Meilin took a deep breath, as the scroll had instructed.
Her eyelids drooped.
She felt her head lower, until her chin rested on her chest.
Still, they kept contact through their palms.
Something tickled her throat. Meilin coughed. The chamber was dusty.
But the cough didn’t clear it. Something slick and foul coated the back of her throat. She coughed again, more forcefully.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Liquid filled her mouth, and she gagged under the oily stench of it. She tried to spit it out, but as she opened her mouth, more poured in.
Opening her eyes, she could see only black liquid pouring down over her face.
Bile!
She tried to twist away, but some invisible power locked her motionless, head tilted back and jaw wide open.
Animals screamed all around her, though she couldn’t see them. The Bile covered her face. It ran down her throat, up her nostrils, over her eyes, and into her ears.
No! Let me breathe!
Their cries were horrific. Birds screamed and beasts howled. They cried and roared in agony as they were tortured by the Bile.
Her mind reeled at the torments, not just her drowning, but the suffering all around her. The true, evil nature of the Bile was exposed to her, and she couldn’t bear it, thinking that she had subjected Jhi to even a fraction of this pain.
Meilin realized it then. In this moment she was Jhi.
Meilin had used her spirit animal. She’d looked down on the noble panda, dismissed her, and held her in contempt. Jhi hadn’t been her ally or friend, she was a servant, or even worse, a slave.
Song was right. She and I are the same.
There was no hiding it. She’d opened herself to the truth, and it was too terrible to take.
The cries grew louder, but then Meilin realized they were not beasts in torment, but her friends, calling her!
She clenched her teeth together. They needed her.
Jhi needed her.
Suddenly, Meilin could feel the panda’s calming spirit as her own. She sensed her resolve. Orbs of light began to glow around Meilin, constellations that shone against the darkness. Wherever they appeared, the Bile receded. Though her breath was all spent, Meilin forced her chest under control.
Everything would be all right. For perhaps the first time in her life, Meilin believed it.
“Meilin!”
She opened her eyes.
She breathed. No air had tasted sweeter.
Jhi lay her head on her shoulder and hugged Meilin. The panda’s fur smelled of salt and warm damp, but Meilin buried her face into it. She hugged the big bear with all her might, letting the fur absorb her tears.
Then, one after the other, her friends joined them. First Abeke, then Conor, and finally Rollan. They united in the hug until Meilin was surrounded by the best things in her life.
“Are you all right?” asked Abeke.
Meilin drank some more water. The taste of the Bile was still stuck to her throat, but she nodded. “Thanks to you.”
Uraza sat on the table, peering down at the two girls. Jhi was curled up in the corner, not quite asleep. Meilin saw the glint of the beast’s silvery eyes, keeping watch on her.
Essix fidgeted. She wanted to be out and soaring. The falcon had already ripped the wooden armrest of the chair she was perched on. Briggan sniffed the corners of the room, searching for more food.
“Do you feel any different?” asked Abeke.
“Honestly? No. Just … relieved.” She looked at the hairpin still clenched in her hand. It hadn’t changed. There was no surge of power radiating from it, and it wasn’t glowing. She slipped it back through her hair. “Well?”
Abeke laughed. “It suits you. But then, everything does.”
“Do you two still want to go through with this?” asked Meilin.
Abeke took Uraza’s furry cheeks in her hands and gave the leopard a good shake. The beast growled, revealing fangs capable of killing an antelope—and a Niloan girl—with a single bite. Instead, the leopard licked her.
Meilin smirked. “I guess that’s a yes.”
Abeke rested her arm across the big cat’s shoulders. “She’s a pussycat really.”
Meilin shook her head, amazed at how casually Abeke treated her spirit animal. Not many would dare refer to one of the Great Beasts as a pussycat.
Uraza cast a sidelong glance at Abeke and slowly revealed her claws, a subtle reminder of what she was capable of. Abeke saw it and scoffed. “What are you planning to do? Peel me an apple?”
Uraza’s whiskers twitched with mock annoyance, then she folded her paws under her chin and settled down.
Abeke held up her bow, tapping it gently on the leopard’s head. The beast closed her eyes, trying hard to ignore her.
Meilin finished the jug of water. The sticky coating was gone from her throat. All trace of the Bile washed away.
The boys gathered around. Their spirit animals stopped their activities and also turned to watch.
Abeke sat down cross-legged and gave a short whistle.
Uraza jumped off the table to land with the barest sound. She padded around in a circle before settling down opposite her bonded human.
Meilin met Abeke’s gaze. “Ready?”
Abeke winked. “Ready.”
I’M NOT READY.
Abeke had seen the others go through the rituals. How easily they’d mastered their doubts! She’d tried to appear strong, at ease, but as she looked at Uraza, worry gripped her chest.
Have we truly forgiven each other?
The image of Zerif sprang unbidden to her mind. He’d taken control of Uraza and made the big leopard attack her.
Abeke would have died if it hadn’t been for Shane.
No, she had to put such thoughts out of her head.
That was then. She and Uraza had renewed their bond, and it was stronger than ever.
Meilin watched her. “Are you all right, Abeke?”
“Yes!” she said cheerfully, but it came out sharper than she wanted. “Just … just let’s not waste any more time.” Meilin watched her skeptically.
Abeke still couldn’t get Shane out of her mind.
He’d been the first friend she’d made after Uraza appeared in her village. They’d spent all those days training together onboard the Conquerors’ ship. She’d trusted him.
She sees the fear in his eyes as she attacks.
He fights, but what chance has he got against her claws and fangs?
The blood shines …
Abeke cried out. That wasn’t her! She didn’t kill Shane! He was her friend! He was trying to redeem himself!
Abeke gasped as the memories poured uncontrollably through her. She and Uzara merged.
Shane, poor Shane.
Uraza’s savagery overwhelmed her. She saw Shane, lying under her paws, teeth gritted together as he struggled to hold on. But there was that dullness in his eyes, the paleness of his skin as his life faded. He beat against her with his fists. It was pitiful that he thought he could defend himself against the leopard, a born predator. What claws did he have? None. Even after absorbing his spirit animal, he was a soft human boy.
He did not lack courage in those last moments. He did it for Abeke, to save her, and that was hardest to bear.
“I’m sorry, Shane.”
She tried to resist the bloodlust, but it was too great. Abeke watched helplessly as she finished Shane off. Her sharp ears heard his heartbeat weaken, then stop. His last breath fell against her bloody fur.
Uraza was a killer.
That was the spirit animal Abeke had bonded with.
How could she have been so naive?
And what sort of person did that make her?
Abeke wanted to scream, to throw off her bloody skin, but her cry transformed into a victorious roar. This was what Uraza did. She celebrated in the kill. Such brutal things were her passion.
Abeke licked her lips; the raw,
warm smell made her head spin.
No, no, no …
Was there anything better than this? The power she held, the beauty of her? The muscles and sinews under the fur were sculpted for this one deed, and this one deed alone. Why shouldn’t she celebrate it?
Why else have these claws, or possess sharp fangs, if not to tear and rip asunder?
Anything else was a betrayal of her nature.
Shane lay there, the ground darkening with his blood.
And in that moment, Abeke watched herself mourn him.
She saw herself reach out to put her palm against his cheek.
Uraza felt Abeke’s sorrow. Abeke knew it as surely as she knew herself. Her violet eyes softened. As Uraza, she licked Shane’s hand, trying to stir it to move.
Her body quivered with guilt. Uraza understood more than Abeke had realized. The regret her leopard had been carrying this whole time! The deep, deep shame.
A mighty heart beat within the cage of her ribs, but Uraza was both fierce and soft. Her fur hid the muscles beneath, but there was beauty, too. Uraza was many things. Hunter, killer, courageous, beautiful, and hers.
Zerif had tried to break that bond. Shane had died to protect it.
She knew it and Uraza knew it, too. They’d gone through so much together. It was inevitable that they would have losses as well as victories. The world revolved around seasons of drought and seasons of plenty.
That’s what made the rain so precious.
Abeke lifted her head and gazed at the leopard’s spots, no one alike. All were unique to her spirit animal. She could gaze at Uraza’s patterns forever.
Uraza licked her face and purred.
Abeke laughed as the big cat rested her forepaws upon her shoulders. She nuzzled her nose into Abeke’s ear, her whiskers tickling her cheeks.
Shane had died to save their bond. His passing would weigh heavily in her heart forever, but the best way to remember him, to honor him, would be to become closer to Uraza, not more distant.
Uraza sat her head on Abeke’s lap. Abeke drew her fingers along the leopard’s fur, making her ears twitch.
She felt complete. She and Uraza were one whole, and greater because of it. Abeke tightened her hold on the bow, their bond token, and sighed deeply.
Meilin put her hand on her shoulder; her brows were wrinkled with worry.
“I’m fine,” said Abeke, wiping the last of her tears away. “We’re fine.”
In the back of the room, the crazy old man coughed. “You kids are weird!” he declared cheerfully.
Conor shook Briggan’s hairy head. “So, how many times have we saved Erdas?”
Rollan smirked as Essix cried out. “Essix thinks this’ll be her fourth, but they had a head start.”
Meilin was already halfway up the steps. Jhi bounded up behind her somewhat awkwardly. “Let’s not tempt fate. Erdas isn’t saved yet.”
Uraza growled, and Abeke laughed. “Glad you’re so confident.”
The steps went around and around. Essix had to grip onto Rollan’s shoulders; she couldn’t fly in such confines.
Conor raised his hand as they reached the top door. “Shh.”
He leaned against the thick wood and listened. “Four of them. And … a couple of roast chickens.” He licked his lips. “And a plate of lamb chops. Those are mine.”
Briggan snorted.
“All right. Ours.”
Abeke spoke from the back. “You can tell all that from a sniff?”
Eyes closed, Conor breathed in deeper. “No. I can tell that the cheese is stale, there’s a jug of ale, and that two of the guards haven’t washed in the last week. One’s got a toothache.”
“You can smell a toothache?”
“Upper molar on the left. Rotted all the way through.”
Conor took a step back, his eyes flashing with excitement. “Time to make an entrance.”
He kicked the door open.
Conor’s nose had been right. There were four Oathbound in the guardroom. Two sat around a small table, each caught mid-snack on a piece of roast chicken. The third held a pair of pliers in the wide-open mouth of a fourth, leaning far back on a stool.
Startled by the sudden attack, the soldier with the pliers pulled hard, and the other man screamed as a bloody tooth came out and he fell backward.
Conor grinned. “Is now a bad time?”
They fumbled for their weapons, but it was all too late.
Uraza catapulted across the room, slamming her forepaws onto one of the Oathbound’s chest. He tumbled, his armor clanging loudly like cymbals. He stopped only when he hit the wall, and Uraza stood inches from him, letting him have a good look at her teeth.
Essix shrieked and circled over them, darting in to tear at the face of another guard. He waved his halberd around, too wildly in a room so small and crowded. He knocked his fellow Oathbound across the head and down he went, tossing up the chicken. In came Briggan. The big wolf barked once, then settled his paws on the man’s chest.
Jhi did more than that. She lumbered over to the man missing his tooth and sat down on him. At least she licked his face. The guard’s look of pain softened a bit.
The last guard merely raised his hand.
Meilin pointed at him. “Drop the chicken.”
He did.
Abeke looked around the room. How long had that taken? Mere seconds. She joined Uraza and the terrified guard. “I’m going to ask you a few questions. You’re going to answer them truthfully, aren’t you?”
He nodded. Which wasn’t easy, as he was still upside down.
“Where is Song?”
The man stared at Uraza. “Sh-she’s gone back down to the beach with some others. I think.”
Uraza growled.
“Please, that’s all I know! It’s the truth!”
“How many other Oathbound are with them?”
“Just the empress and her inner circle.”
Abeke frowned. With the stakes being so high, it would be a bloody battle, but at least it wasn’t an army.
The room had plenty of manacles, so Meilin chained the guards. Abeke took the keys and threw them out the small grille.
She turned to the crazy old man, who’d been following their every step. “Keep close. When we tell you to run, run.”
He slapped his thighs. “Run like a gazelle!”
“Or just as fast as you can.”
They made their way to the outside courtyard.
The sky was unnaturally dark. Morning was still a few hours ahead, but black clouds blocked what moonlight there was. Lightning flashed angrily across the horizon.
Horses neighed in their stables, but otherwise the courtyard was empty. The bad weather had driven everyone to shelter.
Everyone, that is, apart from the soldiers at the gate.
These men weren’t Oathbound, but they weren’t lounging like the guards earlier. They were in full armor and had their weapons in hand.
Two carried crossbows. They stood safe upon the top platform. Essix could get to them, but Abeke wouldn’t want to risk the bird being shot like that.
“We’ll have to charge them,” suggested Rollan.
Meilin shook her head. “We’ll get skewered on their spears. We’re stuck.”
“No, no, you’re not.”
Abeke and the others turned. The old man stepped forward.
He narrowed his eyes. “Leave them to me.”
The crazy old man started across the courtyard, shouting as he went.
Abeke sprinted after him. “Get back here!”
The soldiers turned to face them. One of them wore the golden helmet of a Zhongese captain. “You! Halt!”
Abeke tensed as Uraza growled at her side. Looks as if they were fighting after all.
The old man gazed at the lead soldier. “Captain Chang, isn’t it?”
“Do I know you?”
“Have I changed so much?” said the old man.
Then something strange happened. The old man pulled bac
k his sleeve and a crane burst forth. The great white bird spread its wings, rising to perch on the roof of the gatehouse.
The captain turned from the bird to the old man. “Ambassador Ying?”
The old man scratched his beard. “The same.”
Abeke glanced over to Meilin, who shrugged. What was going on?
The old man beckoned the soldiers. “Tell your men to stand down and let these youngsters pass. They’re here to stop Song.”
“The empress? She gave strict instructions—”
“The empress murdered her own father for the crown,” declared the ambassador. “Let these children pass.”
He spoke with an authority that belied his frail, thin frame. Even the smallest of the soldiers was twice his size, but they all faltered.
Ambassador Ying frowned. “I am not used to repeating myself.”
The captain drew his sword and Abeke nocked an arrow. Uraza tensed, settling back on her haunches so she could catapult herself forward.
The sword clanged on the stony ground. The captain turned to his men. “Drop your weapons and open the gate!”
All around them, spears and halberds dropped; the men set to work on the massive winch that controlled the main gate.
A cold wind blew in off the cliffs. The sound of the crashing waves grew louder.
Ambassador Ying bowed to Abeke and the others. “I’m sorry for the subterfuge, but I needed to be sure.”
“Sure of what?” asked Conor.
“That you were worthy of Olvan’s trust,” said the old man. “I am, or was, the Greencloak ambassador to Zhong’s royal court. It was I who oversaw Song’s Nectar Ceremony. I saw the delight in the young girl’s eyes when her water dragon emerged from the sea, and saw that delight turn bitter, thanks to her father’s contempt. I tried to reason with him, only to be exiled.” He grimaced at the sad memory. “After his death I hoped to help Song and heal some of the pain she’d suffered over the years; instead I learned she had been behind the emperor’s death and the framing of the Greencloaks. But I was imprisoned before I could bring proof to the other lords of Zhong.”
Abeke spoke. “Why didn’t you trust us earlier?”
Then man sighed. “Child, my empress—a girl who I’d watched grow up—murdered her own father. And yet … I understood why. The emperor was a tyrant, all the more so to his daughter. If you’d seen what he put her through …” Ying shook his head. “Even as she had me arrested, I pitied her. But Song’s ambitions will destroy us all. Seeing you all truly bond with your spirit animals, I realized the truth. Those relics are too dangerous in her hands. You must get them back.”
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