Rowan → Ethan Nakamura ✔

Possession

Dwarfed by the surrounding sky-high residential buildings, Tin Hou Temple was a testament to old traditions that had managed to stay afloat in the modern age. Its jade triangular roof was adorned with stone spirals and snarling dragons, waves of dulled turquoise against old grey stone. A hollow arch built into the porch stood guard on either side of the main entrance, red circular lanterns hanging from the rafters. From where Rowan was, she could see the edge of a red shine inside, laid with numerous small candles. Above that, the goddess's name was written in golden Chinese characters while red vertical scripture framed the door.

They stood in the temple's stone courtyard, beside a table with red pots. Rowan noticed a stick of smoking incense, almost burnt down to the stalk. Someone had arrived about an hour ago, probably around the same time she had returned to the city. That was anything but a coincidence.

"Rowan," Nico pointed. She followed his gaze to see a black bag on the steps towards the door, out of sync with the neat ritualistic artifacts nearby. Rowan could recognize those mismatched straps anywhere. She approached with the others behind her, keeping a steady eye on the doorway in case anything emerged.

Rowan kneeled beside the bag. It lay lopsided on the porch, as if whoever holding it had been in a hurry. She swiftly pulled the zipper and began to rummage through an assortment of items that were alien to Billie, Will and Nico.

"What is it?" Billie said, amidst the sound of Rowan grabbing things and holding them up to keenly inspect.

"A Hunter's pack." Ethan responded quietly. He figured it was the least he could do with Rowan occupied; besides, maybe it would lessen her frustration towards him. "Tools needed to capture different kinds of mogwai."

"All kinds of mogwai." Rowan corrected. Never mind then, if she was insistent on staying furious – Ethan let out a scoff that she pretended not to hear. "Instead of Barbie dolls or Hot Wheels, I had these for toys as a kid."

Then, she zipped the bag shut. As she stepped away, Will frowned. "Do we not need that stuff?"

"The cages were empty, but the baits weren't. If there were mogwai here – or even if there used to be – they'd destroy everything."

"If there aren't any monsters around, why were your parents called?" Nico asked.

"And who called them?" Will looked around. "I don't see anyone."

It was true; the temple was oddly quiet. Other than the sound of cars on the main road beyond its grounds, no noise came from within. Upon the shrine, the candles' flames appeared calm and steady.

"Let's find out." Rowan said grimly.

She lowered herself, footfalls soundless as she crept towards the door. Rowan released her Guandao, weapon at the ready. The rest followed by example: Will drew an arrow, Nico unsheathed his sword, Billie's fingertips tingled with magic, and Ethan gripped the hilt of his knife. Together, they moved as a singular, silent unit.

The moment Rowan met the threshold of the temple, air cooled and light dimmed, forming a climate unique only to locations of sanctuary and ceremony. With the shrine now to her right, she realized that the candles were fake, merely orange-hued electric light pulsed within plastic wicks.

Rowan peered around the corner, holding her breath. Another table like the one in the courtyard bore three similar pots, only these were gold with detailed engravings and were flanked by donation boxes. Symmetry seemed to be the designer's main concern, for there was double of everything like a mirror had been erected along the temple's main body – red and green tapestries, pink flowers in steel vases, and in the middle, a mahogany platform occupied by ceramic gods.