Yao extended his hand where the jade lion rested. "This one should not be left like this. It will find a new host, given the chance."
Jin reached for it-hesitated-then snatched it up by the tip of its tail. It felt foul. A shudder ran down her spine. "What would happen if it broke?"
"The spirit within dies with its host."
Jade was strong, but it could be broken, Jin remembered. She dashed the lion to the ground with all that remained of her strength. It shattered into pieces on the stone floor.
A tremor shook the cavern. The metal table shuddered, then toppled. Jin clung to Auntie Bai Wei. Her head swam. From the corner of her eye she saw her left shoulder. Blood saturated the jacket and her shirt, seeping down to stain her jeans. So much blood.
"Follow me, Bai Wei," Yao ordered.
It didn't seem strange to Jin that he would know her name. After all, she had known the guardian.
Jin tried to stumble along over the quaking ground, but couldn't keep her feet. Bai Wei hoisted Jin over her broad shoulder and chased after Yao. Jin tried to protest, but her head kept knocking against Auntie's back and the shoulder digging into her stomach gave her no room to breathe, and besides, she was so very tired.
Images swam by in fits and starts. Into the stairwell. Bai Wei's labored breathing. No lights. Shouldn't there have been lights? Up and up and into the cellblocks. Yao melting locks. More quakes. So many people, all following her little brother like he was some sort of promised savior. Boy, boy, plays with toys.
Walls crumbling. Yao's powerful radiance deflecting the stones. The smell of the river. Nothing.
Jin woke to the strong scent of chili sauce. Her eyes flew open. She was in Auntie Bai Wei's shop.
Yao sat beside her, shoveling noodles into his mouth. Seeing she was awake, he picked up an extra bowl that sat on the carved box beside him. "Want some?"
Her mouth watered and her stomach gave a growl that felt nearly as loud as the lion's roar. She pushed herself into a sitting position. Her shoulder protested, but didn't give out. Heavy bandages wrapped it, underneath an embroidered silk robe. "Please," she replied.
She didn't know what to say to him. Her little brother, the mouse, was the boy she knew. Who this boy-this little lion-would be, was a mystery.
She accepted the bowl and took a cautious bite. It had been so long since anything other than nutrition bars or cannery remains had touched her tongue the chili sauce felt like fireworks and flame. Tears welled in her eyes, not from pain, but from the simple relief of being cared for. For once, not shouldering the weight of expectation and guilt.
The little dog-faced spirit who had given back her hat not so very long ago capered up and down the nearest shelf, dodging trinkets and bric-a-brac, peering over with curious eyes. Liu sat, poised and dainty, at Yao's side.
Jin heard Auntie Bai Wei coming before she saw her. Although there was weariness in her face, she looked happier than Jin could ever remember seeing her. She stood straighter, as if a yoke that burdened her had been lifted.
Auntie looked Jin up and down. "You're looking better."
Jin ducked her head. "Because of you," she said. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. I'm in your debt for as long as you live. If you hadn't found the guardian when you did, every one of those souls in the prison would have been lost to feed the demon. My spirit refuge would have been destroyed, and all of my companions killed. You saved them, Jin."
"And me with them," Yao added.
"I did nothing but what I had to do," she said, looking over her steaming noodle bowl at her brother, "to fulfill my promise to Mother." She shook her head. "I was never good enough on my own. What a poor guardian I've been."
Yao handed his bowl to Liu, who took it without difficulty, despite it being nearly a fourth of her size. He dropped to one knee beside Jin. "You've been the best guardian I could have asked for, but now it's my turn. Auntie Bai Wei has offered to pay my entry to the tech school. I'll thrive there, and when I'm out, we'll never be in want again."
Jin looked over at Auntie Bai Wei. Suspicious moisture clung to the corners of the shopkeeper's eyes.
"You'd do that?" Jin asked.
"As I said, I'm in your debt." Bai Wei shrugged. "Besides I've grown fond of you, my little scamp. Now finish your noodles." She turned away before rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "You've got to build up your strength."
Jin bit her lip to keep from crying. Despite the pain, she felt lighter than air. She speared the noodles with her chopsticks and took another bite of paradise.