Chapter XII – Battle of the West Gate Yamen

“Damn it!” exclaimed Kal, throwing down his tablet.

What was happening in there? Seraphina had said she sensed some great danger and in a moment she had vanished without further explanation. Now he couldn’t contact any of Mu, Tavian, or Harry. If there was one thing he hated it was being blind in the midst of battle. Especially if he was away from the actual fighting. It brought back too many memories.

Memories of that day.

He didn’t have long to dwell though. His tablet vibrated and he saw it was Nova.

“What is it?” he asked.

“We may have a little problem up here,” said Nova.

“I don’t need anymore fucking problems,” growled Kal. “What is it?”

“What’s your thing?” asked Nova.

“You first.”

“We’ve just received a message from Imperial Customs. They are demanding we admit their agents for boarding.”

“It’s the Resonance Bureau,” said Kal.

“Huh?” said Nova. “No, Customs. This line faulty?”

“No. Seraphina just entered the Yamen to help the others. It must be the Resonance Bureau agents Mu was scared of. They must have pinned us a while ago and were just waiting for us to make a move. They think we’re associates of Mu, helping her evade them,” said Kal.

“In fairness, we are helping her evade them,” said Nova.

“How long have they been watching us?” wandered Kal.

“Probably since they flagged Mu’s credentials at Customs,” said Nova. “Which… um… that was kinda my fuck up. Have I… did I…?”

“We don’t know that,” said Kal, focusing his thoughts. Speculation was pointless. Action was needed. “For now, you should have nothing to worry about. Mu and Tavian aren’t on board, so there’s nothing specifically incriminating to be found. Ostara and Apollo will know what to do. Just stay calm.”

“I’m calm. I’m super calm.”

“Right. Well don’t contact me or the others. If there’s any chance of still shaking them, we don’t want them connecting the Amrita to what’s going on in the Yamen. I assume our exit strategy is still in play?”

“It should be fully automated, I’ve set up everything to go already,” said Nova.

“Good. Now be calm, trust Apollo and Ostara and we’ll get through this. I’m going to get ready to intervene at the Yamen.”

“Please don’t get hurt,” said Nova.

Kal laughed. “If I go in, it’s not me that needs to worry about getting hurt.”

“Good luck, Big Guy,” said Nova.

“Same to you, Kid,” said Kal.

The line went dead.

Almost immediately his tablet started vibrating again.

“Harry?” said Kal, answering. “Talk to me.”

Harry sounded breathless on the other end. “It’s the Resonance Agents. They came for Mu. Seraphina’s fighting them.”

“Seraphina’s fighting them?” exclaimed Kal. “She’ll die.”

“She insisted,” said Harry.

“Fuck… shit….” muttered Kal. “I’m coming in.”

“Wasn’t that what Apollo wanted to avoid? A big scene?”

“That horse has bolted. Where is Seraphina?”

“Just outside Mingxia’s chambers when we left her.”

“I’m coming in. Don’t stop – keep heading for the exit,” said Kal.

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” said Harry.

Seraphina sent a bolt of purple light at the male agent. He simply raised his forearm and a flash of white light appeared in front of it, bouncing away Seraphina’s attack harmlessly. She started gathering more Starflow to her and converting it into raw energy, but she didn’t have much time. The agents moved with superhuman speed and agility.

The female agent had drawn a sword and charged at Seraphina. She had little time to react. She sent a burst of energy, but the agent evaded with ease, launching herself off the wall to strike towards Seraphina. Seraphina barely dodged, but no sooner had she done so than the male agent charged her from the other direction.

This time she was less successful and felt the stinging bight of his sword in her shoulder. She let out a small cry of pain, but she immediately sensed that the wound wasn’t deep, despite the black blood leaking from it. There was no time to dwell, for she knew there would be no relenting in the attack. Channelling the Starflow she unleashed a burst of power, rocketing herself down the hallway to put distance between her and them. A lethal strike scythed through the air where she had been a fraction of a second earlier.

The move would have thrown an ordinary human foe, but the agents reacted without surprise, barely even breaking the flow of their attacks. The two immediately pivoted to begin closing the distance with Seraphina once more at terrifying speed.

She unleashed two more energy attacks, but the agents blocked them easily. As they were almost upon her, she launched herself once more, just barely making it through the gap between them, blades narrowly missing her once again.

I need more space, she thought to herself, even as she let the Starflow into the wound on her shoulder, gradually closing it up. The next one that hits me will likely kill me.

She stretched out one hand towards the lights lining the ceiling of the hallway. Whispering and clenching her fist, she snuffed them out, leaving the windowless corridor in shadow. Withdrawing once more to increase the gap between her and her foes, she sent twin energy bursts into the ceiling. There was a great cracking and then it fell in, piling in front of them.

That will barely slow them.

But any time was useful. She lowered herself, settling her feet once more on the ground and opened a nearby door, heading straight for the window. With a burst of energy, she sent the window exploding outwards. In that very moment the agents stepped into the room behind her. Conjuring the Starflow to her once more Seraphina flung off one more attack towards them, then leapt from the window into the gathering night beyond.

“Guards ahead!” yelled Mu.

The group stopped.

“We’re gonna have to fight our way through,” said Tavian. “That’s every direction we’ve tried blocked.”

Mu gave an exasperated huff. “There’s gotta be another way. How did you get out last time?”

Tavian shook his head. “Last time no one was actively looking for me. Plus, I had my mandolin.”

“What’s your mandolin have to do with it?” asked Mu.

“I’ll explain some other time. We doing this, or do you have some other idea?”

Mu knew she was running out of time to come up with an idea. Maybe Tavian was right. Maybe there was no other way.

“I’ve got an idea,” said Mingxia.

Mu spun her head around to look at the other woman. “What is it?”

“I’ll go talk to them. I can lead them into a room. We ambush them… with any luck we can do it without anyone getting killed,” said Mingxia. “Hide in that room. I’ll lead them in. You guys work out the rest.”

Mu began to protest. “The whole reason we came here was to get you out… what if—”

Tavian shook his head. “It’s the best we’re going to do.”

“It is,” agreed Harry.

The guards would be there in a moment. “Okay, let’s do it,” said Mu. The three of them ducked into the room while Mingxia walked ahead. Mu could hear her shout out to the guards.

“Lady Li, are you okay?” asked one.

“It’s Lady Mei, she’s injured!” said Mingxia, in a surprisingly good impression of distress.

Huh, thought Mu, She really is an actress.

Mu foresaw the guards entering the room shortly, and gave whispered instructions to Harry and Tavian. “Either side of the door.”

Then she lay down in the middle of the room, flaring out her hair to cover her face. It didn’t have to be a good disguise – it just needed to buy them an extra second. And she could see it would do just that.

Mu couldn’t see what happened next, but she already knew how it would go. Mingxia was leading the guards. She deliberately paused before entering.

“She’s in here,” she said, pausing, the guards behind her. It gave Tavian and Harry all the time they needed.

Smart, thought Mu.

“Lady Mei!” exclaimed one guard.

A split second later, Tavian and Harry’s pistols were at their heads. Mingxia turned around and levelled hers. Mu rose to her feet and used her hands to straighten her hair. She picked up her sword.

“Not Lady Mei,” Mu said, indicating herself.

“Sorry guys,” said Mingxia.

“Lady Li, I don’t understand,” said one of the guards.

Mu saw Mingxia’s eyes twinkled with delight in that moment. “It’s simple really. Your boss is a piece of shit, and I’m leaving.”

“But Lady Li—” exclaimed the guard.

“Shhh!” said Mingxia, holding up a finger to her lips. “See this?” she said, indicating her black eye. “It’s not my first. It’s not my worst. And you know what? Every time that arsehole gave me one, one of you bastards was standing just outside, pretending not to hear. Actually, sometimes one of you was in the room.”

Mu felt a great bubble of righteous anger upon hearing Mingxia’s words. But she also felt something else – some sort of perverse satisfaction. Listening to Mingxia as she turned the tables on her erstwhile jailors, Mu felt vindication of her own actions that had brought her here. In that moment at least, all the confusion, fear, and doubt she’d felt ever since she left Aixingo seemed to melt away. She had done the right thing. She had freed herself. And now she was here to free Mingxia as well.

“Now, gentlemen,” said Harry, “If you’d be so kind as to drop your weapons.”

The guards knew there was nothing for it and complied. They both had assault rifles, and Harry stooped to pick them up, as Mingxia and Tavian kept their pistols levelled.

“Want an upgrade?” asked Harry to Tavian.

“Sure,” said Tavian.

“Enjoy,” said Harry. He walked over and handed Tavian one of the weapons. He kept the other for himself.

“Anyone know how to tie a good knot that will keep these two in place?” asked Harry.

Tavian shook his head. Harry looked over at Mu and Mingxia and both shrugged.

“Okay,” said Harry, “You two just stay here. Don’t let us catch you coming out behind us until we are long gone. Mu here is a Resonant and she will know if you try anything. Understand?”

The guards nodded.

“We clear to go?” Harry asked Mu.

She nodded.

“Bye guys,” said Tavian as the group left.

Mingxia was last out. “Send my worst regards to the boss.”

With that, they again proceeded along the corridor, Harry and Mu leading the way, Tavian and Mingxia behind them.

“I wouldn’t know if they left the room,” said Mu to Harry, “My foresight only extends to things I myself experience. I’m not omniscient.”

“See, the thing about that is, I didn’t know that,” said Harry. “And I’m willing to bet that they sure as shit don’t know that either. To us normal folk, you Resonants may as well be witches. Well… I guess some…”

He trailed off. Mu could tell he was suddenly thinking what she was thinking. What was happening to Seraphina? The thought of the young witch battling desperately on their behalf gave Mu a sinking feeling. The clarity of a few moments earlier vanished in an instant.

She’ll be okay, thought Mu.

I hope she will.

Focus.

“Straight ahead,” she said to the others. “We should be clear till we get to the entrance.”

It was only a short distance. Mu halted and held out her hand. “More just outside.”

The others stopped behind her.

“Did we have a plan for this part?” asked Harry.

“We weren’t supposed to be at this entrance,” said Tavian.

It was true. The original plan was for them to exit through a less scrutinised rear door. In the flight from the agents, though, they had ended up in an entirely different wing of the Yamen, facing the main courtyard.

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Mu’s thinking, however, was interrupted when the sound of a loud explosion came from outside.

“What was that?” asked Mingxia.

They heard the slightly muffled sound of shouts from outside. Mu thought about leaving now and saw that the guards were no longer at their post.

“I think it’s Seraphina,” said Mu. “She’s fighting the agents in the courtyard.”

“Then let’s move,” said Harry. “The sooner we’re out of the whole complex, the sooner she can break off her fight.”

Mu nodded. He was right. “I think the guards are gone outside. We should make a break for it.”

“Any ideas how we’re getting past the agents?” asked Tavian. “If they get the slightest clue that you’re nearby, they’ll go for you.”

“If I’m remembering correctly,” said Harry, “There should be a gateway into the gardens almost immediately at the bottom of the stairs, off to the left.”

“There is,” Mingxia chimed in.

“Okay,” said Mu, “Let’s head for that. We might be able to remain undetected just long enough.”

“Any idea how we let Seraphina know we’re out safely?” asked Tavian.

“I think Nova has a drone swarm. I don’t know how Nova got a drone swarm, but she seems to have one. If any of the drones remain undetonated, perhaps we can use one to contact Seraphina,” said Harry.

“Do we like the chances of Nova not having blown them all up by now?” asked Tavian.

“Let’s just get out first,” said Mu. “That’s our first step. We can work out the rest afterwards. Seraphina is doing all this to ensure we get away. If we get caught, it’s all a waste.”

Harry nodded. “Alright, let’s get going. Coast still clear?”

Mu nodded. “I think so.”

With that she and Harry nudged open the door and emerged onto the steps, Tavian and Mingxia coming out behind them. There was no sign of the guards in the immediate vicinity.

“Run,” said Mu and the others needed no more urging.

The group sprinted down the stairs.

The courtyard beyond had more of the character of a town square, stretching perhaps a hundred metres across and wide open, with nothing but exposed stone, giving it a stark appearance. Opposite the stairs was a large gate which opened onto a tree lined avenue running to the complex’s front entrance. Elsewhere circular moon gates opened onto the labyrinth of smaller courtyards and gardens that spread through the remainder of the complex, divided from the main courtyard by walls perhaps twice a person’s height. Part of the courtyard was out of sight, stretching along either side of the Yamen, presumably joining the rear courtyard through which they had entered.

Giant flood lights had been turned on, illuminating the whole scene almost like day. The acrid smell of smoke filled the air, presumably the remnants of Nova’s distraction, the cool night wind blowing it across the complex towards them.

The small moon gate that led off to one side of the courtyard was only a short dash from the base of the stairs. The gardens beyond would be a more circuitous route to the exit, but they would offer far more cover from household security and the agents alike. After that there was just the minor challenge of reaching the street beyond the walls and its comparative safety.

But first they had to get there.

And that wasn’t going to be easy.

“They’re coming,” said Mu the moment she felt it.

The next moment an explosion of purple light erupted from one side of the Yamen. A dark figure rocketed through the air and came to a stop, hanging in the air a few metres from the ground in the centre of the courtyard. Her hat was missing, but it was unmistakably Seraphina, her long white hair rippling in the wind. Mu could see her exhaustion in the rise and fall of her chest and shoulders, in the look in her crimson eyes. She could see the black blood drizzling down one side of her face.

The agents appeared next. They appeared no different to the first moment Mu had seen them, calm and composed. Their long coats fluttered in the breeze. Each held a sword. Each strode with steady purpose, rounding the corner of the Yamen and coming to a halt facing Seraphina.

It was obvious in that moment what would happen – Mu didn’t need foresight to know. If the fight continued, Seraphina would die.

“We have to help her,” announced Mu.

“Didn’t you say—” began Tavian.

“They’re going to wear her down. She’ll be killed if we don’t intervene.”

“I suspect we’ll all be killed if we do intervene,” said Tavian, matter-of-factly.

“I’m with Mu,” said Mingxia. “Let’s help the witch. She is a witch, right? That’s not, like, derogatory or anything?”

Mu glanced over at her and shook her head.

Tavian threw up his hands. “Fine. I swear your sense of justice is going to get me killed.”

“Well, your own certainly won’t,” snarled Mu. “But if you really don’t want to do this, why don’t you escort Mingxia out? This isn’t her fight and I don’t want our rescue mission to get her killed.”

“I want to help,” said Mingxia.

“You’re not a fighter,” said Mu.

“Well, if I’m gonna stop having people take advantage of me, I think it’s about time I learned to be,” replied Mingxia.

“Whatever we’re doing… they’ve seen us,” said Harry.

Mu looked up and even from across the courtyard she locked eyes with the female agent. A chill went through her; just the knowledge that those unnatural eyes were on her was enough.

What beasts do you command, Father?

The agents moved with assurance, with the certainty of their own success. Mu felt despair well up inside her. What could she or any of them do against such foes. Bright Eyes, Apollo, the rest of the crew – for all their help, here she was. The long reach of the Imperial Court was inescapable.

She didn’t have long to dwell. The agents may have moved steadily up until that moment, but when they wished it, they moved with an unsettling speed; inhuman.

Everything happened fast. The future and the present became a blur and Mu’s sword was in her hands, someone was shouting, “Scatter! Scatter!” and the agent was closer – closer with every minute sliver of a second, brandished steel gleaming in the unnatural light. The Starflow was a raging and turbulent current descending on the agents from the cloud-shrouded heavens; myriad possible futures teetered on the brink of becoming the actual present. Instinct drove Mu, and though she staggered back, her sword met that first blow. She did not think she could stop the next.

Violet light flared bright around the agent and the next blow, which Mu was sure would fell her, never came. This time her eyes met with Seraphina’s. She had long enough to mouth her thanks before a bright streak of light lanced up from the other agent and struck Seraphina, sending her tumbling from the air to the hard stone of the courtyard.

“No!” screamed Mu as gunfire erupted about her. Black blood splattered out around where the witch had struck the ground and now lay unmoving.

The downed agent rose, dispelling the purple light around herself, and pointed her sword at Mu. Mu darted towards Seraphina’s prone form, dodging the lunging blade, but was caught by the hand that followed it, the hand which grabbed her and, with the strength of ten men, cast her aside like a ragdoll. Sharp pain went through her as her shoulder struck the stone, but she gritted her teeth and immediately rolled aside, feeling a sharp lance of searing agony as she did, but avoiding the blow that she knew was coming. She lashed out with her feet, but it was no use – only the well-timed burst of rifle fire gave her the window she needed to once more reach her feet.

But that was all the time she had.

Mingxia was her saviour this time. She was just behind Mu when she fired. One. Two. Three. Six shots in all, at point blank, straight into the agent’s chest.

The agent was still a moment. But she did not fall.

Her unfeeling eyes looked past Mu.

“Li Mingxia. You have been noted as hostile and necessary actions shall be taken.”

“Fuck you!” snarled Mingxia, squeezing the trigger. No more shots were fired.

“Get back,” said Mu, pushing down her panic, despair, fear: whatever it was. “Find Harry or Tavian. Get to safety.”

She lifted her blade. She remembered her lessons, planting her feet. She steadied her breathing.

“It’s me you want.”

“Please stand down, Princess,” said the agent. “We will not kill you, but, if necessary, we may be required to cause you a great deal of pain. It would be preferable to avoid this.”

“I’m not coming back,” said Mu.

She knew with certainty this was not a fight she could win. But her mind was made and it was fight she needed to fight, regardless.

And that meant there was nothing else for it.

No point waiting.

She swung her blade, with all the speed and power she could muster.

Everything after that was a blur. Mu braced for the moment she’d feel steel rending flesh. But until that moment she would fight. And fight she did. Blade met blade, time and again, Mu meeting each strike and counterstrike even as she felt herself being pushed backwards. She had no sense now where anyone else was, even Mingxia. Every ounce of her being was focused on that relentless blade, all futures bound to the outcome of each strike, to the success or failure of her every thrust and parry.

Tavian had witnessed the sickening moment Seraphina’s small, frail form had struck the ground, and he had to watch as the male agent advanced slowly and steadily towards that spot, where she lay broken and bleeding.

Was she alive?

He didn’t know.

The weapon in his hands seemed wholly insufficient to stop that inhuman juggernaut that advanced toward the fallen witch.

And then there was Mu and Mingxia. The other agent was headed straight for them. Seraphina, in her final moments in the air, had managed to slow the agent, but even now Tavian could see her rising to her feet.

Uncharacteristically, he didn’t know what to do.

He felt paralysed, a sense of powerlessness flooding over him, overwhelming him.

How had it come to this?

Without Seraphina there was surely no way out, no way to cover their retreat. She was the only one who had some power to actually face these monsters, and even her strange powers had not been enough.

Not nearly enough.

Run.

Just run. You can’t help the others now.

Dying helps no one.

Then he heard it. It was a burst of fire from the across the courtyard. He looked up and saw Harry, crouched and firing in alternating bursts aimed at each of the agents, doing what he could to slow them down.

Tavian shook his head.

No more running.

This is of your making.

This time you fight for something. For someone.

He raised the rifle and fired.

Stars guide me. Lady Anu guide me.

He fired again and again. It barely seemed to faze the agents. But he didn’t relent. He strafed the agents as he manoeuvred further back along the front of the stairs leading up to the Yamen, putting more space between himself and the others. If nothing else spreading out allowed them to better use their numerical superiority.

But though he and Harry had only delayed the agent for a moment, it may have been just enough. Even as Tavian was feeling the despair creep back, Seraphina began to stir. It was a slight movement at first, then her whole body rose back up into the air. A spiral of blood rose from the stones and swirled back into her. She moved as if in great pain.

But she moved.

Across the courtyard, Tavian heard the shout of victory from Harry.

But it was only a temporary victory. The agent had been advancing slowly under Tavian and Harry’s sustained fire but now lifted up his blade as brilliant light swirled about it. With a thrust he sent a bright streak of light towards Seraphina. She barely avoided it, becoming unsteady in the air, and looking like she might go crashing down towards the ground once more.

It was at this moment that two bright objects appeared, racing through the air overhead. They spread out and then rapidly converged once more, flying quickly towards the agent. Another burst of light shot out from his sword and struck one of the objects, but the second collected with him and erupted in a ball of flames.

Tavian glanced away from the bright flash instinctively, but when he looked back once more, he could see the agent was still standing amongst shards of smoking and twisted metal.

“Thanks, Nova,” murmured Tavian.

But he didn’t have long to wait for the next wave of reinforcements.

There was a roar that Tavian remembered hearing once before. Immediately he knew what came next. This flash of light was much bigger, much brighter, the superheated air erupting outwards in a shockwave, sending with it splinters of rock, glowing with the heat of the impact.

Kal rose up into the air from the crater he’d created where moments before the agent had stood. Rocket launchers extended from his back and moments later came the impacts, one after another, pummelling the incandescent ruin of the courtyard with unceasing fury. It was a constant roar of noise, a cacophony of destruction.

Even as it happened, Seraphina was holding her hands above her head and gathering a luminescent sphere. With a great effort she thrust her arms forward and sent the ball of energy smashing into the crater, even as Kal’s rain of rocketry continued.

Neither of them were content. From Kal’s outstretched hands came brilliant beams that turned the very rock to pools of crimson liquid. Everything around the crater danced in the shimmering haze as smoke and flame rose.

Kal’s voice boomed out across the courtyard, “Take that you bastard.”

Even as he did so Seraphina shot across the courtyard to the spot where Mu was locked in combat with the other agent, once again gathering her power to her.

Tavian advanced towards Kal, his rifle still levelled in the direction of the agent. As he advanced his eyes caught movement off to one side. Several household guards were entering into the courtyard.

“Behind you, Big Guy!” he shouted, and Kal spun around in the air, raising an armoured hand once again. The blast didn’t hit the guards, but it left the rock pooling not far in front of them. The next blast achieved much the same.

That did the trick. No sooner had they arrived than they were retreating once more.

As this scene played out, Tavian caught sight of movement once more and turned back to the crater.

Rising from the infernal ruin was the agent. His clothing had been burnt away, revealing the blackened metal of an almost entirely machine body. His sword was now nowhere to be seen, but he was now surrounded by a golden aura.

Starflow energy lanced out and caught Kal’s armoured form square in the chest. He was launched backwards by the power of the attack.

But Kal wasn’t one to be thrown off his game so easily. His recovery was quick, as was his counter-attack. The agent dodged and launched further attacks.

The battle was on, and it was fierce. But it wasn’t one that Tavian was going to have much impact on. Not without his most valuable possession, anyway.

But it did present an opportunity to escape.

In fact, it made escape essential – soon enough the whole courtyard would be a wasteland of fire and ruin.

He raced towards the other battle taking place.

Exhausted though they both were, Mu and Seraphina were facing off against the female agent in a desperate struggle. Tavian caught sight of Mingxia running fast to meet up with Harry near one of the far exits from the courtyard.

There had to be some way to disengage from the agents. Sooner or later the agent they were fighting was going to overpower Mu and Seraphina if the fight didn’t end soon. But the agent was also much too fast. She would easily catch any of them, even if they had a big head start. And there was little prospect of that.

The courtyard shook with the heavy impacts of Kal’s battle as Tavian ran.

We’re all going to be dead if we stay here much longer.

No plan was coming to him, but doing something seemed better than doing nothing, so he ran towards Mu and Seraphina and raised his weapon, firing at the agent. There might have been the briefest of pauses from the agent when she registered Tavian’s attack, but the flow of her movements was barely interrupted and the rounds from his weapon appeared to be no more threat to her than would be a mosquito.

What had been despair turned to frustration and anger. Why can’t these bastards just go down like normal?

At that moment there was an immense crash, and Tavian looked up to see Kal go flying through one of the courtyard’s walls, falling into a pile of rubble. The agent was advancing towards the place he’d fallen.

But he couldn’t be distracted. That was Kal’s battle.

He turned back to Mu. She parried an attack from the agent, then another and another. It was a furious dance, the agent simultaneously maintaining a constant flurry of strikes against Mu even as she let loose bursts of concentrated Starflow energy at Seraphina, whose own responses were growing slower and weaker.

“Don’t get any closer!” yelled Mu, even as her eyes stayed locked on the enemy in front of her.

Tavian knew she was right. There was little he could do.

Or was there?

Closing his eyes he tried to feel the Starflow, like he did when he was playing. He had no instrument, but the music was still there, the silent melodies of the Cosmos, unheard but in the hearts of the few. Lacking an instrument he began to hum, surely inaudible to all others over the din of battle. It was a little piece he knew well, taught to him long ago in a distant home.

If it had ever had a name, he’d never learnt it. But his mind wandered through the strata of life and experience, peeling back each till he was back in a darkened basement. He remembered being huddled and afraid. As the intruders moved about above. Then she had started humming. He was terrified the men above would hear, but she just smiled at him and kept humming.

So, the music came to him now, and he hummed it as he remembered it being hummed all those years ago. The Starflow gathered and he let his desperate wish travel upstream, out into the Cosmos.

He opened his eyes.

The battle continued.

Then it happened. A new roar joined the cacophony.

The craft came to a halt above the courtyard, hanging in the air.

A door opened and a single figure dropped to the shattered courtyard below, landing softly and gracefully, even as the craft darted away into the night.

A solitary man slowly rose from his landing. The fabric of his dark clothes fluttered about him in the wind, the light of myriad fires illuminating him and the dragon mask that covered his face. As Tavian watched he unsheathed an ornate sword. His other hand, clad in a black glove rose to the blade, grabbing it just above the hilt, then running along it to the tip, leaving the sword wreathed in green flames in its wake.

Even the agents had stopped in this moment, observing this newcomer.

Then, the dragon-masked warrior made one swift stroke of his sword. There was a split-second pause, then the wall separating the courtyard from the central avenue crumbled away, despite being the best part of fifty metres from where the warrior stood. Nonchalantly, the warrior turned to face Mu. From where Tavian was standing, he could hear the words that followed clearly.

“Your battle is over. Make for the front gate. I will handle these two. Bright Eyes sends his regards.”

Tavian could have laughed.

The answers the Cosmos gave were so bizarre sometimes.

Mu heard those words and her heart leapt. Surely not.

Surely even he couldn’t help her all the way out here on Shangxia. But the words of the Dragon Warrior were unmistakable. And they had an instant effect on the agent. She disengaged from Mu and Seraphina almost immediately, moving swiftly to put space between herself, them, and the newcomer. She was joined by her companion, who had ceased with his advance on Kal’s position, the glow of the Starflow gradually fading around him.

The Dragon Warrior strolled, slowly twirling his flaming blade, eyes gazing out at the agents from behind his draconic visage.

“Go now, Princess,” he called out, never taking his concentration off the two agents, who were likewise now utterly fixated on him.

Even they have registered him as a threat, though Mu in awe. They wouldn’t give up on seizing me for anything but the most dangerous foe.

But she wasn’t going to squander this opportunity by standing there wandering what this all meant. She looked at Seraphina, who had descended to the ground once more, and who was now bent in pain, breathing heavily.

“Can you keep going? We have to get out of here,” said Mu.

Seraphina just nodded.

Mu turned to Tavian. “Let’s go.”

He nodded and she noticed he had a smile on his face. Does he know something I don’t? she wondered.

They ran across the pocked courtyard, weaving among the craters and rubble towards the great gap left by the Dragon Warrior’s strike. As they reached it, Mu saw Kal rising from the rubble. From the other direction Harry and Mingxia came running. Seeing them all alive, Mu felt an incredible flood of relief.

They didn’t need to exchange any words. As one, everyone made for the gate. Mu stopped briefly and turned back, just as Tavian, who was bringing up the rear, was passing her. He stopped too.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Look,” she said.

He turned. Together they watched as two torrents of green flame spiralled around the Dragon Warrior, and began rising into the air. As they did so, they began to take unmistakable shape: that of two dragons.

Mu could have stayed there, continuing to watch, but Tavian tugged on her sleeve. “Come on,” he said. With that she turned and joined him, running after the others toward the front gate of the complex.

As they were sprinting down the avenue there was a rumbling overhead, and Mu saw that the craft that had delivered the Dragon Warrior had returned. It came to a halt in front of the main gate and slowing descended until it was hovering just above the ground. The side door opened.

It revealed a face Mu knew as well as any in the Cosmos.

“Ruyin!” she exclaimed, hardly believing it, even as she spoke.

It had been a while since she had heard that name out loud, even spoken by her own voice.

But she’d heard the woman’s code name recently.

Tender Hand.

Ruyin smiled. “Hello, Princess,” she said, reaching out to take Mu’s hand and help her up onto the craft. “Let’s get you out of here.”