Heart of Defiance

by Ryan Kirk

  She saw that he was trying to hide his pain, but she had managed to hurt him. “I’m sorry.”

  He waved her concern away. “I’ve been hit worse.”

  “What happened?”

  Lei shook his head. “I’m not sure. I have some ideas, but I need to think on this.”

  She was disappointed in the answer, but didn’t want to push him after what she had done.

  And what had she done? How had she knocked this man over with such ease?

  After a full day of training, she was left with more questions than answers.

  They came down to the village and stood for a moment in the village square. Lei turned to her. “We’ll train again tomorrow. Make sure you eat a large meal and get some sleep. Your body will need both.”

  She nodded and was about to return to her rooms when she saw an older man in the square. Their eyes met, and Bai felt a deep-seated sensation of recognition. But her memory, as it too often was these days, was blank. More telling, though, was the man’s reaction. When he saw her, his eyes widened in pure terror. He walked quickly away, never even glancing back her way. He moved with a definite limp, and Bai saw bandages on his legs and one arm.

  Lei had noticed the exchange. He frowned. “Do you two know each other?”

  Bai shook her head. “He seems familiar, but I don’t recognize him.”

  Lei watched her closely. He didn’t speak for a few moments. “He’s a monk from Kulat. And I’ve never seen him so scared in my life.”

  16

  Delun and Kang had become inseparable since Delun’s arrival in Kulat. Delun suspected their relationship wasn’t entirely by choice. Though Guanyu never spoke of the decision to Delun, since his arrival at the monastery Delun hadn’t been able to go into Kulat alone. Kang’s company was always offered under the guise of companionship, and Delun didn’t care to offend his hosts, yet. Kang’s presence raised an interesting question, though: was Kang supposed to protect Delun, or was he intentionally hindering the investigation?

  Delun couldn’t answer the question with any certainty. He didn’t necessarily mind the company of the larger man, but Kang stuck out in town. Even if Delun could have convinced Kang to leave the walls without his robes, his shaven head, tall stature, and judgmental stare were enough to announce himself everywhere. With Kang nearby, Delun never had to worry about being threatened, but blending in with a crowd was also out of the question.

  Because of the constant companionship, Delun hadn’t been able to investigate as thoroughly as he would have liked. Some tasks required discretion, and Delun was certain Kang didn’t even know the meaning of the word. Kang understood strength. On Delun’s second day in town he had asked some polite questions of a shopkeeper, and when the man didn’t answer the questions to Kang’s satisfaction, Kang had almost thrown the poor man through a wall.

  Delun became more aware of the feelings of the people in town as well. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind they hated the monks. In fact, Delun often felt that when he entered town he was lighting a fuse to a barrel of black powder, waiting for it to explode in his face.

  He would have preferred working alone. He could pass as a traveler and obtain more information through conversation than Kang and his fists could get in months. After years of this work, he had learned how to guide a conversation, how to get information without alarming suspects. Delun had pressed gently against his hosts, insisting he didn’t need protection, but Kang couldn’t be swayed, increasing Delun’s certainty the monk acted on orders.

  In short, Delun’s investigation had stalled, and he blamed the interference of the Kulat monastery. The dilemma put him in an interesting place. He could either deceive the monastery or demand they leave him alone.

  Neither option appealed to him. The idea of lying to a monk didn’t sit well with him, but he didn’t want to weaken potential alliances because of his demands. Unless his circumstances changed soon, though, he would need to do one or the other.

  As night fell, Delun left his guest room and walked toward the monastery gates, interested in exploring Kulat by night. In his investigations earlier in the day he had picked up one interesting piece of information.

  He was being followed.

  Whoever the task had fallen to, they were an expert. Delun was certain it was a woman, but beyond that, he hadn’t managed to force her to reveal herself. She was always in the shadows, an anonymous face in the crowd, like a ghost haunting his every step.

  Tonight, he hoped to trap her.

  As he neared the gate, Kang appeared by his side, trying and failing to look nonchalant. “Leaving?”

  Just as he had expected. For all his complaining about Kang’s presence, he would need the monk’s assistance tonight. Delun didn’t think he could trap the spy alone. At least, not without causing more damage than he wanted.

  “I am. We were followed today, and I’d like to meet our stalker.”

  Kang’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Delun knew how much the man enjoyed action. It made him a poor monk in many ways, but that desire to fight wasn’t without its uses, he supposed.

  Together, the two of them left the gate and walked into the darkened streets of Kulat. Delun took them to the night market. He purchased some grilled vegetables and ate with delight. The kitchen in Kulat’s monastery lacked either experience in cooking or a desire for flavor, in Delun’s opinion. The fresh food put a smile on his face. Now, no matter what the rest of the evening held, he could call the night a success.

  Kang towered over Delun, refusing to partake. He claimed, a few days ago after Delun had asked, that the only food he needed came from the wilds or the monastery’s kitchen. Delun hadn’t argued the point. Let the man believe what he would. Delun would enjoy the wonderful bounty the land and people who worked in it provided.

  Kang stared from one end of the market to the other, making it delightfully obvious that he was searching for the one who followed them. Delun watched with interest, not bothering to hide his amusement. The shadow had been with them within a hundred paces of the monastery’s walls. Even now she crouched, the barest outline of a shadow on a rooftop nearby.

  Kang looked down at Delun.

  “We are not being followed,” he said.

  Delun forced himself not to smile. “Keep an eye out. I am certain they will try to find us tonight. When they do, we’ll surprise them.”

  Contented by the light meal, Delun stood up. He led the way out of the night market. The whole market seemed to breathe a deep sigh of relief as they left, and Delun wondered how much longer it would be before something snapped the tension in this town. The more time he spent here, the more clear it was the differences between the monastery and the city would lead to violence.

  In this, Delun’s assessment of the town differed significantly from Guanyu’s. The abbot, like too many monks, didn’t see the threat the common people represented. Guanyu didn’t care if the people were discontented. In his worldview, the people would come around in time. The peace of the region and the strength of the monks would win converts in time.

  Delun held no such misconceptions. Sure, he and his brothers were much stronger than any individual citizen, but they were greatly outnumbered. Monks tended to overestimate their strength, forgetting that a dagger in the dark, a poisoned cup, or an arrow killed a monk just as dead as a regular citizen. Delun supported Guanyu’s plan, but he believed the abbot was reckless in his disregard of the people.

  He led Kang into a small alley. “I’m certain we’re being followed. Together, we can catch our shadow. Wait here for the next five minutes, then follow my energy. If I’m attacked, come help.”

  Kang nodded his understanding. Delun was about to step out of the alley when he had a thought. He paused and stared at Kang.

  “We need them alive, Kang.”

  Kang looked doubtful, but he gave a sharp nod of acknowledgment. It didn’t inspire confidence, but Delun didn’t think he’d get more from the man.

  Delun made sur
e the man stood deep in the shadows, then returned to the street. Though it was nothing but a gut feeling, he suspected the spy was after him. With luck, she would discount Kang and get caught between the two monks. As far as plans went, it wasn’t his most clever, but he didn’t trust Kang to follow anything more than the simplest instructions.

  With the streets nearly deserted, Delun decided caution was wise. He made some signs with his left hand, casting a shield around him. If the tail had hostile intentions, the shield would go a long way toward keeping Delun safe. Memories of his close call on the mountain still haunted him.

  He turned another corner, seeing the shadow leap between roofs in the distance. That confirmed his intuition that he was the person of interest.

  Delun paused, pretending to look around. He only stopped for a moment, but it was enough.

  He heard the thunk of an arrow as it deflected off his shield.

  Delun looked up, seeing the archer already drawing back another arrow. The woman’s second shot was true, but it still deflected harmlessly off his shield.

  Delun sent a small wave of energy at the assassin, but the woman saw his hands move and retreated before the blast hit. Delun frowned. There was no doubt the woman knew she was attacking monks, but her actions seemed calm and calculated, not uncertain or panicked. She’d moved as soon as he aimed his hand at her, sliding around and protecting herself.

  This woman knew what she was doing.

  Delun wished he was privy to her purpose. He scanned the rooftops, looking for any hint of the woman. He dropped his shield and took cover behind a corner, worried that he would lose focus and his shield at an inopportune moment. A few deep breaths later, he formed the sign for the shield and released it again, hoping the woman would reappear before it was too late. He stepped back into the street.

  Delun felt his shield waver as his focus slipped. These techniques weren’t meant to be held so long. Even weaker techniques, held for more than a handful of seconds at a time, could drain a monk. The shield he held wasn’t weak, and he felt his focus deteriorating.

  Was this what she wanted? For him to exhaust himself? He could run, but she had the high ground with a bow, and he wanted to capture her.

  Something sparking flew from a rooftop to his right. Delun barely had time to focus on it before it struck his shield. The arrow didn’t penetrate, but Delun noticed something different about the arrow just before his world was engulfed by flame.

  A fire arrow. Delun swore and focused. The fire wouldn’t last long. There was nothing on his shield to burn except the oil from the arrow. But if the shield faded now the burning oil would drop on him. To make matters worse, he was temporarily blinded by the flames. Who knew what awaited him when the fire faded?

  For the first time in his life, Delun wondered if he had met a citizen capable of killing a monk.

  Sweat poured down his face, not from the fire but from exertion. His muscles trembled as the power flowed through him. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold the shield.

  Then he felt another power, enormous.

  Kang.

  The other monk had come, sensing Delun’s distress. The last of the fire burned away and Delun dropped his shield. He stumbled over to the side of the road, seeking cover from an errant arrow.

  He felt Kang’s attack and saw the roof of a building tear away from a focused blast. Delun’s eyes went wide as the building slowly crumbled. From his perspective, he saw a figure, blacker than the night, leap from the collapsing roof to its neighbor. He wondered if Kang saw the woman from his position further down the street.

  Apparently, he didn’t. He walked toward Delun, not paying any more attention to the buildings. Around them, the street came to life, the noise of the collapsing building and the light of the fire waking up the neighbors.

  Delun saw the attack as it happened. The assassin, persistent, popped up from a roof and released another arrow. Delun raised his hand and pushed what energy he had left at the space between Kang and the arrow speeding toward him. The attack wasn’t much, but it was enough. It moved the arrow, throwing it off target, causing it to embed itself deeply in Kang’s shoulder.

  The large man roared, the arrow doing little more than angering him. He turned to the rooftops and unleashed a series of attacks designed to destroy everything. Roofs shattered and walls caved in as Kang threw attack after attack at the buildings near where the arrow had come from.

  Delun watched in horror as one building collapsed just as a candle flickered to life inside. As soon as the light had appeared, it was gone. How many people lived in those buildings?

  It happened too quickly for Delun to react. Kang had torn down three buildings before Delun found the strength to stand and put his arms around the other man. Kang fought against him, rage in his eyes. If not for the tremendous amount of energy he’d already expended, Delun wouldn’t have had a chance. Delun could barely reach around the man to hold him.

  Kang was looking for someone to attack. Delun saw it written on his face. The man had lost control.

  Delun looked around the street. People peeked out from their houses to see what had happened. Many were leaving the protection of their homes. Some carried knives and daggers. Some carried poles and torches. For the moment, they looked more confused than angry, but Delun didn’t think that would last long. Soon, they would realize Kang had killed their neighbors. Would tonight be the match that lit the powder?

  Delun didn’t want to be around to find out. “Kang, we need to go.”

  Kang didn’t react, his focus completely given to the search for the woman who had wounded him. Delun was watching too, but saw nothing. It would have been difficult for the assassin to escape Kang’s rampage, but Delun suspected if anyone could, she might have. She came prepared to fight monks. Kang’s unrestrained attacks wouldn’t have caught her by complete surprise.

  The people began to clump in groups, their stares hardening. Delun pushed harder against Kang. “We need to leave, now.”

  Kang still didn’t react.

  “Guanyu needs to know what happened here.”

  The sound of his master’s name snapped Kang back to reality. He looked away from the collapsed buildings and nodded.

  The two of them limped their way in the direction of the monastery.

  Delun kept looking over his shoulder, fearing he would see the shadow behind them, an arrow already on the way to claim his life.

  He didn’t feel safe until he put the walls of the monastery between him and the city.

  17

  Bai paced a small patch of grass in the mountain village. After days of slow, quiet recovery, her life had recently picked up a new speed. Like a rock sliding down from high in the mountains, she now felt her life crashing out of control.

  Lei sat in the heart of her chaos. First the protection from the monks, then the revelation that she had the same powers they did.

  She didn’t believe him. Though she couldn’t explain the events of her training, there had to be another explanation, a story that made more sense. She was a seamstress, a woman from a run-down village at the edges of the empire. Her gifts were with needle and thread, not strength.

  But that didn’t explain what she had just experienced. Her recent memories played in her mind over and over. She wanted to believe that he had let her hit him, like a friend letting you win a game after losing several in a row.

  Lei didn’t seem to be that kind of man, though, and she had felt the difference. Looking down at her hands, she remembered how they had felt, tingling with energy. She had hit him, with a strength that defied her understanding.

  But she was a seamstress.

  She had never felt so lost.

  And now there was the old man, pouring oil on the fires of her confusion. Lei had gone after him, the two of them retreating into the tavern that served as a common room for the village. Bai didn’t have to stay outside, but that man had recognized her. A monk from Kulat had recognized her. Worse, when he did,
he ran away.

  Monks didn’t run from seamstresses.

  Bai felt dizzy and her legs threatened to collapse underneath her.

  As much as she wanted to know what happened, Bai worried that she couldn’t face the truth. She feared it would destroy her.

  Instinctively, she reached for the bracelet, spinning it around her wrist, trying to feel her mother’s presence.

  Her mother.

  Whose story had ended.

  Thinking of her mother, the truth no longer seemed important. She should run. It wasn’t too late.

  She looked over to the small inn where she lived. With a few steps and a brief climb up a ladder, she could be back in her room, curled under the covers. But every time she took a step in that direction, she faltered.

  Before she could talk herself out of it, Bai turned and marched into the tavern where the two men sat.

  She spotted them easily, seated at a table in the corner, huddled together. She felt the weight of the bracelet on her wrist and almost turned around. The momentary courage that had driven her into the room vanished in an instant, doubt assailing her thoughts. But Lei caught her eye and waved her over. The older monk, still looking uneasy, shifted his weight away from her. Bai had never seen a terrified monk, and it did little to ease her worry.

  She had come too far, though. She’d be embarrassed to turn around now.

  Bai approached the table slowly, pulling up a chair next to Lei. For a few tense moments, no one spoke.

  Lei handled introductions. “Bai, this is Yang. He’s a monk down in Kulat, and a friend of the village.”

  Bai glanced uncertainly at Lei. Why would any monk be a friend of this village? It represented everything the monasteries opposed. But Lei offered no response. Apparently, that question was Yang’s to answer or not.

  Yang dipped his head in acknowledgment, and Bai could see the force of will that kept him in place.

  She too had a hard time sitting still. Her feet tapped against the floor as she bounced her knee up and down. She glanced at the door, still so close. Her urge to run almost overpowered her sense of shame.