Yeah, I am still a poor girl with no rights for these characters.
This chapter is dedicated to ever so mighty Gemini Artemis who is a great friend and has encouraged me a lot. She is also translating "Ni Tang" into Portuguese and that is one of the nicest things people have ever done to me. She is also an excellent author so you should read and review all of her fics.
And that brings me to a new subject: reviewing. I have nothing to complain about, as you can see from above I have a nice amount of reviews. But what about some other authors? It is sad to see that the JCA category has many stories with only 1-5 reviews, especially since they all deserve more. It can't take that much of our time to review a bit more often. And, I know this sounds stupid, but reviewing is actually fun and once you review there is a chance that the author will review your fic too. I think we should all encourage new and old authors by reviewing! Viva la Revolución!
That night was an important night for some people in San Francisco, but most of the inhabitants of the city noticed nothing special. Very few of them even knew about the demons or other magical things that the city seemed to be full of. But even though they didn't see anything, the things still happened.
The two men who ran on the street might have appeared strange in the eye of a common person, but pretty much no one would have recognised them as demons. Shendu and Tso Lan weren't the strongest of their family when it came to deceiving magic, but both knew how to hide their true nature when needed.
"Where did he go?" Shendu asked and eyed the buildings that were covered by darkness. He had never thought Ni Tang to be strong -- he was practically a human aka pathetic -- and he couldn't believe that they had lost him.
Tso Lan shrugged.
"He has curled up somewhere. He was never a friend of action." he said.
"He is a coward."
"Perhaps, but I would use the word 'careful'. Unlike some others he doesn't rush into dangers without a warning."
The demons continued their search and kept all of their instincts ready to notice the polar demon if he appeared. They didn't think he would be a threat to them, but you never knew what he had in mind. What could one even be thinking about after waking up like that? What did Ni Tang remember?
"Do you think he remembers everything?" Shendu asked.
"I don't know. It is likely that he has some images of his human side, but I believe his demonic memories are on surface." Tso Lan replied.
"Pity. I would have liked to have a ... conversation ... with him about being Valmont." the fire demon said. During these five years he hadn't spared a thought for the man he despised, but now he was again reminded of all the fun that he'd have once he ruled the world. Enslaving Valmont was one of those.
Tso Lan gave him a sharp glare.
"Please, control yourself even for a while. Everything doesn't exist for your personal amusement." he said. He couldn't say what he should have thought. The spell of Ni Tang had broken and it was virtually impossible for it to activate again. Of course a small piece of the demon had stayed inside Valmont, but was it really possible for him to take his demon form again? Tso Lan didn't remember something like that ever happening.
It had to have something to do with Heing Meh. Yes, nothing else could possibly cause this. Realising that didn't make Tso Lan feel any wiser, because it opened a whole new question. What did the demon of Nothing want from Ni Tang?
He shook his head and decided to talk about it with Po Kong. The mountain demon was intelligent and could come up with something he hadn't thought of.
"We won't find him this way." he said and Shendu turned to face him.
"What do you mean? He couldn't have escaped from us!" the fire demon hissed.
"He has. Night offers him protection and we can't do anything in our human forms. Besides, surprising Ni Tang could shock him and we can't afford new unwelcome surprises. We need to talk with Po Kong and solve our other problems first." Tso Lan reasoned.
"Other problems?"
"Yes, or have you already forgotten why we came here? The Chosen of Dreams escaped from us and one of us is unconscious. When we add Heing Meh, Shin and the Chans I'd say we have enough problems."
"It would be easy to get rid of the Chans."
"Do you want to attack them and be banished back in the void?"
Shendu didn't reply and Tso Lan nodded. Shendu was a very temperamental and stubborn demon, but with the right words it was possible to make him do almost anything.
"Come, we must join the others. We shall find Ni Tang next night." the moon demon said and the brothers turned around to leave.
Chow most certainly couldn't say what he thought of the situation. Only a couple of hours ago everything had been fine; no demons or other threats anywhere, he had a job and no one was sick or in danger.
And now it was all in ruins. Demons...
Despite Hak Foo's words he couldn't imagine Valmont as a demon. It just made no sense. Humans didn't turn into demons just like that, not even those who had once been charmed into ones. And that meant that something else was going on too.
And Chow didn't like that. Something told him that these events had something to do with his dreams. So he would most likely be forced to take part in this mess. Maybe he would even have to meet Shendu again. Neither he nor Ratso looked for that to happen.
"So, Valmont is a polar demon?" he asked to break the nasty silence. Hak Foo had led them in the nightly city to look for the demon called Ni Tang.
"Don't talk. Demons can hear well." the warrior whispered as a reply. He seemed to concentrate in the hunt more than in anything else in a while and it made Chow think. He had never bothered to ask what had made Hak Foo chose criminal life -- there must have been work for him among the good guys too. Hak Foo always did what was expected of him and he did that well. It was something more than what they had got used to in the Dark Hand. And yet it was clear that he didn't enjoy his job, but did it like it was his responsibility.
Now Hak Foo was different, there was something new to his figure and he seemed to be very interested in this. Chow didn't know was it because no one had ordered him to do this or because it was Valmont who they were after. After all, Chow, Finn and Ratso knew pretty much nothing of what had happened five years ago. Hak Foo knew Ni Tang and maybe he would also be able to tell how to turn him back into a human.
"Uh, what if he attacks us?" he asked then. Hak Foo gave him a despising glance, but Ratso seemed to be relieved for that someone had asked that.
"Did Ni Tang look dangerous to you? He has no claws, sharp teeth or anything that could harm us. Besides, he is a calm demon." Hak Foo replied.
"The shadowkhan have no claws or teeth, but they are still dangerous. What if he has some demonic powers? And he is the polar demon, he must have his own shadowkhan army."
"Shut up."
They continued their search. Hak Foo seemed to know where they were going and Chow could only gape at that. At times the warrior stopped to look around himself and then continued. They walked deeper and deeper in the heart of the city and soon almost everything around them was dark. A few street lights were here and there and they glowed like lonely stars.
"I am cold." Ratso said. The air was a bit cool and he had left his coat in the Dark Hand HQ.
"Why are we here? Knowing Valmont he won't be hiding on streets. He is way too smug." Chow said.
"We aren't dealing with Valmont. This creature we are after is Ni Tang and we have to think like he. He is a peaceful demon who likes to hide in shadows. If we have luck, we'll find him here." Hak Foo said.
Why had he dragged these idiots with him?
Both groups knew Ni Tang was hiding somewhere in the shadows, but neither had an idea of where he actually was. San Francisco was a huge city and full of hiding places for anyone. And Ni Tang knew how to hide himself.
This time he wasn't alone, though, Xu Lin was with him. The demon wasn't prepared to look after anyone else but himself and it took a while before he found a spot for them. If he had been alone he would have curled up in some corner to think, but he knew he had to take care of Xu Lin. If the girl was telling the truth she belonged to Shendu and Ni Tang didn't want to anger his brother by treating his slave bad.
Ni Tang had found an empty apartment on the top of a high office building and chosen it for them. It would do for one night, he doubted they would have to stay there any longer.
With furniture the apartment would have been fine, but now it was nothing fancy. The bare floor was cold and the huge windows let the light of the moon in, which gave the place a spooky look. Ni Tang sat in the darkest corner and closed his eyes. He had to think.
He had many fragile memories of the last five years, but they felt so strange. The memories were full of faces, voices and things that were unfamiliar to him and yet he knew them. Actually some of them felt more comfortable and beloved than his siblings. On top of that he felt like he hadn't been himself during those years.
How could he have? If he had he would have remember everything. Someone must have done something to him, maybe even curse him with a spell. Maybe this Valmont whose image didn't leave him had done it.
And just now he thought of something. Five years ago he had been told that Valmont was dead, killed by the demonic siblings. Was it possible that this was a different Valmont?
"Do you know who Valmont is?" he asked and Xu Lin flinched. She hadn't been expecting the demon to talk to her.
The name sounded familiar to her and she remembered that Valmont had been in Jade's demon stories.
"Valmont is the man who got possessed by Shendu about five and a half years ago. He helped the demon to open the demon portals because that was the only way to get his body back." she said carefully. Why did Ni Tang as something like that? Shouldn't the demon already know that?
Ni Tang said nothing more, but concentrated in his thoughts. Nothing made sense now. If Valmont was alive he must have started taking revenge on his family. Maybe Shendu and the others had suffered the same fate than him and were as confused. Maybe they weren't even alive anymore...
Xu Lin looked at the demon who she could barely see in the shadows. There was some light and she knew she should have been able to see him better, but Ni Tang seemed to almost disappear in the darkness that surrounded him.
She felt really stupid and she regretted ever leaving the Chans. What had she hoped to achieve? What good would giving up do? Did she really think she could help the Chans by this?
She didn't usually do something without thinking first and her mind couldn't understand what she had done. Each part of her mind screamed at her that she had been very stupid and endangered everyone, and at the same time a small stubborn voice in her heart whispered that she had done the right thing. Why, she couldn't tell. Maybe the future would tell.
And maybe this was the only way to make her dreams come true.
It wasn't quite morning when Bai Tsa noticed that Hsi Wu was awake. The sky demon's eyes were open and he looked around himself supporting his body with his elbows.
"Bai Tsa?" he asked in surprise. "Where am I?" His voice was a bit harsh and it was clear he was still tired, but he had still recovered well and could stand up. Of course he didn't do that, his wings would have taken most of the space in the room.
Bai Tsa let a smile light her face.
"You are with your family, Hsi Wu. I and Xiao Fung found and rescued you." she said cheerfully. Hsi Wu owed them now and if he had any respect towards anyone he would do as they said. The sky demon's face darkened.
"Ah, I see." he said. He hadn't thought he would survive Shin's attack. He, whatever he was, had had enough power to kill him. And that had seemed to be his intention too, so Hsi Wu couldn't understand why he hadn't done that.
Bai Tsa snorted.
"No you don't. You have no idea of what is going on." she said sharply. Hsi Wu lifted his gaze and looked at his sister in confusion.
"What is going on, then?" he asked.
"Shendu and Tso Lan had a hunt last night. They didn't have any luck though, so they are already back and can tell everything. Believe me, this time it isn't as simple as five years ago." the water demon said. Now that she looked at her brother she could see that he had changed. Physically Hsi Wu was still the same, but his eyes wore a wise and prepared expression.
Hsi Wu had matured.
"Care to tell me what they were chasing?" Hsi Wu asked. He couldn't imagine Shendu and Tso Lan teaming up. Bai Tsa's eyes twinkled mischievously and Hsi Wu could tell that she had big news. Bai Tsa so loved it when she could shock others.
"Ni Tang, our youngest brother." she announced believing that Hsi Wu would be very surprised. And he was, slightly. His eyes widened and he drew a deep breath. But all and all, it wasn't what Bai Tsa had been expecting and she felt disappointed.
"Aren't you surprised?" she asked. Hsi Wu shrugged.
"I knew this would happen. I would have been a fool if I hadn't seen it in Valmont." he replied. Bai Tsa pursed her lips, but the thought of that Hsi Wu probably didn't know anything else made her feel better.
"So you know something, but Tso Lan can tell you the rest." she said and glanced around herself. "We thought you would wake up soon so we moved our slaves into another room. The other one is being bonded with Shendu at the very moment." she added in amuse. The water demon stepped to the door to go and get the moon demon, but once she was out she peered in once more.
"And, I don't know about the others but I think it is good that you are alive." Bai Tsa said. Hsi Wu didn't reply and his sister disappeared, almost ashamed. She hurried to Shendu's room that had become a meeting place for everyone. The door was open so she could hear the words of Po Kong's spell before she stepped in.
Shendu had kept his promise and told them about Sha Fuju, now it was Po Kong's turn to keep hers. She had promised to bind Origami with Shendu so that the fire demon would always know where the thief was. It was much easier than keeping an eye on him all the time and it was usually done with only the important slaves that no one could afford losing.
"What are you doing to me?" Origami asked nervously as Dai Gui drew a complicated symbol on his arm. The earth demon repeated the symbol on Shendu's skin and then stepped back. Binding slaves this way wasn't difficult, but it was a while since they had last time done it.
The symbols on Origami and Shendu's skin started to beat on cue with Po Kong's words like two separate hearts and the thief swallowed. He knew something about magic -- his own career was based on it, after all -- but he had no idea of what was going on now. And it made him nervous, he wasn't sure of what these demons wanted from him.
Po Kong stopped suddenly. At the same time the symbols started glowing bright light and Origami yelped in pain. He tried to press his other hand on the symbol to ease the pain, but Dai Gui was ready and stopped him from doing that. The thief could only watch as the symbol ate through his skin and then it looked like it had never been there. Dai Gui let him go and he touched his skin to find out what had happened.
Po Kong gave Shendu a questioning glance.
"Did it work?" she asked. Shendu nodded, he could feel Origami's presence in the room and almost hear blood running in his veins. It was strange to feel someone like that, but he knew he would get used to it.
"Perfectly." he said. Now he had one problem less and could concentrate in solving the others. The fire demon noticed that Bai Tsa had entered in the room. "Yes?"
"Hsi Wu is awake. Tso Lan should explain everything to him." the water demon announced. "And try to find out what happened to him. We can't just assume things."
Tso Lan nodded.
"I know what is expected of me." he said. It was he who had been in good terms with Hsi Wu as long as the sky demon had existed and the others supposed he wanted to meet him again. Especially Bai Tsa seemed to be happy for that the moon demon could enjoy the company of his younger brother again. Tso Lan didn't share the others' feelings, but didn't bother to say it aloud.
They would never understand what it felt like to meet Hsi Wu after the brother had heard the truth. After Hsi Wu had left them because of that…
The moon demon left the room, his siblings and Origami. Now the thief had an idea of what had happened and he glared at Shendu.
"I hate you." he muttered poisonously. Shendu just smiled, he had been expecting those words.
Hsi Wu examined himself. His skin was covered by bruises and cuts of different size, his muscles were sore and he felt somehow bored and tired, but nothing else was wrong. It was surprising knowing that Shin had been about to kill him. Hsi Wu wasn't naive enough to believe that he had survived by himself, he knew that something unexpected had happened.
Though he had no idea of what that could be.
"I see you are fine." Tso Lan's soft voice said when the moon demon appeared at the door. Hsi Wu slit his eyes when he saw his brother, their previous meeting was still fresh in his mind.
"Tso Lan. It has been a while." he said.
"Five years. Not very long for a demon."
"For a real demon perhaps, but I..."
Tso Lan sighed.
"Hsi Wu, don't. We both know that you are a demon despite that you wasn't born as one. It is useless to play bitter." he said.
"Perhaps, but I am not ready to forgive you." Hsi Wu replied.
"What? That we gave you immortality, strength and power?"
"No, that you lied."
"We all lie to each other all the time. It is part of being a demon. You should understand that." Tso Lan reminded. Hsi Wu shrugged and snorted.
"Then maybe I am not as demonic as you think."
"Whatever. I didn't come here to talk about the past."
"But...?"
Tso Lan sat on a chair next to the sky demon and eyed him.
"I came to tell you about the situation, ask a few questions and meet you." he replied. Hsi Wu nodded ready to co-operate for a while. He needed information about the situation if he wanted to be ready to protect Jade and destroy Shin. Maybe his siblings knew who he was.
"Tell me." he said.
"Is that the way to talk to your older brother, hm?"
"I am not on the mood for that. And you said yourself that you don't want to talk about the past. Our family is history for me."
"Sad that you think that way. Especially since we can not let you go."
"What?" Hsi Wu frowned and spread his wings as much as it was possible in the room. His older siblings, especially Shendu and Tchang Zu, had always reminded him of how weak he was, and now the others weren't about to let him go? Did they need him?
"We forced Shendu to join us too and he didn't like it either. But at the moment we can't afford being separated." Tso Lan said calmly. Hsi Wu clenched his fists.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Heing Meh is coming."
Revealing that caused Hsi Wu to act exactly like everyone else who Tso Lan had told the same news. The sky demon stared at his brother in shock and all sore thoughts forgotten.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked.
"This Shin who attacked you has troubled me and Dai Gui too. We weren't badly hurt and fortunately you weren't either. Now our family is together again and ready to fight against the demon of Nothing. Shin is his servant whose task is apparently destroying us while Heing Meh himself prepares his arrival." Tso Lan replied.
"What can we do? According to the prophecy Heing Meh is unbelievably strong, brings new ways of destroying magic with him and will rule over the world. Can we really defeat him?" Hsi Wu asked.
"If there is something to do we'll do it. Shendu has the keys -- or some of them -- to open a portal to Sha Fuju and we shall find our answers there."
Hsi Wu, like all demons, knew the legend of Sha Fuju and hearing Tso Lan's words made him feel slightly better. If they really managed to open the portal to that legendary Land of the Dreams they just couldn't lose.
"Those slaves Bai Tsa talked about... They are the Guardians, right?" he asked.
"Other one of them is, but the Chans have the other. The other slave has no use as far as I am concerned. Shendu thinks he is important though and I hoped you could tell me more." the moon demon replied.
"Me?"
"Yes, they found him on your side on the street. Shin attacked the both of you. How did you -- especially the mortal -- survive?"
"I don't know... Shin beat us easily and could have killed us. And I am sure he wanted that. I don't understand why we are still alive." Hsi Wu admitted.
"And why didn't the mortal suffer more? He woke up much before you. Is he your ally?"
"I already said I don't know! And he is not my ally, more like someone I know. He didn't know the fight was magical and came to help me. What a fool..." the sky demon replied. He was angry too because he didn't know what had happened, why and who had wanted it. So many things he didn't know.
Tso Lan didn't say anything. Hsi Wu sighed.
"I want to meet him. I need to talk with him." he said then.
"Didn't you say that he isn't your ally?"
"Yes, but we share things that you could never understand." Hsi Wu said.
"The others won't like that you have secrets." Tso Lan pointed out.
"They are part of my new life. I will not allow them to ruin it." While Hsi Wu thought that life as a part-time Dark Hand thug wasn't something to be proud of he didn't want to lose it. It would do good for the others to imagine that he was fine on his own.
The moon demon nodded slowly.
"Fine, you may talk with him. Maybe you even want him to be bound to you?"
Hsi Wu shook his head.
"No thank you, we don't have anything like that between us. Someone else can do that." he said. Then he tried to stand up. It was difficult at first, but then he managed to keep his balance and stood up. Only a moment later he had taken his human form, a man called Jiong. Finn would recognise him that way and probably even temporarily forget that he was dealing with a demon.
When he woke up Valmont immediately realised that he wasn't in his own bed. He had woken up in other people's beds, sofas, chairs and even in a bath tub a couple of times, but this place was even more uncomfortable. He opened his eyes lazily and sat up leaning to his elbows.
Yes, he most certainly wasn't in his own bed and not even in his room. On top of that he wasn't alone.
"What has happened?" he asked rubbing his face and trying to understand something. A girl was sleeping at the other end of the room, she probably wasn't even twenty years old. Valmont didn't remember ever seeing her and the girl didn't look like the ones whose services were wanted during lonely nights.
Valmont straightened his green suit and stood up. It seemed that they were in an empty apartment. Why was an entirely different question. He walked to the girl and shook her shoulder. Maybe she could tell him more.
"Hey, wake up." Valmont said. The girl opened her brown eyes and gave him a tired glance before frowning. She sat up.
"Who are you?" Xu Lin asked on guard. Valmont blinked.
"I was just about to ask the same from you." he said. So there were two of them who had no idea of anything. "What are we doing here?" he asked. Xu Lin shrugged.
"I don't know about you mister, but I -- "she started and then her face brightened. "Oh! You've taken your human form! Why didn't I understand that?"
"My human form?" Valmont repeated. Right, that sounded bad. Almost like... No, better not even think about it. Now Xu Lin looked confused again. Was Ni Tang joking with her?
"Yes. You can't walk on the streets as a human, right?" she asked. Valmont just stared at her.
"Right... Of course not." he replied then. If something was going on it was better to act as if he knew what it was. That way he could avoid nasty conflicts. "What was your name again?"
"Xu Lin. You promised to help me find Shendu."
Valmont's face twitched.
Heck, this was even worse than the time when he had woken up to realise that he had promised to marry a man. Though this time he couldn't use heavy drinking as an excuse.
"Oh, I see. How interesting..." he said. "But why don't we get going?" He really had no idea of what to do. Ni Tang had decided to have some fun and done who knew what last night and left him to face the consequences. That bloody demon!
He drew a deep breath and tidied himself as well as possible. First he would go to the Dark Hand HQ and find out how to get rid of this mess. Then he'd find Hsi Wu and force the demon to help him.
"Come on already." he said impatiently and Xu Lin had to hurry after him.
Finn sat up when he heard someone enter the room. The room was a small closet with no windows and the demons had thrown him and Origami there. It was a pretty good prison, at least he had no idea of how to escape.
The demons had taken Origami away a moment ago, but since horrible screams hadn't been heard -- at least not yet -- Finn wasn't afraid for himself. He suspected that if demons wanted to have fun the whole hotel would hear it.
He didn't say anything when he noticed the visitor was Jiong, or at least the demon who pretended to be a human. How could he have deceived them all for five years? What kind of fools were they?
"Do you have an appointment?" he asked.
"I need to talk with you." Hsi Wu said. He looked around himself before glancing at the man. Tso Lan had been right, the mortal seemed to be alright.
Finn didn't say anything, just nodded. He didn't even actually have a choice.
"What happened after I blacked out? What did Shin do?" Hsi Wu asked.
"I don't know. He attacked me and that is all I remember. Then I woke up here." Finn replied. Hsi Wu frowned angrily. The reply hadn't actually helped. It seemed than Shin was the only one who knew the answers.
Suddenly he thought of something.
Shin must have had a reason to get rid of him on that moment. And that meant that he might have done something to Jade... The girl was Shin's real target and who knew if she was even alive anymore.
"My Jade." he said to himself. He had to meet Jade and make sure that she was alright! He turned around and was about to leave when Finn talked again.
"Hey, wait up. Tell me why I am here. Why do you need me?" the Irish man asked.
"I don't know, they don't tell me everything. Be happy you are still alive." the sky demon replied. Then he left before Finn managed to say anything and left the man alone.
"Jackie! Xu Lin is gone!"
Jackie placed his teacup on the table and raised his gaze from his sandwich as Jade rushed in the room. It was Saturday and he had a day off, so they all with the exception of Uncle had slept late. They had stayed up almost the whole night looking for the right books.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?" he asked. Jade stopped next to him. The girl had managed to dress up and clean herself, but worry made her look like she had just woken up.
"She is not in her bed and I don't find her anywhere! I know Xu Lin would never leave the house without telling us!" Jade said. Jackie knew that Xu Lin wasn't like Jade and wouldn't do something stupid like that. And where would she have gone? She knew nothing and no one in the city.
"Are you sure you have searched every place?" he asked.
"Yes she is has." replied Viper who stepped in the room. She managed to look better than Jade, but Jackie barely noticed it. "I don't find her either. Her bed is also cold so it is clear no one has slept in it in a few hours."
"What? What could have happened?" Jackie asked in shock. What if they never found Xu Lin? What if something had happened? How would he explain it to her parents? "We have to go to find her." he decided.
"But where? San Francisco is a huge city." Jade said.
"True… Maybe we should wait a while to see if she comes back. Maybe she has just gone out for a walk." Jackie admitted. He felt really nervous. Jade had been gone for many times, but he had got used to that. Besides, he knew that she could take care of herself, even against demons. But Xu Lin wasn't the same, this city was strange to her and she wasn't used to it.
"Probably. Where else could she have gone?" Viper asked.
It was time.
Shin smiled and glanced around himself in the hall that was lit by candles. Shadows caressed his altar and light managed to break that dark surface only at times. Everything was perfect.
Only the girl was missing.
He whispered a word to himself and disappeared.
Hsi Wu didn't tell anyone that he was leaving. Tso Lan had told him that they would not let him go, but no one was even keeping an eye on him. The others just supposed that he would do as they said. He wouldn't do it this time, too much was at risk.
Before anyone managed to see anything he ran the stairs down and left the hotel behind. It would take some time before anyone noticed that he wasn't talking with Finn anymore and then it would already be too late. Maybe he would even return to his siblings if he found a good reason to do it.
It was morning so he didn't dare to take his real form though that way he could have reached the Chans faster. The whole city would have seen him and he couldn't forget that a flying demon wasn't welcome in the old Chan's shop either. Better just pretend to be a human until he had a chance to do something else.
When he could see the shop Hsi Wu felt that something was wrong. He felt a strange dark flavour in the air and glanced around himself. Nothing, but it didn't make him feel better. It was the other way around, he hurried his pace until he was right on the door. It was slightly open and Hsi Wu could hear the conversation that people had inside.
"Unfortunately we are closed and -- " Jackie said, but Uncle slapped him.
"Do not listen to him! He understands nothing of sales." the old man said. "Are you looking for something special?"
"Actually yes. She pleases me." a male voice replied.
Jackie chuckled a bit nervously.
"Really?" he asked. It was clear that he didn't know what to think of this customer and his sense of humour.
"I am not on sale." Jade stated and yelped in surprise. Hsi Wu opened the door some more and saw that a man had grabbed Jade's arm.
"Shin." the sky demon muttered angrily. Shin had taken the form of an older man but it was not difficult to realise who they were dealing with.
"It doesn't matter, I wouldn't have paid anyway." Shin said and walked to the door dragging Jade behind him. Jackie made a move to stop him, but Shin threw him away with a wave of his hand.
"Do not try to stop me. I would already be gone if not for the protective charms that stop me from using my magic." he said and kicked the door open. Jade struggled and whacked Shin with her free hand, but the man seemed to be made of stone.
"Let me go!" the girl demanded angrily and her eyes blazed with anger. Shin drew her closer to himself when they got out and glanced at Hsi Wu in amuse. The sky demon charged at Shin, but he and Jade had disappeared in a flash before he had even moved.
"He took my Jade..." he muttered in shock and barely noticed how Jackie, Uncle, Tohru and Viper rushed on the street.
To be continued...