An undulating movement disturbed the curtain of falling water. Then a swaying shape emerged from the spray and swam toward the edge of the pool. It rose up, a column of white. The professor clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into the palms of his hands, but he’d promised the Star he would do this. He stood up and slowly, warily, moved closer to the pool. He could hear his heartbeat over the sounds of rushing water.

When the creature turned around, it had become a woman. She stood swathed in silvery silk, shining out from dark rock walls like a pillar of glacier ice. There was a blue tinge to her pale complexion and the barest trace of a pattern on her cheeks that suggested scales. Her hair rippled down her back, its own dark waterfall. Her long robes swirled in the current, not quite covering the tail that supported her graceful figure.

The professor cleared his throat and bowed. “Noble Lady, I have a message for you.”

The Dragon Lord’s Daughter stared at him with unblinking, lidless eyes. “So. You can see me.”

“Yes, Noble Lady,” he said. He was speaking to a Water Dragon. A Water Dragon. “The Willow Star sent me with a message from the Queen Mother of Heaven.”

“There are rumors in the wind, rustlings of news in autumn leaves,” she said. “Is it true? The Palace gates are open?”

“Yes, it’s true,” he said. “The Willow Star asks that you go to the Kunlun Mountains as quickly as you can. Tell your kin. Tell everyone you know. The gates won’t stay open forever.”

And a moment later, a large white snake swam its way up the waterfall. Professor Kang sat down again. He listened to the splashing of the pool and waited for his pulse to settle down.

TOO RESTLESS TO lie still, Lian tiptoed out of the guesthouse. Minghua 123 was not the only group sheltering at the Buddhist retreat. Halls and temples held a few dozen refugees who had followed them to Shangma, hoping the monks would take them in. Some were on their way to relatives, hoping for a place to live until it was safe to return. Others had tagged along with Minghua for safety or perhaps for a sense of destination. Many had no idea where to go, driven only by fear and instructions from the authorities. They knew only that they had to press ahead, keep moving west or south, deeper into the heart of China.