C H A T E R S I X
R I T U A L
Sleep did not come very easily for Tao that night, flickering between a dreamland and reality he could not bring himself to stop envisioning the conflict only hours before. Images flashed before his eyes, odours drifted past his nostrils and his body relived the pain experienced. Lying there he could clearly visualize those scarred, scabbed black hands which reached towards him, smell the foul stench emmitted and feel the impact of his body ramming into a sturdy double brick wall. Bruised and slightly battered, Tao was lucky he had not broken anything, which was partly due to the unexpected arrival of a purple eyed, silver haired spirit hunter girl who went by the name of Mei Xiang.
Thoughts fluttering back to the thought of this girl, Tao felt a pulse run through his body once again. His mind reprocessed the information which had been spoken to him and his brothers; Mei Xiang had said that his blood ran through her veins as did his through hers. She was a skilled fighter, evidently adept at the battle arts, she was beautiful and indeed very clever, not only that, but also extremely rational and calm thinker. Would that not make her the perfect candidate to be Tao's perfect other?
Forcing himself the stop overthinking, he mentally slapped himself and once again, willed himself into a deep, dreamless slumber.
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Once Mei arrived home, she headed straight up the brilliant staircase to her bedroom for a hot shower in order to wash the battle off herself. She could still smell the creature's repungent breath near her, feel its spine cracking beneath her heel, and its neck snapping cleanly beneath the strike of her palm.
Then there was the young man, Tao. She had known from the first time when she ran into him that his blood flowed within her veins and hers in his, a sort of resonating had flowed through her body. As the youngest and only daughter in her family, she was very aware of her responsibility and role as a spirit hunter, and possibly the youngest but by far the most skilled and naturally talented. In fact, she was also very much aware of Tao's responsibility. Her family was not one to keep things from her, they always thought it was best to be well prepared than taken for surprise and for that she was grateful. Mei would be of age in six months. She could safely say that her current quest was the same as Tao's - better to be prepared than anything.
Sighing and letting her long hair flow freely down her back to dry, she stepped out to her balcony (?) and glanced at the garden. Her flowers were still wilted and looking very upset despite the absence of the presence which was there before. Grabbing a book, she seated herself cross legged on the floor and leaned back to rest, it was hard to find time nowadays to sit down and lose herself within a book, she would take full advantage of it now.
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The sun sparkled when it hit the flecks of silver in her deep emerald eyes as it began to slowly dip behind the mountains; the wind began to pick up speed and her brown hair began to whip widly around her shoulders. Crouching at the edge of the cliff where she was situated, she swiveled her head backwards to glanced at the black woods which glowered right back at her. She then swung her head back to now glance down at the steep drop from the cliff. From a distance it would be easy to say that she seemed to be giving herself up to a suicide attempt, but that was far fetched. In fact, she was waiting. Just waiting.
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose to fully appreciate the tranquility of her surroundings. Yes, she was just waiting.
Waiting for a friend.
A message.
She felt a presence rise in front her and smirked.
"Take your time, would you now?"
She received a claw at her shoulder and a sharp jab of a beak at her ear in response.
"Ow! Stop it and give me the message!"
That damn eagle, as useful as it was always failed to realise her hate for any sort of contact. Despite this fact, the majestic black creature simply attached itself to the girl more.
At was a minature battle of pride to get the scroll from the eagle's claw, but after many more scratches and scars to add to her existing collection, she finally retrieved the message. Tucking her short hair behind her ear, she carefully unfolded the yellow parchment.
You are to find us within 24 hours. You know where to meet. -J
Tightening her lips into a thin line, she frowned.
24 hours?
She thought to herself
That's all I have?
Grabbing a quill and pot of ink from her pouch, she quickly scrawled two letters on the back of the parchment
O. K.
It was once again a small battle to reattach the small scroll to the eagle's leg, and once again, many scratches and tiny wounds later she found herself victorious.
"Shoo, you silly creature. "
Was their farewell as she watched it spread its marvelous black wings and take off into the now almost black sky. The sun had been completely cloaked by the darkness of the night and it was time to return.
Turning her back to the cliff face, she walked away from it. Unsheathing her short sword, slowly she made her way towards the menacing black woods, the only way back was to go through them, and she was very aware of what lay within.
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It was a Monday morning, and to Tao's dismay, being 19 meant his final year of education - and by that he meant private tuition. His teacher in all subjects -Professor Jang - had always been utmostly impressed with his progress. He was working his way through advanced mathematics by the age of 10 and by the age of 13 had no problem flying through questions which the professor himself had to pause and consider. Reaching the end of the pathway in a sprint rather than a stroll, Tao found himself being taught about battle tactics and strategy. Why he had to learn both he thought strange.
"Professor, aren't tactics and strategy the same thing? Why must I learn both?"
His professor chuckled
"Tao, battle strategy and battle tactics are not the same thing. In fact they both will require different sets of skills that will -or should, I'm quite certain you will pick it up in no time- take time to develop. "
Tao nodded, and stared back at his professor, he had always considered both to be the same.
"Professor?"
He enquired
"What IS the difference?"
Professor Jang thought for a few seconds before replying
"Well, let us put it this way. Before entering battle, you must have a battle plan, correct?"
Tao nodded again
"Strategy is the plan from the long run, how the battle is thought to play out to one side's advantage. It is the preperation before battle is physically engaged."
Tao began to scribble down notes.
"However we all are aware that not all goes to plan. Therefore the ability to act accordingly and make split second decision when the plan has fallen apart is also vital, not only in saving your own neck, but the entire army's in some cases. That is what is called battle tactics, creating a new plan from scratch to suit the situation in a split second. Part of that also involves taking into consideration how many men are down, injured, and how many are still able to combat in relation to the enemy's situation. Sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to gain the upper hand."
Since that very first lesson, Tao had trained and exercised his mind and body and now was very much capable of winning the upper hand in every single training session held - always fighting solo. Walking to his classes, Tao's mind wandered back to that night in the alleyway and the battle in which he had engaged side by side next to Mei Xiang. That girl must have grown up with the same training and instruction as himself, there could be no other reason as to why their fighting styles were identical and decision making too. Although Tao had never before trained with a partner -not even his brothers- mainly because they were unable to keep up with him, he felt as if Mei was acting as an extension of himself, as if there was some invisible link between both their bodies and minds, as an understatement, their collaboration was perfect.
The Huang's family library was grand, antique and very old. With 3 floors of ceiling to floor high mahogany book shelves, every shelf was filled with books, new and old, limited edition collections and even one of a kind prints. Not only were there books, but first hand records, diary entries and government records all dwelled within. Also, out of his brothers, something that only he knew, was that was also a hidden room, behind the oldest, dustiest bookcase in the northern corner of the library, which held captive documents of those involved in their rituals. Holding the details of uncountable identities, this room was comparatively larger than the main library itself, and would soon continue to expand.
Entering the library where his classes were always held, Tao found Professor Jang already waiting for him, seated beside a pile of books, busily reading.
"Good morning, Professor Jang."
His professor looked up
"Oh, Tao you're here! Follow me, if you please"
He replied as he stood and walked towards the back door of the library.
"Professor, are we going somewhere?"
Tao had no idea why his professor wished to go outside out of the blue, normally their lessons were held in the library and only the library.
"I thought it would be a nice change of atmosphere, after all these years holed up in that place!"
His professor smiled at him. Tao wondered to himself why. Professor Jang had always loved the library, even after hours of lessons, as Tao was eager to escape he would remain and explore the worlds hidden between lines of words. Still, Tao did not object and simply followed his professor out.
The door led to a discrete part of the garden, it was quite hidden from the outside, and very overgrown.
"So Tao, anything worth recounting from the weekend?"
Oh yes, lots in fact, so that that even I myself cannot comprehend.
"I think I may have found a possible candidate....to be...her."
In the lead, Tao was unable to see his professor's expression. However, Professor Jang currently had his lips pressed in a thin line, brows deeply furrowed towards the centre and was in deep thought.
Already? He's found her already? No, it has hardly been 3 days since he began the search. The child has no idea of what he's talking about. The plan will carry through.
His professor had suddenly become very quite for a while.
"Professor? Professor Jang?"
Professor Jang turned around
"Hmm? Oh yes, sorry Tao, something had just come up, my apologies."
Tao nodded. Was he imagining things or was the professor's tone slightly off? Did his voice slightly shake and were his eyes a bit too alert? Perhaps there was an alternate motive to this lesson outdoors than just 'a change in environment'.
Eventually, they pair reached their destination, the back of the garden. The foliage here was thick, and very shady, however sunlight still flickered and danced through the leaves. Then he heard rustling. Then he saw her. A girl, around his age, not very tall, but lean and fit. Here emerald eyes shone when light rays slivered across them and her dark brown hair was cut to her shoulders and one side tucked behind her ear to reveal it to be pierced through with multiple metal spikes. Dressed in a dark gray lined shirt, tight black pants and sturdy leather boots, she had a long weapon slung across her back whilst a short sword and small daggers hung from her belt.
He felt that pulse run through his body again, but ignored it. Alarmed, he quickly spun around to his professor
"Professor, what is - "
He wasn't yet able to finish his question when his professor had walked over to the girl and her hair. Tao's eyes narrowed, what was going on? Had he been tricked by his professor, lured out here to be met with a stranger?
"Professor. What is happening? Who is this girl?"
"Ah Tao, still as naiive as ever I see. Have I taught you nothing all these years? Well, I'll leave it to you to recall what I have told you. All you need is all your head, Tao."
Gone was the professor who had taught him all he knew. Gone was the kind man who had covered up his mistakes before his father. Gone was gentle figure who had bandaged him from when he fell down more times than he could remember. Who was Professor Jang? With that, his professor turned his back and stalked away.
Unable to properly process his professor's departure, he abruptly spun back to face the girl.
For the first time ever, Tao was one step behind. The girl had already unsheathed her short sword.
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A/N: My gosh, finally an update. Sorry if it's really slow guys, it will get there soon and the middle should be quite fast paced :L
btw, did anyone catch the Tamora Pierce reference in this chapter? haha
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