‘I don’t feel like buying anything, Emma,’ Simone said, her voice hoarse. ‘Can we just go home?’
‘Sure,’ I said, my voice similarly strained. I heaved a huge sigh. ‘Let’s go.’
She nodded, holding the tissue against her face. ‘I want both of them back, Emma. Daddy. And Leo. I miss them so much.’
‘So do I, sweetheart.’
‘He knew who we were. I wonder how long ago that was. When it happened for him.’
‘We can ask him when he comes back.’
CHAPTER 4
Back at home, Simone shut herself in her room, still upset. I went into John’s office and sat behind the desk. I sighed, then proceeded to check the email; always a bad idea in the evening. There would be a large number of administrative matters that needed urgent attention and I’d be restless thinking about them until I could deal with them the next morning.
One student’s mother was ill and he wanted to return to Cambodia to see her; unfortunately there was a very good chance he wouldn’t be let out of the country again to return to us. We’d have to arrange a Celestial to go with him to ensure that he could be brought back. Another student was having major difficulties with his roommate’s lifestyle—too much late night music and mayhem when he was trying to study. I forwarded the email to Lok, the building manager, with a note telling him to let the senior involved know that I really didn’t have time to handle this sort of thing. Lok would understand.
Yes, I understand, Lok said into my head. But you still owe me a fresh cow’s heart. I have a shocking craving right now.
‘Tell him next time I go through the markets,’ I said.
‘And I told him to take some vitamins if he’s having cravings,’ the stone said.
My food contains all the nutrients I need for a healthy and active lifestyle, Lok said. Says so right on the pack. Shame it tastes nothing like fresh, warm, bleeding flesh. So remember next time you’re in the markets! Stone, remind her! Fresh cow’s heart!
‘Okay, okay,’ I said. ‘I will. Oh, what about the girls? Anything show up when we rechecked them?’
No, Lok said. They are all perfectly normal humans and their presence has had no effect on the seals here in the New Folly. Must be something else that’s weakening the seals at the Academy. A couple of Masters are looking into it.
‘Thanks, Lok.’
Fresh cow’s heart! And if you happen to see a cow’s or pig’s head in a basket at one of the butcher’s stalls…
‘Don’t push your luck.’
Lok didn’t reply.
I skimmed through the rest of the emails. Problems with the Northern Heavens; the Generals were trying valiantly to keep things running, but without the Xuan Wu to provide the Centre of Power and energy source, the place was falling to pieces. All the vegetation was dying. Residents were moving out, losing us much-needed tax revenue.
I stopped dead and gasped at an email in the midst of the administrative messages.
To: Lady Emma Donahoe, Regent of the Northern Heavens (Probationary), Acting Grand Master, New Wudang Martial Arts Academy
From: Secretary for Underworld Affairs
You have been granted an audience with the Jade Emperor two days hence, on 16th November at 11 am Hong Kong time to present your case regarding Leo Alexander.
Ensure that your attire and that of your Retainers is suitable and that you present yourself at least one hour before the audience to ensure correct protocols are observed.
It is suggested by this office that a Mortal such as yourself might consider enlisting the help of a senior Immortal well-versed in Celestial protocol before attending.
Signed and chopped.
‘Only two days, Emma? You have a lot of organising to do,’ the stone said, then its voice trailed off. ‘Oh my.’
‘Where’s Gold?’
‘With Amy.’ Its voice softened. ‘They’re both in True Form and she’s carrying him over the mountains of Guilin. They’ve perched on top of the highest peak. The view must be spectacular.’ Its tone changed to one of amusement. ‘He just told me to mind my own damn business. I’ll tell him how important this is and to get back here.’
‘Leave them to it,’ I said. ‘Where’s Jade?’
‘At home watching television.’
‘Relay the following message for me, stone. Jade, I’ve just received an appointment to see the Jade Emperor—’
Jade appeared in front of me. ‘How long do you have to prepare?’
‘How long I have to prepare is beside the point, Jade, because the minute I enter the Celestial Plane I’m dead.’
She opened and closed her mouth a few times, then fell to sit in the visitor’s chair across from me, stricken. ‘What are we going to do?’
‘If I disobey an edict from the Emperor I’m as good as dead anyway. I’ll lose the Academy, and maybe even Simone.’ I ran my hands through my hair. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Ask them to see one of your Retainers instead, Emma,’ the stone said. ‘Jade and Gold can do the job.’
Jade was horrified. ‘I’d prefer not to attract the attention of the Celestial, stone. Gold and I are in enough trouble as it is.’ She shook her hands in salute over the desk. ‘My Lady, I beg you, don’t make me go to Heaven in your place.’
‘Tell Gold it’s urgent,’ I said.
‘Already did, he’s on his way back,’ the stone said.
The front doorbell rang.
Jade hesitated, concentrating, then her face went blank with shock. ‘Quickly, ma’am,’ she said. ‘It’s the Planet.’
‘Oh shit,’ I said, and raced around the desk and flew down the hallway to the front door, Jade behind me.
Monica had already opened the door. The Planet Venus, the Jade Emperor’s personal emissary, was standing on the other side in full Celestial regalia. Monica stared at him, mouth open.
I touched her shoulder. ‘It’s okay, Monica, I can handle it.’
She snapped out of it and scurried into the kitchen.
I’m staying in here, Simone said from her room. I’m not coming out to talk to him unless he orders me.
I opened the door wide and gestured for Venus to enter. He nodded graciously to me and glided through, floating just above the floor.
Jade fell to one knee before him, saluting, then moved to stand to one side as Retainer. I cursed my torn T-shirt, tatty jeans and bare feet as I saluted him.
Venus drifted to the centre of the room and turned to face Imperial South, which gave him a view out of the windows overlooking Aberdeen. I quickly moved so that I could be seen by him. He wore a Tang-style robe of many layers of transparent white silk over an under robe of palest lilac. A similarly purple cloth crown covered the topknot on his head, and his long black hair swept down to his waist. He glowed gently with ripples of silvery light.
He nodded to me. ‘Lady Emma. I bring greetings from the Celestial. The Jade Emperor has asked me to convey this to you.’ He held a red lacquer box out to me.
I nodded and moved forward to accept it.
‘There is a note inside from the Celestial himself explaining the nature of this item he is lending to you,’ Venus said. ‘He asks that you guard it with your life and that of your Retainers. In the wrong hands, this jewel could cause a great deal of trouble for both the Celestial and the Earthly Planes.’
‘We will guard it with our lives,’ I said, holding the box with awe. It was about twenty centimetres a side and intricately carved with a cloud pattern, a dragon on the right and a phoenix on the left.
Venus changed form to an ordinary slim Chinese man with long hair wearing a smart grey designer suit. He drifted down to the floor, his glow disappearing. He held out his hand. ‘Lady Emma.’
I shook his hand. ‘Venus.’
He nodded. ‘Good to see you again, ma’am. Lunch sometime soon? It’s been a while. Maybe in the Landmark?’ He quirked one eyebrow at me. ‘You can take the opportunity while you’re in Central to go shopping f
or some new clothes and some slippers for wearing around the house like a civilised person.’
Jade snorted with laughter at the side of the room and bent double with silent hilarity, her hand over her mouth.
Venus bowed slightly to her. ‘Princess.’ He turned back to me. ‘Don’t be a stranger, Emma. We haven’t met for lunch in ages. Can my people contact your people and arrange something?’
‘Sure thing, just call my secretary,’ I said.
He bowed slightly again. ‘See you in Heaven.’ He disappeared.
I stormed past Jade to take the box into the office, and thumped her arm as I passed her.
She gasped with laughter. ‘He’s right, you know, ma’am.’
I pressed my thumb against the seal to open the box. A scroll and a small rosewood jewellery box were the only things inside. I took the scroll, undid the ribbon and opened it. It was written in English, in vermillion ink, in the Jade Emperor’s distinctive flowing hand.
Wear this while you are on the Celestial Plane and you will be unharmed. Make sure you remind me to ask you to give it back though; it’s one of my Symbols of Office. See you in a couple of days.
I removed the tiny box and flipped it open. Inside was a gold ring set with a large oval piece of jade. I took the ring and studied it, wondered if the stone was sentient and, if so, whether I should say hello.
The stone in my ring solved the problem for me. ‘Not sentient, just a nice piece of jade.’
Jade came into the office and gasped. ‘The Emperor’s Imperial Ring. I’ve never seen it outside the Celestial Plane.’
I slipped it on the ring finger of my right hand. ‘It’ll stop me from being killed when I enter the Plane,’ I told her, ‘but I have to give it back. Tell Gold to go back to Amy, we’re fine.’ Then I sighed with resignation. ‘The Jade Emperor knows.’
‘Of course he does; he knows all,’ Jade said. ‘Now, you only have two days to prepare. We’ll need to have something made for you right away, ma’am. Can you cancel your appointments and meet me at Mr Li’s tomorrow?’
‘I’m free after energy class at ten. I’ll meet you in Central?’
Jade bowed slightly. ‘Ma’am. We will also need to spend the afternoon revising Imperial protocol, if you want this petition to succeed.’
‘Damn, Jade, how much do I need to know? All I do is go in, bow to his JEness, and talk to him about Leo.’
Jade smiled slightly. ‘I think probably a great deal. We can spend the afternoon going through the protocol. If he meets with you in his rooms, you will need to know specific details.’
‘Basic things, like the fact that any seat that the Emperor sits on becomes his throne and no other person may sit on it,’ the stone said.
Jade nodded. ‘I’ll need to write a list of things to remember. By your leave, ma’am, I’ll return home and begin.’
‘It’s after work hours, Jade. No need until tomorrow.’
‘It will take me several hours to gather the information, ma’am.’
‘Don’t work too hard, Jade.’
She disappeared.
I sighed. ‘I didn’t even ask her how her kids are.’
‘They are dragons,’ the stone said. ‘They are young, troublesome and hungry all the time.’
‘Sounds like all kids.’
‘You are quite correct. Now go do something else for a while, Emma. Enough worrying about this. You will be fine. And you will finally be able to extricate Leo from this little mess he has put himself into.’
I rose to go into the training room. ‘Yes, Mother.’
I was halfway through a demon-essence kata with the Murasame when the Tiger appeared next to the mirrors, leaning casually on the wall.
‘How the hell did you get in?’ I said without stopping.
‘Your goddamn seals are fading again,’ the Tiger said. ‘Get a different Master to do it, baby. Whoever is doing it right now sucks.’
I swung the sword in a wide arc, leaving a black feathery trail behind it. ‘We have our best Master on it. He doesn’t know what’s going on either. It’s the same at the Academy.’ I stopped and lowered the sword. ‘Want to send one of your guys over to have a look?’
‘Done. I heard you got your audience, and about time too.’
‘Yep, day after tomorrow, 11 am our time.’
‘You can’t go up there though. I’ve tried to shield you before and it doesn’t work. We’ll have to arrange for someone to go instead of you.’
‘The Jade Emperor sent me a ring that will stop me from being harmed, but I have to give it back when we’re done.’
‘Good idea.’ He grinned broadly, making his tawny eyes sparkle. ‘Want a lift?’
‘Only if you promise to behave.’
‘Never.’ He levered himself off the wall. ‘Make yourself pretty, Emma. If you blow this, you’ll lose the Regency and some Celestial asshole will take over your Academy and your Heavens.’
‘Can you hide my demon nature from the public eye?’
‘I’ll do my best. The Celestial One will know everything, but hopefully the crowd who gather to see you won’t see it.’
‘Crowd?’
‘Yep, this’ll be the biggest thing to happen in Heaven in a long time. They’ll all want a look at the mortal white chick who’s running the Northern Heavens.’
‘Very badly.’
‘Nah.’ He leaned against the wall again and crossed his arms. ‘You’re not responsible for the energy failure. Ah Wu should have set up some sort of backup plan.’
‘We never really had much of a chance to make it work, Tiger.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ He dropped his head. ‘See you day after tomorrow. Meet me underneath the China Resources Building in Wan Chai at about 9 am. That’s where the Gateway to Heaven is.’
‘The China Resources Building? That big office tower in Wan Chai?’
‘Yep, ground floor, where there’s a replica of the Nine-Dragon Wall. That’s the Gateway. Good central location. See you there.’ He disappeared.
I changed to an ordinary chi kata. If my demon nature became public knowledge during this visit to Heaven, everything I loved could be taken away from me. The Jade Emperor knew about it and had helped me; but if everybody in Heaven found out, there could only be trouble.
CHAPTER 5
Evening was falling and the sky behind the beach was a flame of sunset colours. Over the ocean the sky was darker, and Venus already shone. The waves crashed and the warm breeze ruffled my hair as I walked on the soft sand, thinking.
I looked up and froze. A dark shape, alone on the beach. Hair lifted by the wind. Watching the waves.
It was him.
I didn’t run. I continued to walk towards him, and saw him clearly as I neared. He watched the ocean with longing.
When I was close enough he turned to me and smiled slightly, his noble features serene. His hair wasn’t tied back and it flew around him in the breeze. He wore his plain black pants and jacket, and his feet were bare.
I approached him carefully and stopped next to him. He smiled down at me. He reached out and ran his fingertips over my face, and I closed my eyes. His hand came around the back of my neck and pulled me closer and his lips met mine. I delicately held him, unwilling to grip him too hard because he might disappear. The wind changed and his hair wrapped around us, clinging to both of us.
He pulled back and gazed into my eyes. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m your Serpent,’ I whispered.
‘No, you aren’t.’ He turned to the ocean and gestured. ‘My Serpent is out there.’
I turned to see, his hand still behind my neck. The Serpent raised its head in the water out past the breakers. It was enormous; it must have been more than twenty metres long, a black shadow against the darkening sky.
He smiled down at me again. ‘I think I know you.’
‘Emma.’
He tasted the name. ‘Emma.’
‘Xuan Wu,’ I said. ‘John.’
Somet
hing changed in his eyes. ‘Hello, Emma.’
I ran my fingers over his face. I floated my fingertips along his throat, revelling in the silken skin. ‘Hello, John.’
‘How long have I been gone?’
‘Eight years.’
‘You haven’t changed at all.’
‘Are you ready to return, John?’
He looked out at the surf. ‘My Serpent is there.’
‘You haven’t rejoined,’ I said. ‘You’re still in two pieces.’
He sagged so slightly it was almost undetectable. ‘It hurts.’
‘I know it hurts, love. Go to it.’
He glanced down at me. ‘But then I would leave you alone. You and…’ His face went strange.
‘Simone,’ I said.
He jerked as if he had been hit, grimacing with pain. He spun and ran to the surf. When he reached the water he changed into the Turtle and pulled himself into the waves.
I watched him go without moving.
Then I woke up.
I shook my hands with frustration as I tried to push them into the voluminous sleeves of the Tang-style robe. Mr Li had made it out of black silk with gold chrysanthemums, which somehow seemed to have become my signature fabric. The sleeves were wider than they were long, probably about a metre wide, and designed to hide a noblewoman’s hands as she never needed to use them; servants should do everything for her. Maybe I should have let Jade come into the changing room with me to help after all. I finally found the openings, then quietly cursed as I drew the belt around the robe.
Gold’s child appeared at eye level next to the mirror. ‘Aunty Jade says hurry up.’
‘You should not be in here,’ I said. ‘This is a changing room.’
The stone grew two long appendages and pretended to cover its nonexistent eyes. ‘Can’t see anything, Lady Emma.’
‘I’m done,’ I said, and raised my arms to the sides. Now that I had the robe on, the sleeves added to the volume of the kimono-style dress, making it elegant and flowing. Unfortunately the style didn’t suit me at all and I looked ridiculous. My more generous Western shape made me appear fat and my breasts made the front opening bulge out. I looked awful.