Chapter 40 Yue
Curse my pride—I should have kissed her.
There’s only enough space in the tunnel for us to follow one another in single file, crouched over slightly to avoid scraping our heads on the dirt ceiling above.
Without our masks, we would never have fit.
There is no light to work with, so we trudge forward in complete darkness, nothing but the walls at our sides to alert us of any turns.
Although I’m only barely able to sense his form in front of me, I’m aware of how frequently Sonam throws me a glance over his shoulder, as if worried I’ll fall behind.
“Something’s up ahead,” Wen informs from the front of the line. His voice has become laughably squeaky with adolescence. “I think I see the light.”
I bite my tongue. That’s not as comforting to hear as he thinks.
The climb out is nowhere as steep as the sudden drop of the tunnel’s entrance, so we’re able to crawl out one by one with little difficulty.
Sooah is the first to pull off her mask, panting as sweat drips down her face.
Her large shoulders tremble as she stands to full height, no doubt elated to be free of the tunnels’ tight quarters.
Wen and Sonam take their masks off, too, looking relieved.
Before us lies a steep staircase leading up to the main pavilion of the monumental Jade Palace.
I count at least ten flights, each separated by wide landings.
At the very top sits a massive circular moon door.
Three serpentine dragons are carved into the stone framework, the finer details of their eyes, claws, and teeth painted in gold.
They glare down at us in judgment, as if daring us to complete our ascent.
At long last, we’ve reached the innermost circle of Hell, standing before the legendary gates to the mortal plane.
I take off my mask and toss it to Sonam, who easily catches it. I stretch out into my fox form, flexing my claws and uncurling my tails, grateful to no longer be cramped in the tunnels.
“I suppose farewells are in order,” I say, attempting to keep my tone light. “Since I’ve had just about enough of you all.”
Wen approaches me first. “You know,” he mumbles, “I had you pegged all wrong. You’re not so bad, Fox.”
“I suppose you could be worse, too,” I reply with a smile.
Sooah is the next to step toward me. Thank you, she signs before reaching up to scratch behind both my ears. She presses an affectionate kiss to the side of my muzzle. Sooah then brings three fingers up to her cheek, bending them like claws before rotating her wrist.
“What does that one mean?” I ask.
“She’s calling you her big sister,” Sonam translates.
Warmth blooms in my chest. Embarrassingly, my tails wag behind me, betraying my thoughts outright. I’ve never been anyone’s big sister before, but if there’s anyone for whom I’d be willing, it is Sooah.
They turn toward their captain expectantly. Sonam couldn’t appear more uncomfortable even if he tried.
“I would like a moment alone with her,” he says gruffly, his gaze cast to the ground.
Sooah and Wen shuffle off toward the staircase leading up to the gate, though they can’t go very far. It’s a good thing they weren’t hired as spies, because they do not possess an ounce of subtlety. Sonam makes several false starts, clearly struggling to put his thoughts to words.
I offer him a reprieve. “You don’t have to say anything—”
“I want to.”
I shift uneasily. “Speak plainly, then.” I know I won’t want to hear his next words.
Sonam casts his gaze down, his dark eyes swimming in conflict. “Once we’ve warned the king and dealt with the Maskmaker… I want you to run. As far as the uncharted lands in the west, if you must.”
I flinch. “You’re sending me away?”
“You know this is the only way I can protect you,” he says. “Once this fight is won and the king commands it… I will have no choice, should our paths cross again. I’m asking you—” Sonam takes a deep breath and lowers his voice to a whisper. “I am pleading with you: do not force my hand.”
I should have expected as much. Sonam is too honorable, too stubborn—which also happen to be his best traits—for this to have gone any other way. It’s even worse that his eyes speak an entirely different tale from his words.
It occurs to me then, how accustomed I’ve become to the harsh lines of his face.
We’ve been in Hell for far too long, because I can no longer recall a time before Sonam marched so fiercely into my life.
Where I resigned myself to my loneliness, I’ve grown spoiled through his companionship.
Now he wants me to leave, and I cannot find enough anger to fault him, because there is no fault at all. He is right. Sonam is protecting me.
And breaking my heart all the same.
“Is that truly what you want?” I ask, so softly I barely hear myself. “To never see me again?”
There is much that can be learned in a man’s silence. The next few moments are as suffocating as they are cold.
“Yue, I—”
A snarl interrupts him. Not my own, but from somewhere a distance behind us in the darkness. My ears twitch and my eyes go wide. I can smell them coming.
Demons. Too many to count.
They emerge from the shadows like ink drawn from wrung cloth, coming at us in one massive tidal wave.
“Up the stairs!” I scream at the humans, but they reach for their weapons instead.
We are easily overpowered. At close range, Wen’s bow is rendered useless.
It takes seven demons to pin Sooah down.
I’m outnumbered and overwhelmed. With every head I bite off, it feels as though two more grow in the place of the fallen.
My captain fights with every ounce of ferocity that I’ve come to expect from him, cutting his way through beast after beast in the hopes of coming to my aid.
“What are you doing?” I growl, my teeth no doubt coated in black. “Get out of here!”
Before he can respond, an imposing shadow looms over Sonam, bringing with it a terrible chill.
The Maskmaker, pure fury in his eyes and a manic grin ripping at his lips.
He wraps his hands around Sonam’s throat and squeezes with a vengeance, his forward momentum sweeping the captain off his feet.
I try to get to him, but the demons won’t let up, practically climbing over one another at the chance to tear at my flesh.
“You have something of mine,” the Maskmaker seethes. “First Yue steals my mask, then you steal my brush. You two really are of a kind.”
“Get off of him!” I scream over the rush of blood past my ears. Sonam struggles furiously, throwing every strike and kick he can manage—to no avail.
“Did you think you were in the clear?” The Maskmaker laughs darkly.
“I bet you thought you were clever, using those tunnels. Did you ever stop to wonder how I escaped Hell all those centuries ago? I dug those with my bare hands; dug until my fingernails peeled back and my skin was raw. But I did it. I escaped this wretched place. Escaped Death. If you thought you could give me the slip, you’re an even bigger fool than I thought. ”
“Enough of your drivel,” Sonam growls through gritted teeth.
The captain twists his body to the side, snatching up the dagger end of his rope dart to drive it into the Maskmaker’s cheek.
The star god flinches back, a massive hole opening in the side of his face as he does.
Not a killing blow, but still just as satisfying to witness.
Sonam wastes no time and stabs the Maskmaker again, blade sinking into his shoulder with a wet thud, red blooming from his fine clothes like a springtime azalea. The Maskmaker throws him off in a rage.
I snatch a demon up by the throat and shred it to pieces, throwing its limp body aside.
“Sooah!” I shout. “Wen! Get him out of here!” They help him to his feet, but Sonam still has fight in him.
I come up behind them before turning to face the onslaught.
“I’ll hold them off for as long as I can. Don’t forget your promise to me, Wen.”
Together, he and Sooah grab the captain by either arm and drag him toward the gate.
“Wait!” he shouts. “No, we can’t—Yue!”
I look back at Sonam, desperately wishing I could hate him. It would be easier to part that way—if I hated him, I could accept that this is the last time I will ever see him.
“Go,” I urge. “It’s your only chance.”
They drag him, kicking and screaming, out of Hell.
The blood oath we made now stands fulfilled.