Dark Serpent

by Kylie Chan

  He gave me a hand as I rose and we went to John and Simone. Simone was sitting next to John and rubbing the back of her head.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I said.

  ‘Yeah, no major damage. Minor skull fracture, which I’ve already taken care of,’ she said. ‘I have the headache from hell.’

  ‘A fractured skull is not minor damage!’

  ‘Pfft.’ She pulled herself upright with effort and smiled at Tom. ‘Thanks.’

  Tom seemed dazed by the whole business. He swayed on his coils, looking around. The van door slammed and he spun to see what the noise was.

  Ben was walking towards us. ‘You okay, son? Can you change back?’

  ‘Human,’ Tom rasped. He moved incredibly fast, grabbed his father by the throat and lifted him.

  Ben clawed at Tom’s hand. ‘Tom … no … it’s me.’

  John raised his hands to bind Tom, but it was too late. There was an audible crack and Ben went limp. Tom opened his mouth wide, visibly fighting the binding as he tried to bring Ben’s head up to his face.

  ‘That was your father!’ Simone shrieked.

  Tom jumped as if struck. He seemed to see Ben for the first time, and changed back to human. He lowered Ben gently to the ground, then fell to his knees and bent over him, one hand touching his father’s face. He rocked silently, his face blank with shock.

  Leo checked Ben over, then stood and shook his head. ‘Broken neck. Killed instantly.’

  ‘I killed him,’ Tom moaned.

  He rose to his feet, swaying slightly, then he took off, running across the grass.

  I went after him and caught up to him. I didn’t dare touch him, so I ran beside him, matching his pace.

  ‘At this speed we’ll run out of cemetery in no time,’ I said, gasping with the effort of keeping up with him. ‘You can’t run away. Stop and we can help you.’

  ‘Leave me alone!’ he wheezed, and put on a spurt of speed.

  He tore through the cemetery gate at faster-than-human speed and onto the road, straight into the path of a London taxi. The black cab wasn’t going very fast, but it hit him full-on and he was thrown five metres, bouncing bonelessly on the road.

  The taxi stopped and the driver jumped out and ran to Tom, obviously horrified.

  Simone, Leo and John caught up with me and we checked Tom. He was on his back, his arm bent wrongly behind him, his eyes wide and glazed. Blood streaked his face and ran down his neck.

  Simone covered her face and turned away. Leo gathered her into his arms and walked her back towards the cemetery gate.

  She shouted ‘Let me go!’

  John glanced up at me and shook his head, but he didn’t need to. Tom’s chi was gone. He was just a husk, the breath of life gone from him.

  ‘He just ran out in front of me,’ the taxi driver said, staring at Tom. ‘There was nothing I could do.’

  ‘I saw what happened,’ I said. ‘You’re absolutely not responsible. He was upset and I was trying to stop him.’

  ‘It wasn’t my fault,’ the driver said.

  I patted his arm. ‘That’s right, it wasn’t.’

  I turned to look for Simone. She was leaning on the wall and weeping, Leo standing helpless next to her.

  John pulled out his mobile phone and dialled. ‘Hello, police?’

  17

  After the police’s questions and the statements and photos, we walked back to Franklin’s house. The van was where we’d left it, and Paul was sitting in the front with his legs hanging outside, smoking a cigarette. He quickly extinguished it when he saw us coming. Franklin, dressed in overalls and a fluorescent visibility vest, was filling in the earth of Ben’s grave, helped by a couple of men in similar outfits.

  ‘Are you sure this is all right?’ Franklin asked when he saw us.

  ‘He’d been living on the Mountain for more than a year. No next of kin,’ John said. ‘When they move onto the Mountain it’s explained.’

  ‘All right then,’ Franklin said, and nodded to the men with him. ‘This is Vlad and Boris.’

  The two men nodded to us, then stared at John.

  ‘This your boss, the big god?’ one of them asked, in a strong London accent. ‘Are these others vampires too?’

  ‘What?’ I said.

  Franklin visibly cringed. ‘I had to tell them. They were about to call the police on me.’

  ‘Yeah, he had this constant stream of underage girls — sometimes two or three at a time — visiting him in his damn house,’ the workman said. ‘Now, I’m a dad, and I won’t put up with that, so us two,’ he glanced at the other man, who nodded, ‘we went to sort him out. When we got inside the house, the girls were laughing and he was serving them, would you believe it, fucking tea and biscuits in his demon form, no less. So he had some explaining to do.’

  ‘Craziest thing I ever saw,’ the other one said. He sounded Eastern European. He grinned with mischief. ‘We got our own sparkly vampire here, all right.’

  ‘Oh, shut up,’ Franklin said. ‘We shouldn’t be joking at a time like this. Look at the little girl’s face. You all head back to your house and take it easy.’

  ‘Come and look at this,’ Leo shouted to us. He’d gone over to look at the apparatus that the demons had been putting together outside Franklin’s house.

  ‘Yes, my Lord, you need to see this,’ Franklin said.

  It was a powerful spotlight, at least sixty centimetres across. Leo pushed it to the side to reveal a corpse that looked exactly like Franklin’s human form.

  ‘Is that a clone, a demon copy, or something else entirely?’ I said.

  ‘Copy. I can’t get a good feel of its size or type. I suspect that may be because of its Western origins,’ John said. He glanced from the copy to Franklin. ‘I can’t even tell that it’s not the real thing.’

  Franklin raised his hands. ‘I’m the real me, believe me, my Lord. They were going to destroy me with this big light and replace me. I just thank the Heavens you arrived a few days early.’

  ‘We didn’t,’ John said. ‘We just lied to everybody about when we’d be here.’

  ‘That saved my life,’ Franklin said.

  John’s expression was grim. He put his hand out. ‘Franklin.’

  ‘My Lord.’ Franklin didn’t hesitate; he went straight to John and took his hand.

  John concentrated for a moment, then nodded. ‘You are nearly there, my friend. Well done.’

  Franklin sighed with relief. ‘Even I was worried for a moment.’

  ‘What do we do with this?’ I said, indicating the demon corpse. I glanced around. ‘All the others disintegrated.’

  John put a hand out over the dead demon and it exploded in a silent blast of demon essence.

  ‘Let’s go home,’ he said, then turned to speak to Franklin. ‘Pack your belongings; you’re coming to stay with us. Leo, stay here and bring him when he’s ready.’

  ‘There’s no need to ruin your seals. I’ll be fine here,’ Franklin said.

  John dropped his head and glowered at Franklin. ‘You will come to the house.’ He obviously thought of something. ‘And you will bring your workmates tomorrow afternoon. They deserve our thanks for putting up with this.’

  Franklin’s eyes widened. ‘Don’t wipe their memories, my Lord. I’ve really enjoyed having friends I can share my true nature with.’

  ‘Bring them around tomorrow afternoon,’ John repeated.

  ‘My Lord,’ Franklin said, resigned.

  John examined the van. The front fender was severely dented, enough to hit the tyre if we tried to drive it. John grabbed it and pulled it off.

  ‘Whoa,’ Paul said softly. ‘How much can you lift, if you don’t mind me asking, sir?’

  ‘In this form I can only bench press eleven hundred kilograms; it’s very weak,’ John said, tossing the fender into the back of the van. ‘Sometimes I wish we still had Michael around. Having someone who can manipulate metal and electricity would be very useful, and he was a loyal member of the
household.’

  Simone burst into tears and climbed into the van.

  ‘What did I say?’ John said.

  ‘Michael’s still something of a sore point,’ I said. ‘But more than that, she just saw two people die in front of her. We’ve kept her sheltered from the very worst of it, and she just had it right in her face. And then you had to go and remind her that Michael’s gone.’

  ‘She’s still not pining over him, is she?’

  ‘You tell her to get over it and I will call you out,’ I said, jabbing my index finger at him. ‘Leave her alone.’

  He shrugged. ‘Let’s go to the house and settle everyone in. She’s jetlagged as well, that doesn’t help.’

  We got into the van, shut the doors and Paul started the engine.

  ‘Not an auspicious start to your visit,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen anything like that before. Does it happen often?’

  ‘Fortunately, no,’ I said. ‘You’re taking it very well. I’m impressed.’

  ‘Thank you, Emma. I think it’s largely due to the training you’ve given us — I was more excited than scared.’ He made a soft sound of amusement. ‘I think I’m disappointed that I didn’t have a chance to contribute. It’s a shame you can’t teach us any more.’

  ‘How far along are they?’ John said.

  ‘Couldn’t take down a level one with a weapon,’ I said. ‘Extremely basic.’

  ‘Good, we’ll leave it there.’ He spoke to Paul. ‘You’re safer not knowing anything at all.’

  ‘Emma said they may not respect that any more; that we might be targets even if we’re not trained,’ Paul said.

  John was silent for a long moment. ‘Damn, Emma, you have a point. Four thousand years of Chinese civilisation and it has come to this.’

  ‘Where we are right now, Chinese civilisation has nothing to do with anything,’ I said.

  ‘That’s what concerns me.’

  ‘Park on the street here, and wait a moment,’ John said when we reached the house. He turned back to Simone. ‘Come and watch what I do.’

  They both got out of the van. John went up to the house, took Simone’s hand and put his other hand against the wall. The entire house flared with a brilliant white flash that passed so quickly it was like lightning, accompanied by a deafening snap.

  John turned around and indicated that Paul could take the van down into the basement garage. Inside, John went to his vintage sports car and brushed one hand over the top of the door.

  ‘Did you drive it?’ he asked me.

  ‘Every time we were here,’ I said. ‘I took it down to Kent to explore the country lanes. It’s gorgeous there.’

  ‘I know.’

  He went to the corner of the garage, where his motorbike sat under a dust sheet. He uncovered it and crouched to look at the engine.

  ‘Why is this piece of junk in here?’ Simone said. ‘Emma wouldn’t let me throw it away.’

  ‘That, young lady, is a 1972 Ducati racing bike, one of only eight in the world,’ Paul said from behind us. ‘It’s worth more than the house.’

  ‘I won it in a bet,’ John said, tinkering with the engine. ‘Prince someone-or-other … married a movie star. He bet the bike that I couldn’t outride him on my Honda.’

  ‘You cheated?’ Simone said.

  John rose and turned to her. ‘Of course not.’ He dropped his voice. ‘He was carrying some extra weight, and I could hear that the bike wasn’t tuned properly. What he didn’t know was that my Honda was a racing bike as well. Mr Honda had asked me to bring it over to try it out on the European roads to see how it went before they joined the endurance circuit. Neither of the bikes were road legal.’

  He nodded towards the stairs. ‘We need to help with the bags. You didn’t have to bring every single item of clothing you own, Simone; surely you have a full wardrobe here? I know I do.’

  We each grabbed two or three bags and lugged them up the stairs. Simone levitated the couple that were remaining and they floated up the stairs behind us. When we reached the lobby, John put the bags down and went to the hall table, where Peta had laid out all the current business matters that required his attention.

  Peta rushed out from the kitchen, wearing a navy skirt suit. She was taller than Paul, slender and bony, with blonde hair tied into a waist-length braid.

  She hugged Simone and me. ‘Welcome back, Emma.’ She patted Simone on the shoulder. ‘Paul’s made scones if you’re hungry.’

  ‘You didn’t burn them, did you?’ Paul said.

  ‘Just took them out of the oven,’ Peta said innocently. ‘They’re only slightly scorched.’

  ‘I knew I should have made you drive,’ Paul grumbled, heading into the kitchen.

  Peta stood in front of John and made a clumsy curtsy. ‘Uh … welcome home, my Lord. I’ve put all the documents out here on the table; I hope that’s acceptable.’

  John studied the papers without looking at her. ‘Yes, most acceptable.’

  ‘That’s his way of saying thanks and good job,’ I said, and added in a stage whisper, ‘You’ll get used to him being rude. It’s part of the whole god bullshit thing.’

  ‘What she said,’ John said, unfazed. Then he looked at Peta and smiled, changing his expression from intimidating to warm and kind. ‘Emma’s told me you do a good job, and that’s good enough for me.’ He turned back to the papers. ‘Dismissed.’

  ‘That’s his way of saying thanks and he doesn’t need you any more,’ I said.

  John glared at me. ‘I am speaking in English, aren’t I?’

  ‘No,’ Simone said. ‘You’re speaking in Rude To The Staff.’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m a god. It’s allowed.’

  ‘We’ll see about that,’ I said. I kissed Peta on the cheek. ‘Everything’s sorted now. It’s good to see you again.’

  Paul came out of the kitchen. ‘Next time you’ll be the one to drive the boss around. Those scones are ruined, I’ll have to make a new batch. Do you want some of the wrecked ones anyway, Simone?’

  ‘No, thanks,’ Simone said. ‘I never sleep on airplanes and that flight was awful. I nearly got out and walked, and then all this happened. I need a nap, but keep the scones warm for me, okay?’

  ‘Deal,’ Paul said.

  ‘Do you need a hand with your stuff?’ Peta said, gesturing towards the bags.

  ‘No need, but you might like to come up with me, I have gifts for you guys,’ Simone said. She took her bags up the stairs, Peta accompanying her. ‘We have two more coming — Leo and Franklin. We were attacked in the cemetery.’

  ‘Are you all okay?’ Peta said.

  ‘No, it was awful,’ Simone said, and her voice cracked. ‘I’ll tell you about it upstairs.’

  Paul watched them go. ‘Poor kid. Wait a minute — how much can Simone bench press?’

  ‘’Bout the same,’ John said, flipping through the documents. ‘I swear Gold has the worst handwriting of any Shen on any Plane.’

  ‘Only after you,’ I said.

  ‘Conceded,’ John said. He glanced at Paul. ‘Bring a pot of Earl Grey and a bowl of noodles to my study. I take it Leo is in the room next to Simone’s?’

  ‘Master Leo and Prince Martin usually share that one,’ Paul said.

  John nodded. ‘Of course. This time it’s just Leo.’

  ‘What about Franklin?’ I said.

  He was studying the documents again and answered without looking up. ‘He’s going in the basement.’

  ‘The hell he is.’

  He still didn’t look up. ‘I’ve known Franklin several hundred years longer than you have. He needs to go in the basement.’

  ‘You can’t do this to him. Franklin’s been a Retainer of the House for centuries. This is wrong.’

  John dropped the documents, came to me and put his hands on my shoulders, gazing into my eyes. ‘I don’t want to do it, but it must be done. And Franklin would not sleep anywhere else even if you ordered him.’ He turned to Paul, still with his hands on my
shoulders. ‘Prepare the basement … room … for him, then give me the keys.’

  ‘So that’s what it’s for,’ Paul said with wonder. ‘The first time I saw it, it scared me to death. Now I’m kind of glad it’s there.’

  ‘I’m not,’ I said, and took my bags upstairs. ‘I’m having a nap too. If I’m not awake in a couple of hours, wake me.’

  ‘How much can she bench press?’ Paul asked John.

  ‘She’s very ordinary. Best she can lift is about two hundred and fifty kilograms,’ John said.

  ‘Five hundred pounds?’ Paul said, astonished.

  ‘Very ordinary.’

  After we’d all woken up, Leo and I left John going over the documents with Peta and took Simone for a walk down to Hyde Park. The minute we passed through the gates, Simone took off, running between the trees like a small child, chasing the squirrels.

  ‘One day she’ll catch one and she won’t know what to do with it,’ I said as we strolled under the trees and watched her.

  ‘I’d like to see that,’ Leo said, his voice hoarse with emotion.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I said.

  ‘More than okay. Here we are.’ He raised his hands slightly. ‘I can’t believe we made it.’

  ‘Not out of the woods yet,’ I said, indicating Simone. Then: ‘Holy shit, that’s a demon.’

  It was in the form of a small boy of about ten years, and racing towards her from behind so she hadn’t seen it. We ran to cut it off. The demon got to her before we did, but it didn’t attack; it fell face down on the grass behind her. Simone jumped, turned and stared down at it. Leo summoned his sword, the Black Lion, and stood over the demon, but Simone put her hand on his arm to stop him.

  ‘Protect me, I am yours,’ the child said to Simone.

  ‘Trick,’ I said.

  ‘Let’s see if it can take the Pill,’ Leo said. ‘Stand up for her to complete the process,’ he ordered the demon.

  It rose and stood in front of Simone. Leo cut it in half at waist height, and it exploded into demon essence.

  ‘Geez, Leo, you could have given me some warning,’ Simone said. ‘I’m covered in demon essence — I need to change my clothes. I’ll meet you back at the house.’