BOOK 5: CHAPTER 42

Fia clapped her hands excitedly as Bryce beamed a giggle filled smile at her while on all fours. Her mother, Rhi Dong, clapped with her, encouraging little Bryce to craw across the wooden floor of the dining room to them.

“Come on, Bryce!” Fia said, coaxing him with more hand claps. “You can do it. Come!”

He laughed and giggled instead, rocking back and forth like it was a joke.

“Why wont he crawl, auntie?” Su Ling asked, sounding worried. “My mama said I was crawling by now.”

Fia shot a fake scowl at Yu Li. “What have you been telling her?”

Yu Li waved her hands in defense. “Nothing, nothing.”

Kel Zhi stood in the corner of the room looking nonplussed. “Well, it is Max’s kid after all. He’s slow at a lot of stuff, but when he gets it. He gets it.”

“I can attest to that,” Yu Li said.

Fia huffed out a sigh. “You two aren’t helping.”

“That’s because they are young and impatient,” Rhi Dong said. “You were close to this age when you crawled, Fia. And you were walking soon after. Before you know it, this boy will be taking cultivation lessons with his big cousin, Su Ling.”

“Yay!” Su Ling shouted, throwing her little hands in the air. “I get to spar with Brycie!”

“Not spar!” Yu Li said. “Practice. He’s still just a baby.”

“Exactly,” Kel Zhi said. “He’ll have plenty of time to toughen up.” She then crouched down to ruffle the mop of black hair on Bryce’s head. “You wait until you can train with Auntie Kel Zhi. The spirit beasts will be running for cover then.”

Kel Zhi picked the baby up, stood him on his feet and began moving his arms back and forth in a punching motion. “Pow! Pow! Pow!”

That had them all laughing, with little Bryce even more so.

Inwardly though, Fia feared that something was indeed wrong with him. He seemed normal and healthy, but that symbol on his neck had grown more pronounced with each month. She tried to ignore it most of the time, but Kel Zhi, like clockwork, would remind her to stay away from the barrier’s edge as soon as the sun dipped low. The thought reminded her to check the window, and sure enough the orange hues of sunset were already mixing with the reddish glow of the rising Bloodmoon.

“Better get supper started,” Fia said as she bounced to her feet.

“I’ll bathe him,” Rhi Dong offered.

“Can I help?” Su Ling asked.

“Yes. You can fetch the water.”

“Okay!” Su Ling said excitedly and immediately ran to Yu Li. “Come help me, mama! I need to get water for nainai!”

Yu Li sighed and laughed. “This one is a lot to keep up with. I can’t wait till Bryce gets old enough for them to play together. Then we can all finally get a break.”

Fia chuckled at that and joined Yu Li in venturing outside to fetch some firewood for the stove. The village was winding down with the sun, farmers returning from the fields with cooking fires guiding them home. She waved to her neighbors, including Kel Zhi’s mother who already looked busy cooking an evening meal herself. ṚἁŊỔꞖΕS

Fia wondered what she would cook for today. A chicken stew perhaps, with pulled noodles or dumplings? Or some cured pork might be nice for a change. It was a stark contrast from her days in the imperial city where meals came prepared by trained chefs, but she had to admit, she enjoyed it now. It felt good to cook for her family.

She only wished they were a family complete now.

Fia tried not to think about Max most days, or at least, not the struggles he had before him. She had toughed out his tour of the Hell Worlds. Certainly, she could survive this. A few more months and they would be together, hopefully.

She could almost hear the sound of the skiff landing on the Skyport bringing him home.

Then suddenly she realized the sound was real.

For a second her heart jumped.

Max?

Fia looked to the sky and saw a silhouette growing in the distance. It was definitely a skiff, with the tell-tale hum of Qi-stones propelling it at high speed. Her mother must have heard it as well and ventured outside the house to join her along with Kel Zhi.

“Who is it?” Rhi Dong asked, swaddling Bryce in a towel.

“I don’t know,” Fia said.

More people gathered as the skiff approached, following it towards the village square. Fia ran along with them, eager to see if it was Max or not. But why would he travel using a skiff if so?

Unless…

New thoughts stirred, sending her stomach roiling with anxiety and dread. She almost didn’t want to know if such were the case. But she pressed on regardless, taking Bryce from her mother as she hurried towards the square.

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She arrived just in time to see three people disembarking from the skiff. There was Jian Yi along with her father, Master Hei Dong, as well as the tall, sullied warrior Tu’loc. She almost didn’t want to know why they had risked to come via skiff like this, but she ran to them, blurting it out anyway.

“What’s happened?” she cried. “What’s happened to Max?”

“Easy girl, its alright,” Hei Dong said quickly. “Max is fine. Correct?”

Her father looked to Tu’loc and he nodded.

“Max is well, but that’s not why I have come,” Tu’loc said. “Where is Kel Zhi?”

“I’m here! What’s going on?”

As Kel Zhi stepped forward, Tu’loc reached into his robes and handed her what looked like a letter. “Max said you would understand what this says and would tell us what we need to do.”

“We had to come urgently,” Hei Dong said. “It’s why we risked taking the skiff. What does it say Kel Zhi?”

Kel Zhi was still studying the sheet of paper, furrowing her brow.

“Oh wow,” she said. “I think we’re all going to have to sit down for this one.”

* * *

Ten minutes later they had all gathered about Kel Zhi, eagerly awaiting the contents of the letter. Kel Zhi conferred with her mother and some of the other native Terrans a few times, conversing in their native tongue as they deciphered the letter.

“Sorry,” Kel Zhi said finally, in Yee again. “Max must have been in a rush because his handwriting was way worse than usual, and its normally bad on a good day. He used a lot of shorthand too. Like numbers for words and stuff, but anyway here is the gist of it.”

She took a deep breath and then began reading aloud. “Kel Zhi, I need you to bring Fia, Bryce and Master Hei Dong and Mother Dong to the core worlds in time for the date of my trial. It will be about a week away when you get this. Use the Omni Gate. The trial will be on the core world of Luxor. It has to be secret. Ask Master Hei Dong to set it all up. Lunalah is going to announce our engagement when I win the trial. Right before she does, you need to reveal yourselves as being alive. Say you hid in the tunnels and were trapped for months. When Hei Dong found you, he rushed to Luxor to let me know. I’m going to play dumb. Act like it’s a miracle. If we do it right, Lunalah will have no choice but to accept I’m going to marry my first love over her. It will be a shit show. Trust me. But once we do it, we will be safe from her messing with us after that because the whole world will know the truth.”

Kel Zhi paused as she ended the letter and looked up.

“That’s all it says.”

A cacophony of questions erupted as everyone tried to speak at once.

“Okay stop!” Fia said standing. “One at a time. Kel Zhi you sure everything is translated correctly?”

Kel Zhi looked at the paper again and nodded. “Pretty much word for word. He of course reminded me to personally look after Bryce and avoid the Bloodmoon and stuff but that’s normal. I think he really wants you to piss on Princess Luanlah’s engagement in a big way.”

“That will incur wrath like we’ve never seen before,” Rhi Dong said. “The woman is unstable. She may well kill everyone in the assembly out of spite!”

More murmurs started then.

Fia sighed. “Father, what do you think?”

Master Hei Dong cradled his chin while staring off into the distance, his mind at work.

“Well…I admit, it is rather dramatic,” he said. “But such has worked once before.”

“What?” Fia said. “Worked when? With who?”

“With the two of you,” Hei Dong said with a chuckle. “Do you not recall your own trial, Fia? You and Max shocked the hell out of all of us. But, when it’s out there in the open like that, what can one do? It’s a bold move, one that will instantly anger the princess for certain. But in front of the High Council and her peers, what could she do? She would look like a fool to do anything but graciously accept the fact that Max has been reunited with his true love.”

“Yes, but she’s the one who tried to kill me, remember?” Fia said.

“I didn’t say it would be easy for her to accept, but in the public eye she would look petty if she were to lash out.”

“What about her face?” Rhi Dong said. “And what would her mother, the Empress think? Surely, they would not see it as anything but an insult considering all they have done for Max thus far.”

Hei Dong blew out a huff. “That will all boil down to how Max will handle it on the day. If he can convince them all that it’s genuine and not some sham, he may stand a chance. Humbly ask her pardon, perhaps. I truly hope he won’t mess it up.”

Everyone sighed deflated at that.

“But then again, he would be a Duke by that time, no?” Jian Yi said, interjecting a bit of hope. “Did you not say Tu’loc?”

The big man nodded. “The Councilman set it all up. It he liberates that dark world they will make him a Duke.”

“Ah! I see now,” Hei Dong said excitedly. “The playing field would be more than level then. He wouldn’t be as a mere subject to her anymore. Or even the empress. He would be as one of their peers. Albeit a slightly lesser one, but true royalty nonetheless. Max is more clever than I thought with this plan.”

“But won’t she still try to kill Fia again anyway?” Kel Zhi said. “Even out of spite like Mother Dong said?”

“Who knows?” Hei Dong shrugged. “But she wouldn’t be able to do so right away. And then after you are married to Max, you’d be off limits. You’d be a Dutchess. I see the wisdom in Max’s plan, but it will mean us getting to the core worlds and to that trial somehow.”

“Won’t you know how to get us there?” Fia asked.

Hei Dong looked downward in thought a moment. “It won’t be easy. Especially to keep you hidden. I’ll need to find some help once we get there. How much time do we have again?”

“About ten days now,” Tu’loc said.

Hei Dong nodded. “We shall use the time to prepare. I will send letters to some associates beforehand.”

Hope sprang in Fia’s heart but along with it came a subtle dread. “Will Bryce be alright for a journey like this? The mark…”

“So long as we travel outside of a Bloodmoon we should be fine,” Kel Zhi said. “If there was some danger Max would have said. Plus, I always have this to protect him.” Kel Zhi Brandished her axe. “It will keep us all safe from the Bloodmoon. It’s why he needs me to come as well.”

Fia could not sense any power from the Axe, but Max had explained before that it had properties that could ward off Demonic Qi. After spending seven months protecting her child from leaving the barrier, suddenly taking him across the stars seemed an impossible journey.

But that was what Max needed.

What they all needed to be finally protected as a family.

“I suppose we have to take the risk,” Fia said. “If this is the plan Max has set, we need to be there when he needs us.”

A new sense of determination filled her heart.

“Let’s get to work then,” Fia said. “We can’t get back to the city until morning, but we can spend all nigh planning from now. Let’s go cook some supper.”

* * *

In the darkness of Its prison, It stirred.

Something approached.

The husk?

It extended Its senses from the void, calling on the Chainmaiden’s power.

Through the apertures It saw.

The foul Husk had glimpsed It here once before.

A violation of Its domain.

And now it had come further.

Seeking Its destruction.

It sensed the Husk’s strength.

It had multiplied greatly.

Foul, Cursed Flame… Thou dost seek to undo all of thine master’s Greater Will?

But It would not allow such to prevail.

It had influenced the Firmament before to face the Husk, but through weakened vessels of charred sinew and bone.

Now the Husk had come to Its domain.

To face It with its own presence…its own power.

Its true power.

And It would face the Husk in kind.