“You’re not staying behind, and that’s final,” I growled. If I had to fight Ren to get him to return with the others without me, I would.
“Oh, stop being so noble and annoying, both of you.” Ashley stepped forward, crossed her arms over her chest, and jutted out her chin. “I’ll stay behind.”
CHAPTER
22
Jordan gaped at his sister as though she’d sprouted a second head. “What? Are you volunteering to do something … selfless? The world really is ending, isn’t it?”
“Shut up.” Ashley dug her elbow into her brother’s rib cage.
Jinyu shook his head, his wild hair bouncing to and fro. “No. Absolutely not. I forbid you to stay here.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Ashley growled. “You’re dead.”
Jinyu opened his mouth and then closed it, a wounded expression on his face.
“Sorry,” Ashley added in a quiet voice.
“No, you’re right. I am dead,” Jinyu muttered. My heart squeezed painfully. Jinyu must have kept up a cheery act to hide his true anguish over his death.
“Well, I’m not dead, and I forbid you to stay behind, too,” said Jordan. His face reflected a rare serious expression. “You can’t leave me, Ashley!”
“This is an enormous responsibility, young warrior,” Nai Nai said to Ashley. “You may very well be trapped down here for the rest of … well, eternity.”
I could tell from Ashley’s shaking hands that my grandmother’s words had rattled her. But she lifted her chin high. “I know. I’m ready to accept this responsibility.”
“Ashley, you don’t have to do this,” I insisted. “I—I can do it instead.”
“Or me,” Jordan interjected. “I’m the older one. If one of us has to stay behind, it should be me.”
“Like I said, idiots, I’ll stay behind,” Ren said angrily. “I’m the one who has the least to lose.”
“Since you kids are so eager to stay in the Underworld, does anyone want to swap places with me?” Hongyi offered. “I’d like to live again.”
Nobody paid him any mind—except Cixi, who smacked him.
Something about Ashley seemed more mature, more self-assured. Much older than her twelve years. “Guys. Stop trying to be noble and all that.” She rolled her eyes. “Think about it. It makes the most sense for me to stay down here.”
“What do you mean?” Jordan asked.
“What do you think’s gonna happen as soon as the Bull Demon King sniffs out Jordan and me? He’ll come after us and try to take us back with him. At least if one of us is down here, he’ll be confused for a bit. And—” Ashley paused, her face scrunching up. “If I’m down here, there’s no chance that my presence will put anyone in danger.”
Ashley’s words conjured up a few memories. The magic she’d summoned out of nowhere during the Ninety-Sixth Duels. The spurts of power that she and Jordan would sometimes display. Unpredictable. Uncontrollable.
“What about me? If you’re a danger in the human world, that means I’m a danger, too,” Jordan said quietly.
Ashely gave her brother a heavy look loaded with meaning. “My powers have always been stronger and more dangerous than yours, and you know it. Besides,” she added in a forced lighthearted tone, “someone’s gotta keep Jinyu company, or else he’ll get lonely down here.”
“Hey,” Jinyu protested. “I will not get— Ow!” Ashley slugged him on the arm, and he rubbed the spot where she’d punched him.
“You’ve still got a weak left defense,” Ashley commented coolly. “I guess some things don’t change, even in Diyu.”
“Don’t leave her here with me,” Jinyu groaned. “Please.” But as he said this, a small smile lit his face.
Jordan stared at his sister. He wasn’t cracking jokes anymore. Something told me he wouldn’t be cracking jokes for a while. “Do you really think we’re a danger in the human world, Ashley? That I’m a danger in the human world?”
“Don’t you?” Ashley threw back. She crossed her arms over her chest. She seemed to shrink into herself, a contrast to her normal confidence. “At least … at least your power isn’t that dangerous.”
Jordan appeared stricken by the words. He must’ve been thinking about how he’d used some hidden power to save our chariot from falling. Sure, Jordan had mysterious powers, too, but at least his hadn’t very nearly harmed a bunch of warriors during the Duels—and apparently before that, too, when a much younger Ashley had almost blown out a wall in the New Order.
“I’m sorry, Jordan.” Ashley’s voice cracked. I was stunned to see more tears welling in her eyes.
“You’re not sorry. You’re leaving me behind, just like everyone else in our family,” he said in a thick, gruff voice.
Jordan’s words struck me right in my gut. They were eerily similar to the thoughts that had run through my head when Alex had left me at Peng Lai Island.
It became harder to breathe. I felt like I was living the day Alex left me all over again.
“That’s why you have to come back and rescue me as soon as you can,” Ashley said, eyes bright. “Promise me you will.”
Jordan’s face twisted, as though he were on the verge of saying no. But instead, he closed his eyes and nodded in resignation. Sticking his hands into the front pockets of his trousers, he promised, “I’ll rescue you as soon as I find a way.”
The siblings shared a sad, uneasy smile.
“You’re sure about staying behind like this?” Jinyu asked.
“I’m sure, blockhead. Plus, this gives us plenty of time to catch up.” She shot him a small, rare smile.
Jinyu’s expression twisted in disgust. He shuddered. “What’s that thing you’re doing with your face? It’s creeping me out.”
Ashley stopped smiling immediately and stomped on Jinyu’s foot. He howled and hobbled away from her, cursing. Once Ashley was through with the Underworld, there would be nothing left of the place, not even King Yama’s boxers.
“Time is running out,” Nai Nai said. “Have you decided for certain who will stay behind, warriors?”
Ashley stepped forward again. “Me. I’ll stay behind. But,” she added, whirling around, “I expect you
