I leave the Durands to say their goodbyes. Tony stands respectfully to one side. This goodbye only makes me morecertain that I made the right choice for Tony, even if he disagrees. As I reach the mouth of the cave, stepping into the warm sunshine reminds me how kissing Tony used to feel. Full of joy. I hope with time he’ll find joy again.
Something in the trees catches my eye. A shimmer. I move closer, trying to see.
Two silvery outlines, as delicate as gossamer, stand in the shadows of the forest’s edge. One is my mother, her eyes alive with joy, smiling at a tall, dark-haired man. Hand in hand, they walk towards a silver river in the distance where a ferry awaits.
I stare. How is this possible? My mother is a yaojing. When we die, there is no ghost ferry for us, and we don’t cross the Naihe Bridge. Where has she been this whole time?
‘That is unusual,’ Lord Black says, appearing beside me.
‘How is my mother still here?’ I ask.
‘The red threads of Fate are very powerful. I had a little chat with Maomao. She said your mother’s spirit wouldn’t leave without your father’s; your mother’s been waiting here ever since.’
‘Will the ghost ferry will deliver them to Madame Meng?’
Lord Black nods.
‘Do yaojing cross the Naihe Bridge?’ I ask.
‘Do yaojing cross the Naihe Bridge?’ Lord Black repeats my words but puts the emphasis onDo.
‘I guess I’d better ask Madame Meng,’ I say.
‘I guess you’d better.’ He holds up my dragon pearl, glistening pink in the sun.
‘Great,’ I say, feeling that familiar frustration rising. Circular conversations are really not my favourite. ‘Could you—’
I’m about to ask him to place the pearl, but with terrifying speed he grips my chin and shoves the pearl into my right eye. It settles into place with a wet squelch. Still gripping my head,something over my shoulder draws his attention and he forgets to let go.
‘Um, Lord Black?’ I say, tapping at his hands.
‘Aiya, of course,’ he says, releasing me. ‘Someone interesting is coming.’ He nods at the cave.
Lord Aengus heads my way, the white fox circling his feet. He gazes at her with a tenderness I didn’t know he possessed.Interesting.
‘I’m very sorry for your loss, Lady Jing,’ he says. ‘Maomao has something important to tell you.’
But the fox glances at Lord Aengus, seemingly unsure.
He gives her an encouraging smile.
There’s a shimmer in the air, and Maomao the young woman says, ‘I didn’t want to hurt Rey Jiejie, so I never told her. But I should have. If she had known, your parents might still be with us.’
‘What do you mean?’
Maomao takes a deep breath. ‘When Romain Gege went back to France, Rey Jiejie found out she was with whelp. You. Niang Niang and Rey Jiejie had a big fight. Rey Jiejie said she was going to move to Paris with Romain Gege. So Niang Niang went out one day and hired a demon hunter to get rid of Roman Gege.’
‘Are you sure?’ I ask.
My grandmother is a nasty bitch, but she loved my mother.
Maomao nods. ‘I followed her. Saw with my own eyes. The demon hunter took her silver. When Romain Gege came back, he captured him. After you were born, Rey Jiejie didn’t stop looking for Romain Gege, didn’t believe Niang Niang’s lies, telling her Romain Gege went back to France. She found the demon hunter; they fought; she died.’
Forty-Three
Choices
Back in the hulijing palace, Niang Niang said,They killed my Rey. Perhaps that was my punishment.
