Page 58 of The Wind Dancer
“Honestly?”
She nodded at my question.
“I don’t understand any of this. A week ago, these were all just scary stories for kids.”
“A nest of these creatures is a deadly threat. Slowly but surely, they begin to prey on humans and breed, making unholy offspring. In about five years, the nest evolves, and a queen and leader appear in it.” She paused for a moment. “And that’s when the worst part begins. On the darkest night of the year, he leads his brood out to hunt. These creatures slaughter everyone they can find. And they feast on the pile of corpses they drag back. There were three nests here. One of which had already made a queen, which means it was more than three years old.”
“That sounds like a horror story.”
“I lost my parents and my younger brother because of ahorror story.” Her dark eyes were full of rage and old pain. “Everyone who decides to dabble with the other side will die.”
***
I wanted to get drunk until I fully blacked out. And then repeat this for a few days with the cheapest liquor I could get.
Mei Lin had given me a tour of the so-called nests. And it had been a nightmare. I didn’t even want to think about what I had seen. The creatures didn’t just appear out of thin air. They were carefully raised and regularly fed human flesh. Mei Lin explained that any meat would do, but human flesh allowed the creatures to develop more quickly.
Her agents found corpses near one of the lairs. A lot of them. And all of them were missing livers and hearts. Hatred blossomed in the depths of my soul. I fully agreed with Mei Lin — anyone who dealt with the other side had to die.
I don’t know how, but she seemed to sense my thoughts, and she gripped my hand tightly. She turned me toward her.
“Now you know why we’re ruthless. Everyone in that house could have been infected by the cult. They are like gangrene; if it isn’t cut out in time, it spreads and rots everything from within. Some signs of corruption are clear to an experienced eye, as they were with the servant.”
“What about the little girl? Will you treat her as infected?” The child who was tied up in the room still weighed on me.
“She will be interrogated and checked. If she’s clean, she’ll live. Then she’ll be moved from the city. We don’t kill for the sake of killing. Every life and death has a purpose and a price. Come on, partner, it’s time for us to have a talk with ourlovely guest.” Her voice was full of venom.
***
The Secret Chancellery’s base was located in the Middle City. It was a small mansion surrounded by fifteen-foot-tall walls and a pleasant garden. They knew how to live and work comfortably there.
Mei Lin walked with a quick, confident step, sparingly greeting the agents who saluted her. I could see that these people really believed in her as a leader.
Fu Shang was chained to an iron frame in a basement with smooth stone walls and floor. There was a sewage drain in one corner, and the floor was slightly tilted toward it. It took me a moment to realize that this room had been designed as a torture chamber.
A few buckets of water and every gory mess could be easily washed down the drain. The thick walls would muffle any screams and let the neighbors live peacefully.
“Stop pretending, I can see that you’re awake,” Mei Lin said, not even looking at Fu Shang.
He raised his head. One eye was swollen and bloody, but the other burned with hatred. His body was disfigured by the poison that had been smeared on her blade. It was eating him from the inside. His skin was covered with black veins, and it looked as if worms were crawling beneath.
Mei Lin walked over to a table covered with tools. Her fingers slid over the blades, the hooks, and the thin steel spikes. She chose slowly, as if she weren’t about to torture a man, but preparing a meal and selecting the best ingredients.
“Damn you, bitch,” he croaked. “And you too, bastard.” He looked at me with pure hatred.
Mei Lin smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.
“You think you’re important. An elder of the Shadow Walkers’ guild, one of the hierarchs of the Broken Seal Cult. Butyou’re none of those things now. You’re just a corpse that hasn’t realized it’s already dead.”
She took a thin, palm-length spike and held it up to the light.
“Feng Lao,” she said without turning around. “Hold him.”
I walked over, grabbed Fu Shang by the hair, and pulled his head up. He tried to pull away, but the poison and the restraints did their job. His struggling was pathetic.
Mei Lin stood in front of him, spike in hand.
“You’re going to tell us everything,” she began. “About the cult and your shady dealings. All of it.”
