Crane Read Free Page B

crane-beak fist, and slammed it into one of the roof tiles.
    The roof tile shattered and flames shot up through the opening, licking the night air.
    “Hey!” the soldier called out, fumbling with something. “What are you doing?”
    Hok stood and tore the sleeves off her dress, then tied them around a chunk of the shattered roof tile. She left the ends of silk dangling extra long and held on to one piece while lighting the others with the flames dancing up through the hole. With the flaming bundle at her side, Hok headed for the far edge of the roof, toward the compound wall.
    “Where do you think you're going?” the soldier asked. “You'll kill yourself over there! Stop!”
    Hok glanced back over at the soldier and saw that he was now holding a short
qiang.
She had to act fast.
    Hok swung the fiery bundle over her head and hurled the flaming mass into the night. As it flew, she caught a glimpse of the compound wall and the ground beyond it. She made her best guess of the wall's dimensions and her distance to the ground beyond it.
    And then she jumped.

H ok landed without a sound on the far side of the compound wall. She rolled several times on the damp grass to disperse the energy of her landing, and hopped to her feet.
    Like Cangzhen, Shaolin had a grassy moat around its perimeter to make it harder to approach without being seen. Hok ran across it. She made it to a pitch-black tree line some distance away and stopped to catch her breath. Though smoky the night air was much clearer here than it had been inside the burning compound. Hok inhaled deeply. Repeatedly. She was still nauseous from the Dream Dust, but this was no time for a long rest.
    Hok glanced around, and froze. She realized that she wasn't alone.
    Overhead, a smooth voice purred, “That was quite a leap you just made. I'm glad you announced your intentions by waving that burning projectile beforehand. Otherwise, I might have missed you entirely.”
    Hok looked up and saw Tsung crouched on a large tree limb. He was wearing her Cangzhen robe.
    Hok's eyes narrowed.
    “I told you that you were going to be my ticket into Shaolin,” Tsung said with a laugh. “Borrowing your robe to wear while I did my dirty work will make for great rumors, don't you think? My men have no idea that it was me who killed Shaolin's sentries from within and opened the main gate for them. They think it was you! A Cangzhen monk other than Ying responsible for the downfall of the mighty Shaolin Temple! The people of this region will be furious! It's a shame you won't be around to witness it firsthand.”
    Hok's mind began to race. She wondered if what he was saying was true or just a trick to distract her.
    A beam of moonlight slipped between the leaves and illuminated Tsung's shoulders. Hok saw them flex ever so slightly, and she knew what was about to happen.
    Hok leaped backward as Tsung exploded out of the tree. He landed in the exact spot where she had been standing. Hok couldn't believe a human could move that fast.
    Tsung grinned his toothy grin. “You're very perceptive. That's good. It will make this kill all the more exciting—”
    Tsung lunged at Hok again, and Hok hoppedsideways. She escaped the brunt of the impact, but Tsung reached out at her throat as he passed by. His long fingernails connected with a glancing swipe and five thin lines of blood oozed horizontally across the side of her neck.
    Hok knew that she had to take action. Tsung was far too fast for her to respond defensively especially with the Dream Dust still in her system. As soon as Tsung hit the ground, Hok lunged at him, swinging her right elbow at his head.
    Tsung's bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise and he grabbed her incoming elbow with his left hand. Hok heard him grimace as her bony elbow made contact with his palm, but he didn't release her. Instead, he tightened his grip and latched on to the back of her arm with his other hand.
    Tsung began to dig his long fingernails into Hok's arm, and she