Page 29 of Between Ghosts and Gods

“LITTLE THIEF! I’LL TEAR YOUR FACE OFF!”

Kasu threw herself to one side as the Sage hurled himself head first into the fortune teller’s stand, upsetting the astral chart and the incense and the sticks of cedarwood.

The fortune teller shrieked. Ghosts and smaller demons alike scattered.

“Sorry!” Kasu punched out a breathy apology as the Sage reared back and lunged for her again.

“Kasu!” Ruo grabbed her by her clothes and flung her out of harm’s way.

The cobbled pavement hardly made for a comfortable landing. Kasu hit the ground hard and rolled away. Her eyes darted around the street, searching for Arun, but he was nowhere to be found. Good. She picked herself up, wincing as she realized the palms of her hands were bleeding, and turned to face the Sage.

“THIEF!” The Sage flailed his arms in apoplectic rage.

“What’s wrong with him? Why is he so angry?” Ruo huffed.

“Don’t you remember stealing the aura mask from him? And then setting his house on fire?” said Kasu.

“Oh yeah, that was us, wasn’t it?”

“THIEF! SCOUNDREL! GIVE ME BACK MY AURA MASK!”

Kasu ran as the Sage charged at her. She really did not have time for this.

“I’m sorry! I will return the mask to you as soon as I’m done with it, I promise!”

“Kasu, hold tight!” Ruo tossed her onto their back. She clung desperately to the cat’s dark fur as Ruo bounded away.

The Sage roared. His long arms swept ghosts and demons out of his way as he thundered after them. Even a pair of tethered headless horses were not spared. The Sage shoved them aside, causing them to trip over each other and crash into a cart selling necklaces made of teeth.

“How much is the mask? Is there a borrowing fee? If I could pay in instalments, maybe we can work something out!” Kasu shouted from the top of Ruo’s back.

“Forget it, Kasu! There’s no reasoning with him.” Ruo raced through the winding streets and around the theatre halls.

“But it’s my fault! I’m the one in the wrong for taking his mask without proper compensation.” Maybe the heavens would forgive her since she had only stolen the mask to protect Arun, but it still didn’t sit right with her.

“No matter how many times you apologize, if he doesn’t accept it, you’re just wasting your time.” Ruo vaulted over one of the many bridges spanning the river and ran along the bank.

The Sage’s cries were closer than before. Kasu did not think he would give up the chase, at least not any time soon. If it was just Ruo, the cat could teleport away to safety, but with Kasu on their back they were stuck with running.

Along the riverbank, Kasu watched a fisherman pull a carp from the river and cut it open. He shook out the skulls inside its belly before hauling the fish carcass over his shoulder. The skulls tumbled down the slope, a few splashing back into the river where the muddy effluence carried them away.

“Excuse me!” Kasu jumped off Ruo’s back and half ran, half rolled down the bank towards the fisherman. She grabbed a child-sized skull and hurled it at the Sage.

The skull hit the demon squarely in the face, knocking his mask off.

With a shriek, the Sage slapped all four hands over his face to hide it from view. Gingerly, he peeled one hand away to rummage around in his bag for another mask. While he searched, Kasu turned heel and ran with Ruo by her side. The cat grabbed her again, flinging her onto their back, and dashed down the narrow alleyways and into the heart of the theatre district.

“Where’s Arun?” Kasu gripped Ruo’s fur tightly.

The curse lifted their nose to the air. “This way!”

Ruo carried Kasu beneath looming archways adorned with string lanterns, weaving past a crowd of fox demons who were comparing the taste of wine, through threads of music that floated in the air, and beyond towering stages upon which robed men whirled their fans.

At last, she caught a glimpse of Arun. He was running through the streets with no care for whose tail he stepped on or whose toes he crushed in his haste.

They dashed back across one of the white bridges that curved over the muddy river, ducking out of the way as demons far larger than either of them stomped through the street. Following Arun’s fleeing figure into an alleyway between two teahouses, they turned the corner and bumped straight into his back.

“It got away!” Arun looked about, wild and frantic. The alleyway was connected to a network of small side streets that ran behind the theatres – a spider’s web of paths that stretched in all directions.