‘You defended my right to live back on Kila,’ Wu Geng said to her. ‘I hope you will do the same now.’ He bowed deeply to her, and stayed bowed as he awaited her answer.
But Hudan was still torn. ‘Why did Song forego Zeven’s vendetta?’ she mused. As she asked this she noted how well she could suddenly wrap her mouth around the names she’d found so difficult, or recalled incorrectly, during life.
Wu Geng rose to reply. ‘Because I saved his bride’s family from Dragonface and put him back in her favour.’
‘Of course,’ Hudan huffed with emphasis, ‘it had to have something to do with a woman.’
Lord Avery and Rhun chuckled at her observation, as the soul-mind in question had been their uncle once upon another time.
‘I do not know the soul in question very well,’ Wu Geng told them, ‘but even I know that women are the centre of his universe. If I might add, Fen Gong’s albino tigress sniffed me and gave me the all-clear also.’
Uncertain, Hudan looked to Avery for his opinion. ‘I told you, it is your call. I am already more involved in this affair than I should be, but you cannot pick your soul group, can you?’ He threw Rhun an exasperated look, and Rhun grinned a little too sweetly.
‘I do not believe I have a soul,’ Wu Geng said.
‘Of course you do,’ Avery shot back, ‘it’s just not one of ours.’
‘You must have a soul to be still surviving beyond the reach of your father’s demons,’ Hudan agreed, and if he had an independent soul, then it could be developed and turned into an ally. ‘Very well, you are on the team,’ she decreed, to Wu Geng’s great relief. ‘Zeven will be with us presently, and I will make it his responsibility to keep an eye on you.’
‘Oh, goody,’ Khalid replied drolly, ‘more violence.’
‘I shall ensure he is fair with you,’ Hudan vowed, as she moved to take a seat behind Rhun in the chariot, taking her staff along with her.
The transport was controlled by a telepathic control plate on the centre of its dashboard, which Rhun placed his hand upon; with his desired destination in mind, Rhun set a course for ten years hence and, submitting his intention, activated the ignition and they were swept forth into the future.
The exhilaration of their time-shift was intense, then the thrill of the propulsive sensation stopped abruptly. It was apparent to Hudan that moving forward in time via artificial means was far more radical than moving backward through time via natural channels. Hudan was surprised to discover that they were in the same crystal cavern — it appeared that they had not moved anywhere.
‘That was awesome!’ Hudan lifted her arms into the air, exhilarated. ‘I’ve never moved forward in time before, only backward.’
‘In Taren’s lifetime, you mean. My mother, Tory, zipped forward and backward all through history,’ Rhun said as he got out. ‘The chariot is safe here … best to use regular teleportation from this point.’
‘Good show.’ Hudan climbed out also and then looked at Rhun expectantly; the latter looked back with the same regard.
‘Well, go get him,’ Rhun prompted her. ‘You know what he looks like, you don’t need me.’
Hudan smiled broadly. ‘This is it! Thank you,’ she thought to add.
‘Thank you, actually.’ Rhun was quick to respond. ‘You are the one doing me the favour.’
In the long run, that was true. ‘I shall return.’ With the thought of Dan, her world lit up and she was sped forth to his vicinity.
It was night. Early autumn, if the swell of the river before her and the cool, drizzly rain were anything to go by. There was no moon, but on the far side of the river, men with lanterns and drawn weapons were scouring the shoreline. What is going on? Where is Dan?
In the light that was reflecting on the river from the lanterns Hudan spied someone break the surface of the water near the bank closest to her and then drag themself out of the flow and onto the rocks. Was it Dan? Why would the Duke of Zhou have an armed force in pursuit of him?
‘Dan?’ she stopped short of her target to query.
‘Hudan?’ He looked about to find her rushing toward him. ‘Please tell me, that you have come … to take me away … from all this,’ he spluttered.
‘Yes,’ she assured, ‘it is time for the timekeeper to awaken.’
‘I managed to awaken the timekeeper in me years ago,’ he didn’t mind boasting as she put her staff down to help him out of the water. ‘I told you your absence would make me work harder and it did.’ Dan collapsed on the bank puffing and coughing water. ‘I feel so old,’ he complained, arching his head backward to take in more air.
‘Well, you made it across a rushing river, so you are still doing pretty well,’ she observed, crouching down to speak with him. ‘But why are you swimming a river in the middle of the night? Who do the soldiers belong to?’
‘The king,’ he replied. ‘I handed over full rulership to him three years ago, and since then he has been trying to persuade me to resign as his chief advisor and govern a province. We have had a difference of opinion over whether the Zhou’s word, without any divination, is the word of heaven? Which it cannot possibly be, as what man can be completely unbiased and fair without divine counsel? The holder of the mandate must still be answerable to, and judged by, heaven.’
‘Never mind about the particulars of your falling out,’ Hudan said, urging him to the point. ‘Surely such a detail did not cause all this?’
‘I refused to be removed from central governance and so I resigned.’ Dan cut the tale short. ‘The king refused my resignation and threatened to have me hunted down as a criminal if I left.’ Dan motioned to the force across the river. ‘This is the king making good on his threat.’
‘That rotten little ingrate!’ Hudan stood and took up her staff, enraged.
‘Now that you are here for me,’ Dan interjected, ‘I really could not give a damn how I am remembered.’
‘That is not how history would have it.’ Hudan took a few steps backward and the sphere in the staff lit up deep red. ‘Let us see how the little king copes with heaven’s wrath, now that you are no longer around to advise him.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Dan asked as he found his feet and stood. Hudan hummed a beautiful note that turned the light in Taiji a soft pink as she rose into the air and out of his reach.
In her mind’s eye, Hudan willed her chi to the surface of her body and she began to glow. Her rain-soaked form dried, as an invisible elemental cocoon directed the storm to pass around her.
Dan was besotted by this vision of her. ‘You are just as you appeared my first night on Li Shan … which seems a hundred years ago now.’
Hudan smiled at his sweet sentiment, but turned her sights to the force on the opposite bank.
When she was spotted floating over the water’s surface, the men gasped in awe and alerted one another to the phenomenon — none dared to attack for fear of tasting the wrath of the staff in her hand.
‘Taiji!’ One of the soldiers pointed to the staff to alert his company. ‘The weapon of the Wu, Jiang Hudan!’
‘But she is dead!’ cried another, who had dropped down to kneel by the man beside him, who hissed, ‘That is the point!’
Mesmerised by the heart-light of Taiji, and Hudan’s celestial appearance, the men fell on bended knee to listen to her speak.
‘Good men of Zhou …’ She amplified her voice, but kept her tone gentle. ‘You may cease your search for Zhou Gong. I, Shanyu Jiang Hudan, have been sent by heaven to deliver him to the mount of immortals, where he shall reside with his great brother Zhou Wu Wang, and others of their chosen ilk, forevermore. I ask that you deliver this message to the king from me …’ The light in the staff turned deep grey as a whirling storm appeared to erupt from within the sphere. Hudan withdrew her chi, her form ceased to glow, and the mood became more foreboding. ‘Tell the king that heaven is appalled by his treatment of our beloved son, Zhou Gong. Our fury will rain down upon him until the disrespect and injustice that
drove the brightest star in Tian’s sky to his death has been righted.’
‘Huh?’ The soldiers were disturbed — they’d obviously been expecting good news.
‘The sons of the sky have been dreaming of Zhou Gong, and your Zhou will now dream of him too! Every night he shall know the bitter remorse of having forsaken the counsel of his most divinely knowledgeable ally. And if the one chosen to carry heaven’s mandate still stubbornly refuses to repent his disservice, and not show due honour to his most beloved advisor, I have to wonder this … on his dying day, will the sons of the sky send for Zhou Cheng, as they have for Zhou Gong? The king’s resolve in this matter will decide.’
Hudan willed herself back to Dan’s side and vanished from the sight of the mystified search party.
When Hudan reappeared beside him, Dan was alarmed to view the stormy whirlpool churning about inside the Taiji sphere. ‘With all due respect, I do not believe you have the right to judge Zhou Cheng on heaven’s behalf.’
‘But Taiji does,’ Hudan retorted. ‘Being a polarising force, it judges without bias.’ She backed away from him.
Dan’s second sight picked up on the many spectres of nature that were rushing toward Taiji from every direction; they were akin to the spirit-like beauties which had burst into his quarters one night in search of Rhun. As they wove around the head of the staff in empathy with the motion of the whirlwind within, the wind force around Hudan built in momentum and Dan was forced to back away.
With a cry, Hudan directed the enchantment skyward toward the East with the head of her staff — whatever curse befell Ji Song, it would not affect the provinces of Shao Gong Shi. As the elemental force sped forth and penetrated the cloud, a mighty clap of thunder boomed and the sky lit up with electrical activity. The wind increased without warning and was so intense, the rain fell at a steep angle toward the East.
‘No, Hudan, you will destroy the autumn harvest,’ Dan appealed for the sake of the people, as he was battered by the storm being sent to avenge him.
‘All Ji Song has to do is be truly repentant in his heart, and any damage will be undone,’ she replied.
‘I have no wish for the people of Zhou to suffer for the sake of my veneration.’
‘If your life’s work is not properly venerated then many, many more people will suffer in the future. Besides, the events of this time are no longer your concern. So, stop protesting and give me your hand.’ Hudan extended her hand toward him.
Dan observed the huge force of nature now bearing down on eastern Zhou, and found it difficult to relinquish his worldly concerns. ‘But what if Song fails to wake up to himself?’
‘I had to leave before the eastern revolution!’ Hudan emphasised how hard that had been. ‘But as Rhun went to great pains to point out, you managed without any help from me. Let it go, Dan … it’s time to step back into the larger scheme of things.’ Hudan held out her hand again.
‘As much as I have looked forward to this day, I shall miss this place and time.’
‘I expected that might be the case when you up and left for ancient China ahead of us all!’ Hudan ribbed, as Taren had been waiting a lifetime to scold Lucian about that. ‘I thought you’d died during our recon exercise!’
As Dan took hold of her hand, her cocoon of calm encapsulated him and the drenching rain and ripping wind ceased battering him. ‘It’s nice in here,’ Dan remarked, able to observe the stormy night from a place of shelter, and enjoy the pleasing feeling of being dry and warm. ‘I’m sorry if I made you worry,’ Dan turned his dark eyes her way to appeal on Lucian’s behalf, ‘but I’d had so much difficulty teleporting that when my soul made contact with his incarnation, I did not want to leave for fear I would not achieve the feat again.’
‘I forgive you.’ Hudan was pleased to have distracted him from his earthly concerns, and wrapping both hands around the back of his neck, she kissed him all the way back to their contact point.
‘No wonder it has taken so long!’ Rhun was slouching in the time chariot and looking extremely put out. ‘We are on real time here, you realise.’
‘Apologies, I was detained cursing Ji Song,’ Hudan informed him.
‘Oh, yes,’ Rhun noted, ‘I remember that little storm.’
‘How did the young king fare?’ Dan wanted to know if the people had suffered for long.
‘I guess we shall find out when we collect Song,’ Rhun said. ‘But I shouldn’t worry too much. There was one man upset by your death whom the king did trust and respect beyond all others.’
‘Fen Gong.’ The thought of his dear friend made Dan smile, and he was more hopeful that things had turned out well.
Hudan eyed the cavern, pleased to note it was just the three of them. ‘Excellent. Your brother is not here yet.’
‘I have not summoned him yet,’ said Rhun, wondering what was on her mind.
‘You haven’t aged a day,’ Dan mumbled, having caught his first good glimpse of Hudan in natural light.
‘That’s because I have barely been parted from you a day,’ she explained, with a grin. ‘We’ve been doing some time-hopping.’
Dan was disgruntled to learn this. ‘But I have had to live ten years without you!’ That hardly seemed fair. ‘And I am now twenty years your senior, instead of ten!’
‘Hey, be thankful,’ Rhun interjected, ‘your brother Shi lives until he’s sixty-three!’
The comment left Dan flummoxed, and he was suddenly most thankful to have died when he did.
‘But you are still gorgeous.’ Hudan admired him — not a grey hair in his head at forty-five — and she was compelled to kiss him, as she had never been so free to do so.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Rhun appealed. ‘When this chore is done I shall find you a room, I promise. But for the moment, can we please focus!’
Both Dan and Hudan turned their undismayed gazes his way.
‘Why do you not want me to summon the boy wonder?’ Rhun was obviously intrigued by this.
‘No sinister reason,’ Hudan assured him. ‘I just do not think it wise to have Khalid and the chariot in the same place. It is regrettable that he has seen it at all, as he used to be able to thought-project himself about as we do, and probably still can. Now he can find the chariot with a thought! I don’t trust him, and the chariot was how Dragonface got the jump on you last time around.’
‘Hmmm … my fault then.’ Rhun realised that in his rush to get the task done he’d been careless. ‘It is probably about time the chariot had a revamp,’ he considered, looking it over. ‘If it does not appear as it did when Khalid saw it, then he cannot find it again. But I might wait for Zeven to weigh in on the design aesthetic. In the meantime, while we gather the rest of the team, I’ll get Avery to drop Khalid at our final destination ahead of us. We have people there who can watch him.’
‘We do?’ Hudan was curious, and then smiled as she figured it out. ‘Yi Wu.’
‘Telmo,’ Dan corrected.
‘I knew him as Taliesin,’ Rhun shrugged, ‘but yeah, whatever! Give me a moment and I shall arrange it.’ The time lord went quiet to introvert his attention, and then a short while later emerged to announce, ‘All sorted.’
‘You can telepathically connect with your brother?’ None of Taren’s crew had been able to employ telepathy over a vast distance, but way back, a few timelines ago, Taren had witnessed Rhun use this talent to save Avery’s life.
‘On the whole, annoying,’ he admitted, ‘but handy at times like these. Avery will be here presently.’
‘So we have a moment’s grace, then,’ Dan established, as he grabbed Hudan and pulled her close as he’d rarely dared to in life.
‘Lucian is definitely back,’ she noted with glee.
‘Which makes me your husband twice over.’
‘Don’t mind me …’ Rhun grumbled, envious of their outpouring of emotion.
‘Aw …’ Avery commented airily, as he arrived to witness their heated kiss. ‘More little brothers and sisters on th
e way, hmm?’
Hudan’s enthusiasm waned and Dan turned to study the lord Avery. ‘That’s right, I remember now. You are the baby of the family.’
‘My twin sister is, actually,’ Avery smiled, sweetly.
‘No, Dan’s right,’ Rhun awarded, ‘as Thea does not exist at this point in time.’
‘Gosh,’ commented Hudan, sensing the friction in the air, ‘it is so lovely to have you together again in the one room. I’m not too sure about bringing anyone else to this reunion.’
‘Huxin is next,’ Rhun posed.
Hudan’s grin broadened, and she clapped her hands together. ‘Let’s go!’
Given leave to continue, Rhun disappeared into the future on the chariot, and Hudan and Dan vanished into the otherworld with Lord Avery.
Nothing could have prepared Hudan for the sight of her twin sister as an old woman of sixty-seven years — her honey waves of hair had turned white and thin, her body was hunched and her skin sagged on her bones.
Huxin wept as she stroked Hudan’s smooth young face. ‘Time has not touched you. I cannot see what use I can be to the sons of the sky as I am,’ and she held out her bony wrinkled hands to show Hudan how they’d aged. ‘My tiger form is not much better, I’m afraid.’
‘I feel sure there is a method to Rhun’s madness.’ Hudan looked at him, and he nodded to reassure her it was so. ‘One marvel at a time.’
Repeating the process once again, it was Shi’s turn to shock, as Dan now appeared twenty years younger than his favourite baby brother. Shi was delighted to see them again, but none more so than his wife, Huxin, whom he embraced. ‘I did not last a year without you, my love,’ he confessed, as they rocked back and forth in their hug.
‘How are Zhen and Kao?’ Huxin pulled away to ask.
‘The children are fine, the grandchildren are fine, and so are the great-grandchildren,’ he declared.
‘Holy smoke, Shi,’ Dan exclaimed, ‘where on earth did you find mates for them all?’
‘There are many more were-tigers like us in the western mountains,’ he said happily. ‘Once word of our legend spread, numerous others sought sanctuary at Shao.’