“So stay here and rest.”
“But I won’t leave you to win this battle alone.”
“Yue, we just went over this—”
“I will provide support, but it’s you who must kill the Maskmaker. I cannot raise a hand to him.”
I frown. “Why not?”
“I swore a blood oath,” she reveals. “Long ago. If I harm him—”
“You die,” I conclude.
She nods. “I always thought revenge was something I needed to achieve alone. But I can’t. I need your help.”
It takes a brave soul to endure hardship alone and an evenbraver one to reach out for a helping hand. I’m proud of her. “Then we’ll do it together,” I say resolutely. “Can you tell if he’s near?”
Yue lifts her head and sniffs the air. “Yes. He isn’t far.”
I hurriedly replace my mask and shift into the mighty, majestic form of a nine-tailed fox. We look at each other. She is my reflection, my equal.
“How do we do this?” she asks.
“How does one do anything?” I say. “Afraid but willing.”
46Sonam
We chase the Maskmaker overthe canals, around sharp corners, through narrow alleyways. The layout of Longhao is perhaps our only advantage. I know these streets. Every building and secret passage and dead end. Even though we no longer have to worry about the walls coming alive and turning us around, in many ways, this city is just as much a living, breathing thing.
Yue is hot on his trail, just within striking distance when the Maskmaker stumbles out into an open street. He turns toward us, eyes bloodshot and teeth bared.
“Imbeciles. You really think you can stop me? You’re too late.”
“Call off the attack,” I growl.
“I have no control over them now, don’t you see? They’ll feast and feast until nothing—not even the Heavens—can stand in my way.”
Yue snarls. “Then you’ll be the ruler of nothing.”
“I’ll be the ruler of a world of my own making,” the Maskmaker corrects. “Whatever I want shall finally be. These simple-minded fools are merely a tool. I’ve let them loose to blank the canvas.”
Before either one of us can make a move, the Maskmaker holdsup his hands. His palms burn red hot, the air around him sizzling. His whole body ignites into flames so intense he’s nothing but a white blot upon my vision. I’d nearly forgotten that the Maskmaker, much like his siblings banished to Hell, was once a star god on high.
“You are nothing,” he seethes. “I can’t wait to watch you burn.”
Flames erupt around us, catching everything they can in their wake. Smoke billows into the skies above, covering Longhao in an ominous black shroud. Fire consumes everything: the moon bridges, the drooping wisteria trees, the nearby buildings—people. If the demons don’t destroy my home, this inferno certainly will.
Yue takes a step back, her ears pressed flat. My heart roars with fury. The Maskmaker knows how much she hates fire. But she stands firm nonetheless, growling with stunning ferociousness.
“I survived your first branding,” she says. “I can survive another.”
We leap together. We don’t need to exchange words to know how badly we both want to tear this bastard limb from limb. Even with his almighty powers, the Maskmaker still runs—no doubt out of habit—and leads us farther into the hellscape. Little by little, inch by inch, the fires he’s set turn the city into Hell itself.
We chase him through the streets, bounding down alleys and ripping around corners. Flames singe our fur and burn our eyes.
“A-Ba!” the voice of a child reaches my ears. I see a little boy, no older than four, pointing up at me with slack-jawed terror. “A-Ba, look!”
I come to a halt, claws digging into the roads. A man hurries out and pulls the boy into his arms and stares at Yue. I’d recognize that unruly hair and lean stature anywhere. It’s Wen.
