A brown-robbed bald-headed nun stood behind Jasmine.

The nun was no more than 4'10" in height and thin as a rail, but she exuded an overwhelming presence.

She bowed to Jasmine and John despite her advanced age and superior status.

"Greetings, honorable guests," she spoke in her soft calm voice. "How may we be of service to you?"

Jasmine returned the bow. "Greetings, honorable nun. Please, I need to speak to one of the nuns of this temple. Her name is Dai Tu Liem."

"Dai Tu Liem has made a vow of silence." The nun responded with a gentle bow of her head. "She sees no one outside of her two disciples." She turned away, concluding the conversation.

"She will see me!" Jasmine called out. "I am her granddaughter."

The nun paused for a moment and then waved a hand to signal for Jasmine to follow her.

The young jazz singer and the portly cop pushing a leggy blond viking guy followed the nun out of the office and through a circular archway which opened into a small courtyard filled with a multitude of songbirds.

Behind the cop were three ghouls keeping closely behind him.

Louis was looking about the place, marveling at everything he saw. It was apparent he had never been inside a monastic Buddhist temple before.

Terry's eyes were remote and bleak. He was merely following along because he did not want to be by himself.

At least Adam was getting help.

Not only had Terry gotten no help, he had also been brutally betrayed by the woman he fell in love with and ended up dead at the hands of these ghouls.

For Blake, it was imperative that he find a way to keep Jazzie and Adam safe. He could not stand by and allow two more people die in the hands of that nasty Overlord.

As much as he hated the fact that Marvin and Maysie had been the ones who drove him, along with Terry and Ray, to their deaths, he knew they were merely ghoul tools to be used in the killings.

Once Anh Hai sent them into the victims' bodies, they were trapped there until the victim dies. That was how it worked.

The path they took meandered around several small flowering bushes and ended at the open arch of a small pagoda structure.

It was empty save for a bald and shriveled old woman of some undetermined age. She was wearing a sari of a bright yellow material that was so fine it looked like silk.

Her eyes were closed in meditation and her lips were stilled.

The nun bowed. "Su Dai Tu Liem. A thousand apologies for disturbing your path to enlightenment. This is a woman from your past who claims to be the child of your child."

Su Dai Tu Liem said nothing, ignoring the nun as if she was not there.

"Do as you will with her." The nun continued. "I will come to take her away in ten minutes unless you indicate otherwise."

With one last bow, she retreated from the courtyard, leaving behind Jasmine and John to face the stony countenance of the old nun.

"Grandmother!" Jasmine called out. She searched the old weathered face of the old nun for some sign of recognition.

"I am Jasmine Love, your granddaughter, coming to ask for help. Please help me!"

Jasmine knew that, because of Grandmother's vow of silence, she could not expect any replies, but she had hoped for some sign of Grandmother's comprehension of her words.

Still, the wizened tranquil face, eyes closed to the world, revealed nothing in its calm trance.

Nevertheless, with only ten minutes to implore for help, Jasmine plugged on, hoping Grandmother would hear her out.

"Grandmother! I am being beset by death! It follows me everywhere I go and affects all those I come into contact with."

There was still no indication that her Grandmother was even awake to hear her pleas. Jasmine tried again.

"I am in desperate search for the reason why I am targeted and looking for a way to fight against this force before any more people die. Please help me!"

Although Grandmother was still silent, Jasmine could no longer wait for response.

She began recanting the incidents that happened from the start, when the first member of her band died, all the way to the sudden strange affliction that had overcome Adam Stuart as he was sitting in her car.

She had finished telling Grandmother of all the details and still, there was no sign of outward recognition from Grandmother.

Jasmine swallowed her disappointment. There didn't seem to be any help coming from this direction.

Ten minutes had elapsed. The nun would soon come for her.

The nun came back for her at the end of the allotted time. In her hand was a ceramic pot full of incense ashes.

"The light of a thousand incense will show you the way," she spoke with quiet authority as she handed the pot to Jasmine.

Before she had a chance to ask the nun what the pot was for, Su Dai Tu Liem began to move.

Jasmine glanced back just in time to see her rip a long strip of golden cloth from her sari, throwing it into the air.

With another quick motion that Jasmine could barely follow, Su Dai Tu Liem made a gesture aimed at the fluttering piece of cloth.

A puff of smoke appeared for a moment, hovering in midair. As it dissipated, it left behind a fragile scent of chrysanthemum petals.

The nun caught the fabric as it floated down from the sky, fluttering on golden wings of some enchantment.

She handed the fabric to Jasmine.

"Wear this around you to ward off evil spirits that should wish to do you harm. Su Dai Tu Liem has written a protection rune on it to keep you safe from evil spells."

The double doors swung opened from behind them revealing three brown-robed monks with poker faces.

They bowed once to her and proceeded towards John Greer. One more bow and they had taken the wheelchair and its occupant from his hands.

Jasmine caught sight of John's amazed eyes and shrugged. Under the unusual circumstance, there was no choice but to follow the monks.

Unseen behind the girl and the cop, the three male ghouls followed along behind them.

Once they passed the inner doors, a nun locked the bolts behind them, rendering the fortress effectively sealed from the outside world.

Adam was transported through the interior of the secondary temple and out to the inner courtyard. It was smaller than the main courtyard but still the size of a good basket ball court.

There were stone statues of dragons and phoenixes, all in various poses of flight. In various well-lit corners of the inner courtyard, a multitude of small green and blue carved marble fairies danced in frozen mid steps.

Interspersed amidst the fairy statues were fat porcelain Buddhas laughing with delight under the blooming pink and white cherry blossoms.

Past the water-lily pond, there was an ornately inscribed bronze bell that was five feet in height and three feet in diameter. It was suspended by a thick steel bar over a concrete overhang.

With the push of a lever, one of the monks lowered the bell until it hovered four feet above the concrete ground. Then he lifted a large wooden mallet and struck the bell.

BOOOOONG!!!