Elder Lin stood tall on his trembling feet as the grand hall shook with loud cheers. Tears rolled down the old man's wrinkled cheeks, falling like heavy rain onto his silk robe. He looked at Dustin’s white coat, seeing the gentle face of the brother he had betrayed long ago.The heavy brass cane slipped from the old patriarch's fingers, clattering loudly against the wooden stage. He did not care about his family pride or his two hundred years of clan glory anymore. With a loud, broken cry, Elder Lin dropped heavily onto both knees right before Dustin’s shoes."Julian... my brother, I have sinned against heaven and against you!" Elder Lin wept loudly, pressing his face to the floor. "I was blind, I was weak, and I let bitter jealousy poison my heart!" the old man wailed before the five hundred doctors. "I am not worthy to look at your son's face, nor am I worthy to practice medicine!"The five hundred master physicians in the high wooden galleries fell into a dead, shocked silence. Nob

The black car sped through the midnight streets with loud sirens screaming into the dark. Dustin sat in the back with Seraphina, holding his small wooden needle box close to his side. Outside the window, the salty smell of the cold ocean wind told them the docks were near.The heavy tires rolled onto the stone ground of the city's private VIP marina. Dozens of tall soldiers in dark green armor stood in a long line under bright yellow floodlights. In the middle of the dark water sat a giant white ship as long as a city block.Dustin and Seraphina walked down the wooden pier with Commander Jones clearing the way. Cold sea mist blew across their faces as they climbed the high metal stairs of the ship. Standing on the wide top deck was a young woman with golden hair and wet, red eyes.She wore a long blue velvet dress, but her hands were shaking with pure grief and sorrow. This was Princess Isabella, the daughter of the Duke of Montclair from across the western sea. Her father owned the b

Princess Isabella poured warm water into a clean glass cup with shaking, joyful fingers. She hurried to the bedside, gently lifting her father's shoulders so he could take a drink. The Duke swallowed the warm water slowly, letting out a long, peaceful sigh of comfort."Isabella, my sweet child, what happened to my body while I was asleep?" the Duke asked in a soft voice. He looked down at his chest, touching the pale pink skin where the terrible sores had just closed. "I felt a cold fire burning through my veins, and then everything turned peaceful and clear," he murmured.Princess Isabella buried her wet face into her father's blanket, weeping tears of pure relief. "You were dying, Father, because Dr. Edward Cross pushed blue chemicals into your neck!" she cried out. "The foreign machine made your skin tear open, and thousands of black ocean bugs ate your blood!" she sobbed.The Duke’s eyes went wide with shock as he looked at the steel dish resting on the table. Inside the metal bas

Dustin lowered the golden crystal glass slowly, his dark eyes burning with freezing anger. He reached out with his left hand, gently taking the flute away from Seraphina's lips before she could take a single sip. Seraphina blinked in surprise, looking at his cold face and knowing in an instant that something was terribly wrong.Dustin raised his right hand high into the air, stepping directly in front of the center golden microphone. "Put down your glasses right now, every single one of you!" Dustin’s deep voice boomed through the speakers, echoing off the high ceiling. The eight hundred guests froze in their tracks, lowering their lifted drinks in total shock and confusion."Dustin, what is happening to our celebration?" Governor Vance asked in alarm, lowering his own glass from his mouth. Several wealthy bankers and foreign diplomats looked around the grand room with wide, frightened eyes. The happy violin music stopped completely as the entire ballroom fell into a dead, suffocating

Dustin held the tiny silver capsule between his fingertips under the warm yellow desk lamp. The soft click from the white jade bird still echoed quietly in the peaceful study room. He turned his head toward the open doorway as soft footsteps approached across the wooden floor.Seraphina walked into the study wearing her silk robe, her silver eyes drawn to the shiny metal in his hand. She stepped beside his chair, placing her soft hand gently upon his tense shoulder. "What did you find inside the family jade stone, Dustin?" she asked in a tender whisper."There was a hidden latch beneath the bird's tail that had stayed sealed for thirty years," Dustin answered softly. He carefully unscrewed the tiny silver cap, pulling out a thin strip of black micro-film. "My father hid this film inside the jade, and only someone with internal energy could open it," he explained.Dustin walked over to the optical scanner on the desk, slipping the delicate black film beneath the glass lens. He pressed