Reflection (Twisted Tales, #4)

by Elizabeth Lim

where Mushu, her own guardian, was still fast asleep.

HHHHHHHHH

“Most men get sick on the way down here.” I’m not most men, Mulan thought,

“I’m stronger than I look,” Mulan spoke for herself. She kicked at the closest demon, smashing his wooden spear in two.

She’d crossed the point of no return knowing the price:

the world above would become a distant dream—one she might never wake and return to, ever again.

Now, mere steps from the mouth of the Underworld, courage swelled within her. Courage and hope and determination. She only hoped they would be enough.

If it was a test of her determination, Mulan didn’t fail.

I can’t give up now, Mulan thought. Not after ShiShi and I came all this way.

“I came here to save Shang.” Mulan clenched her teeth. “I won’t leave without him.” Yama set his quill down. He looked like he was going to yell at her again, but instead, he snorted with disbelief. “You’re willing to risk everything to save the life of your captain?” “I am.” King Yama tapped his fingers on his desk. “Your determination intrigues me, Ping. More than that, you’ve amused me.” Yama chuckled, then leaned back in his chair, looking weary. “It’s not every day a mortal succeeds in entering my realm and piquing my curiosity, so I will give you a

chance.” He wagged a finger at Mulan. “But that’s all. A chance.”

Once you can see only the dark side of the moon, your time is up.” Mulan looked up. The moon was round and bright, but a thin black rim already darkened its edge. She pushed aside her fears. She had the rest of the night to rescue Shang.

She bit her lip, reflecting on her father’s stories. The heroes had always inspired her, even if none of them had been girls.

parents. I was clumsy, and stubborn—and unhappy with myself. I didn’t know what I lived for. I didn’t know who I was. Sometimes, I still don’t.” She paused, feeling a lump rise in her throat.

scanning their surroundings. No cannon to fire this time, and no snow to create an avalanche. I don’t even have my sword.

“I-I say we fight,” Mulan said, already nearly out of breath. “We can’t run forever.”

“Three against thirty,” Shang calculated between breaths. “We’ve fought against worse!” Mulan slowed down, forcing the encounter. ShiShi scraped his feet against the bricks. “What are you doing?” he cried. “You cannot kill demons. But they can kill you.”

Mulan struck him with her spade and pushed him toward the hungry trees. Shang shot her a look of thanks. “Twenty more to go. You ready?”

The red-skinned demons charged. They were stronger than her, but she was smarter.

Mulan clenched her fists. She couldn’t lose to King Yama, not after finding Shang. She’d promised she’d save him. “There has to be another way.”

No, she couldn’t let fear and panic distract her. She watched the fog curl underneath the cliff. What secrets was it hiding?

She’d severed ties with her old identity and gone from Mulan to Ping, from bride to soldier, from obedient daughter to woman who led her own life.

But what if she’d cut too many ties? What if when she went home, her parents no longer recognized her? After all, she wasn’t the same Mulan anymore.

She’d tell him once they reached the top. “I will be,” was all she said.

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.’” Mulan’s brow furrowed.

Can you blame him? You’re not who you said you were.

If Ping has a secret to hide, let him hide it. He has already proven himself to be trustworthy, so he must have his reasons.”

“You trusted Ping,” Mulan said. “Why is Mulan any different?”

“it’s the least I could do.”

She’d taken the freedom of her childhood for granted.

Then fate had taken its turn, and Mulan had thrown everything away to become a soldier.

Meng Po took her wrist and guided her to the edge of the pool. Mulan’s watery reflection stared back at her: a girl with bloodshot, swollen eyes, pale cheeks, and bruises all over her arms and legs. But that wasn’t all Mulan saw. She saw a young woman who’d thrown her heart into becoming a warrior, who’d fought battle after battle,

And she’d learned a cold lesson. She couldn’t be herself. “I’ve failed,” Mulan whispered. “I thought I could prove that I was someone worthwhile, but I was wrong.”

“Haven’t you ever wondered what life would be like if they were proud of you?” Meng Po asked.

This moment was perfect. It was everything she could have asked for. So why did she feel so hollow inside?

but at the same time…a small part of me wanted to escape.” She had never admitted that out loud before. “I wanted to prove that I could be more.”

She inhaled and glanced at her reflection in her sword.

Dirt smudged her cheeks. Sweat dribbled down her temples, and her arms writhed with fatigue. She looked tired—and afraid.

Not exactly the rare and beautiful flower this sword’s been waiting for, thought Mulan. But if I think like that, I’m never going to defeat these demons. She looked down at her hands. They were clasping the sword so tight her knuckles wer...

As before, slowly the sword began to glow. Mulan faced her opponents, her confidence returning. “You want to fight? Then come get me.”

“I am Mulan.” She raised her sword high. She’d never fought as herself before—as a woman, not a woman pretending to be a man. No more hiding, no more pretending. No more fears that she’d endanger herself and her family.

She was who she’d always wanted to be.

Even if that feeling could only last here in Diyu—even if they made it back to the real world and she had to go back to pretending to be Ping, Mulan knew she’d never forget it. Taking off ...

She half closed her eyes, remembering her months training under Shang’s command. He’d taught his soldiers to outrun an onslaught of burning arrows, to turn a simple wooden pole into a deadly weapon, to fire arrows into pomegranates in midair. All achievements she’d thought were impossible. Until they weren’t. Speed, endurance, strength. Precision, focus, confidence, Mulan told herself. I am the coursing river, the raging fire. I am the warrior.

Chamber of Mirrors.

“My father encouraged me to see the strength within,” Mulan told the mirror crisply. “When I was a little girl, he told me that life is a journey, one whose path diverges due to the choices I made. He told me not to worry about how difficult a path might look, for the only one worth following was the one that my heart chose.” She waited, but the Fa Zhou in the mirror said nothing. “My father would understand what I did. He believes in me.”

She clenched her fists. “This is all a lie. My parents won’t renounce me when I go back. They won’t.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said, getting up. “I belong here.”

Mulan kicked her leg back into a lunge and raised her fists. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

In the Chamber of Mirrors, you only battle the demons within,

“You have passed this first test,” rang the low, hollow voice. “You swore you would risk your own life to save your friend, and even in the face of betrayal, you kept your promise.” The captain’s shadow began to fade. “Now, do you know yourself? We shall see.”