The shade of Zhu Irzh's grandfather was standing in the corner of the room. Dust motes spiraled through him and the wall was clearly visible on the other side, but to Chen, at least, he was still reasonably visible: an elderly demon, very similar to Zhu Irzh in countenance, but with a pencil moustache and an even shiftier expression.
"How do you know it's Grand-dad?" Zhu Irzh asked, apparently still unable to see his departed relative.
"The gaping hole in his ribcage is a bit of a giveaway," Chen said.
"Ah."
"Who are you?" the spirit said in a subvocal rasp.
"My name is Chen. I am a friend of your grandson."
"My grandson has my heart," the spirit said.
"He took the heart from your daughter," Chen told the spirit.
The spirit turned and, invisibly, spat. "My daughter! She never did know anything about magic. Do you know what it's like to exist down here, day after year after day, knowing that your essence is still in the worlds above, frozen and misused?"
"You're going to have to explain to me this business about your heart," Chen said, casting an uneasy glance back toward the compound. There seemed to be some kind of conflict going on; he could hear shouts. "It's not a piece of human magic."
"Do you know why my heart was taken from me?" the spirit asked.
"I thought it was to keep you down here," Zhu Irzh said.
"Not only that. I defied the Emperor of Hell," the spirit said. "I sought to lead a rebellion against him."
"Yes, I know that bit. For any particular reason?"
The spirit spat again. This time, the spittle sizzled into the dust and left a small smoking hole in the floor. "All he cared about was the Ministry of Lust: its pleasures, its intrigues. Hell rarely saw him. He spent most of his time inside the Ministry."
"It's the same Emperor," the demon said. "He's not changed much. The Ministries run things. Except, by the way, Lust's gone, for the moment. Long story."
"I have the means to destroy the Emperor," the old spirit said. "My daughter knows this: she seeks to overthrow the Emperor in turn. But she does not know what the means is. So she has kept my heart, trying to summon me from these levels, always failing."
"What, you mean Mum's been trying to bring you back? Not keep you here?"
"Did you prompt Zhu Irzh to ask for the heart at that dinner?" Chen asked. Zhu Irzh started to say something, but then stopped.
"I did. I knew he could succeed where my daughter has not. Tell him to put the heart down," the spirit stated.
"I don't think so," Zhu Irzh retorted. "Sorry, Grandpa, but I don't think you can be trusted."
The spirit hissed in frustration. "If I am reunited with my heart," the spirit said, "then I will have the power to defeat the Emperor. I was granted that power during the rebellion, but the spell was on the condition that the power would last as long as my heart continued to beat in my body. During the rebellion itself, I was captured by the Emperor's forces and my heart was torn out. I was cast down here, but my heart was stolen by a person loyal to me and returned to my family."
"Defeating the Emperor isn't really the issue," Zhu Irzh said. "Given that we're under attack by Heaven."
"If I had succeeded during the first rebellion," the spirit said, "Heaven would not now be in a position to attack us. The Emperor of Hell is weak, and he must be removed."
"I think that might be about to happen anyway," Zhu Irzh said.