head. As he charged, she pivoted away from the brink and ducked, only letting herself breathe when the demon slipped and tumbled off the Cauldron.
Panting, Mulan bent over her knees. Her sweat dripped onto the ground. Quickly, she caught her breath and scoured the area for signs of Shang and ShiShi.
She trained her eyes on Huoguai’s wings gliding above the volcano, then on Shang’s luminous blue form, and ShiShi’s tattered golden mane. The fire demon must have been after Shang and ShiShi this entire time, but to her relief, her friends had managed to evade him and climb back up onto the top of the Cauldron. They were on the other side—the right side of the river. The pillar leading up to Youdu was just behind them.
So why weren’t they leaving?
“Go!” Mulan shouted. “This is your chance!”
The wind swallowed her words, but Shang turned to her. His brow furrowed.
We’re not leaving without you, his expression read.
“No,” Mulan said under her breath. But she knew Shang was stubborn, just as stubborn as she.
Her friends couldn’t defeat Huoguai without her help, but she couldn’t help them from here. She had to cross the River of Hopelessness. Somehow.
Quickly, Mulan charted a path toward the river, running from rock to rock and hiding behind them so she wouldn’t attract the fire demon’s attention. Getting to the river was the easy part. How she’d cross it was another story.
She’d have to figure it out, and soon. Before Huoguai killed Shang and ShiShi, or threw them into the river’s treacherous black waters—and everything was lost.
Mulan could not find a way to cross the river and reach her friends. Here on the Cauldron, the river was too wide, the waters too treacherous. There was no way to swim across, and nothing she could use to build a raft.
On the other side of the Cauldron, Shang rammed another spear into Huoguai’s wings, then swiped the spear right, creating a tear that Mulan could hear even over the river’s thundering waters. With a savage shriek, Huoguai jolted into the air and ignited his injured wing with his breath. When the flames smoldered out, he was whole again.
Smoke unfurled from his wings—a gathering storm. With a flash, Huoguai opened them and swooped for Shang.
The captain jumped, barely missing him.
Huoguai dangled in midair before diving again. Fire coursed through his veins, rippling across his red, inflamed head and muscular arms. His tail plunged down upon the rocks, smashing them and everything around them. Compared to Huoguai, even ShiShi seemed tiny. As the lion raced out of the demon’s path of destruction, Mulan saw Shang prepare for another attack.
I have to help them, Mulan thought in a panic. I have to get across.
But how? This chamber was a desolate place. Nothing but bones, abandoned weapons, craters, rocks, those tubelike columns—
The columns!
They jutted from the earth, thin and pointed, almost like the stalactites in the cave that led to Diyu. Mulan started for the tallest one around. It was at least twice her height, which was about half as wide as the river. Just thin enough it might work. Shoulders heaving, she lifted her sword and struck the column at its base.
It was lighter than it looked. Not the sturdiest pole, either. Too chalky. Any other time, she might have worried about it snapping in two, but it would have to do.
Mulan backed up and tied her sword to her side. Holding the stone pole at her shoulders, half of it above her head, she sprinted as fast as could for the edge of the River of Hopelessness.
Seconds stretched.
Kicking one knee up to drive her higher into the air, she jumped and pushed the end of the pole down into the river, feeling it stick to the crater’s surface. The icy water stung the back of her legs, forcing a gasp out of her lungs. She only had moments before the pole would topple.
If she fell in, she’d be lost in Diyu forever.
She snapped her hands and legs together. The river pounded, thrashing at her ankles. The screams she’d heard earlier grew louder, resonating from the ghosts trapped in the water. She didn’t dare look down. Her eyes were fixed on the other side of the river.
All that mattered was getting across. Getting to Shang and ShiShi.
Her arms burned as she swung her body forward, gathering momentum. With a grunt, she threw herself as far across as she could reach. Mist from the river folded over her, blurring her vision. That was the