FIRST BOOK OF THE PIPER OF MIRCHAEK TRILOGY
When the walled city of the gods, Dansarun, opens its doors for trade, Xuijae's ruling clan sends its perfect representatives: the troublesome prince, Kai-Se, who wants nothing to do with palace life, and...
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The crowd present in the courtyard was insane. Kai-Se tucked his arms closer to his chest, eyes roaming faces, snouts, and other appendages in search of the only person he knew. Night had fallen on them, with the whole day focused on honoring the dead and cleaning the courtyard up. Over the hours, families and friends of the rebels had dropped by and started helping around. Kai-Se, since then, have been roped into keeping the children still and preventing them from seeking their parents out who might be busy.
That's how he got separated from Nao-Zai, who was spirited away by a man with a boar for a head, to where they attended to the wounded. Kai-Se didn't mind though. The children were sweethearts, except for the rare occasion of one trying to eat the other, and Nao-Zai was better suited in helping soldiers like him.
As soon as the sun disappeared from the sky and the bright moon had replaced it, people started lighting paper lanterns and setting them against the tips of their spears or on the floor. Not long after, the whole courtyard burned with a kind of orange that Kai-Se only associated with late nights out in the streets and, of course, An-Ri.
He shook his head. Perhaps An-Ri was in a better place now instead of being stuck in his necklace for spirits-knew how long. His fingers wrapped around the pendant hanging against the base of his neck, tips feeling the gawking tear right into the middle of the green jade stone. Before he could heave a sigh, his eyes landed on a familiar figure hobbling towards him.
"Kai-Se!" Nao-Zai called, the solider's smile brightening up Kai-Se's evening much more than the lanterns did. The soldier jogged towards him, wincing a little and clutching his side. "I've been looking for you."
Me too, Kai-Se wanted to say but wisely didn't. Instead, he jerkde his chin at Nao-Zai's wound. "Feeling okay?"
The soldier rolled his shoulders. "Not something I'd die of," he said. "I'm lucky it's just a graze."
Kai-Se recalled the amount of blood that coated Nao-Zai's side. Some of it even stained Kai-Se's sleeves and his loose trousers. It wasn't just a graze like Nao-Zai was making it out to be. But, wait a minute. Since when did Kai-Se start caring about soldiers, much more, a guard his father hired?
"You should come," Nao-Zai's voice jarred Kai-Se back to reality. "Gang Sen's about to address the crowd."
Without a word, Kai-Se bobbed his head and followed Nao-Zai across the courtyard. The sky bridges still loomed over them like hulking statues but now, they lost their might in Kai-Se's eyes. Just like the vast empire of the gods, these could topple over at any time too. Their footsteps scratched against the chipped cobblestones and the fine layer of dust and debris that the creatures failed to sweep earlier.
The light from the lanterns intensified, signaling an increased number of them. Kai-Se raised his eyes from his bloodied and muddied socks and let his gaze settle into the sea of armor, weapons, and animal heads.
The sound of a sword clanging against another resounded in the air. A wave of silence passed over the crowd as heads swiveled to somewhere Kai-Se's north. He found the source of their attention just as Gang Sen walked into what he deemed to be the center of the conregation.
