Bingmei opened her eyes from her trance. She felt her strength returning. The pain from her fight with Mieshi and Zhuyi was gone. Echion was mortal now. He could be killed. Yes, he remained powerful, but he was vulnerable in his weakened condition. Xisi had fulfilled her part of the Xieyi pact.
Bingmei stared at Zhuyi and Mieshi, the two left behind to guard her. They had weapons, she did not. She could not hope to reason with them. But she still had to escape.
The day slipped away, her agitation increasing. If she ever got free, she determined that she would never permit a bird to be caged again. Her guards remained vigilant, watching her unceasingly, without any sign of boredom. They seemed soulless.
Which made her think. She knew the Immortal Words that could bring a person back from the dead. Shui, Xue, Po, drawn with blood, ash, and water. She had used them to bring Quion back to life.
But what if the ritual was completed without the last word—the glyph of spirit. Would it restore the body-soul without reinstating the spirit?
Could her bond sisters yet be saved?
A fragrance of honey came into the room. Bingmei blinked. It was the smell of hope. It did not come from the other two. It wafted in from the windows above. She heard the flutter of wings and recognized the presence of the siskin. With eyes fixed on Mieshi and Zhuyi, she reached out to the bird. It was perched at the window frame outside, and she saw Marenqo walking stealthily down the way, approaching the door. The smell came from him.
Bingmei unfurled her legs and stepped off the bed. She stretched her arms and shook blood into her hands.
Mieshi and Zhuyi looked at her dispassionately and stopped leaning against the far wall.
“You can’t escape, Bingmei,” Zhuyi said.
“We won’t let you,” Mieshi added.
“But I cannot stay here,” Bingmei said, lifting her voice firm and strong so that it would carry outside. “You were once my sisters. My friends. Come Mieshi. Zhuyi. Let us be friends again.”
“We serve the mistress,” said the two in unison.
“Mieshi. Zhuyi. Please don’t make me do this. Open the door and let me go. Echion has been weakened. He can be killed now. This is our chance to set things right. Please.”
She spoke the words for Marenqo, knowing that the women would not heed her. The sweet, tart scent of surprise drifted through the window.
“Open the door,” Bingmei said firmly.
They ignored her.
“Open the door!” Bingmei said again, and then smelled Marenqo’s sharpened awareness. He’d realized that she was speaking to him.
The siskin chirped encouragingly at him, and she saw him reach for the handle. He tried twisting it, but it was locked. The knob jiggled, drawing Mieshi’s and Zhuyi’s eyes.
Bingmei rushed at them both. They saw her coming, and immediately the three of them were trading kicks, blocks, and punches. Bingmei tried to incapacitate Mieshi with a dianxue blow, but the other woman thrust her forearm down, blocking the attempt. Zhuyi punched Bingmei in the chest, followed by a double kick, which Bingmei managed to sidestep and evade. With two against one, the match would be short unless Marenqo could get the door open.
Bingmei ducked low and swept Zhuyi off her feet, only to find Mieshi coming around to hammer a fist into her skull. The blow glanced off her, causing a jolt of pain.
The door finally smashed open, broken off its hinges by Marenqo’s side kick.
Mieshi looked at him and then leaped, kicking wildly at his head. Zhuyi flipped back up, and now it was two on two, the odds much easier.
There was no time to think, only to fight. Zhuyi drew her saber in a fluid move, and Bingmei lunged forward to grab her wrist. She got ahold of it, but lost it when Zhuyi violently smashed her elbow into Bingmei’s lip, cutting it against a tooth. She kneed Zhuyi in the stomach and used her own weight to shove the woman against the wall. Zhuyi slammed her forehead down to collide with Bingmei’s, but Bingmei jerked her head aside in time, kneeing her opponent again in the stomach. Zhuyi kicked her back, then swept the sword around. If Bingmei hadn’t ducked, it would have taken off her head. She grappled once again for Zhuyi’s sword arm and then jabbed her elbow into the other warrior’s ribs. Moving quickly, she drew a dianxue symbol that froze Zhuyi, who then thumped to the floor.
Marenqo was losing his fight with Mieshi, but his heart wasn’t in it. He didn’t want to hurt her. Bingmei smelled his resistance. He was fighting to save Bingmei, but it hurt him to strike at a woman he respected and had traveled with for a long time. A woman who felt nothing except blind loyalty to their enemy.
Bingmei saw that the rune staff had been dropped by the wall, and she snatched it up. Mieshi saw her out of the corner of her eye and lunged a kick at her. It struck Bingmei in the stomach, knocking her back into the wall. Mieshi turned, drawing back her fist to punch, but Marenqo slipped his arm around her neck and hoisted her off her feet in a choke hold.
Mieshi flailed, trying to free herself, but Marenqo tightened the grip.
“Please stop,” Marenqo hissed, fear surging in his chest. It was a hold that could not only make someone pass out, it could also be fatal if held for too long.
Mieshi thrashed, slamming him in the ribs, trying to get a grip on his shirt. Bingmei touched her chest and drew the glyph that froze her in place. Marenqo, panting, slowly let her down. He cradled her head on his lap.
“Thank you for coming,” Bingmei said, winded herself.
He looked up at her, his mouth twitching. “I thought I was going crazy. Or that little finch was. It kept coming back with pieces of silk that reminded me of
