Shifting Tides: Book 7 of Painting the Mists by Patrick G. Laplante

Author:Patrick G. Laplante [Laplante, Patrick G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Patrick G. Laplante
Published: 2019-12-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19: Market of Souls

Gentle zither music sounded through Hong Xin’s study as she worked through ledger after ledger. Ji Bingxue was the one who played, for while she couldn’t help the headmistress personally, she could calm her frustrated heart and soothe her tense nerves.

“I’m done with this nonsense,” Hong Xin said, setting her pen down and placing her face in her hands. She used her middle forefingers to rub the area between her eyes.

Hong Xin was tired. She hadn’t slept a wink since their last report. “Three sisters are dead, and our supposed allies haven’t even done anything to prevent it. You’d think it would be in their best interests to protect us.”

“It’s in their best interests to keep us scared,” Bai Ling said. She was playing a game of Angels and Devils beside the tea table. By herself, of course. “One death here and there won’t affect our ability to fulfill our contract. They’ll pay us our meager fare and sleep soundly while we don’t dare leave the Red Dust Pavilion. A perfect situation if I do say so myself.”

“I understand why they’re doing it,” Hong Xin said. “I’m just frustrated. It doesn’t help that the ones we captured still haven’t given us a single useful answer. That’s all despite a year and a half of both pleasure and pain to get it out of them.” She walked over to the tea table and poured three cups of tea.

“I can’t blame them,” Ji Bingxue said. She’d stopped playing her calming tune. “The first and last one who did had her soul devoured by… What did you call it again?”

“A contract enforcement specter,” Bai Ling said, still playing the game. The soft clicking of black and white stones grated on Hong Xin’s delicate nerves. “It’s a mild possession, mostly brainless, that will activate in key instances. Which, as far as I know, includes anything to do with their activities for the Spirit Temple, the Spirit Temple itself, and the nature of their contract.”

“We should ask the Church of Justice to exorcise them,” Ji Bingxue said. “Though they’ll ask questions, we can give them enough truths to satisfy them.”

“They’ll never be satisfied,” Bai Ling said. “You may not have seen an inquisition in person, but I have. It’s not pretty. Besides, I’m sure we’d activate one of the specters’ termination clauses even if we did find a chaplain. No, we’re better off just killing them and tying off loose ends. Those evil women are beyond saving anyway, and they’re a huge liability waiting to happen.”

Hong Xin sighed. “Our game isn’t even close to even. No, it’s straight-up terrible for us. What would you do if you were losing so badly at Angels and Devils?”

Bai Ling paused. “If it were just a game, I’d concede and start a new one. It’s easy to do that with games, but life just doesn’t work that way.” She grabbed her cup of hot tea and drank deeply. “The closest analogy that’s actually applicable to real life is evening the playing field.

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