Damn, I forgot I lied to her, and now I actually do have the rotted dragon pearl. I scramble for a plan, a feint, something to buy some time, but I come up empty.
‘Wait,’ Mr Lee says, his voice a hoarse rattle. ‘Lady Jing has claimed me. I willingly offered her my yang qi. She drank four bottles of it.’
‘What?’ Niang Niang snaps.
I stare at Mr Lee.What?
‘I gave her my blood. Fresh, willing blood carries yang qi, does it not?’
‘Snowflakes and watermelon rind!’ I blurt out. That crisp, fresh, familiar scent from the blood he brought me. The flavours I couldn’t place. The ones that are uniquely Mr Lee.
His doe eyes meet mine, and he smiles, sheepish and shy. ‘It was my honour to do so. I don’t care what you are. You were right. I like you.’ His voice is barely a whisper on a breeze, but his words carve themselves into my heart.
My eyes prick with tears, and I whisper, ‘I like you too.’
But Niang Niang growls and cuts short our moment. She leans forward in her throne. The bones in her face shift under her skin, her jaw elongates. ‘You will submit to me, mongrel. Ladies – finish him.’
The handmaids fall on him once more. Mr Lee convulses as the women pull his yang from him. The sight ignites a white-hot rage. My vision blurs and doubles again, and I see myself speaking words heavy with Celestial command, laden with barbs. I see my words slither among the hulijing on the floor and force them from Mr Lee.
Lord Black’s words ring in my mind.Clear your vision, and you will see. Open your heart, and you will be loved.
The lava running through my veins renews me. I fist my hands and snarl, ‘Enough.’
This time, the voice that rings from me pulsates through the hall, whispering echoes of multitudes contained in that one word. Celestial command. Niang Niang visibly shudders at my voice. The women on the floor jerk away from Mr Lee as if I’ve slapped them. I check quickly that he still breathes. He looks withered and ancient, but still alive. Just.
‘You seek to defy me?’ Niang Niang’s eyes glow red. She raises a hand. At the same time, a golden strand rises from Mr Lee’s chest. His yang qi. With a flick of her wrist, the strand arcs through the air and pools neatly into her palm.
‘Stop!’ I say, using the voice on Niang Niang, but she only laughs.
‘Little mongrel, you think your nascent voice can command me? Your elder? The matriarch of this court? You truly know nothing about anything.’
Mr Lee twitches as the golden strand of qi continues to thin until it’s no thicker than a thread of gossamer. A glowing orb the size of a peach hovers where the strand meets Mr Lee’s chest.
‘That there is the mortal’s prenatal qi. It is the last of his life-force. Once I take it, he will die.’
My hands reach out as if I can stop her, as if I can hold his qi in place. But I know I can’t. I fall to my knees.
‘Please,’ I beg.
Niang Niang’s smile is all sharp little teeth. ‘Do we have a deal?’
I nod.
‘Say it!’
‘I will give you the dragon pearl in exchange for sparing Mr Lee’s life.’
‘Not just the dragon pearl,’ she purrs. ‘I want you to forfeit your life as well.’
I don’t hesitate. ‘My life is yours.’
‘Done.’ She flicks the strand away, and the golden orb sinks back into Mr Lee’s chest.
He gasps, then settles into stillness. I scramble towards him and place a hand over his heart. He’s barely breathing.
‘Give me the pearl,’ Niang Niang hisses.
She holds out her hand. The jade nail guards curve like talons over her fingers. I donotwant those near my eyes. I glance at Mr Lee. I need to get the pearl out of my eye.
