Dark Serpent

  ‘Let me go talk to them, see what I can do for you,’ Ruby said. ‘I’ve been advising them on supernatural matters for a long time and they trust me. It’s not the girl’s fault she is what she is, and she’ll be gone soon. They couldn’t kill her ancestors back then, and they may not be able to do it now. I’ll be back.’ She disappeared.

  ‘Well, you know what you are now,’ Leo said to me. ‘Congratulations.’

  I rose and stalked to the fence that edged the cliff, and leaned on it to watch the long strands of kelp float in the ocean surge. They didn’t follow me.

  Ruby reappeared five minutes later. ‘They will hear you out. Can’t promise anything.’ She pointed from John to me. ‘Stick close to Miss Donahoe.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘Meet you back at the guesthouse,’ she said, and disappeared.

  We parked slightly up the street from the inn. Mabel Defaoite was waiting outside next to Ruby.

  ‘Ruby says you’re gods and we should trust you,’ Mabel said. ‘She’s guided us for a long time and it would be a shame if she’s wrong.’ She gestured with her head. ‘This way.’

  Ruby and Mabel led us up the hill a little, then took a sharp left into a road that headed down again, almost parallel to the one we’d just come off. Three houses along stood an old church, its walls painted dark grey, its windows boarded up. Cracked concrete and weeds surrounded it; it looked like an abandoned scout hall.

  A couple of other people arrived at the same time as we did, and glared suspiciously at us. One, an intelligent-looking middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair, unlocked the padlock that was holding the chain across the hall’s double doors and pulled them open. She stood back and gestured for us to go in.

  John and I entered the tidy, polished hall. Six people were waiting for us inside. I had a brief moment of recognition before they shot at us. I steeled myself for the bullets to hit, but John jumped in front of me, a dark blur with his hair flying, and took the bullet in the middle of his chest. Leo grabbed me from behind as John fell in front of me.

  ‘Together, take her!’ Leo said. Simone grabbed my other arm and everything around us disappeared.

  We landed in a ruined cottage in the small village on the hillside above the town. The floor was stone, but there was no roof; the walls were falling down and long weeds had taken over. It was a good spot: we weren’t visible from outside.

  ‘What if we hurt the baby?’ Simone said.

  ‘You can teleport in the first trimester,’ Leo said, checking me for wounds. ‘The bullet didn’t go through him and hit you, did it?’

  ‘Leo, you’re bleeding,’ Simone said.

  ‘You’ve been hit, my friend,’ the stone said.

  Leo glared into my eyes. ‘Were. You. Hit?’

  ‘No,’ I said.

  ‘Good,’ he said, and fell sideways to sit on the ground. ‘Give me a moment and I’ll bring the van and we can get out of here.’

  I checked him. He’d been hit by a bullet in his abdomen and blood was seeping through his clothes.

  ‘Simone, can you conjure a pad and bandages to put over that?’ the stone said.

  ‘I’m an Immortal. I can take it,’ Leo said.

  ‘Even an Immortal can die if they lose enough blood,’ the stone said. ‘Simone?’

  ‘Here,’ Simone said.

  They took Leo’s shirt off and examined him. Simone flopped to sit on the other side of Leo and put her head between her knees.

  ‘I didn’t think you’d faint at the sight of a little blood,’ the stone said, mopping at Leo’s abdomen with the gauze she’d summoned.

  ‘Neither did I,’ Simone said from between her knees.

  ‘Don’t look if it bothers you, sweetheart,’ Leo said. ‘Ow. How bad is it?’

  ‘It’s just a flesh wound,’ the stone said, leaning back on his heels.

  ‘As if hitting me somewhere else would be okay,’ Leo said. ‘I’m made of flesh, and this damn well hurts.’

  ‘Well, it’s not mortal, it just grazed your side. You probably don’t even need stitches, but we should find some antiseptic to clean it out as soon as possible.’

  Everybody was ignoring the most important thing.

  ‘What about John?’ I said too loudly.

  They were silent; the stone kept working on Leo’s injury.

  ‘Dear Lord, he’s dead, isn’t he?’ I said.

  ‘They were aiming for your head. They hit him in the heart,’ the stone said, not looking up from Leo’s abdomen. He sat back and studied the bandage. ‘That should do it until we can find some proper medical attention off this damn island. Then we can head back to London and hope that the squad or the Dark Lord meet us there.’

  ‘Can you tell if he’s rejoined, Simone?’ I said.

  ‘Not this far from home,’ she said, looking up from her knees. ‘I’m as worried as you are, Emma.’

  ‘I’ll be right back with the van,’ Leo said, and disappeared.

  While he was gone, I stood up and checked outside. There was nobody nearby. The stone cottage was very high up in the village called Mountain, with a sweeping view of Holyhead and the harbour below. The scenery resonated through me, and I realized — this was the village from my dream. I had come home.

  The scent of Leo’s blood on the ground wafted to me and I leaned on the broken wall, gasping. I would not change to snake and attack them. I desperately tried to convince myself that this was not what I wanted, closing my eyes and concentrating. There was a reason I couldn’t change but it seemed unimportant — what really mattered was the rich scent of Leo’s blood. If I changed it could be so good …

  And I could hurt the baby, if I was pregnant. The shock of this knowledge was like ice water splashed over me and I straightened as it subsided. Simone and the stone hadn’t even noticed my internal battle. I took a few deep breaths and remembered that a tiny life could be growing inside me, and that was enough. I was in complete control and the village meant nothing.

  I turned back to the cottage, then stopped when I saw the sign at the front door.

  Simone saw my face as I rejoined them. ‘What, Emma? What did you see?’

  ‘There’s a nameplate on the front of the house,’ I said. ‘Iain and Brede Donahoe.’

  ‘Your ancestors?’

  ‘The ones that were sent to Australia.’

  ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ she said. ‘Wait, this was their house?’

  ‘Yes. After the townspeople sent them to Australia, they must have destroyed it.’ I looked around. ‘From the marks on the walls, I’d say they tried to burn it to the ground; and when it wouldn’t fall, they took sledgehammers to it.’

  ‘Why would they do anything like that?’

  ‘If your home’s gone, you have nothing to return to,’ I said. ‘They really wanted to make sure that Brede and Iain never came back.’ I studied the cracked stones beneath my feet; this village was full of hatred and death and no longer felt like any sort of home. We needed to get off this awful island as soon as we could.

  21

  ‘Left here and around the corner,’ the stone said. We were winding along narrow lanes that were barely wide enough for the kombi, passing fields holding sheep and ponies. ‘Nearly there. Three kilometres to the motorway and we’re off the island.’

  Leo grunted with pain as he shifted gears. ‘Couldn’t get a modern automatic van, oh no, had to get the ancient hippie wagon,’ he grumbled.

  ‘Stone, does the network know anything about Daddy?’ Simone said.

  ‘No stones in Court Ten right now,’ the stone said. ‘Gold is trying to find out the situation.’

  ‘Oh god,’ I said softly.

  ‘Turn left here, up the ramp and you’re on the motorway,’ the stone said. ‘Across the bridge and we’re out of here, and not before time.’

  ‘The Jade Emperor told him to stay a month,’ Simone said. ‘Does that mean the JE didn’t know this would happen?’

  ‘I share your concer
n,’ the stone said. ‘The Jade Emperor is supposed to know all. But maybe this far West is outside his influence.’

  ‘I just want to know about Daddy!’ Simone said.

  Leo stomped on the clutch and wrenched the gear lever, his face a mask of concentration to combat the pain.

  ‘I’m not hurt, I should drive,’ I said.

  ‘As soon we’re off this island, I’ll let you take over,’ Leo said. We approached the bridge that would take us off the island and he slowed. ‘What’s that?’

  Six cars were parked in a group, blocking the bridge, and men with guns were standing in front of them.

  Leo braked hard, spinning the wheel to turn the van, but all it managed was a huge clumsy circle, which brought us head-on into the side of the bridge.

  The men fired and we all ducked.

  Leo did a painfully slow three-point turn as bullets pinged off the outside of the bus. One cracked through the window above our heads and buried itself in the back of Leo’s headrest, sending yellowed foam flying around us.

  Simone raised herself out of her seat, turned towards the back of the bus and put her hands out. The men shooting at us were knocked over, arms and legs flying.

  ‘We can’t ram that many cars, the kombi can’t do it,’ Leo said. ‘Can you move them, Simone?’

  ‘Not that many. They’re too heavy.’

  ‘Then we’ll have to stash the van somewhere and fly.’

  ‘They’re getting in the cars to follow us,’ Simone said. ‘Move, Leo!’

  Leo crunched the gears, revved the engine and we shot off back the way we’d come.

  ‘They’re gaining,’ Simone said. ‘This thing is so slow.’ She concentrated and the tyres blew out on the three cars behind us. She pulled herself back into her seat and ran her hand over her forehead. ‘I hope there aren’t any more,’ she said, her voice trembling with effort.

  ‘Stone, find us a place to hide,’ I said.

  ‘Accessing,’ the stone said. ‘This island is tiny, and that bridge is the only way off. Can you lift the van, Simone?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What about flying Emma off the island?’

  ‘I may not make it, it’s too far,’ she said. ‘Just find us another way out!’

  ‘I hate to suggest it, but you could leave Leo in the van and swim Emma back to the mainland.’

  ‘Good idea, I can catch up later,’ Leo said.

  ‘I can do that for a short distance,’ Simone said, studying me.

  ‘Go for it,’ I said. ‘Head for the sea. Just don’t forget to keep me warm; I’ll die of exposure in no time in water that cold.’

  ‘We can do it,’ Simone said.

  ‘Next left,’ the stone said. ‘Keep heading that way and we’ll reach the lighthouse.’

  ‘Do you think they left the other cars on the bridge?’ Leo said. ‘If they didn’t, we can sneak back over.’

  ‘Not worth the risk,’ I said.

  We drove painfully slowly along the narrow lanes towards the other side of the island. A car approached us from the opposite direction and we slowed even more.

  ‘Pull over to the side. Completely off the road,’ Simone said.

  Leo eased the van onto the verge, but it was so narrow that some of the van was still on the road.

  ‘Okay, now stay very quiet,’ Simone said. ‘And hope they don’t hit us.’

  Leo cut the engine and we all held our breath. The other car didn’t see us; Simone had made us invisible. Fortunately, it hugged the other side of the road and missed us entirely. One of the people in the car said something about sheep as they passed.

  Simone waited until they’d gone around the bend, and collapsed onto her seat. ‘I hope that doesn’t happen again, that was really hard.’

  ‘Why did they steer so clear of us?’ Leo said. ‘If they’d driven in the middle of the road they would have hit us.’

  ‘I made us into some stray sheep on the road,’ Simone said. ‘Quickly, Leo, let’s get to the ocean.’

  ‘Dark Lord’s in Court Ten,’ the stone said.

  Everybody let out a huge breath of relief.

  The stone’s voice filled with amusement. ‘Apparently he’s done something he very rarely does: he’s lost his temper with Judge Pao and is giving him a piece of his mind.’

  ‘Does someone have a video camera down there?’ I said.

  ‘Several. Follow this road along the cliff. Past the lighthouse — all the tourists stop there and look at the ancient huts across the road. They never go any further so the road should be empty.’

  We headed up a gently sloping road with the cliffs plunging below us on the left and the mountain on the right. I took a deep breath and looked away as I realised that John’s weather was breaking apart and the mountain top was becoming visible.

  The cliffs on our left became steeper and more jagged, and we were soon more than two hundred metres above the crashing waves. We passed the lighthouse, on its own small island, with a steep, narrow line of stairs leading down onto it. A couple of cars sat in the car park, and a few tourists were on the other side of the road, looking at the ancient huts, but none seemed to be our pursuers.

  Another two hundred metres along, the road stopped after a sharp bend. Leo pulled the van over and we all got out. The wind blew up the cliffs and straight through my sweater, biting and cold. We crept to the edge and looked down: the black cliffs were jagged and dangerous, with sharp boulders at the bottom, far below.

  ‘We can do it, Emma,’ Simone said.

  The stone clapped Leo on the shoulder. ‘Let’s lead the rest of the village on a chase across the island while the ladies escape.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Leo said. He hugged us, kissed me on the cheek, and headed back to the van. When he reached the door, he stopped and turned. ‘Simone.’

  ‘Yeah, Leo?’ Simone was distracted by the waves below.

  ‘Keep me updated telepathically, okay?’

  She turned to wave him away. ‘We’ll be fine.’

  ‘I sure hope so,’ he said.

  He and the stone climbed into the van, but he didn’t start it. He sat and watched us.

  ‘Waiting to make sure we’re okay,’ Simone said. She turned to me. ‘Emma, I might have to change form down there. Please don’t tell anybody what I look like.’

  ‘Your snake demon form?’ I said. ‘A few people have seen that.’

  ‘No.’ She looked down at the waves again. ‘I don’t know where this came from, and please don’t tell Daddy.’ She glanced at me. ‘It’s a snake. Like a snake. But with four small legs, like a dragon.’

  ‘Then you’re a dragon,’ I said.

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘It has the head and body of a snake, it’s not like a dragon at all. It’s a snake … kind of with legs.’ She shrugged. ‘Just hold on tight to me, okay? If I have to change, I’ll move you underneath me and hold you with my legs. But they’re awfully short.’

  ‘How long have you had this form?’

  ‘It came out when I started working with yin.’

  ‘You should tell your father, Simone.’

  ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘Don’t tell anybody. It’s too weird.’

  I raised my hands and was about to reply when Leo spoke into our heads.

  I suggest you move. The stone went to reconnoitre and there are cars on the way.

  ‘Hold on tight,’ Simone said. She took my hand firmly in hers and nodded to me.

  I nodded back and we turned to face the cliff, the fierce cold wind in our faces.

  ‘Leap hard off the edge; I’ll have to guide us out so we don’t hit the rocks,’ she said. ‘On the count of three.’

  We both jumped as far away from the rocks as we could. The cliff whistled behind us, but the water didn’t seem to be rushing up towards us — and then it was. Both of us concentrated to slow our fall, but we still hit the water hard. The cold nearly knocked the wind out of me, but I had no difficulty breathing or staying afloat as long as I held Simone’
s hand.

  ‘I’ll take us under, I can move faster underwater,’ Simone said. ‘Just keep hold of my hand.’

  ‘Simone!’ I said, pulling on her hand as she plunged.

  She came back up again. ‘What?’

  ‘It’s freezing. Can you warm me up?’

  ‘I’m already warming you to about ten degrees higher than the water’s natural temperature,’ she said.

  ‘It’s bloody freezing,’ I said, my teeth chattering.

  ‘Let’s just get off this damn island and find somewhere to hide from your lunatic relatives,’ she said. ‘I thought my family were bad. At least they’re not paranoid psychopaths.’

  ‘Your nephew is.’

  She was preparing to dive and stopped. ‘Which nephew?’

  ‘Sang Shen.’

  ‘Oh, you’re right; he is. Don’t hold your breath,’ she said, and dived.

  We sped through the water. Simone’s control wasn’t as strong as John’s and the cold and pressure were intense. Each breath was impossibly difficult because of the thickness of the ice-cold fluid. I tried holding my breath, concentrating on holding her hand, but my body wouldn’t let me do it. I was exhausting myself just with the effort of breathing, and my arm was in danger of being dislocated from being dragged behind her.

  Slowly and with immense effort, I moved my other hand to her wrist, above where our hands were clasped, attempting to solidify my grip, but her hand slipped out of mine. The minute I was released, the cold and pressure bore down on me. Simone’s backwash tumbled me through the water and I had no idea which way was up. My ears were bursting and I nearly screamed from the pain. I needed to get to the surface, but we were so far down I probably wouldn’t make it.

  I opened my eyes, but the water stung them so horribly I closed them again. I thrashed in an awkward breaststroke towards what I hoped was the surface, and willed her to find me. Something grabbed me around the middle, nearly cracking my ribs with the strength of its grip.

  Sorry, Simone said. I have to change and hold you.

  I tried to take a deep breath, but it was too hard, so I gave up and took a few small ones. The difference in temperature was obvious now that she was touching me, but the water was still like liquid ice. I grabbed her hand in both of mine and gestured with one thumb upwards — the standard diving gesture.