Wushu Were Here (3 page)

O
utside, Fred, Anna, Li Shimin, and I were lined up against a big stone wall with lots of strange little marks in it.

Wang was standing across from us, between two large metal bowls full of burning coals. He motioned with his hand and an archer quickly joined him. Something told me the strange little marks were…
gulp
…arrow marks.

“Oh, yeah,” I said, thinking back to our cozy little prison cell. “This is
much
better.”

Li Shimin wasn't helping the situation.
“The throne does not belong to you, Wang. You are a thief,” he yelled.

“A thief, eh?” Wang said. “The throne was empty. I took a seat—and a head, or two…or four…hundred.”

“You dog!” Li Shimin cried.

“Yes, I am a dog.” Wang said. “And you are a clever fox—even if you did lose…” Wang pulled
The Book
from his robes. “…your battle plans.”

“
The Book
,” Anna said.

“Excuse me, Mr. Wang, sir,” I said in my most polite voice. “Those aren't battle plans. Just open it and see for yourself.”

Wang looked at me suspiciously but opened
The Book
.

As soon as the pages fell open, we heard Sam's voice squeaking out. “At last,” he said.

“I was afraid I was going to run out of oxygen in here….”

Sam noticed Wang. “Hey,” he said. “Who are you?”

“
AAAAAAHHHH!
” Wang screamed.

I guess he'd never seen a talking book before.

“
AAAAAAA AHHHHHHH!
” Sam screamed back. I guess he'd never seen a giant, screaming evil emperor before.

Wang tossed
The Book
in the air, and it landed on the edge of one of the metal bowls filled with burning coals.

“
AAAAAAAAHHHHH!
” Fred, Anna, and I screamed.

“Sam's going to burn,” Anna cried.

“If
The Book
burns,” I said, “we'll all go up in smoke.”

“That…that image,” Wang said. “It spoke to me. You are evil sorcerers.”

Still shaking, he turned to the archer. “Execute them all. Now,” he commanded.

The archer stared down Fred, Anna, Li Shimin, and I.

“I wonder who he'll shoot first?” Fred said.

In one swift motion, the archer plucked four arrows from his quiver and loaded them all in his bow.

“Whoa! This guy's good,” Fred said.

The archer took aim.

Fred, Anna, and I gulped. If this were a TV movie, it would have been the perfect time for a commercial break.

“W
hat's all the commotion? I can't see what's going on,” Sam called from
The Book
. “Hey—is it getting hot, or is it just me?”

Flames were licking closer and closer to
The Book
…and to Sam.

“Fred,” I whispered. “If
The Book
goes up in flames, we're all goners. We have to get to Sam.”

“Sure,” Fred said. “We'll save Sam, right after we're done being killed.”

“Archer—prepare to fire!” Wang commanded. “Ready. Aim…. Huh?” Before Wang could give the final orders, something distracted him. He saw a figure run across the city wall. Could it be…?

Just then Sam—who suddenly realized what was happening—screamed,
“FIRE!”
The archer let loose. We closed our eyes.

“
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
” Fred, Anna, and I screamed. But nothing happened. After a few seconds, we each opened one eye, then the other.

There stood Tanzong—two arrows in each hand.

“Whoa, nice catch,” Fred said.

“Don't just stand there,” Wang yelled to the archer. “Shoot them!”

As the archer reloaded, Tanzong swooped down and grabbed Li Shimin and Anna. With a swift kung fu leap he jumped to the top of the wall. Fred and I followed.

“Quickly,” Tanzong said. “Over the side.”

“Wait,” Anna said. “We need to get Sam.”

The archer was taking aim. This time five arrows were loaded in his bow.

Tanzong thought quickly. He tied a rope around an arrow and hurled it at
The Book
.
THWOK!
A direct hit.

The archer let the arrows fly, just as Tanzong yanked
The Book
and Sam to safety. Once we were over the city wall, Tanzong handed me
The Book
.

A very sweaty and upset-looking Sam glared out from the pages. “That was too close,” he cried. “I was baking like a pepperoni pizza. And whose bright idea was it to shoot a giant arrow into
The Book
while I was
in
it! I could have been…”

The best thing about Sam being in
The Book
was that we didn't always have to listen to him. I closed the pages and tucked
The Book
under my arm.

 

We met up with Tanzong's other monk friends in a clearing in the forest. Tanzong and Li Shimin began to scratch out plans on the ground with a stick.

“Wang's supplies come through here,” Li Shimin said. “We will block them. If he has no weapons, he cannot fight.”

Tanzong nodded.

Fred, Anna, and I sat nearby with
The Book
open so we could talk to Sam.

“So, is Li Shimin going to rule all of China?” I asked Sam.

“Actually,” Sam said, “his older brother is in line for the throne first. But from what I've been reading in here, Li beat him to it by…getting rid of him.” Sam ran a finger across his neck and made a face.

“Whoa! His own brother,” I said. Talk about sibling rivalry.

“
But
,” Sam continued, “Li Shimin does go
on to unify the country, and China really prospers under him. Arts, education—you name it.”

Tanzong walked over. “Thank you again for helping to rescue our general. If there's anything you need—”

“You can show me that arrow-catching stuff,” Fred said.

“Such things are not for young children,” Tanzong replied. “It takes many years of study to master the art of kung fu.”

“Man, I knew you'd say that,” Fred said.

“What we really need,” Anna said, “is someone to help us get our friend out of this book.”

Tanzong thought for a moment. “Hmmm,” he said. “That is a very difficult problem. For this you need someone skilled in the magic arts. Someone very wise and powerful.”

“Got any ideas?” I asked.

“There is only one man in all of China who can help you,” Tanzong said.

Fred, Anna, and I followed Tanzong's eyes as he gazed off to a distant mountain peak.

Something told me this magic man would not be easy to find.