He waited five minutes. Before transferring he set the portal to collapse behind him. No one would return the box to the desert should it grab a man as it did the dead. He took a deep breath, stepped into the portal.
The thing wakened as Shih-ka'i reached the island. A finger of power stabbed his brain. He staggered. "You!" the thing in there bellowed. He moaned. Its rage was stronger than he had expected. Its angry, greedy tentacles drove into him, taking control...
Ssu-ma Shih-ka'i was stubborn. He turned, threw the box. It bounced across the floor.
Lord Kuo smacked it with a bolt of power that did no harm at all. Shih-ka'i dove after the box, smacked a fist against its side. It tumbled onward, into the pulsing black maw of the portal.
A dwindling scream faded from Shih-ka'i's mind.
Pan ku reached his side. "Are you hurt, Lord?"
Shih-ka'i allowed himself to be lifted to his feet. "I think I'll live, Pan ku. Damn my bones, I'm afraid I'm going to." He leaned on his batman. "It almost caught my soul."
Hsu Shen came roaring in. "What happened?"
"It woke up," Lord Kuo explained. "My Lord threw it back through the transfer."
"Oh, no! It's back in the desert? What'll we do?"
Shih-ka'i caught his breath. "No. Not the desert. No. Caught in the transfer stream. Done with this world. Forget the boat, Hsu Shen. Let me rest before I return to Lioantung. We're done here."
Pan ku was helping him leave when the air crackled behind them. A man stepped from a portal. "Lord?" he inquired.
Shih-ka'i turned. "Lord Lun-yu?"
"The Princess Mist is in Lioantung, Lord. Thought you'd want to know." Tasi-feng surveyed his surroundings. He seemed puzzled. Lord Kuo tried to make himself invisible.
Shih-ka'i sighed. "All right. I'll be there directly. Pan ku, let's collect our gear. Hsu Shen, send the rest of your men out."
Lord Kuo remained apart from Shih-ka'i till Tasi-feng departed.
"Pan ku," Shih-ka'i said as they approached their quarters, "I think I've aged a hundred years."
A deputation of nervous Tervola waited in the transfer chamber. Tasi-feng said, "Lord Shih-mihn is entertaining the Princess, Lord."
"What's that racket?"
"Harassment from outside, Lord."
"Tell the lady I'll be with her as soon as I've studied the situation."
"Lord?"
"You heard me. Lord Lun-yu, come with me. Tell me everything she's said." He led the way to a high gallery in the old fortress at Lioantung's heart. From it he could see most of the city and much of the countryside beyond. Pan ku dogged their steps.
"This was a monastery in the old days," Tasi-feng said.
"Really? Interesting. But I'm more interested in current events. What's the Matayangan situation?"
"She gives the impression it's under control. Lord Kuo struck a particularly savage blow before... before... "
"I see. What did she say she wants?"
"She's investigating our position. The army is stretched thin. If either front sours we might have to abandon the western provinces."
Shih-ka'i leaned out a window, watched dragons circle. "The worst is over here. We've eliminated their godling. There'll be no more debacles like the Tusghus. What have they been doing?"
"Getting ready to storm."
"Storm? That's crazy. They don't have the manpower."
"They didn't have it at the Tusghus, Lord."
"So true. But they haven't the weapon they had then, either." Shih-ka'i scanned the darkness. "When will they start?"
Tasi-feng shrugged. "If he follows precedent, not for a few days."
"Don't count on it. He's learning." Shih-ka'i glared at the night. "Damn. I'd like to get my hands on him."
Something skittered behind them. Shih-ka'i whirled. "A mouse, Lord," Pan ku said. "Strangest thing. Sat there just staring at you."
"Let's see what's on the woman's mind," Shih-ka'i said.
"Lord... "
"Not to worry. I'll comport myself properly. I'm as fond of my position as you are of yours."
Shih-ka'i had encountered Mist twice before, during her first reign, and each time his first glimpse had hit him like a blow between the eyes. Though he steeled himself, the result was no different this time. Hard to believe that anything that beautiful was human. Hard to believe that she was the child of that ugly old madman, the Demon Prince.
She rose when he entered the small chamber where she was holding court. As his legion commanders bowed to him, she extended her hand. Never having been formally presented to any of Shinsan's masters, Shih-ka'i was not sure how to respond. He made the slight bow due an army superior. The woman seemed satisfied. "Lord Ssu-ma."
"A pleasure, my Princess."
"The pleasure is mine." She seated herself. Lord Shih-mihn remained at her right hand, a man smitten. "I've been reviewing your campaign."
Shih-ka'i bowed again. "Mercy, Mistress," he said. "I've done my best, but I'm only a pig farmer's son." His tone did not match his words. They were mere formality.
"Mercy isn't necessary, Lord Ssu-ma. Not even the great Lords Chin or Wu could have done more."
Shih-ka'i surveyed his brethren, surprised. They stood tall and silent, unreadable behind their masks. What was this? They had spoken for a pig farmer's son?
The woman continued, "I have complete confidence in you. I'm not here to interfere, only to familiarize myself with your situation. These are trying times for the empire."
Shih-ka'i did not respond immediately. Tasi-feng stepped into the breach. "Lord Lun-yu, Mistress. Commander, Seventeenth."
"A legion I remember well, from times when Lord Wu commanded."
"Those days are gone, Mistress. As is Lord Wu."
"Gone, forgiven, and forgotten."
"Thank you, Mistress. There's a way you could help. The Deliverer has a companion of great power. We're unable to defeat her. To make the point directly, you might match yourself against her."
Shih-ka'i regained his composure. "My commanders tell me she's almost as strong as yourself, Mistress."
"This woman is the Deliverer's source of power?"
"One source. He had another, a godling of ancient times, that resided in the desert to the east. Tonight a Tervola named Hsu Shen and I destroyed it. Now the Deliverer and his woman are on their own."
"They're outside now?"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Let's have a look." Shih-ka'i bowed. His entire staff started to follow. Mist said, "You gentlemen return to work. Wait. Lord Shih-mihn. Your granaries are full?"
"Yes, Mistress." Puzzled.
"This place is filthy with mice. You might do something if you anticipate a long siege."
"Yes, Mistress."
Softly, Shih-ka'i said, "It won't be long. They're down to the lees of their strength. He's planning another surprise." Mist glanced over her shoulder, gave Pan ku a look filled with meaning. The decurion was not intimidated. Shih-ka'i said, "Pan ku is my shadow."
"As you will."
Ten minutes later, as they approached the city's northern wall, Shih-ka'i heard a scrabbling sound behind him, then a meaty thump as one body hit another. He spun, saw Pan ku push a large dog away from himself. The hilt of the decurion's shortsword protruded from the beast's chest. The dog twitched, whimpered, lay still. Pan ku retrieved his weapon, separated the beast's head and limbs. "Pan ku?"
"I'm all right, Lord. Didn't bite through my armor."
"What happened?"
"Came out of the dark straight at you, Lord." Mist squealed, "Down!" A flash blinded Shih-ka'i for an instant. His vision cleared. Another dog lay at his feet. Its left shoulder had been burned to the bone. "Maybe we should've let the others come," Mist said. "I think I see the direction of his next attack." He was right. Similar attacks were occurring throughout the city.