Heaven to Wudang

  ‘I killed her and her husband at the same time,’ the King said. ‘A very long time ago. That little group of demons were so useful, doing all that research for me.’ He gestured towards the cage. ‘And now I have this. It nearly wasn’t ready in time; Ah Wu was back and it wasn’t complete. I had to keep you occupied until it was ready.’ He patted the cage. ‘But we got there.’

  Number One sidled up to the bars, obviously terrified of the Serpent, then teleported into the cage as far from the Serpent as he could get. His expression was a mixture of fear and loathing.

  ‘Come on then,’ he said to me.

  The Serpent dropped its huge head next to my face and spoke silently. Go and find the Turtle. Both of you may be able to find a way to get me out. And my daughter needs you.

  Can it use a phone from down here? I asked the stone.

  No, the stone said. This room is the same stone stuff.

  Can you stay with it and relay for us?

  No, not underground.

  I wrapped my arms around the Serpent’s coils and held it. ‘I don’t want to leave you, John.’

  ‘Go to the Turtle,’ the Serpent said. ‘Find my other half. You did the right thing to kill him before he could merge with me.’

  ‘Didn’t think she had it in her,’ the Demon King said, close to us on the other side of the bars. ‘They say you kill the one you love, eh?’

  ‘Go, Emma,’ the Serpent said. It squeezed me gently with its coils. ‘I love you.’

  I threw my arms around its neck and put my forehead against its snout. ‘I love you too, John.’

  ‘Look after my Turtle. It’s not nearly as smart as I am.’

  I brushed my hands over its head. ‘I know.’

  It gently butted me with its nose. ‘Now go.’

  I rose, a little unsteady but okay. I went to Number One and held my hand out. He took it, and we were outside the cage.

  ‘Okay, take her to the Celestial side,’ the King said.

  ‘One more thing,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t tell me.’ He raised his hands with delight. ‘You want me to tell you what you are. You mean you still don’t know?’

  ‘I’m a Western Shen mix of some sort.’

  ‘See? You do know. A child of the Shen of the West, the Serpent people. As long as they mixed their blood with humans, it didn’t come out. You’re a descendant of two very stupid people who combined their heritage.’ He raised one hand, palm up, towards me. ‘The first one to show the Serpent nature in a thousand years. I’ve been watching you for a very long time, Miss O’Breen-Donahoe. I thought the Xuan Wu would like you, and here you are.’

  ‘That’s not ironic.’

  He laughed out loud. ‘But you’re that as well!’ he said with delight, pointing at the Serpent. ‘One day, it’ll take you over and you’ll be gone. Won’t that be a day to mark on the calendar? Imagine your most powerful adversary kneeling before you, asking what it is.’ He spread his hands. ‘That was one of the finest days of my life, and here we have another one. The Xuan Wu is cut in half, and I own the smart bit of it. Bring the Turtle down here and try to get it out, Emma: the cage is plenty big enough for the combined creature. And then we’ll have some real fun.’ He turned away. ‘Take her out. I’m done here.’ He put his hands on his hips, studying the Serpent. ‘I have some things I want to do with you.’

  ‘Do your worst,’ the Serpent said. ‘Go ahead and kill me, then I’ll be free.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Ah Wu, I have every intention of keeping you alive,’ the King said.

  I moved between the King and the cage. ‘Take me instead. Change me to demon, fill me with essence — I’m clear of the AIDS now. Make babies with me. I’ll do whatever you like, I’ll even be your Queen, just let the Serpent go.’

  ‘Oh, well said, my Lady.’ He bowed slightly. ‘And here you are in a suit and everything — an image that gave me a shocking hard-on every time I pictured it. I pushed you so hard when I was Kitty to wear one for me, and you’re finally in one and I don’t even get to take it off you.’ He looked away. ‘Go home.’

  ‘You’ve always wanted me; you said you would forsake your kingdom for me. Here’s your chance.’

  ‘You believed that? Really?’ He snorted with contempt. ‘I don’t want something as small and useless as you. Go to the West, Emma; they’ll probably eat you the minute they see you. The Serpent part of you is …’ He shrugged. ‘Kind of useful — it kept Ah Wu busy. You were a great potential spy, but you’re a mix of mostly human and a small part Shen and, frankly, not even worth trying to keep. Compared to having the Serpent, you’re nothing.’ He waved one hand dismissively towards Number One. ‘I have her right ovary already, I don’t need the rest of her. Take her home.’

  Number One took my hand, and we were on the Celestial side of Hell, outside Court Ten.

  ‘One day I’m going to kill that bastard and take his throne,’ Number One said. ‘You know where to find me.’ He disappeared.

  CHAPTER 34

  I was weak, but still able to walk. I headed for the courtroom building to find John. The demons on either side of the door stopped me.

  ‘Let me in,’ I said. ‘I’m Emma Donahoe, First —’

  ‘No, you aren’t, sorry, ma’am,’ one of the demons said. ‘You aren’t First any more, and you cannot enter.’

  ‘Tell Judge Pao I am here to see him.’

  ‘He knows, ma’am, and he says to wait.’

  ‘Yeah, I know,’ I said. ‘He says, “Too bad”.’

  I curled up at the bottom of the steps, leaning against the wall of the courtroom building, and closed my eyes. I was jerked awake later by someone saying my name. It was Er Lang, on one knee before me.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he said. ‘I heard what happened.’

  ‘Where’s John?’

  He gestured with his head towards the building. ‘In there. It will take a while: Judge Pao is working through every single legal technicality.’ He put his hand out, still on one knee. ‘Take my hand and I’ll carry you home.’

  I took his hand. ‘Do you know how Simone is?’

  ‘No,’ he said, and we were back on the Mountain. ‘I have to go: the Jade Emperor has summoned me. The news of what has happened is causing something close to hysteria on the Celestial Plane. The Xuan Wu being imprisoned in Hell is very disturbing.’ He glanced around. ‘Can I leave you here?’

  ‘Go,’ I said. ‘I’ll be fine.’

  He disappeared, and I walked alone from the square at the front of Yuzhengong back to the Imperial Residence. The Mountain was quiet; even the mess hall wasn’t echoing with its usual noise of chatter and laughter.

  I arrived at the Imperial Residence and looked around; nobody was there. I changed out of my sweat-and blood-stained suit, pulled on a comfortable Mountain uniform, and went to the temporary infirmary to find Simone. I desperately needed a shower, but this came first.

  Simone was in a training room that had been converted to a two-bed ward; she was its only occupant. The ventilator whispered softly, its hoses snaking into her mouth. Michael lay asleep on the floor in tiger form.

  I sat next to the bed and took her hand.

  Edwin came in and stood behind me.

  ‘Is she all right?’ I said softly.

  Michael heard me and jumped up, banging his head on the underside of the bed. He changed to human and stood up, rubbing his head. ‘Ow,’ he whispered.

  ‘She is recovering quickly,’ Edwin said. ‘The heroin nearly stopped her respiratory system, but we’ll be taking her off the ventilator very soon.’

  ‘Is there any danger of her being addicted to the heroin?’ Michael said.

  Edwin leaned on the back of my chair. ‘They say that many addicts experience such a profound rush on the first try that they spend the rest of their lives seeking that rush again. In Simone’s case, the drug was inflicted on her in a place full of horrific images. It’s possible that instead of a high, she experienced what they call a “bad tr
ip”. We’ll have to see when she wakes up.’ He put his hand on my shoulder. ‘I need to check you over, Emma; and the rest of the Celestial wants to know what happened. The Dark Lord has passed on word that the Serpent part of him is held in Hell.’

  ‘Oh no, they got the Serpent,’ Michael said.

  ‘I was the bait,’ I said. ‘They nearly killed me, and the Serpent came to heal me. But I was in a cage of Celestial Jade, so it was trapped.’

  ‘What happened to Kitty Kwok?’ Michael said. ‘Did that bitch finally get what was coming to her?’

  ‘She grew them all, and helped them all, and then killed them one by one when she’d finished with them. Then we put her in a jade cage as promised, and she nearly killed me and used me as bait to trap the Serpent.’ I nearly moaned with misery. ‘But she was the Demon King.’

  ‘What?’ Michael said, loudly enough to make Simone stir. He dropped his voice. ‘You’re kidding me. No way. I thought he vowed he wasn’t working with her or those other demons.’

  ‘He vowed that he as Demon King wasn’t working with her; he claims Kitty was a different persona and so the vow didn’t apply to her. He’s been keeping his word for centuries so everybody came to trust him, and today he broke it to get what he wanted.’ I shrugged. ‘Nearly. He didn’t get all of the Xuan Wu. I killed John to stop him from merging with the Serpent.’

  ‘You killed him?’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘Let me look you over, Emma,’ Edwin said. ‘They say you had a near-fatal dose of radiation.’

  I went to sit on the other bed in the ward. ‘Check me over, but you’ll find there’s nothing wrong with me; the Serpent cured me. It may even have been able to clear the AIDS.’ I wiped my eyes and my voice thickened. ‘And at what a price.’

  ‘What will the King do with the Serpent?’ Michael said.

  I dropped my head, my throat even thicker. ‘Play.’

  ‘Lie down and let me take some blood,’ Edwin said, rifling through the cupboard. ‘I want you to stay here overnight for observation.’

  ‘I’ll be right next door in the Residence.’

  ‘No.’ He patted the mattress. ‘Here.’

  He took the blood, and went out to put it into the collection vials. Michael came to sit in a chair next to my bed.

  ‘I didn’t know,’ he said.

  ‘You didn’t know what?’

  He gestured with his head towards Simone.

  ‘You don’t have to do anything,’ I said.

  ‘I don’t intend to.’ He leaned his elbows on his knees and looked down at his hands. ‘She’s only seventeen, Emma. She’s much younger than me and she should be with a boy of her own age, if she’s with anyone at all.’ He glanced up at me. ‘I’m not coming back to work for you. I’m staying as Number One.’

  ‘I understand.’

  He studied me. ‘You do?’

  I nodded a reply.

  ‘Well, if you do understand, could you explain it to her when she wakes up tomorrow and I’m gone?’

  ‘Nothing to explain, Michael. She doesn’t expect anything from you.’

  ‘It’s just because I’m here, and I’m older than her, and I understand what it’s like,’ he said. ‘That’s all. That’s all it’s ever been. I have Clarissa back in the West, and I’ll wait for her.’

  I leaned back on the pillows. ‘Oh yeah, you owe me ten yuan.’

  ‘They’ve broken up already?’ he said with disbelief.

  ‘They called it quits within five days.’

  Michael looked around, then jumped up and fished through his pockets. He found his mobile phone and held one hand over it. A flurry of tiny glowing particles drifted out of the phone and coalesced into a gold coin. He held the coin out to me. ‘There’s usually about five US dollars worth of gold in a phone — that should cover it.’

  I nodded to him. ‘Thank you.’

  Edwin came back. ‘Stop talking to the patient, please. If you would return to the bedside of the Princess like the fairytale prince you are …’

  Michael poked Edwin in the chest with his index finger. ‘Call me Prince Charming one more time and I will call you out.’

  ‘Just go home, man,’ Edwin said.

  The two of them embraced quickly, and Michael disappeared.

  Edwin sighed and shook his head. ‘Do you need anything, Emma?’

  ‘A shower, a really big mug of tea and something to eat. I’m still covered in blood and grit, and I haven’t had anything to eat in ages. Being healed by the Serpent makes me starving.’

  ‘Blood?’ He took my hands to examine them.

  ‘Not mine,’ I said.

  ‘All right, you can go back to the Residence. But I want you here first thing in the morning when I have the results of the tests.’

  I hopped down off the bed and clutched it as the room swirled around me. ‘I’ll be here.’

  He stopped me with a hand on my arm as I was leaving. ‘Just let me say — I understand completely why you did what you did, and I’m behind you all the way.’

  ‘Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good,’ I said. ‘Thanks for your support.’

  The next morning I woke to the sound of the fountain in the courtyard below and the gentle noises of the demons going about their work downstairs. I was alone in the house; John hadn’t returned.

  I rose and dressed and went down to the dining room to find Er Lang sitting at the table with a pot of Chinese tea and a bowl of congee in front of him.

  I saluted him and sat. ‘Tell me the worst.’

  His expression was very grim. ‘Half the Celestial is demanding both your heads.’

  ‘Only half?’

  ‘The other half are pushing for him to be thrown from Heaven, and a long sentence for both of you to be carried out on the Earthly Plane.’

  ‘I’m sure a lot of people will be extremely happy to see the uppity human bitch get what’s coming to her. When’s the trial?’

  ‘No trial. The Jade Emperor will wait until the Dark Lord returns to plead your case before he passes judgement. Until then you are under house arrest.’

  ‘House arrest — does that mean the Residence or the Mountain?’

  ‘It is open to interpretation.’

  ‘Okay, Mountain. What do you think our chances are?’

  He sighed and leaned his chin in his hand. ‘A month ago I would have been delighted at the concept of your execution.’

  My stomach fell out. To come so far and finally gain John back, only to lose everything because of my own stupidity.

  ‘Stomping around being arrogant won’t help at all in this case, will it?’ I said.

  ‘Absolutely not. Handle this with humility.’

  ‘I intend to; it’s the way I really feel. If I’d never gone down there, none of this would have happened.’

  He put his teacup down. ‘And now I must return to the Celestial and try to minimise the hysteria.’

  ‘Any idea when John will be back?’

  ‘Probably tomorrow at the earliest. Judge Pao is as pissed as everybody else.’

  I held my hand out and we clasped hands as comrades-in-arms. ‘Thank you, Rob.’

  He nodded to me. ‘No problem.’

  I went straight to Simone when I arrived at the infirmary. She was off the ventilator and appeared to be sleeping normally.

  ‘Did she wake up?’ I said.

  ‘She woke, used the bedpan, asked after the Dark Lord, you and Michael, then went back to sleep,’ Edwin said. ‘She’s recovering quickly and she’ll probably be out of here in a few days.’

  He led me into his office and sat me on the other side of his desk. He pulled out the test results.

  ‘Well?’ I said.

  ‘Radiation damage is difficult to quantify; we usually go by symptoms. Well, those who are experienced with it do — I had to contact some specialists, who will probably spend weeks trying to establish where the top-secret leak occurred. Are you experiencing any symptoms?’
>
  ‘No.’

  ‘Good. We’ll play that by ear, but since you’re free of the HIV I think we can safely say the Serpent cured you of everything.’ He put the results on his desk. ‘I can see why everyone constantly complains about it not being here. If it was here, I would probably have nothing to do.’

  ‘You’ll always have something to do, Edwin, you’re a fine doctor.’ I corrected myself. ‘No, if anybody asks, tell them that I was rude to you and always put your skills down, and you really disliked me.’

  ‘Oh, absolutely; it’s the truth after all.’ He shrugged. ‘You’re free to go, clean bill of health. Take it easy; you’ve been through a lot.’

  ‘Let me know if Simone wakes up,’ I said, rising to go out.

  ‘Sure thing.’

  I left the infirmary and headed for my office. Classes had started, and several groups occupied the squares and training areas, practising the Arts in near-perfect unison. As I neared the administration section, I passed Chang in one of the gardens. He wore the brown working robe of a Buddhist monk and cheap cotton work gloves, and he was on his knees, pulling weeds and throwing them into a bamboo basket.

  He waved to me. ‘I’ve been seconded here to help out with the autumn clean-up.’

  ‘Happy?’ I said.

  He stood up and studied his work. ‘Always.’

  ‘That’s good to hear.’

  He turned to see me. ‘I did not know that the woman the demons were working with was the King of the Demons himself. If I had known I would surely have told you.’

  ‘I know that, Chang. I should have worked it out myself a long time ago. Everything I did against them was always too easy. Having the Dark Lord back forced their hand.’

  ‘Will you be punished?’

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘If you are sent to the Earthly, I would like to come with you, look after you.’

  ‘If I’m sent to the Earthly, they’ll probably wipe my memory.’

  ‘Still.’

  ‘Chang.’ I reached out and touched his arm. ‘If anyone asks you, tell them that you never liked me, and that working in the garden is ten times better than working for me.’