The stone sank, heavy in Cao Guojiu’s pocket. One tiny piece of rock held the power to save the world, or to destroy it. And right now, it was sitting in his pocket, about to be traded.

Not for world peace or any fancy bullshit, but for simple information.

Well, at least he was living up to his reputation of being a jackass.

He grimaced and strode through the shop doors, wrinkling his nose at the stench of cheap, flowery incense and the sharp clang of the overhead bells. The tightly-packed souvenir store screamed the hoarding tendencies of its owner, but he didn’t care. He hadn’t come to buy any cheesy mementos.

Cao wove through the cramped aisles, down the steep staircase, to the steel door at the back. He rapped once. No answer, so he knocked again.

“Closed,” a lilting feminine voice chimed from inside.

Screw that. He twisted the handle and shoved the door open. Slipping inside, he blinked into the dim chamber. The eight-by-ten room smelled musty and dank. Like an old storage locker. Not quite the headquarters of the elite supplier he’d anticipated.

A figure seated at the large wooden desk huffed. “I said we’re closed.” The woman didn’t bother peering at him as she slapped a sticky note on top of the wobbly stack of binders in front of her, pushed them aside, and bent to the floor to procure a new stack.

He edged forward and halted in front of the desk, crossing his arms. So, this was Ling Tse. Intriguing. “I heard you were the best and I’m in need of your services.”

“Sorry, but I’m booked this month.” She plopped the binders on top of the desk, the tower reaching her nose. “I might be able to pencil you in next month, Mr.…” She lifted long, curly lashes to scrutinize him. “Oh, no.” Intense distaste flashed in her doe-like eyes, and she pushed her black-rimmed glasses further up along her slender nose. “I don’t deal with immortals. Please leave.”

He stiffened. What the hell was her problem? “We’ve never met. How do you even know who I am?” He didn’t go out much, and he certainly had never encountered this saucy butterfly before.

Her perusal flicked to the wall behind him and she bit her lip. “It doesn’t matter.”

Arching a brow, he spun. A dozen or so pictures had been taped to the wall, several speckled with darts. He recognized the other Eight Immortals, along with a few others he didn’t know.

In the bottom right corner, was his face. A blue dart stuck in his right eye.

“Nice aim,” he droned, shifting toward her.

She flinched but didn’t say anything.

What the fuck had he done to deserve that dart? “Look, as far as I’m aware, I’ve never wronged you,” he held up placating hands, “and all I’m asking for is your help. In exchange for a hefty recompense.”

“I don’t want your money, or your business. Get out.” Crimson bloomed across her cheeks, bestowing an exotic touch to her unremarkable beauty.

He narrowed his eyes and studied her. Most people would never shoot her a second glance. Not with those thick glasses concealing her porcelain bone structure, that glossy hair resembling black silk drawn into a tight bun, and the baggy, green wool sweater entombing her like a snowsuit even though this room wasn’t cool or drafty.

However, he was the patron of the arts, and disguises were a specialty of his.

She was hiding something.

One by one, the hairs on the back of his neck pricked. The Matchmaker had told him this woman, Ling Tse, was the only person who could help him. That she would so adamantly refuse made zero sense.

Time to play hardball.

She puffed at him again and aimed her focus onto the stack of binders. Didn’t even wait for him to leave. Just assumed he would.

Well, he hadn’t come this far to be turned down. Luckily, he happened to have something up his sleeve she wouldn’t be able to resist. Or so M had told him, when she’d cryptically insisted he trade the rock in his possession. He doubted it was as significant as M had implied, though.

Whatever works.

Cao quirked his lips as he pulled the apricot-sized white stone from his jeans pocket. Two of its edges were flat, suggesting the gem was a shard of a larger piece, one even more valuable. “I guess you wouldn’t be interested in this, either, then.” He placed the stone on top of the pile, in front of her nose, but not removing his fingers.

Her rosy lips parted.

Check mate.

Whistling, he stuffed the rock back into his pocket and strolled out the door.

“Wait.”

Ignoring her calls, he strode up the stairs toward the maze of aisles.

Ling’s soft, pattering footsteps chased him, and she stopped a few feet behind him. “Let me see that again.”

“Oh, this?” He casually extracted the valuable gem, flicking his wrist toward her.

“How did you acquire it?” Her eyes widened and she extended her fingers toward his palm, as though the rock was a tractor beam drawing her in.

As she was about to make contact with the gem, he tsked. “Ah, uhn.” He snapped his hand back inside his pocket. “You said you wouldn’t do business with me, so I’ll find another interested party. I’m sure there are plenty.”

Tapping her foot, she folded her arms across her chest, revealing the round curves of her breasts hidden by that monstrosity of a sweater. He swallowed hard as his ballocks tightened at the tempting glimpse of her femininity. “Are you going to play with me or are you going to offer me a deal?”

Brash. She had balls. He chuckled and leaned forward, backing her to the wall and inhaling the faint vanilla scent perfuming from her skin. “Trust me, love, if I were playing with you, you’d be screaming.” Her hitched breath satisfied a primal urge itching beneath his skin, but he sensed she was timid, like a wild animal who might bolt at any second if he got too close too fast. He eased back, giving her space.

“So, ah, the stone?” Hand quivering, she shoved those glasses higher onto her nose.

He withdrew the gemstone from his pocket again. This time, he handed it to her.

She inhaled and held her breath, examining the rock atop her palm.

He cocked his head and studied her. Why did she covet the gem so badly?

And how much would she be willing to trade for it?

* * *

Ling Tse blinked at the stone in her hand. It was beautiful. Magnificent. Perfect. Therefore, utterly disastrous.

The hairs on her arms rose; Cao’s burning scrutiny heated her skin. Right. Regardless of him bringing this gem to her, she couldn’t trust him.

She couldn’t trust any of them.

Only a fool would stick their hand into the same fire where they’d been burned before.

And she was no fool.

“Who sent you?” She returned the precious stone and glared at the Eight Immortal Cao Guojiu as he placed it inside his jeans pocket. Though she’d gawked at his picture for more hours than she’d be willing to admit, the real, in-the-flesh version of this striking male had dried her throat and stolen every ounce of her cool composure. Okay, so she often got tongue-tied around hot guys, and Cao was no exception. His messy, just-out-of-bed-and-probably-after-intense-sex dark brown hair was long enough in the front to slash irresistibly across his sinfully twinkling, deep honey depths. He was at least half a foot taller than her five-nine frame, and his black leather jacket hugged across wide, brawny shoulders. His white cotton shirt and dark jeans conformed to each thick, ripped muscle. The jagged cut of his angular jaw, the long straight line of his nose, and those killer high cheekbones screamed youth, though the male was over a thousand years old.

Time has been kind to you, gorgeous. Oh, yeah.

Pile on top his toe-curling accent—a little rumble mixed in with the crisp enunciation of his aristocratic upbringing—and any woman would swoon. She moistened her lips, tingling spreading from her toes to her core. Cao had “bad boy, stay away at all costs” written across every lickable inch of him.

He met her stare straight on. “The Matchmaker. She said you would help me.”

Ling bit down a curse. Only that woman would be so meddlesome as to send an immortal her way. She’d worked hard to build up her reputation as being the best supplier to the beings in the Jade Emperor’s world, but immortals were one customer she refused to serve.

Yet, the stone was important. Though she’d spent a long time searching for the shards, she’d only managed to collect one other piece thus far. The jīng stone. She pressed a hand to her chest, sensing the gem protected within her spirit. Whew.

She ought to set aside her trepidations and trade with Cao. The sacrifice would be worth it.

The fate of the world teetered on an even more precarious cliff now that the Red Death—a nasty plague—had done its job, dividing the lines between the humans and those of the Jade Emperor’s world. Some evil people had unleashed the Plague God and, in turn, the Red Death, several years ago. The pandemic had killed millions, plowing the field and clearing the path for a new world.

One Ling would do anything to prevent from rising.

Except reveal her true nature. She’d been born a Chosen, a human host paired with one of the twelve spirit animals of the Chinese Zodiac—the Sheep. The Supreme Ruler of the Universe, the Jade Emperor, tasked the Chosen with restoring the balance of yin and yang to the world.

While she’d become friends with many of the other Chosen—Tiger, Rabbit, Ox, Snake, and Horse—the Matchmaker was the sole person aware Ling carried the Sheep. When she was little, the woman had instructed Ling to conceal her identity until the right moment. Although the waiting sucked, she had faith in the Matchmaker. The only other entities Ling trusted were Sheep and her nǎinai—her grandmother.

This small rock, and the others like it, might hold the power to turn the tide and save humanity. Her hunch was an untried theory, but if the Matchmaker had sent her this immortal, Ling was on the right track.

Maybe her plan would work.

He cleared his throat, knocking her from her musings. “So, can we work something out?”

“What do you propose in exchange?” She braced for the usual, impossible requests. Creating a cure for cancer, robbing a dragon’s lair, and her personal favorite—locating the Peaches of Immortality. Yeah, right. Like she would be searching for that tree anytime soon.

Not even if they paid me in chocolate.

He raked one hand through those unruly locks, and her fingers itched with the desire to help him in the task, to run her hands across those silky strands. “I need to locate someone.”

Oh. She frowned. “Okay, sure. That shouldn’t be too hard.” With her resources and talent, there were few people she couldn’t track down. “Who do you want to find?”

He exhaled low and deep. “My… Wait, do you smell that?” He sniffed the air, eyes growing wide, and snatched her hand.

Before she could stop him, he towed her up the stairs and down the narrow aisle, through the door. Just as they hit the road, he tackled her, wrapping his arms around her and sheltering her with his large body.

A shockwave flung them to the ground, booming through her bones and ringing in her ears. They smacked into the hard asphalt, Cao’s body cushioning her fall.

Smoke filtered into her nostrils while flames heated her back. Dazed, she lifted her head to gape at her grandmother’s shop.

Crumbling walls. Searing flames.

No. No, no.

The tiny shop had imploded, the remnants collapsing onto themselves.

With her grandmother still inside.