‘Oh my God,’ I said softly.
‘This is new,’ Ma said.
If John had a sister, this was how she would look: very tall, with a strong, muscular build, small breasts and generous hips, her long black hair floating in a tangle around her.
John concentrated for a moment and conjured a black Mountain uniform. ‘That was totally unnecessary and the needless sacrifice of a good man!’ she shouted.
‘Definitely still him,’ Gold said softly.
‘Yell at us about it later,’ I said. ‘Right now, there are demons exploding on the Mountain above us and you’re the only one who can identify them.’
‘Right, I remember,’ she said. She came to me and quickly bent to kiss me. ‘I’ll grab those spray cans and start marking them.’ She looked around. ‘Ma, with me. Grab a platoon of demons and help take them out as I identify them. Gold, go up and coordinate. Emma.’ She smiled into my eyes. ‘Stay beautiful, and stay here where it’s safe. I’ll be right back when this has all been handled.’
She trotted gracefully up the stairs barefoot and disappeared into the darkness.
‘Oh, my,’ Ma said. ‘He doesn’t know.’
‘He’ll retake male form as soon as he realises. Don’t worry, Emma,’ Gold said.
‘I’m sure he will.’
He glanced at me. ‘You don’t seem to care that much.’
I shrugged. ‘What’s important is that he’s back and our students are protected.’
‘She, now,’ he said.
‘Just get up there and make the damn announcements,’ I said.
He inhaled sharply. ‘Kitty Kwok and the Death Mother just landed on the forecourt outside Dragon Tiger.’
We have Michael’s woman, and we’ll kill her if you don’t come to us right now, the Death Mother said.
I didn’t say anything, I just ran.
When we reached the top of the stairs another explosion went off nearby, making the ground shake. I staggered and Gold caught me.
‘Lord Xuan’s taking them down one at a time,’ he said.
Keep them busy until I finish up here, John said, her voice male in my head.
I ran at full pelt towards the main court. I stopped when I saw Kitty and the Death Mother standing at the northern end, holding a terrified Clarissa between them.
‘Do what we say and the girl is yours,’ Kitty said.
‘We just want to make a trade,’ the Death Mother said.
I walked up to them and Clarissa shrieked.
‘That’s close enough,’ Kitty said. ‘Any closer and the little girl gets cut.’
Nearly done, keep them talking, John said.
Another explosion went off.
Michael appeared next to me. ‘Are you okay, Clarissa?’
‘Just a bit scared,’ Clarissa said. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Michael.’
‘Try anything and she’ll be more than scared,’ Kitty said.
‘Don’t try to intimidate me, Kitty,’ Michael said. ‘I’ve known you far too long for that.’ He summoned his sword and strode towards them.
The Death Mother raised her hands and slammed Michael with a blast of black energy. He was knocked off his feet and skidded three metres, hitting me and nearly knocking me over. I helped him up; neither of us had taken any damage.
The Death Mother raised her hand and summoned a pale blue aura of crackling energy around it. ‘Try that again and it’ll be a lethal blow.’
‘Tell me what you want,’ I said.
‘Anything you want, you can have it,’ Michael said. ‘Just for God’s sake don’t hurt her. Don’t worry, Clarissa, we’ll sort this out.’
‘Emma, come with me and she’s all yours,’ Kitty said. ‘A fair swap: Emma for this one.’
‘Not going to happen,’ I said.
Clarissa shrieked and struggled in Kitty’s grasp. Kitty grabbed the back of her head by her hair and pulled it so far back, Clarissa’s neck was in danger of snapping.
‘Don’t hurt her!’ I shouted. ‘I’ll come with you. Just let me say goodbye to Simone and we can trade. Me for her.’
‘Good. You have two minutes,’ Kitty said.
‘Where’s the Dark Lord?’ Michael said under his breath.
The Death Mother grinned with malice. ‘No turtles to help you right now.’
John appeared next to us, still in female form. ‘Really?’
‘You aren’t supposed to be back yet,’ Kitty said.
‘We killed a star and fed it to her,’ I said.
Michael stared at John. ‘Emma …’
‘This is Lord Xuan.’
‘Okay.’ Michael turned his attention back to Clarissa. ‘We’ll sort this out now, honey, don’t worry.’
‘Things must be really bad if you’re calling me pet names,’ Clarissa said through her teeth, her head still pulled painfully back.
‘Who is this?’ John said.
‘Kitty Kwok,’ I said. ‘You remember?’
‘I know that one. Human woman. Hurts children. Who are the other two?’
‘The Mother is Number Forty-Four, the Death Mother. The one that’s been making the demon copies.’
‘And the other demon?’
‘That’s not a demon,’ Michael said. ‘That’s my fiancée.’
‘Dammit, you said they wouldn’t be able to detect her!’ Kitty shouted with rage at the Death Mother. ‘You said even the Third Prince didn’t know! Leave it and get us out of here. This has all been for nothing!’
They pushed Clarissa towards us and disappeared.
‘Clarissa’s not a demon,’ Michael said, moving towards Clarissa, who had fallen to the ground.
‘Hold, Michael,’ John said. ‘That’s not human.’
Clarissa pulled herself to her feet. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Michael, can we go home now?’
Michael stopped and studied Clarissa. ‘I think you must be confused, my Lord. That’s Clarissa, and she’s an ordinary human. Her stone will vouch for her.’
‘Ordinary human, my Lord,’ Zara said.
‘See?’ Michael said. He went to her and held her. ‘I’m so glad you’re all right.’
‘I can’t bind her,’ John said. ‘I’m too weak!’
I tried to run to Michael but John held me back. ‘Michael,’ I yelled, ‘she’s a —’ But it was too late.
‘That’s right,’ Clarissa said. She smiled up at Michael, her face went bright red and she exploded.
The force of the blast knocked me off my feet, then I was blinded by shen energy. I staggered upright again to see Michael floating above the ground in a cloud of brilliant white light. He glowed from within and his face was full of serenity.
John fell to one knee and lowered her head.
‘What’s happening?’ Michael said. ‘Clarissa?’ Then he shot up into the air and disappeared.
John pulled herself to her feet. ‘Raised. One of the youngest I’ve ever seen.’
I desperately needed a hug from John, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel happy at her return after so much loss. I rubbed my eyes; they were full of tears.
John turned to study me. ‘I know this is a shock for you,’ she said. ‘I don’t seem able to make the form male at the moment.’ She stood in front of me, hesitant, her dark eyes full of doubt. ‘It is me, though, Emma, and I will be male for you as soon as I can.’
I threw myself into her arms and spoke into her shoulder. ‘It’s not that, John. So many of our students died today. Michael lost the love of his life and now he’s down in Hell being judged. It breaks my heart.’
‘Mine too,’ she said.
I pulled back and wiped my eyes again. ‘We have a big and unpleasant job to do now. How many have we lost?’
‘Gold will know.’ She put her arm around my shoulders and I leaned into her as we headed back to the administrative centre. ‘You’ve been doing far too much, Emma, you’re terribly weak. I would never have put you in charge if I’d known it would be so draining for
you.’
‘It’s not that,’ I said. ‘Look closer.’
She stopped and turned to study me, her ice-cold consciousness searing through me. ‘How did this happen?’
‘I drank Leo’s blood and caught the virus from him a long time ago. When the demon essence was burnt out of me, the virus was activated.’
She put her arm around me again. ‘I see. I definitely need to find my Serpent then.’
I put my arm around her waist and we walked on together. ‘I’m just so damn glad to have you back, Xuan Wu.’
‘I’m glad to be back,’ she said, squeezing me around the shoulders. ‘They’re holding off to give us room to talk. Even Simone is waiting for us to sort this out.’
‘Nothing to sort out,’ I said. ‘You’re back. That’s all that matters.’
‘I feel the same way.’
CHAPTER 17
Meet in the Throne Room, John said in broadcast mode. Four; Gold; Simone; Leo.
‘Five now, not four,’ I said. ‘Martin redeemed himself. He gave himself to the Demon King as a hostage in return for Simone’s safety, and he’s been my liaison with the Northern Heavens since he was released.’
‘That was courageous of him,’ John said without stopping. ‘The Demon King could have given him to the Mothers.’
‘He did.’
‘I see.’ She broadcast again. Five; Gold; Simone; Leo.
The Throne Room was actually the living room in the Emperor’s Residence, and there wasn’t a throne there at all. It was furnished with modern black leather couches, carved rosewood coffee tables and an ebony entertainment unit holding a flat-screen TV. I’d had it carpeted in heavy-duty coffee-coloured wool; the original black slate floor was miserably cold in the middle of winter. The rest of the decoration was Michelle’s, and I’d left it because she’d had three times more style than I ever would.
The Five — Meredith, Liu, Martin, Ma and LK Pak — together with Gold, Simone and Leo were waiting for us as we entered. All of them stood uncomfortably, their faces a mixture of grief and concern.
Simone ran to John and threw herself into her arms. ‘I don’t care, you’re still my daddy.’
‘Don’t worry, Simone, it will be all right,’ John said.
She pulled back and choked out the words. ‘Is Michael dead? Please tell me he’s not dead.’
‘Michael’s been taken to be Judged.’
‘He’s Raised? He’ll be back? He has to come back.’ Her voice became more desperate. ‘He has to come back!’
‘That’s up to Judge Pao.’
Her face filled with determination. ‘I’ll go down there and tell Judge Stupid Pao to let him out right now. I … We need him back!’
John’s head shot up and I felt the summons at the same time. We shared a look: we’d both been summoned, and from the others’ expressions they hadn’t.
‘We’ve just been ordered to Court Ten to bear witness at Michael’s hearing,’ I said. ‘We have about an hour before we have to go, so let’s sit and work out the plan for dealing with the aftermath of this attack.’ I took John’s hand and led her to the couches. ‘Come on, we don’t have long.’
‘Casualty numbers. Give me a short summary, Gold,’ John said as we sat together.
Gold projected the names above the coffee table. ‘Forty-seven first years; nearly all the first years were completely wiped out. Nineteen second years; seven third years. Twenty-five injured; three critical, one probably won’t make it. One Master died protecting them. This includes the ten students at Blue Star Peak who were killed when the demons with them exploded all at the same time for no discernible reason. No Immortals were lost; the demons didn’t target them. They went for the weakest. Including the hundred and three students that were replaced by demon copies: overall loss to the Mountain is one hundred and seventy-seven Disciples.’
‘A high cost for the victory, but they are all destroyed,’ John said.
I checked the list of names: Rachel hadn’t made it, and neither had the boy who’d wanted to slap her.
‘Are there enough remains for us to do anything with the dead?’ I said.
‘Some, yes. Not those who were close by when any of the demons exploded.’
‘God,’ Leo said quietly.
‘Who’s on clean-up?’ John said.
‘Edwin’s coordinating the Celestials who are experienced in dealing with death. The students are in their dorms being counselled by non-Immortal Masters and seniors,’ Liu said.
‘Clear out Purple Mist and Dragon Tiger, move the statues into True Way, and put the photographs and offerings in there,’ John said. ‘Arrange for at least a hundred thousand Earthly dollars worth of effigies from Ronnie Wong for each of the dead. Find eight Buddhist monks and nuns to do the sutras for three full days. Did I miss anything?’
‘Students of other faiths won’t need that, and we have to arrange Earthly funerals,’ I said. ‘Gold, find out which was which, then do as the Dark Lord … Lady —’
‘I’m the Dark Lord, that’s who I am,’ John said. ‘You’re the Dark Lady and always will be.’
‘Do as John directed for the Taoist and Buddhist students,’ I went on. ‘For the other students we’ll arrange funerals of the relevant type. When I come back from Court Ten we’ll discuss the funerals and Earthly ceremonies. We also need to inform their families.’
Gold winced.
‘You won’t have to do that, Gold, I’ll do it myself,’ I said. ‘It’s part of my responsibility.’
‘We’ll do it together,’ John said. ‘Our responsibility.’
I took John’s hand. ‘Sorry. It’ll take me a while to get used to having you back and in charge.’
‘You’ve always been the one in charge,’ she said, her dark eyes full of amusement.
‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Leo said.
‘Oh, give it a rest, both of you.’ I leaned back on the couch and a wave of dizziness made the room around me wobble.
John raised my hand and fed me energy. It wasn’t her usual cold consciousness; this was pure and golden chi energy, enhanced with the warmth of her love for me. The air around me glowed and tasted of the freshness of the ocean, then the energy ceased.
‘You are still too weak to be doing that, my Lord,’ Meredith said.
‘Emma’s too weak to be doing anything,’ John said, still holding my hand. ‘I’ll take her to rest until we visit Court Ten, then I’ll come back and we can start the arrangements with the Temple staff, and analyse those demons.’
She put her arms under me and lifted me easily. I relaxed as she carried me through the living room and upstairs into the Emperor’s bedroom. John was back and I could rest and let her handle things for a while.
‘I don’t sleep in here,’ I said. ‘I sleep in the servants’ quarters.’
‘Not on my watch, madam,’ she said, and laid me on her bed. She pulled the covers back and slipped them around me. ‘Do you think you can sleep for an hour or so until we have to go to Court Ten?’
‘I’ll need twenty minutes to tidy myself up before I go down there,’ I said. ‘My clothes are a mess and my hair is a disaster.’
She moved closer to gaze into my eyes. ‘That makes us a matched set.’
I closed the gap between us, pressing my mouth onto hers. She stopped in surprise, then responded, wrapping her strong arms around me and pulling me into her.
I slipped my hands inside her jacket and felt her cool skin, but she took them in hers and gently moved them out again. I allowed her to guide my hands out of her clothes and stifled my disappointment. She really was female. But she would be male again soon. She had to become male again soon.
‘You need to rest,’ she said.
‘I just want to touch you. It’s been so long.’
She pushed me gently to lie down. ‘Rest. I’m too weak at the moment to fully keep your virus at bay; I need to rest myself. Let me talk to them and then we’ll head to Court Ten.’
I wanted to re
ply but she brushed her hand over my forehead and I was asleep.
I was woken by her hand gently touching my face. ‘Er Lang is here with a damnable red box. It’s for both of us. Sorry to wake you, love.’
‘How long have I been out?’ I said, pulling myself upright and swaying slightly as the bed moved beneath me.
She steadied me. ‘Nearly an hour. We have ten minutes before we have to go down. Here.’ She sat next to me on the bed, took my hair out of its tie, smoothed it and retied it. ‘Perfect. That’s all you need. Now let’s go and listen to Rob the Rambler tell us all about our most painful duties.’
I gestured towards the tea table, always set with a pot of tea and four cups upside down on a tray. ‘I need a drink first.’
‘You should eat something as well, but we don’t have time.’ John poured tea into three cups for me, and handed them to me one by one as I drained them. ‘Enough?’
I nodded, and she took my hand and helped me out of the bed. ‘I have been back less than an hour, we’ve lost more than a hundred students, and already the Celestial is throwing our duties at us. Is there no mercy?’
‘Unfortunately in the last ten years I’ve learnt the answer to that question,’ I said.
She stopped. ‘Ten years?’
I pulled her arm to keep her moving. ‘That’s it.’
She didn’t move. ‘That’s too short. I should not be back yet. Wait.’ She unfocused. ‘I’m definitely back for good, but why? It’s too soon.’
‘We fed Gao Yuan to you, John. You absorbed the power of a star, and you’re still weak.’
‘No, that doesn’t explain it.’ She shook her head and moved off again. ‘Most strange.’
‘Are Simone and Leo okay?’ I said.
‘Simone and I had an argument for a good ten minutes about why she can’t go to Hell for Michael’s hearing,’ John said. ‘I didn’t know she felt so strongly about him. Perhaps you were right.’
‘She wasn’t aware she felt like that,’ I said. ‘Part of her reaction is because she didn’t know how much she cared.’