An exaggerated groan disturbs the moment. Wen leans against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He looks as though someone fed him some rotten fruit.
“If this is how you two are going to act around each other from now on, I’m going to have to start paying Sooah to knock me out,” he says.
No need to pay me, Sooah says.I’ll do it for free.
Yue laughs. “I’ll help.”
Wen rolls his eyes. “So, when are we heading out? We’re getting reports of demon sightings as far as that new settlement in the North. Jiaoshan, I think it’s called. A little village by some big old lake.”
My eyes widen with surprise. It sounds like we have a great deal of ground to cover, and likely countless targets to track. I look at Yue and grin.
“Feel like joining me on a hunting campaign?”
“Do I get to eat what I kill?”
I nod. “Of course.”
She grins, too, and I already know her answer. Just as the moon follows the sun, and the sun follows the moon—where she goes, I will most assuredly be.
EpilogueYue
Sonam and Yue’s Hunting Log #1:
Why do we have to record everything?
So we have something to look upon and remember.
Seems foolish.
Indulge me, Fox.
Very well.
Through the narrow streets Istalk, drawn to the sounds of the water market. A year on, Longhao has nearly returned to its former splendor, not a hint of the Maskmaker or his demons to remind us of that fateful day.
Well, almost nearly.
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the tiles clacking beneath my sharpened claws, I observe the old man as he hobbles his way down the winding alley. His back is hunched, his weight supported by a sturdy bamboo cane.
A completely defenseless victim—the perfect lure.
The old man brings a hand up to stroke his bald head. “Oh, dear,” he mutters, confused. “Did I take another wrong turn? I thought for sure the tea shop was this way.”
I stifle a chuckle. What an adorable little snack.
As if on cue, a young man steps out from the shadows, seemingly appearing out of thin air. He isn’t nearly as clever as he believes himself to be. I could smell him from a mile away. I don’t act immediately, however, waiting for the right moment to strike.
“Are you lost, good sir? Maybe I can help you find your way.”
The stranger has a charming, unassuming air to him. Full of youthful energy and a smile that can warm even the most frigid of hearts. I must confess, this is one of the Maskmaker’s better works of art. The face the demon wears gives the impression of genuine friendliness, not a hint of underlying motive to be found. It’s no wonder this one has claimed three lives this moon alone. Three lives we could have spared, yes, but from tonight, it will feast on no others.
“That’s very kind of you, my boy,” the old man says.
The demon approaches. Not so fast as to seem eager, not so slow as to give the old man a chance to slip away. “Worry not. These streets can be confusing, even for me. Where is it that you’re hoping to—”
He comes within arm’s reach, but before he has the chance to unhinge his jaw and take a bite out of the elderly man’s neck, I pounce from the rooftop. I land with such force that I create my own wind current, the rush of air sending dust billowing up and outward.
With my claws extended, I swipe the demon’s mask clean off his face, the magic washing away instantly to reveal the face of a toad. It’s covered in a spattering of at least twenty bright-yellow eyes, hideous brown warts affixed to every inch of its thick skin. Toad demons are rare—and an incredible nuisance. No matter. This one is destined for death.
