His men were avoiding him again. Cao Jian didn’t blame them. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in a good mood, and his men would rather be braving the torn and cracked streets of Warburg than hang around, waiting for him to berate them. So he let them go out and hunt for the weapons Mindlord wanted. He’d go with them, but the place bored him now. He hadn’t faced a decent fight in two months, ever since the disastrous encounter with Mindlord’s other mistress.
Cao Jian’s mind replayed that fight over and over, remembering the humiliating way Mistress Raina had defeated him. He could scarcely fault himself for that; his attacks had been swift, masterful. However, she was a demoness, with foul magics. He grunted, disgusted at the idea that Mindlord would countenance such an abomination, let alone lie with one. Had the man no self-control? Truly, Mistress Petite was indirectly responsible for his exile to Warburg, but he thought her a far better consort for Mindlord than…..that…..thing.
He sat on the ground, back against the outer wall of his outpost, and thought dark thoughts. Nothing had gone the way he envisioned. Instead of the glorious battles he’d been promised, he got guard duty. Instead of honor, he reaped scorn and humiliation from a creature less than human. Where he’d expected a bold liege lord who valued him as a weapon, he got a conniving telepath who punished him for annoying his playthings. He wasn’t getting anywhere.
An airy, female voice crackled with incredible power from beside him, “Then why do you stay, Cao Jian?” His head whirled and his eyes fell on the voice’s owner. She appeared to be a slim Chinese woman of middle age and ethereal beauty, garbed in a white and blue robe. It took him a full two seconds to recognize her as…
“Tian-Mu!” He scrambled to his knees, touching his forehead to the dirt before his patron goddess. Her voice replied, with just a touch of scorn, “It is good that you still remember your patron, but your obeisance does not please me. You serve too many masters, my warrior. What value does your loyalty have, then, when stretched so thin? Rise, Cao Jian, and tell me this.”
He lifted his head to look at her. He found himself at a loss for words, and she seemed to sense it for she continued, “You shame your clan with your fealty to this ‘lord’. Furthermore, you insult me and our pact by allowing them to mistreat you so. You were bred and trained for more than…..this.” Her slender arm waved negligently, seeming to dismiss all of Warburg with that gesture. “I know you, Cao Jian, and you are no coward. Why, then, do you play a coward’s role? Do you truly fear this ‘Mindlord’ so much?”
Cao Jian lowered his eyes, shamed. “His powers are too great, Mother of Lightning. I cannot best him, and with his telepathy, he could….break me. He could make me someone other than who I am. “Her voice sighed, “Why did you seek me out, and forge this pact with me, when you have more faith in a man’s power than mine? Do you truly believe that even my power would fail before his?”
His voice was deep and resigned, “Have you come to punish me, Tian-Mu?” She regarded him with a touch of sadness, though her sky blue lips curved in a slight smile. “Had I come for that purpose, you would be ash scattered to the wind even now…no, my warrior. I have come to help you. Attend me well, Cao Jian. I shall tell you what you truly are, and give to you a boon. What you do from that point is up to you, and will show your true value.”
Cao Jian straightened, sitting on his heels. Tian-Mu gazed off into the distance. “Cao Jian, you were born, and bred for battle. You hunger for a worthy enemy to fight, and something worth fighting for. Without one, you will spend all your days with the same sense of dissatisfaction you do now. In your own world, you would have your clan to provide you with that. Here, you must decide for yourself. You may take up the banner of another lord, but if you do not respect him, what good are you to him?”
“You have much to learn, my warrior. You will not learn it crouched in this squalid little outpost. The time has come for you to decide what it is you want, Cao Jian. I will not make that choice for you. All I will do is give you a gift, and watch to see what you do with it.” She turned, leaning forward to press her lips to his forehead. Cao Jian’s eyes opened wide, as he felt the goddess’s power within him. His vision whitened, his ears filled with the crackling of lightning, the roar of thunder. She withdrew her lips, and just as suddenly, the sensation was gone….but not wholly.
“What I have given to you will serve as armor, as shield, as weapon. However, you must learn how to call upon it, and when to use it. I will be watching, my warrior. “Cao Jian could not determine the moment she left; he simply realized he was alone again. He knelt in the dirt for some time, and then stood. He knew at that moment what it was he wanted to do first, and turning his back on the outpost, he started walking.
No comments:
Post a Comment