When I heard Xuan's words, I was overjoyed. When my hopes of finding Kelly looked dashed for good, a samaritan materialized. At a tender age, the little girl in front of me did not look like the saviour angel.
"I deeply appreciate. Can you share what you have taken?" I asked
Nodding, he extended her handphone. "This is the picture I took. You can take a look. I am not sure if I have taken the right vehicle."
I bent over and pored over the picture. The image was a little hazy, probably from a shaking hand but the van outline and number plate were clear. I was relieved.
"Good job. I think I can see the number of the vehicle." I said to Xuan
"You can see it?" She giggled
"GZ 1919 K" I read it out loud. "It looked like a Toyota Hiace Van."
"Hope it is helpful!"
"Indeed it is," I said.
"I must now get this to my friends in the police, friends who could help to find Kelly."
"Who is Kelly?" Xuan asked. She had heard me.
"Oh, she is my partner."
"Girlfriend?"
"No!" I exclaimed, appalled at that suggestion "She is my fellow disciple."
"Fellow disciple?" Xuan scratched her head "You mean like a classmate?"
I smiled at her witty comment "Yes, something like that. We grew up together. She is like a sister to me."
"Oh sister. I have a brother too. He always bullies me but..."
"But what?"
"I know he loves me. Sometimes at night he would hug me and say sorry for things he did in the day."
"That isn't too bad. I am sure you will turn out fine."
"Then he would repeat it again the next day. Pulling my hair, hiding my pencil case and silly things." Xuan complained
"I will give him a good talk one day."
"Oh, Adam please don't use your powers on him. He cannot take it."
I looked at my hands and smiled
"No I will not."
I checked my watch. It is ten minutes to mid-night and there is one thing I really need to do.
"Now I have to send you home quickly before it is midnight. Your family must be worried.
"It's fine. I will take the lift on my own. I stay on the third floor."
I nodded as I looked up the block. "Which unit?"
"That corner unit" She pointed to the nearest end of the corridor.
Sensing it to be safe, I nodded "Well then I will say farewell now."
"Hey, you promised we would meet up again two nights later?"
I winced. "How can I forget that?" I bent over "I promised. I will meet you there. 10 pm?"
She nodded and gave a thumbs-up.
Then as the lift door closed, she waved to me through the glass panel and flashed her smile.
I waved back. As I watched Xuan's lift ascend, I felt a queer sense of things. I cannot pinpoint the source of my feelings. The girl, the timing, the bus stop, her grandfather - it all makes me feel uncomfortable. Why would she wait for her grandfather alone?
I probably get the answers I want from Xuan in two days. For now, I have more urgent business.
I picked up my handphone and dialed that familiar number. When it came through, I heard that masculine voice.
"Hello. Adam?"
"Visnu."
"Hey, Adam. What's up? Are you missing me already? We just spent an entire day together."
He joked clearly in reference to the case I had just helped the police to crack. It was a murder of a renowned family that eventually led to a series of apparitions. Solving it led to the discovery of another police case that was unresolved and dated back to the 1990s.
"No, I do not miss you but I seriously need your help. I need a favor. "
"A favour? What is it?"
"Am I interrupting you now?"
"Well yes. I thought of getting a drink before heading home to sleep. It has been a week of sleepless nights."
"You are not going to like me."
"What is it? You don't sound good."
"Kelly has been abducted," I pronounced slowly.
"What? Your Kelly?" Visnu's cry on the other end of the phone was so loud that I had to put the phone away for a moment. "You are saying your fellow Onmyoji Kelly Nishimura?"
"My Kelly?" I repeated. My Kelly?
"She is the best spirit master I know. How can she get abducted?"
"It was an ambush. I received her distress call earlier, right after we parted. It was a strange call and she seemed to be in distress. I followed the coordinates she gave and reached Queenstown Street 9."
"What happened? Did you find her?"
"When I arrived, I was attacked. I walked into an ambush."
"A premeditated ambush. This does not sound good. Are you hurt?"
I looked at the wound on my thigh.
"No" I replied "I am fine."
"Do you know who did it?"
"Yes," I said in a determined tone.
"Give me their details."
"I will but we need to find Kelly first. Find her, we find the attackers."
"What can I do for you now?"
"I need your help to find Kelly."
"How can I help? Any leads?"
"I have a picture of a vehicle that may have taken Kelly."
"That's great."
"A passerby I encountered shared the picture."
"You are lucky. Better give me the details quick."
I forwarded the picture to Visnu.
"I saw the number plate. I will send this to the traffic police. Let us work on it and when I have some leads, I will get back to you."
"Thank you. Please be quick. I worry for Kelly."
"Me too."
Then he hung up.
I limped my way back to my vehicle and quickly administered medication to my wound. I had kept some antiseptic lotion in my car compartment. I realized there was already a swell over the wound with a ring of bluish-black, festering.
I slapped my cheeks and feel my body. My senses are still clear and there is no numbness. I am good to drive.
Staying alert behind the wheel, I managed to drive myself back to my condominium within twenty minutes.
It was dead quiet in the basement carpark and I made sure to check the surroundings before alighting.
It was all safe and I reached my unit a fourth-floor two-bedder. Upon entering, I quickly lit an incense coil, place it into the urn and prayed.
As the spiral of fragrance ascended, my heart slowed to a calm.
"What a night." I murmured.
I dropped my bag and then proceeded to wash my wound and applied some cleansing salt on it. It was a terribly painful process but I had to. The Black Robes are well-known applicants of poison and I cannot take chances.
The edges around the wound had transmuted into a ghoulish black. I suspect Yasu must have his brand of poison.
My teacher Masutā Sato once told me that the Black Robes have a natural affinity for animals like us Onmyojis. However, they have a stronger preference for snakes and bats which they reared for their craft and the extraction of venom for medicine and poison.
I had always heard about their powers but tonight is the first time I had a taste of it.
Quickly, I reached for my cabinet containing all the portions and medicine brewed by my sect. I kept a wooden cabinet in a corner of my living room.
I opened it to find a tray of porcelain bottles of all shapes and colours to denote medication for different purposes. I had all the bottles neatly labelled for various purposes - from bites and scratches caused by spirit, snakes and bats to overexposure to dark spirits.
I found what I was looking for - a black bottle that carried the label that reads Antivenom compound. I unbottled it and was greeted by a mild scent of heavy plant essence which comprised of herba andrographitis, paris polyphylla, wild chrysanthemum. pseudo-ginseng, and plantain
Gently, I lay on the floor, leaned to a side, and applied some powder onto the wound which is now an ugly greenish mound. If untreated, in another two hours, I will likely feel nauseous and start to lose some of my powers.
For a mortal, he would be dead by then.
My medicine works and the administration brought an instant cooling sensation. The tension around the wounds that stretched down my limb also began to subside.
I was able to breathe easier now.
I picked myself up and limped over to the sofa. I dropped myself on my favourite spot, hugging my pillow.
I exhaled relief from the wound treatment but my heart was troubled by Kelly's missing. I hope Visnu will call soon.
I shut my eyes to reflect on the night's events. The call, the ambush, and the appearance of the Dark Robes. Yasu's presence can only mean one thing - there is a larger scheme of things that are more sinister.
Over the centuries in the tussle between Tenmon So and the Dark Robes, they never failed to create chaos and left a trail of bloodshed and destruction in the aftermath. In the words of Master Sato; "wherever the dark robes go, death and tears follow."
The strifle between the two entities dates back almost a thousand years. Once, we both belonged to an ancient sect, the vanguard of Onmyōdō craft and magic. The split came came at mid-point when a senior Onmyoji decided the Onmyōdō craft should be used to pursue power, politics and personal gain. Instead of being the servant of humanity, he decided the craft should be leveraged to control the realms of humans and supernatural beings.
Since then, there have been a few significant clashes throughout the centuries spanning the various shogunates. After World War II, the competition became more muted but no less intensive. Over the past decade, I have been deployed and deeply immersed in three of these battles.
They are good training opportunities for me but the bloodshed and losses were unnecessary. I have always mulled if there is another way for us to manage our differences.
I hope this time the Dark Robes will not escalate another bloody confrontation.
I checked the phone. Visnu has not called.
"I must find Kelly, I must," I mumbled as I alternated between weighing my options to checking the handphone. I must wait until Visnu calls me.
I was awakened by the vibration of my handphone. I had fallen asleep!
I was spent. Those moments when your consciousness was abducted by fatigue and drifted into slumber.
I checked the clock 1.15 am. I had slept for over an hour.
I noticed a missed call and returned it
"Visnu?"
"Adam, are you fine? What happened? You didn't pick up. "
"Yes, I was in the bathroom. Do you have news of Kelly?"
"We traced the vehicle using our traffic cameras. One of our men from the Traffic Police found a suspicious van of a similar model that is parked along a deserted road off Jalan Punggol where there is a vast Lalang field. It is a very desolate part of Singapore."
"Great. Can they confirm it is the same number plate?"
"No. There is no number plate. The one you saw was probably using a fake number plate and they changed it on the way."
"Damn. If it is were not for the picture..."
"You will never be able to find the van. I am still not sure if it is the one that took Kelly."
"I come over now!"
"Please do. One of the patrol car is already on the spot and I am sending over some more."
"Good to that hear. By the way any trace of Kelly?"
"Nothing was reported but I felt it is better you come over."
"Right away! I will see you in a while."
Forgetting my fatigue, I jumped out of the sofa ready for new bout of action.