Chapter 57 Rui
Rui
Three days later
“That’s right, Peter. As you can see behind me, multiple large sinkholes appeared three days ago during a fierce fight between
members of the Exorcist Guild and a nest of Revenants.”
Rui’s eyes fluttered open.
She was startled to find herself staring at a blank white ceiling. For a moment, she thought she was back at the Guild’s secret
facility, but the lighting here was soft and warm.
The clipped voice of the news reporter went on: “. . . after a preliminary survey of the area, authorities say that the damage to power lines and nearby buildings, while severe,
can be fixed. A one-mile radius has been cordoned off while construction and recovery take place . . .”
Groaning, Rui tried to sit up.
A nurse hurried over. “You’re awake!” she exclaimed. “Was the TV too loud? I can turn it off.”
“Leave it on,” Rui mumbled. Her words came out heavy and slurred. Her throat was dry, her tongue lethargic. Thankfully, the
nurse understood her.
Rui peeked under her blue hospital gown. Bruises stamped her torso, along with signs of magical healing. But there was only
so much the Guild healers could do, especially if they were dealing with other casualties among the Exorcists. Rui’s broken
fingers were taped up, her left arm was in a cast, and her head felt woozy in a way that made her certain she’d been given
painkillers.
Something was thrumming in her veins . . . something familiar.
Rui took stock of her surroundings. The hospital room was large. A coffee table in the middle, a small sofa beside it, a plush armchair next to her bed, and a flat-screen television on the wall. She was the only patient in here. A private room with her own dedicated nurse? She couldn’t afford this.
She reached for the cup on the side table and came up with a fistful of air and a whimper.
“Here, let me.” The nurse set the cup carefully in Rui’s hand. “You’ve been unconscious for a few days. They gave you something
for the pain. Everything will feel a little strange while your body adjusts.”
The nurse watched as Rui gulped down as much water as she could stomach. There was something odd about the way the nurse was
looking at her. It gave off a sense of admiration bordering on reverence, and it made Rui uncomfortable. In the background,
the news coverage droned on.
“. . . thank the Exorcists for their work. As you recall, three civilians were rescued from the scene due to the quick actions
of Xingshan Academy’s top cadet, Lin Ru Yi, and dozens more were saved in the vicinity. We’re told Cadet Lin is currently
recovering from her injuries . . .”
Rui dropped her cup. Water splashed onto her blue hospital gown, leaving an embarrassing splotch down the middle.
“. . . is the daughter of renowned biology researcher Dr. Matthias Lin, who is most known for his work on . . .”
Her face was on the screen.
Her face was on the screen.
They had used a photo from an old yearbook. Rui stared, not quite recognizing the smirking girl with long black hair. That
girl looked a lot more confident than she ever remembered feeling.
“That’s you, isn’t it?” the nurse said, her excitement barely contained.
Rui made an incoherent sound.
The machines’ beeps sped up, and the nurse jerked into action. “No, no, you mustn’t get up.”
“Turn it off!”
“Okay, there,” the nurse said, hitting the switch for the television. “Better?”
Rui thought quickly. She had to get rid of this woman. She pretended to settle down. “Yes, better. Sorry, I was just confused. I didn’t expect to see myself on the news.”
“I can’t imagine how frightening it had to be, but you were so brave.”
Rui avoided eye contact. She didn’t want the woman’s sympathy or admiration.
“It’s a miracle you survived,” the nurse went on. “I heard the entire subway tunnel caved in.”
It’s because he saved me . . . again. Rui wasn’t sure how Zizi had done it. The tunnel had collapsed further when Ten closed the portal. But none of the rubble
had fallen on her. She touched the red string tied around her wrist. It’d stayed on throughout everything somehow. The only
piece of him she had left.
“We couldn’t get that thread off,” said the nurse. “Couldn’t cut it for some reason. Do you want me to try again?”
“No!” Rui pulled her arm back, almost snarling. The nurse looked at her funny. Rui tried to smile. “I’m hungry. Could you
get me something to eat, please?”
“You poor thing, of course. I’ll get you some hot soup.”
The door closed.
Immediately, Rui bolted upright. She yanked out the needles and tubes connected to her arm. The machines went silent. Already
fearing what the hospital bill would be, she swung her legs over, shivering when her bare toes touched the cold floor.
There was a sharp knock on the door.
A man wearing a white doctor’s coat and polished shoes stepped in. He took one look at her and chided, “You can’t be discharged
yet. Please, lie down.”
“No, I can’t—” Her legs shook, and she lost her balance. Just as she was about to hit the floor, someone caught her fall.
“Don’t you know, Doctor? She’s very bad at taking advice and very good at doing whatever the hell she wants.”
“Ash?” Rui said, staring at the newcomer who had swooped in to help her.
He was wearing his noncombat Exorcist suit and a faded bruise on his angelic face.
The right side of his head was shaved, and he’d flipped his gray hair over to cover it.
He laid her back gently onto the bed. When he turned to talk to the doctor, she saw that his hair was hiding a fresh scar on his scalp.
Ash smiled, charming as always. “May I speak with Cadet Lin for a few moments in private, Doctor? Guild business—you understand.”
The doctor glanced at the red pin on Ash’s jacket lapel. “You have fifteen minutes. We must get her hooked up again, and she
needs to rest.”
Ash shut the door firmly after the doctor and sat in the armchair.
“I’m probably not the person you want to see, but I’m here nonetheless. Don’t worry, I won’t stay long. Your father’s been
here every day, and Ada visits too. But no one else has been allowed into your room yet. Guild’s orders,” he said, almost
apologetically.
They don’t want anyone to talk to me before you do, Rui thought, swallowing painfully. Her throat was still parched. “Why did they put me in this room?”
“Because I told them to. We take care of our own, and as a valuable member of the Exorcist Guild, we’re making sure you’re
in the best environment for your recovery.”
A valuable member of the Exorcist Guild? That was news to her.
“Why are they saying I saved all those people?” she asked, even though she had a hunch.
“Because you did.” Ash steepled his fingers together, elbows on the arms of his chair. “You’re a hero now; you helped us wipe
out a nest of vicious Revenants in our planned Hunt. Everyone knows this. More importantly, everyone believes this.”
The Guild had already planted the “truth” about what had happened, and the media was spreading it to the public.
Whether it was true or not, they’d molded the narrative to their advantage.
Rui could speak up, give her version of things, tell everyone what had really happened in the tunnels.
But would they believe her? And what would she gain from telling the truth?
“You and I will be chatting in the next few days—private conversations,” Ash continued. “And by the way, you have a guaranteed
spot in the Guild—Captain track.”
A bribe to keep my mouth shut. The thin hospital gown bunched up in Rui’s fists.
“You’re clever, Rui,” Ash said, observing her intently. “Don’t mess up. You have an important role to play.”
Maybe it was the shock of it all. Maybe the doctor was right, and she needed more rest. Maybe she was simply too broken inside.
Rui felt the fight go out of her. She was tired. Her hands unfurled, falling limply to her side.
“I’m glad you understand.” Ash looked at her pointedly, lowering his voice. “I have two questions for you today. We know you
went after the Hybrids because your mother’s murderer was part of that group. I want to know how you knew that.”
Rui kept her expression dazed, pretending the sedation had not worn off fully and her mind wasn’t already lucid. “I wanted
him dead.” She paused. “Zizi told me.” It hurt to say his name.
“Which brings me to my second question—where is Zizi?”
A dull ache began at her ribs, spreading up to her chest. “I don’t know.”
Ash sighed, shaking his head. “He must’ve known he’d be in bigger trouble with the Guild Council for this. I guess he found
an opportunity to slip away during the chaos.”
Rui didn’t correct him.
“You know, I really thought better of him.” Ash didn’t hide that he was upset. Maybe he’d been genuinely fond of the mage.
“You should rest. We’ll speak again soon.” He got up and walked to the door. “I’ll send word to your father and Ada. They
can see you tomorrow.”
“Ash.”
His hand paused on the doorknob.
“Are they really dead?”
“Our team went down, and we found the Hybrids trapped in the rubble when we found you. I took care of him myself,” Ash said quietly. “They’re dead. It’s as if they never existed.”
There are others out there, and they have a leader, Rui wanted to tell him. She was sure of it, and she was sure that he knew it too, and that their future conversations would
focus on this. But instead, she said, “I wanted to kill him with my own hands.”
“True revenge is surviving. Remember that.” Ash gave her a nod. “I’m glad you’re alive, Rui.”
The door opened and closed and opened again.
The doctor and nurse came into the room, fussing over her. Needles and tubes went back into her arm. Hot and salty soup filled
her mouth and stomach. When they were satisfied she wasn’t going to do anything foolish, they left her alone.
Pulling the IV pole with her, Rui made her way slowly to the window, wincing with each step. The painkillers had worn off,
but she had refused more. She stared at the impossibly blue sky and bustling city streets below.
Ten Kings reside in the underworld again, she thought.
He was gone, never to return. And the world had simply moved on.
Rui crept back into bed, curling up on her side, pulling the covers over her head. She could feel her own breath fluttering
against her cheeks, the wetness of her pillow. The low thrum inside her grew louder, begging for her attention. Her magic . . .
it was back, just as Ten said it would be. But a different sort of emptiness had formed, a void that would never be filled.
She closed her eyes, remembering his soft, gentle voice, repeating those four words in her ear, over and over again.
Sometime later, she woke with a start. It was night. Someone was in the room with her.
“Who’s there?”
A click.
The lamp on the side table lit up, casting shadows on Yiran’s face, slicing it into sharp angles.
Rui propped herself up. Her eyes felt puffy from crying and her head hurt, but she was glad to see him.
“Why are you creeping around like some stalker?”
She expected a smile at least, but Yiran remained stone-faced. Faint circles ringed his eyes. It’d only been days since she
last saw him, but there was something different, like he’d grown older. Harder.
“Are you . . . okay?” she asked in a small voice.
“Why did you do it?” She couldn’t sense his feelings anymore, but his distress was obvious.
“Do what?”
“It’s gone.” Yiran was looking at his hands. They were shaking.
“Yiran, what’s wrong?” She started to get out of bed, but his vicious glare froze her in place. “Yiran?” she said, suddenly
afraid.
“My spiritual energy is normal again. My magic’s gone. You got yours back, didn’t you?”
“I . . . I just woke up today . . .” Rui couldn’t go on. Her magic was back, which meant his was gone. Which meant his spirit core was safe, that he was safe. But she felt no elation, no relief. Only dread, the heavy sense of things ending.
Yiran’s eyes glittered feverishly. “You feel it inside you, don’t you?”
She hung her head.
“Do you know what he said to me?” Yiran was talking about his grandfather. “He said he was glad. He was happy that I lost my magic.”
Rui felt the pain in his voice.
“I played by the rules, did everything I could to please him, to show him I could achieve something, to prove that I could
make him proud. Should’ve known . . . and you”—Yiran turned sharply to Rui— “you didn’t ask the first time, so why would you ask the second? You used me. I tried to protect
you, I lied for you, but you used me.”
All the reasons, all the excuses, died in Rui’s throat.
She couldn’t defend herself. Couldn’t meet Yiran’s eyes.
He was right. Her own actions were no different from Four’s.
Four had used her as a convenient vessel, and it was what she had done to Yiran.
She’d cast a spell on him without consent, giving him a taste of something he had wanted so desperately, only to snatch it back.
It was cruel.
The hurt on Yiran’s face was unmistakable. “Don’t call me. Don’t look for me. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
“Yiran . . .” She faltered. She had already lost one, she couldn’t lose the other. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Yiran—stay, please.
Don’t go.”
But he was already at the door.
He opened it, and his body split in half. A boy in the light; a boy in shadow. He gave her one last, lingering look.
“I wish I’d never met you that night.”