by Kylie Chan
Meredith appeared next to him. ‘Really?’ She put her hand on my forehead, and jerked it away as if it had been burned. ‘You should go up to the Celestial now and cycle down for at least three days to reduce this. How are you staying human?’ She looked me in the eyes. ‘Whatever you do, don’t get angry, or get any demon essence on you. You’ll lose it immediately.’
‘And she just ate meat. Alive. Whole,’ Liu said.
‘Well, that is just the icing on the biscuit, isn’t it?’ she said.
‘And the time she spent with the Dark Lord is the coloured sprinkles,’ he said.
Meredith sighed and shook her head. ‘Turtles.’
‘What time is it?’ I said.
Meredith checked her watch. ‘We have about twenty minutes.’
Liu nodded. ‘Time to line them up. Whatever you do, stay calm. Stone?’
The stone didn’t reply.
‘It helped me get out of the demon lab,’ I said. ‘It copied my snake form and then used human form, which seems to wear it out.’
Liu nodded. ‘Nothing we can do to bring it around right now to help you. Looks like you’re on your own. Stay calm, stay chilled, stay focused. And whatever you do, stay well back. Even in snake form you could still be turned.’ He straightened. ‘We can do this.’
The students lined up nervously on the practice field. Er Lang strode out of the house, stood in front of them and put his hands behind his back. He nodded and three young men appeared behind him, as aloof and unemotional as he was. Two were holding a demon jar by large handles; they placed the jar on the ground next to Er Lang. The third carried a folder of documents and passed a sheet of paper to him.
‘Scott Walker,’ Er Lang said.
Our weakest student, Liu said. This is deliberate.
Scott stepped forward and stood in front of the group facing Er Lang. Er Lang checked the document he was holding. ‘Chain whip.’
His weakest weapon.
One of the young men assisting Er Lang concentrated and a metal-linked whip with five sharpened barbs on the end appeared in his hands. The chain whip was one of the most difficult weapons to master, and the slightest error in the use of it could cause nasty damage to the practitioner. Fortunately this one didn’t have barbs all the way along its length; but it was longer than standard, making it even more difficult to wield.
Scott stepped up to the assistant, took the coiled chain whip and walked back to face Er Lang. He saluted with the weapon in his right hand.
Er Lang went to the demon jar, opened the lid and pulled out a demon bead. He tossed it onto the ground in front of Scott and it formed into a Snake Mother. Some of the students in the group made quiet sounds of horror. Scott took a step back, then gathered himself and stepped forward again, squaring his shoulders to face it.
‘Ready yourself,’ Er Lang said.
Keep calm, don’t lose it, Liu said to me.
‘Hold,’ I said. ‘That is too large for this student.’
Er Lang raised one hand and the Mother went for Scott.
Scott uncoiled the whip, swung it at the Mother and it wrapped around her torso, the barbs on the end digging into her flesh. She hissed with pain, pulled them out and used the whip to jerk him off his feet. He released the whip and she tossed it to one side. She slithered up to him, picked him up by the throat and brought his face up to eye level with hers. He fought her, first by kicking at her abdomen and then by making a double-handed blow to her neck, but she ignored him. His struggles weakened, his breath coming in choked gasps.
‘Don’t lose it!’ Liu shouted.
Liu summoned his staff and made for the demon but Tymen, Scott’s friend, got there first. ‘Come on, guys, help him!’ He fell to one knee, concentrated and sent a blast of chi at the Mother. It didn’t do much; Tymen wasn’t competent with energy, he was more proficient at physical. The Snake Mother absorbed it, then threw a ball of black demon essence at Tymen, knocking him flat.
The other students advanced on the Mother, but Liu shouted at them: ‘Get back. Hand to hand will do nothing. Let me.’
He swung his staff at the demon’s head and she blocked it. He went with the movement, letting her carry the staff downwards, then swung it again at her snake end. The staff knocked her sideways and she dropped Scott.
I changed to snake and raced forward to pull Scott away, but the Mother was faster. She grabbed me by the throat and raised me to eye level, studying me carefully.
‘Is this the one?’ she said.
‘It is,’ Er Lang said.
‘This is wrong!’ Liu shouted, and swung at the Mother again. ‘If Emma absorbs any more demon essence she’ll be turned completely. You have to get her away from it. Stop this!’
Er Lang crossed his arms over his chest, his face grim with satisfaction.
The Mother avoided Liu’s blows, then wrenched his staff from his hands and tossed it aside. She grinned, flicking her forked tongue, and gestured a come-on to him.
Liu held out one hand and a sword appeared in it. ‘Drop the snake and I’ll let you live.’
‘Try me,’ she said, sounding like a cat yowling.
Liu unfocused a moment. ‘How many?’ he said. He hesitated. ‘I don’t think they’ll hurt you, honey, just stay put. Don’t fight them.’ He glanced at Er Lang. ‘You have demons menacing my wife and her students. Whose side are you on? Hurt Meredith and all of the Celestial will be down on you.’
Er Lang gestured with one hand. ‘Just do it. Let the world see the truth.’
‘No!’ Liu shouted, and lowered the sword. He turned to the Mother. ‘Drop her! Whatever this Celestial has offered you, he lied! He plans to destroy you. If you free the snake now I’ll give you safe passage.’
The Mother didn’t reply. Her hand closed on my neck, throttling me. I tried to wrap my coils around her arms to stop her, but she was much stronger than me. I sucked the air in, but it didn’t come.
Leo and Martin appeared to my right, both in Celestial Form and armed with their swords. Martin made the Silver Serpent sing and the Mother froze, her grip loosening on me. I took huge sucking breaths and the world became clearer.
‘Don’t kill it!’ Liu shouted, but it was too late. Leo stepped forward and swung at the Mother with Dark Heavens, cutting her in two. She exploded in demon goo and I fell through a rain of foul-smelling blackness, landing with a splash in the venom.
‘No, no, no, no, no,’ Liu moaned. ‘Oh, Emma, no.’
There was nothing I could do. A quiet sucking sounded in my ears as I filled with the essence. I willed myself into a trance, visualising the faces of those I loved. My man, my child, my friends, my students — I had to stay human for them. The demon essence siphoned into me and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I touched the yang inside me but it was at the bottom of a well full of demon blackness. The blackness filled me from the bottom to the top and I drowned in it. I slid into the change as though down a slope covered in oil, scrabbling to stop myself. Then I fell into blackness.
CHAPTER 33
Something was holding me. I cast around, fighting the binding. Whoever had me was good. There were lovely young trained humans nearby, and some Celestials. If I could free myself from this binding I could feast, and I was so hungry.
‘I thought she couldn’t be changed as snake,’ the black one said. ‘I thought it would be all right.’
‘Kitty filled her so full that it didn’t take anything to send her over the edge,’ the old one said, and I recognised him as the one that was binding me. I tried to attack him, hissing with frustration.
‘Oh, Emma, what have they done to you?’ the child said, approaching me.
I held back and watched her as she drew near; she was big enough to destroy me, but hadn’t yet. I had a chance at her, and if I could kill her the King would reward me — I might even be able to join his harem. The thought made me itch with need.
‘Stay back, I think she’s completely turned,’ the old one said.
‘What’s your name?’ I asked the child.
‘Simone. Emma, it’s me, Simone. You’re like a mother to me …’
I dropped on my coils and held my arms out. ‘Simone. Come give me a hug.’
She strode towards me with her arms out. The minute she was within reach I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into me, facing her away from me with my hand around her throat. ‘Let me go and I’ll let her live.’
The child became limp in my grasp, then glowed with white burning energy that scorched me. I hissed with pain and released her and she moved out of reach again.
‘She’s turned.’ She fell to her knees on the grass. ‘She’s turned. She’s gone.’ She stood up again, wiped her forearm across her eyes and faced me. ‘What are we going to do?’
The Dark Lord of the North, the Xuan Wu, the most feared of all the Celestials, appeared next to the child.
‘Can you fix her, Daddy?’ the child said.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I think it would be best if you all left while I see what I can do. We need to be very quick, I don’t have much time.’
‘The Demon King,’ the child said.
I hissed. The Demon King wouldn’t help me; he would destroy me for the mistake of being captured like this. His retribution was swift and merciless.
‘I’m not leaving,’ the child said.
‘Neither am I,’ the black one said. ‘This is my fault.’
‘It’s just as much my fault,’ the green and brown Celestial said. ‘I should have checked.’
‘I’ll guard while you sort this out,’ the old one said.
‘Liu, clear the students,’ the Dark Lord said, his eyes intense and fearsome. ‘Get them out of here. If you have a bus, put them on it. Move quickly. If I lose it before they’re gone, she’ll be unbound. Don’t worry, I have her now.’
Liu saluted the Dark Lord, and carefully walked past me out of reach of my talons. He raised his arms. ‘Okay, kids, you’re with me. Meredith, bring yours too, we’ll get them out of here.’
The Dark Lord spoke to the Green General without looking away from me. ‘Er Lang, for a very smart man sometimes you are very stupid. The Jade Emperor knew all about this.’
‘She’s a demon!’ Er Lang shouted, pointing at me, and I hissed at him.
‘Only because of what you did to her,’ the Dark Lord said.
Er Lang crossed his arms over his chest. ‘She was already turned.’
The Dark Lord spun and glared at Er Lang. ‘No, she wasn’t. She was in complete control. We could have cleared it from her, and now we can’t. You’ve destroyed any chance she had of being human, being a Celestial and being my wife.’
‘You can fix her, Daddy, please say you can fix her,’ the child said, her voice small.
‘We’ll have to find some way of holding her until I’m strong enough to deal with this,’ the Dark Lord said. ‘I will probably disappear at anytime, this has severely drained me.’
Wife? The Dark Lord. Wife? Something leapt within me and I knew what I had to do. I lowered myself on my coils. ‘Protect me, I am yours.’
‘No,’ the Dark Lord said softly.
‘There’s the solution,’ the black one said. ‘Just tame her.’
‘She will lose all free will!’ the Dark Lord said. ‘She will be free to move anywhere, Earthly or Celestial, but she will be worse than a slave.’
‘I am yours,’ I said to the Dark Lord. ‘I will serve you and obey you. Protect me.’
‘No,’ the Dark Lord said. ‘Anything but this.’
‘Finish it,’ Er Lang said grimly. ‘Give her the Fire Essence Pill and be done with it.’
‘You have just cost me the love of my life,’ the Dark Lord said to Er Lang. ‘You have turned her from my partner and my love into less than a slave. It will take me a very long time to forgive you for this.’
‘I did what I had to do,’ Er Lang said.
The Dark Lord came to me. ‘Take my hand.’
I rose and quickly took his hand and the tiny ball of fire passed into me, into the centre of my being. If I ever disobeyed him, it would destroy me. I dropped on my coils again and lowered my head. ‘Order me, my Lord, and I will obey.’
‘Oh God, Emma,’ the child said, and turned away. The black one bundled her into his arms and held her.
‘Take human form,’ the Dark Lord said, and I did.
‘She looks the same,’ the black one said. ‘Emma, can you hear me?’
I didn’t reply. I only answered the Dark Lord, my master.
‘Do you have any memory of who you were?’ the Dark Lord said.
I kneeled in front of him. ‘I only know you and your orders. I exist to obey.’
‘After a while they grow out of it a bit, don’t they?’ the black one said. ‘The old Emma will come back, won’t she?’
‘There is a small possibility of that, but I wouldn’t count on it,’ the Dark Lord said. ‘Too much too soon. She was changed and then she was tamed, one after the other. I don’t think she will ever remember who she was.’ His voice broke. ‘She’s gone. And I can’t hold it. I’m going too. Demon Emma, obey the child Simone while I am gone.’
‘Can the Demon King fix her?’ the child said. ‘Daddy? Daddy?’
The Dark Lord was gone and I felt empty. I needed him to direct me; without him I was nothing. I bowed my head, still on my knees. I obeyed the child now.
‘Rise,’ Simone said.
I stood and waited patiently for my next order.
‘What do you want to do, Emma?’ she said.
‘I want to obey the Dark Lord,’ I said. ‘He has told me to obey you. I will obey you.’
‘You know, I should be thrilled to bits,’ Simone said. ‘I can do whatever I want now.’
‘Not thrilled to bits?’ the black one said.
‘No,’ she said, and held his hand. ‘I feel awful.’ She wiped her eyes with her other hand. ‘We will fix you, Emma. We’ll work something out. Let’s go home.’
‘You can’t, you still have the evaluation,’ the green and brown one said.
‘You don’t seriously want to continue with that,’ Simone said to Er Lang.
‘I achieved my goal. I showed her for what she is. And I think I have done nobody a favour,’ Er Lang said. He raised his head. ‘I have been summoned. The Celestial wishes to discuss this matter with me. I think I am to be disciplined.’
He saluted around the group. ‘This matter is concluded.’ He stood for a moment, his hands still in the salute, then fell to one knee in front of Simone. ‘And I sincerely apologise for this. It was not my intention to cause grief to you, Princess. If I had known, I would not have done this.’
‘If you’d asked, you’d have known,’ the black one said gruffly. ‘You’ve cost us dearly here today, General.’
Er Lang dropped his head. ‘I know.’ He disappeared.
‘Let’s go home,’ Simone said.
They put me in the back of the car with Simone and a big human drove us. I sat quietly, attentive and eager to do the child’s bidding. I felt secure; this was the Dark Lord’s own vehicle and that brought me closer to him.
‘Emma,’ Simone said, ‘do you remember any martial arts?’
‘No, ma’am.’
‘Do you remember your students?’
‘No, ma’am.’
‘You sound like a robot!’
‘My apologies, my Lady. It is the way I sound, I have no control over it.’
‘What would you like to do when you get home? Are you hungry? Do you want to rest? How about heading down to the Academy and checking what’s happening?’
‘Whatever you wish for me to do, I will do to the best of my ability.’
‘Would you like to be human, Emma?’
That stopped me. If I was human, I would have free will. I didn’t answer immediately; I thought about it for a moment.
‘Yes,’ Simone said softly.
‘Yes, I would like free will,’ I said. ‘I would like to be able to m
ake my own decisions. That would be …’ I hesitated as I imagined the brilliant shining concept of being able to choose my own life. ‘That would be greater than a dream.’
‘Well, that’s a start,’ Simone said.
They took me to a luxurious apartment high on a mountain in a city. They took me into a well-appointed room scattered with the belongings of its female owner.
‘This is your room, Emma,’ Simone said.
I looked around; it needed tidying.
I turned to Simone. ‘Is this your house?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘This is your room.’
‘If this is your house, then it needs to be neater,’ I said, and began tidying the belongings.
She came to me and put her hand on my arm. ‘Stop.’
I immediately ceased what I was doing and stood waiting for the next order.
‘Do you recognise anything here, Emma? This is your room,’ the black one said.
I looked around. ‘Yes. I recognise these items.’
‘They’re yours.’
I was silent. The concept of ownership was beyond my comprehension.
A middle-aged, round-faced woman came in, busy and excited. ‘Simone, little one, welcome home.’ She hugged Simone and touched the black one on the arm. She turned to me and nodded. ‘Would you like something to eat, ma’am? You’re home early.’
I stood waiting for an order.
‘Monica, something’s happened to Emma,’ Simone said. ‘Her head is kind of … broken. She won’t do anything unless I tell her to.’
‘Like one of those demon servants?’ Monica said.
‘That’s exactly what she is,’ the black one said. ‘They changed her to a demon and she became a demon servant. She’s lost her will. She lives to obey.’
Monica stared at me, eyes wide. ‘What a horrible thing to happen. Can you fix it?’
‘I dread to think of the price for fixing this,’ Simone said, her voice weak. ‘But whatever it is, we’ll find a way to pay it.’ She turned to Monica. ‘I don’t think she’s even aware of whether she’s hungry or not. Make her some noodles, please; we’ll have to ensure she’s fed and cared for properly.’