The Burning Man

4

As the Guei trooped off in their grim procession, Shavi grabbed Ruth and hugged her joyfully.

‘I am so glad you are well,’ he said. ‘We were all worried Veitch would hurt you.’

‘He hasn’t hurt me.’ Ruth wallowed in Shavi’s hug. ‘In fact, he helped save my life.’

‘Church will be so pleased to see you. He has been broken-hearted, though he has striven to hide it from the rest of us-’

‘I’m not coming back with you, Shavi.’

Shavi slowly released himself from the hug.

‘I’m going with Veitch.’

After the embrace, the flicker of betrayal across Shavi’s face was doubly stinging.

‘I made him swear that he wouldn’t kill Church, or any of you,’ she said hurriedly. ‘The price I had to pay for that was that I’d stay with him.’

She was aware of Tom watching her intensely.

‘He’s done some terrible things, but the good Ryan we all remember — he’s still inside. I know he is. And if I can reach that part of him … save him … then I’ll have done some good.’ She looked from face to face. ‘Won’t I?’

‘Oh, you want to save him,’ Tom said sardonically. ‘No other reason at all.’

‘What are you saying?’ Ruth snapped.

Tom only smiled.

‘Come,’ Shavi urged. ‘The ghosts may have gone, but they could be back at any moment.’

As he led the way through the Gate of Heavenly Purity, Ruth sensed a barrier between them and that hurt her more than she could have believed.

The palace had double eaves and was set on a white marble platform. A raised walkway led from the gate to the door.

‘Nine bays wide,’ Shavi counted. ‘Five bays deep. Did the Chinese understand the underlying pattern of Existence before anyone else?’

‘Just open the door,’ Tom said. ‘Are you sure this is the place?’

‘Yes. I sense restrained power.’

As Ruth crossed the threshold, a familiar energy coursed down her spine. An atmosphere of cathedral-like sanctity and the burned-iron odour of the Blue Fire lay within. The tip of her spear flickered with ghostly sapphire flames. Even Tom allowed himself a brief smile.

Their footsteps rang off the marble floor. A sumptuous design of red, gold and black covered the walls. In the centre of the palace, on an elaborately carved platform, stood a throne and a desk. Set into the roof was another caisson featuring a coiled dragon, and above the throne hung a tablet marked with Chinese characters.

‘I wonder what it means,’ Ruth said.

‘It says “Justice and Honour”.’ The familiar voice rang out across the room.

‘Someone’s let the genie out of the bottle again.’ Tom sniffed.

Ruth approached the throne. When she stood directly before it, blue flames leaped from her spear, soaring up ten feet into the air. Lines of fire rushed out from the throne, criss-crossing the floor before rising up to form a pyramidal structure of lines of force, centred on the grand chair. The breath caught in Ruth’s throat as a figure faded in and out of the flames crackling over the throne.

‘Hal?’ she said.

‘More pithy comments,’ Tom said sourly. ‘I am all ears.’

Laughter rippled out from the fire. ‘Hello, Tom, Shavi, Ruth. I’m here because you’ve reached a really important juncture in the proceedings. Frankly, from this point on it could go either way. It’s all down to you — and the others, of course.’

‘So it’s a pep talk, is it?’ Tom muttered.

‘Why is this moment so important?’ Shavi asked.

‘You’ll see shortly. Suffice it to say, the balance of power is about to shift dramatically. You’ve done well to get here-’

‘Well?’ Ruth said. ‘I died-’

‘But you’re alive now.’

‘We were forced to split up. Church and Veitch are on the brink of killing each other …’

Hal was silent for a moment, and Ruth had the oddest feeling he was smiling at her words.

‘And now you’re here,’ he said, ‘in the Forbidden City, above one of the most important nodes of the Blue Fire, part of a network of subterranean energy that flows across south-east Asia. Now why do you think events led you here? Happenstance? Coincidence?’

Shavi smiled. ‘There are no coincidences.’

‘A prize for the mystic with the dodgy eye. Let’s review a few things, shall we? Here, the dragon has always been paramount. Of all the three hundred and sixty scaly creatures in the hierarchy of Chinese myth, the dragon was at the top of the list. And it was always linked with chi — the spiritual energy that runs through the body, as seen in the meridians of acupuncture — and through the land. Man and world, both linked by the Fabulous Beast. How important was the dragon? It was one of the four animals chosen to symbolise the cardinal points. The dragon got the east. It stood for sunrise, spring and life. The white tiger got the west — death. We all know the Land of the Dead lies where the sun sets.

‘In fact, in the folk religion, the Long Wang — yes, great name — were dragon kings who ruled over life and death. They were gods of the oceans, lakes and rivers — the liminal zones where you could cross over to other worlds — and they represented wisdom, strength and goodness.’

‘Is there a point to this?’ Tom said.

‘It is a part of the secret history,’ Shavi said. ‘The true history of Existence, encoded in myth and legend. The Chinese put it at the centre of their beliefs.’

‘Why?’ Hal asked.

Nobody answered.

‘Because from here you can access the well-spring of the Blue Fire — it’s located right in this region of the world-’

‘Wait,’ Ruth interrupted. ‘Church said the source of the Blue Fire was sealed off, back in the sixties.’

‘Don’t you think it might be possible to unseal it?’

‘Why, if we could do that it would provide a battery for the Pendragon Spirit,’ Shavi said. ‘A tremendous battery!’

‘More importantly, it wouldn’t be the Void’s world any more,’ Ruth said. ‘Can we do that?’

‘You can’t. But with help … In fact, a big step to achieving that help has already been taken by Ryan Veitch. The King of Foxes is dead. The throne is empty.’

‘Then where are the true rulers imprisoned?’ Tom said.

‘I can’t tell you that.’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Tom threw his arms into the air.

Shavi smiled. ‘You are only annoyed because he sounds just like you. A hint here and there, but do it yourself or you will never learn.’

Hal’s image fell into sharper relief in the flames above the throne. ‘The Void already knows what you’re planning to do. Beyond the walls of the city, the spiders are moving. The army will lay you under siege.’

‘But they can’t enter the city because of the Blue Fire,’ Ruth realised.

‘Then how are we supposed to leave?’ Shavi asked.

‘You’ll find a way. Ask Tom.’ The Blue Fire began to retreat along the lines of force towards the throne. ‘You were all chosen for a reason — even you, Tom. Don’t lose hope. Never lose that. Just look for the patterns that lie beneath the surface of reality and you’ll always find your way.’

With a swoosh, the flames rushed back into the throne and Hal was gone.

‘Useless waste of space,’ Tom grumbled.

Shavi looked around. ‘There is something hidden in this place, but what …?’

Animated, Ruth organised Tom and Shavi to search the palace, but after fifteen minutes they had found nothing.

The door to the ornate entrance chamber clanged open and slow footsteps made their way in. Sallow-faced and leaking blood, Church staggered in.

‘Oh my God!’ Ruth ran to take his weight; Shavi joined her.

‘You’re here,’ he croaked, his joy breaking through the pain.

‘Hush.’ Ruth gave him a kiss on the cheek as Shavi examined his wound.

‘Veitch,’ Church said weakly. ‘Bastard took me by surprise then left me to bleed out.’

Ruth blanched. In the brief exchange of glances between Tom and Shavi she saw a transitory accusation.

‘Lie down, save your energy. Don’t talk,’ she said, helping Church to the floor where Shavi attempted to staunch the bloodflow.

Church squeezed Ruth’s hand. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’ His smile, too, felt like a mark of betrayal. ‘I don’t get it — I should have died by now.’ He coughed weakly.

‘The Pendragon Spirit is keeping you going,’ Shavi said.

Ruth became aware that Tom was not helping. He stood a little to one side, stroking his chin thoughtfully, apparently unmoved by the scene. ‘He’s your friend! Do something!’ Ruth knew she was turning her guilt outwards, but couldn’t help herself.

Tom eyed her coldly. ‘I am doing something. The little snip in the fire said we should be looking out for patterns.’

‘Now?’ Ruth raged.

‘It would seem like the most important time of all, don’t you think?’ Tom suddenly grew rigid, his gaze fixed on Church.

‘What do you see?’ Shavi asked.

‘I see further proof that there are no coincidences. Everything has meaning if only you adopt the right perspective.’ He knelt next to Church and gestured towards Church’s blood flowing across the marble floor. ‘I see a pattern,’ Tom said, quietly triumphant. ‘Indeed, I see a picture.’

Tiny grooves in the marble invisible to the eye were gradually filling with blood. Each pump of Church’s heart added more blood to a growing picture of a coiled Chinese dragon, mirroring the one in the caisson above their heads.

‘Quick, now,’ Tom said.

As the head was completed, the eye winked at them with a flicker of blue. Ruth rammed the tip of the spear in the eye. A crackle of sapphire energy brought a rumble as the marble tore open in regular lines, section by section dropping to form spiral steps leading down into the dark.

‘I’d have missed that,’ Ruth said.

‘You weren’t looking for patterns,’ Tom replied. ‘You can applaud now.’

‘Would you settle for me not strangling you?’

Shavi quickly gathered Church into his arms and together they descended.