by Peter Glenn
“Where did you say you came across this piece?” He kept staring at the fabric as he talked to me.
“Umm, I just happened upon it in an alley the other day,” I lied. I hadn’t been prepared for all the questions, and I really didn’t want to let him in on the whole thing. Not yet, at least. I had no idea if I could even trust this guy.
“An alley?” He balked. “You found a piece of old, tattered cloth with ancient runes on it just laying around in some back alley? I suppose it was just sitting on the top of an old trash heap, too?”
My throat tightened and I gulped down hard. “Uh yeah, I guess.” I bit my lip slightly and flashed him another grin, hoping he wouldn’t notice my nervousness. “Look, can you read the thing or not?” My eyes darted around the room a bit. I was suddenly feeling a little constricted in Rick’s plush office. “I’m on a tight timeline here.”
“A tight timeline, you say?” His tone held a hint of amusement. “But I thought you just found this in an alley somewhere. What could be the rush?”
Uh oh. My heart sank. I’d revealed too much. Curse these flapping lips of mine.
“About that. You see, maybe I wasn’t completely forthcoming about everything. But I really am in a hurry. Can you read the thing or not?” I was hoping by controlling the narrative I could keep his questions at bay.
Rick shook his head and sighed, then handed back the fabric. “What do you know about ancient cultures, Mr. Xiang?”
I shrugged. “Not much, really. Just what I’ve read in books and such.” That was a lie, too. I’d studied many histories, but mostly Chinese and Mongol, neither of which would help here.
“Uh huh. That’s what I figured.” He pulled on his face. “Look, it’s one thing to read letters on a page, but sometimes more than that is needed to determine the meaning behind a piece. A lot of words don’t translate one for one. In order to really read a piece, I need context. Where it was found. Who had it. Why their message was important enough to write it down. And most importantly, an idea of when it was written. Do you understand?”
I lowered my head a little. “Yes, I think I get it.” I took the fabric back as blood rushed to my cheeks. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
Rick let out another sigh. “Look, it’s fine. It’s been a long day for everyone.” He rapped his fingers on the table. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, mind you, just that I need more context. And a better cover story.”
My cheeks grew really hot at that last bit. “I understand.”
I bit my lip again, sizing up this guy once more. I still wasn’t sure I could trust him, but what choice did I have? How many ancient culture specialists could there be in Seattle, anyway? Probably not many.
A long sigh escaped my lips. “Okay, so here’s the real deal. My friend Mei Wong got kidnapped late last night by a tall, lanky guy and a half-naked guy sporting blue body paint. She’s a dragon, but she was in human form when she was taken, which is why she couldn’t fight them off. I fought with the half-naked guy in the alley and managed to beat him. In the aftermath, I found this scrap of paper on his body, and it’s the only clue I have to Mei’s disappearance. I think they might be Celts. And that spot isn’t oil, it’s dried blood.” I looked up at him and stared him straight in the eye. “Does that help at all?”
Rick looked even more flustered than when I’d originally met him. “A dragon, you say?”
I nodded.
“And ancient Celtic warriors roaming the streets of Seattle at night?”
Another nod. “Yes, that’s right. That’s the whole of it.”
He sneered. “And I suppose you’re some sort of ancient, immortal warrior, too, slinging that sword of yours around?”
I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t a believer. I hated non-believers. With all the weird things that happened in the world at large, how could someone not believe in magic anymore? And yet billions still denied its existence.
Still, I’d expected a decorated professor like Rick here to know better.
“Why yes, yes I am,” I said, lifting my chin in a snooty pose.
Rick snorted. “I’ve gotta admit, that’s one hell of a tale.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Now get the hell out of here before I call security on your ass.”
My jaw dropped open. “Look, I’m being serious here! Totally on the level.”
He pulled a phone out of his pocket. “I mean it, Mr. Xiang.”
My mind raced. I had spilled everything for this guy and he just wasn’t getting it. I had to act fast. “Look, I can prove it.” My hands reached for Grax’thor. “Here,” I said, pushing the blade, still in its scabbard, toward him.
Rick reared backward, putting his hands up in front of him, his phone suddenly forgotten. “Whoa, I don’t have anything of value. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen, okay?”
I shook my head. “No, you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m not trying to rob you! Look at the hilt. It’s got similar markings on it to those on the cloth!”
Rick’s face looked ashen, but he glanced down quickly at the hilt anyway. His features started to soften slightly once he realized the blade was still in its scabbard, and his hands fell to the side as he squinted to make out the runes on the hilt.
“Grax’thor?” he said slowly. He rubbed his chin slightly as he spoke. A moment later, his head popped up and he stared straight at me. “Where did you find this weapon?”
Finally, we were getting somewhere. Maybe. “In an old Celtic burial ground, of course.”
That look of incredulity returned. “You robbed a grave?”
“Heh. I wouldn’t call it robbing, exactly. But kind of.”
Rick shook his head again. “Well, the sword is at least two thousand years old, so that part of your story is accurate at least.”
My heart soared. Finally, I was getting somewhere with this guy.
“See? I told you. I’m all on the up and up.”
Rick pushed the sword away from him with two fingers like he was trying to shove a pile of refuse out of his view. I took the sword back and placed it back down next to my chair.
“Yes, well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Rick said, grimacing.
My phone buzzed at me then, but I ignored it. I was finally turning Rick around to my point of view. Whoever was calling me could be dealt with later, when I was done.
“Then you’ll help me, Rick?”
He sighed again. “I’ll think about it, Damian. No guarantees. I’m still not sure that I believe that whole cockamamy story of yours.”
“Of course,” I said, grinning.
My phone buzzed again. A text this time. I still ignored it.
“Look, I’ll do whatever it takes, if you’ll promise to help me out.” A stupid statement, but I was desperate, and he really was the best game in town from all the reviews I’d read.
Rick looked at his stack of papers, which had become even more disorganized during the earlier exchange, and sighed. “Well, it’s not like I’m getting anywhere with all of this, anyway.” He looked me dead in the eyes again. “It won’t be cheap, though. I bill by the hour, and there’s no telling how long this will take.”
I waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, money won’t be a problem. I’m an ancient immortal warrior, remember? We’re loaded.” I chuckled slightly at the last bit, and Rick laughed, too.
That was a lie, too, of course. So much lying today, and to someone I was putting a lot of trust into. In reality, I could barely pay my rent on time each month. But Mei had a small stash, and when this was all over, I was certain she’d be willing to help foot the bill, so I wasn’t too worried about it.
Rick’s eyes lit up. “Very well. My fee is five hundred per hour. But I must insist on a five thousand dollar retainer, all upfront.”
“Five thousand?”
My heart sank. Where was I going to come up with that kind of dough? And on short notice, too? Maybe Sevin and Yuri could chip in. I’d just have to broach it with them.
>
“Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll wire you the money this evening,” I lied. It would at least buy me some time. Maybe I’d get lucky and he’d be done by then.
My phone buzzed a couple more times, and I reached down to press a button and turn the thing on silent. Whoever it was, they were being oddly persistent.
“Just give me your account details and I’ll make it happen. Do we have a deal?”
I stuck out my hand to him again then.
Rick stared down at the hand like it was a foreign object. I tried to read his expression, but his face was mostly blank. I couldn’t tell if he felt like he was falling into a deep trap, or if he thought he’d gotten away with some sort of grand scheme. Probably a little bit of both.
At length, he took my hand and shook it. “Deal,” he said, retracting his hand.
I flashed him another of my toothy grins. “Excellent. I’ll give you back the cloth, and you just let me know when you’ve found something of value, okay? And remember, time is of the essence.”
Rick nodded. “Oh, I know. Don’t worry, Damian. I’ll get on this right away.”
He flashed me a smile of his own then and took the cloth from my hands once again. He squinted at the tiny markings and muttered something under his breath, but I didn’t catch it.
“What was that?” I asked.
He looked up at me, startled. “What? Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I should have my preliminary analysis done in a few hours, but a full translation could take a few days. You understand.”
I nodded, but inside a war was raging. Days? Who knew what could happen to Mei in a few days? It had already been half a day plus since she’d gone missing. Her captors could be halfway to Mexico by now, for all I knew.
Still, it was the only chance I really had.
“I understand,” I said slowly, nodding again. “Pleasure doing business with you, Rick.”
He shook his head and shooed me away with his free hand, still staring at the fabric all the while. Whatever inscription was on there, it must have been really interesting. I had to admit, the curiosity was really starting to get to me, too.
I picked up Grax’thor and put it back in its back sheath, then saw myself out. On the way out, I winked at the secretary, who had magically returned to her station.
Part of me really wondered about the odd relationship those two had. If your secretary pranked you like she seemed to do to good old Rick all the time, why would you keep her on staff? It didn’t make any sense to me.
But I just shook my head and kept going. To each their own, I supposed. Plus, she was kind of cute. Maybe he had a thing for her?
When I was back on the street, I took my phone out of my pocket and stared at the glinting notification icons on the cover.
My eyes practically bulged out of my head. I had twelve missed calls and twenty-six messages. Who on earth would message bomb me like that?
With twitching fingers, I pressed the power button on my phone and swiped up to unlock it. I know, I know, I should have it password protected or something, but I’d just never gotten around to it. It was on my list of things to do that always got put off for the next day.
My mind raced. Was it Mei’s kidnappers? Were they after me for money, too? Had they done something to her while I was off talking to Rick? Was it too late now?
I tapped on the notification icons and saw they were all from the same number. And it was even one that I had saved in my phone.
At least it wasn’t the kidnappers, then. Though how they’d know to contact me was another story. But it meant Mei hadn’t been killed. At least, I assumed she hadn’t been. That was still a very real possibility, but if that had happened, then at least no one had been texting me about it.
No, this was even worse. The contact card said “Clan Elders.” I peeked at one of the last messages. All it said was “Call me back. Now.”
My stomach churned and I felt like I was going to lose the meager contents of my breakfast that morning right then and there on the pavement.
This could only mean one thing. Mei’s father wanted to meet with me.
5
I took a good, long look at myself in the mirror of my small bathroom. All it held was a toilet, a standard-issue white porcelain sink with a tiny cake of soap next to it, and a shower that was barely big enough for me to climb into. I’d never really been one for luxury and rarely had visitors, so it more than suited my needs. It’s not like I could have afforded better, anyway.
Even so, Mei’s elder was due to stop by in just a few minutes, and I wanted everything to look perfect. Well, as perfect as it could be. This was me we were talking about. But I couldn’t mess this up. Mei’s elder was a powerful person.
Worse, they were friends with my mother. And the last thing I wanted to do was to bring her wrath down upon me.
A shudder ran down my spine at the thought of what that would look like. Imagine the most overprotective mother you could ever have, then multiply her by a thousand and factor in the fact that she’s been checking in on you for three hundred years now. Mostly for disappointing reasons, because you failed her expectations. Again.
Yeah. It was that bad.
My eyes trailed to my outfit. I was wearing a deep blue Tang suit jacket and matching pants. The jacket was on the long side, trailing down almost to my ankles. On the front of it, the Chinese symbol for Xiang was emblazoned in gold thread. It was my traditional Chinese attire, and given that Mei’s elder was also Chinese, it seemed like a good opportunity to impress them by wearing it.
With one hand, I smoothed out the fabric of my suit. It was slightly wrinkled, as was everything I owned, but I hoped they wouldn’t notice.
An odd sight caught the corner of my eye. Was that a grey hair sticking out on my left temple? I plucked the rogue hair from my head, wincing slightly at the sharp pain, and stared at it for several seconds.
Relief washed over me as I sighed deeply. Nope, it was the standard black, just like all the other ones. It had simply looked a little off in the yellowish light of my bathroom. I hadn’t shown a single sign of aging ever since the immortal curse had been placed upon my head, and neither had any of my other siblings. At least not that I knew of. So it would have seemed odd for it to have started now.
A loud noise roused me from my own subconscious. Three quick, harsh raps rang out on my wooden door.
“Now or never,” I said, my lips curling into a half-smile at my own reflection.
I let out another sigh and left the bathroom, being sure to turn off the light as I left. Hey, every penny of electricity saved could be spent on booze, am I right?
Taking another deep breath, I pulled open the door to my small apartment.
A single, tall person stood in the doorway. He was wearing a Hanfu with a black top and a red bottom, a giant dragon emblazoned in gold thread on the front of it. It looked like the thread was made from actual gold, too, not the fake, colored thread like I had.
His face looked weathered, with a few dark spots interspersed on his cheeks and forehead, like he’d seen a lot of sun or lived a long time. Likely both. I didn’t know how old he was exactly, but Mei was a thousand years old, and she was considered young for a dragon. A shock of silver hair covered the top part of his head. The rest of his face was bare, with sharp edges for his cheeks and chin. His dark eyes appeared beady in the low light of the hallway.
“Lao,” I said in a voice barely over a whisper. “How nice to see you.” I bowed, then righted and pointed my arm behind me. “Won’t you please come in?”
The elder gave a slight bow of his own - a surprising show of respect given what he thought of me in general - and did as he was bade.
I scurried to stay in front of him, letting the heavy door slam behind me as I ushered him past the tiny, disorganized kitchen and into what I lovingly referred to as the “living room.” It had a small two-person couch that was covered in stains along the back wall and a semi-decent gaming chair situated near t
he TV, which had the latest gaming consoles hooked up to it. Hey, splurge on the finer things in life, right? Gotta live somehow.
The whitish, slightly dingy walls were bare - no paintings or family portraits for me. I’d never been sentimental like that, but their lack at the moment with Lao standing there, glaring at everything, made it feel wrong somehow.
Lao inhaled sharply as he took in the surroundings, holding his head up slightly as he looked at the messy pile of discs and plastic game boxes next to the consoles. A rather large, brownish stain stuck out from underneath one of them. I think it was from root beer, but honestly, I couldn’t remember.
All I knew for sure was I was never getting the deposit back, but that was neither here nor there.
“Won’t you please sit down?” I offered, pointing toward the gaming chair. It had sleek black armrests and was in far better condition than anything else in the room.
Lao sniffed the air slightly and shook his head. “You honor me, Li Xiang. But I think I’ll stand.”
I smiled weakly at him. I couldn’t blame the guy. He likely didn’t want to sully his robes. Couldn’t blame him there, either.
“Of course,” I said with another bow. “You don’t mind if I sit, do you?”
Lao shook his head again. “Go ahead, child.”
I squirmed past him and slinked into my gaming chair. The well-known grooves in the fabric that had become accustomed to my shape greeted me, and I instantly felt a little more comfortable. But just a little.
The elder seemed lost in thought for a moment. “How is your mother, Li? I haven’t seen her in a few years, and I worry for her safety.”
“Oh, she’s fine.” I waved a hand dismissively. “I talked to her a couple weeks ago. She’s back in China for the Dragon Boat Festival I believe.”
Lao nodded. “Wonderful. It is heartwarming to hear she is well. Please send her my regards when our business is finished.”
“Of course.” I flashed him another grin, but his face remained stoic.
“And your brother and sister? How do they fare?”
