by Kylie Chan
‘Simone’s father is the God of Martial Arts,’ I said. ‘This is his practice room.’
‘Don’t worry, none of those weapons are ever used on humans like you,’ Michael said, still holding both her hands in his. ‘You’re perfectly safe.’
I went to stand on the other side of her. ‘We’ll leave the door open; if you want to walk out you can. Take it slowly. Nobody is holding you here. Michael, let her go.’
Michael released her and she grabbed one of his hands and held it anyway.
‘Let me explain what’s happening,’ I said. ‘Michael’s father is Bai Hu, the White Tiger God of the West. Have you heard of him?’
‘No,’ Clarissa said.
‘It’s your own mythology, girl!’ the Tiger said, standing on the other side of the room.
‘My parents never talk about that stuff. They say it’s old people’s superstition.’
‘Makes our life easier,’ the Tiger said. ‘And harder at the same time, when we have situations like this.’
Michael raised Clarissa’s hand in his. ‘My father is going to change into a tiger.’
Clarissa stared at Bai Hu.
‘I won’t hurt you,’ Bai Hu said. ‘The tiger form is just a shape. I’m still the same person.’
‘This is such a bad idea,’ Simone said softly.
‘You are very brave, Clarissa,’ I said. ‘I’ll tell you what. You heard Michael’s dad bet me two hundred dollars that you’ll scream? I’ll take that bet, Tiger.’
‘Done,’ the Tiger said.
‘If you don’t scream, I win two hundred dollars and it’s all yours,’ I said.
‘If you don’t scream, I’ll be prouder of you than I’ve ever been of anyone,’ Michael said to her. He squeezed her hand. ‘Are you ready?’
‘Oh!’ she said, obviously relieved. ‘You’re all magicians? A family of illusionists? This looks so real though!’ She looked around. ‘Where are the mirrors and stuff? I see mirrors on that wall, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything behind them.’
‘I’m not using the mirrors, this is real,’ Bai Hu said. ‘I’ll change to tiger, then change back, then come close to you and change again, and you can see that it’s real.’
‘Is your pet tiger safe?’ she said, unsure. ‘Those magicians in Las Vegas got mauled!’ She backed towards the door and Michael didn’t stop her. ‘I don’t want to see the tricks, thanks. Can we just leave it there?’
Bai Hu changed to his tiger form and she squealed.
‘That counts,’ the Tiger said.
‘No, it doesn’t,’ I said. ‘That was more a squeal.’
‘Full-on scream, Tiger wins,’ Simone said.
Clarissa pointed at Bai Hu, her finger trembling. ‘That was very good. It even looked like it talked.’
Bai Hu shook his shaggy head. ‘This gets harder all the time with advances in technology.’
‘Oh, I dunno,’ Michael said. ‘People don’t believe photos of dragons in the sky, they just say they’re photoshopped. Makes life a lot easier for them.’
‘Yeah,’ Simone said. ‘Nobody believes their own eyes any more.’
‘Is it tame?’ Clarissa said.
‘It’s my father,’ Michael said. ‘I can change too.’
She laughed, and it had a slightly hysterical edge. ‘A family of illusionists. How come I never hear about your shows?’
Bai Hu changed back and put his hands on his hips. ‘This is a total waste of time.’
‘We need to get this done and start planning the trip,’ I said. ‘Any suggestions?’
‘Leave it there. She’ll ask about it later and Michael can show her again,’ the Tiger said. ‘That’s usually what happens with these modern girls. No rush, you have all the time in the world.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘What’s for dinner? Your housekeeper always does something good for me.’
‘Change into a snake, Emma,’ Michael said.
The Tiger stopped halfway to the door. ‘That would work.’
‘No,’ I said, and went out.
‘A snake?’ Clarissa said behind me.
‘She’s a really big black snake. Like, really big. Three or four metres long at her biggest,’ Simone said. ‘And I agree with her. Not a good idea.’
I went into the dining room and sat at the table. Monica nodded to me as she placed the plates in the middle.
Everybody else came in, Clarissa still holding Michael’s hand. They sat at the table in silence.
‘I hope you’re okay for Chinese family style,’ I said. ‘Everything in the middle and shared.’
‘Yeah, that’s the way we have it at home,’ Clarissa said. ‘Mom and Dad are originally from Hong Kong.’
‘Do you speak any Cantonese?’ I said.
‘Not really. I can understand, but not really speak that much.’
‘Enough to get by at yum cha,’ Michael said, smiling at her as he served her from the plates in the middle.
She smiled back at him, then around the table. ‘So you guys are stage magicians? When are you performing?’
‘We’re not stage magicians, we’re gods,’ Simone said patiently.
‘Let’s leave the discussion of what we are and move on to tomorrow,’ the Tiger said. He served himself some soup from the tureen in the centre of the table. ‘Early start at the Western Palace. Emma, you’ll be in serpent form of course. Michael and Leo, cat form. We’ll be going the first few thousand feet by cloud and then meet the cars and travel the rest of the way by jeep, stopping to walk when we can’t drive any higher. So wear something warm on your human forms.’
‘I’m staying human for this?’ Simone said.
‘Yes, and change to Celestial if the going gets too rough,’ Bai Hu said.
‘Do we need to go armed?’ Michael said. ‘Any chance of facing demons on the way up?’
‘Not in my dominion,’ the Tiger growled. ‘No need for weaponry.’
‘Are you absolutely positive about that?’ Simone said.
‘Yes,’ the Tiger said. ‘Besides, we don’t want to take weapons into Nu Wa’s valley, it could be seen as an insult.’
Clarissa ate quietly, eyeing us as we spoke.
‘Are you sure my spacesuit will work?’ I said. ‘We haven’t even tested it.’
‘It’ll work,’ the Tiger said. ‘It’s proven technology. I’ve done suits like this before for my wives who like to dive—’
‘Wives?’ Clarissa said. She looked from Michael to the Tiger. ‘Wives?’
‘Dad has more than one wife and makes no secret of it,’ Michael said. ‘All the wives know and none of them care.’
The Tiger put down his bowl and spread his hands, still holding his chopsticks. ‘Hey, I’m good.’
‘What about your mother?’ Clarissa asked Michael.
‘My mother’s dead, you know that,’ Michael said, not looking up from his food.
‘But didn’t she care?’ Clarissa said. She glanced around the table again. ‘Having more than one wife is illegal. You can’t do that.’
‘You can do whatever you like when you’re a god,’ the Tiger said. ‘Which I just happen to be, so it works out well. Eat up.’
Clarissa rose and put her chopsticks down firmly. ‘Michael, I think I’ll go now.’
Michael got up too and moved to take her hand but she shook him away. ‘No, I’ll find my own way, thanks.’
She left the dining room and he followed her. Their voices could be heard arguing all the way to the front door until it slammed.
‘He lost her,’ the Tiger said. ‘I hope he still comes tomorrow; we need him.’ He tasted the soup. ‘Waste of time giving me watercress soup. You can never cool my blood; I’m yang itself.’
A couple of minutes later, Michael materialised in his seat. He leaned his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands. ‘I teleported her straight home. She accused me of drugging her and said she never wants to see me again. I changed to a tiger in front of her and she went inside and locked
the door in my face.’
‘If she loves you enough, she’ll give you a second chance,’ the Tiger said. ‘If she doesn’t trust you about this, then she isn’t worth worrying about.’
‘That’s easy for you to say, Mister Hundred Wives,’ Michael said, his head still in his hands.
‘Are you still coming tomorrow? We need you,’ the Tiger said.
Michael sighed loudly and dropped his hands. ‘Yeah, I’ll come. I meant it about rejoining the Celestial.’
‘Is it worth losing Clarissa for?’ I said.
‘If she can’t handle it then I don’t have much choice.’
‘Go back and talk to her when you return from the West,’ the Tiger said. ‘Let her think about it. She’ll come round. They always do.’
‘I hope you’re right, Uncle Bai,’ Simone said.
‘Now eat up, you need your strength for tomorrow,’ the Tiger said. ‘And Michael, if you need any help at all with her, let me know. I’ll give you a hand.’
‘I saw the way she looked at you, Dad. It would be better if you just kept away.’
The Tiger raised his hands. ‘Whatever you want.’
CHAPTER 24
The final outpost before we began the long walk was a wooden two-storey house clinging to the steep, rocky, snow-covered hillside. The two SUVs and the truck full of gear that had been sent up earlier were parked outside. The family who lived there—all dragon Shen—offered us their hospitality while we put together our equipment for the next stage. We sat on the wooden floor around their primitive fireplace while the Tiger explained how my spacesuit worked.
‘You told them the most comfortable position was curled up, so they made it round with a lump on top for your head. It opens up completely and you coil inside it like rope. Can you do that?’
‘I would have liked some practice,’ I said.
‘No time like the present,’ the Tiger said. He glanced around at Michael and Leo, who were still in human form while we prepared. ‘We have six oxygen bottles. Two will be attached to Emma’s suit; and two for each of the cats not carrying Emma. As we empty them we destroy them.’
‘How long will each bottle last?’ Michael said, studying the cylinders in their large leather and aluminium harness.
‘We’re hoping that with Emma in a low life-sign trance, each will last at least two hours. Twelve hours altogether, plenty of time.’ He studied me carefully. ‘How low can you take it?’
‘We really should have done a dry run!’ I said. ‘I don’t know. I’m cold-blooded; if you keep me chilled and I go into a good trance, it should be next to nothing. We reptiles can do that.’
He nodded sharply. ‘Sounds good.’ He looked around again. ‘Once the atmosphere gets too thin to breathe, it won’t transmit sound, so switch to telepathy. Keep comms to a minimum anyway; we’ll need every scrap of energy we have to get to the top.’
Michael hefted his harness. ‘Let’s do this. Time’s wasting.’
‘Uh…’ Simone winced. ‘Can I use the bathroom first?’
‘Of course,’ our dragon host said. He gestured towards the small, smoke-stained kitchen. ‘Through there.’
‘Emma,’ the Tiger said, ‘you go into a trance; every hour we’ll change your carrier and I’ll rap on the outside of your pod to bring you out of it so we can move you. Does that work?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘Let’s go outside and set up while Simone puts on fresh make-up,’ the Tiger said with amusement. He sighed theatrically. ‘Girls—always have to do it properly. Me, I’ll just write my name in the snow.’
‘You can’t do that in tiger form,’ Michael said as he carried his harness down the stairs and out into the snow.
‘Oh, yes I can,’ the Tiger said. ‘In both languages.’
Leo grinned at him. ‘Now that I’d like to see.’
‘Not right now!’ I said.
‘Deal,’ the Tiger said. ‘Okay. You two cats change; Simone stays human. I’ll do the buckles and pod and shit for everybody except me, and she’ll do me after I change.’
‘She’s had no practice at this,’ I said.
‘Doesn’t need it; it’s very straightforward, much like a saddle—you just cinch it up,’ he said. ‘Drop your bottles and change and I’ll harness you up.’
Michael and Leo placed their harnesses on the ground and changed. Leo’s lion form was slightly larger than Michael’s tiger; about the same size as the Tiger’s True Form.
The Tiger stood back and put his hands on his hips. ‘Damn, Lion, you’re a big bastard.’
‘That’s what all the guys say,’ Leo said, his voice a throaty growl.
The Tiger picked up a pair of gas bottles in their harness and fitted them to Leo’s back. He pushed them to make sure the harness was firm and stepped back. ‘How’s that?’
Leo walked up and down, then leapt, testing it. ‘Tighten it around my shoulders.’
The Tiger pulled one of the straps tighter and Leo nodded. ‘Good.’
Simone came out as the Tiger was fitting Michael’s harness. ‘All working?’
‘Watch how this goes,’ the Tiger said. ‘This strap under the front, that one under the back. This one has to be tighter, it’s the main secure. With Emma in the pod, it has to be centred, and this strap here has to be really, really firm. See?’
Simone nodded. ‘Got it.’
‘Okay.’ The Tiger opened my pod. ‘In you hop, Emma.’
I curled up inside the circular suit; it was the perfect size for me, but incredibly claustrophobic when he closed it. It had been made from a plaster mould they’d taken of my snake body and fitted with almost no room to spare.
‘Stay awake while Simone puts you on top,’ the Tiger said. ‘Just the way you like it.’
‘I haven’t executed you in a while,’ I said.
‘Can’t hear you.’
As Simone lifted me in the harness and placed me on the Tiger’s back, it quickly became apparent that they’d forgotten to turn on the life support. I couldn’t open the pod from the inside and I was suffocating. I banged my head on the top, but Simone and the Tiger were focused on getting the straps correct.
The stone yelped with the third strike. ‘No air!’
‘Oh God, sorry, Emma,’ Simone said, and a wash of ice-cold oxygen entered the pod.
‘Now you’ve put too much in, you’re making her dizzy,’ the stone said.
‘Turn it down slightly, Simone. Stone, you have to stay awake,’ the Tiger said. ‘She won’t be able to communicate once we get past the atmosphere.’
‘Damn,’ the stone said. ‘She’ll be asleep and I’ll be awake—this is not a good idea.’
‘I think I’ve been saying this for a while,’ I said.
‘Don’t be such an old woman about it—oh, you are an old woman. So keep quiet,’ the Tiger said. ‘Let’s get this over with, get you on two legs on the Celestial, and stop everybody whining about having a snake for a boss.’
‘Oh, is that why you’re rushing this?’ I said, as Simone gave the pod a final check.
‘Of course it is,’ the Tiger said. ‘Are we all good to go?’
‘Just let me get my pack on,’ Simone said. ‘Okay.’
‘If you need to take Celestial Form to make it easier, don’t hesitate,’ the Tiger said. ‘Emma, you can power down now. I’ll rap your pod when it’s time for the changeover.’
I’m counting on you to help me stay alive, I said to the stone.
A responsibility I wish I did not have, the stone said.
‘I’m going down,’ I said out loud.
‘We got you, baby,’ the Tiger said.
He started walking, swaying me from side to side. I couldn’t see anything. I cycled the energy through my serpent centres and went down.
‘Emma!’ someone shouted and I came back. The lid of the pod popped open and Simone peered inside. ‘Are you still there, Emma?’
‘I’m here,’ I said, raising my head into blinding sunlight. I loo
ked around; we were high on a snowy ridge with steep drops on either side. ‘Geez, I wish I hadn’t looked now.’
‘We’re moving you to Leo,’ Simone said. ‘This is proving tougher than we expected. The Tiger thought he could carry you for a couple of hours but he’s only managed an hour.’
‘How’s my oxygen?’ I said.
‘Your first bottle is at fifty per cent,’ the Tiger said. ‘Right on plan. You’re doing great.’
‘Where’s Kun Lun?’
The Tiger pointed behind me. I turned to see and nearly fell out of the pod. We were up so high that the red plains were a misty blur a huge distance below us. Behind me were the mountains, each with a jagged, pyramid-shaped peak. They shone brightly against the dark, high-altitude sky.
‘How high are we?’ I said. ‘Damn, all those mountains look like the top of Everest.’
‘About six thousand metres,’ the Tiger said. ‘We have to go through those mountains to get to the valley where Nu Wa lives. Higher than this, we can’t open the pod so it’ll make the changeover harder. Just try to stay still when we move you, and rap your nose twice against the top if you’re in trouble. Do you need anything? Because we need to get you on Leo and keep moving.’
‘I’m good,’ I said, and they nodded and put the lid back on me. I lurched as they lifted me and put me onto Leo, then we moved off again.
Simone tapped the top of the pod. ‘Got air, Emma?’ she said, muffled through the fibreglass.
Told them yes, the stone said.
‘Good,’ Simone said. ‘Then go down again, please, to save your oxygen.’
I was jerked awake by the pod lurching as they transferred me again.
‘How’s it going, stone?’ I said.
‘The Tiger was supposed to tap you to wake you up, but he’s concentrating. Let me give you a view outside. I can make the pod invisible for you,’ the stone said.
The sides of the pod disappeared and I was on a steep hillside, dark, sharp rocks jutting out from the snowdrifts. Michael was looking back over his shoulder as the Tiger and Leo, both in human form, transferred me onto his back. Simone was sitting on the ground looking concerned.
‘We’re doing just fine, right on time,’ the Tiger said, grunting as he lifted me. ‘Air’s nearly run out, but we’re all coping very well.’ He patted Michael on the shoulder and they did up the straps. ‘First gas bottle’s done, right on schedule. Open your mouth to empty your lungs while I do the changeover. Absolutely nothing to worry about.’