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Tien burst into the room and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Chiaotzu sitting in a high-backed chair, his eyes wide and frightened. Strong hands were pressing the boy into the seat by his shoulders, keeping him still.
“Don’t hurt him.” Tien’s voice was supposed to be confident. Instead it trembled on the last word and betrayed his fear.
“Oh, Tienshinhan, why would we hurt him? You should know us better than that…”
Tien bared his teeth in a snarl as Shen smiled and Tao pressed harder on Chiaotzu’s shoulders. A wince of pain touched Chiaotzu’s features and Tien clenched his fists.
Damn. He was right where they wanted him; on the verge of panic, his terror for his brother clouding his rational thought. And though he still had the insight to recognise this there wasn’t anything he could do about it, the glimmer of tears in Chiaotzu’s eyes, the pain that tugged at his mouth whenever Tao’s hands bore down, it all overwhelmed him with rage.
“Let him go! We both know you don’t want him; he’s never humiliated you like I have!”
Shen’s smile twisted into a sneer and Tao’s metallic implants flashed in the dim light as he tilted his head. “Humiliated us? Tienshinhan, you more than humiliated us. You turned the Crane into the scum of the martial arts world. Our name, once exalted for producing fine, upstanding warriors, is now looked down upon as a hive of cheats and liars. Of murderers.”
“Well you are!” Tien cried. “You are all murderers! It’s not a lie, it’s the truth!”
Shen was silent, but cast a look towards Tao. The assassin nodded and in one quick movement pressed down on Chiaotzu’s left shoulder. The snap was muffled but seemed to ring in Tien’s ears. Chiaotzu let out an involuntary whimper as tears spilled onto his cheeks.
Tien flinched backwards and lowered his head. He even found himself putting his hands behind his back, an obedient little boy once again, and gritted his teeth as Shen chuckled.
“You both were of the Crane. Were you liars and cheats and murderers as well?”
“Yes,” Tien hissed, keeping his third eye fixed on Chiaotzu. The boy was biting hard on his lower lip, his eyes slitted against pain and tears, his left hand lying limply on his lap while his right was balled into a tight fist.
“What was that?”
“Yes,” he repeated, raising his voice. “We were. We were overconfident, arrogant, vicious murderers. It’s taken us years to recover from your influence.”
Chiaotzu’s eyes were shining, both with tears and a tangible pride that wrapped around Tien’s heart and warmed him to his core. Tao glanced at Shen again, now uncertain.
Tien straightened, feeling that old familiar confidence sweep through him.
“Now, if you let him go we will leave and never bother you again. If you do not…” Tien’s eyes flashed in the dark. “Then I will kill you both. And not lose a minute’s sleep over it.”
Shen and Tao cowered in the face of his rage. They hadn’t expected this. They’d thought in controlling Chiaotzu they would disarm the much stronger triclops. They had made a terrible mistake.
They fled. Chiaotzu slumped in the chair, his right hand steadying his left shoulder, and started to sob.
“I’m so sorry, Chiaotzu,” Tien said, his rage disappearing, his voice and hands gentle as he scooped the boy into his arms. “I’ve got you. You’re safe…”
Chiaotzu smiled through his tears, raised his right hand and rested it on Tien’s cheek.
“I’m so proud of you, Tien…”