The Blue Mountain (The Forbidden List Book 2) (22 page)

“Well?” Gang looked at him. The question on the air reflected in his eyes.

“Well, what?” Haung said.

“Haung, you lack the years to be funny. What did the Emperor decide?” Liu’s soft voice came from the comfortable chair in the corner of the officers’ bar.

“He made me a Colonel.” Haung waved the letter of rank towards her.

“Rank doesn’t stop an arrow.” Gang’s rough voice came from the other chair. “So take that silly grin off your face.”

Haung sighed. “Thanks.”

He waved at the server, a corporal, to bring a fresh drink over and moved to sit in the third chair.

“What did he decide?” Liu prompted.

“Nothing much, if I am honest,” Haung said as the server put a glass of
choujiu
down on the table. “Why do you drink this stuff?”

“Puts hairs on your chest,” Gang laughed picking up his own glass and drinking it all down in one go.

“Has it worked yet?” Liu asked.

“Not that I’ve noticed, but I’ve only been drinking it for ten years,” Gang said.

Haung picked up his own glass of thick milky-white rice wine and drank a little. It was an effort not to spit it straight back out and he had to force himself to swallow.

“It is like drinking the dregs from the rice pot,” he said. The glass went back on to the table where he had every intention of leaving it.

“The Emperor?” Liu tried again.

“There was some disagreement in the council,” Haung began and both masters nodded, “but essentially, it boils down to a difference of opinion based on little evidence for either conclusion.”

“But he doesn’t think the threat is from beyond the Mongol lands?” Liu said, sipping his own drink.

“I cannot honestly say,” Haung admitted. “He is a hard one to read.”

“Is he sending more troops?”

Haung’s answer was interrupted by the appearance of Corporal Enlai.

“Begging your pardon.” He bowed to them whilst simultaneously waving the serving man, who had come to intercept him, away. “Colonel, the general has requested your presence in the war room.”

Haung shared a look with the other two and stood from his chair.

“I’ll finish your drink for you,” Gang said with a smile on his face.

“Kind of you,” Haung said, scratching his arm. “Back less than an hour and I’ve been bitten already.”

“They do seem to like the taste of your blood.” Enlai bowed, but not before Haung saw the smile on his face.

“Let’s go then,” Haung said.

* * *

“Well?” the general said.

“I relayed your insights to the Emperor, Lord General,” Haung said.

“Did you, Captain,” the general’s smile lacked warmth, “forgive me, Colonel? And what was the Emperor’s decision?”

“He has instructed the
Fang-Shi
to investigate,” Haung said.

“Magicians.” The General of the Wall waved the word away. “They promise so much, but deliver nothing.”

Haung stood still and waited. Around him the tables were busy with aides, administrators and officers of the army’s intelligence gathering contingent. All were shuffling papers back and forth, reading reports and making notes on their own bits of paper. He let his gaze wander from group to group while the general turned to talk to an officer who had brought him a sheaf of papers.

No one else in the room was as still as he was. The quiet wrapped around him even in the bustle and constant chatter in the room. He breathed. Slow and steady with unconscious thought. Air filled his lungs, infused his blood with life and the unwanted waste was expelled. His heart beat in time with the breaths, pushing the life around his body. The life created awareness and the room came into focus. A sharper edge to the tables, a louder rustle to the paper, a clearer tone to the voices. Without looking directly at any group he was aware of the conversations, the movement of the people, and the mood within the room.

“Colonel?” The general’s voice, a hint of irritation, a need for respect, some anger below the surface and fear certainly.

The quiet fell away and Haung took a disappointed breath.

“Yes, General?”

“I was asking you about the
Jiin-Wei
,” the general snapped.

“What about them?”

“I am given to understand that they have access to the same magic that the
Fang-Shi
use.” The general turned to receive another report.

“Many of the
Jiin-Wei
are trained to use some aspects of magic, General.” Haung watched the man’s eyes flick back and forth across the page. “More than that, I do not know.”

“What?” The general thrust the signed report back into the hands of the aide who had delivered it. “You are a
Jiin-Wei
. Surely you know whether they are or are not.”

“Each
Jiin-Wei
is trained according to their strengths and weaknesses, General. No two are completely alike. Some
Jiin-Wei
can do things I cannot and I can accomplish tasks that they cannot. It is the strength of the
Jiin-Wei
to have diverse talents to meet all eventualities.”

“You can do magic?” The general clasped his hands behind his back let his gaze wander across the room.

“General, might I know the purpose of this enquiry?” Haung fell back into habits instilled during his training. Give nothing away without gaining more in return. Remember, not all questions are innocently asked or directed to elicit the information they seemed to ask for. Haung matched the general’s pose. Feet shoulder width apart, hands behind his back and chest puffed out. There was a message in the question, but he could not decipher it.

“No particular reason,” the general said and Haung was sure he was lying. “Idle interest.”

Haung chose to remain quiet and watch the activity within the room. The more he looked, the more he realised that there was something missing. The realisation forced him to pay more attention to the different groups moving around. He focused upon the closest table. The aides and administrators were moving paper around the desk. Picking up notes, reading and then adding more notes to the already full paper. That page went back onto the desk and into the piles. He switched his gaze to the other tables noting the same things going on. Everything looked quite normal.

“General,” Haung said and cursed himself for a fool, “may I see the most recent reports from the scouts.”

The General of the Wall did not move from the spot. Haung saw the man’s jaw tighten and there was a slight shift of his shoulders.

“General?” Haung asked again.

“Colonel, no scout has reported in today.”

“With respect, General, it is the most recent reports I wish to see. I am aware that scouts do not report in every day. Indeed, I am aware that there are sometimes weeks before a scout returns. I just want to see what they have reported recently.”

There was a pause. The whole room must have heard the request. Haung was sure a few of the staff directed glances towards the general. It was clear that they were all loyal to the man, but clearer still was the awareness that something was not quite right.

“Colonel, no scout has reported in for over two weeks,” the general admitted.

“Patrol reports?” Haung asked.

“Apart from yours, they all say that the land is clear.”

“When did the last patrol come in, General?” Haung pushed.

The general waved one of the aides over. The man handed the general a scroll which the officer unrolled and scanned.

“According to our lists the last report was filed midday yesterday,” the general said. “It records that the land beyond the wall is clear.”

“Forgive me, General, have there been no reports today?”

The general scanned the scroll once again. “No, Colonel. None today.”

“And when was the first patrol due to report back?” Haung asked, though he feared he knew the answer.

The general spent a long moment re-rolling the scroll and handing it back to the aide who took it with a shaking hand.

“The first patrol should have reported back this morning, Colonel.” The general did not meet his eyes.

“How many have not reported in?” Haung took a step towards the general.

“We now have three patrols overdue.” The general looked to the door.

Haung stopped. Three patrols, at least forty-five men missing beyond the wall. For one patrol to be late back was not unheard of. Delays in camp, the weather, the investigation of a sighting, anything could lead to a delay of an hour or two. The first patrol was now almost a day late. The evening sun was setting and night fell with remarkable speed in a northern winter.

“Have you put the wall on high alert?” Haung asked. He bypassed the officer and headed to the table of reports. Rifling through the papers on it, scanning them for information. Not really sure what he was looking for, but searching for something to help.

“Haung, I have been the General on this wall for a long time. This is nothing to panic about. Patrols are late all the time.” There was a note of conviction in the man’s voice. Haung considered the tone, deciding that it was there to convince the staff in the room and the general himself. Self-delusion.

“The alert?”

“Of course. It is standard procedure when patrols are late. The guard has been increased on the gate and the second shift has moved up to the walls alongside the first,” the general said and this time there was the ring of truth in the words. “We are not new to this, Colonel.”

Haung looked back, over his shoulder, and saw the man start to come alive again.

“Not two days ago my patrol was attacked, General.” Haung snatched up a writing stylus and with quick strokes wrote on a blank sheet. He thrust the completed message into the hands of a startled aide. “Take this and find Master Gang and Liu, Corporal Enlai too, if you can find him. Have them all brought here. Get a move on.”

“Colonel, I’ll thank you not to commandeer my staff,” the general said, but did not stop the aide from rushing off to follow Haung’s orders. “There is no need for panic or concern. The patrols will report in soon. It is better to be calm and considered in these situations. Something a few more years of command will teach you.”

“The patrols are late. We were attacked. The flow of refugees has all but ceased.” Haung said, ticking off the points on his fingers. “We have to do something more to prepare. Have the
Fang-Shi
been informed? The troops recalled from the town?”

“Colonel Haung, we have taken all the precautions needed at this stage. The magicians are better off out of the way and would not be best pleased to be dragged from their studies because of a few late men.”

“The troops then?”

“No, Colonel. We do not need to send everyone into a panic every time a patrol is late,” the general snapped.

“General,” Haung paused and took a calm breath, “are we not taught to ‘rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him’.”

“Do not quote the manual to me, Colonel. I had it memorised whilst you were still at your mother’s breast.” The general’s face flushed with anger.

Haung stared back at him. No apology in his eyes. “If I am wrong then you can inform the Emperor...”

“You can be sure that I will, Colonel,” the general interrupted. “For your insubordination and insults, I will see your rank stripped away. This is my wall, Colonel. Mine to command. My troops to deploy as I see fit. My decisions and mine alone. Do not forget it.”

“I will not forget, General.” Haung turned away, absently scratching his arm as he returned to his study of documents on the table.

A few moments later, the door to the command room opened and the aide sent by Haung stumbled in. Behind him came Corporal Enlai and the two masters, Gang and Liu.

“Evening Colonel,” Enlai said, “you asked to see me?”

Gang and Liu stood back and waited. Haung glanced at them, noting that their eyes moved swiftly around the room, gauging the mood.

“I’ll go and get my hammer then,” Gang grumbled. “Looks like there is a fight coming.”

Liu focused his gaze on Haung’s face and then let it slip over to the general’s. “I’ll come with you. We’ll meet you on the wall.”

The two masters gave Haung a knowing nod and left the room.

“Sir?” Enlai said.

“Enlai, see if you can rouse the commanders of the third shift and ask them to present themselves here within the hour,” Haung said.

“Do not carry out that order, Corporal,” the general said without turning away from Haung. “The troops, Colonel, are mine to command.”

“General,” Haung began and then stopped as the sound of a large gong being repeatedly struck echoed through the room.

“I don’t reckon they’ll need telling, Colonel,” Enlai said with a sad smile upon his face.