Whatever he’d done, Alex was in deep trouble. I wanted to cry out, to run over and protect my brother from the Jade Emperor’s wrath, but there was nothing I could say or do in this dream. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so helpless.
“I …” Alex shook from head to foot. “I …”
“Let this be a lesson,” the Jade Emperor continued dangerously, “that there is nothing that you can hide from me, Heaven Breaker. I have eyes and ears all over Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld. I’ll ask you one more time.” He paused, and I closed my eyes. If the Jade Emperor was about to punish my brother, I couldn’t look. “Do you recall having done anything that would warrant being brought here before me?”
“I—I … I’ve been looking for my parents,” Alex blurted out. Still quaking, he seemed to shrink into himself. “I sent a couple of dragons out there to—to search for them. I know you asked me not to, but—”
“But you thought it would be a good idea to disobey me anyway?” roared the Jade Emperor. He slammed his fist against the jade throne, causing a loud boom to reverberate throughout the hall. Several warriors jumped. I would’ve jumped, too, if my body could move.
“I’m … sorry,” Alex mumbled.
The Jade Emperor shook his head and stroked his long, thin black goatee. “I’m disappointed, Heaven Breaker. I don’t see you as much of an asset at all, to be frank. If it weren’t for my wife’s insistence on keeping you around, I would’ve blasted you out of the sky long ago.”
Alex gulped. I could barely stand seeing my brother look so weak in front of the Jade Emperor. I would’ve given anything at that moment to be able to pull him out of that throne room.
“I understand, sir,” Alex mumbled.
“I already promised that I’d reveal your true parentage to you as soon as you finished carrying out the task I gave you. Why, instead, did you have to go behind my back?” snapped the Jade Emperor. “You don’t need distractions right now. You need only concern yourself with the task at hand.”
My curiosity burned. My anger brewed. What was this task that the Jade Emperor had given my brother—and why had he forbidden Alex from uncovering his parentage in the process? That seemed totally unfair to me.
“I understand,” Alex muttered.
A silence stretched on in the hall, long enough that it became uncomfortable for even the soldiers who stood in front of the pillars. They broke their statue-still stances and fidgeted.
“This is my one and only warning to you, Heaven Breaker.” The Jade Emperor leaned forward on his throne. “Cross me again, and there will be no further chances.”
Alex bowed his head even lower, so that it touched the stone floor. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now go summon all the dragons. We don’t have a moment to waste, and—” The Jade Emperor stopped speaking. He slowly turned his head, and his cold black eyes met mine.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe. I had to remind myself that this was just some weird dream or vision. I was somewhere far, far away from the Jade Emperor. A faraway, safe place, where he most definitely couldn’t see me.
But the horrible sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach told me otherwise.
“There’s someone here,” the Jade Emperor growled.
Okay. Time to nix that theory. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. My heart beat madly against my chest, as though trying to escape.
“What? Who’s here?” Alex asked, whipping his head around in alarm. His eyes completely skipped over me, so it seemed like I wasn’t visible to anyone else—just the Jade Emperor.
“Guards!” yelled the Jade Emperor. He pointed right at me, his goatee quivering with fury. “Capture the intruder!”
I couldn’t have run away even if I wanted to. Scrambling into formation, the warriors along the pillars raised their weapons and charged straight at me. The first spear was feet—inches—from stabbing me, and then—
Ah. We’ve been found out, came a soothing female voice in my head.
We? Who’s we? I thought. Who are you?
Do not fear. You are safe. I will bring you back. With every word, the Jade Emperor’s palace grew fuzzier and fuzzier.
* * *
I jolted awake. I gasped, taking deep gulps of the fresh air. I was hardly able to take in my surroundings when something in my pocket started vibrating. I took the compass out of my pocket. It was shaking, and the four arrows had all gone haywire.
“Whoa.” Jordan stared at the compass and then at me. “What the heck is that thing doing?”
“Um … going berserk,” I said, still trying to catch my breath. I was in a chariot, thousands of feet up in the air, on a quest of the Hungry Ghost Festival. Unpacking that weird dream would have to come later. For now, I had to handle the immediate problem of the compass going haywire on me.
The compass lurched, shuddered, and then the arrows spun slower and slower until they were all pointing to our right.
Maybe the compass wasn’t just some piece of junk Ye Ye had given to me. Maybe there was something to it after all. “Hey, Ashley,” I said. “I think we gotta make a right turn here.”
“Nope,” she shouted back. “Grand Canyon is straight ahead of us.”
The arrow moved slowly until it pointed behind us. The compass began shuddering again. “But—but you said I should navigate—”
“Yeah, you can navigate when you know what you’re talking about—which you don’t.” She added under her breath, “Jinyu should’ve been the one leading this quest.”
The compass shook and glowed in my hand, brighter than ever.
Ashley was wrong. I’d read Ye Ye’s message in Restorative Potions so many times, I could recall what he’d written with perfect clarity.
When the time comes, you’ll need this compass not only to save your brother but also to restore the axis of the Earth, which the demons and gods alike have greatly disturbed in these troublesome times.
There was no way this compass had just started shuddering for no reason. My brother was in trouble—and soon, the whole world would be, too. I had to stop Ashley before we wasted any more time.
I was no Jinyu, but I’d prove that I deserved to be on this quest as much as he had.
I stood up. The chariot rocked, and I nearly fell over. I managed to keep my balance, but I let out a high-pitched yell.
Ashley whirled around, her eyes widening with confusion when she saw me standing right behind her. “What’re you—?”
The chariot rocked again to the side, even more violently this time. Ashley shrieked and fell over. I reached out to grab her, but not in time.
Ashley knocked her head against the side of the chariot. I watched in horror as she slid down to the floor, out cold.
CHAPTER
11
In hindsight, I probably could’ve worked a teeny bit harder to catch Ashley before she fell. The moment Ashley was out of action, the chariot became driverless, spooking the lions. They roared and plummeted toward the earth at stomach-dropping speed—taking the chariot and us with it.
Faryn, you idiot. I could practically hear Alex scolding me.