Splitting Up

***ARTEMIS***

When Lei said those words, the entire room was silent, but I saw the three grown-ups inside all nodding their heads.

"So, we'll find the method on how to save them in that book?" I asked one more time.

"Yes. Probably. I'm not sure." answered Liu Fen.

I then asked them where the book was but their answers brought nothing but dread.

"We have no idea."

""Huh?""

"Dad! We're talking about human lives here! My friends' lives!" Lei exclaimed.

"I know that son, but the fire twelve years ago left everything in a mess. Many documents went up in flames and many assumed for that thing to have perished as well." Uncle Wu Fen explained. "But I know the Codex of Souls is indestructible. It's a divine grimoire."

"So technically, it probably got stolen." was my reply with a bit of sarcasm.

"Yes."

"But even if we find it, it's still useless." said Pingjing.

""You said what?""

"The Codex of Souls can only be used by its creator, the Maiden of the Stars."

"And worse," Liu Fen added.

""There's more?""

"Two thousand years ago, when Lady Stele left the codex in Hauria's care, it was divided into two parts." he said. "One was given to the Zhang's for safekeeping-"

"But it was stolen twelve years ago." Lei inserted.

"Yes. And the other half was left under the care of Lee Hyun, the second master of Shadow Garden."

"What the hell is Shadow Garden?" I asked.

"It's kind of like a spy network." Liu Fen explained. "It was founded by Hauria and its main job was to gather information, protect the people she chooses and even assassinate those who were too troublesome for her and friends."

"So she has a dark side, huh." Lei commented.

"Everybody has." was my response.

"Anyway, when Qing-ge died, she left Shadow Garden to Lee Hyun, a close comrade of ours. As well as the other half of the codex."

"So where are they now?"

"Nobody knows."

"What do you mean?"

"After the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, Shadow Garden lived true to its name and retreated in the shadows. They secluded themselves and even I don't know where they are now."

Another moment of silence hung around us. We finally had information, a clue, but it somehow seemed a little out of reach.

"Is there really no other way to save them?" Lei asked.

"I'm afraid the Codex is the only thing that has an answer to our problems. Magic concerning souls and spirits are very tricky and complicated. Not everyone can do it, only a few are compatible with it." Liu Fen answered. "The thing about it is that, the person had to be born with that compatibility, rather than acquiring it like regular magic.

I sighed in disbelief. Another obstacle. I was the Witch of the Void, so souls and spirit magic were not in my sphere of influence.

"Now what?" Uncle Wu Fen asked.

"We can't just give up!" I cried. "Our friends are in danger!"

"Artemis is right." agreed Lei. "We have to save Tim and Dean."

"But how? The only way seems next to impossible." replied Liu Fen. "Tim and Dean are my friends as well. Do you think I want to give up?"

"Dad, please tell me you have a lead on who stole our half of the codex."

Uncle Wu Fen took a deep breath. It was like he never wanted to share the information in the first place, but he had no other choice. Finally, he cracked;

"Unfortunately I do. It's in the hands of my blasted of a brother, Steve Zhang."

***

"So let me get this straight." Kyle said. "The only thing that can save Tim and Dean was divided into two parts; one was stolen by Lei's uncle while the other one just blinked out of existence? And worse, only one person can use it?"

"In a nutshell yeah." replied Liu Fen.

"Steve Zhang." I heard Seven mutter. "Sounds familiar."

"He's a famous businessman in Europe. He built his fame and fortune in Morocco in a short time." Kyle responded,

'That's an informant for you.' I thought.

"I bet he never regained those through honest means." added Kai in a low voice.

"Kai's right." my brother said. "Steve Zhang leads a syndicate. They do human, illegal drugs and illegal firearms trafficking. His men can also be hired mercenaries to whoever has the money and power to pay for it. They also have connections with the detestable Corvino Famiglia,"

"Isn't that a mafia group?" asked Coby.

"Yes."

All eyes suddenly landed on me.

"What? Okay, just because I used to be part of the mafia, that doesn't mean I know everything. I was mostly an assassin back then and ever since I became a doctor my knowledge with that side of the world dwindled. Like a lot." I reasoned. "If there's anyone you want to ask about it, Kyle can answer that. You can even ask Lucas."

"No one's really asking you to do anything sis." Kyle chuckled. "But weren't you a mafia princess?"

"Shut up."

"Artemis-noona[1]," Kai called. "You're the one with the mafia connections. But now that I think about it, we all have connections with the dark side of the world."

"What are you talking about?" Calvin asked. "And why do you make it sound like Star Wars?"

"It's kind of like this." Kai answered. "Artemis-noona is a mafia princess, Kyle-hyung is an informant, Seth is a hacker, Lei-hyung and Chen-hyung got something to do with the triad, then Seven-hyung is a martial artist. I wouldn't be surprised if we're all connected to it one way or another."

We all stared agape at Kai.

"And here I thought you were only good at dancing and eating chicken." Xander commented.

"Oh, and Xander-hyung's mom is a witch." he added.

"Enough with that." I interrupted. "How do we get the codex from Steve Zhang?"

Silence once again enveloped us.

'Guess we're out of ideas.' I thought.

"Got it!" piped up our maknae all of a sudden.

"Not now Seth." said Kyle.

"The bathroom's that way, Seth." also said Lei and pointed to a direction.

"No! Everyone, I know how to find the codex! Even get it! I can't believe this."

All of us stared at him like he grew two heads.

'Maybe he did and the other one was smarter.' I thought.

"You guys don't even believe in me." he pouted. "I may be naïve and stupid sometimes, but dancing and hacking are my passion."

"It's okay Seth." Seven consoled him. "Tell us what you discovered."

"So, I tried searching for clues in the world wide web." he connected his laptop to the TV projector in front. "Then I landed on this illegal site."

An image popped on the screen. It had a maroon background with different pictures and writings.

"This is a site for the black market. It's heavily encrypted since they release announcements here concerning black market activities." he flashed a smile. "Including auctions, and the where and when."

He clicked a photo. It loaded a little, and then the picture became clearer. It was a transparent box designed with engravings written in gold. Inside was a pile of paper and below the picture was…

"You have got to be kidding me." I heard Pingjing mutter.

"'Mythical ancient relic, The Codex of Souls'." I read. "It's up for auction?"

"Yep!" Seth replied chirpily. "And it's seller is Steve Zhang."

Kyle took the laptop abruptly. "Auction date is this Saturday, as for the where, it'll be somewhere in the Philippines. They haven't put the specific location yet."

"So it's confirmed then. We're going to the Philippines." Coby said.

"But that's only one-half of the codex. We need the entire thing." Lei commented.

"And it'll be troublesome and eye-catching if all of us go. I think, we'll need two teams for this." I added.

"Artemis is right." Seven said. "One to get the codex in the Philippines, and the other one to investigate the other missing half of it."

"I'll lead the first group." I suggested. "If it's bidding and infiltration, I'm the perfect candidate. I'll need help too."

"I'll lead the other one." Lei volunteered. "What if it's in a tomb somewhere, right?"

He glanced at me with a sorry look.

"Looks like, we'll be separating this time." he said.

"It's fine. Let's just get this over with. And after everything, let's go to a date."

"I'll hold you on that."

In the end, Lei, Chen, Seven, Coby, Leo and Calvin were the ones who would track one-half of the codex while me, Kyle, Seth, Kai, Blake and Xander would be the ones to head to the Philippines to figure out a way to acquire the other half.

We even became more determined when Liu Fen announced that if Dean and Tim still hadn't regained consciousness by the full moon in two weeks time, they would really die.

"Dad, there has to be some clue on where to find Shadow Garden?" Lei asked Uncle Wu Fen.

"Fine. Last I heard, they protect an old family in Changsha, Hunan."

Note:

[1] noona - how males in South Korea address their older sisters.