Page 75 of Between Ghosts and Gods

Holding his hand up, Arun could see that his fingers were turning translucent. His body was fading away. In a panic, he turned to Kasu. She was almost completely see-through. His heart thumped – she must be close to a forever death. The elixir had drained most of her qi, and now she was growing fainter by the second.

“This is the mortal realm!” Kasu gasped. Of course. They had stepped through the mirror Lady Camellia used whenever she visited the world of humans.

Ruo circled around them, the tips of their tails flicking with concern. The slight glow from Kasu’s body illuminated just enough of their surroundings that Arun could tell they were in some kind of tunnel. The rock walls curved over them like a cage.

Neither of them was strong enough to maintain their physical form here. They needed to go back, back through the mirror, back to the under-realm, but before Arun could help Kasu up, he heard the sound of footsteps.

Someone was coming. Another light emerged at the end of the tunnel. Arun tensed as it grew brighter.

“Who goes there?” a deep, rough voice demanded.

Ruo hissed in response as a man appeared. He was flanked by two guards, each holding a torch aloft. Arun and Ruo winced at the light, but Kasu was seemingly entranced by the man’s clothes. Heavy armour covered his chest and arms, and a golden sigil hung around his neck.

There was no mistaking it. Arun had seen the statues; he had bowed before their feet enough times that he could immediately recognize the figure standing before them now.

They were in the presence of General Shusa, the heavenly guardian god of the south.

Chapter Thirty-Eight Arun

For a MOMENT, Arun wondered if he was dreaming. The actors chosen to play General Shusa were always tall and thin – weedy, some would say – and portrayed him as a buffoon. The god standing in front of him was anything but. General Shusa was broad and muscular, a tall, imposing figure dressed in a dark cloak and red robes. Armour made of laced leather panels covered his front and back. Just like in the shows, the side of his helmet bore an impressive set of phoenix wings.

The two guards peered around the general’s broad shoulders. Arun did not recognize them – probably minor officials recently plucked from the mortal world to serve in the heavens.

“Ghosts!” one of the guards said. “Ghosts and…”

He faltered as his gaze landed on Ruo. The cat hissed, then grinned when the men flinched.

“Back, fiend! Return to the under-realm!”

If only they could. Arun would love to be back in the under-realm right now.

“No, just kill them!” the other guard argued.

At this suggestion, Ruo pounced at the man, striking his cheek. The guard gave a cry of pain as he staggered back, drawing the sword at his waist.

Arun panicked. The heavens were harsh and unforgiving. They would not hesitate to kill a curse.

“General Shusa!” he shouted before the guards could lunge for Ruo. “You are General Shusa, aren’t you? Guardian god of the south? Please, we ended up here in the mortal realm after fighting a demon called Lady Camellia. We – we have the reincarnation wheel. We’ll give it back, but…” He glanced at Kasu. “Please help her. I don’t care what happens to me, but you have to help her!”

The god raised his hands in a placating gesture. Stepping past a hissing Ruo, he crouched in front of them both.

“Peace,” he murmured as he held a hand to each of their foreheads.

Arun tried to avoid the god’s touch, but General Shusa’s fingers brushed against his skin all the same. The next thing he knew, a slow, cooling flow of qi filtered through his body. Like a river through the desert, it flooded his parched bones, filling him with renewed strength. When Arun drew his next breath, his lungs did not ache. His body was no longer disappearing. He sat up, feeling more energized than ever, and glanced at Kasu.

They stared at one another. Mirrors of each other’s shock and relief.

General Shusa stood back up and offered Kasu a hand. She took it, dazed, and Arun had to bite his tongue. He could not forget that the general had thrown his mother out of the heavens.

He wondered if Shusa remembered Sunan at all.

“Now, tell me what has happened,” the general ordered.

Arun didn’t trust himself to speak without saying something that would offend the god.

In stops and starts, Kasu explained everything: from meeting Arun and the Pale Lady to the investigation that took them to Lord Cobalt’s meat auction. She told General Shusa that Lord Cobalt had sold Sunan to Lady Camellia and described the elixir the demon had made from Sunan’s blood. From her soul. From her suffering.

Hearing everything laid out in such a straightforward manner was a small torture. Each part of the story was a knife through Arun’s gut. Almost all of the demon lords had had a hand in his mother’s death. They all deserved to be punished; death had been too good for them, and Lord Cobalt was still alive somewhere, the snivelling weasel.