CHAPTER FOUR

Li and Meiling stood out in a field across the lake, looking for the Dragon Boat that would take them to the temple of Xiang Zhou. They were a great distance away from the danger that had befallen Li's family so they were safe for the moment. An uneasy feeling of guilt and fear ran through the boy's body but he knew he had to leave them behind and carry out his mother's order.

Meiling was growing impatient as she stomped her foot and turned to her cousin. "I don't see any boat!" She noticed Li had his eyes closed and tried to get his attention. "Hey! Don't you be sleeping while standing up! We've got a job to do!"

After a few moments Li opened his eyes and pointed across the lake, which began to fog. Meiling couldn't believe her eyes as she saw an enormous wooden boat appear from the foggy mist. Its dragon-like structure and gleaming red eyes made it easy to spot in the blurry lake while its wing fins gently caressed through the body of water.

"Wow..." Meiling said in awe. "But... how? Li, did you do that?"

The boy nodded. "Everything I know, ma taught me." He then slipped on his pack and headed for the boat, signaling Meiling to follow. "Let's go."

"Where are we going, exactly?" She asked as Li helped her in.

"The temple of Xiang Zhou! Weren't you listening!?"

"Yeah, but where exactly?"

"We're about to find out."

As the two were seated, the boat's red eyes glowed even brighter and slowly made its turn onto the steady current. Its magical prowess allowed it to take its passengers back to where it came from without them rowing or pedaling. The boat did all the work.

"You know, I should tell you something." Meiling started as she looked down on the water.

"What is it?" Li asked as he laid back on the seat.

"I get seasick very easily!"

"I know. That's why I brought this." He tossed a folded up paper bag over to Meiling and chuckled. "That should keep you busy for a while."

"Oh, thanks..." She said dryly. "This has been one long night, hasn't it?"

"Yes." Li nodded as he looked up at the starry sky. "Forgive me, Sakura." He whispered to himself.

¬¬¬¬¬

In the courtyard, Yelan and her four daughters were scattered throughout the floor as the flaming creature continued wrecking everything in sight. Shiefa, one of Li's sisters, slowly lifted her head up to see the eerie blue warrior walking past her, rummaging through the wreckage of what used to be part of the temple.

The young woman pointed her weapon out and aimed at the specter. "Lightning!" She cried.

A stream of lightning shot towards the demonic being but he simply raised his hand and absorbed the energy, sending it back to the girl. Shiefa was thrown back against a brick wall as it collapsed on her.

"Stupid girl." The demon hissed. He then noticed Yelan slowly crawling away, her face scratched up and body badly bruised.

The demon then levitated the mother with his magic and brought her towards him. "I'll ask again, woman. Where is the red gem?"

Yelan stared deep into the skull's gaping eyes as the blue flames flickered slowly. "I will never tell you." She told him. "There is a magic force out there who will personally see the downfall of you and your kind. I don't know how you were released but I swear to you. Whoever you're working for, Sakura Kinomoto and my son will track him down and make him suffer."

The demon hissed. "You fool..."

"Mark my words. You'll discover a new meaning of pain."

"Fine." The demon growled as he grabbed hold of Yelan's head and hurled her across the pavement.

¬¬¬¬¬ TOMOEDA ¬¬¬¬¬

The next morning, Yuki awoke in his car and found himself parked in the middle of an alley, his head hurting from all the action. "Oh, God! Did I get drunk or did I get drunk?"

Touya then came rushing over to the vehicle in a panic. "There you are!" He said with relief. "What the hell happened!?"

"Touya?" Yuki slowly got out of the car and stretched his back.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so. Where am I?"

"You're in an alley with your car banged up against the wall. Do you remember what happened?"

Yuki thought for a moment then recalled last night's events. "Now I do." He looked around for any lurking photographers or police officers then pulled his friend by the arm.

"What? What is it?" Touya asked.

"Something bad is about to happen, I can tell. Last night I ran into an evil force I've never seen before."

"But Yue has."

Yuki nodded. "Yeah. Right now we need to get to Sakura and warn her and Kero."

"Right."

"Wait, where did you come from? Where were you last night?"

"You know where I was. And when you didn't show up, I had to cancel and spend all night looking for your sorry ass."

"You spent all night looking for me?" Yuki almost started to tear up.

"Yes."

"What, are you an idiot or something!?"

"Hey, shut up!" He smacked Yuki upside the head. "You make me do that again, I'm gonna shave your head while you're sleeping and glue the hair to your face!"

Yuki chuckled at Touya's threat. "Hey whatever, bitch. I've got a moon guardian living inside me. Ain't no one touching me!"

Touya raised his fist as if to punch Yuki, causing the boy to flinch and protect his face. "No, don't hit me! I'm pretty!" After a few seconds, Yuki opened one eye and noticed Touya just standing there with a smug grin on his face. "Oh..."

"Wimp." Touya teased.

"Bastard!" Yuki snapped back.

"Look, if we've got a crisis on our hands then I say we head back and wait for Sakura to come home from school."

"You're right."

"The only problem is that the twerp isn't here. Well, not yet anyway."

Yuki then remembered. "Oh, right. He's in Hong Kong."