Jade Fire Gold(9)

“Great. We now have a new sovereign who may have killed her husband for the crown, which makes her just as bad if not worse than him. And we have to worry about the Emperor’s Shadow in case he’s helping her start a new war.” Tang Wei pinches the bridge of her nose. “The gods. I’ve heard the new head priest is even more vicious than the last. That’s why the raids on the Tiensai are getting more frequent. They’re hell-bent on getting rid of all of you.”

“Gao Long was making up for my father’s peaceful reign. No surprise that Zhenxi is following his lead,” I say bitterly.

The Diyeh priesthood is loyal to the Dragon Throne, bound by a solemn oath to serve it. They were culling the Tiensai for decades before Father stepped in and called a halt to the atrocities. It was a benevolent act that earned him enemies.

Tang Wei sighs. “The palace says it’s the cursed ones’ fault the rains haven’t arrived this year. But you and I know the truth. The dark magic is spreading, isn’t it?”

I nod solemnly. I have seen remnants of my great-grandfather’s evil on my travels. Forests—some completely bare—with knotted tree trunks an unusually stark white. Stiff and cold, they looked like deformed statues in a graveyard littered with the corpses of leaves. Water bison plows left to rust in the middle of what once were bountiful rice fields. Abandoned farmland, dry and yellow, like nothing could or would grow on it.

Everything looked like death.

It makes it easy to blame the Tiensai because only magic could be responsible for so much damage to the land. And the priests and the palace have done too good a job erasing the true history of the Empire. Pages can be burned; words, erased. Scribes can be persuaded to write new tales, new books. A new past to suit the agenda of those in power.

History is never written by its victims.

My hands squeeze into tight fists. My great-grandfather, Yuan Long, was the one who caused such devastation to his own land and the lands he conquered. Such anguish to the people. To families. To children. My blood did this. And like Father, I must find a way to atone for the sins of my ancestors.

“Do you have the name of the head priest?” I ask.

“Not yet. He’s elusive, doesn’t flaunt his power publicly like the previous one.”

“Smart. Safer for him to work in the shadows,” I say with no hint of admiration. By all accounts, the last head priest was assassinated. No one knows who did it. Maybe it was a power grab.

Tang Wei sniffs at the cold tea and pushes her cup away with a disgusted face. “Since we’re catching each other up, any word on the Life Stealer?”

I shake my head solemnly. “Shīfù is using all the resources he has, but we are still far from knowing who exactly this person is.”

Frustration rises in my chest. The Life Stealer is key to our plans to overthrow the Diyeh and restore the rightful heir to the Dragon Throne. Some think he is legend, but even legends have their truths—the last Life Stealer who was known to exist was my great-grandfather, the man who cursed the land.

And the new Life Stealer is the only one who can stop the desert from spreading.

“Shīfù still thinks he’ll be able to convince the Life Stealer to join our side when we find him.”

Tang Wei cocks her head. “But you disagree?”

A kernel of doubt rattles in my mind. The last Life Stealer picked a side in a war and it was the wrong one. No doubt it was the winning side, but it was a choice that led to a century of battles that ravaged entire nations and left affliction on the land.

“I know our history.”

“What will you do when you or Master Sun find the Life Stealer?”

“What Shīfù wants me to do. Work with him to recover the sword of light.”

“Wouldn’t that be giving a tiger wings?” muses Tang Wei. “The Life Stealer is already powerful. With the sword, they’d be capable of untold destruction.”

“I don’t see much of a choice,” I say, and she falls quiet. I need the Life Stealer’s help to find the White Jade Sword, an ancient Tiensai artifact said to repel the darkest of powers. That is the only thing that will drive away the dark magic in our land, and only the Life Stealer can wield it.

“Is that why you seek the Phoenix? A wish granted by a Soul Beast is said to be unbreakable. Are you going to ask for the Life Stealer’s identity or location?”

“No, I’m going to ask for immunity from the Life Stealer’s magic. I’ll track him down and I’ll need an advantage against him should anything go south.”

Tang Wei nods slowly, eyes fixed on my face.

I wonder if she believes me or if she knows I’m lying.

I want that immunity for another reason. I want to kill the Life Stealer.

Sleep doesn’t return after Tang Wei leaves. I open the windows, wincing when one of the rusty hinges gives a muted squeak. The narrow ledge looks firm enough. Stepping out completely, I grab the eaves and pull myself up easily, boots gripping the terra-cotta tiles of the hip and gable roof of the inn.

As a child, I used to climb up to the roofs of the Imperial Palace. Out of sight, I could observe the attendants and other palace officials going about their business. It was a steep and hazardous climb for a chance to be left alone.

But it was worth it.

Thinking back, I only managed to get up each time through sheer grit and a naive lack of fear. Children are not born with the fear of falling. It is life that conditions them to be afraid.