Lan’s knuckles were white against her ocarina. Around her, the everyday working Hin—the street sweepers, theshopkeepers, the restaurant cooks and waiters—had all gathered outside to watch the show. Their gaunt faces reflected the Azure Tiger’s eerie blue light, and their expressions broke something in Lan.
Awe. Fear. And resignation. The acceptance that their fate—to live under the Elantians—was sealed.
An ache squeezed Lan’s throat. Her fingers trembled against her ocarina.
She could end this.
Shewouldend this.
The Azure Tiger roared again—and that was when Lan’s amulet warmed.
Gasps erupted around her and from the square. In the sky above the Heavenly Palace, a seam had opened: A Gate Seal, conjured from a place of snow-covered cliffs and blackened ruins.
From within, something speared down over the Heavenly Capital. It was the figure of a man, and as he landed on the highest palace rooftop, a shadow behind him eclipsed the sky.
Black robes and demonic qì billowed from Xan Temurezen as he straightened atop the roof of the palace that had held the conquerors first of his clan and then of his land.
On the ground, Erascius had gone deadly still as he watched this development. Slowly, he lifted a hand.
With a crook of his finger, the Azure Tiger turned to face the newcomers. Its snarl rumbled through the streets of the city as, with a flick of its tail, it pounced—and Zen’s Black Tortoise, forming itself from cloud smoke, dove to meet it.
The ground shook with the first clash of the two Demon Gods. Shouts erupted in the square as the Elantian forces drew their weapons.
The Gate Seal in the sky remained open; more shadows were streaming from it, landing in the square and on surroundingbuildings. A pagoda several streets down from Lan exploded when something struck its roof. As the dust cleared, Lan could make out a silhouette atop the ruins: a creature the size of a horse with fiery tails—nine of them, to be precise.
Mó,she thought, taking in the pure demonic power radiating from the creature. She had heard of the legendary fox demon with nine tails from Hin myths. But what drew Lan’s attention was the woman who stood beneath the being. She was tall and strong, clad in thick boots and flowing robes fashioned slightly differently from the traditional Hin hàn’fú. Lan’s gaze stopped when she noticed the red flame patterns sewn on the woman’s black robes.
Mansorian.
The woman stepped forward, her movements sharp. Lan caught a glimpse of her face—utterly inhuman, like stone instead of flesh and blood, perfect and ageless and terrifying—and eyes that were completely black.
Demonic practitioner.
Another streak through the night, and down toward the residential districts, on the tallest roof, stood a man in the same billowing garb with the same ethereal, unmoving face. Behind him, in a swirl of silver, was a shadow with the likeness of a misshapen wolf: legs as long as a deer’s and ribs jutting from its skin.
Another streak: a figure with a great golden hawk whose wing feathers looked sharp enough to cut. Another revealed a blood-colored horse with a snout and teeth like fangs. All around King Alessandertown, Mansorian demonic practitioners landed like dark shooting stars.
Seemingly as one, they turned toward the square where the Elantian soldiers were gathered. And then, by an unheard command, they took off in that direction with powerful blasts of yin energies.
That was when the screams began.
The demonic practitioners attacked the Elantian soldiers like hawks diving for prey. Between the fountain and the palace, Zen and Erascius were engaged in combat as their Demon Gods clashed overhead. Amidst the cacophony, Lan spotted the high governor retreating into the palace. A group of Royal Magicians rushed after him, conjuring their spells of metal magic to pad the building with extra defenses.
Lan’s fingers were slick against her ocarina. She could not begin casting the Godslayer until Zen took out enough of the Royal Magicians to allow Dilaya’s forces a chance at penetrating the Heavenly Palace and negotiating surrender.
Yet as Lan watched, a palpable shift went through the Mansorian demonic practitioners. Their blank eyes latched onto the groups of unarmored, vulnerable Hin watching at the fringes of the square.
One of the Mansorians with a bearlike demon lunged first. Lan heard her own scream as the demonic practitioner bowled over a nearby Hin woman—easy, defenseless prey.
Quickly, the rest followed suit. Within seconds, the rhythm of battle was broken as the Mansorian Deathriders scattered, leaving their Elantian opponents free to retreat to the safety of the palace.
Horror squeezed Lan’s throat. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Zen was meant to direct his army to obliterate the Elantian troops. Together with his Demon God, they were meant to take down the Royal Magicians and clear the path for Dilaya’s forces.
She needed to get to Zen—she needed to stop him. If he had already lost control to the Black Tortoise…
She didn’t want to finish the thought.
With a burst of the Light Arts, Lan leapt onto the rooftop of the nearest pagoda. From here, there was nothing betweenher and the palace but the square and the stretch of residential houses bordering it.
