Rite of Life and Death

One tail cries, two tails leap,

Three and four laugh atop the grave,

Five and six have sharp little fangs,

Seven and eight are pretty as can be,

Nine tails soar into the sky,

Ten tails go back into the furnace.

A strange nursery rhyme has haunted me for over twenty years. No one could explain what it meant, until a fierce-looking man barged into my life. He taught me skills, rescued me from danger, fought evil spirits and battled demons. I thought he was the benefactor fate had sent me, until the day he reached for my heart, intending to offer me up to Heaven…