Ryuu pulled into the garage of his renovated car dealership. Renovated, that is on the inside. On the outside it was still as run down as the day he bought it, as repairs would have drawn attention to the building and what he did there. As he got off his Ducati, he saw a person walking towards him. “Sir, there's a client here who wants to speak to you”, said Brian, Ryuu's assistant, meeting him.
“I'll be right there,” said Ryuu, taking off his helmet. He hung the helmet on one of the handles and made sure that his hair still covered his ears, then went inside.
Seeing the client standing there, he greeted her. “Mrs. Addison. Nice to see you again. Need another spell?” The last time she had hired him was for an illusion to make her look ten years younger. She may be a vain trophy wife, but she knows how to be generous with her money.
“Maybe,” she said, drying her eyes. “My husband was attacked by a vampire. He died before I found him. I brought him here. I was hoping...”
“That I could bring him back? Maybe. Let me see.” He walked over to a middle age male body wearing a thousand dollar suit. He lifted an arm and dropped it. “Rigor hasn't set in yet. That's good. He should be fresh enough to resurrect. I'll go get the supplies. Brian, stitch up the holes in his neck and fill him up with blood. I'm going to get the supplies for the spell.” Brian nodded and Ryuu walked into the back. A few minutes later he returned with a bowl covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs, four candles with holders, an Egyptian sword, and a cat in a cage.
“You're not going to kill that poor kitty, are you?”
“The ancient Egyptians believed that cats were the guardians of the underworld. More importantly, a cat's life was even more important than a human life. By sending its soul to the underworld I should be able to bring his back. Then all that's left is to repair the body and return it to life.”
“Well, if it means getting my Henry back, I suppose I don't mind if you kill one cat.”
“Good.” Ryuu placed the candles around the body, one at each point of the compass, and lit them. He then opened the body's shirt, then took the cat, and held it in the air. After focusing his mind and energy, he began to speak.
“Great god Horus, ruler of the dead, we beseech thee. Except this sacrifice,” he slit the cats throat and drained it's blood into the bowl. “and return to us the one who was lost.” He laid the cat's body on the cart and dipped his fingers in the blood. He then drew the eye of Horus on the corpse's chest. “Return the soul to this body and restore the life which was taken.” He then opened his energy and fed it into the spell. As he neared the end of his strength, the spell took over and turned the energy orange, covering the body in orange sparks, soaking in anywhere the energy touched the symbol. Eventually the orange lights subsided and Ryuu slouched. When he had recovered he stood up and connected two leads from a heart monitor to the man's chest. A beep and slight movement on the screen showed that the man was indeed alive.
Ryuu looked at his watch. “About ten beats per minute and rising. Good.” He looked at Mrs Addison. “It should take him at least an hour to return to consciousness. Tell me, does he like Chinese?”
“He does business with corporations in china from time to time.” she answered.
Ryuu felt like facepalming himself, but it wouldn't exactly be appropriate around customers. “No, I mean Chinese food. There's a restaurant about ten blocks from here. After a person is brought back to life they are usually extremely hungry. I was going to send Brian to get something for me, anyways. Magic takes it out of you.”
“Magic takes what out of you?”
Ryuu sighed. “Energy. I need to eat to replenish my energy.”
“Oh, well in that case, he'll have a happy ending. That's what he always gets when he goes to that Vietnamese place near our house. I don't know what it is, but it must be good, judging by the smile on his face.”
Ryuu kept himself from reacting to her shear stupidity. “Just get him some general Tso's chicken with lo mein and cashew chicken with rice. We'll let him pick what he wants out of it. Get me some sesame chicken with rice. Then go to that Vegetarian place next door and get me some fried Tofu.” Brian nodded. “Do you want anything, Mrs. Addison?”
“Oh, no, I can't eat. I'm trying a new “only eat at night” diet. So far I've lost twelve ounces.”
“Of course you are,” Ryuu sighed.
As they were finishing eating Mr. Addison started to move, then woke up. “Henry,” his wife squealed, and ran over to kiss him.
“Margret,” he said, in a hoarse voice, “why am I here?”
“A mean vampire killed you, but he brought you back.”
“Uh, thanks. And you are?”
“Ryuu Ito. I'm an all-around, lets call it, paranormal consultant. I do spells for those that have the money to pay me. I even help people out when they have need of Justice in situations that the cops can't or won't handle.”
“Like vampire assaults,” Henry Addison said. Ryuu nodded. “I've got a sorcerer on my staff in case I need him, but even he can't bring people back from the dead. Make them a Zombie, sure, but not resurrect them.”
“The spell I used does take a bit of experience,” said Ryuu, “not to mention a lot of energy. Most people can't handle it. Also, some of the supplies are hard to find. I had to make my own copies of the sacred objects, but for someone with a real set, you could have been back with us in a matter of minutes.”
Mr. Addison looked at his chest. “I assume this symbol was part of the ritual?” Ryuu nodded. “In that case,” he said, putting his shirt back on, “do you have something to eat? I'm starving.” Brian sat the food in front of him and Mr. Addison immediately began stuffing his face. “Spicy food usually gives me heartburn,” he said in between bites, “but I don't care right now.”
When he was done, he looked at Ryuu. “So, what do I owe you?”
“Fifty thousand dollars ought to cover it. No personal checks.”
Mr. Addison reached in his wallet and handed Brian his debit card. “I assume you take Visa?”
“If there's enough on it, sure.” After the money had been transferred, Ryuu looked at Henry Addison again. “So, I assume you want me to get rid of the vampire that bit you.” Mr. Addison nodded. “what can you tell me about him?”
“His name is Harold Black.” Mr. Addison said, “I've been in talks to buy out a line of Italian restaurants that he owns. His company's a bit larger than mine, but their food service branch isn't doing too well. Looks like he decided to attempt a hostile takeover of his competition instead of selling off a failing branch.”
