Ji peeked out of the alley, peering at the building across the street. It looked no different from the others in the neighborhood–three stories tall and narrow, its rough wooden walls covered with climbing vines. Windows with center-pivot shutters dotted the walls, some open, some closed. A shop selling vegetables occupied the ground floor, the owner shouting about his produce as people rushed back and forth on the busy street. Compared to everything else around it, it was completely unremarkable.
Except that Yazwa said the Akshi was hiding in there.
A shiver of excitement ran down Ji's spine all the way to the tip of her tail. An Akshi. She was hunting an actual Akshi. When the Monastery sent them out into the world, Vakao swore he would lay his eyes on one before he returned. Ji couldn't wait to swap stories with him when she got back.
"Stop staring at the door," Aven whispered behind her.
Ji startled, once again amazed at how silently he could move. "You told me to watch for him," she said, turning to face him.
"Casually," Aven said, glancing over Ji's shoulder at the crowds on the street. "Staring straight at the door is a dead giveaway. I told you, keep the door in the corner of your eye. Look around the street, like you're waiting for someone. Keep your tail low so you're less memorable."
"I did that," Ji replied, tapping the tip of her tail against the ground.
"Good," said Aven, patting her shoulder. "Let's go. Yazwa should be back soon."
Ji decided the flutter in her stomach when he touched her was nervous excitement for the upcoming battle. She followed him to the back of the alley where Saiyun stood, leaning against a wall. As they reached him, Yazwa rounded the corner from the other end of the alley. "Is it still there?" Ji asked.
"It is," Yazwa said, keeping her voice low. A few shutters above them were open, and the last thing they wanted was to be overheard. "It's moving around, but from what I can see it's still staying in the same apartment on the top floor. This must be where it lives."
Aven scowled, looking over his shoulder at the building. "We don't know that. This is just where it is right now. For all we know, it could be meeting someone else here before it moves on. We have to strike now."
"Why now? And why on our own?" asked Saiyun, standing up straight. "We know where it is. If it leaves, Yazwa can just follow it wherever it goes next. In the meantime we could go get help from the ship. Aching says 'attack with as much strength as you can muster, nothing less.' Time is on our side, so let's send for reinforcements."
"Are these things really that dangerous?" Yazwa asked, waving her hand for Saiyun to quiet down.
"Oh yes," Ji said, leaning close to Yazwa. "The older the Akshi, the more strength it can give to its host. There are tales of Akshi smashing down barred town gates with their bare hands. Esgan Anai once did battle with one at-"
"Yes, they are that dangerous," Aven interrupted. "There's no way of knowing just how strong it will be until it shows us. Which is why we make our move now."
"Waiting will not rob us of the element of surprise," Saiyun replied. "Ji, Yazwa, what do you think?"
"What?" asked Ji.
"You're both part of this," Saiyun said, pointing down the alleyway at the building across the street. "Do either of you feel confident in moving in now, or do you want to wait until we can get help?"
Ji glanced at Aven, who was glaring at Saiyun. “If we could take on a Korav, we can kill an Akshi. The faster we put it down the better.”
"I don't even know what I should be feeling confident about," Yazwa said with a shrug. "What's the plan if we move now?"
Aven shot a look at Saiyun. "We split into two groups. Yazwa and Saiyun, you'll go take the stairs up to its apartment together while Ji and I climb up the wall to its window. Yazwa will knock on the door. When it goes to answer Ji and I will slip in the window and come after it from behind. If I time it right, I can cut its throat before it even knows I'm there."
Yazwa winced, tapping her staff on the ground. "Do we really have to go that far? I mean, he's possessed by this thing right? Doesn't that mean he's not in control of what he's doing?"
"This is an Akshi of the Keiso sect," Aven replied. "They can't possess a mortal without making a bargain first. Whoever this person is, they walked into it with their eyes wide open."
"It will kill the Akshi too," Ji added, memories of lectures under the branches of a Taberi tree drifting back to her. "They need a host to survive in the open air. Without one it will just fade away."
"I think I can handle knocking on a door. I'm in," said Yazwa.
"What about you, Ji?" Saiyun asked, turning his gaze to her.
Ji looked down and took a deep breath. "I'm with Aven," she said, unable to look Saiyun in the eye.
Saiyun sighed, folding his arms across his stomach. "Fine. I assume you're going to want me to send Jado in once the door opens?"
"No, are you crazy?" Aven said, eyes narrowing. "You keep back unless things start going bad. If one of us goes down, then send in Jado. Otherwise, just stay in the hall."
Saiyun sputtered at the insult. "Are you serious? I can see the utility of attacking from two directions and taking advantage of the element of surprise. That's basic. But I fail to see the wisdom in holding back Jado in the moment of attack. In fact, why don't we send him up the side of the wall instead of you and Ji? He can just smash his way through the shutter on the window."
"Because Jado will draw too much attention," Aven hissed, stepping towards Saiyun.
"Oh please," Saiyun scoffed, holding his ground. "We're about to murder a man in broad daylight. That's going to attract plenty of attention."
"No, it won't," replied Aven.
Saiyun's hard glare softened as a silence dragged on in the alley. "It...won't?" he asked in a small voice.
"Dead people attract attention, Aven," Yazwa replied, scratching the back of her neck.
"Not here," Aven said, pulling away from Saiyun. "As far as anyone around here knows, all he does is sell produce to ships in the harbor. If he's knifed in his apartment, the guards will assume he wound up on the bad side of a gambling debt and forget about it by the morning. If Jado is spotted, they'll know a foreigner is involved, which will be noticed and could be traced back to us if they look hard enough."
Saiyun was quiet for a moment, reaching into his satchel to grab the Jado doll. "Fine. If that's the plan, I'll follow it."
"Good," said Aven. "Ji and I will leave first and get into position under the window in the alley. You two wait a few minutes before you come out. When you do, walk back the way we came until you hit the intersection. Then come back and walk right in and go to its door. When we see you cross in front of the alley we'll start climbing. Let's go."
Ji wiped her sweaty palms on her pants as she followed Aven out across the street and into the alley. An Akshi, a real Akshi. She took a deep breath and sent a short prayer of thanks to En Chitei. Now, more than ever, she was sure she was supposed to be here.
"The window should be right above us," Aven said, counting his steps and coming to a halt halfway down the alley. "Lean your back against the wall to help hide your tail."
Ji pressed her back against the leafy vines and shifted her leg so it blocked the sight of her tail. "Like th-!?" she sputtered as Aven placed his hand against the wall and leaned in close.
"Just like that," he whispered, digging into the pouch at his waist to pull out a little clay jar of ash. "If anyone looks into the alleyway and sees us they'll just assume we want privacy and move on. Don't move, I need to draw something on my arm."
It was a good idea. Making them less noticeable. By standing like this. It was almost time to face the Akshi. Which was why Ji's heart was beating so fast. "What are you drawing?" she asked as he dipped his finger into the pot.
Aven carefully drew four symbols on the inside of his forearm. "If we can't open the shutter, I can use this to separate it from its metal hinges. Nothing to do now but wait," he said, carefully slipping the jar back into his pouch.
The moments dragged on as Ji tried to control her breathing and heartbeat to no avail. "I'm glad you and Saiyun didn't fight," she blurted, desperate to fill the silence.
"What?" he asked, making brief eye contact before his gaze darted back to the street.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"That you and Saiyun didn't fight," she said quickly. "You were both getting angry...and...and I'm just glad you didn't fight."
"He acts like he knows everything just because he's read a few books," Aven grumbled. "I'm the one who knows what he's doing and he thinks he can give orders to me?"
Ji tried to push closer to the wall, but it was unyielding. "I think he was just trying to help."
"All he knows how to do is balance books," Aven grumbled. "I spent my whole life spying and stealing with my mother. You'd be pissed off too if he tried to tell you how to throw a punch."
Since her throat had mysteriously dried out, Ji could only nod in response.
Aven started to say something else, but snapped his mouth shut when he caught a brief glimpse of Yazwa and Saiyun on the street. "There they are," he said, stepping back. “Let’s go”
Ji had never been more relieved. She spun on her heel and seized the vines, pulling herself up the side of the wall with a grunt. The fog in her mind lifted as she climbed towards the third floor window. She was going into battle against an Akshi. There was no time for distractions. When she reached the shutter, she paused and looked closely at it. The shutter was built around a metal rod that ran through the middle of the window from top to bottom. An unpainted wooden panel was attached, able to rotate around the rod to seal off the window or leave it open to let in light and air. She frowned. The window was cracked open, but she doubted she would get in even if it was open all the way.
Aven soon caught up to her, taking his own close look at the shutter. He gently tapped it with two fingers, knitting his brow when it wouldn't budge. "I'm going to force it off when Yazwa knocks. Don't let it hit you when it falls. I go in first, then you," he whispered, grabbing the shade with his marked hand.
After she shifted her position out from under the window, Ji pressed her face against the crack between the shutter and the window to peer inside. She could see one wall of the room and it was lined with cabinets, a basin for water and what looked like a small stove. Directly across from her was a door with multiple locks and latches and between them was a table surrounded by chairs and covered in paper.
"Weird," Aven muttered beside her, peering into the room as well.
Before she could ask him what was weird, three solid knocks rattled the door. Ji held the vines in a death grip as she took long, slow breaths. The pot-bellied man from the ship appeared from the right, shouting something as he walked towards the door. A single, muffled word was shouted from the other side of the door.
Ji pulled her face away from the shutter as it started to flicker and slide away from the window.
The man shouted something else as he reached the door, undoing the locks and latches.
The shutter and rod fell away, leaving the window wide open. Aven pulled himself into the room, barely making a sound as he landed on the floor. He darted to the right of the paper-covered table as he closed in on the man.
The man opened the door a crack and then slammed it shut, screaming something that sounded like a curse.
Ji followed Aven through the window, trying to land softly on her bare feet. As she took her first step forward the shutter clattered to the ground outside.
The man's eyes snapped to his left, widening when he saw Aven rushing towards him with his long knife out. He reacted with impressive speed, stepping forward to meet Aven's charge by batting the knife aside with his right hand and shoving Aven aside with his left. Before Aven could stop himself, he slammed into the wall, rattling the apartment. As Aven struggled to regain his footing, the man advanced on him with rage in his eyes.
Ji bellowed a battle cry and closed the distance, fists flying. The man pivoted and raised his arms to defend himself, deflecting every blow from her flurry of punches. She danced backwards as he threw wild blows, forcing her back towards the window. When he overextended his arm she darted forward and sank her fist into the ninth target, his exposed kidney.
The blow should have dropped him, but he merely grunted and staggered before going back on the offensive.
A hard blow clipped Ji's shoulder. She rolled with it, dancing backwards to keep her balance. She darted around the table, trying to force him to chase her. But he didn't take the bait, turning his attention to Aven who had just regained his footing. The man's eyes darted back and forth between her and Aven, a feral snarl on his face.
The sound of splintering wood ripped through the air as the door was forced off its hinges and crashed to the ground. Yazwa stepped through the doorway, her staff pointed right at the Akshi.
Triumph surged through Ji, but movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention before she could take a step towards the Akshi.
A woman stood on the other side of the room next to a bed, mouth agape. As Ji looked her over to decide if she was a threat, a stream of glowing pink gas shot across the room and into her mouth.
For a moment, everyone froze. Something was wrong. Keiso Akshi couldn't just possess people and Bill has been certain it was one of them. Either he got it wrong...or the Akshi had made more than one pact.
The moment of hesitation cost them. The woman screamed and grabbed hold of the bed, hurling it across the room. Ji dropped to the ground as it sailed overhead, hitting the table and sending papers flying everywhere. Through the flurry of falling papers she saw Aven grappling with the formerly possessed man for control of the knife. Yazwa advanced towards the woman, shaking fallen papers off the staff. Aven seemed like he was winning his fight, so Ji joined Yazwa, closing in on the screaming woman.
She kept screaming and backing up as they closed in on her until her back was against the wall. There were so many openings in her stance that Ji had a hard time picking a target. A fake lunge from Yazwa distracted her, and Ji surged forward, launching a sharp blow at its throat.
The Akshi twisted out of the way, and Ji's fist punched a hole in the wall. The woman let out a barking laugh, and the jet of mist surged out of her mouth and flew across the room.
Ji followed its trail, shouting out a warning to Aven as the Akshi flowed back into the man.
Aven yanked the knife away from the man just as the Akshi took him over. He made a desperate stab at his throat, but the Akshi batted it away again. He seized Aven by the arm and hurled him across the room at Yazwa, forcing her to sidestep him as he bounced to a halt.
Ignoring the woman, Ji yanked her fist out of the wall, ignoring the pain as the wood dug at her skin. As Yazwa hauled Aven to her feet Ji darted forward, ready for another round.
But rather than fight, he turned on his heel and bolted out the door.
The sudden retreat was matched by the woman as she ran into a closet and slammed the door behind her.
"Saiyun!" Yazwa called. "Saiyun, talk to us!"
Panic flashed through Ji's head for a moment before Saiyun stuck his head through the door. "He ran down the stairs! Should I send Jado after him?"
"No! It's too late!" Aven snapped, sliding his knife into its sheath and running to the papers scattered all over the floor. "Grab as many as you can carry!"
Ji dropped to her knees and started scooping up the sheets of paper. "What about her?" she asked, looking at the closet door where the woman was still hiding.
"Forget her," Aven said, scanning a page and tossing it aside. "We need as many of these as we can get. They're dated, see if you can find the most current one!"
"Here!" Saiyun said, holding up a fistful. "These are from this week!"
Aven leapt to his feet. "Put them away then. Yazwa, push all the papers into one place. Ji, help me with this water basin. Take the left side."
"What are we doing?" she asked, grabbing the basin and hoisting it up.
Aven grunted, bruised arm straining to hold the weight. "We're going to pour it out on the papers we didn't pick up. On three..."
Ji counted with him and upended the bucket, pouring the water all over the floor. "Why are we doing this?" she asked as they tossed the bucket to the ground.
"I'll explain later," Aven huffed, running for the door. "We need to go, now!"
Ji followed him, crossing the soggy floor and jumping over the broken door, Yazwa and Saiyun following closely behind.
-
"Stupid stupid stupid," Aven muttered to himself, resting on the edge of a tree-lined street. He hadn't checked how many people were in the room. That was basic. Basic! His stomach roiled as he went over his decisions for the hundredth time. He could have listened at the door for voices, climbed up the side of the wall and looked in the window first, paid a kid to run up and knock on the door to see who answered. Anything would have been better than blindly relying on Yazwa's sight. Now he had blown their best chance at tracking down the Akshi. Stupid!
"Aven?" Saiyun asked. He, Yazwa and Ji were resting under the same shade as wagons thundered back and forth down the road. "Do you think we can go back to the ship now?"
A quick glance up and down the road confirmed what Aven had known for hours. They weren't being followed. He used every trick he knew to throw off anyone who might be tailing them. Circled the same block five times, gone back and forth down the same road, split everyone up to meet at a set location, even snuck into a wagon in a warehouse and rode under cover to throw off eyes in the sky. If the Akshi was working with anyone else, they hadn't set anyone after them. Yet. "Yeah, we can go back. Don't want to get stuck out here after dark," he said, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.
They walked along in blissful silence until Yazwa moved up beside him. "How's your arm?"
Aven looked down at the darkening bruise on his forearm. It was sore, certainly. His whole arm was after being thrown like that. "It's fine."
"Good," Yazwa said, repeating herself a few times. "You know...I think...I'm sorry I messed up. I shouldn't have told you there was just one in there. I had no way of knowing that."
"Don't start," Aven grumbled. "I know you're trying to make me feel better. Don't deny it, because you're a terrible liar."
"Well..." Yazwa began.
"I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to tell Bill," Aven snapped. "Can you just leave me alone?"
Yazwa lingered for a moment before dropping back to whisper with Ji. Aven ignored them, trying to think of a way to tell the story that didn't make him sound like a complete idiot.
Nothing came to mind by the time they reached the ship as the shadows started to lengthen. When he stepped onto the deck a familiar voice called out. "I hope this means you solved our problem," Cai called out.
"I-" Aven said, freezing in place. Batro and Cai sat at a table playing cards, joined by two complete strangers. He went for his knife, certain that servants of the Akshi had tracked them down.
"Whoa whoa whoa," Cai shouted from the table. "Don't scare off the first fresh meat I've had in weeks!"
The strangers locked eyes with him, their own hands drifting towards their weapons. Aven's heart pounded as he squeezed the hilt of his dagger. Think. Cai wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't have let two people he didn't trust on board. Much less play cards with them. As he eased his hand off the dagger, the strangers relaxed. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Tough day. Where's Bill?"
"In his cabin with our Captains," one of the strangers said, pointing at the door to Bill’s cabin. "They've been waiting for a while."
"Your...Captains..." Aven said slowly, grinding his palm into his forehead, realizing just how screwed he was.
"Aven?" Ji asked, stepping up to his side. "What do they mean?"
"Get all the papers we gathered together in one pile with the newest stuff on top," Aven said, walking towards Bill's door. "I think i'll need them."