Page 53 of The Wind Dancer
“Get up. Put your hands behind your head,” she ordered, her voice flat.
The woman next to him gasped as the agents surrounded them. But Fu Shang just shook his head.
“My, how rude,” he sighed, acting disappointed. “You have not even introduced yourself, girl. Is that how polite guests should behave?”
His fingers tightened on the cup. I noticed the almost imperceptible movement.
“Be careful!” I barked, but it was too late.
Fu Shang threw the cup on the floor. It shattered, and the room filled with thick gray smoke. At the same time, the woman jumped up, and steel claws appeared from the folds of her robe. Her body began to change rapidly.
“THE TIME FOR GAMES IS OVER! Glory to the Harbinger!” Fu Shang bellowed, his usually quiet voice now boomed like thunder.
The smoke stung my eyes, and my throat constricted. I heard someone coughing nearby, then came a thud and a groan.
“Mei Lin!” I shouted, trying to see through the smoke.
The only answer was the swinging of blades and hoarse screams. Someone fell, hitting the floor hard. Shadows rushed through the smoke, fast as lightning.
I lunged forward, daggers at the ready. Suddenly, a figure in a translucent robe appeared in front of me. The mistress had completely changed, and just looking at her brought back memories of the text describing transformations that the Broken Seal Cult members went through.
Her skin had turned ebony black and was now covered with a myriad of eerie symbols that blazed with flames from the other side. Her muscles bulged with incredible power, and her face was distorted by a grimace of unhinged rage and malice.
She rushed at me, screaming, her steel claws raised. I barely managed to dodge how quick she was. The claws slashed right past my throat, tearing the collar of my robe and grazing my skin. I thrust my dagger at her, but she jumped away, landing gracefully on her tiptoes like a cat.
“Good,” she hissed. “But not good enough.”
The smoke began to dissipate. The room became somewhat visible, revealing the horror next to me.
Two agents lay dead on the floor. Another was writhing further off, clutching his bloody stomach. The last two were completely still, like they had been turned into statues.
Mei Lin stood in front of me. Her crossbow lay broken on the floor, but she held a short sword ready. Fu Shang faced her in an elegant fighting stance, twin thin blades in his hands.
“I warned you, boy,” he said, his eyes locked on me. “I’m going to eat your heart today.”
The woman towering over one of the agents giggled, slowly licking a drop of blood from her claws.
“You are a traitor to humanity,” Mei Lin hissed. “You will die, by order of the Empire.”
Fu Shang laughed mockingly.
“Oh, I am looking forward to seeing you try, girl. I think you will be the dessert.”
I shifted my gaze to Mei Lin. Her eyes burned with cold fury. We exchanged barely perceptible nods.
A moment later, the fight resumed.
I adjusted my grip on the daggers and shifted slightly toward the creature. Judging by her unhinged smile and stance, she was itching to tear me apart. Next to me, I could hear Mei Lin lunging, her sword slicing through the air.
Fu Shang parried with ease. His blades struck the edge of the sword, and he twisted like a snake, ducking under the clinch, moving to stab her side. Mei Lin barely managed to jump back. The old man was deadly quick.
The mistress lunged forward, slashing with her claws. I ducked down and to the side, but she still got to me. There was a sharp pain in my shoulder, but I didn’t have time to focus on it.
I stepped back, shifted my stance, and switched one of my daggers to a downward position. She laughed mockingly, acting like she was just toying with me.
I pushed all emotion away, sharpening my focus. I watched her movements, down to the slightest detail. I could tell that she was fast, probably faster than me, but I could see she lacked the finesse of experience. I grinned.
Mei Lin fought fiercely, her movements precise. She was fast, but Fu Shang read her with frightening ease. It was as if he and his blades were one.
