A Thousand Burning Masks

Chapter Two

"I'll give you a good deal on that." An old man with a white beard reaching his chest walked out from the exhibitions. "Only three thousand gold Credits!"

"Only?" Biyu spluttered. "That's a bit outrageous, isn't it?"

The old man tapped his cane against the ground. "It would be outrageous to assume that crystals grow on trees. This beautiful geode you see here was mined from one of the deepest and darkest caves in Erden. Legend says that the green dragon Yulong lives there. Extracting this geode was a difficult process. The price doesn't seem that outrageous now, does it?"

Biyu swallowed the rest of his candy, preparing himself for a rebuttal, but I shoved him behind me.

"Apologies, sir. My friend gets too excited over rocks."

"Well, make sure your excited friend doesn't knock anything over. Things are expensive here, girl."

I dragged Biyu out of the shop and into an alley. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Three thousand gold Credits is ridiculous. He might as well rob the Coin Master. I can buy my own palace with that."

"No, you can't." I reached for his hand and emptied half of the coins into his palm. "You already have a thousand stones in your possession. You don't need any more."

"Two hundred and thirty-three to be precise."

"Exactly."

Biyu pocketed the money.

"Oh, that reminds me, I found this on the road yesterday. I thought you might like to add it to that funny collection of yours." He fished out a wooden bead the size of my thumb, carved in the likeness of a little girl.

Ever since our escape, I traveled with Zichuan Theater around Erden. Wherever we stopped, I gathered one item to remind me of my freedom. It could be a loose bead, a broken piece of crockery, anything that tied my memories to that place. I kept those items strung on a thin piece of rope which I carried around in my pocket wherever I went.

I reached for it. The moment my fingers connected, the strangled cries of the children in cages filled my ears. Blood from the execution of runaway slaves sloshed across the street, drenching every inch of it in red. The metallic stench was a metal spike in my throat, piercing a hole through it as Mama Ruga towered over the Pavilion girls and me, forcing us to watch every swing of the axe.

I dropped the bead. It fell onto the ground with a clatter and rolled into the ditch.

"No," I said softly. "Not from this city."

Heart still thumping wildly in my chest, I turned toward the other side of the street and took in a deep breath. "I'm going to see if there's a tavern nearby. It's midday, there are bound to be wrestling matches and drinking contests. See you later."

Get drunk. Douse all the fear and anxiety in cheap wine. Forget about the Imperials and the Pavillion. That was the best way I could cope with being in the city that robbed me of my innocence.

"But Mr. Long said you weren't supposed to go near taverns," he protested. "Remember what happened last time you were inebriated?"

Inebriated was a modest way to phrase what I did to myself. I almost destroyed my liver, if not for Mila who seized my money and locked me inside an inn until I was sober enough to regret drinking the tavern dry.

"See you later," I repeated, and walked off.

I knew Biyu would return to the crystal shop and haggle his way through. He believed they connected him to the divine energies of the High Immortals. However, I couldn't muster the same level of devotion he had.