“Are you going to the temple again? I thought you paid respects to your mom yesterday.”
“I’m checking on my dad.” The lie slipped out smooth and easy like melted butter. Rui wasn’t going to see her father. Today was a day neither of them acknowledged in the other’s presence. If her mother was the link that bound them together, her death was what tore them apart.
“Guess I’m spending the afternoon working on my Student Council campaign by my lonesome self. I was counting on your help,Rooroo.” Laughing, Ada flicked Rui’s uneven bangs into her face.
Annoyed as Rui was by the abominable nickname, she couldn’t help but smile. It washerfault to share it with Ada in the first place, and Adawas only trying to lighten the mood. She seemed to understand when to push Rui and when to step back, and that understanding was why they were best friends.
Many at the Academy marveled at their odd little friendship. Questioned it, probably. Rui questioned it herself sometimes, wondering how she lucked out on her first day at the Academy. She had loitered awkwardly outside the classroom, convinced she didn’t belong because she knew nothing about Exorcism or magic. She’d turned and ran, only to collide with an impish-looking girl with cherry-red hair. The girl saw through Rui’s scowl, understood the fear living inside, and decided they would be friends. And that was that.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ada asked now with a curious smile.
“Nothing,” Rui mumbled, turning away. They’d dated for a whirlwind month last year before Ada called it off. The split was amicable. Sometimes, though, a tiny part of Rui wished they’d never broken up. But just because she loved her best friend, it didn’t mean she wasin lovewith her. In fact, Rui was starting to think that love—romanticlove—wasn’t her thing. It was a sham. One party always got hurt, either by the other or by circumstances. Her father had loved her mother more than life itself and look where that got him.
She stuffed her weapons into her sword bag and slung it over her shoulder. “How’s your Council president campaign coming along?”
“Messily. There’s still so much to do.”
“People will vote for you; they’d be a fool if they didn’t. You’re a natural leader, and you get along with everyone. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Ada made a face as she grabbed her blazer and slipped her shoes back on, but Rui could tell she was pleased.
“We’ll find out soon enough when they count the votes next week. See you at tonight’s patrol. Don’t be late or Ash will have something mean to say, and oh”—Ada paused by the door—“tell your dad I said hi.”
There was something odd about Ada’s expression. Like she knew Ruiwas keeping secrets. But she bounced out of the room, and Rui was alone again.
Rui stood in silence, nails scraping the ragged skin around her fingers. Maybe one day, she could share everything with her best friend. All the secrets. All the lies.
But for now, the less Ada knew, the safer she would be.
4
Rui
A pathetic drizzle greeted her when Rui stepped out of the subway into the beating heart of the city. Barely grazing her skin, the rain got in her eyes anyway. She swiped her face irritably and squinted. Against the late autumn sky and rainwater-colored buildings, a gleaming knife-shaped tower rose in the distance.
The headquarters of the Exorcist Guild.
Her fists curled. One day. She would make it there one day.
Keeping her earbuds on and avoiding any eye contact so no one would speak to her—or worse, ask her for directions—Rui jogged diagonally across the traffic junction. A barrage of angry honking followed her. Everyone who lived long enough on these city streets knew that pedestrian lights were more guidelines than rules, but it didn’t mean the drivers liked it.
The news tickers on buildings were flashing.
Full moon tomorrow night... Lockdown starts at 2100 hrs... All residents to remain indoors until sunrise...
The introduction of the curfew had been met with little protest. Staying in every full moon or whenever there was a Night Hunt was a small price to pay for safety. But what would the headlines say tomorrow? Bodies had been turning up in alleyways or sprawled out on sidewalks in plain view in recent months. Cold and hard. Eyes bulging, mouths O-shaped like they’d been gasping for air. No signs of physical injuries were ever found on them. People without magic couldn’t see Revenants, but the corpses were evidence enough that Revenants could seethem, and worse, kill them.
Rui folded her coat over her arm, tucking the Xingshan emblem outof sight. The rumblings of a blame game had started in the media.The New Generation of Exorcists: Gifted or Entitled?...Can the New Generation Save Us or Are We in Trouble?... That was the flavor of some of the recent headlines and opinion articles. Xingshan Academy and the Exorcist Guild were revered institutions, but their reputation depended on their perceived competence.
Rui wasn’t too worried just yet, but she didn’t want anyone to notice her either. Not where she was going. Without her Academy coat marking her, she was another face in the crowd, easily overlooked among these bustling streets.
She veered off the main avenue, thinking about the text message she’d received earlier in the day. Something about a new job and a request to stop by when she was free. She turned up the volume of her music, ignoring how her pulse had tripped over itself when she thought of the person who’d sent it.
Not long after, she reached a neighborhood hidden between high-rises. The drizzle had stopped, and the sun showed its face. Rui shook the droplets from her coat and brushed damp hair out of her eyes.
Mort Street
The lettering on the street sign was scratched up, and the area less snazzy than the tourist traps and landscaped parks Rui had left behind. Dandelions sprouted from cracks along the potholed road, and graffiti scrawled across the one-way street sign. She bent and picked a flower. She blew on it, coming close to making a wish but deciding at the last moment that maybe she no longer believed in such childish things.
