CHAPTER 3

The tea was hot upon his lips, and its fragrance filled Ming with memories of winter and spring in Master Li's school. He drank it gratefully as Dawn Star watched him, her eyes a mixture of anticipation and dread. Around them the graceful confines of Dawn Star's restored home made him feel at ease.

After some hesitation, she spoke: "I didn't think you would return, ever."

"Why not?"

A pained expression creased her forehead just above the bridge of her nose. It was the same expression as when they had both been children, and Ming had always found it rather cute. This time, though, it only made him feel remorse.

"Whatever I did to you, I am truly sorry. But--"

"It's nothing you did!" she exclaimed, interrupting him. Then she composed herself and looked down. "It was what I did, or didn't do. I didn't think you would really leave, after everything we had gone through. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind sharing your affections with that woman, the lovely princess, or rather Empress now…"

"You're a princess, too," Ming said, but knew it sounded lame as soon as it left his mouth. He had never been good at sweet talk.

"By blood only, not by upbringing! And that's not the point! The point is, I was prepared to share your affections with her, but I wasn't prepared for your leaving. I just couldn't handle that."

Ming waited, expecting the worst was yet to come. When Dawn Star merely shook her head and stared forlornly into her tea, Ming had to ask.

"That's it? All I did was leave you?"

She looked up, momentarily shocked. Then her eyes hardened. "Why you wretched--"

"No! That's not what I meant. What I meant was, I didn't try to kill you? Or burn down your school? Or anything really horrible?"

She stared at him, unsure if he was mocking her or just plain crazy.

"Listen to me," he continued. "I don't remember anything from the last five years. I've been told I was a real bastard during that time."

Yeah, you could say that again, Dawn Star thought.

"Apparently, I've been raiding villages and murdering people and--"

Dawn Star gasped. "I'd heard the rumors, but it's not true is it?"

"That's just it, I don't know! It could be. Last night, I supposedly tried to kill the empress herself. It was Empress Lian who sent me here."

"Why here?"

"Doctor An thinks I may be possessed by a powerful spirit, but it's not her area of expertise. She found some very strange energy patterns running through my body. She fixed some of them, but you are the one person who is most in touch with the spirit realm. Please, Dawn Star, will you help me?"

She studied him for a long moment, and then her eyes softened. "You know I would always help you, Ming." Even if it destroys my own peace, she thought to herself.

Ming felt another brief wash of shame, and from a place deep within him, a longing surfaced that he had not felt for a long time. Dawn Star had always been special to him, but her compassion was beyond compare. He never realized how important that was to him until now, when he was at his most desperate.

"The only problem," she continued, "is that I don't sense anything from you. At least, there is no spiritual malignancy that I can detect."

"But you were always able to notice such things! In Tien's Landing, and Lord Yun's forest, and every ghost we ever met..."

"Yes, and I still do from time to time. But I sense no such spiritual influence in you."

Ming downed the rest of his tea and gazed at the simple wooden cup. "Well hey, maybe I'm cured."

Dawn Star watched him carefully. He didn't seem to believe his own statement, as the concern etched into his forehead revealed. She had also thought of a possibility--a terrible possibility--but she couldn't just blurt it out. From her studies, she knew that spiritual maladies were not the only affliction of the mind and body; and some malignancies only showed themselves in times of conflict. Their discussion over tea, in her home in the heart of her tranquil garden, was hardly the place to draw out such ills.

"Will you spar with me?" she asked. Ming's eyebrows shot up immediately.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all. I just need to pick up a charm to even things out."