‘I’m not scary!’ Michael said.
‘You keep teaching me to break with tradition like this, Emma,’ John said, amused, ‘and His JEness will not be pleased.’
‘His JEness?’ Leo said. ‘Not you too.’
‘I dunno, I like it,’ Michael said.
‘Simone’s here,’ John said.
Simone came in with Justin, saw all of us waiting for her, and rolled her eyes.
Justin was a little older than she was, tall, slim and gangly with some growing to do and the clumsiness of a self-conscious teen. His mother must have been Chinese as he looked fully Chinese himself. He stood transfixed for a moment, staring at the four of us, then jerked as if bitten and fell to one knee, saluting us.
‘Xuan Tian Shang Di. Lord Leo. Lady Emma. Lord Michael.’
John nodded to him and all three men rose from the couch.
‘Welcome,’ John said. ‘Up you get, lad, this isn’t the Celestial Palace.’
Justin hesitated for a moment, then pulled himself to his feet, carefully not looking any of us in the eyes.
‘This isn’t like your dad’s house,’ Simone said. ‘We’re much more informal.’ She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the dining room. ‘Come on.’
John gestured for them to go first, and we followed them into the dining room. Justin held a chair out for Simone, carefully waited until everybody else was seated, then nearly fell over with nervousness as he tried to sit himself.
‘I hope you don’t mind vegetarian,’ I said. ‘We’re all either vegetarian by choice or it’s part of the training right now.’
Justin bobbed his head to me. ‘I’m honoured to be included, ma’am.’
‘Please don’t stand on formality, Justin, this is family-style,’ I said. ‘Relax.’
Justin looked from me to Leo and Michael, who were both glowering at him, then to John, who was serenely unaware of the awkwardness.
Er Hao and a couple of demon servants brought in the dishes: vegetarian fungi, stir-fried gluten and steamed bean curd. She placed a plate of steamed vegetarian Beijing-style buns triumphantly in front of John.
‘Well done,’ I said to her, and she blushed and hurried out.
John poured tea for everyone, and Justin watched, horrified. As John filled Justin’s cup, Justin pulled himself together and used two fingers to signal his kneeling in thanks. John didn’t notice.
‘Do you know who everybody is?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ Justin said, gazing around the table with awe. ‘Lord Xuan, Lord Leo, Lord Michael. Three of the greatest champions Heaven has ever seen, according to my father.’
Leo and Michael shared a look, then both quietly choked with laughter.
Justin continued. ‘You’re Lady Emma, Simone’s stepmother. I’m honoured to meet you all.’
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.
‘Tell me about yourself, Justin,’ I said, trying to break the ice. ‘Do you live in the Eastern Palace?’
‘I do, in the students’ dorms. I’m on the waiting list for an apartment of my own there,’ Justin said.
‘Are you trained in the Arts?’ John said, suddenly taking an interest.
Justin opened and closed his mouth a few times, then said, ‘No, my Lord. I have absolutely no aptitude whatsoever, and my father’s weapons master —’
‘Ah Yeung,’ John cut in. ‘One of our best graduates.’ Justin didn’t reply and John waved one hand at him. ‘Go on, go on.’
Justin stuttered then pulled himself together. ‘He says that if I continue trying to learn any weapon I’ll probably do myself some sort of permanent damage, and it would be best if I continued my studies in other directions.’
‘What directions?’ Leo said.
‘Justin is still at CH with me,’ Simone said. ‘He’ll finish next year and then probably go on to higher study.’
‘What are you planning to do?’ John said.
‘Uh …’ Justin shook his head, trying to concentrate. ‘I’ll probably go down to the Earthly and study at a university; I’m very good with IT.’
He looked to Simone for reassurance, and she smiled at him. She was obviously holding his hand under the table.
‘IT?’ John said.
‘Computers, technology,’ I said. ‘The Dragon’s Eastern Palace is very high tech, from what I hear. Uses all the latest stuff from Japan; he owns significant technology research labs there.’
‘Not the undersea one?’ Michael said, obviously interested despite himself.
‘No, this is the floating Palace of the East,’ Justin said, more animated. ‘The Tree itself provides the network. It’s an extremely fast random neural net; it’s sentient — it’s amazing. When I graduate I want to work in the AI labs, to try and hook Celestial stones into the network and create some AI of our own.’
‘AI?’ John said.
‘Artificial intelligence,’ I said. ‘Sounds fascinating. Do you make use of Celestial stone Shen in the network or are all the stones non-sentient?’
Justin spoke with enthusiasm, more relaxed now. ‘All non-sentient. The guys in the lab — I work part-time there — are hoping to one day bring a non-Shen stone to full AI sentience. It’s very exciting.’
‘Gold would find this extremely interesting,’ Michael said. ‘Have you done any work with him?’
‘The Lord Gold? The Golden Boy? We’re expanding his original research in Celestial Harmony, but the guys in the lab wouldn’t dare contact him about it. He’s far too important to be bothered by anything as mundane as this, my Lord.’
‘Just Michael, man. I’ve only been Immortal for a couple of days and I feel no different.’
‘I was hoping I could ask you what it felt like,’ Justin said.
‘Like exploding into a million pieces of shining light, then being put back together again,’ Michael said.
‘That describes it very well,’ Leo said.
John picked up a bun in his chopsticks and pulled the rice paper from the bottom. ‘I hate to think that Er Hao’s first organised meal may be returned cold to the kitchen. Stop talking and eat.’
Justin quickly picked up some of the fungi in his chopsticks and put them into Simone’s bowl, then selected some for himself.
‘Good,’ John said. ‘We’ll talk more about your studies later, Justin, but right now we need to schedule. Emma, after dinner the Generals are coming to plan a strategy for the next few months. I’d also like to examine you again.’
‘The Thirty-Six?’ Justin said, eyes wide. ‘All of the Thirty-Six are coming here?’
‘We lost one,’ I said. ‘It’s Thirty-Five now.’
‘The JE is pissed beyond belief that we haven’t replaced Gao Yuan,’ John said.
‘The JE?’ Justin said.
‘Ah, my turn. The Jade Emperor,’ John said.
Justin stared at him. ‘The Celestial One himself … What’s he like?’
‘What, the JE?’ I said. ‘Old.’
‘Boring,’ Simone said.
‘Nearly as boring as me?’ John said.
‘Not nearly,’ Simone said. ‘You’re by far the most boring thing on any Plane.’
‘I can’t get over how … normal you all are,’ Justin said. ‘You talk about this stuff as if it was every day.’
‘Unfortunately, it is,’ John said. ‘Eat up, or I’ll make you sit in on the meeting with the Generals. And believe me, that’s a fate worse than death.’
‘That it is,’ I said.
‘Back at the Eastern Palace, if you’re invited for dinner with my father, it’s a full-on formal banquet,’ Justin said. ‘They have protocol training beforehand for any of us that are doing it for the first time.’
‘Same over in the West,’ Michael said. ‘And even worse, my dad will have half-a-dozen wives and a bunch of dancing girls there too.’
‘Yeah, but your dads are creeps,’ Simone said. She saw the way they were looking at her, and protested. ‘They are!’
‘Back
in the East, my father’s just there,’ Justin said. ‘One with the Tree, spirit of the East, and totally unapproachable.’ He turned to Simone and obviously squeezed her hand under the table. ‘You’re very lucky to have such a close father.’
‘He’s only been close for a few days,’ she said. ‘This is one of the first meals I’ve shared with him in ten years.’
‘We have a lot of catching up to do,’ John said.
‘I won’t get in the way,’ Justin said.
‘You’re not in the way, mate,’ I said. ‘It’s lovely to have you over. You’re welcome anytime.’
He bobbed his head. ‘Thanks, ma’am, it’s a special feeling to be so welcome.’
After dinner, Simone and Justin went upstairs to play on the consoles on the landing. Michael nabbed me before I went out to the Generals meeting, and we sat in the living room together.
John stopped in front of me before going to the meeting. ‘They should have a chaperone up there, Emma.’
‘They do. Leo’s up there being thoroughly owned at Speed Drift 2.’
‘I told him he isn’t to leave them alone.’
‘Well, now tell him that if they decide to go for a walk around the Mountain, he’s not to go with them.’
He was silent for a moment, then relented. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’
‘Just go start the meeting. I’ll be along as soon as I’ve talked to Michael.’
John saluted me and went out.
‘I was all ready to hate this dragon kid,’ Michael said. ‘But actually, he’s not too bad. He’s smart and caring and probably a good match for her.’
‘I give it no more than two weeks before they decide to be just good friends.’
‘Ten yuan.’
‘Done.’ We shook hands and I leaned back on my couch. ‘Are you okay? I haven’t had a chance to speak to you since you came back.’
‘I’m fine. It took me some time to come to terms with the fact that Clarissa had probably been dead for a while, but …’ He wiped one hand over his eyes. ‘I’ll get there.’
‘That’s good to hear. So what did you want to ask me?’
‘My father’s offered me the position of Number One, which is stupid. All the other sons would be after my hide. I would prefer to stay on as Retainer to the North, but I know you have Leo and probably don’t need me — so do you have something else I could do?’ He leaned his elbows on his knees. ‘Does Simone need a full-time minder? Would Leo be willing to share duties with me?’
‘We originally put you on as a prospective replacement for Leo when he died, and it looks like that position will be available if you want it. Leo doesn’t have long to live.’
‘What?’
I dropped my voice. ‘He wants to be drained by the Dark Lord, to be one with him.’
Michael’s face filled with fury and he shot to his feet. ‘We’ll see about that.’
I put my hand on his arm to stop him before he could charge upstairs to confront Leo. ‘You’d only make it worse. Our big hope is that Martin will convince him that he has something to live for.’
Michael flopped back onto the couch. ‘Oh God, poor Martin. I see the way he looks at Leo. They’re even talking about sharing a Celestial Residence here — I offered them Persimmon Tree now that Clarissa …’ He pulled himself together again. ‘Now that I won’t be using it.’
‘Set yourself up in the room that my parents vacated upstairs. Your position will officially be assistant bodyguard, Retainer to the House of the North.’
‘You want me in the Imperial Residence?’
‘Yeah, why not? My parents have moved back to the West. I’ll give Persimmon Tree to Leo, and hopefully Martin can move in with him and they’ll have something happy and harmonious.’
‘That would be good to see,’ Michael said, wistful.
‘The best part of this,’ I said, ‘is that it’ll piss your father off so much we’ll hear the yelling from the West.’ I waved my phone at him. ‘I need to run through my messages to make sure nothing vital was missed. Go play around with the guys upstairs.’
‘I don’t think …’ he started, then changed his mind. ‘Yeah, I will. It’ll be fun.’
CHAPTER 24
It took me about ten minutes to go through all my messages. The one I’d received during the ceremony with the Jade Emperor stopped me dead.
‘Hi, Emma, this is Edwards — Jim Edwards. Call me back on …’ He gave a number with an international area code that was familiar to me but not immediately recognisable. ‘It’s not terribly urgent, but this girl may be in trouble.’
I grabbed some notepaper and a pencil from the sideboard and noted the number down, then immediately called it. Jim answered.
‘Emma.’
‘Jim, please come home, we’ll sort everything out. There’s no need for you to stay in hiding.’
‘Is her sentence rescinded?’
I was silent at that. The young dragon Hien had been a sex slave in Hong Kong and we’d rescued her. Unfortunately we’d realised too late that she was a drug addict — they’d been feeding her opiates to keep her pliant — and she killed the previous academy doctor in a bout of withdrawal psychosis. There was a standing order on the Celestial to arrest her on sight and her sentence was immediate execution. Jim had taken her and run because she reminded him of his own dead drug-addicted daughter.
‘I take it from the silence that the answer is no — you’re duty-bound to turn her in for execution. But this seemed quite important so I thought I’d let you know.’
‘Go ahead, Jim.’
‘Emily, one of the students in my junior class last year — she’s from Malaysia, right? Well, I saw her two days ago in Marina shopping centre wandering around alone. I tailed her, and she wandered by herself for hours, looking lost. She’s a long way from home and way too young to be in a different country by herself. I was wondering what was going on?’
‘She’s a demon copy, gone to ground,’ I said. ‘Is that Marina in Singapore?’
He hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Yes.’
‘We’ll be there directly. If you sight her again, don’t approach; keep her under discreet surveillance and call me straightaway. I’ll call you when I’ve landed at Changi.’
‘Don’t bother. I’m throwing this phone away the minute we’ve hung up,’ he said.
I ran to the War Room and had to stop when I was inside, panting. I leaned on the desk as my ears filled with the rushing sound of near collapse.
John jumped up from his chair and came to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and fed me chi, clearing my head. He sat me next to him at the head of the table.
‘I just got a call from Jim Edwards,’ I said. ‘The demon copy, Emily — the one we sent out with a tail on her, hoping she’d head back to her nest — she’s in Singapore.’
‘Where in Singapore?’ Ma said.
‘He saw her in the Marina shopping centre two days ago.’
‘She could be anywhere by now,’ John said.
‘I doubt it — I think that’s where the nest is,’ I said. ‘We have to go there right away.’
‘And stand around Marina shopping centre for days hoping that she walks past? I don’t think so,’ Ma said. ‘Send some people in to stake it out. We’ll put people all over Singapore, watching every major thoroughfare, shopping centre, food court and MRT station. The Sixth Brigade is itching for battle; they can go in and learn some patience.’
‘As soon as you find the nest, let me know and we will raid it,’ John said.
‘That is not a good idea, my Lord, you are still weak,’ Ma said.
John glowered at him. ‘I am the Xuan Wu. Even in this state I am a match for any of them. Do not underestimate me, Ma Hua Guang.’
Ma nodded to John. ‘Understood, my Lord, but at least promise that you will take a couple of lieutenants and their demon cohorts.’
‘I will. What else is on the agenda?’ John said.
‘This agreeme
nt you made with the Demon King to give him Kitty Kwok,’ Ma said. ‘May I say, my Lord, with all due respect, now that you are back and sentient, that was a damn stupid thing to do.’
‘She’s human,’ Kang the Humane Sage said. ‘You don’t give humans to demons. This is unheard of.’
‘He has vowed not to harm her,’ John said.
‘A cage of Celestial Jade,’ Zhu Bo Niang said with disdain. ‘Could it be any more obvious? If you end up captive in True Form, I will resign my commission. I cannot in conscience work for someone who would do anything that ridiculously idiotic.’
‘Done,’ John said.
‘Destroy the current King and let them sort themselves out,’ Bo Niang said. ‘That way you don’t have to risk being imprisoned.’
‘If I destroy the current King, there is a very good chance that Kitty or the Death Mother would take his place,’ John said. ‘The Death Mother is making these exploding copies who think they’re human. Kitty harmed human children. Frankly, I would rather risk being imprisoned in a Celestial Jade cage than having either of those creatures on the throne.’
‘I cannot believe you have put yourself into such an impossible position,’ Zhu Bei Niang said. ‘I’m with my sister. If you let them spring this trap, I’ll resign my commission.’
‘I will be careful, Ah Bei,’ John said.
‘You’re not strong enough to go down to Hell and face the King,’ Guan Yu said. ‘There is no time limit on this agreement, my Lord; make sure you are good and ready before you take the risk and go after this Kwok woman.’ He looked around the table. ‘Even the Demon King himself is scared of her. Take very great care when you do it.’
‘Are you all quite finished scolding me?’ John said. He raised one hand towards me without looking away from the Generals. ‘Don’t you dare start taking any sort of blame for this, Emma. It was my decision to make and you are worth it.’
‘Damn,’ I said.
‘Emma’s stone, the Jade Building Block,’ Ma said. ‘The Grandmother herself contacted us, which is without precedent. She received a garbled message from it and was unable to locate the source. The stone is alive — if “alive” applies to it — but it’s obviously being held by the demons.’