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Hok scanned the shore. “I think Fu is right. Tonglong's men probably just put their boat under the tree to keep it from filling with rainwater. Or maybe they're trying to hide it. If Fu hadn't pointed it out, I don't think I would have even noticed it. The willow leaves hang all the way down to the water's surface.”

“That's a poor hiding place,” Seh said. “I have a bad feeling about this. My snake seems uneasy, too. What about the tree itself? Maybe there's somebody hiding in it.”

“No,” Fu replied, scanning the tree, top to bottom. “It's empty.”

“Well, just in case,” Seh said, “I think we should continue farther downstream and then sneak back up along the shore on foot.”

“Well, I say we go straight to shore and take cover beneath that tree,” Fu said. “I've got to get out from under this rotting tarp. It smells worse than Malao's feet. Do you sense anyone?”

“I'm not sure,” Seh replied. “It's difficult to focus right now. The rain is distracting me. We need to get a little closer.”

As the skiff continued toward the willow, Hok glanced back at Sum. She expected to see Sum watching the river in front of the boat. Instead, Sum was staring intently off the rear of the skiff. Hok followed Sum's gaze and noticed a thin stick drifting toward them. It floated upright, with one end poking out of the water. Also, it was moving against the current.

Seh and Fu must have noticed, too. Hok heard Seh hiss softly and Fu begin to growl. Fu's growling intensified when the stick suddenly disappeared beneath the surface.

A moment later, a teenage boy's head rose from the murky water directly behind the skiff. He had a long hollow stick in his teeth. He locked eyes with Sum, and a huge grin spread across his curiously flat face. Sum returned the smile. There was no question that the boy in the water was Sum's brother, Cheen. He had been using the stick to breathe while approaching underwater. Seh and Fu immediately relaxed.

Cheen pointed down the river, along the southern shore. He raised one hand out of the water and sketched a simple building in the air with one finger, then began to scratch one armpit like a monkey.

“Malao!” Fu said, and stood, pushing the tarp back. “Let's go and—”

Seh grabbed Fu's arm and jerked him toward the floor. The shallow skiff rocked violently. “Get down, Pussycat!” Seh whispered. “What if someone sees you?”

“There's no one out there,” Fu growled.

“You don't know that,” Seh said.

“No,” Fu replied. “We're almost to the shore and nothing's happened yet. That means Tonglong and his men are probably huddled in the shack in front of a warm fire. They won't expect us to be traveling in weather like this. Let's go get them!”

“We need more information first,” Seh hissed.

Hok glanced toward the riverbank. Fu was probably right, but a little more information couldn't hurt, either. Hok knew that Cheen and Sum didn't speak, so she tried to think of a question Cheen might be able to answer without words. “How many people are with Malao?”

Cheen raised three fingers.

Seh looked at Hok and his eyebrows raised. “That's good to know,” Seh said. “Tonglong must have sent the soldiers back upstream to look for us. The three are probably Tonglong, AnGangseh, and HaMo.”

Cheen nodded.

“I like these odds,” Fu said. “There are five of us and only three of them. Let's get them!”

Cheen and Sum nodded as if in agreement, then froze. Something was wrong.

They reached the willow tree, and the front of the skiff brushed against the low-hanging branches before passing beneath them. Hok ducked as the branches neared her head, and off the back of the boat she saw Cheen dive beneath the surface of the water and swim away. Sum dropped to her knees and gripped the sides of the skiff, staring straight ahead.

Puzzled, Hok turned toward shore as her body passed beneath the low-hanging willow leaves. Beneath the tree's canopy, she saw a hollow stick poking up out of the water. It was right in front of the boat.

“Watch out!” Fu shouted, pointing toward the stick. He stood, and the bow of the skiff suddenly shot skyward. Hok was flung into the wall of willow leaves, and she managed to grab hold of one of the sinewy branches. It held her weight.

Hok found herself dangling above the river's surface in the pouring rain while her brothers sailed beyond the tree limbs. As Seh and Fu splashed down into the rain-swollen river behind her, she heard them yell out simultaneously, “HaMo!”

Hok ducked her head back under the tree's canopy and saw a large man in the water. He had single-handedly upended their skiff. He was fat but obviously very strong, and resembled an enormous frog or perhaps a river toad.


Tags: Jeff Stone Five Ancestors Fantasy