The Conclave of Shadow

by Alyc Helms

  I managed to haul myself over the low, cast-iron guard rail rimming the widow’s walk without accidentally impaling myself on it. I was already digging in my pocket for Jack’s knife so I could impale myself intentionally when I realized I wasn’t alone.

  “Hello, Missy.” Jian Huo, father of my children, love of my life, and dragon with truly shit timing, sat at the little iron patio table where the housemates sometimes took tea. “Sifu Cho indicated you might need some assistance.”

  He was dressed in his usual hanfu of red, green, and gold brocade, thick black hair coiling down around the legs of the white-painted patio chair like a living thing. He stood and pulled me to my feet, kissing me even though I was a sweaty, breathless mess. I was fuzzily aware of the flashes from below as half the local news stations and papers got pics of Mr Mystic making out with some strange man on the rooftop of his old house.

  I pulled away, blinking confusion. “Please tell me you’re here to pull my ass from the fire?”

  Jian Huo sighed. “You know I cannot fight Lao Hu. His grievance against Lung Di is legitimate. But I can… delay.” He smiled gently and pushed me behind him, setting himself between me and the tiger crawling over the guard rail of the widow’s walk. “Lao Hu. Such pleasant circumstances that bring us together this day.”

  “Lung Huang. You stand between me and my quarry,” Lao Hu growled.

  Jian Hua’s pleasant smile faded, leaving behind the blank mask that had always unnerved me more than any frown. He folded his hands into his sleeves. “I stand between you and my bride.”

  “And your brother’s champion.” Lao Hu padded to one side. Jian Huo shifted to block him, and I remembered I had shit to do other than gape at a pissing match between gods. I used Jack’s knife to reopen the cut on my arm and let my blood drip onto the rune circle at the center of the widow’s walk. Lao Hu had already paced a line of bloody paw prints across the other side of the circle. The flaring node dimmed to a dull gleam. We were good to go.

  Now I just had to get out of here and figure out a way to run faster than a tiger.

  Jian Huo, still blocking Lao Hu’s path to me, bowed slightly from the waist. “She is also that. Which reminds me. I believe you owe me a game of wei-qi.”

  “Now?”

  Jian Huo’s smile peeked through again. “I cannot think of a better time for you to pay this debt.” He waved a sleeve over the rickety patio table, and a wei-qi board appeared.

  I could have kissed him again, save that I didn’t want to take my chances getting that close to Lao Hu. Later. I’d thank Jian Huo properly later.

  I hoped. I was racking up a lot of laters. I backed up to the far side of the widow’s walk and climbed over the knee-high guard. Lao Hu’s golden glare burned a hole into my gut, but he knocked the other chair aside, sat at the table, and carefully plinked his first piece down onto the empty board.

  * * *

  “I need a cell phone and another motorcycle,” I told Johnny when I arrived at the Cable Car Museum just off Nob Hill. As with Coit Tower and Rincon Hill, Argent had managed to get the place shut down and cordoned off.

  Johnny let the heavy glass-and-wood door slam behind me. He dug in a pocket and tossed me a phone with a Giants case – his – and led me up the half flight of steps to the main floor of the museum. A row of grooved flywheels, painted cast iron and taller than Johnny or I standing, dominated one end of the cavernous room. A web of cables spanned above us, and above that, a steel support girder crossed over the flywheels. The destination of each cable was spelled out across the girder in old-timey text: Powell, Mason, California, Hyde. This museum had once been the heart of a burgeoning city, and the cables and rails still spread throughout San Francisco like a great ferrous vascular system.

  One of the great workings, the Lady had called the Golden Gate Bridge. The cable cars were another, and I was here to pour new blood over old.

  The cement flooring in front of the cable spools had been jackhammered up, the node and ritual circle sunk into the resulting pit like the ones at Rincon and Coit Tower. I had to give it to Argent. The resources they could pull together with only two days’ notice, and the willingness they had to throw those resources at a problem merely on my say-so, was endearing me to them in a way that all of Sylvia Dunbarton’s coaxing and cheek kisses never would.

  A chow sitting at the edge of the pit barked as Johnny and I approached. A red-tailed hawk winged down from the steel girder. I couldn’t spot him, but I suspected that somewhere nearby lurked a pretty emerald tree boa.

  “I don’t think I can manage a motorcycle on this short notice,” Johnny said. “What happened to yours?”

  I jumped into the pit and bled onto the sigils, watching darkness bloom in the center of the node. “You know how cats like to bat their toys under furniture? Apparently with tigers it’s motorcycles under cars.”

  Johnny winced and gave me a hand up from the pit. “The way you go through bikes, your lawyer friend’s going to stop letting you get them.”

  “Right now, I’m not feeling that picky. My kingdom for a Segway.” I squeezed Johnny’s hand when he would have let go. “Thank you. For calling in the big gun.”

  “I just don’t understand why you didn’t think of it.”

  His soft comment brought me up short. Why hadn’t I thought of it? I’d been quick enough to go to Lung Di for help with the shadow translations. But I knew the answer already. Even after that kiss on the widow’s walk, I still wasn’t sure where I stood with Jian Huo. Or where I wanted to stand. Why did I feel more welcome asking his asshole of a brother for help? Because Mian Zi had called me dishonored, and La Reina implied I was a demon, and I was starting to wonder if they might both be right.

  “Did you know?” I asked Johnny, who’d been my sifu most of my life. “About the Lady? About… me?”

  “Shit, Masters.” He freed his hand from mine and ruffled his hair. “Now is not the time for this.”

  Which was as good as a yes. I looked away so I wouldn’t have to look at him. “Fine. You’re off the hook for now. But you don’t ever get to ride my ass for keeping secrets from you again. Got it?”

  “I’m certain I won’t have any problem finding other reasons to ride your ass,” he said, half joking, half gentle, as though he realized just how fragile things stood between us.

  I let myself fall into a laugh. I didn’t have the luxury of alienating friends just now. “Right. Sure. Now, Lao Hu has to bleed on this or it won’t–”

  “We will make him bleed,” Johnny said. “Now get going. It’s a long walk to Lone Mountain.”

  It was, and I didn’t have any superpowered friends waiting for me there. “Don’t you get killed too,” I muttered, giving Johnny a hug. “Give me a boost.”

  He lifted me up until I could grab a cable. I hand-over-handed it to the crossbeam, ran the girder like a balance beam to the upper walkway, and slid out one of the roof-level windows.

  I needed to make sure Lao Hu could track me. I didn’t have to make it easy for him.

  * * *

  I ate through half my supply of glow sticks on the run to Lone Mountain, skipping back and forth between the city and its reflection in the Shadow Realms. I tried calling up the Lady’s army as I had on Rincon Hill – a gargoyle in particular would have been a welcome ally at this juncture – but either the Lady had reasserted control, or her army had been decimated. I found myself hoping for the former and dreading the likelihood of the latter.

  My bright idea to stutter my trail between realms seemed less bright when I got to the wooded rise on the west end of the SFU campus and realized that my Shadow Realms jaunting had drained Johnny’s phone of all juice.

  “Fuck,” I muttered. And then, louder, “Olly olly, oxen free!” hoping that Sadakat had decided to ignore the call to beat feet. How the hell was I supposed to find the node in this mess of trees and underbrush?

  “I could be misremembering my childhood game lore, but I believe that’s what you shout when
it’s safe to come out.” David Tsung’s voice came from the trees to my right. I shoved through them and stumbled down a steep slope to the curve of a service road. David stood at the curb, pit dug into the asphalt on one side of him, and a shiny Triumph parked on the other. My old bike, the one I’d told Jack to dispose of after Argent had its way with it.

  “I hear you requested wheels?”

  I restrained my joy. Barely. Johnny and I could hug. David and I were not on hugging terms. Though I was well on my way to revising that bias.

  “Sadakat?” I asked. I had to make a new cut on my opposite arm. The original was a coagulated, oozing mess. I held the freshly dripping cut over the pit.

  “Dealing with the reports of a tiger loose in the city. I hear Skyrocket has given an interview or two as well.”

  I let myself slump against the side of my bike. Just a moment to catch my breath. “He made it safely out, then? Good. Any news on Abby or the Lady?”

  “Professor Trent made it away. She’s said nothing about the Lady or Asha.” He set a hand on the seat of my bike, possibly as close as he dared come to giving me an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “You should go before Lao Hu catches up.”

  I let out a deep, shaking breath and straightened. “Can’t. There’s no way to guarantee he’ll attune the node unless I’m here to make him do it.”

  “I can–”

  “You are not fighting him.” I considered listing all the reasons why – I was a better fighter than David, and I was stronger with shadow even if I wasn’t as thoroughly trained. And for better or worse, my daughter cared about him, which made him mine to take care of. But I knew none of those arguments would wash, and I didn’t want to waste energy fighting about it. “I need you to go to Land’s End and make a few adjustments to the ritual circle there.”

  That caught his attention before he could give me lip. “What sort of adjustments?”

  “You helped Lung Di craft the wards he used to trap the Guardians in Shanghai, yes?” At David’s hesitant nod, I grinned. “Good. Here’s what I need you to do.”

  After I’d sent David on his way to do my dirty work, I rolled my bike further down the road. Not too far, just out of the immediate line of fire so Lao Hu couldn’t take it out. I left it running for a quick getaway and settled myself down to wait. I stood as close to the pit as I could manage while keeping a healthy distance from the trees lining either side of the road. Lao Hu was already a master of stealth. I didn’t need to give him the additional advantage of cover.

  Even with that extra space and my constant, 360 degree scanning of the trees, Lao Hu managed to sneak up on me.

  “I know what you are doing.”

  I spun and nearly fell into the ritual pit. Lao Hu crouched flat on a low limb of one of the trees branching over the service road. His long tail dangled like an orange and black striped bellpull. The tip curved into a little “j”, waving and twitching even as the rest of him held perfectly still.

  He could have easily pounced on me from there before I’d even noticed him. Wouldn’t have taken a whisker’s twitch of effort. Still could, now that I thought on it. I backed away slowly, putting the pit between myself and Lao Hu.

  “What I’m doing? Trying to stay alive?” Now that I had a moment to examine him, I realized he looked a bit worse off than I was. The fur at his shoulder was stained dark and matted, and two of the claws on his front paw had been torn free. His pads were caked with blood and grit.

  He lapped at his injured paw, long pink tongue curling around the pads, cleaning the wounds. “I am older than the tread of mortal feet on this ground. I have felt it shake and tremble under the fluctuations of the Voidlands before. You seek to bind back what was never meant to be bound so that… what? These piles of stone and wood won’t crumble and crush those within?”

  “Yes. Aren’t you a Guardian? Aren’t you meant to do the same?”

  Lao Hu stretched to the ground, his body long and lean enough that his hind paws remained balanced on the tree limb even as his forepaws touched the pavement of the service road. His claws flexed, leaving bloody footprints on the asphalt. “I take a longer view than you. Death is necessary to life. The fire clears the forest, and the Void washes away what has been built up and leaves the world clean for new growth.”

  Dammit, why did every god I meet have to be a philosopher? I circled the pit, keeping it between me and the stalking tiger. “So you don’t think this surge from the Voidlands is unnatural? You don’t think Alam al-Jinn burns out of balance with the other elements?”

  Lao Hu paused in his stalking circle, tail tip twitching. “Perhaps.”

  That was yes enough for me. “Then help me. Attune the rest of the nodes with me, and when we reach the last, I’ll… I’ll submit myself to your vengeance.” I tried to keep the tremble from my voice. I didn’t entirely succeed.

  “An interesting proposal, but… no.”

  Lao Hu leapt for me, but I’d been watching his haunches. I dove out of the way, back-kicking into his stretched-out body. I missed the wounded shoulder I’d been aiming for, caught him lower in the ribs. I rolled to one side, curling my leg close to my body before his snapping teeth could catch it.

  Back on my feet, I jumped across the corner of the ritual pit. The node at the center flickered only with shadow, which meant Lao Hu hadn’t spattered blood on it during his leap. Fuck. I was going to have to stick around for another pass.

  At least Lao Hu didn’t make me wait long for it. His hind quarters shimmied and he lunged for me again.

  I was already leaping towards him. I ducked under his claws and teeth, caught his tail as we passed. My arms nearly jerked out of my sockets as we enacted a hands-on-tail demonstration of physics in equal and opposite reaction.

  Lao Hu’s yowl ripped through the air. We both went tumbling into the pit in a tangle of flailing limbs and thrashing claws. I managed to twist and land on top of him, using elbows and knees to stay that way until I could grab the lip and heave myself out.

  One wild claw caught my shoulder, dragging me back down into the pit. I kicked back, felt my boot connect with something, and the fabric of my trench coat gave way. I scrambled to safety, running for my bike with my shredded coat flapping behind me. Pain coursed down my back in twin lines of fire. I jumped on my bike and shredded rubber getting out of there, tiger fast on my tail.

  * * *

  I hit a wall of fog halfway up the slope of Twin Peaks and had to slow, in part to avoid slamming into oncoming traffic, and in part because I couldn’t be sure how much of the clouding at the edges of my vision had to do with fog, and how much was due to blood loss. I reached the figure-eight road that infinity-looped around the adjoining peaks. My bike fishtailed to a stop at the narrow, hourglass-shaped meridian at the center. It took me three tries to engage the kickstand. I nearly dropped my bike before I managed it, and the effort to keep it wrenched upright sent a wave of fresh warmth coursing down my back. I thought for a moment pain had me seeing double, but no. That was Mian Zi standing next to his sister. I choked on a giggle, which jostled my shoulder. I swayed with the pain.

  Mian Zi and Mei Shen came up on either side, supporting me. “’Cause… twin peaks. Get it?” I told one of them. Maybe both of them. They were trying to make me sit. I struggled against them. “I have to attune the node.”

  “Mother, you’re hurt. Let me see.” That was Mian Zi, he of the soft voice and gentle hands. He removed my hat and set it aside, then tugged gently at my trench coat. I whimpered when the fabric was pulled from the claw marks slashing down my shoulder.

  “Mei Shen?” I looked for her, but at some point she’d disappeared. Maybe she’d never been there? “No. The node. Where’s…”

  Mian Zi held me when I would have gone looking for the pit. Luckily, I didn’t have to look far. We were sitting on the edge of it. “Stop moving. I need to take this off carefully or you’ll–”

  I didn’t have time for gentleness. I tore my trench coat off, and the sui
t coat underneath, wadded them, and threw the bundle into the pit beside us. The node dimmed with shadow, then flared bright with fire, before settling into a smoky beacon with fire at its center. I sagged against Mian Zi, getting blood all over his nice suit. “There. See? Lao Hu was nice enough to bleed all over me.”

  “Good. Now may I see to your wound?” Fabric tore. Mian Zi wasn’t even bothering to remove my shirt, just using the rents made by Lao Hu’s claws and ripping them wider.

  I pushed at him. “I don’t have time for this. I have to get to Mount Davidson.”

  “Mei Shen is distracting Lao Hu–”

  “No.” I twisted to go after her, to stop her, and had to take several moments to breathe through the pain. “He’ll hurt her.”

  “He is not that stupid. His quarrel is with our uncle. You stand in the way as Uncle’s champion.” More ripping fabric followed, and the soothing pressure of something binding my wounds tightly closed. The pain still pulsed deep in my muscles, but I no longer felt the gaping edges of my wounds shifting against each other. I stopped resisting and let Mian Zi do what he could.

  “Mei Shen and I have the blessing of the Nine,” Mian Zi was saying. “We have Lao Hu’s blessing. He will not forswear his own pledge. He will not offend our aunts and uncles by causing us harm.”

  I leaned into him. Just a moment. I just needed a moment of not fighting or running or having to figure things out along the way. “But… before… you said I dishonored myself. Doesn’t that mean you’re… by helping me…”

  “I… may have been harsh in my anger.” His hand stroked my brow, cool as water. It washed away some of the pain, and I wasn’t sure if it was due to magic or just the knowledge that my son didn’t despise me. “You are our mother. We should honor you in all things.”