Wild Creatures

Chapter 67

A service? What could it be?

"It has something to do with your locket." Da Tuzi says, in that calming way of his.

His deep dark eyes are shining with curiosity, too.

"To be honest, we had questions for you, even before we came here tonight." Wei Ying says, pulling out his locket. His thumb traces the pattern on the outside, the coat of arms his grandfather must have taken great pains to engrave upon an unforgiving metal.

"I will be happy to answer any that does not interfere with my blood oath." Da Tuzi bows slightly, a tilt of his upper body to show his sincerity.

He can't be blamed for wanting things to go back to what they were like, just a few minutes ago, when Lan Zhan still trusted him.

Lan Zhan wants the same thing, so he can understand that to some degree.

Meanwhile, Wei Ying launches right into it.

"Oh, great!" He says, brightly. "Who commissioned the fountain at the front of this building? And who designed it?"

"This mansion has existed for hundreds of years. It has been the base of the Lan Clan for so long, some of the records have disappeared. But that fountain was added around three hundred years ago."

"Oh." Wei Ying looks disappointed. "It's just that, I was hoping for something more recent. I don't know why, but it pulls at me. Every time I go closer, I need to stop and look at it, and I don't know why." He rubs at a spot next to his temple.

"There were modifications ordered more recently." Da Tuzi says, a twinkle in his eye.

"What kind of modifications?" Wei Ying's head snaps up, immediately alert.

"A couple of months before your parents visited, actually." Da Tuzi looks excited, as he scratches his chin thoughtfully. "I thought it was rather odd that vandals would break in and smash the staff...on the fountain. The wards were not in place at the time, and we had to order another one, since I'm in charge of restorations on this property. The new one was delivered and installed a few days before Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren arrived."

"The vandals didn't damage anything else?" At Da Tuzi's head shaking no, Wei Ying agrees with him. "That's really strange. Especially because they could have tried to break in, causing some real damage."

"Most definitely."

"We should go outside and look at it, just ... just to put my mind at ease. But, there's something else." Wei Ying reaches into his pocket and pulls out the last remaining connection between himself and his parents. "Do you know what this could mean? I thought it looked like a compass, but I could be wrong. And given your proximity to vampires, can you read the Glyphs? What do they say?"

Da Tuzi takes the piece of paper, turning it this way and that, rotating the circle.

"I cannot truthfully say. I can read one of the Glyphs for sure, this one means blood." He points at it.

"We know that one, too." Wei Ying replies, still feeling low.

He had been hoping that this chat with Da Tuzi would prove to be more enlightening, but really, their list of questions was only growing.

"Have you tried Googling them?" Da Tuzi says, suddenly. "I find that very helpful, especially when there's nothing that seems to work."

"No way!" Wei Ying laughs out loud, he's so surprised at that. "Really? You think that'll work?"

Da Tuzi is blushing as he nods.

Lan Zhan has already pulled out his phone and started typing, as Wei Ying takes the diagram back.