Chapter 26 - Two Masks, One Conversation (Patreon)

It didn’t take long for Liu Xang to talk the nurses into letting me visit with him. Being a distant descendant of a Companion of the Shining Princess came with some perks, even after this many generations removed. The name had the weight to get the foot in the door, and both politeness and being human were enough to carry him into convincing the nurses I was actually Katheryn Falara.

I waited outside in the hall for his visit to conclude, doing my best to ignore the quiet sounds of him talking to the patient.

It was safer calling her the patient. I couldn’t let any emotion show. To Katheryn Falara, Bao Xang was just the mother of an acquaintance she had been hired to check in on and manage the funds that helped with her care, and specifically kept her out of the hands of the Xang family.

Damn Liu for showing up here. Another thing to cast against his name, along with a slew of minor grudges and slights, and one that would never leave my mind.

Her stay here at St. Lanian’s was half-financed by said family as well, but Katheryn had been approached at many times about transferring custody over. They’d been unhappy at being refused, but it turns out disowning people had certain legal consequences. Not having the first claim on guardianship was one of them.

Her Majesty’s government also helped once I’d let slip that the reason for Bao Xang’s condition was likely a working of Diabolism. Something the doctors would have found swiftly enough on their own, but in those early days when the family had threatened to use the courts, time had been of the essence. And a matter of diabolism made this something Her Majesty’s government was definitely interested in. 

Of course, their specialists didn’t talk to the hospital’s, who didn’t talk to the Xangs, who didn’t talk to me. Legally, all parties were obligated to inform the others when a breakthrough regarding the Curse had been reached.

Legal obligations only went so far, but it was something.

The door opened, Liu walking out looking both saddened and relieved. Past him I could see a sole form lying on the bed, motionless. By her side were several vases of flowers, increasingly wilted the older they got. Sent by me as Lily, the most I could risk publicly. 

Bao looked the same as she had the past several years, if older. Probably fewer wrinkles and other signs of aging than if she had been able to wake up three years ago.

Whatever the working on her was, it didn’t stop her from aging, even if it handled other physical needs and conditions. No muscle atrophy, no slow loss of body fat from the diet she was being kept on, none of that. 

Suspicious is what that was. Diabolism was never that kind in its curses unless there was a directing intelligence. 

Liu sighed as he closed the door, face heavy.

“Expecting something different?” I asked, looking up at him. 

Next identity I was picking, I was making myself taller. I’d gone shorter to distance myself as far as possible from my previous appearance, but if it meant dealing with other Xang’s I’d be saving myself so much neck pain. Every single member of my mother’s family, and myself, were tall for humans, almost to an inhuman extent.

My mother has always claimed Oni blood, which might help explain their issues with anything vaguely diabolic.

“No,” Liu said. “It is still just difficult to see her like this.”

“Always difficult to see a family member when they are down, Mr. Xang.”

My expression was just the right amount of respectful sympathy. Six months of lying low while you did long-term Biosculpting left you plenty of time to practice skills.

“I did not realize you would be visiting at this time. You usually time them for different times than those of the family.”

“It’s my opinion that the family of the patient should have privacy,” I said. “I’ve been delayed multiple times, partially by business, partially by other circumstances. I can leave if you wish?”

“No, it is fine. I actually wished to talk with you, if you have the time?”

“Really?” I asked. My old family had at the beginning shown Katheryn Falara quite a bit of distrust from several of them, prejudice from the others. And all contact had mostly ceased after it was clear they could not wrestle custody of my mother for themselves. Liu had remained perfectly polite, but had shown no genuine interest interest in the affairs of Katheryn Falara. This had to related to Mother or me as Lily.

“We could meet somewhere else, if this is discomforting to you,” Liu said.

“No, here is fine,” I said, since Katheryn wouldn’t have any issues talking next to my mother’s unconscious form. I knit and pulled carefully on Sculpts, managing my expression. “Your family has just never felt the need to discuss anything with me, not to be impolite.”

“Yes,” Liu confessed. “Somewhat unfairly. You are not the person they see the few times you’ve met. But something has occurred that requires we consult you.”

My heart stilled. There were a few things they were obligated by contract to inform me of as Lily’s representative, and since mother was still here and alive…

“You’ve made progress on the curse?” I asked, trying to keep the tone of desperation out of my voice.

From Liu’s expression, I hadn’t been successful He mulled on that for an instant before his expression turned sorrowful. 

“No, we have not,” he confessed. “I will not lie when I say you right now seemed more enthusiastic than many of my family for this. Many of them see it as a lost cause by this point.”

“Ah,” I said as neutrally as I could manage as my heart plunged. Trying to cover my tracks, I continued. “Lily’s a good friend. I was just hoping I could offer good news the next time I saw her. It’s not an attempt to wrest custodianship away from me again, is it?”

Liu’s face scrunched up in distaste, although I didn’t know if that was about the family’s attempts or me being much more blunt about what those ‘offers’ they’d made were.

“No. Although if Lily understood the reason, she would hopefully change her mind,” he said, expression grim.

“Well, as her representative, I would be happy to convey any relevant information to her about it,” I said, a small smile I didn’t need to fake at all on my face. 

The placid expression must have needled Liu, as his response had an undercurrent of irritation I could only recall from childhood.

“No. It is a family affair. Even if I could say anything, I would not. I intend no offense, it is simply something kept in family.”

“I understand,” I said, the smile now a faked one. Katheryn Falara didn’t have a family. Malvia Harrow only had a mother. Lily Xang, shed at twelve years, knew exactly what he meant. Damnations, what were they hiding? I did not need more things heaped onto my plate.

“I wanted to discuss Lily, about speaking with her. Not just about her mother, but other things she must know.”

The temptation to just leave beckoned. Head out and then sneak back at a later time to say goodbye if necessary. But if this turned out to be important later and blowing off my uncle would cause me problems down the line…I sighed.

“I have other things to do, but I can spare a bit of time. Not much. Is there a place we can sit down at least?”

It turned out that the hospital staff had a small waiting area complete with provided tea and snacks for welcome visitors. One of us qualified as that and being at his side made getting into easy enough, just at the cost of some side-eye from the staff.

There were wood-paneled, detailed booths complete with a curtain, well-appointed benches, and upon closer inspection a silencing charm meant to keep conversations private. Prior experience taught that the proprietor usually had a way to listen in still. Who knew if the hospital did?

“Very fancy,” I commented. “If you pulled the curtain close, I’d doubt this was even a hospital.”

“It is strange,” Liu agreed. 

I didn’t reply, taking a few moments to enjoy the hospital’s tea. Not as good as the kind brewed by Lady Karsin, or in my teapot. Albeit, the teapot was an acquired taste, considering what it had probably picked up from being in an alchemist’s apartment.

“Do you know how to get word to Lily?” He asked me. 

I took another sip of the tea, savoring the taste, dipping my head down so the hat covered as much of my face as possible. Liu’s tone was guarded, any emotion carefully hidden away—if any emotion existed. The earlier hints may have been before he mastered the current mask he wore, or the hinted emotions may have been the mask themselves.

I found it very fitting that my family so often mirrored Versalicci. It made sense in far too many ways.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t heard from your niece since we last talked,” I replied. “I know we’ve discussed this before, but we are not friends, your niece and I. This is me fulfilling a request of hers.”

Nothing there was a lie, although the wording was very careful. Liu remained quiet, and as that silence stretched on, the urge to fill it proved too much.

“I have more to talk about than checking in on my client’s mother,” I said. “Circumstances may force me to take my leave of the city soon. I will probably leave the account in your hands and yours alone.”

He frowned. “I know other members of my family have not been the kindest, but I assure you, they wouldn’t try to pilfer from it.”

Your assurances mean nothing. “While I can’t consult with my client, I’m sure she’d consider you the most trustworthy person to give control of the account. Albeit with much talk about how that doesn’t mean she trusts you.”

He chuckled at that. “From what little time I’ve spent with her, it sounds like you know my niece well.”

“Perhaps if you spent more time with her, you’d get a better grasp of that,” I replied, trying to keep the ice out of my voice. 

The smile on his face disappeared. “Yes, well, some things can not be repeated. I briefly knew Lily before circumstances forced her and her mother to move to the Infernal District.”

“Really? What circumstances would those be?” I asked and was rewarded with an uncomfortable look on Liu’s face. Would he choose the coward’s way once again?

He didn’t disappoint. “The only reason I commented is that some in the family have theories about the relationship between you two.”

It didn’t take long to put together what that meant. “I’m very flattered you’d think so, but no. While Lily is a very pleasant woman, my relationship is nothing like that.”

That startled him. “Lily? Pleasant?”

“Yes,” I said with a mock frown. “Oh, sometimes she can be difficult, but not any worse than most people. Why have you had a different experience?”

He seemed reluctant to answer but said, “Not when she was younger, but the one time we met when she was an adult, it was…difficult.”

“Well, I can only speak to my business dealings with her and our brief meetings outside of that. I do know that she has made it very clear she wants as little to do with you as possible. Part of why she retained me to keep an eye on her mother while she…went away for a while. What little I’ve heard doesn’t paint a pretty little picture of your family, I must admit.”

He grimaced so well I couldn’t tell if it was an act or not. “The situation behind Bao and Lily’s departure is perhaps more complicated than Lily would have made it seem.”

So he would tell the story after all. Or at least a version of it.

“Everyone has their own version of the truth,” I said.

“You must wonder sometimes, I imagine?” he asked me.

“I try not to pry into information my clients don’t directly give me. And your niece is very clear on what information she considers private. Now, if others were to tell me of their own volition, that’s something else.”

Truthfully, I wanted to know precisely what lie they were peddling over what had occurred. Liu’s face scrunched up as if contemplating some great family secret he was about to share. Hells, maybe to him, it was.

“My sister caused most of the trouble. She practiced in a dark art, against the wishes of her family. She was always wilful as a child, even more so when she grew older. Stories of our great-great-grandfather and his adventures with Her Majesty only encouraged her. She went on adventures, with people more foolish than she. It was there that she started practicing the arts of demons and devils. Back when the licenses were more widespread. And she refused to stop after the government revoked it.” 

“Not shocking if what Lily hinted to me is true,” I commented. “I always wondered how her mother ended up in the Quarter, and with an Infernal daughter. Diabolism would do the trick.”

Mind you, half of what he said was lies. Mother hadn’t been practicing Diabolism at the time. Couldn’t have, not with the poison of her greatest achievement and worst mistake still in her veins and needing to be vented. 

“You do not favor diabolism, do you?” he asked me.

I resisted the urge to snort. It would be rude, and aggravating, but listening to him spout the same superstitions about Infernals and Diabolism that I expected to hear from yesterday’s marchers ran so much against the image he loved to project. 

“Infernals are made of diabolism, but I hold no special regard for it, or respect, Mr. Xang. All living beings are made of water, but that doesn’t guarantee an affinity to the water, does it?”

Fancy words, Malvia. Lying in all of them, of course.

I did not roll my eyes despite the urge. The Imp had mostly been quiet after the first twenty minutes when needling me while Liu visited my mother had failed to provoke a response.

“Some in my family think Lily did this,” he said, then snorted derisively. “They let much cloud their thoughts in this matter. My sister likely messed with things she should not have and brought this on herself. Perhaps even trying to summon that fool husband of hers again.”

Inwardly, I bristled. He wasn’t entirely wrong. I couldn’t deny that. I’d been the one who’d found her in our shared apartment right after I’d joined the Black Flame. The entire thing stunk of sulfur, a smashed-apart ritual circle on the floor, her unconscious nearby. But not for the thing that was my father, never for that thing.

“I’m sure Lily appreciates that you don’t suspect her,” I said. “Also, she is a half-devil, then?”

That expression of shock had to be faked. There was no way in which one could accidentally drop that little fact in an age where most Infernals were from diabolic magic or were descendants of the half-diabolic.

“Perhaps I’ve said too much. But she is not suspected by me. The girl loves her mother, that I never doubted. Well, until she has refused to see her ever since she put Bao here. Perhaps even that tie has been strained to the breaking point.”

“I wouldn’t say she’s never visited her mother since then. She’s practically told me she has several times, and I don’t doubt her.”

Liu raised an eyebrow, looking at the door. “I talk to the attendants here. There is no record of her ever visiting.”

I smiled politely. “Speaking from experience, while her appearances inside this city are brief, it would not shock me if she found her way in somehow. Were there any other questions you had?”

He frowned, putting the teacup down and considering my mother. “Let her know we must talk the next time you see her.”

“Well, as I said, that might be awhile, both on my end and hers.”

“Whenever it is. We need to talk.”

That wouldn’t be soon, if I had my way, but I could hardly refuse the request. “I’ll talk to her. But I can’t promise she’ll listen.”

“No one can do that,” Liu said a little bitterly. “I apologize for taking up so much of your time. I imagine you wish to return and check on my sister before you leave?”

“It is required for the contract,” I said. “It’ll only be a few minutes, and you can watch if you wish.”

To my annoyance, he did want to watch. Probably out of concern, which I did my best not to be insulted by. Even if I wasn’t family, what did he think I was going to do to her?

I went through the motions, checking through the notes the doctor had left, checking her pulse myself, a few other vital signs. Nothing of interest showed. She was still asleep to the world and seemingly would be. If whatever Diabolism was affecting her would burn out, there were no signs thus far.

I did my best not to look at my mother’s face throughout this. After the events of the last few days, the fewer ways I could let the mask slip, the better.

For the same reasons, I could not ask him for some time alone with her. It was bad enough to bribe the staff and have them wonder why I wanted time alone with the patient.

“Mr. Xang, unless your address has changed, I believe I know where you live,” I said as he shut the door. “I’ll inform you the next time your niece is in town and ready to talk with you.”

“Not just when she’s in town?” he asked. 

“No, and not even if you pay me. I don’t turn on friends for clients, or clients for other clients. “

He nodded, then after a few seconds, I realized he was waiting for me to leave first.

I think you may need to look over your shoulder more often now, Malvia. See if any more family from your mother’s side are following you. 

I ignored the imp. They didn’t know. Others knew, more than I expected, but they didn’t know. If they had, they wouldn’t be respecting the court’s decision when simply revealing my identity could overturn it. I knew my worth to that family. 

My mother would not have been disowned if she had simply let them toss me alone in the Quarter.

“It was a pleasant meeting, as per usual Mr. Xang,” I lied. “I look forward to our next one, however long that may take.”

I looked back at the door for just a brief second.

Good bye for now. I will be back. And I will not let you fall into the hands of your family. Even if they claim they can break your curse.

It was the best goodbye I could manage for now, and I inclined my head towards Liu as I left, hoping it would be a while before we met again—preferably for weeks, if I could make sure our meetings never overlapped. Doing the official legal work to transfer custodianship would be difficult, but not impossible. It would mean one appearance as Lily Xang to approve the entire thing, which would be annoying.

Malvia Harrow predated my teachings in Biosculpting, and while Lily Xang was not under any kind of suspicion, Malvia Harrow both was and looked exactly like Lily Xang.

Another potential mess, but at least one that could I could save for later.

Of course, I had one other piece of business to do here, and spotting my friend Tully, the side entrance guard, was going to make it possible.

Tully was one of the better kinds of friends, the one who was friends with gold and whoever was the first to offer it. Some strange mix of honor and bribery that made sure once you bought him, he wouldn’t turn on you.

It was a good thing when you needed to lose some tails, even if it meant being sealed inside a coffin.