‘No, goddamn it!’ He allowed himself to slip down onto the ice sheet with her and pulling her close to him, they both plummeted into the abyss. ‘Hreen!’ he yelled until the velocity of their dive forced him to silence, and they hugged close as they spun out of control.
The frantic dropping spinning motion receded, and Hudan became aware that there was ground beneath her feet. She was still clinging to Dan and all that could be heard was the sound of the wind whipping around them.
‘Are we dead?’ Hudan opened her eyes, and Dan ventured to do the same.
‘You are dead.’ Their attention was drawn to Rhun, who was standing on the snow-covered mountainside nearby them, and he was pointing at Hudan.
‘You,’ the time lord pointed to Dan, ‘are not supposed to be here, and must go back.’
‘You heard my call?’ Dan was astonished.
‘No, I was here to pick up Hudan,’ the lord explained. ‘This is her dying day.’
‘I am dead?’ she whimpered, and feeling herself all over, she felt as alive as she ever was.
‘As far as history is concerned, yes.’
‘No,’ Dan protested, ‘this cannot be how it ends.’ He gripped Hudan’s hand tighter. ‘I marry her one day … and the next she dies?’
‘Well, that’s history for you.’ The time lord threw his hands up to imply it was beyond his control. ‘And that’s why there is no record of the marriage,’ Rhun informed him, ‘as you will have any record destroyed upon your return.’
‘You know about our marriage?’ Dan wasn’t really surprised.
‘Nothing gets by us,’ Rhun assured him, ‘but it is not why Hudan is being taken out of the equation. It just happens to be her time.’
‘Where are you taking me?’ Hudan queried the lord. ‘And why did my chi fail me just now?’
‘Because this entire area is shielded by an invisible force field that prevents anyone using supernatural powers here … unless, of course you are wearing one of these.’ He flashed the metallic bracelet on his wrist. ‘A Dropa security measure.’
‘Dropa?’ Both Dan and Hudan were curious about the word. ‘What does that mean?’ Hudan ventured to inquire.
‘He is not permitted to know, and you will find out soon enough,’ Rhun told them.
‘My staff?’ Hudan wondered where it was, and Rhun conjured it forth and saw it back into her possession. ‘I believe this has something to do with Dropa as that was the only word my mother uttered just before she died.’
‘A fair assumption,’ Rhun granted, ‘but I am not saying anything until after you say farewell to father.’ When Hudan caught her breath, overwhelmed by the suggestion, the Lord of Time rolled his eyes and added, ‘Which is never a snappy affair.’ He clicked his fingers and looked at Dan. ‘Ah … I investigated that issue you asked about.’
‘Yes?’ Dan confirmed, and Hudan wondered why they were being so secretive.
‘I do know him. He was something of a nemesis to you in the past.’
‘Who are you talking about?’ Hudan jumped in, curious.
‘The concerns of this time are no longer your affair,’ Rhun told her plainly, ‘so please mind your own business, or I shall be forced to make you absent.’
‘You should not speak to your mother like that.’
‘I could just leave you to it?’ he proposed, backing away with his hand raised in indifference, and Dan relented.
‘Please … continue.’
‘Thank you,’ Rhun said, sauntering back toward Dan. ‘However, the soul in question was seeking to reform his behaviour when he tricked his way onto this mission.’
‘Tricked?’ Dan queried the point, and the lord nodded.
‘So whether Khalid is friend or foe now, I really cannot say.’ Rhun shook his head and added, ‘So be very careful with him. He was once as powerful as Hudan … well, almost.’
Dan was worried, but nodded to confirm he’d bear that in mind. ‘Have you any idea where Dragonface is hiding?’
‘Until I have my team back, his royal etheric-ness will not allow me investigate.’ Rhun looked at Hudan and smiled. ‘We’ll see if he can maintain his stance, once I have mother on my side.’
‘Who said I will take your side?’ Hudan objected and Rhun grinned. ‘Oh, believe me, once you are brought up to speed, you’ll take my side, because somewhere in your super-conscious you have way more information about this mission than either Avery or I do.’ Hudan’s mind boggled at his claim and she just stared at him. ‘So would you please say your goodbyes, and we can get on?’ Rhun suggested.
‘But I never got to say goodbye to my family?’ She now greatly regretted sneaking off before anyone had awoken.
‘Not to worry, you’ll get to say hello to them again upon their death,’ Rhun proposed by way of compensation, and he moved away to give them some space.
The notion was surreal and not of much comfort to Hudan. Then her attention returned to her husband of one day. ‘You would have died with me.’ The fact brought tears to her eyes as he hugged her to him.
‘I wish I had,’ he said, sincerely.
Hudan allowed the fear and sorrow to wash over her and found a spark of inspiration beneath. ‘You do not have time to die.’ She roused a smile as she pulled back to look at him, yet Dan could not return the sentiment. ‘But when you do complete your destiny … I shall be there to bring you home.’
‘Wherever that is?’ His brow furrowed as he found his sense of humour.
‘I shall investigate,’ she vowed, ‘and bring you up to speed when next we speak.’
‘If I do not find my Akashic memory first, that is. Your absence will surely provide impetus for me to tap into that.’ He breathed back his emotion and Hudan was doing the same.
‘I want to go back to yesterday,’ she told him, desperately trying to contain her regret. ‘I am so sorry I was so insistent on getting my task completed.’
‘It seems you cannot fight fate,’ Dan said. ‘You were not to know Yi Wu was sending you to your death.’
As they prolonged their goodbye kiss, Hudan could feel the time lord’s impatience, and through no fault of her own she was torn from Dan’s being and drawn into the light-field toward an unknown destination.
20
THE RISE OF ZHOU CHENG WANG
When Shi, Fen Gong and Ji Dan arrived in Haojing unexpectedly, the young king was curious to learn the reason for their visit so they were granted an immediate audience.
As Dan could now teleport himself about, Huxin had reluctantly remained at Shao — for the sake of the children, Shi did not want her embroiled in a civil war. But, just as the Great Mother had always cautioned, Huxin also warned Dan not to use his abilities in front of the uninitiated, and he agreed he would be cautious. He had, however, used his new ability to speed his small party to Haojing. Ling Hu had followed under her own steam.
‘You promised I would never see you again,’ Song complained from his throne, the second he caught sight of his uncle. ‘Yet here you are. Come to beg for your old position back?’
‘Not at all, majesty,’ Dan said, bowing deeply, as did his companions, and then stood straight to state what was on his mind. ‘I have come at Jiang Hudan’s request to prevent you from making a grave error in judgement.’
The mention of the Wu’s name pacified his majesty a little. ‘Why does my goddess not appear to me herself to voice her caution?’
As Hudan had come to him as a maid on their wedding night, Song’s lie no longer got a rise out of Dan, and he let the comment slide. ‘That would be because Jiang Hudan is dead.’ Dan’s voiced wavered under the strain of delivering the news.
‘I do not believe you!’ Song stood, enraged, and then gave a laugh, feeling he was wise to what was going on. ‘This is part of brother Hudan’s game with me —’
‘No, majesty,’ Fen interrupted, stepping forward, his solemn expression conveying that this was no laughing matter. ‘Game over. Ji Dan speaks the truth.’
‘L
i Shan has vanished back into legend with her, leaving the fate of the land in our hands,’ Dan advised, and Song seemed a little daunted by that proposition. ‘So, for the sake of clarity, would you please tell me again why you had to threaten to burn down the house of your betrothed?’
‘I would think that it is obvious!’ Song was agitated. ‘She fled!’
‘Pardon my asking, majesty —’
‘I did not do anything!’ the king objected, preempting Dan’s query. ‘She was the one who tried to deceive me. Yin Hui Ru has no honour.’
‘But how did she deceive you?’ Dan strived for understanding.
‘She created a fantastic story, about her grandfather being possessed by a creature, and claimed the only reason she had come to Haojing was to seek my aid to be rid of it,’ Song spat out, disgusted by her wanting to weasel out of her duty.
‘A creature, you say?’ Dan’s mind was suddenly going ten to the dozen.
‘Why?’ Song was clearly ill-at-ease with his uncle’s reaction.
But Dan’s mind was back in Yin as the pieces of the puzzle fell together. ‘You smell as horrendous as old Jizi did straight from the dungeon,’ he recalled Huxin saying. She had been commenting on the stench of the lizards on him, following their battle with the creatures. ‘Minister Jizi wasn’t in Yin when we performed the clearing rite on the palace,’ Dan said, with all the force of his revelation.
‘Dragonface is hiding in Minister Jizi!’ Shi concluded on Dan’s behalf and they looked at each other in shock.
‘Ji Fa left Minister Jizi to advise your brothers,’ Fen seconded their panic. ‘He could well have been behind my abduction and the death of the queen. Dragonface saw my talent at work the night we drove him out.’
‘It saw you pacify someone, not heal them,’ Dan pointed out, ‘but the ousted Shang prince, Wu Geng, knows how Fen’s healing talent works.’ Rhun had warned that the soul-mind hiding within Wu Geng might be powerful, and could even be antagonistic. ‘Perhaps they are working together to overthrow us?’
‘Who or what is Dragonface?’ Song demanded.
‘A shape-shifting creature that we ousted from its lair beneath Yin,’ Dan replied.
‘That wasn’t in Hudan’s chronicle!’ Song complained.
‘Your father did not want the event made common knowledge,’ Dan explained, as Song’s expression became increasingly mournful.
‘You mean Hui Ru was not lying to me?’ the young king squeaked. ‘She really does need my help?’
All three of the lords nodded in harmony.
‘But … I have sent an order to Xian to burn the minister’s house down. It should be arriving as we speak!’ The king was flustered. ‘I cannot make her entire family suffer more, if there is already such a curse within their house!’
‘That is, if Dragonface doesn’t kill the force our brothers send to carry out his majesty’s order,’ Shi added.
‘We have to do something,’ Song said, spurred on by his own guilt.
‘We?’ Dan asked. ‘I have no power to do anything.’
Song met his uncle’s glare of challenge. ‘I order you, Zhou Gong, to resume your regency and fix my bloody mess.’
Dan grinned to accept his reappointment, and Song grinned also.
‘Which, I might add, is not entirely my fault, as I was not fully briefed on the situation in Yin,’ he said, with a frown of disapproval.
‘My fault entirely.’ Dan accepted that blame gladly.
‘Still, I guess I should also mention that I have already advised Xian of your resignation, so he may not be overjoyed by your reappointment.’
‘I never expected him to accept your father’s will, in any case,’ Dan advised.
‘I want my queen back,’ Song advised them. ‘And I don’t want her to hate me, so … how are we going to impress her?’ He looked at Dan, who was considering their next move.
‘I believe we should pay your betrothed a surprise visit.’
‘No one seems to know where she is,’ Song advised them.
‘But you know what she looks like,’ Dan said, suggesting they use his new skills. ‘My guess is that the future queen headed toward home, and is probably in hiding, which should serve our purpose well.’
The four men and the spirit tiger joined the runaway bride in a clearing in the woods, where Hui Ru was beating up Ji Song’s messenger. She ripped the small container with the king’s message from the staggering soldier and with one final punch to the jaw, she knocked him to the ground unconscious. ‘Thank you very much,’ she said triumphantly, ‘but I think an entirely different set of orders is in order.’
‘Such as?’ Song queried from behind her, and glancing back to see her company, she sprinted for the messenger’s horse.
‘Ling Hu, bring her back,’ Song requested and with a nod from Fen, Ling Hu vanished and reappeared between Hui Ru and her means of escape. She was startled into backing up and collided with the king, who grabbed her from behind.
Hui Ru threw her head backward to headbutt Song, who released her, and staggered back to be caught by his subjects.
‘I am here to help you,’ the king protested, holding his throbbing head. ‘Is that not what you wanted?’
‘Like I would believe you,’ she said, skittish and searching for an escape route.
‘Well … I believe you,’ Song said sincerely, now standing on his own two feet. ‘We are here to help with your monster problem.’
Hui Ru ceased looking for an exit and grew angry. ‘Now you believe me!’ She threw her hands up in disgust! ‘After I had to fight my way out of the palace, and negotiate my way home, across country, alone … now, you decide to believe me!’
‘His majesty was not made aware of the curse at Yin until recently,’ Dan said in defence of Song’s previous restraint, ‘which is entirely my fault.’ He bowed to her in apology.
‘You are Zhou Gong?’ She recognised him as one of the men she had knocked out at Hoajing.
‘I am,’ he confirmed. ‘Might I ask how you came to realise the creature had converted your grandfather’s body?’
‘My grandfather was never fond of drink,’ she explained, ‘and it likes to drink, a lot! When it drinks it cannot maintain its disguise properly and I see the dragon beneath.’
‘That is very interesting to know, and it’s entirely plausible,’ he advised the king, who nodded to accept his word for it.
‘I told you Zhou Gong would believe me,’ Hui Ru impressed on his majesty, and then looked back to the Duke of Zhou. ‘I apologise for any injury I caused your esteemed person, but I had to escape and deal with my grandfather, and his majesty’s threat to my family!’ She waved the message in her hand, and Song gritted his teeth and remained quiet.
‘It is greatly fortunate for us that you did.’ Dan held out his hand and invited her to give the missive back.
‘What do you intend to do with it?’ Hui Ru hesitated.
‘I intend to burn it,’ Dan advised. ‘Then, as per his majesty’s request, we shall go to Yin, recruit my brothers and destroy the creature living within your grandfather.’ At least that was their intention and he hoped they could carry it out.
‘And find my grandfather,’ she added, but was alerted by the sorrowful look on Dan’s face.
‘I am sorry to tell you,’ he said gently, ‘but the creature can only assume the form of someone it has killed.’
‘No …’ Hui Ru’s fighting spirit crumpled before their eyes, and she fell to the ground and collapsed into tears.
Dan looked at Song to comfort his bride, but the king held up his hands and shook his head, knowing she would protest. Dan went down on one knee before her. ‘If it is any consolation, Shanyu Jiang Hudan performed a cleansing rite at Yin and released the imprisoned souls from the bondage of the beast.’
She raised her tear-stained face, enchanted by his words.
‘So the two great men Jizi and Bi Gan now rest in peace.’
Hui Ru nodded, and thankful for the reassur
ance, she handed Dan back the metal container. ‘I trust your word, my lord.’ Hui Ru served Song a look that implied his word was still in question.
In Dan’s books, this was a good sign, as Rhun had claimed that the more aloof Hui Ru was with the king, the more interested she was. ‘Then let us proceed to Yin and discover what kind of a reception awaits us there.’
The capital seemed devoid of people and subdued, even for the cold season.
‘Where are all the guards?’ Shi uttered aside to Dan, as they trailed the king, Hui Ru and Fen across the courtyard toward the council chambers.
They had expected to be met by all four of their brothers, but when led into the council chamber, Wu Geng was again seated on the throne at Yin.
‘I believe that is my seat,’ Song challenged, as he entered and the former Shang prince did not rise.
‘That seems to be a matter of some debate at this time.’ Wu Geng lifted his frail form from the throne, aided by his servants, and it was painful to watch.
‘Never mind,’ Song insisted the Shang prince sit back down. It was going to be agony trying to watch the man try to stand and speak. ‘Where are my uncles?’
‘They have returned to their estates for the winter, along with their troops … that’s what they told me to say, should anyone inquire.’
‘But the truth is?’ Dan prompted, moving close to view the being within Wu Geng.
‘They are amassing a force to claim the regency for Guan Shu Xian.’ He raised his eyebrows at their frowning faces. ‘Are you really surprised?’
‘Only by the speed of his revolt,’ Dan allowed.
‘Your brothers are spreading rumours among the central and eastern tribes, that Zhou Gong plans to usurp our new majesty, and that is why Zhou Gong has assumed the role that was rightly Guan Shu Xian’s.’
‘Zhou Gong is regent, because that was my father’s wish!’ The king approached Wu Geng to question him further. ‘Why was I not informed about this sedition sooner?’
‘Is my missive not the reason you are here?’ Wu Geng was looking more concerned now. ‘I grant that you got here rather swiftly.’