Her eyes gazed down at the large map that was draped over the table. It depicted a detailed layout of the Earth Kingdom. "The intel General Yin gave us says that the Fire Nation troops are coming in from this direction," a woman next to her said, tracing a path with her finger on the map. "That means, in order to reach Ba Sing Se, they'll have to go through here." Her finger stopped on a narrow path between the mountain range. As the woman moved her hand, Arlei saw the small text that labeled the path.
Shudao Valley.
Her heart raced. She cast a panicked glance at the other three people that stood around the table. Then, she turned her gaze to the woman next to her. Amidst dark markings were fierce eyes, and her long black hair slipped loosely over her shoulder as she stooped over the large map. Looking away, she felt her heart skip. "This is a mistake," she tried to say, but no one heard her.
"What if they find another way through the mountains?" one of the others asked.
"Unless they can earthbend or spontaneously transform into mountain goats, they're not crossing the range any other way," the woman answered.
"That valley holds nothing but death," Arlei said, though once again her words drifted unheard through the air. "I know what happens there. You have to—!"
"What about the Earth soldiers?" another of the three said. "Shouldn't they help us there?"
"I let the Council know about my plan to intercept the Fire Nation troops in the valley, but they want to keep most of their forces at the wall. The men you saw outside were the ones they could spare us."
"That's not the back up I was hoping for," one of the warriors mumbled. "Guess it shows how much faith they have in us. Vote of confidence accepted and appreciated."
"We're just four foreigners to them," another warrior pointed out. "And we're going up against multiple battalions this time. Plus I hear the prince himself is among them. I guess they're serious about taking Ba Sing Se."
"Which is why we cannot let them past Shudao Valley," the woman said. "If they take the capital city, they'll bring down the entire kingdom."
"We know," the warriors replied. "Don't worry. We're always with you, Chief."
The woman smiled. Beside her, Arlei felt hollow. "You shouldn't have been," she whispered. Suddenly, all sound seemed to disappear. The room had grown eerily mute. No longer were there the background noises of soldiers moving about outside, or the shifting of the gathered warriors around the table.
Then, cutting through the silence, came a tapping. It was a quick, erratic rhythm. Arlei knew what it was even before she looked.
A crow sat outside the window. When they met eyes, it paused. Then, it flipped its head over to look at her with its other eye—a dead, milky eye. With its beak, it continued to beat its beak against the glass.
It kept coming for her. It never left her alone.
The crow kept tapping even when the room grew orange and hot. Whirling around, Arlei found herself in a room swallowed by flames. Everyone else had vanished, and the fire was drawing in closer. It stung her skin with a terrible, ravenous pain. The smoldering roof collapsed onto the ground in front of her, and Arlei quickly shielded her face with her arms.
The roaring subsided into crackling. She felt an ominous presence suddenly fill the air. Slowly, Arlei lowered her arms. The fire surrounded her in a ring, reaching up to obscure the sky. And in front of her, hanging from creaking ropes on a wooden beam, were three figures. Blood dripped from their fingertips.
Arlei fell on her knees as she stared up at the three bodies. She could hardly breathe. The cracking of flames transformed into a chorus of hoarse whispers that swirled around her.
"We followed you to Shudao Valley. You led us to our deaths."
A wall of flames burst from the ground and engulfed the three figures.
With a shuddering gasp, she opened her eyes. She brought a hand to her neck and felt cold sweat. Gritting her teeth, Arlei threw the covers aside and sat up. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, trying to ignore her racing heart and the tears that threatened to slip out from between her lashes.
After multiple attempts at controlling her breathing, her heart refused to settle down. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Quickly, Arlei smeared it away with the palm of her hand. "Stop it," she hissed to herself. "Stop it right now." Then she collapsed, burying her face in her hands. Her breathing turned into short, ragged sobs.
After a moment, Arlei pulled herself onto her feet and stumbled out of the bedroom. She wiped both of her eyes with the side of her hand and found her way to the kitchen. Kneeling down, she tore out a floorboard and threw it aside. Then she reached down and pulled a jar out.
Seeing the old jar caused Arlei to hesitate. It had been a long time since she quit, but tonight the demons had come back to torment her. She needed the numbness. It was the only way she could stay sane every time they came for her. She could almost hear the tapping on the window. With shaking hands, Arlei untwisted the jar's lid. As soon as she removed it, the thick odor of alcohol wafted through the air.
"Mama?" she heard a voice say behind her. Arlei dropped the lid and lowered her head into her hand. "Mama, is that you?"
"Go back to bed, Kani," Arlei ordered coldly. She heard little footsteps approaching her. A small figure appeared in her peripheral vision and crouched down. "Are you okay?"
"Go back to bed." She felt the child hug her.
"Don't be sad," Kani reassured. "It'll be okay. You told her you wouldn't use it anymore, remember?"
"You don't understand," Arlei said. "Tonight I need it."
"Please don't. I'm here for you."
"Kani, let go." Her snarl was almost inhuman.
"You're scaring me."
Arlei looked up. "I'm sorry. You're right." She wrapped her arms around the little girl. "I'll be all right, Kani. Go back to sleep."
"Okay." Kani leaned up and kissed the woman on the cheek. "Good night."
"Good night."
After the little girl left, Arlei stood up, picking the jar up in one hand. She walked over to the front door and opened it. The chirping of crickets greeted her. She swung her arm and flung the contents of the jar out into the night. The crickets fell silent as the earth was drenched. Then, she threw the jar out into the darkness and closed the door.
A week passed since his arrival in Ba Sing Se. Zuko had ordered his airship to return to the Fire Nation without him. He'd be staying in the capital for a while.
And then, after much debate, he had decided to send a letter to Republic City. A few days later, a loud rustling from outside his window woke him. A large red bird was perched at the sill, a small piece of paper tethered to its leg. As Zuko opened his window, the red messenger hawk greeted him with a loud squawk.
He took the letter and unrolled it. It was a message from Aang.
Zuko—
Count me in. Katara and I will be arriving shortly after you get this letter. In the meantime, see if you can get any help from the Dai Li or the Council. If I've learned anything over these past few years, it's that this issue may be a lot worse than we know.
Oh yeah, and can you feed Hawky for me?
Zuko looked up at the messenger hawk. It was eyeing him. Then it gave another squawk. With a groan, Zuko called over his shoulder, "Uncle, what do messenger hawks eat?"
Jing Yin sat back in the garden bench, one leg crossed over the other. Her attention was focused on the scroll that lay unraveled in her lap. Suddenly, a large rock came soaring straight towards her. With her eyes still lowered, she stopped the boulder with a raised hand and flicked it aside. "Work on your aim, Shen," she called out, unrolling more of the scroll.
"That wasn't me!" a child's voice replied. "It was Jangzhen!"
"You little liar!" the young man snapped back. "Mom knows who threw that rock!" He walked over to his brother and crouched down. "Look at your stance! Point your toes forward! And your legs are too close together! If you really want to control the earth, you have to really root yourself down. Like this." Jangzhen assumed a wide stance himself.
The six-year-old stomped his foot. "I did what you told me to do!" he argued. "This blows! Why can't Mom teach me?"
Jangzhen seized the top of Shen's head and gave it a little shake. "Because Mom's too busy to deal with little loudmouths like you."
Shen pulled away from his brother's grip. "Just because you're part of the Dai Li, doesn't mean you're a master!" he said. "They only let you in because of Mom. And because Dad was—."
"Hey, shut up!" Jangzhen hissed, grabbing Shen's arm and yanking him close. He cast a quick side-glance at Jing Yin. She made no indication that she had heard them. He leaned down. "How many times have I told you not to mention Dad around her?" Shen never took his brother's warning seriously, and that infuriated Jangzhen. The little boy didn't know how that one man had torn their mother apart. He didn't know what it had been like to be on the run, led by a walking rift that had once been a mother. That had all happened before Shen was born. He was lucky.
Suddenly a large shadow passed over them. Both boys looked up to see something big and fast moving in the sky. Jing Yin looked up from her scroll. She set it aside.
"That's him, isn't it?" Shen cried. Immediately, Jangzhen knew that the Dai Li were expecting him, and that it paid to be late. Jangzhen let go of Shen's arm and ran over to the stone table where his hat rested. As he pulled the strap under his chin, Jing Yin asked, "Where are you going?"
"If the avatar is here, they'll probably want every agent present," Jangzhen replied as he straightened his hat and raced off.
Shen cupped his mouth with his hands. "Jangzhen come back!" he called out. "You still haven't taught me how to surf on rocks yet!" Jing Yin stopped beside the boy and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Shen, go inside," she ordered gently. "I need to go."
"But Mom!" Shen whined. "I want to see the avatar!"
"Shen." Her voice became stern. The boy's pout immediately disappeared. "The avatar is here for something important. Some day I'll let you meet him, okay?" Shen lowered his eyes, muttered something unintelligible, and retreated back into the house.
When you feel my heat, look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get to close; it's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
"Demons" by Imagine Dragons