“The quest was … stressful,” I said vaguely. “Exhausting. Cold. Didn’t pack enough Pocky. Rookie mistake.”
Jordan’s shiny eagerness didn’t fade, despite my stiffness. “I mean, what did you and Ren do?”
A blast of air-conditioning greeted us as we headed inside the building. “We, um …” We were on a quest, trying to find a mythical island and my father. Many demons tried to destroy us, which was slightly rude. We thought the gods would help us, but instead, most of them wanted humanity destroyed, which was even ruder. Oh yeah, and my grandfather Ye Ye and friend Moli died, and my brother, Alex, betrayed me. The food at the gods’ feast was bomb, though.
I imagined telling this to Jordan, who stared at me all wide-eyed and eager.
“Let’s just say we, uh … we … crashed the Jade Emperor’s banquet together,” I said.
“Oh, is that why the dude went all cranky?” asked Jordan.
“Cranky” was the understatement of the year. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s go with that.”
We ducked into the stairwell and walked up to the second floor, then entered through the first set of white doors. I’d never actually been inside Jordan and Ashley’s apartment before, even though Jordan had invited me many times.
“Welcome to our humble abode,” said Jordan as I came to a stop in front of a black door with the number sixteen over it. He pulled a key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock, and swung the door wide open.
Ashley stood there wearing a set of pink headphones, holding a half-eaten mán tou, a steamed bun, in one hand. She bounced a red yo-yo up and down with her other hand. As soon as the door opened fully, Ashley looked up and raised an eyebrow at us both. Her eyes narrowed when they landed on me.
“Hey, sis,” said Jordan happily, raising his hand in a wave. “Looks like you’ve already—”
Bam. The whole hall shuddered as Ashley shoved past her brother and slammed the door in our faces.
CHAPTER
5
“Sorry about the mess,” Jordan said as he led me into the apartment. Ashley had already disappeared into her own room. “The New Order used to have a cleaning lady, but she got eaten by a demon during the Lunar New Year.” He winced. “Kind of a messy way to go for a cleaning lady, too.”
Ye Ye would’ve thrown a fit at the sight—and smell—of this place. There were dirty jeans and T-shirts strewn about the floor, along with random pieces of paper and empty candy-bar wrappers. I stepped on something sticky on the carpet. Chewing gum. Great.
“It’s all right.” I pinched my nose to keep out the stench of sweaty gym socks piled next to the small kitchen. “This isn’t the worst mess I’ve seen.”
“Really?” Jordan’s shoulders sagged in relief.
“No. I was just saying that to make you feel better.” Jordan frowned. I laughed. “You’re too gullible, Alex.”
The name slipped out so easily, as it had for my entire life, that I didn’t notice I’d said anything wrong until Jordan’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “Alex? Who’s Alex?”
Oh. Alex wasn’t here. Alex was somewhere far, far away—where I could see him only in my dreams. I hadn’t told anyone at the New Order about my brother, because that would involve explaining his betrayal, not to mention the gods’ devious plot against all of humanity. Not exactly dinner conversation. “He’s—nobody.”
“Ooookay,” said Jordan. “Well, make yourself comfortable, and help yourself to the snacks.”
Setting my backpack down on the floor, I sat down on the lumpy black couch and stared at the slightly grimy coffee table in front of me, which was empty except for some Chinese newspapers and American magazines. No food in sight. “Snacks?”
“Yeah.” Jordan reached beneath one of the couch cushions. He pulled out a half-empty bag of shrimp chips and popped one into his mouth. “Under the couch, silly.”
That was my cue to make a polite but speedy exit. Before I could, Jordan’s expression grew serious as he asked, “By the way, what was it that Erlang Shen called you earlier? Heaven something?”
Just thinking about my former title made me cringe. Jordan stared at me expectantly, though. I figured I owed him an explanation.
“Yup. Heaven … Something,” I said. “That’s my nickname. ‘Heaven Something.’ ” Jordan gave me a dubious look, but I was in too deep to backtrack. “That Erlang Shen, always the jokester. Ha-ha. Ha …”
Okay, I owed Jordan an attempt at an explanation.
“I wonder if Erlang Shen picked you out because you’re different,” Jordan mused.
“Different?”
“Yeah. You’re half—right?”
Oh boy. Here came The Question again. “Yes.” I sighed. “My father is—a warrior. My mother, she … wasn’t.”
“Same with Ashley and me,” Jordan said. “Well, our mother was a warrior. We never knew our father.”
“Oh.” Why hadn’t I grown up in the New Order, where there were parents and kids of mixed blood who could still be warriors? Why the Jade Society, where Mao had liked to remind me at every turn that Alex and I would never be warriors like the other kids?
“Heaven Breaker. That’s what Erlang Shen called her.” The couch cushion beneath me dipped as another figure plopped onto the couch. Ashley. She’d taken off her headphones and brought something else with her—her swords. Two, to be exact, both turned ever so slightly in my direction.
I scooted down to the other end of the couch as discreetly as possible.
“Heaven Breaker …,” Jordan murmured. “Why does that sound so familiar?”
I prayed he wouldn’t put two and two together.
Meanwhile, Ashley eyed the sharp blade of one of her swords. “So, Faryn. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Oh, is that why you’re glaring at me and sprinting away all the time? I should’ve realized.”
She ignored my quip. “Is it true what they say about the Jade Society warriors? That you guys haven’t been hunting demons or even training in years? Xiong predicted it was only a matter of time before the Jade Society disbanded for good.”
Even though most of the memories I harbored of the Jade Society weren’t that great, indignation shot through me. Who was Ashley to act like the New Order warriors were better than us? Especially since I’d just completed a quest for the gods.
I was still trying to think of a comeback when Jordan intervened. “Hang on, Ashley. I think you’re being unfair. Faryn is qualified.”
She lowered her swords. “What are you talking about?”
“I just remembered the legend of the Heaven Breaker.” Jordan’s jaw hung open, as though seeing me in a whole new light. “You’re the warrior of the gods, fated to take over for the great warrior Guan Yu in Heaven?”
“Yes,” I blurted out. “I mean … no, not anymore. I mean … maybe?”
Ashley scrunched up her nose. Jordan stood and paced around in small circles in front of us. There was no easy way to explain the story—how Xi Wangmu had chosen me to be the Heaven Breaker, her soldier to control, and then Alex had taken that role from me instead.