She pummeled Maya to the ground until the woman was screaming and begging her to stop. On the point of death, An Ning let Maya go and waited. Yu Yan still had one trick up her sleeve and she will not let her use it if she could help it. Maya or Yu Yan will die before she ever leaves this house.

The clock on the wall ticked by along with the gasping breath of the woman lying on the floor. An Ning knelt beside her. The hard floor started to dig on the sensitive skin of her knees and she stood up, a hand on her lower back.

An Ning was standing, her eyes unblinking on Maya when something soft touched her left leg. She looked down and saw a very beautiful cat, white as snow with the greenest eyes she had ever seen. The long soft tail was tap-tapping gently around her leg, the fur smooth and silk-like against her bare skin.

An Ning stared at the lovely creature and without hesitation pierced its pretty head with a small dagger she had hidden around her waist. The cat didn't even give out a cry. It crumpled like a lovely fragile decoration on the floor, while a fountain of blood gushed from the ugly crack on its head, staining the pristine white fur.

A moan from Maya suddenly alerted An Ning. Quick as a striking snake, her hand pulled at the necklace hanging from around the crumpled woman's neck. Maya gave a distressed moan, her hand clawing softly at her side, her battered eyes flickering in distress. The long neck tried to move so it could see An Ning but An Ning deliberately moved out of Maya's line of sight so she couldn't see her.

After a while, An Ning spoke above the dying woman's head.

"I have your necklace. An ingenuous way to hide your soul, by the way. You break it and your soul flies away to another host. Your cat is also dead so you have nowhere else to go but h.e.l.l, Yu Yan."

The woman lying on the floor tried to turn her head upward to follow the voice but she was becoming weaker and the strength was leaving her body. A clear crystal pendant the size of a large thumb was suddenly dangled in front of her eyes.

"You recognize this, of course," An Ning continued. "My grandfather used this to bind spirits, didn't he? Mischievous spirits, evil spirits...they're all here trapped inside this stone, a piece of shard not even angels can pierce with their wings."

An Ning peered at Maya without pity.

"This will now be your prison, Yu Yan. No parole, no time off for good behavior, nothing...unless the heavens say so."

Maya struggled feebly, her fingers crawling like blind crabs on her sides. The large hole on her neck continued to bubble blood which stained her dress and matted the loose black hair underneath her head. She again tried to turn her head so she could see An Ning, who moved and sat down on a chair within a short distance form her.

Maya's dimming eyes were sparkling with malice and anger. An Ning met her gaze and smiled.

An Ning waited for a long time in silence. Finally, the thin chest heaved a gasp. There was an indescribable pop then Maya's necklace started to drag An Ning outside. An Ning recited a series of incantations under her breath. The necklace's pull was getting stronger but An Ning held on. At the end of the incantation, the necklace started to blur then turn into mist. A light seemed to went off inside the crystal. The powerful light grew larger until it covered and devoured the small mist so that it vanished and disappeared from sight.

The crystal went back to its ordinary rock-like appearance. An Ning looked at it then looped it around her neck, the crystal pendant warm against her skin.

After a while, An Ning took out her phone and called a number. The voice on the other end sounded surprised.

"An Ning," Enxuo said.

"Yu Yan is dead," An Ning said. "It's time to see Merius."

There was silence on the other end.

"Where are you?"

"My father's house. Bring Nyra. We might need some reinforcement."

"We'll be there."

The line went dead.

An Ning called the couple into the house and ordered them to get the house ready for visitors and the maids to prepare dinner. She went to her old room, took a shower and changed her clothes. Only then did she call Han.

"Where are you?" Han asked, his voice sounded tight.

"Still at my friend's house. I'll stay here for another two days, if you don't mind. We still have a lot to talk about."

"An Ning...."

"I have to go. They're waiting for me. See you in two days. Bye."

The phone rang again after 30 seconds. An Ning didn't even looked at it as she left the room and went outside.

"Shut the gates," she told the married couple. "Don't let anyone in unless I know who they are."

It was nearly three the following morning when Enxuo and Nyra arrived. Enxuo looked exhausted but there was a tightness to his face that gave An Ning pause. Nyra's eyes met An Ning's and shook her head.

"Get some sleep. We're leaving at eight later," An Ning said without another word. She signaled to a waiting maid who showed Enxuo and Nyra to their rooms. An Ning sighed tiredly then went back to her own room. She was about to climb into bed when the landline phone buzzed.

"Miss, there's someone here to see you," the old gatekeeper said. "He said he won't leave until he talks to you. Shall I let him in?"

"No," An Ning said. "Call the police if he insists on coming in. Goodnight."

An Ning's celfone rang. She didn't need to see who it was who was calling. She turned down the volume and went to sleep. She woke up after three hours, cleaned her face and went outside. Enxuo was waiting for her in the living room, face haggard and eyes bloodshot. An Ning looked at him and sighed.

"You didn't sleep?" she asked, sitting down.

"I couldn't sleep," he said then looked searchingly at her. "How did Yu Yan die?"

"I killed her," An Ning said matter of factly. "I came here and she was here. We exchanged a few words then we battled and I killed her."

"Are you alright?"

An Ning smiled without joy.

"We always knew that I was destined to kill her, didn't we? I'm just a little upset that's all. The woman, after all, was my stepmother. I lived with her for twenty years, called her mother and shared happy times with her even if I can't remember any of it but...it's kind of jarring that I was the one to kill her, that's all."

"She hurt a lot of people," Enxuo reminded grimly. "She robbed us, me, of family. She deserved to die, An Ning. Don't waste your pity on a trash pig like her."

"Right," An Ning slapped her thigh. "Come on, let's eat while we plan our next move."

Nyra peeked her head around the room.

"Speaking of the devil," An Ning smiled when she saw her. "I was about to get you. Come with us."

The three of them didn't linger on the table. Enxuo already knew what he wanted done so An Ning didn't argue with him except silently convey that he was now in charge of running this part of the operation. All she and Nyra did was listen. The plan wasn't that complicated anyway. With Yu Yan gone, there's only Merius left to take down. But Merius was an Amazon. She was Hippolyta's second in command so they didn't know how she would respond to the news of Yu Yan's death or her reaction to meeting her husband and one of her comrades face to face after a long time.

The three of them left the house at exactly eight that morning. Enxuo drove the Mercedes through dense traffic but they got there easily enough and was standing in front of the huge reception desk when the hour struck nine.

The pretty lady behind the desk smiled at them. Enxuo told her who they wanted to see and the girl nodded. She reached for the phone and punched a few numbers. The voice on the other end was indistinct but An Ning could feel Enxuo stiffen beside her. The girl told them what floor and they took a line at the elevator.

The elevator door opened at the 19th floor. There were no numbers on the gla.s.s doors except names and t.i.tles. The door they seek, however, was made of thick oak. There were no gla.s.s walls only the name Merius Polytania written in cla.s.sic Roman alphabet on the door. Polytania. The last name given to every Amazon who fought with Hippolyta. Polytania. Of Hippolyta.

Enxuo stared at the name grim-faced then he knocked on the door. A voice called out the word enter and the three of them streamed inside, like warriors on a prowl, alert, ready to kill and be killed.

The woman sitting behind the huge gla.s.s table stood up when they entered. An Ning stared stupidly at her. Merius was beautiful, enchantingly and heartbreakingly beautiful. She was the most beautiful woman An Ning had ever seen and she had seen a few. She was like a painting that came to life, s.h.i.+ning, vivid, memorable.

Beside her, Enxuo stifled a sob but he couldn't stop his hands from trembling, couldn't stop his body from shaking as if he had the plague. A tear rolled down his cheek, and another until it became a deluge.

An Ning and Nyra instinctively put their hand on each of his arm, propping him up as his sobbing became almost uncontrollable, the grief in his heart suddenly loosed.