The solemn expressions on my ancestors’ faces didn’t reassure me.
“We spirits?” Nai Nai shook her head. “I’m afraid Sun Wukong is beyond our control. Frankly, he’s beyond anyone’s control.”
Great. “Then what are we supposed to do?”
“You, child?” A woman stepped forward, her long, silvery hair blowing in the breeze. I recognized her almost immediately. Cindy You. Her eyes found Ren, and a warm, sad smile rose to her lips.
“Mama,” he said.
My heart slammed in my chest. Oh no. If she had been summoned here among the rest of the spirits, then there was only one explanation. Ren’s mother walked among ghosts in the Underworld now.
“Ren,” Cindy said. Her eyes swam with ghostly tears. “My son. My boy. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be with you growing up. But I’ve always been watching you from afar.”
“Ren …,” I whispered.
His eyes, when he turned them to me, shone with wetness. But he didn’t cry. “It’s okay. I’m not sad. I think I … I already knew.”
I heard Ren’s unspoken words. I can’t cry over a woman I didn’t even know. I reached for his hand and squeezed it. My own mother was still nowhere to be found. All the chaos overwhelmed my emotions. I’d have to worry about finding my mother later.
Cindy watched us, her sharp black eyes still shining with tears. “To answer your question, Faryn Liu, you warriors should prepare to fight.” She tilted her head up toward the sky. A huge, dark shadow of a cloud had just shifted over the moon. “If our hunch is correct, Sun Wukong will need your help very soon.”
“Our help?” Ren echoed. “Why would he need our help?”
A drumming noise sounded beyond the tall trees of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.
I gasped. It wasn’t just a dark cloud that had passed over the moon, as I’d thought. Figures stood on top of that huge black cloud. Powerful-looking soldiers who were dressed for battle. Several banged huge red war drums. And hovering in the air above the soldiers were … dragons. The magnificent creatures’ scales shone black instead of the colorful hues that I was used to seeing, as though someone had taken a calligraphy brush and painted right over their scales.
A current of palpable fear traveled through the spirits, chilling me to the bone.
“What is it?” I whispered. “What’s going on?”
“Our information was wrong,” Nai Nai said in a shaky voice. I’d never heard my grandmother sound so fearful. “The Jade Emperor wasn’t planning to launch an attack in two days. He’s starting it now.”
My heart thudded wildly. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my sword. Ren’s and Jordan’s panicked gazes told me we were thinking the same thing. We were completely, totally unprepared for this war.
“Don’t fear, Falun.” Nai Nai placed a ghostly hand on my shoulder, leaving a chill. “You have us by your side. Your family is behind you.”
I glanced around at the spirits behind Nai Nai. A lump welled in my throat, and I couldn’t speak. But I think my grandmother understood what I wanted to say.
Shakily, I raised my sword in front of me. Then I tossed my yuán onto the ground before us. “Get in,” I told Ren and Jordan.
“Wait, we’re really doing this? We’re fighting those guys?” Jordan gawked at the dark cloud of Heavenly soldiers as it drew closer.
“Are you a warrior or not?” I demanded.
Jordan hesitated. Then he nodded, albeit reluctantly. I guess the idea of not living up to the title of warrior bothered him more than facing down a bunch of Heaven’s soldiers. He got into the chariot after Ren. I urged the stone lions forward, through the waterfall, and into the Water Curtain Cave. The spirits followed behind us.
“A chariot.” Moli sighed, giving our ride a sad, wistful look. Just six months ago, Moli had driven our chariot during the quest of the Lunar New Year.
We emerged at the other end to find Sun Wukong leading the smaller monkeys in what appeared to be a martial arts training formation. They stopped what they were doing at the sight of us.
“I thought I made it clear that you warriors aren’t welcome here,” Sun Wukong growled. “You dare not only to come back but also to bring the dead with you?”
Nai Nai stepped forward. “If you won’t listen to the living, perhaps you’ll heed the warning of the dead.”
“Pah. The dead don’t scare me. Leave—before I send you back to the Underworld the hard way.” The Monkey King raised his arms above his head. Ruyi Jingu Bang appeared in his hands, glowing bright.
Many spirits drew back, but my grandmother stood her ground. “Your mountain is about to be under attack,” she announced.
Several monkeys gasped and tittered at the news.
Sun Wukong, however, didn’t even flinch. “I know.”
“You knew?” I blurted out. “How could you have known this would happen and not do anything about it?”
Sun Wukong turned his glare onto me. His eyes blazed with fire. “Centuries ago, I was strong enough that I almost took down everyone in Heaven on my own. My monkeys and I together will defend our home just fine. We do not need your help.”
I clenched my teeth. The size of Sun Wukong’s ego was seriously ridiculous. Bigger than this whole mountain. If he was so confident that he could hold the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit on his own, then I wouldn’t waste breath trying to convince him otherwise. We had a quest to finish. Not to mention, there was still the matter of rescuing Ashley from the Underworld.
I could feel the pressure of everyone’s eyes on me, both the living and the dead. “Fine,” I spit out. “Good luck defending your mountain.”
Without sparing another glance toward the monkeys or their king, I directed the stone lions to turn around toward the cave exit.
“Wait, Faryn. We’re leaving? Just like that?” Ren asked.
“We can’t just let Sun Wukong boss us around!” Moli protested. Her father tried to soothe her, but she floated away from him. “I didn’t claw my way through the Underworld to be thwarted by some monkey!”
“I heard that!” bellowed the Monkey King. “You’re lucky you’re already dead, kid!”
“Falun, think carefully,” Nai Nai urged.
The voices of the spirits grew louder as they argued among themselves. I ignored them and continued forward. I didn’t know where I was headed or what I planned to do, but finding a place to regroup before dealing with the Jade Emperor’s army would be a good start.
“Look out!” Jordan cried. “Above us!”
A figure dropped into the middle of our path. I forced the chariot to a stop. The stone lions roared in protest, nearly throwing the chariot sideways.
The figure stood up. He brushed himself off, from the top of his black helmet to the bottom of his black combat boots. Then he took off his helmet and shook out his brown hair, which he’d swept over to one side.
I froze. I knew that narrow face and slim frame like the back of my hand. And the golden, white-tipped spear clutched in his right hand, I would recognize anywhere.
Alex straightened and gave me a cold smile.
“Hello, sister.”