Jade Maiden 0.1

THE JADE MAIDEN

by Michael Skeet

PROLOGUE

Wen Xia stared at the old man.  When the man lifted his eyebrows slightly, Wen bowed his head.  "My apologies," he said.  "It's just that I didn't see you come in."  He gestured at the locked cell door, beyond where the old man stood, then looked around him as if to emphasize just how small this cell was.  "But beside that," Wen said, "it's just that you look very much the way I remember my grandfather."

"I should hope so," the old man said.  "I am your grandfather."

"He's been dead since I was a boy," Wen said.  "It's ten years at least.  And you look much too—too real to be a ghost."

The old man smiled.  "Think about that for a while," he said.  "Take your time.  I'm in no hurry."

"Time is something I'm rather short of," Wen began.  He stopped.  Grandfather smiled.  "Oh," Wen said.  "And that's why you look so real."

Grandfather nodded.  "We think it's important you do something about this."

"We?"  The temperature in Wen's prison cell dropped.  Before he had time to think about what that might mean, though, the cell door opened.

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