Page 104

A mistake. Takkan’s gaze was bloodshot, and he grabbed my wrist with a wolf-like snarl. You should listen to your betrothed, Shiori’anma.

I hooked my elbow and sent it flying into his chin, but Bandur was too fast. He shoved me back, laughing gleefully as I fell against the side of the basket.

“Shiori!” Takkan’s eyes flickered back to brown, and he grabbed the Demon King’s amulet, trying once more to tackle him. But Bandur had already won.

Wisps of smoke unfurled from Takkan’s fingers, and his entire body shuddered, all strength leaving him until he crumpled to his knees. Then the smoke flooded out of the amulet, coiling and steaming until it settled into the shape of a wolf.

I plucked Takkan’s bow from the ground, fumbling with one of the blue-feathered arrows.

“He’s stronger than he looks, your betrothed,” Bandur said, prowling along the basket to stalk me. “But every mortal has his weakness. You are his.”

The bowstring chafed against my knuckles, and I gritted my teeth.

“You know your arrows do nothing against smoke, don’t you?”

I nocked the arrow and raised the bow. “Watch me.”

“Here—I’ll stay still for you.” Bandur sat and wagged his tail like a puppy. Even in his most nebulous form, he found a way to mock me.

With a laugh, Bandur dissolved into a shapeless haze. “Clever of the witch to bind you to the pearl,” he said. “But if she thought that would buy you more time from me, she was mistaken. Look. See what you’ve done to it.”

I didn’t need to look. The pearl was more broken than ever, like two halves of a moon connected by the slenderest bridge.

“Will you reach Lapzur before it shatters?” Bandur asked. He blew a puff of air, loosening the streak of white from behind my ear. “It wears on you, Your Highness. I would gladly take its weight off your hands.”

“And free yourself of your oath?” I spat. “I’d rather die.”

“Fortune smiles upon you, then, for that is a rather crucial part of the plan.”

The amulet trembled upon Takkan’s chest, and Bandur began to speak, whispering words of dark magic I could not understand.

I crawled to Takkan’s side and shook him. “Wake up! Wake up, Takkan. You need to return Bandur to his amulet.”

While I tried to rouse him, the birds Kiki had recruited to help fly the basket let out bloodcurdling screeches. All this time, they had flown in harmony, but something had changed. They splintered off in droves, as if spooked.

“What’s going on?” I yelled to Kiki. “Why are they leav—”

My question trailed into a scream. Caught in a tumultuous wind, the basket jolted, throwing me against Takkan as we plunged below the clouds.

The ropes jerked down, twisting and making the basket spin. I fumbled for something to hold on to while my brothers desperately tried to regain control. Even without the other birds, they should have been able to steady us. But something was pulling us down.

I could feel it. And my brothers could see it. They were just as agitated as Kiki’s birds, only they didn’t abandon me. They veered sharply, thrashing their wings.

The basket shuddered, and Bandur flashed a menacing smile. “Prepare yourself, Your Highness. They’re coming.”

Who was they? I couldn’t even see what was happening. “Kiki!” I shouted. “What’s going on?”

Demons! she cried. From below!

Dread coiled in the pit of my stomach.

The demons of Tambu arose as one teeming mass, the glow of their red eyes illuminating foxes, bats, tigers, and snakes. Their faces were garish, like the masks children wore to scare evil spirits away during the New Year.

They sounded like children too, squealing and laughing as they brigaded my brothers. Their tails curled around the ropes, and their wings batted excitedly against the underside of the basket. When their claws began to slash and tear, my heart tightened with fear.

Curled strips of bamboo flew off, a painted turtle eye and silken fox tail peeling into the sea of clouds, never to be seen again.

I swiped at the demons with my dagger. “Go away!” I shouted. “Get! Get!”