by Kylie Chan
John looked away, his face full of pain.
‘You are truly worthy,’ Ms Kwan whispered.
He slammed his chopsticks onto the table and rose.
I put my head in my hands. ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ I slapped him lightly on the behind. ‘Sit down, Xuan Wu, there’s no need for theatrics. Let’s just talk about this.’
John sat back down with a bump. ‘I stand by my oath.’ He picked up his chopsticks. ‘Theatrics or no. She is mightily worthy, as you have seen. I want her by my side. If it means losing my Mountain, then so be it.’
‘If you lose it, then how can we go live on it?’ I said. ‘Maybe we should just let our relationship go.’
‘No. The Jade Emperor can go to hell,’ John said. ‘I stand by my oath. Emma deserves nothing less.’
‘You are a tremendous fool,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘But I’ll do my best for you.’
‘I’m an even bigger fool,’ I said. ‘You warned me what I was getting into, and I walked into it with both eyes open.’
‘We’re a pair of fools together,’ John said.
‘You forgot happy,’ I said.
‘Eat your noodles,’ Ms Kwan said, sounding like a long-suffering mother. She disappeared.
We ate in silence. Words weren’t necessary.
The next day Gold returned and we resumed training. We only had a few more days in the house on the hill and there were still things we needed to learn.
‘Only Emma can do the first exercise—it’s energy weapons,’ John said. ‘You’re not big enough to do this sort of weapons training yet, Simone. You can stay back here with Leo if you like.’
‘Can we come and watch?’ Simone said.
‘No need, guys,’ I said.
John shrugged. ‘If you want.’
‘Oh no, please.’ I ran my hands through my hair. ‘Do you have to watch?’ ‘Yep,’ Leo said.
We went to the top of the hill. Gold stood me about twenty metres from a straw dummy and passed me my sword.
‘Stand well clear,’ John said, moving Leo and Simone away from me. ‘This could backfire. Emma, please be very careful.’
I glanced at him, concerned.
‘You’ll be fine, just take it slowly.’
I shrugged and turned back to the dummy.
‘Take the sword out, Lady Emma,’ Gold said, ‘and hold it in front of you.’
I did as he said. He took the scabbard and put it on the grass away from us.
‘Now. Move some chi into the sword. Do it slowly, feel the sensation. Hold the sword with both hands and move the chi in. It will feel strange, be ready for it.’
I held the sword in front of me and concentrated.
‘Only a small amount, Emma,’ John called.
Gold raised his hand. ‘The Dark Lord is quite correct, my Lady, only a very small amount.’ He bobbed his head. ‘My apologies.’
I held the sword out, concentrated, and moved about a golf ball’s worth of chi into it.
The recoil knocked me backwards off my feet and sent the sword spinning out of my hands. I landed smack on my behind. Simone giggled. Leo guffawed. Even John laughed.
‘Do that again, Emma, that was funny!’ Simone squealed.
‘Wish I had a camera,’ John said. ‘The look on your face is priceless.’
Leo didn’t say anything. He was bent double, speechless with laughter.
I pulled myself to my feet. ‘You will all keep!’
Gold had difficulty controlling his face. ‘Less than that, I think, to start.’ He fetched my sword for me. ‘Try again. Hold it tight. You’ll have less recoil as the sword becomes used to it.’
‘The sword has to get used to it?’
‘Just try it and feel it,’ John said. ‘I could explain about the sword, but it might be better if you just practise first.’
I took a firm hold of the sword, held it in front of me and gingerly moved a minuscule amount of energy into it. The sword vibrated, but I could hold it. I moved more in, and the vibration intensified, but I could still hold it easily.
I eased more chi into it until I reached a normal working level. The vibration intensified, then the sword stopped shaking and sang with a pinging crystalline whine that ran straight through my head like a glass blade.
I pulled the energy out of the sword and it went silent.
‘All the demons for miles will run when they hear that,’ I said. ‘What an annoying sound.’
‘It will do more than annoy them,’ John said. ‘It will destroy any small ones that are close, and disable them if they are within earshot.’
‘How small?’ I said.
‘That depends entirely upon your own level of skill. The more you practise, the larger the demons you can destroy with it.’
‘I hope I didn’t hurt the house staff,’ I said, concerned.
‘I sent them down to the city,’ John said. ‘And they’re your staff too, now.’
Leo snorted with amusement.
‘Give it a rest. That’s a really useful technique, Gold, thanks.’
‘That is not the technique. That is just an interesting side effect of the particular nature of this sword.’ ‘What’s the technique then?’ ‘Put the sword down and I’ll show you.’ I placed the sword on the grass.
‘Using a standard chi blast of about so big,’ he said, indicating a ball about the size of a basketball, ‘hit the target.’
I generated the chi and threw it at the dummy. I wasn’t accurate; the chi hit the dummy slightly to one side and it burst into flames.
‘Pathetic,’ John said.
‘Leave her alone, Daddy, that was really good,’ Simone said, shoving him.
Gold concentrated and the fire went out. ‘Now, load the sword with chi and use it like a slingshot to throw the energy. Only use about this much.’ He indicated a ball about the size of a tennis ball.
I picked up the sword, held it front of me and filled it with energy. It sang. ‘That’s really annoying. How do I shut it up?’
The sword went silent.
‘Okay, obviously I just ask it.’
‘Just tell it what to do,’ John called. ‘Tell it to sing again.’
The sword sounded without me saying anything. I ordered it to shut up and it went silent. ‘Is it sentient?’
‘No,’ John said. ‘Has the stone in the ring said anything yet?’ ‘No.’
‘Stone in the ring?’ Gold said. I held the ring up for him to see. ‘Are you sure that was a good idea, my Lord? It will waken eventually.’
‘Emma can handle it,’ John said.
‘If anyone can, she can,’ Gold agreed. ‘I look forward to it waking. It’s been a long time.’
I tried something. I ordered the sword to sing, and it sounded. I ordered it to make the sound lower, and it obliged. I ran it through some excruciatingly painful scales.
A dog barked some distance away and others picked up the refrain. The hillside echoed with their howls of distress.
‘Enough! Enough!’ John called, laughing. ‘I didn’t know it could do that!’
I ordered the sword to shut up and my ears rang in the sudden silence.
‘Don’t do that again, please, Emma!’ Simone said. ‘That was awful!’
I bowed to them, then turned to face the dummy. This time I used the sword as a slingshot to throw the energy. The dummy exploded into a million pieces. The force of the blast showered us with straw. John had to shield Simone from the flying debris.
The chi returned to the sword without my guidance.
‘That was only about one-fifth of what I used the first time,’ I said.
‘That is correct,’ Gold said. ‘You will achieve five times the power, combined with five times the distance, by using the sword to throw the chi. You also do not need to guide the energy back.’
‘Sweet! Hey, John, do you have any demons I can practise on?’
‘Sure. I have a jar in the basement. Just hold on, I’ll get it for you.’
‘I may p
lay them some tunes as well,’ I mused aloud.
‘Leo, I want to go inside right now, please,’ Simone said.
‘Yeah, we’re out of here,’ Leo said. ‘Come and get us when you’re finished.’
John followed Leo and Simone back to the house. Then he stopped, stiffened, and walked swiftly back.
‘Looks like we won’t need the jar,’ he said, studying the sky.
Gold looked up as well. ‘You have sky seals?’
‘Yes,’ John said. ‘Let’s see what happens. Emma, fill the sword with chi. You may have your chance right now.’
I filled the sword with energy and ordered it to be silent. ‘What’s coming?’
‘Flyers,’ Gold said.
‘How big?’
‘Oh, about twenty,’ John said casually, still studying the sky. ‘About twelve of them. Second wave.’
The flyers appeared as black spots in the cloudy sky. They looked like ravens.
‘Are they like crows?’
‘Nope,’ Gold said. ‘Completely different. And much bigger.’
The flyers came closer and I suddenly saw that they weren’t the size of ravens, they were much, much bigger. Their altitude had hidden their true size. Each had a wingspan of probably about two metres.
‘Can we handle them?’
‘Oh, yes,’ John said. ‘This should be good. They don’t know I’ve given you the sword. They will find out in a hurry. When I tell you, make the sword sing.’
The flyers were like large flying lizards, or small black dragons. They had scales, four legs, and wings. Their eyes glowed red as they approached us.
When they were about fifty metres away, I hefted my sword.
‘Wait,’ John said without moving. ‘They’re awfully close, John,’ I said, concerned. The flyers sped towards us. ‘Trust me, Emma.’
The flyers opened their mouths when they were about twenty metres away; around twelve of them. They flew together in a mass of black scaly legs and wings.
‘Will they blow fire like the dog?’ I said, clutching my sword.
‘No,’ John said. ‘They’re just smiling.’
The flyers were only ten metres away, and my heart raced.
‘Now,’ John said.
I held the sword in front of me and made it sing.
Every single one of the demons exploded, dissipating into feathery black streamers.
‘Well done, my Lady,’ Gold said with admiration.
‘Good. I don’t need to waste any demons out of the jar.’ John grinned. ‘Come inside and we’ll take a break. You have that skill mastered.’
I lowered my sword and shook my head.
‘What?’
‘We were just attacked and you’re acting like it was nothing.’
‘It was nothing,’ John said with a shrug. ‘The next wave will be the one we need to worry about. But we know they’re coming, so we are prepared. I’m not too concerned about losing my head, particularly when I have you here to defend me.’ His grin widened. ‘I thought I told you to read the Tao.’
‘Oh, give it a rest.’ I followed him back to the house.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Gold shared lunch with us. Ah Yat cleared the dishes when we’d finished. ‘What’s on for this afternoon?’ I said. ‘Demon-binding,’ John said. ‘Leo, this is another energy technique that you can’t do, and it’s not very interesting to watch. Want to do some wudang spear outside instead?’
Leo’s face lit up. ‘My Lord.’
‘Hey, I want to do some spear too,’ I said. ‘There isn’t space for full-on spear work back home.’
‘You’re not good enough yet,’ John said. ‘Wait a few more months.’
Leo grinned with triumph.
‘You will both keep,’ I growled.
‘My Lady,’ Leo said with delight.
‘Oh, cut it out.’
John concentrated. Ah Sum and Ah Say came in. They looked like ordinary middle-aged Chinese men.
‘We require a volunteer,’ John said. ‘The ladies need to learn binding. You know how dangerous this can be, so I will not order you to do it. Volunteers only, step forward.’
Both of them stepped forward.
‘Ah Sum,’ John said.
Ah Say’s face fell.
‘Ah Sum is larger, he will be more difficult to bind. You will have your chance tomorrow, Ah Say,’ John said. ‘We will be doing spotting tomorrow morning, and I will need you strong. Ah Sum, stay. Ah Say, dismissed.’
Ah Say bowed and went out.
I rose. ‘Let’s go.’
Gold took us to the lawn beside the tennis court. Ah Sum stood patiently as Gold explained the technique to me.
‘I’ll show you the simplest way to bind demons,’ Gold said. ‘It’s a two-step process. First, you check how much chi the demon has. Then you take out the chi; just over half. Less than that, the demon won’t be bound; more than that and the demon will be destroyed. If you take out the right amount of chi then the demon is so weak that you can control it. To release the demon, return the chi.’
‘That’s not what John does,’ I said. ‘I’ve seen him release the demons that are bound in the jar, and he doesn’t give them chi.’
‘There are a number of different ways to bind demons,’ Gold said. ‘The Dark Lord can’t give them chi; he doesn’t have enough.’ He smiled and shook his head.
‘What?’
‘It will take me a while to become accustomed to the idea of anybody calling him “John”.’
I opened my mouth to ask what Michelle had called him, but changed my mind. Simone was next to me.
‘Does that mean that Daddy can draw energy out of demons?’ Simone said. ‘Why doesn’t he do that when he’s so drained?’
‘To him, the amount of chi in most demons is like a grain of rice to a starving man,’ Gold said. ‘If he were to drain a demon, he could drain all those around him as well. He is so weak that if he were to start the drain, there is a good chance he could not control it.’ ‘Oh,’ Simone said.
I put my arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, Simone, he could never drain you. He loves you far too much.’
Simone stood silently.
‘Is the chi inside demons the same as ours?’ I said. ‘It looks different.’
‘It is different. Well done. Demons have dark energy, dark chi. It is similar to ours; we can absorb it and manipulate it once we have taken it.’
‘So the black goo isn’t their essence?’
‘No, their essence is the breath of life, same as ours. But most demons are not really alive.’
‘Do you have the same sort of chi, Master Gold?’ Ah Sum said.
‘Similar in many aspects, Ah Sum,’ Gold said, grinning. He raised one hand. ‘We’ll never get there if we keep talking like this. Let’s try binding. Hold my hand, Lady Simone, and I’ll demonstrate.’
Simone moved forward and took his hand.
Ah Sum took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
‘Don’t worry, Ah Sum, I won’t let them hurt you,’ Gold said.
‘I thank you, my Lord, but I am deeply honoured anyway,’ Ah Sum said.
Simone concentrated as Gold did something. Ah Sum’s eyes widened, then he went rigid and his eyes glazed over.
‘Returning,’ Gold said.
Ah Sum relaxed and smiled.
‘Now you,’ Gold said, still holding Simone’s hand. Simone dropped her head slightly and stared at Ah Sum. Ah Sum’s smile froze. Then he relaxed.
‘Oh, very good, my Lady, right first time,’ Gold said. ‘Try again.’
Ah Sum froze and unfroze again.
‘Do it three or four times,’ Gold said, releasing Simone’s hand, ‘then you can rest. Well done.’
Simone practised the skill a few times on Ah Sum.
‘That is very impressive, my Lady,’ Ah Sum said.
‘Thanks, Ah Sum, but it’s easy.’ Simone stepped back. ‘Your go, Emma.’
I moved forward and took Gold’s hand
.
He blushed furiously. Chinese tradition for a long time held that men and women didn’t touch unless they were married. He was being ridiculously old-fashioned.
‘Give it a rest, Gold,’ I said. ‘You’re far too young for me anyway.’
‘I am one thousand, three hundred and fifty-eight years old,’ he said stiffly.
‘See? Far too young,’ I said, and he laughed softly. ‘Show me what to do.’
I concentrated as I held his hand and watched what he did. He seemed to size up Ah Sum, then drain the energy out of him, but I wasn’t sure how he did it.
‘Again.’
He demonstrated for me again.
‘A couple more times, Gold, I want to see.’
He bound and unbound Ah Sum.
‘Stop.’ He continued holding my hand. ‘Tell me if this is right.’ I concentrated on Ah Sum and gauged the amount of chi that he contained. Gold nodded; I had it right.
I drained the energy out of Ah Sum and found to my horror that I couldn’t stop. I lost control of the drain; I was killing Ah Sum. Ah Sum’s eyes widened, then he smiled, nodded, and closed his eyes, ready to die.
‘Help, Gold!’ I hissed.
Gold cut in, stopped the drain and returned the energy to Ah Sum. Ah Sum snapped back and grinned broadly.
I tried to pull my hand free from Gold’s but he wouldn’t release me.
‘Let me go.’
He released my hand.
I turned and walked back to the house.
John appeared around the corner of the house from the other side. ‘Emma!’
I ignored him, went inside and stomped up the stairs to my room. John followed me. I tried to close the bedroom door in his face, but he wouldn’t let me. He shoved his foot into the gap.
‘Stop it!’ I shouted.
‘No,’ he said, very calm. ‘Let me in. We need to talk.’
I turned away and he came in. He sat in one of the chairs next to the wall. I sat at the desk where I could see him in the mirror.
‘You have to learn to bind demons, Emma.’
‘I nearly killed him.’
‘Ah Sum understands that you need to learn, Emma. He volunteered; he knew the danger. Gold is skilled enough to keep him safe anyway.’