Marrakech was particularly busy in the afternoon because of the vast streets bustling with crowds of people going on about their day. As the city's weather was comfortable and the street life was active, the city carried an atmosphere that was relatively peaceful and welcoming. At some corners, there were some huddled small shops whose owners bargained with customers over the goods they were selling: carpets, artifacts, leather-ware, jewelry, fabrics, pottery, and countless other sellable items. The air smelled faintly of foods and various spices thanks to the street vendors and small cafes selling their dishes and spices to customers.
"This looks like a nice place to take a vacation," Tohru smiled warmly as he looked outside the window. He, Jade, Uncle, and Jackie were in a taxi going to the Dasi Museum Centre.
"Marrakech is a beautiful place," Jackie nodded in agreement. "Too bad we are not here for a vacation."
"Beautiful or not, we can't get distracted," Jade said as she snapped a photo out her window of the moving street. "We came here on a mission, and every mission has to have a plan. So what's ours?"
"There is no plan, Jade. This is not a movie," Jackie rebutted. "We will just go in, ask for the jewel from the museum curator, and leave. We do not want any trouble."
"Not even a backup plan?" Jade asked. "Don't you remember all the other times you thought that and things made a turn for the worse?"
"It would be good to have a strategy, even if we do not need it," Tohru chimed in. "In the past, it has never been so simple to retrieve a magical object from someone or something."
Jackie cupped his chin in thought and slightly winced as said memories returned to him. "You have a point. Er, we could tell the employees that the diamond we are looking for is dangerous and that some bad people may be coming after it?" Jackie said with a half-hearted shrug.
"Tch! Like anyone's gonna believe the forces of darkness go on diamond shopping sprees to take over the world," Jade rolled her eyes and shook his head at her uncle's comment.
"You are not even trying!" Uncle scolded.
"Well, I do not see the two of you coming up with any ideas," Jackie frowned at Uncle and Jade.
"Tch, that's easy," Jade confidently waved off. "Jackie, you'll distract the security guards while I sneak around everyone and grab the Diamond. Then, Uncle and Tohru will-"
"Again Jade, you watch too many movies," Jackie shook his head.
"Okay, well what if Uncle and Tohru make a spell to convince the curator to give us the gem scot-free, like the Jedi mind trick?"
"Uncle does not do those kinds of spells," the senior wizard shook his head defiantly. "Even so, Uncle does not have all the ingredients for that."
The Chan's taxi pulled over to the street curb and parked, which caught their attention to stop their conversation. "We are here," the taxi driver announced and pointed towards the right of his windshield; the Dasi Museum Centre sat less than a block away from where the taxi was parked. "That will be 616 dirhams."
"616?! But we did not even drive that far from the airport!" Jackie called out.
"You're trying to scam us!" Jade said.
"No scam, that is the price for ride," the accented man denied and shook his head.
"150!" Jackie blurted out.
"600!"
"200!"
"550!"
As Jackie and the cab driver went back and forth on prices, Jade, Uncle, and Tohru took this as their cue to get out of the cab. "Soooo what now?" Jade asked the wizards as they got onto the sidewalk.
"Now that you mention it, I have something that may help narrow our search," Tohru spoke up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial of green liquid and a pair of black, round, horn-rimmed glasses. He uncorked the vial's top and carefully put a drop of the liquid onto each glass lens. Once the liquid quickly dissolved into the glass, Tohru put the glasses on.
"Since when did you need glasses?" Uncle said with a raised brow.
Tohru shook his head. "This is a device I made to find the Diamond. Not only can it locate the gemstone, but the lenses give off a light indicating when it is within range."
"You're a genius T! Lemme try, lemme try!" Jade gasped in awe. The Japanese wizard handed his special glasses to Jade, who oh-so eagerly placed them on her face. The pair's frame was a bit big for Jade's face, but the size didn't matter for her. When she opened her eyes in her glasses, she found that her eyes were flooded with light. "My eyes!" she screeched and hurriedly took them off.
"Stand behind me so the sun is not in your eyes," Tohru said as he withheld a chuckle at Jade's silliness.
Jade hurried into Tohru's shadow and put on the glasses, then hesitantly opened her eyes. "Okay, I'm good," the girl said in relief. Now that she could see, her smile turned into a confused frown. "But I don't see anything."
"Hmm... " Uncle said and leaned down to inspect the glasses pair on Jade. He then took it from her face to get a better look at his own eye level.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!" Jade protested.
"How did you make this?" Uncle asked Tohru as he carefully inspected the lens.
"I used my old reading glasses and modified them with a potion with crow's eyes, black toad's tongue, and a claw of a white armadillo," Tohru responded and named off his ingredients.
Uncle continued to inspect the magical device some few seconds longer, then handed it back to Tohru. "Interesting," the wizard commented under his breath and slightly nodded.
"318, and that is my final offer!" Jackie announced and pulled out his cash to shove it near the driver.
The man frowned at Jackie long and hard through the driver's mirror before letting out a sigh and taking the cash. He quickly counted through the money and nodded. "Fine."
"Thank you," Jackie said and finally stepped out from the taxi to rejoin the Chans. "Sorry for the hold-up. Is everyone alright?"
Jade and Tohru nodded and gave Jackie a thumbs-up. "We do not have all day," Uncle briskly reminded with a shake of his blowfish.
Jackie nodded in agreement. "Let's go."
At first glance, the Dasi Museum Centre looked like a modern-day Moroccan palace. There were four sets of marble staircases that led up to the large entrance of the two-story building. Here, the museum looked to be as twice as big as Jackie's workplace in San Francisco and thrice as popular. Many natives and tourists were walking on the staircases either heading up the middle towards the entrance or coming down on the far left and right sides to leave. At both sides of the middle main entrance, there were two bodyguards in dark shades and expensive-looking dark blue suits. With each incoming customer, the bodyguards would take their tickets and closely inspected the papers. When the tickets are approved, they use a device to stamp their tickets and allow them entry. The Chans walked up the flight of stairs and made their way to the entrance. Jackie took everyone's tickets and handed them to one of the guards whose nametag read 'Bellou' on his suit.
"A party of four?" Bellou asked.
"Yes. We are from the Museum of Natural History in San Francisco, California," Jackie stated.
Bellou looked at the tickets and skimmed them front and back. From his back pocket, the man pulled out his tool to stamp the top of Jackie's and Jade's tickets. As he moved his hand to stamp Tohru's ticket, Bellou's eyes moved down to see the glowing blowfish in Uncle's hand. The man stiffened his back and took a step back from the group. "This museum does not permit weapons of any kind," he sharply ordered and nodded his head towards the blowfish.
"Does this look like weapon to you?!" Uncle shook his blowfish up at the man.
"The blowfish? That's not a weapon, sir. That's a... a... " Jade nervously laughed as her mind raced to find an answer.
"A mineral testing prototype!" Jackie blabbered out. "The museum I work for will open up an exhibit on the different types of gemstones and minerals all over the world soon. My uncle's new model here examines rare stones for clarity, hardness, color, and so much more so we can temporarily use for our display if you do not mind."
Bellou made a face at the archaeologist and cocked his head at him. He hesitated to lift a finger at Jackie's explanation and pointed down at the blowfish again. "So this... fishis nota weapon?"
"Of course not! Why would you think it's a weapon?" Jade followed her uncle's lead. "It looks kinda weird and clunky, but it's a safe model. We brought it here to see if it works."
"Hm. America is a very interesting place," Bellou said dryly. He pulled out four pairs of thin plastic shades and a trifold map from a large plastic bin beside him and handed them to Jackie to pass out to his family. "You may or may not need these in case the brightness from some stones hurt your eyes." He stepped to the side and gestured to the entrance with a stiff nod. "You may proceed. And if you happen to find the gems you are looking for, please talk to Mr. Laabi, the museum curator."
"Thank you," Tohru nodded and the family put on their glasses and walked inside.
The Chans entered the museum and were greeted by the building's air-conditioning that felt good from the Moroccan heat. They saw the large metal chandeliers that hung high from the ceiling with small crystals dangling underneath. The chandeliers had light, but they were dimmed because of all the sunlight pouring in from the large and colorful mosaic windows on the ceiling and walls. Combined with the sunlight, the inside of the museum had sort of a warm and ancient glow. It explained why the bodyguard was handing out sunglasses to incoming visitors. The white marble pillars connected with off-white overarches to made open entrances for people to freely wander in and out of the exhibits. The pillars and arches had square-like colored patterns that complimented the main off-white and gold combination. The gleaming mosaic tiles on the floor were white with yellow designs that were brighter thanks to the reflecting light glare from the windows. As visitors walked throughout the building, the floors sounded off in light echoes.
"This place is a palace," Jade murmured in awe as she took another picture at a mosaic.
"The Dasi Museum used to be a palace to the Dasi Dynasty in the late 17th century," Jackie said as he ghosted his finger along with some small faded qur'anic markings on a nearby pillar. "It remained this way for two centuries before the last king of the dynasty willingly abdicated his throne. The Moroccan government turned the palace into a museum as a posthumous tribute to him and his love for gemstones and minerals."
"History not important! Finding diamond is!" Uncle gruffed at Jackie and shook his blowfish at him.
"Uncle, please! You cannot wave your blowfish out in the open like that. You heard what the guard said back there," Jackie lowered his voice and took some cautious looks around the group. "If we did not make a believable cover story, we would have not been able to get in."
"Tch! With Tohru's cool diamond tracking glasses, we don't even need a blowfish, right?" Jade insisted and looked to Tohru to confirm.
"You forget! Magic must find magic! Without blowfish, it is impossible to find diamond," Uncle said.
Jackie furrowed his brow at Jade's comment and turned to Tohru. It was then that he saw on the thick-rimmed glasses sitting on Tohru's face. "Were you always wearing glasses, Tohru?"
"The glasses cannot work on their own. In order to find the diamond, the glasses need to be paired with a homing device like the blowfish," Tohru adjusted his lenses on his face.
As the Chans were talking, they made their way to the end of their hallway and into the museum's main atrium, which was spaced out into a massive courtyard done in marble. On half of the free space, there was a built-in pond with a tiled fountain in the middle. In the other half, there was a map plaque in black marble just a few feet taller than Tohru. The illustrations and writing, both in Arabic and English, were legible and bolded. Since the museum's attraction was at its busiest time of day, the guests were either passing through the courtyard in and out of exhibit halls or sitting on the benches near the fountain and in the open space. All around the court, flowers, small trees, and other plants bloomed in the outskirts of the courtyard area wherever they were planted. The courtyard space had four main hallways separating each other leading north, south, east, and west. Right then, the Chans had just come from the northern hallway and were facing east, south, and west from left to right. Further towards the entrance of the southern hallway, two grand spiral staircases lead up to the second floor. On the floor above, the hallways were built identical to the ground floor with four main hallways in four different directions.
Uncle took the first few steps into the courtyard scanning the area in all directions with his blowfish. Suddenly, the fish's glow changed and Uncle gasped. "Blowfish says this way!" the wizard pointed up towards the western hallway on the second floor.
A large black and white city bus pulled up over to the bus stop area on the right side of the road and stopped. Once the crowd at the bus stop saw the bus approaching, they took their things and shuffled their way to where the door would be, nearly pushing and shoving their way so they could be first in line. The doors opened and the bus driver held out a hand yelling in Arabic, "[Passengers off first!]" Begrudgingly, the people waiting to get on moved to the side to allow the current passengers to step off the bus.
Esmira was the first to step off the bus with Deliah close behind her, who dropped off their bus fare in the farebox. The wizard was holding a map of the city in her hands, straining her eyes hard to look at the details on the map. "Deliah, I think we got off at the wrong bus stop. I can't even tell where we are," Esmira frowned and rubbed her temples in confusion. The wizard held out the map so Deliah could look it over for a few moments. Then, the demon took the map from Esmira's grasp, turned it right side up, and placed it back in her aunt's hands. Just like that, the wizard felt herself visibly deflate as she looked over the map again and this time, could understand it. "Now you tell me," she mumbled.
"We are... here," Deliah pointed at their current location, then lightly traced her finger down to their destination. "... and the museum resides here."
"That is quite the distance," Esmira said. She could feel her legs and feet begin to prick in pain just by imaging that journey.
"Making it by foot would take long with all the complicated turns and directions. It would be easy to get lost," the demon agreed.
"I think there's another way," Esmira suggested. She then closed her eyes and placed a hand on her temple. In Esmira's left hand, she held on to her specialized magical instrument and weapon, a three seed pod rattle, that resonated a low hum and flashed green. Within a matter of seconds, all the outside noise and disturbances fell away, allowing for her to focus on what she wanted to see. The wizard pointed to her right with her rattle, then opened her eyes to walk that way. "I knew it! There's a shortcut that goes straight all the way to the museum. It looks like the fastest and easiest way."
Deliah raised her eyebrow in surprise and followed after her aunt. "An alley? Where? And how do you know?"
"This area feels familiar because I have been here before, in my dream. I bet it's the same mysterious alley I saw. It's not too far from here," Esmira stated as she pointed at the spot on the map. From her satchel, she pulled out a black sleep mask and placed it on her eyes to tie around her head.
"Do you have your dream journal now?"
"Yes, but I don't need it. My reminisce spell will do. My mind can rewind, pause, fast-forward, and even clarify what I dreamt. This sleeping mask makes the process more efficient."
"That is good Ezmi, but please be mindful of your surroundings. Some people are staring," Deliah gently reminded as her hand graced her aunt's shoulder. In the middle of her saying this, she threw a menacing demon glare at a small group of women staring funnily at Esmira's glowing rattle and her sleeping mask. Upon catching Deliah's red eyes, they hurried off and didn't bother looking behind themselves.
The wizard dismissively waved Deliah's concern away. "We are too close now to get distracted by a few stares."
The women crossed a large street and passed over what was a populated market square. It almost seemed overpopulated, which made sense as it was a popular time of day to be out. The demon and wizard quickly made their way in and out of the many crowds of people and went in between two set-up food shops to meet another street. They looked both ways before crossing and walked straight into the entrance of a dim-looking alley. They made a series of turns until they reached a large six-way intersection. Esmira stopped at the ending of the alley they just left and shook her rattle side to side. When the pods responded with a higher hum, the wizard lifted up her mask to see for herself. She nodded in approval and pointed to the street left from the middle alley. "This way."
Deliah stared down into the alley and let out a deep sigh. The walls were a faded beige color with cracks and discolorations on the exteriors. In some of the open cracks on the ground, small vermin scurried around looking for scraps to eat. Deliah felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and a small shudder hit her spirit. "This way?" the demon parroted in a low voice.
"What are you so afraid of? It's not scary."
"Of course not! It just looks a little, uh, off."
"Yeah, but at least we have each other," Esmira said with a small shrug and offered her hand out.
The demon said nothing for a moment before letting out another breath and taking her aunt's hand. "At least," Deliah said reluctantly. Both women took their first step and steadily walked down the alley. Holding hands and moving together did help Deliah settle some of her nerves, though she couldn't help herself getting a little tense whenever she saw a shadowy figure scurry inside the crack of a wall in the corner of her eye. For the first few seconds, there was a silence between the demon and wizard, but it was a slightly comforting silence. Finally, Deliah spoke. "Did you not say there were two museums in your dream? How do you know the stone is at the right museum?"
"Well, the spell lead us here, and the mailed diamond said it was from Marrakech."
"So then there is a connection?"
"Not really a connection, only missing parts I can't connect. The diamond was said to be hereat a museum. At the one back home, I saw that mysterious man and child be threatened by those demon shadows because they want the diamond also. My only issue is I don't know if it's something that happened or will happen."
"And how will you determine that?"
"I honestly don't know. This is like those dreams I have once in a while where I have to figure the pieces out instead of understanding everything right away."
"Hopefully after today, that dream will be a thing of the past."
"Mm, I don't think it'll be that simple."
"How so?"
"Dreams are complicated, Deliah, but they aren't completely impossible to figure out. The way I see it, dreams are like a jigsaw puzzle. It's overwhelming when you first take all the pieces from the box, but when you start slowly and find the parts that connect, it becomes easier to see the whole picture," Esmira said. "I've been having this dream for months. I highly doubt it'll disappear because we're looking for one special item." The wizard's pacing began to slow as she went deep into thought for her next words. "There are a lot of unknown parts here that I think will become known real soon for me to put together."
Deliah grunted in disdain. "So we really could be in danger, like running into some of those shadow demons or worse?"
"I don't really know. But no matter what happens, we must tread carefully and watch each other's backs. You're carrying your amulet on you, right?"
The demon subconsciously placed a hand over her chest, which was where her amulet sat. Her fingers brushed and lightly traced along the outlines and the middle in her solace. "I always wear it."
"Good. Better to be safe than sorry," Esmira said. Just then, her rattle audibly flashed, which caused both her and Deliah to gasp in surprise. The wizard pushed up her mask to her forehead and widely grinned at the museum before them. "We made it!"
"Do you have money for the admission fee?" Deliah asked.
"Nope," a confident Esmira insisted. She grabbed a vial of blue liquid from her bag and waved it around with a smile. "We just need a li'l bit of magic."
Jun drummed his fingers on his table and drew out a sigh of boredom, leaning his head into his hand. "I can't believe Jiang left me here," he mumbled and glared at the ground. He wanted to go into the building with her, but the wizard remained adamant about retrieving the diamond alone. Jun humorously snorted at the memory and shook his head. He knew his chi master wouldn't bother listening to him anyway:
"There's no need for the whole group to come in for a simple diamond. I am fully capable of getting it on my own," Jiang confidently stated.
"And what if you need backup?" Jun questioned.
"That is why you must be alert," Jiang said and gestured to the device on the earpieces that both she and Jun were wearing.
The teen looked across the table where Drago had laid his head down. "You're a demon, right?" he asked.
Drago lifted his head up and threw Jun a cynical look. "No, I'm the Tooth Fairy. I traded in my fairy wings and wand for scales and a tail to look cooler."
"Don't demons have human disguises or something?"
"So?"
"So, wouldn't it be easier to change into your human form instead of doing... this?" Jun made an annoyed gesture at Drago's "disguise" and rolled his eyes.
"I'm fine like this," Drago said. Like many demons, Drago can shift into a human disguise. However, Drago opted to cover himself in a large white sheet he stole from a display he walked past. Only part of his face, half-covered in shadow, was visible.
"You look like Casper the Dragon Ghost."
"Shut up," Drago hissed. "I've been out like this plenty of times before and no one's ever bothered me."
"So you're okay looking like that?"
"Yeah, because I'm not changing. End of story."
"Fine. Whatever," Jun sighed again and threw up his hands in the air. "But don't say I didn't tell you so when Jiang comes back."
Drago huffed in annoyance at the young wizard's insolence and put his head back down. Just then, Jun felt his ear fizzle with the sound of soft crackling static. He pushed a button on his earpiece to dial back the static. "Hello?"
"Get ready to move," Jiang said.
Uncle waked into another exhibit and looked both ways. His face was turned up in his growing frustration as he looked down at his blowfish that was now giving off a dull series of flashes. He tried hitting the chi instrument to get it up, but it didn't change.
"What is wrong, Uncle?" Jackie asked, sensing Uncle's irritation.
"The locator spell has stopped working," the elder wizard bitterly admitted.
"My lenses are also not working," Tohru added as he had taken his glasses off and cleaned them for the fifth time. "The signal it once had for the gemstone is now weaker."
"And we are going in circles! We have been to this exhibit three times. I remember seeing that statue," Jackie said as he pointed the stone statue out to his right. The archaeologist let out a sigh and looked down at Uncle's blowfish in disappointment and crossed his arms. "How will we ever find the gemstone?"
"C'mon! We can't give up hope yet! What if this is like a game of Hot and Cold, and we're in a super cold zone?" Jade suggested.
Tohru took off his glasses with a heavy sigh. "I knew I should have added beetle guts for the spell instead of the black toad tongue."
"Uncle does not think either locator spell is faulty," Uncle said with a hand on his chin. He shook the fish around and mustered a little more light, but not enough to be satisfied by. "There may be some magic that interferes with ours."
"Perhaps it is from the diamond or another object here," Jackie said.
"I do not remember anything from our research indicating the diamond could do this," Tohru said.
"But wouldn't that be kinda weird? I mean, if it was from something in the museum, then the locator spell would've been acting wonky from the moment we stepped in the building, right?" Jade scratched her head and turned to Uncle to confirm her thoughts.
"Well then, what could be wrong?" Jackie turned to Uncle to ask.
"Jade is right," Uncle said.
"I am?" Jade questioned with a hopeful look.
"The locator spell was fine until moments ago, so the spell is not faulty and neither is diamond. The magical interference comes from dark magic," Uncle said.
"Dark magic? Like the forces of darkness?" Jackie croaked. He could feel a pit growing in his stomach at his growing realization.
"You mean they're here already?" Jade said in surprise as she looked from side to side for any sign of a force of darkness.
"How do we get the interference to stop so our magic can properly work again?" Tohru asked.
"We must find the source and weed it out!" Uncle matter-of-factly exclaimed with a finger in the air. "The blowfish can work like a reversal locator spell in order to track down where the dark magic stems from."
Just then, the blowfish let out a powerful green flare of energy that nearly blindsided the Chans, yet caught their attention enough to look at what the now-working blowfish was signaling. The chi instrument lightly trembled in Uncle's grasp and emanated a low and steady hum. Uncle held it up and moved the fish from left to right, then slightly turned his body to the right. On cue, the fish steadily increased in its' shake and glow. "Blowfish indicates the gemstone is active," Uncle said as he pointed in that direction.
"Active?" Jackie repeated and furrowed his brow.
Uncle and Tohru exchanged looks, prompting Tohru to put his glasses on once more. The Japanese wizard turned in the direction the blowfish faced and adjusted his glasses up to his eyes. He mentally noted how the lenses steadily changed its' tint. When Tohru pulled out his salamander, his glasses flashed a brilliant white. "My glasses say the diamond is this way also, within range leaving the building, and it is moving further and further away from us. That means... "
"That means someone has it now! And they're getting away!" Jade called out and ran back out of the exhibit with Tohru and Uncle right behind her.
Jackie threw his head back to let out a distressed sigh. He could feel his gut grow deeper knowing that where the others were heading was going to lead into trouble in the typical form of a fight. Granted, Jackie had sort of an idea of what he could be possibly getting himself into to find yet another magical item, but this didn't stop him from wishing. "Bad day," he said to himself as he followed after the other Chans.
"But it was fine a minute ago?" Deliah asked with a baffled look. Her eyes rested on Esmira's pod rattle that gave off a sickly green light.
"Yes, but now it's not. I don't even know what went wrong," Esmira complained and shook her magic instrument around hoping to regain her signal. The wizard pushed her mask over her eyes and put a hand on her temple. When 10 seconds passed, she slid up her mask and shook her head. "My vision is off too."
"Maybe something here is interfering with your magic," Deliah suggested as she looked up and down the hallway. "Maybe it is the museum itself."
"[Nonsense. The spell was working fine when we first came in,]" Esmira whacked the rattle into her hand for more light. "[You're just saying that because you don't like museums.]"
"[I am simply making observations,]" Deliah insisted with a small shrug. She turned to glance over at a display of a beaded collar necklace with a metal pendant that had foreign inscriptions engraved in the middle. The demon frowned. "[And I have a good reason to not like museums. I could never like or support a place run by graverobbers.]"
"[Graverobbers?]"
"Greedy people who disturb the dead by digging into their graves, taking their buried valuables, and running off to sell them to the highest bidder."
"That's not how museums work. Museums are a form of physical history for the public to preserve, display, and interpret pieces from the past like this," Esmira said and gestured to the display. "These displays show people what life was like back then, and also to compare how much and how far society has evolved."
"[This place has all sorts of raw gems, amulets, crystals, and jewelry coming from those who lived and died centuries ago—many of which were dug up by people wanting immense fame and fortune. If I was dead now, my bracelets would probably be in a museum like this to be gawked at or maybe even worn,]" the demon defensively crossed her arms and huffed. The mere thought of that made her shudder in disgust. "That is why in the olden days, demons would cast spells on other demon's graves so if someone were to try and steal their belongings, a curse would follow them."
"Some people are greedy, yes, but not everybody. Archaeologists and anthropologists dig up artifacts for educational purposes, like learning about different cultures and human history. They really dig that stuff," the woman jested with a wink.
"And you should dig into why your locator spell stopped working," the annoyed demon bit back. "I would not be surprised if it were because of a demon's curse."
"C'mon Deliah, stop messing around."
"I am being honest! The people who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb died soon after they opened it. If it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone."
"But Tutankhamun wasn't a demon, he was human. He was a boy when he died."
"But it is the same principle; a curse protects an individual's grave to ward away thieves, and the only way a thief can remove the curse is to put the stolen item back in its original resting place," Deliah said. "Growing up, I've heard all sorts of curses on humans and demons alike. In my opinion, the most fateful cases were the ones where the curses fell on the thief's future generations to people who were never aware of the curse themselves."
Esmira cupped her chin in thought and gazed down the floor. "That... sort of makes sense now that I think about it."
"What sort of makes sense?"
"[In my dream when I touched the box that had the diamond, it took me through Marrakech and then into the San Francisco museum where I saw those shadow demons.]"
"[And what do you think that could mean?]"
"[It could be that the diamond is cursed and those shadow demons from my dream came from the diamond's owner.]"
"[So then the guy and child are graverobbers, either by direct activity or association?]"
Esmira shrugged. "I don't know, but that doesn't mean I'm saying your "observations" are right."
"Take it however you want," Deliah reminded with a shrug. "Even if my theory is wrong, I cannot shake the feeling that we could be meddling in some hidden dangers looking for this diamond."
Esmira prepared to stand up from her bench when she looked down at her rattle, which was now glowing brighter than before. "Hm? That's weird."
"What is?" Deliah turned to look at the magic rattle also.
"The pods. The reminisce spell is working again," the wizard answered. She closed her eyes and stood up, pointing her rattle to the left. The beads in all three pods rang out, followed by an energetic hum. The wizard instantly grabbed the demon by the arm and shook it excitedly as she started pulling her to the nearest exit. "We have to turn around!"
"Turn around?"
"There's no time for questions! We gotta go!"
"Have a nice day, madam," Bellou said in a dulled tone and slightly bowed.
Yuzhu nodded to him as she began walking down the stairs. Her head was down so she could hide her leering smirk. "Too easy," she chuckled with a shaking head. Retrieving the diamond was no trouble for Yuzhu. All she had to do was entrance the museum guard and tell him that she was a "client" wanting to buy the gemstone. In as little as 20 minutes, Bellou took the dark wizard inside and unlocked the diamond from its case, as he was a head museum security and held many of the keys to the display cases. Bellou was so under Yuzhu's trance that the poor, now-clear-headed guard hadn't even realized what he had done.
Yuzhu reached the bottom of the final staircase set and looked left and right on the busy street. It didn't take her long to see Jun, who was sitting alone in an outdoor seating area. At that moment, Jun slightly turned his head in his chi master's direction and locked eyes with her. Yuzhu took this signal as a good sign and nodded back to her apprentice, looking both ways again before briskly walking over to where her apprentice sat.
"Well?" Jun asked in a hushed tone.
Yuzhu patted her left pocket twice. "Where is Drago?"
"I'm here," Drago slightly picked up his head at the wizard. The demon was covered in a large white sheet of cloth sans his face. Yuzhu narrowed her eyes to glare at the demon, prompting him to scowl back. "What? Yah!" the demon yelped at a twinge of pain that traveled from the top of his spine to the tip of his tail. This pain was becoming all-too-familiar in the few hours it was introduced, and Drago shot a deeper glare at Yuzhu. "Hey!"
"That isn't lying low," Yuzhu chided as she looked him up and down in scorn.
"Tried to tell 'im," Jun chimed in.
"I said I am not changing out of my form," Drago hissed. Then, another rush of pain struck his body. This time, it was a longer and more enduring strain, one that nearly shook the demon out of his seat. He felt the want to scream rise in his throat; it took everything within the demon to withhold this urge back by baring his teeth and keeping his head down.
"I don't care what you want. You do as I say. Am I clear?" the senior wizard ordered with a thumb pointed to her chest.
Yuzhu took her fingers from the submission sphere, allowing for the demon to relax once more. His body felt an afterburn of pain cover his entire body. Drago took a series of deep breaths so he could find the proper words to speak to the chi wizard without getting zapped again. Keep it together, Drago, keep it together, he told himself through his seething. "... Fine," the son of Shen Du snarled in his wounded pride. He slowly stood up and sat back down in his chair while holding his head. He started to say something before his eyes caught something in the distance and he visibly paused. In a matter of seconds, Drago's scowl deepened into a furious scowl.
Jun stared up at the demon's change in facial expression and turned his head to the streets. "What, you see something?"
Drago didn't hear Jun's question. It was all too easy for him to recognize Tohru, Uncle, Jade, and of course, Jackie Chan coming out of the museum and down the staircases. The old wizard was leading the Chans as he was the one holding his signature pufferfish like it was a radar. Of course Jackie Chan and his freak-of-a-family are searching for the same damn diamond, Drago ferally snarled as his grip on his covering tightened and black soot blew out from his nostrils. One part of himself did his best to remain calm so he wouldn't give himself away. But another part was furious and very tempted to take the confrontational route to the Chans. "We have company."
"Good or bad?" Jun repeated with a cocked brow.
"Worse."
"Friends of yours?"
Drago curtly laughed. "That's a fine way to put it. Meet Jackie Chan and his family, the most troublesome humans on the planet. They're the humans who banished me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they want the gem too."
Yuzhu remained silent and watched the Chans reach the bottom of the stairs. Her hand instinctively grabbed the diamond as she stared them down in the distance. The wizard then pushed her sunglasses back up to her eyes and adjusted her hat.
"Then let's get outta her-" Jun started to say as he stood up.
Yuzhu stuck out her arm for him to hold his thought and shook her head. The woman's eyes were still fixed on the Chans and a ghost of a smile touched her lips. "I have an idea."
The Chans rushed down the staircases and safely made it across the pedestrian's crosswalk while there was time for pedestrians to cross. "Where to, Uncle?" Jackie asked urgently.
Uncle moved his blowfish in all directions until he picked up the strongest reading coming from his left. "Left," the Chinese wizard pointed.
Tohru was also looking to Uncle's left. In the distance, he could see a beacon of light hovering around the outline of a woman, whose back was turned to the group. "The glasses are signaling to that woman with the hat," the younger wizard confirmed.
"Looks like she's about to go into that alley!" Jade said just as the woman turned right and disappear behind a wall. "Let's move!" she declared.
"Jade! Wait!" Jackie cried behind her.
Jade ignored her uncle's calls and raced off after the woman. She headed into the road and abruptly stopped as she looked to her left and right in confusion. "But she was just-"
"Looking for something?"
"Bwah!" Jade cried in fright and beat her chest three times (a habit she unconsciously picked from Jackie from time to time). She whirled around to see the woman in the hat standing behind her. Here Jade could get a better look at the woman, or at least she thought. The woman had a brown overcoat with black leather gloves. The hat covered her face in a dense shade and she had sunglasses that fully covered her eyes.
The woman cast a glance at Jade and dryly scoffed. "Are you lost, child?" she tilted her head at the girl.
It wasn't long before Jackie, Uncle, and Tohru appeared behind Jade, doing their bests to catch their breaths. When Jackie looked up, he saw Jade standing in front of the woman they were tracking. "Jade!" he exclaimed. He looked to the woman who now had her eyes on him. "I apologize for my niece, madam. She is very energetic," Jackie apologized as he rested his hands on Jade's shoulders, giving her the signal that he could handle it from there.
"She's a child, Jackie. Who can blame her?" the woman responded. The Chans eyes widened in surprise and they simultaneously blinked in their disbelief. Jade, Uncle, and Tohru turned to Jackie for a response while Jackie couldn't take his eyes off the lady, who spoke his name with much confidence and informality as if they were friends. The woman cocked her head to the side and studied Jackie's startled expression with a neutral gaze. She stuck her hand out for Jackie to shake. "Your name isJackie Chan, correct?"
Jackie broke the silence by clearing his throat, his eyes still locked with the stranger through her sunglasses. "Yes but... but how do you know my name?" the archaeologist questioned and cocked his head. He saw the woman had offered out her hand for Jackie to shake, but he was not sure if he could bring himself to return the favor. "Have we met before?"
"That's 'cause of me."
Suddenly, a white blur came down from above and landed behind Yuzhu with a sounding thud! When the blur became still, the Chans could see it was a being covered in a draping white cloth. Then, the individual grabbed the fabric from the top and yanked it off to reveal themselves as Drago. The demon smiled broadly at the Chans and darkly chuckled. "Remember me?"
The Chans collectively gasped and jumped back in shock. "Drago!"
The infamous demon harshly laughed at the Chan family's expressions, proudly reveling in that his enemies still remembered him and seemingly feared him in his absence. "Fresh in the scales! Long time no fight, eh?" the son of Shen Du curtly taunted.
"How?!" a horrified Jackie shouted.
"You're working with a demon? Scale Face?!" Jade's nose wrinkled in objection as she pointed at Drago.
"What? You wanna do something about that, pipsqueak?" Drago taunted.
Tohru's hands were balled up into tight fists as he got into a fighting position. However, his face changed into a frown as he paused to do some thinking. "I do not understand how you reverted back to your original form. Once all the demon chis combine in a single host, nothing was supposed to remove them."
Tohru's question made Drago's scowl deepen and a feral growl roll from his throat. His nostrils flared up as the demon glared back at Tohru. "It's none of your business, tubby."
"But it will be Uncle's business to banish annoying dragon with a stronger and more permanent banishment spell!" Uncle threatened and pointed his glowing blowfish at Drago.
"HA! I'd like to see you try!"
"I can't let you do that, Jie," the woman tipped her hat up and pulled a glowing blue fish from her pocket out at Uncle.
Uncle felt his soul rock in his body and his blood turn cold. His jaw was slack and his eyes gawked at the woman. Uncle pushed up his glasses and narrowed his gaze at her, unsure of how to respond. It was the first time in a long time that Uncle heard his first name from someone else's lips. Only the government and people Uncle grew up with had known, and Uncle had parted ways with most of them when he departed for America. When his young nephew Jackie came to live with him, Uncle heard 'Jie' less and 'Uncle' more. Uncle himself ended up carrying on the name and using the third-person to address himself. It was jarring for Uncle to hear someone refer to him by name, but that made it all the more strange to him. "How do you know me?" Uncle asked in a low and careful tone to the shaded woman. His eyes were fixed in a pointed glare, one that the Chans had ever seen before.
"Waitwaitwait! Uncle has a real name?" Jade asked in disbelief. She looked up at Jackie and Tohru and tugged on their pants eagerly. "Did you guys know this?"
"I was going to ask the same thing," Tohru sheepishly admitted and looked from Jade to Jackie.
Jackie ignored Jade's question and came up beside Uncle to place a hand on his shoulder. "Uncle, who is she?" the archaeologist hesitantly asked and gestured to the stranger.
The woman dipped her head in a small bow and lightly scoffed. She removed her hat and shades and threw them on the street. The woman picked her head up and fixed the lone strands of her dark hair from her face. "It has been 50 years, Jie. I am truly hurt you've forgotten about me."
Once Uncle saw her face, his eyes widened in an utter state of shock and he dropped his blowfish to the cement. "Yuzhu... " the wizard muttered. Uncle was tempted to slide his glasses closer to his eyes to get a better look, but a huge part of himself felt that his eyes did not deceive him. He wished they did. "How-"
"Ah, so you do remember?" Yuzhu smirked, her fish still pointed at Uncle.
"You know this garlic-smelling geezer?" Drago cocked his head at Yuzhu with a sneer.
Jackie watched his Uncle's blank stare and bent down to pick up his blowfish. "Uncle, how do you know this woman?" Jackie asked again, this time a little louder. Still, the elder chi wizard found himself unable to answer. Uncle himself had so many questions, yet he could not bring himself to ask.
"I am well aware, Mr. Chan, that you and your family are looking for this," Yuzhu clearly stated and pulled out the diamond from her pocket to show off.
"The Diamond!" Tohru gasped.
"You stole it!" Jade pointed.
"That diamond belongs to that museum you just took it from," Jackie glared at Yuzhu and pointed to the gemstone.
"Not anymore," Yuzhu said and sidestepped Jackie to leave the alley. "Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Chan, I have more important things to do."
Jackie hastily stepped in front of Yuzhu and outstretched his arms to prevent her from leaving. "I do not how you know my uncle but I cannot let you leave, considering your "other things" probably include looking for the other gemstones and perhaps trying to harm innocent people," the archaeologist bluntly stated. Yuzhu raised her right arm and swatted Jackie to the side, creating a mighty force that took Jackie off his feet. Before he knew it, he was shoved into the stone wall hard and collapsed on the ground.
Jade gasped in horror as she watched her uncle hit the wall and fall on the ground so easily. "Jackie!" the girl cried and was the first to rush over and help her uncle up. "Uncle Jackie! Are you okay?"
"That woman must have discovered the Diamond's power," Tohru concluded as he rushed over to Jackie. He bent down to help the archaeologist to his feet and held up two fingers in front of him. "Jackie, are you alright? How many fingers am I holding?"
Jackie gave Tohru a clumsy giggle and did his best to keep his head up at the Japanese wizard's digits. "I thought you did not like little fishes, Tohru."
"Your uncle knows me, but you sure as hell don't," Yuzhu snarled at Jackie.
This hag's as old as the old-timer and she knocked Chan down with ease. Chan didn't even stand a chance! an amazed Drago thought as his wide red iris' studied Yuzhu from head to toe, then glanced over at Jackie. Just then, a thought graced the demon's mind as he narrowed his gaze towards Yuzhu's pockets.
"Whoa! You just threw that Chan guy down like he was a twig!" an impressed Jun exclaimed as he suddenly appeared beside Yuzhu.
"I told you to wait for my signal," Yuzhu said and smacked Jun's shoulder.
"I know, but I couldn't help myself," Jun simply replied. "Can the Diamond really do that?"
Before Yuzhu could answer, she felt something hit her gut and she cried out in pain, falling to her knees and clutching her weak spot. When she looked up, she saw a pillar of smoke rise from Uncle's blowfish and the Chinese wizard himself glaring daggers at her. "You struck me!" she snarled.
"You have lost sight of yourself Yuzhu. Uncle will never associate himself with a dark chi wizard, even if they were an old friend," Uncle emphasized with a scowl and waved his fish at her in a warning manner.
Yuzhu mumbled some curses under her breath as she managed to get back on both feet clutching her side. She looked up at Tohru, who proudly stood beside Uncle with his arms crossed and with a fierce face on. Throughout the pain coursing through her body, Yuzhu still managed to crack a sneer at Tohru. "Out of all the capable and suitable protégés, this is who you chose to pass your chi wizard teachings to?"
"Tch, Tohru's much better of an apprentice than that scrawny scrap you have!" Jade spat.
"I know you're not calling me a scrawny scrap, you... uh, scrawny scrap!" Jun retorted.
"Uncle is an intelligent and gifted chi wizard. It was through his teachings and guidance that I completed my training to become a chi wizard," Tohru stated in his confidence.
"Jun and I will take care of his and his "apprentice". Drago, burn the rest," Yuzhu commanded.
Drago hunched down and sweep kicked Yuzhu from behind with his tail and she crashed to the ground flat on her back. Then he clotheslined Jun by his neck to the ground, knocking the wind from the man's throat as his back slammed on the ground. While Yuzhu and Jun laid dazed on the ground, the Chans stood by in shock at Drago's sudden off-guard attack. The son of Shen Du crouched down to pick the diamond and the submission sphere from Yuzhu's pocket, and a wicked grin drew on his face. "Burn, you say?" the demon taunted as the hand he held the sphere in burst into flames and quickly reduced the magic ball to ash for the nearby draft to whisk it away.
Yuzhu softly grunted in pain and furiously bared her teeth at the demon. "We had an arrangement!"
"HA! Fuck that arrangement!" Drago laughed and tossed the gemstone up to catch it. "It's every demon for himself!" he cackled over his shoulder and ran free with his new prize.
"No!" Yuzhu yelled in frustration.
"We must stop Drago before he discovers the jewel's power!" Jackie called out.
"No. You find demon. Tohru and I will handle Yuzhu," Uncle ordered.
"But Uncle-"
"Do you want Drago to get away with Diamond? Nooo? THEN GET DRAGO NOW!" Uncle screamed.
Jackie looked at Yuzhu and Jun, then turned back to Tohru and Uncle with uncertainty. To him, this didn't feel like the fairest advantage for the light wizards. As much as he wanted to protest Uncle's instructions, Jackie knew there was no time to argue now. "Alright," the archaeologist nodded.
"Take this. Now that Drago possesses the diamond, this will help you track him down," Tohru said and handed Jade the magic rimmed glasses.
The archaeologist let out a retired sigh and finally nodded in agreement. "Jade, you stay with Uncle and Tohru."
"You want me to stay here with Uncle and Tohru while they fight the dark wizards over there and put me in harm's way?" Jade asked funnily, crossing her arms and shaking her head almost mockingly. "That's not a very safe idea Jackie."
"Well-eh-er-" Jackie stuttered at first, then sighed and bowed his head in defeat. With the seriousness of the situation at hand, Jackie had no choice but to give in. "Just stay behind me."
Jade saluted her forehead and beamed. "Yessir!" With that, Jackie and Jade ran out the alleyway in Drago's direction.
Yuzhu watched Jackie and Jade run out the alley just as she was dusting herself off. Karma had to get me now of all times, she thought as she mentally kicked herself.
Jun rubbed his aching neck and shoulder blades. He could feel his muscles in both places begin to cramp from the growing pain there. "I knew Drago couldn't be trusted. He won't be too happy when we get back," the wizard apprentice muttered in cynical.
Yuzhu returned a look at Jun to shut him up. She picked up her fish from the ground and began flexing her arms in circles to alleviate some of her pain. "You go find Drago and stop him before Jie's young ones do. I will take care of Jie and his protégé."
Jun lifted his brow and skeptically tilted his head to her. "You want me to take the demon by myself?"
"After I clean Jie and his friend up, I will help get the stone back and take that dragon out for good. Now go!" the dark wizard ordered. A still reluctant Jun took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes master," he responded and took off after Jade, Jackie, and Drago. When Jun left, Tohru, Uncle, and Yuzhu were the only ones left in the alleyway; both sides stared the other down. Yuzhu sneered at Uncle and hummed humorously. "You think you and your fellow wizard can take me on? I always was the better wizard," she bragged and stepped closer to her ex-comrade.
Uncle held out his fish and returned her glare. "We will see about that."
A/N: [Arabic]
This chapter and the next were tough chapters to rewrite. I had so many ideas that I didn't know which ones I wanted to write without making the chapter too long. I eventually decided to cut this chapter in two so the other half (practically all the fighting) will be in chapter 6.
Recently, I recently made this story called 'Every Chinese New Year' It's an alternate universe story where the demon sorcerers are humans spending Chinese New Years' as one big (crazy) family. It's a smaller fanfic that I made for fun. There's a poll on my profile on here and DeviantArt that'll remain open until March 12th.
Like always, please review, fave, shoot me a PM, and share your thoughts! See you next time!