“Let go!” Nong cried as the henchman dragged her down a long
stairwell.
Her arms were sore from being tied for so long. It was all she could do not to tumble down the steps but the henchman’s burly hands held her firmly.
They finally reached the crypt and he tossed her roughly inside and then slammed the gates shut with a loud clang.
“Wait!”
The henchman stopped and smirked at her, “Well – don’t worry little one. I’ll be back later,” He winked sending shivers down Nong’s spine. He whistled as he walked away. Nong listened until she couldn’t hear his footsteps any longer and then crumpled to the floor.
She let out a sob but quickly bit her lips. Her breath quavered but she let her eyes adjust to the dark room. This was the Bird Witch crypt where all the priestesses serving her must have been laid to rest. There were rows and rows of scrolls containing records, marked coffins, and dark corners she didn’t dare venture to. Dust and webs covered every inch.
Back in Lotus, her mother and her had no temple but she suddenly missed her tiny court…and felt conflicted about it. She sighed. No matter what it was, her home was special to her…because governess Gao was there. And Prince Edan. She loved them and that’s all that mattered. And she…cared for Ru Feng and needed to find a way out of this place to find him.
She wiped her face with her torn cloak and then shrugged it off clumsily with both her hands still bound. But she managed and flung it over a table causing dust to stir and her eyes landed on a familiar golden feather.
It danced around a shelf of scrolls and seemed to beckon Nong towards it.
“I’ve seen you before back in Lotus. Do you want me to follow you?” she asked quietly. As Nong got closer to the feather she could see a dark hallway tucked behind the shelf.
“Is this a way out?” She breathed looking at the feather and then into the dark corridor.
The feather bobbed and disappeared into the hallway. Nong took a deep breath and silently followed behind.
---
Ru Feng was moved into the witch’s drawing room. The henchman handling him pushed him onto a wooden chair and kept his arms and legs tied with rope. “Wait here,” He grumbled and then left the room.
The rope dug into Ru Feng’s skin roughly and it made him worry about Nong. He laughed to himself. Here he was – about to have Prince Edan’s body decapitated and then put under a mind control spell – and all he could think about were how these ropes might be hurting Nong.
An image of her stung hands flashed in his mind. Prince Edan’s memories. A fitting punishment for taking over his body. Ru Feng closed his eyes and played out the memory of a younger Prince Edan carrying Nong in his arms over to a pond and gently brushing her hair. Her hazel eyes regarded the Prince warmly.
He saw her grow up in the Prince’s eyes. She was beautiful. Her hair reminded him of feathers. She loved the sky. She was always looking towards it. She worked hard for the King and yet she had no friends. His heart ached in tune with the Prince’s the day that he was to leave for the north. Her brows creased in concern and guilt but she put on a smile for him. A smile Ru Feng wondered if he’ll ever receive.
He opened his eyes and shook his head. Nong was not his. And right now, he had other things to worry about. Who was this other witch? Ru Feng thought Nong was the last one. The Lotus King had made sure of that. He looked around the room and stopped at the vanity. A hair pin caught his attention. It was golden and pointed with a single pink bloom sparkling atop a jade leaf.
The door creaked open and a young woman entered the room closing the door behind her with a soft click.
She wore a heavily adorned headdress that circled her head. A waterfall of pink and white beads cascaded around its edges obscuring the witch’s face but he could still make out her rosy lips. She had on a pale dress with similar beading. As she approached him, they swayed in a hypnotizing motion.
She came up to Ru Feng and tilted her head. The upper portion of her face was shadowed. She was short and small framed but Ru Feng could feel an air of wickedness from her. Something was not right with this woman.
“How handsome you are, Prince Edan. Those trademark blue eyes I bet makes all the ladies swoon at your feet,” She said in a soft voice. She brushed his chin with her thumb.
Ru Feng smirked in relief. Whoever this lady was…she was no Bird Witch. But while his glamour still fooled her…her dangerous aura was not to be trifled with. Especially if she had a spell that could control him.
She sighed tragically and walked over to her vanity picking up the hair pin that Ru Feng had spotted. Her fingers curled around it like spider legs, the whites of her knuckles showing.
“Shame. I absolutely despise Lotusians,” She spat.
“Are you going to kill me now?” Ru Feng asked.
She turned back to look at him. The beads of her clothes swished about. Ru Feng thought that they were annoying and wondered how she could ever function with them on.
“You’re a hard man to find. Busy hopping back and forth between the border right? I was going to have your head but it’s no longer needed,” She smiled. “Lucky you. Though perhaps you could help me with the other triggers?”
Chills ran down Ru Feng’s body.
---
Nong followed the feather and the dark passage into a small
windowless room. She carefully peeked inside and upon seeing no one entered.
Book shelves lined the walls. Another door at the end. And a table in the
center was littered with candles, books, and scrolls. She found a letter opener and used it to cut the ropes around her arms.
“What is this place?” She wondered rubbing her wrists. The feather landed softly on a small leather bound book.
Nong picked it up holding her breath. It was a spell book. A Bird Witch’s spell book. With trembling hands she flipped through the pages, her eyes widened in excitement, and then she let out a small laugh as she read the words: Flying.
She closed the book sadly. She didn’t have the time to read its entirety. Her eyes roamed the table one last time coming upon a piece of parchment that made her throat dry.
A drawing of a tiger inside a rectangle with two spirals branching out from the top was scribbled in black ink - the spell that would control Ru Feng. Time was ticking. She picked up the paper, quickly shoved it into her dress pocket, and dashed out the other door.
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