Sometimes, karma comes for you way too fast.
Mai Mingle wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. When she lowered her hand, she saw it was covered in streaks of black ash. 'I must look like a zebra right now,' she thought.
A series of small explosions had left a persistent, fly-like buzzing in her ears. But that was nothing compared to the injury on her foot. She carefully placed her burned foot on the ground and hissed in a sharp breath of air.
'This second life is certainly an experience,' she mused. 'In just a few days, I've suffered more new and exciting torments than in my entire previous eighty-six years.'
Before they were separated, Hai Luwei had given her a roll of bandages. After wrapping her foot, she could put a little weight on it. She could walk, just barely, but not fast, and with a heavy limp.
