Part 4, Chapter 28

No need for revenge

Ch 28

The next day the tribe leaders gathered for a war meeting. Jingyi, Xun, and Xiaomin attended with Jingyi’s father, standing quietly behind his throne as the various generals of the tribe gave their reports on the battles.

Anywhere the Emperor went there was annihilation. No Red Desert tribesman that tried to stand before him lived. He reclaimed vast areas that had been over run by the Red Desert, bonding the land to himself and leaving no room for the tribes anywhere. Other areas were luckier, the God of War roamed the land, but he was less effective at reclaiming than the Emperor was, and many tribesmen were able to escape and hide from him in order to regroup. Tribes fighting against the Heavenly soldiers faired the best and won as often as they were routed.

After listening to the summaries two of the tribe leaders were prepared to leave, they were tired of loosing men and the lands they had left behind were suffering from lack of care. Two of the tribe leaders were determined to claim the land they had been promised and seemed to not understand the damage being done to their army by the addition of the Emperor to the fight. The rest… remained undecided. They stayed because they were loyal to the Master of the Red Desert, the Fire Lord, and he fought for vengeance. When he stood before the other tribe leaders he seemed to take his aspect upon him, a smoldering light and heat radiating off him as he raved about the murder of his daughter and granddaughter. His eyes burned into those of his listeners until even those who had wanted to leave were swayed.

“That’s enough of that,” Xun murmured under her breath.

Xiaomin and Jingyi both jumped, they too had been drawn in by the Fire Lord’s rant. Xun nudged Jingyi, who stepped forward into the circle of tribe leaders.

“Excuse me,” Jingyi said calmly. “But your daughter was murdered by the daughter of the King of the Merfolk, not the Emperor and your granddaughter has been living quite happily in the village where I reside.”

The Master of the Red Desert was derailed. He stood, staring at the young man who looked back at him guilelessly.

“I can bring her to visit you if you’d like.”

“You… you could bring me any child and claim it was her,” the Fire Lord stammered.

Xiaomin stepped into the circle, “He couldn’t,” she said. “Beibei is the only immortal I have ever seen with mismatched eyes, one the gold of the Merfolk and one black like the people of the Red Desert. She’s very beautiful, if a little shy.”

The Master of the Red Desert turned on her. “Why would you know what the child looks like?” He demanded.

Xiaomin grinned, “My wife was her nursemaid and we were the ones who smuggled her out when the Dowager Empress began to get ideas of killing the child.”

The Master of the Red Desert sat heavily in his throne. “The child… is alive.”

Xun took her turn to speak, “She is, but if you die in this war you will never meet her. More than that, what home will she have to return to if her people are destroyed by the rage of the Emperor? She is a Lady of Fire, as her mother was, despite her bloodlines,” Xun couldn’t stop her smile, “She’s already singed the wolf puppies when they were playing too rough for her.”

The Fire Lord let out a hoarse chuckle, “She has her mother’s temper.”

Xun moved closer to him, her hands open in a pleading gesture, “Please,” she said. “Give up this war. Your revenge is over, the people who harmed your daughter are dead and you have a granddaughter who is waiting to meet you.”

The Master of the Red Desert bowed his head.

“No!” A thin man in a pointed hat lurched out of his seat. “No! We can still win this war! We can still take everything that was promised by - “

The man’s words cut off abruptly as the Fire Lord raised a hand, palm out. The man let out a sick little whimper before bursting into flame.

“Tell the Enkhbat Tribe they need a new leader. Who will go to speak with the Emperor and ask him to meet with me?”

“I will go,” Jingyi said immediately. “I haven’t fought in this war for several hundred years and my maids have no stake in it at all. I am as close to neutral as you will get.”

The Master of the Red Desert turned his smoldering glare on Jingyi. “You, then,” he agreed. “Come to me tomorrow for my letter requesting treaty talks before you go.”

Jingyi bowed and Xun let out a quiet sigh. Tomorrow she would see her husband.