by Kylie Chan
‘It’s me, Leo. Everything’s okay.’
I pulled at his polo shirt; the demon stuff had soaked through onto his skin. ‘Lean forward, you’re covered in demon stuff. I need to wash you off.’
He tried to do as I asked, but he could hardly move. ‘Hurry, Emma, it’s burning.’
‘You’ll need to help me, you’re too big. Raise your arms.’ I carefully removed the shirt, trying not to touch the burn on the back of his head.
He grimaced. ‘What happened to my head?’
I turned on the water and checked the temperature; he didn’t need to be scalded on top of everything else. ‘Don’t worry about that, let’s just get this demon stuff off you.’
I washed his chest down; fortunately the demon stuff came free under the water and rinsed away. ‘Lean back, let’s get these pants off.’
After all the demon stuff was gone, I pushed him forward to check his head. He seemed to be focusing better and able to see me, but his face was rigid with pain. The demon had hit him slightly to one side. It looked bad. The wound was scorched around the edges, and there appeared to be bone shining through in the middle. I hissed under my breath.
I dried him off with a towel. He made an effort to help me, but could still barely move.
‘Are you ready in there?’ the Tiger called from outside.
‘All done,’ I said.
‘Hey, put a towel around me first,’ Leo said.
I threw a towel to cover him just as he disappeared. I rushed out of the bathroom and nearly ran into Bai Hu. He caught me before I fell.
‘How’s John?’ I asked.
‘I’ve put him in his room. I managed to restore some of his energy, so he’ll be okay until you see the Lady next. He should see her within the next three to four months though. That was the best I could do. I’ll be out of action for a while—my women will be very upset.’
‘A little restraint never hurt anyone,’ I shot back.
We went into Leo’s room together. Leo was lying on the bed, staring grimly at the ceiling. I quickly pulled the covers over him and removed the damp towel.
‘Thanks, Emma.’
The Tiger levered Leo onto his side to examine the burn. ‘He should go to Hong Kong for treatment.’
‘John’s too weak to provide blood to heal him, isn’t he?’ I said.
The Tiger glanced at me. ‘He’s done that before?’ I nodded.
‘And it worked?’ I nodded again.
The Tiger studied Leo appraisingly. ‘Interesting. Not a good idea, though, unless he’s near death. If you gave him the Turtle’s blood when the injuries are not mortal, the blood itself could kill him. Do you still have that feather the Phoenix gave you?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It’s in my room.’
‘Run and get it,’ Bai Hu said.
He didn’t move to take the feather when I returned. ‘I’m not capable, I’m too drained. You will have to do it.’
‘What do I do?’
‘Fill the feather with chi and run it over the wound.’ He raised Leo to sit upright and held him around the shoulders. ‘All right, my friend?’
Leo grunted but his face was taut with agony. He grimaced. ‘Is Simone okay? She’s crying her lungs out downstairs.’
‘Nervous exhaustion,’ the Tiger said. ‘She needs to have a really good cry, then she’ll feel better. It’s a shame she had to see the bodies. That must have been a shock for her.’
Leo turned his head slightly. ‘Bodies?’
‘Don’t worry, my friend.’
‘Is Mr Chen okay, Emma?’
‘Mr Chen is fine.’
I held the feather about halfway along and loaded it with chi. It seemed to hold the energy the same way my sword did, and glowed with a rainbow radiance just at the edge of vision. I touched the end of the feather to the edge of the burn. I expected Leo to flinch, but he relaxed and smiled instead. ‘That feels really good.’
I moved with more confidence and watched in amazement as the feather healed the burn. Fresh new skin of a slightly lighter colour grew where the burn had been. I ran the feather completely over the wound, and it was as if the burn had never been there. Leo closed his eyes and relaxed into the Tiger’s arms, smiling.
I withdrew the energy from the feather. Less chi came out of it than went in, and the colours had faded. This was obviously a destructive process for the feather.
‘Are you drained, my Lady?’ Bai Hu said. ‘You seem fine.’
‘It’s used about a third of my chi, but I’ll live.’
Bai Hu ran his hands down Leo’s arms and took his hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated, then snapped back. ‘You should have told us how bad it was, my friend.’
Leo didn’t say anything.
‘Move forward, I need to sit behind you,’ the Tiger said. ‘The poison is in your blood. We’ll need to force it out.’
He crawled onto the bed to sit cross-legged behind Leo. ‘Look, you have me where you wanted me.’
Leo didn’t smile at the quip. He leaned heavily against me as I held him upright. He was obviously having trouble staying conscious.
The Tiger dropped his head and concentrated. Ah Yat came in with a large bowl, passed it to me, then quickly went out.
‘Hold it in front. To catch it when he spits,’ the Tiger said. He put his hands on Leo’s bare back. His face went rigid. Then he pulled his hands slightly away and performed a lightning-fast set of chi gong moves. I recognised them: internal energy manipulation. The final move was to hit Leo hard on the back with both hands.
Leo’s head snapped back and then forward, and he spat a cupful of blackened blood into the bowl. The Tiger lowered his head. ‘More.’
He hit Leo again, and again Leo spat blood. This time it was redder.
The Tiger levered himself off the bed and gently lowered Leo. ‘That should do it.’
I put the bowl to one side and pulled the covers back over Leo. He’d already fallen asleep, his face childlike and innocent. I touched his forehead and kissed him on the cheek.
I turned to Bai Hu and clasped his hands. ‘Thank you so much, Tiger. For everything. Let’s go and check on Xuan Wu.’
‘You go,’ the Tiger said. ‘Ah Wu will be fine. I need to fix up my horsemen downstairs. Tell everybody to stay inside until I’ve finished. It’s a big mess out there.’
‘I know,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry about your men.’
‘You are quite remarkable, you know that?’ he said. ‘You’ve remained perfectly calm through all of this.’
I shook my head. ‘I know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should be freaking out. I walked right past all those bodies and didn’t even flinch.’
‘How did you get away from the demon?’
‘A bigger demon helped us escape,’ I said. ‘Looks like we were pawns in demon politics.’
Bai Hu left me at the door of John’s room.
‘Emma, he can’t drain you while he’s asleep. You’ll be able to touch him. Take care if he wakes, though.’
My heart twisted.
His face was peaceful as he slept. I quietly pulled a chair over to sit next to him.
His hand was resting on the covers. I touched it. He didn’t move, so I took it, and held it in mine. His skin was smooth and cool. I ran my finger along the prominent veins and rubbed my calluses against his. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Maybe one day we really would be a matched set.
I held my breath and touched his face. He grimaced, but didn’t wake. I ran my fingers down the side of his face and he smiled slightly.
I raised his hand and put it on my cheek.
I wondered where the Serpent was, and why it had disappeared. Was it jealous of Michelle? How could it be? They were the same creature. A snake and a turtle combined. He was so weird. The other three were nearly normal compared to him.
And what had happened when the demon pushed into my head? Something huge and dark had thrust it out. John hadn’t seen it when he’d loo
ked inside me. What was it? It had been a frightening feeling; as if I could have destroyed everything around me, and worse, enjoyed it.
I would talk to him about it later. He would know what to do.
His hand squeezed mine and drew away. I looked down into his dark eyes. ‘Go, Emma. You are very precious to me and I hate the thought of hurting you. Let me rest, then we’ll go home.’
I went out without saying a word. Words weren’t necessary.
Simone and Ah Yat were sitting on the couch in the upstairs hallway. Ah Yat had showered Simone and changed her bloodied clothes. Simone was in Ah Yat’s lap, her head on the demon’s chest, her eyes wide and glittering. When she saw me, she climbed down carefully and came to me.
I sat on the couch and pulled her into my lap. Ah Yat nodded and went downstairs.
‘Is Daddy okay?’
‘Daddy’s fine, he just needs to rest.’
‘Is Leo okay? He was hurt.’
‘Leo’s fine too. The Tiger fixed him up.’
‘What about his head?’
‘The Phoenix gave me a feather from her tail when I went out with your dad the other night. It fixed it right up.’
‘That demon is really horrible,’ she whispered. ‘I hate it. It killed all the men downstairs, nearly killed my daddy and my Uncle Bai, and hurt my Leo.’
‘We will get that demon one day soon, darling, and then you won’t have to worry about it any more.’
‘It was going to do bad things to me.’
I held her silently.
She clutched my shirt and turned her head to see me. ‘You went with me.’
I pulled her tight. ‘Anywhere you go, I’ll go too. I love you more than anything in the world.’
Her little hand brushed my cheek. ‘I love you too, Emma.’
‘Your dad will wake up soon, and then we can go home,’ I whispered into her hair.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
John was able to join us for dinner, but Leo slept on. ‘Wong took us to some sort of prison,’ I said. ‘An apartment with no doors, no windows. He didn’t hurt us. He tried, but Simone was too strong.’
‘Then the other demon came and took us out,’ Simone said.
‘Tell me about the other demon,’ John said. Ah Yat poked her head in the room. ‘The King is here with the donkey, sir.’
‘Oh my God,’ I said. ‘Calls himself George. Eyes the colour of dried blood, clothes the same colour. Looked about twenty-five. That’s the King?’
‘That’s him,’ John said. He hesitated, thinking. ‘No, I won’t leave either of you here, you’re safer with me. Come with me and we’ll talk to him. What donkey?’
‘He bought me a baby donkey in the animal market,’ Simone said. ‘I thought he was nice. Then he killed everybody in our house in the city.’
‘He should not have been able to get into that apartment,’ John said. ‘It’s sealed. Not even the King himself should be able to enter.’
‘I told Ah Yat to open the door and let us in,’ Simone said. ‘I forgot, Daddy.’ Her little shoulders shook with sobs. ‘It was my fault!’
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and held her as she cried. We all walked together down to the gates.
‘So the King came into Wong’s nest and took you out,’ John said. ‘Only he would be able to do that, and only if you agreed to go with him.’
‘We did agree to go with him,’ I said.
‘That’s interesting,’ John said as we neared the gates. ‘He was within his rights to keep you in his own nest, once you’d agreed to go with him. That’s the way it works.’
‘I made him promise to let us go,’ I said.
John stopped and stared at me. Then he grinned and shook his head. ‘Well done!’
The King was waiting on the other side of the huge metal gates. The tiny donkey stood beside him with a piece of string around its neck, its little tail swishing furiously. John raised his hand and the gates swung open.
Simone moved towards the donkey, then stopped. She shifted to stand behind her father.
The King saluted John. ‘Xuan Tian.’
John saluted back. ‘Mo Wang.’
The King waved and smiled. ‘Hi, Emma.’
I didn’t respond.
‘Why did you release my wife and daughter?’ John said. ‘If you’d let One Two Two keep them, you could have had my head by now.’
The King grinned broadly. ‘If you went off and married her on the sly, you are in even bigger trouble than everybody says you are. I didn’t think even you would disobey the Jade Emperor that much.’
John waved it away. ‘To me, Emma is my wife, and she will be for as long as she lives.’
The King bent over with mirth, his hands on his knees. ‘Oh my God, that is just so goddamn cute!’
‘That’s the way I feel too,’ I said. ‘The fact that we can’t formally marry right now is beside the point.’
The King pulled himself upright and shook his head. ‘What a pair of idiots.’
‘Why did you release Emma and Simone?’ John said.
The King shrugged. ‘Maybe I just wanted to piss off that little bastard. Somebody else will bring me your head. It’s just a matter of time.’
Simone squeaked and grabbed her father’s leg.
‘Sorry, pet,’ the King said with genuine remorse. ‘I didn’t mean to say it like that.’
‘Why did you kill my demons?’ Simone snapped from behind John. ‘They didn’t do anything to you!’
The King bent to speak kindly to her. ‘If a demon defects, they know the penalty. If I find one of mine that has been tamed by a Celestial, I destroy it. That’s the way it works, Simone. They knew they were dead the minute they saw me.’
‘And I let you in!’ Simone wailed.
The King gestured towards Simone. ‘You’re a fool, Xuan Tian. She’s a delightful child. And every single one of my demons wants her.’ He shook his head. ‘You should never have done this. Creatures such as yourself should never attempt to have human children.’
‘I know,’ John said.
The King sighed. ‘Love makes fools of us all.’ ‘I know,’ John said again, softly.
‘Come and get your little donkey, sweetheart,’ the King said. ‘I won’t hurt you, I promise. You’ll need to give it a name. It’s a girl donkey.’
Simone buried her face in her father’s leg and didn’t move.
‘Emma,’ the King said, and raised the piece of string. I glanced at John, who nodded.
I sidled forward and took the string. The King smiled into my eyes and whispered to me, ‘I know he can’t touch you, but I can. Any time you want a really nice touch, just give me a call.’
‘Go to hell,’ I whispered back, and led the donkey to Simone. She wrapped her little arms around its neck.
‘Have you told him about that dark thing?’ the King said.
John glanced at me.
‘Obviously not,’ the King said. He saluted John. ‘Xuan Tian. See ya.’ And disappeared. ‘What dark thing?’ John said.
‘Let’s go back and finish our dinner, and I’ll tell you all about it,’ I said.
‘I negotiated him down to a kiss. He kissed me, and pushed his way into my head, and then the dark thing came out.’ I dropped my head into my hands. ‘I am so sorry.’
He poured me some tea. ‘Why?’ I stared at him.
He leaned back and glared at me. ‘Don’t for one minute think that I am jealous. Of course I’m not. What we have is greater than any jealousy, and you know it.’
‘Oh my God,’ I whispered. ‘You’re an Emperor.’
His face went rigid and he watched me.
‘I know the tradition: it’s the Emperor’s duty to have as many children with as many wives as possible.’
He didn’t say a word.
‘How many wives do you have? In the Northern Heavens? On the Mountain?’ I raised my hands. ‘No. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know anything about it. Just please
make sure that I never meet any of them.’
‘Any of my other wives?’
‘Yes.’
‘Not going to happen, Emma,’ he said with a small smile. ‘My number is one.’
‘Only one wife?’
‘Right now, you are my only one,’ he said. He leaned forward and gazed into my eyes. ‘You were prepared to share me?’
‘Women do incredibly stupid things for the love of a man,’ I said.
‘And vice versa.’ I smiled. ‘Yeah.’
‘So this dark thing was powerful enough to push the King away?’
‘Yes. It was pretty scary.’
‘What was scary?’ Leo said from the doorway. He saluted John and me. ‘My Lord. My Lady.’
‘Cut it out and come and have some tea,’ I said. ‘How do you feel? Up to eating something?’
Leo sat at the table. ‘I have the biggest migraine in the whole world. Right now, all I want is coffee.’ He glanced around. ‘Where’s Simone?’
‘Asleep,’ I said. ‘Ran around with the donkey so much she wore herself out.’
‘Donkey?’
‘I’ll tell you later.’
‘But you’ll tell me more about this dark thing right now,’ John said. ‘He kissed you and invaded your mind. Something dark rose within you and pushed him out. Yes?’
‘Yes.’
He leaned his chin on his hand. ‘I didn’t see anything like that when I looked inside you.’
‘He said maybe it was just him,’ I said. ‘What did he mean?’
‘Maybe it only comes out for someone with a demonic nature.’
‘Damn,’ I whispered.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ He poured some more tea. ‘If it’s important, it will emerge. If it doesn’t emerge then it’s not important. It didn’t welcome the King; it forced him out. That’s good enough for me.’
Ah Yat came in with Leo’s coffee and he nodded his thanks to her, then turned his attention back to us. ‘King?’
‘The King of the Demons has taken a shine to my Emma,’ John said. ‘He rescued her and Simone from One Two Two and bought Simone a baby donkey for good measure.’
‘Just when I thought our lives couldn’t be any more complicated,’ Leo growled.