Chapter 9

As soon as I'm a good distance away from the estate I head for the city and bring my phone out of my pocket; I dial Felix's number but it rings out. The sky is quickly darkening and I have to flick on the headlights. I scroll through my contact list considering where to begin and when I see William's name I have to wonder if his flight has landed in America yet. I try to call him but again it rings through and I feel even more alone in this. This car is quick and runs smoothly, I can see why Mr Gao liked it so much. Finally on my contact list I see Peter's name and I have to place my phone back in my pocket before I begin to worry about where he is and if they've already gotten to him. I pull over at a bank to withdraw the remainder of the money in my personal account and to get something to eat from the market. My body is running on very little sleep and an empty stomach.

After quickly selecting some sort of chips and an energy drink my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and to my relief find that William is calling me back.

"Everything okay?" He asks.

"No, as it turns out Li was in on the witches plan and they may have already gotten to Peter." I start heading back to where I parked the car as I talk to him.

"What? Why do they want Pan?" He asks, I hear the sound of people talking hurriedly and an intercom speaking in the background, he must have just got off the plane.

"Well for whatever reason they wanted him all along, apparently he annoyed some of the coven leaders; I really don't know I'm not too clear on it. But the problem is that I don't know if they're out to kill him and Li sent Felix away so I'm alone in a country where I barely understand the language.-" I'm cut off when I get sight of the car across the road and see that there are men in black suits patrolling the area around it, looking in every direction. "And I'm being followed." I add.

"By who? The witches?" William asks. I turn around and head through the busy bustling market, dodging in and around stalls and lanes just in case the men have already spotted me.

"By Li's men. He doesn't like that I've left him. I also kind of knocked him and some of his men out." I turn to look behind me as I talk and I notice some of the bodyguards walking in the market area, they haven't spotted me but they're clearly searching. I break through the opposite entrance and hurry across the busy street, keeping an eye out for a taxi.

"Okay well Li mentioned that the coven is somewhere in the farmlands, so we'll need to find someone who can take you there." William says.

"What if I go back to that opium den I was found in?" I suggest. I round the corner of a building and notice a taxi pulled up at the side of the road. As soon as the previous customer steps out I slide in and take his seat.

"Hang on one second William. What was the address?" I ask, before notifying the driver of the location. The car accelerates ahead and as we drive we pass the street where I left Gao's car. My Veela genes mean that my eyesight is better than a human's and even from this distance I can see the group of men in dark suits still hanging around the car. As we drive past I notice one of the men looking down at a device in his hand and barking orders through an earpiece. He looks up from the device and we almost make eye contact, he knows that I'm getting away. I empty my pockets of the car keys and quickly open the taxi window, dropping the keys on the ground. As soon as I do I see a line of cars behind me drive over and crush them and the man with the device gets an annoyed expression on his face. He throws the device at one of the other men and begins to shout. The other men that were in pursuit of me stop walking and look at each other in confusion. I sit back on the seat to rest and can't help but smile to myself; I've lost them.

William and I converse for a bit longer, he assures me that he's going to talk to Cassiopeia and let her know that I know what she did. He's also going to ask her for help on my behalf so that we can save Peter. He says that as soon as he can get in contact with her he will come back to China to help me, but for now I'm on my own. I sit back against the seat and sigh, my eyelids are heavy and I still feel sore and tired. I would kill for a massage right now.
It's when the driver's loud voice makes me jump in surprise that I realise I've fallen asleep on the back seat. I hand him his money and climb out of the cab, looking up and down the street as I do so. I quickly pull out my hoodie from my bag and shrug it on, pulling the hood up to help hide my face. I barely recognise which of the run-down buildings is the one I had to hastily leave that day. I notice some people are sitting around the entrance of one and I slide on my sunglasses and pull out my translator. After finding out the word for opium I approach the people and inquire, noticing the dazed, drug-addled looks on their faces. They exchange glances and shake their heads at each other before shaking their heads at me. I remember Li mentioning how drug use is illegal in China and can result in severe punishment. I bite my lip and gain the attention of one of the men before sliding up my sunglasses to see him properly. I concentrate on our eye contact and feel my vision tunnel like the way it does when I'm using the charm on someone. The man's expression changes to bewilderment and enthralment. I ask him about opium again in Chinese and the man points in the direction of one of the buildings without taking his eyes off mine. I dig the change out of my pocket and hand it to him before walking over to inspect the building. I don't recognise the front but as soon as I step in the door the faded and torn red wallpaper and the stained wood of the hallway bring a hint of familiarity.

"You're back!" A voice says from a doorway. I look over and notice the man that was chasing after me last time I was here is smiling at me. I take off my sunglasses and hood and nod to him.

"You recognise me?" I tilt my head as I ask.

"I always recognise a Veela." He says, tapping his nose and adding, "It's the smell." I widen my eyes at him and he simply chuckles. He gestures for me to follow him and I do accordingly. He leads me to an odd back room with storage boxes piled up in the corners. He pulls the corner of a box to the side and whole stack swings easily with it, revealing a doorway which hides a staircase that leads to a basement. I poke my head in the doorway and smell the strong fumes of a cigarette smoke and incense.

"No, I don't want that. I just wanted to ask you some questions." I say, backing away from the staircase. The man nods to me assuringly and gestures to the staircase.

"You want to talk; let's talk in my place of business." He moves to stand at the top of the staircase and waits for me, expecting me to co-operate. I sigh and consider my limited options, taking a breath of fresh air before walking to descend the staircase. I hear him shut the door behind us and look ahead of me to greet a medium sized room filled with sofas and cushions. There are bodies lazing around and the people are either chattering in hushed, slow conversations or seem to be resting with a look of contentment or ecstasy on their face. The smell is pungent and even just breathing in the air leaves me light-headed. The man directs me to sit on a couch and I do as instructed, looking around at the nearby people. The man sits down opposite me and offers me a cigarette, which I decline, before lighting one for himself.

"I wanted to know if you knew who it was that brought me here." I tell him. He rubs his chin as he looks at me.

"I know who it was that took you from here." He says after a moment of pondering.

"Okay, but-" I have to pause to sigh, one of the nearby men has taken a look at me and has crawled over to place his head on my knee to rest. I push him off of me gently and continue. "Do you have any cameras here or something? Anything that can tell me something about the people that brought me here?" Even to my own ears I can hear the pleading in my voice. I can't help but worry for Peter, not knowing where he is is killing me. A woman with a tray of assorted cigars, pipes and needles comes over to us in offering. The man picks up a needle and offers it to me. I furrow my eyebrows at him and have to clench my knuckles. I shake my head and he offers it again.

"I insist. Free." He says. I reach forward and grip onto his wrist, forcing him to look at my face in confusion. I ensure our eye contact and attempt to use my charm but he doesn't seem to be affected by it. Either the dulling of my senses is causing this or he's part warlock, either way I need to resort to another method. I tighten my grip on his wrist and twist it slightly; I feel the tension I'm causing within his wrist and the man drops the needle and crinkles his face up in pain. I stop twisting as at this point he's got a sprain and any further it will be broken.

"Tell me something useful. How do you know what I am?" I order.

"Across the road. Ask for Chao-xing, she will have the answers you seek." He says it with pain on his face and I release him. As soon as I do he retracts his hand and rubs it tenderly. I nod to him and pull on my backpack, standing from the couch and heading for the staircase. Once I leave the building I step outside into the dark street and am greeted with the first few drops of rain. It picks up quickly and heavily and I have to run across the street to avoid being soaked. I knock on the door of what appears to be a herb shop and see an elderly Chinese lady peeking through the front-window at me. She doesn't budge from her spot inside so I dig my hand into my bag and show her a portion of the large amount of money I have. She disappears from the window and opens the door to me, eyeing the money suspiciously.

"I'm here to see Chao-xing." I say. She then moves her eyes to my face and looks at my features suspiciously.

"We're closed." She says, her accent heavy. I peek at the shop beyond the door and notice an old cash register as well as shelves of herbs and stones and candles.

"It's urgent. I can pay you." I reason with her, still holding the money in my hand. I suspect that she, too, knows who and what I am and if she's a witch like I suspect- she probably doesn't want me asking for favours. She continues to look at me without moving and I sigh, bringing more of the money out to add to the stack. She slowly steps aside and allows me to enter her shop, which I do so quickly to escape the flicks of rain landing on me. I look around at the shelves of items and glance to a curtain-covered archway near the register.

"What do you want?" The woman asks, her tone still sharp.

"Yesterday I was taken to that building over there-" I point in the direction across the street, "And I was drugged by some witches. I want to know who they were." I say to her, holding out the money. She reaches out to take the money but I move it to my chest, away from her grasp.

"First answers, then you get your money." I warn.

"Strange questions coming from the wife of a powerful warlock. The very same warlock who could destroy my livelihood if he knew I helped you. Money first, then I will give you answers." She says, not responding to the cold look I'm giving her. I look around the shop for a moment in consideration, how do I know she's not just pretending to be a witch to sell her products? The woman seems to predict the reason for my hesitation and waves her hand, the money flying from my grip and to her hand. I stare at her wide-eyed and she waves her hand again, opening the curtains to reveal a crystal-ball sitting on a table.

"Come, I will give you answers." I look over at the table and jump when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I bring out my phone and look at the screen. Peter's name lights up the screen and I don't hesitate to press answer.

"Peter?" I ask, I can hear the worry in my voice.

"Lena?" It sounds like he hesitates when saying my name, "Stop looking for me." He finishes.