by Kylie Chan
The Tiger checked through the few remaining books. Most of them dissolved into ash as he touched them.
One of the stones moved forward. ‘We would like to scan the pages of these books and distribute them to the network,’ it said.
‘There’s not much left,’ Simone said, sounding disheartened.
‘Try anyway,’ I said.
‘Then email the results to my lab in the West,’ the Tiger said.
‘Of course,’ the stone said.
The stones moved in a greyish cloud over the books and they floated up to the sodden worktable. The pages began to flip rapidly.
‘While they’re doing this, let’s go out the back and see what’s further along the road,’ the Monkey King said. ‘Might be something interesting down there.’
We headed back down the stairs and through the living room and dining room to the kitchen. It was extremely old-fashioned, with neither a gas nor an electric stove; instead it had two cylindrical ceramic charcoal burners with large woks on top of them.
A narrow path led away from the rear door. Surprisingly, there was vegetation here; real live plants as opposed to the silk flowers shoved into the pots at the front. It formed a jungle barrier at the back of the house, except for the path leading away.
We walked up the path, which curved to the right, narrow with overhanging azalea bushes. The air smelled less fresh here, more full of damp and plant decay.
‘This reminds me a lot of Hong Kong,’ Simone said. ‘Up on the Peak, where all the jungle is.’
‘That’s because that’s where we are,’ Na Zha said as the path led us to an open grassed area surrounded by steep jungle-covered hillside. On the summit of the hill above us stood a tower covered in a complex tangle of mobile phone boosters and satellite dishes. ‘This is Mount Austin. You walk down the hill a bit, you’re at the Peak Tower.’ He turned and pointed west. ‘I think I can see the top of your apartment building from here.’
I looked behind us; the path we’d followed had disappeared.
‘One-way trip,’ Michael said.
‘And this was so close to us!’ Simone said. Then: ‘Oh my God, Gold!’
Gold lay dead on the ground, the two Rabbit warriors lying next to him. The stone that had accompanied them was nowhere to be seen and I felt a jolt of horror.
‘Where’s his baby?’ Simone cried.
‘Look inside him. Is it in his human body?’ I said.
The stone in my ring was silent for a moment, then, ‘No.’
‘Can you trace it?’
‘We’re searching. We can’t find it,’ the stone in my ring said.
Tu Gong Wei crouched next to his dead Rabbit warriors. He grimaced up at me. ‘If you had listened to me, this would never have happened.’ He rose and jabbed his finger at me. ‘I knew that having you in charge was going to be a disaster.’ He shook his head, then gestured towards the other Rabbits. ‘Let’s get out of here. Shen or not, this …’ He hesitated, then spoke with force. ‘This woman is leading us all into destruction.’ He turned away and gestured behind him without looking back. ‘Bring our fallen comrades. No more Rabbits will die because of this woman’s incompetence.’
He turned his back on me and approached the Tiger, falling to one knee. ‘I request your assistance in guiding us home, Highness.’
The Tiger gestured behind him. ‘Go wait over there. I’ll finish up with Lady Emma, and take you home.’
The Rabbits lifted their fallen comrades, glared at me, and went to one side of the park, squatting next to the bodies to wait for the Tiger, all with their backs to me.
‘Asshole,’ Simone said, hands on her hips.
‘He just lost two members of his clan, I don’t blame him,’ I said. I looked down at Gold. ‘This is very bad. Tiger, is there any way we can contact the Courts and find out if Gold’s child went with him when he went to be Judged? We need to find his baby!’
‘It will take at least three days to make our way through the bureaucracy to find out what happened to them, and in that time Gold could very well be back,’ the Tiger said. ‘If his child was taken, the Courts will probably be lenient and permit him to return almost —’ My mobile phone rang. ‘See?’
I answered it; it was Gold, ringing from the Peak apartment.
‘I don’t have my child, ma’am, something happened. I was controlled. They …’ His voice broke. ‘They took it. We have to find it!’
‘Do the Celestials in Hell have anything for us to go on?’ the Tiger said.
‘No,’ Gold said, his voice full of misery.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll find it for you,’ I said. ‘We’re coming home now.’
‘Wait there, I’ll bring the Merc down and pick you up,’ Gold said. ‘Dad’s told me where you are.’ He hung up.
‘I want to send a sweep through the demonic side of Hell,’ I said to the Tiger.
The Tiger grimaced. ‘We can’t. Their business is their business, that’s the term of the treaty that Ah Wu worked out all that time ago. Either you have to send in demon agents, or you have to negotiate with the King.’
‘We have sent in agents and they’ve found nothing.’
‘Then I suggest you contact the Demon King.’
‘Shit.’ I turned away. ‘Stone, summon the four most senior Celestial Masters — the Lius, Chen and Wong — and the four most senior Generals — Yu, Ma, Gao, Zhou. Let’s get together and plan for a cleanout of this nest, and a negotiation with the forces of Hell.’
I turned to the Tiger. ‘Want to be in on this?’
‘You betcha,’ he growled. ‘I’m sure the other Winds will want to be involved as well.’
‘Where, Emma?’ the stone said. ‘The conference room in Wan Chai?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Book our usual conference room at the Hyatt. Let’s do this right. I want to invite the Demon King along, and we’ll thrash something out. He wants Six dead as much as we do.’
The Monkey King gestured towards me. ‘You cannot do this. You don’t have precedence.’ He turned to the Tiger. ‘She’s a goddamn human!’
‘She’s fucking First Heavenly General,’ the Tiger rasped. ‘You gonna argue with the Jade Emperor? ’Cause for some reason the old bastard’s on her side.’
‘Shit,’ the Monkey King said. He raised one hand and summoned his cloud. ‘Let me know if there’s any demon killing involved and I’m in. Otherwise, this is all your show, Gweipoh.’
Na Zha saluted me cursorily and disappeared without saying a word.
‘You’ve made so many friends in your time as First Heavenly General,’ Simone said. ‘But don’t worry, Emma, you’re doing the right thing.’
I sagged slightly. ‘I hope I am.’
The Tiger slapped me on the back. ‘It’s what Ah Wu would have done. You even sounded like him. Don’t worry.’ He grinned with malice. ‘You’re doing fine, Gweipoh.’
‘Rude bastard,’ I said. ‘Take the Rabbits home, my friend. I appreciate your help.’
‘You really should be a snake more often, ’cause you sound totally like Ah Wu,’ the Tiger said, then turned and strode to the Rabbits. They all disappeared.
Gold appeared at the bottom of the road driving the Mercedes.
‘Don’t worry, Gold, we’ll find it,’ I said as we climbed in.
‘I trust you, ma’am,’ he said.
‘The conference room is booked; they will be there in ninety minutes,’ the stone in my ring said. ‘Let’s go home and see what we have.’
CHAPTER 27
Meredith and Marshal Ma were waiting for us when we arrived home.
‘I heard what happened,’ Meredith said. ‘But we have other things happening, Emma. I need to give you an update.’
I raised my arms. ‘I’m covered in dirt and ash. Can you make it fast?’
‘When we removed the stones that had been eroding the seals, we reset the seals and fourteen students were destroyed trying to run out.’
‘Fourteen students were copies?’ I
said, horrified.
‘Yes, and two of them had been in the Academy for more than a year.’
‘Damn!’ I said. ‘Do you think the originals are dead?’
‘Demons do not normally kill humans without provocation,’ Marshal Ma said.
‘But it’s quite likely that our students provoked them when they tried to take them,’ Meredith said. ‘I don’t think there’s much chance that our students are still alive. We need to find the demon that’s making the copies.’
‘We will,’ I said.
‘Oh, and there’s one other thing. Just FYI, we are having problems with a dragon,’ Meredith said.
‘What?’
‘One of the little prostitutes was a dragon, remember?’
‘I remember,’ I said. ‘Her name was Hien, she’s Vietnamese.’
‘She’s a drug addict,’ Meredith said. ‘Her captors put morphine in their food to keep them placid. We didn’t find out until she changed to a dragon, broke into the infirmary and held Regina hostage. She’s threatening to kill Regina unless we give her something for the pain.’
‘And Regina hasn’t given her something to calm her down?’ I said, then I realised. ‘Nothing will work on her in dragon form.’
‘And she doesn’t know how to change back,’ Meredith said.
‘I need you to handle that while I work on getting Gold’s child back,’ I said. ‘Can you guys put some dragons on it?’
Meredith nodded once, sharply. ‘We’ll manage. Talk to the Demon King about Gold’s baby. This is the most important thing.’
‘I’ll be at the Hyatt in forty-five minutes. Michael is bringing the car around now. I just need to change out of these filthy clothes.’
‘Good,’ Meredith said. She nodded to Marshal Ma. ‘If I’m not at the meeting, it’s because I’ve been delayed.’
‘Don’t worry, Meredith, we’ll help Emma sort this out,’ Ma said. He saluted me. ‘By your leave, ma’am, we’ll secure the conference room for the meeting with the King.’
‘Thanks, Hua Guang. Most appreciated,’ I said, and he and Meredith disappeared.
The doorbell rang while I was pulling on some clean jeans and a shirt.
Ah Yat shrieked, ‘Ma’am!’
‘Emma!’ Gold shouted. ‘Come quickly!’
I raced out to the hallway. Ah Yat had opened the front door, but the gate remained closed. On the other side stood a demon in True Form, human-sized but black with bulging eyes, tusks and long bright red hair.
‘Protect me, ma’am!’ Ah Yat cried, and scurried into the kitchen.
I summoned the Murasame and stood just inside the door. ‘State your business here, demon.’
‘It’s Martin,’ Simone said from where she’d come up behind me.
I lowered the sword. ‘No way.’
The demon nodded its massive ugly head. ‘I am Ming Gui. I have taken this form to avoid detection by the Demon King. Please, let me in, I have important information for you.’
Simone laughed without humour. ‘Like I’ll let you in after all the times you’ve betrayed us.’
The demon glanced from Simone to me. ‘I give you my word, I have information on where Leo is.’ It glanced backwards, as if expecting someone to follow. ‘Let me in! I vow I will not hurt you.’
‘Can you take him down?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ Simone said. She strode to the door and pushed the gate open. ‘You may enter.’
The demon bowed slightly and walked inside, grimacing as it passed through the seals. It changed form to Martin: tall, with long black hair, wearing a dark green polo shirt and tan slacks. He looked like a younger, slimmer version of John and my heart ached to see the resemblance.
Martin strode to one of the couches and sat, leaned his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. ‘We must be quick, before the Demon King finds that I have gone. You have to kill me.’
‘Kill you?’ Simone said.
‘It is the only way to free me from my servitude.’ He sat straighter. ‘Once I am dead, I am free from my oath, and I can be Judged and return to assist you.’
‘What oath?’ I said.
‘I cannot tell you. You must work it out yourself.’
‘You made an oath to the Demon King?’ I said.
‘That …’ Martin grimaced. ‘I am bound and cannot answer that question.’
‘Great, a game of twenty questions while someone has Gold’s child,’ I said. ‘Can you tell us anything? And if not, why are you here?’
‘Simone must kill me. Then I will be free.’
‘Why Simone?’
‘She vowed I would taste her blade. I will give her the chance to fulfil her oath and free me from mine.’
‘Okay, you swore some sort of oath. Probably to the Demon King, and that’s why you’ve been following him around. Why?’
Martin grimaced. ‘When Father returned to True Form, he was in two pieces and so weak …’ His voice trailed off and he pulled himself together. ‘Simone was so tiny! The Demon King wants more than anything to be able to return to the world above. If he were to destroy Father, or hold Simone to control Father, he would be able to do this. I had to protect them both. I swore an oath …’ He struggled to continue, then obviously gave up.
‘You made a deal with the King to protect me and Daddy?’ Simone said.
‘I cannot answer that.’
‘So you’re saying that the reason I’m alive today is because you’ve gone off with the King to live in Hell,’ Simone said with scorn.
‘You’ve never been attacked, Mei Mei,’ Martin said. ‘They’ve defended themselves if you attacked them, but no demon has ever come after you.’ He slashed one hand through the air. ‘But all of this is beside the point. You need to kill me now so that I can come back and take you to get Leo out.’
‘I seem to recall you coming here with a certain Number One Demon Prince in a similar situation offering us help,’ I said.
Martin leaned on his knees again. ‘That was before I met Leo.’ He looked up at me, his eyes full of pain. ‘Leo taught me the path of true nobility; he taught me what it is to truly love.’ He glanced at Simone. ‘I would do anything to keep you, my sister, and him safe. We must bring him out of Six’s nest before they use him in any more …’ His voice trailed off again.
‘In any more what?’ I said. ‘Experiments? Duplications? What?’
‘I cannot tell you until I am freed.’
‘And you’ve just decided that I don’t need protecting any more, eh?’ Simone said.
‘We need to find and free Leo and Gold’s child. The stone baby will be destroyed if we do not move quickly. I do not want to risk your safety, Simone, but I could not live with the death of this child on my conscience.’
‘I think you know way too much and this is all a trap,’ Simone said.
Martin raised one hand, palm-up. ‘Ask Gold. I can see him.’
Gold had taken the form of a tiny pebble and hidden in the corner of the room, helping to guard us. ‘He’s telling the truth,’ he said, his voice full of misery. ‘All of it. He sincerely wants to help.’
‘What are they planning for Leo and Gold’s baby?’ I said.
‘Leo was just a way of making you come out to find him. What they were really after was the stone child,’ Martin said.
‘Why?’ Gold said, almost a wail of grief.
‘They are banished from Hell,’ Martin said. ‘As long as they are outside Hell, they are dying. They feed off the energy … I cannot tell you more.’
‘They feed off the energy of stone children?’ I said. ‘That’s why they wanted Gold’s child?’
He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. ‘If you break a stone, the small piece becomes a stone child. If you do this in an artificial situation, you create an artificial child. But artificial is never as good as the real thing.’
I was silent, appalled.
‘I cannot say more. I will be able to tell you more after you kill me and I return. You
must do it right now. I will request a quick return to the Earthly to assist you.’
‘We can shelter you here. You don’t need to die, Martin,’ I said.
‘I am bound into servitude, Emma. If I am ordered to kill you, I will obey. The only way for me to break this bond is to die.’ He nodded to Simone. ‘Is there a private place where you can do this?’
Simone ducked her head into her hands, then ran her hands through her hair. ‘Is this really necessary?’
‘Yes.’ Martin quirked a small smile. ‘You vowed I’d taste your blade, sister. Here is your opportunity.’
‘How long will you be gone?’ Simone said, desperate. ‘If you’re gone too long, they’ll kill Gold’s child before you’re back to take us in! You should just show us where it is.’
‘I can’t tell you until I’m released,’ Martin said. ‘I’m bound by a vow of silence. I can only tell you once I’ve died.’
‘Damn!’ Simone said, and turned away.
‘One last thing before we do this,’ I said.
‘We need to hurry,’ Martin said. ‘The meeting is soon. The minute the King leaves Hell, he will know I am here. If he orders me back, I will obey, and then our chance is lost.’
‘Why can you take demon form?’ I said. ‘That wasn’t an illusion, that was you.’
‘It is because of my mixed heritage of Heaven and Hell,’ Martin said. ‘Because of the nature of my father. When I return, I will tell you more. Now.’ He rose. ‘Please, the King will be here soon. Do it, Simone, quickly.’
I gestured. ‘In the training room.’
‘You do it, Emma,’ Simone said, her voice small.
Martin rose and touched Simone’s hand where she sat on the couch. ‘I’d prefer it was you, Mei Mei. Show me what you have learned. Free me from my bonds.’ He touched the top of her head. ‘I know you can do it.’
Simone threw herself up off the couch and summoned Dark Heavens. ‘All right!’ she snapped. ‘Let’s just do it and get it over with, and then slap the living daylights out of the Demon King for letting this happen!’
‘He said he’d killed Six,’ I said as we walked down the hall to the training room.
‘He probably phrased it so that he wasn’t telling a lie,’ Martin said. ‘He can be very clever with words. If you can pin him down and force him to state the truth, he will. Otherwise, he will use words to twist a lie to make it sound like the truth.’