thirty-four
Nai Nai’s Extra Special Powerup
My skin is tacky when I wake up, and I desperately want to shower, but I know I can’t. I throw open the window, letting the cool fall air wick away some of my sweat. I have to avoid anything that would make my skin damp, and I definitely can’t wipe the sweat off. I pump my loose shirt to get more of the moisture to evaporate.
I stare across the street to where the cop car once sat for weeks. It feels strange not to see it there beside the little blue post box on the corner. The wind carries in the scent of woodsmoke, offsetting the crayon-scented tinge that wafts up from under my shirt.
My phone dings with a text message beside my bedroll. I pick it up and see it’s my old friend, the detective.
Armhurts:Got an earlier flight. Coming in this afternoon. Please don’t do anything stupid.
I wonder if she has a sixth sense for stuff like this? I don’t think the plan is stupid, but I’m sure to someone like her it seems pretty rash, and insane, since she doesn’t believe inGrandma’s mysticism.But I’m certain it’ll work.
I have to be. There’s no other alternative.
I realize I’m scratching something sticky on my back and groan. My fingers come away with black rolled under my nails and I sigh, glaring at the ceiling.
Already ruined one. Great.
“Nai Nai!” I groan as I walk from my bedroom.
She’s sitting at her work desk in the living room, weaving red twine through holes in the tops of little wooden placards. She mumbles something in Chinese I don’t catch, then grabs the nearly depleted palette of Halloween skin paint.
I lift up my shirt and turn around so she can get the rune. I feel her weathered finger press into the spot that itches and drag a new line of black paint. She hums and moves my shirt, then touches up another mark I probably smudged in the night.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do, Jiahui?” she asks.
I swallow the rise of bile at the back of my throat and nod. “This move will put us in a position to negotiate for real.”
And then once we have Lei, we can use just alittleof his blood to make Zhao-specific protections on the café and our talismans, making us that much safer from him. Is it sort ofwrong to use his blood like this against his consent? Yes. Do I care?
Only a tiny bit.
I care about keeping Ace and Nai Nai safe while we get our parents back, and if that means conning the con man, I’m ready to get my hands filthy.
“That was not an answer,” Nai Nai says as she pulls my shirt down.
I turn to face her. Nervous lines crease the skin around her lips. She holds my gaze, demanding I answer. A knot fills up the space in my stomach where breakfast should be.
“I know I’m not a hero for doing the same thing as my enemy, but I’m not a bad guy, either. I won’t let this lead to worse behavior. I want to do this.”
I want Mama and Baba back.
She pats my hand. “Your heart has always been heavy with guilt that’s not yours to carry. You are not at fault for their predicament. You are not responsible for solving it.”
Weeks ago, I would’ve rejected this idea, and the urge to shy away from her is still strong. But I don’t protest, and she continues.
“My son went into debt with Zhao knowing who he was. He is being held accountable for his decisions—unjustly,” she interjects when my mouth pops open to protest. “But it is not up to you to give him and your mother justice. It is not up to you to punish the men who have been punishing them.”
“If not me, then who will?” I ask.
“You don’t have faith in the nice detective?”
I move to rub the back of my neck and halt, flopping my hand against my side with a sigh. “Maybe, but it could take years, Nai Nai. It’s alreadybeenyears. Zixin needs his mom and dad back.”
She hums thoughtfully and returns to weaving string through the wood placards.
“Meanwhile, Lei would still be free to come bother us whenever he wants. My plan solves two things.”
