“Okay good.” Elisa turned to Max. “Get in touch with King and see if he can help us on the research front. I want to know how the Monkey King was trapped last time and whether or not that trick will work again.”
“We already know that story,” said Max.
“Exactly, which means we only know the myth. I want to know what really happened,” said Elisa. “Unless you know of a Buddha with a giant hand he can turn into a mountain?”
“I see your point,” said Max.
“Think that driver would mind giving us a lift to your place?” asked Elisa.
Asami grinned and produced a set of keys from her pocket. She dangled them in front of Elisa. “What do we need him for?”
“I can see how this eternity of servitude thing will come in handy,” said Elisa.
Asami frowned. “Watch it. Just because I’m beholden to you doesn’t mean I can’t smack you around when you get out of line.”
“Go get the car, we’ll meet you out front,” said Elisa. “We left our stuff up in the office.”
Asami nodded and ran towards the garage entrance. Max and Elisa stepped inside the elevator. As it rose through the building, Max looked at his former student.
“What happened back there?”
Elisa shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure myself. The orb transported me to some sort of forest where there were dozens—maybe even hundreds—of fox spirits. One of them with two tails attacked me. I was able to gain the upper hand and that’s when Laohu stepped in.”
“Who's Laohu and what's all this talk about eternal bonding?” asked Max.
“Laohu seems to be the leader of the fox spirits, judging by the way they obeyed his orders and by the amount of tails he has?”
“The amount of tails?” questioned Max.
“Nine of them,” confirmed Elisa.
“And what about this bonding thing?” asked Max.
“Some sort of honor debt, I guess,” said Elisa. “Because I survived Taka's challenge Laohu breathed life into Asami once again, but he told me that I’m responsible for Asami now, both in the spirit world and the mortal one.”
Max huffed. “That’s not good.”
“What do you mean?” asked Elisa. “Having someone like her by our side? Plus with everything she knows? We couldn’t have asked for a bigger break. Imagine the things she can show us, the places she can get to that we can’t.”
“Elisa...kitsune aren’t known for their morality,” said Max. “And you don’t know what laws she’s expected to obey. You’ll have to keep a very close eye on her.”
“There was...something else,” said Elisa. “The kitsune I fought, the one called Taka. He seemed to have some sort of connection to Asami. And he had a healthy distaste for mortals.”
“This could be trouble,” said Max.
“Would you rather I let her die?”
Max sighed. “No...I don’t know. We’ll just have to see how this plays out.”
The door opened and Max exited into the office. There was no sign of Ao Jun or his remains and there didn’t appear to be any sort of fight that took place.
“He didn’t fight back,” said Max. “At all.”
“Why wouldn’t he?” asked Elisa.
“This day’s brought us a lot of questions. And we need some answers.”
CHAPTER 8
Asami’s penthouse was well-furnished and large. The broad balcony had an incredible view of the harbor. A few rooms made up the unit, including a spacious living room to compliment the balcony. A granite countertop separated the living room from the kitchen
The furniture was a combination of East meets West that contrasted and complimented each other very nicely. Tall paper-shade lamps beside post-modern couches and resting on a hardwood floor. A few pieces of artwork hung on the walls, each of them depictions of fox spirits from China, Japan and Korea.
Max sat on one of the couches, his laptop open on the glass coffee table in front of him. Elisa admired the artwork on the walls as Asami brought two cups of steaming green tea. She handed one to Elisa and brought another to Max.
Asami’s jacket and fedora were gone from her usual ensemble. She draped herself on a love seat near Max, her head resting against a corner of the cushion, legs propped on the armrest. “Figure anything out?”
“During the fight, you said Sun Wukong was able to transform hairs from his head into swords?” asked Max.
“Yeah, then they transformed back once he got the drop on Asami,” said Elisa.
“He didn’t use a staff, did he?” asked Max.
“No,” said Asami. “First he just fought unarmed, then brought out the magic tricks.”
“The legends depict the Monkey King as fighting with a staff, a pretty powerful one,” said Max. “According to those legends, it was once used to control the ebb and flow of the tides. When the Monkey King first approached it the staff glowed, signifying that he was its true owner. It’s apparently a great source of power for him and can be as large or as small as he desires.”
“If this thing is so great, why didn’t he bring it with?” asked Asami.
“He doesn’t have it,” said Elisa. “During the battle, he said he just wants what’s his. That could easily mean this staff. Is there anything else we know about it?”
Max nodded. “It’s called the Ruyi Jingu Bang. And...” he read further, “...well, this is interesting.”
“What?” asked Elisa.
Max looked up and removed his glasses. “Do you know where he got this staff from?”
Elisa shook her head.
“From Ao Kuang, often described as the most powerful and influential of the Dragon Kings.”
“Why would he give up something like that?” asked Elisa.
“Because he believed it to be worthless,” said Max.
“It’s why he said he had no interest in killing us,” said Elisa.
“Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one he ran through with a pair of swords!” said Asami.
“It was a distraction,” said Elisa. “He wanted to keep us busy.”
“We have to find this staff. If we can gain possession of it, it might give us the leverage we need over Sun Wukong,” said Max.
“Where do we look?” asked Asami.
Max sighed before sipping his tea. “I wish I knew. There’s no record of Sun Wukong after he attained Buddhahood. We can only assume that the staff was taken when he was imprisoned. So we need to find out who took it and what they did with it.”
“Ao Jun said the Dragon Kings were responsible for imprisoning him. Stands to reason they’d be the ones who kept the staff,” said Asami.
“Then how do we know Ao Jun wasn’t the one who had it and now the Monkey King’s back at his full power?” asked Elisa.
“We don’t.” Max glanced to Asami. “Have you reached the other Dragon Kings yet?”
Asami shook her head. “I tried to get in touch with them, but so far I haven’t gotten much of a response. They’ve all got mortal identities and I’m not sure what those are.”
“You’ve never met them before?” asked Elisa.
“All my work was through Ao Jun alone. I knew about his brothers, but I never met them personally,” said Asami.
Max’s phone began to ring. He picked it up and checked the caller ID. “That’s Jackson. Hopefully he’s found something useful.” Max answered the phone and went out to the balcony for some privacy.
Elisa sipped her tea and took Max’s place on the couch. She set the cup on the table and leaned into the cushion. “Are you gonna tell me who Taka is?”
Asami’s copper eyes flashed red briefly. “What’s he have to do with you?”
“Seeing as how he almost killed me because I had one of your orbs, I’d say quite a lot. Laohu also said Taka could sense your condition. Why is that?”
Asami’s eyes drifted to the bracelet she wore, the her fingers tracing the shapes. “Taka’s just...an ex.”
“Seems he’s a bit more tha
n that.”
At that statement, Asami stared at Elisa. “And what about Davalos?”
Now it was Elisa’s turn to look away as she sipped her tea. “It’s complicated.”
“Same with me. Complicated,” said Asami. “Have you heard from him?”
Elisa stood from the couch and slowly paced about the room. “No. Not since we parted ways in Japan. It’s probably better that way. The more I know about him, the easier it is for the Order to pry me or my friends for information about his whereabouts.”
“Think you’ll ever see him again?” asked Asami.
Elisa huffed. “Look, just because we’re familiars or whatever doesn’t make us sisters. I don’t have to tell you anything about Lucas.”
“Calm down, girl,” said Asami, sitting upright. “In case you forgot, you started this whole thing.”
“Fine, then forget it,” said Elisa.
“Consider it forgotten.” Asami rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Like I care about who you mortals boink.”
“‘Boink?’” asked Elisa. “Who talks like that?”
“Shut up.”
The balcony door opened and Max stepped inside. He noticed the tension in the air—even the most oblivious person would be capable of doing so. He glanced back and forth between the two women.
“...did I miss something?”
“What did King say?” asked Elisa.
“He’s been looking into Sun Wukong as well and came to the same conclusions we did about the Ruyi Jingu Bang. So he’s been researching it,” said Max.
“Did he find any indication about their whereabouts?” asked Elisa.
“You’re not going to like what he had to say,” said Max.
“Try me.”
“Okay,” said Max. “Apparently, he found some unverified conspiracy theories online, indicating that several very powerful artifacts throughout history have been hoarded by an organization.”
Elisa shut her eyes and held up her palm. “Please...please don’t say it.”
“I’m missing something here. You don’t mean the Order, do you?” asked Asami.
“No, another secret society. One that’s gone by many names over the years,” said Max. “Elisa’s encountered them already. They identified themselves as the Freemasons.”
“First off, we’re talking about conspiracy theories. On the Internet,” said Elisa.
“Not the first time we’ve found them to be accurate.”
“Second, exactly what artifacts were mentioned?”
Max’s eyes rolled up as he tried to remember what Jackson said. “Well...Jackson told me he found mention of a lot of the classics. The Spear of Destiny, the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant—”
“Get to the point, Max. Was the Ruyi Jingu Bang specifically mentioned?” asked Elisa.
“No.”
“Then that settles it. Just the same old conspiracy bunk.”
“Maybe not,” said Asami. “Back when they were the Templars, these guys scoured the Earth for ancient relics that reportedly held great power. It’s not that hard to imagine that they could give us some leads on this staff.”
“We can’t trust Shroud,” said Elisa.
“Would you rather just sit around and wait until the Dragon Kings decide to call us?” asked Max.
“Or until the Monkey King strikes again?” asked Asami.
Elisa shook her head. “No, you’re both right. I just can’t believe I have to go crawling to Shroud.”
She pulled out her phone.
***
Atop a volcano in the middle of the Pacific, a tall man with dark features, dressed completely in black stood waiting. He stood on the edge of the volcano’s opening, staring into the bubbling lava with his back to the north.
Soon, he was joined by another man, this one dressed in dark red. He approached the edge of the volcano across from the man in black, but with his back facing towards the south.
“Ao Jun’s dead,” said the man in black.
“I know,” said the man in red. “Have you spoken to Ao Kuang yet?”
“You can both speak to me yourselves.”
The third remaining Dragon King approached as well, his back facing the east. He was dressed in brown and his eyes regarded his brothers with deference. First they went to the man in black. “Ao Ming.” And then to the brother in red. “Ao Qin. I’m pleased you could join us to honor our fallen brother.”
“This is a dangerous game you’ve gotten us into,” said Ao Qin. “You ensured us that Sun Wukong could be contained.”
“This just means we have to revise our plans,” said Ao Kuang. “We can’t allow him to ruin everything we’ve spent centuries building.”
“But Ao Jun—” began Ao Ming.
“Ao Jun was an old fool!” spat Ao Kuang. “He was holding the rest of us back. Now we can finally do what needs to be done. We can destroy the Monkey King once and for all. And then, we can finally obtain what he has kept from us for centuries.”
“How do you propose we do that?” asked Ao Ming.
“I have a plan,” said Ao Kuang.
As he spoke, the rough waters slammed against the sides of the uncharted volcano in the center of the oceans.
CHAPTER 9
Morning in Hong Kong. Elisa stood on the deck of the ferry boat, staring out at Victoria Harbor. When she called Shroud and explained the situation, he replied simply for her to wait here on the ferry at this time. That time had already passed long ago and now the boat was on its return path to Kowloon. She had expected to meet with another Mason, someone who was in Hong Kong or not far off at the time. So when she felt a presence behind her and turned, she was surprised to find Shroud, himself, half-grinning at her.
“Good morning, Ms. Hill.”
“I thought you were in the States,” said Elisa.
Shroud shrugged. “Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t.”
“So what’s the story?” she asked. “Can you help or not?”
Shroud leaned against the ferry’s guard rail. “You want to know if the Masons have the Ruyi Jingu Bang.”
“Right,” said Elisa. “So do you?”
He shook his head. “As far as I know, we don’t. But we may be able to get our hands on it.”
“Then we have to find it and lock it away somewhere safe—somewhere the Monkey King can’t get to it,” said Elisa.
“Ever consider that maybe you’re on the wrong side of the fence?” asked Shroud.
“What are you talking about? He killed one of the Dragon Kings.”
“And already we’re getting reports of disturbing tide activity, yes I know,” said Shroud. “But you’re assuming that this is because of Ao Jun’s death.”
“What else could cause it?” asked Elisa.
Shroud turned away from the railing and slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. He wore a simple black suit and white shirt, open at the collar with no tie. “The Dragon Kings aren’t exactly the most benevolent of creatures. Centuries ago, Ao Kuang, often labeled as the one who commands his brothers, brought chaos to the people of Asia. His subjects feared him and no one dared report him to the Jade Emperor. His son was killed by an ally of Sun Wukong. He was the one who originally gave Sun Wukong the Ruyi Jingu Bang. He thought it was worthless and once he discovered how powerful it was, he was furious.”
“So what, the Monkey King’s a good guy?” asked Elisa.
“He’s...complicated,” said Shroud. “When he was young, he would bring chaos wherever he went. He was arrogant, believed he was entitled to a place in Heaven. And when he was admitted, it was by insult. They made him run the stables. He was angry, so he set the cloud horses free and defeated hundreds of thousands of Heaven’s celestial warriors. Even the forces of Taoism and Buddhism couldn’t contain him for long.
“But, when Xuanzang needed protection on his journey, Sun Wukong was given a second chance. And he used that chance to redeem himself. So the question now becomes, why would he sacrifice everything
he gained for a failed attempt to overthrow the Jade Emperor? The same Emperor who bestowed the Buddhahood upon him?”
“In other words, someone is lying,” said Elisa.
“Sure seems that way, doesn’t it?” asked Shroud.
“It might also explain why he didn’t outright kill us when he had the chance.”
“What I do know is this: the Monkey King can be very dangerous and he doesn’t consider the consequences of his actions,” said Shroud. “Now maybe the Dragon Kings aren’t linked to the tides and maybe if they all die, nothing will happen. It’s definitely a possibility.”
“That’s not a risk I can take,” said Elisa.
“Agreed. So what do we do?”
“We’re a team on this now?”
Shroud grinned. “Elisa, do you really think I’m going to hand over my resources to you without coming along? Someone has to keep an eye on you. And I don’t trust that creature you’ve got with you.”
“Asami’s done right by me in the past and I’ve returned the favor. I trust her more than I trust you.”
“Fair enough. But I don’t trust either of you. So I’m coming along,” said Shroud.
“Fine,” said Elisa. “Where can we find this Ruyi Jingu Bang?”
“The Tian Shan mountain range would be the most logical place, probably near the Xinjiang region. Xuanzang visited that area on his journey and those mountains have been labeled celestial.”
“So we find this staff and then what?” asked Elisa. “You think Sun’s just going to surrender without a fight when we’ve got his favorite toy?”
“He’s powerful but not omnipotent—Sun Wukong can be defeated.”
“Could have fooled me,” said Elisa, who recalled how easily she had been defeated by Sun Wukong.
“The cauldron he was trapped in briefly? It had an effect on him. It gave him a special vision called huoyan-jingjing, which allowed him to recognize evil in any form. But this vision also has a downside—he’s got a weakness to smoke.”
“Why smoke?” asked Elisa.
Shroud shrugged and gave a sly smile. “I'm just relaying a few obscure hints that the Freemasons have uncovered in our translation of ancient papyrus fragments. There is also something else that may or may not prove important.”
Dragon Kings of the Orient (The Myth Hunter Book 2) Page 5