"Um...I don't think that's a costume," Ah Wen squeaked, coming to the realization at the same moment I did.

Fear seized me and froze me to the spot. Every cell in my brain screamed at me to turn, but instead I just stared at the beast before me, my palms sweating uncontrollably.

I'd never seen a demon in real life before—only in handbooks, like my brother's copy of Demons and Deities Through the Dynasties. Chinese demons came in all shapes and sizes, some as epic as winged horse creatures with the head of a dragon. The more powerful ones hid in disguise among the humans, though a good warrior, like my father had been, could detect the demons based on scent alone. Apparently they smelled like stinky tofu and pickle juice.

This demon was definitely not in hiding. I didn't know about its smell, but its appearance alone was gruesome.

It had the body of a lion. Its face was a cross between a lion's and a dragon's, giving it a full mane and tall, razor-sharp teeth. Its vicious-looking claws were each the size of small horns. They'd probably have no trouble ripping into human flesh.

But the nian dragon looked only half-formed. Its limbs were fuzzy, coming in and out of focus. A mouthful of yellow fangs glittered in the mass of black chaos that was its face.

"Get out of here," I barked at the kids, "now."

The nian demon reared back its head and roared. The children didn't need me telling them twice.

Ah Wen shrieked as he and his friends went scattering down the alleyway. "I'm sorry. Next time I'll bring real dumplings!"

Now that the kids were out of harm's way, I could execute the next part of my plan, which was: improvise like hell.

The demon lunged toward me. My body reacted before I could think. Narrowly dodging the creature's swiping claws, I leapt onto an empty wooden crate leaning against the wall. I spotted a broken plank of wood on the ground and snatched it up before the nian dragon could make another pass at me.

Ye Ye's favorite words raced through my head. Pray to the gods when you're in trouble, Falun.

It was madness to pray at that moment, and yet I still did it. Buddha, you never gave me that dollhouse I asked you for when I was eight, but we're totally cool if you help me bring down this demon—right—now.

The dragon's fangs elongated. Its features had sharpened; on its face was the nose and muzzle of a bear and the pronounced brow ridge of a dragon. It charged at me with a growl, leaping through the air. I closed my eyes and screamed, certain that I was staring death right in the mouth, especially when something heavy knocked into my stomach and caused me to nearly bowl over.

But the fangs I was waiting for didn't tear into my throat. I peeled open one eye and—saw. Really saw.

The demon in front of me had frozen in time, but its features exploded in detail. I rolled out from under its path and examined the microfibers of its scales, the tiniest cracks in its yellowed fangs, the milky whiteness in its eye that told me it was at least partially blind. The alley, too, was covered in detail I hadn't noticed before, and now couldn't believe I'd missed. Moss lined the cracks between the bricks in the walls. Ants and even tinier bugs scurried along the floor. My mind was working in hyperdrive, trying to notice every detail at once.

As the demons grow more powerful, so do the gods—and warriors.

The thought dropped into my head, just as something else dropped into my hand. My fingers closed around a cold, firm hilt. I looked down, stunned, to find that my wooden plank had been replaced by a gleaming, double-edged silver sword.

I'd used a thin bladed saber before, when Wang had needed a 'sparring partner' (more like punching bag) for fencing practice. I'd practiced using long-gripped katanas with Ba at age six, the year he disappeared from my life. I'd seen the warriors use many different swords over the years. The training hall held cases full of the old, rusty ones, discarded after too many battles to count.

But this wasn't practice. This sword felt much heavier, more real, than the plank of wood I'd used just moments ago.

My body coursed with a sudden surge of power that traveled from the roots of my hair down to my toes. I didn't doubt that if the nian left this alley, it would prey on the innocent townspeople. In the warriors' place, I had to protect everybody.

With a snap that shook me to my core, time began moving again. The pop pop pop of firework explosions mirrored the strengthen that crackled in my veins. As the night sky above me lit up with colorful bursts, my short hair blew up with the force of an invisible wind.

The demon didn't seem to have noticed that I'd just transformed into Faryn 2.0. It roared and lunged at me once more.

But I knew what to do. I waited until the last moment, and then slid onto the slimy, cold ground, under the great beast. Powered by my newfound strength, I stabbed the sharp end of my wooden plank upward, as hard as I could, into where the heart of the nian should have been. A satisfying squelch followed by a shriek of pain told me I'd nailed my target. The demon collapsed and skidded away from me, taking my makeshift weapon with it.

"There," I panted. "Go back to Yan Wang!"

My first kill. I collapsed onto the ground in a heap of exhaustion. My hands wouldn't stop trembling, and my palms were coated with sweat. Part of me felt sick. But another part of me roared in victory. Once I told Ye Ye about what I'd done, he'd be so over the moon that he'd be literally slap-happy.

I waited for the demon to disappear, for its soul to depart and return to hell. But even with the gods' blessing, I hadn't gotten in as solid of a blow as I'd thought. The creature stirred and then climbed unsteadily back onto its legs, turning around to face me. Its eyes now flashed a furious red.

Crap. I was really out of ideas this time.

Where were the real warriors? Wang, Luhao, Yao? Too busy preening themselves in front of their throngs of admirers, while I did their jobs for them, no doubt.

"Um, good nian," I squeaked. "Roll...over?"

"Not so fast, you great ugly brute!"

The sound of a low, gruff voice, followed by thundering footsteps, echoed behind me in the narrow alley. I turned just in time to see a tall, skinny grey hound leap over my head and barrel the nian into the ground.

"Good dog, Xiao Tian Quan."

An old man wearing black robes and wielding two swords came at me. I rolled out of his way. The man leapt at the demon, swords twirling through the air. They slashed off part of the nian's mane.

But the big creature was a nimble one. It ducked the blunt of the blow and batted the man and his dog away with a sweep of its paw. The hound careened into the wall. Crashed. Slumped onto the ground.

"Oh, you've done it now," the man roared, landing lightly on his feet in front of me. "I'm going to turn you into rou bao zi!"

The creature turned its ferocious yellow eyes on the man. Apparently it didn't relish the thought of getting turned into a meat bun.

I opened my mouth to scream at the man, to tell him not to take the demon lightly—and then the words were ripped from my throat when he leapt high above the creature, much higher than was humanly possible.

My hyper-sensitive vision was fading, but it was strong enough that I could still see every shiny scale on the demon's body, the rivulets of dark red blood running down its arm and claws. The sliver of unprotected green skin wedged between its back and head.

The man must have seen it, too. He swung the blade of his sword down, aiming for the sweet spot at the base of the neck. The sword sliced off the demon's huge head in one clean stroke. The head went rolling down the alleyway, where the four children were gathered.

"A dragon head!" the girl shrieked, turning and fleeing down the alleyway.

"Cool," cried Ah Wen. "We can use it to play soccer." He and the boys ran after her.

The demon's headless body collapsed in a movement that shook the Earth. It shuddered. Then it dissolved into thin air, leaving behind a small white wisp that floated upward and disappeared.

The strength that had powered me moments ago disappeared, too, leaving me feeling drained, very human, and aware of the throbbing scrapes and bruises along my arms and legs. I collapsed onto the ground, plank of wood clattering out of my limp hands. The world swam around me, the shouts and sounds of fireworks ringing distantly in my ears. The reality of the past fifteen minutes began to sink in.

I did it. I did it, Ba, I thought, squeezing my shuts and picturing my father smiling at me, passing me a White Rabbit treat, like he'd done whenever I'd proved I was well-behaved. I killed a demon. Sort of.

The old man stood up, dusting himself off. He looked unharmed. He urged his hound to get to its feet, and then patted its head. "That's a good boy, Xiao Tian Quan. I'll feed you some demon souls when we get back home."

Xiao Tian Quan barked and happily sat on his haunches, wagging his tail.

This was no ordinary man. My mind whirred. I couldn't help but think back to Ye Ye's stories about the gods, how they'd sometimes take human form to blend in with society.

Or maybe this man was a Chinatown chef. Those guys were crazy skilled.

"Who are you?" I asked in a shaky voice.

The man didn't answer. He pressed the blades of his swords together, and they molded into one long black spear with a three-pointed double-edged blade.

Okay, I could probably nix the chef theory.

"I have been hunting the nian dragon for weeks now," the non-chef said, "and though I hate to admit it, mortal, you deserve some credit for bringing it down." He stared at me with narrowed eyes. "Who are you?"

My mouth turned dry. I reached up to make sure the mask was still secured around my head, and my fingers brushed against the rough ridges. I knew I couldn't reveal my identity. If word got out to Mao that I'd been taking out demons while she thought I was taking out the trash, I'd be toast.

Instead of responding, I picked myself up off the ground and sprinted down the alley, pushing past the kids.

"Come back here," the man yelled, but I kept running through the oblivious crowd. I didn't stop until I'd run all the way back home, jumping over the back fence and tiptoeing through the courtyard.

The rustling of grass nearby made me freeze. I looked up and spotted movement out of the corner of my eye: the ends of a long, black braid as it whipped around the stable. Quickly, I ducked behind the wall.

"Who's there?" I called softly, my heart pounding. If Mao caught me now, I'd be done for. She'd have me scrubbing plates on dish duty until my hands fell off.

But only the wind responded. I was alone with the silence and the stars.

Shaking off the feeling of being watched, I slowly creaked open the doors to my shed and tiptoed around in the dark. Alex lay on his cot with his arms splayed out at both sides, deep in sleep. And Ye Ye—

I froze at the sound of my grandfather stirring. Didn't breathe until my grandfather rolled over, and I realized he was fast asleep. I lay down and tried to calm my racing mind, even though all I could do was replay the moment my sword sheared off the demon's head. The power I'd felt, the invincibility.

I pulled the mask over my face, sucking in fresh air and wiping away the sweat that had condensed around the disguise. Through the small window opposite my pillow, I watched the fireworks explode high above me in the air. The snores of my grandfather and brother lulled me into an uneasy sleep.

*****

A/N - Poor Faryn, things are about to change on her whether she likes it or not lol.

Thanks for reading and please drop a comment/vote if you enjoyed! Much appreciated!!