by Kylie Chan
Michael was an even match with the Mother he was facing. He had loaded his sword with shen energy and moved as fast as she did, but neither of them could break through each other’s guard.
The second Snake Mother attacked the guards, sweeping five of them away in one hit. She grabbed a sixth with a hand at each end of his torso, broke his spine with an audible crack and tossed him aside. She turned to the other five guards and killed them with relish, breaking their bodies and tearing out their throats.
Simone swung Seven Stars at the Mother she’d called and cut it in two, ducking under its arms as they flailed towards her. The demon exploded and she rushed to attack the Mother that had killed the guards. She didn’t load the sword with energy; she was obviously tiring.
I went to the injured guard, took his arm in my mouth and dragged him back away from the fight. I touched my nose to him; the damage was severe and I couldn’t fix him. I did what I could to relieve his pain then raised my head to check the battle.
Leo was losing. The Death Mother had broken his left arm and he was blocking her blows with difficulty.
Michael kept checking on Leo and Simone, which proved his undoing. The Snake Mother he was facing saw him look away and hit him squarely on the side of the head, knocking him down. She moved to assist the Mother attacking Simone.
Leo fell to one knee, keeping the Death Mother away by sheer stubbornness. It was only a matter of time before she finished him or he lost the use of his legs from exhaustion.
Simone was now facing two Mothers at once, and they were working together to get through her guard. They had already drawn blood—her uniform was torn on one side and wet with it. She raised the sword, concentrated and sent a blast of shen energy out of the sword and through both of them, dissipating them. She rushed to help Leo with the Death Mother.
I dragged Michael back to where the crippled guard was lying. He wasn’t severely injured this time; only concussion—his brain had hit the inside of his skull and there was bruising but not a major haemorrhage like the last time. He’d be fine.
The Death Mother backed up when faced with both Leo and Simone. Simone sent a blast of shen at the Mother and she deflected it into the ground, then grimaced with satisfaction. The fire elementals strode out of the building towards her. I could feel their heat from fifty metres away, and they melted the snow in a ten-metre radius around them. These were much bigger than the ones we’d faced back in Europe.
Simone and Leo hesitated. The Death Mother backed up—carefully keeping a good distance—to allow the elementals to come to the front. The Geek appeared in the entrance of the burning hotel and crossed his arms over his chest.
Simone threw a ball of shen energy at one of the elementals but it travelled straight through it. She summoned a group of water elementals, which tried to surround the fire, but they were vaporised as they touched it.
She’s weakened by exhaustion and blood loss, the stone said.
The stone didn’t need to tell me that. Simone was in mortal danger and the damn turtle wasn’t showing up to help her.
I think he used everything he had to get you off the First Platform, the stone said. That would be enough to flatten anybody for weeks. Ma was usually out of action for a month after going to the First.
Wonderful. I looked behind me for the jade disk and picked it up.
Last resort, the stone said.
I held the disk in my mouth and watched.
Simone took two huge strides forward and swung Seven Stars at a fire elemental. It went straight through the demon without damaging it. The fake elementals raised their arms and a burst of flame jetted from the ends, like a flamethrower, completely encasing Simone and Leo. Simone reeled back out of the inferno coughing, her clothes and hair smouldering.
The demons stopped the fire blast and Leo’s scorched body lay on the ground in front of them. He disappeared.
The demons blasted Simone again, and this time she ran back out of the flames. They seemed to be enjoying it, taking their time about moving closer to her.
The stupid girl’s drained from using too much shen energy, the stone said.
‘Don’t use it!’ Simone shouted.
A cluster of water elementals appeared around her and threw themselves at the fire elementals. They concentrated their water attack on one, destroying it, but were vaporised in the process. The cloud of steam threw itself at another fire elemental but disappeared before touching it.
Ma’am, the stone said. It has been my honour to serve you. I hope I am destroyed with you.
‘Simone!’ I shouted.
‘Don’t use it!’
‘I love you.’
‘No!’
‘Don’t use it,’ a male voice said behind me, and I turned with a leap of joy.
The joy turned to dismay as I saw the Demon King standing there with a satisfied smile.
‘I can’t stop them, they’re not mine,’ the King said. ‘But these demons need to be taken down. I really wanted something good in return, Emma, but I’ll do it for free, just this once.’ He raised his hand. ‘Quick. Come to me and I’ll remove the demon essence.’
Simone screamed and I turned to see her. She was crouched on the ground with her hands over her head and the demons were enveloping her with white-hot fire.
‘I swear that’s all I’ll do,’ the King said. ‘I’ll remove the essence and you can use the stone. No payment required.’
I slithered over to him and he touched the top of my head. ‘I’ve saved both your lives,’ he whispered as the demon essence spiralled out of me into him. ‘It would be very, very nice to receive something in return.’ He took his hand away from my head. ‘I give you my word, Lady Emma, that you can change to human form right now and use that stone without injury. This I swear.’ He disappeared.
Simone’s screams tore at me. I didn’t bother changing to human form. Either the stone would destroy me or it wouldn’t, but either way it would destroy the demons. I hurried towards her to ensure that all the demons would be in the field of the jade.
The Death Mother saw what I had in my mouth, grimaced and disappeared. The Geek ran back into the hotel yelling something.
I told the stone to destroy the demons.
A pressure wave threw me into the air; it spread out from me, making a visible ripple in the smoke. The fire elementals disintegrated as the wave hit them. Simone was thrown into the air too. She was limp when she hit the ground again, the dust and ash flying around her.
The jade disk disappeared and I hit the ground hard.
CHAPTER 31
I came around to find a huge, grinning, brightly lit face right above me. I realised what it was with a bolt of panic: a hospital examination light. I was strapped to a hospital bed, and the light was above me, and someone was talking—a male voice, high-pitched with fear.
‘Isn’t that enough?’ he said. ‘More than that and you’ll kill her.’
‘I want to see how far I can go,’ a female voice said, and I recognised it—Kitty Kwok.
My vision cleared but I couldn’t see much. Each eye saw something different; one of the disadvantages of being a snake with an eye either side of my head. The Geek was tied down on another hospital bed to my left, a tube coming out of his arm. To my right, I could just make out Kitty’s pink cashmere twin set and the end of her arm and hand next to my head. I flicked my tongue, tasting the air, and immediately regretted it. It tasted of demon.
Kitty’s face moved into view of my right eye. ‘Don’t change to human or you’ll die. Stay snake. Let’s see how far we can go.’
‘You’re killing me!’ the Geek said.
‘And?’ Kitty said.
‘You need me!’
‘Your pretty machines are gone. The elementals did what I wanted them to do—they got us into here, and I have all the information I was looking for. I don’t need you any more—except to do this.’
‘Bitch!’
‘Oh, whatever.’ Her hands moved and the IV
tube swayed. ‘Your snake is much harder to fill up, Emma, you know that? It’ll take Thirty-three forever to die at this rate.’ Her voice filled with satisfaction. ‘So much more fun.’
My Inner Eye still worked; she hadn’t filled me with enough demon essence to block it yet. I used it to check around me. I was in the Tiger’s demon laboratory; they hadn’t taken me far. I quickly looked for Simone and Michael, and saw them at the bottom of the complex in the snow: unconscious but okay.
‘So how does it feel not being able to walk the Earth?’ I said. ‘Stuck in Hell?’
‘I quite like Hell,’ Kitty said. ‘No laws, no rules, you can do what you like. Simon had the right idea—but he went through his toys much too fast. I prefer to take my time with them. I come out occasionally, you know. I go shopping, kidnap some prostitutes—it’s all good.’
‘Do you know what I am?’ I said.
‘No. The King keeps boasting that he knows, and that he’ll use you one day. But he’s always boasting about all kinds of stupid shit.’
‘Use me for what?’
She put her hand on my head; my crown containing the stone was gone. ‘Hush. It won’t be long before I’ll be using you, not him.’
‘Kitty…’ the Geek moaned.
‘I wish I could see how much has gone into you,’ Kitty said. ‘A direct transfusion like this is so inaccurate. It’s like breastfeeding instead of the bottle—the bottle is so much better, you can see how much the baby has had.’ She patted my head. ‘My baby.’
‘Are you sure you’ll be able to control her once she’s converted?’ another voice said.
‘No,’ Kitty said. ‘If we can’t control her, I’m counting on you to take her out. Can you do it?’
There was a wet slithering sound that I recognised: a Snake Mother. Probably the Death Mother. ‘What level Mother is she?’
‘I think about eighty-five from the intel,’ Kitty said.
The Death Mother hissed. ‘Easy. I’m at least five levels above that.’
‘It’s dark,’ the Geek said. ‘It’s so dark. It’s cold.’
‘She’s not even feeling it,’ Kitty said. ‘We may have to pull in some smaller stuff and top her up.’
Power grew inside me, full of rage and hate and destruction.
‘Something’s happening,’ the Mother said. ‘She smells different.’
Kitty took her hand off my head. ‘What does she smell like?’
‘Demon.’
The change was coming upon me. Fighting it would only make it stronger. I remained calm, touching my serpent yang, thinking of the ones I loved. I had to remain in touch with the deep well of tranquillity within me, because the anger would destroy me. I had to concentrate on the love, not the hate.
‘She’s fighting it,’ the Death Mother said.
‘Let her fight,’ Kitty said. ‘The more she fights it, the stronger it’ll get.’
‘She’s fighting it by not fighting it,’ the Mother said.
‘You creatures and your mystical bullshit,’ Kitty said. ‘Whatever. She won’t be able to do anything once her blood’s full of demon essence. Either it’ll kill her or convert her.’
I didn’t really hear them; I concentrated on my family, my little girl, my turtle, my lion friend. The feeling eased.
I heard a pinging sound, like a ceramic vase being hit.
‘Hey, he’s empty,’ the Death Mother said. ‘Whoops.’ The ceramic shattered and she laughed. ‘Nothing but a shell left. We should have videoed that, it was great.’
‘Go find some others to put into her,’ Kitty said. ‘How big was he?’
‘Tiny. Level sixty-something. Couldn’t even sire spawn on the smallest Mother.’
‘We need another couple to top her up. She’s not converted, and we need to get her there.’
‘Come and give me a hand then. You open the cage, I’ll hold the demon.’
‘Bah.’ Kitty slapped my bed and left.
I checked the Geek. His essence had been drained completely and his shell had cracked. He looked like a smashed Easter egg.
A green sleeve and white hand appeared on my right. The drip was pulled out of my back with a lance of pain.
Quiet, the stone said. I’m unhooking you, then I want you to hide. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.
‘How?’ I whispered.
I said, quiet!
Screams erupted at the top of the complex as Kitty and the Death Mother grabbed another demon.
The bonds slid from me and I slithered off the table. I looked around. The lab was completely trashed; only the two beds holding me and the Geek were still in one piece, and his only had three legs. The walls were covered with scorch marks from the fire elementals. The only way out was the lift back up to where Kitty and the Mother were. I was trapped.
I’ll distract them, the stone said. Wait behind a cabinet close to the lift, and as soon as they’re out make a run for it. You have to get into the lift before the doors close. Hurry, Emma, I can’t hold this form for long; you only have a couple of minutes at the most.
I nodded my serpent head. There were cabinets for holding surgical tools and monitoring equipment lined up against the wall, most of them dented and hanging open. I slithered behind the one closest to the lift, pressing myself between its back and the wall. I peered out of the gap; the stone had taken my serpent form and was hiding underneath a cabinet on the other side of the room, its tail hanging out.
If you can make yourself smaller it would be a very good thing, the stone said.
I did my best.
The lift doors opened and the room filled with the screams and wails of the captured demon.
‘Shit, she’s loose!’ the Death Mother said. ‘Hold this!’ She threw the demon at Kitty, who held it with difficulty, and raced towards the stone.
‘Get away from me, you bitch!’ the stone shouted in my voice, slithering further under the cabinet. It made itself smaller and moved lightning fast, the Mother trying to grab it.
Kitty was wrestling with the demon, which had nearly got away from her. She held it with difficulty as it dragged her across the room.
Now, the stone said.
I made myself as small as possible, moved as fast as I could, and slithered to the lift. I made it just before the doors closed by themselves—and they hadn’t seen me. I pressed the button for the top floor, and moved backwards and forwards in the lift as it carried me. When the doors opened again, I headed through the cell block to the rooms on the other side.
I heard the demon screaming down below and Kitty yelling at the Death Mother to catch me.
They still think I’m you, the stone said. Get out. I can’t hold it.
When I arrived back at the forecourt of the hotel, Simone ran to me and grabbed me around the neck. ‘Oh God, Emma, I thought I’d lost you. What happened to you? I came around and only a couple of guards were left, and Michael couldn’t remember anything. Where’s Leo?’
‘Leo died,’ I said.
‘What was that explosion thing? Did you use the jade? Why didn’t it kill you?’
‘The Demon King wants me alive,’ I said. ‘Probably to do his dirty work. He took the demon essence out of me so I could use the jade without being destroyed. Are the tame demons okay?’
‘They were out of range, they’re fine. Those other demons exploded?’
‘Yes. We have to warn the Celestial.’ I looked around. ‘Right now, I need a lift home.’
‘Emma.’ She touched my head. ‘You said the Demon King took the essence out of you. He lied.’
‘No, he didn’t,’ I said. ‘Kitty and the Death Mother took me to the Tiger’s lab and filled me up again.’
’What about the Geek?’
‘That’s what they filled me up with. Look at me.’
She inhaled sharply. ‘No way. It’s worse than ever. You’re so on the edge—Emma, that’s scary. How did you get away? I didn’t even know where you were.’
‘My stone helped me. I ha
ve no idea where it is.’
’Everybody’s in the Courts; there’s just you, me and Michael left, and Michael’s got a bump on his head the size of a grapefruit,’ she said. ‘Just what he needed after that last injury. He’s on the bus being taken back down.’ She fell to sit in the snow. ‘I’m wrecked. Give me a couple of minutes to get my breath, then we’ll go inside and finish them off.’
‘Leave them,’ I said. ‘We’ll chase them down later.’
’We have them right here!’ she protested.
‘And nobody else but us,’ I said. ‘And you’re, as you say, wrecked. Let’s leave the stone to do its job and find out where they’re going.’
’You sure it’ll do that for us?’
’It’ll do its best. That’s all we can ask for.’
She bent her head over her legs, wrapped her arms around her knees and held them tight, rocking backwards and forwards. ‘I nearly lost, Emma. I’m not supposed to lose!’ She looked up at me, her face streaked with tears, and I moved closer to put my head on her shoulder. ‘I’m not supposed to lose!’
Her head shot up. ‘The Tiger’s Number One is coming. Let me go, Emma, I have to fix myself up.’
She wiped her eyes and I moved back. She stood, concentrated and a dark glow blossomed around her. Her Wudang uniform changed to her Celestial robes and the redness disappeared from her eyes. She took a deep breath and shook herself out.
The Tiger’s Number One Son in Celestial Form, wearing a white silk robe embossed with gold tiger stripes, appeared in front of us and saluted. ‘Regent. Princess.’
‘Hi, Greg,’ Simone said.
He waved. ‘Hi. We need you out; I’m going to yang the whole thing. Right down to bedrock.’
‘Emma’s stone is down there!’ Simone said.
‘It can’t be destroyed by anything as mundane as yang,’ I said. ‘In fact, I don’t think there’s anything that can destroy it at all.’
‘Time,’ Greg said. ‘Which is something you guys don’t have. You need to go down to the palace; the other sons will be there providing protection from the radiation. I have to do this now, and it’ll be hot.’
