Chapter 3: Some Late-night Sneaking

That night, Aki tossed and turned on layers of featherbeds. Temujin had been locked up in the dungeons as per the Emperor’s orders but no extra precaution had been taken to ensure the safety of the Egg of the Dragon God. In short, they didn’t heed the red Slayer’s warning.

Aki hated to admit it but the Clan of Stork could be supremely proud about their appointment as guardians of the Egg. Although it was true that the section of the Treasure Vault leading to the most coveted power source in the world was riddled with booby traps and various obstacles, and not even Aki had heard tell of what those were precisely, there was still a human variable in the defense system: the chief architect who had devised the whole thing.

Unless the Storks were a barbaric people who killed helpers just as soon as they had rendered their service, the chief architect was the weak link. And criminal elements always seemed to know exactly where to apply pressure to get what they wanted.

Aki was aware that her people, the Storks, didn’t have much experience with the criminal mind. She respected and admired the Emperor, her grandfather, but she of all people knew how stubborn her clan could be.

She had now gotten out of bed and was pacing her bedchamber. It was no use trying to force herself to fall asleep. It was counter-productive and, well, unrealistic. She had made up her mind to pay the dungeons a visit. If anyone caught her out of bed, she could pretend she’d been sleep-walking. She’d done this before on one occasion – OK, maybe more than one – when she snuck into the castle pantry.

First, she made a hand seal to invoke the pair of bronze lions that stood guard at temple gates. One had its mouth open to pronounce “a” and was called the Alpha Lion; the other had its mouth closed to pronounce “un” and was the Omega Lion. This time, Aki called on the first. She pressed her hands together, fingers interlocked except for thumbs, ring fingers, and pinkies which were straight and touching. The last two fingers were also separated to form a V shape or bird beak.

She chanted: “I am one with the Infinite Divine Energy.”

This particular hand seal, Tō, granted harmony with the universe and thus a state of extreme lightness was achieved. A bright white light tinged with many shifting colors emanated from and then sank back in her solar plexus.

Through long training and meditation, elite Storks had learned to focus their ki to either levitate or teleport themselves. Aki could manage these techniques in short bursts. For instance, she could will herself to become as light as a feather and travel limited distances without her feet touching the ground. This was Karumijutsu or the body-lightening technique. Basically, she manipulated her own gravimetric field, which involved some degree of psychokinesis, also an innate attribute of white Slayers.

Far-range teleportation was a whole other level of skill she was yet to master. So, the old-fashioned way, she picked the spots in the wooden floor that didn’t creak and landed on them like a ghost playing hopscotch. She was familiar with all the right spots even in the dark and she had left her socks on for added sound-dampening.

Down in the dungeons, the floor would give way to stone and what she had to worry about was echoes, damp walls, and the pervasive musty “cooped-up” smell. But she was too excited about the prospect of seeing Temujin again to care. 

×

The guard stood in the long narrow corridor that led to a block lined with individual cells. Not all the blocks had sentries, which indicated that they were empty. Aki predicted all the other cells in this particular block would be empty too, except for Temujin’s. They didn’t have much crime in the Ethereal Nest and she was positive the Emperor would’ve given instructions to hold Temujin apart from any other prisoners.

Aki manipulated what little wind there was in the dungeons to carry her feather-light body. In the little moonlight that strayed into those bowels, she looked like an otherworldly apparition; airy and immaterial. Her meditation trainers would be so proud if they saw her. But then they’d scold her of course for using her abilities to break into such an unsavory place.

It turned out she needn’t have resorted to her ki powers though. The guard inside his full armor was sleeping very soundly. His armor was like some exoskeleton propping him up while his head lolled and retreated like a turtle’s inside the oversized shell. No amount of her waving right in front could wake him. It must be very uncomfortable though, Aki thought, sleeping on his feet like that.  Then she flitted into the block to find the right cell in the dark.

She hadn’t gone too far in when a voice spoke in the pitch-blackness: “Oh, it’s you.”

Aki was startled that the red Slayer could see in the dark. She could barely make out his outline and the bars of his cell although they were only a few feet away. But it didn’t escape her attention that Temujin chose to address her not by her name or title and that there was a certain coldness in his greeting. It must’ve been the ill treatment he received at court and here in the dungeons.  

“You have sharp eyes,” she stated, rather than queried, in the pidgin language of the flatlands.

“Vulcanus Clansmen can see well in the dark. We’ve lived most of our lives in it. Although I must admit, I almost mistook you for a phantom because of all the white sheets you Storks insist upon wearing.”

All at once Aki became conscious of what she had worn going to bed: a flimsy sleeping gown.

“Well, I assure you that that was my original intent as a proud member of the Clan of Storks,” she retorted, feeling grateful for the darkness that hid the blush rising to her cheeks.

“You were only a phantom in appearance,” the red Slayer said pointedly. “You moved as noisily as a poltergeist.”

Now Aki’s face was as red as a cooked lobster.

“That’s rich coming from a burglar caught right at the entrance.”

It wasn’t in Aki’s nature to trade barbs with a commoner but it had always been her firm conviction that princesses should be prepared for anything.

“I’m not a burglar!” Temujin spoke angrily, stunning Aki who had rarely heard a voice raised at her.

Also, she worried the sentry in the corridor had heard. Both she and Temujin waited a few moments in tense silence, listening for any sign of movement from him.

When there wasn’t a peep from the sentry, Aki said in a mature and calm voice: “OK, I think we should start over. My name’s Aki and you’re Temujin. I apologize for the conditions of your cell. We don’t normally deprive anyone of light, whoever they may be. It’s very inhospitable and uncharacteristic of the Clan of Stork. We are after all known as the Second Lantern of the World.”   

There was a long and brooding silence in the darkness where the red Slayer should be. Aki pictured him sitting on the floor in a dejected fashion, one knee raised and the other leg stretched. She hoped he wasn’t looking at her, whether or not it was true he had the ability to see in the dark. 

Aki thought her offer of peace was going to be turned down. Then she heard his voice again.

“It’s because of me.”