by Kylie Chan
Leo stared at Simone for a moment, then said, ‘You are growing up way too fast, missy.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment,’ Simone said. She knelt and took Martin’s hand. ‘We can take you to the hospital here, Ge Ge. The physicians will treat you; there’s no need for you to make another journey through Hell.’
‘I just need to take True Form and rest in the lake for a while,’ Martin said. ‘But I am not sure that I am welcome here.’
‘I am Regent, Simone is Princess,’ I said. ‘We say you are welcome. You are.’
We heard a splash from the lake and turned. The turtle that we had found in Sai Kung had pulled itself out and was making its way laboriously to us.
‘By the Heavens, Jie Jie,’ Martin said with wonder. ‘What are you doing here?’
The turtle crawled up to Martin and rested its head on his knee.
‘This is your sister?’ Simone said.
‘This is our big sister,’ Martin said. ‘I am Ming Gui, the Bright Turtle. This is Yue Gui, the Moon Turtle.’
‘A demon gave her to us,’ I said. ‘She can’t speak.’
Yue Gui nudged Martin with her nose.
‘I wonder what has happened to you,’ Martin said. He put his hand on her head. ‘She cannot speak at all, not even mind to mind. I have never seen anything like this before.’
The turtle raised its head from his knee, turned away, and crawled back down to the lake. It hesitated for a moment, looking at the moon, then slid into the water and disappeared.
‘I will take True Form and join her,’ Martin said. ‘She may be able to talk to me that way.’ He moved to rise, then grunted and clutched his side.
‘Good idea,’ Simone said. ‘Meet us at the city later.’
Martin nodded. Leo and Simone helped him to the edge of the water. He took a couple of steps into the lake, then raised his head and concentrated. He shrank and changed into a green sea turtle. He turned his head back to see us. I will return to the city in an hour. I will see you there.
Simone waved to him. He turned away and slipped further into the water, disappearing beneath it.
‘My family keeps growing all the time,’ Simone said. ‘Now I have a sister too. I wonder how many other children Daddy had.’
‘He was going to tell me but I asked him not to,’ I said.
‘I don’t blame you,’ Leo said.
Simone gestured towards the city. ‘You guys up to walking? I can’t summon a cloud.’
‘I’m going to crash badly when we get there,’ I said. ‘I think we’ve been going for nearly twenty-four hours straight.’
‘You’d better go back home before you do that, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘If you change back to human form while you’re asleep, you could be destroyed.’
‘Good point,’ I said. I lowered my serpent head. ‘I’m buggered. I hope we can find someone to take me home. I just want to sleep.’
Leo choked with laughter and I rounded on him. ‘It means something else in Australia!’
‘I know, you told me when we were there,’ Leo said.
I slithered away to follow Simone around the edge of the lake towards the city. ‘You are the real Leo. Only you would remember that.’ I turned my head to see him. ‘But some stuff you don’t remember. What did they do to you?’
‘I don’t know,’ Leo said.
‘Is your ass sore?’
‘Not even in a good way.’
Simone put her hands over her ears. ‘La, la, la, la, I can’t hear you.’
I nudged Leo with my serpent head. ‘It’s good to have you back, my friend.’
‘You still can’t trust me, ladies,’ Leo said grimly. ‘You should lock me up until you’re sure you can.’
‘Simone is one of the most powerful…’ I hesitated, searching for the word.
‘Creatures,’ Simone said. ‘I’m one of the most powerful creatures on the Celestial Plane. Don’t worry about hurting me, Leo, you would never even get close to me.’
‘You’re still my little girl,’ Leo said.
Simone went to him and put her arm around his waist. He put his arm over her shoulder and they walked together. ‘I’m glad,’ Simone said. ‘Leo, you’re shivering like crazy, you must be freezing!’ She raised one hand and conjured a big padded parka, like those worn by Hong Kong people when there was even the slightest chill in the air. ‘Here, put this on.’
Leo shrugged the jacket on and nodded. ‘Thanks, sweetheart.’
‘He’s barefoot too, Simone,’ I said from behind them. ‘He could probably do with a pair of ugg boots as well.’
Simone conjured a pair of big white sheepskin boots and passed them to him. He quickly pulled them on. ‘That’s way better.’
Simone looked back to see me. ‘You okay, Emma? You’re slowing down.’
‘It’s hard to move,’ I said. ‘It’s like something’s draining my energy.’
‘Is it the Celestial Plane?’ she said, concerned. ‘Is it hurting you?’
‘I think it’s the cold,’ I said. ‘I’m cold-blooded. Reptiles get really sluggish if they get too cold.’ I stopped and dropped my head on the grass. ‘I just want to sleep.’
‘Emma, make yourself smaller,’ Simone said. She came to me and lifted my serpent head in both hands. ‘Make yourself smaller. I can carry you and warm you up.’
No way could I make myself smaller, just the effort of talking was more than I could manage. ‘Too…hard…’ I said. ‘Just…sleep…’
Emma, the stone said, I know you’re coming around. It is most vital that you don’t take human form. Stay a snake.
Huh?
Stay a snake, Emma, don’t change.
‘She’s coming around,’ the stone said out loud.
It was a very strange feeling waking up with no eyelids. My vision was blurry, but the thing I felt the most was the warmth. Delicious spreading warmth, all over my back, filtering through to my belly. My tail wasn’t under the warmth and I moved it. Somehow I spread myself wider to catch every single ray of the wonderful warmth. I flicked my tongue and tasted the air. Simone was there; Leo was there, and Gold and his baby were there too. I raised my head; my vision was still unclear and my head fuzzy, but the warmth didn’t shift.
‘Mind out, Emma, you’ll touch the ray lamp with your head,’ Simone said.
‘Warrrmmm,’ I said.
‘You have no idea how much she is enjoying this,’ the stone said.
I dropped my head again. ‘Blissssss.’
Gold’s baby floated to settle in front of my snout. ‘Thanks for helping to get me out, Aunty Emma.’
I flicked my tongue and touched it. It tasted of gold and talcum powder. ‘You are welcome,’ I said.
It flew up out of reach. ‘Ew, she licked me!’
I chuckled in my throat and turned my head to see everybody. ‘How long have I been out?’
‘Twelve hours,’ Simone said. ‘It’s 2 pm. The stone told us you were waking up.’
‘Is Martin all right?’
‘Martin is fine. He’s downstairs eating.’
‘Did his sister talk to him?’
‘No. She’s still in the lake, not talking.’
‘Did we find Six?’
Simone hesitated, then, ‘No. But we will find it.’
‘It’s probably gone to ground with one of its little friends,’ I said. ‘The other demons in that posse.’
‘We’ll find them,’ Simone said.
‘We need to head home,’ I said. ‘I have a diary full of appointments. Is the Sang Shen trial today or tomorrow? I want to be present for that. And you have an interview with the Chinese International School on Thursday.’
‘Whoa, slow down, Emma,’ Leo said. ‘How about you take a break? You’ve just been to Hell and back—literally.’
I raised my head carefully; as Simone had said, there was a ray lamp above me, providing the warmth. ‘I feel fine. You okay, Simone?’
‘Don’t you even want to see the Northern
Heavens, Emma?’ Simone said. ‘As far as I know, you’ve never been here.’
‘When’s the trial?’ I said.
‘In an hour, 3 pm,’ the stone said.
‘How long to take me home?’
‘About that long.’
I slithered off the bed onto the floor. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Umm, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘The trial’s here.’
That stopped me. ‘No way.’
‘Sang Shen is a resident of the Northern Heavens. He’s under this jurisdiction. It’s here,’ Gold said.
‘Oh damn,’ I said, and dropped my head.
‘The evidence is cut and dried, Emma,’ the stone in my ring said. ‘You don’t need to attend.’
‘That’s why I do!’ I said. ‘If I don’t go and testify on his behalf, they’ll execute him.’
‘But he’s already dying,’ the stone said.
‘Asshole,’ I said.
‘It’s the truth, my Lady,’ the stone said.
‘Do not give me that bullshit now,’ I said. I slithered backwards and forwards on the floor of the elegantly decorated traditional bedroom with its rosewood four-poster bed and side tables inlaid with mother-of-pearl peonies. ‘I can save his life.’
Simone raised one hand palm-up towards me. ‘Emma, you can’t testify. You can’t take human form here; it will kill you. If you go to the trial, you have to go as a snake, and you have to identify yourself as Emma Donahoe. All of Heaven will find out that you’re a snake. You can’t do it.’
I slithered out of the bedroom. The house was a traditional two-storey Chinese courtyard style. Outside the bedroom was a balcony that ran along the entire interior perimeter of the house, looking down into the courtyard, which was paved with cobblestones and had a small tree with a well beside it. I turned left and slithered along the balcony to the stairs in the corner, raised my head to grasp the balustrade, and slithered down the handrail to the floor below. The courtyard had doors opening onto the living room on the right and the kitchen on the left, with a dining room visible on the back wall.
I went into the dining room with the rest of the group following me. Martin was sitting at the round twelve-seater rosewood dining table eating a Japanese-sized bowl of noodles—easily twenty centimetres across. He saw me, placed his chopsticks on the table, rose, saluted me, then sat and waited for me to speak.
‘Can you hide my serpent nature?’ I asked. ‘I want to attend Sang Shen’s court case.’
‘Yes,’ Martin said. He picked up his chopsticks and stirred the noodles. ‘But it would be against the law, so the answer is also no.’
‘Can you attend in my place, stone? You were there,’ I said.
‘If I wasn’t a possession, I could. But I was given to you as a gift, so I cannot testify on your behalf,’ the stone said.
I went out to the courtyard, slithered up the trunk of the tree, and rested in one of the branches, needing a place to think. It was still night and the cold began to sink back into my bones. ‘Wait, it’s dark…Didn’t you say it was 2 pm right now?’
‘The Northern Heavens are dying,’ Martin said from his seat in the dining room. ‘Most of the time it is dark. Only when a dragon or a Celestial comes to top up the energy do they have something approaching daylight, and even then it is like dusk, not day.’
I rested my chin on the branch. ‘No wonder the trees are dying.’
‘Sang Shen is also dying,’ the stone in my ring said. ‘Do not open yourself to political homicide by revealing your serpent nature, Emma. It would be futile in the end to try to save his life. He has no life to save.’
‘I’ll come and back you up, Emma,’ Simone said.
‘Thanks, Simone.’
‘You don’t know she’ll do it,’ the stone said.
‘I know my Emma,’ Simone said. ‘And she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she let this tree be executed. As long as he has a chance, she’ll fight for it.’
I slithered down the trunk of the tree. ‘Simone is quite correct. Let’s go.’ I raised my snout. ‘You guys want to come? There may be some backlash; I’d understand if you didn’t want to.’
‘If you don’t mind, ma’am,’ Gold said, ‘I’d like to stay here with my child and make sure it’s safe.’
‘I’ll stay here. Gold can keep an eye on me,’ Leo said. ‘Don’t trust me enough to take me around with you.’
‘I understand,’ I said. I lifted my head towards the dining room. ‘You coming, Martin?’
Martin slurped the last of his noodles, grabbed a tissue out of the large box in the centre of the table and wiped his mouth. He took a sip of some black tea in a glass sitting next to his bowl. ‘Of course.’
I looked around; the house was white concrete, with a flat roof above the second storey holding a roof garden of potted plants—azaleas and bonsai trees. ‘Whose house is this?’
‘One of ours,’ Simone said. ‘Apparently it’s a guest villa, and Gold and Jade stay here when they’re in the Heavens.’
‘As you’ve never been able to travel here, the occupation of this house has been a null point,’ Gold said. ‘Now that you are here, I will move out if you require.’
‘It’s being put to good use. Why would we change it?’ I said. ‘How far is it to the Court?’
‘About five kilometres,’ Martin said. ‘One of the demons will drive us.’
‘They have cars in Heaven too?’ I said in disbelief.
‘Of course we do. How else are we supposed to get around?’ Martin said. ‘Horse and cart?’
‘Up until ten years ago this house did have a horse and buggy as its main form of transportation,’ Gold said. ‘The Dark Lord only bought the car recently.’
‘He always was behind the times,’ Martin said. He gestured towards the front door. Just inside it there was a large rosewood screen carved with turtles and snakes, blocking a view of the street. I stopped when I saw it.
‘That’s a demon barrier. That’s a concern here?’
‘No, of course not,’ Martin said. ‘But fung shui principles must be followed even in Heaven, and a barrier such as this will stop evil from entering the house.’
‘There’s evil in Heaven?’
‘We’re going to a trial for someone who attempted murder,’ Martin said. ‘So I think the answer is: yes.’
CHAPTER 32
One of the demon staff drove us to the hearing in a 1980s’ vintage black Mercedes. I curled up on the back seat looking out the window.
‘How did they get a Mercedes up here?’ I said.
‘He carried it himself,’ Martin said. ‘They removed the engine; it’s powered by whichever demon drives it. The demon moves the car.’
‘I have a sudden image of The Flintstones,’ Simone said.
‘That’s what your mother called it,’ Leo said. ‘The Flintstones car.’
‘She came here?’
‘Yes. Not often, because she hated coming to the Celestial.’
Simone settled into her seat. ‘That I can understand.’
The driver took us along wide avenues, each road two lanes in each direction with a strip of garden in the centre, the streetlights blazing in the darkness. Chinese-style mansions, all with upwards-sweeping roofs and complicated wooden windows, sat in the centre of their own Chinese gardens complete with rocks and streams. But all the grass was yellow, and the trees were brown in the streetlights—everything was obviously dying.
‘These houses are much larger than the one we just came out of,’ I said.
‘That’s because they’re not guest villas,’ Martin said. ‘Many extremely senior Shen live here. Or lived here. Many have moved out because of the energy drain.’
‘Not much fun to live in a place so cold and dark,’ I said.
The road ended in a roundabout with a fountain depicting the Xuan Wu in the centre. Behind a two-metre-high fence stood a complex of mansions, all two storeys high, with up to nine little animals on the corners of the roofs. There were two
sets of gates, side by side, and the ones on the right slid smoothly open to allow the car entry to the paved forecourt.
Simone leaned on the armrest in the door and put her chin in her hand, looking out at the Palace complex. ‘I suppose when Daddy comes back I’ll be expected to live here.’
‘Father hardly ever lived here himself,’ Martin said. ‘He spent some time here helping out with the running of the place, but he much preferred Wudangshan.’
‘If you had a choice, where would you live, Emma?’ Simone said. ‘Would you like to go back to Australia? You often complain about the awful pollution and crowding in Hong Kong, and how life is so much easier in Australia.’
I turned my serpent head to see Simone. ‘Ask me that again after I’ve seen the Mountain. In the photos, it looks truly wonderful. But for the moment…’ I looked out the window again. ‘I choose to live where my family is. And that is you; and when John returns, it is him too.’
‘Stop sounding like Daddy,’ she said, her voice mild.
‘What, wise?’ Martin said.
‘Yes,’ Simone said.
The car came to a halt in front of the main Palace building. ‘This is it, my Lords, my Ladies,’ the demon driver said. ‘The Central Yamen of the Northern Heavens—the Hall of Dark Justice.’ He got out of the car and bowed as he opened the doors for us. ‘I am profoundly honoured to serve the family of the Dark Lord himself.’
We exited the car. The building was nearly as big as the main audience hall in the Celestial Palace, with a set of steps going up to the massive front doors but no ramp in the middle. A veranda skirted the perimeter of the building with a carved wooden balustrade at waist height around it. The balustrade was decorated with snakes and turtles, and fairy lights had been strung all along the edges adding to the brilliance of the existing illumination.
A pair of demons in True Form, blue with bulging eyes and wearing helmets and armour, stood on either side of the doorway holding spears. They raised the spears when we approached.
‘Stand down,’ Simone said.
The demons dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.
We went into the hall. There was a lobby, about five by five metres, with two sets of double doors on the far wall, and another set of doors on each of the left and right walls. A large desk stood in the middle of the room, between the doors. A middle-aged Chinese woman and a young Chinese man were sitting behind the desk; both of them Shen. When I flicked my tongue, she smelt like a standard Taoist human Immortal, and the young man was a dragon. They rose as we approached them, their faces full of shock.
