1 Prologue
The Australian bush. The year 1864.
A land of fire and smoke, of dry dust and darkness. A place of death. The only sound in the air was the loud, maddening scream of cicadas. The blood splatter that was covering Li Han Choi had grown brown and was beginning to attract flies. The smell of gunpowder still seeped through his cheap dirty tunic. The strange bush had turned him into a loner, a thief and a bandit. Despite his threats, he never thought it would turn him into a murderer.
"There's nothing wrong with being a murderer," came a woman's whisper in the dark. "There are worse things you can be."
Suddenly, the deafening scream of insects vanished as quickly as it came. The dry gum trees began to rustle in the hot summer wind, causing bright silver moonlight to fill the gully that Li Han had been hiding in for days. A lady was standing in the moonlight. A strange, enchanting lady. Growing up, Li Han had of course heard the fairy tales about beautiful fox spirits. The strange woman had the peculiar silvery air of one. Her hair fell in an abundant tussle of wild rusty red curls, Her bare skin was covered in splotches of gold dust. Instead of a dress, she wore a velvet cloak which was fastened at the front with a gold brooch, only barely concealing her modesty. There was a shining garnet at the centre of the brooch. Snapping out of his reverie at the sight of the garnet, his instincts suddenly kicked in as he reached for his trusty pistol.
"Now Li Han, we will have none of that," she said with a wave of one long spidery hand, speaking his southern Cantonese dialect flawlessly.
The pistol exploded into a cloud of bottlebrushes and pink rock lilies, which were caught in the breeze and scattered into the summer night. Li Han's eyes widened in awe and fear. He felt frozen on the spot.
"Demon," he stuttered and the ethereal lady laughed.
She was beautiful when she laughed, her clear eyes crinkling at the edges, her straight teeth white and healthy.
"I've been a Queen, a Goddess and a Fairy... in the future I will be a popular character in fantasy novels, but I have never been and I will never be a demon," the lady said, walking slowly towards Li Han.
As she came closer, the smell of gunpowder and blood melted away, and the air filled with the beautiful, long forgotten smell of fresh rain. All he could hear was the rustling of the trees, her soft footsteps and his own pounding heartbeat. They were completely alone.
"What do you want from me?" Li Han whispered, his heart feeling the terror one only ever feels when they find themselves falling in love.
The lady reached forward, touching his blood soaked chest. His tunic vanished.
"I'm a stranger lost in this wild land, I came here chasing the gold just like you," she whispered, her fingers brushing against his bare chest. Her eyes seemed lazy and unfocused, but she was still smiling. "What I want," she whispered, reaching upwards and gently stroking his cheek. "Is to make a baby with an unbaptised man. Our son already exists, you know."
Li Han's heart was racing. He could feel his breath catching in his chest.
"You know that all of this will end with your death," she whispered, and the smell of rain was encompassed by the intoxicating perfume of Agar Wood. "Would you like to kiss a God before that happens?"
"Yes," he breathed. She was so very beautiful.
Clouds swept across the moon and the lady undid the brooch, her cloak falling around her ankles. They kissed, and once again the cicadas began to scream.
