I stare down at the sword, taking in the jade-green hilt, the color of the lotus’s stem and leaves; the blade, with shifting blush hues like the most beautiful dawn. It never occurred to me that I could communicate with it, or that the vessel would be capable of responding.
I direct my thoughts inward.
Teach me how to call upon Lady Shi’ya’s immortal army.
The light from the sword flares for a moment—just as another streak of white-hot pain sears up my other arm. I gasp, lifting my left hand. I’d been so focused on negotiating with the Eight Immortals, I’d forgotten about my wound until now. Thepoison from the demonic roses’ thorns has spread; black liquid now oozes from my flesh, and my veins have darkened up to my elbow. As I stare at the writhing shadows within, another blinding pain shoots through my entire body.
I recall falling and hitting the ground—and then nothing.
27
Àn’ying
Kingdom of Sky
When I wake, I am back in the chamber where I first arrived. A gentle breeze gusts in from the windows, stirring the curtains to reveal a view of undulating mountains wrapped in the eerie semidarkness that has befallen this realm. My limbs are heavy, and my head is even more so; I cannot place the time or the day.
My left arm throbs. When I look down, a sprig of tiny mushrooms twines around my wrist. Their cream-colored umbrella caps rest against my skin, shimmering with energies. I can make out shadows curling just beneath my flesh, but they seem to have gone still for the moment.
“Took you long enough to come back.”
I jump at the voice and turn. Cai’hé sits in the middle of the chamber, leaning against a flowering peach tree that seems to have sprung from nowhere. On their back is their basket ofherbs, from which vines and leaves are sprouting; little puffs of clouds encircle them, and blossoms occasionally shower from the peach tree like pink rain.
I suddenly notice that little grasses, flowers, and funguses encircle my bed. The air over my body ripples with their healing energies.
“Thank you,” I croak. “How long was I out?”
“Three days.”
A chill besets me. Three days, when I should have been figuring out how to summon my army and forming a battle plan. I wonder if Hào’yáng has reached the borders of the Western Province, whether he and Lì’líng have found each other. Whether he has reunited with everyone—Ma and Méi’zi and all our friends.
I try to sit up, but pain shoots through my arm.
“Dear girl, are youtryingto ruin all the work I’ve done over the past few days?” Cai’hé says, exasperated. “This is a difficult poison to counter, even for me.”
I lay back down, lifting my hand to study it. “What is it?”
The immortal blinks. “Demonic poison,” they say. “My magical fungus can slow its progress, but I am powerless to stop it. Only one ofthemcan.”
I don’t need to ask whom they are referring to. A chill runs through me. I have a sense of the answer already, but I ask my next question anyway. “And what happens when it finishes spreading?”
“Unclear for an immortal or a halfling. But for a mortal…” Cai’hé’s eyes flash. “Death.”
The word hangs in the air between us in the silence. With this revelation, every possibility of a future I’d hoped for turns to ashes.
“How long do I have?” My voice sounds far away to my own ears.
The immortal’s face is impossible to read. “Days, perhaps. Weeks at best. I do not know.”
Days.
Long enough to execute my plan.
Cai’hé continues, “In the meantime, drink this and rest.” With a wave of their hand, sprigs of herbs and flower petals and leaves rise from the flower basket and stream into a jade-colored calabash that appears in their other hand. With a flick of the wrist, they send the calabash toward me.
I take it with my good hand. “I need to call on my army,” I say quietly. “I can’t afford to lose any more time.”
“Attempt more magic today and you will reverse all the work I have done,” Cai’hé says, pointing an admonishing finger at me. “Calling upon your spirit energies will put them in direct conflict with the demonic energies spreading through you. That is why you fainted. Drink my herbal medicine, sleep, and your energies will stabilize tomorrow—hopefully enough for you to attempt more magic. Now I’m going to get some rest, and so are you. I shall see you in the morning.”
