Much to my disappointment, Sooah drops the tongs. They’re so hot the patch of earth they land upon begins to smolder. She looks at the man and woman, her brows knitted into a deep frown, and shakes her head.
Now denied, the two kneeling figures at Sooah’s feet slowly disappear, crumbling away as nothing more than specks of dust. The tongs, too, suddenly evaporate from existence. The awful smell of magic dissipates into the air, and I’m finally able to draw a proper breath.
“I think it’s safe to say you passed the test,” I mutter.
Sooah turns rapidly, both her fists raised in alarm. She glares at me warily, her eyes flicking over toward a path opening to my left.
“You want me to go first, I take it?” I say dryly.
Sooah nods. I can’t fault her. I wouldn’t want something with obscenely sharp teeth following within biting distance, either. I suppose it’s just as well. I’ll better be able to sniff out the captain’s location if she’s standing downwind.
“Follow me at two arms’ distance,” I tell her. “If you try to strangle me from behind, you’ll regret it.”
Sooah huffs. I’m going to assume that was a reluctantyes.
It takes significantly less time to sniff out Wen, because he reeks of grease and week-old milk. I’m sure his human compatriots aren’t offended by his smell, but my sensitive nose only amplifies the worst of his sour notes. After a right, another right, and then a long walk down a narrow straightaway, Sooah and I finally come across another open square in the hedge maze.
I’m not prepared for what I see. My eyes are assaulted by the sight of no less than two dozen beautiful young women.
Nakedyoung women. I suppose temptation comes in many forms, but this is downright obscene.
Their long black hair flows freely over their shoulders, the smooth curves of their breasts and hips and thighs on full display. They fawn over Wen, who seems more corralled into his seat than a willing participant. The women giggle sweetly and offer to feed him fruit by hand.
“L-listen,” Wen stammers. “I’m sure you’re all l-lovely, but I have to get going—”
“Stay with us,” the women coo. “Keep us company.”
I don’t know whether I want to stare or avert my gaze. There’s something strangely impressive about how unabashed these women are. Where I can’t stand to have anyone touch me, letalone look at me without my mask in place, they climb over Wen in their most vulnerable state with a confidence I doubt I could ever dare to master.
If the star god was going for subtlety, he’s failed miserably where Wen’s trial is concerned. It’s obvious that this enticement is too strong for any man to deny—
“No!” Wen snaps, shoving one of the women away by the shoulders so that he can rise. There’s a tremor in his left hand. “Whatever tricks you’re playing, I won’t fall for them. Now shove off, would you?”
“Don’t you want to stay with us?” one of the women asks, clearly taken aback. “We’ll love you for all eternity. Spoil you from sunrise to sunset. We can—”
“No means no, you harpies,” he interrupts. “I’ve got important people waiting. My wife is a thousand times more beautiful than any of you!”
The putrid scent of the star god’s magic dissipates, the mysterious women vanishing from view within a matter of seconds. Wen finally notices our presence when Sooah claps her hands together slowly in sarcastic applause. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a human’s face turn so red.
“How long were you standing there?” he grumbles sheepishly. He pivots his obvious embarrassment and sneers at me. “Where’s the cap’n? What have you done to him?”
“Oh, nothing,” I answer truthfully, but then I run my tongue over my front teeth and decide it would be fun to play. “All this walking around made me hungry. He made a delicious little snack.” Wen and Sooah bristle, reaching for their weapons. I can’t help but scoff. “Be at ease, I can smell him just up ahead.”
Wen grits his yellow teeth. “You’re not going anywhere. I say we kill you where you stand.”
I clench my fists and will my heart to steady. I didn’t think itpossible to find a human more infuriating than Sonam. They really are full of surprises.
“I don’t know how you managed to convince the cap’n to bring you along, but I won’t be tricked,” Wen continues. He trudges toward me, pulling a dagger from his belt. “Sooah, hold it steady so I can slit its throat.”
“Come near me and die!” I hiss, preparing to unhinge my jaw.
But before either one of us can lay a finger on the other, a set of frantic cries cuts through the air. It sounds disturbingly close. With Sooah and Wen momentarily distracted, I race off before them. Wen shouts something obscene at me, but I can barely hear him past the shriek of wind in my ears and the whip of leaves against my sides. I run toward the smell of mangoes, rounding the corner with such speed I nearly collide into another one of the maze’s entombed ghosts. I don’t stop until I see him.
In the open area before me, Sonam stands at the top of a dais, inspecting a throne carved of pure jade. At the bottom of the steps, his seven brothers and father cry at his feet, bowing pathetically in full kowtow.
“We were wrong,” they say in chorus. “Spare us, King Sonam.”
14Sonam
