A/N: Should pave posted two on Monday for Memorial Day. Here is a second.

Requiem III: The Search for The Truth

by Bonnie Eagan & Alisa Joaquin

Part 29: Xia's Truth

Xia began reading the journal. No one would have guessed that she was fluent in Chinese, being able to read its pictoral caligraphy as well as speak several dialects. Her training had been very thorough, but what she read in that journal had not prepared her.

"I must not turn to hatred of my own son's actions. He does not understand what honor means. A man saved my life, a man whom I thought was the son of a murderer. I was wrong. Kwai Chang Caine was no murderer, just a man with deep feeling for what was right. Now he has his own son and I fear for his safety."

Xia flipped through the book and read another entry.

"My son raided ZhangZhous Temple. He said it was to ferret out traitors to the government, but I know better. Matthew Caine lives in that temple with his son. When will my son learn that hate is not the way?"

Another entry caught Xia's attention.

"I suspect my son has joined a cult, one whose hatred of the Shaolin will only be its downfall. My son has lost the way completely. He even forgets the fact that he has a new bride and she has a child on the way. Now I must be father and grandfather to them. I hope I can teach young Xiang-seng Luc not to follow in his father's footsteps."

Entry after entry Xia read on until finally she came to the last.

"Xiang-seng has grown into a fine young man. He follows the way of the Tao and Buddha. He would have made a fine Shaolin priest. I hear he will be a father soon with a daughter on the way. He wants to name her Xia. I do not think calling her a shrimp is a good idea."

The last two entries though brought chills to her spine.

"My son has returned. I no longer know his heart. He brings a young man with him, Tan. Tan has taken much interest in my grandson's wife and daughter. But I also fear him. His eyes are dead. What my son sees in him cannot be good. I pray that all will be well."

"My grandson's wife, my great-grandaughter are missing. A scrap of cloth that I found suggests they had been taken. My grandson has been severely wounded. There are slash marks along the side of his throat, as if he had been attacked by an animal. I am afraid he may die. I cannot . . . . ."

The entry ended there, as if the person writing it was interrupted.

"I don't understand."

"You were not Tan's daughter, but the daughter of Xiang-seng Luc, son of Kim Luc."

"No, this can't be true."

"It is true, child," The Ancient said. "I was there when you were born. I was the Shaolin who delivered you. Your grandfather was there, but turned his back when he discovered you were a girl. And when you disappeared, along with your mother, your great-grandfather died that night. I took his journal so that one day, you may know the truth."

"Lies, it is all lies!" Xia screamed.

"Is it? There is more. You have a birthmark on your right arm near your shoulder, the birthmark of a dragon's claw."

"How could you know that?"

Lo Si reached up and tore the right sleeve of her garmet. The mark was there, though a tattoo had been added as if to enhance its looks, Tan's deathmark.

"I know it and you know it. And someone else knows that as well. Your grandfather, Kim Luc also known as the Master. He saw it when you were born. For him though, he did not want a grandaughter, especially one who was "marred" as he put it." There was bitterness in the old one's voice. "He turned away from his son and wife and totally disowned his whole family. Your great-grandfather raised your father to be a good man and to follow the ways of the Shaolin. It was Tan who tried to change the mark, to turn it into something perverse and unholy. Your great-grandfather thought the mark was a sign of great fortune."

Lo Si turned and pulled out a second item, a small music box. He opened the box and pulled out what looked like a crystal locket. 'This was given to your mother. Your great-grandfather took a lock of your hair and had it placed inside. He found it when you and your mother disappeared."

The Ancient handed Xia the locket. Within its depths, strands of very fine hair could be seen, a child's curls. The curls were yellow, like fine spun gold.

Xia's eyes grew wide and tears formed around their edges. The evidence was mounting. Another clue sung out to her, deep within the recessed of her mind. The tune was hauntingly familiar, until she learned the source of its playing. The music box was still open, playing its melody.

"I remember that tune. My mother would play it for me. Later, she would sing me to sleep with it. She was so sad. Then one day, the singing stopped. They found her dead by the river. They said she drowned and the police believed she had committed suicide. I was six years old. After that, my father . . . . Tan started training me."

Xia clutched the locket and the journal to her breast, spun around and left the Ancient alone.

"Xia, you must come back," he called. "You must not do what you are planning."

But Xia could not hear the Ancient. She was gone.

Lo Si turned back facing the interior of the room and shook his head sadly. He should have tried to stop her two years ago, but by then, she had already killed and placed her soul in peril. He also had not known at that time that it was Xia who was doing those things when Peter came to him for help. Now Peter was being held by the Master. And Lo Si felt responsible. As he continued to blame himself, not knowing what else he could do, he spotted a small package on the floor that had not been there before. The package was addressed to Kwai Chang Caine. Xia must have dropped it when she left. Lo Si picked it up and headed back to the Caine apartment. He hoped the package contained some clue to help Peter. If not, Lo Si would never forgive himself if anything happened to the young Shaolin Priest.

Continues with Part 30