Hidden by Jade by Celine Jeanjean

Author:Celine Jeanjean [Jeanjean, Celine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Celine Jeanjean
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

14

Ilmu stays as she is for what feels like a long time. I don't dare move or make a noise.

And then Chizu winks out of existence.

“Where did she go?” I ask, breaking my resolution to stay silent.

“Back to the physical world. We’re in the part of my magic where I store my memories.”

“What does it mean that I killed someone in here? For you, I mean. Does it…”

Ilmu looks at me, but doesn’t speak. Her eyes are large and haunted. It’s bound to be awful for her.

I close my own eyes, as a wave of the most awful guilt washes over me.

When I re-open my eyes, Ilmu shimmers her human glamour into place. She looks exhausted and sad. Very, very sad.

“Ilmu, I'm so sorry. I honestly thought I was just injuring Chizu temporarily to buy us some time. I've never killed anyone before. I've…”

“I saw in her memories—she would have killed you. No one can blame you for defending yourself. Including me.”

Well, that’s in theory. Taking a life in practice is a whole other kettle of fish.

“I recovered all her memories,” Ilmu continues. “Nothing was wasted.”

“Does that mean you got the memories of your daughter back?”

“Yes.” Ilmu looks deeply relieved.

“Your daughter…”

“She died in a confrontation with the Mundanes. I have never managed to have another young since. In that respect, baku are a bit like the pari-pari—it is difficult for us to bear young.”

Which probably makes the fact that I killed Chizu that much worse.

“It's why I agreed to help Qinglong,” Ilmu adds. “Having gone through the pain of losing my daughter, I could understand her desperation to keep you in existence. Hold on a moment. I can’t give you your memories back, but I can give you a derivative. Kind of like someone telling you what happened.”

I feel something cold slip inside my consciousness, and my first reflex is to try to stop it.

“Just allow it,” Ilmu murmurs.

The cold slowly warms up, and then suddenly I know how I met Ilmu. I can’t picture it—that part is gone, but I know that my father told me about her, that I came to her office.

“We should go,” Ilmu says. “There will be much work for me and my kind in the wake of Chizu passing, and it would be best if you weren't there when it begins.”

I nod.

“And when you are back, you should call Sarroch.”

“Sarroch?”

“Yes. It will very soon become public knowledge that you killed Chizu—there is nothing I can do to stop it. The other baku all need to be shown her final moments, so they will see. There will be outrage—you are still human, after all. And you killed a Mayak. This will get messy. You need Sarroch and Sangong, too, around you, and anyone else who will help.”

Oh, bloody hell.

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