Sneak Peek - Prologue

The Khang shamans were dying, and no one knew why. Each body was found a shriveled husk, its face frozen in terror. Worse still, the soul—gone. There was no soul to guard the grave, none to return to the ancestral home, and no hope for reincarnation.

What was swallowing the souls of the Khang shamans?

Kai Khang crouched beside a lifeless body. It was barely recognizable—skin taut and gray, eyes sunken into hollow sockets.

As he and Wang Meng examined the remains, a sharp wail broke the silence. The sorrows of the deceased’s wife filled the home. It was she who had called them upon the horrific discovery.

Strange deaths like these always reached Kai and Wang Meng before the authorities. The Hmong community had no faith in outsiders, but they trusted their own—especially the shamans whom the gods had chosen to keep them safe.

“They always look like this.” Wang Meng rubbed a hand over his face. “Drained. Like he was—”

“Devoured.” Kai finished.

He stood and surveyed the room, his jaw tightening. His eyes flickered to scorch marks on the wooden floor—the scent of sulfur irritating his nostrils.

Du Yong. The old demon’s vile mark was all over this. The elders had long whispered about the ancient curse on the Khang Shamans, but few had believed them until now. It was hard to dispute when the bodies were piling up without explanation—or souls.

Du Yong would not stop until his revenge was complete.

Wang Meng crossed his arms. “This makes twelve, Kai. Twelve shamans in barely two months. If the elders don’t do something soon—”

“They won’t,” Kai interrupted, his voice sharp with frustration. “The elders are too caught up in their old traditions and too busy fighting each other. Du Yong won’t wait for them to get it together.”

The demon was targeting Shee Yee’s line, and he and his brother, Touso, were among the last. If something wasn’t done soon, they’d be next.

A creak of the floorboards pulled Kai from his thoughts. He turned to see a small figure standing hesitantly in the doorway. The young boy’s eyes were wide with fear.

Kai approached him, keeping his voice light. “Hey, bud. What’s your name?”

The boy sniffled and whispered, “Jason...”

“Jason…your father was a good man. That thing on the floor isn’t him, okay?” The words tasted hollow, but he pushed them out because they were all he could offer.

Jason wiped his eyes with a trembling hand. “Will the monster come after me next?”

Kai’s heart clenched. It seemed the child knew what had plagued his shaman father’s last days. Now, he studied Jason’s face, searching for any trace of the gift. To his relief, there was no glow—no sign of the power that would place him in the same danger that had taken his father.

Du Yong’s appetite for souls was indiscriminate, but his curse targeted only shamans from Shee Yee’s bloodline.

“No. I promise. Whoever did this to your father won’t touch you.”

Jason nodded uncertainly before finally leaving. Kai watched him go, a heavy weight settling in his chest. The boy reminded him of someone he held dear, which deepened his determination to end the curse—no matter what it cost.

Wang Meng watched him closely. “You’re sure it’s him?”

Kai’s gaze was distant, his mind already racing with what was to come. “It’s all unfolding… just like my dreams told me it would.”

Kai had the gift of foresight. Visions of this moment, of Du Yong’s return, had been haunting him for months. He knew what was coming. The demon was back, and the battle would be more brutal than anything he had ever faced.

Kai had the same dream nearly every night. At first, it was fragmented—a shadow moving through smoke, a terrible, guttural laugh. But now, the dream was so vivid that he could almost touch it.

Du Yong, grotesque and looming in his serpent form, whispered, “You cannot stop me. Your soul, your brother’s soul—they belong to me.”

The morning after one such dream, Kai entered the family’s dining room to find his father already waiting. Lihue’s sharp eyes locked onto him immediately.

“You’ve been gone for days, Kai. Where have you been?” he demanded.

Kai flashed his father a grin. “Just enjoying my life, Dad. Don’t worry.”

“You think this is a time for games? Khang shamans are dying, and you’re fooling around!” His voice rose as he scowled at his son.

Kai’s smile didn’t falter. “Gotta laugh a little before I die, right?”

Lihue inhaled sharply. He opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it and shook his head. A moment later, their father stormed out of the room.

Bao, the eldest daughter, watched silently from across the room. A shaman herself, she was sharper than most. When she looked into Kai’s eyes, something stirred within her—a sickening feeling.

The flame that had once burned so fiercely in him was fading.

Kai pretended not to see her troubled expression. Instead, he kept his gaze trained on the door their father had just exited.

“What are you doing, Kai?” she asked finally.

“What I have to do,” he answered without looking at her.

Kai and Bao had never been close—he was wild and obstinate, always doing things his way. She was disciplined, like their father. But something was different now. When Kai reached for her hand, all the alarms sounded in her head.

“I know you don’t always like me, sis, but do you trust me?”

Bao’s brows furrowed. Kai was reckless, but he was usually right.

She nodded.

Kai smiled and handed her an envelope. “I need you to get this letter to Touso. And I need you to take care of my family.”

Bao’s heart raced as she stared at the hand that seemed suddenly too frail. Something was terribly wrong. “Kai, what’s going on?”

He tried to hide the tears in his eyes by looking away. “Just do this for me. Please.”

A chill ran through her. She didn’t understand what was happening and knew he would never tell her the truth. Suddenly, she threw her arms around him, clinging to him—as if begging him to change his mind.

Kai curled his fingers around her small shoulders. His little sister… Bao was the glue that held their family together and could be trusted to do what was needed.

Without another word, she snatched the letter from his fingers and fled the room.

Kai stared after her. Bao knew what he intended to do. There was no other choice. His visions had shown him that Touso was the only one capable of ending Du Yong’s curse. But for that to happen, he needed more time and strength.

Kai was the only one who could give it to him.

That evening, his mother found him standing in front of the family altar. His expression was troubled but determined.

“Kai, what’s wrong?”

Without turning, he said, “It’s Du Yong. I saw him. With all the shaman souls he’s taken, he’s become too strong.”

She came to stand beside him, her expression grave. “What are you going to do?”

Kai hesitated. “I must protect Touso. If Du Yong gets to him—”

“We won’t let it happen!” she retorted fiercely. The demon’s appetite was voracious, but Pahoua would die before she let him take her sons.

“That’s why I need your help.” Kai began pacing the small room, his hands clenched into fists. “I’ve been thinking about it, Mom. There’s a way to stop him, but you won’t like it.”

“What do you mean?”

Kai faced her. “I have to give Touso my strength. All of it. It’s the only way he’ll be able to defeat Du Yong.”

Her breath caught. “Kai, no. You’re talking about…”

“Yes, I’ve seen it in my dreams. There’s no other way. It’s either I make this sacrifice or we all die.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head. “There has to be another way.”

“I’ve looked. I’ve tried. There isn’t,” Kai said, his voice breaking. He took her hands in his. “Please, Mom. You’re the only one who can help me. If we don’t act now, everything Shee Yee fought for—everyone that we love will be lost.”

“What about your chosen bride? Why won’t you take your bride to protect you?”

After Du Yong cursed Shee Yee’s lineage, the gods granted them special protection in the form of chosen brides. Each new Khang shaman was assigned a protector—a bride with the strength to shield him from Du Yong’s vengeance. It was the sacred duty of the ancestral spirits to reveal this protector. But when Du Yong returned, and no chosen brides appeared, desperate families began seeking help from less credible sources—necromancers who promised to do what the gods would not—for a price.

Kai refused to believe the chosen bride and necromancers were the solution. “The chosen bride is just a band-aid. It’s not the answer. Du Yong must be destroyed, and the gods have chosen Touso to do it.”

“You can’t ask me to do this!”

“If you could see the future I’ve seen...you’d understand.” He turned to his mother with quiet resolve. “You are the only one who can help me.”

Her husband thought she was too soft on their rebellious son, but Pahoua was soft because she knew his future. He was his brother’s keeper, and she had foreseen this sacrifice since he was born. Finally, she nodded, knowing nothing would change his mind.

That night, Kai lay down and closed his eyes for the final time. He said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve slept.”

He smiled as his mother watched over him with somber eyes. “He can’t have my soul, so he’s been eating my body. It hurts. I’m glad Touso’s not here. He wouldn’t want to see me this way.”

“Your brother loves you more than anyone,” Pahoua whispered, holding her oldest son like the day he was born. With blond hair and sun-kissed skin, he’d been baptized by the sun goddess herself.

“I know. That’s why I have to take care of him. Let’s begin, Mom—he’s coming. We don’t have time!”

Pahoua kissed her son’s hand and held it against her face. Touso was the easy child, but Kai was her firstborn. It was a different kind of bond.

“My darling son, the gods sent you to me with a sun on your head. You thought your hair was a curse, but it was a sign that you were destined for greatness. I saw you with a beautiful wife and a wonderfully brave son to carry your legacy. This was the life you deserved. Mothers and fathers should never outlive their children, and today, my heart is broken forever.”

She burned incense and ran it over his head and heart in counterclockwise circles. Then, she called their ancestors and asked them to gather his spirit guides. Each wept as they were taken away.

While she worked, Kai began singing his favorite song, Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” He only did this when he was scared.

Before she lost her courage, Pahoua called out: “Kai, my dearest son, release yourself from this body and return to your ancestors. Your sacrifice is pure and true. I release you from your suffering. Kai Khang, you are free, and your blessings sent where you wish them to be.”

The bed trembled as wind formed in a room without windows. Kai stopped singing.

“Mom…” he said softly. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

The candle’s flame disappeared, and everything went still. When Pahoua looked at her son again, he was no longer breathing. His slender, beautiful body was just an empty shell.

Her baby boy was gone!

Pahoua sobbed and threw her arms over him. She was still shaking when her husband ran into the room. When Lihue saw that their son was dead, he crumbled at the foot of the bed and cried.

Across the world, on a ship in the middle of the ocean, the youngest Khang son was also in bed. As a cold breeze washed over his body, he shivered and tossed. In the dream, his brother stood shrouded in light, offering his hand.

Without hesitation, Touso reached for it. He screamed as a string of yellow energy wrapped his body and melted into his flesh.

It felt like fire.

Kai watched him with a strange smile. “I’ll always be with you, bro.”

As his image faded, Touso shouted, “Kai!”

He awoke in sweat and tears, reaching for someone who wasn’t there. Touso glanced around the dark bunkroom, glad the other officers remained undisturbed. 

It was just a bad dream . . .

The next day, he received a message from his sister, Bao.

“Come home. Our brother is dead.