Chapter Seven Kasu
“A–a gift! I brought a gift!” Kasu held up the jar of wine like a shield.
The Sage straightened. In an instant, he swapped out the angry mask for the smiling one he had been wearing before.
“Oh my, how kind of you!” He took Kasu’s gift with his bottom pair of arms.
Kasu’s hands were as stiff as ice, but she somehow managed to let go of the jar.
“M–my name is Kasu. I work at Camellia House, O Great and Honourable Sage of a Thousand F–f–aces,” she stammered as the Sage set the wine jar on the table next to the lamp. “I was hoping that you could give me one of the amazing masks you make?”
As quick as a flash, the demon grabbed another mask from the wall – one with furrowed eyebrows and lips set in a displeased line. It happened so swiftly, Kasu could not catch a glimpse of the demon’s real face beneath.
“A mask, you say? I make plenty of those. What kind of mask? And are you willing to pay the price for one of my splendid creations?”
“I need a mask that can hide one’s aura from others. O–of course I’ll pay.”
Again, the Sage changed masks. This new one, with eye-holes shaped like crescents, smiled warmly.
“Ah, a valuable mask, that one. I’ve sold most of my aura masks already. It’s not easy to create more. In fact, I only have one left. If you want it, it’ll cost you dearly.”
“Name your price.”
“How about your eyes? You have such pretty eyes.” The Sage stooped down, bringing his face just inches from her own. A waterfall of silky black hair tumbled past his shoulders and over Kasu’s head.
Kasu desperately wanted to step away, but she feared insulting the demon. Holding herself very still, she did her best to stay calm.
“I can pay you in gold instead.” She had the measly salary she made from working at Camellia House. It wasn’t a lot, but, apart from buying food and the occasional book, she hadn’t spent much of it.
The Sage reared back and donned another angry mask. This one was not as furious as the red one from before – less rage and more annoyance.
“Gold? Don’t insult me, child – I have no need for gold!” the demon spat. “What I want is parts to create new and better masks. See the ones over there?”
He gestured to a certain section on the wall. Unlike the crude wood and clay masks the Sage had worn so far, the ones hanging there looked like real human faces.
“Those were created from actual flesh! Wood and clay are fine materials, but it takes real skill to shape the features of bone and skin! Why, I was once summoned to the mortal realm by a human who had such an interesting job for me.
“Her husband had died, you see, and she was being courted by some young new admirer.
Well, she had never got over her first husband, and every time she looked at this new suitor she felt like she was betraying the memory of her spouse.
So, I made her a mask that looked just like her first husband, right down to the flecks of hazel in his eyes.
“I gave it to the woman and she made the lad wear it. Now she’s quite happy, and, as for her latest beau… Well, soon his face will be the husband’s face and the husband’s face will be his face and he’ll forget that he ever looked any different!”
During his tale, the Sage had switched his mask to one of rapturous delight.
Kasu suppressed a shudder as she thought about the young man, his face merging with the flesh mask until his own appearance was lost for ever.
The Sage was a master craftsman, but a demon was still a demon, and he went about his hobbies with the singular glee of a child ripping the wings off an insect.
Kasu wished Ruo were here to offer support. Come to think of it, where had the cat disappeared to?
“So, you see, I need materials if I am to continue my craft,” said the Sage. “If not your eyes, why not all of your skin? Or maybe your lips?”
“How about hair?”
The demon switched back to the irritated mask. “Hair? Hair is cheap! Besides, I’d need more than what you have on that tiny head of yours!”
Kasu pressed her lips into a thin line. After years working at Camellia House’s exchange desk, she was an expert in fair trades. She knew better than to agree to a deal without seeing the goods.
“Where is the mask? I need to see it before I can decide how much it’s worth.”
“Do you doubt my craftsmanship? My masks are unmatched! Impeccable! Astonishing!” the Sage blustered, but Kasu held her ground and eventually he gave in.
Switching masks to one of timid reluctance, the demon wrung his bottom pair of hands together.
“I suppose you can take a peek. Here – and wipe your grubby little hands before you touch it.”
Kasu did as she was told, scrubbing her hands against her dress before taking the mask.
Thankfully, it was not made of skin and flesh.
The aura mask had been carved from sturdy oakwood, sanded down, polished and varnished until it was as smooth as an eggshell.
It covered only the top half of the face and had crimson spider lilies painted around the eyes as if they were blooming from inside the holes.
The rest of the mask was ivory white except for the symbol for nothingness painted on the forehead.
Just holding it, Kasu could feel it working, muffling her aura.
“Exquisite, isn’t it?” The Sage wore a wheedling smile. “As I said, this is my last one, and I’m very fond of it. I won’t part with it easily.”
Kasu’s hopes dropped like a stone down her gullet. She didn’t think she had enough funds to buy the mask after all.
“Maybe I could … borrow the mask instead?”
The Sage reared back, quickly changing his mask to one with a sharp, offended expression.
He opened his mouth to say something snippy when an awful crash shook the walls, followed by the snap of floorboards breaking as Ruo plummeted through the ceiling and into the room below.
As the cat landed squarely on all fours, one of their tails caught against the jar Kasu had brought and knocked it to the ground, spilling wine all over the floor.
“There you are, Kasu! I was looking all over for you,” Ruo chirped, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that they had just fallen through the floor and taken a good chunk of the ceiling with them.
“Ruo!” Kasu stared at the cat aghast.
The Sage looked at Ruo with all the disgust of someone who had just discovered a cockroach in their house. “Young lady, did you bring this – this thing – into my abode?”
“Who’s this, then? Have you found the Sage of Ten Paces yet?” said Ruo.
“Sage of a Thousand Faces!” Kasu hissed.
The Sage’s four arms groped the length of his walls. “I – I – oh dear, oh no, where is it?” he spluttered, until at last he found the red mask of fury and placed it over his face, bellowing, “HOW DARE YOU! COME HERE AND LET ME RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!”
“I am so sorry!” cried Kasu. “It was a mistake! We’ll help fix—”
“YOU CAN HELP BY GIVING ME YOUR TONGUES!”
The demon swiped his mantis-like arms at Ruo, but the cat dodged the blow and leapt right at the demon’s head. The Sage toppled backwards as Ruo knocked the demon’s mask to the ground.
At last, Kasu got a glimpse of what was beneath – nothing.
The face underneath the mask was nothing but an expanse of pale, warped flesh without eyes, a mouth, nose or any other features.
Clutching a pair of hands over his head to hide his facelessness, the Sage thrashed soundlessly and groped about for another mask.
The first one he picked up was grinning, the eyes two perfect crescents of mirth. “Oh, hahaha, good one! Very clever! You’re a bright little miss, aren’t you?” the Sage chuckled before flinging the mask away and grabbing another. This one seethed with a quiet rage.
“How dare you,” he growled. “Who do you think you are to come into my house and destroy it? I’ll have your eyes, young miss. I’ll sew your mouth into an eternal scream!”
“Please, O Great Sage, we can talk about this!” Kasu held up her hands.
The Sage did not want to talk. The Sage wanted to rip her face off. As he lashed out at her, his hand accidentally knocked the lantern from the table. It fell into the puddle of wine, igniting it.
While the Sage screeched, Kasu clutched the aura mask to her chest and ran.
“I’m so, so sorry! I’ll return this as soon as I can, I promise!” she yelled behind her as she fled.
The only reply she received was a howl of rage.
Beyond the blazing room, past the rickety stairs, out of the house and through the narrow fog-covered alley, Kasu did not stop running until she hit the lantern-lit main streets of Ghost City.
“So … when are we going to see the Sage?” asked Ruo.
In all your dealings with others, show grace, modesty and patience. Kasu swallowed back the burning coals in her mouth.
“It’s fine; I already have what we need.”
Ruo shrugged and flicked an ear.
While they had been inside the Sage’s house, the streets had changed again.
It took a moment for Kasu to get her bearings and begin the trudge back to Camellia House.
She held the mask against her chest the entire way, her fingers digging into the edges.
Oh gods, what had she done? She had set fire to a demon’s home. Worse, she had stolen the aura mask.
No, it was not theft if she planned to give it back. She was just … borrowing it for a bit. It was for the greater good. Surely the gods would understand that.
Soon, she and Ruo reached the shadow forest. Kasu hoped that Arun would be grateful for everything she had done to get the damned mask.
She was busy imagining the look on his face when she heard a scream.
Arun’s scream.