Page 68 of Between Ghosts and Gods

Why her? Kasu wondered. Why had the curse targeted the Pale Lady and her actors rather than the other demons who had contributed to Sunan’s death? Why had it not tried to kill Lord Cobalt and Lady Camellia too?

Perhaps this was all the confirmation they would get that the Pale Lady had indeed betrayed Sunan to the other demon lords.

“Not yet… Not yet…” The wolf panted as its body continued to fade.

“Wait!” Arun rushed towards it, towards the edge of the theatre and the open air.

“Arun, please, let it go. It’s better this way.” Kasu desperately wrapped her arms around him, afraid that if she didn’t he would try to run after the curse. Afraid that he would disappear too.

Everyone leaves, he had said. His brothers. His mother. His mother’s curse. Kasu tightened her grip around him and did not let go. She would not leave.

The last of the curse disintegrated, blown away in the wind like dead leaves. Only the strands of star silk remained, glittering in the darkness. Ruo gathered the leftover threads and presented them to Kasu. She wound them around her fingers, wrapping the silk into a small ball and handed it to Arun.

For a moment, Arun did nothing but stare at it. Then, he quietly tucked the ball of silk away and slumped against her. She said nothing, just held him until his shoulders stopped shaking and his hands no longer trembled.

After a while, Arun uncurled himself from her. His eyes were red, but she was not about to point that out. He cleared his throat, cheeks flushed.

“I… What should we do now?” He sounded almost timid.

The Pale Lady’s servants had fled. All that was left of the former demon lord were her clothes. Among the layers of cloth, Kasu noticed something sparkle.

A silver ring with a white band around the middle. The one Kasu had seen the Pale Lady wear before. With her final breath, the demon had mentioned something about a ring, but it didn’t seem like anything special. What was so important about some random piece of jewellery?

Kasu leaned down and plucked it from the pile. A strange warmth pulsed from the metal.

Twist twice clockwise. Then once opposite.

On closer inspection, Kasu noticed that the bands on the ring moved. She followed the Pale Lady’s instructions and twisted the middle band twice clockwise and then once anti-clockwise.

Nothing happened.

Of course not. What had she expected? Disappointed, Kasu was about to pass the ring to Arun when it started to glow. She dropped it in surprise and it rolled across the platform, shining with a soft and gentle light that began to grow in intensity. She squeezed her eyes shut as rays burst from the ring like an exploding sun.

A moment later, she dared to peek one eye open.

The ring had not rolled far. In fact, it was no longer a simple ring. Where it had landed there stood a large wheel of white stone with silver spokes dividing it into segments. At the very top was a downward-pointing triangle that reminded Kasu of the prize wheels they used in Camellia House.

On closer inspection, the wheel was composed of two spinning rings. On the outer ring, the wheel was divided into twelve segments, each one carved with the image of a different place – a snowy mountain, dense forest, a crowded city, and a sunny island. The inner ring was divided into six parts and engraved with images of humans, animals and insects.

“The – the reincarnation wheel!” Kasu fell to her knees in awe. Here, right in front of her, was the very cycle of life and death itself – one of the wheels that ensured the constant flow of souls.

How long had Kasu dreamed of setting eyes on it? How long had she yearned to step through and return to the mortal realm? This was it. Everything she had longed for was standing right in front of her. There was no need for the heavens or the gods – she could leave Ghost City and the under-realm far behind. If only she could activate the wheel and step through.

“The Pale Lady said she didn’t know where it was. She lied.” Arun’s tone was quietly furious.

Kasu’s thoughts were spinning as she tried to piece together everything she knew. Why did the Pale Lady have the ring? What had she been planning to do with it?

“I have a theory,” she said. “Whether the Pale Lady was given the ring for safekeeping or whether she stole it, we’ll never know, but I think there’s good reason to believe she wanted your mother dead. If Sunan died, she could keep the ring for herself, and no one would ever know. So, she leaked information about Sunan to Lady Camellia, who then turned to Lord Cobalt in order to catch your mother.”

What the Pale Lady had not counted on was Lady Camellia buying Sunan and torturing her instead of simply eating her. She had not considered the possibility that Sunan would give birth to a curse that would come back for revenge.

But … it was odd that the curse had gone after the actors in addition to the demon lord. That part didn’t quite make sense…

“Kasu.” Arun placed a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped. Suddenly remembering where they were, she looked around the empty platform. The light that had emanated from the ring had been so bright the entire district must have seen it.

“We should go.” She scrambled to her feet. If there was one thing you could guarantee about Ghost City, it was that everyone wanted to know everyone else’s business. Soon, demons and ghosts alike would flock to their location. Once they saw the reincarnation wheel…