"I wanted to thank you. I know that I owe it to you that I now have electricity, water, and gas at home again. I will never be able to repay you for everything, but I will give you back the money you spent." Zeyang read Andrea's message and a smile stretched his lips.
"You owe me nothing. Start your new life and be happy. If you should need anything, don't hesitate to contact me."
"Thank you. P.S.: I applied for admission to the Police Academy."
The detective was about to put the phone away when he thought better of it and wrote another message to someone else. "Can I offer you dinner?"
"All right," came the reply shortly after.
Zeyang smiled and called La Mezza Luna, an Oriental cuisine restaurant in an area far from the city center, with excellent food. "I'll pick you up at 7 p.m."
"See you later."
The day had been flat, with no particular events, and the inspector had had time to read other parts of the book lent to him by Lu Shen.
Between the two stolen objects there were no common points: the times and places of manufacture were very different from one another.
At five o'clock he left to go home and get ready. At seven sharp he parked the car in front of Lu Shen's house.
The wizard joined him and greeted him with a courteous nod. "Dinner wasn't necessary, nor was it necessary for you to pick me up."
"I had to repay you somehow for all the help you gave me, including finding information about the Rune Cube. I hope you like Oriental cuisine."
The other nodded.
---
The place was divided into small rooms that created a warm and discreet atmosphere.
Lu Shen looked around and Li Zeyang laughed. "I thought that, since we have curiosities to satisfy beyond hunger, there would be enough privacy here to talk."
"So tonight you'll give me news about the cases?"
"What I can."
They began bringing the ordered food, and the scent filled the air.
"May I ask about the young seeker? Is she well? Does she have a means of living?"
"She currently works part-time in a grocery store. I suggested that she enroll in the Police Academy, and she wrote to me today saying she applied for admission."
"It's a hard job."
"Yes, but it would give her stability, even financial. She no longer has a family, and in the Police she would become part of a group that would take care of her."
Lu Shen had been watching him while he spoke. He set down the chopsticks and took a glass of water. "You've thought of everything, Detective Li."
He shrugged and put some vegetables on his plate. "I try not to overlook anything. It's part of my job."
But Lu Shen imagined that that attention was not a characteristic of police officers, but his own, and wondered from which personal experiences it stemmed.
"What about you? Do you always work with public institutions?"
"Also, but not only. I have a varied clientele."
Zeyang then answered the questions the wizard asked him about the ongoing investigations. When they finished dinner, he paid the bill and they headed toward the car.
They were crossing an alley when Zeyang shoved Lu Shen to the side as a half-transformed werewolf lunged at them with a growl.
The detective raised his arm to shield his chest and felt claws tear through clothes and flesh.
Then the creature was pushed away by Lu Shen's magic.
The wizard moved closer to him and shot him a quick glance, then sent another wave of energy against the werewolf, who was pushed several meters back. Lu Shen approached him. His hard gaze fixed on him, jaw clenched. With a few gestures he bound him with a luminous, vibrating rope to Zeyang's eyes.
The werewolf continued to struggle and growl.
"Can you stun him?" the detective asked.
Lu Shen nodded and another wave of light sprang from the palm of his hand, striking the creature, which collapsed to the ground in silence.
Then he reached him. "Are you hurt?"
"It was the claws, he didn't manage to bite me."
"I'll take you to the hospital," he said, grabbing him by the uninjured arm.
Zeyang held him back. "I have to wait for someone to come get him."
"We can't wait!"
"Don't worry. There's time, and anyway I can't leave him here: if he managed to free himself, he would hurt someone else."
Then he took out his phone and called Lombardi.
"There's an out-of-control werewolf. He's stunned at the moment."
"Is anyone injured?"
"Me, a scratch."
"Send me the location. I'll send you the nearest patrol. Then go to the hospital."
"Okay, boss."
---
In less than ten minutes a car arrived with two officers. Li Zeyang explained what had happened, then left.
When they reached the car he handed the keys to Lu Shen. "Sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to drive."
The wizard took the driver's seat and pulled away before the other had finished fastening his seat belt.
While he was driving, he glanced at him from time to time. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," Zeyang replied with a smile, but his arm burned as if it had been laid on a grill, and jolts of pain radiated up to his shoulder.
At the emergency room Lu Shen explained what had happened and Zeyang was immediately taken in by a female doctor, while he was made to wait outside to fill in the detective's details.
When he saw the doctor come out, he reached her. "How is he?"
"We injected the antidote and treated the wounds. Unfortunately the venom had already spread, and the pain will take a while to subside. His fever is already rising. If there are no complications, he should be better by dawn."
"Complications?"
"From the tests it doesn't appear that the venom has compromised any organs, but he will be kept under observation."
Lu Shen nodded. He swallowed as he slipped into his pocket the hand he felt trembling slightly.
Then he saw him. Lying on a gurney, his face drawn and shiny with fever, his arm bandaged.
He followed the nurses as they took him to a room, grabbed a chair, and sat beside him.
He watched Zeyang's chest rise and fall quickly, then occasionally stop.
His jaws and fists clenched, showing the veins in his arm.
When the nurse came in to check on him, Lu Shen stood up. "Can't you give him anything for the pain?"
"No. As soon as the antidote takes effect, the pain and fever will subside. It was injected late. The werewolf venom was already in circulation."
The wizard clenched his fists and sat back down. It was to save him that he was in that condition. It should have been him lying there.
The door opened and a man with black hair and a light beard entered. He stopped when he saw him.
"I'm Chief Inspector Lombardi. Zeyang's superior. Who are you?"
He stood up. "I'm Lu Shen…"
"The wizard who helped us with the investigations. You may go. Thank you for staying."
Lu Shen shook his head. "I'll stay. But the admission form needs to be completed, I wasn't aware of some of the details."
Antonio Lombardi, now at his side, turned and looked at him closely.
The wizard held his gaze, even though it seemed as if he wanted to read his soul and radiated great power. Finally the werewolf nodded. He took a business card from his pocket and handed it to him. "Call me for anything."
He waited for the other to nod, then left.
Lu Shen sat back down, and his gaze once again settled on Zeyang's pale face.
---
The fire from his arm had spread upward, wrapping him in heat and pain. He felt his mind clouded, his thoughts slipping away.
He opened his eyes and saw the wizard sitting close to him. "Lu… Shen?" he whispered in surprise, breathing unevenly.
The other moved closer and, after a moment's hesitation, took his hand. "They said that as soon as the antidote takes effect, the pain and the fever will pass."
"Did he hurt you?"
"No," he replied, taken aback.
"Then why are you here?"
"Did you think I would leave after you saved my life?" he answered, surprised.
Zeyang squeezed his eyes and mouth shut as another stab of pain hit him. Then he looked back at him and tried to smile. "I won't report you for theft if you use my car to go home and forget about this evening."
Lu Shen grew serious. "I have no intention of forgetting this evening."
"I was afraid you'd say that…" he replied with a smile.
Lu Shen returned it. "Save your strength, Zeyang."
He closed his eyes again, exhausted, wondering how it was possible that someone he had known for so little time felt more familiar to him than many people he had known for years.