Five Kingdoms by T.A. Miles Page B

panic at the prospect of them being murdered before him.
    Fu Ran supposed it didn’t actually matter. They’d faced the Valley Lords and no one had been killed or significantly injured. Somehow, in spite of that fact, he couldn’t feel satisfied.
    Xu Liang sat upon a flat rock, resting while the others reorganized so that they could move on quickly from the scene. He didn’t believe they should overplay this advantage, and Fu Ran agreed. It was possible that the centaurs might return in greater numbers. Not enough of their numbers were left dead on the field, but Fu Ran could only assume that the centaurs would return to reclaim the bodies, or avenge them.
    “What should we do?” he finally asked, stalking a short path in front of Xu Liang’s rock while the energy to carry on fighting lingered. The fight had ended too suddenly for him to feel exhausted by it.
    “We should carry on toward the mountains,” Xu Liang answered. “But I suspect that is not precisely what you mean.”
    “They had a trap laid for us,” Fu Ran reminded. “One that not even the elf could uncover.”
    “They walk on the feet of animals,” Xu Liang replied. “I doubt that any of us would have discovered traces of their stalking us and recognized the significance of the discovery.”
    “Probably not,” Fu Ran admitted. He stopped pacing for the time being and folded his arms tightly over his chest, his gaze caught by the dwarves while they negotiated with the yak. It had trotted off during the battle, but not far. In the process it had shaken only a few items that were easily repacked. But now, smelling bloodshed, it had no interest in continuing in the direction they had been going. Fu Ran doubted that a carrot was going to convince it better.
    “We must quickly determine whether to cross through the forest, or find a route around it,” Xu Liang continued.
    The statement inspired Fu Ran to look toward the long line of trees between them and the mountains. “A route around could take days.”
    “Yes,” Xu Liang answered with a nod. “But to go through the forest could be to antagonize those who consider themselves the rulers of this region. It is possible that they also consider themselves the rightful people of this land.”
    “Which would make us trespassers,” Fu Ran said. And then he shook his head. “Seems preposterous. The history of this region is a history written by men.”
    “Perhaps without consideration for centaurs,” Xu Liang added.
    Fu Ran waved away the notion. “That’s too sympathetic, coming from an officer of the Imperial Court.”
    The comment earned him a disapproving look, which Fu Ran suspected it would. He shook his head. “The Valley of Kings was named for the clans that occupied this region, generations ago, all of them despising one another. They fought down to the last of their numbers, until there weren’t enough left to fight over who would be the king of Aer.”
    “The conflict sounds unpleasantly familiar in tone,” Xu Liang commented.
    “This is not Sheng Fan,” Fu Ran said to him. “The fools of this region fought each other for sovereignty over land that no one else wanted. Meanwhile the true king of Aer capitalized on trade at the coast, got fat, and sired plenty of children. All of the bloodshed here was meaningless.”
    Again, the mystic cast a look of disagreement and dissatisfaction upon Fu Ran. Again, Fu Ran ignored it. “Regardless of this area’s history, those beast-men are murderers and thieves. They lurk in hiding, waiting for travelers to happen along, who they then kill and rob. They’re the same as pirates, but unsightlier.”
    “They’re not the same,” Alere stated while he approached. “ Aerkiren sang in their presence.”

    The difficulty in communicating with Fu Ran was that he refused to listen when a topic unsettled him. A population of men who were also beasts was unsettling, yes, but not to be dismissed simply because they had gone. Even if they were to