Page 17 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Xifeng stared at his presumption. She felt, deep down, that Guma’s cards would tell her the attackers had been sent for her—that this had been the Fool’s first move, an enemy defensive launched to keep her from her fate. But that might be presumption on her own part, for her Empress destiny seemed as far away as home in these death-filled woods.

“Whichever one of you is responsible does not matter now,” said thetengaru. “We have all suffered a great loss tonight. Our queen will wish to speak to you.” For a brief moment, its eyes met Xifeng’s with all the knowledge of the world in its depths, and she turned her face back to Wei, feeling a deep, enduring chill in her bones.

“Ambassador,” Hideki protested, but Shiro held up a hand.

“We will go. If the queen requires our presence, we will appear before her.”

“I did not offer you a choice, but that is a wise decision all the same,” said thetengaru. “Your horses wait over there.”

The three Dagovadian horses stood in a circle around Wei’s old mare, as though protecting her. Hideki helped Shiro onto one and mounted another. Wei lifted Xifeng onto his gray horse, but the demons hissed in protest when he made to climb up behind her.

“You each ride alone,” the leader commanded, and Wei mounted Ken’s steed instead.

One of thetengarutook the lead beside Hideki, followed by Shiro and then Xifeng. The other two demons prowled on either side of Wei in the rear. Every so often, as they traveled through the dark woodland, Xifeng heard the swish of their barbed tails. She knew it was a warning; they could be silent when they chose.

A faint light kissed the forest as the sun began to rise. Surrounded by trees as they were, Xifeng could not tell which direction the light came from. It made her feel unsteady and disoriented, which only intensified as the rays danced off dewy leaves and waxy trunks of spruce, adding blinding reflections to the air.

Wei murmured her name and she nodded wearily to show she was all right. She wished she were home again, sleeping in her old room beside Ning. Her bones and head ached, and her whole body trembled at the end that might befall her. It seemed all of Guma’s teachings would go to waste now, if thetengaruintended to kill them all. She would be dead at eighteen, lost to the world before she had even seen it—before she had even lived. Perhaps this destiny was only what Guma wished for and not what she truly foresaw; perhaps it had been a terrible mistake for Xifeng to leave her.

“Empress, indeed,” she whispered. Thetengaruin front turned to peer at her, though it couldn’t possibly have heard. She fell silent, trying not to imagine what manner of death it might soon give her.

An hour later, they passed a massive granite formation cutting through the underbrush. Xifeng saw crevices high in the rock wall, irregularly placed, and curiosity overcame her fear. “Please, what are those holes?” she called to thetengaruin front.

In full daylight, the demon was less menacing—rather like a small, strange horse. But its eyes were still disturbing, and the preternatural awareness in them made her skin crawl.

“Tombs,” it told her. “The resting places of men long forgotten. This was the site of a great battle many ages ago.”

Xifeng’s hands shook, imagining the carnage she had witnessed last night, only magnified: destroyed bodies littering the ground and trees lacquered with fresh blood. “My Guma used to be angry with me for being reluctant to hunt. I think I can see why now.”

“Can you?”

“Taking one small life is nothing compared with the violence of the world.” She turned away from thetengaru’s knowing eyes, suspecting that it judged her poorly for such a conclusion. She rubbed a hand over her left cheek, wishing she hadn’t said anything.

They traveled all afternoon and evening, and when night fell once more, the sky through the trees deepened from gold to midnight blue, like a stain of ink on paper. The glaring play of light off leaf and tree disappeared, and Xifeng sighed with relief when they stopped to rest beneath the trees and thetengaru’s watchful eyes.

Several long days passed in a haze of exhaustion. They rested only at the demons’ discretion and rode without speaking more than a few words, for thetengaru—like the trees of the forest—seemed to command silence. Finally, on their tenth evening in the woodlands, the trees began to grow farther apart and the grass became softer under the horses’ hooves. In front, Hideki and Shiro sat erect and vigilant on their horses.

“Have we arrived?” Shiro asked, and the demon gave him a curt nod.

An enormous clearing greeted them as soon as they were free of the trees. Sweetly fragrant grass blanketed the space, and in the center lay an immense pond as calm and bright as the stars it reflected. Willows bent their graceful heads into the water, their branches humming with gentle birdsong. A breeze carried the scent of the moon-white lotuses resting on the pond’s surface like sleeping maidens.

An island stood on the pond, sheltered by four curving oaks adorned with garlands of white flowers. The whole structure resembled a pagoda created by nature itself, reposing in a secret kingdom of peace. Its beauty filled Xifeng with a deep longing for tranquility, and a strange, foreboding sorrow that she might never find it.

“What is this place?” Hideki murmured.

“This is the sanctuary of our queen,” spoke thetengaru. “She is the oldest and wisest of our kind, and has lived on Feng Lu since before the time of the Dragon Lords.”

Xifeng slid from her horse, landing on the lush grass. She longed to take off her shoes to cool her feet, but didn’t dare do so before thetengaru’s stern eyes. The demons led them past a wide wooden platform on which four lanterns shone. The platform held a low table piled with food, as well as a few sleeping pallets.

“They were expecting us,” she murmured to Wei, who nodded warily.

They crossed a bridge curving over the pond, and the scent of flowers grew stronger as they approached the figure stirring within the pagoda of trees.

The queen of thetengaruregarded them with eyes like twin moons, glowing against the ancient night sky of her face. She resembled the younger demons with her long, elegant horse head and sleek limbs, but her horns twisted like antlers, and her coat darkened to onyx around her nose and mouth. A bed of creamy blossoms supported her frail body like the tenderest of clouds.

“You have brought death and destruction with you. Fear and hatred.” Her voice held surprising strength for such an old, fragile body. Her moon-eyes seemed to see straight through Xifeng, who forced herself to meet the gaze, and the queen gave a slight, pleased smile.

“We destroyed the assassins they lured into the Great Forest, OGentle One,” thetengaruleader told her. “One carried a deadly blade, and the others damaged many trees with their torch fire. Many of our own have been killed. A tragic waste, but one we could not avoid.”

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