by Kylie Chan
Er Lang returned to us. ‘Ready for your order, Majesty. I suggest we fill the sky with dragons to fight the helicopters, and focus on destroying the ground troops with our most powerful Immortals.’
‘We will disable them and prevent them from harming us, but we will not harm them,’ the Jade Emperor said again. ‘The Celestial protects humans.’
‘The Celestial harms humans all the time!’ I yelled, frustrated.
‘Madam, remember your place. You are young and new to the Celestial,’ he said. ‘Individual Immortals sometimes behave in an immoral manner and are punished for it. But We are the Celestial and We protect the mortal residents of the Earthly.’
‘That’s right, I’m new. I was one of those mortals last year,’ I said. ‘If an army attacked my home, I would not hesitate to defend it with everything I had.’
‘And now you are Immortal and better than that. Stop arguing with me or I will order you silent.’ He turned to Er Lang. ‘Defend as you have suggested, but no humans are to be harmed. Understood?’
‘It’s the twenty-first century meeting the sixteenth, Majesty,’ John said. ‘We may not be able to stop them without harming them.’
‘We must,’ the Jade Emperor said.
‘Reconsider, Majesty,’ John said, his voice strained. ‘Modern weapons are more destructive than you have ever seen, and we must defend ourselves.’
‘We do not harm humans,’ the Jade Emperor said, and disappeared. He reappeared on top of the wall above us.
‘Can you use mind control on the human soldiers?’ I asked John.
‘The Demon King is already well established in their heads. If we attempt to break his hold it will destroy their minds.’
‘And that counts as harm.’ I dropped my voice. ‘He’s attacking us at our greatest weakness.’
‘I know,’ John said. He looked around. ‘We need someone to move you to safety.’
‘I’ll stay and help fight. It’s all or nothing now.’
‘I don’t think I have a choice; there’s nobody to carry you,’ John said as the human mercenaries formed ranks and marched towards us.
The Celestial soldiers took up their weapons again.
‘This is guns against swords,’ I said. ‘Even with our abilities —’
‘I know,’ he said, took Celestial Form and drew Seven Stars.
I summoned Dark Heavens and matched his motion, growing to my own battle form as well. ‘Fight well, Dark Lord. I will see you on the other side.’
‘Dark Lady, you honour me.’
‘The honour is all mine,’ I said, and both of us moved to the front lines.
The Tiger and a few of his children stood their ground next to us. When the humans were within range, the soldiers dropped to one knee to fire at us and the cats stopped the bullets.
John and I shared a look. Ranged weapons were not best used in the open like this; the soldiers should have had some sort of cover. The human mercenaries must have known that — further proof that the King was in their heads, using them as disposable battle fodder.
Great rocks emerged from the earth in front of us, giving us the cover we needed, and our fighters moved behind them. I silently thanked the Jade Emperor while at the same time despairing at the small numbers we had left. Many of our soldiers had already been killed in the battle with the demons.
Four helicopters lifted off and flew towards us. They released rockets, and Celestials — John, Er Lang, the Phoenix and the Dragon — flew up to intercept them.
John and the Dragon weren’t damaged by the blasts; but the Phoenix couldn’t fly well after donating her tail to the infirmary, and she exploded into a cloud of red feathers as the missile she caught blew up. The Dragon attempted to grab one of the helicopters, but they fired a rocket at him from inside and he fell, dead.
The helicopters sent more rockets at us. Er Lang caught one, and so did John, but another two hit our forces and killed more than fifty soldiers in a wide crater of carnage.
The soldiers with handheld launchers concentrated on destroying the Jade Emperor’s barricades, taking all the soldiers behind them as well; and he was obviously having difficulty replacing them as they were blown up.
The soldiers on foot marched towards us, took aim and fired. The Tiger and his children caught most of the bullets, but more of our soldiers fell.
The Tiger roared and launched himself at the human soldiers.
Stand down and do not harm the humans, the Jade Emperor said from the top of the wall.
The Tiger roared again with frustration and obeyed the order, returning to the front of the lines. One of the mercenaries shot him between the eyes and he fell.
Fall back, the Jade Emperor said.
Fall back, John said, and the Celestial army retreated, most still facing the enemy, until we were clustered around the Northern Palace’s wall and the remains of the platform.
I stood close to the wall near the gates, ready to escort our soldiers inside if it came to a siege.
A rock wall appeared before the gates of the Northern Heavens, defending them; and the Jade Emperor appeared at the centre of our forces. He raised his arms and concentrated on the human army approaching us, his will streaming towards them. The soldiers hesitated, and some of them backed up. The Jade Emperor yanked off his hat and threw it on the ground next to him. Sweat beaded on his forehead. John stood beside him on one side and Er Lang on the other, guarding him as the Jade Emperor forced the humans back step by step. It was a battle of wills: the Emperor against the Demon King.
A shot rang out. John jumped in front of the Jade Emperor and blocked it with Seven Stars. Three more shots rang out at the same time and John and Er Lang blocked them.
There was silence for a moment, then a single shot rang out from the other side of the field, three hundred metres away, and the side of the Jade Emperor’s head exploded into bloody fragments at the same time. He toppled, dead, and the barrier in front of the gates fell.
The human army charged towards us. They outnumbered us by at least five to one, and sprayed us with bullets as they ran. The helicopters had flown back behind their lines to re-arm but they would be returning soon.
The Demon King had the Jade Emperor in Hell. It was all over.
‘Quickly, before the aircraft return,’ Er Lang said.
Open the gates, John said.
The gates of the Northern Heavens opened, swinging outwards.
Retreat into the city, John said, but it was too late.
Our forces turned and ran, and the humans fired on them as they tried to escape. At least a third of our troops fell. The human army didn’t stop firing, picking them off as they retreated.
The human soldiers charged through our people and stopped on the other side under the gates. Half of them stayed in position there, and the other half moved out to take over the Northern Heavens. The refugees screamed and ran from the invaders.
The human soldiers on the field formed a ring around our remaining troops, taking them down while our soldiers were still forced to obey the order not to attack.
Cease fire! John roared above the sound of the carnage. We surrender.
The human soldiers stopped shooting at us and stood absolutely still and unmoving. The screams of the refugees inside the Northern Heavens echoed off the walls as they continued to run.
You surrender? the Demon King said.
We concede, John said.
Do. It. Right, the Demon King said with vicious satisfaction.
Lay down your weapons, John said, and the remaining Celestial soldiers placed their weapons on the ground in front of them. Some of them collapsed onto their knees, sobbing.
The human mercenaries stood around them, their faces blank.
John unhitched Dark Heavens from his back and drew the sword, holding the scabbard in his left hand with the black and silver leather harness hanging from it.
He turned and looked into my eyes. Goodbye, my love. Care for our children and tell them that I l
oved them.
You vowed to marry me, and that can only happen when we win back the Heavens, I said. It will happen.
It may take an eternity, he said. Do not wait for me. You have waited enough.
‘Never,’ I said as he strode through the tattered remains of the Celestial army, not appearing to see any of them as they parted to allow him through.
He picked his way through the bodies of our soldiers. My heart broke; one of them was Kenny. He’d returned from helping the orphans to die on the battlefield.
The Demon King took his largest warrior form on the other side of the field: smaller than John, with a wild mane of blood-coloured hair that stood straight up and went down his back. His scaled armour was red and gold.
Kenny’s body lit up and John turned.
‘Yes,’ I whispered.
Kenny became blindingly white and floated above the field, his expression beatific. John knelt and lowered his head as Kenny lifted into the air, then exploded into a cloud of golden particles. He’d been Raised.
Then the awful realisation hit me: Kenny would spend the rest of his Immortal existence in the Pits, as a plaything for our new demon masters.
John stood and walked across the grass, which withered and died in a trail behind him. He stopped at the marquee, towering over it, and it blackened and collapsed.
The Demon King was slower than him and arrived at the remains of the marquee a moment later. They stood facing each other, and the King’s pale, beautiful face lit up into a smile that only just touched his lips.
John remained expressionless as he held Seven Stars out in front of him horizontally, then slid it into its scabbard. He knelt and placed the sword on the ground.
The Demon King picked up John’s sword. John moved to stand, but the King stopped him with his hand on top of John’s head and pushed him back down onto his knees. He stood with his hand on John’s head, then bent and spoke into John’s ear.
‘Suck my dick,’ he whispered, and I heard it through my link with John. ‘Right here, right now. Do it willingly and I’ll pack up my toys and go home.’
The King straightened, his expression full of triumph.
John knelt silent and unmoving with the King’s hand on his head for a long time.
‘No,’ I whispered.
John nodded without looking up.
‘Oh god no,’ I moaned, but couldn’t turn away.
The King obviously decided the Heavens were worth more than completely humiliating Xuan Wu. He pulled Seven Stars from its scabbard, swung one-handed and took John’s head off with his own sword. John’s body fell sideways.
‘Open the gates of the Celestial Palace,’ the King said, and we could all hear it. ‘You can’t hurt my soldiers, so let’s do this the easy way. Show no resistance and you will be spared.’
He wiped Seven Stars on John’s back, put it away, and stalked back to his army.
I glanced over the remaining Celestial army and couldn’t find a single Immortal still alive. The Four Winds, the Thirty-Six and Er Lang were all dead.
I turned and looked up at the camera. Greg, come and get me. I need to be in Persimmon Tree right now to protect the family!
Simone appeared next to me, took my hand, and the world disappeared.
19
We reappeared in the living room of Persimmon Tree, and my family clustered around us.
‘I don’t have time to mess around,’ Simone said. ‘I found three seats on a plane to the UK.’ She raised her head and concentrated and Freddo appeared at one side of the room. ‘There are soldiers coming. You need to be quick.’
Greg raced into the bedroom and came back holding Matthew, with Andrew and Mark — the boys who’d been held and tortured by demons in the past — following. Colin held back, but Amanda’s youngest, David, followed. Greg gently put Matthew onto Freddo’s back, then lifted David to sit behind him.
‘That’s too many,’ Simone said. ‘They’re too young to go without their mothers. I can only take two boys and one mother.’
Jennifer and Amanda shared a look.
‘You go with Matthew,’ Amanda said. ‘He’s the youngest.’
‘I can’t leave Colin and Andrew,’ Jennifer said. ‘I won’t leave my boys!’
‘Take Andrew too,’ Colin said. ‘I’ll be fine, Mum. I’m nearly eighteen, and I’ve been trained. I can handle myself.’
‘No, I’m staying with Mark,’ Andrew said, putting his hand on his cousin’s shoulder. ‘I’m not leaving him after all we went through together.’ He gestured towards Amanda. ‘Take both our mums and Matthew. He’s the littlest.’
‘I don’t want to go anywhere! I want to stay here with Mummy and Daddy!’ Matthew howled.
‘Hurry up and make a decision,’ Simone said. ‘We don’t have much time!’
Greg made the decision for them. ‘If their mothers aren’t here, the boys can’t be taken from the Heavens.’ He pulled Andrew off Freddo’s back, grabbed Jen and Amanda and pushed them next to the horse. ‘Go, Simone.’
‘No!’ Jennifer yelled, but it was too late. Simone and Freddo disappeared, together with my sisters and Matthew.
Andrew and Mark took each other’s hand and collapsed onto the couch. My parents held them as they wept. David broke down, and sat on the floor with his back to the wall. Colin went to him.
I stood in the middle of the room next to Greg, hovering with indecision about who to comfort first.
Three European soldiers kicked open the door and charged into the room, their weapons held ready but not pointed at us. We all shot to our feet and raised our hands.
One of the soldiers looked around, then focused on Greg. ‘Are you the head of the household?’
Greg nodded. ‘We surrender. We have weapons but they’re only decorative and we’ll happily hand them over.’
‘Do you speak English?’ the soldier said.
‘Emma? I don’t know what language I’m speaking,’ Greg said. ‘I could be speaking Chinese. The language charm may be failing.’
‘We will be happy to surrender any training weapons we have,’ I said. ‘This is a martial arts academy, but we have no desire to fight with you.’
The soldier said something in another language.
‘What?’ I said. ‘I’m speaking English!’
‘Don’t have enough Arabic,’ the soldier said. ‘Jerry?’
Another soldier spoke to me in Arabic. I just looked blankly at him, horrified that the charm was fading. When he switched to another language, I shook my head. This should not be happening. Greg and I were Immortals and able to communicate in any language.
‘I don’t know what language these people speak, but it isn’t anything common around here,’ the soldier said. ‘Maybe some dialect? The captain said we were in a remote area. Kurdish or something?’
‘I speak English,’ I said, forming the words clearly in my head.
‘Look at you all, covered in veils even inside in this heat,’ one of the soldiers said. ‘You don’t need to be frightened any more. You’re free.’ He looked back at the other two. ‘We need one of the girls to search these women. They could be male terrorists under all those sheets.’
‘I’ll find Tiff,’ one of them said, and went out.
‘They’re not seeing or hearing reality,’ my father said with dismay.
‘Don’t worry, Grandfather, everything will be fine,’ one of the soldiers said to my father. ‘Now I’ll just search you . . .’ He slung his gun over his shoulder and moved towards my father with his hands out. ‘Don’t move.’
‘Stay away from my grandfather!’ Colin shouted. My mother grabbed his arm to stop him from running to my father. ‘Don’t touch him!’ he shouted, freeing himself from my mother and jumping between the soldier and my father.
The soldier swung his gun around and pointed it at Colin. ‘Back off, sister.’
‘Colin!’ I shouted, but everybody else was shouting as well.
‘Back off, Colin!’ Greg yelled.
>
‘Move and let him do it, Colin,’ my father said.
‘Move!’ the soldier shouted at Colin, waving the weapon threateningly in his face.
‘Colin!’ Andrew wailed.
‘Everybody shut up!’ Colin roared.
He changed into a three-metre-long black snake, and my mother screamed. Colin charged the soldier and knocked him to the other side of the room. The second soldier fired at him and everybody ducked. A short blast of bullets went through Colin’s serpent body and into the ceiling behind me.
Colin fell, limp. His neck was shredded. He writhed a few times and went still. Red blood pooled around him.
Andrew and Mark were both screaming now, and my mother held Andrew back from running to his brother. My father stood in front of them to protect them, and Greg stood next to him. The youngest, David, huddled in the corner, hugging himself.
The soldiers stared at Colin’s snake body with disbelief, ignoring my family’s reaction.
‘Jesus fucking Christ, did you see that?’ one of them said. ‘Where did it come from? What a monster!’
‘That was my brother!’ Andrew roared, still struggling.
‘Yeah, I’d be hysterical too if I found that in my living room,’ another soldier said with humour.
‘Andrew,’ Greg said into his ear. ‘Son, take control. If you don’t calm down, they’ll shoot the rest of us.’
‘I don’t care!’ Andrew screamed. ‘They killed my brother!’
‘We have to move this thing outside and take a photo of it for Facebook,’ the soldier said. ‘Shit, I didn’t know they even grew that big.’
‘That’s my brother, not a fucking trophy!’ Andrew shouted.
I moved in front of my family as they held a still struggling Andrew, and raised my hands. ‘Please, leave us. Go away. You’ve done enough.’
The soldiers ignored us, discussing who’d carry the head and who’d carry the tail outside. One of them pulled out a phone and took some quick photos of Colin, grinning broadly.
‘Might even make some extra cash out of this,’ he said. ‘Never seen anything like it.’
Your soldiers just murdered one of my nephews, I said to the Demon King, hoping my telepathy worked.
