Free Crane by Jeff Stone Page A

grin.
    Hok didn't reply. She lowered herself into a widedefensive stance, her good arm held out in front of her, her bad one tucked tight to her body. She wanted him to come at her.
    Tsung bowed, low and deep. “Let the dance begin.” He dropped the key and sprang at Hok's neck.
    Hok was ready. As soon as she saw Tsung leave the ground, she dropped flat onto her back and kicked one leg straight up into the air. Her foot sank deep into Tsung's stomach as he sailed over her.
    Tsung groaned as his midsection molded itself around Hok's heel. Hok used Tsung's forward momentum to help slam her leg to the ground, and Tsung went with it. He hit the stone floor with a solid
THUD!
    Tsung cursed and Hok tried to pull her leg away, but Tsung was too quick. He grabbed her foot and tucked it under his armpit, and in one smooth motion he locked both his hands around her heel and leaned back hard.
    Intense pain shot through Hok's ankle. Tsung had her in some sort of heel lock. Tsung began to twist to one side, and Hok's misery was magnified tenfold.
    Unsure of what to do, Hok rolled her body in the direction of Tsung's twist. She felt the pressure on her heel subside, but only for a moment.
    Tsung righted himself, then twisted again in the same direction, more powerfully this time. Again, Hok twisted with him.
    While the pressure on her heel subsided the second time, too, Hok felt the sinews in her ankle beginto weaken. If Tsung kept this up, they would snap just like the ones in her elbow nearly had.
    Hok sensed Tsung winding up for a third twist when Ying managed to wheeze out loud, “Twist double-time, Hok!”
    Tsung unleashed a mighty twist, wrenching his body around one hundred and eighty degrees. Out of options, Hok followed Ying's instructions. She twisted her body around three hundred and sixty degrees in the same direction as Tsung's twist.
    It worked. Tsung couldn't maintain a firm grip on her spinning foot and she felt the pressure on her heel subside.
    Ying wheezed out loud,
“Crane Spins the Legs!”
    Hok spun her free leg in a powerful arc and brought that heel crashing down onto Tsung's temple.
    Tsung's body went limp, unconscious, and Hok jerked her foot free. She wondered where Ying had learned to counter a move like that. It certainly wasn't at Cangzhen.
    Hok stood and looked at Ying.
    Ying had managed to sit upright. He had his arms wrapped around his sides, his chest heaving. Hok realized he was chuckling. “Rescued by … an ax kick … from a girl … named
Peaceful!”
Ying wheezed. “Ha-ha-ha!”
    Hok glared at him. “How do you know my given name?”
    “I was … seven years old … when you came to … Cangzhen,” Ying wheezed. “Sometimes I …spied on … Grandmaster.” He shrugged slightly and appeared to attempt a grin.
    Hok frowned.
    “I had … a different name … too,” Ying wheezed. “Saulong …
Vengeful Dragon!
… I see … you are … no longer … living up to … your name. … Let's see … if I can … live up to … mine.” He nodded toward the center of the room.
    Hok turned and saw the key on the floor. She heard Ying begin to struggle to his feet.
    Hok bit her lip, then scooped up the key. She hurried over to the cell door and opened it. She had to remember, she was doing this for Malao.
    Ying stumbled forward and leaned on Hok's shoulder. “I'll talk … as we walk.”
    Hok put one arm around Ying's bony shoulders. He felt like a skeleton.
    “We'll go … out the back door,” Ying wheezed. He nodded toward Tsung's unconscious body. “Take me … to him first.”
    “No—” Hok began.
    “Do it!” Ying hissed. “Look at … his sash.”
    Hok glanced at Tsung and saw that he wasn't wearing a sash at all. Instead, a chain whip was wrapped around his waist.
    “I'll get it,” Hok said. She gently leaned Ying against the wall for support and released him.
    Ying spat on the ground. “I suggest you … kill him…. He will … seek revenge.”
    “No,” Hok replied. “I'm not