The mosque and the cathedral were only a few blocks from Aoi’s house in the middle of the merchant district. The two monuments to the Abrahamic faith were the largest in the city. In fact the builders had made a pact to build them exactly the same height, though their sons had gotten into a fight two decades later about whether the stone cross at the top of the cathedral should count. Both buildings had large plazas, creating something of a public park between the two. It was a good place for a meeting.

“So like I really want to ask you about that angel, but are you totally sure this isn’t a trap?” Camila asked as they headed down the street. “Like they aren’t just luring you outside so they can do a drive by?”

“Drive by?” Helena blinked at the jiang-shi.

Camila seemed off put by Helena’s cluelessness but rallied fast. “Drive to someone you don’t like, shoot from the car, drive away.”

“Oh.” It was impressive how efficient outside world people could be about murder. “An interesting idea, but worthless against us. You’re immune to bullets and I can survive being hit by a catapult. Also cars are filled with flammable liquids.”

“You seemed pretty hurt when I kicked you in the gut,” Camila pointed out. “No offense.”

Helena smiled grimly. “You hit harder than a catapult. And don’t worry about it.” She spotted blue robes among the crowd and started walking in that direction. “Anyways Gold Rat Wizard Hsu is here already, so it’s probably not a trap. Still he’s going to either ignore or insult you. Try not to snap his neck.”

“I’ll do my best,” Camila said cheerfully. Helena hoped the woman meant it.

Ling Wei Hsu strode up to meet them from where he’d been waiting in the shadow of the mosque. “You were supposed to help solve this matter, not make it into a bigger mess!” Hsu snapped jabbing a finger at her.

“Good afternoon to you as well,” Helena replied sweetly. “If you want this settled you can just look the other way while my friends and I destroy the Living Dragon.”

“Ha!” The man snorted in annoyance. “Well he will get no more support from us. Living Dragon Long Zhou Di has decided he and the newly revived Undead Dragon should form a competing business group. Unfortunately, some of the more young and foolish members of the organization have joined him.” Hsu folded his arms. “In short your foolish heroism has created a greater threat for all of us! You should have taken his powerbase and killed him quickly.”

“If you bastards hadn’t allowed that bastard to puppet me around you wouldn’t be in this mess would you!” Camila snapped. Helena and Hsu both stared at the woman as she continued her rant. “You fed him money, you gave him thugs, and you protected him from the police. Helena rescued me. She didn’t treat me like a tool! Not like you disgusting pigs and that trashy bastard!”

Camila’s face stayed twisted in rage for a moment longer, and then the fury was gone. All smiles. The bystanders who’d stopped to see what was happening cautiously went back to their lives. “Sorry ’bout the noise,” Camila chirped to Helena. “I wanted to be angry for a bit. It’s good for my health no?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Helena replied. Camila’s outburst was probably a good sign. She turned back to Hsu. “So then, Gold Rat Wizard. Can I finally use my full power? Or do I have to keep jumping through your hoops?”

Hsu stroked his beard. “Hm… We will stay out of your way. But the situation is… messy. My associates lack control of the streets. Our fellows across the river have decided to wait and see how the matter ends. If the Living Dragon and his brother are humiliated by a single magician everyone involved with him will be shamed. They would be forced to crawl back to us and apologize for their foolishness. Those that considered him a legitimate enterprise would lose face.” He folded his arms. “However if a group of magicians attacked and destroyed his new business enterprise, there would be no shame. Just a war with another rival business organization. His enterprise would be seen as legitimate, and his killers considered a threat.” He shrugged. “Obviously I cannot stop you, whatever your choice. Nor do I really care to. But I am just one man in one trade group. Keep my warning under advisement.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Camila narrowed her eyes and looked over at Helena. “What’s that in normal speak?”

“He’s saying if I let Lyudmila and Kseniya help me blow the bastards to tiny bits, people will try to murder us,” Helena replied. She turned her glare back to Hsu, idly musing over curses that might get through his defenses. “Of course this doesn’t make any sense. Long Zhou Di doesn’t want to be part of the Triads.”

“Hm?” Hsu raised an eyebrow.

“It’s obvious. He was using you.” She motioned towards Camila. “He needed money. Lots of money. Powerful Jiang-shi are expensive, and he wanted only the best body for his dead brother. He owed you quite a bit I imagine.”

The Triad magician nodded. “Not me, but some of my associates.”

“And he needed even more money, because he wanted to return his brother’s mind to his body,” Helena continued.

“Which you foolishly gave him for free,” Hsu muttered.

“I’m fine with that part,” Camila said.

Helena smiled at the woman before continuing. “In any case that means he’s done. He doesn’t need you anymore. Why not skip town with the money? You aren’t going to track him down. I can’t track him down. There’s no reason for him to try to fight you for control of the Triads.”

“Almost clever, Curse Gunner,” Hsu said. “Your reasoning is good, until the end.” He raised a finger. “The Triads offer order. But young fools see only one thing.”

“Money,” Camila said.

“Ah.” Helena rubbed her chin. Of course. Magicians were hardly immune to greed. She’d often wished for just a few more dollars for her research. “And he has a very important research project.”.

Hsu nodded. “He wishes to give his elder brother power. To stand together as equals. And he sees our businesses as the tool to accomplish his goals.”

“Which means his underlings are ambitious bastards who are plotting to take over as soon as he leaves,” And that was why she needed to shame them by fighting Long Zhou Di solo. Because otherwise they’d see killing her as the way to claim the top spot. Helena sighed. “Great. Do you have anything else tell me, or are you just here to make my life more difficult?”

“I have both a gift and a warning for you, Curse Gunner,” Hsu said. “We will remove all of our pressure from the police. That will give you some assistance. However,” Hsu raised a single finger, “it is likely Long Zhou Di has his own allies in the force. He smuggled in two jiang-shi without being noticed by our normal informants, and his ‘luck’ avoiding patrols far outstrips his skill in divination.”

“Wonderful,” Helena shook her head. “Are you sure he just hasn’t bought off your informants?”

Hsu grimaced. “Portents are uncertain. Ask me again in three days.” Helena nodded. The moon would change phase then. A magician like Hsu would be able to perform powerful divinations.

Camila chuckled. “Even the criminals are corrupt, eh? Just like home! Except the food isn’t as good.”

“I guess that’s it then,” Helena said. “Tell your business associates they should perform better background checks before hiring.”

“Oh they have heard my opinion on the matter repeatedly,” Hsu snapped. “Sadly, ‘I told you so’ is not as satisfying when your own money is being wasted.”

“Totally sucks, all you criminals losing money.” Camila said with a grin. “I’m tempted to cry.”

Hsu glared at the jiang-shi then whirled around. “We have nothing more to discuss, and it is time for lunch. You two should go gorge yourselves on fish entrails.”

The two watched as the man retreated. “Like, is that an Chinese insult, or something he made up?” Camila asked.

“I have no idea,” Helena admitted. “But he’s right. We should get back to the precinct. They’re going to ring the half hour bell soon, which will stun you for a good minute at this distance.”

“Let’s skip that,” Camila said as they walked back towards the government district.

About two blocks down a brass starling flittered onto Camila’s hand. “Eh?” Camila blinked at the bird.

Helena looked the construct in the eyes. “You caught all of that, Kseniya?”

“Yes,” the bird replied with her friend’s voice. “Lyudmila wants to know if you want our help anyway?”

“No. He used a lot of flowery language, but the way he was talking it’s almost certain the Triads across the river would try to kill me if I had your help,” Helena replied. “The Living Dragon has shown weakness in their organization, so they’ll be looking for an easy target to feel strong. I need them terrified. I’ll be safe if they think their pet magician is the only person who can save them from my wrath.”

The starling’s head shifted around a bit. “Lyudmila’s creating some interesting new curse words. Is there anything else we can do?”

“Yes,” Helena said. “Just because you can’t fight doesn’t mean you can’t help. There’s a group of fairies in the underground. Get in contact with them and see if they can find out where the Living and Undead Dragons might be hiding. They managed to sense the aura of undeath before, they might be able to do it again.”

“We’ll look for them.” The starling bobbed its mechanical head, then flittered off back into the air.

Camila stared after the bird. “That was super cool. But why not use a phone?”

“Cell phones don’t work in the Immigrant Realm,” Helena said as she started walking back towards the police station.

“What?” Camila blinked then started hopping after her. “That can’t be. Radio waves just exist. They’re like a natural phenomenon. And how do people stay in touch without phones?”

“I see we’re going to have another long talk about how magic works,” Helena said. “Let’s get something in the marketplace so I can explain on a full stomach.”