from the palace. It took the temple guards a moment to notice her, and even then they didn’t seem to know what to think. After they had time to see she was only a woman, they smiled and started down the steps. The fools didn’t even lift their spears.

  She held her arms out in front of her, keeping the chain stretched tightly, and ran headlong at the men. This seemed to spur them to action. They thrust their spears outward and charged toward her. Xi Shi did not slow her pace. Years of training had prepared her for this moment, and she was eager to use her skills. The book beckoned her from within. Come to me protector. Fulfill your birthright.

  An instant before she would have been impaled on the guards’ spears, she propelled herself off the ground in a motion as fluid as the wind. Their eyes went wide as her silver chain caught beneath their chins. She felt it dig into their necks as she somersaulted over their heads. After landing behind them on her feet, she pulled the ends of the chain together cinching the men in a death vice. She spun around keeping hold of the chain. The men dropped their spears and grasped at their throats. They didn’t realize it yet, but they were already dead. Xi Shi guided them stumbling to the edge of the garden path. They fell limply into a patch of spider grass, the last breath escaping their lips.

  Warmth came to her hands. Despite the robes, the chain had still dug into her palms releasing a thin line of blood. She tore strips from the bottom of her robes and bandaged her palms. It was a small price to pay. She both felt and heard the call of the book stronger than before. Beckoning her. Reassuring her. It soothed her spirit and gave her new resolve.

  Xi Shi pulled a small dagger free from its scabbard on one of the fallen guards, and replaced the chain around her neck. She hefted the knife in her right hand. Pleased with the balance, she tucked it into the sash of her robes. If anyone came walking through the gardens they would almost certainly find the bodies, but she planned on being well on her way to her meeting with Wang Xu by then.

  She crouched down again and crept beyond the cover of the Pagoda, glancing briefly to the palace walls to confirm she had not roused any alarms. Satisfied all was clear, she covered the distance between the pagoda and the temple, and darted up the stone steps in three quick strides. She pressed her body close to the large lacquered doors of the temple, and listened for sounds of activity within. Either the temple was empty or the doors were too thick to hear through. Since she was somewhat exposed to detection, she had no choice but to open the doors and move in as quickly as possible. She pulled on one of the immense bronze rings, but the door did not budge. She glanced back at the palace. Still no evidence she had been detected, but she knew she couldn’t stay in front of the temple for long.

  Fear began to overtake her. Tiny beads of sweat broke out at her hairline. She knew she had to get control of herself. What was it that Master Jing had always said? True strength comes not from the body, but from the spirit. She repeated the words to herself like a litany. Soon her breathing became even once again and the perspiration stopped. Even her hands stopped throbbing. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and grabbed the ring with both hands. She willed energy from the earth below, through her body and out into her arms. The door creaked, remained still for a moment, then opened just enough for Xi Shi to press herself through. She heard the heavy door ease closed behind her.

  A movement across the room caught her attention. Two more guards stood in front of a red silk curtain. They weren’t wearing armor like the other guards, but they still appeared formidable. For a moment they both appeared to be as stunned as she was. A moment later one of the men raised a large mallet, and the other pulled out a sword and charged towards her. To her horror, she realized the man with the mallet was not going to strike her, but was drawing back to strike a bronze gong to raise an alarm.

  Even as the other man loomed closer, Xi Shi kept her eyes trained on the man with the mallet. In a swift movement that would have made her master proud, she pulled the dagger from beneath the sash, flipped it over so the handle faced her prey, aimed in an instant and released. She didn’t even have time to make sure the knife hit the target because the other man was already upon her.

  She batted the tip of his blade away with the palm of her hand and leaned back. As the man lunged, she grabbed his wrist and pulled forward using his own momentum. He was so close now she saw her reflection in his eyes. She released his wrist, flipped her body around while diving backwards. The man’s knee caught her hard in the ribs, but the maneuver still had the desired affect. He cartwheeled over her and landed on the floor askew. His hand hit the stone floor with a thump and his sword rattled free from his grip.

  The clattering of the gong snapped her attention back to the other man. The dagger had indeed found its mark deep in the man’s neck. Unfortunately he fell forward into the gong and sent it and himself crashing to the floor. She didn’t have any time to worry about the noise because the other man was already recovering and preparing to come at her again.

  “Bitch!” The man spat blood and turned his sword in his hand. He eyed her up and down.

  Her beauty was renowned a
cross the land. In fact, her beauty had allowed her to infiltrate the King’s inner circle, with the help of Fan Li of course. She noticed the change in his eyes. He meant to savage her before he killed her. She would die before she allowed that to happen.

  “Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.” She unfastened the silver chain and held it out to him.

  He sneered and laughed at her. “I’ll take your trinket after I’ve raped and killed you.”

  “I can tell you’ve not been schooled in etiquette.” She smiled. “I myself have trained under the finest masters.”

  “Little good it will do you on this day.” He spat again and began circling her. She could tell by the way he held his sword that he meant to rap her on the side of the head and have his way with her.

  “If you come at me with your sword, you would be wise to use the pointed end.” She smiled again which only seemed to enrage him all the more.

  “Enough!” The man raised the hilt of the sword above his head and leapt towards her.

  She whipped the chain out toward the base of the sword. When the end wrapped itself around the blade, she spun around again using the man’s own momentum. As he fell forward, the blade was pulled down and to the left. She jumped on his back, pushed down on his shoulders and propelled him down to the stone floor.

  “You bitch!” The man groaned as the side of the blade dug into his belly.

  With his free arm he managed to reach behind himself and grab her hair. He flung her off his back and onto the floor. She rolled free from his grasp, but not without losing a tuft of her hair and bruising her left shoulder.

  “Do you give up?” She flashed him a devilish smile.

  “I’m going to tear out your tongue.” He pushed himself up on one knee and tried to untangle the chain from his blade. “You have no more weapons.”

  Xi Shi laughed. Master Jing’s words came to her again, ‘When your enemy considers you powerless, you have all the power you need.’

  Before the man could stand up, she rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself off the ground and into a crouching position. The man fell backward and held the sword out in front of him, the silver chain still dangling from its base. She grabbed the end of the chain and pulled the sword down to the floor. In the next instant, she stood on the blade with her right foot. She balanced on the blade and brought her left knee up at the same time that she had grabbed the top of the man’s head.

  “Ahhhh!” The man screamed as his nose caved into his skull. His grip on the blade went slack. She pushed him backwards onto the floor. Blood streamed down his face and pooled on the floor under his head. He twitched and sputtered until Xi Shi took the blade and slit his throat.

  The physical pull of the book assaulted her senses causing her to stumble as she approached the curtain. Her movements seemed to be directed, not as though she had no control, but as though she followed her master’s lead. Before she reached the curtain, she dropped the sword at the feet of the other fallen guard. Still looking straight ahead, she bent down and pulled her dagger free of the man’s neck. Warm drops of blood dotted her hand. She tucked the dagger back into her sash and pulled back the curtain.

  The book’s presence was still as powerful as the day she first laid eyes on it in Fu Chai’s throne room. It still sat atop the delicate crimson silk pillow, only now the book rested on a stone altar instead of in the hands of Wu Zixu. How could something so small radiate so much energy? Even those not tied to the book as herself, were noticeably affected by it. In fact, when Wu Zixu had pulled it out of the golden chest, Xi Shi thought it had taken everything he had just to present the book to the king.

  She walked around the book, studying it from all angles. She knew she needed to put it in the pouch she had hidden beneath her robes, and make her retreat quickly, but she was both mesmerized and frightened by the overwhelming beauty and power. The cover of the book was like none she had ever seen, made of metal, but not any sort that she was familiar with. The edges were perfectly smooth and tapered. She detected no marks indicating how it had been fashioned. In the center of the book were eight interlocking rings encircled by a larger golden ring. A smooth, clear stone was set into the center of each of the interlocking rings, and in the very center, a larger clear stone. The book was bound on the side and both ends by golden clasps that looked to Xi Shi very much like a dragon’s claws. The pages they guarded were edged in crimson and appeared to have been cut cleanly with a fine blade.

  What was the source of the book’s power? Why had it called to her, speaking directly in her mind, always addressing her as protector? Until the book had been brought to Fu Chai, she hadn’t even known of its existence. Although, now in its presence, she had the feeling that she had been connected to it for all time. She became vaguely aware of a commotion outside the temple. She awoke out of her reverie, her senses on alert.

  Xi Shi pushed back the curtain and raced back to the temple doors. She heard shouting and the clanking of armor. Had the falling gong brought the guards to investigate? Perhaps they had already found the bodies of the other guards. She glanced around the temple frantically. There was nothing large enough to block the doors with.

  A voice came into her mind. “Mallet.”

  “The mallet? The mallet!”

  She looked down at the man on the floor. The mallet lay next to his head. She scooped it up and raced to the temple doors. Once there, she placed the handle between the two large bronze rings on this side of the mighty doors. She hurriedly tore more strips of cloth from the bottom of her robes, and used them to bind the mallet in place. My bindings won’t hold for long, but perhaps they will hold long enough she thought.

  Pulling the leather pouch from beneath her robes, she returned to the altar. No time to delay. She palmed the edge of the book and pushed it into the pouch. The brief contact with its surface sent waves of energy through her body. Images flashed before her mind’s eye: the apex of a mighty pyramid crowned by the rising sun, towering cliffs rumbling and falling into the ocean, skies exploding in ever expanding clouds of golden light. Without knowing how or why, she knew she had been in all of these places. She had held council with the protectors across time before they had been broken and scattered to the ends of the Earth. She knew with renewed determination she must take the book to the first protector. Only with his help would she be able to return the book to its rightful home. She cinched up the pouch and tucked it back beneath her robes, amazed at how light the powerful artifact was.

  The temple doors shook. They must have found the bodies. She glanced behind the altar. There were no other doors or windows in the temple, and she could certainly not leave the way she came in. Thunderous pounding erupted from the front of the temple. With each echoing boom, the doors bulged inward pressing hard against her makeshift lock.

  There was nowhere to turn. Why had Wang Xu not warned her? Hadn’t he known the layout of the temple?

  Another thundering boom. She heard the wood splintering. Boom. Boom. Boom.

  She cried out to the book, pressing her palm tightly against the leather pouch. She thought she felt another pulse in response to her touch then Master Jing’s words came to her once more. ‘When there is no hope look to the heavens.’

  Xi Shi craned her neck and peered straight up above the altar. Until now she hadn’t realized a beam of light from the stars above was peaking through an opening in the roof. There was another smaller roof above this one, open on all sides, exposing its wooden frame. She jumped up onto the altar and stretched her arms up as far as she could. Even on the tips of her toes, she was more than an arms length below the closest crossbeam.

  Boom. Boom. The door splintered open, sending the mallet crashing to the floor. How long would it take them to search behind the curtain? She heard more shouting and movement inside the temple. Her gaze fell on an intricate tapestry hanging behind the altar. She jumped back down and ran to the tapestry. She pulled it off the wall, rolled it up and draped it aroun
d her neck.

  “He’s dead too,” came a voice on the other side of the curtain.

  She climbed back onto the altar and took the tapestry from around her neck. She threw one end around the cross timber above the altar and looped the other around, tugging downward to test its stability. Just before she could pull herself upward, the curtain flew back. A moment later a heavy hand wrapped around her ankle pulling her toward the edge of the altar.

  Ana

  Ana awoke with a start, nearly falling out of bed. Her hands shook and her breath came in short rasping fits. She sat up and took a moment to steady herself. Slowly her breathing fell back into a normal pattern. The dream was so real. She looked down at her ankles just to convince herself no one had a hold of her.

  The hospital sounded like it was just beginning to awaken as well. The nurses of the ward could be heard knocking on doors and making their rounds. Before long Betty would come in with her meds and some juice to wash them down with. The lower doses of medication were already affecting Ana. Her dreams and visions were more lucid, and she was beginning to make connections. One of those connections was the realization she had been connected to the book for all time. There were no real memories for her of how the book had come to be, rather a gut instinct, something encoded in her very being. She also realized that at one time she had a more complete understanding of the book, but somewhere along the line she had been damaged. She pushed herself to remember anything relevant. There were just too many disconnected avenues in her mind. Perhaps the doctor could help her.