And soon…..
Home! the dragon caroled.
I tried not to think about the army that waited between us and White Jade Mountain, and the terrible weapons they wielded. The booming roar of the Divine Thunder echoed in my memory. "Aye," I agreed. "Home."
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
An hour into our journey toward the Imperial army, White Jade Mountain came into view.
It was beautiful, so beautiful.
I would have thought so anyway, but my awareness of the dragon's yearning made it all the more poignant. The mountain loomed in the distance, impossibly tall, its snow-capped peak rising high above a mantle of dark green spruce forest.
"Oh," I whispered, drawing rein involuntarily. "Oh! It's lovely."
Yes.
"Where is the lake, treasured friend?" I asked him. "The reflecting lake where you hid your pearl?"
Snow Tiger tilted her head in my direction, listening.
High in the mountains. The dragon sounded apologetic. Very high. You will have to climb very far.
I glanced at the princess. "Then we will."
By the time sunset gilded the snowy peak, we could make out a vast sprawl of tiny figures arrayed on the slopes of the mountain and around its base. From a distance, they seemed no more consequential than a colony of ants.
The nearer we drew, the more it changed.
Men, so many men. There were tens of thousands of them. When dusk fell, we saw the fires they kindled. Cook fires, watch fires. Thousands spilling down the mountainside, circling around its enormous base. Thousands more on the flat fields where the Emperor's army awaited us.
Opposite them, bronze tubes mounted on wheels glinted in the fading light, death lurking in their metal gullets. The weapons looked small in the distance, but my skin prickled at the sight and I found myself shivering in the saddle, remembering the devastating power they had unleashed.
"Moirin." Bao pulled alongside me, his expression worried. "Are you all right?"
"Aye," I murmured, unsure if it were true.
Dusk turned to darkness. We lit lanterns and kept riding. The light from all the fires ahead of us illuminated the night sky.
"So many," Snow Tiger said in dismay. "So many!"
A few hundred yards from the outskirts of the Imperial camp, we paused to wait while Captain Li and several of his men rode onward to bring the news of the princess' arrival to the Emperor. Our plan was to bring her into the camp without causing a stir that the enemy would notice.
We succeeded, barely.
Captain Li returned to fetch us, accompanied by our old companion General Tsieh and a detachment of Imperial guards. On the great-ship, I'd reckoned the general a stoic fellow, but tears shone in his eyes as he gazed on the princess in her stained, threadbare robes. He bowed low in the saddle, hand over fist.
"Noble Highness," he said in a hoarse voice. "It is so very, very good to see you."
"Honored General." She inclined her head. "The pleasure is mine. Had you not undertaken so long and dire a voyage on my behalf, I would not be here before you today. I am grateful for it."
"It was an honor to do so." The general straightened, clearing his throat. "If you would do me a further honor, it would be my privilege to escort you into your father's presence. I assure you, the men have been ordered not to respond to your arrival. His Celestial Majesty is most anxious to see you."
Beneath her blindfold, the princess' face softened. "And I him."
The soldiers of the Imperial army were trained and disciplined. True to their orders, they kept quiet as we entered the camp. No one cheered, no one bowed or knelt. But they stared at her in the firelight as we rode past, and even in the silence, one could feel their reaction. A ripple ran through their ranks, as though the pelt of some unimaginably vast animal had shuddered. The soldiers stared at the princess, they stared at all of us. At Master Lo, at Bao and Tortoise and Ten Tigers Dai, their staves strapped across their backs, faces stern. At me, the foreign witch.
And I understood that whatever else happened, we had just ridden into legend.
A shiver ran down my spine.
The Emperor's tent was in the center of the camp, a vast pavilion of yellow silk. Flanked by guards, he stood before it, cutting a splendid and imposing figure in gilded armor. There was a terrible hunger in his gaze as he watched his daughter approach, her hands sure on the reins despite the blindfold.
At ten paces away, Snow Tiger gestured for us to wait. My throat grew tight as she dismounted and approached on foot, then knelt gracefully before her father and pressed her brow to the earth. "Noble Father and Most Celestial Majesty," she whispered. "I humbly beg you to forgive your most disobedient daughter."
"Is it….." Emperor Zhu's voice trembled. "Is it true?"
"Yes, Father." She lifted her head. "I am here."
With shaking hands, he helped her to her feet, gazing at her face. "Oh, my child." He touched the sword cut on her cheek with infinite tenderness. "You are forgiven. A thousand, thousand times over, you are forgiven."
I swallowed and blinked away tears.
The Emperor glanced over at us. "And you, my old friend," he said to Master Lo Feng, his voice rough with emotion. "You are forgiven, too. You and your stick-wielding ruffians and your jade-eyed witch. For bringing my daughter safely here, you are forgiven."
Master Lo bowed deeply. "For that, I am profoundly grateful, Celestial Majesty, as are we all. We did not undertake such disobedience lightly. But I fear this is no ending, only a new beginning."
"Yes." Emperor Zhu's hand tightened on his daughter's slender shoulder. He frowned at it, only just now realizing that it was the first time since her wedding night that he had dared to touch her—or that she had allowed herself to be touched by him. "White Jade Mountain will not be easily gained. Jiang's men are guarding the passes."
"Then we have a strategy to plan," Snow Tiger said quietly. "Do we not?"
"Yes." The Emperor gave a brusque nod, removing his hand from her shoulder. "Yes, we do."
Well into the small hours of the night, we laid our plans, poring over maps in the Emperor's luxurious silk pavilion. There were no good options, but there was one bad one.
General Tsieh traced the route for us with a fingertip. "If you circle to the south, the approach to White Jade Mountain is guarded by the Stone Forest," he said. "It is a maze of limestone. Although they will have posted sentries, there is no way Jiang Quan's men can guard it effectively." He gave me a wary glance, months upon his ship having rendered me no less strange to him. "If the foreign witch possesses the gift of concealment you claim, it is your best chance for slipping through unseen."
"Her name is Moirin," the princess remarked. "Moirin mac Fainche of the Maghuin Dhonn. And she is descended from royalty."He inclined his head. "Lady Moirin, then. My apologies."
I studied the map, eyes bleary for lack of sleep. "I can only do it for a while. Can we get there unseen?"
"No." His voice was heavy. "I fear not."
Details, details. For long hours, they debated details. What route to take, how many men to accompany us. How the Imperial army might give cover to our movements. I was tired enough that my head swam. At some point, Bao positioned himself behind me, angling his shoulder so that I might lean against him, letting myself relax against the strength of his corded muscles and breathing in the familiar hot metal scent of his skin.
The dragon grumbled.
"Be quiet." I said, sleepy and irritable. "Am I not deserving of comfort?"
Yes. His voice was small.I am sorry.
Everyone stared.
"The dragon speaks to Moirin," Snow Tiger said. "Be very, very grateful that he listens, too."
They didn't understand. How could they? I didn't blame them. It was a strange and peculiar intimacy that bound us together, the princess and the dragon and I. But I was grateful to her for giving voice to it.
In the end, it was decided that a small company had a better chance of gaining the Stone Forest on the southern slopes of White Jade Mountain than a large one. In the morning, the Imperial army would stretch its southern flank to ward our progress, and we would set out behind their ranks to circle the mountain, our escape route guarded by an elite squadron of Imperial archers.
I roused myself. "Would it not be better to travel at night?"
"The terrain is too harsh to travel without the benefit of torches or lanterns, and there are sentries watching our every move," General Tsieh said soberly. "I fear this is a risk we must take at the outset."
"You can see in the dark when you call your magic, can you not?" Snow Tiger asked me. I nodded. She cocked her head. "Perhaps it is best if the two of us go alone under the cover of darkness."
"I do not think that is wise," Master Lo Feng said in a gentle tone. "Moirin's strength is not boundless, nor is her control over her magic perfect. One slip, and you would be exposed and vulnerable in open terrain."
I held my tongue, knowing he was right. My diadh-anam flickered in agreement, warning me of my own mortal limitations.
"But in the darkness—" the princess began.
"No." The Emperor raised one hand, silencing her. His voice was adamant. "I will not allow it. There is only so much trust I am willing to place in the magic of one weary foreign sorceress. Noble Daughter, you will go by day with your worthy companions and a squadron of Imperial archers to defend your passage, or you will not go at all."
She bowed her head in acquiescence. "As you bid."
The matter settled, General Tsieh began rolling up his maps. I stifled a yawn, longing for sleep.
"Venerable Master Lo Feng." The princess hesitated. "You have served the Celestial Empire with dignity and honor in a difficult time. Now we have come to a task that requires a warrior's skill, not that of a sage and physician. War is upon us. I would ask you to remain here, where you might do the greatest good."
"I would be grateful for your aid, old friend," the Emperor added softly. "Truly."
Master Lo bowed his head. White stubble on his scalp glinted in the lamplight. There were deep creases in his cheeks that I didn't remember seeing before. "Then I shall abide by your wishes, Celestial Majesty, and pray that my pupils do me honor in my stead."
"We will, Master Lo," Bao assured him, nudging me with his elbow. "We will make you proud, I promise." Tortoise and Dai murmured agreement, echoing Bao, nodding their heads fervently.
I straightened my back. "Aye, Master! I promise, too. We will make you proud."
His dark eyes shone with tears. "Ah, children! You already have."
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
In the light of day, our task seemed even more daunting. We were given the swiftest horses to ride and a squadron of five hundred elite archers to protect us, men trained to shoot from the saddle at a full gallop. Speed would be essential. Once we were exposed, Lord Jiang's men would try to cut us off. I would summon the twilight to conceal Snow Tiger and myself as long as possible, but I couldn't hide five hundred men, and we needed their protection. As soon as we began to move, Jiang's men would know somewhat was afoot. All we could do was try to outflank them.
All throughout the camp, soldiers donned their gear, checked their quivers, and honed their swords. We waited, nerves strung taut. Soldiers assembled in tidy ranks beneath their banners, awaiting orders. On the far side of the meadow that separated us from the enemy, riders dashed back and forth.
They suspected war was upon them.
Struggling to keep my teeth from chattering with anxiety, I forced myself to breathe through the Five Cycles. It helped, a little. I watched the princess bid her father farewell. I couldn't see her face, but the look on his made my heart break.
"Is it customary for the Emperor himself to ride into battle?" I asked Bao, seeking to distract myself.
"No," he said somberly. "Usually it is a general who leads. But Emperor Zhu has always been a warrior. And I think he looks to prove beyond a doubt that he has not lost the Mandate of Heaven."
And then, all too soon, it was time.
The Son of Heaven in his gilded armor mounted a snow-white charger, looking more splendid than ever. He raised one hand and gave an order. His banner dipped and swayed, conveying it. Other banners took up the order, passing it on. The Imperial army began to move, thinning and spreading its ranks toward the south.
Snow Tiger rode back to us, her face pale beneath the blindfold.
"Now, my lady?" I asked.
She nodded. "Please."
The men had been given their orders. They averted their eyes as I summoned the twilight and wrapped the two of us in it. In the velvety dusk, the scene was surreal. Snow Tiger lowered her blindfold, eyes meeting mine. The dragon's reflection coiled uneasily in her dark pupils.
"Stay with me, treasured friend," I murmured.
Yes. I will try.
There were soft gasps at our disappearance. Bao swung his head in my general direction. "Moirin?"
"I am here," I said to him. "We are both here."
He muttered under his breath, then gave the order to move out.
Accompanied by the five hundred archers who would do their best to guard our avenue of escape, we rode slowly behind the Imperial lines. The ranks were too densely packed to see aught of the enemies' movements, but word trickled through the ranks. Lord Jiang's outnumbered army was not advancing. Instead, they were repositioning their bronze weapons in response to the Imperial army's shift.
Whether that was good or bad, I didn't know.