Crown of the Starry Sky: Book 11 of Painting the Mists

by Patrick Laplante

  “I don’t know,” Killjoy said. “Two hours?”

  “They’ll probably unhook each ship and drive them separately,” Shneraz said, walking up behind them. “We should probably escort them back. Just in case.”

  “Agreed,” Cha Ming said. It was the honorable thing to do, and it would be difficult to dissuade him. Besides, whatever they wanted was still on this ship.

  “What were they after?” Mi Fei asked. She was pale, burnt, and cut. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

  Cha Ming shrugged. “Let’s find out, shall we?” They ran to the back of the ship. Silver Fish seemed to know what they wanted. He led them into the hold, past the main storage rooms, and down to the bottom deck. There, hidden away from everyone, was a passenger cabin.

  Over a dozen black-haired, black-eyed people were hiding beneath the beds. They had long tails, and in each of their eyes shone twelve pinpricks of light that formed a mesmerizing pattern.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Shneraz said, looking past Cha Ming. “Star-Eye Monkeys.”

  Chapter 14: Outcasts

  “Demons,” said Watch Captain Evercut from his spot at the table. “If there’s trouble, it’s always demons.”

  “That’s speciesist!” Huxian said. “Take it back.”

  “What?” the watch captain said.

  “You know,” Huxian replied. “It’s when you discriminate against another species. It’s unfair and offensive.” He crossed his arms and looked to Shneraz for support. He found none. “Traitor.”

  Shneraz shrugged. “Historically, demons have started forty-two percent of illegal altercations in this city, despite only representing ten percent of the population.”

  “Still wrong,” Huxian muttered.

  “Look, I don’t mean to imply that demons are bad people,” Watch Captain Evercut said apologetically. “I’m just tired. I need sleep. Especially after going through all that paperwork and obtaining testimonies from no less than five caravans.”

  Watch Captain Evercut was an especially level-headed man. He was a middle-aged cultivator, which meant that he was around five hundred years old. He was also balding. He wore a beard that was black with streaks of brown instead of gray. Faded dye, perhaps?

  “Our apologies for inconveniencing you, Watch Captain Evercut,” Cha Ming said. “Though we are on Kingfisher Guard business, I was reminded by one of my partners that they still fall under your jurisdiction.”

  “You did the right thing,” the watch captain said. “I haven’t dealt with Killjoy in her capacity as a Guardswoman, but I sometimes deal with her when there are logistical incidents.” He sighed. “The guards are citizens of the Burning Lake Prefecture, while the passengers are refugees. They need permits to enter the city. At the end of the day, both the guards and refugees are my responsibility. Though I’ll be honest, there’s not much I can do for the caravan owners. They knew the risks they were taking.”

  “The bandits struck along the main road,” Cha Ming said. “Why haven’t more patrols been sent?”

  “They have,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “But tell me something—should I be sending patrols up into demon territory?” He looked to Huxian and Shneraz, who grimaced.

  “I would advise against that,” Shneraz said.

  “It would be a diplomatic faux pas,” Huxian agreed. “Very insulting. You’d be implying they can’t patrol their own lands.”

  “Well, they can’t,” Cha Ming said. They both grimaced again. “What?”

  “It’s not our sovereign jurisdiction,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “Moreover, we’re not dealing with a crime.”

  “Banditry,” Cha Ming said flatly. “How is that not a crime?”

  “It’s not a crime in demon lands,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, little fox, but most tribes operate on rules like survival of the fittest and all that.”

  “I’m not little.” Huxian glared at him. “I’m purposefully maintaining a handsome and youthful human form.”

  “What, by looking like you still belong in school?” the Watch Captain said with bemusement.

  “I’ll take you to school if you keep talking down to me,” Huxian said.

  There was a tense moment of silence. Then, to Cha Ming’s surprise, the watch captain cleared his throat and apologized. “I may have been a little rude, Lord Eight Directions,” the watch captain said. “I happen to have a daughter that looks your age. I meant no offense.”

  Huxian’s ears pulled back a bit. He scratched the back of his head. “All right, fine. But yeah, he’s right. Depends on the tribe. I did some asking around, and the Star-Eye Monkey Clan gave them the rights to run a caravan and pledged their affiliated clans wouldn’t attack them. Demons are hard to control, so they leave it to the caravans to protect themselves. The caravans didn’t want to pay for the Monkey Clan to guard them.”

  “Patrols or not, not even a human kingdom will provide free escorts,” Shneraz added.

  “In any case, what you’re saying is that in human lands, banditry has legal ramifications,” Cha Ming said. “In demon territory, not so much.”

  “Defying the will of the leading tribe can be a crime,” Shneraz said. “And according to Eight Directions, there was an Iridescent Phoenix Clan patrol looking out for the caravan. The attack could be construed as an insult.”

  “Yeah… no,” Huxian said. “They got slaughtered.”

  “Ah,” Shneraz said. “Unfortunate.”

  Cha Ming was confused, but Watch Captain Evercut translated. “I think what these fine gentlemen are implying is that the Phoenix Clan could definitely do something, but they won’t, due to their… personalities. The Iridescent Phoenix Clan cares a lot about face. If they had successfully defended the caravan, that would be one thing. But since their troops got wiped out, they’ll probably try to cover up the deaths and pretend they are unrelated. Especially since another team successfully defended the same caravan.”

  Cha Ming sighed. “That explains why they keep attacking on demon lands.”

  “The watch can’t do anything outside the prefecture’s jurisdiction,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “We can help them substantiate their claims for insurance purposes, but we will not compensate them. We can also help settle victims down and treat them.”

  “Do we at least get their testimony and shipping manifest?” Cha Ming asked.

  “Of course,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “They chose to file a report to the city watch after the attack. I’ve inquired, and you have the highest clearance.” He passed a folder to Cha Ming. It was full of paper records and had not yet been inscribed into jade. Doing so would require a cultivator and would probably be added to a stack for later processing.

  Cha Ming looked through them, page after page. His frown deepened. “The passengers we located were not part of the shipping manifest.

  “Apparently, they were a last-minute addition,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “They happened to have cargo space, since merchants are growing warier and importing less. Note that this entire testimony has been attested via truth watcher or artifice.”

  That meant that it would be true to the letter, unless something more powerful was shielding them.

  “And the passengers?” Cha Ming asked.

  “Still refusing to speak,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “They do have the right to remain silent, though this does reduce how much assistance we can offer them.” He shrugged. “You’re free to have a go at them. I won’t argue with civilians who refuse free help and protection.”

  Cha Ming nodded. “And Dao Lord Silver Fish?”

  “Still under protective custody,” Watch Captain Evercut said. “He’s been forthcoming with his testimony—and we’ve verified it with a truth watcher. We’ve also obtained testimony on some of his… er… vigilante contributions in exchange for immunity against prosecution. Not that we minded him saving all those demons, but he should really go through the proper channels.”

  Cha Ming nodded. He flipped
through the pages, and his eyes settled on Silver Fish’s picture. He’d grown much stronger since they’d parted in the harbor, and he was now a middle-rune-carving and middle-initiation cultivator. According to his own testimony, he’d also been very busy over the past few months. He hadn’t rejoined the Guard or taken up adventuring or guard duties as he had in the Dripping Blade Prefecture.

  Instead, he’d taken to helping those who couldn’t be helped. That meant demons and demon hybrids. The lowest rungs of prefectural society who had trouble obtaining higher levels of citizenship, despite having lived in the city for generations.

  “I’ll try to get his paperwork sorted out soon,” Cha Ming said. He looked back to a low-key individual in the room—Daoist Special Night. “Have they arrived at the guard station yet?”

  “They arrived without interference,” Special Night said. “Unfortunately, my contacts say they encountered trouble at reception. I believe someone with a sufficient amount of authority is running interference.”

  “Great,” Cha Ming said sarcastically. “Have you located the prefecture lords yet?”

  Special Night shook her head. “I haven’t, and it wouldn’t matter. They could transport anywhere in the prefecture if they wanted. Unless a rune-gathering cultivator interfered. I can look into that if you want, though the price would be astronomical.”

  “What?” Cha Ming said, slightly taken aback. “No. No need to do that. Wait… you can get that done?”

  She nodded seriously.

  “Good to know.” There was much he didn’t know about her. He looked to the watch captain, who was staring wide-eyed. “I don’t suppose you could forget we just had that conversation?”

  The watch captain sighed deeply. “I’m getting too old for this. I hate politics.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Cha Ming said. “Well, shall we?” They left the watch captain. A human and a demon from the city watch tagged along for security.

  Prefectures on the Inkwell Plane were extremely large. In fact, many were larger than entire countries on the Ling Nan Plane. There was also a bitter history of warfare and shifting borders, whether with demons or other kingdoms within the empire. Though this prefecture was relatively far from demon lands, it maintained a city watch and an army. The city watch was small and lightly armed, independent of the army, and operated at the whim of the minister of security, who was appointed by the ruling council. Which was the main reason why Silver Fish was here and not anywhere else.

  They proceeded downstairs to the fortified rooms where everyone was being kept. The caravan owners had left as soon as they’d completed their report and tallied damages. Neither Cha Ming nor the watch captain had seen any benefit in interrogating them further. Cha Ming nodded to Silver Fish, who sat comfortably in his cell. “Can I get you anything?”

  “Nothing for now,” Silver Fish said, shrugging. “You think they’ll manage it? I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t think maximum security will keep those gentlemen out.”

  “They hit a few snags, but everything should be fine,” Cha Ming said. “Do you still have what I gave you?”

  He nodded. Cha Ming wasn’t sure if a teleportation talisman would help him when he was in prison, but it couldn’t hurt. It was always good to be prepared.

  They continued past the prison cells until they arrived at the back, where the lunchroom was located. Several dozen watchmen were either eating, drinking tea or coffee, or playing cards. A few were even reading. “You’re keeping them near the lunchroom?”

  One of the guards accompanying him shrugged. “They’re not exactly in legal limbo like Black Fish, and it’s easier to protect them here. Plus, we can just bring in more food for lunch, and they can have as much coffee or tea as they want.” He nodded to one of the watchmen standing beside a back door. “Are they behaving?”

  “They’re strangely quiet,” the watchman said. “I was going to wait another five minutes before looking in, but since you’re here…” He opened the door.

  Cha Ming’s jaw dropped when he saw what was inside. Special Night snickered, and Huxian, who’d just gotten himself coffee-flavored milk, pushed through them. His eyes narrowed. “What the hell?”

  The room was frozen. Or at least, everyone in the room was. That alone would have been cause for concern, if not for everything else. “Thank heavens you came,” a trembling Crying Toad said. “They were fighting, and I didn’t know what else to do!”

  Indeed, everyone in the room had some sort of weapon drawn. Silverwing had two swords out. He was balancing precariously on one foot while his two blades deflected dark wooden staves. Roughly half of the monkey demons in the room were in fighting poses, and some of them were frozen while beating Lei Jiang, who was cowering with his hands on his head like a helpless child. Other demons were clearly not pleased with the situation. They were pulling the armed demons back. Others were cowering just like Crying Toad had been.

  “Did you just use a paralyzing poison to make them all stop?” Cha Ming asked. A few of the monkey demons had fallen over. Some could still move their eyes, and they were glaring at the diminutive man. “You wouldn’t happen to have some kind of tranquilizing poison, would you?” If they just unfroze everyone, the fighting would probably just start all over again.

  “Maybe,” Crying Toad said. “Maybe I could cut the dose of a sleeping poison in half and—”

  “You know what, never mind,” Cha Ming said. He used Words of Creation and summoned an Energy Talisman. He used the dousing portion of the talisman and used it on the emotions in the room. Angry glares began to fade. “Crying Toad, please neutralize the poison.”

  “What?” Crying Toad said. “Oh. Well, I don’t really keep neutralizing agents on me. But don’t worry! It’ll run its course in five minutes, give or take.”

  “All right,” Cha Ming said. “Coffee, anyone?”

  A few minutes later, they found themselves sitting at a few wooden tables. They were the same sort of tables the watchmen used—poor quality but easy to drag around and rearrange as required. The guard house didn’t have personal rooms, and everyone had slept on emergency cots that were now safely stowed away.

  The city watch had healed any cuts and bruises they’d sustained. A few were free, but most of those who had been caught in the initial poisonous blast were still numb from head to toe. One by one, they freed themselves and sat down, taking a cup of tea they were offered. There was peace. For now.

  “My apologies for any inconvenience caused by my teammates,” Cha Ming said. “I asked them to stay here and look out for you, but it seems they may have been too intrusive.” He sat before a middle-aged man, their leader. He was a demon, of course, but he wasn’t strong. None of them were. They had all reached the initiation realm, but only the eldest among them had reached the early initiation realm.

  “There’s no need to be sorry,” the man said in a husky, almost sickly voice. He wore a pair of spectacles, which was unusual for demons, as they tended to be healthy. “From what I understand, you saved us from being captured. We owe you a great debt.”

  “We only did what was right,” Cha Ming said.

  “Perhaps,” the man said. “I have seen many interpretations of right and wrong, however, so don’t blame me for being pessimistic.”

  “Don’t mind my father,” said the young woman seated beside him. “We’ve just been through a lot.” Like him, she was black of hair. In fact, they were all black of hair. Yet for some reason, that seemed odd. Out of place. As for their eyes, they were captivating. Within each of them, Cha Ming could see twelve points of distant lights. The black background was dark, like the night sky.

  “I’m a realist,” the leader said. “Were we not cast out of our own tribe?”

  “We were asked if we would prefer to live in the city and provide for ourselves rather than stay,” she said. “We told them we wished to leave.”

  “A euphemism,” said the man. “You knew their intentions. But there’s no need to trouble our saviors
on this matter. We can take care of ourselves.”

  “That’s the part that worries me,” Cha Ming said. He looked over his shoulder to see Huxian berating Silverwing and Lei Jiang. A few of the monkey demons were menacing Crying Toad with a stick, and Shneraz was doing everything he could to stop them from fighting. “According to my friend, who is known to most as Black Fish, you were the main targets on the caravan.”

  The monkey demon frowned. “I don’t know why that would be the case. We have never been threatened in such a way.”

  Cha Ming’s eyes saw the truth of his words. “I believe you,” Cha Ming said. “But just because you don’t know why, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem.”

  The man shrugged. “It’s our problem to deal with. We’ve been cut off, but we will survive. We Star-Eye Monkeys are industrious.”

  And well spoken, Cha Ming noticed.

  “How much trouble are we in?” his daughter asked. She wore a serious expression for a young woman. She’d seen much in her short lifetime.

  “Watch your tail when you’re speaking to strangers,” the man said.

  She noticed hers was fidgeting and stopped. She straightened and smiled lightly. “We’re hardly strangers,” she said. “They saved us. Please call me Clever Dusk, savior. This is my father, Shallow Moon.”

  “No manners,” the man grumbled. “The younger generation never has manners.”

  “Please, call me Daoist Clear Sky,” Cha Ming said. “I will introduce the others later, but the Bagua fox is my brother. You may call him Eight Directions for now.”

  Shallow Moon frowned when he looked at Huxian. His eyes twinkled, and the stars seemed to shift. He pointed at Huxian, and his daughter’s eyes also began to let off a strange, subtle glow. She gasped. “A Godbeast?”

  Huxian’s ears perked up, and he zipped through the room using time manipulation. “Did I miss anything?” he said. His ears twitched when he looked at the girl—she was a young lady, perhaps barely eighteen. “Nice eyes. Strange fur.”