Dark Serpent

  ‘The stone has suffered enough. We’ve all suffered enough,’ I said. ‘You found me and that’s that. Now all you have to do is Raise and marry me.’

  ‘The Jade Emperor said something while I was talking to him today — he said I am selfishly enjoying having a relationship with you and not considering the needs of others. Is he right? Are you sure you still want to be with me? It’s been a long time since I asked you, and so many things have happened … Is this still what you want?’

  I was silent for a moment, then chose my words carefully. ‘This is what I want more than anything. I have no hesitation about marrying you and joining you here on the Mountain. It’s what I want most in the world.’

  He squeezed me and pulled me into him, and his unbound hair fell over both of us.

  ‘I hesitate to ask you to show me where my Serpent is,’ he said. ‘It will lead you into danger.’

  ‘We have to go as soon as possible before they move it.’

  ‘Can you show me where it is and then head back here immediately?’

  ‘Yes. But if there’s any chance you’ll be trapped, you get the hell out of there.’

  ‘I’ll be in and out so quickly the King won’t know what happened. Europe, on the other hand, is an unknown quantity. I should tell the Jade Emperor to wait until this situation is settled and you are safely Raised before we start the search for Western Shen. This is too dangerous.’

  ‘Has the Jade Emperor ever rescinded a command, Turtle?’ the stone said.

  ‘You know he hasn’t. But I am beginning to doubt his intentions when it comes to Emma.’

  ‘You have your oath. You will Raise and marry her. He cannot interfere with that.’

  ‘I should leave you here on the Mountain where you are guarded while I go to Britain,’ John said.

  ‘Are you sure about that?’ I said.

  He was silent for a moment, then, ‘No. You’re safer with me. Both of you are always safer with me. I wish that the Elixir was ready now.’

  ‘I can wait.’

  ‘I can’t,’ he said. ‘I hate seeing you in the black and white of a servant. I want you to be my Empress, in silk of black and gold on a throne beside me.’

  I pretended to pull away. ‘I changed my mind. I’d rather lounge around in the servant’s uniform doing mundane stuff than sit on any sort of throne.’

  He buried his face in my hair. ‘That’s what makes you so ideal for the job.’

  I couldn’t keep the exasperation from my voice. ‘All that responsibility!’

  ‘We can share it.’ He pulled back to look at me, his face a silhouette in the light shining through the closed screens. ‘When we marry, you must be the Empress with all that it entails; there is no avoiding it. If you really do not want to rule beside me, you can do what your family has done and seek anonymity and seclusion on the Earthly, living a normal life.’

  ‘A normal life, without you and Simone and my sword and the Mountain? I could never be happy living like that.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  The uncertainty in his voice saddened me. I ran one hand down the side of his face.

  ‘Know this, Xuan Wu: I love you, and I always will. Not because of some demonic intervention, or some silly romantic ideal, but because you are who you are. You’re a kind, generous, noble and sometimes ridiculously idiotic man who I love with all my heart. And I will be proud and honoured to help you rule your domain.’

  ‘The King doesn’t know what a favour he did me when he drew us together. You were already something that I would love — you are something that I love — without his intervention. You brought me back from my grief, brought me closer to my daughter, and managed things,’ his voice filled with humour, ‘almost acceptably well in my absence. I owe you — and, in a way, him — a great debt.’

  ‘And? ’

  ‘And what?’

  ‘Oh, you guy,’ I said, poking him in the ribs, making him jump and grunt.

  He changed against me, becoming a woman.

  ‘You’re still a guy,’ I said, gently brushing my hand over one of her breasts, making her gasp.

  ‘And I love you,’ she said, and kissed me. She pulled back. ‘I’ll stay female now, just so I can say it again.’

  I pushed myself closer into her and spoke into her neck. ‘Nope, I want you male, and I want to hear you say it.’

  He changed back to male. ‘Do I have to?’

  ‘Sometimes I think you and the Tiger are brothers.’

  ‘I love you,’ he whispered, and we both sighed with bliss.

  11

  First thing the next day, we rallied at the Mountain’s main forecourt outside Purple Mist and prepared to sortie into Hell.

  Two of the biggest Generals were leading the diversion: Zhou Gong Ming and Ma Hua Guang. Their two companies of demons, each a hundred and twenty soldiers, in neat ranks, made an impressive sight. Zhou wore a tiger’s skin draped over him, his fierce dark face glaring out from between the tiger’s jaws. Ma was in full Celestial Form, as tall as John, his red robes with burning flames around the edges.

  John was also in Celestial Form, in his black battledress, with Seven Stars strapped to his back. I had taken serpent form, and made it as big as I could to avoid being stepped on. None of the soldiers going with us were less than three metres tall.

  A large group of enthralled students stood to the side of the square, watching and discussing the group.

  Ma and John were in the final stages of arranging the diversion. Ma waved Zhou and the company leaders to him, and they stood in front of a map of Hell made of a tracery of flames floating in the air. Hell’s wheel shape was obvious, with the Celestial side in the middle, surrounded by a huge lake, and the demonic side joined to it by causeways that formed the spokes of the wheel.

  Ma pointed at the map, sticking his finger into the flames. ‘This is where Emma said the Serpent’s being held: level one, demonic side. We’ll gather outside Death’s house on the Celestial side first. My group will go to level four and cause some trouble, while Ah Wu and Emma free the Serpent. Listen for Ah Wu’s signal. We’ll throw ourselves at them and redouble while he’s pulling the Serpent out.’

  The Zhu sisters appeared on the other side of the square and strode towards us. Both were in battle armour and had swords strapped to their backs. The elder sister, Bei Niang’s sword, the Shadow Sword, was a grey shifting shape that was impossible to focus on.

  A couple of the soldiers broke ranks and ran to them. The sisters stopped and the demons fell to one knee in front of them.

  ‘Oh, that’s cute,’ Ma said.

  ‘They should be put on report,’ Zhou said, gruff.

  ‘Lady, please return and lead us,’ one of the demons said.

  ‘Return to your ranks immediately,’ Zhu Bo Niang said.

  ‘We will,’ the other demon said. ‘But please return to us, we need you.’

  ‘Back in line, soldier,’ Bei Niang said.

  The two demons rose, bowed to the sisters and ran back to take their places in the demon cohort.

  Bei Niang strode up to us and put her hands on her hips. ‘You’re not going without us.’

  ‘You want to come?’ John said.

  ‘We are coming,’ Bo Niang said.

  ‘Only if you take up your commissions again,’ John said.

  The Zhu sisters hesitated for a moment.

  Bo Niang put her hand out. ‘Deal.’

  Bei Niang put her hand out as well and John clasped each of their hands.

  Half a dozen demons in the ranks went wild, jumping up and down with joy and hugging each other.

  ‘Attention!’ Zhou snapped at them and they quickly sobered.

  ‘Good,’ John said. ‘We just need someone to cause havoc on level four while we find the Serpent.’

  Bo Niang smiled tightly. ‘Havoc is what we’re good at. We don’t have time to restore our regiments, so we’ll come as we are and help out.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Ma made the ma
p disappear. He turned to the others. ‘We ready?’

  ‘Emma?’ John said.

  ‘I’m good. Let’s go.’

  ‘Bring my daddy home!’ Simone shouted from the other side of the forecourt.

  John touched his hand to my nose and the Mountain disappeared.

  We arrived outside the modern concrete bunker that was the office of the god of death, Yanluo Wang. It stood on the edge of the lake that separated Celestial Hell from demonic Hell. The lake seemed to stretch forever with a couple of the causeways visible, spreading from the central island. The sky was light without being blue and there was no breeze.

  ‘Keep your hand on my head,’ I said. I looked for the room that held his Serpent. ‘Found it.’

  John released my head. ‘Ma.’

  ‘Death’s coming,’ Ma said.

  The group separated to let John step forward to face Yanluo Wang. He was in red robes embroidered all over with the character of death, and wore a high red hat with extensions each side that wobbled as he walked.

  ‘This is serious,’ Ma said, his voice low. ‘He hates uniform and avoids it whenever he can.’

  Yanluo Wang stopped in front of John and saluted him. ‘Dark Lord.’ He nodded around to the group. ‘Generals.’

  There was a polite sequence of small bows and salutes.

  Yanluo Wang put one red-robed arm out towards me. ‘You brought a human mortal here in breach of every single protocol. She will remain here until her time has been allocated, and then she will be Judged.’

  ‘Oh, shit,’ Ma said softly.

  ‘She has permission to be here and permission to leave,’ John said.

  He raised one hand and a scroll appeared in it. He passed the scroll to Yanluo Wang.

  ‘Is that the same one?’ Ma asked me.

  ‘It’s still valid,’ I said, then dropped my voice. ‘I hope.’

  Yanluo Wang obviously agreed with me. He opened the scroll, perused it, then handed it back to John with both hands and a small bow. ‘The human is permitted. She is to complete her task and return as soon as it is done.’

  John bowed formally and stiffly to Yanluo Wang, then they relaxed.

  Yanluo Wang eyed me. ‘Nice snake, Emma. You’ll be a great match when you free his. I heard you spent some time on level six and fitted right in.’

  ‘We’re ready to go,’ Ma said.

  Yanluo Wang slapped John on the shoulder. ‘Go find your better half, and give the Demon King a good swift kick in the ass for all of us.’

  ‘I plan to,’ John said. He raised his head to speak to Ma. ‘Whenever you’re ready.’

  ‘Going now,’ Ma said, and the diversion group disappeared.

  John put his hand back on my snout. ‘Show me.’

  ‘I’m not wishing you good luck because you don’t need it,’ Death said.

  I showed John where the Serpent’s cage was, and felt the heat immediately as he transported us to the hall. The walls and floor were beige tiles, carved with serpents and scalding hot. The room was oval, twenty metres across, with tall windows on the wall leading up to a domed roof, all covered in the shining tiles.

  The cage was gone; there wasn’t even a mark on the floor where it had stood.

  I slithered around the area, but all I found was a screwed-up tissue. I picked it up in my mouth and returned to John.

  ‘This is where it was. I remember this place.’ I looked around. ‘I saw it here just before. Where’s it gone?’

  ‘Concentrate and try to find it.’

  Before I could focus, the clamour of sirens filled the cavern and I dropped the tissue.

  ‘They’ve attacked,’ John said. ‘Concentrate. Where is the rest of me?’

  ‘Put your hand on my head again.’

  I dropped my head slightly, feeling his hand on me, and tried to contact John’s Serpent. There was nothing there. I relaxed, cycled the energy through myself and concentrated on the Serpent’s nature. John glowed with blue-black darkness in front of me, but the Serpent wasn’t there.

  I pulled the energy back. ‘Give me a moment … I can’t see it. Can you?’

  ‘I don’t want to risk it.’

  I slithered around the room, feeling for it. I thought I sensed a reflection of it and stopped. I relaxed and concentrated again, and saw it.

  ‘John, here,’ I said. ‘I’ve located it.’

  John came to me and put his hand on my head. ‘I see, not too far. Let’s go.’

  He disappeared. He’d completely forgotten me in the excitement of the moment.

  I thought hard about where the Serpent was and envisaged myself there. My surroundings shifted and merged into what I wanted — I’d done it. I felt a surge of satisfaction, until I saw the large number of demons, all bristling with weapons, between us and the Serpent. There were more than two hundred of them, filling the huge hall. That was why they’d moved the Serpent — this larger area could hold an army. So much for our stealth mission.

  ‘Behind me, and head straight home,’ John said, putting one hand on the back of my neck to manoeuvre me into his protection.

  A volley of arrows arched from behind the demon warriors standing before us. The arrows disintegrated before they reached us. I tried to envisage the Mountain, but a shout distracted me and the demons ran towards us. John glowed purple-black and their front row disappeared. The rest of the demons stopped in alarm, and more of those in the front ranks disappeared.

  John’s energy aura shrank into him and he grew slightly smaller. ‘Emma, go,’ he said.

  ‘I’m trying,’ I said.

  The demons rushed him again and he pulled out Seven Stars. He loaded the blade with his internal energy and swung it at the demons. He fought faster than I’d ever seen him fight before. The placement of my serpent eyes on the sides of my head meant that my vision encompassed nearly a complete circle and I saw his battle fury in majestic detail.

  The demons surrounded us and the need to fight them sang through me. This was what I lived for. To hell with going back to the Mountain. I stood back to back with the God of War and fought the demons with him. I couldn’t take human form and summon a weapon, but in serpent form I was deadly and filled with fierce joy at the amount of destruction we could wreak together. I took out those behind him that he couldn’t see, biting their heads off and crushing them.

  He destroyed ten for every two of mine. His blade sang with his energy and he occasionally used it to launch balls of shen into the demon ranks to thin them. I was drawn back to cold reality as I realised he was breathing heavily. He still had burns and cuts and wasn’t at full strength.

  There are too many of them, the Serpent said. I can’t do it!

  ‘But I have to do it,’ John said. ‘I can’t give up now I’m this close. Dammit, why won’t they answer? We need backup!’

  I heard the whistling thump of arrows. Something slapped into me, then something else, then pain flattened me — I’d been hit. I rolled over, which pushed the shafts of the arrows deeper into me, but I needed to see John. He was facing me as he fell, four arrow shafts sticking out of his shoulders and one in his neck, its wound pumping with blood. He landed on top of me, his huge Celestial Form crushing my midsection. Blood — his blood — flooded over my face, threatening to choke me.

  Get out! Get out! the Serpent shouted into my head. Turtle, take her out!

  I was crippled with pain, unable to move; red spots swam over my vision. I hoped he was conscious enough to get us out because I wasn’t taking myself anywhere.

  One of the demons grinned, revealing jagged uneven teeth, and pointed the tip of its spear at John’s face. ‘Now we have you.’

  John raised one arm, crying out with pain at the effort, and slammed it into me. The ground changed. I saw feet in front of my face and had the incongruous thought that Shaolin monks’ shoes were nearly the same colour as their robes … then everything faded away.

  ‘We need them in human form!’ Edwin said, frantic. ‘Lord Xuan … Lord Xu
an!’

  Leo’s tone was demanding. ‘Emma, can you hear me?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘She spoke. Edwin, she said something.’

  ‘Emma, take human form,’ Edwin said. ‘I can’t work on you like this!’

  It all faded away again, then their shouting roared back to me.

  ‘Lord Xuan. Lord Xuan! John. You have to listen to me,’ Edwin said.

  John made some guttural noises.

  ‘You must take human form,’ Edwin said. ‘I can’t work on you while you’re this big.’

  ‘Hey! Emma moved,’ someone said.

  Edwin’s voice moved closer, but I couldn’t see anything. ‘Emma, take human form. I can’t anaesthetise you as a snake.’

  ‘The vet’s on his way,’ Simone said from the other side of the room.

  ‘Emma, these arrows need to come out and I can’t do it while you’re a snake,’ Edwin said again. ‘For god’s sake, woman, change to human!’

  I needed Meredith to help me. I struggled with the name. I shouted it inside my head at them. Meredith!

  I’m on my way, Meredith said.

  I relaxed and blacked out again.

  ‘I’ll just have to sew him up on the floor,’ Edwin was saying. ‘Damn, he’s lost a lot of blood — we need to do a transfusion. What blood type is he?’

  ‘Non-human,’ John said. ‘Wait, I’ll change.’

  ‘Well, thank the Heavens for that,’ Edwin said. ‘Get him on a gurney and clean this up.’

  ‘Keep the …’ John began, but couldn’t go on.

  ‘Keep the blood if you can,’ Meredith said for him. ‘It’s a potent healing agent.’ I heard her voice come closer. ‘Now, madam, let’s get you human.’ Her cool hands touched either side of my head. ‘Are you conscious? Think the answer — I’ll hear you.’

  Yes.

  ‘Good. Let’s work together on this.’ She raised her voice. ‘Nobody touch either of us, and a bit of hush would work wonders.’ She dropped her voice again. ‘Ready? One … two … three!’

  I helped her as she shrank me into human form, then shrieked as the change made the arrows plunge deeper into me. She stopped, horrified at the damage she was doing, and I was stuck poised between human and snake.