Page 24 of Between Ghosts and Gods

“Me?”

“Since you’re here.”

Arun looked positively scandalized.

With a sigh, Kasu reached for the bell beneath her counter and rang it. The door burst open and Manzu marched towards them. The ghost grabbed her necklace as the dog demon hooked a strong arm around her and dragged her away.

Most did not leave that easily. Whenever Kasu offered fewer tiles than they hoped, they would swear at her, spit at her – some even tried to hurt her. Though she knew some basic martial arts, she only knew enough to buy herself a short amount of time before either Banse or Manzu or both would come storming in to drag the offending ghost away. She was grateful that this one had only put up a token protest.

“Don’t you ever feel sorry for them?” Arun watched as the front doors swung shut.

“Why would I?” Kasu grabbed her rag and wiped down the counter.

“You saw that ghost. She was desperate. She just wanted a chance to free herself.”

Kasu snorted. It was naïve to think any good would come from trying to earn your fortune at a gambling parlour.

“If she’d lived a good and honest life when she was still alive, she wouldn’t be trapped in the under-realm in the first place,” Kasu muttered. Prevention was better than a cure.

“You’re trapped here as well,” said Arun. “Don’t you feel anything when you’re taking advantage of poor, desperate ghosts?”

Kasu tried not to let him see how much his words ruffled her. She was a poor, desperate ghost too. Where was his sympathy for her?

“We all must be responsible for our own fate,” she replied after a moment. Heavenly Principle four hundred and twenty: Make no excuses for your actions. In all things, one must take responsibility for one’s own deeds.

“Then does that mean that you’re responsible for your ending up in the under-realm?” Arun shot her a sly look.

“Yes!” Kasu slammed her hands against the top of the counter. Honestly, what part of “we’re responsible for our own fate” didn’t he understand? Arun had come to the under-realm, ignored all her instructions, and now he had the gall to question her? Kasu knew why she was here. She was paying for it every day.

“When I was human, I made a deal with Lady Camellia. She would have my soul for five thousand years after I died in exchange for one wish. Do you know what I wished for? A jade pendant! A single jade pendant that probably cost more than my entire house! It was greedy of me. Not to mention stupid and vain.”

Her memories of her life were fuzzy at best. If she tried to recall the details of her time as a mortal, all she could remember was this: a house on the edge of the woods, a sister who smiled like the sun, a mother with a quiet voice. She couldn’t remember wearing the jade pendant she’d sold her soul for, or even what it looked like. She should have asked for a mountain of rice instead. Or gold. Or a better house.

Or for her sister to get better.

She blinked, startled by the sudden thought. Had her sister been sick? Kasu did not remember – she hardly remembered her sister’s face, but if she truly had been sick, then Kasu was an even worse person for selling her soul for some pendant and not medicine or food.

She gripped the edge of the counter. It hurt to remember. She did not want to think about it.

“I didn’t live a good and honest life, and now I’m getting exactly what I deserve.”

“You don’t mean that,” said Arun, annoying in his certainty.

Kasu glowered at him. How could he know whether she meant it or not? They hardly knew each other.

A tense silence passed between them. Arun glanced around the foyer, taking it in as if for the first time. His dark-eyed gaze roved over the clock hanging above the counter, the polished boards on the floor, the walls painted in red and gold. After a moment, he sat down next to her counter.

“What are you doing?” Kasu had to crane her neck to look at him.

Arun shrugged. “Remember what Hanyu said? Someone from the heavens was spotted in the theatre district. You can show me the way.”

A please would be nice. Kasu allowed herself a moment to be annoyed before swatting the feeling away. She had dealt with plenty of irritating ghosts and demons before; there was no reason for Arun of all people to rile her up like this.

“I thought you wanted to go alone.”

“I’ve come to my senses.”

Kasu eyed him, suspicious. “You’ll have to wait until my shift is over.”