Crossover Earth '98
TO LIVE AND DIE IN HONG KONG
MICHAEL SURBROOK
The streets of Hong Kong were narrow, crowded with cars, bicycles, pedestrians and trash. Here, the massive high-rises pushed upwards toward the sky, casting whole sections of the street in perpetual shadow. Narrow alleys their way between buildings, leading to a maze of hidden, interconnected passageways that would eventually lead to restaurants, tea houses, drug dens, illegal fighting arenas and the halls of numerous tongs. They were a part of Hong Kong that outsiders, especially white outsiders, almost never saw. If they did,it was only briefly, and not many returned alive to tell about it.
It was into this hidden world that an outsider walked. He was dressed in a traditional long coat, fashioned in the Mandarin style, loose trousers and slippers, but his snowy white hair and gray eyes marked him as a gwalio - a white foreigner. Interestingly enough, he walked unimpeded and unconcerned through the crowds, almost all of whom parted with out so much as a word to allow him passage. It wasn't his size - which was decidedly average, or his his demeanor - which was reserved, that allowed him such passage. It was his coat. Written in a large circle across the back, and in a smaller circle on the left breast, was the ideograms for ghost and magic, two symbols that were enough of a warning to allow a Caucasian into an area of Hong Kong few dared tread.
Pausing outside of a small antiquated hose, Avalon carefully wiped his glasses clean, adjusted his coat and made sure a certain small box was still safely secured in his pocket. Satisfied all was well, he then tapped lightly on the door.
A moment later, it opened, revealing a young woman dressed in a long white cheong san. Smiling, Avalon gave a slight bow. <Good day, Mei Ling. Is the Lady within?>
Returning his bow and his smile, Mei Ling shook her head. "No, Avalon. She has not yet awake." He English was accented, but understandable, which was a relief, since Avalon had virtually expended his entire Chinese vocabulary with his first sentence. "Do you wish to wait inside?"
"Ahhh... I am honored by your offer, but I do not wish to intrude upon your house. Allow me to look to my dinner, then I will return."
Mei Ling nodded, "It would be no trouble, Avalon. But... if that is what you wish, I will understand. Please, return as soon as you are done, I will have your room made up."
"Thank you."
A few moments later the sorcerer was sitting at a table in a small restaurant, surrounded by tea, soup, noodles and dim sum. He was known here, being an occasional visitor, and the proprietor was more interested in the color of his money then the color of his skin. Besides... any man who was the willing consort of a jiangshi deserved some measure of respect, no matter where he came from.
Avalon ate slowly, pausing to savor his food as well as pondering how to break to Hsien-ko the news of his impending marriage. He hoped she would understand, Hsien-ko had seen far too much sadness in her life to need any more. Still, she was practical in outlook, perhaps all would work out all right.
Finishing his meal, Avalon left a scattering of brightly colored Hong Kong dollars on the table top. China may have reclaimed the small city-state, but the economy still was very much driven by the capitalist ideal. Chinese money was looked down on, Hong Kong or Australian dollars were preferred, and the desired currency was Japanese yen or American dollars.
Walking the short distance back to Hsien-ko's residence, Avalon felt a subtle change in his surroundings. The streets were still the same, crowded and raucous, but underneath he felt a certain tensions... a feeling of being watched or stalked. That someone... or several someones were after him, despite the notice of free passage so boldly emblazoned across his jacket. Of course, that very same notice my be why they were after him.
Muttering a few faint words of power, Avalon tapped into the power of the pendant that hung about his neck, producing a faint field of defensive energy. He also ducked down into a narrow, trash strewn side alley, stepping around crates of chickens and a tall pile of rattan staves as he did so. Further down, it was dark and dank, the doors to either side closed tight. Up above the air was crisscrossed with power line and laundry strung between fire escapes. Further up was the roof, framing a thin stripe of darkening sky.
Stopping for a moment, Avalon squinted, trying to tell if that had really been a hint of movement up there or not. Taking a few steps further, and placing a section of wall between him and any possible observers, he chanted a quick spell of flight, taking to the air in a swirl of dust and loose paper.
Rising rapidly, the magician ducked around several cloths lines, each heavy with washing. Arriving at the edge of one roof, he quickly hopped over the edge, dropping down to avoid being silhouetted against the evening sun.
Turning around, Avalon blinked in surprise. Sprawled before him a man. A very dead man, dressed in the traditional ibabakama of a ninja. He lay face down in a spreading pool of blood, his ninja-to lying a few feet from one outstretched hand.
Standing, Avalon gazed down at the scene with an expression of puzzlement. The body seemed to be fairly new, the blood was still damp. Turning, he glanced about, trying to catch of glimpses of any possible hint as to whole could of done this. A foolish endeavor, to be sure, considering how crowded the surrounding roofs were.
As he turned, Avalon gave a low grunt of surprise. Scattered about were a number of corpses of black-garbed men, all of whom looked to have been killed fairly recently. Eyes narrow, Avalon bent back down to the corpse at his feet, flipping it over with a quick gesture.
There were no markings of any sort on the clothing - not a surprise - while the man's weapons were simple, serviceable and similarly unmarked. That was a touch odd... many of the larger ninja clans identified their tools with the clan mon, so that their enemies would know who it was that struck at them.
The man's wounds were equally odd. He had died from a series of deep punctures and ripped gashes, makes that looked like no sword blows Avalon had ever seen. The looked a bit like the sort of wounds one would expect a needle to make... if the needle was five or six feet long and razor sharp.
Rising, Avalon quickly descended from the roof, trying to hurry without looking like he was hurrying. It was almost dark, and Hsien-ko was certain to be up. He would need her help if he was to have any chance of resolving this.
The room was still, light by the flickering of what seemed to be a thousand candles of more. Here and there joss sticks burned faintly, giving off faint plumes of gray smoke. Brilliantly painted porcelain vases sat in the corners on low stands, while the walls were covered with a variety of simple and elegant silk paintings. Hsien-ko's boudoir was much like Hsien-ko herself, shadowy and faintly mysterious.
Lying on the soft bed, his slippers and coat carefully stored on a nearby table, Avalon rested, eyes almost shut, listening a Hsien-ko played relaxing music on her biwa. She was dressed, as usual, in dark blue tunic and trousers, with a red cheong san trimmed in gold over that. A broad silk sash, also gold in color, was belted around her waist. The brilliant hues contrasted sharply with her skin, which was a distinct bluish color.
"Marriage." The voice was soft, the English faintly accented.
"Yes..."
Running her fingers across the strings of the biwa, Hsiken-ko suddenly silenced the instrument by laying her hand flat. "When?"
"Soon... the arraignments are out of my hands."
"Why?"
"Why?"
Why indeed. To save the world? Who would believe that answer? But... still...
"Yes, why?"
"Because it I feel it must be done. If what Katsumi has seen is true - and I see no reason to doubt her - then I cannot let her face this future alone. I fell I must be there, to aid any way I can, to help ensure that the world is not reduced to some sort of hell where demons roam freely, destroying all they touch."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes."
Do you love me?"
"Yes."
With a tug, and the hissing of rubbing silk, the sash fell free and the cheong san soon after. Hsien-ko leaned over Avalon's prone from to whisper in one ear.
"Prove it."
Sitting up right amid the tangle sheets, Avalon leaned slightly on Hsien-ko, one arms around her slender waist. Her body, as usually, was cool, lacking the warmth of the living. She didn't breath either, which took some getting used to. He stared at the ceiling, while Hsien-ko seemed content to idly trace undecipherable designs across his chest with one long fingernail.
"There are dead men on the roofs nearby," he said quietly.
"Hmm.." Hsien-ko sat up, looking over one shoulder to face Avalon directly. "What do you mean?"
"I felt I was being watched as I came up, so I went up to the roof top to investigate. There, I found a number of dead men; men dressed much like ninja."
"How did they die?"
"I do not know," Avalon shrugged. "I would guess with some sort of bladed weapon, but the wounds are very unusual."
"I see. And I take it you want me to look into this matter?"
"If it would not be an inconvenience."
"Not an inconvenience? Such a charmer you are."
Sipping at his tea, Avalon sat waiting his now ex-paramour. Apparently her investigations had paid off and soon he might have some information to help him resolve this latest mystery.
With a slight creaking of an opening door, Hsien-ko drifted into the room. She was, for all intents and purposes, as solid as any normal human, but her method of walking made look like she was gliding across the floor. It was an effect that Avalon found highly fascinating to watch.
Seating herself next to the sorcerer, Hsien-ko brushed her lips across the line of Avalon's jaw. "I have found something," she whispered. "Those men were ninja, and belonged to a clan of assassins."
"Assassins?"
"Yes..." she ran one hand through her shoulder-length, night-black hair. "They kill for pay and are not known for disclosing their employer. They are also very skilled in the arts of stealth and combat. Who ever killed so many must be very strong indeed."
Avalon stared into the depths of his teacup for a moment, "And what is the name of this clan?"
"Does it matter?" Hsien-ko laughed softly, "For I have a much better name for you?"
"And that is?"
"Truant."
"Truant?" Avalon turned to look into the jiangshi's soft brown eyes, "Who is that?"
"A man... probably like many other men, he desires power and wished to remove an obstacle to that goal. I understand that he can be found in New York City, where so many other such men live."
"New York..." Avalon thought for a moment. "I have business to attend there, perhaps I will look this Truant up..."