‘I know. And I think he and Martin are developing something very special.’
John sighed. ‘I know.’
Michael and Simone could do PK. I couldn’t. John said I was the weirdest mix of talents he’d ever seen. Great. Even the Xuan Wu thought I was weird.
After lunch we returned to the suite. I sat on the balcony enjoying the scenery and putting photos together for the Tiger to take to my family. John was with Kwan Yin having a quick top-up. Michael had gone with his parents to the islands. Leo and Simone were playing Go Fish in the living room.
A commotion erupted inside. ‘
Leo
!’ John shouted. ‘Guard!’
I heard thumping and doors banging, and rushed into the living room.
John and Ms Kwan raced in too and stared at the front door. Leo had pushed Simone behind him. John and Ms Kwan went forward to stand in front of them.
‘Emma,’ John said. ‘Stay back.’
‘What’s going on?’ I said.
‘He would not do this. I cannot believe this,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Why?’
The Dragon appeared next to John and Kwan Yin. ‘You are entirely much more trouble than you are worth, my Lord,’ he said evenly. ‘The seals are blown. I will never have them back to what they were. No
Celestial will be able to stay here unmolested for a very long time. I will lose a great deal of money on this.’
Nobody said anything.
The doorbell rang.
‘Leo, weapons, quickly,’ John said.
Leo raced to the hall cupboard, scrabbled through the bag and pulled out swords for each of us. He threw Dark Heavens to John, my Serpent sword to me, and hefted Michael’s white blade in his own hand.
‘Back, Leo,’ John said. ‘Guard.’
Leo moved to stand in front of Simone and me.
‘What’s going on?’ I whispered.
Ms Kwan answered the door. Martin stood there, smiling slightly. Next to him was an enormous demon. It had taken the shape of an ordinary-looking Chinese man in his mid-fifties wearing a plain shirt and pants. It was the biggest demon I had ever seen short of the Demon King himself. Way into the nineties in level. Absolutely enormous. None of us had a chance against it.
‘What have you done, Martin?’ I whispered.
‘Hold,’ Martin said loudly. ‘Number One will not harm you, he is here to talk terms. Remember, he has a similar goal to us. He has given his word that during this visit he will harm no one.’
John lowered his sword. ‘Go,’ he said. ‘Leave us.’
Ms Kwan disappeared. The Dragon also vanished.
‘Is his word good?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ John said. ‘He is renowned for it. Leo.’ John held Dark Heavens out, hilt first.
Leo collected the blades and stood holding them, guarding.
‘Enter,’ John said. ‘Leo, take Simone into her room. Emma, please go with them.’
Leo took Simone gently by the hand and led her, wide-eyed and unprotesting, into her bedroom. I didn’t move.
Martin and the demon carefully entered and approached John.
‘Emma, please,’ John said without turning around.
‘I am staying here and hearing what he has to say,’ I said.
‘Come. Sit,’ John said, gesturing towards the couch.
Martin smiled at me but I scowled at him.
Martin and the demon sat together on one of the couches. John sat on the other couch. I pulled the chair away from the desk and sat behind John. I folded one of my feet underneath me and leaned on the back of John’s sofa.
‘My Lady,’ the demon said, giving me a small smile.
I ignored him.
The demon gestured and a cup of black coffee appeared in front of him. ‘Tea, my Lady?’ I shook my head. He nodded to John. ‘Xuan Tian?’
John didn’t move. ‘Ming Gui,’ he said, ‘after this is completed, you will remain. I wish to speak to you.’
‘My Lord,’ Martin said with a wry smile.
‘Well?’ John said.
‘Anyone who presents your head to the King will be promoted to Number One,’ the demon said. ‘I will be out.’
‘I am well aware of that,’ John said.
‘If One Two Two gets your head, it will be only the beginning. He will be promoted. I hate to think of the consequences.’
‘The most immediate ones are for you,’ John said.
The demon smiled slightly but didn’t say anything.
‘What is your offer?’ John said softly.
‘Give me your head—’
‘
No
!’ I hissed.
‘Give me your head,’ the demon continued, ‘and I will remain as Number One. One Two Two will remain
as he is. I will do my best to ensure that your family remain unharmed.’
‘Can you guarantee our safety?’ I said. ‘Simone’s safety?’
‘You will be safer than you are now,’ he said.
‘If I go to the King, he guarantees her safety,’ I said.
‘If you go to the King it will mean that One Two Two has taken the Dark Lord’s head and has been promoted,’ the demon said. ‘You certainly do not want that, my Lady.’
‘Can you take out One Two Two?’ John said.
The demon leaned forward, picked up his coffee and took a sip. He put the coffee back down and put his elbows on his knees. ‘No.’
‘Why not?’ John said.
‘He has done some things to himself and to his closest allies. He has made himself immensely powerful. I can’t take him.’
‘He’s more powerful than you?’ I said.
Number One nodded, his face grim.
‘What about the King?’ John said. ‘Why hasn’t he destroyed this one? It’s obvious where this is headed. He should have destroyed it a long time ago.’
‘That’s what I think,’ Number One said. ‘The King is overconfident. They get that way after a few centuries of being able to handle anything thrown at them.’
‘Am I correct in understanding that a lower-level demon can destroy the King and take over?’ I said.
‘Exactly,’ John said. ‘This particular King was Number One himself for about five hundred years before sneaking up and stabbing his father in the back.’
‘I have vowed not to try against my father, and I am renowned as a creature of my word,’ Number One said. ‘That is the only reason I am still here today.’
‘I really can’t see the advantage in giving you the Dark Lord’s head,’ I said. ‘The only real benefit seems to be to you.’
‘Please consider my offer, Turtle,’ the demon said. ‘You do not want to see One Two Two promoted, believe me. He has no hesitation in using modern technology.’ The demon leaned back and its voice remained mild. ‘He has contacted the other Centres. He is attempting to make pacts with the other Kings.’
John inhaled sharply. ‘No.’
‘Oh, dear Lord,’ I said softly.
‘The Celestial must be informed immediately,’ John said. ‘Martin.’
‘My Lord,’ Martin said.
‘I will consider your offer, One. Go. I will contact you if I decide to give you my head. If I do not contact you, do not approach, because I may take
your
head instead. Martin, remain.’
‘Okay, whatever you say,’ the demon said, and disappeared.
Martin remained on the couch. He smiled wryly again.
‘I should give you to the Dragon,’ John said mildly.
‘Please, go right ahead,’ Martin said, the wry smile not shifting. ‘I know it’ll take me a long time to work this one off.’
‘Did he tell you the deal before you brought him?’ I said.
‘Yep.’
‘Then why did you bother to bring him? That deal wasn’t anything we’d take him up on, unless we were desperate,’ I said.
‘You really are extremely stupid sometimes, Martin,’ John said. ‘It’s almost as if you
want
to stay out of my good favours.’
‘I did what I had to do,’ Martin said, still smiling.
‘Oh geez, you haven’t fallen for that bastard, have
you?’ I said. ‘I can’t believe a Celestial like yourself would have anything to do with a high-ranking demon.’
‘It’s happened before, Emma,’ John said. ‘But I also find it difficult to believe, considering who Martin is, and whose son he is.’
Martin didn’t say anything.
‘Does he return it?’ I said.
Martin’s face didn’t shift.
‘Holy shit, but you are an extremely stupid little turtle,’ I said. ‘It’s hard to believe that you’re his son.’
‘I should disown you completely and send you to Hell for eternity,’ John said, his voice a low rumble.
‘There is a place for me there,’ Martin said, so softly I could hardly hear him. He straightened and spoke more loudly. ‘I’ll go. It’ll take me at least two years to return. You’ll be gone before I come back. You won’t see me again for a long time. Satisfactory?’
I couldn’t believe this. ‘Geez.’
‘Report to the Jade Emperor first,’ John said without emotion. ‘Tell him what Number One just told us. Wait to see if he wants to talk to me about this. If he doesn’t, then go. I look forward to not seeing your face for quite some time.’
Martin rose and smiled at each of us. He moved forward and knelt on the plush rug next to the coffee table. ‘My Lord,’ he said, saluting John carefully. ‘My Lady,’ saluting me. He rose and disappeared.
John bowed his head and sat silently. I didn’t move either. Neither of us spoke.
‘I cannot believe he did that,’ Leo said as we sat beside the pool watching Simone. ‘He used me, he used Simone, he used all of us. He brought that waste-of-time huge demon straight through our front door to make an offer he knew we wouldn’t take. He broke every single seal on our apartment.’ His voice became more vehement. ‘He
used
me!’ He dropped his head. ‘I thought he was different. I thought he was…’ He didn’t finish.
‘Well, he’s in Hell now,’ I said. ‘He said it’ll take him a couple of years to come back out.’
‘Lucky for him,’ Leo said, raising his head so that he could watch Simone again. ‘’Cause if he comes out when I’m around, I’ll damn well send him straight back down there.’
‘I hope you get your chance,’ I said softly.
‘Not going to happen, Emma.’
‘I’ll send him back down there for you then.’
‘My Lady.’
‘God, the lifeguards here are useless,’ I said. ‘Simone’s been swimming around under the water for more than five minutes without coming up for air and none of them have noticed.’
‘They probably see that she’s still moving and don’t try to rescue her,’ Leo said.
‘Oh yeah. God, Martin was amazingly stupid.’
‘You got some useful information out of that demon anyway,’ Leo said. ‘It’s all happening at once, isn’t it. Xuan Wu out of action. This little demon bastard using all the new technology stuff. New hybrids. Contacting the different regions. Shooting for Number One.’
‘Shooting higher than that,’ I said, and he stiffened. ‘Interesting times. You know that isn’t a Chinese curse at all?’
‘What?’
‘You know, the curse: “May you live in interesting times.”
I’ve asked people. Nobody’s ever heard of it.’
‘Neither have I,’ Leo said.
‘Ah,’ I said. ‘So you haven’t read
all
my books yet.’
‘No idea what you’re talking about.’
Bastard
, I signed.
I saw that
, he signed back.
I
woke with a start. John stood next to my bed, leaning over me.
‘Quietly,’ he said. ‘Come with me.’
I didn’t ask any questions; I just levered myself out of bed and followed him.
‘I’m not properly dressed,’ I whispered as I followed him through the living room. I wore a pair of old shorts and a tank top to sleep. ‘Where are we going? Is everybody okay?’
‘Everyone is fine,’ he said. ‘Just come with me. I want you to see something.’
He led me down the stairs, both of us barefoot. He wore his usual plain black pyjama pants without a shirt, his long hair braided down his back. I retied my untidy hair as we walked.
‘This had better be good, John,’ I said as he led me across the damp, cool grass towards the water. ‘I have to get up early tomorrow and pack. We’re supposed to be out of here by eleven to go home.’
‘I think you’ll like it,’ he said. He stopped. ‘It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it.’
I stopped next to him and looked up. The sky was completely clear and the stars blazed. There was no
moon. A fresh breeze, full of the smell of the sea, made the dark water before us ripple. ‘What time is it?’
‘About midnight.’ He smiled, his dark eyes shining in the starlight. ‘Come.’
I followed him to the edge of the water. We stood and waited on the small beach.
‘The Dragon is coming in True Form,’ John said softly, his voice carrying over the gentle sound of the small waves. ‘Don’t be concerned, he’s coming out of the water…now.’
The Dragon emerged in full majestic True Form, nearly twenty metres long. His turquoise eyes glowed. He lowered his massive silver-fanged head over his front legs. ‘My Lord. My Lady.’ He turned so that his back was towards me. ‘Climb on, Emma. Right behind my head. Don’t worry, my scales won’t hurt you. Hold on to my frill.’
I stopped dead. ‘You want me to
ride
you?’
‘Hop on. We don’t have much time,’ John said. ‘Let’s go.’
I moved next to the Dragon’s head and he lowered his shoulders so that I could climb on. John didn’t move. ‘What about you?’
‘We are going under the water,’ John said. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be able to breathe. Just hold on to the Dragon, he’ll take you. Let’s go.’
‘You’re not coming?’
He gestured impatiently. ‘Of course I am. I don’t need a ride. Now
hurry up
!’
I pulled myself onto the Dragon’s neck and held on to the massive silver and turquoise frill that surrounded his head. I couldn’t ride him astride; he was too big. I had to sit side-saddle. He wasn’t cold and sharp; he was warm and the edges of his scales were smooth and fine. He had horns, like a deer, with two prongs; I hadn’t noticed that before. The horns towered over me.
‘Ready?’ the Dragon said.
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘Hold on tight,’ John said. ‘Here we go. No! Wait!’
The Dragon hesitated.
‘Emma, while we are under the water, the Dragon and I will be able to speak to you, but you won’t be able to talk to us.’
‘That will kill her,’ the Dragon said wryly.
‘I’ll survive,’ I said, nudging his frill. ‘Let’s go. This had better be good, I’m missing my beauty sleep.’
I think it will be worth it,
John said.
Let’s go.
The Dragon launched himself into the water but I didn’t feel the movement. The water pounded past us but there was no pressure.
Don’t hold your breath,
the Dragon said.
You can breathe.
I nudged his frill to show that I understood. I looked right. John swam next to us, matching the Dragon’s velocity without moving a muscle. He was stretched out as if he was flying. He noticed my gaze and smiled.
Not many humans have seen me swim like this,
he said.
I feel self-conscious swimming in human form, I know it looks strange. I hope you’ll see me swim in True Form one day.
I nodded. I hoped so too.
The Dragon’s body whipped beneath me but there was still no other sensation of movement.
The water became very dark as we plunged deeper. I gripped the Dragon’s frill tighter.
If the darkness bothers you, close your eyes,
the Dragon said.
I will let you know when there is something to see. Some of my human wives have found this part of the journey quite claustrophobic.
The wives were right. The water was dark and pressed in all around me. I couldn’t see a thing. I wasn’t
sure whether the flashes of illumination that sped past us were real or just my eyes playing tricks. I closed my eyes and lowered my head. I wondered how deep we were.
About a hundred metres,
the stone in my ring said.
But we are a good twenty kilometres from shore. We are travelling very fast. We will drop off the continental shelf any second…There.
There was a definite change in the movement; the Dragon seemed to be using more effort to travel.
Not more effort,
the stone said.
He just sped up. Before, he was going about three hundred kilometres an hour. He has just doubled his speed. I must say, Emma, this is quite exhilarating.
That was pretty damn fast. I hoped that John could keep up.
The Dark Lord has absolutely no problem at all. I suspect he may be able to travel faster than the Dragon.
It is about a twenty minute trip, my Lady,
the Dragon said.
If you are feeling unwell, give the Dragon a kick,
John said.
I know it’s quite a trek.
I opened my eyes. Nothing but darkness around me. I relaxed and closed them again, enjoying the sensation of travelling without motion through the warm darkness. The Dragon’s scales were smooth and silky, and his frill felt like a velvety chamois.
Don’t go to sleep,
John said, jarring me out of my slumber.
You need to hold on. Here we are.
I opened my eyes and nearly fell off.
‘Here’ was a fairytale castle, glittering with multicoloured lights. It seemed to stretch forever, with curved towers and arched walkways. The walls were transparent around the edges, milky white in the centre. It had a traditional tiled Chinese roof, with upwardly curving edges and sweeping corners, covered with
glistening white tiles and edged with coloured lights. It was enormous.
I opened my mouth to exclaim my astonishment and nothing came out. John chuckled into my ear.
I nudged the Dragon’s frill.
Thank you,
the Dragon said.
They all say that.
A pair of small gold dragons emerged from the arched entranceway that glittered with coloured fairy lights. They bowed to us. I nodded back as we passed.
Number One and Number Two,
John said into my ear.
He honours us.
We swept through the archway and a pair of enormous pearly doors opened before us.
I asked the stone if it had ever been to a place like this before. It was silent. Eventually it spoke.
No. I am speechless.
I laughed quietly to myself.
Yes, you are quite right. I also think it is the first time.
We travelled through a corridor that was at least twenty metres high, with towering walls of what looked like ice, but appeared to be glass or crystal. Flowing crystalline chandeliers provided sparkling light above us. The white floor was polished to a high reflective sheen.
There was another set of huge doors at the end of the corridor. They opened by themselves and we went through.
On the other side was an elegant formal garden, glowing with colour. But the garden wasn’t flowers; it was coral, and sparkling reef fish flitted between the tiny spires and archways.
I’m rather proud of this,
the Dragon said.
Huge amount of upkeep, but the wives like it.
I nudged his frill and he slowed as we passed through the garden. It was in a courtyard with towering walls
on all sides made from a glistening semi-transparent material. They were at least five storeys high, and people and dragons watched us from the arched walkways on higher floors.
They’re not here to see the North Wind or the East Wind, Emma,
John said into my ear.
They’re hoping to catch a glimpse of you.
I dropped my head and tried to hide behind the Dragon’s enormous frill.
Won’t work, my Lady
, the Dragon said, and abruptly changed direction, heading straight up. At the top floor he changed direction again and flew onto one of the walkways.
And here we are
, John said. He landed lightly next to us and stood on the balcony. His long hair had come completely out and floated around his head, but he had no trouble standing. He smiled, his eyes sparkling, and gestured.
Follow me.
I slid off the Dragon and gave him a friendly pat to thank him.
You are most welcome
, the Dragon said. His voice gained an amused edge.
Enjoy.
I turned and looked around. Above was the dark ocean. Below was the bright, glittering multicoloured reef garden. I leaned over the balcony, and John waited patiently for me. The balcony rail was transparent at the edges and milky in the centre; it was made of crystal. I looked out and saw a vibrantly pink, lilac and gold dragon on a balcony directly across from me on the other side of the courtyard. It raised one gold-taloned claw in greeting and I waved back.
Come on, Emma,
John said, and I turned to him, wondering why he was so impatient. He led me off the balcony into a room and closed the pearly doors behind us.
There was a shining mirror in front of us, swirling like quicksilver.
Go through
, John said.
You will be perfectly safe.
I walked through without hesitation, trusting him completely.
I stopped dead. I was in air, not water, inside a large, white-walled bedchamber with an enormously high ceiling. The four-poster bed had white gauzy linen and appeared to be made of huge staghorn corals that had grown into the frame’s shape.
I looked down: I was dry. John stopped and dried himself completely as well.
‘What do you think?’ he said.
‘This place is truly marvellous,’ I said. ‘I’m so glad I was able to see it. Where are we going next? I want to see everything!’
‘Are you sure?’ John said. ‘Because that’s not the reason I brought you here.’
He moved closer to me and his smile broadened. Before I knew what was happening he swept me into his arms and I buried my face in his bare chest. He kissed the top of my head. I threw my arms around him and tried to squeeze the life from him.
‘Hey,’ he said softly, and I looked up. He smiled down at me. He held the back of my neck, lowered his face and kissed me. We were lost in each other for a very long time.
His hands moved to my waist and worked at the hem of my top, eventually pulling it free so that he could draw it over my head. He threw it to one side and buried his face in my throat. He bent, scooped me up and carried me, dropping me onto something soft and silken.
He leaned over me. ‘We don’t have much time,’ he whispered. ‘It’s already two. It will take us an hour or so to return against the tide. We have to make the most of the short time we have.’
I gazed into his wonderful brown eyes without saying a word. I loaded my hands with chi and brushed them over his back. He dropped his head and grimaced.
I moved my hands over his back and down, running them just beneath the top of his pants, over the indentations at either side of the base of his spine.
‘I love you,’ I whispered, and his whole body went rigid.
The skin of his back was smooth and fine. I moved my loaded hands further up his back and brushed them over his shoulders, feeling the outline of the muscles beneath. He breathed heavily and his face jerked up so that he could look at me. Then he buried his face in my throat, running his lips along my neck and down to my collarbone, sending shivers of response through me.
‘You are the only one I will ever love,’ I whispered into his ear.
He pulled back to gaze into my eyes. He couldn’t speak, his face was rigid with the effort of maintaining control. He kissed the edge of my chin and along the line of my throat.
I pulled him down next to me, added more chi to my hands and lightly floated them over his shoulders, feeling him flex his muscles in response. I held my hands on his shoulders and ran my mouth down the silken side of his throat. He tasted salty, like the sea. He quivered under my lips but still didn’t lose it.
‘I will wait for you forever.’
I worked my mouth over him until he arched his back and a deep, vibrating sound of pleasure escaped from somewhere inside him. He pulled me up so that my face was level with his, planted his mouth on mine, and pushed into me as I ran my hands along the chiselled muscles of his back.
He pulled away and studied me. He ran his hand
through my hair and down the side of my face, tracing my features.
I ran my fingertips over his cheek, feeling the gritty stubble over the silken skin. ‘Let go. Let go for me.’
I slid my hand down his throat, lightly running my fingers over his shoulder and down the muscles of his chest. He inhaled sharply and his eyes went very dark, but he still had control.
Not for long.
I smiled gently at him, moved my hand lower, loaded it with even more chi and pushed it right into him.
He exhaled in a huge gasping breath and completely lost it. The dark shutters rolled up over his eyes and his face went rigid. He grabbed my shoulders, rolled me onto my belly and shoved me into the silky white sheets. One of his hands held my shoulder down while the other ripped my shorts away, pulling impatiently as the fabric shredded. He crushed me into the sheets so hard I had to turn my head to one side so that I could breathe.
Then he threw himself on top of me, grabbed me around the middle and tugged me into him. He pulled at his pants, then his arms went around me like a vice. His face was a fierce grimace next to mine, his breath rough in my ear.
‘Yes!’
He flopped onto his back next to me.
‘You bastard. You tried to hold it back,’ I said.
‘What did you just call me?’ he said, rolling over to face me.