Chapter 13 Yiran
Yiran
Ash Song stepped into the shophouse, a paper cup in one hand and a long coat slung over his arm. He was dressed in his noncombat
Exorcist uniform—a sleek black suit and slim tie, with a small red lapel pin to identify his Captain status.
“This was not the combination of people I was expecting to see.” He eyed the trio suspiciously, his gaze pausing on the dried
blood on Yiran’s clothes.
Yiran tensed. Ash couldn’t sense that he was bearing magic stolen from Rui, could he?
“The blood—” Ash began.
“It’s not mine,” Yiran said quickly. “I’m not hurt.”
“Good. I’ve been looking for you all night.”
“How’d you find me?”
“The tracer on your phone Grandpa had installed,” Ash replied, his frown growing deeper and deeper as he took in the paintings
in Zizi’s parlor. He sipped his coffee. “I tracked it to this neighborhood and saw the coupe parked outside.”
Yiran caught Rui giving Zizi a look that said, Are you kidding me? Zizi waggled his eyebrows in reply.
They don’t know what it’s like to have a grandfather like mine. Yiran couldn’t believe that Song Wei had snuck a tracer into his phone. His grandfather didn’t trust him at all.
Ash frowned at Rui, who stared back brazenly as she tightened the belt on her bathrobe.
“Cadet Lin Ru Yi, while it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any cadet’s personal life and make judgment on their”—he side-eyed Zizi—“choices, I do think you can do better. Please put on some proper clothes and get back to the Academy. Cadet Senai has been screaming her head off about your absence, and I’d like to shut her up. ”
Pink blossomed on Rui’s face. “Zizi’s not my—we’re not—”
Grinning, Zizi threw an arm around her shoulders, visibly tickled by Ash’s assumption. “Oh, come on, I’m sure we can all agree
Rui looks absolutely ravishing in my old bathrobe.”
Yiran wished he had punched Zizi harder. “How do you know each other?” he asked, looking between Rui and Ash.
“He’s my mentor at the Academy,” Rui said, jamming a good elbow into Zizi’s ribs. He yelped and let go of her. “You’ve got
it all wrong, Ash. I saved your little brother’s life last night. That’s my blood on his clothes.”
“I see.” Ash nodded. “So the preliminary reports are accurate. I heard there was an incident with a Revenant and someone from
the Academy was involved. In that case, thank you for your service. Put on some proper clothes and get back to the Academy.
By the way, you’re under probation. Flout the rules one more time and you’ll be suspended.”
“What? Why?”
“All cadets were ordered to stay in their dorms last night. You didn’t follow that order, ergo, probation. You know how it
works.”
“But it was for a good reason.”
Ash took another swig from his coffee cup and placed it on a side table. Zizi frowned at the cup.
“You are free to make an appeal to the Discipline Committee, Cadet Lin. I’m only here to retrieve my brother.”
Rui folded her arms, sullen but resigned.
“Let’s go home, Yiran.”
Ash wasn’t going to question Yiran about his whereabouts the night before or why the coupe was parked outside when Yiran had lost his driving rights. Not in front of two
strangers, anyway. Ash might have slipped up with his revelation about the phone tracer, but the real dirty laundry was kept
in the family. That was the Song way.
Yiran wasn’t doing things the Song way today.
“Rui saved my life, and possibly the lives of others in the area,” he said. “Shouldn’t she be commended instead? I’ll talk to this committee of yours, I’ll tell them what she did.”
Rui and Zizi swapped skeptical looks. They would be right to distrust you. Yiran shook off his guilt.
Ash was paying attention now. It wasn’t every day that Song Yiran stood up for someone else. “Best to keep your nose out of
other people’s business, Xiao Ran,” he said, using the diminutive of Yiran’s name to signal his status as the elder.
“This is my business,” Yiran said, heated. “I don’t know what your reports say, but I was there last night when the Revenant attacked.
I’m an eyewitness, and—”
Ash brushed him off. “You can tell me everything when we get home.”
“Wait, listen to me—”
“We’re leaving. Now.”
Oxygen seemed to leave the room as Ash stared at Yiran coldly. Yiran wondered if this was the look he gave his subordinates
when they said or did things he disapproved of.
Zizi’s eyebrows had crawled up his forehead. He was obviously enjoying this messy family drama unfolding in front of him.
Two punches. Next time, Yiran would deliver two punches to that pretty, smirky face.
“I’m not leaving until I have my say,” Yiran declared. “Rui got hurt while trying to save me. We ran into this wizard after
our fight with the Revenant and he said he could heal her, so we came here.”
“Mage,” Zizi said, bowing with a flourish. “Yes, I am their savior.”
As Yiran expected, Zizi played along. Rui looked like she wanted to stab herself in the eyeballs.
Gaining steam, Yiran went on. “The warning for the Night Hunt came too late. I’m sure the stallholders at the Night Market
will tell you the same. There were no Exorcists in the area when the Revenant appeared—only Rui. She’s the reason why I’m
still alive, and why no one else was hurt. If word got out that she was being punished for doing the right thing . . .” He
paused for effect.
Immediately recognizing what Yiran was getting at, Ash changed his demeanor from irritation to understanding.
Yiran could see his half brother’s brain ticking.
This was a potential public relations disaster for the Guild, and if the Night Market and the underground magic community got involved . . .
Now for the final nudge.
“Why weren’t the Exorcists there?” Yiran asked. He made sure to sound curious and not accusing. “Was it a miscalculation?”
Ash twisted to Rui with an urbane smile. “It seems my brother feels a debt of gratitude to you, Cadet Lin. And rightfully
so. If your case is considered by the Discipline Committee, I’m sure they’ll take all evidence and testimony into account.
Although on second thought, probation might be too harsh considering the circumstances. As your mentor, I will put in a word
myself to have it removed.”
Rui gave Yiran a small nod. Good. She thinks you’re helping her. He grinned back. Sometimes, he thought, the only way to lie was to tell the truth.
“One more thing.”
All eyes fixed on Yiran. Rui was frowning now.
Yiran raised his hand. His fingertips were glowing.
Rui jerked forward, but Zizi held her back. Thankfully, Ash was too stunned to be paying attention to anyone or anything else
but Yiran.
Ash kept staring, mouth agape. “Is that . . . ? That’s . . .”
“Magic,” Yiran finished. “I can do magic.”
His fingertips glowed brighter, the crimson light deepening. The scars on his fingertips tingled. Yiran didn’t remember this
happening last night. Heat rose in his chest. The light flickered.
He felt a sudden stab of pain in his fingers.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zizi shooting him a warning look. Enough.
Yiran let his breathing go back to its natural pattern, and the crimson light disappeared. His display had lasted a few seconds, but he felt exhausted. Zizi was right; he needed to learn how to control his newfound power.
Ash dropped his coat and wrapped Yiran in a bear hug. When he let go, his eyes were suspiciously wet-looking. “This is—this
is amazing. But how?”
“I don’t know. It happened suddenly last night during the Revenant attack. I didn’t think it was possible either, but you
saw what I just did—” Yiran darted a quick glance at Zizi. “I guess it must be some sort of anomaly.”
Zizi coughed. “Perhaps his fight-or-flight response triggered something. The mysteries of the human body, am I right?”
Rui fired Zizi a look of betrayal, which he pretended not to notice. But again, she didn’t say a word. Yiran had bet on her
silence, guessing she’d have no choice but to go along with whatever he said so her own secrets would not be exposed.
Ash straightened, suddenly businesslike. “You seemed to have skipped some steps in this—from a surge of spiritual energy to
that display of magic—we should be careful.” He pulled out his phone. “We need to tell Grandpa at once, and we need to get
your vitals checked right away. Magic shouldn’t be coming out from your hands like that.”
Yiran nodded along.
“You’ll also have to learn to protect yourself, and you’ll need a spiritual weapon.” Ash slid his blazer back, revealing the
pearl handgrips of the two pistols tucked into his holsters. “Like this.”
“Those are your spiritual weapons?” Yiran said, a touch of awe creeping into his tone.
“He would bring a gun to a sword fight,” Zizi muttered from behind.
Suddenly nervous, Yiran said, “Let’s tell Grandfather in person.”
“Right. Come on, let’s go.” Ash was vibrating with excitement again.
“Yiran,” Rui said in a sickeningly sweet voice, “before you leave, can you show me where you left my swords?”
Her sword bag was next to the bed. It was bright red in color. She couldn’t have missed it when she woke.
“Give me a sec, Ash.” Yiran followed her to the stairs at the other corner of the parlor, aware that Zizi was watching them
like a hawk.
Once they were upstairs and out of earshot, Yiran said, “What do you want?”
Rui grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall. Pain went up his neck to the base of his skull. He was surprised
by how strong she was, given her current condition. Was it a result of training?
Her arm was pressed against his throat, one knee rising dangerously between his legs. She leaned in, breaths coming up hot
against his cheek. He could see the shadows under her eyes, the sharp edge of her mouth.
“Just what do you think you’re doing? I thought we agreed on our story. You’re not supposed to tell anyone you have magic.”
“If you recall, I never agreed to—”
Rui’s knee slid up.
“Wait, wait, wait—I’m helping you.”
“I don’t need your help.”