The Way of Things: Upper Kingdom Boxed Set: Books 1, 2 and 3 in the Tails of the Upper Kingdom (136 page)

It is also said that Kaidan,
fabled Kaidan of the Upper Kingdom and his lover the Lightning came out of the
dragon, bringing weapons for the Emperor and gifts for his children, and
bringing with him Ancestors from the Star of Five Tails. It is also said that
while the guards pointed swords and spears and arrows at Kaidan and his
friends, the Emperor himself ran on slippered feet from the balcony and through
the Hall of Celestial Purity down the steps and many corridors of the residence
until he himself raced out into the courtyard. It is also said that the Snow
Guard were confused whether to drop to their knees in the presence of their
Emperor or to redouble their weapons in order to secure his safety. Regardless,
one thing is agreed on and that is the fact that Emperor Hiro Watanabe raced
through those soldiers to embrace Kaidan like a brother and for weeks
afterwards, all of them dined and danced and discussed matters of great
importance. Only then did the dragon take the Ancestors to a new land, leaving
Kaidan and his wife the Lightning in the Forbidden City, for she was with child
and
Chi’Che
n midwives are known throughout the world for their skill.

It is said that eight months
later, Kaidan returned to the Eastern Kingdom with the Lightning and an army of
Nine Thousand warriors of all races—cat, dog and monkey. It was led by a
Shogun-General in blood-red armour and a new Khan from the Lower Kingdom with
his feline wife. They met in
Lha’Lhasa
where all life begins to talk
with the Rising Suns about the coming of Ancestors and what that might mean for
the Kingdoms of the World.

These are the things that are
said and more than this, these are the stories that are sung for they were
written in the Year of peace and tranquility. They were written in the Year of
the Cat. Other stories were written, other songs sung, but those belong in
another book,
The Art of War: A Book of Blood and Bones
written,
naturally, in the Year of the Dragon.

To be continued in

Bones in the Year of the Dragon

Be sure to read the First Two Tails in the
Upper Kingdom:

TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS

By H. Leighton Dickson

Available on Amazon

I
hope you enjoyed this novel. If you did, I would be honoured if you would leave
a review. Chancellor Ho, however, might not be similarly inclined…

http://ow.ly/pQYqA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

H. Leighton Dickson grew
up in the wilds of the Canadian Shield, where her neighbours were wolves,
moose, perennial-eating deer and the occasional lynx. She studied Zoology at
the University of Guelph and worked in the Edinburgh Zoological Gardens in Scotland,
where she was chased by lions, wrestled deaf tigers and fed antibiotics to
Polar Bears by baby bottle! She has been writing since she was thirteen, has
three dogs, two cats, one horse, three kids and one husband. She has managed to
keep all of them alive so far. She is represented by Literary Agent Jennifer
Udden of Donald Maass Agency, New York and is currently at work on COLD STONE
& IVY, a Gothic thriller.

Please visit us at
http://www.hleightondickson.com

 
Or on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/HLeightonDickson