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"Well..."
"Only an idiot would agree to having their death curse resurrected!"
So that was why I had my coin back.
"And because I'm your handmaiden, it automatically means I must suffer the same fate as well!"
Oh. I smiled weakly. "Um...about that."
The little girl's glare intensified.
"I kinda...didn't...um...hear a thing that Yan Wang said?"
"Saoirse!"
Mary Priscilla groaned like my stupidity was about to kill her, and I said defensively, "Surely you know me better than to think I'd ever let you come here with me!"
"Neither of us should be here!"
I shook my head in stubborn rejection of her words. "Now that I disagree with. I need to be here because this is the only way—-"
"Do you even know what you've signed ourselves up for?" the little girl demanded.
"Well, there's that bit you mentioned about my death curse being resurrected..."
"And that's it?"
"Sorta?"
Mary Priscilla clasped her hands behind her back, and I told myself that she wasn't doing it because she was trying to resist the temptation of twisting my neck.
A moment later, the little girl started to speak—-
To find the one who placed a death curse in your name is to turn back time.
And that was when I realized she was impersonating the death god while quoting his words verbatim.
But when the death curse is resurrected, it shall be ten times stronger, and the shadows' hunger for your life energy shall know no bounds.
I started to speak, but the little girl raised her hand in a halting gesture that was so like the death god I had to fight back a smile.
They shall strike when you least expect it, and no longer will it be a battle of strength. The purity of your heart shall also be tested, and to fail is to meet your end...for all eternity.
Mary Priscilla floated back down, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she planted her arms on her waist and scowled up at me. "Do you get it now?"
"Nope."
"SAOIRSE!"
"Did you get it?" I challenged. "Like really, completely get it?"
"Well..." The little girl grimaced. "Not completely."
"See? That's what I'm talking about." I started pacing absently as I contemplated the death god's words. The first time I came here, the shadows had converged on me right away, and - according to Hadrian - the only reason they hadn't been able to kill me was because the curse was only strong enough to kill humans.
This time, however...
Yan Wang had warned us about the curse being ten times stronger. Did that make the curse strong enough to kill a goddess? And what about the part where the so-called purity of my heart would also be tested? Like...exactly what kind of purity were we talking about here? I mean, my mind kinda loved being in the gutter sometimes, and probably more times than Hadrian's ever did, too. Dirty thoughts were just—-
"Stop getting distracted!"
The horrible brat had yelled the words right at my face, and although her shrill voice had my ears ringing painfully, she did get her point across, and I gave myself a quick mental shake.
Focus like a LOTUS, Saoirse!
I got Little Iron out of my pocket and gave it a nip of my blood before letting the magical partridge have a sniff of my newly minted curse coin.
"So..." I waited until I had Little Iron's full question before making my request. "I'm looking for the one who placed the death curse in my name this time. Do you think you can find that person for me?"
Little Iron gave a quick bob of its metallic head...and then off we went, with the partridge taking us deep into this city that still reminded me of Paranormal Hong Kong with its empty streets and decrepit-looking buildings.
When Little Iron finally came to a stop and perched itself on my shoulder, Mary Priscilla and I found ourselves in front of what seemed like an automated tram. Its engine was running noisily, but there was no driver in sight.
Mary Priscilla pointed to the tram's revolving door, and that was when I saw the fare charges painted on its glass pane.
3 coins per person
Gold and Silver accepted
I glanced at Little Iron. "Is there any way you can help us find more coins?"
The bird shook its head.
Shit.
Mary Priscilla gnawed on her lip. "What do we do now?"
"Give me a moment to think." A part of me was already waiting for the kid to say something annoying (and false) about my intellect again, but when Mary Priscilla actually did give me a moment, it was then I realized how secretly frightened the kid was about all of this, and—-
Now is not the time to panic, Saoirse!
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. Surely there was something we could do here. A way for us to either find or even earn...oh!
MARY PRISCILLA LOOKED confused and incredulous at the same time when she realized I had brought her to what was more or less a casino, even though the only game the ghosts played here was mahjong.
