by Lyra Shanti
Gan slowly looked into Sa's kind, green eyes.
"You fought your enemy with strength and bravery, but the servants of evil have cold hearts and cunning wits, and they are always hiding beneath the cloak of night. It is nearly impossible to foresee what they will do. You may feel you are to blame, but what happened isn't your fault. You should not punish yourself."
Gan swallowed hard, his face red and stained with tears. "I fought them, yes, but in the thick of battle, a man wearing a devil’s mask stabbed my sweet wife in the back… right in front of me. I fought hard, but I couldn't save her. She died in my arms."
Sa couldn't take it. He needed to hold his beloved warrior, or he too would burst into tears. Swiftly, he wrapped his arms around Gan's shoulders.
"You were brave," Sa whispered, stroking Gan's back.
"I was a failure,” Gan replied, slowly returning Sa’s embrace. “After Zhang Lu died, I lost my mind. I flung my sword into the enemy without reservation. I didn't care if they killed me; I hoped they would. I was stabbed and slashed, but I didn't die. Why, Master Ling? Why did I not die along with my wife?"
Sa gently touched Gan's tortured face. "I believe you were meant to survive. You were fated to come here… to my temple. You and I will become one and find the answers to the universe."
Gan gave a small, confused laugh. "What does that even mean?"
Sa smiled. "As I keep saying, you are the dark, and I am the light. We are dragon spirits. Together, we will become strong, and we will help each other fight the evil of this world."
Gan's chest heaved as he stared into Sa's earnest, focused eyes. "I love you," came from the warrior's lips, surprising them both.
After the initial shock, Sa smiled. "I love you as well. Stay here with me, my beautiful, dark dragon. Stay, and fulfill my soul's yearning, so we may find our true purpose in this strange, imbalanced world."
Gan nodded, looking directly into Sa's eyes. He seemed caught in a trance, and without a word spoken, the warrior reached for the unsuspecting priest and softly kissed his lips.
Closing his eyes, Sa thanked the gods in heaven as he bathed in the blissful gift of love.
Chapter 15: The Pact
T he blood wouldn't stop, nor would his doubt. What had he done? Deep down, he knew he was damned, and yet, he almost didn't care. Gan would never love him, not how he wanted. Did anything really matter anymore?
He's probably dead now, anyway, thought Hu. That slash to his shoulder was bad, but it was the deep stab to his stomach that gave him a fatal blow. Like me, he's probably on death's door.
Lying on a slab of stone by the river where he and Gan grew up playing in, Hu couldn't stop the burning lump in his throat. The rejection, then humiliation of Gan and Lu's wedding; it still played over and over again in his mind, like a bad dream.
Hu's thoughts kept returning to the past. If Gan had only returned my affection, none of this would have happened. Bleeding from his right side, Hu knew he was facing the end. Was it too late to repent?
"Dear gods in heaven," he quietly prayed, looking up to the cloud-filled sky. "If there is a chance to save Gan, I will gladly give my life to spare him. I am the reason for his wife's death, and I am the selfish devil who allowed the demons to enter our home. Whoever I used to be is dead and gone already. So, please, take my soul and body now, and spare my beloved cousin."
A few moments of silence passed before Hu heard a familiar, but most unwelcome voice. "How lovely," it mocked. "But I'm afraid the gods cannot hear you, for there are no gods in a perfect heaven. There is only the strong and the weak. You know this to be true, Li Hu."
Looking up at the one who mocked his pain, Hu sneered and said, "Then, I am weak, and you should kill me."
The man laughed. "No, I think not." With a wave of the man's hand, Hu felt his wounds somehow closing.
"There. You are healed," said his master in a sweet voice that betrayed his countenance. "Now, my confused servant, you have not fulfilled your sworn vow, and that will not do. The black dragon is still alive."
Hu's eyes opened wide. "Gan… is alive?" A mix of happiness and guilt grew inside his heart.
"Yes," said his master, "he is rather alive. If you recall, you made a pact with me to slay him."
"No!" Han protested, sitting up, despite the tenderness of his newly healed gash at his side. "I never said I would kill him. I said I would lead you to him. I let you into our village and Gan's camp. Your demons did the rest."
His master gave a deep, twisted laugh. As usual, he was wearing a mask, so Hu could not see his face. It was a devil's head with small horns and made of green jade. "You will kill him, Li Hu, and you will find and subdue his counterpart, the white dragon. When you have done this, I will give you what you desire."
Counterpart? Hu had no idea what his demon master was talking about. Gan's wife was dead; he saw it with his own eyes, and there was no one else who could be his companion.
"No, I'm done," he firmly stated. "I no longer crave revenge… or to be a lord. All I want is death and the chance to be forgiven by the gods."
As fast as lightning, his master had him by the throat. The demon's sharp hands felt like claws on Hu's jugular.
"You will do as I say," the masked devil hissed, "or I will destroy not just Li Gan's body, but his soul as well."
"Why?" Hu barely squeezed out his choking throat. "Why… do you hate him so much?"
His master let go, causing Hu to gasp and cough. Regaining his composure, he turned his back to Hu. "The black dragon is nothing to me. He is simply the catalyst for the storm. I was hoping to destroy him before he reached his destiny, but fate is always testing my patience." Turning back around, he continued with his hands folded behind his back. "No, Hu… as dangerous as the black dragon can be, your Li Gan is ignorant of his true power, which renders him relatively harmless."
"Then why kill him?"
"Isn't that what you wanted? Were you not so filled with jealousy that you were willing to do anything I asked?"
Hu bowed his head in shame. It was true. When his dark master found him in the forest, he was wailing in self-pity and rage. He didn't actually want Gan dead, but he selfishly wanted Gan's new wife gone. Hu hoped Gan would eventually realize that his love was not perverted, but pure and true, and they would be together, if not openly, then at least in secret. In Hu's imagination, they would rule their territory as lords and cousins, and lovers.
"I only wanted to be free of my pain. You twisted my feelings!"
The man released a sarcastic laugh. "You pathetic man," he scoffed. "I twisted nothing. This hatred, this madness is all yours. Now, you will do as I say… or I will take your cousin's life myself."
"Then why don't you?!"
The masked man cocked his head.
"Why can you not kill him and whoever else yourself? If you're such a powerful sorcerer, why do you need me and your demon followers to do it?"
His master sneered. "That is my secret. Why should I tell you?"
There was a strange power the masked man emitted. Hu couldn't place it, but he assumed it was a dark magic, most likely derived from a mad, angry spirit. The sorcerer's magic had previously forced Hu to obey without question, but this time, he would fight. He would not kill Gan, even if his life depended on it.
"I will not kill him. You'll have to do it yourself. Consider our pact over."
For a few moments, the masked devil stood with his arms folded. Then, in a swift, nearly inhuman motion, Hu's head fell to the ground.
With Hu's blood dripping from his long fingernails, the devil took off his mask. Turning to face his kill, he coldly replied, "You are released."
Chapter 16: The Hunt
S creaming in a panic, James felt for his throat. It was still intact.
"Fucking hell," he said, followed by a cough. Slowly getting up from his hotel bed, he yawned and headed for the balcony. He needed fresh air.
Taking a deep breath, James looked out at the foggy, but impress
ive Beijing skyline. He saw building after building in a city that never seemed to sleep.
Where the hell are you, Sam? he silently asked. He'd tracked down from her email account that she had gone to Beijing, but that was all he knew. I'm not letting you get away, he vowed.
James knew she was the one, ever since they first met a few years ago at her awkwardly charming interview. He had a policy not to date his employees, but she was different. Honest, sweet, pretty, intelligent, funny as hell, Sam was everything he wanted. It wasn't his fault that his ex-girlfriend threw herself on him at that stupid party, and he was drunk. In James' mind, it just wasn't fair how it all went down.
Needing a shower, he went for the bathroom, flung off his red bikini briefs, and turned on the hot water. As he washed himself, he thought about Sam's perfect ass. It was one of a kind. Nobody else had a perfectly slender and round backside like Sam. Thinking about it, he began jerking himself, and hard. He didn't want to think about the bad things he did or all the fights; he just wanted to think about doing her from behind. A minute or so later, he released a fountain into the steaming hot water jetting onto his stomach.
The rush of sexual adrenaline was exactly what he needed. Refreshed, he washed himself good, then dried off with a towel. Wiping the steam from the mirror with the back of his hand, he looked at his face. He saw his handsomely chiseled, yet boyish visage and wondered why Sam would leave him so suddenly.
We had something deep, he thought as he began to shave. Okay, I screwed up, but I mean, damn… why leave me? I make decent money, too. I could take care of her. Forever. Doesn't she get how good I am?
Lost in his head, he accidentally nicked under his chin. "Shit," he said with a wince.
Immediately, he yanked a tissue from the marble style box on the sink's counter and held it to his throat.
Blood. Spraying from his cut throat. His head rolling to the ground.
"Fucking hell!" he yelped, taking a step back from the sink. Having no idea where that freaky thought came from, he breathed heavily, just trying to calm down.
Must have been a stupid nightmare, he told himself. Shaking his head, he went back to pressing the tissue to his throat.
I'm just upset, and I need my girl back, damn it. I'm a mess without her. My publishing company is a mess without its chief editor. Hell, I can't even think straight, and I'm having crazy nightmares now.
Determined to win her back, James let the tissue go and rinsed his face. Getting on a pair of black slacks and a dark grey, designer shirt, he knew what he had to do.
"I'm going to find you, Samantha Hanover Mills, and when I do, I'm going to give you the biggest rock you've ever seen. You'll be my wife, and that's that."
The only thing standing in the way of his goal was the small matter of him having no clue what hotel she was in. But he had an idea how to find out. It was risky, considering Sam's mother now hated him, though she had loved him when they had first met.
Putting on his suit jacket and leather shoes, James grabbed his hotel card and wallet and headed for the door.
All I have to do is get Sam's mom to realize how sorry I am and how much I feel for her daughter, and she'll bend, I know it. Then, she'll tell me where Sam is staying, and I'll propose, and Sam will forgive and forget.
Feeling confident, James walked into the hotel elevator, pushing the button for the lobby on the first floor. He took out his phone to call Sam's mother, ready to lay on the charm.
Sam, you're gonna be mine. It's fate!
Chapter 17: Naked
"S o…" Sam said with a flirtatious grin, "why me?"
Jon smiled and gave her a splash in the tub.
"C'mon!" she protested, splashing him in return. Her legs were placed to his sides, and when he began rubbing her feet, she closed her eyes, giving a small moan.
"Because you're sexy," he finally replied.
"I am?"
He smirked and stroked her outer thighs. "Why do you think I can't keep my hands off you?"
Sam gave a slight laugh, then shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe you're bored and want to try a plain, average girl on for size."
Jon cringed. "What? No. Sam, you are anything but plain… or average. Why are you so cruel to yourself?"
Sighing, she bit her bottom lip. "I'm not exactly a supermodel, Jon."
"So what?"
"So… I'm just an average girl, and you… you're a god."
Jon rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a god… and you're not average. You're smart, funny, sexy as hell…"
"Am I pretty?" Sam asked meekly.
Jon smiled. "You are extremely pretty."
"Really?"
"Really!" Pulling her to him, he scooped her in between his legs and held her from behind. "Why don't you believe in yourself, my love?"
"I don't know… I mean, I was never all that popular in school."
"Popularity is an illusion."
"Maybe… but being the awkward geek that I was made me feel so… alone."
Jon gave her a squeeze and kissed behind her right ear. It tingled down her entire body. She turned to face him and looked deep into his eyes. Without words, Sam tried to convey all the yearning and loneliness she'd ever experienced.
Jon kissed her passionately. He then lifted her chin and said, "Sam, get this into your head: you are beautiful and perfect the way you are. I realize there is much more to know about you, but I adore what I know so far. I love you, Samantha Hanover Mills, and I don't want you to be anything or anyone else."
Sam was trying really hard not to burst into tears, but it just wasn't possible. She had given up believing anyone would ever say those kinds of words. She almost couldn't believe Jon was real.
Hiding in his chest, she bawled like a baby. Jon cooed and rubbed her back. Slowly, she came back to her senses.
"Jon?" she said with pleading eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Will you be my… boyfriend?"
He smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."
Chapter 18: The Lama Temple
T
he Yonghe Temple, or better known as the Lama Temple, was breathtaking, even from just outside the gate.
Jon bought the tickets, and then waved them at Sam with a dazzling, albeit goofy grin. She nodded in return and laughed inwardly. She loved how silly he could be, all the while remaining like a prince from a fairy tale.
Sam had been waiting for him at the gate, watching guests as they passed by and feeling a little dizzy from the overwhelming smell of incense.
"You ready?" he asked, extending his hand.
"Yep," she said, taking his hand.
Jon gave the tickets to the worker at the gate, and together, they passed through the tall, multicolored gate.
The Lama Temple was Jon's idea for their second date. Apparently, his grandmother lived in one of the hutong apartments nearby, and Jon wanted to stop by after they visited the temple. Sam felt a little nervous about meeting his grandmother so soon into their relationship, but she couldn't say no to his beautiful, blue eyes.
As they walked hand-in-hand, Sam felt a wave of serenity wash over her as the trees from both sides of the pathway caressed her soul.
"This is lovely," she said with a smile.
"It really is," said Jon with a happy nod.
"This temple is Tibetan, right?" she asked, looking ahead where incense bellowed through.
"It's a Buddhist temple, yeah."
"What's with all the friggin incense?" she said with a cough.
Jon gave a slight laugh and said, "They use it to pray and stuff. I actually got a free box of it if you want to join in."
"I don't know…" As Sam was about to complain about her sensitive sinuses, they entered the main area in front of the central temple building. She immediately noticed two stone lion statues on both sides, stoic and fearsome. They seemed to act as guardians of the grounds. Walking forward, Sam moved to the left, avoiding the dozen or so people as they waived their incense sticks, some on their k
nees and bowing their heads. "Jon… are we supposed to…"
Jon shook his head. "No, there's no supposed to do anything, Sam. I mean, if you want to, sure, but… we can just walk around. That's fine."
Sam wanted to respect the temple and its observers, but she also couldn't handle the fragrant smoke.
As if reading her mind, Jon led her by the hand into the main building. Sam looked inside and found herself awestruck by the towering gold statues awaiting them. They seemed to her like silent judges, presiding over their heavenly domain.