Twelve Paths To Glory

Chapter Seven: A Deal

A pact with the devil

The clans cried for justice, for vengeance. Cultivators rallied under their banners of allegiance, demanding for blood.

The pigs didn't care.

Lady Chao Feng didn't care.

Bodies began to pile up. Cultivators drained of chi and blood littered forests, plains and fields. The clans experienced crushing losses. Families wailed and howled. Tian Guo was in turmoil as the landscape became a battlefield between the orthodox clans and the pigs.

*

Jade Rain and Autumn Moon rushed through the darkened forest, the wind hissing as they flew. Their pursuers were closing.

The situation had grown increasingly precarious. The rabbits found themselves routed by the hunting Earth Borers, the elite assassins of the pig clan. The pigs had mastery of the land, especially the soil and the layers of earth. They had laid traps everywhere. Nowhere was safe. The group Jade Rain and Autumn Moon was with fell straight into an ambush. With their tunneling abilities, the Earth Borers had hid well and sprang the ambush. In the frenzy which followed, Old Bing was captured, the initiates cut off from vital reinforcements and Jade Rain and Autumn Moon having to flee. Torn between terror and loyalty to the clan, they were forced to make the painful decision to escape.

And now, they ran, like fugitives.

"They are closing on us!" Autumn Moon gasped, looking as if she was about to burst into tears. They both felt the horror and shame of running away. Sorrow burned in their hearts. They failed to protect the group, failed to protect Old Bing who was a cherished elder in the clan. What would the clan leader say?

Now they were all scattered across Tian Guo. Autumn Moon wasn't sure where her father was, or the rest of the rabbits. They had left a skeleton term to protect their clan home, Serenity Hall. But with the rising power of the pigs, nothing was certain.

"Run, just run," Jade Rain cried, resisting the urge to just scurry into the bushes. The call to become a rabbit was strong, visceral. Their skin crawled as if fur was growing beneath it. They knew that Autumn Moon was fighting the same thing too.

The idea of being a Fallen terrified them.

So, they ran.

And they hid. The bushes formed a small cave or tunnel. They squeezed into the small space, panting.

Suddenly, there was a howl, like a wolf's. It reverberated in the still air. Sounds of clashing blades broke the stillness.

"Fighting?" Jade Rain whispered. They held Windsong tightly. The jian was singing now. Someone was close. Something was close.

Another howl, followed by a final frenzied clashing of metal.

... And a figure tore through the shrubs. It was holding a sword. With their heightened senses, Jade Rain and Autumn Moon knew via smell that the figure was male... and a dog. A cultivator from the dog clan! Something familiar pinged in Jade Rain's memory. They knew this scent...

Sky Grace!

He staggered a few steps forward before collapsing onto the earth.

"It's Sky Grace," Jade Rain said. The sounds of pursuit and fighting seemed to have stopped. "He's injured!"

Jade Rain and Autumn Moon dragged him to their little bower. Sky Grace was bleeding. Fresh blood had soaked through his clothing in dark piquant spots, centering mostly on his chest. He was unconscious, his handsome face bruised and bloodied.