“If we take you down, you let all of us through, including Ashley and Jordan,” I said in a surprisingly steady voice. “You’ll leave them alone.”
The Bull Demon King nodded with a solemn look on his face. One point for the demon—he seemed to be taking me seriously. “And if I win, you’ll give up this silly quest, and I’ll take Ashley and Jordan home with me.”
“Why do you even want to bring us home with you now when you’ve never taken an interest in our lives before?” Jordan demanded.
“A figment of our imagination can’t take us home,” Ashley spat.
The Bull Demon King drew back with a wounded look on his face. “Don’t you want to come home with me? You’ll never truly fit in with the mortal warriors. Half of your blood is demon blood. You’ll always be stronger, faster, more powerful.” His features softened. He almost looked kind. “Come home with me, my children. I’ll teach you how to use your powers to their fullest potential.”
A look of longing crossed Jordan’s face. I could almost envision what he had to be picturing: him reigning over the Flaming Mountain alongside the Bull Demon King.
Ashley hesitated, reminding me that the siblings had wanted to find their father after all. Deep down, they probably wanted to say yes. I held my breath. Ashley’s expression steeled. “Don’t listen to him, brother. He abandoned us, remember? He doesn’t want us. He wants to use us.”
“That’s enough of that, you brat!” the Bull Demon King roared, all softness gone.
I swung my blade in an arc and pointed it at the Bull Demon King. “Attack!”
CHAPTER
19
The first strike of my sword bounced harmlessly off one of the Bull Demon King’s weapons. Ren followed up with an attack of his own, slicing at the demon’s arm. The Bull Demon King dodged, but Ren swung his leg around quickly and kicked the off-balance demon right in the gut.
Ren’s training at the Dragon Kings’ palace had definitely paid off. His movements were so fast that he appeared to be a whir of colors and motion.
The Bull Demon King collapsed to the ground. Ren raised his sword, but before he could finish him off, the Bull Demon King leapt back to his feet and stabbed his spear at Ren.
“Ren!” I shouted without thinking, rushing forward with my sword at the ready.
With a roar, the Bull Demon King slammed his spiked weapon into Ren’s sword. Ren stumbled backward and landed flat on his bottom.
Ashley and Jordan could barely beat back the spiked weapon, which the Bull Demon King brandished in his left hand. I cast a quick look at Moli and mouthed, “Together.”
Moli nodded. As one, we charged toward the weapon swinging in his right hand. The Bull Demon King deflected our combined attack like it was nothing, and the force of his weapon clashing against my sword sent a jolt careening up my arm.
I was determined to hold my ground, even though I was shaking so hard that my teeth were chattering. Even my sword was vibrating.
No. Not just vibrating. My eyes widened at the sight of Jinyu’s sword. It glowed golden. The handle grew warmer beneath my palms, as if to soothe and reassure me.
Hadn’t Xiong told me earlier? During the Hungry Ghost Festival, my weapon—Jinyu’s old weapon—would grow in power, aided by its former master’s spirit. This had to be a message from them both.
The Bull Demon King lifted his weapon and slashed down toward my head. But to me, the attack occurred in slow motion.
You’re smaller than he is. Use that to your advantage, came that familiar, soothing voice in my head. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it sounded louder and clearer than before.
There was no time to dwell on that thought, though. I brought my sword up at the last moment to counter the Bull Demon King’s attack. My whole arm shook from the force. The Demon King staggered backward. But that wasn’t enough to deter him. He growled and launched himself at me before I could recover.
The force of the blow was too much to bear this time. With a clanging noise that reverberated in my eardrums, my sword flew out of my hands and behind me.
“Ready to give up, warrior?” sneered the Bull Demon King, his eyes glowing with satisfaction.
“Never!” Ashley shouted, hurling herself toward his middle. But the Bull Demon King deflected her as though she were a fly. Ashley stumbled backward into her brother’s arms.
“Get your sword, Faryn. I’ll hold him off!” Moli panted. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her face was scrunched up with the effort of parrying the Bull Demon King’s thrust. “Not like … I can die … again!”
She had a point. Without letting myself stop to think, I dashed toward where my sword had landed yards away from the fight. Not far from me, Ren was getting to his feet, wincing and shaking out his leg.
“Are you—?”
“I’m fine,” Ren said abruptly. His eyes were fixed on the Bull Demon King. No, some spot beyond him that the demon didn’t seem to be aware of. Ren pointed. “Faryn.”
I followed Ren’s gaze. “Keep pushing him back!” I yelled. The others were so focused on their fight, I had no idea if they’d heard me or not. I snatched my sword up off the ground. Sprinting back to the fight, I put all my weight behind the blade of my sword. Only a half dozen paces away from the Bull Demon King, I leapt into the air and sliced down toward his middle with my sword.
As I’d predicted, he knocked all the breath out of me when he blocked my attack easily—and took another big step back.
A little farther, I thought. Just a little farther.
“You don’t learn, do you?” The Bull Demon King chuckled. He sounded amused, like we were nothing more than playthings to him. He reminded me of Luhao from the Jade Society, who’d sneered at me the same way. My anger burned even hotter. “You can fight me all day, and you still won’t be able to win!”
I fell to the ground and braced myself against the cold stone floor with one hand. “Keep pushing!” I shouted as I launched myself back toward the Bull Demon King.
Under the combined force of all our blows, the Bull Demon King stepped backward. His feet found nothing but air.
“Nooooooo!” Waving his arms and weapons around like a really ugly windmill, the Bull Demon King tried in vain to regain his balance. He toppled and disappeared over the edge of the cliff. I saw a flash of his red cape. Then he was gone.
I darted toward the place where the Bull Demon King had fallen and peered down the edge.
“The Cauldron of Boiling Oil.” Moli shuddered as she glanced downward with me. The Bull Demon King was still cursing us as he splashed around the huge, boiling black cauldron. Steam rose until it covered the Bull Demon King and I couldn’t see him any longer. “He’ll be out of our hair for at least a little bit.”
“What’s gonna happen to him?” Ren asked.
“He’s in a place called the Cauldron of Boiling Oil,” Ashley said matter-of-factly. She turned away, but not before I saw pain flash in her eyes. “What do you think will happen to him?”
An ominous silence followed her words, but then Moli interrupted.
“Actually, the Bull Demon King will be fine. He’s got tough skin, and he’s way more powerful than most demons or spirits. This will just be a tiny setback. In fact, he’ll probably escape soon, and I have a feeling he isn’t going to be happy to let us through, which is why we gotta leave—now.”