‘Since the Dark Lord came back, I feel the same way.’
‘You’ve been hurt too, ma’am?’ she said, wide-eyed.
‘Nothing compared to what you’ve suffered, but it’s wonderful to have the Dark Lord back after so many years alone.’ I raised my arms and swung them, and the armour didn’t pinch anywhere. ‘Good job. Can you put my hair up in the ebony spike for me?’
‘I can do your make-up, ma’am,’ she said, pleased, ‘and put ornaments in your hair.’
‘No make-up, no ornaments, just the spike.’
‘What, like a man?’ she said. ‘You should have a prettier hairstyle than that. Something more decorative. I would be delighted to put your hair into a feminine style, I have practised.’ She studied my hair. ‘Some gold ornaments and a comb would be much more suitable for someone of your rank.’
I tapped the breastplate. ‘I’m a warrior.’
‘But with no make-up, you’ll look like a man. They let you dress as a man?’ she said. ‘I didn’t realise — I mean, I know you wear armour and you’re a warrior, but dressed like this you look like a man.’
‘I’m not dressed as a man,’ I said. ‘I’m dressed as me. I’m not here to be decorative, I’m here to do a job. Come on.’ I walked back through the wall and sat at the dressing table. ‘Put it up and put the spike through it.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said. She shook her head as she pulled my hair up. ‘You are turning everything upside down. You make the world look so different. I feel like I don’t know anything any more.’
‘Then you’re probably ready to begin learning,’ I said.
I pulled my Doc Martens on, and Smally laced one while I laced the other. When we were done we went back out to the courtyard, where John was waiting for us with a sliced nashi pear and some grapes in front of him. We shared a nod and I went to him.
He stood with effort, leaning on the stick, and glanced over my shoulder at Smally. ‘Return to your duties.’
Smally’s voice was soft with disappointment. ‘At the laundry?’
‘No,’ John said.
I turned to her. ‘Smally, you were planning to clean out my closet. We’ll be a while so take your time.’
Smally lit up and bowed low with a huge grin. ‘My Lady.’ She spun and nearly skipped back into the house.
I turned back to John. ‘All set?’
‘Just arranging a private place to land.’ I waited for a moment, and then he nodded. ‘Fixed.’
He held his hand out to me and I took it. We stood, hands clasped, gazing into each other’s eyes, then the world spun and I blacked out.
I came around on a simple coconut-fibre mattress laid on the floor in a bare room. John was sitting cross-legged next to me, and nobody else was present. I sat up, then lowered my head as a moment of dizziness took me. I breathed deeply, aware of his concerned attention, then sat back up and shook out my shoulders.
‘How long was I out?’
‘Half an hour.’ He took his hair out, leaned forward, tied it into a topknot then tossed it back. ‘I was out for fifteen minutes.’
‘Are you okay?’
He nodded, his dark eyes full of restrained emotion. ‘You aren’t.’
‘I’ll get there.’
I leaned on the wall to pull myself upright, my insides protesting, then bent as another wave of dizziness made the room spin. I carefully levered myself to vertical, then waited for John. He did exactly the same thing, also stopping before he could be completely upright. He concentrated and grew to his mid-forties form wearing his black robe and armour, same as me.
Yanluo Wang, Lord of the Underworld, opened the door and poked his head around. ‘My Lord.’
‘We’re ready,’ John said.
Wang looked from John to me, his expression carefully controlled, then opened the door wider. ‘This way.’
When we arrived in his office, Wang leaned on the back of his big leather executive chair and put one hand out towards John. ‘Surely you can take True Form or come through the Courts? This must be driving you crazy.’
‘The damage is to the Serpent, and it’s infected,’ John said, grimacing with pain as he sat. ‘Even if the Turtle goes through the Courts the damage will still be there. We have to make a hard decision: give me antibiotics in the hope that they’ll transfer to the Serpent, or let me suffer and hope that I die of it.’ He corrected himself. ‘The Serpent dies of it.’
‘I understand your nature. What are the demons doing about it? Are they treating it?’
John leaned on the table and rubbed his eyes. ‘They hadn’t been in the holding pen in months. I was totally unprepared when they came in and chopped my tail off, and I haven’t seen them since. I sincerely wish my Serpent was a small enough Shen to die of starvation.’
Wang quickly went to the door of his office and poked his head out to talk to someone, then sat behind the desk. ‘Can you use donor energy to rebuild yourself?’
‘I would drain any donor,’ John said. ‘They would be gone.’
‘I used to wonder why the Ancients talked about the Jade Emperor’s multiple souls,’ I said.
‘The Celestial hasn’t done it in a very long time,’ Wang said. ‘It is very much a last resort, because it takes him a century of solitude and meditation to extricate the life force and release it again.’ He tapped the table. ‘Find a willing donor. Pay the price later.’
‘I don’t know how to extricate them,’ John said. ‘If I take them, they’re gone.’
‘This just gets better and better,’ Wang said grimly. ‘How many souls have you consumed in the past, Ah Wu? Surely the Jade Emperor taught you the technique when you did it?’
‘I have never done it,’ John said with fierce dignity.
‘Never? What about before you turned to the Celestial? I’ve heard the stories.’
John’s face was rigid with restraint. ‘That was not me. Here and now I am the Celestial Xuan Wu, and I have never drained anyone’s life force.’
‘But a couple of years ago you absorbed the Heavenly Star …’ Wang said, glancing at me.
‘The Star gave me his energy and reverted to a mindless nature spirit. I did not absorb him completely,’ John said.
‘I see.’ Wang rubbed his chin. ‘The reason I’ve called you in here is a very high-security matter, but I’m sure you won’t be too surprised when you hear what it is.’
One of his assistants, wearing a Qing-style robe in black with a red border, brought a massive book into the office and put it in front of Wang. Another assistant placed a jug of water and some glasses on the table. Both of them bowed to us and went out.
‘Holy shit, is that the book?’ I said.
It was thirty centimetres to a side and twenty thick, with a heavy dark brown leather cover and pages stained by age to a similar colour.
‘You’re not supposed to see it,’ Wang said with amusement.
John poured himself a glass of water and drank it quickly. ‘Show her where Sun Wu Kong defaced it.’
I stared at John. ‘He really did that?’
‘Damn monkey,’ Wang growled. He opened the book on the table, then held his hand over it and the pages flipped backwards and forwards by themselves. They settled onto a page with a red ink-brush stain and splotches across it. ‘He was Immortal already, he’d learned to dance the stars and ride the wind, and he came down here and defaced the book anyway. Asshole.’
‘So he crossed his name out?’ I said.
‘In vermilion ink, insulting the Jade Emperor at the same time,’ Wang said.
‘Stupid bastard crossed out the wrong name too,’ John said. ‘That’s not him.’
‘Yeah, this is a kid born on Hainan Island who had the same name,’ Wang said. ‘Gained Immortality through a clerical error.’
‘So what’s the problem now?’ John said, raising his glass of water at Wang. ‘I assume the demons haven’t tried the defences yet. What’s going on?’
Wang held his hand over the book a
nd the pages flipped again. It stopped and he read down the characters. ‘It’s very reassuring to have some of the Thirty-Six here, but I’m beginning to wonder if their first assault will be Celestial Hell after all.’
‘It will be. If they can control all of Hell, every one of us who dies will be trapped here. It has to be their first strategic target.’
‘There don’t seem to be any of them left on the demonic side at all,’ Wang said. ‘They’ve stopped releasing people from the Pits.’
‘What?’ John said, his voice flat.
Wang tapped the book. ‘Here’s one. Went in mid-Qing Dynasty. Sentenced by every single court; he was a nasty piece of work. Bribed and murdered his way to provincial governor: he killed people and took over their positions, then raped and murdered their wives and children. Raped three babies to death. Embezzled fifteen million yuan from his citizens. Allowed health care and infrastructure to fall into ruin while he lived a lavish lifestyle of cruelty and excess. I watched with a great deal of satisfaction as he was released from each level only to be sentenced by the Courts to suffer in the next.’ He looked up at John. ‘Was due to be released last week after two hundred and fifty years of torture. Never came out. Nobody’s been released from the demonic side in two months.’
‘How many haven’t been released?’ John said.
‘Four.’
‘How many are still in there?’
‘One thousand, three hundred and …’ Wang checked the book. ‘Seventeen.’ He looked up at John. ‘We need to get them out. Their sentences are complete. You could go undercover and find your Serpent at the same time.’
‘The JE won’t let him,’ I said. ‘If both of him are trapped, we’ll lose for sure.’
‘So what do we do?’ Wang said.
‘Try a diplomatic solution first; we’re the good guys here,’ I said. ‘Give the King a chance to do the right thing. Call him or a senior lieutenant for a meeting on neutral ground halfway across the first causeway, and try to talk them into releasing the people who are due.’
‘My Lord?’
‘Emma speaks for me; she always knows what I’m thinking and right now she has twice the brains I do. If I am silent I agree with her and you do not need to confirm with me.’
Wang looked from John to me. ‘You share your thoughts?’
‘No,’ John and I said at the same time, and both of us winced.
‘Maybe the Serpent —’ Wang began.
‘No!’ John and I snapped in unison and shifted uncomfortably, then went still when we realised what we were doing.
Wang was smart enough to leave it there, but it was obvious what he was thinking.
‘She knows everything that’s going on and she’s not putting up with these goddamn painful feet,’ John said. ‘I’m relying on her right now.’
‘Opium could ease —’
‘No,’ John said.
They matched glares for a moment and Wang backed down. He raised his hands. ‘I will ask them for a meeting.’
‘Arrange a time with his assistant, Zara,’ I said. ‘I’m free when he’s free.’
‘Done,’ Wang said. ‘And when the diplomatic talks fail?’
‘We’ll cross that causeway when we come to it,’ John said.
‘If you or one of your Generals can think of a way to get these people out without starting a war, I would appreciate it. It burns to have people who have completed their sentences still being tortured there.’
‘They may just be sitting under a tree doing nothing if all the demons have left,’ I said.
‘They haven’t,’ John said. ‘I can smell them. They’re trying to goad me into going in.’
‘Don’t,’ Wang said. ‘Emma’s right. I thought it would be a good idea for you to go in, but with you in this state … it’s not.’
‘I know,’ John said, wiping one hand over his forehead. He took another sip of the water; he was feeling the Serpent’s dehydration and starvation. ‘I’ll ask around quietly and see if we can find someone to investigate down here. Until then, we’ll go with the diplomatic solution first.’
‘I agree with your wise advice,’ Wang said. He pushed the book away. ‘Let me show you out.’
‘Both of us need an hour to rest in the same room to rebuild our strength before we return,’ John said.
‘A whole hour?’ Wang said, looking from John to me.
Neither of us replied.
‘I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.’
‘Good,’ John said.
5
‘Tiger.’
‘About time you answered,’ I said. ‘I’ve been trying to talk to you forever!’
‘This had better be fucking good, I’m busy.’
‘Do you have time for a simple question?’
‘How simple?’
‘Can you synthesise two metric tons of weapons-grade steel in the next eight weeks?’
‘Two thousand kilos?’
‘Yep.’
‘Damn. Let me think. Um … no. Number One could … No. Sorry, Emma, can’t be done. I can’t free anybody up for that amount of time, and with a couple of my biggest guys working on it …’ He thought for a moment. ‘No. I can’t spare them, not unless you can’t find another way.’
‘Okay. I thought that would be the case, but it was worth a try. I’ll give my connections on the Earthly a call. Do you know anyone who sells this stuff?’
‘Of course not, we make our own. We’re the last people you should ask.’
‘Could you provide me with a smaller quantity of Celestial-weapons-grade steel with energy spun through it to make it more effective against demons?’
‘How much of that would you need?’
‘Probably a hundred kilos to start off with.’
‘I can put my Number Three and Number Five on that — should take about three days … No, wait, Number Three’s still in Russia, so about a week. You can have it faster if you provide the raw steel for Five to work with after you’ve bought your big lot. Satisfactory?’
‘Thanks,’ I said, noting it down. ‘That’s all I need for now.’
‘Do you know —’
‘Yes, I know I sound like him,’ I said. ‘Bye, Tiger.’
‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Why are you asking for this now? We sent you a bunch of steel …’ I heard papers shuffling. ‘Not long ago.’
‘Wait … are you actually at your desk?’
He sounded sheepish. ‘Maybe. So the steel. What happened to it all?’
‘I’ve had the forge working nonstop, and some of the steel was wasted on the materials-fusion experiments with the Phoenix’s people.’
‘How did that work out? Ceramic would make an excellent edge. Much sharper, and would hold the edge for significantly longer.’
‘It didn’t. The ceramic was too brittle — one good hit and it was gone; and when the steel flexed it shattered.’
‘Carbon fibre?’
‘Major fail on that one: much too soft, completely destroyed the edge.’
‘Well, damn. Okay then, send the steel over to me when you’ve bought it and I’ll put a couple of my boys onto the energy enhancement.’ He shuffled papers again. ‘Yep, should be possible, but send it fast because we’re heavily occupied with war preparations.’
‘I know. All of you Winds are flat out — hell, even you’re being productive. Just hold a minute. There.’
‘What?’
‘Marked it in my diary: Tiger at his desk. Is that an unofficial holiday in the West?’
‘No, it’s a day of mourning because I’m not in the harem. Fuck it, it’s more fun in there anyway. Bye, Emma,’ he said, and hung up.
‘Wei?’
‘Simone, where are you? You’re supposed to be here for this call to Monica.’
My mobile phone dinged with a text message and I picked it up to see: Leo.
‘I can’t come right now,’ Simone said. ‘I’m stuck outside the student accommodation office, they’re running late for my
interview. If I leave now I won’t have a place in the residences. Can’t it wait?’
‘No, I’ve made arrangements with her family so that she’d be in to speak to us. We haven’t talked to her in ages.’
‘I know, Emma, but I really can’t leave! Look, as soon as I have it all settled here I’ll pop over to the Philippines and see her, that’d be much better anyway. Oh, my number’s up, I have to go. Say hello to her for me, will you? Tell her I love her. Bye.’
She hung up. I read Leo’s text.
Sry can’t come up rght now stuck @ Singpre with orphans, gov’t being trble w ID docs. Will talk to M next time, k?
Not even John was able to come; he was in a meeting with the Generals about the defence of Hell that had already gone an hour over time and looked like taking most of the afternoon.
I dialled Monica’s number.
‘Hello?’
‘Hello, is Monica there?’ I said.
‘Who is asking?’
‘It’s Emma Donahoe.’
‘Oh! Oh! Yes, ma’am, sorry, ma’am.’
I sighed with exasperation. ‘I’m not ma’am. Just call me Emma. Monica’s part of the family!’
‘Yes, ma’am. Just a second, I’ll get Monica.’
I heard a torrent of Tagalog, many excited voices on the other end of the line, then Monica came on.
‘Ma’am.’ Her voice was thin and weak.
‘Oh, Monica,’ I said. ‘I’m so sorry this happened.’
‘It’s God’s will, ma’am.’
‘Will everybody stop with the ma’am business! Just Emma. Please.’
‘You’re a queen, ma’am.’ Her voice became breathless. ‘I knew that Mr Chen was a special man, but when Marcus told me … I never knew. Marcus explained that even though Mr Chen doesn’t say much, and most of the time doesn’t seem much, …he’s a king — or more like an angel, a Chinese angel. I am very privileged to have been a part of such a noble family. I never would have met Marcus if it hadn’t been for Mr Chen and his friend Mr Tiger. I have Marcus, I have my family, I am so happy. Oh! My sister’s daughter is pregnant, she’ll be having the baby soon, so much excitement.’ She sounded genuinely delighted. ‘How are Miss Simone and Mister Leo? Are they well?’