John took a huge stride forward to the edge of the dais above the crowd. He held the sword point down and drove it into the dais, falling to one knee at the same time.
‘I, Xuan Wu, Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens, swear that I will devote my existence to the preservation, administration and defence of this Heavenly realm. I vow to provide you with a rule that is just; and to serve you with a government that is fair. This I swear as Xuan Tian Shang Di.’
The sword glowed with an expanding field of dark blue-purple energy that spread outwards towards us. It tingled like electricity as it flowed through me, then disappeared.
John removed the sword from the floor and rose to stand in front of the crowd. ‘I have returned.’
He removed the energy from his sword, made the scabbard leap into his hand, slid the sword into it and dismissed it.
Everybody applauded.
John raised his hand and they were silent. ‘In the last few days the Mountain has suffered a terrible loss: one hundred and seventy-eight students killed by a cowardly demon attack.’ His gaze grew solemn. ‘It is not fitting that we celebrate my return in such circumstances. After the mourning period is ended we will hold a festival to celebrate the living and mourn the dead. Until then, share time with your families and give thanks for their safety.’
The crowd dispersed; some of them clustering to chat, but many of them simply disappearing.
I went to John and put my hand around his waist; he put his arm around my shoulders.
‘A sombre beginning to a new age,’ he said.
‘So that means things can only get better,’ I said.
‘I’ll go find Justin, you can say hello to him,’ Simone said. ‘Be right back.’ She ran down the steps into the crowd.
‘If you don’t mind,’ my father said loudly from the floor below the dais, ‘we’d like to say hello, if we could.’
‘Brendan, Barbara.’ John spread his hands and went down the stairs to them. He shook my father’s hand and kissed my mother on the cheek. ‘It is so good to see you. I hope the Tiger’s caring for you well.’
My father grinned. ‘I knew Emma was joking when she told us you were a girl.’ He wagged his finger at me. ‘You had everybody else in on the joke too.’
‘Oh, but I am,’ John said. ‘I’ve taken male form for this ceremony, but by tomorrow morning I’ll be female again.’ His expression changed to concern. ‘I promise it’s only temporary, and I will marry your daughter as a male.’ He looked from them to me. ‘This doesn’t affect anything, does it?’
‘You have to let me take a photo of you two together as girls,’ my father said. ‘That’ll be one for posterity.’
John hesitated for a moment, watching him, then smiled. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Where’s Amanda and Jen?’ I said.
‘Jen will be along soon, she sent me a text saying the obstetrician had kept her waiting nearly an hour. Amanda can’t make it. They had a parent–teacher night at the boys’ school.’
‘I said it was very important that she come!’ I said.
‘You can’t just order them around,’ my mother said. ‘It doesn’t work like that.’
‘No!’ John roared. He summoned Seven Stars and ran towards the gates.
I followed, but he was moving faster than any human. When I caught up, he was standing in front of Jennifer and the Tiger’s Number One Son, obviously her new partner, and her sixteen-year-old son, Colin. The three of them were wide-eyed and horrified. There was no sign of Andrew, Jennifer’s other son.
Jennifer screamed and fell to the ground. Colin went to her and held her, then jumped up and attacked John. John held him away easily as Colin tried to hit him.
‘You killed him! You killed Andrew!’ Colin shouted.
‘That was a demon,’ John said.
‘That was my brother!’
‘John,’ I said, ‘my other nephew, Mark — he’s been replaced as well. We have to stop the copy before it kills Amanda!’
John turned to me, still holding the furious Colin at arm’s length. ‘Where are they?’
‘Mum! Mum!’ I shouted, and my parents caught up with us. ‘Where’s Amanda? What school?’
‘Brisbane Central High,’ my mother said, confused. ‘What’s the problem? Where’s Andrew?’
‘John,’ I said, breathless. ‘Are the boys dead?’
‘Probably,’ John said. ‘And if we’re not quick, your sister, her husband and her other son will be dead too.’
Jennifer wailed, a long sound of agony.
‘Where’s Andrew?’ my father said. He grabbed John’s arm. ‘Where is he?’
‘He killed him!’ Colin shouted. He tried to attack John again and this time I held him back. ‘You killed my brother, you bastard!’
‘That wasn’t Andrew. He was replaced by a demon,’ I said. ‘And we need to be quick, because Mark’s been replaced as well.’
‘Emma. Where is the school?’ John said. ‘Visualise it.’
We concentrated together for a moment, his consciousness touched mine, and I shared the location in Australia with him.
‘Stay with them,’ he said, and disappeared.
Colin aimed a fist at me and I stopped his hand in front of my face.
‘That wasn’t Andrew!’ I said.
‘You killed him.’ Colin’s voice lowered with menace. ‘This is all your fault.’
He went to Jen and helped her up. ‘Let’s get out of here, Mum, these people are crazy.’ He glared at me. ‘You will pay for this, Emma. One day, one of us will find you when your back’s turned and your precious god isn’t looking out for you, and you’ll pay.’ He looked at Jen’s partner. ‘You too, Greg. You’re one of them. Get us out of here and then you can leave us the fuck alone. We’ve had enough of you people. Stay away.’
Greg took his hand and all three of them disappeared.
‘Andrew’s dead?’ my mother said, and collapsed into my father. ‘He’s dead? What about Mark? Is Amanda all right?’
‘Trust John,’ I said.
‘We did trust John,’ my father said. He pointed an accusing finger at me. ‘We trusted him, and now Mark and Andrew are dead, and Amanda, Allan and David are in danger.’ He turned away. ‘Let’s find the Tiger and get out of here.’
My parents walked away from me without looking back.
‘Where’s Simone and Leo?’ I said.
‘They went with the Dark Lord,’ the stone said.
Not many people had noticed the small commotion at the gates, and the Grand Court was still full of people socialising.
‘It is your duty to host this ceremony in his absence, ma’am,’ the stone said.
‘I understand completely,’ I said.
In a daze, I walked through the middle of the Grand Court, through the internal gate and into the residential part of the Palace. I passed through the gardens and over the bridges without seeing them, and finally ended up in the Emperor’s Residence. I took a shower and changed without really being aware of what I was doing. Simone and Leo found me later, curled up against the wall in the living room, staring into space.
Simone pushed her face into mine. ‘Emma, Aunty Amanda and Uncle Allan and David are fine. Daddy held down the demon copy and absorbed its explosion.’
‘Mark and Andrew are dead,’ I said.
Leo sat next to me on the floor. ‘There was nothing any of us could do. You sent them home straightaway. It was their choice to lose their guard and stay up here and put themselves in danger.’
I buried my face in my knees. ‘If I’d never started all of this, they’d still be alive.’
‘None of this is your fault, Emma,’ Simone said, sitting on the other side of me. ‘Don’t blame yourself.’
‘It is my fault,’ I said. ‘I wish the demons would just take me and leave everyone else alone.’
My phone rang and I answered it.
‘Emma, it’s me! It’s Mark. I’m with Andrew — we’re okay.’
&
nbsp; I sat up straighter. ‘Mark! Where are you? Are you sure you’re all right? Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you —’
Kitty cut me off. ‘How much do you want them back, Emma?’
Simone hissed under her breath; she could hear.
‘Whatever you want,’ I said.
‘I want you, my darling,’ she said, her voice close to the Demon King’s in silkiness. ‘Will you swap yourself for the lives of your two relatives here?’
‘How do I know they’re not copies the Death Mother made?’
‘You don’t. Want to leave them with me?’ Her voice filled with menace. ‘I’m sure I can find some use for them. I haven’t had a transfusion in a while, and they’re such fine, strong, healthy boys.’
‘Where and when?’
‘My kindergarten in an hour. Can you make it in an hour?’
‘I’ll be there.’ I snapped the phone shut. ‘Where’s John?’
‘He’s dead, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘He’s in Court Ten.’
‘Contact Court Ten, tell Pao to let him out now.’
‘Uh … I already did.’ She dropped her head. ‘Apparently you and Daddy were really rude to Judge Pao and he’s royally pissed with you, so he’s going to hold Daddy up.’
‘Tell him the circumstances.’
‘I just did. He says, “Too bad”.’
‘Leo, carry me down, we’ll take the car from Central to the kindergarten, and you can drive the boys home.’
‘Don’t throw yourself away, Emma,’ Leo said. ‘There’s a damn good chance these boys aren’t the real ones.’
I looked him in the eye. ‘If this was one of your nephews, and there was a chance it was really him, what would you do?’
He held my gaze for a long time, then looked away. ‘I’ll take you down. Simone, stay here where it’s safe. I don’t trust that demon bitch at all.’
‘Daddy says don’t do it,’ Simone said.
‘Tell Daddy I love him.’
Simone jumped to her feet and ran away.
‘And I love you too, Simone.’
Leo wasn’t good at landing anywhere on the Earthly except Central, so we arrived at the Star Ferry terminal and collected the car from its park under the Landmark building. I sat silently in the passenger seat, watching the traffic and lights of Hong Kong, as Leo drove.
‘We’ll come for you,’ Leo said eventually, as we sat in the stop-start traffic to enter the Cross-Harbour Tunnel.
‘I know you will. I hope these are the real boys.’
We entered the tunnel and went from near standstill to the speed limit. Leo weaved across the lane and the car next to us sounded its horn, making him jump.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Distracted.’
‘Is anyone talking to you?’
‘No.’
‘Leo.’ I turned to see him. ‘Don’t worry. He will find me. He vowed that he would.’
Leo’s expression cleared. ‘That’s right, he did.’
‘Even if Heaven and Earth have to be moved for him to achieve it, that oath will be fulfilled. We knew all along that he would have to find me — and for that to happen, I have to be lost.’
He wiped his hand over his face. ‘I don’t want to lose you.’
‘I don’t want to lose you either, mate. I hope you’re still here when he brings me back.’
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded once. ‘I will be. I’ll wait until you’re back and we can say goodbye properly.’
We shot out of the tunnel on the other side and immediately slowed. The automatic tag on the windscreen beeped as we passed under the gate.
‘Sometimes it feels very strange to be back here,’ Leo said. ‘And sometimes it feels like I’ve come home.’
‘Yeah, the same for me. But when I arrive on the Mountain, it just rings like a bell inside me and I feel: now I’m home.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Look after Michael,’ I said as we travelled down Waterloo Road in the evening traffic towards Kitty’s kindergarten in Kowloon Tong. ‘Help him. Gaining Immortality wasn’t a gift after he’s lost so much.’
‘He and Simone have a lot in common,’ Leo said.
‘There’ll be some issues when he finds out how she feels. They’ll need your guidance; you and John together will have to support them through it.’
‘Geez.’
We turned into the street where the kindergarten was located. This older part of Kowloon Tong had originally been a prestigious enclave of two-and three-storey houses close to the old Kai Tak airport back when tall buildings weren’t allowed there. Now all the individual houses had been converted into kindergartens and love hotels. There were no cars on the street; the kindergartens were closed for the evening, and the love hotels had private car parks with curtains to hide the numberplates of the customers’ cars.
We parked outside Kitty’s kindergarten five minutes past the hour she’d given me.
‘I want you to do something for me,’ I said as Leo turned off the ignition.
He waited without looking at me.
‘Give Martin a chance,’ I said. ‘He really does love you, Leo. He could give you something to live for.’
He pressed the button to open the boot and guided his wheelchair to the front of the car without speaking. I got out of the car to wait for him. He wheeled himself around so he was next to me.
‘One other thing.’ I looked up at the dark kindergarten building. ‘If you see me changed after I’ve gone to them, do me a favour and end it for me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘Kitty’ll use me for a breeding experiment. She’ll fill me with demon essence and I don’t ever want to face that again. Promise me.’ I took his hand. ‘I couldn’t bear to have it burnt out of me again. John can’t do it; and if I’m changed, I can’t be Raised. I know he made that vow, but if I’m filled with essence I’d rather be dead. So if you find me, and I’m changed, end it for me.’
‘I won’t promise you, Emma. But if I do see you again, I’ll keep it in mind.’
I bent to hold him close. ‘Thanks, mate.’
I pushed away and took a few deep breaths. ‘Let’s go.’
CHAPTER 20
The kindergarten had a tiny garden with a lawn and bamboo edges. We went along the concrete path to the front door and the light above it lit automatically.
‘I’m here,’ I said to the door.
It opened to reveal a plain-looking, middle-aged Chinese woman who I didn’t recognise. We followed her through the dark office into one of the playrooms, which smelled of waste and disinfectant. The desks were neatly lined up in the room, the tiny chairs on top of them. The walls were covered in educational posters showing the alphabet and the first hundred Chinese characters that children were expected to know for entry into first grade.
I shivered at the memories this place brought back: the children had been lovely, but Kitty’s tyranny had been unsettling even back then. The knowledge of what she had done to me here, filling me with demon essence without me even knowing it, made me tremble. I took deep breaths to control it, hoping I wouldn’t need to use chi calming.
‘We can leave if you change your mind,’ Leo said.
I straightened and centred my energy. ‘Be ready to run if the boys aren’t here.’
‘Gotcha.’
The woman waited for us on the other side of the playroom and we followed her into another, larger room. As we entered, the lights snapped on, blinding me. I put my hand over my eyes and peered into the brilliance.
Figures came into view: Kitty, the Death Mother, a pair of high-level demon guards in human form, and my nephews. The boys stood dully, their eyes wide and unseeing.
‘Mark, Andrew, are you all right?’ I said.
‘They’re fine,’ Leo said. ‘Sedated but okay, from what I can see.’ They look human, he added silently.
‘Emma, walk towards us and we’ll send the kids to him,’ Kitty said.
‘Try anything and Leo wil
l destroy you,’ I said.
‘He couldn’t take both of us in a million years,’ the Death Mother said with contempt. ‘Gay-lo.’
‘Just come over here and let’s get this over with,’ Kitty said. ‘You’ve caused me way too much trouble over the years, Emma, and it’s about time you performed the task you were designed to do.’ She waved me forward. ‘Come on.’
I stepped forward and she pushed the boys towards me. They moved mechanically, not seeming to notice me as I passed them.
I waited until I was just out of reach of Kitty and the Death Mother before turning to check that Leo had the boys. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, moved to block it, but wasn’t quick enough. The Death Mother had shoved a hypodermic into my arm. She quickly pushed the plunger down and ripped it out.
‘That was unnecessary, I was coming with you,’ I said, holding my arm and glaring at her.
She smiled slightly. ‘Just making sure.’
I turned back to Leo. The boys were next to him; he took their hands and they all disappeared.
The Death Mother took advantage of my movement and grabbed my hands, pulling them behind me. She roughly tied them together with raffia packing twine, commonly used to bind boxes and shopping bags in Hong Kong. It would cut my wrists open before I could snap it. She pulled the twine so tight it hurt, then grasped my arm again.
‘Let’s go,’ she said. ‘Boat at anchor.’
The building around us disappeared.
We landed on the deck of an old-fashioned Chinese junk floating next to a jungle-covered island just visible in the darkness. I didn’t get to see much before they dragged me down the stairs to the front of the boat, but from what I glimpsed we weren’t in Hong Kong any more — the water around us was calm and muddy and there were hardly any other boats.
Whatever the Death Mother had given me began to take hold and everything felt heavy. My legs were too massive to lift and I sagged under my own weight.
‘Help me,’ she said, and one of the demons lifted me by the other arm.