My heart juddered again. Four beats in the space of as many hours was unusual, but there was nothing usual in the night’s events either. I didn’t think more on it. Instead, I worked to free myself from Lady Rey’s grasp. She was quite tenacious for someoneunconscious, but I finally managed to replace my arm with a nearby cushion. The return of her frown pinched at me mercilessly.
Once, while travelling in Wales, I heard a lady singing a lullaby to her babe. The lullaby was a lilting melody that soothed the crying child to sleep. So I did the same, singing softly to Lady Rey. Her frown never fell away completely but she slept more soundly. I sat across the room keeping watch but as dawn stole across the night sky, I dozed off.
The next thing I knew I was bound hand and foot with a bag over my head. It was an unpleasant way to wake. Given the limited scents in the room, it was very clear who my captor was. ‘Lady Rey, this is unseemly,’ I said, hoping to sway her with my calm manner.
I nearly fall off my chair I’m laughing so hard. My poor father!
‘Where is my sister!’ she shrieked, before thwacking me with something hard. ‘I can smell she was here. What did you do to her?’
‘I found her here in my room after you so kindly alerted the demon hunters to my presence. She was very worried, having come upon your spilled blood, so I helped her to find you.’
‘I don’t believe you! I can smell her blood all over you. If you have hurt her in any way...’
‘I assure you, noble lady, I am innocent of your charges. The blood you smell is yours.’
She ripped the bag off my head. Her eyes were dilated and wild. She had a wooden plank from one of the broken shutters.
‘Liar!’ She swung it at me.
I did not care to be beaten so I misted across the room.
She screeched and lunged, partially forming into a golden fox, quite beautiful even as she bared her teeth. I misted again, but in her hand appeared that wretched dagger. Her attack was ferocious and prodigious. She slashed savagely at nothing and everything and managed to catch the tip of the dagger on a trailing of my mist; my whole being shuddered and shrunk in on itself. I tumbled into my body, on top of Lady Rey.
She was a feral thing. Still shrieking, she stabbed me. My eyes burned, my skin blistered, flames clawed my throat like I’d been doused in oil, inside and out, then set alight. Every time the blade bit, the scorching pain intensified. She shoved me off her, and I rolled, limp and unresisting, onto my back. She held the dagger to my throat. My throat closed up; the sounds I made, desperate wheezing gasps, would have alarmed me, but my mind was already far away, unconsciousness beckoning.
‘Jie! What are you doing?’ Another shriek, but a welcome one. Lady Ay had finally returned.
‘I told you,’ I tried to say, but the noise I made was more akin to a short, weak huff. If I still had command of my body, I would have wagged a finger to scold her, given a righteous speech about dignity, respect, and honour, but alas, I did not. I passed out.
The second time I came to, the shadows stretched the length of the floor. It was evening, the sun close to setting. I was laid out on my bed, tucked up with blankets. My skin itched, but no longer blazed with pain, for which I was grateful. My throat was another matter. It felt like I’d swallowed a handful of bladesfollowed by a handful of glass shards. The dagger was somewhere in the room, bare; the smell of it burned my nostrils and made my eyes water.
I kept my eyes closed, checking my senses. Only Lady Rey was in the room. I considered whether I ought to simply mist away and avoid further confrontation.
‘I know you’re awake,’ she said. Her tone was not friendly. I was not inclined to torture myself further so I kept my eyes shut. ‘Stop pretending. I have things to say.’
I squinted open one eye. Lady Rey sat a few feet away, her knees tucked up under her chin. Despite her harsh words, she looked pale. ‘Are you well?’ I asked before I could stop myself. The three words scraped my throat raw. I swallowed; it gave no respite. I needed a drink.
She glared at me. ‘What is wrong with you? You are the one injured. You are the one I stabbed, who passed out like a rotted delicate flower. And your first words are to ask me if I am well?’
I smiled weakly. I could not understand why but I found her anger endearing. ‘Tea?’ I croaked, indicating with my eyes the teacup sitting on the low table. She scowled, but brought it over to me. Thinking I ought to sit up and converse properly, I shifted and had to grit my teeth to stop from screaming. Holding myself very still, I waited for the agony to subside to a tolerable level. It took some time, but slowly I found I could breathe.
Without asking, Lady Rey held the cup to my lips, and I drank greedily. The cold tea provided sweet relief, moistening my parched mouth and cooling mythroat. ‘Thank you.’ Though the words were hoarse, at least now speaking them chafed less.
‘You sound terrible.’
‘I wonder why,’ I said, a little irritably. The room spun so I lay back down and closed my eyes. The tea helped, but blood would be better. The prospect of trying to seek sustenance tonight did not appeal, but I knew full well remaining in this state was not an option.
‘Meimei said you saved my life.’ Lady Rey’s soft voice reminded me of her presence. I opened my eyes to find her on her knees, kowtowing. ‘I offer you a boon for your kindness.’
‘Just one? I’ve saved your life more than once. While you’ve tried to do away with mine multiple times.’
‘I have not!’
‘You tried to poison me the first time we met, then you threw me to the demon hunters. You’re lucky they’re not as fast as I am. Today you defamed my honour and stabbed me over and over. I have suffered greatly at your hands.’ A shadow flickered across Lady Rey’s face. It gave me a pang but I shook off the guilt. Nothing I said was untrue.
Lady Ay returned with a bucket full of water. She took one look at her sister and heaved a heavy sigh. ‘Jie,’ she said, her tone half-warning, half-order.
‘Lady Ay, it is a pleasure to still be alive to greet you.’
