Page 93 of The Wind Dancer
They left the temple. Dark clouds covered the moon. The festival had already begun. Outside the temple walls, their fighters knelt, waiting. The Moonface Tong, the Shadow of the Autumn Leaf Tong, and the Crimson Fists Tong were ready to remind everyone that this was their land.
Tomorrow, the city would wake up and tremble. Everyone would see their response. A painful death would await the island barbarians.
CHAPTER 26
I never liked crawling through the ventilation systems of old buildings. I had some dubious experience with it. If you wanted to complete the task of traversing it without going crazy, you needed to learn not to be afraid of darkness and narrow spaces.
The shaft was very narrow, and I could barely fit in it. The walls were old, but still sturdy, the metal as thick as a thumb. The ancient engineers knew a lot of strange techniques: the metal segments were fitted without gaps, and each joint was perfectly smooth. This gave the whole structure a strange feeling about it, like it had been hollowed out whole that had then been brought to a fine finish.
I had to bend and twist like a snake going through a rain pipe to keep moving through some sections. My joints ached and my back burned, but I couldn’t stop.
At least there was one advantage to climbing up through these; you couldn’t fall. If you could keep crawling, weren’t afraid to get stuck, and your mind didn’t betray you... Then you’d make it. The rest was a matter of technique and stubbornness.
Thankfully, the purifiers were still perfectly functional, so it didn’t reek of the sewer, and the air was much less humid. I was really glad, it would have been much more difficult to climb if it were slippery.
The enhancement my eyes received at the Sanctuary allowed me to see dim reflections on metal. I couldn’t dwell on where the light was coming from; I just had to be glad for it. My hands slid over the cold surface, searching for the slightest imperfections to cling to. But there were none, and I had to move in an awkward, slithery way. My fingers were numb from the constant pressure, but I think that was for the best right now.
I had to breathe in short, tactical breaths. From time to time, a faint breeze made its way in, and then the metal walls would hum softly. It was almost as if the building was heaving a sigh under the weight of centuries.
I froze for a moment, listening.
Somewhere above, I heard a screeching sound. It was barely perceptible, but still very ominous. Either something had shifted, or something had followed me into the shaft. Perhaps it was some keen cultist who decided to check if there was a madman in here who was out to ruin his master’s ritual. You never knew.
“You’re either moving, or you’re afraid. You can’t do both at the same time,” I reminded myself.
Ahead, the vent took a sharp turn upward. The metal was warmer here, almost alive. Apparently, heating pipes passed somewhere nearby. I grabbed the edge, pulled myself up, swung my legs up... and then fell.
My numb fingers slipped.
My heart stopped for a moment.
But my instincts worked faster than I could think. I dug my elbows into the walls, slowing my fall. The friction burned through the fabric, leaving my skin red and raw.
“Great Heaven!”
And I had to climb up again, and be more careful this time. I didn’t want to fall down when my goal was so close.
After climbing past where I slipped, the shaft expanded into a small chamber — a maintenance compartment. There was enough room to take a brief breather. I leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from my forehead. My hands were shaking from the strain, but it didn’t matter. Mei Lin’s soft voice sounded in the jade earring:
“We’re on our way. My people have detected a disturbance in the energy flow. Be careful, partner. It looks like they’ve started the ritual.”
A double tap on the earring let her know I was fine and ready. The ventilation shaft grew too cramped beyond this point, which meant I had to leave.
Reality began to quiver, and the distorted essence in my veins sang about how much Distortion there was in the air. It whispered to me that all I had to do was swear an oath, and I would become more powerful than any dragonblood. Fouche was strong; he was summoning the Mother of Change, but wasn’t I stronger? Couldn’t I kill him and finish the ritual myself? Didn’t I know the rules of thaumaturgy? Insignificant, Mother would guide me. And I wouldn’t need to share the sweet power that the great goddess would grant me.
“...the check is complete, everything above is clear.”
“And below?”
“There are so many cultists there that if someone had tried to enter, we would have already heard about it.” The voices of the mercenaries brought me out of this strange state. I was very pleased to hear them. I loved incompetent idiots.
I carefully slid up to the ventilation grate. By the look of it, it was a new addition. The metal was too thin and pretty rusty. Which worked for me. Quietly, I pulled out a dagger and pressed lightly on the grate. The metal buckled and creaked.
One of the blockheads immediately turned around. Well, at least they were slightly attentive.
“Did you hear that?” he asked, stopping, and that was when I attacked.
Two kicks, sent the grate and me flying up, and I threw my dagger as I landed.
