by Kylie Chan
Leo nodded, grinning hugely. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘Wait,’ John said. He took a couple of graceful turtle strides to Leo and studied him, his nose level with Leo’s knees. ‘Immortal.’ He ducked his head with triumph. ‘I knew it.’ He butted Leo’s knee. ‘Congratulations, Lion. I look forward to returning and giving you some training that you’ll never forget.’
Leo didn’t look away from John. ‘Simone, Emma, could I have a moment with the Dark Lord?’
‘I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep my intelligence, so it had better be quick,’ John said.
‘Don’t bother then, just hug your ladies,’ Leo said. ‘It can wait.’
‘You can ask him silently, Leo,’ I said.
Leo concentrated, and John took a small step back. They focused on each other, obviously discussing, then Leo nodded once sharply, wheeled himself around and parked himself next to the wall. ‘Your turn, ladies.’
‘Simone, go get that polearm,’ John said. ‘Emma, find a sword, will you? That was disgraceful, Simone.’
I summoned the Murasame and it appeared in my hand.
‘I hope you didn’t spend any time with the Demon King,’ John said grimly. ‘He won that sword off me about two hundred years ago, and I don’t like the idea of you having it.’
‘Particularly since I’m part demon,’ I said.
‘That will just make it more powerful,’ John said. ‘Okay, let’s see a level three. Slowly! You always did that one too fast.’
I nearly bent double with the pain of hearing him say that; I’d completely forgotten that my inability to do the level-three set slowly enough had been one of the most frustrating things that both of us had dealt with when he’d been teaching me. He had constantly reminded me to slow it down.
‘Are you all right, Emma?’ he said gently.
‘Just a rush of memories. Things I’d forgotten, some of the most enjoyable parts of being with you—having you constantly remind me I was doing the level three too fast.’
‘We will have many more of those times together,’ he said. He nodded his turtle head. ‘Let’s see it, and slowly.‘ He turned to Simone. ‘Level-three polearm.’
Simone looked from John to me. ‘Daddy, those are different sets, and both of them move all over the floor. We’ll crash into each other. We’ll be spending way too much time avoiding each other to concentrate on the sets.’
‘You never noticed,’ John said with amusement. ‘Simone, stand next to Emma, with her on your right. About a metre and a half apart. Good. Now, when I say the word, both of you start the level-three sets. Ready? Commence.’
We both stepped forward at the same time, sweeping our weapons in front of us. Then I turned right and Simone turned left and each of us moved three steps forward.
‘Slowly, Emma,’ John said, and I couldn’t control the huge grin.
We both turned right and were facing away from him. We each took two steps towards each other and we were as close as when we’d started. After ten more moves, it became obvious to both of us that the sets synchronised. We moved in a graceful pattern, sometimes crossing paths, sometimes at opposite ends of the floor, but always performing matching supplementary moves. As we realised, we synchronised our movements even more, sometimes falling into a dance rather than a martial arts set and being pulled up by John about it. We performed the final two moves of the sets, finished up exactly where we’d started, and saluted John.
His turtle mouth was open in a huge grin. ‘The two women I love most in the world in perfect deadly harmony. I cannot tell you what a happy turtle I am today.’ His voice became more severe. ‘Emma, you have been learning and practising, that is obvious. Simone, it is also obvious that you haven’t. I’ll bet anything you like that if you encounter something big you just shen it.’
Simone grimaced and shrugged.
‘Do you have yin?’
She nodded, still grimacing.
‘How good is your yin control?’
She dropped her voice, sounding unsure. ‘I don’t want to use yin; sometimes it gets out of control. They say I could destroy the world.’
‘I’m glad there’s still a planet here for me to come back to then,’ he said. ‘How much has the Dragon taught you?’
‘Nothing at all. He’s finally been ordered by the Jade Emperor to give me some training,’ Simone said.
‘Good. And while I am here, I will give you some too. I think that is more important than waving a weapon around.’
She was obviously delighted. ‘Thanks, Daddy.’
‘Emma, Leo,’ John said, ‘I would give anything to stay with you right now, but I don’t know how much time I have and the fate of the world depends on me teaching Simone as quickly as possible to control her yin. We will go somewhere where there is no chance of her harming anything, and I’m afraid neither of you can come.’ He dropped his voice. ‘I am so sorry, Emma, but this needs to be done.’
‘I understand, love,’ I said. ‘Go, teach her, and help her to control her greatest power.’
‘Come and touch my head, Simone,’ he said, and she went to him.
‘What if you lose control of your intelligence while you’re out there?’ I said. ‘How will Simone get back?’
‘I’ll show her. I love you,’ he said, and they disappeared.
I turned to Leo. ‘What did he say? Did he say yes?’
‘He said he doesn’t want to do it,’ Leo said. ‘When I pushed him, he said he’d think about it.’
‘We’ll get there,’ I said.
CHAPTER 14
Leo asked for a lift back to the villa, and said he’d meet us at the beach. I stayed on and sparred with the Phoenix for about an hour, and she gave me some valuable tips on using shorter daggers, her preferred weapon.
‘They should be returning soon,’ she said when we were done. ‘Let’s head back to your villa; Simone will meet you there.’
As we took the golf buggy back to the villa, I saw a carving of a fierce-faced, half-human bird on the side of the road. I realised the resort was full of them; I hadn’t noticed them until now, they were such a part of the scenery.
‘That’s Garuda, that’s you,’ I said. ‘All of southern Asia—Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India—all of them have you as a major god. In the other Centres, Garuda is only a minor deity, or not worshipped at all.’
‘I am the Bird Whose Cries Make the World Tremble in Fear,’ she said. ‘I have pinions of flame and claws of obsidian.’ She smiled. ‘I’m also a cute little red sparrow.’
‘That I can’t visualise,’ I said. ‘The big Garuda bird—easily.’
She bobbed her head. ‘I thank you, ma’am. Here we are. Simone is on her way back; she’ll be here in about ten minutes.’
I changed into a swimsuit and waited for them in the pool. My days of wearing tiny bikinis were long gone; now I opted for less revealing but still flattering structured two pieces with longer tops. I wasn’t overweight, but my body was beginning to succumb to gravity and all help from structured clothing was much appreciated. Louise was already having work done and had suggested I jump on the plastic-surgery merry-goround too, but I’d strongly resisted. That kind of thing was for glamour hounds.
They appeared in the pool, Simone sitting on top of John’s shell. She fell off into the water, and they dived to the bottom together and approached me. I quickly clambered out of the pool.
Simone surfaced. ‘I forgot for a moment there, I was so excited about all of this.’
John joined her. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘If Simone touches me, I take Mother form,’ I said.
His turtle face fell. ‘That explains it. I wondered why you didn’t hug me. I thought…well.’
‘You touched him in Guilin with no problems,’ Simone said.
I shook my head, silent. I wasn’t sure.
His mouth flopped open into his turtle grin. ‘I’m not full strength—okay, I’m not even half strength until I find my Serpent. Bu
t don’t be concerned, Emma, I have much better control than Simone.’ He gestured with his head. ‘Come and try.’
I reluctantly returned to the pool, stretched one hand out and swept it over his head. Nothing happened, so I rested my hand on his head. Still nothing happened, so I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face against his smooth, cool scales. ‘Welcome home, love.’
He butted me with his head. ‘I can’t stay forever, not until I’m strong enough to take human form. Even then, I don’t know. I think this is the longest I’ve stayed in control of my faculties.’ He raised his head to speak to Simone. ‘Let’s go to the beach, I want to show you something.’
An afternoon breeze had picked up on the shoreline, making the canvas beach umbrellas flap. A few tourists lay on the deckchairs, half asleep, a couple of them receiving massages from roving Thai masseuses. A sarong vendor approached us, the colourful batik fabric strung over her arms; Simone looked through her wares then shook her head.
‘I take it they can’t see you,’ I said to John.
‘Nope,’ he said. He stopped and ground his feet so his shell rotated in the sand. ‘Hot sand feels so good!’
Simone shaded her eyes and looked up and down the beach.
‘Don’t do that, only monkeys do that,’ John scolded.
‘That’s a silly Chinese superstition,’ Simone said. ‘I can’t see Leo, where is he?’
John concentrated and gestured with his head. ‘Over to the right, at the end near the rocks. Oh! He’s been attacked.’
At the end of the beach a rocky promontory, covered with thick tropical jungle and swarming with insects, jutted out into the water. Leo was on the sand next to the rocks; he had taken black lion form and was facing a humanoid demon that was also black and carrying a large sword.
I rushed to help him but John stopped me. ‘Let him fight it.’
‘But what if it hurts him?’ I said.
‘He’s Immortal, Emma,’ John said. ‘Good practice for him. Just walk slowly over, he can handle this.’
‘This is his first solo battle as an Immortal,’ Simone said. She spoke softly so that he couldn’t hear her. ‘Go, Leo!’
‘Can he get out of the wheelchair in human form?’ John said. ‘If he can’t, then he’ll need a weapon he can use in human form in the chair. Something like twin daggers, or wakizashi, or something similar…’ He trailed off, musing.
‘He can stand and walk just fine when he’s under pressure,’ I said.
‘A sword then,’ John said. ‘A two-handed claymore type? Or a lighter Western-style blade? An African spear? The Mountain forge knows nothing about them, but they could learn…No, he’s American, not African. The Western-style, I think, and it would have to be black, a good solid guard on it…’ He turned to me and grinned. ‘Is the forge up?’
‘It is,’ I said with dismay. ‘I’ve already ordered a weapon for him; it’s nearly done and it’s nothing like that. I’ll have to get another made.’
‘Oh, you’re way ahead of me, good,’ John said, still strolling towards Leo, who was now clashing with the demon, using claws and teeth to rake it and avoiding its blows. ‘What did you order?’
‘A long, slender Japanese katana-style, nearly two metres long. The guard is a standard small tsuba with a lion in it, and the end of the handle has a black lion carved into it. At least I have the colour right, it’s black.’
John stopped, clumsily turned in the sand and grinned at me. ‘That’s even more perfect. Why didn’t I think of that? The blade will have to be called the Black Lion, that’s ideal—’
He didn’t finish because Simone cried out and ran towards Leo and the demon, summoning Dark Heavens as she went.
The demon had managed to break through Leo’s guard and had plunged the sword into his shoulder, between the shoulderblade and the ribcage, and the blade was lodged into his back. Not a mortal wound, but it must have been agony for Leo. The demon swung Leo’s body on the sword as he tried to free it, and Leo howled with a combination of anger and pain. The demon finally wrenched the sword free, nearly severing one of Leo’s front legs with it. Leo fell heavily, the leg useless, and the demon swung and, with a single blow, took off Leo’s head. Leo disappeared.
The demon turned to face Simone. She loaded Dark Heavens with shen energy and blew it up before it could even move towards her. After it exploded, she dropped the sword and fell to kneel in the sand, her head bowed.
‘Simone, you really must have some training with weapons. Using shen energy like that every single time is going to both shorten your life—in the unlikely event you don’t gain Immortality—and weaken your body. You have to stop doing this,’ John scolded her.
She turned her tear-streaked face to us as we approached, then buried her head in John’s shoulder next to his shell. ‘It killed my Leo!’
‘Don’t be silly, Simone, he’ll be back before you know it,’ John said. ‘Do you know how busy the Courts are at the moment?’
‘Not overly busy,’ I said.
‘Emma, you’re as white as a ghost. Come and sit next to me and lean on me with Simone. Both of you are overreacting. He’s Immortal. That was a minor inconvenience for him, nothing more. If the Courts aren’t too busy he could be back in a couple of weeks.’
‘I was planning to give him his new sword in a week,’ I said, flopping to sit in the sand and leaning my head on John’s shell. ‘We were arranging a presentation ceremony and party for him at the Mountain.’
‘Well then, let me ask Judge Pao,’ John said. He unfocused for a moment, then came back. ‘Make the party for about two weeks’ time instead, and make it a “welcome back, here’s your cool new sword” party.’
I nodded.
Simone wiped her eyes and smiled. ‘You’re right, Daddy, but I hate to see him hurt like that.’
‘Pain is a side effect of being alive,’ John said. ‘And physical pain is the easiest to bear and the easiest to relieve.’
‘I know I’m alive without being stabbed, thank you very much,’ she said.
He nodded. ‘Good point. Has Leo had much training?’
‘He hasn’t had any, he’s refused it,’ I said. ‘That’s why I made the sword for him, to try and get him to do some training with it.’
‘Tell him that I order him to take the training, just as I order Simone to attend CH and learn as well,’ John said. ‘Both of them should be going to CH together.’
‘That’s the weirdest idea I’ve ever heard,’ Simone said with wonder.
John bowed his head. ‘Thank you. Now.’ He turned to the water. ‘I wanted to show you two lovely ladies something. Emma, we’ll go down to the edge of the water and you can get on my back there; Simone, just follow along.’
He trundled down to where the perfectly clear water hit the smooth sand. The beach was completely wave-free, and the sandy floor made the water appear pale blue-green, transparent and glittering. John seemed only to have two speeds: he could pick his shell up and move lightning-fast, graceful and menacing; or he could lower his shell and move more slowly, appearing clumsy. His slow speed was deceptively comical.
‘I wonder why the demon attacked Leo,’ Simone said, almost to herself.
‘He’s Immortal. That’s enough for them,’ John said. ‘What I want to know is why it was up here and not in Hell. It didn’t have a master ordering it; it seemed to be on its own. That shouldn’t be happening.’
I didn’t reply and John looked at me. ‘I can hear your brain working, Emma, tell me what’s going on.’
‘You can hear what I’m thinking?’ I said.
‘No, but I can hear your brain clicking like a high-speed clockwork machine. There’s something you should tell me but you haven’t.’
I used the formal tone of an underling reporting to a general. ‘The Gates of Hell are not as heavily guarded without you here. Sometimes the Thirty-Six require assistance and the Guards of the Gates are called into battle. When this happens, individual demons escape.’
John was silent for a moment. Then he asked, ‘What’s it like on Hungry Ghosts Festival?’
‘Awful,’ Simone said softly. ‘It’s not just the hungry ghosts that leave Hell and walk the Earth, it’s the spirits in Hell as well, the ones that don’t have permission to leave, plus thousands more demons. So far the demons have held to the treaty and not harmed anyone, but their presence causes widespread destruction amongst the humans—car accidents, family quarrels, theft, murder.’
‘I wish I had never negotiated that,’ John said, shaking his turtle head. ‘It was such a mistake.’
‘At least it’s only one day a year,’ I said. ‘And I’m sure it was worth the price.’
‘Sometimes I wonder,’ John said. He shook himself. ‘All right, hop on, Emma, let’s go and have a look.’
He moved into thigh-deep water and I clambered on top of his shell, carefully avoiding the spiked areas.
‘When we get into the water, lie across the top and close your eyes; we’ll be moving very quickly,’ he said. ‘You ready, Simone?’
Simone dived into the water ahead of us in reply.
John pulled himself a couple more steps and his feet changed to flippers, his shell turning greener and growing smooth. He’d changed from a land tortoise to a sea turtle. He ducked his head, we lurched under the water and we were off.
I inhaled water and panicked. I coughed and inhaled more, and nearly let go of his shell.
His voice came into my head, reassuring. Breathe the water, Emma; remember that time in the Japanese bath at the Tiger’s palace? One of my fondest memories. You could do it then, it’s just a little more pressure now. Relax…good.
This was different to being carried by the Blue Dragon at Kota Kinabalu; his movement had been smooth and I hadn’t felt the water moving past me. John lurched as he thrust with his flippers, and we were moving as fast as a speedboat beneath the water. I could feel the water’s drag; the pressure meant that I couldn’t open my eyes, and it felt like trying to breathe in a tornado.
I can feel from the way you’re holding me that you’re finding this uncomfortable, he said. It’s not far, and I assure you that it will be worth it. Just relax, you will not suffocate or be hurt, I promise. Just think of the water that is flowing past you…as me.
