Page 7 of Between Ghosts and Gods

“Lowly demons?” Ruo hissed.

Kasu stared, open-mouthed, at Arun’s sheer nerve. How could a helpless, vulnerable human reject her perfectly reasonable advice about how to not get eaten?

She had been away from her counter longer than usual. If she didn’t return… Well, she didn’t know what would happen, but only because she had never abandoned her post for more than five minutes. Would she get in trouble? Even if she didn’t, the idea that someone, anyone, might think that she was slacking off brought with it a flush of hot shame.

With every second that ticked away, she felt an uncomfortable itch beneath her skin. What if there was a gambler at the exchange desk waiting for her to return? She hadn’t even left out a sign to say when she would be back.

But if she left now, Arun would just run off and end up inside some demon’s belly.

The oak is mighty yet inflexible; when a strong wind blows, its bark snaps. Be like the reed, which bends in the wind but does not break. It was in times of hardship like this that it was most important to follow the Heavenly Principles. Kasu would never earn the respect of the gods if she stood back and let demons devour a human. No matter how rude or ungrateful or irritating that human was.

“You really won’t leave?” She checked, not only because it was polite to do so, but also on the off-chance that Arun’s insistence on finding his mother had been caused by a temporary bout of insanity.

“Are you dense?” Arun had the gall to ask her.

Irritation simmered quietly beneath her skin. It was a feeling with which Kasu was all too familiar – and one she had had plenty of practice at keeping from boiling over. Annoyance was the result of a lack of self-discipline. She was better than that. She had to be.

With the most infuriating huff Kasu had ever heard, Arun started to walk towards the city lights.

“Wait!” She pushed her way in front of him. “All right, all right. I see you leave me with no choice.”

Arun placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze cutting.

Kasu could only sigh.

“There’s a certain demon that lives in the heart of Ghost City called the Sage of a Thousand Faces. Demons and ghosts can sometimes enter the mortal realm if they’re strong enough, or if they’re summoned by someone. A disguise makes it easier for demons to fool unwitting humans into lowering their guard and signing away their souls. The Sage makes masks for occasions like that – masks that hide one’s true aura.”

Each of the four demon lords of Ghost City possessed one of the Sage’s masks. Lady Camellia kept hers hanging in her private chambers. She often used it when going up to the mortal realm to sell items at the demon bazaar.

Arun folded his arms across his chest. “So?”

“So,” she ground out, “hiding your aura should work the other way too. If a mask can hide one’s demonic aura from humans, it can hide your human aura from demons. If you had one, you could walk around Ghost City without worry.”

Arun’s eyes narrowed, waiting for a catch, perhaps, or for Kasu to name her price. At least he wasn’t completely clueless about the kinds of people he might encounter in the wretched hive of scum and villainy that was Ghost City.

“I’ll fetch one for you, but on one condition,” she said. “Stay in this forest until I come and find you. If you spot any ghosts or demons that aren’t me, you have to hide.”

“That’s it? That’s all you want?”

“Do you agree or not?”

“And what’s in it for you, demon?”

“I’m not a demon, I’m a ghost. And what I get in return is the peace of knowing that your death won’t be on my conscience.”

Kasu felt Arun’s gaze rake up and down her thin figure, as if he could prise out whatever nefarious plan she was keeping from him. She did not flinch. What she was doing was moral and just – what reason did she have not to stand tall?

“All right, I agree.” Arun surrendered.

“Good!” she said primly. “I haven’t introduced myself, have I? My name is Kasu. I work for Lady Camellia, one of the four demon rulers of Ghost City.”

“Ruo.” The cat purred with a voice like a snake curling around its prey. “And you still smell delicious.”

“Ruo and … Kasu,” Arun repeated. “That’s a strange name.”

In her opinion, Arun was a strange name as well. She had no idea where the Southern Kingdom of Bakrute was – but then again Kasu couldn’t even remember where she had lived when she was still alive. She wondered what Arun’s home was like, whether his family was missing him – she had once had a family too. Or, at least, she thought so. Sometimes, when Kasu went to sleep at night, she dreamed of a little sister with ribbons in her hair and a mother with a tense, watery smile.

She pushed aside those dusty memories for now. “Ruo, can you hide the human somewhere? Some place no one else will find him. Somewhere safe.”