Page 45 of Between Ghosts and Gods

It was all Kasu could do to grip the black ink brush. The very thought of another three centuries working in Camellia House, of standing behind the same counter all day every day, of watching ghosts come and go and gamble away their hopes, filled her with despair. What about her dreams of reincarnation? What about her plans to be reborn somewhere peaceful and plentiful?

A small house on the edge of an apple orchard. Trees in full bloom and the smell of blossom in the air.

How much longer would she have to wait for her dreams to come true? How much more could the heavens test her? Wasn’t this enough? Hadn’t she done everything she could to show her faith and obedience? Kasu’s hand shook as the ink brush hovered over the contract meant to sign away more of her un-life. She felt Lady Camellia’s gaze beating down against the back of her neck and knew that there was nothing else she could do. She was lucky that she was getting away with this much. Kasu had seen ghosts eaten for lesser crimes.

She signed.

Once she was done, the ink brush vanished from her hand.

“I’m so—” she began, but Lady Camellia did not let her apologize. With a snap of her skeletal fingers, the room spun and Kasu found herself dumped in the middle of the shadow forest.

Her chest heaved as she lay there.

What was supposed to be a simple matter of sneaking into Lady Camellia’s chambers had gone … just about as badly as it could have. Lady Camellia was disappointed with her. Angry with her. Kasu could never look her mistress in the eye again. Everything had gone wrong. Why did Lady Camellia have to come back so early? Who were those ghosts and why had Lord Cobalt sent them?

Worst of all, she had not even had time to search the chambers for this elixir the Pale Lady wanted. Kasu had barely had the time to look around Lady Camellia’s office before she had been unceremoniously thrown out into the forest.

Yet, despite the catastrophe that was her evening, Arun and Ruo were still inside Camellia House. They still had a chance to fulfil their mission.

Kasu didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried.

Chapter Twenty-Three Arun

The one THING Arun would never get used to in the under-realm was how damn cold it was. He longed for the humidity of Bakrute, the soupy air and a sun that burned so hot it could bake the sweat into your skin.

That was why, when he shivered, it was only because of the cold.

As soon as Kasu and Ruo had stepped into the next room with Lady Camellia, the door had disappeared. Gingerly, Arun crawled out of his hiding place and pressed his hands against the now empty wall where it had been.

He tried feeling around the wood for a secret hatch, tried shoving his shoulder against the wall in case it gave way, but nothing worked. The wall was just a wall and the door – along with Kasu and the others – was gone.

There was no way out.

He was trapped.

There was no point panicking. He could not leave without the elixir, anyway. There were still plenty of bottles on the shelves around him, though they all contained the same noxious green smoke that had exploded into the air when some of the bottles had shattered. Though they weren’t what the Pale Lady wanted, Arun grabbed one from the shelf just in case.

What else was there? A portrait scroll hung on the back wall – a man dressed like a peasant stared down at Arun through dark, half-lidded eyes. A strange choice of décor. Arun peeked behind the painting, but there was nothing there either, just more solid wall. He gave it a hard kick for good measure, and winced as his toes met hard stone.

What was he supposed to do now? With every second that passed, his concern for Kasu and Ruo grew. What if Lady Camellia had eaten them? Could he slice open the demon’s stomach and pull them out like in the story of the wolf and the hunter?

Returning to the middle of the room, Arun sat down to think. The mirror those ghosts had used to escape was still on the floor, untouched. When Arun reached a hand towards it, he felt a strange sensation tugging him forward.

He pulled away. Or rather, he tried to. Like a set of invisible chains around his wrists, something held him and would not let go.

There was no time to scream as he was sucked through the glass.

Arun landed with a thud somewhere soft and cold. Grass and dry soil caught in his fingernails as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Stranger, strangeeeer,” the trees whispered around him.

The mirror had brought him to the shadow forest. He looked around wildly for any sign of Lord Cobalt’s men, but they had already fled.

He was alone in a clearing dotted with pale white flowers that emitted a soft glow. Despite their beauty, there was something undeniably eerie about the way their petals fluttered and swayed without the slightest breath of wind.

“Arun!” He turned in time to see Kasu rushing towards him.

“Kasu! Are you all right? Did that demon hurt you? What happened?” The force of Arun’s relief threatened to bowl him over. He met Kasu halfway and seized her by the shoulders, inspecting every inch of her. Was it his imagination or was she paler than before? Had she always had that small tear at the bottom of her dress?