The Dragon Warrior Read online

  My hand jerked while reaching for the medicine Mr. Zhao had bagged, nearly knocking it to the ground. I caught it in midair, my heart hammering.

  “Are you okay?” Moli asked.

  “Y-yeah.”

  “Hey …” She squinted, leaning against her broom. “Don’t I know you from some—”

  Yes. I’m Faryn Liu. Your former best friend turned enemy—remember?

  Without responding, I ducked my head down and bolted past the rows of herbs. I pushed open the door. The loud cheers and explosions of firecrackers thrummed in my ears.

  My fingers curled around the jar of medicine, and I pictured my sickly grandfather at home without his medicine. There was no time to gawk.

  My feet took me down a shortcut leading toward the underground tunnel’s entrance. Passing teeming restaurants, bubble tea shops, and beauty salons, I rounded the corner and slammed straight into a convincing red-and-gold nián—not unlike the one Wang had fought during the parade. The demon had the body, nose, and muzzle of a lion, along with a full mane and long, razor-sharp teeth—but combined with the scaly skin and pronounced brow ridge of a dragon. Even though it was swathed in shadow, I could tell that the costume filled up half the alleyway. It loomed before a group of four children, two boys and two girls who couldn’t be older than six or seven.

  “We aren’t scared,” shouted a bald little boy. “You can stop pretending to be a demon. The real nián isn’t such a stupid-looking creature.”

  “Don’t be mean, Ah Wen. I bet they worked really hard on their costume,” scolded the girl next to him. “I really like the fangs, shū shu. They look super real. Can I touch them?”

  A deep, rumbly snarl came in response. These parade participants were really committed to this demon act.

  “Maybe we should leave whoever it is alone,” the other boy suggested nervously.

  But his friend ignored him. “Fetch, fido!” Ah Wen reached into his pocket and chucked something at the dragon: a dumpling. It bounced off the costume and landed with a plop on the pavement. “What’s the matter? You don’t like vegetable dumplings, either?”

  “Ah Wen, you’re being rude! No one likes veggie dumplings.”

  A low, feral growl rumbled through the alley, shaking the ground. I looked at the costume, really looked at it, and was doused with a sudden icy realization.

  No human feet poked out from under the scaled underbelly of the beast.

  CHAPTER

  2

  Fear seized me, keeping my body rooted to the hard ground beneath my feet. Every cell in my brain screamed for me to turn and—what had Alex said?—run like the wind. But my legs each seemed to weigh more than a block of solid gold. I could do nothing but stare at the beast before me.

  I’d never seen a demon outside of my grandfather’s handbook, Demons and Deities through the Dynasties. I’d lost count of the numerous types of Chinese demons that populated its pages, some as epic as winged horse creatures with the heads of dragons. The more powerful ones hid in disguise among the humans, though a good warrior like my father could detect the demons based on scent alone. Apparently, they smelled like stinky tofu and pickle juice.

  This demon was definitely not in hiding, and its appearance was as horrid as its smell.

  The demon’s vicious-looking claws were each the size of small horns. They’d probably have no trouble ripping into human flesh. Nián literally meant “year” in Chinese, and according to Ye Ye, the name had originated because, back in his hometown of Beijing, he and his neighbors had had to defeat this same ferocious demon every Lunar New Year to protect their citizens.

  Every fiber of my being yelled at me to run, but there was no way I could leave these kids to fend for themselves.

  The nián reared its head back and roared. The beast’s limbs were fuzzy, coming in and out of focus. A mouthful of yellow fangs more than capable of shredding me in two glittered in the mass of black chaos that was its face.

  “Get out of here,” I barked at the kids.

  Ah Wen shrieked as he and his friends scattered down the alleyway. “Sorry! Next time I’ll bring real dumplings!”

  I tossed my grandfather’s medicine to the ground and rolled up my sleeves, resisting the urge to flee with the kids. For years, I’d trained for a moment like this, to battle and defeat a real demon. Yet my arms and legs couldn’t stop shaking.

  The demon lunged. Dodging the creature’s swiping claws, I jumped onto an empty wooden crate leaning against the wall. I spotted a still-smoking, charred incense stick on the ground and snatched it up before the nián could make another pass at me.

  Seeing the burned stick reminded me of Ye Ye’s favorite advice: to pray to the gods whenever I was in trouble.

  Deities, help me bring down this demon. Right now.

  The nián’s fangs elongated. It charged at me with a growl and leapt through the air. I closed my eyes and screamed, certain that moments from now I’d find myself in the nián’s stomach. And that was so not how I wanted to ring in the New Year.

  But the fangs didn’t tear into my throat. I peeled open one eye and—saw. Really saw.

  All sound ceased. The fireworks had frozen in the sky, and so had the nián. I rolled out from under its path and examined the fine details of its scales, the tiniest cracks in its yellowed fangs, a milky whiteness in its eyes that told me it was at least partially blind.

  Details about the alley I’d missed before popped into focus. Moss lined the cracks between the bricks in the walls. Ants scurried along the asphalt. The fireworks exploded in my ears, sounding louder and closer than ever.

  As the demons grow more powerful, so do the gods—and warriors.

  The thought dropped into my head just as something else dropped into my hand. My fingers closed around a cold, firm hilt.

  My incense stick had been replaced by a gleaming, double-edged silver sword.

  I gaped at the weapon. I’d practiced using swords with Ye Ye and Alex, and watched my father use them before he disappeared. But this wasn’t practice. This sword felt much heavier, more real, than any weapon I’d used before.

  Power coursed from the roots of my hair down to my toes. If the nián left this alley, it would prey on the innocent, unsuspecting people. Like children. Like my family. My palms turned so slick with sweat that I could barely hold my sword. But I couldn’t let fear get the best of me. In the Jade Society warriors’ place, with the gods’ blessing, I had to protect them.

  With a snap that shook me to my core, time began moving again. The pop pop pop of firework explosions mirrored the strength that crackled through my veins. As the night sky above lit up with colorful bursts, my short hair blew up with the force of an invisible wind.

  When the nián lunged again, I stood my ground. I envisioned something less threatening but still punchable—Luhao’s face, right after he’d tripped Alex in front of our house last week. That was all the incentive I needed.

  My first swing went wide. Instead of chopping off the nián’s front leg, my sword only sheared a tuft of its fur. The beast glowered at me. I swore it was laughing. Its claws swiped at me before I could dodge, and I muffled a scream as I dove out of the way. Sharp pain seared up my arm, and this time, I cried out. The beast had shredded part of my shirt and left a cut on my left arm that oozed blood.

  I imagined Alex teasing me. You punch like a toddler. Is that really the best you’ve got?

  Gritting my teeth against the throbbing pain, I pressed my palms against the asphalt and jumped to my feet. My grandfather’s advice sped into my head. You’re small, which means you’re quick. Use that advantage against bigger opponents.

  The nián leapt through the air. I made myself as tiny as possible and slid under it onto the dirty, cold ground. I stabbed the sharp end of my sword upward into where the nián’s heart should have been.

  A satisfying squelch followed by a roar of pain told me I’d nailed my target. The demon collapsed and skidded away from me, taking my makeshift weapon with i
t.

  “There,” I panted. “Go back to King Yama!”

  King Yama, the king of Diyu, was in charge of locking up all the demons. He’d know what to do with the foul creature.

  My first kill. I collapsed onto the ground, my hands trembling and my palms coated with sweat. Though my stomach felt queasy when I saw the fearful beast I’d slain, the high of victory also roared through my veins.

  I waited for the nián to disappear, for its soul to depart and return to Diyu like it was supposed to according to legends. But the creature stirred and climbed unsteadily back onto its legs, turning around to face me. Its eyes flashed a furious red.

  A rush of fear replaced my short-lived joy.

  “Um, good nián,” I squeaked. “Roll … over?”

  “Not so fast, you great ugly brute!”

  A low, gruff voice, followed by thundering footsteps, echoed behind me in the narrow alley. A tall, skinny greyhound leapt over my head and barreled the nián to the ground.

  “Good boy!” shouted the same voice. An old man wearing black robes and wielding two swords came at me.

  I rolled out of his way automatically and screamed, “Shū shu, no! That’s a demon!”

  But the old man jumped toward the nián, swords twirling through the air.

  The creature ducked the brunt of the blow and batted the man and his dog away with its paw. The stranger’s swords only managed to shave off part of the nián’s mane. The dog careened into the wall, then slumped onto the ground.

  “Oh, you’ve done it now,” the man roared, landing lightly on his feet in front of me. “I’m going to turn you into ròu bāo zi!”

  The creature turned its ferocious yellow eyes on the man. Apparently, it didn’t relish the thought of becoming a meat bun.

  I opened my mouth to scream a warning—and the words were ripped from my throat when the man leapt high above the creature, much higher than humanly possible.

  I saw every shiny scale on the demon’s body, the rivulets of dark-red blood running down its arm and claws. The sliver of unprotected green skin wedged between its back and head.

  The man must have seen it, too. He swung his sword down, aiming for the sweet spot at the base of the neck. It sliced off the demon’s huge head in one clean stroke. The head rolled down the alleyway, where the four children had gathered when I wasn’t looking.

  Oh no. They hadn’t fled to safety after all.

  “A dragon head!” the girl hollered, and fled farther down the alley.

  “Cool! We can use it to play soccer!” said Ah Wen. He and the other boys ran after their friend.

  The demon’s headless body collapsed in a movement that shook the ground. It shuddered. Then it dissolved, leaving behind a small white wisp that floated upward and disappeared.

  The scrapes and bruises along my arms and legs throbbed, and the world swam around me, shouts and sounds of fireworks ringing distantly in my ears. The reality of the past fifteen minutes began to sink in.

  I pictured my father’s warm smile. I did it, Ba. Demons are here in San Francisco, like you always said, and I helped kill one.

  I just wished he could’ve seen me do it.

  The old man stood up and dusted himself off. He urged his hound to get to its feet, and then patted its head. “That’s a good boy, Xiao Tian Quan. I’ll feed you some demon souls when we get back home.”

  The dog barked and sat on his haunches, wagging his tail.

  Xiao Tian Quan. The name sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t quite figure out why. I knew one thing for sure, though. This was no ordinary man. My mind whirred to Ye Ye’s stories about the gods, how they’d sometimes take human form to blend in with society.

  Or maybe this man was just a Chinatown chef. Those guys were seriously skilled.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  The man pressed the blades of his swords together, and they molded into one long, black spear with a three-pointed, double-edged blade. I blinked and stumbled backward. “Whoa! H-how’d you do that?”

  “I have been hunting that nián for weeks,” the man said, ignoring my shock. “Though I hate to admit it, mortal, you deserve some credit for bringing it down. Who are you?”

  My mouth went dry. This man—could he really be—a god?

  The man cocked his head skyward, as though he was listening for something. Then he took a slow step forward. “Wait. I know who you are.”

  How could he? I was a nobody. Maybe what the man meant was that somehow he’d seen through the mask I wore. He knew I was the daughter of the Jade Society traitor Liu Bo.

  Panicked, I lurched back and bumped into a small container on the ground: Ye Ye’s jar of medicine. It reminded me that the longer I spent here, the longer my grandfather spent in pain back home.

  I didn’t wait to find out what the heck was going on. I grabbed the medicine and sprinted down the alley.

  “Hey,” the man yelled, but I kept running through the crowd.

  I didn’t stop until I’d entered the underground tunnel and biked all the way back home, then jumped over the fence before I tiptoed through the grass.

  The rustle of grass and sound of soft laughter made me freeze in the middle of the courtyard, right under a tall tree. “Who’s there?” I called softly, my heart pounding as I scanned the empty area. But everyone had left to watch the parade. Only the wind responded. I was alone with the silence and the stars.

  Shaking off the feeling of being watched, I climbed up a set of stairs near the gates. When I reached our house, I cracked open the doors and snuck inside in the dark.

  Alex slumped facedown and snored on the kitchen table, a black notebook flipped open under his right hand. His thick, curly black hair was glued to the side of his face with drool.

  I sighed. “You were supposed to stay awake in case Ye Ye needed anything.”

  Alex must’ve been exhausted, like I was. Poor kid. I ruffled his hair fondly, the way I used to when we were younger. Before Ba disappeared when I was eight years old. Before Alex decided he was no longer a kid, that he needed to grow up fast, and that he didn’t need anyone—not even his big sister—to look after him.

  Swallowing hard, I placed the jar in Ye Ye’s medicine drawer for him to use when he woke up. I’d risked life and limb to buy the thing before the stores closed, and I’d do it all over again.

  I lay down. Now that Ye Ye’s health wasn’t an immediate concern, all I could do was think about the nián.

  And who was that man—or was he a god?

  I pulled the mask off my face, sucking in fresh air and wiping away the sweat that had condensed beneath the disguise. Through the only window in the room, directly opposite my pillow, I watched the fireworks explode high above me in the air. The snores of my grandfather and brother lulled me into an uneasy sleep.

  CHAPTER

  3

  On the morning of the Lunar New Year Day, I didn’t dare mention that I’d helped slay the nián. Ye Ye would be too busy scolding me for sneaking out to congratulate me on slaying a demon. That’s Asian-style tough love for you.

  Instead I went outside into the small clearing behind our home and threw myself into training, pretending the damp, bent tree branch I wielded was a sword. As Ye Ye looked on, Alex danced in front of me, blocking my jabs with his own makeshift weapon. He was a decent opponent, but I could usually take him. My brother’s skin was slightly paler—more properly “Chinese,” Mao would say—than mine, yet still not quite enough for some of the Society members.

  Training always brought memories of Ba to my mind. He’d been the one to show us weapons for the first time, to demonstrate some basic combat moves while we watched from the sidelines. He’d be the one training us today—if he hadn’t left on a quest to reach the gods’ haven of Peng Lai Island four years ago so he could ask for their help in fighting the demons wreaking havoc across the country. Mao and the other Society members had protested, to no avail.

  “It’s my duty,” Ba had told us with a sad look o
n his face on the day he left. He crouched down until he was eye level with us both. “Even if everyone else thinks we should ignore the demons as long as they ignore us, I still must work with the gods to find them and bring them down.”

  “How long will it take?” I asked.

  Ba had given us a warm, confident smile. “I’ve traveled this path once, before you were born, remember?” He raised one of the maps of his past travels and winked. “I can do it again, and faster this time. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  As Ba hugged Alex and me, we’d begged him not to leave. Many Jade Society members had scoffed that he was off on a fool’s mission, chasing down creatures that were no longer around. They assumed that Ba would be back within the week.

  And then one week went by. And then another week. And then another, until weeks became months became years.

  Ba never returned.

  Why had Ba left us, his only family? And, unless he was dead, why had he never come back from his quest?

  The questions brought a lump to my throat. But there was no way I’d cry during training, not in front of Alex and Ye Ye. To force the tears back, I put extra oomph behind my next attack.

  Down Alex went with a muffled yell.

  He wasn’t bad. But I was better. I’d helped bring down a demon yesterday. I’d never say that out loud to Alex, though. He already felt bad enough that he wasn’t a tough, skilled warrior, like all male Jade Society members were supposed to be.

  Ye Ye sat down in the grass. Thanks to the medicine—which Alex and I had persuaded him had been in the cabinet all along—he wasn’t coughing this morning. His eyes followed our every movement.

  “You’ve improved, Falun,” my grandfather said. Ye Ye referred to us by our Chinese names, even though nobody else bothered.

  “What about me, Ye Ye?” Alex asked, leaping up from the mossy ground.

  My grandfather gave him a stern look. “And you, Ah Li. You …”

  Alex leaned forward eagerly.