The sunset was dropping behind the tall buildings. Central Park was now lighting their street lamps through the park. A small Asian woman who stood five feet was thrown across The Rumble. She hit and outcropped a rock section, which left her there with the whole shape of her body. She had used magic to help her absorb most of the impact, but there was still damage. She coughed up blood and spit it on the way. She managed to free herself from the hole and saw a massive creature that was covered in jet black fur. His snot was six inches from his face, and the fangs were barred. Silvia was dripping from her mouth. His shirt was ripped and torn. Holes had appeared through the cloth. His pants had vanished long ago, and his wolf-like feet lay bare.
The small Asian woman dropped to the ground and waved her hands into quick gestures that crossed each other. A violet Enochian circle began to burn in mid-air. She used the last remaining magic in her body and forcefully used it to blast an explosion, striking the man-wolf straight on. Unfortunately for the woman, the beast just stood there and stared with a sneer. In that instant, the man-wolf jumped into its attack mode and pounced on her.
A fireball that was the size of a small sedan appeared from under the bridge. Slammed right behind the man-wolf, send him up and over his target. A man dressed in black and carrying a cane walked through the arched bridge.
"Well, good evening, madam Gao; it seems that I just arrived in the nick of time." John Dee spoke as he bowed.
"Always showing off, I see you still like to take your time.” Said Madam Gao, "Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be off to make some oolong.”
"Yes, Madam, if I could join you, I have some questions I wish answered.” John Dee said, “It’s about your daughter.”
Madam Gao looked at him with a stern look. She concentrated all her focus on his eyes and read everything she needed to know about the question.
“Finish off the man-wolf, and we can have some tea.” Gao said as she walked past him, out of sight.
"Ok, you beast would want to fight someone your own size.” John Dee shouted.
He took his cane and held it up like he was holding a reaper. The cane began to glow into a red light. He focused his will and mana on the point and released his will. The fireball went flying right towards the man-wolf, setting it up in flames. The howls that followed were ear-piercing. John Dee cast a spell to deafen the howls as the man-wolf burned into a charred corpse. The fur that had been kept pristine was now melted and gone. John Dee waved his hand in the air, and the wind carried the ash away. The only thing left was a black outline.
John Dee placed the cane on his right wrist, fixed his composure, and went to Madam Gao’s teashop. He walked to the west side of the park and into the city. He crossed the street and walked up to her teashop. He placed his hand on the door, turned the brass handle, and pushed in. The bell jingled audibly, and Madam Gao held up her hand.
"John, sit; I’ll bring the tea.” Gao shouted to him, “And about your question, I must get something.”
“Ok, I’ll sit at our usual spot.” John Dee replied.
"Yes, you do that, and take the rag to your left." She shouted at him, "The tables are dirty."
Gao picked up the tray and walked to the table. She placed the tray on the table and began to place the porcelain tea kettle on the table. She then placed two tea cups on the table and placed the tea next to the tea. She picked up the tray and walked to the back of the shop. There, she rustled through old mementos and pictures. She saw the picture and grabbed it, walked back to the front, sat in front of John, and placed the photograph face down.
"John, before I answer your question, you must know my family’s history.” Gao began, “You know that my family grew up in the once-Han dynasty. We helped the people there with their problems. And the emperor defeated his enemies, but in the end, the people you once trusted betrayed you. My family was hunted down and killed; some were cursed, others were made slaves.”
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“I’m sorry I didn’t know; please, madam." The woman cut John Dee off.
“Please let me finish them; you may speak. When I was a girl, I was one of those who had been cursed. But more than that, I was made to be a slave.” Madam Gao said without hesitation, “I was born a century after my family was killed and taken as slaves. When I came of age, I was sold off to the wealthiest lord, and that night I used a knife I had hidden and killed him. I was on the run for over twenty years before I became the last of my family. I moved to Russia, and there I met my master; she was also from the region.”
Madam Goa had let the tea leaves steep in the hot water, placed a filter on her cup, and poured the tea. She filled the porcelain tea cup and placed the pot on the table. While placing the filter on John Dee’s cup. She picked the pot up again and poured the hot tea into his cup. The liquid flowed into the cup and gradually filled it. They both sat in peace for a while, picked up the cups, and sipped the tea. They placed the tea back on the table.
"Perfect, Madam Gao, as always.” John Dee thanked her, “I’m sorry, please continue.”
"Please, I like the compliment. I’ve lived for almost four thousand years; it’s nice to take a compliment every now and then.” She smiled, then the smile faded, and she began, “Where was I? Yes, let’s skip a few hundred years. After I had finished my apprenticeship with my master, I went to Europe and stayed with the inhabitants there. The late Bronze Age, they called it.”
"Yes, I studied that time period; it was a very interesting age.” John Dee replied.
“It was, but let me continue or I will end this lovely conversation.” She smirked, “I feel in love with commoners, and we had children; eventually, one of my grandchildren was gifted with magical powers. I had to take her and leave; we sailed across the sea to the so-called new world, way before Columbus. What chump, anyway, there in native tribes meet us with open arms.”
She lifted the cup, sipped more of the brown oolong, and placed the cup back down. She noticed that her guest had finished his, picked up the pot, and poured another cup. It slushed in the cup and filled up to the top. She placed the pot back on the table, took the cup, and sipped another drink. The sup had finished, and she placed it on the table again. She poured another cup too and continued to talk.
"There, I raised my granddaughter; I taught her how to control her mind and tone in on her magic. She was way stronger than even I had imagined. I guess I blinded myself to the fact that I could control her.” She flipped the picture over, and the same woman who was locked in John Dee’s cage was the same girl in the picture. “She came to you that night pretending to be a student, but you caught wind of her intentions, and you cursed her, didn’t you?”
She said questionably, “Tell me, is my granddaughter safe, John Dee?”
Madam Gao’s appearance began to transform into that of a black cat with a humanoid structure and intellect. Her hands had grown slightly bigger with her fingernails retracting back to her fingers, which had now turned into claws. Her old slinger body was now as fit as any young twenty-year-old. Her feet had extended to her hind legs, and she hissed.
“Tell me, John, did you know that when you cursed my granddaughter, you inadvertently cursed me?" She began to hiss louder, and her body was suggestive of an attack. “I’ve been hoping for this day for some time now, John.”
She lunged forward towards him, and with her clawed hands, she sunk her claws into his shirt and tossed him through the window of the shop. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces. His body landed on the cold, wet street. Along with the various pieces of glass and wood, She crouched down to use her legs to jump through a broken window. She landed right on top of his back with her right foot and sunk her claws into his left set of ribs. John Dee let out a loud scream and tried to inhale a breath of air, but the screaming pain in his right lung told him that it would be harder than he thought.
"Well, John, it was nice chatting with you, but I will not end this.” Gao said, “Your apprentice should be easy to handle; I can’t wait to play with him.”
“Yooouuu….” Is all he managed to say before his lung burned and was starting to fill with blood?
He said a small chant in his head, and then his lungs reflated. The blood was flowing from his mouth with a dark-colored tinge. The glow of light was only visible for a moment of a second, and John Dee was able to breathe again. He called his cane to him and unsheathed a hidden blade in his cane. He used the blade on the monster and managed to detach its right leg. He then followed up with a sword through her heart. The cat fell right on top of him and fell lifeless. He sighed, pulled the cat out of himself, and sat up. He cleaned himself off, picked up the picture, and placed it in his suit pocket. Using an enchantment, he’s cleaned the tea shop, and everything was back to normal.
"Thanks, Gao. I appreciate your help.” He said to the corpse, “I hope you rest well, old friend. I’m sorry if I cursed you.”
He walked to the front door and pulled on the door. The bell chimed, and the door was open. He walked through and closed the door behind him. The tea shop that had once stood there was now empty and vacant. The place looked run-down, and the inside was deserted. John Dee sighed and walked back to his place. A raven had flown to rest on his shoulder and dropped a note into his suit pocket. Then the bird jumped and flew away.
“What is a Library Raven doing dropping this off?” He said out loud, "He figures he would curse in the library; well, at least he is training to use magic there, and with the place replenishing you every time you lose too much.” He continued, “He probably hadn’t noticed; well, no one is that adept; I would eventually find a fault, better now than later.”
John Dee took the note, emitted a small amount of magic onto the paper, and used it to burn the paper with heat. The paper went up in flames and smoked out; all that was left was white smoke that was not dissipating. He hung the can on his left wrist and crossed his arms. He thought that Ryan would be working late, so he convinced himself to head to another old acquaintance; maybe there he could just sit and have a civilized conversation.