JCA doesn't belong to me and never will. I am not getting any richer by writing and posting this.

I am a little disappointed with this chapter. You will soon see why.

Thanks to Alan Wilkinson for beta reading this.

HEING MEH

Chapter 34

"Hey, what is taking so long?" Finn asked in worry. It had been only a minute since Chow had stepped through the portal, but it was enough for him. Every second only added to the possibility that his friend was not going to come back in one piece.

"He is a fool," the Irishman heard Tso Lan mutter. "We told him he shouldn't stay for long."

"Perhaps he faced problems that we didn't foresee," Uncle suggested.

"That could be anything as our knowledge on Sha Fuju is nearly non-existent."

Finn couldn't believe that everyone was just standing there, not doing anything. His friend was in trouble! He glanced at the portal and hoped that Chow would return soon.

Nothing like that happened and it looked like their, oh, so powerful chi wizards and demons could do nothing but talk and speculate. There was a worried expression on Uncle's face, but Finn wasn't interested in sympathy. He wanted action!

"That's it," he muttered. "I'm going to get him back." He managed to take only a couple of steps before Tso Lan spoke.

"Not a single step farther," the moon demon said sharply, clearly understanding the Irishman's intention. "You are unable to step through the portal."

"We shall see about that," Finn said and continued in determination.

"Don't be stupid!" Uncle snapped, but even the old man couldn't stop Finn. He walked to the portal and was about to step through. Unfortunately that was as far as he got. When he stepped near the portal he felt burning heat on his skin. It grew hotter the closer he got and finally he had to take a leap back.

"Ouch! It hurts!" he exclaimed and looked at the burn marks at the skin of his palms. He felt his face sting and the medallion on his chest felt like it was about to make an everlasting mark on him. He doubted it would look good.

"I warned you, foolish mortal," Tso Lan scolded. Then he turned to Bai Tsa. "Sister, come and fetch your slave before he causes more trouble."

"Pleasure," Bai Tsa stated, slithered closer and grabbed Finn's collar. "You just don't know how to adjust!" The water demon slapped the Irishman on the face. It wasn't a hard hit, but it hurt in his already burnt face.

"Look!" Shendu exclaimed suddenly and everyone's attention turned to the portal. Chow stepped through it falling on his knees, and the portal was closed after him.

"Chow!" Finn called and was about to rush to his friend's side with Ratso, but Tso Lan stepped to block their way. "Hey!"

Tso Lan lifted the half conscious Chow from the floor and forced him to stand. "What is the answer?" the demon inquired.

Chow looked like he was trying to say something, but he could only manage senseless gibberish. Pearls of blood decorated the corners of his mouth and the whole man seemed to be falling apart. Tso Lan shook him and lifted him in the air.

"Tell me the answer!" he demanded.

"Let him be! He is sick!" Finn snapped. The moon demon glared at him.

"That doesn't matter. He will die anyway and we have to get the answer out before that happens," he said.

"What?" Finn asked at the same time when Uncle took a step closer, looking angry and shocked.

"You knew all the time that he didn't have a chance to make it?" the old man asked the demon.

"The fate of one mortal means nothing," Tso Lan replied. "We have to make sacrifices in this battle."

"Not like this! You didn't even ask him if he wanted to help you at all!" Finn snapped and before anyone could do anything he had snatched Chow from the demon. Ratso was immediately there to help and took his place between his friends and the demon so that Tso Lan couldn't get his hands on them.

"You are not going through me," he said.

Tso Lan looked furious and straightened to his full height. "You have no idea how foolish you are!" he snapped. "Look at him! He will die and we will never find out what to do!"

"He won't die if he's treated immediately! Besides, this Heing Meh thing is only a danger for magic, right? Personally I don't give a damn about any of you if Chow dies because of this!" Finn declared and lowered his other shoulder so that Chow could lean on it. Then he started taking his friend out. Ratso followed and made sure that no one tried to stop them.

"This is madness," Tso Lan cursed. His voice was quiet, but his eyes flashed with such rage that no one wanted to stand near him.

"You should have been honest," Uncle said sounding both angry and a little disappointed. "You will never earn anyone's trust if you don't tell them about your plans."

"I don't need to win the trust of mortals. They mean nothing in this fight," Tso Lan said. His fingers twitched and for a while Uncle thought the demon was about to charge at his throat.

"We don't have to let them go!" Xiao Fung declared. "They can do nothing to us! Let's go after them!"

"Wait a minute," Captain Black said. He had been silent and out of sight during the whole scene, but now when he talked everyone turned to look at him. "I don't like those guys at all, but you have been despicable," he said nodding at Tso Lan.

"I agree. We weren't asked our opinion either," Viper pointed out.

"So you want to throw away everything that we have accomplished? If he dies we will never find out how to destroy Heing Meh. Then more people will die," Tso Lan said. He made a move to rush after the escaping mortals, but he was stopped by quite a surprising party.

Shendu jumped in front of the moon demon and forced him to stop. Everyone could only stand in their places in shock and gape at the fire demon's amazing behaviour.

"What do you think you are doing?" Tso Lan asked. "Let me through!"

"He will die if you try to get the answer now. I can't allow it; I still need him in my own plans. He must travel to Sha Fuju again to retrieve my answers," the dragon hissed as a reply.

Tso Lan's eyes widened with rage and he was near exploding. "Traitors! You are all traitors!" he raged, used his gravitation powers and threw Shendu aside. The dragon was tossed at the wall, but rose back on his feet.

"I have had enough of you! I will not let you interfere with my plans!" he swore and attacked his brother. Tso Lan dodged, but Shendu's claws still slashed a nasty cut across his face. The moon demon slit his eyes dangerously and landed some feet away.

"That's it," he said. "You are a disgrace to our family, Shendu. You can think about nothing but yourself and your own plans. Your selfishness makes you blind."

Shendu only growled as a reply and soon the duo was attacking each other again. The fire demon was bigger and stronger, but Tso Lan was older, wiser and more experienced. He had no intention of letting his brother get away with this kind of behaviour.

The moon demon lifted all of his four arms high, waved them once and Shendu flew at the wall again. Pieces of stone and dust flew around and the dragon fell on his knees on the ground. He stood up again and glared daggers at his brother.

"If I had the power of my talismans you wouldn't be standing there anymore..." he muttered and spat blood.

"But you don't. Are you going to calm down or do I have to hurt you?" Tso Lan asked. Shendu only hissed and grabbed a rock from the ground. He threw it at his brother and it hit him in the stomach. Tso Lan fell on his back. He quickly rose and leaned on his elbows, but Shendu had already reached him.

"On whose side should we be?" Xiao Fung asked his siblings.

"What an idiotic questions! Shendu has gone insane!" Bai Tsa snapped.

Despite that the situation was very threatening; no one did a thing to interfere. The demons only looked at the fight of their two siblings, as if encouraging them to finish it.

The mortals weren't any better. Their senses told them to fight against Shendu, but in this situation the dragon wanted the same thing as they not having to see Chow die. It was difficult to decide which demon they wanted to win because Tso Lan was at least capable of thinking about the world.

And yet the moon demon's behaviour had reminded them that they were nothing but useless mortals to him. Tso Lan only wanted to destroy Heing Meh because he was in danger himself. If one of them had even for a moment thought that the moon demon had any good in him, they quickly updated their opinions.

Shendu looked ready to thrust his claws into his brother and tear him apart. The dragon's enormous body shook with suppressed anger and everyone held their breath as they waited for him to do something. Even Tso Lan.

And then, to everyone's surprise, Shendu straightened his back and drew a hissing breath. "I don't have to kill you, brother. You have shamed me by putting me under your power, but there will be a day when I am in charge. Until that I shall let you live," he said and with one mighty leap disappeared in the same corridor that the Enforcers had taken.

Everyone stared after him.

"Well, he finally lost it," Bai Tsa said with a shrug. She slithered to Tso Lan and helped her brother to stand up. The moon demon's face was covered in blood, but he didn't seem to care.

"Shendu is a fool," he muttered. "One day he will lose his life because of his behaviour." Then he sighed. "This means we will never find out how to deal with Heing Meh."

"It's not necessarily that bad," Uncle said. "We only need to find a new plan."

"Come on Chow, hold on for a minute," Finn said to his friend who lay unconscious in the back seat of the taxi. Soon they'd be in the only place where no one would look for them.

It felt strange to think that five years ago they had hid in Isabelle's pub and were now returning there. Finn could only hope that she'd take them in. They had been in contact during the years, but not in the way that she would have wanted. She didn't show any signs of getting over her crush on him, and Finn was starting to get fed up with the entire business.

When they arrived to the right street Ratso paid quickly and they headed for the pub. It was probably not good for Chow to be dragged around in the way they did, but there was nothing else they could do. Hospital wasn't even an option.

During daytime there was not much crowd so Finn wasn't worried about them being seen. The door was locked and he knocked sharply. It took a while before Isabelle came to open.

"Finn!" she exclaimed in surprise as she saw who it as. "Come in, quick!" she added as she noticed Chow's condition. The Enforcers didn't have to be told twice, and she closed the door after them.

"What happened?" she asked as they carried Chow upstairs where the rooms were.

"Nothing special. Poor Chow got into a nasty fight," Finn said. Almost all of the rooms were free, so they took their friend to the first one and laid him on the bed. The man let out a whimper and Finn and Ratso looked at each other in worry. Neither of them was very good at taking care of the sick.

"He looks awful. Are you sure he hasn't caught an illness of some sort?" Isabelle asked.

"Yes," Finn said seriously. "This has all been done to him against his will."

"I see," the German woman said slowly. She hadn't changed that much in five years. She was still round and dark, but a wrinkle or two had appeared in the corners of her eyes. "Anything I can do?"

"You could probably bring water or something to make him feel better," Ratso suggested. Isabelle nodded and left to fetch some, leaving the three men alone.

"I hope they don't find us here," Ratso said then.

"They can't. Valmont is the only one who knows that we use this place as a hideout. And he won't tell anyone unless they pay him enough," the Irishman stated.

Ratso snorted. "You are too pessimistic." Then he turned his attention to Chow. "What do you think? Will he die like Tso Lan said?"

"Of course not!" Finn snapped. "He can't."

Damn, how will we ever make this? he thought to himself. They had escaped the demons, though. It felt amazing to think that they were free again. He wondered why no one had tried to stop them. Tso Lan had been furious and something must have happened because the moon demon wouldn't have let them go otherwise.

Whatever it was, it had been good for them. That was all Finn wanted to know. He only hoped that they'd be able to stay hidden until Chow felt better. Then they could tell the answer to the demons and forget the entire mess.

Isabelle came back with the water and Finn nodded at her.

"Why isn't Mr. Valmont taking care of you? Shouldn't you turn to him?" she asked.

"He can't help us now," Finn said. There was no way he could tell the woman about the demons or what had really happened. She'd think he was crazy.

"So you are in trouble." Isabelle's tone was stern and for a moment Finn felt guilty about using her like that.

"You won't have any problems because of this," he promised. "And I will find a way to pay for everything that you have done."

Isabelle was silent and watched how Ratso wiped blood from the corners of Chow's mouth. "No need to," she announced finally.

"So," Valmont said when he saw Tso Lan. "Everything didn't go according to the plan, eh?"

"One more word and I'll cut your tongue off," the moon demon announced dryly. His tone was enough to tell Valmont that the demon was now in a really, really bad mood. Everyone else seemed to share Tso Lan's state of mood, because he couldn't spot a single smile in the group.

"It can't have been that bad?" he asked, starting to get a little worried. When he had said that he didn't care about the fight against Heing Meh, he hadn't meant that the outcome mattered nothing to him. Naturally he wanted the Chans and demons to win.

"It was," Hsi Wu announced. "Your men escaped before we found out anything and Shendu lost his mind."

"We don't know where he ran off to lick his wounds, and right now no one cares," Po Kong added.

Valmont felt strangely bewildered. So much had happened and he hadn't been there to see it. Pity.

"So no one has any idea how to get rid of Heing Meh?" he asked.

Uncle shook his head. "We can only hope that Chow doesn't die. If that happens, we need an entirely new plan."

Valmont realised how serious the situation actually was. The fate of the entire world and more importantly, his fate depended on whether his weakest man survived or not. That didn't sound too good.

"And in the meantime we go in circles while Heing Meh can do whatever he wants," Viper stated.

Bai Tsa looked furious. "That cursed creature! I would like to rip each of his red feathers from his wings..." she muttered.

Valmont froze and turned slowly to look at the water demon. "Excuse me?" he asked. Red, feathered wings? It couldn't be...

"What? I only said what I'll do to him when " Bai Tsa started, but Valmont interrupted her.

"What does he look like? Is he a big, brown dragon?" the Brit asked.

A silence filled the room.

"How do you know that?" Tso Lan asked.

"No, how do you know that?" Uncle asked in return. He stared at the demon and only now Valmont realised that everyone in the room had, almost by accident, divided into two groups. The demons on the other side, the mortals on the other. He was alone in the middle.

"That is not something you need to know," Tso Lan announced sharply. The wound Shendu had inflicted on him didn't bleed anymore, but looked nasty on the demon's face. Valmont guessed that a spell or two would get rid of it and make sure that no scar remained. However, he also suspected that Tso Lan didn't care about such things.

"I saw him! He spoke to me in my mind!" he said reviving the conversation.

"What?" was heard from many mouths at the same time.

"What did you say?" Tso Lan demanded to know and Valmont felt like the moon demon had suddenly grown a foot or two taller. He had to take a step back, towards the mortals.

"He appeared to me every now and then. At first I thought it was Ni Tang's way of communicating with me, but then he became more and more terrifying," Valmont replied swiftly.

"What did he say?" the moon demon asked. Valmont saw that everyone's eyes were on him so he straightened his back and faced Tso Lan's glare.

"He... spoke to me about things and thanked me for everything I had done for him. He said that the young girl's blood tasted sweet. He must have meant Jade," at this point Valmont took one quick glance ay Uncle. "And he made me kill people as Ni Tang. Or so he said. I remember nothing, except that I woke up covered in blood."

He had now said it. All this time he had kept the Nameless to himself, but now everyone else knew about him as well. He didn't know if it should have been a relief or not.

"Then what did you do? Did you help him?" Tso Lan asked now. The demon didn't look angry anymore, only greatly interested.

"No! I don't want to have anything to do with him!" Valmont snapped.

"Then what does he mean? Somehow you must have worked for his advantage, even if you didn't know it yourself," Uncle pointed out.

"Don't look at me like I knew the answer," the Brit said. "I am just as confused as you are."

"You should have told about this before," Tso Lan stated. "Did he say anything more?"

Valmont thought about it. The conversation had made the image of the Nameless flash more clearly in his mind. He blinked once to make the dragon disappear and tried to recall everything that he had said.

Suddenly he remembered something.

"He said he would kill me first! As revenge for taking his place!" he exclaimed. How could he have forgotten something like that? Ridiculous! Now he felt like the biggest idiot for not wanting to have anything to do with the battle.

Tso Lan looked amused. "Then he is wrong about one thing," he said, floating over to Hsi Wu. He placed one of his hands on the sky demon's shoulder and the winged one turned to look at him, frowning slightly. "Brother Hsi Wu took his place."

"What are you talking about? You know more than you have told us," Uncle said and glared at the moon demon.

"There are matters that only our family needs to know. They have nothing to do with this battle, so you don't have to be aware of them." Tso Lan lifted his hand. The sky demon had let out a small sigh when it had become apparent that his brother wasn't about to reveal the truth to the mortals.

Uncle didn't look pleased, but surprisingly didn't argue. Valmont suspected that the old man didn't want to endanger the already shaky truce anymore.

"But what about me? Heing Meh will come after me soon!" he said.

"That will win us time. After all, you didn't want to help us. Therefore we don't have to do anything to protect you. You are on your own," Tso Lan said.

Valmont could only stare. "What? You can't leave me alone!"

"Why not? You were about to do that to us."

"But..." For once Valmont didn't know what to say. It shouldn't have gone like this! Tso Lan looked at him with cold eyes. It reminded Valmont of that he should never trust the demon. The co-operation between humans and demons had almost made him forget that. "Fine," he said in determination.

"Too much has happened in such a short time," Uncle said suddenly. "We need to think about our next move."

Tso Lan nodded. "True. We shall speak again before the night."

Shendu drew a hissing breath and tried to calm down. His blood was boiling and he felt more alive than ever. He tasted the blood on his claws. Tso Lan's blood. His blood.

What you did just now was really stupid, Shin said in his mind.

"You be silent. It was about time to show that arrogant fool that he can't rule over me!" the fire demon snapped.

He felt how Shin sighed.

But now it's more difficult for you to keep an eye on what they are doing. What will happen to our plan concerning the Chans if you are not there?

"Don't worry about that. I will find that filth, even if we were on different sides of the world. Right now I want to enjoy my freedom and form a new plan. This was very... unexpected," Shendu said.

Indeed.

"And I want you out of my mind. You have no right to contact me if I haven't requested it. From now on I decide when we talk. Understood?" the demon asked. He knew that Shin would have to give up and he grinned, enjoying that the situation was entirely in his control.

Of course, Shin said and Shendu could sense the other creature suppressing his anger. All the better.

When he was sure that Shin was no longer present the fire demon landed on the street and took a human form. He had stepped through the portal to Uncle's shop and rushed outside in his true form. Someone must have seen him, but he was too excited to care.

For the first time in a while Shendu was in a good mood. The world would soon be his.

He was free!

While everyone had talked about this and that, Origami had crept away. When it had become clear that no one had noticed he had started running and reached the portal in a record time. He, like Shendu, had stepped through it to the shop and then left as soon as possible though not before grabbing a small souvenir from one of the shelves.

"This can be the beginning of my new collection," he said to himself and pressed the Chinese vase against his chest. Perhaps it wasn't valuable or special, but after five years it felt incredible to start re-collecting something so dear to him. On top of that it was sweet and ironic that he started his new collection by stealing from his enemies.

Despite himself he brushed his skin at the spot where Shendu had put his mark. The fire demon still had power over him, but at the moment the dragon was so busy that Origami dared to think he would be left alone.

He felt like he had been reborn. He was now free to do whatever he wanted. No more prison, no more Valmont, no more demons.

All of his problems had been because of the stupid artefact he had picked up in the British Museum. Origami slipped his other hand in his pocket and took the item out. Now that the portal to Sha Fuju had been opened it wouldn't be needed anymore. He had no reason to carry the junk around.

He stopped and gave the artefact a hard glare. Its carved surface felt harsh against the skin of his palm and he found himself wondering what would happen if he threw the thing away.

Then he would be no further use for the demons. The thought fascinated him and he really desired to get rid of the artefact.

Someone collided with him from behind and he almost dropped the vase he was holding with only one arm.

"Hey!" Origami exclaimed angrily, but the passing man didn't care. The Japanese thief slipped the artefact back into his pocket and promised that he'd think about it later. Right now he wanted to concentrate in arranging his life.

With his skill it wouldn't take too long. He smiled to himself and kept going.

"How did it go?" Jackie asked at once when Uncle, Tohru, Viper, Black and Xu Lin returned. The minute he saw the expressions on their faces the archaeologist knew that something had gone wrong.

"Relatively well," Viper replied with a shrug.

"Did you get the answer?" Jade asked eagerly. Jackie had explained her as much as he could have and the girl was now really enthusiastic about everything. Oh, how she wanted to take part and help!

"No, not yet. Chow knows it, but he is not in the condition to tell us anything," Uncle said. "And the Enforcers escaped."

Jackie looked surprised. "Really? I wouldn't have thought they had the courage to do that. And the demons?"

"They didn't like it, but didn't do a thing. Tso Lan tried to get the answer out of Chow and kill him, but Shendu didn't like the idea," Tohru explained. "He attacked his brother and Finn and the rest fled in the process."

"What? And I sat here when I could have been watching a fight! Who won?" Jade asked.

"Neither. Shendu ran off and is now on a different side," Xu Lin replied.

"Well, that's good. I never liked to have him here," Jackie said.

"But now we can't keep an eye on him!" Uncle pointed out.

"So what? I doubt he tried anything alone. We don't have to worry," Jade said. She seemed to be in a good shape and really liked it that the others had returned. It was so boring to just lie and wait for her wound to heal.

"Don't be too trusting, Jade. Shendu has done much evil alone. Just think of the people he slaughtered before this even began," Jackie said.

"Oh yeah..." Jade muttered, lowering her eyes.

"Actually it was Valmont," Black stated and Jackie and Jade turned to stare at him.

"Valmont?" Jackie asked. "Why would he do that?"

"It wasn't really him. Heing Meh used him," Uncle said. "I believe that until Jade's death the demon of Nothing was only a spirit without physical connection to this world. For the past five years Valmont has been tormented by Ni Tang and his insecurity and anger offered Heing Meh a good home."

"So Heing Meh lived inside Valmont? This becomes weirder all the time!" Jade said.

"Seems so. Or the Brit could be just otherwise crazy and hears voices," Viper stated.

Uncle quickly told Jackie and Jade what had happened after opening the portal to Sha Fuju and ended it with the conversation Valmont and Tso Lan had had. At this point Viper realised something.

"Did anyone see where Origami went?" she asked.

"Not me. To be honest, I didn't even remember that he was there," Tohru said.

"Yes, he is trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. He must be somewhere he. I doubt our company interests him," Black added.

"You must be right. I am merely interested in what he is up to now. The demons almost promised that he can go after Sha Fuju," Viper said.

Jackie looked thoughtful. "What will we do now? Is there anything we can do before we know the answer Chow received?" he asked.

Uncle shrugged. "No one has thought about it. It is possible that we must fight against Heing Meh with spells, but I don't know how that would end."

"The demons seem to know much more about Heing Meh than we do. What did Tso Lan mean when he said that Hsi Wu has taken Heing Meh's place?" Tohru wondered.

Jade flinched. She suddenly remembered what Hsi Wu had said to her when he had carried her above San Francisco the night he had let her go. She had good memories of that night. Back then the sky demon had acted like a friend she had wanted for so long.

"He is not a born demon..." she muttered as she recalled his words. Jackie turned to look at her.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"No, nothing."

The Nameless drew air in his lungs. He felt so strong! His red eyes flashed with excitement and his wings shuddered.

"It is time," he said. "Finally the time to get rid of my pathetic family and take my place as Heing Meh!"

Shin bowed to his master. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Go to San Francisco and find a good place for our plan. I have to take care of other matters," the dragon said.

"Of course, master."

Shin smiled as he left the Nameless alone. Soon he wouldn't have to take orders from anyone. Soon he would be with his family again.

To be continued...

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