Helena worked with Lyudmila through the afternoon on the paper talismans. First she weaved the secret runes of the gods into the outer pattern of the seals. Then she carefully crafted the divine orders that would destroy their old commands, and allow hers to take root. After that she bid her friend goodbye and started actually making the talismans. Each required near perfect calligraphy work, and she wanted four, just in case she dropped one in the struggle.
When she finally finished crafting, it was late afternoon and her stomach had started complaining. She forced herself to wait for the ink to dry, then slipped the seals into her pouch and headed downstairs.
The main room of the police station was bustling. Kilduff claimed that crime didn’t sleep, but from her surroundings it seemed most crime actually slept in and got started in the evening. Half the officers had someone sitting at their desk answering questions, and the other half were either on the phone or laboring furiously at their computers.
She wanted to just walk out, but Kilduff had told her to warn a duty officer before she left. Given the Living Dragon was still trying to murder her, annoying her allies was a bad idea. The problem was she didn’t have a clue what ‘duty officer’ even meant, much less who was one.
So she started looking for police she recognized. Chris might be able to answer the question. Or the patrolman she’d run into yesterday. Sadly neither was to be found. She started looking for someone who wasn’t desperately working on two things at once, but that didn’t pan out either. Her options blocked she started lying in wait around the coffee machine, waiting to ambush anyone who rose to claim the wretched brew.
Of course as fate would have it the first person to walk towards the table was the one person she recognized the most. Kilduff walked straight in the front doors and immediately moved to look down on her. “What are you doing, lass?”
“You said to report to the duty officer,” Helena replied. “I was looking for them so I could go get something to eat.”
Kilduff rolled his eyes and pointed to the young man sitting behind the front desk. “He’s the duty officer.” He chewed on his lip. “Though if you want to be wandering about I might as well go keep an eye on you. Let’s go, girl.”
“What wonderful dinner company,” Helena groused as she walked out of the central office to the exit. “I can only pray dinner will be even better.”
“Walk north if you want to help that prayer along,” Kilduff said.
Helena took the advice. The Inspector wasn’t a man who believed in petty vengeance. At least not at his own expense.
The government ward was interesting. It was obviously less advanced than the Big Apple across the river, but it was ages ahead of the rest of the Immigrant Realm. Large glass windows and neon signs showed the variety of stores here, most selling electrical devices or household goods. Helena made a mental note to wander through here again later. Perhaps when Lyudmila was here.
But first she had to survive this murder investigation. She looked over at Kilduff. “Any word? Getting permission to investigate a house shouldn’t be all that difficult.”
Kilduff shook his head. “The Captain’s insisting on doing this the slow way, which means a day at least.” He looked down at the ground. “Truth is the lazy bastard probably hasn’t even sent in the required forms yet. I’ll ask his secretary to help push things along.”
“You’d better if you want to solve this case,” Helena snapped. “Long Zhou Di hasn’t traced this ornament back to me yet, but when he does he’ll figure out we can track him.”
“It’s worse than that lass,” Kilduff said. “We’ve got a spy in the department, so if the mess drags out too long here…”
Helena threw her hands into the air in frustration. “Wonderful! So the Living Dragon can just move around as he pleases. Does your idiot captain actually want to solve the case? Because it doesn’t seem like it.”
Kilduff grimaced. “The captain concerns himself with politics. Sometimes an individual case might fall through the cracks.”
“And this case wasn’t political? He hired me because he was desperate to close it.”
“Aye, but now he’s got two people complaining, and the captain handles problems by… cautious planning.”
Helena rolled her eyes. “You mean by running and hiding from any responsibility. Maybe I should walk around the streets alone at night. I won’t get in trouble if I kill him when he tried to assassinate me, right?”
“That’s your right as a citizen, no matter how big a fuss the captain would throw,” Kilduff said. “But you seem to be forgetting that you lost the last time. I doubt Long Zhou Di will be so nice as to give you the same openings. The next time he’s going to go for the kill. And we won’t be there to help.”
“I haven’t been sitting idle you know,” Helena replied. “If he brings his undead slaves near me again he’ll be regretting it for the rest of his short life.” She imagined the horror he’d have when his own undead turned against him and smiled. “It’s too bad I won’t be able to beat him personally. But the poetic irony is worth that and more.”
Kilduff gave her a sidelong glance. “That hat makes me forget you’re Greek every now and then, but I see you’ve got their penchant for melodrama. Just don’t get too caught up in it. I want to see him in jail.”
“It won’t be my choice,” Helena replied happily. Foisting moral decisions off to someone else made life much more fun.
Kilduff reached for his cigarettes, then stopped himself. “Only a fool wants the details of a witches’ work. But recently I’ve been a damn fool. How do you plan to pull this feat off girl?”
“Simple,” Helena replied. “I…”
A flash of paranoia stopped her. She looked around at the people walking all by. Most were human, with a minotaur and a kasha and a few other humanoid monsters about. None of them seemed all that interested in her. But she couldn’t help shake the feeling that speaking in public might be a mistake. “We should find a place to eat first.”
Kilduff frowned, but after a moment shrugged. “Fair enough. My own fault for bringing up spies.”
Helena looked around for something that looked like a real restaurant. Most of the places were brightly lit open diners or fast food places. In the end she settled for a store that had a large number of booths, and a good amount of floor space. As a bonus the customers weren’t eating off those odd plastic trays. It advertised itself as ‘Mexican’ food, which meant it would likely be spiced heavily, but she’d learned how to survive her friends’ obsession with paprika.
Helena got a small booth in the back and ordered something that claimed it wasn’t spicy along with some wine. When the server had walked away she slipped an ice cube into the cup.
“That makes you look like a little kid, just so you know,” Kilduff said.
Helena shrugged off the barb. “Uncut wine leads to madness.”
“Do you really think your countrymen are the sane ones lass?”
“Do you want to see me when I’m insane?” Helena asked sweetly.
“Carry on then,” the policeman conceded.
Helena waited until the food was brought out and the wait staff moved away before pulling out the jade crane and checking it for magic. It seemed that it hadn’t been traced or scryed on so they were still safe. Her paranoia assuaged she looked back up at Kilduff. “I’ve developed a spell that will release the jiang-shi from Long Zhou Di’s control.”
The Inspector didn’t seem impressed. “I thought all you needed to do for that was to pull off that talisman. I also recall you saying that if someone did that the jiang-shi would become a beast who would slaughter me and my men.”
Helena nodded. “I did say that, and I’m glad you remembered. My spell won’t remove the talismans. It will replace them. But instead of enslaving them to my will like that bastard, I’ll be telling them to act how they want to act. They’ll be their own masters again.”
“So you won’t be freeing them from their undeath. Just making them horrible mockeries of life under no one’s control.” Kilduff narrowed his eyes. “Seems like a bad deal to me. Not to mention a wee bit blasphemous.”
“What? Should I order them to stand still while I kill them?” Helena snapped. “Their life, or unlife, their choice.”
Kilduff’s face crunched up. Helena could almost see the thoughts running around the man’s head as he worked through the myriad bad choices they had. Finally he nodded. “Fair is fair I suppose. Best give the poor souls a chance to make their own decision.” He sipped his water thoughtfully. “Damned if I even know if that counts as suicide or not anyway. Leave it to the priests.”
“I’m annoyed I didn’t realize this earlier,” Helena muttered. “Of course there would be souls there. If memories then souls.”
“Didn’t we hire you because you were supposed to be some kind of expert on the dead?”
“I deal with ghosts, not corporeal undead. Hades doesn’t let bodies blunder about like everyone else seems to do.” Helena shrugged for dramatic effect. “After traveling the realms I’m honestly impressed. The poor guy has to be working overtime to keep all those corpses in the ground. The Far East doesn’t even try, they just burn them.”
“You’d think a blessing would be better,” Kilduff muttered.
Helena looked up at the man. “So, now that I’ve spilled my secret plan, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing to get that warrant we need.”
“The secret plan is I help the Captain’s secretary fill out the paperwork and then hope the judge sees the light,” Kilduff said darkly. “I’m not going to outright break orders. I’ve bent them enough as it is. Mayhaps even too far.”
“You’re willing to let Long Zhou Di just escape because the paperwork isn’t finished?” The idea seemed ridiculous but the way Kilduff was acting it seemed almost normal to him.
“That’s right,” Kilduff said calmly. “I’ve seen worse killers walk out over dumber mistakes. You’re just going to have to wait for your chance girl.”
Helena felt her fingers twitching in annoyance, but yelling wouldn’t help. She forced herself to eat until she’d calmed down a bit. Then she turned her attention back to the policeman. “Why? You run the station. Don’t argue that point, I’m smart enough to figure that out. Why is the captain’s ego more important than catching that murderer? Hell, why isn’t rescuing those two trapped souls more important? You’re supposed to serve the people. Not dance around red tape.”
Kilduff’s face darkened. “Do you really want that?” He leaned forward. “You’re from a backwards land, so I can’t blame you for not understanding it. Let me explain what happens when I run off and solve all the problems without talking to the Captain.
“First of course the Captain gets shown as an incompetent fool. I imagine you don’t care about that.” Helena shook her head at the man’s question, and the Inspector continued. “Right. There’s a bit of a problem there, since it shows all the criminals where the weak link is, but they’ve mostly figured that out by now. The daft fool turns a blind eye to brutality and bribery every day.”
Kilduff leaned back. “The real problem is what I’ve taught the other cops. They now all think it’s okay to break the rules for the greater good. And sure they all want what’s best for the city, but how many of the kids actually know what’s best for the city?” His eyes hardened. “I don’t think witchcraft is good for the city. Should I break the law to stop that devilry?”
Helena considered the man’s words. She couldn’t argue that the current system worked in her favor more often than not. If who got justice came down to a popularity contest she’d already be dead at the hands of Apollo’s assassins.
But she couldn’t fully accept it either. “I see what you’re saying, but I’ve seen too many terrible laws. Slavery for example. Sometimes the rules have to be broken.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Kilduff said.
“That was easy.”
Kilduff sniffed. “I’m an Irishman lass. And one that lives in America at that. You don’t need to tell me sometimes the rules need to be broken. But there are dire consequences when you do go down that path. Especially for a man in power like myself. If I can’t follow the law, what’s the point of having laws?”
“Perhaps the Gold Rat Wizard was right when he said I had the power of chaos,” Helena muttered to herself.
“Well if you did you lost it when you made a deal with the police,” Kilduff said. “So don’t you dare think about running off and starting a brawl on your own.”
“So long as-” The light tickle of searching magic reaching towards her interrupted her. Someone was casting a spell at the crane figurine. She quickly scooped it out into the table and traced a barrier around it so it couldn’t be used to target her. A red circle sprang up around the jade figure.
“What-?” Kilduff said before Helena shushed him. She needed to focus on the figurine.
The magic poking at the figurine wasn’t Taoist. It felt more like Indian mysticism, though she could sense a few odd elements in it. But the magic behind it had the arrogant calculated balance that infused the Living Dragon’s spells. Apparently he’d trained in multiple branches of spellcraft.
She poked at the spell, trying to sense its intent. It seemed like a communication spell. That was odd. Why wasn’t Long Zhou Di trying to locate the figurine? Even if he did know where she was staying, assuming that she’d stolen the jade figure was a big leap of faith. It looked like a trap, but no matter how she tested the spell it reacted like a simple messenger.
“Very strange,” she murmured.
“What’s the rat doing?” Kilduff asked.
“He wants to talk to me,” Helena said. “Probably in private.”
Kilduff raised an eyebrow. “Find a corner and I’ll hide around it?”
“I need a mirror,” Helena said. “A reflecting pool can also work.”
“Ladies room,” he replied pointing to the back of the restaurant. “I’ll linger outside and listen in.”
The thought of the Inspector being mistaken for a pervert amused Helena, but it was a good idea. “Right. I’ll try to amplify our voices without him noticing.”
Helena slipped back into the women’s restroom, thanking all the gods that this land was rich enough not only to have private restrooms, but restrooms with mirrors. She locked the door for show, then faced the mirror and allowed the contact through. As Long Zhou Di’s face appeared on the mirror she put on a mask of bored annoyance. “What do you want? I don’t usually go out of my way to chat to people who’ve sworn to kill me.”
“Hello to you as well Curse Gunner Helena,” the Living Dragon said. “I don’t usually resort to these methods myself, but then again people who claim to be fighting me rarely hide in fortresses.”
“I’d have killed you already if your Triad thugs weren’t protecting you,” Helena said. “Unfortunately they forced me to seek allies of my own. And those allies stubbornly insist dueling is a crime.”
The Living Dragon nodded in agreement. “Yes, this whole ‘crime’ thing is quite a problem for both of us. I can’t go over there and kill you because then the entire city would be hunting me. You can’t come over here and die by my hand because you’re afraid of being arrested if you somehow win.”
“Is there a point to this, or are you just calling to complain about the police?” Helena replied, looking down at her nails.
“I know how you became immortal,” Long Zhou Di said.
Helena froze. That wasn’t what she had been expecting. “You’re bluffing,” she replied automatically.
“Am I?” he said. “I suppose we’ll find out when one of my curses falls upon someone near to you. The priestess is too difficult a target, but perhaps your landlord’s children-“
Her vision turned red and she slammed her fist into the mirror. The metal bent, twisting the man’s smug visage. She wanted to send her worst curse at him, to watch him scream and writhe as he slowly melted into slime. But she managed somehow to bite back the hateful words on her lips. Long Zhou Di just folded his arms and waited.
Finally she recovered enough to spit out, “You’ll curse your foolishness for centuries Living Dragon.”
Zhou continued on as if she hadn’t spoken. “Come to the underground. Alone. We duel there. Given my advantage I’ll settle for you running to a different realm. Just not across the bridge.”
“And if I don’t you’ll start killing my friends?” Helena hissed.
He shrugged. “If you don’t show up tonight, you will find out.”
“You will suffer a long time before you die,” Helena said. “I promise you.”
She threw the jade figurine on the ground and crushed it under her heel. The spell shattered with the ornament, and Zhou’s face faded away. She seethed at her twisted reflection. But as the fires of hatred subsided, the sick feel of embarrassment took its place. She shouldn’t have lashed out like that. With a quick spell she buffed out the worst of the damage, then she unlocked the door and walked out.
“What in God’s name was all that?” Kilduff said as she stepped out of the door. She imagined he’d heard most of what went on.
“He’s calling me out,” Helena replied. “And I’m going to be there.”
Kilduff raised a hand. “Why? What does that whole immortality nonsense mean? Why does it change anything?”
Her anger snapped back. She didn’t have time to play tutor to this hidebound bigot. “Why are you pestering me about this? This is witch’s work! You hate it so don’t quiz me on it!” She turned to see the entire restaurant staring at her.
Kilduff walked between Helena and the room. Curses on him and his family bubbled to her lips, but they died there. The man was stern, but not hostile. “I’m asking because if there’s a good reason for you to go, then we can’t wait for the warrant,” Kilduff replied softly.
She forced herself to take deep breaths. When the fantasies of summoning a plague of flies disappeared she began to explain. “The method a magician used to gain immortality changes their power. It grants them strengths, and weaknesses. A magician who hides their soul in a gem can be slain if someone gets ahold of their gem. On the other hand a magician who gains immortality through breathing exercises is immune to that danger, but can never use magic to stop their breathing.
“Some methods give more benefits than others, and some give more weaknesses than others. Usually a benefit is matched by a weakness. In any case, magicians work to conceal how they stop their aging to prevent people from using that knowledge against them.
“My family has a very well known method of gaining immortality and a well known, if rare, weakness. People who hold our bane are immune to our spells, and we can’t counter magic cast with our bane,” Helena explained.
“That sounds dangerous,” Kilduff muttered. “You can’t have been that foolish lass.”
“I wasn’t,” Helena answered. “I didn’t take the family bane. But I do have a bane material. If he’s making an assumption I’m fine. If not…”
“Then those kids are in trouble,” Kilduff said quietly.
Helena nodded. “Yeah.”
Kilduff nodded slowly. “Well that changes everything. We’ve got a hostage situation. You can go handle it.”
Helena blinked in surprise. “Really? After all you said?”
“That’s part of the rules too, lass. The folks in the Big Apple aren’t totally daft.” Kilduff pulled out a cigarette. “But can you take him? If he does have your bane you’ll be in a tight spot.”
“Yes. But I’m not going to duel him at all,” Helena replied. A twisted grin slipped onto her face as she pulled out her two special talisman slips. “I’m going to turn his own jiang-shi against him. And all his preparations will amount to nothing.”
Kilduff nodded. “Right. Just remember, take him alive if you can.” He held up a hand to cut off Helena’s response. “We’re following the rules lass. And besides, for all the talk they do of rehabilitating, prison is no mercy for a man from the Immigrant Realm.”
Helena put the talismans away. “I’ll see what I can do.”
But she probably wouldn’t do it.