Page 21 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Xifeng knew, instinctively, that thetengarudid not mean money. So what did Guma owe this man? The breeze brushed across the grasses and they seemed to whisper:you, you, you.

The pond rippled once more to show Guma, gazing up with a flicker of recognition. Her sad mouth moved to form Xifeng’s name, and the veil of water between them trembled.

“You are very like her. There is water in both of you, the element of resourcefulness. You drift toward each other, two streams from the same river.” The queen began walking away to her pagoda between the trees. The shadows of the bridge cast dark stripes on her coppery body.

Xifeng rose, her mouth dry. “Please don’t go. I don’t want to be alone.”

The demon turned around, a look of pity on her ancient face. “You are not alone. And all of your questions will be answered in time, but not by me. I will, however, give you one last piece of advice.”

“And I will listen.”

“Magic and knowledge often cost blood, but blood itself costs something, too. You pay each time you take it from a beating heart. Take care not to pay too much when you do not yet understand the currency. Beauty is not worth your soul.”

She knew about the rabbits. Xifeng felt a powerful rush of resentment. What could a demon understand about the power of her face, the only gift the gods had seen fit to give her? But when the queen came close, bringing the scent of the snowy lotus blossoms, Xifeng’s irritation dissolved into regret. The tips of thetengaru’s horns gently touched her healed cheek.

Up close, it was even clearer how weary thetengaru’s eyes were and how feeble her body, like the newly grown branches of the apple tree. The earth and Feng Lu would surely feel such a loss and would never again be the same. “Who will guard this clearing in your absence?” Xifeng asked, surprised by the sadness in her own voice.

“There will be another after me. Do not fear. We must all protect the treasures we are given and fight for them.” Her stare pierced the area beneath Xifeng’s rebellious heart.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness.”

“Is it kindness, I wonder? Good night, Xifeng,” the demon queen said softly as she retreated to her grove of trees. “And if you return to the Great Forest one day, treat it with respect. My body is meant for the earth soon. We will not meet again.”

Xifeng slept deeply, but woke the next morning still tired from the queen’s riddles and half-truths. Having the ability to destroy what lay within didn’t change the fact that she harbored a monster. And no matter where she was or how far she ran, it would still be with her.

She joined the others at the table, which had been replenished with roots, nuts, and sweet red cherries. But Wei and Hideki seemed more concerned about Shiro’s shoulder than the food. The ambassador’s injury had significantly worsened overnight.

“Gods, the wound is bleeding through your tunic.” Ignoring his protests, Hideki pulled the cloth away from Shiro’s shoulder, revealing a jagged cut that had turned yellow green.

Xifeng recoiled, despite having dressed the rotting skin on Guma’s damaged leg daily.

“It’s infected. That scythe was poisoned,” Wei said ruefully. “You wouldn’t have been wounded if not for me.”

“You are all worrying far too much. It was nothing.” Shiro yanked the tunic back in place. “You didn’t ask me to save you.”

“But you saved him all the same, and for that, we both owe you,” Xifeng said. “Let me get you some water to clean the wound.” She soaked some cloth in the pond, relieved that in daylight, the water did no more than reflect its surroundings.

Shiro sighed with relief when she placed the compress on his skin. “Thank you, my dear. That does feel better. But I’m sure it will heal in time.”

They were ready to leave within the hour. Wei and Hideki gathered their sacks while Shiro filled their pouches with fruit and water. Xifeng fashioned a broom from a fallen branch and swept the platform they’d eaten on. However thetengarutruly felt about humans, they had treated them with fairness and generosity, and she felt it right to repay them however she could.

Wei came over with flowers the color of the dawn sky: pink tinged with gold and violet, which he had painstakingly woven into garlands. “I made them early this morning. For the queen,” he explained, and she felt a rush of affection that he’d had the same impulse.

One of thetengaruapproached their little camp. “Our queen wishes you a safe journey. You will find the path again beyond the horses. Follow it north to the city.”

Xifeng and Wei exchanged glances. “We left the path over a week ago. Has it moved closer, for our convenience?” he asked.

Hideki chuckled, but thetengaru’s stare remained icy. “You have something for the queen. I will take it to her.” It bent its head so Wei could wind the flowers around its mane.

“Then we are not to see Her Majesty again?” Shiro asked.

“She is tired. But she wishes you well and asks that you remember to respect the forest.”

The demon retreated without another word, and Wei helped Xifeng onto the old gray mare. She turned her eyes back to the lake as the men prepared their own horses. Today, the blossoms strung over the pagoda had withered, their creamy petals yellowing in the sunlight, and there was no sign of the demon queen herself. Perhaps she had passed on in the night... or perhaps those deep, inscrutable eyes of hers watched them now from her shelter of trees.

“Great lords of the skies,” Xifeng whispered, closing her eyes, “take the queen’s spirit into your keeping and let her find peace in your eternal halls.” They had never cared to respond to any of her prayers before, but she hoped they would now.

She looked again at the water that was so like a mirror, it seemed a piece of the heavens itself, and wondered if she would ever see this place again. A part of her almost yearned to stay.

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