Chapter 24 Rui
Rui
Rui removed her lanyard and surrendered her security pass to the receptionist.
“I hope you had an enriching time at our headquarters today, Cadet Lin.” The receptionist smiled warmly. “We’re always happy
to have our most promising cadets over. I’m sure Professor Wong is looking forward to your report.”
Rui faked her brightest and most enthusiastic grin. “It was an amazing experience. Thank you,” she gushed. She waved a cheerful
goodbye and went through the security turnstile.
Her smile dropped once she was outside the modern knife-shaped building. Citing her research on reconnaissance tactics, she
had convinced Professor Wong to get her access to a few Guild personnel at the headquarters. She’d requested field Exorcists
to interview, but when she arrived, she realized the Guild had only made a couple of paper pushers available to her. They
had low spiritual energies, just on the border of being normies. None of them were potential candidates for Four. She’d wasted
the morning listening to mind-numbingly boring explanations of the protocol for writing incident reports.
She should’ve known that, top cadet or not, the Guild would only allow her superficial access to their people and operations.
Now she was stuck writing a lengthy essay on mind-numbingly boring explanations of the protocol for writing incident reports.
Time for plan B: using her connection with Ash to get close to actual Exorcists. Problem was, Ash was the kind of smart that
could see through a flimsy scheme. She’d have to think things through before approaching him.
Stomach growling, Rui stopped at Laodifang for soup dumplings before going back to campus for the last lecture of her day.
She pulled out her phone and dialed Zizi’s number.
It rang, but he didn’t pick up. She’d been trying to get hold of him for the last few weeks.
At first, she thought he was busy. But then she remembered the missing mages.
It’s Zizi. He can take care of himself, she rationalized. But her heart twinged with worry.
The dumplings, delicious as they were, did nothing to settle her mind. As she headed to the terminal for the shuttle back
to the Academy, her skin twitched with the same prickly feeling she had at the Night Market.
A flash of blue behind her. There, then gone again.
Was someone following her?
Rui loosened her limbs, adding a casual jauntiness to her gait. She meandered her way around the next few blocks, stopping
occasionally to window-shop, slowly leading her potential stalker to a less crowded area close to a construction site.
When she was sure they were alone, she spun around, kicking up a cloud of dust with her boot.
“Oh! Argh—” A young man was waving his hands and coughing from the dust.
He didn’t look dangerous; he was wearing an expensive-looking suit and had the kind of face mothers and grandmothers trusted. But a criminal
could wear anything they wanted, and a pretty face could hide the darkest heart. A part of her brain wondered what kind of
hair dye he used to keep his hair that shade of peacock blue. It was a color Ada would appreciate.
His hair. The flashes of blue.
“It was you at the Night Market that night, wasn’t it?” she accused, keeping her hand on her sword bag. “Why are you following me?”
The young man looked flustered. “Greetings, Rui.” He bowed.
She was briefly dumbstruck by his politeness and immediate admission of guilt. “How do you know my name?”
“I apologize for being sneaky. I wasn’t sure how to approach you.
” He fumbled with something in his hands.
The scent wafting from the plain white box smelled suspiciously like fried chicken.
He lifted the lid. “Five-spice popcorn chicken,” he announced grandly as if he were offering her a plate of caviar.
Rui kept her distance. “I’m not taking food from a stranger. Answer my question. Who are you?”
The young man’s brow wrinkled. “In my world, a gift is always appreciated when one is visiting, and we prefer delicacies from
the mortal realm. Though I suppose, technically, I am not visiting right now.” He closed the box, looking glum.
“That’s right, you were stalking—wait—” Rui’s brain caught up. He’d said the words mortal realm. Which meant— “Are you a King?”
“No!” the young man exclaimed. “I am Nikai, an usher from the Fourth Court.”
Rui lowered her arm. Nikai seemed harmless enough, and he wasn’t creepy like Ten. There was a touch of formality in his speech,
a kind of old-fashioned way of speaking that was rather charming.
“What’s an usher?”
“A Reaper, but I prefer to think of myself as a shepherd of souls. I make sure they are collected free from the Blight, and
I ease their path into the afterlife. And you, Rui, are a future Exorcist. Think of me as your colleague in spirit.”
Rui started to laugh, but he looked so sincere she disguised it as a cough. “Is it true the Mirror of Retribution filters
souls according to how they lived their mortal lives?” she asked, morbidly curious. She’d been reading up on underworld mythology
in a bid to know more about the Kings of Hell, hoping it would help her with her search, and she had found the Mirror particularly
curious.
“Humans are very interested in the afterlife. So many theories, so many stories,” Nikai said. “The Mirror does exist. Do not
worry, the system is fair enough. Those who live righteously are normally sent by the algorithm to work in clerical jobs.”
“You have an algorithm for that?” It never occurred to Rui that the underworld would have technology.
“We do. Actually, our current enrollment system is an efficient piece of coding set up by a tech prodigy who was sent to the
Third Court. He was there for his corporate crimes but got off easy because of his code.” Nikai looked disgusted.
“Sounds like corruption extends to the afterlife,” Rui said wryly. “And no offense but a clerical job sounds like hell.”
“Paperwork is, as they say, the worst,” Nikai agreed.
Rui found herself taking a liking to him, and she didn’t like very many people. Though he wasn’t exactly a person, was he? Nikai’s milk-chocolate eyes were round and finely lashed, so different from Ten’s vicious gaze. But whenever he
blinked, his irises turned pitch black for a moment, reminding her of how non-human he was.
“You seem very calm,” Nikai observed. “I thought you might freak out upon hearing all this.”
Rui shrugged. Escaping death more than once had presented her a certain perspective. “So . . . why are you here? Did Ten send
you?”
Instead of answering, Nikai produced something shiny from his pocket and gave it to her.
A piece of glass.
It was small, like one of Ada’s pocket mirrors. The edges of the glass were smooth and dull, no sharp points that could cut.
Rui flipped it around. The other side was a plain black substance, like a kind of rock. She turned it back and stared at her
own reflection. The mirror looked ordinary, if a little bright.
“It’s a piece from the Fourth Court’s mirror,” Nikai said. “It can be used for communication.”
Rui was well-versed in secrets. She understood from his tone that he had placed one in her hand.
“Ten didn’t send you here, did he?” she said. “You came to find me yourself. You don’t trust him.”
Nikai paled. “It is not a matter of trust. Ten is a King, and all Kings are dangerous.”
But I’ve already made a deal with him. And she’d been instructed not to tell anyone about it.
“I’m aware you have made a deal with him,” Nikai said, as if he knew what she was thinking. “That’s why I’m here to help you
if I can.”
“Why? The deal doesn’t involve you.”
“Because you’re . . .” Nikai seemed to rethink his words. “Because Four is my King and my friend. It is important to me that
he is found. Since you’re the human helping us, I must do what I can to aid you.”
Rui didn’t doubt his sincere desire to find his King, but she was also certain he was hiding something. Maybe it didn’t matter;
if he could help her, the end goal was the same.
“I haven’t had much luck,” she said. “I’ll accept any help you can give.” Quickly, she filled him in on what she’d done so
far.
“I see you have focused only on looking for Four himself,” Nikai said thoughtfully. “My King is clever and—”
“Wait—you said I’ve only been focused on Four himself? What do you mean?” Rui interjected.
“Did Ten tell you it is likely Four separated his power from his soul? That is how he can remain in the human realm for so
long.”
“No,” Rui said grimly, “Ten did not.”
Nikai’s lips were razor thin. “The Tenth King’s mind is a labyrinth few understand. He must have his reasons.”
He’s being diplomatic, Rui thought. Why didn’t Ten provide her with information that would help her search?
“Are you saying I should be looking for Four’s power too?” she asked.
Nikai nodded. “If you find his power, it might lead you to him. We believe he has hidden it somewhere in your realm and masked
its presence, most likely in a vessel of some sort, something that can hold immense power and protect it.”
“He put his power in a container?” An image of a plastic bento box with the word death written in red on it flashed in Rui’s mind. She gave herself a shake.
“A magic container,” Nikai said, as if that made things any better.
“Which means I should be looking for an object as well,” Rui said thoughtfully. “What does the vessel look like?”
“Unfortunately, we do not know. It will be a magical artifact, a relic of some kind, and it can take a form of many things—a
chest, an urn, or perhaps a ring or a locket or—”
“Yeah, I get the idea,” Rui cut him off, trying not to feel dispirited. Her task seemed impossible, like fishing a needle
from the sea. If only Zizi would answer her calls. He might know of some magical artifacts in the human world.
“Both our worlds will suffer even more if Four is not found,” Nikai said. “It is vital that you locate him.”
“What’s happening in your world?” she asked, curious.
The box of fried chicken shook in Nikai’s hand. “We call it the Nothing, and it devours everything. That is all I can say.
But if Four returns to us, the destruction will stop.” He brushed his shoulder, an odd gesture, like he was brushing off cobwebs.
“I’m afraid I’ve run out of time in your realm. I must return.”
“But you haven’t told me how to use the mirror.”
“All you need to do is say my name. If anything out of the ordinary happens or if you spot something, contact me.” Nikai gave
her another bow. “Thank you for helping us.”
She bit her lip, squeezing the mirror tightly in her hand. “Thank me when I actually get it done.”
“Good luck, Rui.”
Nikai gave her a small smile and vanished into thin air.