Page 57 of Between Ghosts and Gods

“Wait, what are you doing?” Kasu gawked as Arun stood up. “We have to come up with a plan!”

“This is the plan,” said Arun. “You stay outside on lookout. I’ll go in.”

Without waiting for a response, he stepped up to the door and kicked it down.

“Oh, for the love of—!” Kasu threw her hands up. Swearing was not something a noble, virtuous person would do – Unclean words invite unclean thoughts – but there was nothing she wished for more in that moment than the satisfaction of a well-placed expletive.

The building was an abandoned teahouse. It looked like a fire had recently gutted the inside. The walls were scorched and barren, the floor coated in a good inch of soot, and what little furniture remained was heavily charred. To the right of the entrance, Kasu noted a flight of stairs, though the bottom three steps were broken and the rest looked like they might collapse under the weight of a child.

The ghosts had jumped to their feet as they entered. Arun kicked a chair into one of them while the others drew their blades.

“You’re Lord Cobalt’s men, aren’t you?” He swung his sword in a wide arc.

As the three men tried to surround him, he spun around and lunged for the nearest one, dancing between his opponents’ bodies like flowing water. Though they outnumbered him three to one, the difference in skill was obvious. With every swing of his blade, Arun looked like an actor on stage: graceful yet powerful, able to command the tides with a single sweep of his sword. Kasu wondered if this was how gods fought too.

“Get back, intruder!” Seeing he was outmatched, one ghost abandoned his sword, grabbed the table and threw it at Arun’s head.

Arun ducked and closed the distance between them, delivering a decisive kick to the stomach that sent his attacker stumbling back.

“Arun!” Kasu barked as she scrambled out of the way of the swords and flying furniture. She was sure she was breaking at least ten Heavenly Principles by charging in here. Behave towards others as you wish others to behave towards you. Comport yourself with decorum. In all things be gentle in word and deed.

Do not barge into places that belong to others, swinging a weapon around while threatening people…

But it was far too late to salvage the situation. Kasu would beg the heavens for forgiveness later.

While the ghosts tried to regroup, Arun struck the flat of his blade against their sides, their elbows and the backs of their knees, knocking their weapons from their hands and bringing them crashing to the ground.

“Tell me” – he circled them menacingly – “is it true that a lady from the heavens was sold at the last meat auction?”

“Who are you?” one of the ghosts whimpered.

“None of your business. Now, talk,” Arun growled. Kasu gathered up the ghosts’ swords, setting them on the stairs far out of reach.

The three ghosts glanced at one another in panic. After a moment of hesitation, the tallest of the group spoke. “I don’t know! How am I supposed to remember—” He choked as Arun’s blade pressed against his neck.

“If she was sold at the auction, you would remember,” he seethed.

“Please! I can’t tell you. Lord Cobalt will kill me if he finds out I talked!” the ghost squealed.

“I’ll kill you now if you don’t tell me what you know.” Arun’s voice had dipped dangerously low.

Kasu did not think he would really murder them, but his performance was enough to make their attackers tremble. While the tall ghost opened and closed his mouth like a drowning fish, one of the others tipped his head back and bellowed, “Huina, help us!”

A thin, pincer-like leg lanced through the ceiling and struck the ghost in the gut, impaling him right through the middle. Not a second later, another leg stabbed its way through, reaching all the way to the ground and cracking the floorboards. A third followed, then another and another and another. Kasu and Arun scrambled one way while the remaining two ghosts fled in the opposite direction. The moment they were clear, the ceiling collapsed and a monstrous shape fell through the middle in a cloud of dust and broken wood.

Through the rain of debris, Kasu could just about make out a large, round thorax attached to eight sleek legs. Placed upon that furry thorax was the top half of a woman, her waist disappearing into the coarse hairs of her main body.

The spider ladies of Shadow Street were known for two things. The first was that they were incorrigible gossips, always talking while they wove their webs. There was no rumour in Ghost City that had not first passed through the mouth of a spider lady. The only reason Kasu had not sought them out as soon as she had heard about Arun’s mother was because of the second thing they were known for.

Their bottomless appetites. The spider ladies would eat ghosts and demons alike; they would even eat each other if they were hungry enough. Their webs were traps meant to ensnare unsuspecting victims, and once they had caught you they would never let go.

“Those two over there, Huina! Kill them!” the tall ghost shrieked.

The spider lady turned to Kasu and Arun. Before the demon could lunge for them, Kasu grabbed a broken table leg from the floor and hurled it at the spider as hard as she could.

The leg hit Huina square in the head, but that only served to enrage her even more. Gnashing her fangs and stabbing her pincer-like legs into the ground, the demon hissed at Kasu.

“I thought the Heavenly Principles discourage violence!” Arun cried as he jumped out of the way of the spider lady’s legs.