56 Moiras magic (1/2)

The cave house was starting to get crowded so the next day, An Ning had her mother's house cleaned and her three visitors dispatched and transferred there that very afternoon. She also sent Sarai to the main house while Sarai's daughter stayed with her.

With the outsiders gone, it actually felt good to live out on her own again. The kids have started school and An Ning's time was now spent teleconferencing with Nyra and Matt in the mornings and consulting with the architects in the afternoons.She had decided, without telling anyone, to map out the layout and design of what will be known as the Republic of Saravia in the future.

An Ning was thinking big not just in terms of simple development but actually building a nation that will be the home of future and would be Amazons.Du Lu actually had a hand in her decision. Du Lu was a big star. One of the biggest in the world. Fame as big as that will always have groupies or followers wherever he goes. And groupies mean hotels, hotels mean accommodations, and accommodations mean jobs, and jobs mean money.It was not enough to just willy-nilly build a school here or a hospital there. Order must be established. And order means roads, and bridges and zoning rules.

An Ning put the queens to work. And Sam, who evinced surprise at An Ning's request.

”But I betrayed you,” she said, eyes brimming with tears. ”I'm just grateful that you allowed me to stay here with Matt.”

”So, what are you going to do then? Just follow him around like a dog? He's busy working. If you're planning to build a life together here in Saravia, you'd better carry your own weight. Look around you. Everybody is busy getting rich. Don't tell me you're happy spending your days here as a parasite?”

An Ning will never have a soft spot for Sam however hard she tries.She will never be able to forget the harm this girl tried to inflict on her and her family.Sam never seemed to have realized how high the stakes were when she did what she did. It would have meant the annihilation of an entire tribe, some seven thousand women and children trapped in an island where half of them already died from disease and starvation.

An Ning had no sympathy at all for what Sam and her mother suffered. It was all vanity after all. An old woman didn't want to die. Her fool of a daughter promised her a cure because she didn't want to be alone. And if they had succeeded...if they had succeeded, An Ning would have had no qualms at all in tearing that new mechanical legs apart and killing mother and daughter in her anger.But An Ning, however, had a soft spot for Matt. So she had to tolerate Sam if she wanted to please him.

An Ning put Sam in charge of administering the whole operation. And the first thing she did was find An Ning an accountant.

Moira was able to finally leave her bed by the second day. An Ning was there to see her. Moira flung her arms around An Ning and cried. An Ning was very touched. Moira was a tender-hearted girl who always struck her as the epitome of sunshine. But she didn't expect tears so she was a bit uncertain how to steer the conversation around the attack.

Luckily, Du Lu was not as scrupulous as her.

”What happened, Moira? Who attacked you?”

An Ning rolled her eyes at him. Du Lu merely scowled.

Moira released An Ning and dabbed at her wet eyes with the edge of a blanket. Du Lu frowned. An Ning, recognizing that expression, handed Moira a box of Kleenex.

”I didn't see who it was,” Moira said. ”I was closing the shop and was standing behind the counter when I felt something touch me.”

”Touch you?” An Ning asked. ”In what way?”

”Like a piece of cold tongue. You know, like when a dog licks you.”

”I know, so what happened then?”

”This cold thing then covered my mouth and it felt like it was pulling at my insides,” Moira said with a shiver. ”It was horrible. I couldn't stay awake because it felt like I was losing control and dying. After that, I don't remember anymore.” She turned towards Du Lu. ”You found me, didn't you? Did you see anything?”

”No, nothing. I found you sprawled on the floor and called for an ambulance.Then I called An Ning.”

”An Ning? Why An Ning? I couldn't understand that part.”

Du Lu hesitated and turned to An Ning.

”It seems your attacker had a supernatural origin,” An Ning explained.

”Supernatural? You mean a ghost?”

”We don't know exactly. But Du Lu witnessed a similar thing happened to a child he bought. He said the child vanished into thin air while she was enjoying a piece of chicken.”

”You bought a child?” Moira's round eyes stared daggers at Du Lu.

”Why do people always focus on that part?” Du Lu complained.”This guy was hitting her and I threw him some money to make him stop. That basically means he sold me the kid, right? What was I supposed to do? Reject a child who clearly needed saving? And aren't we detouring from the real problem here?”

Moira flushed guiltily. An Ning just rolled her eyes.

”So, what was it? This supernatural being who attacked me?” Moira said after a while.

”We don't know,” said An Ning.

”So, why am I here? And where is this anyway?”

”You're in my house in the village where I live.”

”I brought you to her because you were dying, Moira,” Du Lu was as blunt as ever. ”She fed you her blood that's why you survived. You're alive because An Ning fed you her blood.”

”Yup, and really, let's make me sound creepier than a vampire, okay?” An Ning scowled.

Du Lu had the grace to look ashamed.

”Sorry.”

”Hmnn...”

”You really sound like you were reading a part for a movie, Du Lu,” Moira said, grinning. ”I was expecting a transition into horrorific sound and song.”

”Look, mommy, he's shy,” An Ning teased.

Du Lu looked indignant and huffily moved to stand and stare outside the window.

The two girls giggled, looking at the imaginary poker behind his back.

”So, what do you want to do today?” An Ning asked.

”I want to go and looked around in the village,” Moira said excitedly. ”But do you have time? I mean, you must be very busy.”

”I am but I can spare some for you. Besides, I want you to see the village. Moira, I have a good cook and I have everything I want here in Saravia. But I miss your cakes. How about if you open a store here? You'll be the first. The villagers are not exactly in-step yet with modern life so they have no concept of what a coffee shop looks like. Why not introduce them to your particular brand of magic?”

Moira opened her mouth. Then she closed it again. Her mouth opened again but no words came out. But her eyes were shining, beaming like lasers on An Ning's beautiful face.

”Is that a yes?” An Ning asked, laughing.