Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) Read online

  Sheng shook his head. Didn’t matter. He had to get Lucy the hell out of here and ensure these fuckups never came after her ever again.

  “He didn’t agree with my plans. We envisioned different futures.”

  Her lips parted and, judging by the skipped beat of her heart, whatever thought ran across her mind was bad, bad news.

  ***

  Lucy tried to step backward, but Sheng’s solid body blocked her. The horror of what these people had done exploded in her mind, igniting her flight instincts.

  Where to run? Snake and her uncle wouldn’t let this go. Determination akin to that of crazy mad scientists flashed in their eyes. Everything made sense now. Her uncle must have sent Snake after her the day of her arrival, when she headed for the Gardens. He’d been the one following her. She recalled the correspondence between her uncle and her dad. They’d argued about the Dragon. Since Chosen couldn’t die from the Red Death, Xiaodan must have concluded that before her dad died, he’d handed the spirit to someone else—Lucy. That explained why he was so eager to bring her here. When she arrived, he assumed she carried the Dragon, so they didn’t care if she spent time with Sheng. Tiger couldn’t claim the Dragon’s loyalty. They were yin and yang. Two leaders. Once they realized she carried the Rabbit instead of the Dragon, her uncle and Snake had dismissed her. Until Snake witnessed the Dragon at the Council Chambers and sent Boar to spy on her for confirmation.

  The memory of the tea shop slammed into her thoughts, the details still fuzzy. One thing was certain. Dragon was a spirit she’d much rather have on her side.

  Snap back, Luce. To buy some time, she had to keep them talking. Another of the Elders would exit the chambers soon and discover this confrontation, right? She glanced from side to side. Where were the monks?

  “They’re not coming for you, Lucy.” A haughty glint curved Snake’s mouth. “In case you’re counting on aid,” he droned, “I took care of the Council. None of them are coming to your rescue.”

  Images of the others crashed through her brain. Had Snake murdered the Council? What about the rest? Kassian, Fang, Mei? Delun? She whipped her gaze to Sheng’s. His brows drew together as he stared at her with desperation before his features hardened once more and he faced their enemies.

  “Never figured you for the rebellious type, Snake.” Sheng scoffed.

  “It’s not a rebellion if it’s a revolution,” Snake shot back.

  Sheng grimaced. “A revolution into what? Hell?”

  “Depends whose side you’re standing on,” Snake replied, a smug grin on his face. “Right, Xiaodan?” He turned to her uncle like a dog awaiting a treat from its master.

  “Indeed, my son.” While Snake beamed, Xiaodan addressed her. “When my brother died, I assumed he would have bestowed the Dragon upon his daughter. Imagine my surprise when you claimed the Rabbit instead.” He waggled a finger at her, laughter escaping his lips. The chortling didn’t bring notions of mirth to her mind, but hysterics.

  Her uncle was batshit crazy.

  Xiaodan snorted. “Your father, he was so devious. He even hid your Spirit Thief talent from me. By the time we’d realized what he’d done… It was too late, eh, Boar?” He jabbed an elbow into Boar’s side, but the man’s stance remained as stoic as a statue. Menace bled through his gaze, as if he strove to erode a hole into her chest by glaring at her.

  Heels clacking on stone tiles echoed toward them. Behind her uncle, a woman approached.

  “Fucking Empress,” Sheng cursed.

  Shivers of dread burrowed beneath Lucy’s skin. If she’d considered the Matchmaker formidable, it was nothing compared to the cool composition of this woman’s sharp Asian features. As she strolled forward, she raised her hand, snapping her fingers. For an instant, her youthful body transformed into an elderly woman.

  Beside her, Sheng emitted a strangled sound from deep within his throat.

  “Run, lad. Run and never look back. Never tell anyone who you really are.” The old woman’s Mandarin words faded to an echo as she snapped her fingers and resumed her original form.

  “You,” he grated through gritted teeth, his fists clenched at his sides. His body shook as though unable to control the rage inside.

  One corner of her fuchsia lips curved. “A rather brilliant plan, wouldn’t you agree? In one move, I eliminated two threats.”

  Lucy gasped. “You were the assassin.” The one who’d killed Sheng’s family by setting the fire.

  “Indeed. What a clever mind.” The woman perused her with a covetousness that made Lucy’s skin crawl. “Your father,” she glanced at Sheng, “mistakenly believed his wife signed the blood contract—which I forged—for the deaths of his mistress and her family. He shot his wife then turned the gun on himself. A tragedy.”

  “Why let me live?” Misery laced Sheng’s inquiry.

  “Oh, I would have executed you, but the Tiger protected you. I let you live because you were nothing but a pitiless street orphan. Broken. Certainly no longer a threat to us.” She waved a hand in dismissal as she cast a smirk at Lucy. “Your father seized the Dragon from Delun in the first place. He was a Shèhúnzéi. A Spirit Thief, like yourself.”

  Her hand shot to cover her mouth. Delun was the original Chosen of the Dragon. Had her father helped orchestrate a plan to overthrow the entire Council? “Why?”

  “Why not?” A haughty smirk. “If you’d ever drudged through one of the Council’s board meetings, you wouldn’t judge the Ghee Hin so harshly. The Elders have access to all of the power in the universe and none of the ability to wield it.” She twirled her fingers through the air, then beckoned them toward Lucy. “Join with us, Lucy. Claim your father’s place.”

  My father’s place? Hell, no. This was the same woman who’d sent mercenaries to Sheng’s island and called her an abomination. “You tried to kill me.”

  “Did I? Or perhaps I sought to forge your death.”

  Whoa, devious. Sheng’s fingers pressed into hers. Trust flowed between them. The kind that couldn’t be usurped by someone as false as the Empress. No way would Lucy switch sides.

  As she regarded Sheng, her body blazed with awareness of him. Of her love for him.

  Mom. Her mother must have changed her father’s mind. Without her dad’s ability to snatch the other spirits, these fiends had resorted to Plan B.

  Unleash the Plague God. Force her father or, as it happened, Lucy, back into the game.

  “Imagine what you could do with your power.” The Empress curled a finger toward Snake.

  “Oh hell, no.” Sheng grimaced. “You weren’t chosen at all, were you, Snake?”

  “Why don’t you fuck off to Dìyù and ask Lucy’s father that question?” Snake’s coppery gaze slithered over her.

  Dad? Her heart rammed into her throat as tears stung her eyes. Why hadn’t he shared any of this with her? She swiped the backs of her hands across her wet lashes. Whatever his reasons, his last request had been for her to right his mistakes.

  “Consider your options before everyone you love pays the price.” Hissing her threat, the Empress snapped her fingers and vanished.

  Handy trick.

  “Enough talk.” Snake barked a command at her uncle who nodded in accord.

  “Li tried to hide you away.” Xiaodan stepped forward. “That’s the thing, Lucy. You can’t hide from us. Not from all of us.” He swept his arms out and the air filled with a droning buzz that echoed, growing louder. What the hell was he doing?

  She clung tighter to Sheng, but he shifted into a fighting stance. His body twisted in methodical turns, around in a circle as the noise closed in on them. Always, he positioned his body in front of hers, placing himself between her and the impending danger.

  The ground beneath their feet rumbled, shaking the building. Loose stones and roof tiles shattered against the ground.

  “Fuck.” Sheng cursed a few more times. “Yāoguài.”

  “What, the demons?” Dread tightened her stomach.

  “Yeah.
These must be the ones they’ve been harboring on Ghee Hin territory. Looks like Xiaodan found a way to control them. Dammit.”

  If Xiaodan had figured out how to command demons, it explained why he no longer sought to host a spirit animal. Demons were inherently evil; the Chinese Zodiac spirits fought for good. As a Chosen, he wouldn’t be able to carry out his villainous schemes. If he couldn’t use the Chosen, he’d ensure they stayed out of his way.

  Except for Snake and Boar. Somehow, Xiaodan had persuaded—or coerced—those two spirit animals to his side, which left their virtuous natures in question. Were those spirits inherently evil, or had they been made that way?

  Her gaze followed Sheng’s to the rooftop.

  As the first gnarled hand curled over the peak, its black claws digging into the red tiles, she feared they would fight to their deaths here.

  And lose.

  After the hand, a skeletal arm came into view, followed by the creature’s hollowed out face as it hoisted itself to stand on the peak. The demon bared its pointed teeth at them, hissing but not attacking.

  Yet.

  Dozens of other beings clambered onto the peak of the roof, enclosing them in a semi-circle, her uncle, Snake, and Boar blocking the exit.

  The yāoguài weren’t entirely solid. Their bodies shifted from vaporous to concrete. Each possessed different attributes. Some bore leathery wings, others sharp fangs and claws. Their skeletal-thin bodies appeared starved, making their glowing red or yellow eyes stand out in a striking fashion.

  The stuff of nightmares. Only, they were real.

  “Once they’ve escaped Dìyù—Hell— they seek immortality.” Sheng grimaced. “Through the consumption of humans souls and the destruction of the world, basically.”

  Her uncle’s head was thrown back, an eerie glow beaming from him as he summoned the demons. She shuddered. This was what her father had tried to prevent his brother from doing. It hadn’t worked. Stealing the Dragon from her uncle served not to discourage but whet his appetite for power.

  Her mind ran back over the letters between her father and uncle. The warnings. These weren’t the only demons the Ghee Hin had released. Oh no, they were, in fact, merely minions of a much greater evil.

  The Plague God, Wen Shen.

  “You did this. You unleashed the Plague God. You killed millions of innocent people. Children. Mothers. Fathers.” Her hand wavered in the air as she pointed an accusing finger at her uncle. “You’re insane. I—”

  Sheng snatched her hand. “We’ve a bigger problem than your uncle’s mental health.”

  “You can surrender or you can try to fight your way out.” Snake jerked his chin toward the waiting demons. “Either way, you’ll join with us.”

  Bending to her ear, Sheng whispered, “If we can get out of here, I’ll find us someplace safe. Will you fight with me?”

  She planted her lips against his. “Always.”

  Tiger’s claws cloaked Sheng’s hand, and he slashed them forward. “Yeah, we’ll take the third option. Slaughtering your asses.”

  “So be it.” Snake smirked as he waved for his minions to attack.

  One of the demons leapt onto the courtyard, landing twenty feet from Sheng and Lucy. It screeched and flashed in and out of its corporeal form, advancing. The others followed suit. Hordes of them. They kept coming until the dark, menacing creatures filled every inch of space between Lucy and Sheng and safety.

  Sheng handed her a dagger he pulled from his boot while he relied on Tiger’s claws. Keeping their backs to each other, they struck at the demons.

  Her first blow slashed straight through one’s chest and the creature splintered in front of her. By the time she landed her second strike, Sheng had already cut down several of the demons. Their bodies shattered like glass upon contact, their fragile link to this world severed.

  Her fortitude renewed, she concentrated on vanquishing the demons back to Dìyù.

  She didn’t dare count how many flowed over the side of the roof. If she and Sheng managed to cut through the demons, they could carve a path to safety.

  A demon with bat-like wings vaulted onto the shoulders of the one she danced around. As she drove forward to strike the demon below, the one atop slashed its claws across her shoulder, slicing her flesh. She cried out and dropped her blade as her legs buckled. Stumbling, she collapsed onto the ground.

  The demons swarmed her, but Sheng leapt to her aid, crouching protectively over her body. “Use the Rabbit, Lucy.”

  The second she did as instructed, cloaking Rabbit over herself, Sheng completed the circle. The haze of their spirits floated around them, through them. A demon lashed out at the shield and reared back instantly, shrieking as its skin sizzled.

  Ha! Their circle proved too holy for these evil spirits.

  The other demons retreated from their comrade’s melting flesh, regrouping.

  Sheng helped her to her feet, one hand putting pressure on her bleeding wound. Crimson liquid oozed from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground until the healing power of the circle spread across the gash. She grimaced at the searing sensation, but refused to give up.

  Because their only other option was far worse than death.

  Damnation.

  Fuck. Too many. Sheng gritted his teeth. In the past ten minutes of battle, they’d barely cut a dent through the throng of demons.

  More kept coming.

  An endless sea of blackness, revealing the occasional glowing red or yellow eyes or brilliant snap of teeth. Xiaodan commanded them forth, his head thrown back, his orifices emitting a freakish neon radiation.

  Thanks to the circle, Lucy’s injury had healed. She’d be fine if he ever got her out of here.

  The holy energy would keep the demons at bay for a few minutes, until they realized they could break through the circle. It was just him and Lucy, after all. Two Chosen couldn’t manifest an impenetrable circle forever.

  Damn. What had they done to the Council? Where the fuck were the others? His brother? Snake wouldn’t kill them, not when he might extract their spirits from them first.

  Through Lucy.

  No matter what, Sheng had to prevent them from capturing her. They had to continue fighting until they collapsed.

  Each demon he sent back to Dìyù added to the flames of his vengeance. He’d cut them down, one by one, until his family rested, avenged.

  Unless there was another way?

  Lucy nodded to him as she resumed her fighting stance. The demons didn’t seem to attack her with the intention of killing her. They wanted her weakened, not dead.

  Him? One hundred fucking percent dead.

  Snake and Xiaodan had no use for the Tiger, not when the Dragon would command the Chosen. Giving someone else the Tiger meant introducing another variable they might not be able to control. By killing Sheng, they’d buy some time before the Jade Emperor sent Tiger into a new host.

  Fuck yeah, that was the answer. His mind spun back to Lucy, to what her seemingly impotent Rabbit could do. “Lucy!” He whipped her around and hoped like hell she’d grasp what he inferred. “We can’t make it out of here.”

  “Of course we can. Sheng?” Despair haunted her features as she looked to him to fix this. His heart seized with the knowledge she’d follow him anywhere.

  Blind loyalty was precisely what he asked of her.

  Fortifying the shield of the circle around them, he bent forward, kissed her lips once and murmured, “Trance me, Lucy.”

  Her lips parted. Did that clever mind of hers arrive at the same conclusion he had?

  Only one way out.

  Death.

  Or at least the pretense of it.

  She stared down at her hands as they quivered, until she glared at them hard as if to force strength into herself she didn’t believe she possessed.

  That’s my girl.

  He snarled at the demons creeping up on him before they could finish the final act of their deception.

  “We have to kill them
all, Lucy, or die trying!” he shouted, though she was close enough for him to whisper.

  “I can’t, Sheng. I don’t want to die.”

  Ah, she was a terrific actress. He almost grinned. Instead, he hardened his features and growled. “I’m not giving you a fucking choice. Fight. Better to die an honorable death.”

  The one thing he counted on when it came to the bad guys? They assumed everyone acted with the same nefarious intentions they did.

  Selflessness never registered in their minds.

  He howled as Lucy stabbed him in the abdomen with her knife, the blade angled to draw blood, but not kill. As he crashed to the ground, she sucked the essence of the Tiger from his body into hers. The haze generated by their circle concealed her slipping the Rabbit into him.

  Rabbit’s spirit washed over him, familiar and yet entirely different from Tiger. Still, he knew what to do, how to control the beast.

  Lucy bent forward and bared Tiger’s fangs, stunning Rabbit into a trance.

  The world around him slowed. The sounds dulled before everything spun into a heightened state.

  His vision sharpened. Her blurred form shone above him as she rose from his side and spoke. The precise intonations of her voice sang over him, through him. Beautiful, as if watching a symphony but experiencing the sounds instead of only listening to them.

  “Call off your demons, Shūshu. I will fight them no more.”

  His head lolled to the side. She hugged her arms across her middle, evincing the most perfect victim.

  Vulnerable. Weak. Defeated.

  Too bad they didn’t fucking suspect the Tiger rested within her, poised to strike.

  Xiaodan snapped his fingers. A whirlwind swept over him, lashing onto the wisps of the demons, hauling them into its center, and swallowing them into the black hole at its apex.

  One threat down, three to go.

  Keep at it, Lucy.

  “A little harsh to kill him.” Snake sneered, jerking his head toward Sheng.

  “I…I…” The bloody knife clattered to the ground. She wept and stared at her hands, trembling convincingly in front of her. “He said he’d make me fight until we died. I don’t want to d-die.” Her sobbing was bloody perfect. A true damsel in distress, she’d bring out the protective nature in any man.