Sacrifice by Cindy Pon

Author:Cindy Pon [Pon, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA, fantasy, diverse, Chinese, China, historical, supernatural, paranormal
ISBN: 9781945107207
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC
Published: 2016-09-27T07:00:00+00:00

Skybright

The Bei manor was indeed impressive, even from the exterior. The outer walls seemed to stretch on endlessly, encompassing the large estate. Lush pomegranate trees, more than she could count, were planted along the length of the front wall with stone benches beneath some of the tall trees. The crowd that had passed stood in a tight knot in front of the grand double wooden doors. Two fierce jade lion statues sat on either side of the entrance. As she drew closer, Skybright saw that large rubies formed the statues’ eyes, and she marveled that Master Bei was rich enough that he wasn’t concerned some passerby would gouge out the precious jewels. She had no doubt the stones were real gems. Two magnificent door pulls made of brass were set into the doors, each with a large bat holding the rings in its mouth—a symbolism for fortune.

She glimpsed Pearl in the throng of people. The girl clutched a rolled message in her hand—probably a letter of introduction from Lady Yuan herself. Stone stood apart from the crowd, chin in one hand, staring at one of the lion statues. A few servants threw curious glances at him. He wasn’t dressed as a rich master but carried himself with natural authority after becoming used to being obeyed over thousands of years. Noticing Skybright observing him, he gestured her over. “Do these lions seem … strange to you?” he asked in a low voice.

She leaned over to peer into the lion’s face, and its jeweled eyes glittered, seeming to follow her movement, causing the hairs on her arms to stand on end. “They barely have a mane, and their fangs look sharper than normal. The eyes have the effect of seeing you.” She hugged herself, chilled, even beneath the afternoon sun’s warmth. “I’m sure it’s a trick of the imagination. But what is that on top of its head?” She pointed, reluctant to touch the statue.

Two rounded points were set in the curved etchings of its mane. Stone drew closer to examine where she pointed, then let out a string of curses about a hag and fallen teeth and warts on the backside—he spoke too fast for her to catch it all. In an instant, he had grabbed her by the arm and was pushing their way to the front of the crowd, pounding so loudly on the brass knocker her ears rang. The servants didn’t resist as he shoved past them, but their animated chatter hushed to low whispers.

One of the grand doors swung open, and a brutish guard stood before them. He had beady black eyes and a nose that flipped up so much at the end it almost appeared to be a snout. She glimpsed a massive spirit wall behind the guard, more than twice Stone’s height.

“What do you want?” the guard growled, hefting the giant axe he clutched for emphasis.

The smell hit her then. This guard was not human; he was demonic. She glided closer to Stone, touching his elbow in warning.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.