p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"As Lenny the Drashak demon clambered across the stage, Lorne smiled for the audience but eyed the creaking floor warily. It wasn't, quite, buckling under the demon's /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"bulk/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;". The reinforced wood should hold even the largest Goliath, but Lorne cut the introduction short so he could get off the stage in case the wood gave way. When the demon started singing /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"emspan style="background: transparent;"How Deep Is Your Love?/span/em/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;", Loren's eyes widened in surprise. Who knew the big galoot could be so sentimental? He did wish the demon had picked something more upbeat. The slow songs rarely got the crowd going. /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"O/span/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"n top of that, trouble was brewing at the front door. Someone Wen Ning had brought in, for lack of a name Lorne was thinking of him as Pretty in Purple, was refusing to give up his weapon. It didn't look like much at first glance but then again most rings didn't shoot off purple sparks. The guy was so anxious you'd think he'd never seen a demon before. Lorne nodded at the bouncer to let them through, trusting Wen Ning to keep his people in hand, and if that didn't work, the non-violence spell on Caritas should prevent any real damage./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wen Ning led his people to a table at the back of the bar. Smart move, that. Pretty in Purple would be more comfortable where he could keep an eye on everyone else. As they passed, Lorne caught a glimpse of Cordelia. The poor girl looked like she'd been through the ringer. She must have had another Vision. Lorne blessed his lucky stars that his Sight didn't come with debilitating headaches. Lenny lumbered up to the bar and Lorne gave him the news that he'd need a bassinet built for eight. At least someone was happy. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"Hey, Raul," Lorne said to the bartender. "Give me a Blue Hawaiian." /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Raul raised one eyebrow and waited./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Don't give me that. The color brings out the purple edging on my lapels. It's all about the look."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"Two nights ago it was all about how the drink tastes," Raul said as he started working on the Blue Hawaiian. /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"A/span/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"t Wen Ning's table, Pretty in Purple was still too anxious for Lorne's comfort. "Tonight it's all about making the customers comfortable. Add a little umbrella to my drink, won't you?" /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne schmoozed his way to the back table. Pretty in Purple was asking about Cordelia. "Why is she still in pain? Didn't your medicine help her?" Hmm, Mandarin. Wen Ning replied in the same language, explaining that his cures could do only so much. Did Pretty in Purple not speak any English or was he trying to hide their conversation? It must be the first. Most of the other customers too far away to hear anyone speaking at this back table. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Pretty in Purple caught sight of him first. For a second, he looked like he was about to leap to his feet and start swinging. Apparently green skin and horns won out over devastating good looks and an impeccable ensemble, but then he fell back into his seat, staring at Lorne's drink or, more likely, at the umbrella in his drink. With a certain type of newbie, it took an over the top incongruity to get over the fight or flight response. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Now that Pretty in Purple wasn't an immediate threat, Lorne looked over the table. Four glasses of water but no other drinks. Big spenders. Cordelia didn't look any better than she had. He'd have to go gently with her. Wen Ning looked worried but didn't he always. He wasn't the type to come to Caritas for a night on the town. Their fourth needed a Queer Eye makeover stat. The red accents weren't too awful but all that black against such pale skin? He looked like a reject from a Morticia Addams casting call. He also looked almost as agitated as Pretty in Purple but he wasn't worried about the demons. Cordelia's Vision must mean something personal to him./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne raised his glass in a toast to the table. "Good evening," he said in English. "I'm Lorne, your host with the mostest."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"The two men looked at him blankly. They'd completely missed the joke but it did confirm that neither of them spoke English. Wen Ning rose to his feet, bowed, and introduced them. Pretty in Purple turned out to be Jiang Cheng, head of the Jiang Sect back in the dimension that Wen Ning had come from which, honestly, was something Lorne would never need to know. It wasn't as if he was about to go dimension hopping. The other was Wei Wuxian, a name Lorne had heard. He and some other cultivator had been in Sunnydale, oh, back before Wen Ning had moved to L.A. Some sort of saving the world situation. A hero popping in from another dimension? Generally not a good sign. Best move on to seeing what this was all about. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne slid into the remaining seat and took Cordelia's hand. "OK, sweet cheeks, you know the drill." She looked awful and he feared that getting up on the stage would be too much for her. "It's your lucky night. I've been running back and forth so much I'm thinking of growing wings so I can flitter about for the rest of the evening. Just this once, I'll let you sit here to sing. Make it something soothing for my poor aching feet." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"She started singing emBrahms' Lullaby/em. Well, this was a night for surprises. He hadn't expected her to take him at his word. "Why is she singing?" Wei Wuxian asked. Wen Ning waved the two men closer, most likely to explain. Lorne closed his eyes to give Cordelia more space and listened as she sang. Every being has a song, a melody that defines them, not a song to sing aloud but an anthem or a hymn that expresses their very center, their core, their soul. When they sang, Lorne could hear that song and it allowed him to See, well, he usually thought of it as more. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Ever since Doyle had gifted his visions to her, Lorne had been hearing a discord in Cordelia's song. It told him she was dying. It told him the Visions were killing her. It told him nothing could be done to save her. Until now. This time he heard a faint harmonic coming from Jiang Cheng of all people. Well, well, well, wasn't that interesting? /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"When she finished, Lorne patted Cordelia's hand and leaned back in his chair. Wei Wuxian chirped up immediately. "Is Lan Zhan in trouble? Did you learn something from that song?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Shut up, idiot," Jiang Cheng interrupted. "He only speaks demonic cultivation language."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Oops. He'd been so focused on Cordelia's pain he'd forgotten to greet them in Mandarin. "Whoa there little doggies." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wei Wuxian leaped up from his chair. His eyes darted nervously about the room. Jiang Cheng barked out questions. "How do you speak our language. Did you really learn something from that tune?" He rolled his eyes at Wei Wuxian. "Don't be stupid. There's no dog. It was just a strange phrase." His glare told Lorne there had better be no dogs./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""The first time I saw /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"emspan style="background: transparent;"A Dream of Red Mansions/span/em/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;" at the Beijing opera," /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne repllied, "/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"oh, it was a transcendent experience, and that was before I spoke even a lick of Mandarin. Then and there I knew I just had to learn the mother tongue to experience it properly." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What about Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian interrupted. "Did you get anything from Miss Cordelia? Do you need me to sing?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Cordelia's fine." Jiang Cheng scowled when Lorne added, "for now. And yes," he said turning to Wei Wuxian. "On the stage with you."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"W/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"ei Wuxian grinned widely and danced his way to the stage but there was something underneath his exuberance, some concern he was hiding. Well, whatever gets you through the night. "What would you like to sing. You don't have to go through the whole karaoke experience if you don't know any of the songs." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Do you know the song /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"emspan style="background: transparent;"Happy/span/em/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Know it? Honey, I live it." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"As a passing waiter left to make sure the right song was lined up, Lorne followed Wei Wuxian onto the stage. "Good evening, my pretties. The/span/span span style="display: inline-block; border: none; padding: 0in;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="letter-spacing: normal;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"emyílíng lǎozǔ/em/span/span/span/span/span/span/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;" is looking for his missing boyfriend." No need to suggest an imminent apocalypse. "He's chirpy, he's light on his feet, he's happy." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""It might seem crazy what I'm about to say." /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"A/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"s Lorne left the stage, he could already see feet tapping /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"to the music/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;". The young man already had the crowd going. He didn't need Lorne up there with /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"him/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;". Lorne moved past the bar to where he could keep an eye on both the stage and Wen Ning's table. Jiang Cheng looked worried, Ah, so he could also see under Wei Wuxian's boisterous exterior. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Because I'm happy." Wei Wuxian raised his hands in the air, clapping them in time to the music. "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof." Lorne got a flash from the song, something that suggested it was unusual that Wei Wuxian hadn't ordered a drink. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Here come bad news talking this and that." Lorne was impressed with Wei Wuxian's enunciation. The man barely knew any English and yet Lorne was likely one of the few to realize he'd memorized the song phonetically. Even his brother looked confused as if wondering when Wei Wuxian had learned the language. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne waited and listened, knowing there was something more he needed to learn as Wei Wuxian strutted across the stage. "Because I'm happy." Wei Wuxian beckoned to the crowd to join him in clapping along, and they did. A few even leaped to their feet. Lorne signaled Raul to get the waiters lined up. The crowd would be in a drinking mood. No need to let that go to waste. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Bring me down, your love is too high." Wei Wuxian started making pistol shooting motions with his forefingers and thumbs. It didn't really go with the song but the crowd didn't seem to mind. Ah, and there it was, a portal had been opened, not on this side but from that other dimension. The portal had been a trap, a trap for Wei Wuxian. Lorne didn't know who'd opened it, but they'd meant for Wei Wuxian to go through and never return. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"All of the demons were standing for the final chorus. "Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth." And the Vision continued. Hmm, it didn't look as if Lorne would need to intervene. As long as Lan Zhan survived, he and Wei Wuxian would finish this path. Lorne saw a man in white robes fighting Fyarl. The man was outnumbered. It didn't look good, but then, a flash of white light. Oh, good, at least that problem had been taken care of. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wei Wuxian practically teleported back to Lorne's side when the song ended. "Is Lan Zhan in danger? What did you see?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne walked him back to the table and pointed to Jiang Cheng. "You next."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Me next for what?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""I need to hear you sing." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What? No." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian whined. "Please. I need to know if Lan Zhan's okay."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""If you hadn't leaped through the portal like an idiot, you wouldn't have to ask." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Jiang Cheeeeng." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""You sang. He did whatever it his he does. This has nothing to do with me."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne leaned in to whisper to Jiang Cheng. The man leaned back, looking affronted, but listened. "If I offered him free alcohol, do you think he'd take it?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Of course he would."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne glanced meaningfully at the glasses, all water, on the table. "Really?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"He could see Jiang Cheng realize that Wei Wuxian hadn't had a drink since they'd come into the bar. "Fine. I'll sing." Lorne sighed in relief. He hadn't been quite sure that would work./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""On the stage," Lorne added. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What? No. Miss Cordelia sang at the table."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wen Ning said, "Perhaps it would be alright if Jiang Cheng …"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne interrupted before Wen Ning suggested Jiang Cheng could sing at the table. "Stage. Now."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Jiang Cheng, pleeeeease." That did it. Jiang Cheng marched to the front of the room, grumbling about the things he did for Wei Wuxian./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"On the stage, Jiang Cheng turned to Lorne with wide eyes. "I don't know your music. I can't do this."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Don't worry about the music. Just sing something you know. Project it so the song can be heard in the back row and you'll be fine." Lorne turned to the crowd. "Our next singer, well, what can I say? Pretty and dangerous. Such a winning combo. I think I could cut myself on those cheekbones. He's a bit shy so let's give him a warm welcome."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Jiang Cheng blinked in surprise at the applause and Lorne took the opportunity to move to the edge of the stage. When the clapping stopped, Jiang Cheng looked at Lorne as if unsure what to do. Lorne nodded expectantly./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""O little lotus flower in the shadow of the wall." Lorne winced. Jiang Cheng wasn't projecting at all. Perhaps he should have let the man sing at the table./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wei Wuxian walked in just below the stage, waving his arms. He put a hand to his ear. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What?" Jiang Cheng asked./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Can't hear you."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Jiang Cheng muttered something about breaking a leg or maybe breaking more than one. When he started singing again, the volume sounded like he was shouting orders on a battlefield, which was a bit incongruous with the simple lullaby, but at least he could be heard. "O little lotus flower in the shadow of the wall. O little lotus far, far away."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Some of the more martial demons grinned but probably more at the volume than for the song itself. Anything reminiscent of a battlefield would get that type going. A Chinese man, wearing his tie as a headband, seemed to have tears in his eyes and his companion was singing along, not loudly, more like he was mouthing the words that Jiang Cheng was singing. "O little lotus flower, shining like the moon." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Oh, Lorne could almost feel his heart crack. This song, this simple lullaby held a cry of pain. This poor boy had lost so much. Lorne had been thinking of him as a heart breaker, not heartbroken. And yet he held out hope, a faint trumpet call like the cavalry to the rescue. He did have a way to help Cordelia but he wasn't likely to act on it without a bit of prodding. Good thing putting people on their paths was Lorne's specialty. Well, that and the most kick-ass version of emDancing Queen/em you've ever heard. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""O little lotus flower, gone, oh gone too soon. Gone oh gone too soon." Most of the crowd didn't know the song was over until Jiang Cheng walked off the stage. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne grabbed him without even bothering to set up the next singer and led Jiang Cheng to the bar. Wei Wuxian tried to barge in but Lorne pointed him back to Wen Ning's table. "You wait." Wei Wuxian pouted but went./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Aren't you supposed to be helping Wei Wuxian find Lan Wangji?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""With his connection to Glinda the Good? The boyfriend will be fine. We need to talk. What are you planning to do about Cordelia?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"They both looked over at the table where Cordelia was leaning back in her chair, her eyes closed and her lips a tight line of pain. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What am I supposed to do?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Ouch, this one has anger issues, Lorne thought. "She's dying. You're just going to sit back and do nothing?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Why's it up to me? Why doesn't Wen Ning help her? Or you?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Sweetie." Jiang Cheng looked affronted at the term. "Look, we would if we could, but none of us have seen anything like this. You have."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""How would you know that?" He looked confused. "It was a long time ago. A cousin." He paused. "I don't even know if there was a cure. He could be dead." A look of shame crossed his face as if Jiang Cheng felt guilty for not following up on it even though he'd been a child at the time. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""All I'm saying is that you have the closest connection to what could be a cure. Look at her and tell me you can leave her like that." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Jiang Cheng stared at her for a long while until something in his eyes softened. Lorne rose to his feet. "If you'll excuse me, I have a Krashnak demon looking for a hookup he hasn't seen in over a decade. Good luck with that, right?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne was halfway to the stage when Wei Wuxian shouted, "Lan Zhan." At the door stood the biggest drama queen Lorne had ever seen, and he's seen some drama. Drop dead gorgeous with a face that should have looked like a slab of stone but for a flicker of warmth as he gazed on Wei Wuxian. Beside him stood the two women Lorne had Seen earlier, the witches who'd helped him fight off the Fyarl. He nodded at Willow but gave Tara a warm smile. She was good people. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"O/span/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"n top of that, trouble was brewing at the front door. Someone Wen Ning had brought in, for lack of a name Lorne was thinking of him as Pretty in Purple, was refusing to give up his weapon. It didn't look like much at first glance but then again most rings didn't shoot off purple sparks. The guy was so anxious you'd think he'd never seen a demon before. Lorne nodded at the bouncer to let them through, trusting Wen Ning to keep his people in hand, and if that didn't work, the non-violence spell on Caritas should prevent any real damage./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wen Ning led his people to a table at the back of the bar. Smart move, that. Pretty in Purple would be more comfortable where he could keep an eye on everyone else. As they passed, Lorne caught a glimpse of Cordelia. The poor girl looked like she'd been through the ringer. She must have had another Vision. Lorne blessed his lucky stars that his Sight didn't come with debilitating headaches. Lenny lumbered up to the bar and Lorne gave him the news that he'd need a bassinet built for eight. At least someone was happy. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"Hey, Raul," Lorne said to the bartender. "Give me a Blue Hawaiian." /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Raul raised one eyebrow and waited./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Don't give me that. The color brings out the purple edging on my lapels. It's all about the look."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"Two nights ago it was all about how the drink tastes," Raul said as he started working on the Blue Hawaiian. /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"A/span/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"t Wen Ning's table, Pretty in Purple was still too anxious for Lorne's comfort. "Tonight it's all about making the customers comfortable. Add a little umbrella to my drink, won't you?" /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne schmoozed his way to the back table. Pretty in Purple was asking about Cordelia. "Why is she still in pain? Didn't your medicine help her?" Hmm, Mandarin. Wen Ning replied in the same language, explaining that his cures could do only so much. Did Pretty in Purple not speak any English or was he trying to hide their conversation? It must be the first. Most of the other customers too far away to hear anyone speaking at this back table. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Pretty in Purple caught sight of him first. For a second, he looked like he was about to leap to his feet and start swinging. Apparently green skin and horns won out over devastating good looks and an impeccable ensemble, but then he fell back into his seat, staring at Lorne's drink or, more likely, at the umbrella in his drink. With a certain type of newbie, it took an over the top incongruity to get over the fight or flight response. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Now that Pretty in Purple wasn't an immediate threat, Lorne looked over the table. Four glasses of water but no other drinks. Big spenders. Cordelia didn't look any better than she had. He'd have to go gently with her. Wen Ning looked worried but didn't he always. He wasn't the type to come to Caritas for a night on the town. Their fourth needed a Queer Eye makeover stat. The red accents weren't too awful but all that black against such pale skin? He looked like a reject from a Morticia Addams casting call. He also looked almost as agitated as Pretty in Purple but he wasn't worried about the demons. Cordelia's Vision must mean something personal to him./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne raised his glass in a toast to the table. "Good evening," he said in English. "I'm Lorne, your host with the mostest."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"The two men looked at him blankly. They'd completely missed the joke but it did confirm that neither of them spoke English. Wen Ning rose to his feet, bowed, and introduced them. Pretty in Purple turned out to be Jiang Cheng, head of the Jiang Sect back in the dimension that Wen Ning had come from which, honestly, was something Lorne would never need to know. It wasn't as if he was about to go dimension hopping. The other was Wei Wuxian, a name Lorne had heard. He and some other cultivator had been in Sunnydale, oh, back before Wen Ning had moved to L.A. Some sort of saving the world situation. A hero popping in from another dimension? Generally not a good sign. Best move on to seeing what this was all about. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne slid into the remaining seat and took Cordelia's hand. "OK, sweet cheeks, you know the drill." She looked awful and he feared that getting up on the stage would be too much for her. "It's your lucky night. I've been running back and forth so much I'm thinking of growing wings so I can flitter about for the rest of the evening. Just this once, I'll let you sit here to sing. Make it something soothing for my poor aching feet." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"She started singing emBrahms' Lullaby/em. Well, this was a night for surprises. He hadn't expected her to take him at his word. "Why is she singing?" Wei Wuxian asked. Wen Ning waved the two men closer, most likely to explain. Lorne closed his eyes to give Cordelia more space and listened as she sang. Every being has a song, a melody that defines them, not a song to sing aloud but an anthem or a hymn that expresses their very center, their core, their soul. When they sang, Lorne could hear that song and it allowed him to See, well, he usually thought of it as more. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Ever since Doyle had gifted his visions to her, Lorne had been hearing a discord in Cordelia's song. It told him she was dying. It told him the Visions were killing her. It told him nothing could be done to save her. Until now. This time he heard a faint harmonic coming from Jiang Cheng of all people. Well, well, well, wasn't that interesting? /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"When she finished, Lorne patted Cordelia's hand and leaned back in his chair. Wei Wuxian chirped up immediately. "Is Lan Zhan in trouble? Did you learn something from that song?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Shut up, idiot," Jiang Cheng interrupted. "He only speaks demonic cultivation language."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Oops. He'd been so focused on Cordelia's pain he'd forgotten to greet them in Mandarin. "Whoa there little doggies." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wei Wuxian leaped up from his chair. His eyes darted nervously about the room. Jiang Cheng barked out questions. "How do you speak our language. Did you really learn something from that tune?" He rolled his eyes at Wei Wuxian. "Don't be stupid. There's no dog. It was just a strange phrase." His glare told Lorne there had better be no dogs./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""The first time I saw /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"emspan style="background: transparent;"A Dream of Red Mansions/span/em/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;" at the Beijing opera," /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne repllied, "/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"oh, it was a transcendent experience, and that was before I spoke even a lick of Mandarin. Then and there I knew I just had to learn the mother tongue to experience it properly." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What about Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian interrupted. "Did you get anything from Miss Cordelia? Do you need me to sing?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Cordelia's fine." Jiang Cheng scowled when Lorne added, "for now. And yes," he said turning to Wei Wuxian. "On the stage with you."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"W/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"ei Wuxian grinned widely and danced his way to the stage but there was something underneath his exuberance, some concern he was hiding. Well, whatever gets you through the night. "What would you like to sing. You don't have to go through the whole karaoke experience if you don't know any of the songs." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Do you know the song /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"emspan style="background: transparent;"Happy/span/em/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Know it? Honey, I live it." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"As a passing waiter left to make sure the right song was lined up, Lorne followed Wei Wuxian onto the stage. "Good evening, my pretties. The/span/span span style="display: inline-block; border: none; padding: 0in;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="letter-spacing: normal;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"span style="background: transparent;"emyílíng lǎozǔ/em/span/span/span/span/span/span/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;" is looking for his missing boyfriend." No need to suggest an imminent apocalypse. "He's chirpy, he's light on his feet, he's happy." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""It might seem crazy what I'm about to say." /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"A/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"s Lorne left the stage, he could already see feet tapping /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"to the music/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;". The young man already had the crowd going. He didn't need Lorne up there with /span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"him/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;". Lorne moved past the bar to where he could keep an eye on both the stage and Wen Ning's table. Jiang Cheng looked worried, Ah, so he could also see under Wei Wuxian's boisterous exterior. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Because I'm happy." Wei Wuxian raised his hands in the air, clapping them in time to the music. "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof." Lorne got a flash from the song, something that suggested it was unusual that Wei Wuxian hadn't ordered a drink. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Here come bad news talking this and that." Lorne was impressed with Wei Wuxian's enunciation. The man barely knew any English and yet Lorne was likely one of the few to realize he'd memorized the song phonetically. Even his brother looked confused as if wondering when Wei Wuxian had learned the language. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne waited and listened, knowing there was something more he needed to learn as Wei Wuxian strutted across the stage. "Because I'm happy." Wei Wuxian beckoned to the crowd to join him in clapping along, and they did. A few even leaped to their feet. Lorne signaled Raul to get the waiters lined up. The crowd would be in a drinking mood. No need to let that go to waste. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Bring me down, your love is too high." Wei Wuxian started making pistol shooting motions with his forefingers and thumbs. It didn't really go with the song but the crowd didn't seem to mind. Ah, and there it was, a portal had been opened, not on this side but from that other dimension. The portal had been a trap, a trap for Wei Wuxian. Lorne didn't know who'd opened it, but they'd meant for Wei Wuxian to go through and never return. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"All of the demons were standing for the final chorus. "Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth." And the Vision continued. Hmm, it didn't look as if Lorne would need to intervene. As long as Lan Zhan survived, he and Wei Wuxian would finish this path. Lorne saw a man in white robes fighting Fyarl. The man was outnumbered. It didn't look good, but then, a flash of white light. Oh, good, at least that problem had been taken care of. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wei Wuxian practically teleported back to Lorne's side when the song ended. "Is Lan Zhan in danger? What did you see?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne walked him back to the table and pointed to Jiang Cheng. "You next."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Me next for what?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""I need to hear you sing." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What? No." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian whined. "Please. I need to know if Lan Zhan's okay."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""If you hadn't leaped through the portal like an idiot, you wouldn't have to ask." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Jiang Cheeeeng." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""You sang. He did whatever it his he does. This has nothing to do with me."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne leaned in to whisper to Jiang Cheng. The man leaned back, looking affronted, but listened. "If I offered him free alcohol, do you think he'd take it?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Of course he would."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne glanced meaningfully at the glasses, all water, on the table. "Really?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"He could see Jiang Cheng realize that Wei Wuxian hadn't had a drink since they'd come into the bar. "Fine. I'll sing." Lorne sighed in relief. He hadn't been quite sure that would work./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""On the stage," Lorne added. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What? No. Miss Cordelia sang at the table."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wen Ning said, "Perhaps it would be alright if Jiang Cheng …"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne interrupted before Wen Ning suggested Jiang Cheng could sing at the table. "Stage. Now."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Jiang Cheng, pleeeeease." That did it. Jiang Cheng marched to the front of the room, grumbling about the things he did for Wei Wuxian./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"On the stage, Jiang Cheng turned to Lorne with wide eyes. "I don't know your music. I can't do this."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""/span/spanspan style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Don't worry about the music. Just sing something you know. Project it so the song can be heard in the back row and you'll be fine." Lorne turned to the crowd. "Our next singer, well, what can I say? Pretty and dangerous. Such a winning combo. I think I could cut myself on those cheekbones. He's a bit shy so let's give him a warm welcome."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Jiang Cheng blinked in surprise at the applause and Lorne took the opportunity to move to the edge of the stage. When the clapping stopped, Jiang Cheng looked at Lorne as if unsure what to do. Lorne nodded expectantly./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""O little lotus flower in the shadow of the wall." Lorne winced. Jiang Cheng wasn't projecting at all. Perhaps he should have let the man sing at the table./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Wei Wuxian walked in just below the stage, waving his arms. He put a hand to his ear. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What?" Jiang Cheng asked./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Can't hear you."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Jiang Cheng muttered something about breaking a leg or maybe breaking more than one. When he started singing again, the volume sounded like he was shouting orders on a battlefield, which was a bit incongruous with the simple lullaby, but at least he could be heard. "O little lotus flower in the shadow of the wall. O little lotus far, far away."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Some of the more martial demons grinned but probably more at the volume than for the song itself. Anything reminiscent of a battlefield would get that type going. A Chinese man, wearing his tie as a headband, seemed to have tears in his eyes and his companion was singing along, not loudly, more like he was mouthing the words that Jiang Cheng was singing. "O little lotus flower, shining like the moon." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Oh, Lorne could almost feel his heart crack. This song, this simple lullaby held a cry of pain. This poor boy had lost so much. Lorne had been thinking of him as a heart breaker, not heartbroken. And yet he held out hope, a faint trumpet call like the cavalry to the rescue. He did have a way to help Cordelia but he wasn't likely to act on it without a bit of prodding. Good thing putting people on their paths was Lorne's specialty. Well, that and the most kick-ass version of emDancing Queen/em you've ever heard. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""O little lotus flower, gone, oh gone too soon. Gone oh gone too soon." Most of the crowd didn't know the song was over until Jiang Cheng walked off the stage. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne grabbed him without even bothering to set up the next singer and led Jiang Cheng to the bar. Wei Wuxian tried to barge in but Lorne pointed him back to Wen Ning's table. "You wait." Wei Wuxian pouted but went./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Aren't you supposed to be helping Wei Wuxian find Lan Wangji?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""With his connection to Glinda the Good? The boyfriend will be fine. We need to talk. What are you planning to do about Cordelia?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"They both looked over at the table where Cordelia was leaning back in her chair, her eyes closed and her lips a tight line of pain. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""What am I supposed to do?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Ouch, this one has anger issues, Lorne thought. "She's dying. You're just going to sit back and do nothing?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Why's it up to me? Why doesn't Wen Ning help her? Or you?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""Sweetie." Jiang Cheng looked affronted at the term. "Look, we would if we could, but none of us have seen anything like this. You have."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""How would you know that?" He looked confused. "It was a long time ago. A cousin." He paused. "I don't even know if there was a cure. He could be dead." A look of shame crossed his face as if Jiang Cheng felt guilty for not following up on it even though he'd been a child at the time. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;""All I'm saying is that you have the closest connection to what could be a cure. Look at her and tell me you can leave her like that." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Jiang Cheng stared at her for a long while until something in his eyes softened. Lorne rose to his feet. "If you'll excuse me, I have a Krashnak demon looking for a hookup he hasn't seen in over a decade. Good luck with that, right?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent;"Lorne was halfway to the stage when Wei Wuxian shouted, "Lan Zhan." At the door stood the biggest drama queen Lorne had ever seen, and he's seen some drama. Drop dead gorgeous with a face that should have looked like a slab of stone but for a flicker of warmth as he gazed on Wei Wuxian. Beside him stood the two women Lorne had Seen earlier, the witches who'd helped him fight off the Fyarl. He nodded at Willow but gave Tara a warm smile. She was good people. /span/span/p