Lost in the Wind

"Susu. Is your hand still hurting?"

Xuxian half-raised himself in bed on elbow, watching Suzhen comb her hair.

She had fine, straight hair that hung in a veil when she let it down, rippling faintly in the candlelight like a living, moving creature. The sooty blackness of it was like freshly ground ink, so that he almost expected his fingers to come away stained when he ran his hand through it playfully. The ends reached well past her waist, but they never seemed to get tangled, almost as if they had a life of their own; or perhaps the sheer weight of it kept them straight and taut.

The hand holding the small bone comb was clumsier than usual because of the bulky bandage around the palm, he noted.

She paused to raise her head and smile at him. "A little."

He sighed and slowly lay back down. "Susu. I was so afraid just now. For a moment I thought I was going to see you blinded before my very eyes."

His voice was troubled. "I treated a boy once for something like that. But he was not half as fortunate as you. The sparks had damaged his eyes and there was nothing I could do. Poor child, he was blind after that. I will never forget the sight of those eyes. If that had happened to you, Susu--"

"I am sorry to have given you such a fright," she said earnestly.

He smiled and shook his head. "Silly. It's not as though you could help it, what are you apologizing for? Thank the gods. Your poor hand though, my darling. Don't do any cooking tomorrow--leave it for me."

She laid down the comb and came over to bed. "Will it leave a scar, do you think?"

"I'm afraid it might, my love. Tomorrow if it's better we'll try a new salve I got the other day, and see if it helps. Sleep now." He held up the blankets for her to crawl in beside him."

She nestled beside him, drawing her cold feet up under the covers. "The nights are getting colder, now," she remarked.

Xuxian draped his arm around her. "Lie closer to me if you're cold. Ah, Susu, I can't wait for spring. Let's go to the mountains again. We haven't gone swimming for so long." he murmured.

Her eyes looked wistful as she stared up unseeingly at the rafters overhead. "It seems a long time," she agreed. For a moment the thought of the mountains felt like an escape, not from the village this time but from the monk's ominous presence. When would he give up, or be satisfied and move on? Travelling monks were not expected to stay so long in an area, and she was uneasy. Did he still suspect her, was she still being weighed in the balance?

She fingered the bandage Xuxian had made for her. The burn stung, but she bore it without flinching; it was far from the worst wound she had ever received. She had thrust her hand firmly onto the blazing embers until she was sure the print of the amulet had been burnt away, and the pain, however agonizing, was necessary. If she used her cultivation she could have it heal faster, but since Xuxian had examined it so thoroughly she thought it was better to let it heal naturally so as not to arouse any suspicion. Heavens knew she had enough to deal with already.

Slowly, she drew a deep breath. That had been a close shave. Too close. She would have to be extra careful about that hideous amulet from now on--last night in the flurry of events she had dropped it on the ground, and much later on she had seen Yuanzheng pick it up offhandedly and return it to Fahai. Its magical properties were all forgotten in the excitement of her accident, and she was relieved.

Xuxian sighed, and she could tell from his deep, regular breathing that he had already fallen asleep. Suzhen closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep over the twinges of pain from her hand.

The wind tapped against the shutters and she lay quietly, composing her mind. Her brows twitched once, and the lines of her body became stiff and rigid. Another moment, and her eyes flickered open.

Suzhen sat up in bed abruptly, pushing the covers back carefully so as not to wake Xuxian with the cold air seeping in under the edge. Slowly lowering her bare feet to the floor, without bothering to search for her shoes--another habit that Xuxian always scolded her for--she stood up.

Crouching down, she placed the tips of her fingers lightly on the ground, and tilted her head to one side. Her eyes narrowed almost to slits as she listened intently, sensing the vibrations.

There were footsteps, much too many footsteps to be normal at this time of the night in the village. Footsteps that tread carefully and softly, and were lost in the sound of the wind, but for the sheer volume of them. Further away she thought she could sense something like horse feet.

Suzhen raised her head, her eyes dark and wary. She went quickly to the peg where her rabbit fur cloak hung, and flung it over her shoulders, then gathered her hair back and looked about the hut searchingly for a weapon.

She made a face to herself. She ought to have known that Physician Xu would not have much in the way of weapons. There was his small herb gathering knife, and the spade they used for digging, both of which she dismissed immediately with a shake of her head. Then there was the axe--but as she picked it up she remembered Xuxian had just painstakingly bound the splintery handle with some hide. Running her finger regretfully over the smooth fawn coloured handle she shook her head as well with a sigh and laid it down. It would be a pity if she got blood on such a beautiful new handle, and it probably would not wash off.

His hunting knife would have been good, but for some reason it was not in its usual place, inside his belt. She searched industriously all over for it but could not find it, and finally gave up. Well, there was no help for it. She could not afford to waste any more time.