Ben didn’t wince, but he wanted to. He stood completely still.
The elder pointed at him. “You’re not stupid.”
“Tell that to my mate.”
Li waved a hand. “Your mate thinks everyone is more stupid than she is, and the irritating thing is, she’s probably right.” He started to wander off toward his section of the compound. “Look around you, Zhang’s son. Have you looked at the islands? Really looked?” His voice drifted off. “You might be surprised by what you find.”
Chapter Nine
The following night, Ben sent a message to Jae. Tenzin had been engaged by Tai to decorate Zhang’s banquet hall for Erdun’s party, so Ben decided that touring the islands with Jae was a good way to spend the night.
After all, Elder Li had told him to look—really look—and he didn’t want to ignore the elder’s directions.
He met the Jae in the courtyard, wearing a pair of comfortable, wide pants and a thick jacket to cut the winter chill.
“Are you sure you want a tour of the islands?” Jae seemed confused. “You could fly and see them yourself. Nothing is restricted for you. It will be cold, but it’s cold on a boat too.”
“I’d see them,” Ben said, “but I might not understand. You grew up here, didn’t you?”
Jae nodded. “I did.”
“Then consider yourself my guide.” Ben nodded toward the east gate. “I already arranged a boat through Myung. We’re meeting it at the Pearl Dock.”
Jae seemed to debate himself internally, then sighed. “Very well, but I’m really not sure what it is you want to learn.”
“Consider me a curious tourist,” Ben said. “I want to know how this world runs.” He started walking toward the eastern gate. “How did your meeting with Elder Han go?”
“He’s not pleased that we haven’t found the seal already, but he was interested to hear what Cheng and Jonathan had to say about Ayal. I believe he has sent a letter to his mate. The messenger is a wind vampire, so it should get to her quickly as long as she’s not at sea.”
“Good.” Ben led Jae through the pathways, nodding to various servants and monks he recognized from his time there. “Mahina might be able to tell us more.” Ben glanced at the human. “Have you met her?”
“Mistress Mahina?” Jae nodded. “I had the pleasure of meeting her last year when she was visiting. It was my first opportunity, and I was very impressed with her. She is a tall woman, very broad and powerful with dark curling hair that is very long. Her skin is dark brown, as if she still spends time in the sun.” Jae smiled. “An unusual type of vampire for Penglai, but Elder Han will see none above her in wisdom or beauty.”
“She sounds formidable.”
“She is a regent,” Jae said. “She takes her duties seriously.”
Ben frowned as they walked through the Coral Gate, out the eastern doors, and past the Pearl Gate. The path toward the dock twisted, and seagrass blew across the way, brushing his ankles as he walked with Jae.
“It’s curious that she would give up her position in her sire’s court to come to Penglai. She has no authority here. No mission. Do you think she just wants a break?”
Jae said, “I wouldn’t presume to know her motives. I only know that when she comes, she will be most welcome in Elder Han’s household.”
They boarded a wide wooden boat with a red sail and a water vampire sitting in the stern. He nodded silently to them and motioned toward the bench in the bow of the ship.
Jae spoke to him in a language Ben didn’t recognize, but it sounded like a dialect of Mandarin with a good deal of guttural vocabulary thrown in.
“What language are you speaking?” Ben asked when Jae joined him. “I don’t recognize it.”
“It’s a dialect only spoken on the islands,” Jae said. “The original people here were not from the mainland. Now we are a blend of Chinese, Korean, and other ethnic groups.”
“Interesting.”
The boat took off from the dock and set sail onto a calm, moonlit sea. The waves lapped against the wooden sides, and the breeze came to Ben’s fingertips, filling the red sail as they picked up speed.
“We are headed toward the first and smallest of the islands,” Jae said. “Kun is hardly more than a port as it is the remnants of a volcano crater. There is a bay along the north side of the island where there is a large fishing town. After we visit that, we can visit Set, which is where I am from. The interior of Set is the best place on the islands to grow wheat.”
Ben studied Jae’s face to gauge how he felt about his home. “Do you miss it?”
“Miss what?” Jae kept his eyes on the horizon as they sailed toward Kun.
“Living on the island with your family.”
“No.” Jae shook his head firmly. “Working in an elder’s household is the highest honor for any human from the islands. Most humans here never meet an elder even once in their life. I have a brother in the monastery and another who will take over my father’s farm. Our parents are very proud of all we are doing.” The corner of his mouth turned up. “I’m sure my mother’s neighbors likely tire of hearing about her sons.”
So Jae’s family had a son in the military, one in the church, and one taking over the farm. If that wasn’t a feudal story, Ben didn’t know what was. “Any sisters?”
“Sadly no.” Jae’s smile was amused. “Though my brother on the island has married recently, and my mother would love for them to have daughters.”
“Do women work on the farms too?”
Jae nodded. “Everyone works. Farming in the traditional way is labor intensive, but it is the healthiest for the people, the land, and the elders.”
“Interesting.” Was it though? Jae had spoken those lines as if he’d read them from some kind of script. Traditional farming was likely the easiest on the land, yes, but was it really the healthiest for the farmers who worked it? Farming was hard work.
Ben leaned back, watching the peaked shadow in the distance that was quickly growing closer. “Are your grandparents still living?”
“Oh yes,” Jae said. “All but my father’s father. He died when I was young, but the rest of my grandparents are healthy and in their eighties now.” He smiled. “The island life is the best life. You’ll see, Benjamin Vecchio.”
Ben and Jae toured the islands for hours, moving from the bustling fishing village of Kun, which reminded Ben of a historical movie set, to the deep-green wheat fields of Jogé, a long, curving island in the shape of a saber.
Kun was compact and organized, the houses neatly stacked up the hill with glowing gas lamps lighting the cobblestone streets and a noisy tavern that hugged the cliffside. Bobbing fishing boats rested in the sheltered port, and a Taoist temple sat high at the top of the hill, its gracefully sloped roof outlined in the moonlight.
In Jogé, Ben left the boat and flew over wind-caressed fields of winter wheat and barley, dense stands of evergreen trees, and dotted vegetable patches dark with winter cabbage and root vegetables. Square houses with a combination of thatch and tile roofs dotted the landscape. There appeared to be one main town at the southernmost tip of the island where boats docked to pick up supplies and drop off staples the island couldn’t produce, and a single wide road ran up the center of the island, leading to the farms.