by Kylie Chan
‘Fuck, yeah,’ the Tiger said.
‘I am putting that up on YouTube!’ the Dragon said with delight.
‘Do you want a basement?’ the Emperor said.
‘No, I’ll create another purpose-built lab underground elsewhere,’ the Tiger said. ‘With beefed-up security.’
‘I’ll help,’ the Phoenix said.
‘Me too,’ the Dragon said.
‘We need to keep up with their technology,’ John said. ‘We’ll work together to make the security unbreakable.’
‘Very well,’ the Jade Emperor said.
He waved one hand, shaking his sleeve out of the way, and the plans for the new Western Palace appeared. They drifted out of his hand to hang at waist level in front of him, next to the red brick. He studied the plans, then looked up. The ground between the flags turned black and shiny in a complex series of rectangles.
‘Granite foundation,’ the Emperor said. ‘It’s four metres deep, with recessed service channels through it where they’ve been marked on the plans. You can cut more channels if needed; it’s capable of taking a beating. Put your flooring on top.’
‘Nice. Thank you,’ the Tiger said. ‘Uh . . . can you do red, like the stones? Or white? I don’t like black.’
Both John and the Jade Emperor glared at the Tiger.
The Jade Emperor flicked his wrist without looking away from the Tiger and the foundations turned white. ‘That’s not granite, it’s marble, and it will be more brittle. You’ll have to take care when cutting it.’
The Tiger grinned broadly and crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘Worth it.’ He bowed to the Jade Emperor, the grin not shifting. ‘I’ll polish it and inlay gold detail in the traffic areas. White and gold marble floors will be sweet.’
‘Now,’ the Jade Emperor said, and pulled his sleeves up to his elbows. He took a deep breath, studied the plans in front of him, and raised his arms like a conductor.
The new Western Palace, built of red stone with arched doorways and windows, shot out of the ground without making a sound. It grew upwards, knocking over the marker flags, until it was three storeys high. It spread organically down the hillside into a series of terraces and smaller outbuildings, finishing at the level of the plain that swept from the Palace to the base of the mountains.
The people standing and watching cheered and applauded, some whistling loudly.
‘That’s bigger than the old one!’ John said.
The Tiger tucked his hands into his belt and puffed out his chest. ‘I’m always bigger.’
‘Not in True Form,’ John said under his breath.
‘Before you ask, no, I will not extend the Northern Palace purely so you can continue this childish competition with the Tiger,’ the Jade Emperor said. He checked the plans and shifted some of the Western Palace around. ‘Happy?’
‘Fucking ecstatic,’ the Tiger said.
‘It’s ready for the roof,’ the Jade Emperor said. He plucked the plans out of the air, rolled them up, and handed them to the Tiger. John passed the Emperor’s hat back to him, and he returned it to his head.
John nodded, rose above the platform and took True Form, the Serpent writhing over the Turtle’s shell. A couple of people in the audience screamed as a brief rain shower swept over the new Western Palace, washing the stones clean; then the water focused on a small area on the far side of the Palace. The fountains and channels in the gardens filled with water that cascaded down the hill to the ponds at the bottom. John drifted back down onto the platform and retook human form. ‘The cistern’s full.’
‘Thanks,’ the Tiger said.
‘My turn,’ the Dragon said. The plants he’d removed levitated into the courtyards and gardens of the new Palace.
The Phoenix flew up and the glass stacked behind us floated into the air. ‘You’ll have to add the putty yourself,’ she said as the glass panes merged, then separated into arched pieces that fitted into the stones. ‘They’re in the grooves, but take care: they can fall out before they’re fixed, and if they do I’m not replacing them.’ She retook human form and joined us on the platform.
‘Thanks, Sparrow.’ The Tiger held the rolled-up plans behind him without turning away from the Palace, obviously expecting me to take them. I didn’t. He pushed them at me, still looking at the Palace. I crossed my arms over my chest.
John made a soft sound of amusement.
The Tiger glanced back at me impatiently, and saw my face.
‘Do you mind holding these for a moment, Lady Emma?’ he said with forced politeness.
‘My pleasure, Lord Bai Hu,’ I said, and took the plans from him.
I love you, the Dragon said in my head.
You are wonderful, the Phoenix said at the same time.
John just smiled smugly.
The Tiger turned back to the Palace and concentrated. The lump of steel floated upwards, divided into three-metre beams, and bent to form arched formwork. The beams settled on the walls that the Jade Emperor had created. More iron erupted from the ground, changed to copper, then formed sheets, which the Tiger laid across the iron struts to form copper domed roofs for the buildings.
‘Once the plumbers and electricians have been through, we’ll have it liveable,’ he said. ‘Should take a couple of weeks at the most.’ He turned to grin at me. ‘Where will your mum and dad live?’
‘Not with you,’ I said. ‘So don’t even think about making my father wire all of this up.’
‘Greg can do it,’ the Tiger said, turning back to the new Western Palace. The copper domes glowed in the morning sun. ‘Fuck, that’s awesome.’
He turned to face us, fell to one knee, and saluted around. ‘Celestial Majesty, my Sovereign, Lords and Ladies, this small Shen thanks you for your care and consideration. This Palace is fucking sick.’
‘Lunch at my place,’ the Phoenix said. ‘Then I’d like your help to do a sweep through the lower levels of the volcano to make sure there’s no demons left in there. Oh. Never mind.’
‘You three go, I’ll stay with Emma,’ John said.
‘No, go, the volcano needs to be checked,’ I said. ‘I’ll hang around on the Earthly with Simone and Frankie, I’ve hardly seen them. We might be able to lure the stones out if we’re home without you around.’
‘You need to choose the stationery as well,’ John said. ‘And Jade will have an endless list of questions for you.’
‘Oh fuck,’ I said under my breath.
‘Do you need me to help you choose the invitations?’ he said.
‘No, checking the volcano is more important. Go with them, enjoy yourself.’ I glared at him. ‘Just don’t come home drunk and hit cricket balls off the roof again.’
‘That sounds like fun,’ the Tiger said. ‘Let’s try some golf balls off the top of the volcano. Bet I can hit them further than you.’
‘Not a chance,’ John said, and they disappeared.
The Dragon and Phoenix saluted me with huge grins and disappeared as well.
‘How about giving me my teleportation back?’ I asked the Jade Emperor.
‘Never took it from you,’ he said, and I landed in the living room of the Peak apartment.
34
I stopped and stared; there was a two-metre-wide circular hole in the living room floor. ‘What the hell?’
‘Oh, hi, Emma,’ Simone said from under the hole. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think there’s a huge hole in our living room floor. Were you playing with yin in here? We talked about that!’
There was a clatter and a vertical steel pole appeared in the centre of the hole. Horizontal beams spread from the pole to the hole’s edges.
‘Jade?’ Michael said from under the hole.
There was another clatter and hardwood steps appeared on the beams. They’d created a spiral staircase linking our flat with the one below.
Buffy ran up the stairs wearing a sparkly blue princess tutu and stopped at the top. ‘This is so cool, Aunty Emma!’
Simone, Michael and Jade appeared next to me, while Buffy and Frankie chased each other up and down the stairs.
‘Slow down before someone’s hurt!’ I shouted at them. They ignored me.
‘Emma, just the bride I wanted to see,’ Jade said.
‘Oh god,’ I said, and tried to teleport out. I failed.
‘I saw that,’ she said with amusement. ‘What appointments do you have this afternoon?’
‘Uh . . . Lots. Plenty. Many, many appointments,’ I said. ‘Totally busy. Full-time. So many appointments —’
‘Good. Come with me down to Mr Li’s to try on a few wedding dresses. Do you need a guard?’
‘I’ll guard,’ Michael said.
‘I don’t need a wedding dress, I’m marrying him in my armour,’ I said. ‘We decided this, Jade. Celestial battle forms and armour!’
‘You need a going-away dress, and a dress for the photographs,’ she said.
‘Mountain uniform. Same as the Dark Lord.’
‘Don’t you want something pretty?’
I glared at her. ‘No!’
‘You still need a black and silver robe for under the armour,’ she said, smug.
‘No, I don’t!’
‘Yes, you do, you have to match. And you need to choose a design for the invitations. Mr Li has offered to do them as well.’
I was silenced at that.
Leo walked up the stairs. ‘Nice job, guys. I’ll stay with the kids. Simone, you go with Emma and watch for those stones.’
‘I want to go with Simone!’ Frankie shouted.
‘Hey, Er Hao!’ Simone shouted down the hole.
‘Ma’am?’ Er Hao said from below.
‘Do you have to yell like that?’ I said, wincing.
‘Er Hao, we’re all going for lunch together. You don’t need to cook,’ Simone shouted. ‘Tell Yi Hao.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Er Hao replied.
Simone counted around. ‘Seven of us — we’ll need both cars. Is Martin coming?’
‘No, he’s stuck in the Northern Heavens,’ Leo said. ‘We really should buy a van to carry everyone.’
‘Good idea,’ Simone said.
‘We don’t have space to park a bus here,’ I said with dismay.
‘So we make space. I’ll drive the small car with Buffy and Jade,’ Leo said. ‘Michael, take the big one with Simone, Emma and Frankie. Come on, Buffy, you need to change if you’re going out as well.’
‘Okay, Daddy.’
‘Sir,’ Michael said to Leo, and opened the front door for us.
‘I can take my own car, I don’t need a driver!’ I said.
‘Oh, yes, you do, ma’am,’ Jade said, linking her arm in mine. ‘Because if we let you drive yourself you’ll end up anywhere but Mr Li’s.’
Michael stopped and his face went strange.
‘Let me order him to back off,’ Simone said.
‘No, I can handle him,’ Michael said.
‘He’s after you to be Number One again?’ I said.
Michael nodded as we waited for the lift.
‘You should go,’ I said. ‘Clarissa will live much longer on the Celestial Plane. It would be good for both of you.’
‘I know,’ he said. ‘It’s her choice, not mine. She wants to live an ordinary life on the Earthly.’
‘Did you tell him that?’ I said as we arrived on the ground floor.
‘I did. He told me to man up and make my woman behave.’
‘Did you hit him?’
‘I killed him.’
‘Good.’
* * *
‘You can take Frankie and Buffy shopping, you don’t need to come to Mr Li’s,’ I said to Simone when we’d finished lunch at the shopping centre’s café.
‘Yes, they do,’ Jade said. ‘We all need to see Mr Li. I want all members of the House of the North to have matching outfits.’
‘I have to be flower girl,’ Simone said. ‘I’ve been saying I’ll do it forever.’
‘Since you were four years old,’ I said.
‘No!’ Buffy shouted as we went up the escalators. ‘I’m flower girl!’
‘Can I be something?’ Frankie said.
‘You can be page boy,’ Simone said, squeezing his hand.
‘Do Chinese weddings even have a flower girl and page boy?’ Leo said.
‘This is Xuan Tian Shang Di’s Celestial wedding,’ Jade said with satisfaction. ‘It will have everything.’
‘Everything?’ Leo said. ‘What, Eastern and Western both?’
‘That will take all day!’ Simone said.
‘Pretty much,’ I said with dismay.
‘And you’re letting them do this to you, Emma?’ Michael said.
‘JE’s orders.’ I shrugged. ‘He’s put Jade in charge and we have to go along with whatever she decides.’ I glared at her. ‘If it was our choice, it would be a small family get-together to formalise something that’s existed since the day we met.’
‘Not happening, Emma,’ Jade said, looking smug. ‘Deal with it. This will be the biggest and grandest wedding the Celestial has ever seen.’ She spread her hands. ‘And I’m in charge!’
I moaned quietly as we entered Mr Li’s shop. ‘I almost hope this Black Jade thing will happen.’
‘God, don’t say that. The BJ curse could spoil everything,’ Simone said.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll keep a close eye on her,’ Michael said.
‘Zara should stay with you, Emma,’ Leo said. ‘She can warn us if a stone approaches.’
‘The only way she can stay with me is as an item of jewellery, and she won’t do it because of her vow.’
‘Aren’t the demons that could control stones gone?’ Michael said as we followed Mr Li to the end of his sunlit workroom where he kept the bolts of silk on display. Half the tables with sewing machines were empty; he’d lost a great many of his demon staff during the war. ‘It isn’t a problem now, is it?’
‘The current Demon King used a stone to hide a conversation we had from the previous King,’ I said. ‘I think he has just as much control over stones as they did.’
‘Enough talk about stones,’ Jade said. ‘Emma, take Celestial Form and let’s choose silk for the robe to go under your armour.’
‘Her armour’s really ratty,’ Simone said. ‘Even in Celestial Form there’s a huge chip in the breastplate and some of the wires are worn through.’
‘The forge is making a new set of dress armour; it will be ready at the end of next week,’ Jade said. ‘It’s black with silver adornment, similar to Lord Xuan’s. All we have to do is decide on the design for the under robes.’ She turned to study the bolts of silk on the shelves. ‘Red is traditional for weddings.’
‘Red will make me look anaemic,’ I said. ‘Black would be better, same as the armour.’
‘You can’t be married in black!’ Jade said. ‘How about silver?’
‘Silver is grey,’ I said. ‘I look dead in grey. Black is the best choice.’
‘And it begins,’ Simone said with amusement.
Mr Li interrupted us. ‘The Emperor of the East has sent us some bolts of fabric. He’s made a few designs in his own silk production facility in Japan that you might find suitable. Mostly black with snakes and turtles, and some with weapons on them. I would prefer “double happiness” or at least flowers and birds, but he insisted.’
‘That sounds perfect!’ I said. ‘Weapons? Let me see.’
‘I’m not wearing a robe with swords all over it. I’ll wear my stars,’ Simone said. ‘Find something else for the kids.’
‘I want to wear swords as well!’ Frankie said. ‘I like swords!’
Jade hissed under her breath. ‘I will kill that enabler.’
* * *
Simone stopped when we stepped out of the cars under the Peak building. ‘What is that demon do
ing here?’ She walked out the gates. ‘Two demons. Big ones.’
Michael and Leo readied themselves.
‘Come out,’ Simone called down the drive. ‘I can see you.’
The David Hawkes copy came out of the thick scrub at the side of the drive. He raised his hands. ‘Peace. I want to parley.’
‘I can see you as well,’ Simone shouted. ‘The other one.’
One of the black-armoured demons with a tiny face emerged from the other side of the drive, and Buffy shrieked.
It raised its clawed hands. ‘I wish to parley under terms of truce.’
‘It’s okay, honey, you’re safe with us,’ Leo said to Buffy, and she grabbed his leg.
‘Emma, where did Daddy take demons to parley?’ Simone said.
‘Hennessy Road, when we lived here,’ I said. ‘Stone Boulder House on the Mountain.’
‘We don’t have the ownership of Hennessy Road back yet,’ she said. ‘Jade?’
‘There’s nowhere secure enough,’ Jade said.
John appeared next to us. ‘I see.’ He gestured with his head. ‘Next to the swimming pool. Leo, take the children upstairs. Michael, go with them.’
‘I want to stay with Simone!’ Frankie shouted.
‘This time, Frankie, go with Uncle Leo,’ Simone said. ‘Don’t argue, sweetie, this is dangerous.’
‘You too, Simone,’ John said. ‘Go up with them and guard them.’
She hesitated, then nodded. ‘Okay.’
John gestured and the demons walked ahead of us to the block’s swimming pool. The elementals that had been acting as water formed four human-shaped watery bodies and floated in the pool cavity. We stopped, and both demons fell to their knees in front of John.
‘You first,’ John said to the David copy. ‘Do you turn?’
‘Only if I must,’ he said. ‘I would prefer to retain my free will.’
‘Then why are you here?’ John said.
‘When I was first assigned to Bridget and the boys, I was cruel to them. But I’ve learnt better,’ the David copy said. He lowered his head. ‘I love her, my Lord. I’ve grown to love all of them.’ He glanced up at John, full of hope. ‘Allow me to stay with them, I beg you.’
‘How do they feel about this?’ I said.