‘What if I made you vow not to harm her?’
‘I promise I won’t harm her,’ Wong said, eyeing me hungrily.
‘His word’s no good, you know that, King,’ I said desperately. ‘
You can’t do this to me
!’
‘I want a blood oath, Simon.’
Wong stiffened and his eyes widened.
‘Shit,’ I said quietly.
‘Will you swear not to harm her? In your own blood?’ He smiled at me. ‘If he breaks the oath he’ll be destroyed. Rather good, eh?’
‘I vowed to stay with
you
.’
‘Emma, dear, there is method to my madness. Just stay quiet and watch, please,’ the King said kindly.
I couldn’t believe this. ‘Shit!’
‘What good is she if I can’t hurt her?’ Wong said petulantly. ‘I can’t even use her in the lab if I can’t hurt her.’
‘No suffering, physical or mental. You may have her, but she must remain unharmed and well cared for. I won’t expect her to be happy, being where she is, but I will expect her to come out at the end unscathed. Physically sound and mentally intact.’
Wong glanced sideways at me, thinking.
‘No, you can’t even do that to her,’ the King said. ‘She is to stay exactly as she is.’
‘Why the hell are you doing this?’ I whispered. ‘What’s in it for you?’
‘Wait and see,’ the King said. ‘Well, Simon?’
‘Better than nothing, I suppose,’ Wong said. ‘Okay. I’ll take her. No idea what I’ll do with her though.’
Raw fury filled me. I was
not
going with this bastard. ‘
You can’t do this to me
!’ The Snake came out. The sword hit the dais with a clatter.
Wong leaped back but the King didn’t move. I pulled myself up and hesitated, working out which one I should strike first.
‘Wonderful!’ the King said with genuine delight. ‘I was hoping I’d see this!’ He clapped his hands. ‘Perfect!’
I struck at him. He was faster than me. He grabbed me around the throat, threw my head to the floor and
held it down with his foot. I struggled; my black coils writhed around us. He had me in a death grip. The pressure was killing me.
I changed back and he raised his foot from the back of my neck.
‘Hop up, Emma. I don’t think I’ve hurt you. Thanks for that. I was really hoping I’d see the Serpent. Stunning.’
I picked myself up and brushed myself off. Fortunately I’d missed the puddle of blood in front of the throne.
The King looked me in the eyes with a smile. ‘You’d make the most tremendous Mother, you know that? The offspring you’d produce would be really exceptional.’
‘I’d almost prefer that to going with this bastard,’ I growled. I retrieved the Murasame from the floor and looked at it, then changed my mind. I turned and sat on the throne. I rested the blade across my knees.
‘Don’t worry, Emma, you’ll be fine. He won’t hurt you,’ the King said. ‘Just remember: I have ensured that you will not be harmed. I know what I am doing.
Remember
. My vow still holds: as long as you stay with him, Simone Chen will be perfectly safe.’
He turned to Wong. ‘I won’t use Emma’s blade to draw the blood; just the touch of it would probably destroy you outright.’ He concentrated and a stiletto appeared in his hand. ‘Come here, love, and let’s do this.’
Wong sidled forward and held out his wrist.
‘Stick him deep,’ I said softly.
‘With pleasure,’ the King said, and plunged the blade into Wong’s wrist, then slashed it viciously across.
Wong howled and blood gushed from his wrist. He went silent and stared at it with wonder. ‘Blood.’
‘Yes, my pet, you are Number One now,’ the King said. He gestured towards a table that appeared at the end of the throne. ‘There’s the brush, there’s the scroll, sign your name like a good little boy.’
Wong went to the scroll and read it. He picked up the brush, loaded it with blood from his dripping wrist, and signed. One horizontal stroke: he was Number One.
‘Read it out loud,’ the King said.
‘I swear the Dark Lady, Emma Donahoe, will come to no harm, physical or mental, as long as she stays with me,’ Wong said dully. He glowered at the King. ‘Enough?’
‘I think that will do,’ the King said. ‘Do go and clean up, there’s a good boy. You are quite disgusting to look at. Then you can come back and collect your prize.’
Wong saluted the King and disappeared.
The King looked down at the floor. ‘Quite a lot of cleaning up to do.’ He smiled at me. ‘You’ve caused quite a mess. Look.’ He gestured. ‘The blood of my old Number One and my new Number One mingle.’ He looked me in the eye. ‘They will share similar fates.’ He sat on the throne next to me.
‘They’d better,’ I growled. ‘But I don’t want any honour for Wong when he goes. I want him to die like a dog.’
‘So do I, my sweet, so do I,’ the King said softly. He turned to the massed demons in the hall. ‘Piss off. Show’s over.’
The demons disappeared.
He turned back to me. ‘Tea?’
‘
Sow mei
,’ I said.
‘Very good,’ he said, and lightly clapped his hands.
‘Simone will be one hundred per cent safe?’ I said.
‘On my honour, and you know I have some,’ the King said, ‘she will be safe.’
‘Send the head back to Jade and Gold,’ I said. ‘We need the body whole so that Simone can claim the inheritance.’
‘Already done, my Lady.’
‘Where’s Leo?’ I said.
‘Court Ten,’ the King said.
‘He went straight there?’
‘Yes.’
‘No,’ I whispered.
‘He is arguing most ferociously not to be Raised.’
‘No.’
The tea materialised on a small table between us on the throne and he poured. ‘You realise, Emma, the more he argues, the less effective his arguments will be.’
‘I know,’ I whispered. ‘If he strode in demanding to be Raised he’d have no chance at all.’
‘He is much too honest for his own good,’ the King said, raising his teacup.
‘He always was.’
‘You can go and say hello if you like,’ the King said kindly.
‘I’d prefer he didn’t know that I’m here,’ I said.
‘Perfectly understandable. Ah, here comes my new Number One son, to take his prize.’ The King put down the tea and handed me another mobile phone. ‘If he gives you any shit, just give me a call. I’ll come and land on him. You are to be kept in ease and comfort. If you aren’t held in perfect luxury, let me know.’
I took the phone without a word.
He looked intensely at me. ‘Emma. Remember. I have kept you safe. I have kept Simone safe. I have protected both of you. Remember that I have done this thing for you. I’m counting on you.’ He leaned back and smiled. ‘Come around and have lunch with me some time.’
‘If I do, will you give me updates on Simone, Leo and John?’
‘Of course,’ he said with a gentle smile. ‘I will give you anything that your heart desires, short of your freedom.’
Wong reappeared before us. ‘Come on then, bitch,’ he said and howled with pain.
‘You will treat the Lady with respect,’ the King said casually. ‘You will provide her with comfortable apartments. You will treat her well. I will know exactly what you are doing, little Simon.’ He shifted slightly on the gold silk cushions. ‘Do not let her witness any of your more unsavoury activities. I will be watching you.’
Wong glowered at the King then gestured towards me. ‘My Lady.’
‘Remember, Number One,’ the King said. ‘If you harm her at all, you will be destroyed. And if you go anywhere near the daughter of the Dark Lord, you will answer to me.’ He turned to me and his blood-coloured eyes blazed. ‘Remember.’
We materialised in the living room of a luxurious Hong Kong penthouse. The view over the Island through the windows was spectacular. The apartment was decorated in modern tan and beige, with expensive dark wood panelling on the walls and plush woollen carpet. The furniture was European-style: slim, low-line and expensive.
‘You can have this one,’ Wong said. ‘Anything you need, let me know.’
‘Anywhere in here with room for me to train? Practise?’
‘I will arrange it,’ he said. ‘Need to keep you fit and in good shape, otherwise my dad will rip my scales off.’
‘I want a computer with broadband and a webcam.’
‘You may have the broadband, but I’ll be holding meetings here and I don’t want you telling anybody what’s going on. So you won’t be able to email out, and
I can’t let you have the webcam. Sorry,’ he said without meaning it at all.
‘I want a full set of the classics:
Creation of the Gods
,
Journey to the West
,
Journey to the North
,
Red Chamber
,
Heroes of the Marsh
, all of them. Both languages.’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘How do I call you if I need you?’
‘Tell one of the thralls.’
‘Okay, then. Piss off.’
He bowed slightly with a vicious grin. ‘Nothing I’d rather do more.’ He disappeared.
I looked through the apartment and opened every single door. None of them led out of it. I was imprisoned.
The apartment appeared to be on top of one of the exclusive blocks above Harbour Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, overlooking Hong Kong Harbour. Ocean Terminal’s open-air rooftop car park was visible through the living room windows. Simone often went to the huge toy shop in Ocean Terminal, and enjoyed parking on the roof of the terminal: the view was spectacular. I might even be able to see her there occasionally, if I was very lucky and kept a sharp eye out for the car.
The energy calming still worked. I didn’t lose it at the thought of Simone. The effect was fading though.
I could see the clock tower of the old Kowloon train station, next to the Star Ferry. Half past twelve, midnight. Just over twelve hours since the attack on the Peak apartment. It felt like a week had passed.
The suite had four bedrooms. I chose the master bedroom. It had a king-size bed and the bathroom was enormous, with a spa. I would have him convert a couple of the other bedrooms to a training room for me.
There were two smiling demon maids in the kitchen. I didn’t say a word to them.
The dining room had a Western-style rectangular rosewood table, large enough to seat ten. Meetings.
The fourth bedroom would make a perfect study. I would have him remove the bed and put in a desk for me. There were things I needed to do.
I returned to the bedroom I had chosen, sat on the bed, dropped the sword beside me, and put my head in my hands.
I pulled myself back up and went to the window. I opened the thick tan-coloured curtains and looked out.
Some of the buildings on the Peak still had their lights on.
John’s building was close to the top. Our building. Our apartment was on the top floor. The curtains were open in Simone’s bedroom and the light was on, but the other three bedrooms—mine, Leo’s and John’s—were dark.
I thought I saw a small silhouette against the window, then the curtains were drawn closed and the light was gone.
I went to the bedroom door and locked it. Then I fell onto the bed on my stomach, curled up and let go.
I was incapacitated for about thirty-six hours. When I recovered, I had a shower. The wardrobe was full of clothes that fitted me perfectly. I went out of my room and discovered that the apartment had already been changed for me.
The training room was even better than the one on the Peak, but he hadn’t provided me with any weapons. I leaned the Murasame against the wall across from the mirrors. I would have him provide a stand for it. I wondered if it had a matching
wakizashi
. The complete
daisho
set of both destructive blades would be rather cool.
I stopped. I was being totally cold-blooded again. Understandable, now, perhaps. Now that I was what I was.
I eyed the blade. I had vowed not to try to escape. And I wouldn’t: to keep Simone safe. But when the Dark Lord returned, I would have my escape. The Murasame would provide it.
And then I realised with an ice-cold shock: I had promised Simone. I couldn’t escape. He would come back, and he would see me like this. No.
I tried something. I went into the centre of the room and performed a yang-style Tai Chi set. When I had the chi flowing, I moved it into the central dan tian and attempted to use it to burn out the demon stuff.
When I came around I felt like I’d been hit in the head by a small building. Okay, that didn’t work.
But I could still manipulate the remaining chi, and that was good enough for now. I would work something out.
I ordered the maids to make me some food and ate it silently and alone in the dining room.
Then I went into the study. All of the classics I had asked for graced the bookshelf.
I sat at the computer and opened the word processor. I had memories to record so that I would never forget. One day Simone would be able to read the whole story. Well, maybe not the whole story. Some parts would be just for me.
I
woke up and cast around, then remembered. I threw myself out of the enormous bed and wandered into the bathroom.
I yawned in the mirror. Then I just about broke my jaw shrieking. I leapt back.
The face in the mirror had
no skin
.
I took a deep breath, then carefully slithered forward for another look.
I realised that I’d
slithered
. I collapsed and curled up on the floor. I pulled my black coils in and gasped. I tried not to look at my hands but I couldn’t help it.
No skin.
No skin
. I watched with silent horror as the blood moved over my skinless arms.
Okay. Deep breaths. I was still me, wasn’t I?
I pictured Simone in my mind, and imagined being ordered to hurt her.
I collapsed again. The thought of that wonderful little girl, and how much I missed her, tore my heart out.
Okay. Deep breaths, again. I was still me.
Holy shit. I had a True Form. I looked inside myself. The black stuff had moved through me during the previous two days; it wasn’t just in my dan tian now, it was everywhere. Thank you
so damn much
, Simon
Wong. I quietly pondered
exactly
what I wanted to do to that bastard when I didn’t have to worry about Simone’s safety any more.
Right. Looking inside: where’s Emma? I studied myself. I didn’t look like a hybrid, which was interesting. I didn’t look like a Mother on the inside either. I looked like something extremely old and powerful.
Something floated to the surface of my memory. The creator of the human race, in deep mythological history, had been half serpent, half human. The Great Mother. The Dark Woman, Nu Wa. I was something like that. Very interesting. Damn, I wished I still had the stone with me. It would have known what Nu Wa looked like, and would have been able to tell me if I was something like her.
I grinned to myself, still curled up on the floor. Look at the Snake Mother being cold-blooded.
Okay. I pulled myself upright. I wouldn’t look in the mirror again, thank you very much. I slithered back to the bedroom.
I went to the window and looked out, trying to calm myself. There was a quiet knock on the door.
‘Who is it?’ I said, my voice hissing.
‘It’s me, ma’am,’ the demon servant said. ‘Your breakfast is ready.’
I suddenly became extremely aware of exactly what Mothers ate. Well, well. You learned a new thing every day.
‘Later,’ I said. ‘Leave me.’
I saw her move away with my Inner Eye, then froze.
My Inner Eye was working in this form. I checked my chi; but it wasn’t the chi that was running the Eye. It was the black stuff.
I took another deep breath. Okay, ignoring for a moment the source of this power, I used it to have a look around. Holy shit. I wasn’t on top of Ocean
Terminal at all. The windows were an illusion. I was underneath Kowloon City.
What I really needed to do, though, was find my own form, my human form. My
real
True Form.
I ordered my body to take human shape and was knocked flat.
When I came around I quickly checked my hands. Back to normal. Back to me.
I raced into the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief. Okay. I’d even managed to conjure the same clothes I’d been wearing.
While I washed and readied myself I thought about what I would do. I should try to take this Mother form at will, it could prove useful. Particularly if I could work with the black stuff. Then I decided against it. It was just too damn ugly. And weird.
I opened the door and went to find breakfast. I tried not to think of John’s reaction if he were to see me.
I tried not to think of Simone at all.
I sat at the dining table and ordered the maids in from the kitchen.
They appeared to be tiny round Chinese women in their mid-forties, less than one and a half metres tall, wearing traditional servants’ black and white. They crept in and smiled nervously.
‘Sit,’ I said, gesturing to the chairs across the table from me.
They shared a look and didn’t move.
‘Sit,’ I said. ‘That’s an order.’
They looked uncomfortable but sat.
‘Ceylon tea, brown toast, peanut butter,’ I said.
They nodded and rose, and I raised my hand to stop them. ‘Not yet. I want to talk to you first. Do either of you have names?’
They both shook their heads.
‘Can you speak?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ they whispered, bobbing their heads.
‘When were you hatched?’
They both opened their mouths at the same time, then the one on the left continued, the one on the right stayed silent.
‘I was hatched about three months ago,’ the left one said.
‘Six weeks,’ the one on the right said.
‘Geez,’ I said. ‘You’re only babies.’
They remained silent, watching the table.
‘I suppose he didn’t have any thralls left after they all turned to us,’ I said. ‘You’re new ones, replacements. Okay.’ I smiled and made my voice more brisk. I gestured to the one on the left. ‘You’re One.’ The one on the right. ‘You’re Two. I’ll name you in Putonghua, I learned some with Simone’s teacher.’ I gestured towards One. ‘Yi Hao.’ Number Two. ‘Er Hao.’
They both bobbed their heads. ‘Ma’am.’
‘I’m completely vegetarian. Chinese vegetarian food. Ceylon tea, or
sow mei
or
tikuanyin
Chinese tea. No soda. Mineral water only.’
‘Ma’am.’
‘How do you go out?’ I said.
They shared a look.
‘Not allowed to tell me?’
They shook their heads.
‘It’s okay, I can’t get out.’
I had a sudden inspiration. After what had been done it me it was possible that I
could
get out. I should have a try at teleportation. Waste of time though; I’d vowed to stay.
‘What have you been told about me?’ I said.
They shared another look. Yi Hao, the older one, decided to answer for both of them. ‘You are a famed
destroyer of demons,’ she whispered. ‘You hate all demons with a vengeance. If we survive more than a day in this house we are lucky. You wield the Blade of Destruction; we have seen it. If we anger you…’ She pulled herself together. ‘You will destroy us without a second thought.’
‘All of that is quite correct,’ I said with a smile, and watched them squirm.
Hold on, that wasn’t like me at all, tormenting helpless creatures for amusement. What was wrong with me?
Wonderful. I really was half demon. Okay; let’s try to control this demon nature and make sure that Emma stays in control.
‘I won’t harm you, little ones,’ I said gently. ‘I have tamed demons, and I have had demon servants for years. I have never harmed a single one of them. You are quite safe with me.’
Neither of them relaxed. They didn’t believe me. Not surprising, after working for Wong for any length of time.
‘Go and get me my tea and toast,’ I said. ‘And a copy of the
South China Morning Post
. And don’t eat all the peanut butter,’ I added with a grin. ‘I know you demons love it.’
Neither of them moved.
‘Dismissed,’ I said gently.
Both of them rose, carefully pushed their chairs in, bowed slightly and disappeared into the kitchen.
I furiously beat myself up inside. I had just tortured these two poor infants for my own amusement. I would watch my behaviour carefully and keep this dark stuff under very strict control. I was staying one hundred per cent goddamn pure
me
.
Er Hao brought my toast and the paper. I flipped it open. I’d been out of the loop for a few days but
nothing much had happened. The government, as usual, was in trouble about something; people were complaining about poor service and shoddy craftsmanship in the letters to the editor; and sports was mainly English soccer.
The body of a Chinese woman in her early thirties had been found hacked to pieces in a dumpster in Kowloon City, the second murder in six months.
I knew it was April. I just knew. Now that they had me, and April’s child had served her purpose, they didn’t need April any more.
The days blurred past. I practised with the Murasame; it had some interesting abilities. I tried different things with the demon stuff; I had some interesting abilities as well. I wrote my story. I read the classics. Wong never came.
I was absolutely miserable. I missed my family so much it ripped my heart out. The loneliness was soul-destroying. I lost weight. I just wasn’t hungry most of the time, despite the fact that the two demons were excellent cooks.
I dealt with it. I stayed busy. I watched the top of the car park, hoping to catch a glimpse of a black Mercedes with a little girl in it. Even though it was an illusion, the image was real.
I spent many long, sleepless nights watching the lights of the Peak apartment. Only Simone’s bedroom light was ever turned on. I knew when she went to sleep; it was very late for her sometimes as well.
I even missed the stupid arrogant stone.
About a week later I was doing a set with the Murasame when a young woman appeared on the other side of the training room. I recognised her immediately: a Mother, about level seventy or eighty. A big one.
I lowered my sword. ‘Can I help you?’
‘You are the Dark Lady?’ she said without introduction.
‘Yes.’
She took True Form and poised on her coils.
I readied myself.
She raced towards me and I bound her by taking half her chi out. She froze.
‘Yield and I will let you go,’ I said. ‘Give me your word and you can go.’
She didn’t speak, she just hissed at me, trying to free herself from my binding.
‘I’ve been wanting to practise some techniques on a demon,’ I said. ‘If you don’t yield now, I will practise on you.’
‘Try me,’ she said, but she sounded like a yowling cat.
I’d wanted to try this for a while. I concentrated, and drained about half of the black demon essence out of her. I didn’t put it into my dan tian; I didn’t want to absorb any more of the stuff. I loaded the Murasame with it instead. It was easier than draining chi. Her face went blank with astonishment.
I launched the demon stuff back at her.
She folded up, growing smaller and smaller, then eventually turned into a shining black bead that fell onto the floor, rolling slightly on the mats.
‘So that’s how he did it,’ I said softly. I went to the demon and picked her up; she had definitely turned into the bead.
‘Yi Hao!’ I yelled, and the demon servant appeared in the doorway. She froze when she saw the bead in my hand. ‘Yi Hao, I want you to get me an airtight jar about thirty centimetres tall, half that across, with a good metal seal on the top. Hurry.’
She bobbed quickly and disappeared.
It took her about five minutes. When she returned I put the demon in the jar and sealed it. ‘Thanks.’
‘What was that, my Lady?’ the demon said.
‘That was a level seventy Mother that came for me,’ I said.
She inhaled sharply. ‘You did that to her?’
‘Yep,’ I said. ‘She’s dormant. I can bring her out any time.’
Yi Hao stared at me with awe.
I put the jar in the corner. Looked like I’d started a collection. I wondered how many more would come after me.
‘Don’t touch the jar, sweetheart,’ I said. ‘You could let the Mother out and it could hurt you.’
Yi Hao stared incredulously at me.
‘What?’ I said.
She shook her head and smiled. ‘You called me sweetheart. As if I was your child.’
I went to her and patted her shoulder. ‘You are a child. And you are mine.’ I put my arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. ‘Go and make me some
sow mei
tea. I’ll have it in the living room. And tell Er Hao not to touch the jar—I don’t want either of you getting hurt.’
Yi Hao’s eyes were full of tears. ‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said with a huge grin, and hurried out.
That was much more like me. It felt good.
I drank the tea in the living room and opened
Dream of the Red Chamber
. This was the hardest of all the classics to read; the story meandered without much purpose and there were far too many characters to keep track of without writing notes. But the main storyline soon became frighteningly obvious.
The family of a young wastrel, Pao-yu, arranged for two beautiful girls to come and live with them as
potential brides for him. One was Precious Virtue, the other was Black Jade, and the two girls loved each other like sisters.
Black Jade was sickly with consumption, so the family decided not to let him marry them both. They arranged for him to marry Precious Virtue alone. But they told the young man that he was marrying Black Jade, the one he truly loved.
In the Chinese tradition, the bride’s face is covered with a veil until she enters the wedding bedchamber. When Pao-yu pulled aside the veil and saw he had married the wrong girl, he left the family forever, only appearing years later in passing as a monk.
Black Jade died of her illness and grief.
No wonder everybody had been so concerned about the amount of black jade I was presented with. I felt the earring in my ear. I still had one black jade coin left.
One afternoon a few days later I heard voices in the living room. I went out.
Wong and Kitty were there with a few demons, standing around talking, holding large glasses of red wine. At least I hoped it was red wine. Demon cocktail party.
‘And here she is,’ Wong said loudly, gesturing towards me. ‘My house guest. May I present the Dark Lady herself, Lady Emma Donahoe, chosen of the Emperor of the Northern Heavens.’ He grinned and lowered his voice. ‘Have a look inside, guys. You
have
to see this.’
They all bowed and smiled slightly. Then they studied me. Kitty watched them impatiently.
‘
Wah
,’ one of them said. She looked like a slim, elegant, middle-aged Chinese woman wearing a grey silk pantsuit. ‘You did that?’
‘Yep,’ Wong said with satisfaction. ‘Unfortunately
the King made me promise not to hurt her, so I can’t complete the process.’
‘Can we talk in front of her?’ a rotund young Chinese man said.
‘Not a good idea, I think,’ Wong said. ‘She can’t get out to tell anybody, but we can’t make her suffer at all. It’ll destroy me.’