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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I grab my flashlight and my knife. I click the light on, filling the room with faint white light, and flick the blade open. The metal snap reverberates in the tiny flat.<\/p>\n
Lupin and Leonhard teleport into my room. Both of them are bleeding streams of multicolored light from a dozen wounds.<\/p>\n
\u2018Are you guys okay?\u2019 I ask.<\/p>\n
\u2018Been better,\u2019 Lupin mutters.<\/p>\n
\u2018We bought you a bit of time,\u2019 Leonhard says, \u2018but there\u2019s an army of nagas on the march. They\u2019re forming up and coming here.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Got it. You guys can go get a healer. I can take care of this.\u2019<\/p>\n
Lupin chuffs. \u201cNo. You can\u2019t win this alone.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t plan to.\u2019<\/p>\n
I sweep up my phone, fire up Whatsapp, and send a group message.<\/p>\n
Nagas incoming. Shields up NOW.<\/em><\/p>\n To Shun Tian, I send another.<\/p>\n Contingency plan now.<\/em><\/p>\n The moment I send the message, lightning strikes.<\/p>\n Thunder detonates in the room. The wind shrieks, carrying an undercurrent of vicious hissing. Swarms of black dots pour in through the windows and latch on to me. Thousands of tiny teeth bite and rend and tear, and down my arms and legs my skin itches as though bitten by a million mosquitoes. Blazing portals materialize around me, surrounding me, and through them I see vast numbers of snakes, preparing to invade this realm. My spirit guides take protective positions by my sides, teeth and claws bared.<\/p>\n I raise my knife above my head.<\/p>\n \u201cMICHAEL!\u201d<\/p>\n White Light blasts through me, through the knife, through the ceiling and up into realms barely known. In my mind\u2019s eye, I see a warrior angel in gleaming white armour, wings spread wide, sword held high overhead. He nods grimly at me, and swoops down from the heavens. Behind him, an army of winged angels follow.<\/p>\n The snakes hesitate.<\/p>\n I slash the knife through a wide arc.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the holiest names of God, Agla, Adonai, Elohim, Yahweh, Eh-Heh-Yeh, I banish you! I banish all evil spirits from this place, and all spirits who wish to do me or my friends harm! Begone now, and never come back!\u201d<\/p>\n I cut a pentagram through the air, timing every cut with the pronouncement of every name. Dark motes leap off. The portals close shut. The clangour of metal on metal fills my ears.<\/p>\n I reach for the celestial realms and call down a pillar of White Light, blasting away all impurities and chasing off the few unwanted beings that remain. My blade glows, my flashlight shines brighter. My physical eyes still see shadows, but my mind\u2019s eye reports daylight.<\/p>\n A figure appears before me. A human dressed in a pure white lorica over a matching Roman tunic. Golden hair tousles down his neck. His lips are curled in a smile, but his blue eyes are filled with grim purpose, and in his right hand he holds a sword.<\/p>\n \u201cArchangel Michael,\u201d I say. \u201cThank you for coming.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018We came as soon as we could,\u2019 he replies.<\/p>\n \u201cJust in time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018We will hold this space. Go forth and finish this.\u2019<\/p>\n I switch the lights on and turn off the flashlight. The white light almost washes out the archangel\u2019s presence, but I still feel him radiating peace and purpose. I ring my singing bowl and clear the room. Lay out a cushion on the floor, settle into a lotus position, and breathe.<\/p>\n Charging myself with energy, I climb out of my body. Up and up a silver rope, reaching up into the heavens. Faint whispers tug at my ears. Twisting, formless things gather at the edge of my second sight. I ignore them all, climbing, climbing, climbing\u2014<\/p>\n I erupt from my body.<\/p>\n Floating near the ceiling, I inspect my home. The quick and dirty purification and banishing hadn\u2019t completely cleared the place. In the corners and on the walls there are still faint smudges of dark wet slime, and spatters of astral blood cover the floor. Archangel Michael stands guard by my body, naked sword in hand, looking in every direction. A squadron of flashing white lights orbit the room, patrolling the points of entry.<\/p>\n Leonhard and Lupin pop into existence next to me. Their fur is rough and matted, but their wounds have closed over.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you two all right?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cWell enough,\u201d Leonhard says, licking his flame-red fur. \u201cRaphael the archangel cleaned and closed our wounds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou two look tired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNonetheless, we have work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Lupin interjects. \u201cCome. The nagas await.\u201d<\/p>\n We race through the astral realms, hot on the nagas\u2019 trail. They leave behind strands of glittering yellow energies, hot and wet like blood, pointing back to their homeland.<\/p>\n The nagas would be waiting for us. Natives of the astral realm, they knew that there was no hiding the energy trace of such a large-scale movement. Without the ability to conceal themselves against a threat who already knew where they come from, to defend themselves against the inevitable counterattack, they would prepare an ambush for us.<\/p>\n I\u2019d learned that lesson in blood long ago. And they would know I knew that. Whatever form that ambush took, I had to defeat it.<\/p>\n Without starting a war with the nagas. Even I knew that was not a fight that could be won.<\/p>\n We arrive at the nagas\u2019 realm. The three suns beat furiously down on us. Forests stretch out for miles in every direction, covering a range of undulating mountains in the distance.<\/p>\n No nagas in sight.<\/p>\n \u201cBe careful,\u201d Leonhard warned. \u201cThey would never leave their realm unguarded.\u201d<\/p>\n I hold out my hand to the sky.<\/p>\n \u201cMay I have my sword and armour?\u201d<\/p>\n A beam of white light cuts through the air and illuminates me. My clothing melts away, reshaping into a harness of steel plate and a hauberk of mail. More plates materialize on my limbs, bracers and vambracers and cuisses and greaves and gauntlets. A second beam of light condenses in my now-gauntleted hand and transforms into an arming sword. I grip the handle, testing the weapon\u2019s weight.<\/p>\n Hisses of outrage fill the air.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re coming,\u201d Lupin warns.<\/p>\n The trees below transform. Leaves vanish, branches melt into each other, trunks sway sinuously. The bark transmutes into tough scales and tougher armor, arms grow from trunks, and eyes open on the branches.<\/p>\n Nagas. The trees were all nagas, a veritable living ocean of snake spirits, wriggling and writhing, issuing angry hisses and alarmed rattling.<\/p>\n Every single head, thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of them, turn to face us. Every eye glares at us. The snakes draw back, flaring their hoods, opening their jaws, throwing back their heads, gathering energy in their mouths\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cPEACE!\u201d I shout.<\/p>\n With that word, I create an egg-shaped cocoon of brilliant white light, covering the three of us within. It\u2019s a shield. But not the kind that would absorb attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see my shield!\u201d I declare. \u201cAttack me now and your attacks shall be reflected to you tenfold!\u201d<\/p>\n The snakes freeze. Some hesitatingly close their jaws. Others glare at me, building up power, readying to blast through my shield.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not here to make war on you,\u201d I say. \u201cI seek merely to speak with your king.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHere I am.\u201d<\/p>\n The snakes slither away, clearing an open circle around a single individual. As they retreat, the naga grows larger and larger, looming over the others. They keep falling back, and he keeps growing, becoming a giant, a titan, a living skyscraper, so tall he looks at me in the eyes.<\/p>\n The naga has adopted his true form. Eight massive heads with blazing golden eyes, each wearing an enormous bejewelled crown, a colossal torso wrapped in royal gold cloth and heavy lamellar armour, an octet of massive arms and hands holding gigantic tridents and swords and spears. Before him, I am simply a fly.<\/p>\n \u201cGreetings, Your Majesty,\u201d I say. \u201cI have come to discuss with you the recent invasion of my home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing to discuss,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Every word is a thunderclap. I grit my teeth and say, \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou come here dressed for war, and you dare say you are here to \u2018discuss\u2019 something with me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour welcoming committee made such defensive measures necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNonsense! They are here to defend against your incursion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich was merely a response to your own.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do not mean your home. I mean your invasion of my petitioner\u2019s temple.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe went there merely to help Diana declare that she was cutting ties with Somchai and would no longer tolerate continued harassment. Somchai escalated, we responded, and no one died.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou came into the seat of my petitioner\u2019s power and you made a mockery of him. Now you come here as a warrior, with sword in hand and powerful forces at your command. Such an insult cannot be ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do not mean to offer insult, but I shall defend myself and my friends and clients against those who will attack them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Defend\u2019,\u201d he spits. \u201cYou who have slain kingdoms and nations of sentient beings at the bidding of your precious, precious Light. I cannot trust your words.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrust this, then.\u201d<\/p>\n I open my hand, and my sword dissolves into nothingness. The armor fades away, reverting to my T-shirt and pants. Lupin and Leonhard exchange glances with me, but say nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not have to fight,\u201d I say. \u201cViolence leads to bloodshed, and bloodshed over such a trivial matter is unbecoming of us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have destroyed empires for less.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I said, I am not that man any more. I wish to keep my sword sheathed, if only\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLies! We know you decimated the demons who preyed on your client last year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did not say I have given up the sword, only that I do not make war for trivial reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTalk is cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed. But your realm is safe and prosperous, your people unharmed, and yourself intact. Had I truly wanted to destroy you, our circumstances would be far different, and our blades would be doing the talking.\u201d<\/p>\n His eyes narrow. \u201cYou are truly here simply to speak to me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. We cannot go on cursing and counter-cursing each other. We must find a resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou cast a confusion spell earlier, and in doing so addled the minds of many of my soldiers. We cannot overlook this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe spell wasn\u2019t aimed at nagas. Only at pursuers. Had they stayed their hands, they would have been fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy our laws, we cannot ignore any outsider who harms us or interferes with our business. Those who violate our laws shall be punished with every power we have at our disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre they dead or wounded?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter. Your spell prevented them from carrying out their mission. Thus, you must pay. With pain and suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n Pure saffron light flashed through the world. The naga recoils in surprise. I turn to look.<\/p>\n A portal opens above the forest of snakes. Through the portal floats a dark-skinned man in saffron robes, seated atop a huge pink lotus. The man\u2019s earlobes droop down almost to his jaw; spirals of fine black hair cover his head, topped with a perfectly coiffed bun; and in his right hand he holds up a lotus lower. His face is perfectly serene, his eyes twinkling, and he regards us with a faint smile.<\/p>\n The Buddha.<\/p>\n The nagas go quiet. All heads bow to him, touching the grass. The naga king shrinks before my eyes, reducing himself to his regular form in a heartbeat, and lowers his crowned heads also. Leonhard and Lupin hover attentively by my side. I drop my shield.<\/p>\n \u201cGreetings, World Honoured One,\u201d the naga king says, his many foreheads pressed against the ground. \u201cWelcome to our humble domain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreetings,\u201d the Buddha says calmly. \u201cI am honoured by your warm welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe honour is ours, Wold Honoured One.\u201d<\/p>\n I nod to the Buddha. \u201cThank you for coming.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell met, Michael Chang. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buddha glances around. \u201cI see many weapons and suits of armour in evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are merely defending ourselves against an external attack, World Honoured One,\u201d the naga king replies.<\/p>\n \u201cOh? What kind of attack?\u201d the Buddha asks.<\/p>\n \u201cThis\u2026\u00a0human<\/em>\u00a0invaded our realm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that so?\u201d Turning to me, the Buddha says, \u201cTell me your story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy client was under a curse. I broke the curse, but these nagas retaliated. My client and I spoke to the man who bid the nagas to cast the curse, and warned him to cease and desist. The nagas took offense and attacked me in my home. I came here to resolve the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh,\u201d the Buddha says.<\/p>\n An ocean of sorrow tinges his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cWorld Honoured One, why have you come?\u201d the naga king asks.<\/p>\n \u201cI have heard from Michael\u2019s friend that your kingdom was preparing for war.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buddha gestures. A new figure appears next to him. Kang Shun Tian. He waves at me, and I wave back.<\/p>\n This was my contingency plan: if everything fails, if cunning and magic and direct confrontation did not resolve the case, reach out to the one being the nagas would respect.<\/p>\n \u201cThe humans started this,\u201d the naga king says. \u201cI aim to finish this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstandable, but regrettable. Violence begets violence, bloodshed begets bloodshed, death begets death. By inflicting suffering on others, you inflict it also on yourself. The weight of your karma is heavier than mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am trying to end this cycle,\u201d I say. \u201cNon-violently.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buddha frowns. \u201cNon-violently?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLess violently,\u201d I correct. \u201cI haven\u2019t killed anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou lie!\u201d the king shouts. \u201cYou have slain three of my soldiers with cold steel and White Light!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen did this occur?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cBarely ten minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they attacked me at my home?\u201d<\/p>\n Shun Tian shakes his head and holds up his hand. I sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s done is done,\u201d I add. \u201cI regret their deaths, and may they be reborn in a finer state of existence. For this, I am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is little comfort to their parents and widows and children.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNevertheless, he is apologetic,\u201d the Buddha says, \u201cand had you not sent the soldiers they would not have met this fate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have my duties to uphold,\u201d the naga king replies.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but as a king, your first duty is to your subjects. Yes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, World Honoured One,\u201d he agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cConsider: you have entered into a pact with a magician who borrows your power to oppress innocent beings who disagree with him. You fulfil this pact by ordering your subjects and your soldiers to carry out the magician\u2019s wishes. In so doing, you and your subjects and soldiers incur a heavy karmic debt, one that will ripen into sorrow and suffering.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael Chang\u2019s presence is but one manifestation of this. It is well that he has mostly given up the way of the sword. Thus far he has kept his powers in check, but know that should he will it, the devastation of your kingdom would be complete. While he restrains himself, should you carry on this path, you will offend other beings more powerful than he, and far less inclined to mercy and dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot abandon my covenants,\u201d the naga king says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe magician who you have allied with has strayed from the Middle Way. He inflicts suffering on all around him. He claims to lead his students to enlightenment, but he merely drags them off it. For his crimes he shall suffer greatly. It would not be fitting for a personage as august as yourself to allow himself and all his subjects to be dragged down to hell with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe does not promulgate your teachings?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe never has.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe came to me in the guise of a monk and a teacher of the Way. If this is not so, then we have no reason to act for him any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA wise choice,\u201d the Buddha says, smiling. \u201cAs for you, Michael, you no longer have a reason to stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d I say. \u201cI have no desire to continue this cycle of conflict. Should the nagas cease their behaviour towards me and my friends, so should I.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo more harm shall come to you and yours from us,\u201d the naga king said. \u201cBy my word I guarantee it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buddha claps his hands. \u201cExcellent! This matter has been resolved. Let us now return to our homes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWorld Honoured One, thank you for gracing us with your presence,\u201d the naga king says.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for mediating this dispute,\u201d I add.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is my pleasure. It is not meet for fellow believers to battle amongst themselves. Until we meet again, stay safe, and continue to walk the path.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buddha opens a portal and steps through, returning to his native plane. Shun Tian and I follow the spirit guides back to my home.<\/p>\n The angels are gone. But they have cleaned up after themselves, and there are no longer any traces of hostile of foreign energies. Landing on the floor, I turn to Shun Tian.<\/p>\n \u201cYou spoke to the Buddha?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. All nagas will listen to him. As would most of your enemies,\u201d he adds reproachfully.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Somchai would recognize the Buddha if he appears before him,\u201d I say. \u201cWe still need to do our work in the physical plane.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd risk harming more people?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is not to avoid harm. It is to end it. Sometimes that may require the application of force.\u201d<\/p>\n He sighs and shakes his head. \u201cVery well. You do your thing. I\u2019ll do mine.\u201d<\/p>\n I nod. He was only a reluctant warrior at best. It was my fault for dragging him into my world. He had the wisdom to leave while he still could.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks for helping.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo problem.\u201d<\/p>\n I slip back into my body. Shun Tian and my spirit guides depart. I stretch, get up, and clean up after myself. The astral work may be done, but the physical work wasn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n No more nagas disturbed us.<\/p>\n Six weeks after the case, a news article on TODAY catches my eye:\u00a0Thai monk and followers arrested for harassment, criminal breach of trust.<\/em><\/p>\n Karma had finally caught up with Somchai Saechao. Acting on anonymous reports, the police arrested Somchai and three of his senior followers for abusing junior students, embezzling funds meant for the temple, and stalking people who tried to leave the temple.<\/p>\n I smile. The mad monk of Geylang was done. After serving his sentence, he would never be welcome in the Buddhist community here ever again. If he weren\u2019t a permanent resident, he\u2019d be deported. And if he did anything stupid, if he tried to use his powers to escape his fate and take revenge, I\u2019d be ready for him.<\/p>\n Karma catches up with everyone sometime. Even me. Maybe Somchai would tell the police about me, about the knife I\u2019d brandished. If they spoke to Diana, to Eleanor, I had no doubts they would crack under pressure. If the fruit of my karma ripens, if they come for me, there\u2019s only thing I could do.<\/p>\n Face it head on.<\/p>\n But until then, I\u2019ll keep walking my path. Whatever form it took, down wherever it may lead.<\/p>\n Previous parts:\u00a01<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a>,\u00a04<\/a>,\u00a05<\/a>,\u00a06<\/a><\/p>\n For more magic, martial arts and mayham, check out my latest novel\u00a0HAMMER OF THE WITCHES<\/a>. Please nominate HAMMER OF THE WITCHES for the Dragon Awards\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmcSX4MiYdPvqUChc7eBRiaSvNLAb2vT71wFubG75cArg8\/Cheah%20Git%20San%20Red.jpg\")
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