Requiem III: The Search for The Truth

by Bonnie Eagan & Alisa Joaquin

Part 45: Xia Confronts Her Past

Xia found her way through the maze of hallways by simply following the priests. It wasn't that hard to do. They made no effort to cover their trail. Still, it would not do for them to see she was there, so she threw up her usual smoke screen to confuse and shield her from prying eyes. Xia had her own agenda, to seek out her grandfather and learn the truth. She glanced at the photograph she carried. It was the only clue she had to finding Kim Luc. If this was Kim Luc's son, then there would be a resemblance that would be unmistakable.

The halls and passageways of this place felt familiar, as if she had been here as a child. Her memory, however, was sketchy. She could not remember exactly where it was, she had started her training. All she remembered was there was some kind of temple, a temple that her father had built and that was where she remembered spending her days as a teenager. Even so, that memory was still vague to her. It was as if that memory had been deliberately blocked so she would not reveal its location. As more thoughts came to the surface regarding Tan, Xia was realizing how much of a Father Tan had not been. If he loved her, he never showed it. Not once could she remember him ever caressing her cheek the way the Shaolin would do with his son. She envied him in that respect. She could not fathom why Tan would take her and her mother away from her real father. What was the purpose of it? But that was all in the past now. What she wanted was an answer to why her own grandfather would abandon her and her family to a fate where her father had been killed and her mother taken by a man who really did not love her, not in the way that really counted.

Xia reached the lowest level and heard voices. Three of the voices she recognized as the priests, the fourth was familiar and yet was not. She was drawn to that voice from some deep seeded memory, a memory that was shadowy and vague, the memory of a three-year old. A man had come to visit Tan. He had come on many occasions, but this time was different. He was there to offer Tan a mission, one that would make him wealthy beyond his dreams and to give him what he lacked, a purpose for his hatred of someone. Xia knew nothing of hatred, but as she grew, she learned quickly. She learned to hate the people that Tan, the man she called father, hated. She learned to be just as ambitious as he once was. Then Tan entered into another agreement, one where he would have to play a role that seemed far more suited for a gentler soul. Tan had to become a priest.

By then Xia was 10 years old and wanted to follow even more in the footsteps of him, but Tan had refused her this time. Where he was going, she could not follow, but she was to remain and continue her training for she may need it someday. So, she obeyed her father and when he did return, humiliated, and scarred by a Shaolin priest, she vowed one day to make the priest who hurt her father pay. A child's vows were often lost over time, but not her vow. She did try to kill the priest, but he proved far more skilled than she anticipated. She had broken one of her father's cardinal rules, know thy enemy. And here she was, once again, breaking that rule, but it wasn't she who called the Master and asked for his aid. He had called her. She would not have known if he had not called her, given her a second chance. That chance, however, was now forgotten. Another mission had taken its place, because of what an old man had said.

The Ancient's words kept coming back to her, that Kim Luc, the Master, was her grandfather. She had to learn if those words were true. So, here she found herself, facing a chance to know what was true, but why was she suddenly frozen into place? At that moment, she felt the crackle of energy, energy so powerful she could feel it even from where she was hiding. It came in her direction, and if she had not moved at that moment, it would have forced her back.

Xia then did move, this time to a different vantage point so she could watch the events taking place. She watched as an old man, older than Kwai Chang Caine, but not as old as Matthew emit so much energy it was visible to the naked eye. Her eyes focused on the man that stood near the stairs on the floor of the arena and Xia did realize she had seen that man before. She pulled out the photograph and sure enough, it was unmistakable. The man in the photograph seemed to be a younger version of the man that now fought the Caines. It would seem the Ancient had spoken the truth, but how was she going to confront him? Chances were, there would be no time. Then without warning, neither expected the blast of energy that came from Matthew Caine, causing the old man who attacked Kwai Chang to stagger back. Something was happening, something that was unexpected. Kim Luc was retreating. Xia watched as Kim Luc disappeared through a hidden door. No one had seen him leave. She had her chance. Xia rose, and keeping the shadows between her and the Shaolin, she made her way to that door and to meet her past.

The Master lit each candle, feeling the life-force as it emanated from it. He drew in that force, syphoning off its light, the flame growing smaller. The more he lit, the more he drew, addicted to the power. Nothing was going to stop him now. He could surely kill Caine with what he had drawn so far, but it was not enough just to see him dead at his feet. If he could do more and burn the Caines to ash, he would use their ashes to fuel his need for power. Twenty candle stubs littered the floor where he stood, the previous twenty that he had lit earlier. Ten now stood in the rack and as he drew in their power, he added another onto the stand. The first candle was nearly spent. As soon as its light was gone, he would add another. And as each would proceed to burn out their light, more would follow. So bent on his task and heated by the candles' flames, he did not feel the slight breeze that entered when the door had been opened by an unknown intruder.

Xia stood behind the Master watching him at first. He was lighting black candles but for what purpose she could not tell. From her perspective it looked like he was simply trying to fill the room with as much light as possible but fighting a losing battle as each candle burned down to a small stub. The candles were small, barely six inches long. What kind of light could they give off. Most of the room was still shrouded in darkness.

"If you are trying to light this space, it will do no good," Xia commented. "A flashlight would do better."

The Master spun around at the words ready to blast who it was that intruded within his private sanctuary. "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me? You should, we've spoken on the phone several times."

The Master, drunk with the power that he felt, did not answer the young blond woman who stood before him. When he spoke, it was with contempt. "You should not be here. This is no place for a woman."

"Even for the Kim Luc's granddaughter?"

The Master turned to face her one more time, his eyes narrow slits. "I have no granddaughter."

Xia opened the torn area of her sleeve to reveal the mark that was there. "No? You deny me then?"

"A grandchild should be perfect, not marred as SHE had been."

Xia's eyes blazed at her grandfather's words. "Look at me. I am Xia, daughter of Xiang-seng, your own flesh and blood." She held up the photograph containing the images of her father, mother, and herself. "You cannot deny me."

"You are not my granddaughter. You will never be my granddaughter. Begone from his place before I destroy you."

"You, destroy me? That's a laugh. You can't even destroy one lousy Shaolin priest."

Suddenly, Xia was thrown back against the door, pinned there by the force of the man's chi. She could feel that force squeezing against her lungs, forcing her breath from her body.

"Impudent child. You will not dictate to me. Your impatience has cost me precious time and energy. I will deal with you later."

The force suddenly released her, and she dropped to the floor, limp as a rag-doll. Her left angle snapped as she fell and sharp, stabbing pain shot up through her leg. Her breathing was forced, and her words could barely be heard as she struggled to get them out. "I hope the Caines send you to hell."

Continues with Part 46