HEING MEH
Chapter 3
Dear Jade,
It has been long since I last wrote to you. How are you? Are things well in San Francisco? I should have nothing to complain about; mother is feeling better now and she is not coughing that much anymore. My uncle says she should be fine in a week, maybe two.
My little brother is doing well in school and father is proud of him. And I am too, of course. But that is not the reason why I am writing to you now.
I don't really know how to start. I know you will believe me, we have both experienced supernatural things, but this is still somehow difficult.
I have dreams.
There it is. The truth. Don't laugh at me Jade, I haven't told you everything yet. My dreams are full of chaos, pain and agony. Everything is very confusing, but I can always sense that. And fire. There is more fire in my dreams than anything else, it blazes everywhere painting my dream bright orange and red.
And then there is the dragon. He has glowing red eyes and the fire makes his dirty brown scales glow. I don't know his name or what he is doing, but I am afraid. I have these dreams almost every night having no idea what they mean and that scares me.
Your older uncle is a chi master, he could probably tell me more. I ask you Jade, could you mention this to him? It would make me feel much better.
With love, Xu Lin
Xu Lin sighed and placed the small paintbrush next to her. She had no table in her room and she had never needed it. She could write without one and didn't want to annoy her father by asking something she didn't need. Her little brother deserved a table, he was good in school and could become almost anything.
It was late and Xu Lin felt a dream was nearing again. She suppressed a yawn and settled on her sleeping place to stare at the ceiling.
She was afraid of falling asleep. She always told herself she had no reason to fear, these dreams couldn't hurt her and were nothing compared to how she had ten years ago been cursed in the Lotus Temple.
Sometimes it still made her shudder. She could remember how it felt to transform into a cruel ice monster and chase innocent people if they made the mistake of stepping in the temple. She could remember everyone she had killed and at moments like that she really hoped someone would hold her in their arms and make her feel better.
Maybe she would still be imprisoned in that cursed temple if Jade Chan hadn't come with her uncle Jackie and saved her. It had been terrifying; the greedy monk who had attacked them was now a prisoner in the Lotus Temple. Despite the fact the man had been against them from the beginning, Xu Lin pitied him.
Jade and Jackie had no idea how it felt to be a prisoner of the Lotus Temple and they had not thought about the cursed man twice, but Xu Lin had noticed she hoped she could help him somehow. After all, she was the only one who could understand his pain.
After that adventure Xu Lin and Jade had become friends and even though their paths were apart they wrote to each other at times. It was already a while since Xu Lin got Jade's letter, almost two months, and now she was finally about to answer.
She hadn't told her parent or brother about the dreams. Somehow she felt they wouldn't understand. Jade was the only one who she dared to open to and she believed Jade felt the same way. She toohad told her distant friend things she hadn't mentioned to anyone else.
Like her friendship with the feared sky demon.
Xu Lin lived in a simple Chinese country village and the mere thought of demons terrified her. She had always been taught to respect them and her own experience in the Lotus Temple had just made her beliefs stronger.
But somehow the fact that Jade had known every one of the eight legendary demons made her feel more self-confident. Jade was her friend, so didn't that kind of make her the sky demon's friend too?
Xu Lin yawned. She would have to work tomorrow, better sleep now. Her deep brown eyes closed and she fell asleep.
Fire blazed all around her and Xu Lin could feel the heat on her skin. Every part of her body ached and when she glanced at herself she saw blood on her torn clothes. Her before so perfect skin was covered in bleeding bruises and cuts and only now she noticed she was on her knees in dirt.
She heard screams around her, but couldn't hear the words or who was screaming. Only that they were fighting somewhere and she had no idea on whose side she was or who was winning.
A dangerous growl could be heard and Xu Lin already knew what she would see. After all, she had seen this same dream so many times.
Two glowing red eyes, the blaze of flames when they grew higher around the approaching figure.
"Ah!"
Xu Lin sat up. Her skin was drenched in sweat, her long black hair was glued to her back and she felt her heart beat in her chest.
She had seen it again. The dream about the dragon.
"Now that we are here we don't have to worry about anything. Valmont will provide you withan apartment," Hsi Wu said when he and Origami left the airport. The Japanese thief gave him a quick glance, but didn't say anything.
He knew that all this was only so that Valmont would know where to find him. The Brit would probably place men nearby to "provide his safety".
Origami wanted to laugh. The only meaning of those guards was to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't try anything stupid and break the deal he had made with Valmont. It was all very clear, Origami was stuck in San Francisco, whether he wanted or not.
It hurt his pride more than anything. He had always been an independent thief who worked for only himself never doing anything for others.
And look, here he was serving this Brit, who was much younger than him and never bothered to fight in the field. Origami despised criminals like that, those who sat in their offices wearing fine suits and who hadn't stolen anything by themselves in years.
But this thing had a good side too, he had to admit that. San Francisco was also the home of Chan Jackie Chan and if Origami played his cards right he could very well have a chance of revenge. He had wasted five years of his life in prison and that wasn't something he was about to forget just like that.
He would have his revenge on Chan Jackie Chan when he got the chance and he would really enjoy it. He would also take care of his niece and if possible, girlfriend. While he had been free he had known Viper only by name and thought she was a pretty good American thief. Now she was on his list of people to get rid of.
Origami had never been in San Francisco before and he believed the best thing to do was to get to know the city as soon as possible. He had to learn to know where all important people lived, where the museums were and how he could get inside them.
But now he had to be careful. France was far away, but they could still be looking for him here. And he was not going back to prison, any other option, maybe even harakiri, suited him better.
He slipped his hand into his pocket not even noticing it and wrapped his fingers around the strange item he had stolen. He had no idea what it was or why he had taken it, but he was still rather pleased for having it with him.
Maybe it would prove to be useful, he wasn't sure.
The sky demon walking beside the thief was in a much better mood. Because of his demonic powers it had been child's play for him to get the stolen vase in country and he felt relieved now that he could give it to Valmont.
He didn't like this organised thieving, no matter how he looked at it.
But that didn't mean he couldn't stand Valmont. Hsi Wu couldn't say he liked the man that much, he was way too... human to his liking. At first he had thought he could think of Valmont as his brother, but had soon realised it was childish.
Ni Tang was his brother, not Valmont.
But it wasn't entirely because of the crime lord's human nature. There just was something in him that Hsi didn't like. The demon couldn't say what it was, but it was nevertheless serious enough to make him not to really like him.
But there was a human he could like.
It was a while since he had last visited San Francisco and every time he came back he thought of Jade. Five years had passed, that brave little girl had grown into beautiful young woman and even though Hsi hadn't seen her after their departure he could almost imagine what she looked like now.
He had promised the girl he would come back when she was older. And she was older now. Hsi Wu had taken care of Valmont's mission and nothing was on his way, he could have Jade again.
The demon didn't have any romantic illusions. Five years ago Jade had proved to be his friend and he had liked it, but these years must have taught Jade things about real life. She couldn't be naive enough to believe that a human and a demon could be friends.
Hsi Wu was actually a made demon, but it didn't mean anything. At least not to him. Jade was his, Ni Tang had given his slave to his brother and Hsi was not going to waste that gift.
Jade was the only human he wanted and the only thing that really reminded him of Ni Tang.
Or that would have been if he didn't count that Brit, but Hsi didn't want to count him in.
In his mind Jade Chan was still his slave, he had just... given her a small vacation. Soon Hsi would take back what was his and he enjoyed the mere thought of it.
He only hoped Jade would agree and not create a scene. The sky demon would have to be very careful; if he revealed himself the girl's relatives would know where one of the demons was.
"I'll go now. I trust that you know how to take care of things," he said giving the package that contained the vase to Origami, who nodded.
"I know. I am not a rookie," he said and stopped for few seconds to watch as his weird partner in crime crossed the street. Then he shrugged and continued his way to the skyscraper where Valmont's office was nowadays.
San Francisco was a strange city to him and despite himself Origami noticed he was watching around in interest. He had travelleda littlewhile he had been on top, but had never been here before.
The fact that he heard English everywhere was also new; he had spent his youth in Kyoto and soon chosen Paris as his new home. He spoke French much better than English and he had to admit his accent had just got worse in the French prison where he couldn't really have practised English.
He stopped for a while to look at the building that was now controlled by the Dark Hand. It had used to be law office, so the inhabitants had got a bit more honest in Origami's opinion. He continued on to avoid looking stupid and went in.
No one asked anything from him or tried to stop him, so he thought they had expected someone like him. At this point he realised Jiong hadn't told him to who he was supposed to deliver the package toand he cursed the man in his mind.
"I have a package. To whom can I give it?" he asked after deciding to talk to a woman who was painting her nails at the lobby of some sorts. He couldn't say if this woman had a clue of what was happening around her or not and considered how much he could tell her.
The woman raised her gaze and peered at him over her glasses.
"Your name? I'll look if you are mentioned somewhere," she said not even trying to sound polite. Origami didn't mind, he had given up his people's habit to be polite to everyone long time ago.
"Kuniko Kasahara," he stated shortly. The woman went through her archives and almost immediately managed to pick a note. She looked at it briefly.
"All right. You may meet mister Valmont in his office on the 15th floor," she said again concentrating in her nails.
"I have to meet him?" Origami asked in surprise. He had thought he was only supposed to give the vase to someone, not to Valmont himself. He didn't actually like the idea of meeting the man he had never seen, but to whom he still owed a favour.
"Yes, what part didn't you understand?" the woman asked not lifting her gaze again and Origami turned his back to her. He noticed the elevator immediately and decided to take care of this as soon as possible and then leave this building.
Most of the lawyers who had workedin the building before were still there, which made everything seem like the office had just been bought by someone. Anyone hardly knew what was really going on inside.
It reminded Origami of his own fake company Kasahara Exports, which had been taken by the French government when he had been sent to prison. But the difference between KE and this was that while Valmont kept the company running only to have a stage for his crimes Kasahara Exports had been a working company worth of owning.
The elevator stopped softly and Origami stepped out looking around. The corridor was just as clean and luxurious as he had expected, the floor was covered by a dark carpet and not a single detail was wrong. But it wasn't just any corridor - that much he immediately noticed - because there was only one door. Or two actually, for some reason the important people always wanted huge double doors in their offices.
He consideredifhe should knock, but then decided against it. It was better to make clear he had no intentionof working for Valmont after he had paid his debt.
The dark wooden door opened easily and he stepped in, this time not bothering to take a look at his surroundings. He still saw the office wasn't any different from what he had expected. There was a huge desk, the floor was again covered by a carpet and few paintings hung on the walls.
But what he first paid any attention towas the man whom he owed his freedom. He was tall and dressed in a greenish suit with not a single wrinkle nor dirty spot. It was clear that Valmont was a man who paid much attention to what he looked like.
His hair was light, almost white and he had tied it on a ponytail to keep it away from his face. His eyes were sky blue, a colour that only infants usually had. The man's face wore no expression, though he seemed to be a bit confused when Origami just stepped in.
"I didn't expect you this soon. Where is Jiong?" Valmont asked turning to face him.
"I believe he had some matters to take care of," Origami replied and was interested to notice how nervous Valmont looked. He guessed it was because of the pressure, no one could lead an international crime organisation without changing at least a bit.
But it didn't take long before Valmont managed to get ahold of himself and in a moment he looked just as calculating as usually. He raised a brow.
"I suppose everything went as planned?" he asked somehow managing to sound curious. Origami placed the vase on the man's desk.
"Here you go," he said. Valmont nodded, but didn't take another look at the package. He didn't have to, he trusted Hsi Wu perfectly and knew the sky demon wouldn't betray him.
"To me it is the one and the same what you do, Origami, as long as you stay in San Francisco. I need to find you in the case I need your services," Valmont stated and Origami knew this was the moment when he was supposed to leave. But the thief didn't let himself to be fooled that easily.
"In the case you need me?" he repeated in surprise.
"Yes, didn't we agree that you take care of few missions before continuing your own career?" the Brit asked.
"But what if it takes years before you come up with anything? Do I have to laze around in this city until you bother to contact me?" Origami wanted to know and found himself liking this deal less with every passing second.
Valmont shrugged.
"Unfortunately that seems to be the case," he said and though he didn't show it, he was pretty pleased with himself. He had played his cards really well, and now he had a man who could steal almost anything, who had to work for him and to whom he didn't have to pay.
Origami glared daggers at him. At that moment he would have been ready to kill that arrogant European, but the simple fact that doing that would make everyone of Valmont's men try to get him stopped him from doing it.
"I don't have to settle with this ridiculous game. Give me a mission or two and I'll take care of them and then leave. That was our agreement," he reminded.
"But we didn't say anything about when you were supposed to work for me. We shall just see when I need you," Valmont said calmly, which just made the thief angrier.
"I won't do it."
"What then? You don't have any other option, if you don't want to lose your position in the underworld. The truth is that during these five years I've become more powerful than ever while you have gathered dust in a prison and lost everything," Valmont said and Origami frowned in frustration. He knew the man was right and felt desperate rage growing inside himself.
He opened his mouth to voice his frustrated objection, but suddenly Valmont seemed to lose his balance and had to lean on his desk almost making the valuable package fall. He closed his eyes for a moment and pressed his fingers on his temples looking like he was going through a mental fight of some sorts.
"No," he muttered quietly, but dedicatedly and Origami had to ponder what was wrong with him. He didn't do anything to help, if he had any luck Valmont would die, freeing him from this depth.
But his hope was useless because Valmont soon got a control of himself again and straightened his back. He brushed his suit looking grim as if nothing had happened. The only thing that betrayed him was the slight shaking of his hands and he tried to hide it as well as possible.
"We have nothing more to say to each other," he stated and he didn't sound cheerful anymore. Origami didn't bother to even nod, but turned and left as proudly as possible. He didn't think about his own situation now, he was much more interested in what had happened to Valmont.
Maybe he had a nerve illness? Then he probably wouldn't be able to lead his organisation very long and Origami had the chance to free himself from this nasty mess. He just had to be really sneaky.
He walked past the woman, who was still polishing her nails not paying her any attention. The most important thing to do now was to get to know San Francisco.
"What is it Jade? Do you have something to say?"
Jade lifted her gaze from her food when she heard Jackie's voice. She immediately noticed her uncle was worried and frowned slightly. Jackie was worrying over them all the time!
"Well, actually I have been thinking about something," she said and Jackie took a better look at her. Uncle didn't pay any attention to their conversation, but drank his tea in peace.
"What is it? Has something happened?" Jackie asked and Jade nodded.
Then her a huge smile spread on her face and her eyes twinkled excitedly. "We are going to play in a concert!" she exclaimed that loud that even Uncle turned to glance at her. Jackie sighed.
"For a while you got me worried. You shouldn't scare us like that. Uncle's heart is old and we shouldn't take any risks," he said receiving a frown and an angry snort from Uncle. Jade roller her eyes.
"Tch. Hasn't anyone realised how big this is? Come one! A real concert!"
"Blah, Uncle has never been in a concert. All very bad," Uncle announced simply and Jackie seemed to be worried again.
"What kind of concert is it? Will there be much people? Is alcohol allowed?" he asked and Jade glared at him. Didn't anyone realise how much this meant to her?
"Yeah, we play in the annual general meeting of drug addicted freaks," she said sarcastically and wasn't surprised to hear a shocked "Jade!" from her uncle.
"You shouldn't say things like that," Jackie continued more calmly.
"You are really tight today. I'm starting to think it is you who has something bad to say," Jade pointed out and this time she was surprised when Jackie sighed.
"The museum asked me to solve the riddle of an ancient Chinese artefact. No one knows what it is and I should find it out. But I have no idea of where to start," he admitted.
Uncle shrugged. "Bring it to Uncle. I will tell what it is," he offered.
"But it is my job," Jackie replied. At this point Jade decided it was the best to leave in her room before getting stuck between her two uncles. Tohru thought the same and together the two crept away.
"I suppose friends of the band members get free tickets, right?" the Japanese man asked and Jade flashed him a smile. The first one who cared about the concert.
"You can count on that," she promised while going to her own room.
After getting some own peace Jade fell on her bed. Her old bunk bed had broken a year before when she had played an imagination game and now she had just a common low bed. It didn't bother her, now she had a better view outside the window.
It was starting to get dim and she sighed pressing her head against her pillow. Now when the first wave of excitement was over she felt bored and somehow plain. Even though her life was better than ever before she missed the old times, fights against criminals and evil magic.
She liked the feeling of danger inside her, the speed and everything exciting that her life had been full of. Now everything was fine, but boring.
Jade knew the demons still roamed the world and while she didn't want anyone to get hurt she hoped they would appear again. Tso Lan was the only one who still caused trouble, but they had no way to fight against him as long as the demon stayed in his new kingdom in the moon.
She sighed. If she had been given a choice of which demon would come back it would of course have been Hsi Wu. Despite that she had been the sky demon's slave he had cared about her, at least in the end, and had been one of Jade's first friends.
Hsi Wu had wanted to take her as his lover when she was an adult. The thought made Jade shudder and reminded her of that even though Hsi had walked in the form of a child he was really old and very adult.
As a small girl the thought of being a demon's lover had seemed romantic and exciting, but now she was old enough to understand how stupid it was. Only a naive idiot could believe a relationship like that would give her anything; demons never gave anything, they just took.
And despite how exciting friend Hsi Wu had been, Jade didn't want to be anyone's toy.
She sighed again.
Hsi Wu was actually closer than Jade thought. The sky demon sat, his wings drawn a few blocks away and stared at the direction of Uncle's shop. The demon's red eyes glowed in the dim and he had a rare thoughtful expression on his face.
Jade wasn't far away. The girl he had befriended. The girl who belonged to him. The girl he would have again.
It wasn't a guess, the sky demon was used to getting what he wanted.
To be continued...