This takes place a few days after Dark Side of the Chi. Kwai Chang Caine confronts Lo Si after discovering the truth while in the Bardo.

"YOU!"

Caine rose from the chair, knocking over a nearby table as the room continued to tilt and twist in all directions. He could not believe what he was seeing. Rage filled him and he attacked the one responsible for so much pain.

****

Caine bolted upright in bed, his breath coming in ragged fits. Sweat poured from his face as he realized that what he had witnessed had not a dream but the memory of his Bardo. Though he was very grateful to his son, Mary Margaret, and the Ancient for helping him to see that his life was worth living, he could not get over the truth of what he'd seen.

Two hours later, Kwai Chang Caine stepped into the living room of his old friend. The Ancient looked at him with sad eyes, already knowing why his friend had come.

"You know the truth of who I am. You saw it in the Bardo."

"Yes," Kwai Chang replied, his anger barely held in check. "I have one question. Why?"

"It was necessary."

"Do not give me that. I have the right to know the truth."

"You were not ready to learn it."

"I am not some student sitting at the feet of a teacher. I am a Shambhala Master. Did you not think I would have learned the truth eventually?"

"You may be a Shambhala Master, Kwai Chang Caine, but you are acting like a spoiled child. In fact, you are acting like your son. I do not have to answer to you." Lo Si turned his back on the other priest. It was meant as a dismissal.

The chilly reprimand hit Caine with the force of an avalanche and he felt the rage die within himself. The Ancient was right. He was behaving like a child, demanding to know rather than merely asking.

"Please, I need to know," Caine pleaded.

The Ancient turned back to his old friend, pleased to see that he had regained some semblance of control. "First, what was the reason you gave your son?"

"That it had been done to protect us both," Caine answered.

"That is the truth, in part."

"I do not understand."

Lo Si stared at his friend and sensed his chi. 'It is time. He needs to know this.' "I knew that Tan was a member of the Sing Wah. It was his father who killed your grandmother and your mother in China."

Kwai Chang Caine was stunned.

Seeing that Caine was now listening, Lo Si continued his tale. "Ever since your grandfather killed the nephew of the Emperor, the order demaning Caine's execution had remained, never having been rescinded. As you know, it does not end from ruler to ruler. The order is continually in effect until there is success or until the next ruler changes it. Do you wish to see the actual written order?"

"Yes."

Lo Si walked to a shelf containing many books and scrolls. He took from the shelf a large bamboo tube and pulled out a sheet of paper, yellow with age, and handed it to Kwai Chang.

"By Order of the Emperor of China, let it be known that the life of Kwai Chang Caine, Shaolin priest, is hereby forfeit for the murder of the Royal nephew, Sing Ling. Be it also known that the line of Caine is also hereby forfeited, including . . ."

Caine's voice faded as he continued to read the order terminating his grandfather's life, and subsequently, his father's, his own, and even his son's. He looked up from the paper still questioning the reason.

"With a high price on your grandfather's head, no one could resist. Including the Singh Wah and even some Shaolin priests," the Ancient continued.

"For money?" Caine was shocked to learn that even a priest would act in such a manner.

"Even you know a Shaolin priest can be tempted and stray from the path. It was the Singh Wah who would eventually succeed, but it did not end there. Because the order included the line of Caine, anyone who became close to your grandfather faced certain death. And because the order had not been changed, even after the emperor's job had been 'phased out' and the line went into hiding, your line still continued to be considered unworthy."

"But that was changed when my son became bojiya to Sing Ling, the new Emperor."

"Yes," said Lo Si. "I knew there would be a time when you would search for a way to gain back your family's honor. But I did not know when. Tan also knew, but he believed that, for the line of Caine to no longer be a threat, the line had to end. If he had known that you or your son had survived the destruction, you and Peter would have still been a threat. So, in the eyes of Tan, you and Peter had to die."

"Tan had no knowledge that the line still existed."

"That is where you are wrong. He knew, but he also knew that the Emperor's line could be a threat to his growing operation. I knew where the Emperor was, and if Tan had succeeded in killing you and Peter, he would have gone after me to discover his whereabouts. So, I had to 'die' as well."

"Then what you did was the right course of action."

"Yes, and no. In truth, before Tan attacked the Temple, it had been requested that I take you to the Emperor and begin the process of you becoming bojiya. I knew that you were worthy, but you still would have had to make the request. But Tan spoiled those plans before I could accomplish my task. I had to act quickly. I lied to protect both you and Peter so that there could be another opportunity, but the old Emperor died three years later leaving behind his new born son, Sing Ling. I also did not expect you and your son to be separated for long, but it was necessary when I learned that Tan had survived his injuries. I did not like lying to you my old friend. I have carried this guilt with me for as many years as you had carried your pain."

"Was it you who spread the rumors of the child, Sing Ling, thus bringing me to this place?"

Lo Si nodded his head.

"Did you know that my son lived in this city before I arrived?"

"I knew that Peter was here, but I also knew that he had forgotten much of his training and even perhaps you. Though I kept a close watch on him, he did not know who I was or even that I was here."

"Did you also arrange for me to be injured so I would have to stay so my son would find me?"

Lo Si's eyes became wide with shock. "No. I had nothing to do with that."

"But I was injured and Tan was also here."

"True enough. But you can be grateful to him for one thing."

"And why should I be grateful to Tan?" Caine asked with disdain.

"It was also because of him, that your son was brought back to you. Tan did not succeed and the line of Caine proved its worthiness and will be forever honored by the Emperor's house."

Caine stared back at his old friend and realized he spoke the truth. All that had been done had been specifically for him and his son. One question still remained, "I still do not understand why?"

"Perhaps this will help you to understand." Lo Si handed Caine another scroll. It was a journal entry made by the Master of a temple to a future Master, now long gone.

Kwai Chang Caine turned toward Lo Si awed by what he read.

"Even then, it was known that the line of Caine would be a special one. It was a blessing to the Shaolin that each Caine that was born followed the last. Even as your son will someday follow you, his son will follow him. Can you forgive an old man for not revealing what he knew?"

Kwai Chang Caine thought about what Lo Si had said. It had been necessary. "My son will want to know the truth as well."

"It is not yet time, but he will learn."

"I will keep your secret until then."

"Thank you, my friend."

End.