Rivers of Fate

Suspicions

Wanfeng swallowed hard. There was no free air here. No currents. Only the nauseating illusion of it with the landscape whizzing by. Being sealed inside a box of metal and glass hurling through the air, his stomach wanted to heave.

"You're not nervous about speed, are you, Wanfeng? I thought Disneyland had lots of fast rides."

Chen Kai's remark only grated more on Wanfeng's frayed nerves; nerves that wanted nothing more than to unleash his primordial form. But even if he'd been free in the open to shift into his dragon, without his internal conduit of magic to tap into he was suffocating not just in breath but in body. If he could but break out of this Quor Vet and launch into the wind, he'd show the mortal Chen Kai what speed truly was.

Wanfeng's voice was stiff as he forced his eyes to keep focusing straight ahead. "What are your intentions towards Xia?"

Kai's grip tightened around the steering wheel.

He sent the car peeling fast and furious around a corner, rewarded with another short hiss of breath from his passenger. They were still on quiet secondary streets but would soon reach the main boulevard where he'd have to tone it down.

"Cut right to the chase, don't you, Wanfeng."

Kai would have peeled around the last corner to the boulevard but the police cruiser he spied in the distance at a traffic light nixed that idea. It was still satisfying to see Wanfeng lurch and his knuckles whiten even more as he downshifted rapidly to make a proper turn.

"I've got no intentions at all." Kai kept to the right lane. The restaurant was only a few blocks down. "Xia's the perfect tenant that I want to keep. Hey, don't get me wrong. I think she's really lucky to have a brother looking out for her that way. The reason I gave her the gift and am getting pizzas now is to try and start making up for neglecting my responsibilities. Xia was rightfully upset with me before and now I want to make amends. Besides, my mother really liked Xia."

"Your mother was custodian of the manor house before you."

"Huh, custodian of the manor house, sure. When she died, I inherited."

Since the guy was talking, Kai figured now would be a good time to test the waters.

"So what was Xia like when you were kids?"

"Cease the false pretense, Chen Kai. We both know you know Xia and I are not siblings."

Boom. Mic drop. Kai's expression hardened. "No shit."

"Stay away from Xia."

There it was. The threat. The challenge.

"I think that's up to Xia to decide, no?"

"She believes it will cause trouble for her and her neighbours if you think I'm not her brother. Despite your 'making amends', I believe that would make Xia upset with you all over again, perhaps even more so, no?"

Kai laughed for real this time. Son of a bitch.

"No one's causing trouble, Wanfeng. But did it occur to you that maybe Xia would get upset with you if she knew you were deciding things about her life behind her back?" An odd tremor through the car frame made Kai glance at the rpm gauge. The engine was revving fine. Maybe they'd rolled over some uneven pavement. "Let's leave it for now. Anyway we're here. Told you it wasn't far."

The Corvette passed beneath the Pandelli's Pizzeria sign to enter the parking lot where Kai hardparked into an empty spot.

As slow and awkward as it had been for Wanfeng to embark, it was the opposite now. Kai's passenger unbuckled and figured out the handle to open the door in all of 2 seconds flat. Flinging the door wide to leap out, Wanfeng slammed it shut behind him. Kai's grin turned to a frown. Watch the hinges, Disneyland. He'd left the windows up on purpose along the way but now worried. He isn't about to puke on my car, is he?