The marsh was warmer than Wu remembered, but she couldn't say she remembered a lot from the last time she was here. She'd been so focused on rescuing Dawn Star from the idiot son, blinded with his own importance, that she only remembered the blur of cattails and the sound her feet made wading through the water.
Now she had the chance to consider leeches and water snakes and feel each uncomfortable squish of the water soaking through her boots. It was not pleasant.
Dawn Star frowned. "To imagine that I might have preferred being stuffed in a sack..."
Wu swung the Dragon Sword idly, cutting swathes through bamboo and swampweed. "I think it would depend on the company."
Now Dawn Star laughed. "Oh really?"
"Certainly. I'm sure there are plenty of young women, low-born and high, who wouldn't protest too much if, say, Sky decided to bundle them in burlap and trek them through a swamp - so long as there was a very private thief's lair at the end of the journey."
Again Dawn Star laughed and that was another difference between the first time she was here and the last. There'd been no Dawn Star, no laughter. Only the tight fear in her stomach and -
This was not fear, just a shock she should have been prepared for. Just a ruin that crouched on a small hill rising out of the muck and water. It was just enough land for someone to swing a staff without slipping in mud.
Her hand went to the amulet around her neck. That was the same, even if the stones weren't, even if there were skeletons now where man had fallen.
The caves were to the north and the west from here. He would not have made his home in that direction. "This way."
Dawn Star followed her silently. There was again only the sound of feet splashing in the water and the blur of cattails.
Gang had, for once, given her useful information. Now she had a plan and the pieces were falling into place, like well-rolled dice. The golem room would be empty tomorrow and all Wu had to do was overload the controls with phoenix oil. Then she would stop the shipment of slaves coming in, clear the main hall, and wait for Shin to come and inspect the slaves that would never come. The only one for him to inspect would be her, and she would not be found wanting.
As she took the steps down from the machinery, one at a time, she noted that Silk Fox was ahead of her even though Wu had told her many times to stay back. She opened her mouth to call out, but then there was a small noise, stone on stone, and Zu was in between them.
Silk Fox kept walking - she hadn't seen him yet - and Wu froze, her mind telling her to step back and the traitor inside telling her to go forward. The traitor was shameless and stupid.
Zu was not here for her though. "My own demons distract me in this place, but I have no love for your new master or the master above him. If you kill one, why not two? Distractions are a key to weakness in a target. If you look to the future Master Gang can have his plans come crashing down on him..."
Wu turned her head to see if Silk Fox had realized she was alone and he was gone.
Two seconds too late and the woman was at her side. "What's the matter with you? We can't wander around here alone; they'll pick us apart!"
"I've thought of something," Wu said.
We are all killers here, plain and simple. That is what Guang had said to her. Wu could not really disagree anymore. She had killed many people, but this is the first time she had so callously planned someone's murder. She couldn't pretend it was necessary, but it felt right.
She went back and positioned the golem above the walkway just so, just as she had seen when she'd first entered the area. As she did so, she wondered if she was merely assisting Zu in some plan of his own, a plan that wasn't as simple as killing all the Assassins in this fortress.
In the meantime, she had a spirit shard to create.
Unfortunately, Silk Fox would not let leave without freeing the men and women who were meant to be made into golems. Not after she had heard what was being done with them. "They use people, Wu. My people. My father would never allow this!"
A piece of ice through the throat of the guard killed him quickly. Wu observed how cadaverous the slaves were. How did the golems 'live' on such weak spirits as these people had?
A man thanked them then asked, "But how will we escape?"
Wu frowned. "We have freed you. That was more than enough."
"We'll die if you don't help us," another man pled. "There is an Assassin at the machine. She will slaughter us once she sees we are free."
Wu felt the impatience crawling in her blood; cold worms in her veins. Perhaps that is why she said, "Then maybe you don't want freedom as much as you think. I recommend you go now before someone comes to relieve her."
Silk Fox glared at her and unsheathed her sword. "You are a fool."
"Who's the fool? You're risking our lives to save these people. If we are discovered, you will never have your proof," Wu said.
"These people, Wu? My people. Your people, too." Silk Fox led the ragtag group out of the cells.
Wu followed. Silk Fox was brave and Silk Fox was smart but she was ridiculously outmatched in a fight with an Assassin. Wu couldn't have a princess of the Empire murdered in a graveyard, she thought grimly. And the citizens would die of horror themselves if they knew their beloved Imperial princess had perished in that outfit. So another Assassin died.
"I will lead them into that second level we found," Silk Fox suggested. The men stood back from them in awe. "I think they could find a way to escape from there. Do you think you can handle a corpse on your own?"
Wu ignored her, adjusting the levers and taking them to the second floor. "I'll be back for you shortly."
As soon as she entered the catacombs, Wu felt ill at ease. The Necropolis was not exactly inviting, but she had never felt this kind of focused spiritual malevolence.
Stone on stone again and she heard Zu's voice. "These tombs hold spirits from a time when the Empire nearly fell. Chaotic and powerful, they hunger for revenge. I'm sorry, but I must be sure of who you are."
She'd dispersed numerous spirits by now, but the one that formed before her had a power that she'd never felt before. For the first time in a long time, she took an involuntary step back.
"Zeng Sai knows you! Knows your meddling scent! Zeng Sai will destroy you! Destroy it all!" it roared.
Wu reached for her sword on instinct, though she knew he was only a spirit. It seemed more substantial than the other ghosts she'd vanquished and it was so tall that it would have dwarfed the Black Whirlwind. Could a man possibly be that large in real life? Or had his hatred increased the power and presence of his spirit over the centuries?
She raised her hands to block the strike of its ghostly sword, but the force of it knocked her into the stone wall. "Meddling monk!" the spirit cursed, eyes flashing red. It raised his sword for another blow.
Wu rolled through its legs, spun around and kicked it in the back. The horselord cursed at her for her dishonor, but she had been mimicking Assassins for days and still remembered her work in the Arena. She had no honor down here, yes, but that was because there was no mercy in this place.
Its years of death had not made it any smarter. She learned quickly to dodge the slow swings and kicks and retaliate with strikes to its back as she passed through and around him. The few times that she was slow, though, found her thrown into sharp rock or landing into sarcophagi.
Wu lost her temper and pulled on focus that she was perilously close to not having.
The ghost of Zeng Sai paused when it saw the Toad Demon towering before it. Good. She smacked him across the jaw with her webbed hand and it dissipated into the air.
Wu became herself again, falling to her hands and knees to catch her breath, trying not to feel like her tongue was meters long. She did not look up when she felt Zu's shadow flicker at the corner of his vision. "Why?" she gasped. She hated transformations, hated the weakness it caused.
"So many people are not what they seem to be. After all I have seen, I had to be certain."
"You pitted me against a legendary Horselord!" she cried, striking her fist against the ground. It was such a useless hit it barely disturbed the dust on the ground. "Are you done with these games? Or must I fight the spirit of Emperor Tien to prove myself?"
"Yes. I'm as certain as I can be about who you are." Zu stepped back, hiding in the darkness.
Her fury froze her. All of this, all of what she'd gone through and he did not trust her? "Putting a ghost down proves my trustworthiness? You should have followed me into the Necropolis. You would have known so much sooner."
He didn't answer her question, but only said, "I had to be certain."
"That is not an answer!"
Zu ignored her. "A shard made from Zeng Sai's corpse will be pure chaos. It will cripple the Jade Golem and those it commands. Once you are finished with it, present it to your master. Then you will gain access to the inner chamber and the information you need to go to the palace."
Her hands balled into fists on her knees. Master Li. This, all of this, was for Master Li. "Then after the inner chambers, you will come back to the hangar? Dawn Star is worried."
"...I will not be leaving."
Her head snapped up on its own and she searched from his in the darkness. "What do you mean you won't be leaving?"
"I will make that plain soon enough." His voice lowered and the shadows became darker. "This fortress holds many secrets. Some are valuable, some are dangerous and some are hidden because the dark is where they belong."
Wu heard stone scrapping on stone and knew he was gone. She waited a moment, catching her breath, gathering her focus, trying to make sense of what just happened. Then she pushed herself up and carried on.
Wu broke the stone tomb open with a kick and the remnants of Zeng Sai's body spilled out onto the ground. She'd now descended to the level of a grave robber. She hoped Zu - and Master Li - appreciated it.
And yet, as she lugged the foul remains through the catacombs, she could not stop thinking.
I won't trouble you much longer.
A/N: Thanks everyone for hanging in there during my long hiatus. I didn't forget you and I really appreciated the feedback, the favs and the encouragement while I was sorting a few RL issues out. I hope to update quite a bit more in the coming weeks, but first - vacation! Luckily long waits in airports will give me a chance to brainstorm.
PS A small wild rat can squeeze itself through a hole through the size of a quarter. This fun fact is brought to you by living in NYC!