The Fox

The cavern beneath Chinatown was only a short walk from the fairy rings.  The subterranean area was much larger than its aboveground equivalent, and the brightly colored signs and magical trinkets were replaced by crimson lanterns and bone white murals.  Even stranger was the bay.  Beyond the undercity’s houses, warehouses and portal gates was a black slick of water.  Impossible given that the oceanfront was under the waters of the bay but the twisted space of the Immigrant Realm made it reality.  The area below Chinatown was perhaps the most traveled of the underground realms, by both humans and mystical beings.

“We start searching the docks?” Helena asked.

“I told you, we can’t be searching the docks closely without a warrant,” Inspector Kilduff said as he stomped out the remains of his cigarette.  “Now you stand back and let me do some real policing.  Unless you’ve got another contact up your sleeve.”

Helena winced as she considered the other person she could talk to.  “I do, but let’s try your methods first.”  The less she owed that woman the better.

“Someone even a witch doesn’t want to talk to?”  Kilduff sniffed.  “Well the person must be either a saint or the worst scum of the city.  I almost want to see them, but it’s time for some real work.  Hurry along lass.  The opium dens are just closing so now’s the best time to squeeze people for information.”  Kilduff set out and Helena followed.

The Chinese underground was far more diverse than the Japanese underground.  Not only were there mystical creatures from across the lands, but the humans here were varied as well.  China’s history stretched back further than most countries, and each group had a realm all to themselves.  The underground here reflected that.

Helena didn’t get to see much of that diversity though.  In the shadowed slums and shanty towns there seemed to be more cats than people.  Laundry lines and rotting wood planks filled the small alleys between houses, and even the monkey like yaoguai moved in packs for safety.

Kilduff stuck to those abandoned paths.  He moved through alleys seemingly at random, before stopping behind a house built from well crafted wooden planks.  He rapped heavily on the door three times, then stepped back and waited.

The door opened quickly, revealing a balding Asian man in a t-shirt and jeans.  He looked like a lost tourist.  “What do you want-” the man froze when he saw Kilduff.  “I have nothing to say to people who aren’t customers.”

As the man began to close the door Kilduff walked forward and blocked it with his foot.  “That’s too bad Mr. Chin, because if you don’t have anything to say to me, I’ll have to talk to your parole officer.  And from where I’m standing I bet you have three violations just this second.”

Chin shrank away, but a thin lipped woman came up behind him.  She immediately tore into Chin in Cantonese.  “You idiot!  Get this cop away immediately!  What are we paying you for?!”

It would be best to intervene quickly.  Helena pulled out one of the yellow paper slips from her pouch and waved it so it would catch the woman’s eye.  “Don’t interfere.  Unless you want bad luck to follow you for the next twelve years.”

The woman paled and retreated back into the house.  Kilduff gave her a glare but turned his focus back on Chin.  “Tell me about the jiang-shi.”

Chin flinched.  The man began to rub his hands together and look around the alleyway, searching for signs of other watchers.  “I don’t know anything.”

Kilduff leaned on the door.  “Well now, that’s a bit of a problem.  I might have to wait around for you to remember if you’ve forgotten.”

A low hiss escaped Chin as he shivered beneath the policeman’s glare.  “I don’t know anything!  People who know about the Living Dragon tend to turn up in the harbor drained to a husk.  None of the river punks know anything either.  He’s a real wizard, not some bone tosser.  The Tong ain’t going to let just anyone around their new pet mage.”

Kilduff eyed the frightened man up and down for a long while.  Finally he stepped back and let go of the door.  “Best hope I don’t learn you were lying Mr. Chin.  Paperwork is easy to file.  And don’t do anything stupid.”

“Just leave me alone gwailo,” Chin muttered before slamming the door.  The heavy click of the bolt being thrown suggested the place was now closed for business.

“Think he was telling the truth?” Helena asked.

Kilduff gave her a wary look.  “What?  Didn’t you use some of your devilry to read his mind?”

“Was I supposed to?” Helena asked.  “Because if you want that you need to ask beforehand.  Also you’ll need to find a different witch, I can only read the surface thoughts of calm people.”

“No you weren’t supposed to.”  Kilduff said.  “And it gives me a bit of hope that there’s a limit to your tricks.”  He took a deep breath and turned to gaze at the waterfront.  “I think he was telling the truth, in his mind.  I doubt that no one knows about this Long Zhou Di though.  Chin there is a patsy.  Out of towner who works here because he can’t cut it in the big city.  A small fish, but easy to catch.

“Let’s see what the bigger fish know,” Kilduff said as he began walking down the streets again.

Unfortunately, it seemed Chin wasn’t the only person out of the loop.  Everyone Kilduff bribed, pressed, or cajoled seemed to have the same answer.  They knew who the magician was, but they didn’t know where he lived or what he was doing.  And no threat, coin, or offer of assistance changed that fact.

It was late afternoon when Kilduff finally deflated and pulled out another cigarette.  “Seems police work isn’t going to win today.  A black eye on my reputation for sure.”  He turned to Helena.  “So who’s this final contact of yours?”

Normally Kilduff’s failure would bring Helena a bit of warmth but the thought of speaking with that woman again meant she mostly just felt a little queasy.  “Follow me,” she sighed.  “And keep your pistol handy.”

She walked up away from the docks where they’d been searching, towards the shanties at the edge of the portal gates.  Those mystical circles allowed magicians, even dabblers, to traverse the realms with a certain level of ease.  But dimensional travel was still dangerous for the careless, so every now and then someone would kill themselves and everyone they were traveling with in a strange and horrific magical accident.  On the surface the area around the gates was left empty.  Down here there was no government to stop the poor and desperate from building homes in the area, and so that’s where the poor and desperate ended up.

Helena led Kilduff into the midst of that tangled mass of shacks and remains from magical accidents.  Her goal was easy to spot.  An airplane wing sat embedded in the rock visible for all to see.  Helena navigated towards the dark orifice where the jets once had been in the wing.

As she got within thirty feet of her goal, the bell within her pouch rang out.  Kilduff looked around at the sudden unexpected chime, but that simply meant the person she wanted to meet was present.

A few moments after the bell sounded her approach, a delicate hand appeared out of the hole in the wing.  With slow practiced movements a stunningly beautiful woman with fox ears and four long luxuriant white tails pulled herself out of the makeshift shelter.  The woman’s low cut dress was a little dusty, but her hair and long nails were exquisitely styled.  Helena sensed Kilduff tense beside her as the woman yawned and stretched.

Finally the fox woman turned her golden eyes to Helena.  “Why are you here little witch?  You’re disturbing my rest.  I was out so late last night.”  She looked over at Kilduff.  “And why have you brought such a boring person along?”

“You know her?” Helena asked out of the corner of her mouth.

“Aye.” Kilduff said as he loosened his gun.  “Kim Sui An.  Kills a man every month.”

Sui An smiled sweetly, showing her long canines.  “In self defense officer.  Always in self defense.”  She gave an exaggerated pout.  “It’s such a shame that a poor woman like myself is constantly assaulted just for taking a stroll out late at night.  You police should really do more to keep the riff raff in check.”

Kilduff glared at the fox woman.  “You lure them into alleys pretending to be a whore, then insult them until they attack you.”

Sui An blew a kiss.  “Still legal.”

“You should probably teach those idiots not to let their groin guide them.  It’s pretty pathetic if they get caught when she’s not using magic,” Helena muttered.  She turned her attention to the fox.  “I came here to ask you a few questions.”

“Is that so?”  Sui An slinked forward.  Helena forced herself not to flinch away as the fox woman cupped her chin in a hand.  There was a sharp pressure against Helena’s carotid artery as Sui An whispered.  “And what makes you think I’ll do anything for you, you human loving, Japanese trained witch?”

Helena locked eyes with the fox woman.  “Three reasons.  One, because I’m a priestess of Hecate, which means I can blast you with lightning then summon hounds to rip you apart whenever I have a passing whim.  Two, because you hate humans in general more than you hate me and the thought of me killing a bunch of people amuses you.  Three, because even though you’re a kumiho and not a kitsune, the Tamamo family still has influence with fox demons, and helping me will earn you their favor as usual.”

Sui An’s smile faded a bit, and she pulled her hand away from Helena.  “Very well.  Ask your question, witch.”

“We’re seeking the magician Long Zhou Di the Living Dragon, or a jiang-shi he controls,” Helena said.  “Tell us where to find either of those and I’ll pay you the usual.”

“Well well well.  It’s my lucky day.”  Sui An tapped her chin with a finger.  “My ex-boyfriend just happened to work at a warehouse under the protection of a young magician.  Given you’re searching for him instead of using magic to find them, I’d guess that might be what you’re looking for.”

Kilduff’s eyes remained fixed on Sui An.  “What happened to this boyfriend of yours?”

“He dumped me to chase after a mermaid,” Sui An said.  “It was a deliciously tragic breakup.  Too bad she found out about his two timing and dumped him as well.”

Helena and Kilduff exchanged a grim look.  Questioning the boyfriend was likely impossible without necromancy.  Maybe not even then depending on what type of man eating horror Sui An’s mermaid friend actually was.

“What warehouse?” Helena asked.

“Warehouse four past the left shipwreck,” Sui An replied.  “He was complaining about it being bad luck.”

Kilduff snorted.  “Seems like he was right.”

Sui An gave a shrug.  “Maybe.”  She leaned forward and extended a hand.  “I’ve given you your information, so I’d like my payment.”

Helena grimaced, but the kumiho had fulfilled the bargain.  She pulled off her hat and reached into it, following the faint lines of power.  The connection between her and this place was weak, but the unnatural stillness that filled the line made it easy to find.  Her hand felt like it was plunging into glue when she grabbed the item, and it took some effort to pull away, but Helena persisted.  She’d done this before.

Finally she pulled out her prize.  A bloody hunk of meat wrapped in tea leaves.  She handed it over to the kumiho.  “Enjoy.”

“I believe I will,” Sui An replied.  She gave the two a wink before unwrapping the bloody morsel.

Helena turned around before the kumiho could make a show of eating it.  “Let’s go.”  She started walking out of the portal grounds as fast as her legs would take her.

Kilduff soon caught up to her.  “That had best not have been human meat,” he hissed.

“No,” Helena replied.  “It’s not human.  I can promise that.”  It was almost certainly from something sentient, but she didn’t want to figure out what.

The Inspector continued glaring at her until they made it out of the shantytown, but when he spoke up again it was all business.  “So, ten in the morning tomorrow.  That is if you want to see this ended.”

“Ten?”  Helena looked up at the officer.  “Doesn’t that give the Triads time to run?”

“The judge won’t be in until nine,” Kilduff said.  “I get the warrant, ready the lads, and move out immediately.  If it were a small place we’d be sure to be walking in on an empty room, but a warehouse takes a while to clean out.”

“They’ve got a magician,” Helena pointed out.  “He might be able to empty the place fast.”

The Inspector grimaced and looked down at her.  “Could you do that?”

Helena shrugged.  “Right now?  No.  But if I was in charge of a warehouse filled with stolen goods, I’d learn very fast.  Magicians aren’t stupid.  I already have a few ideas.”

Kilduff stared at the ground, considering things.  “Will the bastard have to be at the warehouse to do all that witchery?”

The question rattled around Helena’s mind for a bit.  “The easiest plan would be to set up an escape portal.  That’s a feng-shui ritual, and he has to know it.”

“And now for the important question, can he use that to escape himself?” Kilduff asked.

“Yes, though he’ll have to anchor it to a fixed location.  That means he’d wind up where he sent the goods, and he’d have to abandon the artifacts he used to set up the spell.”

“Good.  Then I’ll set something else up as well.”  Kilduff nodded to himself in satisfaction.  “Ten AM.  Don’t be late now.”

“What’s your plan?” Helena asked.

Kilduff waved his hand vaguely about.  “You don’t need to know that, lass.  Nor does anyone who might be listening in.  Go home and dream of the money you swindled our captain out of.”

“Fine.”  Helena decided that was a secret that could wait until tomorrow.  “I’ll be there.”  She’d want to rest up before tangling with another magician anyway.