Sorry about the delay, it looks like I am taking longer and longer to get these chapters posted. It's just that lately I've started to get interested in other fandoms as well and planning fics for them has taken my time.
Also, about the necromancy in this chapter... I did some research and found out that what I had in mind is not exactly what necromancy really is. So excuse me for the rather... not so good reviving scene. I copied the spell from a site with necromancy spells and changed it a bit to suit the story better.
And finally, JCA doesn't belong to me and never will.
HEING MEH
Chapter 30
Jade wanted to wrench herself free of the strange black matter that surrounded her. She couldn't move or scream and she didn't see a thing. She barely felt anything! The only thing she knew was that something was wrong.
She couldn't form clear thoughts nor concentrate on anything, not even on her memories. It was as if she was merely a heap of something that had once been a living, breathing thing.
Now she was nothing.
Jackie! her mind tried to scream. Jackie was the only one who could help her.
The only one whose support and comfort she would accept.
Tso Lan didn't know what to think.
The event had been very interesting on rhetorical level, and if it had been about anyone else's family he would have been able to give the situation a cold, rational eye.
But now they were dealing with his family, his brother.
"But can I call him my brother when I never knew him?" he asked himself. He felt like a fool and reminded himself that he couldn't afford emotions. They were for others.
Po Kong and the rest would go crazy when he told his news. It was his responsibility to remain calm and come up with a plan.
To think that his own brother... Heing Meh.
In a way Tso Lan was jealous. Controlling everything was every demon's dream, they had been taught to desire that before they could even walk, and while he liked to think that he was more civilised than the rest, he couldn't deny his passion; to control and decide for everyone.
And now it looked like their failed brother was the legendary demon who would rule them all.
Tso Lan frowned. Maybe it was the jealousy he felt or his desire to protect himself, but he was not about to let family ties stop the destruction of Heing Meh. No matter who he was and in what form.
"Brother Tso Lan!"
The moon demon turned around when he heard a familiar voice, and Hsi Wu landed in front of him.
"I see you are back. Did everything go well?" Tso Lan asked. The sky demon looked pleased.
"Perfectly! We got all the books we need and it shouldn't take too long before we can revive Jade," he said in excitement. "And your Guardians are fine."
Tso Lan nodded. That was what he had been interested in. The fate of Jade Chan didn't mean anything to the whole picture, so he didn't really care about her.
"Good." He pressed the book he was holding a bit tighter against his chest. "I need to talk to the old Chan. You and Po Kong should be able to take care of your problem," he said.
Hsi Wu nodded and even bowed before he flew off.
Tso Lan stood there looking after his brother and shook his head. It would have been stupid to tell Hsi Wu about what he had seen. The sky demon was too interested in saving his human slave to pay attention to something important.
And somehow he knew that news of their brother's return wouldn't have pleased Hsi Wu. After all, the sky demon had been created to take the dead one's place. Now that he was back Hsi Wu would probably feel useless and become even more distant.
Now that he thought about it Tso Lan realised that it would be the best to tell to Po Kong only. After talking with the mountain demon he could decide whether the others should know or not.
"Po Kong! We are ready!" Hsi Wu shouted even before he was in the same room with his sister.
"Actually not. I haven't even finished reading this book," Necrosis tried to protest, but the sky demon either didn't hear, or didn't want to.
Necrosis was not sure how the whole thing would go. He had read some of the book and tried to remember something of his father's teachings, but he didn't feel like he was ready to revive a human being.
"Watch you manners, Hsi Wu. You are talking to someone much older and higher than you," Po Kong stated not standing up.
Hsi Wu's shoulders fell a little, but the excitement didn't leave his eyes.
"We have to revive Jade now! We can't let her wait anymore!" he said.
"I agree. We can't keep her body in one piece forever," Tohru, who sat next to Po Kong, said.
Po Kong turned to Necrosis.
"What do you think will happen if we revive her now?" she asked.
"I can't say. Either it will work or something goes more or less wrong. If we follow the instructions we could do it," he said and opened the book he was carrying.
"Let me see," the mountain demon said and took the book from the old man's hands. "I have to read this and see what we can do," she decided then.
"How long will it take?" Hsi Wu asked impatiently.
"As long as I see suitable. This is not something we should take lightly," Po Kong announced. Necrosis agreed and if they had asked him he would have just let it be. He didn't know what would happen if something went wrong, but he was sure Jade Chan wouldn't like it.
Hsi Wu gave up reluctantly, but the swirling of his tail told everyone that he was not pleased with the decision.
"And you two, Tso Lan must be back now and is probably waiting for you," the mountain demon announced to Viper and Origami who had watched the situation from a short distance.
"But I want to help," Viper said.
"You have helped enough. It is time for you to concentrate on what his important," Po Kong pointed out.
"This is important! If we don't do this properly something horrible can happen to Jade!" the ex-thief snapped.
"Actually your presence doesn't do any good. The more people present, the more likely we are going to fail," Necrosis said. He wanted to get the book back from Po Kong and finish reading it, but he knew the demon wouldn't like that request.
Viper frowned and her lips formed a tight line.
"You can't keep me away from Jade. If Tso Lan needs us he will come and say it. Until that I will stay here," she said in determination.
"Let her stay," Hsi Wu said. "Anything as long as we can help Jade."
Viper glanced at Necrosis in victory and the old man slit his eyes. What an annoying woman. Well, it would not be his fault if Jade's friends ruined her chance of a new life.
"At least you can prepare the altar. You can do it, right?" Po Kong asked pointing her words at Necrosis.
"Of course. Shin made sure that I'll remember every detail of it for the rest of my life," the old man said. The mountain demon nodded and left with the book.
"I want to read this in peace. I hope everything is ready when I come back."
Necrosis knew that it was more an order than a wish and he had to frown. He didn't think he'd ever get used to that someone was always telling him what to do.
Oh well, once he got this over with he would be able to concentrate on his own life again.
But...
Despite himself he was interested in this mess. Who wouldn't have been? After all, it was all about the future of the world. He wanted to know what was going on. If he left after Jade's revival he would not find peace without knowing how the fight against Heing Meh was going.
"Let's start," Hsi Wu snapped waking Necrosis from his thoughts.
"I suppose you have an altar here?" he asked the demon who looked at him as if he was mad.
"Are you serious? Of course we have!" the demon said in annoyance. "I just am not sure where it is. I don't know the place as well as I should."
Everyone looked at each other feeling rather helpless.
"We have to find Dai Gui," Hsi Wu decided. "He can be our guide for a while."
At the about same time the last group was in Stockholm. The bus would take them to the airport where they would take the Dark Hand plane back to San Francisco.
And not too early, they were all pleased to be able to return.
Jackie shot a worried glance behind him where Xu Lin was sitting. He really didn't like it that Shendu had taken his place next to the girl. The archaeologist didn't think the demon would try anything in a bus in the middle of the capital of Sweden, but he still didn't want to see him so close to her.
Not that he had many options. Everyone in the bus was going to the airport, even the old Swedish lady who was still talking to Valmont. There were no free seats and Jackie didn't want to cause a scene by asking Shendu to switch places with him.
Well, at least Xu Lin didn't seem to mind. Her eyes were half closed and she looked like she was about to fall asleep at any moment. Jackie had to wonder why she couldn't bring herself to hate and fear Shendu like any normal person should.
Maybe it's because she has never seen him do anything bad and doesn't know what he can do, he thought. Well, we don't have to mind him very long anymore. As soon as this is over, everything will be back to normal.
Jackie looked out of the window. It felt good to know that they would be back with the rest soon. He was anxious to hear what was going on with Jade and he wanted to see the girl again. He hoped so much that they would be able to do something to help her that it almost hurt. He didn't know what he'd do if Jade didn't come back.
And at the same time the thought made him angry. If Jade remained dead nothing would stop him from killing Heing Meh with his own hands.
The thought shocked Jackie and he forced himself to calm down. Had it really come that far? Was he ready to kill when there had been time when he hadn't wanted to even hurt?
"This is so confusing," he muttered quietly.
"Ah, Bai Tsa, you're back," Tso Lan greeted as he saw Bai Tsa and Dai Gui.
"We are," the water demon muttered angrily. The moon demon didn't miss it, but he had so much other things to think about that he didn't comment on it. It was hardly anything important, Bai Tsa probably just happened to be on a very bad mood. Again.
Dai Gui also looked like he really wanted to crush someone, but that didn't surprise the moon demon either.
They walked past each other with no other words.
"I found the book I was looking for. This should help us a great deal," he said as he placed the book carefully on the table. Then he sat down and opened the first page.
The world of Sha Fuju has raised many questions among the ranks of wizards, rulers, demons and other creatures. I don't know everything about it either, but I will collect all of my knowledge here on these pages.
Firstly I want to make clear that Sha Fuju is not a fantasy land and no mortal can spend a long time there. The visit of mere minutes is enough to make one sick, and I believe that a long stay eventually kills any man. Some people have -- perhaps because of their lack of knowledge -- described Sha Fuju as a land where everyone can live and where all dreams come true.
A sudden noise made Tso Lan lift his eyes and he frowned at Black who had dropped one of Uncle's books.
"Don't cause such noise, mortal. Some of us have work to do," he said coldly and concentrated on the book again. Some of the characters were hard to see, the ink was partly covered in dirt and some of the yellow pages were very torn.
"Uncle has thought about something," Uncle said suddenly before Tso Lan could read another line.
"Yes?" he asked.
"I read that the souls of all magical creatures travel to Sha Fuju when they die," Uncle said. "Yet Shendu came back to you in the Netherworld when Jade used the Dragon Talisman on him."
"That is very simple," Tso Lan explained. "Shendu was a statue when that happened. When Lo Pei imprisoned him in that form he made sure that he wouldn't be able to travel to Sha Fuju where he'd have a small chance to have effect on this world. The statue form has been cursed so that when it is destroyed his soul automatically goes to the Netherworld where he can't hurt anyone."
Uncle frowned. "And if Shendu died in his true form..."
"... he would go to Sha Fuju," Tso Lan finished. He waited a while to see if Uncle would say anything else, but when that didn't happen he turned to the book again.
One also has to notice that entering Sha Fuju is very difficult and only a few souls are able to do it. If someone else attempts it they will meet a quick and definite end.
I am sure that the main reason to why someone would want to read this is that he or she hopes to open the portal and send someone to ask a question. Even though Sha Fuju is not the land of our dreams, it holds the key to all knowledge in existence. There is an answer to every question and there are those chosen to be able to seek them out.
I know that many want to use Sha Fuju to evil purposes and causing pain. That doesn't stop me from revealing the secret because I am aware that the knowledge can also be used to good. It would also be a pity if all this went to grave with me.
One should not forget that the odds of someone finding everything necessary are very small. Three persons are needed before Sha Fuju can be any use at all. Two of them are the Guardians, a male and a female, who keep the portal open when someone is inside. There can be only two Guardians at the same time, and a new one is born only when the previous one dies.
The split artefact, Meo Shi, is the key to Sha Fuju. Both Guardians carry a half and when they are brought together while the right spell is read, a portal to Sha Fuju is opened. Only the Chosen of Dreams can travel through it, and they are born rarely. Finding both Guardians and the Chosen is difficult and usually they never even learn that they are special in any way. There can be generations of Guardians who don't even know that Meo Shi exists and maybe that is the best.
Then the writer, whoever he was, explained the complicated spell that one needed in order to open the portal. Tso Lan read it carefully, though he wanted to hurry and finish reading the book. He read the spell a couple of times before lifting his eyes.
"It looks like our problems are solved," he said. Uncle turned to look at the demon in surprise.
"Show Uncle!" he demanded and Tso Lan handed him the book a bit reluctantly. So important knowledge... It felt bad to share it with a mortal.
"This is good, very good. Now we only need the ingredients!" Uncle said after he finished reading the page. The moon demon nodded.
"It will take only a day if everyone does something," he said. Uncle didn't look so sure.
"If they have time. Hsi Wu's group is going to revive Jade as soon as possible", he said.
"And that is more important?" Tso Lan didn't look pleased at all.
"It is important to us!" Uncle snapped. "Nothing goes over Jade! We have time to do everything else later. Heing Meh has not announced anything and it's doubtful he will in a while!"
Tso Lan flinched at the old man's words and said nothing. It made Uncle frown in suspicion. Since when did a demon back from an argument?
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Tso Lan lied. "Admitting it doesn't make me happy, but you are right. First Jade, then Sha Fuju."
He would really have to talk to Po Kong.
Bai Tsa and Dai Gui turned around as they heard Hsi Wu's voice. They were faced with a rather strange sight: a whole herd of mortals led by Hsi Wu was coming to their way.
"What?" the earth demon asked in annoyance. He could already predict a headache. Why couldn't anyone let him be?
"Where do you have an altar?" Hsi Wu asked.
"An altar? Why do you need one?" Bai Tsa asked and eyed the strange group.
"We are going to revive Jade today. Everything has to be ready when Po Kong has read a book about the subject," the sky demon explained.
"I think I should read the book as well. I am the one who has to do all the work!" Necrosis threw in.
"It will be enough that Po Kong knows what to do. You are a mere mortal, your effect on the matter can't be that strong!" the winged demon snapped.
"Not that strong? Excuse me, but -- "
"What are we doing here if Necrosis is not even needed?" Hoyle asked.
"You are here because we say so! That goes for the all of you!"
"Wait a second! I am here because of my own free will," Viper announced. Almost everyone had something to say, but the sudden trembling of the floor silenced them all.
"Dai Gui's head aches!" the earth demon said angrily and gave the floor one mighty kick. It made everyone believe that it would be the best to do as the huge demon wanted.
"Show them where you put the altar -- if you remembered to build one. I am not interested in this," Bai Tsa said sounding bored. She didn't stay to see what the others would do but marched away.
Dai Gui let out a sigh and motioned Hsi Wu's group to follow. He had thought he would have a moment for himself. He was so fed up with irritating mortals who could do nothing but complain that he thought he would explode soon.
"There it is," he said as he led the others to a room. It was more like a hall, though not as big as the one where they gathered for meetings. That didn't really matter as what was important stood in the middle of the floor.
"Not very beautiful," Hsi Wu stated as he ran his claws on the surface.
"Po Kong built it. Dai Gui not interested in altars," the earth demon announced. Hsi Wu frowned a bit and turned to Necrosis.
"Is this fine?" he asked.
"I see nothing wrong with it," the old man said with a shrug. It pleased the sky demon and he placed his claws on his hips.
"Good. We can start the preparations then."
Bai Tsa froze and cursed herself. She had forgotten the Eye of Atlantis with the mortals! How could she have been so stupid?
"Grr, that mortal disturbed my thoughts," she muttered and headed back to the library. She would have to get the item, talk with Tso Lan -- if her brother was back already -- and tell about her plans to the mortals.
She would make her slave help her with everything. Bai Tsa was not about to use the Eye in her room as long as it was in the horrible state that Dai Gui called decoration. A small improvement would do good and then she would be able to concentrate on something else.
The water demon walked to the library and was glad to notice that Tso Lan was back. An expression of victory was on the moon demon's face and when she glanced at the old Chan Bai Tsa noticed that he looked equally pleased.
Freaks, she thought to herself as she walked to the Eye of Atlantis.
"Greetings, brother Tso Lan. Look, I got the Eye back. Now it's no trouble to spy on Heing Meh. It would of course be easier if I knew what he looks like," she said.
Tso Lan looked at her in thought before replying and Bai Tsa had a nasty feeling that he was trying to judge her.
"Perhaps so. We shall see what we can do about it," the moon demon said. "Right now I want you to know that we have found a way to open a portal to Sha Fuju. Once we do that there shouldn't be a single problem."
"Good. One of Shendu's ideas worked after all," the water demon said.
"That is one of the things I want to talk to him about once he comes back," Tso Lan stated. Bai Tsa tilted her head, but asked nothing. She suspected it was a matter mortals didn't need to know about.
And talking about mortals...
"I'm sure you've already met Tchang Zu's murderer?" she asked giving an angry nod at Black. The bald man sat behind Uncle looking bored already.
"Ah, but of course. I met him when he found his way here by accident. It's a pity that our Japanese friend came by before I managed to do anything about him," Tso Lan said.
Bai Tsa chuckled and both Uncle and Black glared at the demons.
"I need to go. My room needs a little changing before I can truly feel comfortable," the water demon said, lifted the Eye of Atlantis in her arms and walked out.
She was interested in what Tso Lan had to say to Shendu because no one usually talked with the fire demon if he or she had nothing bad to say to him. And if Shendu was in trouble Bai Tsa wanted to know all about it.
She decided to go and see how the mortals were doing before making the decision of what to do with her room. If nothing else, she'd at least see if her slave had been intelligent enough to stay around. The water demon knew where to find the men if they were still near; they had to be with their friend.
And to her pleasure she was right. When she stepped inside the four men shut up and turned to look at her as if they had been talking about something that was not meant for her ears.
"Now," she said looking them at them all. "I see you are still here. That is the first step toward complete agreement. Soon you won't even think without our permission.
She was thoughtful for a while and nodded at Finn then.
"At least you won't. I don't know what my siblings plan to do with the rest of you, but I have plans for you."
"And those are?" Finn asked and yelped as both Chow and Ratso elbowed him painfully.
"You can help me to paint my room!" Bai Tsa announced happily and the dark expression on her face vanished for a while. "I have thought about your idea and I think dolphins are good. We need something else too. I'll get paint for tomorrow so come up with something before that."
Finn blinked. "Uh, sure," he agreed.
"You know it's serious when you are going to repair an apartment together," Ratso whispered to his ear and the Irishman told his friend to shut up. Bai Tsa merely smiled at the comment and sent a calculating glance at Finn's direction when the man didn't notice.
There was something she expected from all her male slaves, and she was not going to let this one be an exception.
Viper watched how Necrosis and Hsi Wu worked around the altar and couldn't help but feel a bit useless. She didn't know a thing about Necromancy and could do nothing but watch as others did something. And yet she wanted to be there to see that everything went fine.
She had to be sure. The only reason she had been able to be positive was because she knew she was doing it for Jade. If something went wrong...
"I really hope this works," she said to Tohru who shared her feelings.
"So do we all," the Japanese said. His words made Viper turn to look at the sky demon who did his best to snap at Necrosis for everything.
"I wonder why he is so excited about this," she whispered to her friend.
"I don't know. It's not love because Hsi Wu hasn't spent enough time with Jade -- if we don't count the time she was a child -- to develop feelings for her," Tohru said.
"But you think demons are capable of feeling love?" Viper asked.
"It's not about that. Hsi Wu acts more like he is desperately waiting for something. I almost think that he wants to love Jade, and that he wants her to love him back. I don't know what he will do once he realises that neither of them feels that way."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Look at him. He is excited, but there is no warmth for Jade in his eyes. Hsi Wu acts like a small child who is impatient to have a new toy. He wants something to feel better and he thinks Jade will give it to him," Tohru explained.
Viper nodded slowly.
"You could be right. I hope he doesn't hurt her."
"If he is stupid enough to do that we will make sure he never forgets it."
Viper glanced at Tohru in surprise. She heard determination and cruelty in his words and hadn't known he was capable of feeling something like that. She guessed Jade hadn't lied when she had told her what Tohru had once been like, and she was glad she was on the same side with him.
"I wonder when Po Kong will be ready with the book," she said, quickly changing the subject.
"I can't say, but I don't think it will take long. She is a fast reader and easily understands everything she wants to. I wouldn't be surprised if we got Jade back on this very night," Tohru said and his face was much brighter already.
"Let's hope so. It would be a great relief and surprise to Jackie."
Viper concentrated on watching how Necrosis drew symbols around the altar. Hsi Wu had gone, probably to find something the old man needed.
When she turned her eyes from the sight Viper could see the other people present. Hoyle was naturally there and followed the doings of his employer looking just a bit uncertain. Viper understood that and she had to wonder what the duo would do once the whole thing was over. Black wouldn't be happy if they disappeared again.
Time flew past surprisingly fast. Hsi Wu returned with plants and items that Necrosis went through quickly. It didn't take too long before he was able to take a step back and eye the altar with a judging expression.
"It should be fine. The spell is a bit different than the one I read for Heing Meh before you rushed in, but that shouldn't matter," he said.
"You read a spell for Heing Meh? If you know that one, why did we have to travel to England to find the books? Couldn't we have repeated the ritual as it was?" Hsi Wu asked.
"Of course not. We have Jade's body and it doesn't need to be replaced. Her soul is fine as well and we just have to revive the body. We don't even need a sacrifice like Heing Meh did," Necrosis explained.
Viper was glad for that. She didn't think she wanted to see even one sacrifice again, be it a human or an animal, no matter to whose sake it was.
"Everything is ready now. We only need Jade and I have to take a look at the book before anything can be done," Necrosis said.
Hsi Wu drew a deep, impatient breath. Now that he could do nothing but wait he felt extremely frustrated. His tail swirled in the air and he felt the constant need to stretch his wings.
He hated waiting.
What am I waiting for? he had to ask himself. Jade was a mere mortal and he knew that if she stayed dead, he would be able to replace her with another human. Maybe he wouldn't be happy to do it, but it was possible.
And besides, he didn't love her.
The tears he had shed next to her body hadn't been for her, but for him. Hsi Wu hadn't been that sorry for Jade, but he had mourned what he had lost.
He knew that with time Jade could have made him happy. At least happier than any of his previous slaves. And happiness was something he hadn't felt in a long time.
It had been a pity to lose hope so soon... But maybe he could have it back? If everything went like it was supposed to Jade would wake up and the sky demon could get what he wanted.
Where is Po Kong? he wondered and opened and closed his claws. Didn't his sister realise that they were in a hurry? He wanted Jade back now!
The sky demon was more than aware that the girl's relatives would not let him keep her. He had no intention of obeying them, of course. Jade was his and would always be. Now that he was this close...
Jade was the first mortal who had cared about him in his true form. Maybe their past friendship had been a forced one and rebuilding it wouldn't be easy, but Hsi Wu wanted to try. He felt that if he didn't find anyone to lean to soon, someone who didn't judge him all time, he would burst.
If even Ni Tang was there... Something told him that when his brother came back he wouldn't be the same person anymore. Jade was the only one who could help him remain sane.
The demon woke from his thoughts when Po Kong entered the hall. Everyone turned to look at the mountain demon as she walked in the middle of them.
"I didn't read the entire book because most of it is useless to us," the demon started. "But I found a spell that should work well if it's done right."
"I would like to take a look at it before we try anything. I am not sure that -- " Necrosis started, but Po Kong wasn't finished yet.
"There is no time. The longer we let Jade stay dead, the more difficult the process will be. The experience must have affected her already and while I am not worried about her the least I know that many of you are." Po Kong gave the book to Necrosis. "I can't help with the spell as it isn't Chinese."
Hsi Wu watched how Necrosis took the book and leafed through it to find the page Po Kong had marked. The old man shook his head.
"This isn't as simple as you think it is. We have prepared the altar and we have the spell, but we need more. The one who performs the ritual has to be an experienced Necromancer and I am not. I have had no training at all," he said.
"We can't help it. There is no time to find someone else," Po Kong said.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Viper asked. "If something goes wrong Jade could be severely damaged."
The mountain demon sighed in frustration.
"It is possible, but there is nothing we can do. There are no other options. It's your decision, do you want to take the risk or lose her anyway?"
"We'll do it." Hsi Wu's words made everyone turn to him.
"I don't think you are the one to make the decision," Viper said. "Jackie and Uncle are Jade's closest relatives if we don't count her parents. And because Uncle is the only one present, we will ask his opinion."
"Sensible," Po Kong agreed. "Hsi Wu! Get the old Chan! I am sure he wants to be present anyway."
Hsi Wu nodded and rose on his wings. His heart was beating with excitement and he flew through the halls of the palace like a grey arrow on his way to the library. He landed right next to the door.
"Oh, old Chan! We need you with Jade!" he cooed and it took only a moment before Uncle appeared.
"Take me there," he said without a single question. Hsi Wu suspected that the matter meant too much to him. It didn't really surprise him.
"I'll come too," Black offered and the sky demon glanced at him in surprise. Who was that man? He wanted to ask about it, but decided that he would have time for questions later.
"Whatever, we have to go now. We don't know how long Jade will last," he said to get some action to the mortals.
At first he flew ahead of them, but it soon became clear that they were not fast enough to suit him. He slowed down a little and when Uncle was below him he grabbed the old man's arm pits and lifted him in the air.
"Hey! Let Uncle down!" Uncle demanded, but Hsi Wu didn't listen. He increased his speed and Black had difficulties keeping up with him.
"You cursed bat! Uncle can run!"
"My, my, you should show a little respect to your elders," Hsi Wu said with a sneer.
He placed Uncle on the floor in front of Po Kong. When he glanced at the altar his heart jumped. Jade! The others had got the girl.
The sky demon hurried to her side, but didn't touch her. He didn't want to do anything that could disturb the spell. He had to restrain himself from brushing hair from her face and frowned.
Jade's skin was pale, her eyes were half open and the mark Po Kong had drawn on her forehead didn't look good. Hsi Wu could tell it would leave a nasty scar. But it was nothing compared to the wound on Jade's chest. Even though Valmont had done his best to stitch it with his rusty skills and Po Kong and Tohru had been through trouble to make Jade stay healthy, it was more than clear that she was very dead.
He was startled when Uncle stepped to his side.
"Do what you must," was all that the old man said before returning to the others. He took his place next to Viper and Tohru.
That was when Black entered panting.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked but his smile disappeared when he saw Jade. "Oh no..."
"Captain Black? What are you doing here?" Viper asked walking to the man.
"Spare gossip for later, we have to start now!" Hsi Wu snapped. "I take you have taken a glance long enough at the book?" he asked Necrosis.
"No, but it'll have to do," the old man said.
"Yes. It has to," Hsi Wu stated. No one disagreed with him.
Necrosis was stubborn and didn't let anyone be close during the ritual. Everyone, even Po Kong and Hsi Wu, obeyed and backed as far away as was possible in the hall. No one said anything and their eyes were on Necrosis and the altar.
The old man started by burning a mixture that Hsi Wu knew too well. He had brought the ingredients and could name at least opium, aloe wood and mandrake.
After this Necrosis touched Jade's body here and there, and if Hsi Wu saw right, put something in her mouth.
When the actual spell started Hsi Wu lost his track of time. Necrosis's voice was not very soft, but the demon felt dazed anyway.
"I conjure thee, thou spirit of Jade Chan. That thou do immediately stay body and answer to my demands; by the virtue of the holy resurrection, and by the posture of the body of the saviour of the world, I charge thee I conjure thee. Berald, Beroald, Balbin, Gab, Gabor, Agaba. Arise, arise!"
Hsi Wu felt a tug in his presence and it felt like the air in the hall was moving. He took a glance at the others to see if they had noticed anything, but their expressions told him nothing.
He had turned his eyes from Jade only for a while, but it mattered. When he saw the girl again she had moved. Necrosis repeated the spell and powdered something above the small fire that he had lit next to the altar. A sweet scent filled the air and Hsi Wu felt a bit dizzy.
Suddenly Necrosis grew silent and did nothing. No one dared to breathe.
"I am ready," the old man said then.
It was more than they needed. Not caring anymore everyone rushed to the altar to see what had happened. Because of his wings Hsi Wu had an advantage and was the first to reach Jade.
"Jade!" he breathed as he saw the girl. She was still pale and pressed her hands on the bandages on her chest. "Jade, don't tear the wound..."
Jade lifted her face and looked the sky demon into eyes. Hsi Wu flinched when he noticed how strange they looked like, they were filled with fear and pain and the demon felt like she didn't even recognise him.
And then Jade started crying.
"Jackie! Where is Jackie?" she sobbed.
Hsi Wu didn't resist when Uncle, Tohru and Viper pushed past him. The truth made him angry, but he would have to face it.
Jade was afraid of him and there was nothing he could do about it now.
To be continued...