kind to learn anything. It thinks that it has given you thousands of years' worth of grace, and that still does not seem to be enough."
"But the woes of the world, the pestilences and the wars and so forth, are so often engineered by Hell."
"The Celestials say that you have a choice, and they're right, aren't they? You do."
And to that, Robin could only be silent.
"If we are to enter Heaven," Mhara said, and she glanced up sharply at his use of the plural, "then we will have to do so by stealth alone."
Twenty-Eight
The temple of Celestial Goddess Kuan Yin held unfortunate memories for Zhu Irzh. He was not fond of meeting the Celestial beings: partly because they were always so smug, and partly because they produced an unpleasant reaction in him—a kind of burning, itching sensation, combined with dizziness. Chen had explained once that it was rather similar to negative and positive particles, but Zhu Irzh had so little interest in science that he tuned out the rest of the conversation and had only started paying attention again when Chen had suggested getting something to eat. And this particular goddess kept treating him not as a powerful and terrifying demon from Hell, but more like a small child in need of a smack. It was with reluctance, therefore, that the demon accompanied Chen through the portals of the goddess' temple and into the courtyard within.
Even granted that it was midafternoon, the courtyard was quiet. Someone had obviously been here recently because a tall, red stick of incense was smoldering in its holder, and Zhu Irzh could detect a faint cold trace of unhappiness on the air, like snowmelt on the tongue. Prayers for the sick, perhaps. To any normal demon, such emotional residue would have been as sweet as candy, but Zhu Irzh found his spirits sinking. He told himself to get a grip. It was definitely time for a therapist when he finally got back home.
"Even though she's not my patron anymore," Chen was saying, "I should think she'd listen."
"Of course," Zhu Irzh agreed. "She'll want to know what's going on."
Chen gave him a narrow look. "And you. Where do you stand on this?"
"Right, well. I think Heaven's boring. A civil war and an invasion by Hell would certainly liven things up a bit, but on the other hand, we'd have to do something with the place when we took it over and it's so bland. We'd have to redecorate. And there's another thing, Chen. Without Heaven, we could do what we want, and I think that might get rather dull as well."
"I wouldn't have expected you capable of such theological profundity," Chen said, expressionless. Zhu Irzh tried to decide if he was being sarcastic, and failed.
"I'm full of surprises," he said.
Chen pushed the double doors of the temple aside and stepped through. It felt empty to Zhu Irzh—true, there was no one around, but usually the Earthly homes of the Celestials felt full of presence, as though the gods were keeping an eye on the place, no matter what else they might be doing. This place felt dead. Chen was frowning.
"Wait here." Zhu Irzh watched as Chen walked up to the statue of the goddess and closed his eyes. The demon could see Chen's lips moving in the supplicatory prayer, and braced himself for that unnerving moment when the goddess swam into liquid life. But despite Chen's obviously heartfelt plea, nothing happened. Kuan Yin remained as cool, impervious marble.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Irzh called.
"I don't know. Maybe she's out."
"Out? Gods can't be out. They're everywhere."
"Well, she isn't answering."
"Maybe she's busy. Hearing the cries of the world must take up more and more time these days, not to mention doling out doses of compassion here, there and everywhere."
"I would remind you," Chen said rather coldly, "that this is the goddess' temple we're in."
"What's the problem? She isn't listening, is she?"
"Zhu Irzh, could you wait outside for a minute?" The demon was good at judging when Chen was reaching the limits of his tolerance. He complied without demur.
It was more than a minute. Zhu Irzh cooled his heels in the courtyard for just under an hour by the time that Chen re-emerged.
"Any luck?"
"None. And the temple feels—"
"Dead?"
"Yes, as though any deific life that was in it has departed. Something is obviously wrong."
"Perhaps she just doesn't want to talk to you?" Zhu Irzh said hesitantly.
"Perhaps not." Chen looked so unhappy that the demon's heart went out to him.
"There's no way of