“I didn’t.” The wind blew against them and they both stiffened, glancing around each other as if the creature would spring up at any moment. Nikator’s sharp blue eyes flicked over to hers and held her gaze. “Bohai cut its head off, but then the body kept moving and latched onto Minos. I tried hacking at its body, but it was too strong.”
“What happened then?”
The horse stamped its feet, nostrils flaring. Nikator placed a hand on its mane to calm it. “The sun came out, so it was weakened. Remus tore its heart out with his hand.”
Remus was the only Peccata member who wasn’t human—he was a demon. She barely saw him around, but the idea of him ripping through thejiangshi’sstiff and dead body made her shiver in fear, because he was a demon, so of course he was capable of that. But Biyu and Nikator were humans. How could they face it by themselves?
He seemed to read her mind, because he added, “Keep in mind we were children. Bohai was the only adult there, and even then, he was already injured so he wasn’t able to do much.”
“But still—” She swallowed. “It’s still a horrifying creature.”
“I’ll protect you.”
Why? She wanted to ask.What did it matter if she lived when he was planning on sending her to her death anyway?
A movement to her left made her turn sharply. It came from the alleyway between two homes, the shadows in the deepest end of it making it hard to make out what was there. She stared,straining to find a grotesque creature, but only a rat scurried out. A ragged breath released from her.
The sun crested along the horizon. They had minutes at most before night fell.
“Light a fire,” he said, stopping in the village square. He surveyed the area carefully, his attention flickering over the rooftops and the streets. “When it comes, stay far away and be careful not to get bitten. I’ll deal with it, but I need you to keep a fire going so I can see better.”
“What happens if we’re bitten?” Her hands grew clammy. “Will we turn intojiangshi?”
“No, that’s just a myth.” He stared at something in the distance, eyes narrowing. “You’ll just be in a hell of a lot of pain and its venom will put you through agony like you’ve never known. The chance of infection is also very high.”
She shuddered at the thought of its dead, necrotic mouth and broken teeth sinking into her flesh.
Nikator unsheathed one of the hidden blades strapped to his leg and handed it to her silently. Her fingers wrapped around the leather hilt of the blade. Dread settled over her and she inhaled, exhaled, and searched the streets as the sunlight disappeared. An eerie silence fell over the still village. Minutes ticked by and the darkness deepened.
The horse raced forward, startling Biyu as it ran down the street. Nikator let it run, not seeming to care as he continued to search the shadows. Biyu mimicked him.
Crack.
They whirled in the direction of the sound—a vacant street with a headless corpse strewn in the center of it.
A fire ignited in Biyu’s hand like second nature. It lit the space around them in hues of violet and flickering scarlet. They waited with bated breath.
Crack.
A shiver of doom slithered up her spine and the fire grew brighter, illuminating further down the road.
“Stay behind me,” Nikator said, voice grim.
She took a few steps behind him and waited. For a stalled moment, nothing happened. And then she saw it.
Thejiangshiwas more grotesque that any of the illustrations she had seen in the library books. Its skin was blue, with bulging purple veins around its neck and extremities. Its eyes were a sharp vermillion. Patches of hair clung to its mostly bald, moldering head, and the torn clothes it wore were completely drenched in the blood of its victims. Skin and sections of flesh hung off its body, revealing bone and tendons. Its mouth hung open, revealing rows of razored teeth, and a low growl emanated from its throat.
Horror filled every pore in her body and she found it hard to breathe.
Its gaze settled on them.
Nikator exhaled deeply. “It’s coming.”
Thejiangshilaunched itself at them with impossible speed, its robes fluttering behind it and its clawed hands outstretched. Biyu screamed, stumbling back, and her fire growing even higher and hotter reflexively.
Nikator swung his sword right as thejiangshimet him with a swipe. The creature ducked and cleaved at his chest, but Nikator parried and kicked the creature’s chest and sent it flying backward. They both swung at each other—Nikator with his blade and his lightning speed, and the creature with its fangs and claws.
Biyu stood to the side, watching with wide eyes. Blood roared in her ears and each breath came shallower than the next. Her legs were leaden and she staggered backward as the fight intensified.
