Kael took an offered seat, looking around curiously at the soothing tapestries which covered the walls. The whole room seemed to be given to quiet contemplation and the American found herself quite liking it.

Lao Ma took a seat in another of the chairs, facing Kael at an oblique angle. “Was your sleep restful?” she asked after a long pause.

“It was.”

Lao Ma smiled. “It pleases me to hear that. Is your wound troubling you?”

“No. It’s just fine.”

Nodding, the smaller woman relaxed into her chair, her posture, as always, one of dignity and grace. Kael could easily feel the seductive pull of the Lao Ma’s natural power, but was determined not to give in to it.

Slow minutes passed by as the women stared into each other’s eyes, neither showing any signs of breaking the stalemate.

Finally, Lao Ma cleared her throat and smiled, very slightly. “You are a woman of strong will, Kael Androstos.”

The corner of Kael’s mouth curled upward. “What clued ya in?”

Lao Ma refused to be drawn. “If you continue to serve your will like a slave to his Master, it will be your undoing. To depend solely upon your will is to upset the delicate balance of your true nature. It will get you nowhere.”

“Ya don’t say.”

“Did your will allow you to sell Ming Dao’s son back to him for ransom? Did your will keep those thugs and whores you bought off with money and sex loyal to you?”

With the first of Lao Ma’s polite questions, Kael began to slowly rise from her seat, her face set into stony planes of anger. “How do you know these things?” she asked from between clenched teeth.

“I know many things about you, Kael Androstos.”

Coming fully out of the chair, Kael stepped toward Lao Ma, her fists clenched at her sides, her body rigid with feral intensity. “You goddamned son of a … .”

Before Kael could finish the epithet, Lao Ma raised her hands and the American found herself blown back into her seat, stunned and out of breath. She felt as if she had just been touched with a cattle prod. She tried to lift her arms, but they didn’t seem to want to work anymore. Likewise, her legs appeared to have given up the ghost.

“The effect is only temporary,” Lao Ma advised.

“How did you do that?” Kael asked, surprised that she had the voice for it.

“You desired to cause harm. That desire was turned back upon you.”

“Bullshit.” The tingling feelings were beginning to abate. Kael found herself able to move her arms and legs more normally. She shook both hands vigorously.

“I have no reason to lie. If one fills oneself with desire, one sees only illusion. Empty oneself of desire and one can see the great mystery of things.”

“Like the mystery of how to force someone away from you without even touching them, huh?”

Lao Ma smiled. “Among other things, yes. Will and desire are concepts that have no place in the natural order of things. Yet you bandy them about like they are priceless objects. You feel like you can bend anyone you desire under your will. And you are just finding out now how false a theory that is.” Turning her head a little, Lao Ma gazed upon one of the tapestries that hung on the wall. “My wise ancestor was known by a particular saying.”

“And what was that.”

“Soft as water, yet who can withstand the raging flood?”

Kael smirked again. “Oh yeah. That’s a keeper alright.”

“Water can heal or harm with equal force, Kael. Yet it desires to do neither. It has no will. It simply acts according to its nature. Yet it is more powerful that you or I will ever be. And that is one of the great mysteries. That which acts according to its nature will always be more powerful than that which attempts to impose its will upon that nature.”

The American shook her head. “I drop one bomb on your house, and nature pretty much pisses itself all to hell.” Her grin was white with bared teeth.

Lao Ma chose to maintain her serene silence.

Kael shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Why are you telling me these things?”

Lao Ma closed her eyes for a long moment. “Because I sense the seeds of greatness inside you, Kael Androstos. If you continue to impose your will on all you see, those seeds will never be allowed to germinate and will die, unborn. And that will be a great loss to everyone.”

The American snickered. “I think you need to pick up a little more wisdom from your venerable ancestor, Lao Ma. The only thing ‘great’ about me is my capacity to do ‘great’ evil. And I happen to like it that way.”

“Do you.”

“Yup. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“If I am wrong, it will be revealed soon enough. Until then, I would be honored for the chance to continue speaking with you about these things.”

Kael shrugged. “Why not? I’ve gotta lay low till things with Ming Dao cool down anyway.”

“Wonderful.” Lao Ma rose gracefully from her chair. “My business is set to open for the day soon. If you should wish it, would you like to assist in the preparations?”

“Sure. Sounds like fun.”

*******

Late that evening, Kael found herself back in Lao Ma’s personal sitting room, wiping sweat dampened hair back from her forehead. The silk overblouse and loose pants Lao Ma had given her were, likewise, soaked through with sweat in places. “I didn’t realize running a den of iniquity would be quite so tiring.”

Indeed, Kael had been on her feet for over twelve hours, assisting in any way she could. She found herself fascinated by the business of pleasure, but kept herself carefully out of the line of sight of the many customers, never knowing if Ming Dao would try to send a spy inside. The night had, fortunately, been without incident. Kael found herself physically exhausted, a state rare in the trained soldier.

“A garden may grow without aid, but there is more to reaping the harvest than waiting for the rain to fall,” Lao Ma advised.

“Do you always speak in riddles?”

Lao Ma laughed. The sound reminded Kael of the wind-blown tinkle of the tiny chimes which hung outside of many houses in China. It warmed her. She looked upon the smiling woman, her own face softening. “You’re a beautiful woman, Lao Ma.”

To the American’s utter shock, Lao Ma dropped her eyes and blushed, like a schoolgirl.

“It’s good to know you’re human after all,” Kael gently teased.

“I have never claimed to be otherwise,” Lao Ma replied, though she smiled as she spoke the words.

“True. But watching you, you take everything in stride. Nothing seems to faze you.”

“The same could be said of you.”

A dark, knowing smile spread Kael’s lips. “Oh, plenty of things faze me,” she purred, seeing if she could get another shy blush from the normally imperturbable woman.

Lao Ma didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she settled herself comfortably in her own chair, seeming to take in everything and nothing as she glanced around the now silent room. After a long moment, her eyes shifted back to Kael and she smiled slightly. “Would it please you to hear a story?”

Biting back a retort about what would please her more, the American settled for a nod. “Sure. Why not.”

“A long time ago, my ancestor, Lao Ma, attended a fateful meeting in the place of her ailing husband. There, she met an intriguing woman, a warrior from Greece. The woman, who was known as Xena, had become crippled at the hands of someone she thought she loved.”

Kael snorted. “A crippled warrior. Not much call for those.”

“Perhaps, though she learned to fight on horseback and became one of the best warriors, if not the best, of her time. She fled to China after being betrayed by the man and gathered an army there, together with another man she took as her lover.”

“Got around, didn’t she.”

“She was very confused about love,” Lao Ma said softly. “The softer things had no place for her in her heart, or so she told herself. She was consumed by rage and hatred and the need for revenge against anyone who would oppose her.”

“Smart woman,” Kael replied, smirking.

“Was she?”

“Oh yeah.” Kael’s smile grew dark as vivid images of her planned revenge against Geraldo played through her mind. “Very smart.”

Finally noticing the continuing silence, Kael shook herself from her reverie and met Lao Ma’s patient, if saddened, gaze. “Please, continue.”

“Xena was very jealous of her warlord-lover’s attentions to my ancestor and attacked her after dinner that evening. Though crippled to the point of needing to use a cane to walk, Xena was still a formidable foe …as Lao Ma said, she was a dangerous woman.”

“So, Xena beats the crap out of your ancestor and starts a war in China,” Kael deduced.

Lao Ma smiled. “Not exactly.”

“Well don’t leave me hanging, woman! What happened?”

The Asian woman laughed good-naturedly.

Kael scowled. “If you tell me patience is a virtue, I’m gonna scream.”

“I don’t think my windows could survive that,” Lao Ma replied in mock horror.

“Did you just make a joke?”

“I believe I did.”

Grinning, Kael shook her head, suddenly liking the small, quiet and supremely confident woman very much. “Please, will you continue your story?” Dear God, did I just say ‘please’??

“As it pleases you. Lao Ma defended herself much the same way I repelled your attack earlier today. Xena was knocked unconscious and Lao Ma took the opportunity to leave, after speaking with her attacker briefly.”

“What did she say?”

“’Fill yourself with desire and see only illusion. Free yourself of desire and see … .”

“The great mystery of things,” Kael concluded, nodding. “Sounds familiar.”

“It pleases me to know that you heard my words.”

Kael snorted again. “Like I had any choice in the matter? I couldn’t have moved even if I’d wanted to.” She shifted a bit on her chair, pulling the fabric away from her heated skin. “What happened next?” Despite herself, she was becoming quite interested in the story, especially as this Xena person seemed to mirror her life so well. Kael had no doubt that this was Lao Ma’s intent in telling the story.