“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her heart was beginning to pound again.
“You want your magic back, do you not? You want it back so badly ithurts. I see through you, mortal. You and your foolish altruism, you and your selfish desires. You think you can save the world, but that is not the only thing your heart wants.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” Rui spat. But there was a tremor in her voice they both heard.
Ten smiled.
Rui’s mind darkened. A hazy veil of memories flashed through her mind. Voices familiar and far away echoed in her ears...a little girl throwing a tantrum of tears, whining, persuading... her mother, finally giving in. The dark alleyway... screams...
A body lying on the street. Cold. Still.
She heard a slippery voice in her ear. “Nothing can bring your mother back. But I can offer you revenge, a chance to make amends and redeem your sorry little soul.”
Tears stung her eyes. It was all her fault. Her fault for throwing that tantrum. Her fault that her father was now a broken man. If she hadn’t insisted on going to the Night Market that night, her mother would still be alive.
The visions vanished. But doubt and the guilt remained.
Ten looked triumphant. He knew he’d gotten under her skin. “Would you like me to find the one who killed your mother and hand them over to you to do as you wish?” His words shone down like the sun, and thevicious weed Rui nurtured inside her raised its head.
Thiswas what she wanted.
“Are you sure my mother’s murderer is still alive?”
Ten pulled his gloves back on with the air of someone who knew they’d already won the fight. “The nature of deals is such that they have conditions that are agreed upon, and each condition must be fulfilled accordingly. There is no deal in which one side is left empty-handed. I would not have proposed that condition if I knew I would fail to fulfill it.”
“Then I want more,” said Rui. “If I help you find Four, you have to bring me my mother’s murdererandyou have to make sure I get my magic back.”
Ten seemed impressed by her boldness. “I could sweeten the deal further—”
“Why?” she said, instantly suspicious.
Ten looked irritated by her interruption. “I might be speaking too soon, but I think I’m growing fond of you, rude little mortal. So I am willing to throw you another bone. Find my brother and, in return, not only will you have what you just asked for, but”—he patted Yiran’s cheek—“your friend will also live. Do we have a deal?”
Rui nodded. This time, of her own volition.
“Then a deal has been made,” Ten said with a grand gesture.
“Just like that?” Rui had expected a crash of thunder or something, but nothing happened, and she didn’t feel any different after making the deal with the King.
“Not everything has to be dramatic, my dear.” Ten smiled. “Death’s touch connects you to the underworld, and it is that connection that may draw you to my brother.”
“May?You’re not sure of this?”
“All avenues must be explored in this search, and you are but one small tool in the grand scheme of things.”
At least Ten was direct with her, and he didn’t seem to care about her lapse in honorifics. “Where do I start?”
“My brother is likely here in the mortal realm, and there is a chance...” Ten paused, looking repulsed. “There is a chance he may be in the form of a human.”
“A human? How’s that possible?” This was getting more absurd. What had she gotten herself into?
“You do not need to know the how or the why to fulfill your task. All you need to know is he is in this city, and I thinkyouwill be able to sense him.”
“You have to give me something better than that. The city’s huge and full of people. I can’t go waltzing down the street, checking to see if I sense a connection with anyone.”
“Not just anyone. Remember that this mortal houses the soul of a god—it will not be anyone ordinary.”
“It’s someone extraordinary?” Rui frowned. Did he mean— “Someone with a strong spirit core, someone who can do magic?”
