The Sudarshana

by Aiki Flinthart

  “And why didn’t you tell us when we reached Guatamiputra’s camp then?” Phoenix demanded, his sword half-raised, its death-songs loud in his head.

  “By then we’d met Sopaniputra,” the other explained, “and killing him really was my Quest. I was supposed to clear the way for Vasi to take the throne after his father. Apparently he’ll be a better ruler. I figured you might not approve of that, either, so it seemed safest to shut the heck up and play it by ear.”

  “And poisoning Jade? The Sudarshana? Vishnu’s weapons?”

  Cadoc grimaced. “I actually didn’t give Jade anything else after that night on the mountain. She just reacted really badly to the herbal sleeping drug Bhumaka gave me. I tried giving her the antidote a few times after we escaped but it seemed to make her worse. I don’t know why.”

  Phoenix exchanged looks with Marcus. The story sounded plausible. They had experience with how susceptible to certain herbs Jade was.

  “Why did Bhumaka let us go at all? Why didn’t he just kill us there and then in his camp?” Marcus put in.

  The Player shrugged. “I thought that was the plan but evidently he’d decided that her link to the Manasa devi could be useful. He thought Manasa could control her enough to kill Guatamiputra up close and win the war. I think that was his own idea, though, not Yajat’s. It’s all a bit political for me, to be honest.”

  Phoenix closed his eyes. It sounded plausible enough but the Player was good at sounding plausible.

  Cadoc continued. “Here in the temple, I knew Yajat was somewhere around. If I’d blown the whistle then, we’d all be dead.” He ruefully fingered the bloody tear in his shirt. “I must admit, I wasn’t expecting him to kill me so soon. S’pose I really should have, though. And I did save Brynn, after all.”

  Marcus laid a hand on Phoenix’s arm. “Do you remember what Anuket said would happen when we returned the Sudarshana?”

  Phoenix shook his head irritably, not quite ready to let go of his annoyance with Cadoc.

  “She said this quest would unite a kingdom; someone who had wronged would be redeemed; and that something broken would be fixed,” Marcus reminded him.

  “Actually,” Jade cut in quietly, “she said ‘a path will be taken that will make whole what is torn asunder.’”

  The others looked at her. Even in the faint moonlight they could see her eyes were swollen from crying. She seemed calm enough now.

  “Well,” Brynn shook his head. “That’s stupidly cryptic. What path? What’s been torn asunder? Have we already taken the path and fixed it without knowing? Gods. Honestly. First riddles, now no rewards. I’ve just about had it with gods. I’m going to find the gate. I told you Cadoc was no good and you ignored me, so now you decide what to do with him.” He threw up his hands and stalked away, muttering.

  Phoenix was relieved to see Jade smile slightly. “So,” he raised an eyebrow at her. “He probably did worse to you than any of us. What do you think we should do with him?”

  Jade shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He’s only got this life left. Let him try to finish his last level. I don’t care.”

  Cadoc swept her a deep bow, grinning as he caught her hand up for a flourishing kiss. “You are as kind as you are beautiful, my lady.”

  “Oh, stop it,” she snapped. “I’ve had enough of you stupid men and your stupid macho egos. Let’s just get on with the next quest. I want to go home.” Her voice cracked a little on the last word and Phoenix realised she was still emotionally strung out. It was probably best to get Cadoc out of sight as fast as possible.

  Brynn’s faint halloo brought them all to his side. He had found the next gate. The three-stone doorway was set into the stone wall surrounding the temple complex. An ornate painting depicting Jade’s ride on Garuda’s back was splashed across the walls on either side, just as Vasi had described. They gathered around it and Cadoc stepped up with his hand outstretched.

  He hesitated. “Before I go, I’ve got some gifts for you.” Rummaging in his saddlebags, he produced a small, rolled up piece of black cloth. Handing it to Brynn, he quirked his characteristic grin. “Brynn, I heard you lost your set and I’ve got a spare now that Llew’s gone.”

  Brynn unrolled the cloth and gave a little squeak of joy. “Lockpicks! Fantastic!” He changed his expression to a frown again. “I mean..thanks. Maybe I’ll think about forgiving you one day. At least you finally remembered my name.”

  Cadoc laughed and reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair. Brynn swatted his hand away irritably. The Player’s smile twisted and he turned to Phoenix.

  “This is for you. With a little practice, you’ll be pretty good,” the prince handed him a leather belt. Into it were slotted five throwing knives.

  Phoenix shook his head and tried to hand it back. “These are your main weapons.”

  “Nah. They were Llew’s, too. You may as well use them. He was really bad at it anyway. Here Marcus.” Cadoc handed the Roman a bundle of arrows. “I saw you were getting low and grabbed a handful from the Raj’s fletcher.”

  Marcus accepted them with a nod and a handshake.

  “And last but not least,” he gave a small package to Jade. “I picked this up on my Level Three: in Luoyang, the capital of the Han Empire in China.”

  The companions stared at him in shock. He nodded ruefully.

  “That’s where I met Yajat, actually. He’s Zhudai’s pet assassin and when he found out I was coming here next, he took me to Xijing where Zhudai’s holed up. They hired me on as an extra hand in case he couldn’t find you in time.”

  “Did you ever meet Zhudai, himself?” Phoenix asked.

  “Nah, he was busy interrogating some important prisoner in his dungeon,” Cadoc dismissed their arch-enemy with a shrug. “The palace gossip was that he’s trying to find a way to become immortal. The Han Emperor was even supposed to be coming out from Luoyang to investigate. I wouldn’t take it too seriously, though. Zhudai’s got everyone so scared in Xijing that they’d believe anything about him.”

  Jade finished unwrapping the soft cloth around her gift and let out a sigh of awe. She held the object up, admiring its pale translucency in the moonlight.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed. She slipped the ring onto her right hand and turned it. It was a yin-yang symbol.

  “The band is green jade,” Cadoc said diffidently, “but the symbol is white, imperial jade with a black pearl inlay. When I saw your amulet, I figured you might like it. It’s not magic or anything but it’s nice.”

  “I love it,” she smiled shyly at him. “My name’s actually Jade Pearl, so it’s perfect. Thankyou.”

  Cadoc grabbed his horse’s reins and turned back toward the gate. “Anyway. I think I’ve redeemed myself enough, don’t you? I’d better go before things get too sentimental. Good luck with your last level. I don’t expect I’ll make it through but it’s been fun. See you on the outside.”

  With a jaunty wave and a blown kiss to Jade, he touched the gate and said ‘Rome’. The portal shimmered to life. Cadoc stepped through without a backward look. And was gone.

  The companions were silent, staring at the now-empty portal, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Phoenix shook himself and glanced at the others.

  “Well, I guess it’s time we moved on, too.”

  He reached out a hand to touch the cold stone but never made contact. From out of the darkness swept a swift shadow, knocking his arm aside and shoving him roughly to the ground. He fell awkwardly, landing hard on his right elbow and hip as he turned to try and see what had hit him.

  Marcus’ deep voice was raised in anger and Brynn’s lighter one cried Jade’s name. Phoenix struggled to his feet, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his arm as he reached for his sword.

  Jade shouted something, her voice somehow muffled. There were sounds of a struggle then her white face was illuminated by the glow of the portal. Someone had activated it – someone who also held Jade captive in his arms; his dark hand over her mouth. Phoenix caught
a glimpse of what looked like thin iron chain wrapped around her neck and arms. Behind her, he saw the darkly handsome face of Yajat, the assassin. Teeth flashed white in the darkness as their enemy flung Jade bodily through the glistening portal.

  Phoenix started forward to follow. The assassin shook his finger warningly and dropped a small pot on the ground. With a laugh, he dived through the gate and vanished. Phoenix stared for half a second at the sputtering, sparking wick poking out of the pot and felt a surge of fear.

  “Get back! Get back!” he yelled at his astonished friends. “Run!” Turning, he sprinted away from the portal, waving his arm to spook the horses.

  A thunderous concussion of noise and white-red light slammed into his back, sending him tumbling and flying across the courtyard.

  Stunned, Phoenix lay on the cold stone, his head buried under his arms until a small shower of stone dust eased. Sitting gingerly up, he turned back, hoping against hope that the gate had survived the blast.

  It had not.

  The three-stone portal into the next level was now a tumbled pile of broken rock and a gaping hole in the stone wall. Next to it, lying forlornly on the ground, was Jade’s quarterstaff. Jade was gone and so was the only way to get to her.

  EPILOGUE

  Phoenix pushed himself to his feet. His right arm hurt but there were more important things to worry about.

  “Brynn? Marcus? Are you alright?” He called into the grey-blackness of the night. His vision was still half-obscured by sparkles of white and red afterimages from the blast. There were groans off to the right, so he fumbled his way over. Brynn and Marcus helped each other up. They were white with dust but otherwise unhurt.

  “What on earth was that?” Marcus sounded shellshocked. “Magic?”

  “No,” Phoenix said grimly, “I think the Chinese have discovered gunpowder.”

  “Gunpowder?”

  “It’s an explosive,” Phoenix said shortly, holding his right arm across his chest. It hurt badly now.

  “I think we figured that out,” Marcus said dryly. “Yajat has Jade. He’s taken her to Xijing – I heard him when he touched the gate. He…he was too fast for me to stop him. I’m sorry.”

  Phoenix shook his head. “He was too fast for all of us. I just hope the iron chains mean he wants her alive now, rather than dead. If she’s still alive, we have a chance.”

  “What do you mean, ‘a chance’?” Brynn said shrilly. “This gate is destroyed and the other one is in the Naga caves, totally blocked by a rockslide. How are we supposed to get to her? How far away is Xijing?”

  “Way too far to get there riding straight,” Phoenix shook his head. “But there’s a quicker way.”

  Marcus drew a sharp breath. “The gate Cadoc came through. Where did he say it was?”

  “Karla Caves!” Brynn said breathlessly. “Of course. Let’s go!”

  “Three problems,” Phoenix said faintly.

  “What?” Marcus and Brynn turned on him together.

  “One, we don’t know where it is; two the horses bolted; and three,” he sat down on a piece of rock, feeling nauseous, “I think I’ve broken my arm.”

  Marcus swore and knelt in front of him, feeling the arm until Phoenix almost fainted with the pain.

  “Brynn, go find the horses. I’ll set the bone then we’ll ride for the Raj’s camp. Vasi will know where these caves are.” He caught Phoenix’s eye. “We’ll find her, Phoenix. I promise. We’ll find her and we’ll destroy Zhudai. Now take a deep breath. This will hurt.”

  Phoenix nodded gratefully. Then, as Marcus gripped his arm firmly, he passed into blessed unconsciousness.

  *****

  Somewhere beneath the Emperor’s summer palace in Xijing, his prisoner moaned. Baiyu held his head in his hands and sank to the ground in despair. They had been separated. It was the worst thing that could have happened. Together, Jade and Phoenix might have been able to defeat Zhudai. Apart, they were weakened.

  Jade was close. Baiyu could sense her – but so fragile and so withdrawn that he doubted she would survive even one night in Zhudai’s cold, lightless dungeons. Baiyu shivered. If she were unable to fight the mental and physical weakness that drained her…. If she lost her last lives here…. Then Zhudai would succeed – and if Zhudai succeeded in becoming an Immortal, both this world and theirs would be changed forever.

  High above, in his austere room, Zhudai dismissed Yajat with a rare word of praise. Moments later, the sorcerer’s triumphant laughter rang through the palace, causing servants to cower in fear and the young Han Emperor himself to stir uneasily in his sleep.

  THE END

  *****

  Hope you enjoyed Book Four. Book Five is up at Amazon now. You can find out more about the 80AD series by Aiki Flinthart at: http://aikiflinthart.weebly.com/

  Discover 80AD Book One - The Jewel of Asgard - at Amazon.

  And

  80AD Book Two - The Hammer of Thor at Amazon

  And

  80AD Book Three - The Tekhen of Anuket at Amazon

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