After hugs and air kisses, Sunny had ushered them in from the atrium with its sculptured stone water feature and Zen rock garden to this room, where the far wall was one large expanse of glass to take advantage of the view.
She was statuesque with long, honey-colored hair, and was wearing what looked like a yoga outfit underneath a gossamer white silk robe that seemed to flow around her like wisps of smoke. Several small aquamarines dangled from each of her delicate earrings. She might be in her late forties, but she worked hard to look decades younger–with no small amount of success.
They had all taken off their shoes before entering the room. The floor was made of woven bamboo mats and had an aroma like fresh hay. At one end of the room the wall had a small niche holding a spare flower arrangement in a slim, clear vase.
Sunny brought out three thin cushions from behind a sliding paper door. They all took their seats.
“Now, what is it that I can do for you and your friend?” Sunny lilted, favoring them both with a practiced smile.
“Well, it’s what we can do for each other,” said SK. “Livvy is a shaman.”
Sunny’s smile faltered ever so briefly, but her recovery was smooth. Earlier, she had only been available through social media channels–not a place to talk about shamans meeting shamans–so he hadn’t told her about Livvy.
“Really, SK, I’m surprised at you. I thought you played by the rules.”
“In times like these,” he said, “the rules are changing. Livvy might have a solution.”
“A solution to what?” Sunny said, looking at Livvy and then turning back to SK. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”
SK frowned.
“When was the last time you were in the Multiverse?” he asked.
She looked like he’d asked her weight, and then she shot a look at Livvy.
“I hardly think–”
“More than a couple of weeks,” he said. “Has to be. Maybe even longer than that.”
“It’s none of your–” She stopped as she realized what she was about to say but SK heard it nevertheless and bristled. In fact, it was his business.
“I guess DVD sales and Reiki stones are doing pretty well for you,” he said. “I forget that there’s nothing really wrong with most of the beautiful people you see.”
Sunny sat back, the polite veneer gone. “Are you getting to a point soon?”
“If you haven’t been to the other side recently, then no, I guess I’m not.”
He turned to Livvy. “Let’s go.”
“Well, wait a minute,” said Sunny as SK got up, with Livvy following suit. “You came out here for a reason didn’t you?”
“Yes,” he said, heading for the door. “But you wouldn’t understand.”
Sunny lithely rose to her feet. “What wouldn’t I understand?” she demanded.
SK was already out the door and slipping into his shoes. Livvy grabbed hers, not having time to lace them up.
“You’ve got my number,” he called over his shoulder, already on the other side of the atrium.
Livvy followed in her socks as the door closed behind them.
“What was that about?” she demanded.
“She’s too busy with her Hollywood clientele,” he said. “She hasn’t even been to the other side in…who knows how long.”
They got in the car.
“Well, then,” said Livvy, exasperated, “why did we come here?”
“Because when she wants to be, she’s a top-notch shaman. Don’t let appearances fool you.”
He pulled onto the winding road that would lead them down off the bluff and back to the Pacific Coast Highway.
“But really, if I’d known,” he said. “I wouldn’t have wasted the time.”
“So that’s it?”
“Not quite. We’ve got one more stop–an important one.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
“DO THEY ALWAYS feed you?” asked Livvy.
SK slurped his noodles and nodded his head yes.
“Wow, must be nice,” Livvy said, as she picked up an egg roll and dipped it in the sweet red sauce. It was almost like syrup.
“Happy stomach, happy SK,” he said.
Livvy glanced around the restaurant. They were the only non-Chinese people there, although nobody looked at them. Another plate of food arrived, garlic pork.
“Good grief,” said Livvy. “Are they ever going to stop?”
SK picked up the pork and scooped some onto his plate.
“Nope,” he said, grinning. “They’ll keep bringing food until she calls for us.”
“Wow,” she said.
“Well, look,” he said, between bites. “The food is cheap for her. She owns the place.”
“I guess so.”
“And it always pays to keep SK happy.”
Wan-li’s rooms were on the second floor, but there was a chain across the bottom of the stairs, to the right of the large aquarium. When they had arrived, the hostess had told them that Wan-li was with someone. They had then been invited to take a seat at one of the tables. Livvy had thought the pot of tea had appeared for the sake of politeness–until the food started arriving. They hadn’t even looked at a menu.
“I always order the same thing anyway,” said SK.
Although the room was full, it wasn’t particularly loud. Everybody used chopsticks and it cut down on the noise of metal cutlery clanging against the dishes. The conversations were all hushed as well. They were there for the food, but it was as if they knew who was working upstairs.
Even Livvy knew who was working upstairs. Among shamans, Wan-li was famous. It didn’t matter what form of shamanism you practiced, you’d heard about Wan-li. She was a techno-shaman now. A lot of shamans had converted when the technology became available. Virtually all of the shamans who had learned their skills before the invention of the goggles were equally adept at a number of traditional methods. Wan-li had studied in China, in mountain monasteries and high desert villages.
Livvy sipped her tea and watched the fish in the aquarium.
“You don’t eat enough,” SK said. “How do you expect to get a man when you’re so skinny?”
She put her cup down.
“Who says I even want a man?”
SK chuckled but continued eating. He looked over at the stairwell, and Livvy turned to see what was going on. Two men were coming down the stairs. One unlatched the chain, and the other passed him and proceeded out the door. Nobody else in the restaurant looked.
“We’ll be on soon,” SK said, stuffing more noodles in his mouth.
The man at the stairs glanced at Livvy, reattached the chain and went back upstairs. Livvy turned back and saw that another plate of food had quietly arrived.
“Eat,” he said.
“I’m full just watching you eat.”
A few minutes later, the man came back down the stairs and over to their table.
“Wan-li will see you now,” he said, with a thick accent.
The upstairs rooms were sumptuous. A large, nearly circular portal of black lacquer led from the landing into a large foyer that was ringed with life-size bronze statues of Chinese gods who looked like warriors. They were festooned with garlands of real flowers, and offerings of all types of money were strewn about their feet. Beautiful ceramic bowls, filled to the rim with black sand, had thin sticks of incense protruding from them. Several small tendrils of smoke rose from the incense, swaying after them as Livvy and SK made their way down the central aisle.
At the end was a large set of red double doors. Next to them was a gong.
Their escort took a small cushioned mallet from the tray above the gong and tapped it. A deep and low shimmering sound came from it, not at all what Livvy had been expecting–a very pleasant sound.
The red double doors opened and the man at the gong motioned them in.
Livvy felt as though she was being ushered into the presence of an empress, but Wan-li wasn’t sitting on a throne. In fact there was no throne, no
t even a dais. Instead, at the opposite end of the room was a large round window that echoed the portal outside. The sun was setting, and the paper lanterns in the main plaza in Chinatown were on.
To the right of the window, a Chinese woman sat in one of the overstuffed chairs. Men in dark suits were stationed at every corner of the room and at the doors, which had been closed behind them.
As they approached, the woman turned her head.
“Ah, SK, how good it is to see you. Please sit down.”
“This must be Olivia,” she continued, as Livvy came into view. “Yes,” she said, drawing out the word. Her high-pitched voice was a little nasally but melodic and she took special care to enunciate the ‘th’ sound.
Livvy didn’t know if she should shake hands or bow.
“Please, do sit down,” the woman said, eyeing her hair briefly.
“Thank you,” Livvy replied and took a seat on the couch next to SK.
“I trust your meal was satisfactory, yes?” said Wan-li.
It was impossible to tell how old she was. Her face was somewhat flat and wide. Her hair was streaked with white, although much of it was still black, pulled back into a tight bun on top of her head. A polished ornament of tiger’s-eye hung from a hairpiece that went through the bun. She was dressed in a long, traditional Chinese cheongsam dress done in dark green silk with gold trim.
“Excellent, as always,” said SK, “although the Kung Pao wasn’t as spicy as usual.”
Wan-li frowned and barked something in Chinese to the man at the far end of the room, who immediately left. Even without knowing what she was saying, Livvy found her voice commanding. This was a woman who was used to being in charge. Although she appeared to be relaxing, there was something formidable in how she reposed, as though she might be able to spring out of the chair if she needed to.
“Yes, I understand you have been busy today,” she said, turning back to SK.
He gave a small snort as Livvy tried to conceal her astonishment.
“Do not look too surprised,” Wan-li said to Livvy. “My web is cast wide.”
The man who had left came back into the room and was followed by a cook from the restaurant below. The cook stopped and bowed. Wan-li said something to him in Chinese, indicating SK. The man made a nervous reply and then said something to SK, bowing. Then Wan-li dismissed him.
“He apologized for the Kung Pao,” said Wan-li, as the two men left. “It will not happen again.”
SK only nodded.
“I take it by your presence here that you had no success today, yes?”
“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” said SK, a wary tone in his voice. “But we are here to ask for your help.”
SK looked at Livvy and nodded. Livvy cleared her throat.
“I’ve found a way to hook two sets of goggles together,” she said, talking too fast. “It would enable two shamans to work together in the Multiverse.”
“Ah yes,” said Wan-li, thinking. “You want to work together.”
Wan-li looked at SK. “And you support this,” she said, more than asked, but SK nodded anyway. “Because it has become dangerous, maybe impossible, for a shaman to work in the Multiverse.”
“Yes,” said Livvy, hopefully.
“Yes, I see,” said Wan-li, crossing her arms over her chest. She thought for several moments. “Well let me tell you, first, what Sunny said.”
Wan-li’s face showed disdain as she said Sunny’s name.
“Sunny did not know there was a problem, yes?”
SK tilted his head, still not giving away much but acknowledging that it was probably obvious.
“Now Carmen,” said Wan-li, thinking out loud. “Carmen would actually like to help, but that does not mean that she would, or that she could.”
Livvy’s face grew hot, as though she’d been caught in the act.
“Alvina,” Wan-li whispered. “Now Alvina is an interesting one, yes?”
She studied SK for some time. Then she turned her gaze to Livvy, who looked at the floor.
“Yes, Alvina could be interesting.” Wan-li paused. “But Ursula? Surely you did not expect anything there,” she chided SK.
SK kept his mouth shut but Livvy could see that his jaw muscles were starting to work. She didn’t know if he’d been aware of how closely his movements were being followed.
“It is business, SK,” said Wan-li. “Just business, yes?”
Wan-li’s way of making questions out of statements was starting to annoy Livvy. The woman could obviously care less about what she or SK thought.
“How do you think ‘business’ will do with the Multiverse out of control?” blurted Livvy.
“Oh,” said Wan-li, raising a finger. “Oh, but I am doing business, working in the Multiverse. In fact, I was just there.”
Livvy stared at her. The woman was so composed and full of energy. Had she just been in the Multiverse? Livvy thought of the man who had left the restaurant before they had been invited up. Had he been a client?
“Yes,” said Wan-li, nodding. “I have seen the ancient one there.”
Again, Livvy could not help but stare at her.
“I have seen the great creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion.”
Livvy absently rubbed her chest, where she still felt a slight sunburn.
“Ah,” said Wan-li, watching her hand. “You have seen her too, yes?”
Livvy dropped her hand. “Then you know!” Livvy said. “You know what I’m saying!”
“Yes,” Wan-li said, sitting forward. “I know.”
“Then, you’ll help!” said Livvy, excited at the prospect of finally meeting someone who knew what she had experienced.
“Now, that would make…very little business sense,” said Wan-li, sitting back.
“Business sense?” asked Livvy.
It was SK’s turn to cross his arms over his chest. “She’s got a corner on the market,” he said.
“A what?” asked Livvy.
“Wan-li can still work there,” he said, looking at Wan-li. “And she has very little competition,” he said looking at Livvy. “And Wan-li likes to have little competition.”
Wan-li grinned.
“You can’t be serious,” said Livvy, her voice rising.
“Deadly,” said Wan-li, the grin hardening.
“But this isn’t about business,” Livvy insisted. “It’s about healing people.”
“Livvy,” SK said, warning her.
“No, I have had it with this,” Livvy said, her voice growing louder.
The men who were stationed closest to the group looked over for the first time.
“So this is just one big business opportunity for you huh? A chance to watch the competition wither away?” The frustration of the day poured out. “Everybody’s got their angle. Everybody’s out for their own turf and protecting themselves. Well, what happened to helping people?”
One of the men took a step toward them, but Wan-li held up a hand. The man returned to his spot.
“Liv,” said SK, “I think it’s time to go.”
Wan-li seemed amused by the outburst, which only made Livvy angrier. SK stood up, as did Livvy.
“If you think that you can just keep working,” said Livvy, “then you’re wrong. Not even you will be able to avoid the eye forever. It gets harder every time. It gets emptier every time.”
Livvy saw that Wan-li had seen the same thing.
“It gets weirder every time, and it gets more dangerous,” Livvy said.
SK put a hand on her arm.
“None of us is safe,” said Livvy. “Not there and not even here,” she gestured to the surroundings.
The double doors opened behind them, and SK gripped her am.
“We’re running out of time,” Livvy yelled.
Wan-li said something in Chinese to one of the men. Livvy whipped her head around only to see that he was bringing a large paper bag that had been stapled at the top. It was the leftovers.
�
�Enjoy the food,” they heard her say as they were ushered out.
Then the doors closed.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
AS THEY ROUNDED the corner into Livvy’s hallway, she tensed, never knowing what to expect. SK must have sensed that she was nervous and, although she found it slightly ridiculous that a little person was escorting her home, there was still safety in numbers even if the number was one and a half.
“Min?” said Livvy.
Min started. She was sitting against the wall next to Livvy’s door with Nacho in her lap. He looked up and gave a big meow.
“Livvy, I thought you’d never get here,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for hours.”
Nacho came over to Livvy. Without thinking, she reached down to him. Relieved that he was back from wherever he’d been, she forgot to discharge.
The snap caught them both by surprise as Nacho gave a short howl and jumped sideways, laying his ears down flat.
“Santa Anas,” said Livvy automatically.
“I actually saw a spark!” said Min.
Nacho curled a U-turn around SK’s legs, apparently not injured. Livvy turned back to Min, who was still staring at Nacho.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Livvy asked.
“What happened to your head?” asked SK.
It looked like Min had bumped her forehead on something sharp.
“That’s why I’m here,” she said.
Livvy frowned and moved closer, gently shifting Min’s hair aside to get a better look.
“Well, not to have you look at my head,” said Min. “It’s just that…”
“You’re afraid to go home,” SK finished. He reached down and petted Nacho.
“How did you know?” asked Min.
“You’re not the only one,” Livvy said, still looking at the cut on Min’s forehead. “I’m going to clean and bandage this. How did it happen?”
“Really, it’s fine–” started Min.
“Shaman’s orders,” countermanded Livvy as she helped Min up. “Come on, Minnie Mouse.”
Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman Books 1 -3 Page 17