Beijing
We headed south, then turned west when we left Tokyo ending up in Korea first before we wound our way to Beijing where Amon felt at home. He liked being in a city with over 12 million people. We were happy there for several months, blending in with the homogonous culture
We were returning from shopping for new clothes for me. I was taller now having hit a growth spurt recently. "You have grown two inches over night," he told me, a joke caught in his mouth/on the verge of a joke I believe. I was happy as we walked down the softly lit motel hallway, two bags on each arm, a gentle look on Amon's face. He had indulged me by buying everything I had wanted; even pressing a few items I felt were unnecessary in my arms. He bought fried doughnut treats for us on the way back. I wondered many times where the money kept coming from for the clothes and the nice motel we were staying in but he kept the information to himself.
I noticed the light outside our suite was out, the pattern in the luxurious carpet underneath looking faded and indistinct. I was surprised as the maintenance staff was on call 24 hours a day. Amon opened the door and reached for the light switch just inside but only one dim light came on, throwing a dusky hue about our living area.
My stomach pinched inward, the darkness reminding me of the catacombs holding the bones of nuns long put to rest but I pushed the feeling aside. I walked in, placing the bags down on my bed, when I heard something that sounded like mice scratching at the wallpaper. Turning to search for the sound, I found Amon pinned to the wall, face turning the same dusky shade as the room. I heard a soft giggle as a young female figure faded into the dim light, holding him against the wall but for only a moment more before Amon kicked out a foot, making contact with her face. She squealed in anger as she let go of his throat, wiping away the blood pooling at the corner of her mouth. "No one does that to me!" she squealed. A movement just at the far point of my vision caught my attention. I turned, reaching for my glasses in my pocket and donning them as I built up my fire. A thin, angular man emerged from the darkness, walking up to me casually as if we were old friends. Flinging the orb of energy at him, I heard Amon attacking the woman once again. I turn my head to see an unevenly matched battle taking place. Even though Amon was taller and stronger, the smaller young woman barely reached out a hand before Amon was tossed like a limp rag against the wall. I felt a burning pain radiate across my shoulder and down through my chest. I fell to my knees, trying to stand up up was taken under into a deep dark place.
I thought the Hunters had killed Robin. I saw her fall to the floor, a man with a sadistic smile standing above her looking ready to devour the flesh from her bones. Flames licked the wall behind him, but he seemed to not notice. Before I could take a step to her side, the woman I had been fighting a loosing battle with, attacked me again. But this time, I was able to reach her before she could raise a finger, scooping under one leg and grabbing behind her behind her head. Flinging her toward the man behind Robin, they tumbled like leaves in a fast moving stream. I scooped Robin up, throwing her over my shoulder as I backed out the door as sprinklers above us gave off a mist to combat Robin's fire. I ran faster than I knew a person could, slipping from the wetness the sprinkler had left on my clothes. Taking the steps two at a time, we fled.
Pounding down the street with a strawberry blonde flung over my shoulder should have gained more attention, but I suppose luck was on our side. For the moment at least. Heading down the subway stairs, I leapt over the turnstile running for the first train I saw. Robin moaned as I sat her down on the slick seat. The sound of the bickering voices from the team of Hunters we were running from reached my ears. "There they are!" the young woman squealed, flinging an accusing finger in our direction. Their boots thudded across the concrete floor, gaining ground on us. "Shhhp!" The timed doors activated, closing us up in safety away from the Hunters. I watched the enflamed duo glare at me as the woman hit the man. That was all it took to when a full-fledged fight erupted between them.
We could not go back to our room now that SOLOMON knew where we were. Everything there was gone, destroyed by the flames tickling the hotel room walls or from the sprinklers set above to combat the effects of Robin's craft. The greatest loss was my laptop. Now I had only my phone to contact Nagira with, using a public computer to e-mail him was too risky, too easy to trace. We would have to start over once more. When Robin awoke, we got off the train at the next stop and I attempted to call Nagira. No luck, he was out and Hana did not know when he would be back. I went to an automatic bank machine to withdraw money. Maybe I punched the machine too hard, maybe our goose was cooked. 'Insufficient Funds' showed up on the screen. I could not believe it. Retrieving the card, I tried again. 'Insufficient Funds' showed up once more. When I tried to retrieve the card this time, I heard a 'sicc' sound as 'Card Requested not Available.' The machine had eaten our only credit card and the only access to more money.
With no room to return too, no one we knew around who could lend a hand and no sympathy from SOLOMON, we were reduced to walking the streets in filthy clothes while looking over our shoulders. We stayed in the consulate that day, the next fading into the throngs of tourist heading for the 'Forbidden City', walking the streets at night when these places closed. Robin would catch a little sleep whenever she could; I would keep watch over her, resting only for the briefest of moments before my protective senses would jerk me awake again.
For nearly two days, we traveled the streets of Beijing hiding in plain sight. I was surprised when my phone rang late on the second night. I had to turn it off from time to time to keep the battery charged enough to receive his call.
I nearly jumped when Amon's phone made a low buzzing sound from deep inside his coat pocket. It was Nagira. I could see the consternation Amon held quietly to himself. Things must not be going well on the phone with his brother and the other half of my saving team. He tried to smooth out the lines creasing his forehead and I could not help but believe our luck had run out once more. Amon nodded, "Hai" he said before hanging up. "Nagira does not understand what happened to the credit card. He is working on it now," he told me, pocketing his phone. "What do we do now?" I asked. "We wait" he replied.
"Do we have any money left?" I questioned, trying not to show how hungry I was. We had each eaten a small bowl of noodles and fish stew early that morning and it had to be after midnight now. Reaching in his pocket once more, he pulled out what little bit of cash we had left. "Enough for a small meal" he told me, pulling me by my elbow to a brightly lit open-air restaurant.
I remember Amon ordered the least expensive things on the menu before sitting me down at a table. Waiting for him to join, I look up expectantly. "You eat, I will be back" and he left me.
I watch him walk up and speak to someone there behind the counter. I am amazed as he walks behind the counter. I should be used to it by now though. He is not one to be pinned down to a single idea of what he is capable of doing. I eat slowly, waiting for my partner to return. Once, about two hours after he first sat me down, he walked out to the table to tell me we would be there awhile. He is working under the table until the regular cook shows up. I nod, asking if I can work too. Looking over his shoulder at what I assume is the boss; Amon tells me he does not think so. He had to talk quickly to get himself hired for the night as it was. The night crawls by for me, thoughts constantly on Amon and the sacrifice is willing to go through for me.
Nagira calls us back as dawn attempts to illuminate the sky, competing weakly against the constant artificial daylight of the city. He is unable to fix the credit card, but has two tickets waiting for us at the train station. He is sending us into the interior of China to meet with a new contact that can set us up with the things we need.
Amon is agitated on the train ride out, dozing off and on when exhaustion takes over. "Amon, where did you learn to cook?" I ask when he was awake once. He looked at me tiredly. "I did not eat at Harry's for every meal," he told me pointedly. Turning his head, he watched the people around us, always watching for those who wished to do us harm.
The scenery changed slowly from metropolis to outskirts to rural, passing the fabled "Wall" and still we travel. 'How can anyone out this far help us?' I think to myself as we finally pull into the station we have been looking for. I turn to wake Amon to find him already standing.
He grabbed my arm, saying I looked as if I would fall down from exhaustion. When I ask how he is feeling he tells me "I am accustomed to fatigue." I want to argue that no one can be accustomed to three days of nearly no sleep but am to weak to argue a valid point. We walk out into the cold evening air, the sun dipping below the horizon. Standing on the platform, feeling exposed in the small town after our time in Beijing and Tokyo, we search for our contact.
No one fits the description of the people we are to meet. Time passed, the sun disappeared and the station closed its heavy doors. Icy wind blew up from the river, beginning to freeze the marrow of my bones. Panic began to settle in my chest, as if a death rattle and rationality became a distant concept. "Amon?" I turn to him, wondering if he was thinking the same thing I was. Had Nagira betrayed us? No, he would never do that.
"Eve?" A voice cut through my wanderings, stilling my thoughts. Amon stepped in between us. An old man, over eighty at least, peered at me under puffy, hooded eyes, a young eager man stood to his side. "Come, it is getting cold" he said, turning to leave the platform. Amon bid me to follow, placing me in the safer position of the rear.
We walk toward an old fashioned ox-pulled cart, the back lined with grasses. "In, please" the younger man motioned with his hand. Amon held his hand out, offering help to help me in. The older man climbed laboriously into the front seat with the aid of the younger man. With a lurch from the ox beginning its work, we pulled off into the dark night. "Amon? Do you think we will be ok?" I ask. He looked at me not saying a word. Pulling me closer, he wrapped his arm around me and I lay my head the in comforting curve where his shoulder met his chest.