Page 90 of Elemasters

“What my friend was trying to say, is that his parents are Carter and Malaya Zhang, owners of…”

The lady gasped, cutting Chris off before he could even finish his lie.

“Basically everything. What do you boys need?”

“There’s a super big storm coming in, totally out of nowhere. Weatherman didn’t even see it coming but it’s probably gonna be awful,” Chris continued, putting on his best puppy eyes. The woman nodded knowingly.

“Yeah, I heard that something was going on in Seattle, didn’t think it would reach us though,”

“It’s probably gonna be even worse here. I just wanna make sure you’re safe,” Chris internally cringed, knowing he was laying it on thick as he reached across the desk and brushed his fingers across the back of her hand, “I wanna make sure everyone is safe. We need to make an emergency broadcast so everyone knows to stay inside until it blows over,”

The lady looked pensive for a long moment, chewing her bottom lip. But the moment she made eye contact with Chris, she folded.

“Usually we have to get a notice from the National Weather Service or the local authorities before we can do that… but I don’t think you boys would come all the way here for some silly prank. I’ll make sure it airs ASAP,”

“Thank you, Janet,” Chris replied, reading her nametag just for the final bit of razzle dazzle, “you’re a rockstar,”

Janet’s cheeks reddened, and she quickly scribbled her number down on a sticky note.

“Here you go pretty boy,” she flirtatiously drawled, clearing her throat as she realized how insanely unprofessional her tone was, “to um, call me in case you need anything else,”

Chris took the sticky and winked, before him and James headed back outside.

“Dude that was insane,” James laughed, “thanks for taking the helm, I almost fucked us. I can’t decide if I’m impressed or terrified of you right now,”

“You should be both,” Chris stuck the note to James’s forehead as they got back into the car, “let’s just hope the others found something in my mom’s notes,”

Chapter 35

I Have Friends in Holy Spaces

Dustin, Bailey, and Chloe stood over the kitchen table, sifting through piles upon piles of notes, pictures, and transcriptions of ancient documents while trying to make sense of it all.

They’d at least found some information about what the Heirloom Seal of the Realm even was, which was a start.

“So, we’re looking for an ancient stamp made out of jade?” Chloe exhaled, the annoyance evident on her face, “I’m not trying to doubt Sima or anything, but I have no idea how this is supposed to help us,”

“It’s not just a stamp,” Dustin clarified, skimming an old Han Dynasty shipping manifest for any possible clues, “it was supposedly made from a ceremonial jade disc, and knowing everything we know now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some kind of magical powers,”

“Well okay, let’s try to narrow down our search then,” Bailey said, slurping from the giant Red Bull can she’d pulled from… somewhere, “what do we know about this thing? Like, historically,”

“From what I remember, mom said it went missing at the end of the Tang Dynasty, when China split into two kingdoms,”

“So, it’s been missing for how many centuries? And we’re supposed to find it like it’s the easiest thing in the world?” Chloe rubbed her temples, “ugh, how many impossible things are we supposed to pull off in one night?”

“Hey now Miss Ma’am,” Bailey playfully chastised her, “we’re not giving into hopelessness now. Not after everything we’ve done. We have magical powers and we managed to save Chris from being possessed! It’s not like we’re just a bunch of nobodies trying to find this thing,”

Chloe breathed deeply, her shoulders finally relaxing a bit.

“Right. You’re right. I almost forgot who I was for a second,” she immediately went to work organizing the various notes into what looked like two piles; pre-Tang and post-Tang. It wasn’t long before her eyes narrowed in that familiar way that told Dustin she’d found something noteworthy, “wait, right here. It says something about the Heirloom Seal being lost in the chaos after Emperor Cong.. okay you already know I can’t pronounce that, so let’s move on. Anyway, he died and they lost the seal. It was last seen with someone named Liu Ruanyu… why does that name sound familiar?”

“That’s Mr. Liu’s first name,” Dustin gasped, “the one who owns the pawn shop in town!”

“You don’t think he could be like… the same person, do you?” Bailey wondered, “I mean, an old man living from the Tang dynasty until now wouldn’t be the weirdest thing we’ve seen,”

“Only one way to find out,” Dustin said, slinging his jacket over his shoulders, “it’s the only lead we’ve got, so let’s follow it,”

For as long as Dustin could remember, Mr. Liu’s Pawn Shop had been one of the creepiest places in town. He’d never been inside, but through the window it looked like an endless collection of antiques, including some really eerie porcelain statues of what looked like demons or something on display right in the windowsill.