by Kylie Chan
‘Did you like men before?’ I said.
‘It has a great deal to do with the hormones in the form I take,’ she said. ‘I really don’t understand this business about making a fuss over preference; a beautiful form is a beautiful form. But the female hormones seem to make me appreciate a beautiful male form more. Of course, sometimes there’s a girl I’ll meet…’ Her expression became wistful, then she snapped back. ‘But I haven’t yet met anybody that has made me want to change back into a rooster. The feathers are the same, the tail is the same, so there’s really no point.’
‘But aren’t you like…married to the Dragon or something?’ Simone said. ‘You two are the matching pair: phoenix and dragon.’
‘We are, but it’s more like…’ She hesitated, thinking. ‘It’s more like the marriage of the Emperor and Empress. Full of ritual and symbolism, with very little feeling in it, and both of us pursue our pleasure elsewhere.’
‘That’s one way you differ from traditional Empresses,’ Michael said.
‘Oh, not really that much,’ she said. ‘This Phoenix–Dragon pairing was only introduced in the Qing anyway. Before that, the Taoists made the Dragon and the Tiger symbolic of yang and yin; quite ironic really.’
‘Since they’re the Lesser Yang and Yin,’ I said.
She nodded. ‘Exactly. The Tiger and Dragon wouldn’t have anything to do with that, much to the Jade Emperor’s annoyance. I can still hear the Tiger shouting, “No way am I taking female form. I am Emperor of the West, not one of that bastard’s women!” The Heavens are supposed to mirror the Earthly, but in that case there was severe dissonance. Caused some backlash on the Earthly, made things very chaotic.’
‘I love how the Greater Yang—the most masculine power of all—is a woman, and the Greater Yin, the most feminine, is a man,’ Simone said. ‘It’s like you two decided together that you were going to rub the Taoist shamans’ faces in it.’
‘That’s just the way it happened,’ she said. ‘And your father is yang and yin combined in his two-creature form. He is much stranger and more complex than any of us.’
‘You have no idea,’ I said under my breath, and they heard it and laughed.
After dinner we wandered through the small market together. The stallholders were universally gracious and smiling, presenting their wares and unconcerned if we didn’t buy. Simone spent a long time looking at the coloured freshwater pearls, and eventually had a necklace made to order out of pink, coral and peach-coloured pearls in a triple strand.
We arrived at a table that had flat leather cut-outs of elephants and traditional warriors, all painted in brilliant colours. ‘What are these?’ Simone said.
‘Shadow puppets,’ the Phoenix said. She held one up for us to see; it was transparent in the light, with the paint adding features to it. ‘They hold them up on sticks behind a sheet with a candle behind them and act out the great ancient tales of valour. Sometimes a tale, such as that of Rama, can last all night.’
Simone lifted a thirty-centimetre elephant attached with string to a large piece of card. ‘I guess these ones are designed to be framed, not really used.’
‘You can frame them against a white background, they look very effective,’ the Phoenix said.
Simone bought the elephant. When she placed the baht in the stallholder’s hand she gasped. ‘I’m sorry! I didn’t notice.’ She nodded her head. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
The stallholder’s grin widened. ‘No need, ma’am, the Empress warned me you were coming. There are demons around at the moment, and many of us are attempting to hide as much as possible. We are not so powerful as you and we fear them.’
‘Shen?’ I said. I hadn’t picked him.
‘He’s an elephant,’ Simone said with delight. ‘First I’ve ever met.’
The elephant Shen clasped his hands. ‘Sawatdee. Welcome.’
We quickly clasped our hands back, and Simone raised the leather elephant shadow puppet with delight. ‘A self-portrait!’
‘I wish I was as handsome as this one,’ the Shen said, ‘so that is why I made it. I would appreciate your blessing and wishes of protection, ma’am. The demons come more and more, and we fear them.’
Simone placed both her hands on top of his head and closed her eyes. ‘My blessings and protection upon you. May the spirit of Kwan Yin follow you and bring you peace and mercy.’
He bowed his head and clasped his hands again. ‘I thank you, ma’am.’
Simone nodded to him and we moved on.
‘Well done, Simone, you handled that with true grace,’ the Phoenix said.
‘It’s been happening more and more lately,’ Simone said. ‘At first I was like…“I can’t bless you, I’m nothing special”, but Kwan Yin said that I am lifting their spirits and giving them a gift. And the lingering energy from my touch gives them some small measure of protection from demons, so it’s all good.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s sort of fun to do, it makes people so happy.’
I stopped at the next stall, which was covered in bolts of Thai silk. Much of it was shot silk: the main colour had a second thread of a contrasting colour through it that appeared and disappeared as the fabric moved.
‘You can buy the silk and have it made at Mr Li’s back home, or you can do what Simone did with her necklace and order something made to collect in a couple of days,’ the Phoenix said. ‘This is first quality, much better than anything you’ll find in town.’ She dropped her voice. ‘The dealer is an ordinary human who grows the worms herself and dyes the fabric up in the hills.’
I hesitated to touch the beautiful fabric. As well as shot silk, there was brocade with colourful flowers and birds woven in silver and gold.
I shook my head. ‘It’s fabulous, but it’s way too fancy for me.’
The Phoenix didn’t argue; she’d known me too long.
‘Lady Emma!’ someone shouted, and we all turned.
Amy raced up to us in human form, with Gold’s stone child floating over her shoulder. She saluted us quickly.
‘Daddy’s dead,’ the child said.
‘We need you back home, ma’am,’ Amy said. She wiped her eyes. ‘Gold’s been murdered.’
‘Is he on the tenth level?’ I said quickly, thinking of the stones that had been completely destroyed by Demon Prince Six.
‘Yes, he’s not been destroyed. He, Zara and the stones that were helping them with the research were all killed, as well as both of our IT guys.’
‘They were working in the Academy, they were safe in there,’ I said. ‘Did they go outside for some reason?’
‘Gold went out to buy some food for the IT guys and the demons ran a truck over his car, killing him,’ Amy said. ‘Then two students who turned out to be demon copies went into the network room where Zara and Calcite were working and killed them and the IT guys. The Masters have locked everything down and are doing a sweep.’
‘We have to get home right now,’ Simone said to me.
I nodded, and turned to the Phoenix. ‘Thank you for the time here, Phoenix, but I think we need to move.’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t carry you home,’ she said. ‘I’m pregnant again and I don’t want to strain myself. You’ll have to fly commercial back to Hong Kong.’
‘I understand—and congratulations,’ I said. I turned to Michael. ‘If you were to take me on a cloud now, would it be faster than taking a flight back first thing tomorrow morning?’
‘Let me go up and have a look how far it is,’ Michael said, and shot straight into the air, the backwash nearly knocking me off my feet.
‘Did you say they wrecked Gold’s car?’ I asked Amy.
She nodded, some humour appearing through the distress. ‘His heart will be broken. I think he loves that car more than he loves me.’
‘You might be right,’ I said.
‘Don’t be silly, Amy,’ the stone child said. ‘Hey, Auntie Emma, Auntie Simone—Daddy and Amy are gonna have babies! Amy has them in her tummy, just like an animal mother. I
sn’t it cool?’
Amy blushed and glanced up at it. ‘Do you have to tell everybody?’
‘Yes!’ the child said.
I gave her a quick hug. ‘That’s wonderful news. When are you due?’
‘I’m about three months.’ She looked down at herself. ‘I think I’m starting to show. We were planning to make an announcement soon.’
Simone hugged her as well. ‘That’s wonderful, Amy. Take care of yourself, okay? No rushing about too much.’ She nodded up at the stone child. ‘You look after her.’
‘Don’t worry, Auntie Simone,’ the child said, serious. ‘While Daddy’s away, I’m looking after Amy real well.’
Amy glanced up at it. ‘Yes, you are.’
Michael shot out of the air, slowed and landed gently in front of us.
‘I checked the schedule, there’s no direct flight to Hong Kong tomorrow,’ the stone in my ring said. ‘You’d have to go through Bangkok, and the whole trip would take seven hours.’
‘I can get you there in three or four,’ Michael said.
‘Would it be too tiring for you?’ the Phoenix said.
‘I’ll summon a cloud. I can do it,’ Michael said.
The Phoenix pursed her lips. ‘Forgive me for doubting you, young man, but that’s an awfully long way and you’re not even Immortal.’
‘If I get into trouble I’ll have someone meet me halfway,’ Michael said. ‘We just need to get back there.’
We didn’t bother to change; we just threw our clothes into our bags and left them in the villa for later collection. Kwan would pack for Leo.
I saluted the Phoenix the Chinese way. ‘I appreciate your hospitality, Empress, and hope to return it soon.’
Simone saluted her as well. ‘You have kept us in your domicile in ease and comfort, bringing clarity and serenity to our spirits. I thank you.’
The Phoenix saluted us, bowing low. ‘I am honoured by your presence.’ She dropped the formality and gave me a quick hug. ‘Come back soon and have a proper holiday.’ She hugged Simone. ‘And good job on the protocol.’
Michael summoned a cloud, I stepped onto it and we flew off. The night sky was windier than during the day and occasionally the cloud tossed like a small boat on water. Michael grimaced as he held it in check. I sat kneeling in front of his feet, my hands buried in the cloud in an effort to hold on. Despite this, I fell asleep—but was jarred awake by the cloud bucking beneath me; we’d hit turbulence.
I grabbed at the cloud, but couldn’t keep a grip and slid off. Suddenly I was falling through darkness. I concentrated on my energy centres to slow my fall and looked down. I couldn’t see anything; there was no moon and the starlight wasn’t enough to illuminate below me. I didn’t know if we were over ground or water. The ground would be better: I could touch down in a soft landing and wait for Michael to get me. Over water, I could slow my fall but not stop it, and I was going to end up wet. If the waves in the water were strong I’d have to swim against them, and sharks were always a possibility.
‘Are we above water?’ I asked the stone in my ring.
‘Yes. Change to snake, see if you can fly in that form,’ the stone said.
I changed, and attempted to use my falling momentum to push my energy centres forward. I felt the movement with a rush of delight; I hadn’t thought of flying in serpent form.
‘Don’t get too pleased with yourself,’ the stone said. ‘You’re still falling, but it’s more of a curve, which means Michael will have more trouble finding you. Change back. When we get home you should have a think about doing some training on this in serpent form.’
I changed back, dropped quickly about ten metres, then slowed my fall again.
‘Emma, I can’t see you!’ Michael shouted to my left. ‘Stone, glow or something.’
The stone glowed, and I also pressed the illumination button on my wristwatch.
‘Got you!’ Michael said.
‘Slow down, Emma, you’re close to the water,’ the stone said.
I concentrated and slowed my fall, then crashed flat on my stomach into the water with a jolt of pain. The waves were about a metre high and the current pushed me around. I tried to tread water and keep my head above the surface, but the movement of the waves was unpredictable and I couldn’t see further than the next crest. The water continuously broke over my face, making me gasp.
‘Keep it up, he’s close by,’ the stone said, and glowed again.
‘Emma!’ Michael shouted, but I couldn’t tell his direction. I opened my mouth to shout back and inhaled sea water. I coughed, trying to clear it, and inhaled more.
The stone made a loud siren-like sound, going from piercing to garbled as we were pulled above and below the water.
Michael grabbed me by the shoulders and hoisted me out of the water, his grip so tight it was painful. He threw me back onto the cloud, the hard surface jarring me, and we rose again. All the water rushed off me and out of my clothes; Simone was nearby.
‘Michael, are you okay?’ she said from somewhere in the darkness.
‘I don’t want to fail you, but I think I’ve overdone it,’ Michael said. ‘I can’t keep the cloud going much longer, and our relief’s another half-hour away.’
‘Is there any land nearby?’ I said.
Both Simone and Michael were silent for a moment, then Simone said, ‘Let me go have a look, there might be something.’
‘Be quick,’ Michael said. ‘I can’t hold this much longer.’
‘Shrink the cloud,’ I said.
‘Won’t make any difference.’
‘How much longer do I have?’
His voice was strained with effort. ‘I’m doing the best I can, ma’am.’
I sank into the cloud; it was losing its solidity. Michael’s dark shape gently fell to sit next to me.
‘I can’t believe this,’ he said. ‘I’ve completely failed you.’
‘Can you summon me a life jacket?’ I said.
‘I’m too weak.’
‘No land anywhere near here,’ Simone said, returning. Her voice became fierce. ‘If I’d taken the training that everybody told me to, I would be able to summon a cloud too!’
‘Humph,’ Michael said, his voice fading. ‘Damn stupid way to get around anyway.’
‘Can you summon me and Michael a boat?’ I asked her. ‘A life raft?’
‘Nothing that big. Put this over your head and tie it around your waist,’ she said, handing me a life jacket. I quickly pulled it on, wrapping the tapes around me. The jacket was too big and felt uncomfortable.
‘Michael? Michael? Put the jacket on,’ Simone said.
The cloud came apart and I fell. I slowed my fall and landed in the water again. The life jacket forced me onto my back, the floats behind my head holding it above the water, but the waves still hit my face, occasionally making me breathe water and cough.
A nearby splash indicated that Michael had fallen in as well.
‘Michael!’ Simone shouted. Another splash sounded as she hit the water to search for him.
There was silence for a moment, then Simone shouted, ‘Don’t you dare die on me, Michael MacLaren, I would never forgive myself!’
‘I’ll do it just to spite you then, squirt,’ Michael said.
‘I’ll hold you up, put the stupid jacket thing on,’ she said.
There were some grunts as he struggled with the ties. ‘I hope I got it tight enough—drop me, let’s see.’
‘I should go up higher and drop you,’ Simone said. ‘Emma, are you okay?’
‘She’s fine, she just keeps inhaling water,’ the stone said.
An arm flailed nearby and hit my shoulder.
‘Who is that?’ I said.
‘Me,’ Michael said. ‘Grab my hand.’
I took his hand and held it. ‘Simone has the other hand,’ he said.
‘All we have to do now is wait for help,’ I said. ‘Good job, guys.’
‘You are such a dumbass, Michael, you nearly got Emm
a killed,’ Simone said.
‘I know,’ Michael said ruefully. ‘I’m so sorry, Emma. My dad is going to tear my whiskers off.’
‘At least we’re not in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic,’ I said. ‘But which one of us is Rose?’
‘Me!’ the stone shouted, changing its voice to a falsetto. ‘Save me, Jack!’
‘Oh, shut up,’ Michael said.
The water surged beneath us; I was lifted two metres on the swell.
‘What was that?’ I said.
‘I don’t know,’ Simone said, sounding unsure.
‘Any way you can check under us?’ Michael said. ‘I suddenly went from Titanic to Jaws.’
The water lifted us again and Michael clutched my hand.
‘Just a sec,’ Simone said, and there was silence.
‘She’s gone under to have a look,’ Michael said quietly.
The surge lifted us three metres this time and Michael yelped. ‘Something touched my foot!’
Something lifted my foot and then both my feet. It slid up my legs and under my behind. It felt like a surfboard running under my body. Then my perception changed and I realised it was a hard, slightly curved object surfacing in the water, and I was sliding down its side on a coating of what felt like oil.
‘I think it’s Lord Xuan,’ Michael said, still clutching my hand. ‘His turtle form.’
‘John?’ I said.
‘It’s Martin,’ Simone said from somewhere above us. ‘Hold on to him, he’s going to lift you above the water.’
‘He’s too slippery!’ I said, sliding off the edge of his shell and hitting the water again, a metre below.
‘Hold on to Michael, I’ll lift you both,’ Simone said.