Winged: A Novella (Of Two Girls) (24 page)

By now, he knew that the ships above must
have gotten the message.
Typical
.

He whispered something into his hand-held
communicator.

***

The first ship that received the direct hit
from the energy beam was the
Falcon
. The silver behemoth
blossomed into a sunburst of super-heated chaff. Death had been
instantaneous.

The
Raptor
, the
Hawk
and the
Eagle
immediately went into evasive maneuvers, swerving to
avoid collision and another energy beam from the planet.

Captain Zhangzi cursed and swore as her
precious ship buckled and groaned in pain, her metal shields unused
to such sudden maneuvers. The energy beam had came from nowhere and
struck the
Falcon
dead center. She clenched her teeth,
furious. She ordered the gun turrets to be focused on the planet
and The
Raptor
rang as she fired two light beams down. On
the view-screen, two large fire-flowers appeared in rapid
succession.

“Captain!” Her weapons officer cried out in
terror. The
Raptor
moaned.

Another energy beam
…

And this time, the Raptor turned into a
fiery burning bird, like its phoenix-kin, sending a death-scream
into the endless night.

***

The retaliation had been brief and two
satellite dishes were hit. Justin snarled in savage joy. He could
see the rain of glowing debris cascading down from the sky, like a
shower of meteors.

So, so
. How would Ze Tian react
now?

***

Min Feng started awake. She had dreamt of
ships exploding and people screaming. Molten debris in a star
burst, ships dying and in torment. Something was not quite right.
She breathed shallowly, trying to get her heart back to normal.

Mother
. The thought came unbidden.
Mother
.

Her slumbering phoenix fire stirred into
life.

I need to go back to the Phoenix Court.

A Kimono of Peacock Feathers

Hitomi knelt neatly on the rush tatami, a
picture of serene beauty. Her hair had been brushed into a lustrous
shine, a river of black ink curling down her back. Her face was
powdered white, with a dab of crimson on her lips.

It was her kimono that had attracted envious
glances. Crafted by the finest Heian kimono maker, it shimmered in
many colors, like the tail feathers of the peacock. Her long
sleeves flared out, arranged beautifully by her maids. Beneath the
rich garment were the layers of inner kimonos, subtler in shade and
bringing the vividness of the peacock feather hues most
startlingly.

“Oh look, a wonder in the sky!” One of the
maids exclaimed, manicured hand on trembling lips. Hitomi craned
her neck slightly, catching sight of something bright and flying in
the spring sky.

“A Ho-Ho!” Another maid joined in the
exultation. The appearance of a Ho-Ho was an auspicious omen. It
was the harbinger of good news. Soon, the news arrived on running
feet: the birth of the Emperor’s son.

Hitomi cringed inwardly. She did not want to
be a concubine. Her father, a minor samurai, had sent her to the
palace in the hope that she – and her family – would win favor with
the Emperor. No. She did not want to spend her youth bearing
children, year after year. She was above such drudgery.

“I want to go to the gardens,” she declared
and the maids obeyed, helping her up to her feet because the kimono
was heavy. Her heart, however, was light.

Once there, in the garden and surrounded by
the pink cherry-blossom trees, she dismissed the maids. They went
away, muttering about “that strange concubine”.

She laughed merrily and spread her arms, the
peacock feather colors flashing in the sun. She would fly away,
like her sister the Ho-Ho.

--- The Book of Phoenii,
A Kimono of
Peacock Feathers
.

Word of the destruction of the
Raptor
and the
Falcon
blew in like a winter gale and turned the
atmosphere in the Imperial banquet hall to frost and icicles. The
Empress’s anger was not the furnace blast the retainers had
expected or imagined. Instead, she was an ice queen with controlled
rage. Hers was the kind of cold that burned.

The Hawk and the Eagle had managed to flee
the assault and limped back to report the sorry aftermath. Captain
Helena Zhangzi was one of the Empress’s numerous cousins and one
whom she was close to when they were little girls. The loss of the
esteemed captain froze her blood and hardened her heart. She did
not want to dwell on the loss of
lives
, all the crewmembers
onboard the two doomed ships. That would hurt even more.

Envoy Tung had died. Done in by
treachery.

Empress Ze Tian had to think before she
could react to this
insult
. Inhaling deeply, she remembered
the mantra taught to her by the stern abbess of Ermei.
Remember
to count your heartbeats
, the abbess had instructed her.
They are real. Like your breathing is real
.
Remember
this!

Calm gradually returned to her body and she
took a sip of the flower tea to compose her. Her family, her
children, looked at her for her response, for her
guidance
.
The younger girls looked frightened. It was their first real
exposure to the harsh world. Her consort-husband could only nod. He
had seen it before.
If I could ease you into statecraft gently,
I would
, she thought watching her daughters and sorely missing
her eldest. At faraway Mesa, her life was at least cushioned from
all these shocks.

No. Min Feng has to know
.

She was about to call out to one of the
servants when she realized – with horror – that she could not
speak. Her throat constricted and her voice choked. Then, she was
choking. There was
something
in the tea or in the food. She
was being done in just like Envoy Tung. The Imperial Kitchen had
always checked for strange substances and was highly effective in
rooting out the dubious.
What had slipped through? What went
wrong?

No! I am not going to let this happen!
No!
She tried to tap into her phoenix flame, only to find that
she was blocked by darkness. Her eyes were still open, she could
still see. Her beloved Duke Zhang was rushing over to her, hands
reaching out to her.
We need to catch the culprit… the
assassin!

With an inward scream, she clung onto
hope
, as she descended down into a silent lightless
void.

The Empress fell into a catatonic state,
crumbling like a traditional paper doll in her chair, as her family
shouted frantically for the Imperial Physician.

***

“
Whoa
. What’s wrong?” Javen
Windwalker held Min Feng up with his strong hands. She was walking
fine, until she simply collapsed, folding in onto herself. They
were on their way to the modest Mesa Space Port. Min Feng had
insisted she needed to travel back to her family as soon as
possible.

She remained limp for a while, gradually
gaining some sense of consciousness and coherence. She came to,
blinking her eyes. Her face looked drained of blood. “I… don’t
know. I felt this… blinding flash of pain, right inside my skull.
It must have knocked me out.”

“Hell, it did.” Javen muttered and rubbed
her temples to get the blood circulation going. “Are you sure you
are fit to travel?”

Min Feng straightened, her expression
suddenly determined. Focused. “I have to go back to my family. I
think something is not quite…”

Another wave of pain. More like a vise of
pain around her head. She winced. But it was less acute than the
first one. She sucked in air slowly, her hand on her forehead. It
was damp with perspiration.

“That’s it. You are
staying
.” Javen
said firmly, holding onto her.

The princess pushed his hands away. “I am
going
.”

Javen fought down his own anxiety. “Are you
sure you are able to handle it? You need to get this thing checked
out as soon as possible. Like today.”

Min Feng shook her head. Mesa Space Port
loomed just ahead and her transport – the
Pueblo Star
-
waited for her.

“Something is not quite right. I just know
it.” She walked faster, dreading another unexpected wave of agony.
Thankfully, it did not come.

Watching her right now, Javen discovered,
with a jolt, the princess had grown up. Matured. Her face reminded
him of her mother, the Empress of the Phoenix Court.

***

Yrant stayed in the shadows, while the
Phoenix Court erupted into a flurry of activity. Guards were being
sent to search for the assassin. All the servants, senior and
junior, were interrogated and body-searched for incriminating clues
and evidence. The pervading mood was tense, interwoven with anger
and urgency.

Fei
had failed. The Empress still
lived, but barely. She remained in a frozen state of suspended
animation. Catatonia. Alive and yet not. Had
fei
not checked
the right amount of poison to use?
Fei
had always been
precise, meticulous.
Fei
kills were always clean and
fei
victims remained dead.

Fei
would have administered the
killing blow, cutting the vital windpipe. Now it was too late. The
entire Imperial Grounds swarmed with guards and security personnel.
Fei
escape could be a challenge. Snarling,
fei
stripped off the pao and pants,
fei
disguise for this whole
failed mission.

“Why are you hiding here?” A male voice.
Fei
forced back
fei
body into the pillar, trying to
disappear into the dark. The voice was familiar. The young cook. He
had become fond of
fei
. “Are you scared?” How did he manage
to see
fei
?

Stereotypical male. Wanting to protect a
helpless
female
.
Fei
could see his handsome face
peering into the darkness, trying to look for
fei
.
What a
child he is
.

Fei
reached out, grabbed the soft
exposed throat and squeezed. The young man did not even gasp. He
all but sank onto the ground soundlessly.
Fei
bent down,
still bathed in shadows, inspecting
fei
handiwork. The eyes
were open, accusatory.

I am a snake, child. You can’t sleep with
snakes, because we bite
.

Fei
removed the uniform, still warm
with body heat. Slipped them on. They were larger than
fei
slender frame. But it would work, the disguise would work. For a
while.

Hid the body in a nook. They would find it a
few days later, naked and slightly decomposed.

Yrant scanned the Imperial Grounds. The
guards would not rest until they had found the assassin.
Fei
.

I am a snake. And I will bite when I am
cornered
.

What did Justin Stern-Aus call
fei
? A
glorious sundew. Carnivorous plant, pretty to look at. Dangerous to
insects.

Fei
found
fei
gaze wander over
to the body. He was such a young boy. A child. Pure in mind and
soul.
Fei
was disturbed that
fei
was unnerved by this
particular death.

***

The communiqué could have arrived by now!
Justin wanted to break things. He wanted to know if Yrant had
completed
fei
mission.

Would his planning go down the drain?

All for one woman and spurned desire.
I
promised myself that I would take you down and destroy the things
you hold onto dearest.

He laughed at himself and to the universe at
large.
Fortuna, art thou the goddess of cruelty
.

***

Min Feng, where are you?
A lone voice
wept.
Min Feng, come home now
.

She had to turn away for a brief second to
hide the rush of hot tears before looking up and staring at the
face of the woman who had given her life. She appeared as if she
was sleeping, her eyes closed, so serene. The only thing that
jarred the image was the life-support system beeping quietly in the
already-sepulchral bedchambers: tubes and wires providing a
semblance of
artificial
life. The Imperial Physician told
her in an unusual subdued tone that she was in a catatonic coma,
caused by an “orally ingested” neurological poison. It was a
miracle that she was still alive, her brains and heart
functioning.