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Nephrite was surprisingly strong, especially considering her size and petite appearance, strong enough at least to drag her guardian off the street, lest he be ran over by a car. Then she retrieved the umbrella and cowered down next to Amon, though it did precious little to protect the two of them from the downpour by now, drenched as they both were already.

Carefully Nephrite felt for Amon's – just where the mark the vampire lady had left on him was still faintly visible – relieved to find it was running slow, but steady. After several futile attempts to wake Amon – trying pretty much everything from shaking and slapping him to pinching his skin and mentally yelling at him – Nephrite tossed the umbrella into the roadside ditch in a fit of anger and tore her hair. He. Was. Not. Waking.

Of course not.

As it was in fact exactly what dried Baku Root was supposed to do. Grant deep, undisturbed and – most importantly – dreamless sleep, which had been the main reason she’d originally purchased it (as her guardian was still bothered by nightmares). Not from Mang, who wouldn’t have given it to her anyway. Though it had been in one of the old lady's scrolls Nephrite learned about that root. It led to ‘deep slumber’ within five minutes to one hour after consumption, depending on age and quality of the root, and also on the amount consumed. She had memorized the contents of the scroll rather well. It also had numbing and paralyzing effects in higher dosage, making it a favorite among herbalists when asked to prepare patients for surgery. Overdosing could lead to death, by paralyzing vital muscles. Like the heart.

Unfortunately, the scroll had been vague at best about how long the sleep would last. That too, Nephrite guessed grimly, probably depended on the age and quality of the root. She retrieved the umbrella for a second time, before she cowered down at Amon’s side again. Now that he was no longer in danger of being run over, she was actually starting to wish a car would pass by. The weather had become quite cold again after a few almost summery warm days, and while the temperature didn’t really affect her, her human was a different matter.

‘Come on …’ She poked him. ‘Wake up. Make some fire. It’s okay make fire if you’re freezing.’ Again she glanced to the left and the right, but there was no car in sight as far as the eye could see. It was a quiet time, people were still working. ‘Wake uuuuuup …’

Maybe she could make some fire … She rummaged through Amon’s pockets until she found his lighter, amazed to find it would indeed burn despite the heavy downpour and the occasional gust. But it did little to warm them, and was not enough to burn anything, lest alone start a bonfire. ‘Please …?’ she whined, holding the flame in front of her unconscious guardian’s face. ‘I don’t mind if I get burned?’ Tears were starting to well up in in her eyes.

Nothing happened, however, so she flicked the lighter closed, storing it in her sleeves before she felt for Amon’s pulse again. He was starting to look pale, and that worried her more than anything. He was starting to feel cold to the touch too.

What else could she do?

‘Athaaaaaaaaan,’ she whined, burrowing her face into her guardian’s coat. ‘Mystiiiic. Hawk. Reyna-lady. Please come. Anyone. Please come.’ Ohhh, how great that would be if Athan would pop out of a portal right now. Never mind that Amon didn’t like portals. He wouldn’t be awake to be freaked out by it anyway. Or Reyna-lady. She had the same sense of red-hot heat bubbling just underneath her pretty surface about her as Amon did, occasionally. It would be gooood to have her here. She could warm him up.

Her fingers dug deeper into the fabric of the coat, touching upon something hard. That had to be … the cigarette case? The cell phone? The cell phone!!

Nephrite’s eyes widened, but then she shook her head. What would she do with it, she couldn’t even speak! But … Amon used it for messages too, which was the most he usually ever did in the regards of writing.

Settling on her guardian’s chest, umbrella sort of held in place by being tucked between her shoulder and the side of her head, Nephrite went to inspect the strange contraption, trying to figure out how to make it work.

Not much later she had to try very hard to resist the urge to toss that stupid thing into the ditch, as she had done with the umbrella previously, but she knew that would kill it dead. But, how did this work?! The writing looked so strange, and staring at the brightly lit screen made her sensitive eyes tear. Finally she hit something which made a list of names pop up. This … looked familiar of sorts. Like … A little like on Mir’s tiny flat computer, when she was ‘chatting’ to people?

Excited, Nephrite skimmed the list, most of which consisted of names she didn’t know. None of them said Athan, or Reyna. But … Oh. Oh! OH! Bree! She knew Bree! She was a little scary, but she’d cared for Amon when he’d been bitten by the vampire lady. And Amon seemed to believe she could do anything.

Hastily Nephrite pressed the green glowing button- Or should it have been the red one instead? But green seemed so much more attractive to her~! And then she waited with bated breath, figuratively speaking. No message thingy was appearing up, instead the cell was giving off a dood sort of sound. Nephrite clutched it with both hands and pressed it to her ear.

“Hello?”

Bree! It really was Bree! Nephrite would have recognized that voice anytime, even strangely distorted as it did sound coming out of this phone thing.

‘Oh Bree, please come, please!!’

“Hello-oh? Amon? Are you in a spot with bad reception? Because, if you just said something, I can’t hear you apparently.”

‘No bad reception. But telepathy doesn’t work with phones!’ Frantic, Nephrite looked about, finally holding the phone away from her body. ‘Listen. There’s rain. It’s not broken reception. There’s rain, and Amon is getting wet, and cold, so please, please come!’

There was a pause on the other end of the line, causing a rush of excitement to run through Nephrite’s body as she wondered if her mental outcry had been transmitted, somehow. Magically.

“Is there a reason you can’t talk?” Bree asked warily. Nephrite knew what she had to be thinking now, that those bad people in black maybe had gotten Amon.

Another pause, then: “Nephrite, is that you?”

Nephrite clutched the phone. ‘Yes, YES, YES IT’S ME PLEASE COME!’

“Honey, if it’s you, tap against the cell, the lower end – that’s where the microphone is – two times.”

Nephrite did so, and – because she wasn’t sure if it had been audible at all given her … rather fabric-y nature – picked a pebble from the muddy ground and repeated it.

“So it is you. So. Okay. Two taps mean ‘yes’ one tap means ‘no’. Got that, honey?”

Nephrite nodded, unaware she could not be heard or seen, until Bree called out her name again.



“So … what is with Amon? I know you can’t really get away from him, so I’m assuming you’re with him now?”



“I’m also assuming there’s a reason as to why he isn’t on the phone. Is he hurt?”

Nephrite hesitated, wishing Bree had given her a knocking sign for ‘sort of’ as well. He wasn’t really hurt per se, but being out in the cold and wet certainly wasn’t doing him good.



On the other end of the line Bree groaned. “What is that supposed to mean, yes? Or no? I’m asking again: Is. He. Hurt?” She was sounding angry.

‘Yes … sort of.’ Nephrite wibbled.

“I swear, if this is your fault somehow …” Bree muttered, but then broke off, taking a deep breath apparently. “Okay. I can hear you’re obviously not in the house. Where are you? In the garden?”



“On the road?”



“Towards Dürem?”

Uh ... Nephrite hesitated. Her sense of direction still sucked.

Bree, knowing this full well (Amon had shared with her the story of how the little one had gotten lost in the bazaar, thinking it was hilarious), sighed. “Are you close to the house?”



“Okay, then I’ll find you. Were you out with the car?”



“What the hell were you doing out in this weather? Never mind. Nephrite, honey, listen. If you can keep him warm somehow, do so. If there’s a car coming by, stop it, make them help. Don’t wait on me. But if no one comes by, I’m on my way. I’m coming.”

“And I swear, if this is your fault somehow …”

The woman’s threats didn’t matter to Nephrite. She was clutching Amon’s cell, looking at it like it was heaven-sent. ‘Amon, Amon! Did you hear? Bree is coming to help!’

There was no response, of course, as he was still out stone cold. Nonetheless, Nephrite did a soggy little somersault mid-air, before settling on her guardian’s chest again.

To keep him warm ... That was easier said than done. Maybe she could puff up a little, like she’d seen birds doing …

Bree had left about an hour ago, when she was certain that Amon would be alright. She didn’t bother to apologize for her abrupt leave, she had a business to tend to, after all, Amon knew this well enough. But, she ascertained, there’d be someone coming over to look after his car in the morning, to fix whatever it was that The Little Fiend On A Vengeance had done to break it. The Madame never revealed if she actually had been on a date by the time Nephrite had called her.

Amon was still lounging in the living room, and would most probably spend the night there – as the room was comfortably warm now, and way closer to the kitchen than his own room anyway. He was sitting cross-legged on the couch, balancing his laptop on his knees and pretending to do his taxes when he really was just browsing the internet, looking up stuff here and there.

Nephrite was out and about to tend to her precious garden, now that it had stopped raining, furiously tearing away weeds and … just about anything, it seemed. The way it felt to Amon, she was just trying to avoid him. And, personally, he didn’t mind her being out of his way right now. She’d done enough for today. Really, just what had she been thinking, trying to drug him like that? Was it something which had come from within herself, or … had he done something wrong in his raising her?

Amon leaned back, rubbing his temples as if to try and ease away a headache. He mostly knew the basics about the fiends. There was no way telling of just whom or what Neph might have been in her past – before her soul had been sucked into that ornate piece of jade – and if that Old Self might be coming back to haunt her, influence her. Her intense interest in herbs certainly didn’t come from just out of nowhere … Now the thing was, was it something influenced by the present (Mang came to mind here, almost immediately), or her past? Was she really the sweet healer and aspiring apothecary she seemed to be developing into most of the time? Or … a wholly different beast entirely?

Amon sighed. He shouldn’t have to worry about how to rise a child in the first place. Lest alone one which was an Old Soul who might have been god-knows-what in the past, carrying around quite some baggage. And capable of phasing through walls and listening in on his most private thoughts on top of it. But … she’d grown dear to him. If anyone would ever threaten to hurt her … well, he’d kick that person’s a**, with everything he had.

He put his laptop aside, and – feeling the need to stretch his legs – getting up to walk over to the windows and take a look at the moonlit garden. Nephrite had retreated outside as soon as it had stopped raining, and been furiously tearing away at weeds ever since, her sense of guilt still hovering over their shared bond like a heavy, dark cloud.

She looked cute in her gardening outfit tho, Amon thought. A simple cotton kimono which could conveniently be laundered at high temperatures, an apron, and gloves which still looked sort of too large on her, given the fiend’s petite stature. The hair had been pinned up into a bun to keep it from getting into the way – a rather simple one (yet still very neatly done), not one of her usual elaborate masterpieces.

Suddenly the urge to go out for a smoke was almost overwhelming, but, yeah … He’d never gotten even as far as the gas station before Nephrite’s concoction had knocked him out. Besides, he didn’t want to disturb the little one. She … had to work this one out for herself, probably. He considered it a good sign, though, that she did indeed seem to feel genuinely sorry about what she’d done.

Amon shrugged to himself, intending to return to his spot on the couch before it could grow cold in his absence, but instead moving to feed the fire with a log or two first. He wasn’t especially careful about placing them. He did not need to be. Just as oven mits and pot holders generally remained unused on their hooks as a mere kitchen decoration ever since he wasn’t sharing the household with Kevin anymore to remind him of their use.

Before, the fire had clearly been reacting to his agitation, there was no denying it had been his doing … probably.

Amon’s lips pressed into a thin line. Oh, just whom do you think you’re kidding …

Neph knew, Bree knew, Kevin had known as well, Reyna quite obviously knew, and Athan … well, there was little left to wonder after he’d brought in Nephrite so heavily charred by magical fire.

Eye darkening, jaw set, Amon reluctantly reached into the flames to pick up one of the glowing bits of ember. He felt no pain as he did so. It just felt … warm. Comfortably warm.

Amon swallowed hard, closing his healthy eye. This … A violent shiver ran down his spine, despite him being so close to the open fire, and he crushed the ember with his bare hands.

He didn’t want this, that kind of power at his fingertips.

What he’d been made to see in the Haunted House … And the state the Willow’s estate had been in when he’d left … Nephrite’s charred midriff even though she was a creature of magic … "I may be many things but a murderer is not one of them." Athan had told him that night.

Whereas he himself …

Amon hung his head. Well, he just might be.

His healthy eye cracked open when he sensed warmth creeping along his arm, just in time to observe a tongue of flame snake and swirl around his dark skin in a way which seemed almost affectionate. He exclaimed loudly in shock, crumbled bits of ash and charcoal slipping from his hand and onto the tiled floor as he hastily skittered backwards, until his back hit the opposite wall.

No, no, NO! He most definitely didn’t want this.

He had to get rid of this dreadful ability, somehow.

It was easy enough for Nephrite to steal away while Amon was busy on the spice market, discussing the possible pros and cons of a certain type of chilli with Geeta – that naga lady he liked so much – while actually aiding her to set up her stall.

The odd pair of guardian and fiend always hit the markets early now – usually while the vendors were still setting up – it simply worked out best for the two of them. While most of the bazaar quarters’ roofed halls were sufficiently shaded for the light sensitive loathing fiend, she still preferred to sleep/nap through most of the day, except for when she was staying at Twilight Designs.

Which probably had to do something with all the … magic in the air there, Amon couldn’t help but fathom.

In any way, to have Neph with him in an enjoyable mood (to have her around cranky and suffering from lack of sleep was hell and required for her to be appeased with expensive gifts) meant they’d have to visit the bazaar either at dusk, or at dawn. At dusk, a great many of items were sold out already or … So Not in exactly their best condition anymore, and Amon ‘worked’ at that time of the day more often than not anyway, so dusk was out. Dawn generally worked out much better for the two of them.

He’d often wait in his car for her and Athan to arrive in front of the store, still dressed up rather fancily if he came straight from the job, or rather casually if he’d been home early enough for a shower, a coffee, his morning run, and then another coffee and breakfast. Occasionally he’d stay for yet another coffee and a bit of a wary, superficial chat with Athan, but of the times he’d leave with Nephrite right away to hit on the markets.

Glancing over her shoulder occasionally to see if her leaving would be noticed, Nephrite wove her ways through the shadows along the edge of the spice market hall. But, she needn’t be concerned. The last time she laid eyes on Amon he’d just gotten out that little notebook of his, about to scribble down some notes. So he and Geeta likely were at exchanging cooking recipes again, and that meant he’d be busy and not paying attention to whatever she was doing for quite a while.

Fabulous.

Now … where had that store gone she was looking for? Stupid bazaar, always changing around. The last time it had been just around the corner from that tea vendor, but he had set up his booth in a different place today. How dare he, after she’d had such a hard time memorizing everything! Or was it Geeta who had set up in a different spot today? This place was always so confusing! Maybe she really should try to draw a map, just like Ruku had been suggesting.

Or better even, have someone else draw her one.

Nephrite continued to meander along the edge of the spice market, looking at (and nicking some) stuff here and there, wondering just how much time she had left before Amon would be missing her and start to wonder just what she was up to.

Ah, there! The tea guy! And right behind, that narrow, dark alleyway she’d been looking for. At least it looked just like the one.

“Hello, little Chaaya,” the vendor greeted her jovially as she passed by through the shadows. Nephrite paused. That man had easily noticed her last time too, just how he managed to do that was completely beyond her. Usually being merged with the shadows like that rendered her pretty much invisible to the human eye.

‘Hello Savitr,’ she said politely, reluctantly emerging from the shadows, small hands clasped in front of her lap. She loathed to waste time like this, but to ignore the man once he had noticed her was completely out of question and downright rude. There was no way she’d ever be rude.

And, well …it might actually be good to have an excuse and an alibi of sorts should Amon question her about where she’d been to.

“Where did you leave the big guy?” the wizened vendor inquired. “Amon was his name, yes? Are you lost?”

‘Mh, I thought I was lost, but now that I found you …’ Nephrite shook her head. ‘Are you in the same place as last time?’ She inquired, just to make sure. ‘Amon is still chatting with Geeta.’

“Ah, Geeta.” The old man chuckled. “No wonder you got bored. Decided to explore a little, yes? Like last time?” He gently petted her head. “The big guy, did he like my tea?”

Nephrite nodded, but withdrew a little. People never quite could resist the urge to pet her hair apparently, and often enough they carelessly messed it up. ‘He liked it a lot,’ she confirmed, starting to rummage through the little drawstring pouch she carried for her allowance. It irked her a little, that her guardian obviously liked this man’s teas, but not hers. There was something about the use of spices, she figured, she didn’t quite get. ‘Can I have some more of the same?’ she asked, holding out her money.

“Absolutely, Lady Chaaya. And no charge this time. Just give my regards to the big guy and Geeta, mh? So that they’ll not forget about poor old Savitr and stop by some time.”

‘Sure!’ Nephrite nodded, quickly dropping her money back into the bag before the old man could decide otherwise. Getting things for free was great! And it left her with more money to use for other purposes, as she hadn’t been able to borrow any of Amon’s credit cards this time. He’d become … excessively watchful in that regard, damn his paranoia.

“Here you go,” Savitr said, handing her a small brown paper bag of fragrant goodness.

‘Thank you~!’ Nephrite half-bowed-half-curtsied, storing away the bag in the folds of her gown. She would have to remember and be careful not to lose it when she was phasing through stuff, but organic matter usually was fine. ‘Are you in the same place?’ she repeated her previous question, as it had not been answered yet. Maybe Savitr hadn’t heard. Though … that was a little hard to imagine, considering her means of ‘speaking’.
“I always am, Lady Chaaya.” Savitr nodded.

Nephrite breathed a sigh of relief, metaphorically speaking. So she wasn’t lost. This time. ‘Great!’ she announced, and turned to venture into the dark and narrow alley right behind Savitr’s little stall, waving at him as she looked back over her shoulder. ‘See you~!’

Savitr beamed and waved back, but as soon as the little fiend turned, his eyes narrowed. Off to that Huli’s place again, eh? Maybe he should tell that big guy of hers, or Mang, at least.

Huli’s just wasn’t a fit place for children.

“Huli’s Needful Things” was what was written on the shop sign. Nephrite stared up at it with awe, and actually wibbled a little. She had found it! She really had found this awesome shop again! She tried the door, which turned out to be still locked – coming as only a little surprise, considering how early it still was. Not bothered by it, Nephrite simply floated through, venturing into the dark, unlit store.

“Huli’s” assortment consisted of a bit of everything. Amulets, incense, tarot cards, gems, idols, and … what she’d come for, herbs. Though they were labeled ‘drugs’ for some reason. But it was their scent, and that of incense which had drawn her here the first time. A little disappointed the place seemed still closed and no one was above, she floated up to lightly tip the bell which would announce the door opening with her fingers.

“Arararh, too early, too early!” There was a prompt complaint accompanied by shuffling noises from the back room. “Did I forget to lock the door? Stupid Huli, careless Huli.” The door behind the counter opened by just a little, and a petite, yet beautiful woman with slanted, narrow eyes peered warily through the gap. “Oh. It’s you.”

‘Hello …?’ Nephrite said hesitantly. She knew just how awful it was to get woken up before the proper time, and – all of a sudden – she felt bad about it. But only a little.

“Mfh. An early bird, you are, ehb little shadow spirit? No regard for doors being locked for a reason either. No regard for poor Huli’s sleep. Don’t bother, never bother.”

‘I’m sorry,’ Nephrite diligently hung her head. ‘But I wouldn’t have been able to stop by any later. Not without company.’

“Ahhhh.” The petite woman who referred to herself as ‘Huli’ shuffled into the store, dragging her gown up her shoulders. Her slanted eyes were bare slits, and there was something about her pointy chin and high cheeks which … seemed to remind Nephrite of something, although she wasn’t certain of just what. “Secrets. People who come to Huli always have secrets. That’s your problem, right? Right?” There was the sound of small furniture being moved about, and a moment later Huli seemed a lot taller behind her counter, as she’d climbed onto a stool.

Nephrite nodded. ‘The baku root worked fine, but …’ The fiend shifted uneasily. ‘I used it at the wrong time, and it kinda backfired, and now he wont have any of my teas … And he noticed something odd about the taste.’ She hadn’t considered that. Smells, she was good with, but taste … was something she couldn’t fathom unless she latched onto her guardian’s senses. Which sort of beat the purpose.

“Ah~!” Huli’s eyes narrowed even more, and there was … a slight wiggling movement underneath the robes at her back.

Nephrite couldn’t help it, she just had to lean over the counter to take a closer look. ‘Do you have a ta-’ she started to inquire, just before she received a bap on her head. ‘Ow!’ she exclaimed.

“Not polite, looking behind the counter!” Huli huffed. “Shoo! Or I wont sell anything to you anymore.”

‘Sorry …’ Nephrite hung her head once more, though they both knew it was an act.

“So, you need something tasteless. Odorless too, preferably?”

Nephrite nodded slowly. Amon certainly wasn’t going to drink any of her teas anymore, not anytime soon at least, so … she would have to sneak things into his food instead. Possibly. When he needed them. To rest. To recover. Without nightmares. Or so she told herself.

And, despite him liking his dishes hot and spicy, she knew her guardian well enough now to know she could not count on the spiciness knocking out all the other flavors. Far from it, unfortunately. Damn his new-found passion for cooking.

“Ohhh … That’ll cost you, little shadow lady.” Huli grinned, revealing a row of teeth too sharp and too pointy to be human before she remembered and pressed her lips closed.

‘That’s all I’ve got now?’ Nephrite said, presenting her allowance for a second time this day. ‘I wasn’t able to get the card this time …’

“Not enough,” Huli said, after barely a glance. “By far not enough. Bring more next time, little one. Can I go back to sleep now?”

‘Neph, where exactly are you?’

Inwardly, Nephrite groaned. Amon had to notice her being gone now?! ‘Close by,’ she replied reluctantly. ‘I got bored. Can we go to the fabric market next?’

‘Sure,’ her guardian replied mentally, ‘as long as you don’t intend to buy half of the stock there, like last time.’ He was wary of her having sneaked off like that, she sensed.

‘I’ll be with you in a minute,’ she assured him. ‘And, I’ve got some chai for you?’ Such a shame, though, she’d so hoped she’d be able to blend the mix with some … special ingredients. She gave that Huli a scathing glare. Why did she have to be so expensive! And so difficult! If only she knew what was in which container, the next time she could just sneak in without waking her, and …

‘Go back to sleep,’ she said gloomily. ‘I need to go. But next time. I need something just like the baku root, only without taste.’

“It’ll cost you,” Huli repeated, crossing her arms on the counter and resting her head on them. She so wanted to go back to sleep. Also, she definitely needed to take care of the wards placed on her shop, since the little shadow girl had been able to get in just like that. But … later.

Later.