Stay vigilant—this cursed place likes to play tricks.
With a snap of thestar god’s fingers, vines slither out from beneath the jade tiles and wrap around our calves and ankles, thorns needling our flesh. The vines creep up our bodies, squeezing ever tighter, trapping us in their viselike grip. We’re lifted violently, suspending the four of us upside-down in the air. Wen cries out in surprise. Sooah struggles to free her legs. Sonam instinctively reaches for his blade to cut through his restraints, while I tear at the vines with my bare hands—until they, too, are bound and immobile at my sides.
“Release us at once!” Sonam demands.
The star god clicks his tongue in disappointment. “Worry not, human, I’ll do exactly that. All you must do is answer one question each. If you are truthful, you may move on.”
This sounds too simple. “Well?” I snap. “What are your questions? We don’t have all day.”
He throws his head back and laughs, deep and chesty. “A little patience, if you’d please. Works of art take time.”
I’m lightheaded now that all my blood is pooling in my head. “What are you talking about?”
Behind us, I hear the snap of twigs and the rustle of leaves. The garden has come to life, rearranging itself into thick hedges so tall it blocks out the sky. A maze, I realize. A twisting puzzle of sharp, ominous bramble. It fills the entire outer ring of the Jade Palace, overgrown from wall to wall. With another snap of his fingers, the constricting vines pull back like slings and fling us to the earth below. Thorns and branches scrape my cheeks and claw at my limbs, bleeding black welts puffing up on my skin.
I clamber to my feet with a cough, a hand tracing over the back of my head. I can feel a small bump, but it doesn’t appear that I’ve sustained any serious injuries.
Looking around, I find myself completely alone.
I sniff the air. The humans are somewhere nearby, but it’s difficult to discern precisely how close. The heavy scent of magic fills my nose, so sweet it borders on pungent. The more I breathe it in, the dizzier I become. The more confused. There’s a fork in the path ahead of me, but I can’t decide if I want to go left or right. Or would it be smarter to turn back?
Just as I turn to glance behind me, the thick hedge walls grow and shift, sealing the way off. The message is loud and clear: going back isn’t an option. I think I smell one of the humans ahead. Taking a gamble, I head right at the fork.
It’s disturbingly cold in the Court of Temptation, so much so that I can see the silver of my breath. Twigs snap under foot. Leaves rustle, but I detect no movement. My heart hammers loudly in my ear.
I come across a strange sight deep within the maze. A part of the wall appears to jut out slightly, vines and leaves growing over some sort of obstruction. It isn’t until I get closer, pushing past branches and thorns, that I see it isn’t something—butsomeone.
It’s a ghost. A human soul, lost for gods know how long in this wretched place. Her eyes remain open, unblinking, staring at something far off in the distance. So still and cold is she that I nearly mistake her for stone. Her translucent skin is the only hint of her incorporeal form. The star god’s hedge maze has knitted her into its existence, leaching what little essence remains. What sin cast her down to the pits of Hell? How did she come to fail her trial?
These are my flowers, the star god had said.Aren’t they beautiful?
I shudder. I’d loathe to be the latest addition to his collection. There seems little I can do for this particular soul—not that I’m inclined to help—so I carefully back away and keep walking.
I come up to several more turns, but I have the advantage of a keen nose. I pick up faint traces of leather and sweat. Left, then right, and then right again. The smell is getting stronger, getting closer. That’s when I come across a small but open square of the maze, its walls still towering too high to entertain the thought of climbing over. At the center, I spot a familiar face. Sooah.
Except she isn’t alone.
Kneeling before her are two people. They appear to be a man and a woman, both begging on their hands and knees as they look to Sooah with wide eyes. Their hands are bound with thick rope knots, sweat and tears dripping from their faces. I don’t understand how they got here.
“I’m sorry, Sooah,” the man says, trembling so hard that he’s barely intelligible. He looks much like her. They share the same small mouth and square jaw. “I never should have done it! I’ve known nothing but regret.”
“Sooah, my dear,” the woman speaks loudly over the kneeling man beside her. She’s dressed ornately, gold pins stuck in her hair. She, on the other hand, bears no resemblance to Sonam’s soldier. “Forgive this foolish old woman. I never should have laid a hand on you, please—”
Sooah lifts a pair of iron-hot tongs I hadn’t noticed before. Where did that come from? I could have sworn she was empty-handed mere moments ago. It’s as though they were magically plucked from thin air.
The sickly sweet scent of magic is strong now. Overpowering. It burns the insides of my nose and makes my eyes water. The star god’s manipulations are at work. To what end, however, I’m not yet sure.
“Take my tongue!” the man says. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“Mine, too!” the woman adds frantically. “Don’t you want your revenge?”
My skin breaks out into goosebumps, the fine hairs on the nape of my neck standing on end. Will Sooah do it? There’s so much anger in her eyes, deep and dark and deadly.
Do it, I think fiendishly to myself.Whatever their crimes, do it.
I may not like seeing people suffer, but I also understand the need for vengeance. After all these years of searching for the Maskmaker, I know I won’t hesitate to exact my revenge. There will be no begging for forgiveness, no second chances. I’ve already decided that when I find him, as soon as I can find a work-around to the oath we struck, I’m going to shred him apart with my teeth and leave nothing behind.
For the sake of my sisters. For me.
