Chapter 8 : Shadows Chasing at Night
1753 Words
"Get down," Li Xuan whispered. He reached out and grabbed Yue Er's shoulder, pulling her away from the light of the dying fire.
"What is it? Did the hounds break through?" Yue Er asked. Her voice was low, barely a breath in the cold air of the cave.
"The hounds were a distraction," Li Xuan said. He tilted his head to the side. "The sound of the screeching was too loud. It was meant to cover the noise of something else. Keep your head low. Do not make a sound."
"I don't hear anything, Li Xuan. The cave is completely silent now."
"That is the problem. It is too silent. The wind usually makes a low whistling sound against the rocks at the entrance. That sound is gone. Something is blocking the air."
Li Xuan gripped the hilt of his broken sword. He didn't use his eyes. He let the vibrations of the cave floor travel up through his feet. He felt a rhythmic tap. It was very light. It happened every three seconds.
"There are four men," Li Xuan said. "They are wearing soft boots made of deer hide. They are spreading out. One is moving to the high ledge above us. Two are stayed at the entrance. The fourth is moving toward the back of the cave, near the water pool."
"How can you be so sure?" Yue Er whispered. "I am looking at the entrance. I see nothing but shadows."
"The man on the ledge has a heavy breath. He is trying to hold it, but his lungs are making a clicking sound. He has a cold. The two at the entrance are vibrating the air with their blades. They are holding high-quality steel. It hums at a frequency that is very sharp. The fourth man... he is the dangerous one. He is not moving his feet. He is sliding."
"Li Xuan, we need to move. If they surround us, we are dead."
"We cannot move yet. They are using a suppression field. Can you feel the pressure in your ears?"
Yue Er touched her ear. "Yes. It feels like I am underwater."
"That is a sound-dampening artifact. It is a bell or a plate that vibrates so fast it cancels out the noise of their movement. They think I cannot hear them because they have turned off the sound. But they forgot one thing."
"What?"
"They cannot turn off the silence," Li Xuan said. A small, grim smile appeared on his face. "The artifact creates a hole in the natural resonance of the world. It is like a black spot in a painting. I can hear the hole where the sound should be."
Suddenly, a sharp metallic snap echoed through the cave. It was the sound of a crossbow trigger being pulled.
"Down!" Li Xuan shouted. He didn't wait for her to react. He tackled Yue Er to the ground just as a bolt whistled through the space where her head had been a second before. The bolt hit the stone wall and shattered.
"They are attacking!" Yue Er cried out. She pulled a small vial from her sleeve.
"Stay behind me. I will count the shots," Li Xuan said. He stood up. He felt the air move. He swung his broken sword in a wide arc.
The blade didn't hit flesh. It hit the air. But as it moved, the golden resonance he had learned earlier exploded outward. A wave of sound hit the invisible suppression field. The air in the cave suddenly popped. The pressure vanished.
"I can see them now!" Yue Er said. "The man on the ledge is aiming again!"
"I know. He is three feet to the left of the stalactite," Li Xuan said. He didn't look. He pointed his finger. "Throw your vial there. Now!"
Yue Er threw the vial. It shattered against the ledge, releasing a cloud of thick, paralyzing gas. A man screamed and fell from the rocks, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
"One down," Li Xuan said. "The two at the entrance are charging. They are running in a zig-zag pattern. They think it will confuse me."
"Li Xuan, watch out! The swords are poisoned!"
"I can smell the toxins. It smells like bitter almonds," Li Xuan replied. He stepped forward. He didn't use a normal sword stance. He held the blade close to his ear. He was listening to the frequency of the incoming steel.
The first attacker swung a heavy saber. Li Xuan stepped to the side by a fraction of an inch. The blade passed so close he could feel the coldness of the metal against his cheek. He tapped the side of the saber with his broken sword.
The saber shattered into a thousand pieces.
"My sword! What did you do to my sword?" the attacker yelled.
"I matched its breaking point," Li Xuan said. He hit the man in the chest with the hilt, sending him flying back into his partner. "Your steel was too brittle. You should have tempered it longer."
The third man hesitated. He looked at his partner on the floor and back at the blind man who was standing perfectly still.
"He's a monster! He's not human!" the man screamed. He turned and ran out of the cave.
"Yue Er, the fourth man," Li Xuan said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He hasn't moved. He is still by the water pool."
Yue Er turned her head. "I don't see anyone there, Li Xuan. The pool is empty."
"He is under the water. He is breathing through a reed. He is waiting for us to think it is over."
Li Xuan walked toward the dark pool at the back of the cave. He could hear the tiny bubbles breaking on the surface. He could hear the heartbeat of the man hiding beneath the cold water. It was fast and erratic.
"Come out," Li Xuan said. "I can hear the resonance of your lungs. If I strike the water with my sword, the vibration will burst your eardrums. You will never hear anything again."
The water exploded as a man in black clothes lurched out, coughing and gasping. He held a jagged dagger, but he dropped it as soon as he saw Li Xuan's face.
"Who sent you?" Li Xuan asked.
"The Prince... he said you were just a blind boy," the man panted. "He said you were a fluke. He didn't tell us you could see the air."
"Where is the main camp?"
"I won't tell you. He will kill my family."
"He will kill them anyway," Yue Er said, stepping forward. "Zhao does not leave witnesses. You know that."
The man looked at her, his eyes wide with terror. "You... I know you. You are the one who—"
Before the man could finish his sentence, a high-pitched whistle cut through the air. A small silver needle struck the man in the neck. He slumped forward into the water, dead before he hit the surface.
"An assassin!" Yue Er shouted, looking toward the cave entrance. "There is a sniper outside!"
"No," Li Xuan said. He turned to look at Yue Er. His sightless eyes seemed to bore into her. "The needle came from inside the cave."
Yue Er froze. Her hand was still tucked inside her long sleeve. "What are you talking about? I was standing right here."
"I heard the click of the spring in your wrist-launcher, Yue Er. It was a very quiet sound. But to me, it was as loud as a thunderclap."
The silence returned to the cave, but it was no longer peaceful. It was a silence filled with a new kind of tension.
"He was going to tell me something about you, wasn't he?" Li Xuan asked. He didn't lower his sword.
"He was a confused man, Li Xuan. He was hallucinating from the gas," Yue Er said. Her voice was steady, but her heart was beating at a frequency that Li Xuan had never heard before. It was a guilty sound.
"We have to leave," Li Xuan said. He didn't push the issue, but the trust that had begun to grow was gone. "There is a path behind the waterfall. It leads to a narrow ridge. It is the only way out that the snipers cannot see."
"How do you know there is a path there?"
"The echo of the water tells me. The sound changes when it passes over an opening. Follow me. And keep your hands where I can hear them."
They moved behind the falling water. The path was barely wide enough for a person to stand on. It was slippery and dark. To anyone else, it would have been a death trap. To Li Xuan, it was a map of vibrations.
They climbed for hours in the dark. The sound of the mountain changed as they reached higher altitudes. The air became thin.
Finally, they reached a ledge that overlooked a massive valley. Through his spiritual vision, Li Xuan saw a terrifying sight. The valley was not filled with trees. It was filled with thousands of glowing red lines.
"What is that?" Yue Er asked, her voice trembling.
"It is a musical score," Li Xuan whispered. "Zhao has turned the entire valley into a giant instrument. Every red line is a wire made of human hair and blood. He is waiting for the wind to change."
"Why?"
"Because when the wind hits those wires, the resonance will reach the Puncak Salju Abadi. It will play the note that wakes the Dewa Pedang."
Li Xuan looked up toward the peak. He felt a sudden, sharp pain in his ears. A new sound was coming from the sky. It was a sound that didn't belong to this world. It was a scream that lasted forever.
"Li Xuan, look at the bird!" Yue Er pointed to the sky.
The Pipit Giok, which had been silent on Li Xuan's shoulder, suddenly took flight. It circled above them, its wings glowing with a frantic, pulsing light. It began to chirp a melody that Li Xuan recognized.
It was the same melody he had heard in his dreams. The melody of betrayal.
"The bird is trying to tell me something," Li Xuan said. He turned to Yue Er, but she was no longer standing next to him.
She was standing ten paces away, holding a silver flute to her lips.
"I'm sorry, Li Xuan," she said. "But the song must be completed."
- Writer
