Mark Chadbourn - The Burning Man

The Hu Hsien halted in surprise. Their uncertainty turned to unease as the Guei tramped in, bowing to Veitch. He moved past the first of the Hu Hsien, taking off its head with a slice so fast Church barely saw it. A second Hu Hsien fell just as quickly, disembowelled.

The rest of the Hu Hsien adopted fighting stances. Veitch gave a weary sigh. ‘All right, let’s do it.’ He made a summoning gesture.

The Guei fell on the occupants of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Badly injured, Church lay in the growing pool of his own blood as the first cries of, ‘I see shadows!’ rose up. The Hu Hsien were the first to fall, their fighting prowess useless against the weight of numbers. Next, the members of the court were rapidly dismembered as they attempted to flee for the doors. Even when they returned to their true hideous forms they were shown no mercy.

As the frenzied slaughter died down, Church saw Veitch on the throne, his sword at the throat of the King of Foxes.

‘See, mate, your watchdogs have a new master.’

Only when Church saw the terror in eyes of the King of Foxes did he realise the extent of the power Veitch wielded.

‘Now,’ Veitch said calmly, ‘you need to tell me the location of the Second Key.’

‘The great city,’ the King of Foxes shrieked. ‘New York!’

‘Where in New York?’

‘On the great island at the heart of the great city in the shadow of the towers. The Key is a boy who walks with a girl who has killed and will kill again. They are guarded by a man who stands on the brink of ending his days, for he is cursed to remember all the stories. And the word that binds them to their spot is “empire”.’

‘Give me something solid.’

‘That is all I know!’

‘Yeah? Okay.’

Veitch sliced his blade across the King of Foxes’ neck, only the slightest cut, but the black fire roared into it. The King of Foxes went rigid as the cold flames consumed him from within. A moment later he was just a sheath of skin that slid slowly down to the floor.

Veitch put away his sword and splashed through the gory soup that now covered the floor. He stood over Church, who was fighting to stay conscious.

‘I should chop you into chunks, finally get it over and done with here and now. But … I’m not going to do that. I gave my word and I’m an honourable man.’ Subterranean emotions flickered across his face.

‘Don’t do this, Ryan.’ Church tried to ignore the pain. ‘There’s nothing to be gained by destroying everything.’

‘That shows how much you know. The whole thing is a mess. There’s no point to it. No meaning to all the pain. Better to wipe it away and give someone else a chance.’

He stepped over Church and walked towards the door.

A lake of blood surrounded Church. He could feel every laboured beat of his heart.

‘You’re not going to die,’ Veitch said. ‘Not here. It won’t let you. But at least you’ll get a taste of it, just so you know what I’ve been through.’

He gave Church one last, curious look, and then he was gone.

As the Guei trooped off in their grim procession, Shavi grabbed Ruth and hugged her joyfully.

‘I am so glad you are well,’ he said. ‘We were all worried Veitch would hurt you.’

‘He hasn’t hurt me.’ Ruth wallowed in Shavi’s hug. ‘In fact, he helped save my life.’

‘Church will be so pleased to see you. He has been broken-hearted, though he has striven to hide it from the rest of us-’

‘I’m not coming back with you, Shavi.’

Shavi slowly released himself from the hug.

‘I’m going with Veitch.’

After the embrace, the flicker of betrayal across Shavi’s face was doubly stinging.

‘I made him swear that he wouldn’t kill Church, or any of you,’ she said hurriedly. ‘The price I had to pay for that was that I’d stay with him.’

She was aware of Tom watching her intensely.

‘He’s done some terrible things, but the good Ryan we all remember — he’s still inside. I know he is. And if I can reach that part of him … save him … then I’ll have done some good.’ She looked from face to face. ‘Won’t I?’

‘Oh, you want to save him,’ Tom said sardonically. ‘No other reason at all.’

‘What are you saying?’ Ruth snapped.

Tom only smiled.

‘Come,’ Shavi urged. ‘The ghosts may have gone, but they could be back at any moment.’

As he led the way through the Gate of Heavenly Purity, Ruth sensed a barrier between them and that hurt her more than she could have believed.

The palace had double eaves and was set on a white marble platform. A raised walkway led from the gate to the door.

‘Nine bays wide,’ Shavi counted. ‘Five bays deep. Did the Chinese understand the underlying pattern of Existence before anyone else?’

‘Just open the door,’ Tom said. ‘Are you sure this is the place?’

‘Yes. I sense restrained power.’

As Ruth crossed the threshold, a familiar energy coursed down her spine. An atmosphere of cathedral-like sanctity and the burned-iron odour of the Blue Fire lay within. The tip of her spear flickered with ghostly sapphire flames. Even Tom allowed himself a brief smile.

Their footsteps rang off the marble floor. A sumptuous design of red, gold and black covered the walls. In the centre of the palace, on an elaborately carved platform, stood a throne and a desk. Set into the roof was another caisson featuring a coiled dragon, and above the throne hung a tablet marked with Chinese characters.

‘I wonder what it means,’ Ruth said.

‘It says “Justice and Honour”.’ The familiar voice rang out across the room.

‘Someone’s let the genie out of the bottle again.’ Tom sniffed.

Ruth approached the throne. When she stood directly before it, blue flames leaped from her spear, soaring up ten feet into the air. Lines of fire rushed out from the throne, criss-crossing the floor before rising up to form a pyramidal structure of lines of force, centred on the grand chair. The breath caught in Ruth’s throat as a figure faded in and out of the flames crackling over the throne.

‘Hal?’ she said.

‘More pithy comments,’ Tom said sourly. ‘I am all ears.’

Laughter rippled out from the fire. ‘Hello, Tom, Shavi, Ruth. I’m here because you’ve reached a really important juncture in the proceedings. Frankly, from this point on it could go either way. It’s all down to you — and the others, of course.’

‘So it’s a pep talk, is it?’ Tom muttered.

‘Why is this moment so important?’ Shavi asked.

‘You’ll see shortly. Suffice it to say, the balance of power is about to shift dramatically. You’ve done well to get here-’

‘Well?’ Ruth said. ‘I died-’

‘But you’re alive now.’

‘We were forced to split up. Church and Veitch are on the brink of killing each other …’

Hal was silent for a moment, and Ruth had the oddest feeling he was smiling at her words.

‘And now you’re here,’ he said, ‘in the Forbidden City, above one of the most important nodes of the Blue Fire, part of a network of subterranean energy that flows across south-east Asia. Now why do you think events led you here? Happenstance? Coincidence?’

Shavi smiled. ‘There are no coincidences.’

‘A prize for the mystic with the dodgy eye. Let’s review a few things, shall we? Here, the dragon has always been paramount. Of all the three hundred and sixty scaly creatures in the hierarchy of Chinese myth, the dragon was at the top of the list. And it was always linked with chi — the spiritual energy that runs through the body, as seen in the meridians of acupuncture — and through the land. Man and world, both linked by the Fabulous Beast. How important was the dragon? It was one of the four animals chosen to symbolise the cardinal points. The dragon got the east. It stood for sunrise, spring and life. The white tiger got the west — death. We all know the Land of the Dead lies where the sun sets.