The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom), стр. 1
ALSO BY JEFF WHEELER
Nonfiction
Your First Million Words
The Grave Kingdom Series
The Killing Fog
The Buried World
The Immortal Words
The Harbinger Series
Storm Glass
Mirror Gate
Iron Garland
Prism Cloud
Broken Veil
The Kingfountain Series
The Poisoner’s Enemy (prequel)
The Maid’s War (prequel)
The Poisoner’s Revenge (prequel)
The Queen’s Poisoner
The Thief’s Daughter
The King’s Traitor
The Hollow Crown
The Silent Shield
The Forsaken Throne
The Legends of Muirwood Trilogy
The Wretched of Muirwood
The Blight of Muirwood
The Scourge of Muirwood
The Covenant of Muirwood Trilogy
The Lost Abbey (novella)
The Banished of Muirwood
The Ciphers of Muirwood
The Void of Muirwood
Whispers from Mirrowen Trilogy
Fireblood
Dryad-Born
Poisonwell
Landmoor Series
Landmoor
Silverkin
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2020 by Jeff Wheeler
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by 47North, Seattle
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Amazon, the Amazon logo, and 47North are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781542015073
ISBN-10: 1542015073
Cover design by Shasti O’Leary Soudant
To Isabelle
CONTENTS
MAP
GLOSSARY
In warfare nothing...
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
Being deeply loved...
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Love is composed...
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
Coming events cast...
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
A little impatience...
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
A bird does...
CHAPTER FORTY
EPILOGUE
CHARACTERS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GLOSSARY
Baobei——term of endearment for a beloved child
Dan——the Immortal Word for protection
Diyu——afterlife of darkness and shadow, ruled by the dragon
Dianxue——a long-rumored skill of rendering killing/paralyzing blows by touch
Dongxue——series of caves where the Qiangdao had hidden
Ensign——a band of trained warriors for hire
Hongshui——flood
Jingcha——the police force in Sajinau
Li——an approximate unit of measurement, less than a mile, used to estimate
Meiwood——rosewood, a hardwood used for magic and construction
Mudi——the garden of bones beyond the Death Wall
Namibu Desert——a coastal desert far to the south
Ni-ji-jing——killer whale
Qiangdao——roving bandits
Qiezei——a thief, cat burglar, picklock; professional criminal
Quonsuun——a temple, fighting school
Shijian——the Immortal Word controlling the concept of time
Shu——the glyph that protects one from the killing fog
Sudu——the Immortal Word for speed
Taidu——one’s attitude, demeanor, bearing
Taoqi——disobedient child
Tian——the afterlife of light, ruled by the phoenix
Tianshi——angelic beings from the Grave Kingdom
Tianxia——the mortal world
Weili——the Immortal Word for might
Wenming——culture, civilization
Woliu——the vortex separating the Grave Kingdom from the mortal world
Wuxing——the Immortal Word for the unseen, invisible
Xidan——port town on trade route to Namibu Desert
Xieyi——the Immortal Word that forms a formal pact, agreement, a sealed bond
Xixuegui——the undead
Yongqi——the Immortal Word for valor
Zhu——the Immortal Word for death (a dianxue glyph)
In warfare nothing is too dishonest.
—Dawanjir proverb
PROLOGUE
The Last Sunrise
General Tzu knew they would lose. There really hadn’t been much of a hope for victory anyway. The sky roiled with smoky fumes, and a bloodred sun had ascended over the expanse of the Death Wall. At least the darkness had lifted and they could see the rubble in the shattered streets of Sihui. The dragon had, perhaps, wished to show them their doom. The general knew another attack would come soon. And this one would spell the end of Zhumu’s reign. After he fell, only three independent kingdoms would be left. Or had some of them already fallen? They’d received no outside news since the first day of the attack.
One of his underlings approached hastily, soot sticking to the sweat on his brow.
“General, the third bridge has fallen,” he said with panic in his voice. “It crumbled into the river during the night.”
“Draw our forces back to the final bridge,” General Tzu replied coolly. “That is where we will make our final stand.”
“But will it be enough?” asked the desperate underling. “Can we hold back the Dragon of Night’s army?”
“Oh, we will,” the general replied with bravado. “We will hold it with every last man. Today is the day that Echion’s army will retreat. I’ve received reports that some of his ships are full of disease. Yes, we will win this day. Gather to the final bridge.”
The man’s face brightened. “We’ve nearly won?”
“One last push,” General Tzu said confidently. “We’ve lasted this long. It’s almost over.”
“Thank you, General! Thank you! I’d nearly given up hope.”
General Tzu clapped the man on his armored shoulder and turned to walk to the palace. Everything he’d told the man was a reassuring lie. Under Echion’s rule, the Qiangdao were more united than they had ever been, and they were chafing with impatience to loot Sihui. Just as he’d done in the other kingdoms, Echion would choose loyal governors to administer the Iron Rules once Sihui fell. King Zhumu would be executed. His daughter had already been abducted and spirited away to the dragon’s palace at Fusang. An ensign had been sent to free her and the phoenix-chosen, Bingmei, but no word had ever returned. General Tzu might lie to his troops to bolster their morale and courage, but he’d not lie to himself. Bingmei and the rest had probably died before they completed their mission. Which meant there was absolutely no chance of victory at all. Sihui would be destroyed like the other kingdoms. And there wasn’t anything in the world he could do to stop it from happening.
As the general rounded the corner of the rubble-strewn street, he saw the palace ahead and dreaded the news he would bring Zhumu. Clenching his fists as he walked, he thought about the defense of