“Where are we?” Jordan marveled at the sights around us.
“Some kind of garden.” Ashley bent down to pick up a white flower.
“Don’t touch that,” Moli snapped. Ashley froze, her finger millimeters from a petal. “Don’t you remember what King Yama said? This place is dangerous, especially right now, during the Hungry Ghost Festival. You never know what might be lurking—” Moli paused. “Did you hear that?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“Listen,” she insisted.
I strained my ears. After a moment of silence, I heard it—the rustling of leaves and then a crash as something large barreled through the garden.
Ashley screamed. Jordan let out a strangled cry and drew his sword. I drew mine, too, although my fingers shook.
Demons. A whole horde in the distance charged straight toward us. Something told me they weren’t rushing to welcome us to Diyu with a big group hug.
“Guards!” Moli roared, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice. “Guards, where are you? Come protect me!”
“And us!” Jordan squeaked.
“I thought the hungry ghosts were all headed up to Earth,” Ashley protested in a small, high-pitched voice. “Why are there still so many here?”
Moli shook her head. “After the demons failed to invade Earth during the Lunar New Year, many were killed and sent back down to the Underworld. What you’re seeing now is a group of them, um, reformulating. All at once.”
“All … at … once …?” Jordan repeated in a faint voice. His face had drained of color.
“Yes, but don’t panic,” Moli said.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t panic’? There are, like, a hundred demons! Charging right at us!” Jordan yelled.
“They must’ve gotten loose, but the guards will catch them. And they’ll listen to me. They have to.” Moli stood up tall and called out in an authoritative voice, “I’m one of King Yama’s assistants.” Her eyes flashed. Like, literally flashed with golden light. “Back off, demons. The warriors are with me.”
I guess Moli wasn’t as popular in the Underworld as she thought, because the demons kept charging. There were still no guards in sight. The demons were so close that I could make out their features—there were red-skinned demons, blue-skinned demons, green-skinned demons shaped like lizards. Creatures straight out of a warrior’s worst nightmares, all charging toward us.
I gulped, steadying my grip on my sword handle. Looked like we’d have to fight this one out. I’d defeated demons in the past. I could do it again, no problem. Right?
“Run!” Moli yelled.
If we were facing twenty demons, I probably would’ve insisted that we stand our ground and fight. Warrior’s honor. Except we weren’t facing twenty demons. More like two hundred. There was no way I—or any warrior, for that matter—could take that many down. With Fenghuang, maybe, but not with just a regular sword.
So I ran.
“This way!” Moli pointed off to the left, toward a huge black mountain in the distance that spurted bright red-orange lava.
“You want us to go there?” Ashley demanded. “Toward that volcano thingy?”
“If you don’t want to turn into demon lunch, then our best bet is to head to the volcano thingy—I mean, the Mountain of Flames!”
That was enough to convince me to follow Moli. We sprinted across the moonlit grass. My heart hammered. I tried to focus on the path ahead of me, not the demons on my heels. As we leapt over rocks and dodged tree branches, I was immensely grateful for the New Order insisting on those torturous five AM jogs. They’d really raised my stamina to “fleeing at top speed from bloodthirsty demons” levels.
When we reached the end of the forest, the sounds of demons shrieking and crashing through undergrowth disappeared. I chanced a glance behind me. There were no demons in sight.
“Think we … lost them …?” Ashley panted, wiping a sheen of sweat off her forehead.
Moli was the only one not bent over, wheezing and out of breath. “That’s strange.” She sounded almost disappointed. “Why did they stop chasing us?”
“I’m not complaining,” Jordan said with a shudder.
As I straightened, I saw a flash of white. Demon. “They’re still here!”
I swung my sword in an arc—but instead of slicing through demon flesh, my sword clashed against steel. Another sword.
“Faryn?” came the sound of a startled but familiar voice.
I almost dropped my sword in shock. White hair, one green eye, and one black eye. I couldn’t believe it. He was actually here. “R … Ren?”
We’d been apart for only five days, yet it felt like several months. I’d missed him. Judging by the smile that rose to Ren’s face, he felt the same.
I threw my arms around Ren. “You didn’t die in the Dragon Kings’ realm!”
“I did not,” he agreed.
“How did you escape?”
Ren winced. “Long story. I’ll tell you later. We should focus on getting out of Diyu first.”
Moli cleared her throat. “All right, break it up, you lovebirds. We’re on a tight deadline, remember?”
Suddenly self-conscious, I stopped hugging Ren and stepped back. Ren shuffled his feet, a red flush rising up his neck. Diyu felt too hot—and we weren’t even at the Mountain of Flames yet.
“What the heck are you doing here?” Moli asked Ren.
“Good to see you, too.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Moli rolled her eyes. “Glad to see you, punk. Now, answer the question.”
“It’s … complicated.” Ren sighed. “I’m just glad I managed to find you all.”
“And how exactly did you find us?” I asked.
“I dunno. When I was at the Dragon Kings’ palace, I saw this vision of you guys in the Underworld. Someone must’ve showed it to me in my dreams. Anyway, I just had a feeling in my gut that I should be here, too. Plus, I didn’t know where else to go to avoid the Dragon Kings.” Ren shrugged, his expression morphing into one of slight confusion. “Strange that I dreamed about you, right?”
My sword handle grew warm, as though in agreement. “Huh. Yeah. Strange.”
“More importantly, Moli—you’re a-alive?” Ren spluttered, no doubt taking in the fact that she was glowing. “Wait, no, you’re not quite
