Page 60 of Between Ghosts and Gods

Kasu’s cheeks flushed with indignation. Being sold and eaten was bad enough, but to know that Lord Cobalt intended to use her to swindle others? It was humiliating. How dare they force her to take part in such fraud!

“What about that lady you sold at the last meat auction? The one from the heavens?” Arun shook the bars of his cage.

Lord Cobalt ignored him. Kasu needed something to grab his attention again. Her heart was pounding, but she pressed on. There was no need to be afraid. The heavens were on her side.

“L–Lord Cobalt!” Her trembling voice boomed through the room. “How dare you engage in such vile crimes! You should know full well that kidnap and murder are against the Heavenly Principles. And that’s not all! I know you sent men to break into Lady Camellia’s chambers a few nights ago!”

Lord Cobalt stopped muttering. Slowly, he turned to his servants.

“You were spotted? You never told me that.”

The ghost who had shoved Kasu into her cage quivered. “N–no, Lord Cobalt. We didn’t—”

He never got the chance to apologize. Lord Cobalt’s ribbon-like arms shot out from beneath his robe and tore the ghost limb from limb, stuffing each body part into the void of his mouth hidden beneath his sheet.

The others trembled, but Kasu couldn’t afford to look away from the grisly scene. She gritted her teeth and kept yelling.

“What were you after? Was it the elixir?”

Lord Cobalt lifted the bottom of the sheet and a grinning, oozing darkness spilled out from underneath.

“Ah, yes, Lady Camellia’s latest elixir! A potion that can make one relive their worst memories over and over again. Exquisite!” He gave a longing sigh. “It can turn ghosts feral and drive even the gods mad. Delightful! Pain is the best marinade. Imagine what simple, disgusting ghost flesh might taste like after just one drop of her elixir! Oh, the mere thought of it makes me so hungry!”

A set of arms grabbed another cage. Another captive disappeared into the hungry chasm of teeth.

“And besides, I deserve some compensation! Lady Camellia said if I caught that heavenly lady for her to use in her potion, she’d give me the leftovers – and yet, here I am! Not even a toe bone to my name!” Lord Cobalt stamped his feet in rage.

“Wait.” Kasu’s heart pounded. So that imp demon in the forest had been telling the truth. Sunan had already been caught. She was already dead.

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

Kasu jumped as Arun hurled himself against the cage again so hard it almost tipped over.

“Arun!”

Kasu yanked at the bars of her own cage, hoping they would bend, hoping she could edge even just an inch closer to him. His shoulder was bleeding where he kept smacking into the side. If she could just calm him. If he would just listen to her…

“I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU DISGUSTING DEMONS! YOU… You…” Arun sagged against the bars.

All the teeth in Lord Cobalt’s body clamped together in a kind of toothy grin. “Your despair is wonderful. Maybe I’ll keep you to myself as a little midnight snack. No, no matter how much you suffer, without the elixir I’m doubtful you’d taste good.”

The demon turned to his servants.

“Keep catching more ghosts.”

Lord Cobalt left, muttering to himself about how Lady Camellia still owed him a sack of bones. Kasu did not see him exit – the door was somewhere beyond her line of sight – but she noted the visible relief in the other ghosts’ faces once he was gone.

Arun did not look well. His eyes were glassy and distant, but he kept a tenuous hold on his senses. Kasu could feel the effects of the incense too. Her vision was starting to spin. She balled her hands into fists, nails biting into her palms. The pain helped keep her head clear.

“Keep it down,” one of their captors snapped. “What do you care about some heavenly lady? You lot wouldn’t have been able to afford so much as a fingernail, anyway.”

“When I get out of here, I’m going to kill you all.” Arun’s voice was the soft whisper of a blade pulled from its sheath.

The ghost grinned at Arun, a malicious glee spreading across his face. Whatever he was going to say next, Kasu was sure she didn’t want Arun hearing it. She thought again of Ruo.

You look interesting. If you ever need me, call my name. I’ll come if I think you’re doing something fun, Ruo had said, but that was before they had been caught by Lady Camellia, before Kasu had ruined everything.

One could not rely on the whims of a curse.