by Kylie Chan
‘Did he just set her above himself?’ Simone said.
‘More as an equal,’ Martin said. ‘She served him, he served her. Tremendous breach of protocol; people will be talking about this for a very long time.’
The Tiger rose, handed the tray to the waiting demon, then took Rhonda’s hand and kissed it. He pulled her up by the hand, guided her to stand next to him, and raised her hand in triumph. She wiped her eyes with her other hand.
The crowd erupted into a roar of approval, the Horsemen yelling loudest of all. An orchestra at the base of the stage played traditional Chinese marriage music, and the Tiger walked her, hands held high, the length of the front of the stage. They turned as a couple to face the Jade Emperor, still holding hands, and both bowed to him. He stood and bowed back, then sat again.
The Tiger raised one hand and Rhonda’s throne, gold and white carved with a pair of phoenixes as the back, floated to the middle of the stage, slightly to one side from the Jade Emperor’s, which remained at a higher position at the back. The Tiger guided Rhonda to sit on the throne, and bowed to her, and she nodded back. He turned, and a demon came forward with her crown.
From a distance the crown looked like a simple dome, but on the large screen it was much more complex, made of a delicate filigree of gold that was similar to the stone’s setting my snake form now wore. It was embedded with pearls, with a massive pearl in the centre of her forehead, at least three centimetres across. The crown had wings on the sides, like stylised phoenix wings, with strands of pearls hanging down from them to frame her face.
The Tiger took the crown, raised it for the audience to see, and then set it on her head. She used her sleeve to wipe her eyes again as the crowd erupted in more cheering. The Tiger took her hand again, raised her to stand, and led her to the front of the stage. He raised his other hand for the crowd to hush.
He released her hand and stood to one side as silence fell over the crowd.
‘Kowtow to your Empress,’ he said.
As one, all of the Horsemen thumped their chests with their fists, acknowledging her. The members of the crowd who were residents of the West knelt before her. Simone, Martin and Yue Gui, together with the other dignitaries, rose from their seats and saluted her.
Rhonda stood up and cleared her throat. ‘You may rise,’ she said, her voice choked with emotion. She turned, her wedding dress sweeping around her, and walked to the Jade Emperor. She fell to one knee before him, saluting, and he nodded to her. The Tiger saluted the Jade Emperor, took Rhonda’s hand again and led her to her throne, which had drifted to return to its place next to his. After she had seated herself, he knelt and saluted her, then sat himself.
The Jade Emperor rose and moved to the front of the stage, and the crowd hushed. Simone jiggled in her seat with excitement.
‘Bring me Leo Alexander, the one called the Black Lion,’ the Jade Emperor said.
Leo wheeled himself to the front of the stage to sit before the Jade Emperor, and saluted him. The Tiger clapped his hands in personal applause.
The Jade Emperor beckoned to Er Lang, who brought forward a tray holding a glass and silver jug and a crystal goblet. While Er Lang held the tray, the Jade Emperor poured the Elixir into the glass. He took the glass, raised it to the crowd, then handed it to Leo, one hand holding the glass and the other supporting the bottom in a traditional show of respect.
Leo took the glass and hesitated, looking at it. He looked around at the crowd.
‘Be the real Leo, be the real Leo, be the real Leo,’ Simone whispered.
Leo saw Simone and raised the glass to her, then took a small sip, then a larger gulp. He finished it and returned the glass to the Jade Emperor, who nodded to him.
‘Nothing happened,’ Simone said, sounding disappointed.
‘Yes, it did,’ Yue Gui said, and as she spoke the change occurred.
Leo was suddenly enveloped in the red-gold light of ching energy and raised from the wheelchair as if pulled by a string from his heart. He floated above the chair, his face full of rapture, the red-gold energy growing around him. He smiled with a mixture of joy and wonder, and a cloud came down from the sky, looking very similar to the clouds that Immortals travelled on. He stepped onto the cloud as if this was something he’d always wanted, and flew off high into the sky, disappearing from view.
The crowd erupted into cheers of joy, clapping and whistling.
‘He will be back, promise he’ll be back,’ Simone said.
‘You know that it is his choice, Mei Mei,’ Martin said. ‘I’m sure he will though.’
‘He’d better,’ she said, her voice choked with tears. ‘Oh, Emma, it’s wonderful.’
I was silent; I was too emotional to speak.
The Jade Emperor stepped forward. ‘Bring me Empress Rhonda MacLaren of the Western Heavens.’
Rhonda rose from her throne, the pearls on the crown bobbing as she moved. She walked to the Jade Emperor, knelt before him, then stood again.
He poured another glass of the Elixir for her, and passed it to her. She nodded to him, and wrinkled her nose as she brought it to her mouth.
‘No! Stop her!’ I yelled, but it was too late.
She took a drink from the glass and her eyes went wide. She dropped the glass and exploded. She didn’t explode like a demon; she was all human, and the drink destroyed her in a cloud of red and white mist that covered the stage with blood. The crowd roared with shock, and the Tiger shot to his feet, his mouth open with horror.
‘That wasn’t her!’ I said.
‘It had to be, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘He had her tested when she came back from Hell. That was her. What happened?’
The Tiger strode to the confused-looking Jade Emperor, grabbed the glass and sniffed it. He took a large swig and put it back, confused. He turned to walk away, but Michael was behind him, standing without the crutches and holding his white and gold katana.
‘You killed my mother!’ Michael yelled, his voice booming from the amplified sound system. ‘What did you do? You poisoned her!’
‘I don’t know what happened,’ the Tiger said. He raised his hands, palms up. ‘That was her. That was the right Elixir. I don’t know what went wrong.’
‘You bastard, you killed her!’ Michael yelled, and swung the sword to take his father’s head.
The Tiger didn’t attempt to block the blow and his head was separated from his body. Both parts hit the floor of the stage and disappeared.
Michael fell to his knees in the pool of his mother’s blood, weeping. ‘He killed her. He killed her.’ He rocked backwards and forwards over his knees, his eyes wide and his mouth open. ‘He killed her.’ He disappeared.
‘I’m going after him,’ Simone said, and disappeared as well.
The Jade Emperor raised his arms. ‘Return to your homes. We will investigate. I call upon the Number One son of the White Tiger to take control of the Heavens while he is incapacitated.’ He waved his hands and turned away. ‘Go home. Show’s over.’
He waved Er Lang closer and conferred with him for a while, then both of them disappeared.
I slithered out from under the seat. People were milling around in shock and talking loudly about what had just happened. No one noticed me. I climbed up into Simone’s seat to speak to Yue Gui and Martin. ‘Has anything like that happened before?’
‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Martin said. ‘If a demon takes the Elixir, they are destroyed as demon essence. But she disintegrated as a human. It’s very confusing.’
‘And that was definitely her?’
‘Absolutely,’ Yue Gui said. ‘The Tiger has the most advanced demon research facility in the Celestial. If anybody could pick a demon copy, he could.’
‘It’s not possible she was a demon; she was human all the way through,’ Martin said, and gestured towards the stage. ‘That’s definitely human blood.’
‘I am talking to her engagement ring, and the stone is as confused as everybody else,’ the stone in m
y ring said. ‘It swears blind that Rhonda was not replaced, and that was the genuine woman.’
‘Maybe she was something special,’ I said. ‘We thought she was a Shen. Maybe she was a demon after all, or something like me.’
‘Can one of you take Emma home?’ the stone said. ‘It could be a while before Michael decides to return, even if Simone manages to find him.’
I felt a jolt of dismay. I was going home alone. I’d lost all of them in one go.
‘They’ll be back, Emma,’ the stone said. ‘Simone will definitely be home later, whether she finds Michael or not.’
‘How long does it normally take someone who’s just attained Immortality to return?’ I said.
‘That depends entirely on the individual,’ Martin said. ‘Sometimes only days. Other times they come back a hundred years later, as if no time has passed.’
‘I suppose it’s worth it to know he’s not dying any more,’ I said.
‘That it is, Lady Emma,’ Martin said. He put his hand on my serpent head. ‘I will take you home.’
Ah Yat came out of the kitchen when Martin and I landed in the living room. ‘Welcome home, ma’am, Ming Dai Yan. I thought you were staying for a party in the Western Heavens?’
I changed to human and flopped to sit on one of the couches. ‘It was a disaster. The Elixir of Immortality killed Rhonda, completely blew her up. Then Michael killed his father and took off. Simone’s gone after him. Leo’s gained Immortality, and he’s gone as well.’ I dropped my head into my hands. ‘It’s awful.’
Ah Yat came and knelt in front of me. ‘Do not be concerned, ma’am. You are fated for better than this. All will be well.’ She rose and went back into the kitchen. ‘I will make you tea.’
Martin touched my back. ‘I will stay with you, Emma.’
I raised my head and brushed my hands through my hair. ‘Do you know where Simone is?’
He concentrated, then snapped back and shook his head. ‘She is more powerful than any of us. She could be anywhere.’
‘Will Michael be arrested for killing his father?’
‘Only if his father wants it. There is a loophole that if someone kills an Immortal and they both claim that it was during training, the student is exempt.’
‘But he did it in front of everybody.’
‘I do not think anybody will want to commit him for doing what he did. He knows the Tiger is Immortal, and everybody knows that the Tiger is quite capable of defending himself. The Tiger let him do it.’
Simone appeared in the middle of the living room, her face taut with emotion.
‘Did you find him?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ she said, and rushed into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
I went to follow her.
‘I will leave you,’ Martin said. ‘I will return tomorrow, when things have settled. If she wishes, she can tell me where Michael is and I will fetch him.’
‘Thanks, Martin,’ I said. He disappeared.
I went to Simone’s room and tapped on the door.
‘Go away!’ she said.
I opened the door and went in. ‘Did anything happen that I need to be concerned about?’ I said.
She was lying on her bed crying and glared up at me, full of fury. ‘No! Yes! Nearly! Go away!’
‘Well, thank God it’s only nearly,’ I said. ‘And you have the commonsense to stop.’
‘I didn’t stop, he did!’ she cried, distraught. She rose, pushed me out of her room and slammed the door in my face. ‘Go away!’
‘Is he all right, Simone?’ I said to the door.
‘Of course he’s not all right. He’s just seen his father kill his mother, and then killed his own father. He’s a wreck. He’s going back to the Folly. He says he needs some time and to leave him alone.’ The door opened again and she glared at me. ‘I need some time too. Leave me alone.’ She shut the door again.
‘Call the Lady, please, stone,’ I said.
‘Kwan Yin is already in there,’ the stone said.
I listened, and heard Kwan Yin’s voice talking to Simone, calm and comforting. I turned and went back to the office.
Kwan Yin appeared in the office after I’d read every twitter on the net twice. She sat across the desk from me in her human form of a mid-forties woman in a white pantsuit.
‘She hugged him, he was distraught, he kissed her, that’s all,’ she said.
‘And she’s blowing it out of proportion?’ I said.
‘Completely. You know how she feels about him.’
‘Oh Lord, he didn’t apologise profusely, call her his kid sister and ruffle her hair, did he?’
‘That’s exactly what he did.’
‘Damn, she’ll be impossible for days.’
‘Should I talk to him?’
I hesitated, then, ‘If anybody talks to him, his attitude will change. It will be obvious that someone told him, and she’ll hate me forever.’
Kwan Yin nodded.
‘It’ll be worse when she finally has a real boyfriend, won’t it?’
She nodded again.
‘I quit.’
She rose and touched my hand. ‘I will go speak to him now. What he has been through is very tough.’
‘Wait.’ I raised my hand. ‘What happened? Why did it kill her? Was that a demon copy?’
She hesitated for a moment.
‘Dammit, you’re doing it again!’ I said. ‘You’re deciding how much you should tell me without giving the future away! You do this all the time.’
‘There are some things that you should not know.’
‘Was Rhonda a demon?’
‘Not in the sense that you mean.’
‘What was she?’
‘An ordinary human being whose heritage betrayed her. Much as yours has betrayed you.’
I leaned back and stared at her with shock. ‘You know what I am. And it’s something like Rhonda.’
‘If you can clear the demon essence from yourself, the Elixir will not kill you,’ she said. ‘Now I will go talk to Michael.’ She disappeared.
I banged the desk and turned away.
CHAPTER 38
Three weeks passed. On the Friday night, I finalised the records for the new students and put my computer into sleep mode. I shoved some of my notes and a to-do list into my scruffy tote bag, turned off the light and went out to the lift lobby. I was meeting Simone and Michael for dinner at a local Thai restaurant and then we were planning to see a movie together in Pacific Place.
The phone rang in my office and I charged back, turned on the light and grabbed it. ‘Emma.’
‘Ma’am, it’s the guard downstairs. There’s a delivery here for you, from Australia. Something about Uluru. Do you want me to escort him up? He says it’s a gift.’
‘Send him up, twenty-sixth,’ I said, and put the phone down. It wasn’t uncommon in Hong Kong for deliveries to be made very late. I’d had people knocking on the door at 11 pm with deliveries as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I wondered what the Grandmother had sent me; I really should plan a visit to her very soon.
I went out to the lift lobby to wait for the delivery. The doors opened and the delivery boy stepped out holding a package.
Oh Hell, it was Six. I backed up the length of the lobby.
‘My brothers and sisters have removed me from the group,’ Six said. ‘They say I have failed, that I am a liability. They have the stones I built for us and they no longer need me.’ He grimaced. ‘You stopped me at every turn, and you didn’t even know you were doing it!’
‘I guess we were just lucky,’ I said, and summoned the Murasame.
Six smiled without humour. ‘I have no hope outside Hell. But I plan to take you with me.’
‘Thanks, but I don’t think I want to come,’ I said, and readied myself.
He took True Form: a four-legged creature with long claws, scales, and a snake-like body with a demonic lion-like head. He looked something like Liang Tian’s demon form.
/> ‘That’s the thing, you see,’ he said in his usual voice. ‘I don’t think your snake can take down something as big as me. You need a weapon. That’s why you stayed human.’
I backed up slightly. He was right.
‘So you have to fight me in human form. And when you destroy me, I’ll squirt my essence all over you.’
‘Not the choice of words I would prefer,’ I said.
‘And when it hits you, you’ll be turned into a Snake Mother.’ He grinned with malice, showing long green fangs. ‘You’ll become one of us, probably big enough to take on the Demon King. I’d like to see that bastard get what’s coming to him.’
‘If you turn I will take you in and protect you,’ I said.
‘Frankly, I’d rather see you changed into a Mother, then go in and kill the rest of my group. That bitch the Death Mother, I gave her the caverns for her nest in Thailand. I funded the geek’s fucking research lab in Shenzhen. I gave them all the means to take the King down, you know that? And this is how they show their appreciation. They kick me out and leave me to die.’
‘You don’t have to die if you turn,’ I said.
‘I have to die if you’re going to turn though,’ he said, and came for me. He swiped at me with his head, and I backed up to avoid the fangs. I somersaulted over the top of his head and readied myself on the other side of the room.
‘Get me some goddamn help,’ I said. ‘Call Simone!’
The stone didn’t reply.
‘I still have some sway with our little inanimate friends,’ Six said as he leapt towards me and swiped at me with his clawed front legs.
I dodged his blows and landed a good strike with my sword on one front leg, severing it, then somersaulted backwards away from the spray of demon essence. He fell onto his belly and howled with pain, but didn’t disintegrate. I stopped, confused.
He stretched the leg out in front of him. It didn’t bleed, but it didn’t leak demon essence either. The end of the limb was just blank and grey, like concrete. He concentrated, and the talons sprouted out of the end of his leg.
‘I still have some sway with my own nature, as well,’ he said. ‘It’s amazing what a demon can do when it’s combined with the essence of powerful stones.’
