Chapter 12: Over Their Heads...
The viper opened one blue eye, and smirked, hearing the scratching noises at her door.
Finally. I was starting to think he'd never come here...
With a chuckle, the viper took out a bottle of wine, and carried it in her coils as she slithered over to the door, and opened it.
Shenlock Holmes was crouched in the doorway, still holding a knife at lock-level, blinking up at the viper like a mouse caught with a piece of fresh cake.
"...Your lock is impossible."
"That's how I wanted it," she said simply, and handed the peacock the bottle. "Here...perhaps you'll have better luck opening this."
Holmes stood as he took the bottle and followed the viper into the room, shutting the door behind him. The apartment in the inn was mostly white, from the mattress to the curtains, and all the cloth was lined in silver and gold. The bright green snake's scales contrasted it quite boldly, while he felt almost at home...all but the red and black of his eyes and his feathers.
"Ah. Margaux 58, comet vintage," he observed, inspecting the wine bottle. "How fascinating that the heavens can affect the quality of fermented fruit..."
The viper nodded faintly, coiling back up in her bed, smirking as she watched Holmes with half-lidded eyes.
"And how is the case you refused to take from me going?" she crooned.
"Oh, I've hit a dead end. Literally. Your rabbit was buried in Tai Lung's tomb. He's currently under the 'supervision' of the police mortuary...you know, if you still need him."
The viper blinked impassively.
"Oh...dear," she said slowly. "I hope my...employer doesn't ask for a refund..."
"He's a teacher, right? Maybe a professor?"
The viper's eyes widened.
"I didn't see his face," Holmes explained, "But I spotted some chalk dust on his lapel. I've never known a professor who carried a sword, though...let alone one concealed so neatly."
The viper frowned for a moment, but quickly covered it up with a smirk.
"Eye patch...nice touch."
"Thank you, I thought so, too."
"So...case closed," the viper grinned, her forked tongue darting between her ruby lips. "Which makes this a social visit."
"No," Holmes said with a shake of his head. "It's a 'you're-in-over-your-head-Viper visit. Whoever killed Wo Hop was covering their tracks...which means you're likely the next loose end they'll try to cut."
The viper rolled her eyes.
"I'm NEVER in over my head."
Holmes said nothing, but simply opened the wine with his beak, pulling out the cork. The viper raised an eyebrow as he found two empty, clean glasses.
"Let it breathe, Shenlock," she advised.
Now the peacock rolled his eyes, and poured the wine.
"Leave now," he warned as he finished pouring, putting the bottle to one side. "Disappear...you're very good at that."
"And if I don't?"
"Well, if you stay...you could volunteer for protective custody."
The viper smiled wider, and slithered off the bed over to the table, rearing up to look Holmes in the eye.
"If I'm in danger," she said, "So are you."
Holmes' eyes narrowed.
"Meaning...?"
"Come with me."
Holmes snorted again, and picked up his glass.
"Oh, come on!" the viper laughed, leaving her own glass untouched. "What if we trusted each other for a while? We could at least TRY, couldn't we?"
"No," Holmes snapped. "You aren't listening: I'm taking you to a station. Whether it's the railway's or the police's is your choice. So, which is it to be?"
Holmes took a drink.
He set the glass down.
He looked at the viper's smiling face.
And almost immediately after...he felt dizzy...his eyesight began to blur...
"You...decide," he croaked, voice slurred, "Wh-what will it...be...Irene...?"
And he collapsed. He lay on the floor, head limp, panting, feverish...he felt warm, smooth scales creep across his robe and feathers, slowly coiling dangerously around him...
Then two blue eyes entered his hazy vision, less than an inch away from him.
"I told you to let it breathe," hissed the viper, her thin tongue teasing the tip of his beak.
"What...what...? I t-t-taste..."
"The comet? Or the laudanum I slipped into the wine before you got here?"
"Ohh..."
Holmes groaned. The viper giggled and coiled a little tighter, bringing her head around to whisper in his ear.
"Why couldn't you just come with me?"
"No...never..."
The viper smirked, and Holmes felt scaly lips touch his beak...
Then, everything spun even faster...all light dimmed...and he knew no more.
Elsewhere...
Lord Junjie sighed as he stepped into his copper bathtub, removing his spectacles and robe and placing them on the counter by the bathroom sink. He turned on the hot water, and lay back quietly.
Breathe in...breathe out...
His visit with Shenlock Holmes still weighed heavily on his mind...nasty, unwanted memories tugged at the corners of his old brain...
Memories of his...son.
He scowled.
No son of mine.
He meant nothing to him.
...So...why did it hurt to think of him?
When his execution had been reported and ordered, he felt relieved, even elated...yet he couldn't find it in himself to be there. The cat was cursed from the start, the old fox knew...so why did it give him pain to think of his death?
Was it the time he spent with him as a kitten, before all the real madness? The recollection of a small, gray cat playing with yarn, eager to learn all he could about the ways of magic, and always excited at Junjie's – his father's – praise and encouragement in martial arts? Was it the idea that, back then, the fox never thought of him as a curse, but more a blessing?
Was it the notion that maybe...just maybe...if he had allowed him a place in the order, none of what was happening would have happened at all?
Junjie sighed again...this time for different reasons...
FWOOSH.
Junjie sat up, turning off the water and looking around for the source of the noise...
He blinked.
The candles were out.
He turned in another direction...
The window was open a tad...
He shrugged.
Probably the wind...I must have just left it open.
Satisfied, he lay back again, and turned the water back on
Breathe in...breathe out...
Breathe in...breathe out...
...Breathe out...?
Breathe out!
Can't...breathe...!
Lord Junjie gasped and choked and sputtered, his eyes rolling around...the water, bubbling...burning...he feebly reached for the spigot, to turn off the water...
Something grabbed his arm, stopping him.
He wanted to scream, but he couldn't!
The water was rising fast...up to his chin...past his mouth...up to his nose...
The last thing he saw was a pair of ghostly, amber eyes.
Lord Tai Lung calmly removed the ring from Junjie's cold, dead paw, and sat back in a nearby chair, just letting the water run on. He took a small chain from his pocket, and used it to fasten the ring of the sacred ox around his neck, knowing it wouldn't fit his finger.
He looked back over at the tub; Junjie's ears were all that weren't submerged, and the water was beginning to spill onto the floor.
He smiled wider, and peacefully went back to the window, and jumped down.
Boss Crow was waiting outside. His master nodded to him.
"I'm done here," he said coldly.
The crow smiled.
"I'll deliver the message," he cawed, and flapped away.
Lord Tai Lung chuckled to himself as he turned and vanished into the shadows, still admiring the ring.
He had no regrets.
Absolutely no regrets.