“No!” My father’s voice rang out loudly and clearly, like he’d shouted in my ear. A second later, hands shoved me out of the way.
“Oof!” I careened into the other end of the chariot, and pain shot through my rib cage. I opened my eyes. Ba lay on the ground, unmoving. Before I could scramble over to him, several other demons charged out from behind the first, scattering the warriors. Nezha and Erlang Shen were on them in a flash. They batted demons out of the way left and right, as easily as if they were made out of paper. Guanyin floated high above, clearly intending to take care of the largest demon that had tackled Ba.
A demon with red skin burst out of nowhere, headed straight for—Ba. Instinctively, I leapt forward to defend him.
“AUGHHHHHHHHHH!” From the fore of the crowd, a tall boy dove in front of us. It looked like he was going to take on the demon by himself.
“Jinyu!” someone screamed. “No!”
I watched, paralyzed, as the demon swatted away the tall boy like he was nothing. Jinyu flew into a building and then crumbled to the ground, motionless.
The demon turned its eyes back toward Ba and me. The gods and warriors were busy with their own battles. We were on our own.
Panic numbed my senses. But strangely, my thoughts were clearer than ever. My father was defenseless. A boy might have just died in front of me. And if I didn’t want there to be any more deaths, I had to bring down the demon myself.
My mind and body entered overdrive. I grabbed Ba’s sword from the ground, drew it back, and let out a battle cry. The demon charged straight at me. It swiped a great paw so close to my face that I felt the sting of claws just barely missing my skin. The demon roared and drew back its paw for another attack. I didn’t think. Didn’t pause. I lunged forward and drove the tip of my sword’s blade upward, through the neck of the beast.
The demon let out an ear-piercing scream of pain, a ghastly, inhuman sound that nearly tore my eardrums.
I collapsed onto the pavement. Stabbing sensations shot up my palms and knees. Ba’s sword skittered away at the foot of a food cart, at least three feet out of reach. I tried to stand to retrieve it, but a horrible pain tore up my right foot. The pain escalated until all I could do was bite my lip and hope the tears stinging my eyes didn’t spill over.
“Finish the demon off!” a warrior shouted nearby. “It’s almost done for!”
The warriors roared and surged forward in a wave toward the downed demon. Then the world grew blurry around me and disappeared.
Someone touched my arm and shook me. Ren’s concerned face peered down. Dimly, I registered Ba’s motionless form still lying inches away.
Before I could reassure Ren I was fine—or, at least, still alive—the world faded to black.
CHAPTER
2
Six Months Later
I was having those strange dreams again, the same ones I’d had ever since arriving at the New Order. I found myself up in Heaven among the gods without a clue as to how I’d gotten there. I couldn’t speak or move, and nobody was ever able to see me. But I could see them.
I dreamed of my brother wearing his new black battle armor. Sometimes, Alex was alone. Sometimes, other Heavenly soldiers accompanied him. Once, I’d even seen Alex using the power of my old weapon Fenghuang, a mighty white-tipped golden spear that gave the wielder the power to lead all dragons. He commanded a whole crowd of dragons in a vast garden.
This vision was the clearest yet. I stood in an enormous hall. Alex paced the red carpet right in front of a golden throne, holding his battle helmet under one arm. I wanted more than anything to run up and hug my brother, even if he’d hate that. Too bad I still couldn’t speak or move.
From the throne came a woman’s dark, silky voice. “Heaven Breaker, you seem disturbed today.”
My heart slammed in my chest. Even though I couldn’t see the speaker from the shadows, I’d recognize that voice anywhere: Xi Wangmu. She was the Queen Mother of the West and wife to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the Heavens. She also happened to want all demons destroyed and didn’t care if that meant wiping out humanity in the process. Really charming, that one.
“Those pesky Jade Society warriors are stirring up trouble,” Alex reported.
The Jade Society in San Francisco—where I used to live with Alex and our grandfather Ye Ye. Last I’d heard, they were still in recovery mode from the near destruction of the society during the Lunar New Year. Hope bloomed in my chest. Were the warriors growing stronger?
“I put a stop to their antics, though.” Alex stopped pacing and stood up straight, puffing out his chest. “I went down to Earth and threw their ringleader—Zhao Boyang—into Diyu, where he’ll await punishment by King Yama.”
Oh no. Back when Alex and I had lived in the Jade Society, Mr. Zhao had been one of the only adults who’d treated us with unconditional kindness instead of questioning our half-warrior parentage. I pictured the man’s crinkled eyes and gentle smile and shook my head.
Alex had thrown Mr. Zhao into the Underworld so easily. When had my brother become so cruel?
“Your old society, soldier,” Xi Wangmu said softly. “Your old ally Zhao Boyang. Don’t you feel terrible for punishing him so?”
“No.” Alex’s reply was swift. Cold. “Those who interfere with our plans must be punished. No exceptions.”
“Excellent. Truly excellent, my Heaven Breaker.” Xi Wangmu said my Heaven Breaker like she was tasting the term on her tongue. It made me want to puke. “Speaking of plans, for the upcoming Hungry Ghost Festival, we will—”
“Faryn!”
A familiar voice awoke me from the dream with a jolt.
“Alex?” I sat up straight, knocking the side of my head against something solid—the wall. “Ow!” Rubbing my
