The blossoming spring meant a handful of things. Besides better weather and impending final exams, it also meant Rei and Christian's birthdays, and this year was going to be significant, since they were both turning twenty-one. Christian honestly couldn't see how this would impact Rei, since he already drank like a one-man gin joint. As for himself, he really didn't feel like celebrating, especially if he was still in limbo, quite literally with half his soul in the Veiled Woman's keeping. Lilly had not returned to Arcadia, much to Sean's distress. It didn't exactly cheer Christian either. He wondered if something had happened to her, though he could not remember seeing her in that other place again. It was of no use to voice this very concern to Sean, since it was patently obvious that the same thought had crossed his mind on more than a few occasions. Instead, he went to Red House to spend an afternoon to help Sean move furniture yet again.
While the bedroom for Lilly's son was set to rights, with a handsome set of matched furniture, the rest of the apartment was in a wretched state. Sean may have been living a somewhat spartan existence, but he did have a passion for books, not to mention the mementos of several centuries. Even a pared-down collection was an overwhelming assortment. Christian and Sean moved the bookshelves, the sofa, his desk, everything, time and again, until Christian threw up his hands in despair and dropped into a chair.
"Some of them are going to have to go into storage, Sean," he insisted. Sean looked at him with the expression of someone who had been told that all but one of their children had to be left behind. "Don't look like that. Where is Lilly supposed to put her things anyway? She's got belongings too, right?"
"I don't know!" Sean moaned in distress. "I suppose we could move that wall of shelves and open up the third bedroom, but it would need to be scrubbed and warded and repainted."
"The third bedroom?" Christian said, incredulous. "Why the hell didn't you mention it earlier?"
"Because I do not care for it in the slightest. I always kept it sealed off from the rest of the apartment, and I tend to forget it. It was too much space for me to easily handle." He walked over to the bookshelves in question, which were between the bedrooms and the kitchen wall. "Come, help take the books. These shelves are heavy to move, even empty."
In short order the shelves were empty. Christian and Sean moved them into the center of the room, coughing and sneezing from the sheer amount of dust that had collected. The opening to a short hallway was hidden behind where they had once stood. Sean flipped on the light switch just inside the hall. A cheerful, if dust-obscured, glow chased away the remaining shadows. Three closed doors stood in the hall. Christian shot an nasty look at Sean and tried the first door. It was a half-bath, a toilet and sink. It was in desperate need of new wallpaper and some new fixtures, but beyond that it was innocent enough. The second door was a small closet, complete with a handful of wire hangers and a somewhat musty wool coat.
"Oh, that's where I left that," Sean murmured. Christian shook his head and tried the third door. He half-expected something sinister to leap out at him, or for there to be a moldering skeleton laying in the floor. There was nothing more sinister than some banker's boxes filled with papers, and some spare furniture. Sean came up behind Christian and looked around.
"I don't come in here often. Maybe once every two or three years or so? It's an odd little space, and I don't like it as well as the other bedrooms." He gave it another appraising look. "I suppose it will do for an office now."
"Well, it needs cleaning, and a fresh coat of paint, like you said." Christian pushed up his sleeves. "Move the boxes. I'll get the broom."
The three small rooms cleaned up fairly quickly. It seemed that an unintended side-effect of the wardings was to chase off unwanted vermin, so there were no insect leavings or rodent droppings to handle carefully. Sean paused frequently to scribble down another note on his shopping list. Christian could see why he might have disliked this little room more than the others. It looked out over the street, where noise from the college fraternities could be heard even three streets away. Down below, the occasional group of early drunks wandered past, laughing and carousing. Sean's mouth tightened in disgust.
"You don't have any patience for them, do you?" Christian peered out the window he was scrubbing. "They get away from Mom and Dad, and it's time to push all the boundaries at once."
"They've got no idea what it means to be adults, or to be responsible. I'm not saying my upbringing was any better, but we grew up fast, and we learned quickly that if we were reckless, then we didn't live long enough to get gray hairs." He looked at Christian with sudden concern. "Am I going to do all right as a father?"
"You're worried about doing well, I think that's a good start." Christian patted his shoulder. "I also think we should probably knock off for a bit. We've been at this for while, and I could stand to have some dinner."
"I think you're right. Do you want to ride out with me to hardware store and pick out paint and other things? We can go get a burger while we're out that way."
"Yeah, let's do that." Christian followed Sean out of the apartment and down the stairs. "Your truck's out front, right?"
"It is. We'll cut through the kitchen. After you."
The cafe and restaurant seemed quiet. Christian wondered if everyone had knocked off early because of the parties. Sean did have a standing policy of closing shop if there were too many drunks roaming the streets. Nothing felt out of bounds, and Sean hadn't said word one about any wards being disturbed. As Christian came out from behind the counter, the door swung open. He stopped short in surprise.
"Hey, Scott, what are you--" he began, but stopped when Sean shouldered in front of him. He started to protest, until he realized that Sean was shielding him.
"That's not Scott," he hissed to Christian.
"What?" Christian asked, not understanding.
"That's not Scott!" Sean yelled, shoving Christian down to the floor even as he leapt toward the smaller man. Scott sneered, and flicked his hand dismissively. Sean flew sideways across the room and slammed into the wall. He landed on the floor with a sickening thud.
"My business is not with you, Yuanrang," Scott said calmly. "I'm here to see the way-walker."
"Sean," Christian moaned, scrambling to his feet. There was no movement from the taller man, and his long arms and legs were folded at unnatural angles. "If you've killed him, Scott, or whatever you are, I swear..."
"Killed? Him?" Scott laughed. "Oh no, he's well too cursed for that to have killed him. He got the eternal life that I so desperately wanted for myself."
"Scott, please," Christian begged. He was drawing magefire even as he circled over to Sean's motionless body. "He didn't deserve that."
"He was going to try and harm me, and that will not be tolerated." Scott flicked his fingers, slamming Sean into the wall again. He groaned weakly. "See, he's still alive. He'll be back to rights in no time. Again, way-walker, my business is with you."
"If you want to know how I did it, then you're shit out of luck," Christian snapped as he dropped to his knees at Sean's side. "And if you're wanting me to give you the same curse that Sean's got, then you're also shit out of luck."
"Such coarse language, Christian. I really thought better of you in that regard." Scott pulled out a chair and sat down. "But you are quick, even with only half a soul. I do want what you accomplished, as you say. I would be more than willing to teach you how I did curse Yuanrang, though that would not get as satisfactory a result as what you have done to yourself." That clicked the pieces into place in his mind at once.
"What did you do with Scott, Kongming?" Christian asked, keeping an eye on him as he checked Sean. There were some stomach-turning crunches deep inside Sean's torso as he lay gasping on the floor. Scott, or the thing that looked like Scott, tossed his long dark hair back from his face.
"Scott's spirit has departed for whatever afterlife it was destined. You see, Christian, you nearly did have me that night. I've spent centuries walking the ways wraith-like, waiting to see what might be done to achieve my destiny. Imagine my wonder when I saw you triumph, through sheer stubbornness. You, I felt, could be the key to returning to this world, and to gaining the immortal life I so desperately need. How could I make you aware of me, and the worthiness of my goal, though? Luck would have it that your friend Scott, clever and ambitious as he was, and a genius in his own right, he had the same fatal flaw from which I suffer. He pushed himself too hard, though he had some wonderful concoctions to keep himself awake and moving well past the point of safety."
"Scott," Christian said softly. "Oh, Scotty. We all told you." He took off his glasses to rub at the tears that were welling up unbidden. "You bastard. He was my friend." The horrors of that night came flooding back, dragging a ragged sob with them.
Kongming-Scott stared at Christian in unguarded and genuine dismay. Keeping a sharp eye on Sean, he came across the room to kneel at Christian's side. He grabbed a fistful of napkins out of one of the dispensers that had been knocked to the floor and offered them to Christian. There was no disguising the hurt in his eyes.
"I did not intend to cause you pain, way-walker."
"You arrogant little bastard, you're preening like you've done something clever! What are you going to do about Scott's parents? Are you going to keep play-acting that you're their son?" Christian wanted to howl with pain. "Scott dies, and you just swoop in to take over? He deserved better than that."
"Way-wal--Christian, please." Kongming reached over to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. The gesture was so much of Scott that Christian was repulsed. Enraged, he drew back a fist and popped Kongming right in the face. There was an unsteady chuckle from behind Christian.
"Hit him again," Sean said in a slurred rasp.
"You lay still, you crazy bastard," Christian ordered. He stood up and yanked Kongming to his feet. "You, give me a reason to not knock all your teeth down your throat."
"Christian," he implored, holding his hand over the lower half of his face. He sounded congested, and blood poured out from between his fingers. "I swear, I meant no harm to Scott or to you."
"Then why did you attack us?" Sean asked. Kongming struggled slightly.
"I didn't know you were here, you hot-headed, ill-tempered--"He stopped himself. "I wanted to talk to Christian alone. If I had any idea that you were within a thousand miles of here, I would have been more cautious." A bit of the previous arrogance came back into his demeanor. "I would like to point out, Yuanrang, that you attacked me first."
"And you broke my spine and every rib in my body, you fiend." Sean dragged himself to one of the booths and leaned against it heavily. "I hope Christian broke your nose."
"Sean, would you please be still, thank you." Christian said wearily. He let Kongming drop to the floor. "You, stay right there, and I swear to God that if you so much as look cross-eyed at him, then I'll blast you to hell and back." He carefully helped Sean onto the bench inside the booth, then turned back to Kongming. "I'm still waiting to hear a reason to not beat the ever-loving tar out of you."
"There really isn't a good reason, as far as you would be concerned," Kongming admitted. "I could give you all the reasons as to why I wanted to live forever, and why they were noble and just, but they seem empty even to me right now." He looked up at Christian. "I have seen all of Scott's memories, and even some emotional context for them. I knew he cared about you, maybe more than any of the other young men under his supervision, but he didn't know how much you echoed the sentiment."
"He was always hiding in his room, or down at the game store," Christian said sadly. "He helped me through some rough stuff, and I always wanted to hang out more, but he was so much above me, I didn't want to feel like that weird little brother that's always tagging along where he's not wanted." His chest was tightening. "Oh, Scott."
"He was already gone," Kongming said very softly. "I swear to you, I did nothing to harm him. I was a wretched opportunist, yes, but his spirit had flown ere I took his body."
"I know." Christian pulled a chair out from a table and sat down. "You had no aura. Only the dead have no aura. Why did you steal Scott's?"
"I didn't. It's been a mask to keep you and your friends off my track." The soft green aura was replaced by a nimbus of shadow. "My own aura is utterly corrupted. Your friend the djinni would have seen it instantly."
"Serves you right, you little bastard," croaked Sean as he struggled to sit up. "Mengde may have been a power-monger, but he didn't deserve what you did to him."
"You're right, you know," Kongming agreed. Sean stopped, propped on one elbow, and stared. "He didn't deserve what I did. That blind hatred on my part damned me. I hated him for what he had done, but it was not my place to damn him for all time."
"You can tell him to his face if you ever stumble across his path," Sean spat. "I doubt he'll even know you, but you can apologize all you want when you find whatever hell-hole he's found. You can sit and listen to him weep to the ghosts in his own head, you bastard."
"I need you to help me walk the ways, Christian," Kongming implored, ignoring Sean's continuing stream of curses. "All I ever wanted was to thwart those that would abuse their power."
"And now you want the power to abuse?" Christian sat back and crossed his arms. "Go to hell."
"I am not helpless, I will remind you," Kongming said, getting to his feet. The hair on the back of Christian's arms prickled. He stiffened, ready to draw magefire. "You think your pitiful untutored magic will slow me?"
"No, but mine might." Lilly stepped out of the shadows by the door. "Try me, little one. Witch-work is a far different power than what you know." The folds of her clothes and the shadows across her face flickered orange and red, like the reflection of flames. "You've done enough harm here tonight. Christian is in no position to give you assistance even if he desired it. Her Shrouded Majesty guards his broken soul, and she would never allow someone as unworthy as you to walk the ways."
"There are other ways," Kongming snarled, pulling dark magefire into his hands. "Perhaps one of the other Kings or Queens..."
"Perhaps, but I doubt any of them would agree to be a Patron to someone as conflicted as you." Lilly waved one hand, setting a flickering circle of light around Kongming. "They like determination of purpose. You cannot decide between protector or avenger, and those work at cross-purposes." She looked at him haughtily. "Frankly, I don't think you could pay the price they exact. My Patron is a soft touch, and I would never wish what has been done to me on my worst enemy. I hesitate to think of the toll that the others demand of their Witches."
"Let him go," Christian whispered. Sean gave a croaking shout of protest, but she did not move. "If he steps out of line again, you may do as you will, Lilly. Tonight, though, I want him out of here. Let him go and meditate on the mercy shown this evening, and weigh it against that which he lacks." Nodding, she dropped the barrier. Kongming uncurled his hands. "I don't do this for you, you know."
"No, you don't." Kongming straightened his clothes, blood still trickling from his mouth and nose. "I will be seeing you again, Christian."
"Well, that's unavoidable, isn't it? You're masquerading as my R.A." Christian felt himself begin to go numb. "Go home. I'll probably see you tomorrow." He didn't watch Kongming leave, but knew he was gone when Lilly let out a tremendous breath.
"Shen Yuan," she said in an undertone, then rushed to his side. "You're still in no real shape to move. It's bed rest for you, you fool." She gave him a very gentle kiss on the cheek. "Arc, are you still safe?"
"Yes, Mama," came a shrill voice from behind the counter. A moment later a small, dark head popped up to look around. "You didn't throw fire this time."
"I didn't need to, silly. I'm not about to wreck our new home if I can avoid it." She gave the boy a reassuring smile. "Arc, this is Sean, my friend, and this is Christian."
"Hi, Mr. Sean, hi, Mr. Christian." Arc came around the counter, small for his age, and dark-haired like his mother. "Mama said that you're a wizard like Merlin," and he pointed at Christian, "and that you," and he pointed at Sean, "are like the Green Knight."
"Do you like King Arthur, then?" Christian asked. Arc nodded vigorously. "So do I."
"I'm sorry," Sean wheezed as he struggled to sit upright. "I didn't get the apartment set to rights. It's a mess up there."
"It'll keep until tomorrow." She touched her forehead gently to his. "You need your rest tonight."
"How much did you hear?" Christian asked. Arc was examining Christian's tattoos with great interest, tracing them lightly with his fingertip. Lilly made a grim face.
"I heard enough. This Kongming, he's dangerous. I would try to avoid him if I could."
"I don't get that option, unfortunately." Christian ran his hands through his hair. "I can stay away from him tonight, but that's about the best I can do."
"Well, would you mind helping straighten up?" Lilly asked as she started picking up the remnants of the fight.
"I'll fix the drywall tomorrow," Sean muttered, looking at the wall against which he had been thrown. "I'm not up for it tonight."
"Well, no," Christian agreed. "Lilly, can I call Sebastian over to give a hand? Sean's too heavy for me to manage on my own."
"I'd argue with you, but I'm in no position to do so." Sean motioned to his still-lifeless legs. "I'd appreciate the extra help."
"Are you going to be okay?" Christian asked. Sean gave a weak nod.
"I'll sleep it off for the most part. I may try to get ragingly drunk before the end of the night. It helps, if you will believe it."
"I believe it," Lilly said. "If you're lucky, you'll sleep through the worst of it."
"I'll have Sebastian bring some beer, then." Christian began to text.
"I like Dos Equis if he has it," Sean interjected. "Oh, and some salsa and chips."
"I like Mexican food too," Arc added. Lilly rolled her eyes.
"I'll just have Sebastian bring in some dinner, then," Christian amended.
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