But how could he not be excited to see me? I’d seen people intoxicated off lotus, but they seemed to still be able to converse, to enjoy their time.
I didn’t get any of that from Bobby; he seemed completely numb.
“Sona has told me about the zombies that you encountered in the mountains, how Madame Blanche is up to no good again with her necrotic ways. She has also told me that you have volunteered to help stop the spread of Blanche’s necrotic magic and backward ways.”
“I have,” I said, watching a hand rise to Madame Mabel’s lips, the wealthy woman nibbling on a carrot.
“That settles it then. Tomorrow, you will accompany Sona to a staging area outside of Bamda.” She cocked her head at me. “Have you seen my plantation? Have you seen how beautiful it is?”
“I have not,” I told her.
“Well, then maybe it is best if you get a tour of it tonight. Yes, I will have one of the servants give you a tour.”
“That’s not necessary, Madame,” Sona started to say.
“Nonsense. He is perfectly fine getting a tour. After we have dinner here, you will retire to your room, and he will have a tour and then retire to his room.”
“Yes, Madame.” Sona bowed her head slightly, staring down at her food.
“It is a wonderful plantation, the best in all of Lhasa. Anyway, I digress. I love to brag about what I’ve brought to life here in the Kingdom of Lhasa, and who can blame me? Do you realize how much karma I had to cultivate in a previous life to become who I am now? If you did, you would appreciate the food on the table, and what I’m telling you.”
“I appreciate it.”
I saw a muscle in her throat twitch. “Your face tells me that you do not appreciate it. Your face tells me that you think that you can see through it, that your little trip into the mountains has enlightened you in some way. Well, not here it hasn’t. Here, you work for me.”
I looked at Bobby to see him nod.
Fuck.
I wished at that moment that I could kick him under the table, that I could pull him aside and shake him until he came out of the spell. Maybe it was drugs, but maybe… Bobby was something else entirely.
“I assure you, I’m not thinking anything,” I told her.
She laughed, and some of the servants laughed as well.
“Are you telling me you are enlightened enough to be able to cancel out all of your thoughts?”
“No, I’m saying that I am not judging you. I am completely grateful for the food you have provided and this opportunity. I’m glad I can help you by rescuing Sona, and I hope you understand that look on my face is sometimes misinterpreted. While to some I may look skeptical, I am merely curious. To others I look angry, when I’m actually determined. Please judge me only by my intention, and my intention is to help your cause here, with a caveat.”
“Caveat?” she asked, the servant behind her nearly dropping Madame Mabel’s fork.
“I want you to sponsor the betterment of the monastery. I will help you if you can help Lhandon, the Exalted One.”
“Usually, Nick, I am the one to make deals around here. But what you’ve suggested is merely a drop in the pan for me, so I agree, fine, if that’s what you want, then so be it.”
Madame Mabel turned to one of her servants, quickly telling him which accountant to contact and what to reserve. “Now that this is settled, would you like to know more of the plan?”
“By all means,” I told her as I took a bite of pheasant. The meat was juicy, cooked to perfection.
“Actually, it is an idea from this friend of yours, Sir Evan.”
I was about to say ‘not a friend,’ but I stopped myself.
“Is Sir Evan currently in Nagchu?” I asked instead.
“No, he’s on the frontlines near Cultivation Hills, several days from here.”
“And what was his idea?” I asked.
“It’s rather ingenious if you ask me, and I’m surprised one of my own hadn’t thought of it before,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Sona. “Sir Evan’s idea was this: we slowly introduce lotus to the city of Bamda, where Madame Blanche resides. Our product has not yet reached this city, surprisingly enough. We introduce it, and we get them so hooked that they all become addicted to our wonderful product. We control the narcotics, we control the city. It’s that simple.”
“So like the Opium Wars?” I asked.
She squinted at me. “I’m not familiar with that war.”
“It’s a war from my world, similar tactics.”
“And did it work there?”
“Yes and no.”
She waved my statement away as another piece of food was cut for her. “I’ll be sure to tell the guide to take you around to the storage building during your tour. It’s important for you to see the cargo you will be accompanying tomorrow. It’s quite a glorious thing, elephant crate after elephant crate of compressed lotus. And while I admit it is a bit of a risk on my part to send this much to a region, we still have one crop left, enough to satisfy Lhasa and the surrounding villages and cities until next year.”
“So that’s what we’ll be doing, accompanying the lotus to Bamda?”
Madame Mabel nodded curtly. “There are people out there that will do anything to get their hands on these plants. It will take Sona and all her special guard to protect it, you as well. Be prepared for a fight.”
I swallowed hard, knowing exactly what it was I needed to do.
“I will be prepared,” I told her. “And I’m looking forward to my tour. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”
“It has been a pleasure, Nick. Sona has found a good ally in meeting you.”
Chapter Thirty: Ring of Fire
I never could get through to Bobby.
I tried, mentioning things from our shared past, stories that I knew he enjoyed.
Nothing.
And Madame Mabel, when not being fed, was mostly focused on this “great” plot Evan had conceived.
It made me sick to my stomach.
But I faked like I was enjoying myself, mentally preparing for what needed to happen next. A servant came to get me at the end of the meal, a man in a collarless shirt similar to mine. I said goodbye to Sona, to Bobby and Madame Mabel as I followed the man out.
“A tour of the plantation, how delightful,” he said, his mustache twitching.
“I need to return to my room first,” I told him. “I have to feed my bird.”
“Feed your bird?”
“You know, he can just come with us. He’ll definitely want to fly around and take a look at the place.”
“As you wish, sir,” the man said as he led me to the stairwell and up to my room.
Roger turned to me as soon as I entered, a curious look on his face.
“What?” I asked him as I went for my blade. I wrapped the belt around my waist and realized it would stick out too much in my current outfit.
“There’s a jacket in the wardrobe,” Roger informed me. “That servant lady mentioned it before leaving the room. She said she’d be more than happy to come back if you wanted her to. She petted me too.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said as I went to the wardrobe. “How did you know I needed to cover this up?”
“I’m the smartest bird you’ve ever met. I’m pretty sure you’re the one who said that to me.”
“Have I said that to you?”
“No, but you should have.”
“You’re the smartest bird I’ve ever met,” I told him as I opened the wardrobe to find a long overcoat that would easily conceal my weapon. I grabbed his dagger and put it in my pocket as well.
Roger flew over to me, landing on my shoulder. “We aren’t coming back, are we?”
“You’re the smartest bird I’ve ever met,” I told him again. “And I’m going to need your help once we get out there.”
I quickly explained to Roger what I wanted him to do.
“And then what? Back to the monastery?”
“
I suppose that’s a good starting point,” I said as I returned to the door, finding the servant waiting for me outside. “I feared it may be a little cold out there, so I got a jacket as well,” I told the man.
But the servant wasn’t focused on my jacket, nor was he focused on the bulge created by the hilt of my sword. He was focused on Roger, who was doing his best to keep the servant’s attention by hopping around on my shoulder, jumping and doing little twists.
“What a beautiful bird you have,” he finally said. “And those tail feathers!”
“He is a very good bird... Just watch how smart he is.”
I lifted my finger in the air and Roger flew to it. “What you want me to do next, shit on command?”
“He talks to you?” the servant asked.
“If you consider chirping talking, then yes, he talks to me. But I can’t understand him, of course.”
“Of course,” the servant said as he led me down the stairs.
“You should grow a mustache like him,” Roger said, still perched on my finger.
I had to stop myself from chuckling.
“He sure is talkative,” the servant said as we stepped out the front door, to the beautiful drive that led to Mabel’s plantation home.
There was already a carriage waiting for us.
Roger flew to the servant’s shoulder, acting the fool. The man completely mesmerized by the bird as I quickly got into the carriage, concealing my blade.
“Come back, Roger,” I said, and at my command, he returned to my shoulder, just as the servant got in the carriage with me.
“You are really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Roger asked.
The horses started up, the carriage moving down the smooth gravel.
“I can say anything to you I want, and you can’t respond, right?”
I merely placed my hand on Roger’s head. “There’s a good bird, and be quiet for just a moment.”
“I will not be silenced,” Roger said, laughing. “How was dinner with Mabel? Was it everything that you hoped it would be?”
“The first part of the plantation we will view are the lotus fields, Madame Mabel’s most prized crop. If you would like, I can arrange for you to sample some…” The servant narrowed his eyes at me. “It is rather potent.”
“No, I won’t be sampling anything tonight, but I would like to see it,” I told him. “And she mentioned the warehouse nearby. Can I see that as well? I’m supposed to accompany the shipment from this warehouse tomorrow, and I would like to see how much I will be expected to guard.”
“Yes, let’s head there first,” the servant said, reaching behind him and sliding a panel to the side. He called out to the coachman, telling him where we needed to go first, and the man barked a response.
“Thank you,” I told him. “I’m very fascinated by this place and I appreciate you taking the time to show me.”
“No, sir, it is my pleasure. It’s a pleasure to serve you.”
“Why do humans talk this way?” Roger asked. “If I were a human, I would just get to the point, not all this fancy talk.”
“He never stops, does he?” the servant asked, his smile cracking a bit.
“You get used to it; as I said, he’s hungry right now, and when he’s hungry he’s usually a bit noisy.”
I stepped out of the carriage and took a look at the large warehouse. The large structure was currently being guarded by some of Sona’s elite guard, and a couple of big bruiser types at the front as well.
“Do you think I’ll be able to go in?” I asked our tour guide.
He hesitated for a moment. “Sure, I suppose you should see what you’re protecting.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Roger landed on my shoulder and as we walked up to one of the side entrances, a woman approached us.
“You’re not authorized to be here,” she started to say.
“I’m with Sona,” I told her, “and I will be taking part in transporting the lotus tomorrow as per Madame Mabel’s orders. I would like to take a quick peek at the shipment, to get an idea of the amount that we are transporting.”
“Is that so?”
“What can I say? I’m the type of person who wants to be completely prepared at all times; it won’t take me long. I just want to get an idea of the shipment size.”
“Then I will escort you.” The woman told our tour guide to stay behind and nodded me forward.
“You are the one that rescued Sona, yes?” she asked as we approached the door, another female guard coming forward to open it.
“I am.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I have a lot of respect for what Madame Mabel has done here,” I said. Roger cackled.
“You’re a better liar than I thought,” the bird commented as we were led into a warehouse lit by lanterns.
The three of us stopped in front of a huge crate of lotus.
I couldn’t see how many crates there were, but each crate was easily the width of a studio apartment, about seven feet high. It was going to take some massive horses to pull this cargo.
“Do you want to do it, or should I do it?” Roger asked.
I ignored the bird as I turned to the woman. “And how many crates are there?”
“There are eight.” She stepped into one of the spaces between the crates and motioning for me to follow her. “It’s an auspicious number, at least that’s what some people say.”
“It truly is,” I told her as I put my hand on the hilt of my weapon.
It was hard to imagine what I was about to do next, but as we approached the center of the crates, the woman lightly tapping on each one, I drew my blade.
I stabbed it through her lower back, the flaming sword pressing out of her stomach. I brought my hand to her mouth as she started to cry out.
She tried to kick at me, her hand coming up and back, the woman throwing an elbow at my face.
Now using the leverage I had, I pulled the sword up, the smell of burning skin meeting my nose as her flesh ignited. The woman stumbled forward, her body cracking against the ground.
“There’s got to be a faster way to kill someone,” Roger said.
“I’ll have to ask Lhandon about this.”
“You think the fat monk would help you kill someone better?”
“No, about the karmic repercussions,” I said as I bit my lip, looking down at the woman, her body a blaze of flames now.
“We can get into that later, for now…”
“Yep,” I told him as I lit one of the crates on fire.
I lit the one next to it and continued down the line as I went.
Lotus was highly flammable, something I’d learned from Altan, and I barely made it to the door before the flames were already rising into the air, smoke filling the space.
I kicked my way out just as two of Mabel’s elite guards approached, both drawing their blades.
The first came for me.
I happened to get my Flaming Thunderbolt in position just in time, blocking her attack, throwing my fists forward and sending a rippling energy out through my knuckles that sent her flying backward into the other woman.
I turned in the direction of the plantation, more smoke now billowing out of the warehouse.
I saw the tour guide from earlier running toward me until he saw that I was holding a flaming sword. The man quickly turned in the opposite direction.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Roger said as we made our way to the front of the warehouse, where we practically collided with the two big guys I’d seen earlier.
“Put down your weapon!” the man on the left said, his muscles bulging as he lifted a large mace.
I instinctively reached into my jacket pocket, drawing the dagger from its sheath.
I held it in the air and Roger grabbed it, taking off.
The mace-wielding guard charged me, and our weapons connected just as time slowed, allowing me to sidestep him and bring my blade down against his upper arm,
slicing it off and immediately cauterizing the wound.
I could see the expression on his face start to change as the pain reached him, but by this point I was already behind the brute, the man stumbling forward just as time returned to its normal pace.
A flash of bird told me Roger had struck, the other guard screaming, clutching at one of his eyes and batting his other hand around his head.
The man I had disarmed now writhed on the ground, plumes lifting off his body as I turned my attention to Roger’s target.
It only took a quick slash to ignite his body as well, no fancy footwork needed.
The smoke was starting to get to me, and rather than watch the two men try to put themselves out, I took off toward the plantation.
“Where are you going?” Roger called down to me as he swooped in front of my face, his talons gripping his blade. “The best way to get out of here is that way, toward the hills!”
“We’ve got a couple more things to do…” I told him.
Something latched onto my foot and tugged, one of Sona’s guards pulling me toward her with a whip.
I hit the ground hard but rather than be dragged toward the woman, I punched the soil, my fist giving me enough force to shoot me back into the air.
I landed behind the woman, swiping up with my Flaming Thunderbolt and taking her down.
Another came forward with a kick.
I blocked her foot, time slowing as I twisted around. I hit the airwaves and kicked my own foot up, my toe cracking into the small of her back and also bringing my blade down, igniting her body.
Time sped up and she spun around, slapping against the ground.
I caught up to Roger, as an alarm sounded behind us.
The lotus field was to my right and Altan’s home to my left, the lights inside just coming on.
Running toward the field, I held my arm out wide, the Flaming Thunderbolt blazing as plumes of blue fire wisped off its blade.
With my next step down my speed increased by a hundredfold; I was suddenly standing in the center of the lotus field, my weapon already lighting some of the plants on fire.
More started to burn, and with a deep breath in I focused on my own speed, running in a circle that created a ring of fire that coughed up a ton of smoke.
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