...
Mizumi had to admit, the water witch had risen to the occasion of the holiday. When Mama Mua entered the mansion of Chao Erliao there was not a single eye that landed on her that did not stay transfixed. Her hips alone were enough to cause a scandal. Although Mua was taller than Ayika both women shared a certain characteristically Tribal set of measurements and here those features were magnified by multicolored layers of ruffled cloth that swished above the shaman's thighs with each step. On a night when Mua could have disguised herself as anyone or anything she had chosen to magnify her foreign identity. Her smooth dark skin was highlighted and exposed by as many slashes in the costume's brilliantly colored fabric as could be supported. If Ayika was dressed as the moon, the sacred and true heart of the tribes, then Mua was every worst stereotype reclaimed, savage and lascivious and the object of terrifying longing. Her mask was a simple net of blue beads held across her face by ribbon. It was stylized in the shape of a jawless skull. Tonight Mua had come as beautiful death.
Mizumi looked away from Mua in sudden fear that someone had seen her staring but she need not have worried. The other party-going women were staring with comparable agog, while half the men seemed to be looking around expecting that this display was somehow a trap meant to test them. Ayika took a purposeful step forward towards the front of the mansion but Mizumi caught hold of her arm. Mizumi trusted Ayika and her judgement but she had proved to have a remarkably low tolerance for alcohol. It might have been best to encourage a pause before any decision was made. In fact Mua was rapidly striding through the halls in complete disregard for the ordered path of the party. She might spot them at any moment. Mizumi pulled Ayika in close a if they were in huddled conversation. Mizumi felt her heart beating strongly in her chest as the ripples of Mua's passing echoes though the party's population but she tried to concentrate on that instead of the heat and scent of Ayika who was proving to be very distracting even while standing perfectly still.
After a moment Ayika whispered, "She went on. We need to follow."
In a moment she managed to wriggle free of Mizumi's hand and confidently strode off in the direction Mua had gone. Mizumi made a note that Ayika sometimes had sashaying way of walking as well before she shook her head to focus on the potentially deadly matter at hand. With a liquor-induced blush creeping into Ayika's cheeks one of them needed to be clear headed.
The final large room of the party route through the mansion was centered around three long tables which would at any movement be covered with a dazzling display of edibles. The large concentration of guests attracted by this prospect were reigned over by the host, Sub-Minister of Culture and Worthy Expression Chao Erliao. The host had chosen the heavy yellow-gold robe costume option from among the appropriate noble's selections. He seemed to be enjoying the party although as Mizumi entered she saw him shoot a quick dark look at Mister Gaoli who had gathered his own group in the corner. Whatever rumors Goli had been spreading, Erliao did not appreciate them. Yet he did not have any more opportunity to dwell on Lili's father because Mua had stepped forward into the center of the room.
Erliao had been deep in some conversation with a few guests but the instant he saw the tribal woman he stopped in mid sentence. His first look was one of pure disbelief. That expression then melted to confusion as Mua did not continue to stride towards him but instead swept past through the party room and out a back door to the courtyard outside. Mizumi would have thought the minister would have run for the hills at the first opportunity given how his last interaction with Mua had gone, however, she heard Erliao make a hurried excuse about seeing what this commotion was all about before he rushed out after her. The remaining party goers erupted into a flurry of mutters and whispers and many cast pained looks at the twice-used exit, wishing that the rules of etiquette did not forbid them from following that mysterious pair for at least five minutes. Fortunately, Mizumi and Ayika were not bound by etiquette. Together they moved around the side of the room to sneak unseen out another exit to the courtyard a little ways away.
There were no lights lit in the outside courtyard but the mansion that surrounded three sides was filled with such vibrant illumination that what spilled outside was enough to provide a reasonable facsimile of late afternoon. Despite Mizumi's emphatic gestures Ayika insisted on leading the way as they crept into eavesdropping position. She was still buoyed on by whatever amount of alcohol she had in fact drunk. Fortunately they needed not creep far. Mua was standing in the open beside an ornamental koi pond near the center of the courtyard. The two girls took up positions behind an large and pitted scholar's rock.
Erliao stormed up to Mua out of the long crossing shadows. "Nia?! How did you get in here? After your last ridiculous attempt to frighten me I could have you executed!"
Mua's languidly accented voice drawled as she gave her reply. "Don't pretend ya haven't tried. It's not my fault ya couldn't find me, Chao. Fate has a way of working against murderers."
Erliao was now even angrier but there was also a small note of fear. However, it was still not as much as Mizumi thought would be reasonable given Mua's last attack. For some reason he was convinced she would not hurt him.
"I had absolutely nothing to do with Chen Lizhen's death and I don't know how you think I did. I am searching for those responsible! I have sent orders to comb every possible hiding spot for that wretch. Now you must stop this posturing. If you were actually intending to kill me in a misguided pursuit of justice you would have done so already." He spread his hands, his self assurance returning. "You are a bender, I am not. And you would not have walked in through the front door where half the city saw you behind that paltry beaded veil if you actually intended to commit such a brazen crime. There is nothing you could get away with. So, Nia, with that settled I need you to tell me how you got into the Inner Ring!"
Mua did not like that tone, or the minister's curious habit of addressing her by her first name. "I received an invitation."
Erliao took a sudden step back. He looked around at the surrounding mansion walls and windows. That simple sentence was what brought him to the point of fear. He spoke quickly, mostly to himself. Mizumi could barely make out his muttered words from her hiding spot. "You are a planted distraction! Some adversary is going to use tonight as an opportunity to take me out of the equation! Someone knew about our past and made use of that knowledge in their plans. You were dumbly sent in to throw me off balance. I would think Gaoli was behind it but he has been making a public scene of himself here for an hour."
Mua did not like being ignored, "You've no hold over me any more. Our past's finally irrelevant. I'm willin to pay for the betrayal Ah committed to Chen. And there's one crucial thing ya missed in your calculations. You've overestimated how much Ah care about leaving here alive." She opened her palms in front of her and strands of mist began to rise from the pond-water behind her.
True terror finally began to dawn on Erliao. In an instant, a profound re-estimation of Mua flashed across his face and he realized he had made a mistake. After a split second he turned and started to ran towards a nearby wing of the mansion but a whip of water shot out and knocked him off his feet. He yelled out as he landed heavily, "Zhang! Help!"
A window slammed open somewhere in the mansion above but at that moment the courtyard exploded into an all-concealing fog. There was no chance of some hired earthbender picking off Mua was a projectile now. Erliao rolled over and tried to push himself backwards as his panicked words came tumbling out of his mouth "Nia, I've never done anything against you! I never stole you away from Chen. You know that! And I never wanted him to die! Someone has twisted something and things are getting out of control..."
Nia Mua loomed over Erliao. In the fog she was a black shadow rising over a huddled form on the ground. "Given the time Ah'd love to find out just what you've done to tear apart the spiritual stability of this land. Chen was trying to undo it, Ah know. But Ah have little time. In a choice between personal desire or even protectin the city, and justice for Chen, Ah know my answer. I'll choose Chen every time. I learned that lesson. And I'll gladly pay for my crimes against love."
Erliao was flat on his back with his gold costume grinding into the dirt as he darted his head left and right looking for any openings to escape. There were none. Ropes of water rose up out of the pool behind Mua like air-born snakes undulating to arcane rhythms. Mua raised up her open palm to deliver the slicing waterbending blow. Then she felt a knife blade against her throat.
Mizumi whispered into Mua's ear. "Lovely holiday this city has. These costumes allow you to conceal so many things." The water ropes splashed down, now freed of their motive force as Mua halted.
No one could accuse Erliao of being slow to seize an opportunity. He was already on his feet and dashing off to the safety of the other wing of the mansion before he would even have time to recognize who Miumi was.
Mua growled at Mizumi as she stood still, held by the biting metal against her skin. "You!"
"Yes, her." Ayika ran around to reveal herself to the shaman. "Mama Mua, please. You can still get away without this ending in tragedy. Erliao wronged you in the past but I know you still do not know that he is responsible for Lizhen's death! You have no evidence!"
"Wronged me? You don't understand a thing you're talkin about." Her hands twitched up but Mizumi responded by pressed the knife blade tighter and Mua stopped struggling.
"I know that Lizhen wouldn't want you to be a murderer! He wouldn't have kept your picture all those years! He cared about you more than that, no matter how things ended between you two!"
Mua looked around as if seeing past Ayika. Then she closed her eyes. A smile crept on her lips. "You've got it wrong again, girl. I was the one who wronged him. And now Ah mean to secure some small measure of forgiveness."
She suddenly stuck back with her elbow and pushed Mizumi back off her. Mizumi yelled in surprise as she felt her knife slide across the woman's throat but Mua dashed off unharmed. Mizumi looked down and saw that the blade was now encased in a thick sheath of ice. She cursed loudly as Ayika ran over to check on her.
Mizumi said, "Ayika! We need to get out of here or we will be arrested any minute! No one else has seen us out here yet but that will change."
Ayika looked at the swirling vaporous whiteness that had enveloped Mua. This burst of violence had a very sobering effect which had left her head alarmingly clear. Then she nodded as she started to move back across the courtyard. "Right, we need to get back to..."
Suddenly a scream rang out from the mansion. It was a man's scream and came from where Mua had chased after Erliao.
Ayika was horrified. "She caught him!"
Mizumi on the other hand was perplexed. "Already? He had a head start and looked fit. Being able to bend does not make you run faster. If..."
Whatever else Mizumi had intended to say was cut off by sound of smashing wood. Then they heard a similar sound again along with the sounds of general destruction inside the building. Some powerful fighters were fighting fiercely. Erlaio's guards must have gotten to Mua and she was not going down quietly. As Ayika spun around she saw that Mizumi and her were no longer alone in the courtyard. There was a hooded black shadow standing off to the side of them. Distracted from the cloud of alcohol Ayika could feel the reach of the spirit world. The Nine-Step-Shadow had appeared to complete his announcement of Mua's death.
Ayika wondered if Mua had seen the spirit in that final moment. She wondered if Grandma Aka had been right and it had provided some measure of comfort. Even as she felt the sinking feeling knowing what sad end Mua was coming too she could not help feeling relief. The omen had not been meant for her or Mizumi. Then that hypothesis was spoiled by a loud roaring howl that blasted from the direction Mua and Erliao had run to. That was not a spiritual omen. It was a material, physical sound. This noise bounced across every wall of the mansion and vibrated through their very bones. The smashing sounds continued.
Mizumi stopped suddenly in the middle of their escape as she spun to face the noise. "What was that?!"
Ayika felt a shiver run up her spine. She recognized that feeling, that sense beyond the material. She knew what was back there.
Suddenly there was a splintering crash and a thump several meters behind them. This was followed by a human form rolling and sliding across the courtyard floor. Then that form coughed and rolled over once more. Mama Mua raised herself up off the ground on scraped and bloody arms.
Panting, she said, "Your Masks are here. It seems ya were right. They don't like Chao either."
Without Mua maintaining her magic the fog was dissipating. One gap in the wisps was big enough for them to see a man step out through the hole of a broken paper-screen door leading to the mansion. He was wearing a simple thin shirt and light trousers but obviously this man did not have to worry about the coming autumn chill. Red eyes glowed from behind the purple mask he wore and even Mizumi saw him obscured by shifting violet shadow-like smoke clinging to his back. It formed the suggestion of a second creature clinging to the back of each limb and moving the human like a puppet. Ayika had been right. The Masks were merging with spirits.
Ayika could understand the hatred of jilted love and festering guilt. She could even imagine hatred of change battling with tradition. But within those carved sockets there was no hatred, or any emotion that could be matched by a human heart. The Mask jerked slightly as he stood in the hole broken by Mua's body, as if his limbs were a new machine who's operation he was still learning. Then he let out a laugh like grinding ice and turned on the three women in the courtyard, his fingers curled like grasping claws.
...
Ayika panted as she ran through the mansion halls. Screaming guests fled in every direction around her. She was now terrifyingly clear headed. Few things were more sobering than fleeing for your life. Ayika remembered Mua waving her arms to send the fog in the courtyard flying together to solidify around the Mask in an imprisoning armor of ice. She also remembered that man breaking his arm free of his frozen bonds in a matter a second. The three woman had ran inside but the only reason they had escaped was by running into the guards who had been rushing out to defend Erliao against Mua. In that instant of collision the waterbender, now bashed and bloody, had not provoked as much alarm as had the masked attacker racing up behind them. The Mask launched himself forward and proceeded to smashed in amongst the mansion security. Ayika had grabbed Mizumi and Mua's arms as they fled with the rest of the partygoers.
"How did they get here?" Mizuni yelled as she ran down the hallway while trying to support a battered Mua.
Mua gritted her teeth as the two girls accidentally half flung her into a wall rounding a corner. "Ah don't know! Chao was running to hide in his bedroom but someone must've been hiding in there already! Ah'd just saw the door close when he suddenly screamed bloody murder. It sounded like a bear was loose in there and then next thing that monster was bursting out through a wooden wall! Ah couldn't hit the blasted thing more than once and when Ah did it was only 'cus he was a little busy throwing me through a door!"
"Another time maybe, ladies!" Ayika was just concentrating on running. Her head may have been clear but she as she panted she was noticing her feet were a little more uncertain than she would prefer while running for her life. If she every had another moment to think in her life she would use it to curse Inner Ring alcohol.
Mizumi seemed to have infinite breath to spend talking while running. "But Erliao had to be their target, correct? The nationalists would have no reason to chase us? No one could even know we were going to be here!"
"The nationalists shouldn't be attacking Erliao either but you saw that thing. I'm not sure that was just a human!" By the end of that sentence Ayika could barely find air to push out the words. Screams rang out behind them. At one point they had to fight past green-badged men who were running towards the disturbance but no one questioned three women fleeing from screams.
They made it out the mansion's front doors and halfway to the compound gate before they stopped and turned around. They could hear the clatter of a carriage rushing off down the outer road in a hurried escape. The driver could not be blamed. Mua braced her hands against her thighs as she regained her breath. Mizumi looked back across the carriage yard at the illuminated facade which looked so deceptively peaceful.
To Ayika's irritation and admiration the other Islander girl was barely winded. "Well, that was a disaster. Mua, I hope this satisfies you desire for revenge on Erliao and we can now move past that. Whatever they want with him I doubt the Masks will give the minister over to you, and by now that assassin is concerned with his own escape. Let us find a servant. The coachmen should be just as eager to get away from this as we are to get to the station."
Mua was clearly in pain but she still chuckled mockingly even if it made her wince. "Always so confidant. Always sure ya know how the world works. Your people never really understand spirits. That was a possession. To spirits manifested like that in the material world shamans stand out like beacons. And we've got maybe the only two in this damn city standing right here."
Ayika was about to say something but her planned speech died on her lips as the main doors of the mansion were flung open. Or perhaps open was the wrong word. The righthand door was flung off. The three meter tall slab of wood pattered with embossed bronze briefly hung in the air before it crashed and screeched its way down the long slope of stone steps. The Mask stepped forward, a dark shape casting a long shadow in the light that spilled out from the main hall. The purple aura around him was the most concentrated Ayika had ever seen it. It seemed almost like a transparent second body fastened to the man's back.
She did not stick around to look any closer. All three women spun at the same moment and dashed towards the open gate to the road beyond the compound. Ayika glanced to the side and saw Mizumi once more held her knife in her fist, though what she planned to do with that against such a monster Ayika did not know. Outside the compound wall it was dark. No one tried to close the gate. It would have taken all three of them to have any hope of moving the massive thing and the Mask was likely to just jump over it or punch through it. That was not to say they had a better plan.
Thus far their flight had been directed purely by instinct. Now that they had gotten outside it was clear that was not enough. The carriage path wound its way over the small bridge over a small stream and out through open fields and low grassy hills towards the distant tram terminal. That destination could have been outside the Outer Wall for all the good it did them.
Mua ran a few steps off the path and then stopped once more. So, she had seen their hopeless situation as well. Mizumi skidded to a halt beside Ayika. In a distant way Ayika managed to admire how the other woman's costume did nothing to obstruct her movements. She had also acquired yet another knife from somewhere.
Mizumi planted herself facing the gate behind them. "Ayika, run! Those masks hate foreigners so I should be able to convince him to face me for a few moments. That can give you time to hide!"
Ayika grabbed Mizumi by the arm and spun her so forcefully that she nearly impaled herself on the knife blades. Ayika was gripping onto Mizumi's arm so tightly her fingers hurt.
"You're not a damn hero! You're coming!"
Her throat hurt like she was screaming but for some reason she could barely hear her own voice over the blood pounding in her ears. If the Nine-Step-Shadow had appeared in that moment she would have ripped off its ill-omened arms.
Mizumi looked up with pain widened eyes behind her gold mask but somehow managed a smile. Backlit by the glow washing out from the mansion gate she looked like some ancient warrior out of legend. She was beautiful. "Like she said, it is after shamans. He will probably just push me to the side but that will still be a distraction." A roar echoed from inside the compound, breaking the silence of gurgling water and faintly chirping insects as it underlined the unspoken lie of Mizumi's words. "So run! Now!"
In that moment Mua interrupted. "If ya all are done with the dramatic speeches, perhaps we could all get outa here? If ya don't mind."
Ayika and Mizumi both turned back to see Mama Mua standing in the middle of the little stream, floating on a small raft of ice. The two girls shared a look that confirmed that both had temporarily forgotten about the existence of waterbending. Both then ran and leaped out over the water as behind them the Mask darted out of the open gate. Ayika found her traction on the little ice raft and grabbed hold to arrest Mizumi's slipping on the strange frozen construct.
Mua had other things to worry about as she raised her arms and the advancing Mask vanished as their whole world exploded into vaporous white. Mua then flung her arms forward and Ayika heard the faint sounds of fog bursting into existence down the path of the river, providing them with cover. The ice below their feel lurched and Ayika grabbed one arm around both Mua and Mizumi's waists as they rushed into waterbending powered motion down the stream. It was not until they burst into the starlight a moment later that Ayika noticed what had happened. Turning her head back she saw a line of fog stretching back in the opposite direction across the undulating landscape of the Upper Ring.
"You tricked it!" she said and immediately felt that such a statement was as painfully obvious as the night wind that was whipping through her hair.
Mua continued concentrating on her sweeping arm motions that carried them along the narrow watercourse at an incredible speed. "It won't last for long, even if spirits are easily distracted. But what do Ah know? I've never seen a possession like that."
Mizumi chimed in through gritted teeth. "Just go!"
Their tiny raft of magical ice skipped and jumped as Mua guided it at bone-breaking speed along the narrow ornamental stream through the night-shadowed green fields and rolling hills under the white moon. Behind them, the upper floors of Erliao's golden mansion stood happily shining out over the compound wall with their thousand twinkling lamps, oblivious to the tragedy within.
...