The fae woman, who acted as Kenelm’s driver, pulled into a gated cemetery. Kenelm gestured for her to let himself and Duke out. Janice was supposed to join them, but she had been gone since that morning, and Kenelm thought that she would return after she had had a meal or two. Succubus were merely like that.

Duke took a moment to open up a parasol to help shade himself from the sun. It was a cloudy day, but he still wished to minimize his sun exposure. They then walked past the grave markers and up to a hill where two middle-aged men of Asian descent were waiting for them. Several fresh graves had been dug up nearby.

Duke felt something drag along the sole of his shoe. The sight of several rusty nails protruding from the grass had caught his attention. His eyes narrowed as he inspected the two men more closely. “Sir, what are we doing here?”

“Checking the progress of incoming merchandise.” Kenelm waved at the two men. “My boys! New and old alike! I’m glad to see you’ve got a new harmonizer to start up this project. I had been growing impatient!”

“It is the most resourceful way to conjure the necessary hallowed ground. We’ve taken more precautions this time around. That is what we get for attempting to work with unproven sponsors.” The man’s features were mostly hidden by an oversized hood. The rest of his attire was odd. Mostly black, including his sunglasses, and a pair of knitted rainbow gloves.

His partner wore a simple brown sweater and jeans. His hair was a pure white, with grey eyes that had brown rings at the outer edge of the iris. Duke thought that there was something feral about the man. The coloration didn’t seem natural, and Duke could taste an odd energy about him.

“Always a pleasure to be working with professionals. How long before we can take them for a test drive? I’ve gotten a taste of their abilities and I’ll admit that I am hooked!” Kenelm looked around at the fresh mounds of dirt. There may have been as many as twenty of them scattered about.

The hooded man grinned. “We processed nearly two dozen last night. It was a party house at the nearby college. The birds should be hatching around evening. We chose this location because it is close to a retirement home, and plenty of their residents will be passing on of natural causes tonight.”

“Good, very good.” Kenelm pulled out a set of thick envelopes and passed them to each of the men. “I’ll be sending a woman in the morning to double check our potential profits. I don’t know which yet, but I assume whichever one is left being able to walk. My bodyguard will be staying in the meantime to assure that matters go smoothly.” The white-haired man quietly pocketed the envelope without a word and began to walk away.

“Are you certain that is what you desire?” Duke kept the corner of his eye on the individual as he passed. There was a motorcycle nearby that he was making his way to.

“Guarding my product is just as important as guarding me. Shame you aren’t warm-blooded, or I would have made a better use for you,” Kenelm said with a large grin. “You understand how violent these rituals can get. I can’t afford to stay around and risk getting killed myself. Call my phone when everything is said and done.”

“We are within Seattle, which is guarded by the werewolf tribes. They will not think kindly of the mass murder of several college students and elderly folk,” replied Duke in a low voice.

“Tribes are not associations such as DH or the mockery which is the SIA. They see the value in hard earned cash,” rebutted Kenelm.

“Understood, sir. I will wait here.” Duke twirled his parasol about as Kenelm walked away. Then he and the hooded man stood there in a long, awkward silence.

A long while passed before the hooded one gave him a bow. “I am Wu Rensu. It is a pleasure to meet a fellow jiangshi. You must also be far from your motherland. Consuming dirt is beginning to wear upon my sanity, but at least the pay is good.”

“The pay is indeed good.” He bowed back. “I am Duke, and I was not informed that we would be having a turning today. It is much different from my own. We had our first meals tied up and waiting for us for when we emerged.”

Wu Rensu grinned as he picked up the peach wood sword that was leaning against a nearby grave. The leather grip and his knit gloves protected him from harm. “This would be the second I’ve attempted this year. Our previous sponsor wanted to witness a more traditional birthing, to see if it was viable for production. It was a beautiful and nearly foolproof setup until one of the children went wild. He overpowered our invoker and the rest of the children, but that is what one gets for ignoring our policy of culling the less stable individuals.”

“It may have been a financial loss, but it was a valuable learning experience. Why choose this particular location for the next project?” Duke’s eyes darted from one dirt pile to the other. He was thinking about where he could best stand to avoid trouble.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“We quickly ran into government interference within Korea, but this will not be a problem in Seattle. The variety of homelands provided by college students makes for excellent experimentation before we give them videheart transplants and sell them off. As Seattle is a set transportation hub for many mithryn and demons, it will not be considered unusual for several jiangshi to pass through at once.”

“It will be a pleasure to able to greet so many new brothers and sisters.” The phone buzzed within his pocket, and once again, Duke ignored it as he set down his parasol. “I will secure the front gate and proceed to walk around the perimeter. We must ensure that there will be no disturbances.”

“That is a wise plan.” Wu Rensu took a step back. He gave a few flourishes of his sword while making lightsaber noises.

Duke approached the front gate and secured it with a nearby chain and padlock. There were always tools on his person that could be used on jiangshi. They were there for the purpose of him not being able to trust himself, and he never suspected that he would ever encounter another jiangshi. He opened his jacket and pulled out a small cigar box from his inner pocket. Inside was a wooden dagger and a spool of silk thread that had been dyed with a combination of Indian ink and blood of a black beast.

The thread was tied to the base of the fence. He kept his hand low in order to prevent Wu Rensu from noticing his actions, and occasionally looped the spool about a metal post. His free hand hooked a headset over his ear, and he began to fiddle with his phone. Might as well entertain Adi for a moment while there was nothing better to do.

“Now you call? Seriously?” Adi couldn’t be bothered to say hello at this point.

“I am simply calling to inform you that my business at the moment is much more important than whatever trouble you could possibly be in,” replied Duke. “A simple text would suffice in most situations, and I will be contacting you when I have time.”

“Really? … Really?!” Duke had obviously caught Adi in a good mood. “At your convenience, really?! Because I’m still stuck with a ghost dog. Oh right, and your crazy girlfriend has decided that she’s living with us now. That was right after a possessed detective loaded me with bullets!” There was a nagging sound in the background. “I said I got better, okay?! Did I mention that my crazy ex-girlfriend is also here and refusing to leave?”

Duke accidentally dropped his spool, and he began to mutter as he fumbled to pick it back up. “I haven’t even been gone for forty-eight hours.”

“Exactly. I could use the help.”

Duke brushed aside the leaves and finally managed to pick up the spool again. “Would your girlfriend’s name happen to be Janice? An attractive woman who wears too much red? Has mood swings?”

“Yeah, that’s her. I also noticed that you neglected to tell me that she’s been trying to contact me.” Adi scratched at his cheek. Verlsa had refused to heal the scratch marks that Janice had left on him.

“You certainly have a talent for attracting oddities, Atticus. I should inform you that Janice is a succubus. She will more than likely sex you to death if given the opportunity. I have been informed that they dispose of bodies by consuming them whole. If you choose to keep her around, make certain Verlsa is also properly warned so she can ensure that you won’t be her next victim.” Duke grimaced as the thought. As he passed Wu Rensu, he gave the jiangshi a polite nod. “Apologies. An associate of mine is having problems with his love life.”

“... Please hold.” Adi calmly lowered his phone and looked over at Janice. Verlsa was sitting next to her and was working on keeping her calm. “Janice..? When you said that you hid Desmond’s body, did you actually mean to say that you ate him?”

Janice pondered this for a moment before responding with a, “Yes.” Verlsa immediately moved over to the far end of the couch without saying a word.

Adi raised his phone up again and quietly spoke into it. “Duke. I need a big word.”

“Pardon?”

“Biggest word you can think of. Give it to me.”

“Sesquipedalianism.”

“Thank you.” Adi lowered the phone again. “Janice! You and me, we are totally sesquipadiddledaddlismishly broken up now! That is final!” He stormed off into his room and began to toss Verlsa’s clothes into the hallway. There wasn’t a single woman or woman’s belonging that he wanted to see at the moment.

“That is nothing the proper pronunciation or usage of that word,” replied Duke as he continued his walk.

“I don’t care as long as it gets the point across!” Adi panted in rage for a second. “When will you be back? I need you to get Verlsa and the crazy woman out of here.”

“Perhaps tomorrow morning, depending on how this evening goes.” He had circumvented the whole fence and tied off the string to where it had started off. He then flexed his hand. Despite wearing gloves, his fingers were in absolute agony. “Inform Verlsa that I plan on making an extravagant apology to her when I return.”

“Good. Alright, good.” Adi was beginning to feel reassured. “Thanks. I’ll see you then.” Duke hung up the phone and pulled out the wooden dagger, sticking it between the fabric of his jacket and shirt sleeve.

Wu Rensu gave another nod as Duke returned. “Is your friend doing better?”

“Yes.” Duke let out a chuckle. “Fate is certainly an odd thing. Its strings are tied up every which way, but I never thought that they would grant me the confidence in knowing that my sunny day is resting peacefully over that horizon.”

The jiangshi was perplexed by Duke’s choice of words. “I see, yes. With every sunset, there is a sunrise that will grant new challenges and opportunities.”

“Indeed there is.” Duke performed a lavish bow. “And I must thank you personally for granting me this opportunity.” A shake of his wrist brought the dagger to the palm of his hand. He dipped down low and thrust the dagger upward with as much strength and speed as he could muster, striking true by forcing it deep into the chest of Wu Rensu.