Long Zhou Di’s hideout was on the outskirts of the cavern, where the warehouses and portal zone intersected. Far enough to be away from any portal mistakes, but not a well traveled area of the underground. It was, in retrospect, an obvious place for a criminal magician to hide. A portal gate was a beacon to help hedge mage teleport relatively safely, but a master like Zhou or Helena could use one to teleport to other locations quickly. Up above the customs officials would notice things like a sorcerer and his undead menagerie and start asking questions. But the portal gates below were under the administration of functionaries from the middle realms, and they were far easier to bribe. Here Zhou had access to the entire city within minutes, meaning he could strike anywhere and retreat home quickly.
It was a perfect setup. Helena hoped that he was underestimating her as much as she seemed to be underestimating him.
This part of the underground was a mix of sheet metal houses and solidly built Chinese huts that created a network of tiny alleys and crooked streets. The perfect place for an ambush. Helena expected Zhou would be waiting at his home, but she carefully inspected every shadow and every passerby as she stalked through the neighborhood.
Finally she reached the house that she’d traced the jade figurine back to. It was a solid wooden building with a high fence, fitting the merchant district of a Chinese city. The one street that led to the house guided her to the back wall. A small walkway led to the front. Past the house a field of broken ground started, which meant Zhou’s front yard was unsullied by other squatters. Helena wasn’t sure if that was a defensive screen, or some feng-shui design that she didn’t comprehend, but she decided to play it safe. A hop started her flight spells, which would keep her away from physical traps and off the bad ground. After a quick check for magical traps she hovered through the still air to the end of the fence, then quickly moved around it.
The yard was made of small white stones, excellent for catching light, and as a killing field. Long Zhou Di was standing there in front of his house, sword drawn. A sprig of moly, the mystical plant that Odysseus once used to neutralize the power of Circe, was tied around the hilt. “I see you’ve arrived, Curse Gunner. I Long Zhou Di, the Living Dragon will be your opponent. Your life goes for a better cause.”
It was a formal challenge. One that Helena wanted to accept. But a formal challenge meant formal rules, and she wasn’t ready for that yet.
Instead she stalled. “How brave, Living Dragon. Challenging me while wearing a bane. Do you do this for all your fights? Fighting an opponent who can’t use magic has to make battles a lot easier,” she said as she walked to the center of his yard. “Are you going to have your jiang-shi attack too? Or would they stop you from showing off your sword work?”
“No.” He snapped his fingers and the two jiang-shi stepped out from behind stalagmites. Each of them had a moly flower around their wrist. “I will however have them stop you from running away.”
Helena eyed the flowers. “You must have spent a lot of money on this. I’m flattered. I still plan to watch you die screaming blood for threatening my friends, but I’ve underestimated you considerably.”
“I find that large sums of money are the greatest magical boost a practitioner can find. Thus my current job,” Long Zhou Di replied. “And I thank you for the compliment. But don’t think that will cause me to underestimate you.” He leveled his sword at her. “I am quite certain you’ve thought up ways to fight someone who is carrying your bane. And you haven’t answered my challenge.”
“My answer is this. My bane isn’t moly.” She flipped out her most deadly scroll and invoked its name. “Wrath of the Erinyes.”
All her suppressed rage flowed from her soul into her left hand, then burst into roiling curses around the scroll. A cascade of ill fortune poured into the ground, beckoning the dark torturers of Hades to this world. A ritual that should have taken days coalesced in seconds, and the results were terrible to behold.
Dark shapes began to seep out of the earth around Long Zhou Di, fueled by Helena’s wrath. Zhou cried out in shock as a ghost whip arced out at him. And then the Furies were there, laughing and shrieking as they struck with their scourges. He retreated, desperately searching for something to dispel the apparitions.
Helena wanted to stay and watch, but she didn’t have time. She spun around and channeled her magic into flight as she pulled out the two talismans she’d made. Moving as fast as she could she slapped the first talisman on the woman’s forehead, then dashed over to place the second on the man’s.
Zhou’s talismans turned black and burnt away. Helena staggered as her own seals activated. She felt the two jiang-shi pulling at her magic, as they instinctively reached out for her to grant them the power to continue existing. And she offered the power, though it was a bigger drain than any spell she’d cast before.
The man before her began to blink, eyes focusing and unfocusing as the trapped soul’s consciousness rose up. She stepped back to give him room, watching his reactions. When she saw comprehension in the gaze she said, “You’re free.”
The man frowned in confusion, but nodded politely. Reasonable if he was from a Chinese realm. His eyes zeroed in on where Long Zhou Di was fighting off Helena’s curse, and widened. He turned back towards her. “You have my thanks. Allow me to repay you.”
The mystic connection between her and the jiang-shi snapped, and his eyes glowed black.
Helena’s stomach heaved as a blast of dark mist washed over her. There was a ringing in her ears and she dropped to the ground, the world swimming around her. Poison. Her mystic defenses burned blue, fighting to neutralize the venom, but she’d used too much power.
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The swirling dark figure of the man loomed over her as she hacked and wheezed. She mentally cut the magical link, but the jiang-shi only seemed to grow in stature as she stopped feeding him power. “For attacking my brother I must kill you, but for aiding my return I shall make it quick.”
There was a flash of movement from the side. Then a meaty thwack as the female jiang-shi slammed into the man’s head with both feet. She flipped back, landing perfectly on the ground as the man flew tumbling across the yard. The athletic woman turned to Helena and reached down. “Ola! I’m not related to that bastard, so I’ll say thanks for helping me out. Need a hand?”
Helena grabbed on and let the woman lift her up. The jiang-shi girl caught her as she started coughing again, and Helena let herself lean on the woman while using her right hand to summon a healing breeze. The zephyr whipped through the area and scattered the poison mist, causing the pain and blurry vision to fade. For the first time she got a clear sight of the jiang-shi woman.
The undead girl looked to be about twenty, though Helena had no idea how long she’d been dead. She had the body of an athlete or dancer, and managed to project a certain grace even when locked in rigor mortis. She had short curly hair and dark brown skin lightened by the bloodless pallor of the undead. Most interesting was how her carefree smile matched with the angry fire in her brown eyes.
The jiang-shi woman gave her a light shake. “That’s a cool trick! But I hope you’re recovered, because it looks like this fight’s just starting.”
Helena looked over to see Long Zhou Di banishing the curses she’d summoned with his undead brothers help. How had she not noticed the similarities? Now that they were standing next to each other the relationship was obvious.
Helena wasn’t just fighting one magician, she was fighting two. One of whom was an undead monster. She’d done some damage. Zhou had several long cuts on his back and chest. But Helena was weakened both magically and physically..
The jiang-shi woman next to her hopped impatiently. “So! What’s the plan to kick these scumbags’ asses?”
Helena sucked in fresh air. That was a good question. The odds here were frankly terrible. “Give me a moment to stop dying and I’ll figure it out.”
Across from them Long Zhou Di seemed to be similarly confused. “Brother Jiao Han, how is it your mind has returned?! I thought your spirit had been lost.”
“The foolish witch worded her spell so poorly it worked to our benefit. ‘Do as you wish?’ A farce of an order, but something that will suffice until we can work out a better one,” Jiao Han said. He hopped forward slightly. “Now gather yourself brother. It’s time to get rid of this troublesome woman and your rebellious servant.”
“I’m not your servant,” the woman beside Helena said. “But if you want a piece of me I’m right here.”
“As you wish.” The two brothers stepped next to each other and raised their hands. Mystic circles formed beneath them as they both began summoning power. Together they called out, “Twin Dragons! Earth and Water!”
“Uh, crap,” the jiang-shi woman said.
Helena took a deep breath and grabbed another scroll out of her pouch before crushing it. Power flooded into her and she began forming her own spell. Blood red and silver runes flashed around her as she called out “Firestorm.”
The two dragons materialized first, roaring and arcing together through the sky. The attacks were perfectly entwined, ensuring they’d shatter any shield.
Then a tornado of fire spun into existence right underneath them. The dragons screamed and exploded as the elements clashed. The blast tore Helena’s firestorm apart, spraying the area with steam and tiny pebbles.
“You don’t know my weakness,” Helena said, “but I know yours. Taoist magic is about balance. You can counter spells easily, but all of your spells can be countered. Even if I cheat and use Classical elementals instead of Wu Xing.”
“That won’t last,” Zhou said. “You’re weak now, Curse Gunner.”
The harsh notes of a dozen police whistles cut through the air and Helena smiled. It seemed her help had finally arrived. “Oh look. The police are here.”
Zhou’s face fell. “Brother, we must flee. Hold still!” He slapped a paper slip to the floor and it began to glow.
“Flee? But-,” a burst of light washed over the clearing, and then they were gone. Zhou must have had a teleport already set up. Helena had expected that. Win or lose Zhou was going to have to abandon this house after fighting her here. She’d just hoped for a better fight.
The woman Helena had freed hopped up and down ineffectively. “Oi, you cowards! You can’t keep me locked up for however long and then just run off! You bastards! Come back and fight! None of your cheap tricks or mind control shit! SEND ME HOME DAMN YOU!”
The sound of a dozen feet running over the gravel came over than wall, then Officer Chris ran into the area, pistol drawn. “Police!” She looked around the empty area, then lowered her weapon. “Looks like that little charm scared them off. Good thing, since I was a little worried about fighting a magician solo. She one of the rescues?”
“Yeah.” She’d worked the whole plan over with Kilduff earlier. He’d insisted one police officer follow along, since that was part of the hostage negotiation rules. And Helena was very glad the man had stuck to his guns there. Kilduff couldn’t come without drawing suspicion, so he tapped Chris. The woman had experience dealing with kidnapping cases anyway.
Still a single officer wouldn’t be much in a mage duel. So Helena had put a glamour on the woman to make her sound like a full patrol. They figured the threat of a few dozen cops might cause the Living Dragon to flee.
Unlike everything else, that plan had actually worked. “The other jiang-shi was apparently a collaborator. He attacked me when I freed him.”
“Hey.” The woman next to Helena tapped her on the shoulder. “Could you tell me what is going on? Why am I here? What’s with the light show? And why are you speaking in Portuguese while she speaks in English?”
“Oh right.” Helena cast a quick charm on Chris. “Congratulations, you now speak Portuguese. It’ll wear off in a month so don’t make any long term plans.” She turned her attention back to the jiang-shi girl. “And as for what’s going on, well, let’s find out how much we need to explain. Who are you and what realm are you from?”
“Realm?” The woman blinked at her a moment. “My name is Camila Correia Barbosa, and I came to the USA from Brazil. I was studying at New York City College.”
Helena felt her stomach tense. She looked over at Chris and the policewoman nodded in understanding. No one was that educated without understanding the interlocking system of mystical realms. There was only one realm the jiang-shi could be from.
Camila was from the ‘real’ world. The world magic had fled.
Chris stepped forward. “Do you want to grab something to eat, or go to the bathroom? This is going to be a long talk, and I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable during it.”
“Something to eat would be nice,” Camila said happily. “That bastard just had me eating rice cakes.” Her face turned grim, “And people’s brains. Sick son of a bitch.”
“How about pancakes?” Chris asked. “Probably be easiest to find a diner at this hour.”
“Hopefully they’ll have real fruit to go with it instead of much,” Camila replied. “Let go!”