...

The following days were some of the worst Inspector Yang had ever experienced. The final toll from the Festival of Veils was greater than he could have feared. The Sub-Minister of Culture and Worthy Expression was gone, targeted by a masked assailant in the middle of his own crowded Inner Ring mansion. This attacker had displayed incredible power, blowing through the Noble's gate like a full military bending squad. At the end of that rampage along the transport line three tram station guards had also disappeared, just walked out into the night and never checked back in as far as could be told. At the same time, more of these masked people had clashed with Yang's own forces in the Kuang Harbor, attempting to burn down a foreign-owned factory. Yang had now seen their power first hand. Even with a perfectly executed surprise attack three of the assailants had managed to escape the grasp of Public Safety and had placed one of the pursuing agents on medical leave with four broken bones.

The rest of the news was no better. Yang's men had scooped up several members of the student nationalist protest group but after that night it was now clear even to his superiors that the boys were an inconsequential element. The sacrificial lambs were now a useless gesture and while that operation was underway, there were more break-ins, fires, and mass untargeted violence across his entire sector. The fires were a separate problem of their own. So many guard reports noted odd behavior in how quickly the fires spread in the Lower Ring that over fifty people had been arrested under suspicion of arson and being Fire Nation provocateurs. It quickly became obvious that none of them were firebenders, but that left the Agency searching for answers as to the strange behavior of the blazes. None of the city's other radial sectors had reported such severe increases in violence and destruction. It was only Yang's territory that had gone mad, though the neighboring sectors had noted slight increases in their own incident rates over the last few days. Something was spreading.

Yang pressed a knuckle forcibly between his eyebrows to relieve some of the stress building there. Then he jerked that hand back. He had always prided himself on personal control, but now such ticks were starting to slip through. He needed to get sleep soon. But not now. A crisis was spilling out of control and his division held responsibility.

The dreadful truth was that the Agency for Public Safety only held control of this city by virtue of the pervasive belief that they were in control. There were approximately forty thousand souls living in this radial sector alone, with a margin of documentation error that reached up to fifteen thousand. The government was outnumbered to a ridiculous extent. It was only the fiction of invincibility that allowed the maintenance of any level of order. Now those Masks were putting the lie to that old story.

And still Yang had no answers. The agency had seized several of these masks in addition to the ones Ma'er had provided them earlier but attempts to get information from spiritual experts at the Royal University had not met with success. The late Chen Lizhen was the most frequently cited and it seemed the remaining professors and administrators did not appreciate the mass arrest of the student nationalists. Those black-robed academics liked to believe that the University and all its inhabitants were under their own exclusive control, and didn't like being proven wrong. They also did not appreciate the Agency's need to clamp down on anyone spreading rumors of the spiritual possessions. All that Yang's agents had been able to gather was that the masks looked to be some sort of shamanistic artifact from the eastern Fire Islands or from the west coast of the continent in those lost territories now called the United Republic. Apparently, as cultural influence across the Sea of Fire had been extensive even before the conquest. That made precise identification of an origin of the masks difficult.

The one thing that could be agreed on was that if that region's shamanistic spirit-possession rituals were even true they were never supposed to initiate such a drastic effect. The wearer was never supposed to lose control utterly or exhibit inhuman levels of power. However, that is what was happening. It had taken a long time but Yang was finally convinced of that. If those men they'd captured at the Miohuito factory still protested their ignorance after all they had now been subjected to, then they truly did not remember. And then when they cracked and began to wildly confess, none of their accounts matched the eyewitness statements or indeed those of their fellows. As impossible as it was, those who had perpetrated the crimes were themselves ignorant of them which meant all Yang's experts in interrogation were useless. He was left with no leads and a dungeon full of criminal amnesiacs. His prime suspects were spirits.

There was a large book sitting on the inspector's desk. The author's signature marked out the name of Chen Lizhen. It was clear by now that these mask-wearing insurgents had struck at this disgraced professor first for a reason more than his political letters. However, the man's published work was unhelpful. Yang had flipped through long pages of descriptions of foreign funeral rituals with barely a single mention of the spirit world and none of possession. But the information must be out there somewhere. Someone always knew.

In the meantime he had unpleasant tasks before him. While his researchers were off attempting to wrest anything helpful from the impotent city priests, all bought and paid for positions with barely a drop of spiritual power between them, Yang had to oversee coordination with the city guard on the coming crackdown response. After last night it was vital that order be restored to his sector. Those who were spreading damaging information would be targeted first, and hopefully the fear that display provoked would spread to out through the restive city. If that didn't work than the response would be widened. A solution had to be found quickly. The alternative was to give into the rising tide of chaos.

That could never be allowed happen.

...

Ayika stood in front of the Bao house, put her foot on the wobbly wooden front step and bounced a few times on it. The racket it made had been her signal to the brothers for years. Of course even she was a little taller than she'd been at nine and one of these days that half rotten plank was going to give way in a crack. She'd be lucky to to not knock out all her teeth but she did it anyway. Tradition was important.

"Oy, hold it! Xiaobao's out!" Xinfei shouted from within. A second later, that familiar rhythm must have finally clicked because he threw open the front door.

"Ayika?"

His mother's soft and distant voice drifted out from within. "Ayika dear, it's lovely of you to come by."

"Hey, Mrs Bao," Ayika stepped forward, leaning on Xinfei a bit to push him out of the way so she could be at least half inside the one room apartment. "You doing well? You look like you've put on weight."

"Oh, you're so kind." Xinfei's mother was alway nice and friendly, however she did not look well. She was still in bed even hours into the day, sitting on her futon all propped up in the corner with a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Ayika wasn't sure, but she thought that those cheekbones might be sticking out even more these days.

Then she saw two fairly large wooden boxes stacked against the opposite wall. The stamped writing read "Premium Whitening Powder. Jingdu." There was a stamped image of lips beneath it.

"Um, Xinfei? Why do you have two crates of ladies' face makeup in your place?"

He waved that question off. "Eh, forget it. Just business, not interesting."

She begged to differ. "Kinda feel like it is? Got a new hobby I should know about?"

Xinfei just grunted and made to move her a bit further out the door. "What are you doing here, Ayika?

"You ass, I wanted to make sure you were ok. After everything that happened on the festival, and then I didn't see you all yesterday. What's up with that?" She kept her voice tight and a little quiet when she referenced what had happened with the masks and spirits. No one wanted to inflict that kind of thing on Mrs Bao, she worried enough when her sons weren't actually in mortal danger. A darker part of Ayika also added that it was not as if Mai Bao would actually be of any use even in the simplest problem.

Xinfei just shook his head as he deflected Ayika, also speaking quietly. "Nah, I'm good. Maolin's the one who got hit, but your friend Mua said he's fine. What about you? You're the one who actually went up against those things and this is the first we've talked. How was I supposed to know if you were ok?"

"By coming to see me yesterday, idiot!"

"Like you came to see me?"

"Great, so we're both idiots!"

At this, Xinfei couldn't keep a straight face and burst out with a snort of laughter. Ayika felt her own brief anger melting away and joined in with a flash of a grin. She leaned back against the apartment wall and did a little comedic fake glowering. Then she noticed Xinfei kept glancing over at her.

She narrowed her eyebrows, "What are you looking at?"

He waved like it was nothing, but he actually sounded a bit disappointed. "Oh, no. I just knew you're working the laundry today and..."

"And? And you thought I'd be wearing that tight counter-girl getup here? Fat chance. Even if Anyakya let those things off premises, it'd still be only in your dreams, perv." She playfully punched out at him. Xinfei dodged easily and she said, "Hey, know what? If I get it out I'll let you wear it as much as you want. That make you happy eh? Go with your new hobby?" She fluttered her hand like a fan and smacked her lips in a kissing noise. Then her own recent memories surged to the surface again and she suddenly felt nearly terrified about these jokes she'd been making for years. Fear roiled in her stomach as she remembered Mizumi on the rooftop under the fireworks and she was once again filled with terrible uncertainty.

But Xinfei just rolled his eyes at her, not noticing any of this turmoil. "Shut up."

After a brief moment of silence, Ayika said, "So, makeup huh? New product?" Any topic of conversation was better than the terrible uncertainty that had been washing over her in waves for the last two days.

Xinfei sat down on the lip of the little wooden overhang that served them as a front porch. Ayika joined him. If you sat on the downhill side of the sloped path then there was enough space to hang your legs. She was fine with listening to Xinfei begin to excitedly run through his newest business plans. This one actually sounded fairly good, even if Lili Gaoli was involved to an unnerving degree. But Ayika had other worries festering in her mind and as Xinfei's descriptions eventually began to run out of steam she could at last no longer contain them. Things needed to be said.

"Xinfei, I know you like me."

His face instantly flushed burning red. "Uh, of course I like you, we're-"

"Shut up for a minute. Don't treat me like an idiot." Ayika breathed in and out. "I mean, I've known for years. I guess. But I just...I just... if I ignored it, then somehow the fact that I didn't feel like I'm supposed to...It wouldn't matter yet." She wasn't thinking about what she was saying anymore. Each word just burst up from somewhere within her, like building pressure forming bubbles of release.

She couldn't look at him anymore. Her eyes were locked forward, staring blindly at the house across the path until it faded into an unfocused blur. "I'm afraid...I'm just afraid there's something broken in me. And I don't want to lose you somehow. You're my best friend."

"What about Maolin?"

"Yeah he's my friend but he's, you know, another brother. I've got enough of those. But you're my best friend. You always have been." Her throat hurt. "And these days I really need that. Damn it, I really, really need that."

Then there was just a long moment of silence. Ayika's teeth were clenched in painful tension and she refused to raise a hand to brush at the moisture in her eyes. She just sat there willing that it would somehow be reabsorbed.

The pause stretched on terribly. Then Xinfei finally spoke and Ayika hadn't realized how much she'd feared he would not.

He was hesitant and a little horse, but he was smiling too, even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're my best friend too. Come on, like that would ever change. Who else would put up with me? And as for...Just, you know, forget about it. We're all stupid. I mean, I am and I certainly know you are."

"Jerk."

"You too, lady," he joked and then he leaned back a bit as he looked up at the sky. "I guess I just know nothing's ever for one person to decide. We're all just doing our own thing. You've got yours, and it's harder than a lot of people's, but I know there's other people out there doing the same, and hell, if they can make anything out of that then you certainly can. I mean, damn it, you're Ayika. You against the world and I know who to back."

Her eyes stung a lot more now. Her jaw hurt as clenched muscles mixed with a smile. "Thanks. You're a great person, you know, when you bother trying at it."

Xinfei snorted back and Ayika gave a chuckle. She said, "Ha, and you know about all this, I'm actually pretty side sure I'm with your brother here. I think...I think I can deal with being like Maolin."

"Wait, what about Maolin? What's he like? He's not a shaman. Is he? Wait, what are you talking about?"

Ayika suddenly burst out laughing at Xinfei's confusion. She couldn't help it. All her stress came pouring out as she gasping for air between glancing at Xinfei's perplexed and frustrated face. Then she threw her arms around him in a hug that was half for physical support and half for comfort. Eventually he just gave up trying to understand and he playfully shoved her back while rolling his eyes. Ayika wiped tears away as her stomach hurt from the spasms of hilarity.

And then she thought that just maybe she could do this.

...

Trade Representative Amantza Tailang was the mysterious sponsor behind the Masks.

As Mizumi paced her third floor apartments in the family mansion she could barely believe it but from Lili's story she had little option. She couldn't imagine that the Earth Kingdom girl would be willing to both completely invent such a damaging lie and convince Ayika's friend Xinfei to go along with it. No, they had really seen it with their own eyes. Not only was Tailang organizing the nationalists against his own people but he'd also supplied the mask artifacts and so was responsible for the powerful spirit possessions who had rampaged across the city. Well, this at least explained why that Mask had targeted Erliao two days ago. The minister had been one of Tailang's most vocal opponents.

Mizumi's head hurt from stress and lack of sleep. After much cajoling, her Kingdoms citizen butler Fong had reluctantly told her that the rumors in the town said that Sub-Minister Erliao was indeed gone. Public Safety and the City Guard were up in arms, and striking out against the local population at every chance to show that they were still in charge even after the Masks displays. Two of their local maids hadn't come in today after an entire Lower Ring neighborhood had gotten swept up in mass arrests. Out in Kuang Harbor it was now common to see beaten men huddled in alley mouths nursing their wounds received in equal likelihood from natives of the opposite political faction or from the badged agents of their own government. The other people on the streets were afraid to help them for being seen to take a side. Mizumi could only fret from within the Exclusion and imagine what Ayika might be doing in the middle of all this. And she knew that her own countryman was behind all of it.

Her fingernails bit into the palm of her hand as all her muscles tensed up in anger. Large swaths of the city were being turned against her race while inhuman powers beyond all their understanding were rearing their heads. And Tailang was responsible. Why? As some sort of political power game as a play for the ambassadorship after Aza Naruhama's death? That was the reason Teacher Lizhen had to die? Because he knew something about it and was going to tell Mizumi's father? It was all preposterous, obscene, and undoubtably true.

But no, as terrible as those crimes were, they were no longer the sole important matter. Mizumi had seen Ayika speak to two powerful spirits that night, and both those beings had emphasized the harm that was being done to the border between worlds. If the Nation was behind that, then it was her honor-bound duty to repair it. Ghosts were gathering as the rituals of death were disrupted and with them powerful spirits, eager to cross over to the human world. But there had to be a way to fix that.

Mizumi then felt a measure of furious resolve rise beneath the worry and fear. She'd decided on a course of action. She might not have the spiritual talent that Ayika did but she still knew how to get answers in other ways. Perhaps Fire Sage Huitzlan's proclivity for long-windedness would do her service for once. Disruptions among the spirits had to harm his people as much as it would the Kingdoms natives. The Sage would have some idea if he found out what Tailang was up to. He had to. There had to be someone who could be in control.

However, if her father and grandfather were any example then most of the other residents of the Exclusion didn't even believe in the rumored news of spirits and masks. Her father was too concerned with recovering from the the fire at his factory. He was now pulling out every political stop and putting every bit of effort towards securing permits for a full scale demonstration of his train engine on the city tram tracks, even if that meant he had to lift the locomotive up there on his back. He and Grandfather didn't pay any mind to what they deemed "native superstition". And they were trusting in Tailang's help to deal with the King of Kings.

Mizumi snuck out of the mansion without incident, only being seen by a single servant who agreed to not volunteer notice of her exit to her father. He'd been furious with her late arrival back home after the festival but luckily Mizumi had managed to convince him that she'd only been within the bounds of the Exclusion at a party that had gone on longer than expected. And even if she was being punished, surely a trip a few streets down to the temple was within any definition of acceptable behavior. Still, two trips in four days would double the number of visits she'd made in the past year. Her father would rightly note this newfound piety as suspicious, but Mizumi would cross that bridge when she came to it.

The energy on the Exclusion's narrow streets was different today. People here had at least heard some version of what happened during the festival and it unnerved them. Erliao was now common knowledge, and the attack on the Miohuito factory was seen as the beginning of a larger retaliation. There was no talk of the Masks having powers, only some laughter about superstitious Earth Kingdom natives that drew unnoticed dark looks from those same natives who filled every menial job here. The people of the Fire Nation were so comfortable in their knowledge of the world, they just wearily sighed at how much they still had to educate the people of this country. At least the Fire Sage wouldn't be as likely to dismiss possession out of hand. Spirits were his field after all.

As Mizumi approached the towering red and gold pagoda of the temple complex she felt the strength of her burning anger wane a bit. The two hulking black iron brasiers still had their fires stoked on each side of the temple entrance. That dark portal looked unsettlingly empty in contrast to the last deification ceremony she'd attended. But a thought of the monstrous howling of that possessed Mask mixed with the memory of Tailang's smirking face reignited her righteous fury and she confidently stormed up the temple steps.

Mizumi had come here prepared to begin the first fight of a long battle through endless hurtles of bureaucracy that would lie between her and the information she sought. Instead she was met with an almost disorienting lack of resistance. It seemed this day's ceremonies for Naruhama hadn't started yet and the main temple room only held two old women praying to the front fire pedestal. However, as soon as Mizumi entered those shadowed halls a junior priest noticed appeared at her side to take question with a helpful nod. A few scarce moments later Mizumi was being led to the upper levels where Fire Sage Huitzlan kept his offices.

As they made their way through corridors lined with dark tropical wood, imported at great expense from the Nation, Mizumi narrowed her eyes at some of the activity on this level. It looked like the red robed junior priests were hanging up strips of spirit charm paper on the walls. Now that wasn't unusual in a temple, even Mizumi knew that the influence of the spirit world waxed and waned in mysterious ways under the best of conditions and temples were supposed to be nexuses for their influence, but this was day after a major spirit holiday. They should be taking down extras not putting more up. That is, they should if they shared the mainstream Exclusion dismissal of the rumors of a building spiritual crisis. Mizumi had heard of no such announcement from this temple that had always been eager to offer pronouncements on every other topic. That was certainly interesting.

After only a few moments of waiting in an exterior antechamber, Mizumi was welcomed into the office of Fire Sage Huitzlan. An acolyte or clerical worker passed her as she went through the doorway. The small man in a dark suit had an unreadable guarded expression as he slid by with the barest flick of his eyes to take in her face before he departed. Inside, behind the large desk at the end of the room, Huitzlan's expression was less guarded.

The Fire Sage's face was lined and weathered over his pointed grey beard. He was tired and worried, but at the same time curiously cheerful. At the moment he was not wearing the full finery of his office and instead was dressed only in a simple dark robe of a red so deep it was almost black. With it on he blended into the expensive red leather of the chair-back behind him. The room itself was sparsely furnished save the desk's chairs and a narrow staircase leading up the back wall.

"Yes?" Huitzlan said. Then recognition flitted across his brow. "Ah, the daughter of Tetzamatl Miohuito." He gestured to a rather hard and uncomfortable looking chair of polished wood in front of his desk. "Yes, come in my dear. What is it you wished to talk about?"

Mizumi gingerly lowered herself into the offered seat. "First of all, I am sorry to bother you."

"Not at all. Of all the forces bothering me at the moment you are a welcome distraction." He then grumbled to himself, "If I have to listen to Tailang make commands of my temple for much longer he will learn quickly that he is the one who..." He caught himself and returned his attention to Mizumi. "I am sorry. As one gets older it becomes easier to see the grand picture but sometimes you lose track of the people sitting in front of you. What is troubling you, my child?"

"It is actually sort of about Representative Tailang."

Huitzlan raised his eyebrow suspiciously as Mizumi backpedaled. She had to be careful about what might get back to the Trade Representative.

"Er, no, I mean about his sort of politics as a whole. And about the spirit world."

Now Huitzlan was on the hook. Where as before he'd been regarding Mizumi with dignified politeness, now he was studying her intently. There was suspicion in his eyes.

But in the absence of any interruption she continued, "I have heard people talk about the native protests against our people, particularly with the attack on my father's factory. The thing is, when I talk to the native servants and vendors they all say that these disruptive forces are using power from the spirit world. Representative Tailang and the rest of the Trade Mission have publicly denied this but from what I heard the Earth Kingdom government has not said the same. They have just said nothing. And well, it is terrible to say of our Fire Lord's chosen official but it is possible Representative Tailang does not know as much about spirits as he pretends. I am afraid that something may be happening."

Mizumi resisted the urge to smile triumphantly as Huitzlan leaned forward. The sage had taken the bait. "He certainly does not! However, of course I would not be surprised if the native officials knew even less. "Of course there is spiritual trouble. Ba Sing Se has long since forgotten to truly honor their gods. In the Nation our guardian spirits are honored above all else as an integrated part of our royal government, and us sages as their voice. Here priesthood is a position bought and paid for. Their temples are neglected or abandoned. Out on the streets the common folk honor our imports and petty fashions more than they honor their own gods. Is it really any surprise that hungry ghosts now linger on the edge of the veil?"

"Hungry ghosts?" Mizumi felt her blood pumping harder. Mua had said the same. Something even worse was coming and she needed to learn something that could stop it. She had to take a chance. "You said that Representative Tailang has been taking things from the temple. Only I thought you and the Representative...did not exactly see eye to eye." Huitzlan's expression grew dark. This now went beyond having an audience for him to vent too. The implication of theft was an important political accusation. But Mizumi had not gotten this far in her life by being cautious. " I have heard other things too. Things that my native sources are saying. There are those who have connected the representative with...a certain artifact. Something of spiritual power." She took a breath. "Masks."

Huitzlan's eyes shot to his office door and returned in a brief instant. It was an involuntary gesture but Mizumi had seen it clearly. A bolt of lightning had just landed in the Fire Sage's heart, and now he was afraid. Mizumi leaned back slightly in her chair as she tried to keep her expression neutral and mildly curious. She'd made note of Ayika's techniques to effortlessly walk blindly through these situations of unequal power. It was enough now to leave Huitzlan in silence.

Sure enough he elected to speak first. "I do not know what you are talking about." He snapped, hiding fear under anger. "The Ambassador's funeral mask was burned on schedule, of course. Who told you otherwise?"

Mizumi kept her face perfectly still even as she felt poleaxed with confusion. Ambassador Naruhama? What? She had certainly gotten a reaction, but she now was completely lost as to what the sage was talking about. But she had to continue anyway. How was the dead ambassador involved in this? She pressed on anyway, hoping to glean some clue even as she felt like she was suddenly walking a tightrope over an infinite void.

"Er, certain people have been investigating the sudden appearance of spirit masks for months. And then a particular example got out of the hands of those who had been using them. It was brought to a teacher at a native school I attend. Chen Lizhen he was called."

Huitzlan inhaled sharply. "Naruhama's ghost mask was in the hands of Chen Lizhen?! But...! Oh no, of course. I heard of his death. I forgot that for a moment. So tragically pointless." He narrowed is eyes as he looked at Mizumi. "You know a lot more than a girl your age should. More than anyone should. There are dangerous powers at work around us." He looked afraid now, nervous of some outside force coming to punish the next thing he said.

"Powers which attacked and set fire to my father's business. Powers who are assaulting his business partners. As his heir I have a great deal of personal stake, and when my father is so consumed with these worries, it falls to his family to seek any aid that may appear. To do any less would be dishonorable. Justice must find the perpetrators, before they can do more damage."

Huitzlan snorted faintly in derision, but a twinkle in his eyes indicated that he was not altogether unmoved by this speech. His fear had retreated a small degree. Indeed, he seemed to make his mind up about something. He gave a long sigh, though Mizumi thought that it might be more artifice than genuine reluctance.

"I must say, after everything I have suffered, speaking the truth aloud is now a relief. You and your family are correct, Amantza Tailang has been abusing the power of his office towards this temple. I regret now that some time ago I made a careless lecture to him about some shaman masks of the Nation's Eastern Islands. I mentioned my private academic collection here at the temple and before long I noticed that artifacts were being stolen. I was infuriated of course but I was comforted in the thought that Ambassador Naruhama would dispense justice. But then the Ambassador tragically died and I suppose that put the theft out of my mind. Really, it seemed a pointlessly petty crime committed by a petulant child. Those shaman artifacts are very weak under normal circumstances. They should not have been dangerous."

Huitzlan took a deep breath as if arranging thoughts in his mind. There was a small twitch at one corner of his wrinkled mouth. "But then the Ambassador's death mask was stolen in the night, before it could be burned. Representative Tailang must have listened to my lectures more than I thought."

Suddenly the pieces of knowledge Mizumi had absorbed from Ayika and Mama Mua began to click together. She remembered Ayika speaking of linked jade masks and clay disks over eyes. Improper funeral rituals allowed ghosts to linger in this world and the spirit world instead of rejoining the soul in reincarnation. Ghosts could gain power from offerings made to the dead. The entire Exclusion had been making prayers and offerings to raise the soul of Aza Naruhama to godhood. All while his ghost mask remained in this world, like an anchor.

"Oh, no. The ghost..."

Huitzlan's faint eyebrows arched up. He was surprised. "You received a good religious education in the Nation. Your family is from Kasai Island? It is not important. Yes, you have seized on it. Naruhama's mask remains unburnt. As soon as I discovered this I wanted to stop the deification ritual but Tailang delivered the most terrible threats against me and to my shame I gave in. I continued the rituals. The resulting weakening of the veil between worl has caused the stolen shaman masks to gain incredible power. I wanted to say something but until today I have had no definitive proof of Representative Tailang's involvement, only the man's vague gloating. I was alone in my suspicions. If I moved against him without a weapon I would simply be seized and my underlings would carry on with the rituals. Yet I believe your family must have something else, some hope, or you would not have spoken so boldly in accusing the Trade Representative. Help me take him down."

Mizumi leaned back slightly, pushed by the intensity of Sage Huitzlan's stare. "Yes. I do. Er...that is, I know of natives, erm, city citizens who have witnessed Representative Tailang inciting criminal acts. I just didn't know-"

The Fire Sage interrupted, his voice losing what little softness it had possessed as he now considered that he did not need to guide her to the conclusion any more. "Unfortunately, the Ambassador's death also means that Representative Tailang is of supreme political power in this enclave. The Fire Lord will soon appoint a replacement ambassador but it will take months for them to arrive. We do not have that kind of time and I cannot safely move to stop the ritual while Tailang remains." Here he paused. "Though if the native government were to act...But of course your father has more experience there."

The old man trailed off suggestively. For one whose attitude towards the native residents of this city was barely above distain, the thought of putting even a villainous a Fire Nation citizen under their control had to be distasteful. But he was right, in the absence of an ambassador there was no authority of the Nation in the Exclusion above the office of the Trade Representative. It would be risky to involve the Ba Sing Se government in seizing a Fire Nation citizen, but if Huitzlan was right about what Tailang had done then it was a risk worth taking. The spiritual chaos had to be stopped.

Mizumi stood up, "I think you are right. I will...tell my father what you suggest." If the old man wanted to think that she was sent here by her father then she could allow him to continue that misconception.

Fire Sage Huitzlan stood up as well. His expression was guardedly triumphant. At least once Tailang was in chains, Huitzlan would be able to appeal for calm in the Nation's response. After that he could score whatever promotion or favor from the Fire Lord he wanted.

However, as she turned to exit the office, Mizumi noticed one last thing. The inside of Huitzlan's door was plastered with a thick coat of spirit repelling paper charms. The man must have been more afraid than his confidence suggested. He feared retaliation from more than just Tailang's political authority. He feared an entire other world. Mizumi just hoped his fears would not come to pass.

...