Small Shen

by Kylie Chan

  Simone? Gold said.

  Jade didn’t reply.

  Jade? Where is Simone?

  I don’t know, Jade said, her voice small. Go help Leo, please don’t let them die! The Dark Lord thinks that Simone is with Michelle and Violetta.

  ‘I have to go,’ Gold said. ‘It’s bad — Jade thinks they’re dead.’

  ‘I’ll come with you. You can move faster than me, I’ll follow.’

  Gold landed in a grassy hilled area near the Sheung Shui prison, a compound of high steel fencing with barbed wire on top. A few farmhouses, barely more than shacks, dotted each side of the road, and a cow was tethered to a stake nearby. The Mercedes was parked at the side of the road, a good vantage point to see across the Closed Area towards Shenzhen, its tall buildings shrouded in a haze of pollution.

  He found them in a ditch near the Mercedes. Victor lay on his back, his neck obviously broken, his eyes wide and unseeing. Daniel was a few steps away, the grass around him crushed by the struggle and stained from the blood where his chest had been smashed.

  Leo was on his belly nearby, a sword in his hand. As Gold approached, Leo moved slightly. Gold ran to him, turned Leo onto his back, and cradled his head. Leo’s head lolled, his mouth open. Gold quickly checked him over; he’d lost a lot of blood, he had multiple fractures, one leg was almost torn off, and he had massive internal injuries. His liver was macerated. He didn’t have long. Gold hunched over Leo and made a soft sound of misery.

  ‘Find…’ Leo gasped. ‘Find! Michelle!’

  ‘We’re following Michelle,’ Gold said. ‘Where’s Simone?’

  ‘Simone…’ Leo said, and then lost consciousness.

  Do you need me, Jade?

  No! Stay with them! We cannot find Simone, where is she?

  I don’t know… I think Leo knows…

  Find Simone! I think she may be all he has left, Gold…

  No!

  Find Simone!

  Leo was barely breathing, his breath rasping through his throat. ‘Leo, Leo, where’s Simone? Where is she?’

  Leo didn’t come around. Gold dropped his head, took a deep breath, and fed Leo all of the chi energy from his human body. He threaded the energy through Leo’s broken bones and destroyed blood vessels, knitting up his liver, cleansing and restoring his internal organs. He turned Leo on his side with what remained of his strength, and slapped Leo hard on the back to make him spit out the contamination from being assaulted by the demons. Leo vomited up a large amount of foul goo, then collapsed back again. He opened his eyes, and pulled himself up with difficulty.

  Gold shrunk back into True Form and fell onto the grass, completely drained.

  Leo saw Daniel and Victor. ‘Oh, God, no,’ he moaned. He looked around. ‘Gold?’

  ‘Where’s Simone, Leo?’ Gold said.

  Leo staggered to the Mercedes and leaned on the front bonnet. He gestured with one hand. ‘She’s in the car, she fell asleep, and we left her.’ He leaned heavily on the car and peered inside. ‘Looks like she’s still asleep.’ He went to the back of the car, opened the door, and checked inside. He pulled his head back out again. ‘She’s alive. Looks like she hasn’t been touched. Where are Michelle and Violetta?’

  ‘Demon…’ Gold gathered the last of his breath. ‘Demon got them, Leo. Jade and the Dark Lord are pursuing.’

  Leo staggered back to Gold and sat on the grass next to him. ‘Whatever you did, I think you saved my life.’

  ‘I did,’ Gold said, fading fast. ‘But unfortunately, it killed me.’

  Thunderbolt landed in a flurry of feathers. ‘Ouch, this is a mess. Humans murdered by demons? That hasn’t happened in a long time.’ He saw Gold. ‘Where are the demons that did this?’

  Gold tried to tell them about Jade and Xuan Wu.

  ‘Gold?’ Leo said. ‘I can barely hear you…’

  Gold was in a courtroom, dressed in the white cotton pants and shirt of a criminal on trial. Guards in Tang livery stood on either side of the room, and the judge sat at the end behind his desk on a dais.

  ‘The prisoner will present,’ one of the guards said.

  Gold moved forward and prostrated himself in front of the desk. ‘Wen sui, wen sui, wen wen sui.’

  ‘Golden Boy. It has been a while since you were here,’ the judge said.

  Gold didn’t look up from the floor. ‘I have worked hard to cleanse my record, my Lord.’

  Gold heard papers shuffling, and the judge grunting to himself as he read the record of Gold’s most recent incarnation. ‘Get up.’

  Gold rose and stood, head bowed, in front of the desk.

  The judge wore a robe that crossed over at the front with toggles and loops, elaborately embroidered with four-toed dragons in black and red. His black hat stood high and square, with long extensions on either side. He wore steel-rimmed, old-fashioned glasses as he perused Gold’s file with his lips pursed. Finally he dropped the paperwork and glared at Gold over his glasses. ‘Well?’

  Gold tried to control the urgency in his voice. ‘Permission to return to the Earthly immediately, my Lord, the Dark Lord’s family has been kidnapped by demons and his father-in-law and brother-in-law have been murdered by them. It is most urgent that I return! Lady Michelle is in the gravest of danger —’

  The judge cut him off with a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘Too late. They’re all dead.’ He tossed the file onto the desk. ‘A most regrettable situation. First time humans have been killed by demons in nearly two hundred years. Ah Wu disobeyed the Celestial, and now he must reap the consequences. It’s only a shame that his child — a half-Shen child with enormous potential — has to suffer because of his stupidity. He should be thrown from Heaven.’ He threw his glasses onto the file on his desk. ‘You, on the other hand, show improvement. You have served him loyally and well, and you gave your life for a human Retainer.’ The judge picked up his glasses again and opened the folder. He took a brush hanging from a rosewood rack in front of him and dipped it into a pool of ink on an ink stone. He held the brush vertically and with economical sweeps of the brush, wrote out Gold’s sentence and his reasoning.

  He didn’t look up from the folder. ‘Return to the Dark Lord’s household and continue to serve in the manner already arranged.’ He snapped it shut, then glared down at Gold. ‘Continue your efforts to improve your erroneous ways, and you may be eventually freed. The Xuan Wu, however, deserves nothing but condemnation for its part in this disaster, and I hope you do not learn from its irresponsible ways.’

  Gold hesitated, wanting to set the judge straight about the Dark Lord, then changed his mind. The most important thing was getting back to the family — the tragedy. He fell to his knees and touched his forehead to the floor. ‘This small Shen thanks you for your correction of its erroneous ways.’

  ‘Back to the Earthly with you,’ the judge said.

  Gold arrived at the Peak to find the front door hanging open. Leo and Monica sat on the couch with Simone between them, both of them holding her. Jade sat on the other couch, distraught. Gold checked the household; the Dark Lord was nowhere to be found.

  Gold entered and sat on one of the chairs opposite them. He smiled gently at Simone, but she didn’t appear to notice him. Leo wiped his eyes; he, Monica, and Jade had been weeping.

  Gold ran his hands over his face.

  They are all dead. Michelle, Violetta, Victor, Daniel — they are all dead, Gold, Jade said. The demon… Jade dissolved into tears and Gold went to her and held her. She turned on the couch and clutched him. The demon raped and mutilated Violetta and Michelle. Jade couldn’t control her sobs, and Simone buried her face harder into Leo’s chest. It did terrible things to them, Gold, horrible things! Their faces… I will never forget their faces… She took a deep breath, conjured a box of tissues, and wiped her eyes, then blew her nose. I am so glad Simone did not see it, and that the demon did not find her…it is so cruel…it played with them, like toys, it used them, the Dark Lord took one look at them and said… She
blew her nose again.

  ‘Is Jade telling you?’ Leo said softly.

  Gold nodded a reply.

  Leo shook with restrained grief. ‘Okay.’

  What did the Dark Lord say? What is he doing now?

  He said, ‘It is so stupid. It killed them by mistake. That demon had all of Hell and all of the Celestial in its grasp, and it killed my loved ones by mistake.’ Then he went out, and has not returned.

  I see, Gold said. I knew that demon a long time ago. It enjoyed making humans suffer. Particularly women. It would not have been able to resist.

  Stupid! Jade said, threw herself up, and went down the hall towards the bathroom. It had the Dark Lord in its power and it threw its power away — to have some fun hurting humans!

  Leo smiled wanly at Gold. Gold dropped his head to see Simone’s face. ‘You okay, Simone?’

  ‘I want Daddy. I want Mummy. I want them to come back.’

  ‘Mummy, and Grandmama Violetta, and Grandpapa Victor, are never coming back, sweetheart,’ Leo said, his voice breaking. ‘They’re dead.’

  Monica threw herself up off the couch and raced into the kitchen. The door to her quarters closed.

  ‘No, when you die, you go away for a few days, and then come back again.’ Simone moved one hand slightly in Gold’s direction. ‘That’s what you just did, Gold.’

  ‘There’s a difference,’ Gold said, touching Simone’s shoulder. ‘I’m special. Your daddy is special. Leo, and Mummy, and your grandparents — they’re not special, they’re just ordinary. And when they die, they’re gone forever.’

  ‘Is Daddy coming back?’ Simone said. She looked up at Leo, beseeching. ‘Where’s Daddy?’

  ‘I’m going to go out there right now, and look for your daddy,’ Gold said. ‘He can’t die, so he has to be out there somewhere, and I’ll find him. And I’ll get some people to help me.’ Jade?

  Of course. Let’s go. I can show you where the demon took them, and we can try to work back from there.

  ‘What if he changed?’ Leo said.

  ‘Changed?’ Simone said.

  ‘He can change, like I can, and Jade can,’ Gold said. ‘But he promised your mummy he wouldn’t do it, ’cause it scared her.’

  Simone buried her face in Leo’s chest. ‘He scared me too. He was big and scary.’

  ‘Huh?’ Leo said.

  He took Celestial Form and carried her through the palace to see the Jade Emperor when she was about a year and a half old, Gold explained for Leo. It scared the life out of her. That’s why he never took Celestial Form again around her.

  Leo nodded, understanding. ‘He may have changed into something even scarier, and forgotten all about you. It doesn’t matter, Simone, Jade and Gold will find him.’

  Jade came in, her face composed but her eyes still red. ‘Come on, Gold, let’s find this turtle.’

  ‘I’m here,’ Xuan Wu said. He stood in the doorway, leaning heavily on it, his hair completely grey. ‘I searched for the demon. Everywhere. I never found it.’ He looked haggard and old.

  Gold rushed to help him, but he waved him away. ‘Don’t touch me. I don’t think I could control myself. I’d drain you dry.’

  Simone threw herself up from Leo’s lap, raced to her father, and hit him hard. He hoisted her and held her close, his eyes tight shut.

  ‘Are they not coming back, Daddy?’

  ‘They’re not coming back, sweetheart.’

  Simone dissolved and sobbed into Xuan Wu’s shoulder. He staggered to the armchair and sat, rocking her in his lap.

  ‘Go to the Mountain, my Lord. You need to rebuild, and do it quickly.’

  ‘I cannot. I am too drained to make the journey.’ He switched to silent speech. I am finished. I have ordered a couple of Celestial Masters to come down here and assist you in guarding her. I only have a couple of days at the most. You have all the documents prepared. I thank you for your assistance, Jade, Gold; when I am gone you are free, but I hope you will remain to help Leo guard my daughter.

  ‘No!’ Jade choked, and left the room again.

  ‘What?’ Leo said.

  Gold explained silently for Leo. Leo dropped his head into his hand and sat unmoving.

  ‘You’ll stay with me, won’t you, Daddy?’ Simone said into Xuan Wu’s shoulder. ‘You won’t leave me too? Gold said you’re special.’ She nuzzled his shoulder, her tears soaking the fabric of his shirt. ‘And you won’t go away.’

  Xuan Wu rose, still holding Simone. ‘Let’s go to your room, Simone, we need to talk.’

  ‘There you are.’

  Gold turned to see who had spoken, and quickly fell to his knees. Kwan Yin, the Holy Bodhisattva of Mercy, stood in the doorway in human form, appearing as a slim, elegant middle-aged Chinese woman in a white silk pants suit. ‘I heard you have put yourself into very deep trouble, again, Ah Wu, and many are suffering.’ She entered the room, and stopped at Gold. ‘Up you get, little stone, I have been watching you. Your heart is becoming more pure every day.’ She leaned to touch Leo on the hand, and his expression changed from grief to beatific. ‘Leo Alexander, heart of a lion.’ She swept to Xuan Wu and took Simone in her arms. ‘Hello, Simone, I’m your Aunty Kwan. I’m here to help out, because your mummy and your grandparents are dead, and your daddy thinks he’s going to die too.’

  ‘I don’t want him to die,’ Simone said.

  ‘And I won’t let him,’ Kwan Yin said. She turned. ‘Come sit on the couches, and I will tell you what I will do for you.’

  ‘Can you bring Mummy and Grandmama and Grandpapa and Uncle Daniel back?’ Simone said, her little face full of fierce hope.

  ‘No, I cannot do that,’ Kwan Yin said. ‘That would be wrong, it would be against the order of things. But I can help you, and I can help your daddy.’

  ‘I think I am past help, Lady,’ Xuan Wu said.

  Jade entered, her face full of wonder. She fell to her knees, bowed three times to Kwan Yin, then rose again. ‘My Lady.’

  Kwan Yin nodded gracefully to Jade. ‘Princess. Very well; here is what we will do.’

  She switched to silent speech. We must first stage something to make their deaths acceptable to the authorities. I know this is hard, but if we do not, the police will pursue Ah Wu and accuse him of killing them. Particularly since he is well known as a practitioner of the Arts of War.

  Xuan Wu’s face went grim.

  Jade and Gold; this is a task for you. I will handle Xuan Wu and Simone. Gold, take Leo’s form, put the bodies in the Mercedes, and drive out on the Tolo Highway. Jade, take male human form, steal a truck, and run headlong into them. Jade, die. Gold, suffer injuries. Leo will come with me and Ah Wu and Simone for a while; Gold, take Leo’s place in the hospital and recuperate as him.

  Gold nodded. ‘Yes, my Lady.’

  Jade looked horrified. ‘I don’t want to touch…’ She changed to silent speech. I don’t want to touch them, I love them too dearly, I cannot do this to them…

  You must. Gold will handle the bodies. All you need to do is steal the truck, take human form, and die.

  Jade dropped her head. ‘Yes, ma’am. I only hope I can fulfil this duty.’

  ‘You will be fine. Now, you two, go.’

  What about the Dark Lord? He is dying, Gold said.

  I will feed him energy. Enough to keep him here with Simone, until she is old enough to fend for herself.

  ‘The minute you do that, the demons will attack us,’ Xuan Wu said, grim. ‘If they find out the state I’m in, they’ll want to take advantage of it immediately.’

  ‘I will give you enough to keep you going for a couple of days, here and now,’ Kwan Yin said. ‘Then, I want you to fly to Paris. I have a house there; it is not real, but it will suffice. It is an extension of Potala Island, a small part of Purity in the city of Paris. Go there; I will give Leo directions. There will be a car waiting for you at Charles de Gaulle Airport. I will be at that house, and I will feed you energy for a few days. It should be enough to last you
six or eight months, provided you do not overexert yourself. You must live, as much as possible, as an ordinary human, and conserve your energy.’

  ‘And Daddy can stay with us, if we do that?’ Simone said.

  Kwan Yin nodded.

  Simone threw her tiny arms around the Bodhisattva’s neck. ‘Thank you!’

  Kwan Yin returned the embrace. ‘You are most welcome. Now, your father and I must go into the training room together, and I will provide him with some energy to keep him going until he gets to Paris. Gold and Jade have some errands to do.’ She looked around. ‘Does everybody understand?’

  ‘I feel okay now,’ Simone said with wonder. ‘Like, everything’s going to be all right, even though they’re all dead. Because I still have Daddy, and Leo, and Jade and Gold, and Monica — everything’s going to be all right. You make everything better.’

  Kwan Yin jiggled Simone in her lap. ‘That’s what I do.’

  Simone threw her arms around Kwan Yin’s neck again. ‘Thank you!’

  Michelle’s extended family in Quebec asked for the bodies to be returned to them for burial there, then refused all further contact with Xuan Wu except to ask for a contribution to the costs. He paid it all, and they stopped talking to him altogether. He seemed happy with that situation and didn’t pursue it.

  After the memorial service held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point two days later, they returned to the Peak exhausted and subdued. They still had to pack to travel to Paris the next day. Xuan Wu went straight to the training room and proceeded to repeat a low-level sword kata over and over. Monica took Simone into the kitchen, and Gold followed. Monica sat Simone at the table, no longer in a high chair, and started preparing some noodles for her.

  Gold went to Leo’s room and tapped on the door. He heard Leo moving inside, but there was no answer. He tapped again. ‘Let me in, Leo. Just to talk.’

  ‘Gold…’ Leo said, almost too soft to hear. Gold opened the door and went in.