Temptation of the Butterfly, page 18
Fen gave a small laugh and nodded, though she was too shaken up to see much humor in the situation.
“I thought you might, daughter,” the Emperor said. “We found Yuan offering a blood sacrifice. He claims he was calling the ancestors, but the ancestors do not respond to blood. What he called forth was much darker in purpose.”
“The Ancient Way?” Fen asked, frowning. “I thought that was a folktale.”
“All folktales are founded by fact,” Haun said. He would know, as he studied all the secret scrolls. Haun and their parents knew more of the secret history of the planet than anyone.
“It came from the species who lived here before us.” An floated above them. “They killed themselves off in a frenzy of blood sacrifices, murdering anyone, even family, for the power the killing wrought. It was long before our people arrived. But, some did find the caves that housed these horrific cults and learned to harness the power with our own. They found a way to use their own blood to summon those from the past, evil, bloodthirsty spirits. They called their religion The Ancient Way.”
“The caves were sealed shut long ago, their location lost with time,” the emperor said.
“It would seem someone found them.” Jin looked to where Yuan had been dragged off to.
“Shing mentioned Yuan was raised by a religious sect,” Fen offered. “If that’s true, there may be more of them.”
“Father,” Haun asserted. “We should question Yuan. If there are more, they’ll need to be dealt with. We cannot have this knowledge spreading. It can only lead to our demise.”
“I agree,” Shen said.
“Me, too,” Lian added. “What if someone else tries to magically hurt one of us? We should stop the problem before it starts.”
“Maybe you should let me talk to him,” Fen put forth. “If he thinks he loves me, maybe he’ll tell me what we what to know.”
“Fen, no,” Aaron said. “I can’t let you do that.”
“I’ll go with her,” Francesca offered.
The emperor held up his hands. “Francesca, your purpose is much more delicate right now. I will not risk a grandchild for this.”
Francesca frowned, ready to argue. Jin put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head in denial.
“Fen, I don’t like the idea of you going in there, but you may be right,” the emperor said. “Haun, take Shen and Lian with you.”
“I’m going,” Aaron asserted.
The emperor gave a short laugh. “I hardly doubted you’d stay behind.”
“And me?” Jin asked.
“See to your wife,” the emperor said. “You have your hands full with her.”
Francesca giggled, nodding her head in agreement. Jin kissed the tip of her nose and whispered in her ear.
“Now, Fen, listen to me. You have to stay calm. Don’t let him see you getting riled,” Haun said. “This isn’t like reading an ambassador.”
Fen took a deep breath, nodding her head. “I just want this all to be over. I want my life back.” She paused, looking at Aaron. “I want my new life to start.”
Chapter Thirty
“I have done everything to make her happy. I have given of myself and still she denies me. And for what? That peasant at her side? She doesn’t deserve to live. She deserves to be buried beneath the earth, smothered until all breath is stolen from her body. How could she pick him, blessed ancestors, how? After all my patience. Well, no more. I beg you to kill her, blessed ancestors. Make her pay for what she’s done to me. Make her pay for what she’s done to my heart. Kill her, blessed ancestors. Kill her.”
* * *
Fen doubted her bravery as they opened the door to Yuan’s cell. The imperial prisons were more like guest rooms, minus the freedom. A bed was on one side, a small decontaminator on the other. The walls were bare, but there was a silk coverlet on the bed.
Yuan looked up at her as she entered, his eyes wild as he rocked back and forth. One of his wrists had been chained to a bedpost, giving him enough room to get on and off the bed but not go much farther.
“Ye Yuan,” Fen said, comforted by the fact that her brothers were beside her. Aaron lightly touched her back behind her, though he didn’t openly make a move to show affection. They didn’t want to upset Yuan any further than he already was.
“I know why you’re here,” the prisoner said, laughing, a cold, cackling sound. “I know, I know, they told me.”
“Who told you?” Haun asked.
He glared at the man, refusing to answer.
“Who?” Fen kept her voice gentle and dared a step forward.
“They,” he answered.
“Yuan, can you tell us about them? Where did you first see them?” Fen asked. When he tried to look away, she tilted her head to keep his eyes on hers. “Are there more who see them?”
“Shi,” he answered, nodding.
“Do they want to hurt me, Yuan?” Fen asked.
“I only meant to protect you,” he said.
“I know that,” Fen lied, doing her best to remain calm and even-toned. “I know.”
“I failed,” he said.
“How? How did you fail?” She took a step closer, sensing he wasn’t going to hurt her.
“I failed to protect you. It’s too late. It’s too late,” Yuan began to rock back and forth.
“Too late?” Fen glanced at Haun and then Aaron. Her lover’s face was strained, and she knew he wanted nothing more than to grab her and take her away from the prisons.
“It’s too late, Princess,” he said. “They’ve been called to take you.”
Yuan started laughing. He tossed himself back on the bed, rolling slightly in crazy merriment. Fen stumbled back at the sound of it.
“Too late, too late,” he kept repeating. “You didn’t let me finish my ritual, and now it’s too late. I can’t protect you from him.”
The floor beneath her started to shake. Fen took a quick step back. Her brothers braced their hands against the walls. Yuan stopped laughing but he stayed on the bed, his arms to his sides as he stared at her.
Suddenly, a loud crack sounded. The room shook violently, rafters loosening up above. Yuan screamed as the earth opened up beneath the bed. He was chained to the furniture and as it fell, so did he. His yell was cut short as he hit a jagged piece of newly formed cliff.
The crack started to expand, coming for her.
Fen screamed. Haun jumped back as he was cut off from her, trapped in the room. Shen reached his hand out, yelling at Haun to jump. The oldest brother did, but as he landed next to Shen and Lian, all three of them were cut off by another splintering crack.
Aaron grabbed her from behind as she stood frozen in horror.
“Take her and go,” Haun ordered.
Pulling her by the waist, Aaron ran from the room. Fen glanced behind them, screaming as she saw the crack was following her down the hall, as if hungry to suck her down into its depths. It neared her feet. She ran faster. The earth beneath her trembled, opening up. Aaron’s hold on her waist kept her from falling as he jerked her up, pushing her ahead of him through the door to the prisons. Her family waited outside, their faces turning to instant shock at the sudden noise, as if they couldn’t hear what was happening within the prisons.
Fen tripped again. Aaron grabbed her, flinging her forward at the cost of his own footing. She landed on Jin, who instantly grabbed her.
Looking back, she saw Aaron falling backwards into the crevice. It had stopped moving, but that didn’t matter. It was too late.
Fen fought free from Jin’s hold to go to him, but she couldn’t get to him in time.
“Aaron,” she screamed, watching him fall down the impossibly deep cliff into darkness. “No, Aaron!”
Fen was sure her heart stopped beating. She heard commotion behind her, but it didn’t register. She made a move to climb down the cliff after him, not thinking of her own safety. He’d given his life to save her when he could’ve just run away to save himself.
Jin grabbed her arm, pulling her back up. “Fen, no, stop.”
“Haun? Shen? Lian?” the empress cried.
“Fen, what happened?” Jin asked.
Her nose burned with the need to cry and her heart physically ached. Pain ripped through her, worse than anything she’d ever felt. Aaron was gone. No one could survive a fall like that.
Her brothers came from within, standing close to the wall as they moved around the cracked earth. Two guards were with them. Their clothes were dusty and Haun’s hand was bleeding, but other than that, they looked all right.
“Fen, thank the stars,” Shen exclaimed.
“Wait, where’s Aaron?” Lian asked.
Fen was racked with a sob, unable to answer as she pointed downward.
“Oh, Fen, no.” Lian grabbed his chest. He fell to his knees. Haun reached down and with the help of the guard, pulled him away from the crack in the earth before letting him go. Jin still had a hold on Fen’s arm; she tugged, trying to get away.
“Let me go,” Fen yelled. “Let me go. You don’t understand. He might be alive. I have to go see.”
“Fen, I’m sorry.” The empress tried to touch her shoulder, but Fen jerked back.
“You didn’t want me to have him. Well, you got your wish. Are you happy now, Mother?”
“Fen…” Her mother was pale and shaky as she pulled back.
“I’ll go after him,” Haun said.
“No,” their father commanded. “I won’t risk losing my son. I’ll go.”
Fen looked at her father, about to comment that he was too old for something like that, when a soft glow encircled his face. She stared in awe.
“Father?” Fen asked. Her awe was repeated by her siblings.
“How?” Shen asked.
“What?” Lian mumbled.
The emperor looked at the crevice, not answering.
Fen turned, realizing suddenly that the light wasn’t coming from her father, but reflecting off him. The glow came from inside the crack. A low murmur of voices sounded from deep within.
“The Ancient…” Francesca began. “The evil ones are coming up.”
“No, wait,” Fen said, pointing. “Ancestors.”
Faces began to appear in the crevice, forming from the soft glow.
“Grandfather Manchu,” Jin said, also pointing. “Guan-yin and…”
“There are so many of them,” Francesca whispered.
“Our family,” the emperor said.
In the glow, Fen saw a darker movement. Her heart nearly burst as she realized it was Aaron. His dark blue eyes found hers. He looked stunned, but he was alive, carried back to her by her ancestors.
“I thought you could use a little magical assistance of your own,” An said from her side.
“Aaron,” Fen said, smiling as the pain of his loss was replaced by the joy of his survival. Her body ached as she held out her arms to him. His hand touched hers as ancestors started climbing out of the cliff, smiling happily at them as they walked away from the hole, disappearing as if they’d never been there. The murmur of their voices disappeared with them.
“Well, I’d better be off as well,” An said. “We’re all going to celebrate, and you know I hate to miss a celebration.”
“Wait,” the empress said. An turned to her. “Thank you, An, for giving my daughter her heart back.”
The spirit nodded but didn’t answer as she disappeared.
“Aaron,” Fen whispered, as her brothers helped him climb all the way out of the crack. She pulled him to her chest. He grunted in pain.
“Easy,” he whispered, lightly holding her with one arm. “They didn’t catch me right away.”
She eased her hold.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, touching her face.
She shook her head in denial as she looked at him. “Not anymore.”
“I hate to break this up, but something is bugging me,” Haun said. “Before he died, Yuan said he couldn’t protect you from him.”
“So?” Shen asked.
“Him, who?” Haun turned to look at Péng You Hall.
“Shing,” Fen said. “He was trying to protect me from Shing. It makes sense that they’d be raised the same.”
“Guards,” Haun ordered. “Arrest Ye Shing.”
“Can you walk?” Fen asked Aaron. He nodded. “Good, because I’m going to give that chusheng xai-jiao de xiang huo a piece of my fist.”
The empress gasped at her foul language.
Francesca frowned at Jin, “Did she just say…?”
“Oh, yeah, she just did.” Jin nodded.
“Ooo.” Francesca shook her head. “Uh, guards, you might want to rescue Shing instead, because I think the princess is on the warpath.”
Fen marched toward Péng You Hall, livid that Shing could smile to her face, all the time plotting against her.
“Fen, wait,” Aaron ordered, limping along behind her.
“Whoa, Aaron, hold on,” Shen said. “We need to get you a medic.”
“I’ll be fine,” Aaron protested. “Just stop your sister.”
“No thanks, I’d rather take my chances jumping down that crack,” Shen answered. “I’ve never seen her this angry.”
“Fen,” Haun demanded. “Think about what you’re doing.”
“Oh, no, I’m done thinking. Shing thinks he can come here and do this. Besides, he can’t hurt me. He’s out of elements.” Fen pushed into the hall, stopping when she realized she didn’t know which room was his.
It didn’t matter. She saw a door open and Shing poked his head out.
“You,” she growled, going for him. “How dare you.”
“What?” He tilted his head, smiling innocently at her. “Princess, what is wrong?”
“You tried to kill me,” she accused. “And my future husband.”
“What?” he gasped in outrage. “I would never.”
“The only one you succeeded in hurting was your brother, Yuan. He’s dead, Shing. You killed him.” Fen felt her family behind her, giving her strength, but they didn’t interfere. “It’s over, Shing.”
“Yuan is dead?” the man gasped. “I don’t understand. How can you think I’d kill my own brother?”
Fen kicked at his door in her anger. It didn’t open. With a scream of rage, she twisted the latch and slid it open. She went into his room. It was clean, not a thing out of place. A traveling bag was on his bed, latched shut.
“What is all this?” Shing asked. “Emperor, please, what is it you think I’ve done? What has happened to Yuan? What does the princess mean, he is dead?”
“I don’t understand,” Fen said, looking around. She went to his bag, riffling through it. The bag was filled with clothes.
“Princess?” Shing said. She glanced back to see the two guards grabbing him to keep him restrained. He tugged to be free, but they held tight.
“You’re mad that I didn’t choose you, aren’t you, Shing?” she demanded. “Tell me, where is it? Where’s the altar?”
“Altar?” he repeated.
Her brothers entered the room. Shen and Jin helped her look.
“Fen, nothing’s here,” Jin said.
“What are you looking for?” Shing demanded. “What is going on here?”
“Where is the altar, Shing?” Fen asked. “Yuan was trying to protect me from you. He didn’t want me to marry you. Why, if not to protect me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shing said, his eyes hardening as he raised his voice. “I refuse to listen to this. Where is my brother? What have you done to him? I don’t have an altar. I barely pray,” he said.
“Fen,” Haun called. “Stop. I don’t think it’s him.”
“What do you mean?” Fen asked.
“My father and Yuan are the ones with altars,” Shing said. “I don’t want anything to do with their religious fanaticism.”
“Lord Ye?” Fen gasped.
She saw Haun and Aaron take off down the hall, Aaron a little slower as he limped behind. Fen pushed past Shing, who was still restrained. The nobleman fought to be free. Haun and Aaron pushed into Lord He’s room unannounced.
“What?” Lord He screamed. “Get out at once!”
A loud crash sounded. Her mother pulled her arm as she tried to run to see what was happening. Shen, Lian and Jin sprinted past to help. Fen jerked to be free, finally managing to get to the door.
Lian was tapping out fire on the carpet before a long table filled with burning fire pots, knives, basins filled with liquid, and rolled parchments. Lord Ye was dressed in a dark robe, his legs kicking as Haun, Jin and Aaron pinned him down. Aaron yelled in pain as the nobleman kicked him in the ribs. He fell back and Shen was right there to help subdue the man.
Fen tried to go to Aaron but her father grabbed her, holding her back to his chest. Francesca moved to help her husband, but the empress stepped in her way, pushing her back.
“Not with that baby,” she ordered.
“You will all rot,” Lord Ye yelled. “She is my princess. Mine! I’ll kill all who dare to take her.”
“Even me?” Shing asked, pushing past them into the room. He stopped, gaping at the altar. His eyes wide, he turned to the man on the floor. “Yuan was trying to protect me. That’s why he didn’t want me to marry the princess. He knew you’d kill me if I did. That’s why he came with us, isn’t it? You killed him, didn’t you? You killed Yuan.”
“He was trying to bind me,” Lord Ye growled. “After all I did for that sishengzi.”
“How could you?” Shing shook his head. He looked around at the royal family. “I…”
“Shing,” his father warned.
“I wash my hands of him,” Shing said to the emperor. “He is not my father.”
“Shing, I’m sorry,” Fen said, feeling horrible for what she’d accused him of being. With the shame she felt pouring out of him, she knew he wasn’t involved with Lord Ye’s plan. Besides, his own father was plotting to kill him.
Shing opened his mouth but said nothing. He left the room.
“Guards,” the emperor ordered. “Arrest Lord Ye for treason, and make sure you chain him completely until we find a way to deal with him. Lord Ye, you are hereby stripped of your title and privilege.”
