‘The demon stabbed me,’ I said. ‘Geez. One Two
Two is such a coward. It wanted to sedate me before it took me.’
‘Tranquilliser dart on the wild animal,’ Leo said wryly. He shook his head and his mane swung around him. ‘Two wild animals.’
‘I’m okay,’ I said, shifting under his head so that the leg didn’t hurt as much. ‘What about you? How do you feel?’
He gazed up at me. ‘I’m fine, Emma. We’re all alive, and that’s what’s important. I’d better get this walking business sorted soon, ’cause as soon as Simone’s home she’s gonna want a ride.’
I put my hands on either side of his head, burying my fingers into his plush black mane. ‘You really okay?’
‘Yeah.’
‘We can turn him back,’ John said. ‘There has to be a way.’
Leo turned his head in my lap to see John. ‘I’m sure there is. We’ll find it. Not important. I can go and visit One Two Two like this anyway.’ He stretched out one paw and turned it over, admiring it. ‘Lookit them claws. I think I could have some serious fun with them on a certain Demon Prince. I just need to practise this walking stuff and then I’m up to go.’ He sighed. ‘Suddenly I’m starving. Can you get Ah Yat to bring me a big rare steak? No,’ he said, and paused, ‘make that a
raw
steak.’ He turned back to me. ‘Get me a steak, and then you two work out what you want to do. Now that we’ve survived this, we need to plan the next move. Come on in and tell me, or I’ll get these four legs working and visit you.’
‘Leo,’ I said, my hands still on his head, ‘you are the most remarkable man it has ever been my privilege to meet.’
‘Just get me a steak,’ Leo growled, the lion vocal chords making his voice a throaty rasp. He shook his head free. ‘Go.’
I felt a stab of pain in my leg as I pulled myself upright. Ms Kwan helped me.
‘Oh, one other thing,’ Leo said. He shifted so that he was lying on his belly like a cat.
‘What, my friend?’ John said.
‘A bowl of coffee.’
On the way back to the dining room we passed Gold. He sat in the living room holding his new child and gazing at it with wonder. Both John and I stopped and went to him. Ms Kwan left us and went into the dining room.
The living room was a disaster area. All of the windows were broken and shattered glass covered the floor. Some of the priceless Tang and Ming china had been smashed, and a couple of rosewood side tables had been totally destroyed. John’s collection of antique English books was scattered on the floor. Ah Yat was busily sweeping up the glass on the carpet.
Gold’s child appeared as a small stone, pink-flecked grey granite, about the size of a child’s fist.
‘Are you okay, my Lady?’ Gold said. ‘You’re wounded.’
‘I’m fine,’ I said, limping to sit with difficulty on the couch. The leg was beginning to stiffen as well as swell. ‘The demon stabbed me in the leg to sedate me.’
‘Wake my parent, my Lady,’ Gold said. ‘It will want to see.’
I tapped on my ring. It had slept through the whole attack.
‘Next time wake me up! I could have been of use to you!’ the stone demanded loudly. ‘Damn! You’re injured!’
‘I’m okay,’ I said.
Gold’s baby squeaked, a tiny sound, then went silent.
‘By the Grandmother,’ the stone in my ring whispered.
‘Gold…I am…By the Grandmother.’ Its voice became even softer. ‘It is so beautiful.’
‘I have the sudden urge to take female human form,’ Gold said with a small smile.
‘You can if you want,’ I said.
The gentle smile lit up his face. ‘No need. It’s all the same to us.’ He rolled the stone in his hands and it squeaked again, a quiet sound of contentment. ‘Besides, I don’t think Amy would be too impressed if I did.’
‘How much care does it need?’ I said. ‘Does it need feeding, or cleaning, or anything like that?’
‘Nope,’ Gold said with a shrug. ‘Nothing like that. Basically all it needs is lessons from its parent on being a good stone.’
‘You’ll be a great parent, Gold,’ the stone in my ring said.
‘Thanks, Dad.’ Gold held the stone out to me. ‘Take it. Let my parent see it.’
I held the stone gently in both hands. Its surface was rough and unpolished, quite unlike Gold’s smooth quartz. It was warm and seemed to be pulsing gently in my hands.
‘It’s beautiful,’ the stone in my ring said with awe. ‘I wonder what mineral it will take.’
‘It could be jade, like you, Dad,’ Gold said. ‘Or gold, like me. Either way, it’s precious.’
‘Precious,’ the stone in my ring said. Its voice became more brisk. ‘Emma, you need to send them somewhere safe.’
I held the stone out for John to take.
Gold and the stone in my ring both yelled ‘
No
!’ at the same time, and Gold shot to his feet.
John didn’t move. ‘I should not touch something so young and fragile.’
I took the stone back and Gold sagged with relief. ‘Return it to me, please, my Lady. You nearly gave me a heart attack.’
I passed it back to him and he held it with reverence.
‘Jade has nested on the top of Tai Mo Shan,’ John said. ‘The tallest mountain in Kowloon. She has found a hollow in the hillside there, far from any hiking trails. It is quite remote for Hong Kong. You and your child will join her, and all of you will return when the situation is resolved, one way or the other. Go.’
Gold didn’t move. ‘I won’t leave you.’
‘That is an order, Gold. Go. Emma will send for you when this is resolved.’
‘My Lord,’ Gold said, and hesitated. His voice softened. ‘Please let me stay here for a while. I want to make sure you are all safe. My child is here with me, we are protected.’ He smiled and shrugged. ‘Besides, I need to rest, and there are nice soft beds here.’
‘Do you want to go back to your flat at the Folly?’ I said.
‘I’d rather just hang around here and make sure everything’s all right,’ Gold said. He fell to his knees before us and saluted without looking up, still holding the baby. He left his hands in front of his face, beseeching. ‘Let me stay.’
John and I reached agreement without saying a word to each other.
‘Go and rest in the student room, Gold,’ I said. ‘Come out when you’re feeling better. You’re probably exhausted.’
Gold grinned up at me. ‘You have no idea.’ He saluted John and then me again, pulled himself clumsily to his feet, and shoved his child into his chest. He turned and went down the hall towards the student rooms.
‘Why couldn’t you touch the baby?’ I said.
John didn’t say anything, he just rose to go into the dining room.
‘Xuan Tian Shang Di, you stop and tell me why you couldn’t touch that baby,’ I said fiercely. I rose with difficulty to follow him.
‘He’s too yin, Emma,’ the stone in my ring said.
I understood with a shock. ‘That’s why there are no plants and no pets. No goldfish, no hamsters, nothing. Simone asked for a hamster and you wouldn’t let her have one.’ John had stopped halfway to the dining room, but didn’t turn back to me. ‘You’re so yin you kill them. You probably don’t even need to touch them. You just kill them.’
‘Simone had a hamster for her fourth birthday,’ John said, opening the door to the dining room and gesturing for me to enter. ‘The Tiger ate it. She refused to speak to him for a week. Not a good idea for us to keep small furry creatures in the house; the Tiger can’t control himself. Adult creatures are safe, it is just babies that I must be careful with right now. Of course not my own, only other people’s. When I have the Serpent back, it will not be a problem.’
I shook my head as I went into the dining room. ‘I really am consorting with monsters. My parents were right.’
‘Of course they were,’ John said.
T
he victory meeting was a cheerless and gloomy affair. The Dragon, the Phoenix, the Tiger and Kwan Yin were already seated at the table when we went in.
‘You’re limping,’ the Phoenix said. ‘What happened?’
‘A metal hybrid stabbed her, tried to sedate her to take her,’ John said as he pulled a chair out for me.
The Phoenix rose and gracefully helped me into my chair. When I was seated she didn’t release my hand; she held it and concentrated, looking at the injury.
‘Sit with me after the meeting and I’ll heal it for you,’ she said. ‘But you shouldn’t do anything too strenuous for the next few days.’
She released my hand and sat in the chair next to me. I nodded my appreciation and she smiled.
‘What’s the plan?’ the Dragon said.
‘The Lady and I will spend a week linked,’ John said. ‘While we are performing the feed, Emma will find the location of One Two Two’s headquarters. We require assistance; preferably an Immortal who is powerful enough to see through walls.’
‘I’ll come along, Ah Wu,’ the Tiger said. ‘My Number One is handling things right now. I have a score to settle with this little piece of shit.’
‘Mind your mouth,’ John said.
‘Sorry, all,’ the Tiger said without a hint of remorse. ‘I’ve heard the Dark Lady say worse anyway. It has four law offices, correct?’
The Dragon snorted with disdain. ‘Of course the thing is a lawyer.’
‘It’s the leader of all the underworld activity in Hong Kong,’ I said. ‘It needs the expertise with the law. Of course it is.’
‘Not all lawyers are underhand. I have met some as honourable as any,’ the Phoenix said. ‘How is the Golden Boy? I heard that he had been sundered.’
‘If you mean he had a baby, yes, he did,’ I said. ‘He’s resting right now. Later he’ll go into hiding with Jade and her clutch.’
‘Jade has a clutch?’ the Phoenix said, then glanced quickly at the Dragon. ‘I did not know this.’
The Dragon ignored her completely and she turned back to me. ‘What will you do when you find the demon’s location?’
‘Myself and the Tiger will find it and hunt it down,’ John said. ‘We will destroy it, and everything it has created.’
‘I am looking forward to doing battle alongside my Lord the Xuan Wu in True Form,’ the Tiger said, his voice a low menacing growl. ‘It’s been a hell of a long time.’
‘I feel the same way, old friend,’ John said.
There was a soft scraping sound at the dining room door. John rose; we both knew who it was.
He opened the door and Leo entered unsteadily, his hind end wandering out of control every few steps. ‘I hope you’re including me in this.’
‘Yeah, Leo’s a beast, I saw that,’ the Tiger said loudly. ‘How the hell did this happen, Ah Wu? I’ve never seen anything like this before. The Lion was
human
.’
Neither John nor I said anything.
Leo made his way to the chair next to John’s. ‘I don’t think I can do it on my own yet,’ he said. ‘Anybody care to help me?’
‘You’re too big to sit on one of Ah Wu’s dining chairs, you’d break it,’ the Phoenix said, and the chair next to Leo transformed into a large rosewood chest.
The Phoenix used PK to raise him like a kitten being lifted by the scruff of the neck, his legs curled in front of his vertical body. She lowered his back end gently onto the chest and his front end onto the table.
‘Thanks,’ he said.
‘My pleasure,’ the Phoenix said.
‘How did this happen?’ the Dragon said. ‘Humans don’t change like that.’
‘I do,’ I whispered.
‘Yeah, that’s right,’ the Tiger said. ‘Must be something to do with continuous prolonged exposure to the extremely peculiar Xuan Wu creature.’
‘Or black chi,’ I said miserably.
All of them stiffened at that. They studied me intensely. I even felt more than one of them turn their Inner Eye on me.
‘That is my Lady and your Regent that you are prying into,’ John said forcefully, and the examination stopped.
‘Black chi?’ the Tiger said, slightly too loudly. ‘You, Emma? Black chi? Really? Whoa.’
‘Demon,’ the Dragon said.
‘Oh, will you give it a fucking
break
, Ah Qing,’ the Tiger said, leaning back and slapping his hand on the table. ‘I looked inside her, and she told me herself, truthfully, that she is
not
a demon.’
‘Show us, dear,’ the Phoenix said gently. ‘Just a very small amount, don’t over-stress yourself.’
I held my hands out and generated a ball of black chi about the size of a tennis ball.
‘Move it in front of me, I want to see it,’ the Tiger said.
I moved the chi so that it was about ten centimetres from his nose. He gingerly held out a hand and touched it. ‘Yep, that’s the same stuff, all right. Maybe you’re right, Ah Qing.’
‘My Lady is no demon,’ John said. ‘And I suspect that I could generate a similar thing if circumstances warranted. Also, I have investigated, and the effect that this chi produces is entirely different to that produced by the King.’
‘There’s a King that does stuff like that?’ Leo said as I reabsorbed the chi. ‘Which King?’
‘King of the Demons, Leo,’ I whispered.
‘Leo, I want you to come with me,’ the Lady said. She had been silent throughout the entire exchange. ‘I would like to look at you. I may be able to remedy the situation.’
She gracefully rose, raised her hand, and Leo disappeared. ‘I will examine him in your practice room, Ah Wu,’ she said. ‘I may be able to reverse the process. I will return when I am sure one way or the other. I do not think you require me in these arrangements.’
‘Mercy,’ John said softly, and she disappeared as well.
‘This black chi turns people into beasts?’ the Tiger said.
‘He was the first human I’ve hit it with,’ I said, ‘and it was an accident. It bounced off one of those fake metal elementals.’ The Tiger nodded, understanding. ‘Sometimes it doesn’t do anything at all; sometimes it changes the demon to another type of demon; and once it…’ I stopped, unable to finish.
‘It what?’ the Phoenix said. ‘What?’
‘It changed a demon into a human being,’ John said.
There was complete silence.
‘Why didn’t you tell us about this, Ah Wu?’ the Dragon said softly. ‘This is most important.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ I said, ‘because I’ll never use it again. The results are too destructive and unpredictable. Heaven knows what it’ll do next time. Never again.’
‘What if it’s life or death?’ the Tiger said.
‘Then death,’ I said. ‘That stuff is too dangerous.’
‘What if it’s life or death for
Simone
?’ the Dragon said.
I was silent. He was right. I wondered what would happen if I used it on myself.
‘Let’s return to the topic at hand,’ John said. ‘After the Lady and I have done the feed for seven days, the Tiger and I will go in. Dragon, Phoenix, will you remain with the students and my Lady while we do it?’
‘I’m going with you,’ I said.
‘You are staying with Simone,’ John said. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
I sighed with feeling and decided to drop it. ‘Can’t you take some Horsemen or something?’
‘No need,’ the Tiger said. ‘In True Form, together, nothing will stand against us.’
‘He is correct, Emma,’ the Phoenix said gently. ‘The Bai Hu and the Xuan Wu are the two greatest demon destroyers on any Plane. Together they are unstoppable.’
‘Take the Third Prince,’ I said.
‘Good idea, if he’s up for it,’ John said.
The Tiger nodded agreement. ‘He should enjoy some straight-out rampant destruction. Just what he likes.’
‘We will meet back here in seven days,’ John said. ‘Dismissed.’
The Dragon disappeared.
‘Let me heal you first, Emma, then I will return and check my chicks,’ the Phoenix said.
‘Are they okay?’ I said as she took my hands and her fiery presence moved through me. She was like a liquid flame coursing through my energy meridians, but I felt no heat. Her essence moved to my leg and I felt the warmth on the injury.
‘The Demon King obviously did not wish to take advantage,’ the Phoenix said. ‘The Celestial Plane was not attacked. Tell me if the heat is too great.’
‘My Lord,’ the Tiger said, shaking his hands in front of his face. ‘I want to wait and see if the Lady can remedy the Lion. If she can’t, I can give him some quick lessons on being a cat. I can have him walking, running and fighting in that form, and you will have a valuable ally in the battle.’
‘Ah Bai,’ John said. ‘Bring Michael back. We may need his help to guard when Simone returns.’
The warmth in my leg stopped and the Phoenix removed her consciousness from me. I shivered; I suddenly felt cold.
‘It will pass,’ she said. ‘You adjusted to my fire essence remarkably well. Very impressive.’
‘Yang. Serpent,’ John said.
‘Yes,’ the Phoenix said. ‘Most serpents are quite yang. Can you transform at will, Emma?’
‘No,’ I said.
‘Stand up,’ she said. ‘Let’s see how it looks.’
I rose. The leg was still slightly stiff but the wound had definitely healed. I pulled the bandage off, wrapping it around my hand. There was a large hole in my jeans where the metal had pierced them. I opened the hole and inspected my leg; there was an angry red mark where I had been stabbed, but it was healed. I lifted my leg and swung it: still stiff and difficult to move, but nothing worse than the aftermath of a hard workout with the sword.
‘Thanks, Zhu Que.’
‘My pleasure,’ she said with a small smile. ‘Rest it for a couple of days. The wound was very deep. By your leave.’
‘Go and check your babies,’ I said.
Her smiled widened, she saluted me, and disappeared.
Emma, come,
the Lady said in my head. John and the Tiger nodded to me and I went out. The door of the training room was closed.
Come in
, the Lady said before I’d tapped on it.
Kwan Yin sat cross-legged in the middle of the mats in True Form, her beautiful serene face radiant. The long white robes cascaded around her. Her enormous shining pile of hair nearly touched the ceiling. I watched her with awe. Her hands were held out over Leo’s prone form, a pure white light surrounding both of them. Leo was human again. He appeared to be unconscious, stretched out naked on his side on the floor in front of her.
Do not approach,
she said, her glowing oval face not moving.
I am not quite finished. I suggest you go find some clothes for him for when he returns.
I turned and went out, closing the door softly behind me.
‘It worked,’ I whispered, hoping the Tiger’s acute hearing would pick it up.
Good,
the Tiger said into my head.
He will be much more useful with a weapon anyway.
I let myself into Leo’s room and laughed quietly as I went through his drawers. He’d kept some of the pink underwear, hidden at the bottom. I hadn’t known that. I grabbed some boxers and a robe for him.
Come in,
Ms Kwan said when I reached the door to the training room.
She was sitting exactly the same way, but had returned to her normal human form. Leo sat cross-legged opposite her, his face full of calm serenity.
I hesitated, then went in anyway.
He heard me and glanced up. He smiled. ‘I feel doubly naked when there’s no fur.’
I tossed him the robe and he pulled it around himself and rose. I passed him the boxers and he tugged them on.
Kwan Yin gracefully stood.
After Leo had tied the belt of the robe, he fell to one knee and saluted her. She placed her hand on his head.
‘Will he be able to do it at will?’ I said.
She hesitated, gazing at him, her hand still on his head. ‘With a great deal of concentration and training, in the right circumstances he will.’
‘I won’t get a chance to try then,’ Leo said, returning to his feet and fixing the robe. ‘One more week, and then I’m off demon hunting.’
‘You may be able to learn it in a week,’ I said.
‘I’ll be practising with the sword,’ he said. ‘That will be much more useful than claws anyway.’ He turned to go out of the room, took a couple of steps, and tottered. I rushed to hold him up, and he leaned on me.
He straightened. ‘Let me go. I’m not weak, it’s just a matter of regaining my balance.’ He took a couple more steps, realised that he had it, and moved more confidently. ‘Tell Mr Chen I’ll meet him back in the dining room when I’ve put some clothes on.’
‘Emma,’ the Lady said, and I turned back as Leo went out. A glowing white aura surrounded her. ‘It does not matter what you are. The fact that you can make this energy is inconsequential. Do not let the foolish Dragon sway you. You will never harm your family. Never.’
‘But what am I?’ I said.
The aura blinked out. ‘It does not matter what you are. Because it is who you love that is the most important.’
She was right. She was always right.
I went to her, fell to one knee and saluted her as Leo had. She placed her hand on my head and I felt her power move through me: a feeling of total peaceful serenity. ‘You will never harm them,’ she whispered. ‘Go and prepare. Ask Ah Wu to teach you energy calming techniques, because very soon you will need them.’
‘Not for a week,’ I said. ‘But thank you, that’s a good idea.’ I pulled myself to my feet.
‘I am no longer needed here,’ she said. ‘Remember, though, Emma, you can call me any time you need me.’
The doorbell rang: Simone was back. I raced out of the training room with delight. John and the Tiger were already in the hallway, and John opened the door.
Simone threw herself at her father and squealed. He raised her so that she nearly touched the ceiling, then held her close.
Martin smiled through the doorway and disappeared.
John moved Simone to one hip and closed the gate and then the door.
‘Hello, Uncle Bai!’ Simone said loudly. She saw me. ‘Everybody’s okay? Everybody’s fine?’ She saw the wreck of the living room. ‘Is everybody okay?’
‘Everybody’s fine, sweetheart,’ I said. ‘And Gold had a baby.’
‘A
baby
?’ Simone cast around excitedly. ‘Where? Where?’ She stopped. ‘Where’s
Leo
?’ She concentrated, looking for him. ‘You’re in your room, Leo, come on out. I know you’re there!’