I won't trouble you much longer.

Short words thrown away. Wu should have let them disappear into the shadows but judgment had not been her strong suit recently.

Stone on stone. She knew the places where she heard stone on stone but only in the golem room had it been so obvious where he might have appeared from and that was the only room that was empty at this hour.

Wu felt a short pang of fear as she ran her hand over the bricks. She'd left Silk Fox asleep on the pallet in their cell and hoped that the woman did not awake to find her missing. And if she did wake, she hoped Silk Fox had the sense to stay in their room. Wandering the halls of this place was ludic-

Wu froze at a sound, realized it was a rat - not the big ones that lived here, but the normal sized ones that lived everywhere. It skittered along the wall in the darkness and she watched it carefully.

Perhaps...she stilled herself, focusing, blurring, hoping it would conceal her from the animal long enough - yes. It was sniffing the air, more slowly than it ever would in real life, and slipped inside an impossibly small opening between the floor and the wall.

Wu let herself breathe normally, blood rushing in her head when the world sped up to normal. She crouched down, following the crack with her fingers, until the seam in the floor met the nearly invisible seam in the wall. The only thing that ever betrayed this secret passage was the sound of stone on stone.

She knew there was an opening from this side of the wall; she only had to find it. After what seemed like hours of meticulously pressing her fingers against depressions and protrusions in the rock, the door opened.

This passage was far away from the marsh outside of Two Rivers but just as damp. A moment of sadness passed over her. This passage, this place, was very far away from everything.

She paused, collected herself, and carefully constructed a flame in her palm. She had to take care with it; on this journey, fire never came to her as easily as ice and she hadn't taken the time to practice its power. Several times it went out when she was more worried about the placement of her feet then whether or not she could see.

These caves were not like the ones used by the cannibals. There was no room here for sudden movement or quick retreats. Should someone come at her from behind or ahead, she would be trapped.

Again she wondered why she was doing this and again she reminded herself that Zu would never stand still long enough to answer a simple question. If she was going to get an answer, she would have to follow the snake into its den.

I won't trouble you much longer.

The flame wavered. She swore that she would have her answer this time, no matter the consequences.

Again the flame in her hand moved, but it was not from lack of concentration. The faintest breath of air made it dance between her fingers. Wu dropped low and let the fire die. The light, however, did not leave her. It danced on the curve of the stone ahead of her. She moved cautiously around its edge.

The path opened up into a large cavern. Half-hewn rock had been abandoned by stone-cutters at some stage in the tomb's construction. In the middle of the cavern, a fire burned without smoking and, next to it, was Zu.

Wu had not expected to find him sleeping. She watched his shallow breathing, wondering what she should do next. It was quickly decided for her.

Earth doused the fire and she realized that in the sudden dark, he had no idea who she was. She stepped away from the middle and tried to put a wall at her back. She thought she saw him in the shadows, but before she knew it, he was behind her. He had her by the shoulder, but she would not back down. She was not the woman he'd met in the marsh, nor the one he'd defeated in a dying village.

Now it was her forearm in his throat and her voice in his ear and his surprised look. "Why won't you be leaving?"

She released some pressure so that he could reply. His words dropped like stone. "It is not your concern."

With a strangled cry, she punched the rock near his ear, leaving cracks and flaked stone. He didn't flinch and she hadn't thought he would; she'd only felt the fear and desperation well up and had to release it or she would have screamed and might not have stopped.

Wu turned away, turning her back on an Assassin. She wanted to shout again, but all that came out was a choked whisper. "Why would you say that? Why do you think you won't be leaving, Zu?"

"You should not be here." His words startled her with their weariness; his hand on her shoulder froze her in place.

The feeling that she should leave immediately whipped across her consciousness like a leaf in the wind. Then it was gone and only the two of them were left; as if they were the dead and buried ones, ghosts to the rest of the world outside, forgotten and alone.

His hand slipped onto her arm, squeezing as he emphasized his words. "You must go now."

"I shall not." And for no reason other than she had imagined it too many times, she faced him and stopped his breath with her lips.

She knew all the old poetry, how lust was headier than the strongest drink and more addicting than opium. A part of her tried to stay above the water that was drowning her but it was so hard to hold onto honor and sense when his hand was sliding up her neck into her hair.

And surely what she did down here, in an emperor's unfinished crypt, did not count towards Zin Bu's divine abacus or the scrollwork of the Divine Bureaucracy. It could not count when the Wheel had stopped turning and not when the dead would not die.

"You should not be here," he said again, but he did not pull away. Instead, he wrapped his arms even tighter around her. "You are the only good and beautiful thing left in my life and you should not be here."

"Zu, the darkness is where I belong." And before he could protest or prove her wrong, she kissed him again. He did not stop her.

All the rules she knew told her to surrender to action and reaction. Don't think. Don't talk. She encouraged his hands and found her fingers their own work. Something tore, maybe it was her shirt or his robe. She had stared for weeks; he had watched her, but now blind in the dark, their hands did their seeing for them.

Wu read his skin like a scroll, following the words of war that were written into his flesh; his history for her to feel. She had no words for him to read, only the roughest patches of skin on her hands and feet, calluses of her years.

She bit her lip when his hand slipped under her shirt. He did not breath when her fingers moved underneath his waistband - but then, her hands were always cold.

And for all the newness of this, of him, she could not play the part of the nervous bride. Nervous brides did not destroy dams or seek revenge at the cost of everything else. Nervous brides did not fight Emperors or consort with gods. Nervous brides did not steep the land in blood or discard their honor, like garments on the floor of an unfinished tomb.

Nervous brides had not lain awake at night imagining just this.

Sometimes she stared into his dark eyes, allowing herself the pleasure of an unmeasured gaze, not afraid to be caught staring here. Sometimes she could not stand his eyes and hid in the darkness behind her eyelids, not allowing herself to see anything, but feeling it all.

This was harmony in discord; this was the eye in the storm. And the rest of her throughts were driven to shadows...

Zu wrapped the length of cloth around her arm, each strip laid firmly across her skin. He had said something about never seeing someone do it wrong for so long without breaking their hand.

She knew what he really meant.

He still hadn't told her why he had said that he wouldn't be leaving. When she had insisted on an answer, he'd ignored her. If he would not tell her, not even now, then she trusted that his reasons were good ones.

Around and around her arm the cloth went. Zu worked silently until he reached her hand. His work did not stop, but he said, "You are nearing your goal. Grand Inquisitor Jia keeps many secrets in her inner chamber. Enough to appease the princess and earn your way to the palace. But the princess may learn more than she wants to know. I know I did many years ago."

Wu waited. He had hinted at something important to tell her. Perhaps this was it.

"You know that Master Li tried to stop his brother and failed. I was not there to witness that, so I only have the details that you are aware of yourself. Hui in Tien's Landing told you that because of that Master Li's wife was condemned to die. She was with child at the time. I know that for certain. I was there. I was one of the elite ordered to kill Master Li's family."

He stopped at his work and looked at her now. His face was emotionless but she could see it was with effort. She, too, kept her emotions in check, not wanting to break the spell of this confession. "Go on."

"Death's Hand brought the order to kill. We were cowards if we could not see the wisdom of his order. It was the will of the Emperor." He closed his eyes, remembering events long past. "Dirge was burning, your Master had fled, and we stood over a woman who had just given birth. I hesitated - and she was killed."

She said nothing and he continued, winding the cloth in and out of her fingers, each motion smooth and strong. There was more here, she knew it, but she would not press him.

His work was done and he picked up the other piece of cloth, but he did not set to work on her other arm.

"For years I wondered what kind of creature could issue such an order and what I was for following it. It was easier to be a coward than question than Emperor. Now I understand and I hope I have shown you as well. They have broken a sacred trust. I have returned because of that, even though I know what Death's Hand is." He looked up and took her hand. "I killed them all, my fellow Assasins. I would not let them finish their mission. Master Li's child still lives."

"Master Li's child is alive," she repeated incredulously. Hope was not lost. If she was too late for her Master, then there was always the child. She would find it, tell the child - no, not a child, an adult - who they were and then, if he or she wished, she would seek revenge for their father. "The princess will not believe this."

"Her feelings are not my concern," Zu said pointedly, taking her right arm and wrapping it with the same deliberate motions as before, as if he had never told her such astonishing news. "I trust that you can do what must be done."

"Yes, of course. Is it a girl or a boy? Do you know where his child lives?" she asked. "We have to find this person as soon as possible!"

Again he ignored her and she calmed herself. She would never like this part of him, his secrets and how he chose to reveal each part slowly, but she couldn't expect him to be anything other than he always was.

He finished with the wrap and said, "Tell me how it feels."

She flexed her hands. "Good."

He stood and held out his hand. When she took it, he pulled her up, just like he had in the warehouse in the city. For a moment, she knew that if Zu was near, she would always be able to stand up again.

But that was here, in a cavern in a tomb. Before she could think of the future, she had to get to the palace.

"I'm going to meet Grand Inquisitor Jia. She has something of mine." She looked up at Zu and forced some levity into her voice. "I expect you will be watching me."

Her comment provoked a half-smile. "I will have nothing else to do."

The slaves had been freed, though Wu would be surprised if any of the slaves survived the ghosts. Silk Fox had proven very useful in getting rid of Kia Min's uncle and their swords had dealt easily with the other men and women in the chamber. Now they waited for Shin.

Silk Fox's eyes flicked from shadow to shadow in the chamber. "This place is as still as a - "

"Tomb?" Wu regarded the princess. She'd decided not to tell her Zu's news until she could tell everyone.

"I was going to say as the shrine in the Imperial Palace. The courtiers aren't very pious." Silk Fox shifted from foot to foot, betraying her nervousness. "Where were you last night?"

Wu was surprised the woman had waited this long to ask and was prepared with her excuse when Shin's appearance saved her from any explanation. The Assassin was surprised for only a moment and seemed to find her challenge amusing. Wu showed him quickly that it was wrong to underestimate her - he didn't have long to absorb the lesson though. The dragon roared, ice froze the chamber, and just for a moment, fire burned. It was over before Silk Fox could draw her sword.

Wu lifted Shin's body and threw him over her shoulder. She was glad she had not used the sword on him; the blood stains would be inconvenient. "Keep an eye out for any Assassins."

"Wu, I have never seen you...never." The princess shook her head. "Again I am reminded that however this ends, we must remain allies."

Wu said nothing. How could she explain that for the first time in weeks both her duty and desire were not at war? Her mind was at ease and her spirit was steady, like still water in a deep pool. Not being torn in two directions made it easier to focus on her mission now.

They left Shin in the golem press machine and told Gang of their success. He was inordinately pleased and wanted to see his former master's disgrace himself. Wu had been counting on it. The man did not notice Silk Fox lurking at the controls of the machine and he certainly did not notice the clay golem plummeting towards him, at least not soon enough to do anything about it.

Now she waited on the pleasure of the Grand Inquisitor. She lurked in the room with Silk Fox, waiting for the woman to inspect the shard and the golem. The masked woman appeared and Wu almost moved a second too late before kneeling and dropping her eyes to the ground. The Assassin did not even glance at her. "Place the shard and activate the newest golems."

"For the Emperor," the Assassins Wu made her lips move as well.

The golem burned to life, straightening and raising its axes in the air. It took only a moment for the construct to roar futilely as Zeng Sai's spirit battered against its stone prison, realizing that not only was it dead, but it was in service to the hated Empire.

The earth began to shake and the Assassins, without the permission of their leader, stood, not knowing why or how this golem was resisting its proper place. If she had thought it powerful in its madness before, she had seen nothing like this.

Wu stood, but she did not stare unbelievingly at the golem that was beginning to rampage, that was striking at its makers. She stared at Jia and through the mask, Jia stared back.

"You. To believe you would dare come here," the woman said as her underlings died around here. "Be assured that you shall not leave. Kill the traitor!"

The Grand Inquisitor slipped back into her private chambers. Wu smiled. The Grand Inquisitor, with all her power, was running away from her.

"I'll take care of the Assassins if you can deal with the golem," Wu said to her.

Silk Fox nodded. "Be careful."

The men and women died one, two, three and Wu immediately ran into the private chambers of her enemy. She was not expecting such a serene place, but then she remembered that Jia hadn't designed this tomb, the Emperor had.

The woman crooked her head to the side when Wu took her first step, as if she had heard Wu's silent footfall. When the Assassin turned around, she removed her mask. Serving the Emperor had not treated Inquisitor Jia's countenance well.

"He said you would come," she began. "I am glad you did not disappoint. To imagine that you would bring the battle to our front door and cause so much chaos in the process."

"I had no choice. Your actions forced me to come here," Wu said, watching her carefully. This pretense at speech-making, at reasoned discourse would only lead to bloodshed in the end. "And now I will kill you for what you've done."

"I see. Live or die, the will of the Emperor be done." Jia said it so fatalistically, as if she truly did not care if she lived or died.

But Wu needed to live. She had to find Master Li, she had to see her friends again. She had to see him again and all of those steeled her for the fight.

The woman was terrifyingly fast and Wu was hard pressed. The stone bridge left her little room for manuvering and one of her leaps almost took her over the edge.

But this woman was the one who ordered the burning and the killing. This was the woman who made her homeless. This was woman who had forced Wu and Dawn Star to always look forward because they had nothing to go back to.

The Dragon Sword slipped between Jia's ribs. Wu twisted and pulled and she slumped to the floor.

"For Two Rivers," Wu murmured. She walked up the slick stone stairs to the shrine and picked up the other piece of the amulet. This should have been her birthright, but it had been hidden in this tomb by thieves. Now the amulet was complete and as she put it in place, she felt her power increase.

She took the steps one at a time, plotting on how to escape the lair before the Assassins swarmed out of the graveyard like angry bees from a hive. They wouldn't have much time now so she'd have to -

"Behind you!"

Zu's warning was too late. She turned into Death's Hand's kick and her lungs felt like they were going to burst out of her back. A moment, an eternity and her head hit the damp stones. When she looked up, she could see Death's Hand stalking towards her. But she could not move.

Zu was at her side, picking her up, moving her through the pain. His voice was in her ear and he was saying, "He is too powerful. Go! I will do what I must."

Then he pushed her behind him, and she fell down the stone steps and to Silk Fox's side. She had not hurt so much in a very long time.

The armored man moved with purpose. "You know you can not beat me, exile."

Wu pulled at the threads of her training and tried to weave them together into something that would make her stand. Silk Fox was saying something, urging her to get up, but she could not move and could only watch the tableaux unfolding in front of her.

Surely Zu knew that he was not fast enough for Death's Hand. He had no weapon, no armor, no advantage. Terror pushed out any rational thought, and she could only move her lips enough to beg for mercy from the gods of Two Rivers, mercy on her heart for what she was seeing and mercy for her love who could not possibly move fast enough...

But Two Rivers was gone and so were the gods and their mercy.

She heard Zu say, "I wasn't looking for victory. Just a few seconds..."

She couldn't see his face, but she saw the sword that went through him.

Perhaps she screamed or cried out his name, but the stones came crashing down in front of her and swallowed any sound she made. Perhaps there was no noise except herself tearing in two, ice cracking inside her and lightning striking her soul.

She pushed herself forward, to her knees, but Silk Fox was pulling her back. "The fortress is coming down and the golems are out of control! We must run!"

Silk Fox was right. They had to run and fight. She dropped to her knees and placed her palms on the cold stones that moved like a fast stream underneath her. The damp and the cold were underneath her, wanting to be used, wanting to touch warm flesh. The chaos made it easy for her to find the elements.

She pulled out her sword and pushed the ice along its blade. The Dragon Sword frosted to its tip.

"Let's go," she said to Silk Fox. It would only be warm again when it had bathed in black blood.