Chapter 10 Rui
Rui
Kodie drove them to the Quay. It was one of the oldest parts of the city, where early villagers had settled centuries ago.
Skyscrapers and modern amenities lined the embankment now, and when the weather permitted, colorful tourist boats glided up
and down the river. It wasn’t just trendy bars and clubs that thrived here. The side streets nearby were closed to traffic,
retaining their historical flavor and adding a layer of grit that appealed to locals and visitors alike.
Despite the cold, business was brisk tonight among the hawker stalls that popped up in those side streets from sunset until
the wee hours of the morning, with the makeshift patio and table heaters providing warmth. Ash had changed into streetwear
he kept in his car, pulling his bucket hat down to cover his distinctive hair, and Kodie had removed her lab coat. To the
casual eye, they were three friends unwinding after a night out. No one paid them any attention as they settled at an empty
table in the corner.
Upon hearing that Rui hadn’t eaten since the afternoon, Kodie plied her with a platter of pan-fried dumplings, a steaming
bowl of beef noodle soup, and the promise of dessert. The doctor seemed to have taken a liking to her. Rui wasn’t sure why,
but she wasn’t going to say no to free food.
In between bites, she laid everything bare. She even told them about Ten, her deal with him, what had happened in the tunnels
that day, and who Zizi supposedly was. There was no justifiable reason to hide the truth anymore, not when so much was at
stake.
Kodie drank her milky rice wine and savored her spicy chicken wings, listening intently to Rui’s every word.
Ash, on the other hand, refrained from eating, choosing instead to nurse a large mug of ale with a somber expression.
Rui could’ve sworn that the wisps of hair peeking out from the edges of his hat were turning grayer with each revelation.
When she finally finished, dawn was only a few hours away and the hawker stalls behind them were closing.
Ash drained his mug and set it down on the table heavily. “Amazing. Fabulous. The underworld exists, and it’s filled with
deranged immortals and a scary phenomenon called the Nothing. Not to mention the general fuckery of a missing god causing
problems for our world. All things I love finding out about on this never-ending night when all I want is to collapse in bed.” He pressed a
hand to his temple, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ve known Zizi since he was a kid. He’s a pain in the ass, but I never would’ve
thought—I mean, he’s from the underworld? What does that sentence even mean?”
“Don’t get hysterical, darling,” Kodie soothed. She winked at Rui. “Ash was always going on about Zizi being some kind of
genius, a prodigy to take under his wing. Guess this explains why the boy was so good with magic. He’s an otherworldly being!
A death god being a healer, a protector of life—ironic, don’t you think?”
Rui had a feeling that if the doctor ever met Zizi, she would put him under her microscope and study him like a prized specimen.
“They speak of three realms in the old folktales,” Kodie mused, flipping a slim silver cigarette case between her fingers.
“A trifecta of sorts. Our world, the underworld, and the celestial realm. If we’re here in the mortal realm and the underworld
also exists, I wonder . . .” She let that thought trail. “Anyway, I need a smoke.” She fished a lighter from her purse and
went to the street corner.
Alone with Ash, Rui shifted uncomfortably. He hadn’t addressed what had happened between her and his brother yet. She curled
up, drawing her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins as she rested her forehead on her knees.
“It’s all my fault,” she mumbled miserably, feeling sorry for herself and everyone else.
“No, it’s not,” she heard Ash say.
She lifted her head. “You don’t get it. Everything’s my fault.
If I hadn’t cast that spell on Yiran, my spiritual energy wouldn’t have transferred to him and caused that cascade of events.
He wouldn’t be so distant from everyone now.
And if I hadn’t made that stupid deal with Ten, if I hadn’t gone to the tunnels without any backup, he wouldn’t have had the chance to force Zizi to create the new spell, and Zizi wouldn’t be stuck in the underworld. ”
And if I hadn’t thrown a stupid tantrum over some candy, my mother would be alive, and none of this would be happening.
Years of guilt pressed down, suffocating her. “I’m so sorry about Yiran.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Ash said without missing a beat.
“But it’s my fault he’s like this now.”
“You did what you had to in the moment when you cast the separation spell. I don’t blame you. As for what came after . . .
the magic wasn’t his to keep.”
Rui stayed silent, wrestling with her guilt.
“I was really happy when Yiran first came to live with us,” Ash said. “Some people in Exorcist society were surprised my grandfather
would adopt Yiran and cause a potential succession fight. But Mama had passed from illness, and Baba was gone too. I was lonely,
and I’d always wanted a sibling.” His fingers clenched his mug. “I tried to protect Yiran, but I failed.”
Rui asked the question she’d wanted to for so long. “What happened between him and your grandfather?”
“I wish I knew. At first, my grandfather was obsessed with drawing magic from Yiran. He was so certain it was inside him.
No one in our family—no potential heir—had ever been born without the ability to use magic. My grandfather couldn’t accept it. Yiran would return from their sessions
together with bandages wrapped around his hands. Sometimes there was blood on them. Our housekeeper would take care of it,
but I was never allowed near him on those days.”
Rui listened in horrified silence as the light in Ash’s eyes dimmed.
“But once, I snuck into the old northern wing of the estate behind the bamboo garden. The Guild’s top brass used to hold their classified meetings there decades ago, but it’s out of use now, and most of it is sectioned off.
No one’s allowed there.” Ash slumped forward, burying his head in his palms. “I heard his screams.”
“The experiments happened in his own home?” It was worse than she had imagined.
“Two years later, when Yiran was eight years old, my grandfather lost all interest in him. The experiments stopped, and my
grandfather’s been cold to him ever since.” Ash looked up, his face bloodless. “It’s been ten years of that coldness. Sometimes
I wonder how Yiran stands it, how he’s able to keep going. I know he resents me on some level too, and I understand why. I
wish I could make up for what he went through.”
Rui’s anger at Song Wei grew, a man so callous he’d once called her mother’s death collateral damage. A man so cruel he would inflict such pain on his own grandson. “You were a child too,” she said. “It wasn’t your fault.
Song Wei’s the only one who should be blamed.”
“Yiran’s my brother. It’s my duty to protect him. Maybe I could’ve done something to stop what happened.”
“You were just a child,” she repeated softly.
Ash’s eyes were suspiciously watery. “You know, Kodie’s right about you being a good kid.”
Rui sat stiffly, her cheeks warming with embarrassment. Ash was patting her head. It was a light but firm pressure, a comforting
mix between you did well and there, there. She wondered if, in the absence of being able to do anything for Yiran, Ash had poured his efforts into her. He was always
hard on her during training, never mincing his critiques and spare with his praise. But he’d also been the first to recognize
her talent, and the first who believed she could be so much more. She found herself hoping that the Song brothers would bridge
the rift between them one day.
“The thing is, I’m not a child anymore,” said Ash.
“And neither is Yiran. What happened between the two of you was unfortunate. But how Yiran chooses to behave now is on him. He needs to figure things out for himself. It’s his life.
There are other people I have to be responsible for.
” Ash adjusted his bucket hat, tucking his emotions out of sight.
The cool and composed Captain Song the world was used to seeing had returned.
Kodie was walking over, balancing three paper cups in her hands. If she sensed the heavy atmosphere around the table, she
made no mention of it. “The sun’s about to rise. Since none of us are getting sleep anytime soon, I figured we needed a boost.
I’ll drop you off at the Academy, Rui.”
“Thanks.” Rui accepted her coffee gratefully, warming her chilled hands on the cup as the three of them headed back to the
parking lot. “What happens now?” she asked, avoiding the slush that had formed on the sidewalk.
Ash said, “Everything you told us and what you saw in the lab stays between us.”
“Aren’t you going to report the information to the Guild? Shouldn’t they know about the body in Kodie’s lab?”
“We need to figure out something else first.”
He was holding something back from her. “What could be more important?”
The older Exorcists exchanged a glance.
Rui bristled. “I told you everything. Be honest with me.”
“Ever wondered why the Hybrids seem like they’re always one step ahead of us?” Kodie said.
Now that Rui thought about it, it was odd. From the ambushed Night Hunts to the Hybrids using the tunnel network at Outram freely and all the other setbacks the
Exorcists had encountered in the past year . . .
“Do you think they’re getting help from someone else? Like a mage from the underground magic community?” she asked, even though
she hoped it wasn’t the case. Everything she knew about those magic practitioners she’d heard from Zizi, and she’d never thought
they were anything more than people who just wanted freedom to study and practice their magic in peace.
“The underground magic community and the Guild aren’t friendly, but we’re not enemies,” Ash said.
“Neither side wants to see Revenants or Hybrids proliferate. But I have doubts about the sorcerers—the white lanterns. They’re chaos agents with no single agenda.
That said, we haven’t observed much activity on their end for years, and their numbers have always been small. ”
Red lantern good, white lantern bad. That was a saying among the normies who sought out mages for everyday charms and the like. Those sorcerers didn’t play by
the rules of magic or morality.
“The Guild runs a tight ship,” Ash continued. “But if the Hybrid Revenants have intel on its operations, it must be coming
from our side.”
“Are you saying there’s a mole?”
“It’s a theory,” Kodie said, reaching into the car and starting the engine. “Those with a high level of security clearance
know our strategy and tactics. We can’t ignore the logistics and planning teams either, or anyone who works at the headquarters.
You’d be surprised how loose tongues can get with the right combination of alcohol and ego-stroking.”
“That’s why my grandfather can’t know about tonight,” Ash said. “Not yet. Not until we’re certain there’s no spy in the Guild,
or until we find the mole and eradicate them.”
Was he saying that he didn’t trust Song Wei?
“But what can we do if it’s just the three of us?” Rui wondered.
“Oh, it’s not just the three of us,” Kodie said as she reapplied her plum-colored lipstick. She smacked her lips. “Tastes
like mango. Surprising for the shade, huh?”
Rui peered at the tube, making a mental note to get one for Ada’s birthday.
“I have some people I trust, and a few others I’m thinking about recruiting,” Ash said, steering the conversation back.
“Who?”
“You’ll meet them soon.” Yawning widely, he got into the car, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.
Rui sank into the back seat. The roads were near empty at this time of morning, and they sped toward the Academy.
Light streaked the horizon, and orangey-pink clouds ribboned across the brightening sky.
If there were a celestial realm, what would it look like?
Would the immortals there be suited up like Nikai or dressed in traditional robes
like Ten? Would it be bureaucratic like the underworld or something altogether different? She shook her head. There were more
important things to be concerned about.
“How are we going to find and destroy the talisman?” she said.
Ash stirred from his nap. “What’d you say?”
“The spell that the Hybrids have,” she said impatiently, “the one that turns people into monsters—what are we going to do
about that?”
“Find a way to reverse it or destroy it. Probably destroy it.” He yawned loudly. “Gods, I need another coffee.”
“Where’s your sense of urgency?” Rui snapped. “And have you forgotten that Zizi created the spell with something powerful
from the underworld? We’re not dealing with an ordinary talisman, which means it could be indestructible by our usual methods.”
“Actually, if we want to get technical, the spell didn’t work this time,” Kodie said. “That’s why we have a body lying in my lab. Either something’s wrong with the spell itself or
there’s something about certain humans that prevents the spell from taking. The only way to figure it out is to study the
specimen more carefully.”
“So study the specimen again immediately and tell us what you find,” Rui retorted.
Kodie frowned at Ash. “Does she boss you around like that too, Captain Song?”
“She tries,” he muttered.
Satisfied that something was being done, Rui leaned back, watching the sunrise.
Kodie was wrong; there was another way. An absurd idea had been circling in Rui’s head the whole night.
Ten was probably the only one who understood how this new spell worked.
But Ten loathed mortals, and there would be a cost for his help.
The King was sure to demand a deal, and the price would be high.
It was clear they needed to talk to the spell maker himself.
But Zizi was in the underworld, and Nikai’s mirror—the one that allowed Rui to communicate with the Reaper—didn’t work anymore.
There was also a high possibility that Zizi had transformed into some unknown entity, something closer to Ten than to the
boy she knew. Worse, he might’ve forgotten who she was.
I’ll never forget you.
Rui closed her eyes. She refused to allow herself to believe his parting words. Hope was too dangerous; action was what mattered.