The Flower Among the Flames

Chapter 22

"Whoa there," Yul laughed with his arms above his head. The Sheng soldiers were encircling the Iron Phoenix force with raised spears and swords. All of his men stormed into the keep right before the gates closed. Given that they let them inside, he assumed they would be friendly. He was wrong. With a spear an inch away from poking his cheek, Yul continued, "Easy with those pointy sticks. You could poke an eye out with those."

There was a collective snicker amongst the men, but it was silenced when Choi shook her head in disapproval towards their behavior. The Sheng soldiers were especially worried about Hóng Léi. They had never seen a wyvern before so they assumed it was a dragon. Dragons were to be feared in everyone's opinion, of course. The majestic creature eyed these puny humans with amusement, letting out a low hum. This spooked the men into directing all of their weapons towards her and away from Yul. From atop the wyvern, Guan Liang barked a laugh, "Careful. She's a bit feisty, she is."

It was even more unsettling because Guan Liang was the one riding the wyvern before them. They all knew who he was and that he switched sides during a battle nearly a year ago. Some eyed his bardiche, which shimmered menacingly in the dim light pouring from the windows. What was going to happen now? Was the traitor back to murder them? The wyvern craned its reptilian head to look at all the soldiers around them. Puny humans, Hóng Léi thought. What are you going to do with those? Don't you know I can just gobble you up like mice? Guan Liang sensed his partner's train of thought and rubbed her back with murmuring words. Before any violence could take place, Seulgi pushed past the Sheng soldiers in order to face them. Seulgi said, "Stay your weapons. They are friends."

"Friends of ours or yours?" Bao He growled, his sword ready in his hand. This was all too suspicious. How did these men get here? No. A better question would be why were they here? His scouts never reported movement outside the castle. Just what was going on?

"Mine," Seulgi answered. "And therefore, you can trust them."

"How do we know that they won't stab us in the back?" Shao Yen asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Come on," Seulgi sighed. "You trusted me this far. You can trust them. I place this on my honor."

There was a wave of murmuring amongst the Sheng men, and their intent to kill the intruders wavered. Seulgi had a point. At this rate, it did not matter who was friend or foe. Their true enemy was outside and indiscriminately killed everything and everyone in their path. Their position was finalized when there came a shout, "That's enough. Put those weapons away."

Everyone turned to see Zhao Meng who had been staring the troops down with crossed arms the entire time. The Sheng complied but not without doubt. However, they did not feel the urge to disobey her lest she punish the men. Bao He shook his head. He did not approve of this, but he came to the same conclusion as the men. As much as he hated to admit it, more swords were something they could not forfeit. Those poor bastards, Bao He thought bitterly to himself. They didn't stand a chance out there. Bao He grunted, "If this backfires, this is on you."

"Bao He, we'd all be dead anyway if this backfires, as you say," Zhao Meng huffed, approaching Yul. Choi instinctively reached for her weapons, but Yul stayed the woman's hand. Choi jerked against Yul's grip, but he did not let her go.

Fear not, Choi, Yul told her, his eyes staring into the black sockets of her mask. Choi made a grumbling noise in her throat, but released her hands from her weapons. She stared meaningfully at him and shook her head. She didn't approve of this either. If anything went wrong, she'd kill everyone. She swore it.

"Sorry for the ill hospitality," Zhao Meng bowed. "We've had a rough day. You can probably guess we are in...an odd situation."

"Odd?" asked a voice from the back. It was Soo-Won. He had a cheeky grin with his bloody trident resting on his shoulders. He loved combat, and this was no exception. It wasn't often when he had the chance to fight such an odd opponent. He continued, "Woman, ya don't kno' ta half of 't. You've go' some bloody 'ig problems out 'ere."