Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon

by Mary Fan

  Perplexed, I peer at it and realize that a tiny piece of Heihuoshan, a mere speck at this distance, glows through the lenses. Intrigued, I place them on my face.

  The speck becomes more of a circle, rippling against the rocky mountain. I take off the spectacles again, and it vanishes.

  “What’s going on?” Tai approaches.

  “Take a look.” I hand him the spectacles. He places them on his face. I stifle a laugh at how ridiculous they look, with their stacks of round lenses and clicking gears. Do I look that peculiar when I wear them?

  Tai catches my eye and grins. “Do I look smarter?” He lifts his chin with an exaggerated expression of seriousness.

  “Even a bird mask would make you look smarter,” I tease, glad the tension between us seems to have dissolved. For now.

  “Birds are intelligent creatures.” He casts his gaze at Heihuoshan and furrows his brow. After a moment, he approaches the ship’s control panel and grabs the telescope tucked against the side. When he returns, he holds it up against the spectacles. “Something’s moving …”

  “Can I see?” He hands me both the spectacles and the telescope. I put the lenses back on, press the telescope against the lens, and take a closer look. Familiar black wisps rise out of the glowing yellow circle. “Those look like Ligui … Is that the portal they use to escape into our realm?”

  “Perhaps.” Tai strokes his chin. “And perhaps they’re not all the portal will allow through.”

  I nod. The same thought occurred to me … Apparently there is more than one way into the Courts of Hell. What’s more, the Guardian didn’t seem to know how the Ligui were escaping to Earth. If this is the same portal they’re using, then it must be somehow beyond his view.

  I walk up to the rope leading down the side of the ship. “All right, let’s give this another try.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE COURTS OF HELL

  A vast cavern yawns below me. The screams of tortured souls ring in my ears. Scaling the side of Heihuoshan was no easy feat—the incline was so steep, I was sure my lungs would explode from the effort—yet it was nothing compared to what we’re about to face.

  What looked like a yellow circle from a distance turned out to be wide hole in the mountain’s surface, and that supernatural glow was the light of Hell spilling out. Without the spectacles, it looked like a crater. If we hadn’t known it was there, we could easily have fallen in and tumbled uncontrollably through the fathomless depths.

  Infinity stretches beyond the portal. A long stone walkway extends forward with no end in sight. Just layers upon layers of spaces and scenes, as if someone cut up a painting depicting the Courts of Hell then stitched it back together at random. Other walkways lie perpendicular or upside down relative to the one before me, and demons stroll along each in every direction. There’s no sense of up or down. Many hover in the space in between, their grotesque faces contorted in wicked glee as they torture the sinners. Demon judges, with their elaborately embroidered robes and hideous fanged faces, preside over each of the torments, sending sinners to the appropriate demons for their punishments.

  In some corners, demons use ice to freeze the sinners, then shatter them, then revive them only to do it all over again. In others, they flay the screaming humans bit by bit, as if they were peeling oranges. Some sinners are pierced with hooks, dangled by their skin until it rips. Some are disemboweled, shredded, torn apart by the demons’ claws. Others are burned with fire, or forced into boiling liquids, or ground by machines, or thrown onto beds of knives … I swear to myself that I’ll be a better person if I survive this. Nothing is worth being damned to this place.

  Though Mowang’s demon subjects inflict horrendous torments upon sinners, he isn’t the one who decides who gets punished or how. Only the Heavenly Gatekeepers decide who’s to suffer in the Courts of Hell. When a person dies, their spirits go before celestial judges, and those deemed sinful are marked for damnation. Once they reach the Courts, they’re judged again to determine what manner of punishment would suit the crime.

  But Tai and I are not marked. Even though Mowang rules this place, neither he nor his demons can torture anyone without permission. That doesn’t mean he’ll follow the rules, though.

  Drawing a breath, I step through the portal with Tai.

  “Mowang certainly has a sense of style.” Despite the smile on his lips, his eyes betray his fear.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” I swing my sword, and the act of bravado emboldens me. It’s easier to have courage when someone’s counting on you. “Any idea where we’re supposed to go?”

  Tai shakes his head. The glow of the River Pearl in his sword attracts the eyes of some of the surrounding demons, but they appear too occupied doling out their assigned torments to do more than look. “I couldn’t exactly find a map for an infinite realm that’s always shifting. Even Ibsituu doesn’t have that kind of knowledge.”

  Finding Mowang in this abyss seems impossible. But we must. Even if Mowang abided by the laws of Heaven and forbade his minions from exacting punishments meant for sinners upon the innocent people of Baiguang, being forced to witness all this horror—forever, with no respite, while being deprived of the life you were meant to live—is a fate no one deserves.

  The acrid stench of smoke and sulfur fills the air. An odd swirl of scorching heat and biting cold stings my skin. My hair sticks to my sweaty neck as I make my way across the walkway, wondering what I’m even looking for.

  A blue-skinned demon digs its claws into Tai’s shoulders. He barely has a chance to cry out before it pulls him off the walkway.

  “Tai!” I rush to follow but halt at the edge. All I see are the sickening torments of sinners being impaled, boiled, and worse.

  “You can’t take him! He hasn’t been damned—you can’t take him!” Something feels ready to explode from my throat, and I don’t know if it’s a scream or a sob. Gritting my teeth, I search the depths.

  A flash of light—what looks like the glow of the River Pearl embedded in the sword—catches my eye. Tai could still be holding it.

  I leap off the walkway before fear can stop me, launching myself toward that glow.

  I’m falling—falling—falling—

  Images of Hell whip past. Of judges sentencing sinners, of sinners weeping and begging for mercy that will never come. Of demons cackling as they inflict pain, delighting in the suffering around them.

  The same blue demon that took Tai materializes before me. Though I’m still tumbling through infinity, I slash my sword at him. “Where’s Tai?”

  “Sinners are dealt as they deserve.” The demon answers in a singsong voice, spreading its mouth in a hideous, fanged grin. “What’s your sin, my lovely?”

  “You can’t take him!” I slice my blade through its torso.

  The demon explodes into smoke, but its cackle rings in my ears even after it vanishes.

  I twist through the air, searching desperately for any sign of Tai. In every direction, all I see are the gruesome torments of Hell. Birds picking organs from still-writhing bodies, acid drop by drop eating away at skin, stones crushing sinners beneath slowly growing piles. The sights sicken me, but I search each face and am relieved when I recognize none.

  With nowhere to land in this unending pit, I keep falling. I’ll never find Tai this way. I cast my gaze around for a way to stop. Spotting a vertical slab of stone, I grasp it with my free hand.

  The whole world shifts. What was vertical becomes horizontal, and I find myself hanging off a walkway similar to the one I jumped off. I pull myself onto it.

  “Anlei!” Tai’s voice rings in my ears.

  I whirl. “Tai?”

  An agonized scream rips past my ears—was that him?

  My legs carry me across the stone walkway at top speed, though I don’t know where I’m going. All I know is that Tai’s voice came from this direction—nothing else matters. I can’t let him be tortured here. He … he doesn’t deserve to suffer. He may be
an infuriating, pig-headed, slap-worthy idiot, but he’s far from wicked. No demon can have him—not while I’m around.

  A column of flames rises before me. I jump back. It vanishes, and in its place stands Tai, bound by chains and screaming as the blue demon drives a dagger into his stomach.

  “No!” I try to lunge forward but find I can’t move. I thrash and flail as hard as I can—but I remain frozen despite my efforts.

  The demon drives his blade into Tai again and slowly carves a zigzag down his torso. Blood pours from his body, and his cries shred my heart. A scream rips from my throat. Tears fill my eyes. I pour every ounce of effort I have into trying to free myself from whatever spell has me trapped. But it’s no use—I might as well have turned to stone.

  This is your fault … A deep, haunting voice floats through my head. The column of flames reappears, engulfing Tai with its infernal fingers. His face contorts, and each scream pierces my heart like a thousand knives. This is your fault …

  “Stop!” The useless word tears from my mouth. I watch, helpless, as the flames consume him, until only ash remains. Yet I still hear his screams in the distance. He’s worse than dead—Hell has claimed his soul.

  The spell releases me. I collapse forward. Sobs wrack my body. I’ve failed. I’ve failed more spectacularly than I thought possible. Tai is gone—they’ve destroyed him. And they’ll destroy him again, and again, and again, forever, because this is Hell. They may call themselves Courts, but there’s no justice here.

  There will be a reckoning. I squeeze my eyes and send a prayer to the Gods of Heaven, begging them to intervene. Their laws have been violated … Mowang has allowed his demons to take one who isn’t damned. They have to help …

  No one can help you. That deep voice invades my mind again, and the face of the blue demon appears. You deserve all you suffer.

  It’s in my head … How is it in my head? You can’t touch me! I’m not a sinner!

  Are you sure?

  Get out! The blue demon fades, leaving only the darkness of my mind.

  I inhale sharply. I’m not finished yet. Mowang must answer for what he’s done. When I find him, I’ll demand that he release Tai as well as his people.

  I open my eyes then jump up with a start.

  I’m no longer in the Courts of Hell. I’m home—in Dailan.

  The familiar water of Dailanjiang shimmers before me. Shocked, I drag my gaze across the sloping rooftops.

  A bone-shattering screech rips through the air. Ligui surround me, so dense, their darkness obliterates the view of my village. I spring into action but find myself once again grappled by a spell.

  No … no … no …

  Screams fill my ears. One by one, Ligui rip apart everyone I know—my mother, my sister, my fellow guards … everyone. And I can’t stop them. I do nothing as they behead Mother, as they smash Anshui’s skull. I do nothing as Headman Su and Pinghua and everyone I ever knew fall into their evil clutches.

  Cries scratch my throat, and tears stream down my cheeks.

  This is your fault … You left them to this …

  The blue demon appears in my head again. It’s right. I let this happen. I left my village behind, and I chose to let them remain unguarded so I could chase glory with Tai. And I failed him too. I led him into the Courts of Hell thinking I could protect him, and I was wrong.

  This is your fault …

  Heat licks my skin. I cry out as the scorching agony spreads through my entire body.

  This is your guilt. The blue demon cackles. See how it burns?

  The spell releases me again. I find myself in a heap on the ground, writhing in agony as the fire engulfs me.

  This is your fault … This is your guilt … You deserve this …

  I did this. I left my family, my entire village—

  I left to save them. That one thought shines clear though my pain, loud and bright. I sacrificed my dreams so the viceroy would protect them.

  You abandoned them to go on an adventure with a thief …

  I may want adventure, but I’m also helping Tai save his people. I clench my fists. The demon—it’s doing this to me. This is its way of torturing me—burning my body the way guilt burns my heart. But that guilt has no place in me. I may not have made the perfect choices, but I regret nothing.

  You deserve this … You deserve this …

  No! I force myself to stand despite the excruciating heat. I’m still gripping my sword—I can take down the creature that’s torturing me. “Where are you, coward?”

  I still see the riverbank, still witness the Ligui tearing my village apart. None of this is real … I’m in the Courts of Hell, and the blue demon took it upon itself to sentence me. But it had no right.

  “Face me!” I swing my sword. “Where are you?”

  Wicked laughter rings through my ears. The demon’s vague form materializes before me, as if the air is water and it’s a reflection from afar.

  I start toward it but double over as a new wave of heat strangles my body. I scream. The pain is so all-encompassing that it’s all I can do to keep from sinking into the ground.

  I glimpse the blue demon before me. The sight of its cackling face ignites my anger. I manage to straighten, raising my sword.

  But before I can strike, a bright silver blade sprouts from its chest. The demon screeches and explodes into smoke. The image of Dailan explodes as well.

  I’m back on the stone walkway. The heat vanishes. I blink in shock at the sight of Tai standing before me, wielding Ibsituu’s sword.

  “Anlei!” He rushes toward me.

  So much relief and joy pours through me at seeing him alive that I find myself falling into him. I wrap my arms around him, savoring the feel of his body against me—the solidness, the warmth. He’s real. Nothing else I saw before was, but he is real. I bury my face into his shoulder, too glad to care about anything else. I haven’t lost him after all. His head rests against mine, and his breath rustles my hair. Inhaling deeply, I breathe in his scent. I hold him tight, and somehow, that makes me feel whole.

  What happened? How is he here?

  Realization dawns upon me. That wasn’t him the blue demon destroyed—that was a mirage. Just as Dailan was. The blue demon created both hallucinations to torture me. I don’t know when the real world faded and the demon’s world took over—did it start the moment I saw it take Tai? Was everything that happened after an illusion? Whatever the case, the blue demon was responsible. But Tai robbed me of my revenge just as I was about to seize it.

  “Why did you do that?” I pull back. “I had it!”

  Tai stares at me. “You were screaming—I saved you!”

  “I was going to save me. I didn’t need you to interfere!”

  “I know you didn’t.” His eyes blaze like twin black flames that burn deep into my heart. “But don’t ask me to stand there and do nothing when something’s torturing you. You may be strong enough to bear that kind of pain, but … I’m not.”

  I hold his gaze but feel my scowl softening. My mind flashes back to those awful moments when I thought the demon was torturing Tai. Even if they were mirages, the pain they caused me was all too real. “I understand.” I sigh. “What happened to you?”

  “I don’t know. One moment, I was beside you, and the next, I was clawing my way out of an ice pit.”

  “Stay closer next time.” Though I’m still shaken, I do my best to throw on an expression of confidence. “I’ll keep the demons away.”

  “I don’t doubt it.” He smiles, and a warm feeling glows in my chest.

  What do we do? If we continue as before, we’ll wind up in the same spot—getting caught by demons who don’t follow the laws of Heaven. We could wander forever and reach nothing.

  But this is Mowang’s realm. He can appear wherever he wants. Maybe it would be easier to make him come to us.

  “Mowang!” I holler. “You have violated the laws of Heaven! I am Liang Anlei, and I am here as the hand of justice! Come, face me!
Or are you afraid of a mere human?”

  Tai looks impressed. “Not a bad idea.” He turns to the chasm and exclaims, “Mowang! You—”

  A great rumble cuts him off. Purple and red sparks dance before us then burst into a brilliant explosion of magic and color.

  Mowang rises from the infinite pit, a figure so enormous my stomach clenches. His monstrous yellow eyes stare down at us from his crimson face. White fangs jut from his blue lips. Lines of green streak his face in grotesque patterns. None of the paintings I’ve seen of him captured the extent of his evil. Two clawed red hands protrude from the long sleeves of his black robe.

  My muscles quiver. I tighten my grip around my father’s sword to keep my fear from showing. I’m facing Mowang—Mowang. The demon king himself. The master of the Courts of Hell.

  Mowang leans down, his fiery eyes meeting mine. “A peasant girl who imagines herself a warrior.” He whips his gaze to Tai. “And a half-breed.” The corner of his mouth curls.

  I glance at Tai, wondering what that means. Tai’s attention remains fixed on Mowang, anger glittering in his eyes.

  “You have my attention.” Mowang draws himself to his full height. “Now, what do you want?”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THE DEMON KING

  The ground turns from gray to deep orange. The air shimmers, and the world shifts. I’m now standing in a giant room elaborately decorated with gleaming sculptures that look as if they are carved of black jade. They depict demons with grotesque faces, sharp claws, and menacing eyes. Some stand along the yellow walls, but many more protrude from large columns. What those columns are holding up, I don’t know, because their tops vanish into a haze of black smoke.

  Something white and glowing moves behind the smoke. Narrowing my eyes, I realize that those pale, vague figures are people. Men and women and children crowd against the fog, peering down at us. They must be ghosts, and this must be the demon king’s throne room. It looks just the way Mother described it in her stories, except even more intimidating than I imagined. Most of the place is empty, and the sheer amount of space is unnerving.