Page 146

“Ever the pessimist, aren’t you?”

It was the first time the paper bird’s eyes betrayed her. They were soft and wet, the ink smearing. Almost as if she were crying.

It hurt to swallow, and I slowly, wretchedly rose to my knees. “Look,” I whispered, “I’m getting better.”

Liar.

A liar I was, for I was still dying. Our souls were linked; she would feel it.

“The mountain’s quieter than last time,” I remarked, tilting my head at our surroundings. No illusions of home or Raikama’s garden deceived my eyes, no demons disguised as my brothers beckoned to me. All was still. Empty. Almost…peaceful. “Where are the demons?”

My answer came as soon as I asked. Smoke pierced the breach, hissing into every corner. As my paper birds rose into a protective cocoon, the demons materialized.

They cornered me against a wall. Hundreds of red eyes bored through the shadows, watching me with the greatest intent, as curious as they were desperate.

“YOU HAVE ASKED TO RETURN. NOW FULFILL YOUR PROMISE.”

Kiki hopped back behind my hair. You’re not really going to free them, are you? she whispered. Just give the word, and we’ll attack. We can seal the mountains.

I said nothing, but dread rolled in my gut. I’d told the demons I’d changed my mind. I’d summoned them to get me—and so they had. Now they were waiting for me, and every second they waited, their anger rose. It heated the mountains, made the earth tremble.

If you have a plan, now would be a good time to implement it, squeaked Kiki.

I scrabbled for a loose rock and pressed its sharp edge into my palm.

“I am going to free them,” I said finally.

What? Kiki’s inky black eyes bulged. Have you gone senseless? You can’t free the demons!

“They can’t be locked up here forever,” I said. “Maybe my ancestors thought so, but it has to end.”

They’ll kill you, Shiori, Kiki pleaded. And me.

“I’ll make them promise,” I said, more certain than ever. “Immortals are bound to their promises.”

That didn’t work so well with Bandur.

“It’ll work this time.” I slashed my hand, holding in a cry as blood welled over the lines of my palm, and I summoned my shield of paper birds close.

“I came here of my own will,” I said, my voice hardly more than a whisper. “And I am ready to give you my blood. I will free you, but in return you will do something for me.”

The demons stilled, their red eyes aglow against the cave’s dark. As my blood trickled down my arm, the droplets landed on my paper birds, painting their heads crimson.

“SPEAK.”

“I will give you my blood,” I repeated. “In exchange for your oath that you shall not harm any living being in Kiata. Accept my terms, and you will be free once more. Magic will be free once more.”

The demons murmured sounds of dissent. “A demon’s nature is destruction. We are servants of chaos, and we will not be bound by any oath.” They scratched their nails against the walls, and the shrill cacophony set my ears ringing. “Your life is not yours to give, bloodsake. It belongs to us.”

“Then we shall see who is faster.”

The demons lunged with supernatural speed. In no universe could I have defeated them fairly. But I’d cheated.

I’d known the demons would never accept my bargain. I was helpless, defenseless, with only an army of paper birds. But what they hadn’t noticed was that I’d been gathering the strands of my soul and cutting them free.

Lady Solzaya had told me once that she believed that the human soul was made up of countless little strings that tethered it to life. That those strings could be cut one by one. I was counting on her to be right.

Before this moment, I’d always understood that my blood would break the demons’ chains and free them from the mountains. But I had never understood the point of my other gift as a bloodsake: why I could lend away fragments of my soul to create new life.