Most of Karakhorum had been badly damaged, so tents had sprung up. Spots of people nailed tarp to the ruins of their old houses. I’d ordered the giants to patrol the streets, helping where they could. Mouse-Dew and Chair-Wax lifted men up to repair what they couldn’t reach. Goblins pushed little carts full of lumber, nails and stones.

Women replanted trees and flowers in the gardens. Others handed out soup to the men working on repairs. Children played in the streets. It had only been three days since the mist had invaded Karakhorum, but it seemed like most people were working on putting it behind them.

I sat on the roof of the courthouse, baking in the late-afternoon sun. My guards tried to repair the courthouse first, but I’d told them to help the citizens before they worked on this place. I could still feel the mist writhing under my skin, but it was part of me now.

Khulan looked up at me. “I figured you’d be here again.”

I offered her a hand.

“Actually,” she said, “I’m here to pull you off the roof this time. Erhi’s awake.”

I leapt off the roof and landed next to Khulan. “When did she wake up?”

“I came for you as soon as I heard,” she said.

I walked through the courthouse doors. The frame had been damaged, so it hung off loosely. The courthouse was empty, save for the shards of some broken benches and a hearth that had been melted by Oktai’s acid. “Who told you?”

“Told me? It was hard not to hear Erhi yelling.”

I started running, but Khulan grabbed my hand before I took off.

“She was yelling ‘I did it’.”

“Oh.” I slowed my pace to match Khulan’s. I’d always walked fast, but ever since I absorbed the mist, I walked too quickly for everyone else. “So she’s alright?”

“Well, she’s a bit full of herself at the moment,” she said. “But she’s fine.”

“…you see my hands? They were so strong…” Erhi’s voice echoed through the courthouse.

As soon as I passed through the backdoor in the courtroom, Eeluk rushed at me with a stack of papers and three men with glasses behind him. “My lord, my lord…”

“Whatever you need, consider it approved.”

“Approved?” Eeluk glanced down at his papers. “These are the plans for the new Karakhorum. The architects here have designed the Kublai Gardens.”

“I’m going to have a garden?”

“With a fifty-five foot statue of your lord’s likeness,” one of the architect chimed in.

“Why fifty-five?” Khulan asked.

One of the other architects tugged at his little suit and smiled. “Ah, glad you asked. You see, Kublai is the fifth lord of Karakhorum since the First Empire. Fifty-five.”

“The tallest statue on the continent is fifty-three feet tall,” Eeluk said. “They just want their names on the tallest one.”

One of the architects raised a hand. “It will be the tallest statue since the First Empire!”

“You have my approval,” I said, “for everything except the garden and the statue.”

“My lord,” one of the architects said, “your great victory demands some kind of monument—”

“Make my cities my monuments.” I brushed past them. “Restore them, improve them. That’ll serve as my monument.”

Khulan shuffled after me. “You could have at least gotten the garden. Every member of the Council of Lords has had one.”

I stopped. “All the more reason for me not to have one. I’m not a member of the Council.”

Khulan looked down. “Right. Sorry...”

“Sorry?” I chuckled. “That’s a first, and an unnecessary apology.”

“…Sorry you’re too good for grass and pretty flowers with your name on it.”

“That’s the Khulan I know.” I held open the door to Erhi’s chambers.

Erhi was standing on the bed, her arms raised. She wore a red silk robe, matching the rest of the room they’d put her in. The flowers in her hair looked brighter, even though there was only one window. Batu lounged in the corner, a blanket wrapped around himself and a plate of ham resting on his lap. Her room had marble floors, so my footsteps drew their attention as soon as I stepped onto them.

“Kublai!” Erhi jumped off the bed and hugged me. She stepped back right after. “You’re… taller. How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days,” I said. “The mist added a few inches.”

“Try a few feet,” Batu said. “You look like a tree with muscles.”

“What did I look like before?”

“…a shorter tree with muscles.” Batu bit his ham.

“I did it!” Erhi shouted. “I closed the portal!”

“I heard.” I smiled.

“Everyone heard,” Khulan said.

Batu craned his neck over to the window. “She did it!” Erhi raised her eyebrow at him. “What? I saw someone who hasn’t heard.”

“How did you know he hadn’t heard?” Khulan said.

“He’s deaf,” Batu said.

“Are you okay?” I asked Erhi. “That must’ve put a lot of strain on you.”

“It did, that’s why I slept for so long,” she said. “But it wasn’t all restful.” She looked at her feet. “I… I saw something.”

“You had a vision?” I asked.

She nodded. “I saw him.”

“What about him?” Khulan asked, pushing past me shoulder.

“He’s… coming.”

“Here?” Batu said. “But we can’t have guests over with the city in this state!”

“I’m sure he’ll understand,” I said. “We did, after all, just kill one of his enemies.”

“Does that make him our ally?” Batu said.

Erhi glanced at Batu. “Judging by my vision… no.”

“Don’t be coy,” Khulan said. “What was your vision?”

“I can’t remember most of it… Thinking about it hurts.” She point to her forehead. “It feels like I’m getting stabbed right here. I saw him on a horizon, the sun setting behind him.”

“What did he look like?” Khulan asked.

“I… I can’t place it. He looked like a raging wind. Like the last breaths of an old man’s soul.”

Batu narrowed his eyes. “It’s worse than we thought.”

“What makes you say that?” Erhi said.

“Old man breath.” Batu shuddered. “Terrifying.”

“If that’s terrifying to you,” Khulan said, “you’re going to run into an uncomfortable living situation in fifty years.”

“Oh please,” I said. “The way he drinks and gambles, he’s not making it to forty, let alone seventy-two.”

Batu clicked his fingers. “Speaking of which.” He tossed his plate onto Erhi’s bed and strode out the room.

“Kublai…” Erhi sat down on the edge of her bed. “I’m proud that I closed the portal, but… that’s not enough.”

“It was,” Khulan said.

“I mean… I struggled. I had to put everything I had into it. It knocked me out for three days, and I still feel exhausted.”

“It was difficult,” I said. “Don’t beat yourself up about that.”

“I’m not.” Erhi put her hands in her lap. “I’m just thinking about it with a clear head. I need to get stronger. I need to be able to look out for myself instead of being a burden to you.”

“You’re not a burden—”

“Yes, I am,” she said. “Every time a misting attacked me three days ago, I had to rely on you. They tore through anything I threw at them. I want to be stronger. I want to be able to take care of myself. I want… to be more like you.”

I walked over to the bed and sat beside her.

She put her head on my shoulder. “And if he’s coming, I need to be ready.”

“We all do,” Khulan said.

“Are you going to try and get stronger too?” Erhi said.

“Me? In a manner of speaking.” She sat down on Batu’s seat. “We need to go to the First Capital.”

“What’s there?” I asked.

“I told you I used to know him,” she said. “I collected things from that time. I think we might be able to find a weakness in there somewhere.”

“’Things’ as in tokens of love?” I smirked.

“I did love him, but not in that way.” She folded her arms, then unfolded them. She avoided eye contact with me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just… I’ve never told anyone this.”

“Told them what?” Erhi said.

“He isn’t just someone I used to know.” Khulan looked me dead in the eye. “He’s my brother.”

I paused. Erhi looked at me, trying to gauge my reaction, but I didn’t have one.

“It doesn’t change anything…” Khulan looked down. “He was my brother. I don’t know what he is now, but he isn’t the man I remember. If it comes down to it, Kublai, don’t hesitate to kill him.”

“I won’t,” I said. “What did you keep of his?”

“Letters, a few of his paintings, some clothes… but there’re some things in there that aren’t like the others. Actually, most of it feels… off. I’ve felt spiritual energy several times, but everything that he’s touched feels like something more.”

I stood. “Let’s go.”

“Now?”

I nodded. “He could be here at any moment. We can’t waste any time.”

I pulled out the map. It had taken a beating in the last few weeks. My blood had stained it, and the dragon carvings on the outside had been chipped and broken. But it still worked – better than ever. I’d only used it once in the last three days, but I felt like I was much more in control, like I had tamed the Spirit Realm.

Erhi dragged her hand up my arm. “Your scars…”

“What about them?” I asked.

“They’re gone.”

I lifted my sleeve. “The mist didn’t just make me taller.” I held out my hand. “Shall we?”

Khulan put her hand on mine, and Erhi held my wrist tightly. I pressed on the First Capital. This time, when the blue light enveloped me, I had to let it take me. Spiritual energy danced over my skin, but it would only enter me if I made it.

The First Capital hadn’t fared much better than Karakhorum. A long streak of houses had been torn through, as if an enormous snake had slithered through the street. Men and women both hung tarp and tended pots on fires outside their homes. Goblins scurried out from their burrows, snatching knives, spoon and jewelry, and scurrying back. The city was soaked in near-sunset gold.

We landed outside Bet’s cart – the merchant whose house we’d stayed in before. Bet rubbed his eyes and squinted at us, then sighed.

“Not happy to see me?” I said.

“Not happy to see her.” He pointed at Khulan.

Khulan put her hands up. “I come in peace, I swear. I’m his ally now.”

“Oh,” Bet said. “That’s not why I’m not happy. I started taking bets when everything started getting weird with the holes opening up. I figured people in high places were involved. I had Lady Khulan at ten-to-one to not make it out of all this. Fuck. I lost a whole cart of oranges and two pouches of silver on this one alone.”

“I think you probably did fine. Lords Batbayar and Oktai are dead.” I asked. “What were my odds?”

“Hundred to one that you’d survive.” Bet shrugged. “The only person who bet on you dying was the madman who lives in apple tree, and all he bet was six rotten apples.”

A man sidled up to Bet, and Bet reached under his cart. He tossed the man a pouch that clinked as he caught it.

The man smiled. “Told you that bitch would make it. She’s tough as nails.”

Khulan smirked. “He’s not wrong.”

“Yeah, yeah. What brings you back?” Bet grinned. “Care to gamble on the cockfight in the Batbayar Garden? If that’s not to your taste, the children are having a race. Me, I’ve got my money on the scrappy kid from that grimy alleyway off Ratcreek Avenue, but that blond one is swift too—”

“Another time,” I said.

I led Khulan and Erhi off the main street. “Where’d you keep your collection? Your home?”

“Batbayar’s, actually.” She shrugged. “If one of the other councilmembers broke into my home and found a trove of information about him, they’d have sent an army of assassins my way. They only sent a couple, most years.”

“Where’s his house?”

Khulan stepped forward. She led us through alleyways and up side streets until we found a garden. Children played in the grass, steering clear of the man lounging in the branches of the apple tree, laughing and scratching his ragged beard.

“It’s that one,” Khulan pointed.

I nodded, striding at Batbayar’s house. I kicked the door in. The door flew off the hinges. We stepped inside. I led, just in case Batbayar was the type to set traps. He wasn’t. He was the type to mount the heads of beasts he’d hunted, or paid someone to hunt on his behalf, on the walls. Boars, deer, bears, and one hawk hung over the fireplace, caked in dust. The house was sparsely furnished, and if there weren’t portraits of Batbayar and his family littered over the place, one might think no one lived here.

“Through here.” Khulan nodded at an archway, then pointed a door. “Under his bed.”

Erhi scurried forward and shook the handle. The door opened. “Before you tried to kick it down.”

Light filtered in through boarded windows, catching the flakes of dust. The floor creaked as I took the first step. Khulan peeked past me.

“Hold on.” She brushed past me. “The bed’s been moved.” She squatted down and ran her finger over the floor around the bed posts. “Recently. The dust was disturbed.”

I stepped forward, put my hand under the bed and lifted it. Khulan looked underneath.

“Shit,” Khulan said.

“Someone got here before us,” Erhi said.

I looked underneath before I set the bed down. The floorboards had been torn up, and the space under them was empty.

“Who else knew about this?” I asked.

“No one.” Khulan looked at her feet. “Just me… and him. He knew I had it, but he didn’t know where I kept it. No one knew that. Not even my most trusted secretaries.”

“Maybe someone just looted this place.” Ehri shrugged. “And they just… took it? One of Batbayar’s relatives.”

“No,” I said. “This is too precise. Someone knew what they were looking for and where to find it. None of the portraits were disturbed. The silver fittings are still here too.”

“He’s back,” a voice whispered with a mad chuckle. “He’s coming.”

I spun, pulling Erhi and Khulan behind me. Footsteps creaked against the floor of Batbayar’s house. I didn’t see anyone.

“Boo!” The madman from the apple tree peeked out from behind a small wall. He smiled, his half rotten teeth barely clung to his gums. His rough beard looked like a thorn bush. “Come, come!”

“Stay here,” I told Khulan and Erhi. I stepped forward.

The madman waved me closer, then hopped out the door. “Come, come!”

I followed him out in the daylight. “Where are you taking me?”

He hopped out into the street, laughing. “Here!” He pointed at the ground.

I stepped into the street, scanning the surroundings. It could be a trap, but I took the risk. I stepped onto the spot.

He stood on is toes and put his hands on my shoulders. His breath reeked of mold and apples. “Look, look.”

“What am I looking at?”

He pointed. “Out there. On the hill. Far, far away. But you can see. You see. Do you see?”

I squinted. “No I—” My eyes widened.

On the top of a hill in the distance, the sun hovered over the horizon, sinking behind a figure in the shape of a man. I couldn’t make out his face, but somehow I knew that he was looking me dead in the eye. A gust of wind crept up and curled between my legs.

“You see.” The madman smiled. “He’s back.”

End of book 1

Please let me know what you thought of the first book in the comments!