Silver Phoenix (32 page)

S I LV E R P H O E N I X

“We couldn’t wait for you,” Chen Yong said, although he didn’t sound apologetic. She didn’t mind. She wouldn’t have waited either.

She scooted to the end of the bed and picked up a sticky rice ball and bit into it. Sweet things first. The chewy taro paste within had just the right hint of sugar. “Mmm,” she managed with her mouth full.

“I’d be twice my size if I lived here,” Li Rong said.

Ai Ling had another sticky rice ball already stuffed in her mouth. She washed it down with a sip of tea, and then realized both brothers were watching her. She gripped the teacup tight in her hands, not knowing how to express her jumbled thoughts and feelings. “I’m truly grateful you journey with me.”

“This Zhong Ye who has captured your father must be defeated. Besides . . .” Chen Yong waited for her to raise her face before he continued. “I feel as if our fates are somehow intertwined. I’ve felt it from the moment I saw you lying on the edge of that lake . . . and when we met again at the noodle house.”

She looked away. She felt connected to Chen Yong unlike anyone else she had ever known. Was it because he had saved her life? Or because she had slipped into his spirit?

She only nodded, for fear she would squeak if she spoke.

“The Immortals are probably pulling the strings,” Chen Yong said.

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an individual’s fate. That falls within the patterns of life itself. How one’s path crosses or misses another’s is beyond our control,” the Goddess of Records said.

They turned to find the Immortal at the bottom of the pavilion steps. They leaped to their feet, the young men bowing low.

“But I thought you said I was chosen, Lady, to defeat Zhong Ye,” Ai Ling said. She spoke without thought, and felt foolish for speaking as she would to her companions.

She felt even more awkward with her mussed hair.

The Goddess smiled with all three faces. She waved one pale hand, indicating that they should sit. “It wasn’t so much that you were chosen for the task, Ai Ling. But rather, you volunteered for it—more than two centuries past—while you dwelled in the underworld, waiting to enter your next life. This life.”

Ai Ling closed her mouth after she realized it had dropped open. She turned to Chen Yong and he blinked, looking as surprised as she felt. Apparently, rashness transcended lifetimes.

“Two centuries?” she fi nally managed.

“It is an unusually long time in the underworld. I think your former incarnation was biding her time, gathering her strength,” the Goddess said.

The phoenixes emerged from behind a flowering hedge and ambled toward the pavilion. The Goddess sat down gracefully on a jade step. “The sea dragon will take you 178

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to the Mountain of Eternal Prayer. It hovers in the clouds, between your realm and ours. This is where the Lady in White resides.”

She stretched long fingers toward the two birds. Ai Ling saw that her fingernails were perfectly manicured, and that she wore pointed gold finger covers over the last fingers of her right hands. The Immortal leaned forward, the lavender silk of her gown cascading around her feet like liquid, and fed the birds purple berries, which had magically appeared in two palms. The stiff collars of the gown showed off her graceful necks, the material embroidered with a thousand blooming chrysanthemums. “The sea dragon awaits outside the gates, when you are ready. May good fortune keep you.”

She shimmered out of view.

“We should go. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I would prefer not to arrive at night,” Ai Ling said fi nally.

Chen Yong and Li Rong nodded in solemn agreement.

They gathered their belongings and wound their way past the pagoda where they had first met the Goddess of Records.

No one was seated at the long table. They walked past the magnifi cent trees that had greeted them when they entered the gardens. The sun shone as brightly as before, the sky bluer than ever. Ai Ling glanced over her shoulder, feeling a heaviness as she walked closer to the red door. Why had her previous incarnation—she almost laughed at the thought—

given herself to such a task? Should she take the word of the Goddess? She was in danger, and so were her friends.

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Li Rong walked beside her, and Chen Yong strode a little ahead, as he always seemed to. “Thank you again for coming with me,” she said.

His expression was serious. Then the boyish mischief returned and he grinned widely. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Imagine the stories I can tell, the women I can impress after this fantastic adventure.”

Ai Ling smiled. Li Rong could make even the task of sending someone to his grave feel lighthearted.

With a soft touch, Chen Yong pushed the massive red doors open. The sea dragon was waiting, stretched out to its full length. Its beautiful green, blue, and turquoise scales were dazzling in the sun. Ai Ling walked with lighter steps, as if she too had cloud wisps clinging to her feet. She approached the creature first, and it bowed its head, inviting her to climb onto its back. Li Rong and Chen Yong climbed on behind her.

The dragon ran on its short muscular legs, then bounded into the air, riding the winds. The blue of the heavens spanned forever.

“I hope it isn’t too far away,” Ai Ling said, not knowing if Li Rong, sitting with his hands on her waist, could hear her with the wind singing in their ears.

She looked down and saw nothing but a thick bank of storm clouds. She glanced behind, in search of the Mountain of Heavenly Peace, but encountered only sky. She would never walk in the Immortals’ gardens again. The thought brought regret tinged with relief.

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She could not say how long they traveled, but the next thing she knew, she woke with her cheek pressed to the spine of the dragon and a crick in her neck. She had fallen asleep, and the weight of Li Rong’s head on her back told her he had done the same. Ai Ling slowly straightened and glanced behind her. Li Rong opened his eyes, yawning.

Chen Yong’s hands rested on his brother’s shoulders as he scanned the skyline, alert.

The dragon began descending through the bank of ominous clouds. The air turned cold and dank, and she shivered. After a long moment, they emerged below the clouds, and she saw a jagged mountain. It appeared to drift in midair, composed only of rocks the color of tar. She had never seen a black mountain peak before—devoid of any living thing.

The Lady in White lived on this barren pile of sawtoothed rock? Where was her palace? Not even a small hut graced the summit. Her stomach knotted with anxiety, and she leaned back into Li Rong, seeking comfort. His grip around her waist tightened just a fraction, as if he sensed her fear—

or felt his own. The warmth of his hands calmed her, and she smiled, grateful for his company.

Picking up speed, the dragon flew to the flat peak, the only even terrain on the entire mountain, and landed with a gentle glide. Ai Ling climbed off its back and stroked its sleek side in gratitude.

Chen Yong and Li Rong dismounted. The dragon bowed 181

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its head low before leaping into the air and disappearing within the dark clouds. They were silent for a moment, their faces turned to the sky. Ai Ling wrapped her arms around herself. She wished the dragon had stayed.

“Where’s this Lady we seek?” Li Rong said aloud what they all wondered. The air was damp with drizzle, and it was diffi cult to gauge the time of day.

“Look there,” Chen Yong said, pointing, his body tense.

Ai Ling followed his gaze and saw that the light mist that swirled about seemed to leave a wide circular space empty before them. She squinted; something wavered, a sheen of white. She blinked, and the illusion was lost.

“I can’t see anything,” Li Rong said.

“There’s something here, hidden from view,” Chen Yong said.

Ai Ling walked toward the empty space, through the mist spiraling at its edges. A wall shimmered again, rounded and smooth like that of a tower, reflecting her image. She paused, stunned. Her figure warped and vanished. She reached out and walked to where she had seen her image. Her fingers touched cold, smooth stone.

“Ai Ling!” Chen Yong’s voice was tight with warning.

She jerked her hand back. Clear crystal crackled where she had touched. The cracks spread like fissured ice, thrusting upward and around, until a giant tower glimmered before them. The tower’s thick quartz wall was both clear and milky, revealing nothing within.

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