Page 54 of Between Ghosts and Gods

“What happened?” Kasu rushed towards him only for Arun to hold her back.

Kasu blushed. She was always so afraid Arun would run off and get himself eaten that she had forgotten demons could trick her too. The imp looked injured, but that didn’t mean she should let her guard down. This could easily be a trap.

“Lady Camellia is what happened!” the imp squawked. “We just want to march in peace! We weren’t bothering no one!”

“You’re from the meat protest!” In Kasu’s opinion they were quite a bother. The march was so loud, she could hear them through the walls as they passed Camellia House.

“The what?” said Arun.

“W–we just want equal opportunities for all citizens! It’s not fair that the city rulers and higher demons get to have their pick of the best meat that comes to the under-realm!” the imp squeaked as he clutched his arm. It seemed even near-death encounters could not dampen his enthusiasm for equitable food systems.

“That’s just life, isn’t it?” said Kasu, gently. “The rich and powerful always get the best and everyone else is lumped with the leftovers.”

“Can’t relate, honestly,” Arun muttered. Kasu shot him a foul look.

“But there have always been auctions, and they’ve always been invite-only events. Why get angry about it now?” she asked.

The imp bristled. Despite the pain and the blood, a fire of rebellion still burned bright within him. “Didn’t you hear the rumour? At the last meat auction, Lord Cobalt caught a lady from the heavens. She wasn’t a god, but I bet she tasted divine.” The imp was salivating. Foul-smelling drool dribbled down his chin. “That’s what we’re missing when we are kept out of the auction. That’s what the elites of this city are hoarding for themselves! Even if we could never afford a single finger, just seeing her would be good enough!”

Time seemed to slow. The trees moaned and whispered awful things. In the darkness, vine snakes slunk and slithered beneath the bushes. None of it mattered. Here, there was only herself, Arun and the awful confession released into the air.

“What did you say?” The whisper that left Arun’s lips barely disturbed the air around him.

The imp huffed and scowled. “Lord Cobalt caught this lady from the heavens and put her on the meat auction. I heard that the bidding was intense.”

“Then what happened?”

“Ha! What do you think happens at the meat auction?” he said. “Someone bought her and ate her.”

Chapter Twenty-Six Arun

“Who? Who bought her?” Arun seized the imp by the front of his cotton tunic and lifted him into the air. His heart was pounding. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t his mother. She couldn’t be dead. It was a lie. Demons lied all the time.

“Arun!” Kasu grabbed his arm.

Lies. It was all lies. His mother was not a thief. His mother was not dead. His mother…

His mother was waiting for him to save her. He was sure of it.

“I–I don’t know!” The imp spluttered and squirmed.

Arun shook him. “Then who does? Who was there?”

“Lord Cobalt’s auctioneers! They keep records of everyone they sell and who the buyers are. If anyone knows anything, it’s them!”

“Arun, let him go! You’re killing him!” Kasu cried.

He knew what she was thinking, that he was being irrational. Aggressive. Breaking a bunch of the Heavenly Principles that no one cared about except her. Arun’s lips curled into a sneer. This was the heavens’ fault. This was General Shusa’s fault. They had thrown his mother out. If she was dead—

She wasn’t dead. It couldn’t be true.

The next thing he knew, the imp was gasping on the ground, the colour slowly returning to his face. Arun didn’t remember dropping him. He didn’t register the insults hurled at him as the demon limped away as fast as his stumpy legs would carry him. All Arun could hear was the sound of his own blood rushing through his ears.

“Arun.” Kasu’s hand was there on his shoulder. A hot brand, a painful weight, an anchor grounding him – he wasn’t sure which.

His heart was beating faster than he could think. When he tried to breathe, there was something stuck in his throat.

“Arun.” Kasu repeated. Gentler. Arun felt her fingers tighten ever so slightly. He turned away, embarrassed. He didn’t want her to think of him as some unpredictable brute. He didn’t want to scare her.