by Kylie Chan
‘Well done, those are the right papers. The writing is important; the writing creates the seal,’ John said.
‘Who wrote on these?’
‘We did,’ John said. ‘We created them before we came in here.’
Ronnie glanced up at him. ‘We made them just before we came here?’
‘Yes,’ John said.
Ronnie studied the seals. ‘I don’t remember doing it.’
‘That’s nothing to be concerned about,’ John said. ‘The more we do it, the more likely it is that you will remember.’
‘I want to remember,’ Ronnie said. ‘I want to be useful.’
‘You will be. Take one of the papers out. Let’s start with one we’ve already done,’ John said.
Ronnie carefully released the elastic band holding the papers together, and removed a seal as if it was very fragile.
‘Good,’ John said. He stood and turned to the door, and motioned for Ronnie to join him. He held his hand out towards the frame, as if he was holding the seal, and held his other hand out to Ronnie. Ronnie took his hand and they stood silently for a moment.
‘All right?’ John said, nodding at Ronnie.
Ronnie nodded back, then he held the seal out towards the door and concentrated.
‘Let it happen,’ John said gently.
Ronnie’s face crumpled and he closed his eyes, then sagged.
‘Try again. Don’t give up,’ John said, still gentle.
I couldn’t watch any more and gestured for Yi Hao to follow me into my office.
‘Dear Lord, was I like that?’ I asked her when we were inside.
‘No, ma’am,’ Yi Hao said. ‘You were fifty times worse.’ She raised her head. ‘They’ve given up. The Dark Lord says they will try again later.’ She shook her head and went back to her office.
About an hour later, Leo’s personal assistant came into my office. He hesitated, then fell to one knee and rose again.
‘What is it, Otis?’ I said.
‘Ma’am.’ He took a deep breath. ‘There are twenty students outside Lord Leo’s office; he asked me to have them come see him. He’s planning to expel them from the school. But,’ he gestured helplessly, ‘they’re all outside his office, and he’s not there.’
‘Where is he?’
‘I don’t know, ma’am. He’s not answering his phone or when I call him directly.’ His voice gained a desperate edge. ‘I don’t know where he is! I hope he’s all right.’
I picked up the receiver on my desk phone and called Leo’s mobile. It rang through to voicemail and beeped for me to leave a message.
‘Fine job chickening out on expelling these students,’ I said. ‘Do you really expect me to do it? Maybe instead of throwing them out for you, I should tell them to come back and see you later.’ I hung up. ‘Stone.’
‘Ma’am?’ the stone said.
‘You’re never asleep when there’s something juicy happening.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Where’s Lord Xuan?’
Otis cringed at the mention of John’s name. ‘I really don’t want to waste the Dark Lord’s time on this, ma’am.’
‘Lord Xuan is in the Northern Heavens,’ the stone said.
‘Where exactly in the Northern Heavens? Holding court or in the Residence?’
‘Hall of Serene Meditation.’
That meant I shouldn’t disturb him. I rose and walked around the desk. ‘Come on, Otis, let’s do this most unpleasant job ourselves.’
He followed me out of my office and across the courtyard in the centre of the administration buildings. I passed John’s office and waved to Zara through the open door, then walked along a covered breezeway with a carved stone handrail that ran along the edge of the cliff. There was a bottomless drop on the left, disappearing into the clouds below.
Leo’s office was in the student residential section: a small standalone house next to the long barracks buildings. The students to be expelled had overflowed out of his waiting room and into the wide paved walkway leading to the barracks. The air was full of the savoury aroma of the evening meal cooking in the mess, tainted by the sour smell of the students’ anxiety. They had a good idea why they were there, and my heart went out to them. They’d be expelled and their memories wiped, and they’d never remember the joy they’d experienced here.
‘Do you have the student lists inside?’ I asked Otis as we approached.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said.
I sighed with relief when we entered the reception area and saw Meredith standing in front of Otis’s desk. She would handle it better than I could.
‘Otis, when I tell you, send them into the office in alphabetical order,’ Meredith said. She gestured for me to follow her into Leo’s office and closed the door behind me. ‘He’s not answering direct calls. Neither is Ming Gui.’
‘You’re kidding,’ I said. ‘They’re off together again?’
‘I’m here! I’m here!’ Leo shouted outside, his deep voice resonating. He charged into the office and raised his hands. ‘Sorry, sorry, I was caught up. Leave this to me, I have it.’
‘Where were you?’ I said.
He grinned broadly. ‘Oh, just busy.’
Meredith and I shared a look, then both turned to glare at him.
Before I could open my mouth, he fell into the chair behind his desk, making it creak, and opened one of the student record folders. ‘I know, I know, my fault, won’t happen again.’ He waved us away. ‘Just go and leave me to it.’ He looked up at me. ‘Go and rest, Emma, you look terrible.’ His grin turned mischievous. ‘Don’t you have an energy class to teach, Meredith?’
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. ‘We will discuss this later.’
‘Of course we will, and I’ll be all guilty and stuff, but right now I have twenty students I need to counsel and you’re holding me up.’
‘Come on, Emma, let’s leave him to it,’ Meredith said. ‘Doing this job is probably punishment enough.’ She crossed her arms as well. ‘But next time, don’t make the poor kids wait like this. They’ve been standing here working themselves into a frenzy of anxiety, and you’re about to make their worst fears come true.’
‘I know,’ he said, sobering. He brightened again. ‘See you at dinner after this?’
‘I think I may be at the Northern Heavens in Serene Meditation,’ I said with quiet dignity, and followed Meredith out.
Meredith stopped me once we were out of the students’ earshot. ‘This is the second time this month he’s done this. I would suggest that you talk to him, but you don’t have the clout; he sees you as a friend. And Cheng Rong and I are colleagues, not commanders.’
‘Dark Lord it is,’ I said.
‘Don’t let that stop you from having one of your famous Emma shouts at him though. Leo and Martin are getting as bad as the Tiger for putting their dicks before their duty.’
‘This is completely unlike Leo, you know that?’ I said.
‘Any idea what’s changed?’
‘I wish. I may have a talk rather than a shout.’
She nodded. ‘I think I may as well.’
The late winter sun broke through the clouds and the snow-covered plum blossoms bobbed in the breeze outside the training pavilion’s window. John was watching me as I performed a yang-style tai chi set, his long hair tied in a topknot and his hands behind his back. Both of us wore the Mountain uniform of a plain black jacket and pants, with the cloth shoes and leg bindings of traditional practitioners.
I moved slowly through the set on the smooth polished timbers. When I came to the high kicks I couldn’t tap my hands with my toes as I used to; I’d lost a great deal of flexibility while I’d been held by the demons.
‘Stop. Again,’ he said.
I took two steps back and performed the high kicks again. He moved closer and put an index finger under my knees as my legs went up, and my tendons loosened so that I could tap my toes.
‘Back. Again,�
� he said.
I took three steps back and repeated the move, again unable to tap my toes. I tried to force it and he raised one hand to stop me.
‘Again. Stop at the top,’ he said when I’d completed the move.
I took the steps back and performed the high kicks. Again he helped me by loosening the tendons, allowing me to reach full extension easily.
‘Continue,’ he said, moving out of the way.
He watched, expressionless, as I completed the set and put my chi back.
He moved forward and held one hand out for me to take. He placed my hand, palm up, on top of his.
‘Chi, about twenty centimetres across,’ he said.
I generated the energy and his face lit up from its glow.
‘Can you make it white?’
‘I can try,’ I said, and took a deep breath. I reached down inside me, twisted the energy, and it turned white.
‘Good. Now black.’
I hesitated. He’d never asked for black before.
‘Take your hand off me before I do,’ I said.
He removed his hand from mine. I reached inside myself again, concentrated on the darkness within me, and turned the energy black.
‘Can you hold it?’ he said.
‘No problem at all. Still feels like ordinary chi.’
‘And your Western serpent knew many ways to use it?’
‘Yes. There must have been nearly twenty things I could do with it, and I don’t remember a single one.’
‘Interesting.’
He held his hand over the energy, and before I could do anything it effortlessly slid up into his hand, turning his skin black as it moved inside him. The loss of the energy weakened me and my knees buckled. He caught me before I fell, hoisted me in his arms and carried me to sit on the mats piled on one side of the room.
‘If this was ten years ago, you would be dead,’ he said. He put his hand on my forehead and I shivered at his cool touch. ‘Hold your hands out again.’
I held them out and he stood in front of me. He concentrated with his hand palm down over mine and a ball of black energy appeared under it.
‘I can do it too,’ he said with interest. ‘I suppress my dark nature too much, I’ve never even considered creating such a thing.’
The energy drifted down towards my hands, which flashed black as it entered me. I shivered again, suddenly cold all over, and for a moment I was completely merged with him, seeing through his eyes and feeling his dark cool emotions. Both of us took a deep breath in unison and his eyes widened. He took a step back, alarmed, and the same feeling of alarm rocked through me. Both of us worked to control it and together we stifled the panic. The experience diminished with time, and we stared into each other’s eyes as the link between us faded.
John’s final thought before the link disappeared was to move as far from me as he could. I clumsily rose to stop him and toppled again. He caught me.
‘Don’t run from it,’ I said.
‘I’m not running. I’m concerned about the proximity.’
‘Same thing.’
He fell to sit next to me, making the air whoosh out of the mats, and put his head in his hands. ‘Your nature is too similar.’
‘You say that like it’s a bad thing.’
He turned to me, unamused. ‘I thought we’d fixed that desire to be one with me.’
I threw myself back to lean on the wall. ‘Absolutely. No damn way am I letting you do that to me. I value my individuality, thank you very much.’
‘Good.’ He put his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands. ‘How long is it now?’
‘Ten weeks. No, twelve. Three months.’
He shook his head, his long hair shimmering around him. ‘Even with our help, you’re not a fraction of what you were.’
He stiffened and we shared a look. Both of us had been summoned by the Jade Emperor.
‘And this is the reason,’ he said. ‘If he keeps summoning us like this, you’ll never be strong enough to be Raised.’
‘My report’s finished. This has to be the last time,’ I said.
He took my hand and helped me to stand. ‘It’d damn well better be. And stop visiting the orphanages.’
‘I’m the only one besides you and Jade who can sign the bank documents, John. Our accountant’s flat out doing something much more important.’
‘Give Chang access. He’s trustworthy.’
‘I’m in the process of doing it. You know how banks are with bureaucracy.’
‘Hurry, love, we need you strong before this storm hits.’
I leaned into him, holding his hand. ‘You know I want to be.’
Both John and I wore full Mountain uniforms, robes and armour, to answer the Jade Emperor’s summons. He met us in the small audience chamber without a throne; just three long rosewood couches with tea tables between them, and a screen behind him depicting longevity cranes flying over mountains composed of semi-precious stones.
As senior Retainers, we both fell to one knee, heads bowed, then joined him on the couches. He waved for one of the palace fairies to serve us tea.
‘I won’t waste your time,’ he said. ‘I know how busy you are.’
‘Anything you can tell us about the demons’ plans?’ I said.
‘No,’ he said, and left it at that. ‘First, I want to talk to you about the appointment of your daughter as your Number One.’
‘This is not negotiable,’ John said. ‘It is my choice to have two of them, and they are joint and equal.’
‘What I was going to ask you, Ah Wu,’ the Emperor said, glaring at John from under his white brows, ‘was if you’d like to use one of the audience halls here for her investiture.’
John and I both sat straighter. Holding the investiture at the Celestial Palace would give Yue Gui’s appointment an obvious and public endorsement by the Jade Emperor himself.
‘You really don’t have any problem with him having two?’ I said.
‘Of course not,’ the Jade Emperor said. ‘It’s appropriate. With him being two creatures himself, the combined essence of yang and yin, two Number Ones, one of each gender, is harmonious.’
John saluted the Emperor. ‘I am honoured by your most generous offer and humbly accept.’
‘Good,’ the Emperor said. He spoke to the fairy standing behind him. ‘Liaise with the Dark Lord on the allocation of the Northern Xuan Wu Hall for Princess Yue’s investiture.’ The fairy nodded, and the Emperor turned back to us. ‘Second. I hear rumours that you two are planning a quiet private wedding without the Celestial rigmarole.’
John and I shared a look.
‘Thought so. Well, forget it. We need the ceremony, we need the celebration, and it will be a huge morale boost for everybody to see you two finally wed. Ah Wu, you vowed to Raise her first, and you will not risk Celestial Harmony by marrying before this has happened. Am I completely understood?’
We both saluted him with resignation.
‘Emma, after you are Raised, you will have one of the grandest and most lavish weddings the Celestial has ever seen, and your opinion on the matter is irrelevant.’
Both of us sagged slightly. We’d hoped to have an extremely small, private wedding during the Chinese New Year break, and hadn’t even told our families. We’d planned to spring it on them, have a quick ceremony, take a few days off while everything stopped for New Year, and get it out of the way. So much for that little escapade.
‘Third,’ the Emperor said, ‘I understand that the House of the North is funding a number of orphanages on the Earthly Plane for young humans?’
John made an almost undetectable nod towards me.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘The House is funding them in conjunction with the staff of the Twelve Villages.’
‘Evacuate the villages,’ the Emperor said. He lifted one hand over his shoulder and spoke to the fairy without turning towards her. ‘Accommodate them here.’
She nodded.
‘When?’ John said.
&
nbsp; ‘Now.’
‘What about the orphanages?’ I said. ‘A motherless child can’t enter the Celestial Plane.’
‘Station guards. I expect to see the villagers residing here within the next two weeks.’
‘Two weeks?’ I said, horrified.
‘Two weeks. Last item.’ The Jade Emperor shifted slightly. ‘This is vital.’
John and I shared a surreptitious look.
The Emperor hesitated for a moment, then said intensely, ‘You are completely forbidden from adopting a child from one of the orphanages as your own.’ He glanced from me to John. ‘Both of you are forbidden. Your duties are clear; you will not need the distraction of caring for a child. After what happened with Simone, I’m sure you agree with me. Maybe when this matter is settled I may release this prohibition; but for now it stays.’
John and I stared at him, speechless; then I said, ‘I wasn’t even considering it.’
‘Good. Don’t.’
‘Why this limitation? What will happen to her?’ John said, his voice raw.
‘That entirely depends upon the choices you make; and one of these choices absolutely must be not to adopt a child. Is this understood?’
‘Celestial Majesty,’ we said mechanically in unison.
He raised his teacup. ‘Dismissed.’
We saluted him and went out, unable to even begin discussing the implications of such an order.
3
‘Mummy.’
I slithered through the tunnels, listening for the baby’s call. A light ahead made me lift my serpent snout.
‘Muu … my.’
I went through an archway into a Nest chamber. A huge demon egg, four metres across, sat in the middle of the nest hollow, glowing gently. The child inside had the bright, hard eyes of a tiny foetus, and undeveloped hands waved in front of its huge, misshapen head. Its fish-like gills opened and closed, and its heart was visible beating in its ridged chest.
‘Mummy.’
‘You don’t exist,’ I said. ‘The biggest you could have been was three months, and that’s not big enough to survive.’ I dropped my serpent head. ‘You didn’t make it.’
‘I made it!’ the child said. ‘I’m in an egg and growing.’ Its voice changed to pain. ‘Why did you leave me?’
