-Six-
Trust was very big here, something taken very seriously. That quickly became clear.
"Constanza." She turned to see Commander Lin with the archer Commander. "Commander Chen wishes to know where you learned to shoot."
"Oh. My father taught me, long ago. And William's shown me some tricks since then."
Commanders Lin and Chen exchanged a few words before she spoke again in English. "He wishes to see you shoot."
"Okay - but I can't do any cool cup tricks."
This made Lin chuckle. "Come, we will go to the top of the Wall." She and Commander Chen led the way.
"Where are you going?" William asked, catching up to them.
"I'm going to put on my own archery show."
He and Pero followed her following the Commanders. Soon she stood at the edge of the Wall with her bow, firing an arrow off the side.
Commander Chen came to stand beside her, firing one of his own arrows. It shot further than hers, the red feathering making it easier to see against the landscape.
"Very nice," she complimented, and Commander Chen smiled at her before speaking something in his language.
"He is impressed with your skill," Commander Lin translated.
"Oh, well, thank you."
"Come with me." Lin gestured for Constanza and the boys to follow her, leading the way to the cable mechanism where she and the other blue-clad soldiers had jumped from with their spears during the raging battle. A few of Lin's soldiers already stood around the base of the tall structure.
"How was showing off your skills with a bow?" Pero asked.
"Good. They seemed impressed."
"What did you want to show us?" William asked Lin.
One of the other soldiers said something in their language, making the others, including Lin, laugh.
"What was that?"
"She said men have so much to teach us."
"I don't think that's what she said..."
"Xin Ren."
"Sorry?"
"Xin Ren, trust. To have faith. Here in this army, we fight for more than food or money. We give our lives to something more. Xin Ren is our flag. Trust in each other, in all ways, at all times. The three of you work well together, you trust each other, I can see. I want to see you jump. Who wishes to jump?"
Constanza's hand shot up into the air while the boys hung back.
Lin nodded. "Very well, you will jump and they will hold the cable."
"Sounds good. Don't drop me, boys."
"We will be here to catch you," Lin assured her.
"Good, thank you."
The blue-clad soldiers helped her attach the cable around her middle before giving her the signal that it was okay for her to make her jump.
It felt as though she were flying the moment she stepped off the ledge and let go. Her jump was much less graceful than that of the soldiers' had been, but they had had years of practice, whereas she was attempting this for the first time.
She cheered the whole way down and back up again, with a less-than-graceful landing where she grabbed onto the support beam and hauled herself to her feet.
William and Pero appeared much more nervous than she had been. Her hair was swept around her face and her cheeks were flushed, with the biggest smile on her lips and a hearty laugh bubbling in her throat. "That was amazing! Who's next?"
"You're stuck, lady and gentlemen, I hope you realize that," Ballard said, beginning their meeting later that night.
"That's what you called this secret meeting for?" Constanza asked.
"You know their secrets, have seen them. Now they'll never let you leave. See what happens to even the best of us? I have spent almost half my life here on this godforsaken rock and I live only by the grace of the Nameless Order and its oath: discipline, loyalty, secrecy. I'm afraid your only hope is to escape - your only hope is me."
"Why do I not feel reassured..."
However, her companions seemed more eager.
"The black powder is real, and can be ours," hissed Pero, excitement blazing in his eyes. "He has a plan."
Ballard returned to the table with a small bowl of something - powder.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Don't get too close," he warned. "Or it'll burn your eyebrows off - or worse." He dropped a candle into the bowl and the flames flared up before them.
The three jumped in their seats. "My God!"
"A taste, a glimpse." Ballard grinned.
"People speak of a weapon," William breathed.
"There are many weapons here. There are many things you have not seen, and many things you should pray will not be needed before the siege is through. The Tao Tei will return. And when they do, when the drums call to battle, the guards leave their posts and take their positions on the Wall. That is our moment - we want to be riding away as the battle rages."
A grin was crawling up Pero's face at these words.
"And the armory doors?" asked William. "You have keys?"
"I have black powder, enough for several doors," was his answer.
"He brings us in, we get us out," said Pero.
"That's hardly a solid plan," Constanza warned. "I'm not so sure how I feel about this," she voiced her thoughts as they made their way back to the barracks they had been provided with.
"Do you not want to escape?"
"Of course I do. I'm just not sure I trust this guy."
"He's our only hope," Pero insisted.
"Is he? I mean if you had been stuck somewhere for twenty-five years wouldn't it make you at least a little desperate? And desperate people do extreme things."
Before they could reach their barracks, guards approached them. Apparently Strategist Wang requested their presence in his study.
"As you fought, where was this stone?" the strategist asked, holding up William's magnet.
"In my bag." William patted his side.
"Its unseen force is powerful. I believe this strange stone could help us. Why did you have it with you?"
"Because he's too stupid to let it go, and insisted on carrying it through the desert," Pero mumbled.
"I was going to use it to make a compass," William explained.
"We try everything," Strategist Wang sighed.
"Where are the Tao Tei now?" asked William.
"The mountains, regrouping."
"Where do they come from?" asked Constanza. "I've never seen anything like them."
"There is nothing like them. About twenty centuries ago, there was an emperor whose greed brought deep suffering to all of China. The heavens sent the meteor that struck Gouwu Mountain, turning it green and releasing the Tao Tei. From that day on, the Tao Tei rise every sixty years to scourge the North of China. They come to remind us of what happens when greed is unchecked. They eat anything, alive or dead, and take food to their queen. She depends on her soldiers to feed her - only with the food they provide is she able to multiply. The Capital, and its two million people, is only 800 li away. If the Tao Tei ever had that much nourishment, no corner of the world would be safe."
"You can't hunt them?" asked William.
"Men try. They disappear. We never find their bones."
Some of this chapter was taken from the deleted/extended scenes I found on the DVD.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)