He raised up his sword to have at me, and then the demon sword began to tremble. The Hamunri stepped back, bewildered, and suddenly the Imperior shouted, "Kill him! Quickly! That's no ordinary tachi blade! He's discovered k.u.magatu, the demon sword! I should have recognized it immedi--!"

And that was all he had the time to say before the blade twisted and bent back upon itself and thedemon Aulhel broke loose once more.

The others were astounded, shocked, brought their weapons up and tried to engage in combat without having a clear idea of what they were facing. I, however, knew, and was already one step ahead of them. I charged forward as they were distracted by the hissing, spitting demon, and I brought my walking staff up and around and slammed it into the nearest of the soldiers who were holding Mitsu. He staggered, and the moment his grip was less than firm upon her, Mitsu yanked her arm completely free and slammed an elbow into the face of the guard on the other side.

The right half of her body was free, and then the Hamunri who had been endeavoring to hold her captive released her as they grabbed for their swords. I didn't have to see why. I knew.

The demon unleashed a bellow of undiluted rage and then he was upon them. Even as he proceeded to shred them in his customary unstoppable manner, I was shoving Mitsu toward the door. It was imperative I get her out of the room before the demon spotted her, or I was going to have to do everything I could to haul him off her before he sliced her to ribbons. And I didn't want to bank on my being able to stop him.

Mitsu barely resisted. She was watching the berserk demon in shocked horror. My back was to him, but I could hear the rending and tearing and screams, and could imagine what she was witnessing. At the last moment, just when I had her to the door, she started to push back.

"You have to get out!" I shouted at her to make myself heard over the shrieks and howls and dying.

"If he sees you in here, you're dead!"

"But--!"

"No buts!"

"My father! You have to save him! I need him!"

Mixed signals, thy name was Mitsu.

"No promises!" I told her, and slammed the door in her face. Then I turned to see what the damage was, just as Go Nogo's head rolled up to my feet. I didn't hesitate, taking the opportunity to swing my good left foot and kick the head halfway across the room.

Then I turned to see the demon's progress.

As always, the Slojinn had been thorough.

Pieces of the Hamunri were everywhere. The room was a literal bloodbath. At that moment, Aulhel was holding an unfortunate, screaming soldier over his head, gripping him by the right leg and the left arm.

With one fierce pull, he ripped the soldier apart and then used the leg of the man he'd just dismembered to club another into submission.

Then he turned and faced the Imperior.

The Imperior had gone deathly pale, his back up against the chair, but his face was a mask of concentration. He had his hands in front of him, his fingertips facing one another, and he was speaking quickly in a tongue I did not understand. Blue crackling energy was jumping from one hand to the other,and suddenly he flung open his hands and the energy leaped across the room and crashed into Aulhel.

For an instant a look of triumph appeared on the Imperior's face, but then the Slojinn was on his feet, and he growled, "Your s.h.i.+ is weak, sorcerer. Look at you. You can barely stand."

Aulhel was correct. And not only that, but the Imperior looked measurably older than he had moments ago. His face more wrinkled, his eyes more sunken. His hands trembling, he tried to mount a defense, but it clearly was going to do no good. Aulhel advanced on him, his long pointed talons clicking together in antic.i.p.ation.

"Save me!" screamed the Imperior.

I considered it coolly and decided I was not so inclined.

Aulhel lashed out and the Imperior fell back, desperately trying to avoid the Slojinn's attack. He turned to run, and Aulhel's talons raked across his back, tearing through his elaborate robes and hitting flesh and bone beneath. The Imperior screamed and fell, hitting the floor hard, blood welling up upon his back, and Aulhel moved in for the kill.

Suddenly there was an earsplitting screech, and Mordant dove down from overhead. He whipped around, getting between the Slojinn and the Imperior, and darted at Aulhel's face. Aulhel let out a scream of rage and lashed out at Mordant, trying to catch him. The drabit was fast, however. He swept in, slicing fast with his claws fully extended. Aulhel swept an arm around, almost caught him, but missed.

"Mordant, get out of here!" I shouted.

"No!" Mordant cried. "We need the Imperior alive--unhhh!!!"

That last outcry was because, as fast as Mordant was, Aulhel was faster. The demon had snagged Mordant, and it was only going to be a moment's work for him to rip the drabit's head free of his neck.

"Dammit!" I muttered even as I held the sword tightly and shouted, "I don't care!"

Aulhel let out a furious howl and staggered as magicks swept from the hilt, trying to re-form him into the sword. He released Mordant and turned to face me, and he snarled, "I warned you once, boy! You keep trying to use a few words to bottle up forces that you've unleashed! It doesn't work that way! The forces of nothingness are not yours to tamper with at your whim! I am ultimate destruction, boy! You cannot toy with nihilism, nor dabble with the abyss, for sooner or later, it will swallow all, whole! Whole!"

And then there was roaring and howling of wind that sent me cras.h.i.+ng to the floor. My breath was heavy in my chest, and I wasn't sure, but I thought I'd gone slightly--although, ideally, only temporarily--deaf.

I lay there panting, trying to catch my breath, and looked across the room to see the Imperior lying there, not appearing in particularly good shape. I didn't think he was going to make it. At that moment, I didn't give a d.a.m.n.

Mordant was lying on the ground near me. He looked a bit battered, but otherwise he was fine. His eyes glowed as he looked at me. "Thanks," he said.

"'Twas no problem," I lied. The door to the room was shoved open and Mitsu entered quickly. She ran toward Mordant, picked him up, and cradled the banged-up drabit in her arms. She looked at the Imperior, with the blood covering his back, and screamed, "Father! Oh, no! No!"

Then she looked down at me and kicked me in the small of the back.

"Ow!" I yelled in protest. "Was that really necessary?"

"I told you to protect my father!"

"Well," and I hauled myself to my feet, "I was unaware I took orders from Princess Spits-In-My-Face! The only reason your father is still drawing air into his lungs at all is because I sent the demon back so he wouldn't kill Mordant. My sympathies are not with dear old daddy at the moment."

"We don't need your sympathies," said Mordant. "We need your help."

"There's only one healer in all of Chinpan who can help him now," Mitsu said. "Veruh w.a.n.g Ho."

"You can't be serious," I said. "She'll never come here."

"We can bring him to the n.o.ble Ho. There are ways out of here," she said, her voice growing increasingly desperate-sounding.

"Secret ways that I've used to get in and out. The n.o.ble Ho will be able to cure him. To--"

"Why?" I demanded. "Tell me why. I deserve to know. Why in the world should we be going out of our way to help this... this so-called ruler."

"For me," said Mordant. "I need you to help him for me."

"For you?" I was lost. "Why for you, Mordant? What interest does he have for--"

"He's my lover!" Mitsu cried out.

"Hus.h.!.+" Mordant snapped at her. "You promised--!"

I was appalled. I looked at the fallen Imperior and then at Mitsu.

"Your father is your lover? G.o.ds, that... that is the most horrible, hideous--"

"Not my father, you idiot!" Mitsu shouted, and cuffed me in the side of the head. "Him!" And she pointed at Mordant.

I stared at her blankly, convinced she'd lost her mind.

And then I realized. It all snapped into place.

"Oh... my G.o.ds," I said. "Oh my dear G.o.ds. You," and I pointed with a trembling finger at Mordant.

"You're... you're the peasant boy. The boy from the marketplace. The one Mitsu said she fell in love with. You... you were human..." "Of course I was human!" Mordant said, immensely irritated.

"I'm a talking dragon, for G.o.ds' sake! Have you ever met any talking animal in your life?"

"Well... no..."

"And it never once occurred to you to ask me how I was able to converse with you? Not even once?"

"I just... I thought you were magic. Once I accepted the notion that you were magic, anything seemed possible. So I... I..."

"Apropos," sighed Mordant, "for someone who fancies himself to be exceptionally intelligent, you can be astoundingly stupid sometimes."

"I told you my father was a powerful wizard," Mitsu said. "When he discovered my true love, he called up a deep and powerful curse and placed it upon him." She walked quickly over to her father and knelt, examining his wounds. "He transformed my beloved into what you see here, and sent him away...

far, far away. But he came back to me...."

"Took a while. A couple of years," said Mordant.

"But why didn't you tell me?" I demanded.

"Because although my father unleashed the curse, he didn't know what sort of animal my love had been changed into," said Mitsu.

"We didn't want to take any chance that he might find out...." Sheshook her head as she looked up, her face getting pale. "We have to hurry. We have to bring him to Veruh w.a.n.g Ho. He is the only one who can remove the curse upon my beloved. If that doesn't happen..."

"You're a drabit forever," I guessed.

Mordant nodded dourly. "Not a bad fate if you're born this way. Somewhat unfortunate if you once possessed another form."

"All right, fine!" I growled. "Let's get out of here. But with something slightly less noticeable than the bloodied body of the ruler of all Chinpan."

It was but the work of a moment to tear down a tapestry and wind the Imperior up in it. He was in no shape to protest, his head lolling and looking deathly pale.

With the Imperior obscured from sight, I said, "All right, let's get out of here. Do you know where Veruh w.a.n.g Ho can be found?"

"The n.o.ble Ho will meet us in Darktown," said Mitsu, and I immediately took that to mean the section of the city we'd been to before, with the overhanging roofs and the sense of perpetual blackness.

"How do you know she'll be there?" "I'll make certain of it," said Mordant. "Although my guess is that Ho'll know before I even get there."

And with that, he leaped skyward and flapped out of the room. I was sure it would take him no more than a minute to find a window and be on his way to wherever it was he was going to go.

"My love is right. The n.o.ble Ho has eyes and ears everywhere," she a.s.sured me. "By the time we're approaching the dwelling of the Anais Ninjas, the n.o.ble Ho will be prepared for us."

Which was fine, of course, for those whose loyalty to the Forked Tong and its a.s.sociate members was unquestioned. For one such as me, however, I was concerned over the likelihood of my life being extended much beyond its current measure.

"Do not concern yourself," said Mitsu as we headed down the hallway, with a bloodstained tapestry slung over my shoulder.

"Nothing useful ever came out of worrying."

"Sudden death," I said.

Mitsu stared at me. "How is sudden death useful?"

"Better than a slow, lingering death."

I just hoped I'd never have the opportunity to compare methods.

Chapter 3.

Hidden Draggin'

I never thought he would survive the trip.

I'm not sure how he managed it. We're talking about an elderly man, badly wounded by a demon creature, wrapped up inside a tapestry and hauled across the length of Taikyo. I kept waiting for him to wake up, to shout for help. But he didn't. Which then led me to start worrying that when we eventually unwrapped him, he would be a corpse tumbling out.

We went straight to my quarters where I packed my things within seconds. I'd gotten rather skilled at that. Someone like me had to be prepared to depart a place at a moment's notice, since I never knew when someone might be coming to kill me. I didn't know for sure if I was going to be returning to the palace or not, and better to play it safe. "All right," I said when I was ready. "Which way?"

"This way," she said, and headed over toward one of the panels of the wall. Mitsu certainly knew what she was talking about when it came to hidden pa.s.sages. Apparently they had been there long before her father became Imperior. They had been built by predecessors who were trying to antic.i.p.ate a time when they might have to leave as quickly as possible, because of either invasion from without or uprising from their own people. I wasn't entirely surprised. The castle of King Runcible had had similar secret pa.s.sages, constructed for much the same reasons. It was intriguing that those who were ostensibly the most powerful individuals in the land always seemed to fear for their lives and plan for escapes. Whereas the least powerful individuals in the land resided in single-room huts and were quite content to do so, going to sleep every night in relative peace. Not easy to determine, when considering that, who was truly in charge of their own destinies.

The princess had discovered a moving panel on the wall of her room when she was very young, and from that point on had used the secret pa.s.sages to explore the palace and go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. It was one of the few things about her life that ever made her feel powerful. She would sit and watch her father's meetings from hiding and be smug over never being seen. And on several occasions, she witnessed dark rituals her father performed, and they chilled her and frightened her and made her realize just what it was she was dealing with.

"Even before I saw him performing the rituals, I would know after the fact he had done one," she told me as we moved like ghosts through the walls. "He would age."

"Age?"

She nodded. "The magicks he channeled were so powerful that they would drain life energy from his body. He would dispose of enemies, achieve alliances... transform people when he desired to make their lives a living h.e.l.l," she added grimly. "But it would always take something out of him. That's why he did it less and less as time wore on. My father looks so old to your eyes, does he not. Ancient, even. That's deceptive. In terms of how many years he's been in this world, he's not really all that old."

We descended a long, narrow stairway that was hewn directly into the rock. It led to a subterranean pa.s.sage, with a trickling stream running through. We walked along the bank, and I s.h.i.+fted the Imperior-in-the-tapestry from one shoulder to the other. This was not the easiest endeavor I'd ever engaged in. My arms were strong, yes, but it was starting to cause serious wear and tear upon my lame leg.

I shook my head as I contemplated the follies some people would engage in for the purpose of obtaining and retaining power. And then I started to think about everything that Mitsu and Mordant had gone through... and I chuckled slightly.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"I am. This situation is."