The Immortal Words (The Grave Kingdom), стр. 32
“Yes. The shield of justice he hides behind is a lie, Bingmei. A lie that he has sought to conceal for generations. Come. We must keep walking. The phoenix is anxious to greet you.”
“I’m afraid of her,” Bingmei admitted. She remembered the vision of the Great War, of the phoenix’s defeat. If she hadn’t won her fight with him, how would Bingmei prevail?
“You shouldn’t be,” Juexin said. “Yes, she is a fierce bird. You’ve seen how phoenixes can fight off dragons. But birds are also the embodiment of mercy. Think of it! Robins don’t fly away from their nests at the first sight of a predator, and when a fox comes hunting, a hen will gather her peeping chicks beneath her wings. They protect their offspring at great risk to themselves. That is what you smelled from your mother.”
Bingmei felt some confidence restored at his words and rose again. They continued walking through the woods. She noticed that other siskins had gathered around to stare at them while they talked. Once they started walking again, the energetic chirping continued.
“Why were you sent to bring me to the palace?” she asked as they walked.
“Because I am your brother-in-law,” he said with a smile. “We are family. Your parents and grandparents are trapped inside Diyu. They cannot pass through the gate unless something is done in the mortal world.”
“Am I truly meant to marry Rowen?” She could still scarcely believe it. She’d thought they had no future, that she had no future.
He smiled at her. “You’ll be happy together if you marry for the right reasons. You’ve witnessed for yourself what happens when two greedy fools bind themselves together in an inseparable bond. They entered their covenant willingly. And they are doomed to spend the ages of eternity thus entrapped.”
The pieces she’d heard in conversations in the past began to come together. “Echion and Xisi claimed immortality and defeated the phoenix. But their kingdom didn’t last. Echion has tried, ever since, to create a . . . kingdom that will survive, one that will supersede the one he destroyed. So far, he’s only been able to maintain control of the Grave Kingdom, but he hasn’t been successful here, on this side of the wall.”
“Yes. He has learned how to extend his dominion for longer periods each time. But each of his attempts ends in war, chaos, and murder, because he refuses to model his leadership after the phoenix. And then he and Xisi destroy everyone with the killing fog and start over after a new generation is ready for a ruler.”
“What I don’t understand, Juexin, is why I felt compelled to bring Echion back. Was it because he stole the Phoenix Blade?”
“You were chosen by the phoenix, Bingmei. The blade responded to you when you were chosen. Echion was still connected to his body, just as you are to yours. With the sword in his foul grip, he sensed the phoenix had made its choice. Even as a spirit, he has some power still in the human world, so he lured you to Fusang to revive him.
“You were chosen because of your twin gifts, although you believe them to be curses. Your gift of smell enabled you to detect Echion’s deceptions. And your winter sickness taught you tenacity. Echion does not believe that someone so insignificant would be able to break his kingdom, but as you’ve seen, even the smallest bird can be useful.”
“So when I meet the phoenix, I will be given the chance to accept this destiny. How will I be reunited with Rowen? Is he still at the phoenix shrine?”
“No, Bingmei. He will be taken back to the Hall of Unity to be tortured by Echion.”
Dread sickened her. She’d seen Echion kill King Shulian, Rowen and Juexin’s father, in that awful place. “How will this work, then? How will it come to pass?”
“It already has, Bingmei.”
“I’m confused. You told me the river of time flows backward . . .”
“But there is something that you don’t know. You can travel forward in time for the same reason your phoenix-sister was able to show you those visions of the past. The phoenix can fly over the river. When you have bonded with it, so will you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Essence of Light
“Are you ready, Bingmei?” Juexin asked.
She knew what he was asking her. He wanted to know whether she was prepared to make her decision. Ahead of her, between the trees, she could see the splendid palace, but it was still a distance away, like a mountain at the other end of a valley. The path leading through the woods was straight, and none of the trees blocked the view.
“I think I am,” she answered. “How long will it take us to get there?”
He smiled, and she smelled the citrus scent of his amusement. “Not long, Bingmei. Take my hand.”
She gazed at him in confusion and then reached for his incorporeal hand. She couldn’t feel it, not in the way of skin and sinew, but as soon as they touched, she felt something arc between them. They were locked together as one, their essences fused. Then he lifted his other hand and traced a glyph in the air with his finger. She didn’t recognize it, but its impact was immediate. Suddenly, they were rushing down the path, traveling faster than an arrow shot from a bow. The trees whirred by them soundlessly, seeming to melt into the colors of the Woliu, and a feeling of exhilaration bubbled up inside her. They came to a stop just before the massive palace, which was almost as large as the mountain it had been built on. Two statues