of a neck breaking. Ah Hin staggered back, his face grey with horror.
The bandits knew the sound too. There were two remaining on their feet. One turned and fled through the trees, but the other raised his gun, pointing it at the back of Guet Imm’s head.
“Sister,” gasped Ah Hin. He was cowering on the ground, so shaken his voice came out in a whisper. He tried again: “Sister!”
Tet Sang didn’t waste his breath on trying to warn Guet Imm. He lunged, meaning to shove her out of the way of the bullet, but she disappeared even as he dived.
It was not that she moved quickly. She winked out of existence. Tet Sang rolled as he fell, managing to avoid Little Brother’s corpse. Guet Imm reappeared behind the bandit who had tried to shoot her.
The bandit looked understandably startled. Tet Sang didn’t see what Guet Imm did, but the bandit screamed, dropping his gun. The nun’s hand flashed out, jabbing the bandit in the neck. His eyes rolled up and he slumped to the ground.
“Still got who else?” said Guet Imm. She wasn’t even out of breath.
Tet Sang got to his feet. Little Brother was unmistakably dead. The two bandits Tet Sang had downed should be alive—he hadn’t aimed to kill either—but if they were conscious, they had too much sense to betray it.
“There was one more fellow,” Tet Sang began, when they heard the sound of running feet. Ah Hin tossed him one of the guns he’d got off the bandits, but it was Fung Cheung and Rimau who burst out of the trees.
“Ah Sang, how?” said Fung Cheung. He looked at the bandits strewn on the ground and lowered his parang.
“We’re done for now,” said Tet Sang. “Ah Yee came to find you?” Fung Cheung nodded. “The others?”
“Told them to go off first,” said Fung Cheung. “We can catch up with them at— Shit.”
He’d noticed Little Brother’s corpse.
“Where’s the fifth man?” said Guet Imm to Tet Sang.
Tet Sang jerked his head towards the approximate direction in which the bandit had gone. “Went off.”
“So, he’ll go and tell his brothers we killed one of their own?” said Fung Cheung. “Shit!”
“They know a nun killed him,” said Guet Imm, speaking slowly and distinctly for the benefit of the bandits still living. “I am not part of your group. We are strangers who met on the road.” She gave Tet Sang a pointed look.
“You killed him?” said Fung Cheung incredulously.
“Broke his neck,” said Ah Hin. He looked at Guet Imm, woebegone. “Sister, you’re a witch?”
It was more of a lament than a question. He did not really expect an answer, and Guet Imm gave none.
“What happened?” said Fung Cheung.
“I found sister,” said Ah Hin. “But we just started talking only when the bandits ambushed us. She—” He waved his hands. “She disappeared! Just lenyap like that!”
“Sorry, brother,” said Guet Imm. “I had to go keep the sarira away, make sure they were safe. I came back as soon as I could.” She knelt by Ah Hin. “Are you hurt?”
But Ah Hin flinched away. Guet Imm’s face went blank.
“If there was a survivor, the bandits will be coming back,” said Rimau to Fung Cheung. “We have to get out of here.”
Guet Imm said, “You have time.” She looked off into the trees, but there was a distant look in her eyes. It wasn’t the trees she saw. “Their camp is not so close and the bandit is getting lost. He’s not clever at navigating the jungle. It’ll take him a while to get back to his camp.”
Rimau and Fung Cheung exchanged a look.
“How do you know?” said Rimau.
“I can see it,” said Guet Imm. She got up and dusted herself off. “The deity grants certain powers when there is need.”
Her tone was matter of fact. Rimau and Ah Hin shifted, uneasy, but Fung Cheung was not superstitious. He looked irritated.
“If you could do magic all along, why didn’t you defend yourself at the coffeehouse?” he demanded. “You could have just cursed that customer!”
“Brother has not been a waiter before, so you won’t know,” said Guet Imm. “But you’re not supposed to curse your customers. You’re supposed to serve them.”
“The fight started in the first place because the customer said you hexed him!”
“He never proved it,” said Guet Imm. “Anyway, if it happened, a small jampi to teach a man to keep his hands to himself is not the same as cursing that man to win a fight. Shaping the air is not