‘No, ma’am, it will be completely different for me, but I can’t tell you how. It is one of those things that cannot be shared with mortals, even nobility such as yourself.’
I laughed. ‘Nobility? I think I’m about the furthest you can get from nobility and still be human.’
‘If you say so, ma’am,’ Ah Yat said diplomatically.
I laughed again and patted her back. ‘If you ever want an evening off to go and do human things, like shopping, let me know. In fact, I just had an idea. You show Sonia—take her shopping, show her how to buy and how to budget, how to dress.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said, and turned to leave.
‘Ah Yat,’ I said, and she turned back. ‘You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. It’s your choice. You’re free to decide whether or not you want to do this.’
‘No, I’m not, ma’am,’ Ah Yat said, and went out.
John was in the television room, watching a tape of an appalling Cantonese period drama with martial arts so laboured that you could actually see the actors counting as they performed the moves.
Yat, yee
.
Yat, yee
.
‘I don’t know how you can watch that trash,’ I said, leaning on the arm of the couch. ‘I need to talk to you.’
He switched off the television and paused the video. ‘What?’ He moved to the end of the couch so that I could sit and turned to face me.
‘Ah Yat asked me to change her into a human.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ he said, pulling his feet up to sit cross-legged.
‘She asked to see the black chi, and when I showed it to her, she said she’d seen it before.’
He straightened, suddenly much more interested. ‘Who? Where?’
‘Apparently when the current King of the Demons took over, he used this black chi.’
He rubbed his hand on his chin and studied me appraisingly. ‘I’ve never seen him use it. Interesting.’
‘
Are you sure I’m not a demon?
’ I said fiercely. ‘Is there any doubt at all in your mind?’
He shifted, making himself more comfortable, flexing his bare feet. ‘I am sure. No doubt whatsoever.’
‘Then what am I?’
‘Stay still,’ he said, and leaned to tap the stone.
‘Hm? Yes?’
‘She’s worried she’s a demon again. Apparently the King has used black chi similar to what she produced.’
‘Really? Interesting,’ the stone said. ‘Not surprising, though.’
‘Why?’ I said.
‘Because, young Emma, you are becoming more yin all the time. The more time you spend with this yin creature, the more yin you become yourself. When you first arrived in his household, you were extremely yang. Now, his influence is affecting you, in more ways than one.’
‘Is it because he is such a powerful creature, even though he’s drained?’ I said. ‘He’s inundating me with himself because he’s so big and I’m so little?’
‘You have it precisely, Emma,’ the stone said. ‘I think you knew that all along.’
‘But he can’t generate black chi.’
‘Never tried,’ John said, bemused. ‘But if I wanted to, I probably could. Must try it when I return.’
‘I’m losing my personality into yours,’ I said.
Both the stone and John snorted with amusement. ‘Not very likely,’ John said.
‘No way,’ the stone said. ‘You have an extremely powerful personality, and I don’t think you’re in much danger of “losing” it as you say. In fact, I think you have changed him just as much.’
‘You are quite correct,’ John said. ‘Go back to sleep.’
‘I certainly will,’ the stone said. ‘I was having a lovely dream. I dreamed I was an active volcano and I had erupted, driving hundreds of fleshies from their homes.’ It sighed with bliss. ‘You interrupted me right in the middle of it.’
‘You are a small, square, green creep,’ I said.
The stone was silent.
‘Still worried?’ John said.
‘Oh no, nothing to worry about. There aren’t any demons after us, you aren’t on the edge of losing your life, Leo isn’t dying, Simone is quite ready for both of you to go, and I’m absolutely nothing out of the ordinary,’ I said. ‘Everything is perfectly peachy.’
‘Come and do a slow set with me,’ he said, pulling himself up from the couch. ‘Something nice and yin.’
I ran my hands through my hair. ‘God, you hate me, Xuan Wu.’
‘You know I don’t,’ he said softly as he opened the door.
A week later I got a call from our doctor, Regina Chow. ‘Come on down to the infirmary, please, Emma. I have the results of your test.’
My stomach fell out.
‘Sit, Emma,’ Regina said when I arrived at her office. Regina was a delightful Chinese human in her mid-twenties who lived with one of the Mountain dragon staff. She closed the door behind me. ‘Before we do anything else, the result was negative. No sign of the virus at all. You’re clear.’
I sagged with relief. ‘Thanks,’ I said, and rose to leave.
‘Wait, Emma,’ she said gently.
I flopped back into my chair. I knew what she was going to say.
‘Sometimes it takes a while for the virus to appear. Up to six months. You will need to come back for another test then.’
‘I know,’ I said.
She sighed. ‘Also…’ She shuffled the papers on her desk. ‘I’m sorry, Emma, but the test was really a waste of time. I asked Leo to provide a sample too, and of course he’s clear as well.’
‘I understand,’ I said. ‘Waste of time testing me again until Xuan Wu is gone.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, not looking up from the papers.
‘Why? This isn’t your fault.’
She smiled sadly at me. ‘You have enough misery in your life without this adding to it.’
‘I’m not miserable,’ I said. ‘Right now, if I had the choice, I would not be anywhere else doing anything else. Here and now, I’m happy. The future can take care of itself.’
‘You sound like one of the Immortals,’ Regina said.
‘Yep, most of them are pretty stupid too.’
I sat in the back of my car with the door open, reading a book. The late May weather wasn’t hot but summer was just around the corner and there was a humid edge to the air. I was waiting to pick Simone up from school.
Gold appeared in the front passenger seat.
‘Yes?’
Gold’s face was rigid as he studied me.
‘What’s the matter, Gold?’
‘Lady Emma, may I hold your hand, please?’ he said, his face still rigid.
I shrugged and held my hand out. He examined me carefully, then sighed, dropped my hand, and ran his hands over his face. ‘Thank the Heavens.’
‘It’s me, Gold,’ I said.
‘When does school finish?’ he said, turning to face the front of the car.
‘In about twenty minutes.’
He concentrated, then nodded. Obviously he’d just talked to somebody.
‘My Lady, I think it’s important that we take the Princess and the young guard home immediately. There are…’ He hesitated. ‘There are
people
there that wish to see you.’
‘What do you mean?’ I said, bewildered.
Trust him, Emma. Take them out of class and bring them home now. You are needed here immediately.
I felt a shock of concern. ‘What the hell is going on? Is everybody okay?’
Gold smiled slightly. ‘Everybody is fine. This is not a Celestial matter.’ He shrugged. ‘The police are at the Peak and wish to see you.’
‘Gold, pass this on to Lord Xuan for me?’ Gold nodded and I continued. ‘Tell me what the hell is going on
right now
or you are in serious trouble.’
John’s voice was amused.
They found you dead in a dumpster in Kowloon City. They want me to identify the body. They also think I killed you and they want to take me in for questioning. Come home, I think.
I flung down the book, leaped out of the car and bolted up the stairs into the school.
The police were in the living room with John. They all turned to me as we walked in.
‘Go into your room and do something, Simone,’ I said softly.
‘Okay, Emma,’ Simone said, just as softly.
Michael followed her down the hallway, his back rigid. He didn’t want to attract any police attention; they might have a file on him because of his brief connection with the gangs.
The police rose. There were two of them: a European in his mid-fifties, obviously quite senior from the amount of metal on his uniform; and a younger Chinese male with the red shoulder flash indicating that his English was good.
I nodded to both of them and they sat. I shared a glance with John and he shrugged without saying anything. I couldn’t sit down next to John—we’d be too close—so I remained standing. This body language wasn’t good but I had no choice. John was unaware of the problem; he was probably still getting over the shock of the police arriving at his front door to tell him that I was dead.
‘I’m Inspector Parry, Miss Donahoe,’ the older police officer said. He gestured to the younger man. ‘Sergeant Cheung.’
I nodded to both of them, then had an inspiration. I wandered over to John’s couch and leaned casually on the side, folding my arms over my chest. Much more acceptable body language. The stupid damn Turtle still didn’t get the message. Obviously shell-shocked. I smiled slightly.
‘I got a message to come home,’ I said. ‘Is there a problem? My visa is fine.’
‘Nothing like that,’ the inspector said. ‘We found the body of a young European woman in a dumpster in Kowloon City. Sorry to be blunt about it, but the corpse was quite badly mutilated, and when we compared the face to the ID card records it seemed to match you.’ He turned to John. ‘I don’t think you’ll need to come with us now, sir.’
‘You have my details; please feel free to call me any time,’ John said, very calm. ‘I’d be happy to help you any way I can.’
‘Both of you were hospitalised recently,’ the Chinese sergeant said. He held a thick manila folder with papers
inside. Damn; there was a file on us. The policeman looked at John. ‘You were kidnapped January last year.’ He flipped through the papers and glanced at me. ‘You were attacked last October, and hospitalised with head injuries.’
John and I were both speechless. Think quickly, Emma.
‘I’m sure the police are doing their best to keep the streets of Hong Kong safe,’ I said mildly, turning the problem back to them. ‘Fortunately, neither of us was badly injured when we were attacked. John…’ I glanced quickly at him. ‘Mr Chen was kidnapped, but we paid the ransom and got him back. And the guy who attacked me last October was after my handbag. When I wouldn’t give it to him he laid into me.’
The sergeant flipped through the file. ‘At the time you said you couldn’t remember anything.’
I tried to stay calm. ‘No, that’s not correct. I said that I was attacked by a young man, thirty-ish, well-dressed, good-looking. I even sat with the identikit policeman and we did a sketch of the guy.’
And they’d never picked Simon Wong up, even though they had to know he was the head of all the underworld activity in the Territory. I wondered if it was incompetence, or they didn’t have enough on him, or it was something more sinister.
‘Maybe you should be looking for those who attacked us, instead of interrogating us,’ John said, matching my mild tone.
‘What happened to the woman in Kowloon City?’ I said, deliberately changing the subject.
‘There wasn’t enough left of her to work out exactly what happened to her,’ the inspector said. ‘But she appeared to have been poisoned.’
Demon. The essence comes up as poison. Wonder why it didn’t disintegrate? May have been a hybrid.
I tried to control my face. ‘Anything else?’
The inspector rose. The sergeant hesitated, unhappy, then rose too.
‘Nothing else. Sorry to take up your time. But the body in Kowloon City did look a lot like you. You don’t have any relatives here, by any chance?’ the inspector said.
‘No,’ I said. ‘Must just be a coincidence. That poor woman. I wonder what happened to her.’
The inspector smiled, suddenly paternal. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll track them down.’ He sobered. ‘Next time somebody tries to grab your handbag, just give it to them, okay?’
I shrugged and rose to show them out. ‘Sure. I don’t know what I was thinking, refusing to give it to him. Just overconfident, I guess.’
‘Some of these young thugs are trained in martial arts,’ the inspector said. ‘Kung fu, you know? Be careful. Some of them look small and harmless, but can kill you with their bare hands.’
‘Really?’ I said, feigning astonishment. ‘I thought that was all movie stuff.’
The inspector grinned. ‘Don’t worry, we keep a close eye on their activities. If they’re learning martial arts, then we know about it. We know the location of every school in the Territory and watch them closely.’
‘That’s reassuring,’ I said, carefully controlling my expression. ‘I’m glad you’re on top of it.’
‘Sorry to take up your time,’ the inspector said to John, who nodded.
I guided them out, closed the door behind them, and sagged.
I was so worried about you, love. I’m too weak to sense anything. I had no idea.
‘If Wong had a copy of me then why did he kill it?’ I said as I fell onto one of the sofas.
‘Maybe it died,’ John said. ‘But I don’t like the concept of him copying you at all. I’ve never seen that done before. Shapeshifters, yes. But not copies.’
‘We should get together and work out a set of identifying codewords,’ I said. ‘We need to do it right away.’
John’s eyes unfocused, and then he rose to guide me into the dining room.
‘Oh, and next time, try to remember. I can’t sit next to you on the couch,’ I said wearily, ‘it’s too close. That looked really bad, me standing over them like that. Next time move so that I can sit.’
‘I’ll send someone to buy a matching armchair for the living room,’ John said. ‘You are quite correct, I was totally unaware.’
‘Were you that upset?’ I said softly as he opened the door to the dining room.
He didn’t look at me. ‘Yes.’
‘You weren’t sure everything would be okay? I thought you would know.’
‘I don’t know everything,’ he said, sitting in one of the dining chairs and resting his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. ‘Nobody does. The future isn’t fixed, it’s moving all the time.’
‘We’ll get there,’ I whispered as Simone and Michael entered. The grim expressions on both their faces made them look much older.