The Pearl Ch. 15

"Not the same, but in the same place."

Chad held up a jar. "Is it this one?"

"No."

"How about this one?"

"No."

Chad eventually found the correct jar and carried it over. Qiang took it from him and rubbed the medicine into the wound. He then laid his tail across the brazier and let the fire caress his injured limb. "Thank you," he said with a contented sigh and he laid his head back down on the pillows. Chad crossed his arms and glared.

"I understand what you're saying," Qiang said. "But I think I've done this a little more often then you have."

Chad continued to look unconvinced.

"By the way, didn't I tell you to take Mingzhu to Sebastian and Dakota?"

"You did. And I did. Not all the way, but I assume Mingzhu can walk about twenty feet without supervision. Besides, I thought the last thing Dakota needed to see was the last person who assaulted her."

"I didn't tell you to come back."

"You didn't tell me not to."

"I see you're rather particular. How did you go back to the hawk?"

Chad's demeanor faltered a bit. "I guess I just wanted it and it came." He looked away, a little distant, but also a little wistful. "It's not so bad, the whole hawk thing, I guess. Actually, it's kind of nice." Qiang nodded. He wasn't surprised, the boy had a lot of potential just under the surface. But the matter of direction would have to be carefully considered. Chad was lost in thought a few moments longer before he started to head towards the exit.

"This is the way out, right?" he asked.

Qiang nodded but didn't open it. He studied Chad while asking, "Where are you going now?"

The thousand-yard stare met Qiang's gaze. "I'm really not sure yet. I've things I gotta do."

Qiang considered his next move. Then the wall opened in front of Chad with the business office on the other side.

"Grace from Heaven on you, hero," Qiang said.

Chad nodded. "Thank you." He walked out of the lair.

Qiang closed the doorway behind him. He knew one of the two, either Chad or the Jorogumo, would not be seeing the next day. He prayed that it would be Chad who saw the dawn. The Jorogumo had no power, but while Chad had all the instincts of a hunter, he had none of the practical knowledge. He considered going after Chad and accompanying him on the kill, perhaps even finishing the Jorogumo himself. Yet there was something about this experience that was Chad's alone. He would need to see it through to the end.

Qiang lay there a little longer, letting the medicine and the flame repair the damage done to his tail. Simply being in his lair, he felt revived. He was still bone tired, but he was out of danger. He felt he could sleep for a month. His remaining work kept him from that desire.

When the tail was nearly finished, the poison driven out and the wound close to healed, Qiang removed his tail from the brazier and turned to face it. He buried his muzzle amid the flames and embers and inhaled before consuming a portion of the fire. He eagerly swallowed down the burning coals, replenishing his all but spent stores.

Once he had enough energy, Qiang shifted to human form and went into his office, leaving the lair doorway open. He fired up his computer and set about to looking at hotels. Dakota couldn't very well spend the night... He looked at his clock; it was nearly two in the morning. He sighed. Dakota couldn't very well spend the rest of the night on the river. He found the hotel he was looking for; a nice Sheraton hotel featuring suites that faced the river. He picked up the phone and dialed the front desk.

"Yes," he said as the line was picked up. "I need a suite starting tonight, facing the river if at all possible. Yes, I'm aware of what time it is. Yes, I'm aware I will be paying for a full night tonight, that is not a concern." He paused as the night clerk checked availability and quoted him a room rate. "Does the room have a river view? Excellent. Yes, that is acceptable. For how long? I'm afraid I can't say, but a week at very minimum. Most likely much longer." He listened as the desk clerk advised him of residential suites. "That sounds like what I need. Do they still have a river view? Balcony over the river? Even better. Yes, book that under..." He stopped as he realized he didn't know Dakota's last name.

"Qiang Long." He read off his credit card number. "Yes, I will be bringing by the occupants soon." Qiang hung up the phone and returned to his lair. From under the bed he removed a storage box of Mingzhu's clothes and a suit case. He packed a full suitcase. Dakota and Mingzhu were at least somewhat similar in size, hopefully the clothes would work as a stop-gap measure until more could be purchased for her. He hoped Mingzhu wouldn't mind. Since the two were friends, he doubted she would. Tomorrow, if Dakota felt up to it, or the next day, she and Mingzhu would go shopping. Qiang would make sure of it.

He took up the suitcase and prepared to leave. He felt the overwhelming urge to stay well up inside him and firmly pushed it back down. While the fire wasn't nearly as sentient, or demanding, as the river, he was still weak and still longed to stay amongst the warmth and power of his element.Miles to go before I sleep, he reminded himself as he left for the river.

Dakota sat on the grassy section of the bank wrapped in a blanket. Mingzhu sat next to her and Sebastian continued to lay in the river. At first he didn't want the food Mingzhu had brought. Retching up the length of a six-foot neck was enough to put him off eating for a long time. The longer the food sat there, however, the more his body told him how hungry he was. His head drifted over towards the box as he asked, "What all did you bring?" "Duck, salmon, trout, and some extra dumplings," Mingzhu replied. One of the servings had already gone to Dakota who was picking them over as they spoke.

"Duck?" Sebastian asked, removing one of the poultry from the box.

"Yes, since it's a water based fowl, and there are some on this river, I thought you might like it."

"I don't know, I've never had it." Sebastian took a tentative bite of the duck and when he didn't have any troubles with it, he finished it off with two more bites.

"Not bad," he conceded with a nod of his head while going through the box again. Before long, he had the contents of the box devoured. "Thanks for bringing that," Sebastian said, laying out in the river.

"You're welcome. But Qiang actually arranged for it. He sent a young man to lead me here with the food. He left before we got all the way here, returning to assist Qiang."

"Oh," Sebastian said. "Well that was cool of him."

"Yes, but I'm not certain of who it was. Perhaps you might know." Mingzhu described the mysterious young man.

Dakota looked out from under her blanket cocoon. "That sounds like Chad."

Mingzhu nodded. "I thought it might be also, but I wasn't sure when he stopped being a goldfinch. Then, to return he became a hawk and now I'm thoroughly confused as to who he might be."

Sebastian and Dakota looked at each other. "Do you know anybody who turns into a hawk?" Sebastian asked Dakota. She shook her head.

"Sorry," Dakota said. "Looks like neither of us have a clue. But, in all honesty, up until now I haven't had any friends who turned into anything."

Mingzhu smiled and patted Dakota's leg. "You get used to it in time."

"Well, there's something new to add to friend's info on my cell phone. What animals they can turn into."

Mingzhu's smile broadened into a grin. "Depending on the friend, you may need many lines."

"Good to know."

In the midst of this gathering Qiang appeared, carrying a suitcase. His arrival startled Sebastian and Dakota. For her part, Mingzhu was accustomed to his sudden appearances. Sebastian eyed the suitcase.

"Staying for a while?" he asked.

"No. This is for Dakota." He set it down next to her.

"Uh, thank you," she said with uncertainty.

"You are welcome. The clothes are Mingzhu's." He turned his attention to her. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," she said, her grin never failing.

"Thank you. Now, I have arranged lodging for you." He produced a card with the hotel address written on it and gave it to Mingzhu.

"Why are you arranging lodging and giving Dakota Ming's clothes?" Sebastian asked, confused.

Qiang looked over to him. "Because I burned down her house and all her belongings." He turned back. "Now, Mingzhu..."

"WHAT?"

He returned his attention to Sebastian. "There's no need to shout, I'm right here. Though I would have thought Dakota already covered this, give me a moment and I'll explain what happened." He turned back to Mingzhu. "Now..."

"You're going to tell him the house burned down, right?" Dakota gave him a meaningful look.

Qiang pulled up short. "Ah, yes that's what I just said."

"You know, just, how the house burned down. That's all that happened."

Qiang realized what she was getting at. "Yes, just how the house burned down," he confirmed with a sigh. "Now, Mingzhu, if you could please drive Dakota to this destination, I would greatly appreciate it. The reservation has already been made under my name."

Mingzhu rose and helped Dakota to her feet. "Of course," she said, picking up the suitcase.

Though very tired, Dakota was loathe to leave. "Maybe I can just stay here for the rest of the night," she ventured.

"The hotel is on the river," Qiang explained. "And I arranged a room facing the river. I will be taking Sebastian there. We will meet you."

Dakota reached out and squeezed Qiang's arm. "Thank you," she said. "For everything."

Qiang returned the smile and laid his hand on hers. "You are welcome."

Dakota and Mingzhu disappeared down the path towards the car. Qiang returned to dragon form. He turned to Sebastian.

"Follow me," he said as he started walking.

Sebastian hauled himself out of the river and followed. "So what happened?"

"I had to use fire to destroy the spiders. Unfortunately, it destroyed everything else too."

"I take it this wasn't your average pest control problem?"

"No, they were sent by the Jorogumo."

"They were sent against Dakota?"

Qiang nodded, noting the angry tone in Sebastian's voice. "But the Jorogumo has been dealt with."

"That's good. But what about Dakota's situation now?"

"Well, clearly I will be replacing her belongings and her home."

Sebastian laughed. "So what, you're going to buy her a house?"

"That is my plan at this time. However, it can be a time consuming process. So the hotel is a stop-gap measure. Of course, in the meantime as soon as you are able, I will need you to come by the restaurant and advise me what belongings I'll need to order. I saw she had an extensive book collection, but was unable to glean any titles. I assume you know what she had and what she likes to read?"

"Yeah, not really. I know some of what she had, but nowhere near everything." He paused, thinking. "You know, 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is a good start. Oh, and I think she likes Poe."

Qiang nodded. "Very well. Though I'll need your input at some point when I can actually purchase something. Amazon's a rather good source for most books. I do know a rare books dealer. I'm sure I could find some first additions there for her collection. Particularly some Poe." "Qiang, she's a college student. I doubt she even had any first additions."

"Hmm, perhaps not. But there's no reason not to make her collection better."

Sebastian shook his head. She should certainly have an interesting collection at the end of this. They walked on in silence for a few moments.

"How are you feeling?" Qiang asked.

Sebastian thought over his answer. While he still wasn't feeling great, it was certainly better than when he was first broken free from the Jorogumo. He could feel the river, a much stronger presence than before, running almost all the way through him. A lot of what was taken by the Jorogumo the river had replaced with its own essence, healing him and working itself in deeper in the process. Sebastian had to smile. As he predicted, the river had a least partially won that fight.

"Not bad. Still a little haggard but better than before. The river did a lot to fix me up. Thanks for sending the food, by the way. Who was the guy? Ming said she didn't know who he was."

"It was Chad."

Sebastian stopped where he was. "WHAT?"

Qiang stopped and looked over to him. "What is this sudden proclivity you've developed for shouting?"

"Isn't he a goldfinch?"

"Obviously not if he helped Mingzhu carry a box of food."

"I don't believe this," Sebastian grumbled.

"I was rather surprised too," Qiang agreed with a shrug. "But he found his way out of the spell." Qiang resumed his path along the river.

Sebastian stood fuming for a moment, then caught up. "But how?"

Qiang shrugged again. "Something about dealing with the Jorogumo set him straight. The entire point of Chang's spell was for him to learn what he needed too. Once the lesson was learned, back to human he'd go. And so it was." He saw the glare Sebastian still had. "Don't blame me. It was Chang's spell and Chang's conditions. He met them, he's human."

"How did he become a hawk?"

"Now that was my fault," Qiang conceded. "I told him after he became human he was free to go. He insisted on staying so rather than traumatize Dakota further I stipulated his remaining was contingent on not being in human form. He chose the hawk. I didn't think he would be able to replicate it on his own, but he appears to have quite a knack for magic."

Sebastian ruminated over what Qiang said, deciding what he thought of it. "I don't like it."

"I know. But he met the conditions. There's nothing further to be done for it."

"We'll see about that," Sebastian muttered, but Qiang heard him.

Qiang stopped in the river and turned lengthwise, blocking Sebastian's path. "I don't imagine you much care for my opinion on your business, but you're going to get it anyway. First, Chang laid the spell. If you try to second guess it, or him, and certainly if you harm Chad in any way, you will answer to Chang for it. Secondly, whether you believe it or not, he was exceedingly helpful in this situation. What he may do in the future, I can't say, but as of now we are both in his debt. And for this reason you will answer to me also if you do something to him without provocation. Are we clear here?"

Sebastian looked away and glowered.

Qiang raised his head and glared at Sebastian. "Are we clear?"

"Yes," he snarled as he looked back.

Qiang softened, slightly. "Good. I understand you don't like him, and I understand why. There are some deeply flawed parts to him. And I don't expect you to forgive him, or even give him a chance. But I do expect you not to kill him out of hand." Qiang moved forward again, clearing the path for Sebastian.

Qiang continued leading Sebastian and soon they entered one of the more metropolitan areas of the river. Qiang escorted Sebastian directly to a large, and rather fancy looking hotel. The back of it faced the river and a patch of woods on the other side of the river. The hotel took advantage of the view. Along the ground level was a deck that wrapped around the structure. On the left side was a several story glassed in area that looked like the pool area. The far right side was another glassed in section, but this one extended a little way over the river. Sandwiched between these two structures the guest rooms were set, their windows dark. One of the floors of rooms had individual balconies set across the length.

"This is it," he said, stopping. "Is Dakota here yet?"

Sebastian cast about the hotel for her. "Not yet." He gave Qiang a long look. "Will you give him a second chance?"

"It wouldn't so much be a second chance, as we hadn't really had any dealings previously. But if he asked, yes I most likely would."

"Why?"

"Because I have to." Qiang left it at that. Sebastian waited a bit to see if there was more, but there wasn't. Before he could pursue the matter, he felt Dakota come into his range. His head turned to the hotel.

"She's here."

"Good. She should be getting one of these rooms with a balcony."

After a few minutes a light came on in one of the rooms. Then the balcony door slid open and the two women exited onto the balcony. Sebastian and Qiang walked over to them.

"Qiang, that room is huge," Dakota whispered when they reached the guardrail of the lower walk around.

"Good. As you will be staying there until a more permanent solution is arrived at, you should be comfortable. Mingzhu," he said as he turned to her. "I would like you to stay here with Dakota." He paused for half a minute before a thought struck him. "If it is amenable to you both, of course."

"I don't mind," Mingzhu said. She looked over to Dakota.

"I think I would like the company. Are you coming up?" she asked of Sebastian.

He looked longingly at the room, then shook his head. "I'm nowhere near up to shifting. Sorry."

Dakota smiled. "It's all right."

"What is called for now is rest," Qiang advised. He watched as Dakota and Mingzhu returned to their room and Sebastian settled into the river. Assured that as of now at least these three were safe, Qiang returned to his lair.

Qiang settled in among the pillows. He missed having Mingzhu with him. He was also deeply worried about his fourth charge. Though he hadn't set out to take on the strange boy, he felt responsible for him nonetheless. There was a dept owed, without question. Things would have gone much worse without him. On the other claw, he was deeply flawed... No, he was deeply, terriblydamaged. Though the semantics didn't make much difference in the long run, they were still there.

But even these concerns didn't keep an exhausted sleep from claiming him.