Ebony Scales

“Whatever you do, you must be back in three days,” Longwei said. “It’s a five thousand kilometer round trip, and we might be able to get a second load of villagers out via bus if you go quickly.”

“Of course,” Billy said. “In fact, I’m going to be on the phone as soon as I get into range on the way back.”

They were sitting in the temple courtyard, eating a quick lunch. Billy had been typing into a tablet computer almost nonstop, saving the data and ideas for later, to upload e-mails and information as soon as he had a chance. He tapped the screen one more time, setting it aside. “There. All the e-mails I need are composed and waiting for a data connection, which I can get fifteen minutes after I leave the village.”

Just then, Yingtai came in, carrying a tray with bowls of rice on it. The young woman’s presence galvanized Billy, whose voice trailed off. Joy smirked. “Billy? Earth to Billy Chin? You still with us?”

“Uh…. yeah,” Billy said, a red blush coming to his cheeks as Yingtai sat down, passing out the bowls of rice. “Sorry.”

“Billy, this is Yingtai, who has adopted me as her sister. Yingtai, this is Billy Chin, my friend from Shanghai.”

The two exchanged greetings, before Yingtai turned to Joy, her chopsticks poised in her hand. “He’s cute,” she said in village Chinese, causing Joy to chuckle. “Is he single?”

“Yes,” Joy said, laughing as Billy’s eyes went from one woman to another, desperate to understand what was being said. “From the way he looked at you when you came in, I’d say he thinks the same about you.”

“Okay, I caught part of that,” Billy said, “but what do you mean, he thinks the same? About what?”

Joy and Longwei laughed, Longwei translating Billy’s English into village Chinese for Yingtai, who smiled mysteriously. “After lunch Billy, how about you rest a little bit?” Joy said, playing matchmaker. “Longwei and I need to discuss some things with the village, and I’m sure Yingtai would enjoy taking you around to see everything you missed the first time.”

Billy tried to hide the grin that lit up his face, and mostly succeeded, the lift at the corners of his eyes betraying his excitement. “Okay. If I leave by three o’clock, I’m sure I can get back to at least Nanjing, which I can use as my base of operations for a few days.”

After lunch, Longwei watched Billy and Yingtai walk through the stone archway of the main gate, an amused look on his face. “Do you think he’ll understand what she says?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Joy replied, “I’ve seen that look before.”

“Oh? Where?”

“On my own face, after getting to know you.”

Longwei chuckled, nodding. “Now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen it as well, in my own mirror a few months ago. But your plan isn’t all deception. We have a lot of work to do, and only a few days to do it.”

The words proved to be a vast understatement. Even by the time Billy left a few hours later, stars still in his eyes (Yingtai had smiled at him and held his hand when he went to get in his truck), there was already a vortex of activity swirling around the village. The school shut down, the children hurriedly re-tasked to packing up the things in the building before working as a group to assist throughout the village, packing and sorting things that could be taken and things that had to be left behind.

Joy knew that regardless of how many trucks Billy’s friend got them, or how many troops to assist, there was no way they could take everything from the village, it was just too much. Deciding to lead by example, she went through her things, carrying everything except the bare necessities out into the road in front of the temple, forming a large pile. It pained her to see so many of her clothes and other things in the pile, but she knew she had to make an image for the people.

Her actions caused a stir in the passersby, who spread through word of mouth what Joy was doing to every house. By the time the sun went down, someone from almost every house in the village was there, watching her as she dumped the last of her things onto the ground. “I wish we could take everything,” Joy said, looking around at the assembled few hundred. “I wish we didn’t have to fight. But more than that, I wish to live in a world free of the threat from the Triads, where I can live and be happy with you, my new friends and family. So I’m giving these up.”

Walking over to one of the lamps at the gate of the temple, she lit a stick, making a makeshift torch which she touched to the pile of goods. Most of her clothes were light and cottony, the small pile soon blazing and lighting up the group. “I don’t need these things to be happy or safe. What do you not need?”

The stunned villagers watched for a moment before an understanding murmur passed from person to person. Joy watched as nods joined the voices, and the crowd broke up, quietly going into the night. She knew they understood her message, and that the next few days she’d see more fires.

“You didn’t have to burn your Georgetown t-shirt,” Longwei said quietly behind her. Surprised, she turned, seeing him leaning against the stone pillars of the gate, his arms crossed over his chest. “It was still a good shirt.”

“Maybe, but I have another,” she replied. “And I can use the space for something more thermal. We’re going to need it, Billy said winters there are brutal.”

“I see. Well, I’m going to do a patrol of the hills surrounding the village in dragon form. I think it’ll take about an hour, would you like to wait up for me or catch some sleep?”

Joy shook her head. “I’m still on Chengdu time, I’m not ready to sleep yet. I’ll wait up for you, maybe catch up on some reading. Billy brought me a two gigabyte data card filled with e-books, so I should check out what’s on it. But, if you don’t mind, I want to see you change form. That’s always so cool to watch.”

“Of course. But in the courtyard. I don’t strip naked in front of the villagers unless I need to.”

“Maybe I can strip for you tonight instead,” Joy teased, “if you get back in time, maybe I will do more.”

Longwei grinned, kissing her quickly before stepping back. “Before I change my mind,” he explained, stripping off his shirt and pants. As soon as he could, he started to change, the rippling pops and creaks of his body rearranging itself fascinating Joy like it always did. She only wished she had been able to look at him naked in the lamp light a bit longer, but consoled herself with the promise that later she’d get to do a lot more.

Once Longwei was in his full dragon form, she looked up at him, the frills of his “beard” still a foot over her head, his eyes still full of the intelligence and warmth she knew from the human form of her lover. With a toss of his head, he headed out the main gate, leaving Joy behind in the red lamplight. Looking up at the moon in the sky, Joy offered up a quick prayer to whatever higher powers may be watching over them, and headed inside.