Kaifeng couldn’t tell what was happening with Helene. Gege was so close to the end of the gameboard that he couldn’t imagine Helene not escaping soon. But not being able to see for himself was murder on Kaifeng’s nerves. Granted, he couldn’t see much of anything while submerged in this freezing cold Hell-water, but the most important thing he couldn’t see was his zhiyin and what was happening to Helene while Kaifeng tried to fish himself out of what he’d fallen into.
As soon as he could, Kaifeng rolled his die—and he breathed a sigh of relief when it came up with a five.
Given that sweet release, he sprinted all the way to the exit, running right to Helene’s side. Gege had waited for him. The gameboard, however sadistic it was in all of its other strangeness, had allowed them to have this. With another relieved sigh, Kaifeng jumped into Helene’s arms and flung his own around Helene’s shoulders. Pressing himself so close to Helene, he barely saw the opalescent light shimmering around them out of the corner of his eye. What he did see was certainly lovely, but what it meant was even better.
“Let’s go home, gege,” Kaifeng murmured as the gameboard sent them back to the alleyway where they’d come in. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for tonight.”
Noir Songbird
