‘Two reasons,’ the stone said. ‘The first is obvious. The second is that the current King is slightly more honourable than its predecessor and does not engage in this sort of underhand activity.’
‘He can be pretty underhand when he wants to,’ I said grimly.
‘He is a Demon King.’
‘Will Gold be able to tell if Amy is a demon?’ I said.
‘Yes.’
‘You sure?’
If the stone could sigh it would have. ‘Of course. He is my son.’
‘You mean child.’
The stone didn’t speak to me for a long time after that.
I arranged the examination for two days later so that John and Meredith could be present as well as Gold and me: John for his demon-spotting skills, and Meredith as the best demon-binder on the Mountain. JC Poon, the Demon Master, was on call, but didn’t need to be present unless Amy was a demon and was either bound or tamed. If she turned and attacked us we would destroy her and he wouldn’t be needed at all.
We used a training room on the twenty-second floor by silent mutual agreement. It would be the best place if she turned; the seniors and Celestials would be close by.
Amy walked in and stopped dead when she saw all of us. Her face went ashen, then she remembered and fell to one knee, saluting us all.
‘Come in, Amy,’ I said, as gently as I could. ‘I think you know everybody. Do you know Meredith?’
Amy shook her head, her eyes wide. She was panicking. She knew something was up.
I gestured towards Meredith. ‘Master Liu, Energy Master, Tai Chi Master.’
Amy saluted Meredith and Meredith nodded back, her angular, intelligent face serious. She was already examining Amy.
‘Okay, Amy,’ I said, trying to be brisk and businesslike. She broadcast raw terror. ‘Sit cross-legged on the floor in the centre of the room and Gold will have a look inside you.’
She did as she was told.
Gold knelt behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Relax, dear. I won’t hurt you. Everything will be just fine.’
Amy was shaking.
Gold didn’t move, but I saw him contact Meredith. Meredith silently moved forward and put her hand on top of Amy’s head.
Amy went rigid at the touch and then her face went slack. Gold nodded and Meredith moved away.
Human at the top level, Gold said. My Lady, could you bring my parent here, please? I would like it to provide a second opinion.
I moved quietly to Gold and put the stone in front of him. I released it, and it hovered in front of Gold’s face, between his nose and the back of Amy’s head. Gold nodded, his face still full of concentration.
Going deeper. Dad?
Human. No apparent demonic attributes at any of the top levels, the stone said.
Gold stiffened. What a bastard.
With you there, the stone said. No wonder she wanted to learn to defend herself.
Gold sighed, his shoulders moving. Going deeper.
What was that? the stone said.
What? Gold said.
For a moment there…nothing.
My Lord Xuan, please take a quick look, Gold said. Through me, so that you cannot harm her.
John approached them and bent to place his hand on Gold’s shoulder. His face went rigid with concentration, then he released Gold and moved back.
Definitely not a demon, John said. Could be something else there, but it’s so well hidden it’s hard to say. Probably just exceptional talent. I have seen humans this talented before. If a talented human suffers such as she has, it can also bring forward the energy control. He smiled. Suffering brings wisdom and control.
The ring rose above Gold and returned to me, and I picked it out of the air. Gold took his hands away from Amy’s shoulders and rose.
Meredith crouched beside Amy and put her hand on Amy’s shoulder. ‘We’re finished now, dear.’
Amy shook herself out, then heaved a huge sigh and pulled herself to her feet, swaying slightly. Meredith held her elbow to help her.
‘That was weird,’ Amy said. ‘You knocked me out or sedated me or something, didn’t you?’
Meredith smiled but didn’t say anything.
‘I thought I could hear people talking but there wasn’t a sound,’ Amy said.
‘You are quite correct, Amy,’ John said.
I went to Amy and took her arm. I looked her right in the eyes. ‘You are a completely normal, talented human who has had her talents boosted by a prolonged period of suffering.’
Amy’s eyes widened. ‘You know about that? You know?’
‘Nothing to be ashamed of, Amy,’ Gold said. May I see her back to the Folly?
‘Go,’ I said. ‘Amy, Gold will escort you back.’
‘The long way,’ Meredith said. ‘Not directly; she wouldn’t be able to handle it right now.’
‘Oh, I’m taking the long way,’ Gold said, smiling into Amy’s eyes. He gently took her elbow to lead her out. ‘Are you free Friday night? A group of us grown-ups are going to Lan Kwai Fong to try out the new Italian restaurant there. And to get away from the little ones for a while. You’re welcome to come; you spend a lot of time with the younger students as well.’
‘Little ones?’ Amy said. ‘You look the same age as most of the students.’
‘Appearances can be deceiving. I’m slightly older than I look,’ Gold said, amused. ‘You are a very interesting person, you know that? A lot of depth to you. I’d love to see more of it.’
‘Tell Gold I heard that and he’s seeing somebody already,’ I said quickly, and the stone relayed the message.
Broke up with him a month ago, Gold said.
‘He’s to tell her all about himself up front. And if she’s too traumatised by what she’s been through then it’s strictly hands off.’
Of course.
Another bolt hit me. They would be great together. Totally made for each other. And she was something special, but it wasn’t ready to come out yet.
I shook myself out of it. Meredith and John stared at me. ‘What?’
‘We saw that,’ John said. He pointed at the floor. ‘Your turn.’
I hesitated, then moved to sit cross-legged in the middle of the room. Meredith took up position behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.
I relaxed and let her in.
It didn’t take long. She flipped through me like a magazine, then put me back and released me.
‘Well on the way there,’ she said, rising. She reached down and helped me up. ‘Impressive.’
‘Have you had any flashes about us? You and me?’ John said.
‘No. Only the students.’ I gestured towards the door. ‘Amy and Gold are made for each other. They’ll be great together.’ It hit me again. ‘In fifteen or twenty years, their kids will be some of the best students you and I have ever seen, and we’ll teach them together.’
I heard what I’d just said and dropped my head as my throat thickened. John looked away, but Meredith grinned broadly.
‘See?’ she said, and linked her arm in mine. ‘It will be. Let’s go and buy the young Immortal-to-be some lunch.’
The next afternoon I paired up my energy students and they worked with chi together, one manipulating the energy and the other supervising. It was incredibly satisfying to have half a dozen students all taking their first steps together.
I paired Amy with Brad, a hefty young black man from Argentina. We didn’t recruit many young people from South America; there wasn’t much interest there in the Asian Arts. But the movie industry was helping us immensely. Young people saw Hollywood wire-fu and wanted to learn some for themselves. Many were disappointed when they realised that the stuff they saw on movies was pure fantasy, but others were intrigued by the real Arts and continued. And some eventually came to the Mountain and discovered that the stuff depicted by wire-fu was the least of what they could do.
John said that he had never seen so many talented students in a single year. He pond
ered out loud that the Mountain didn’t just need to be rebuilt, it needed to be extended. And then he grinned at my moans of dismay.
As I passed Amy, I gently placed my hand on top of her head. I felt her working under Brad’s supervision and suddenly realisation hit me like a thunderbolt. Amy was a dragon. And Brad was a demon. I had to think quickly; now that I knew the truth I didn’t have much time.
‘Call the energy back, guys,’ I said casually. At the same time, I tapped the stone and silently ordered it to get Gold in right away.
‘Everybody up,’ I said, and they all rose. ‘Remain in your pairs and move so that you are an equal distance apart in the room. Spread out and make space.’
Gold appeared beside me.
‘Brad, grab Amy right now!’ I shouted fiercely. ‘Standard arm lock! Amy, if you can understand me, let him do it.’
Brad jumped to obey me. He held Amy from behind, towering over her. Amy didn’t fight him.
‘Everybody out!’ I ordered loudly.
Amy’s face went ashen. Brad’s face tightened into a grimace of effort. The other four students went out, closing the door behind them.
‘What did I do?’ Amy said. She didn’t attempt to struggle.
‘Gold, get Jade here,’ I said. ‘I don’t care if she’s in the middle of laying eggs, I want her here right now.’
A long minute of agony passed before Jade appeared. She looked around, then saw Brad holding Amy and stiffened. ‘Get the next of kin,’ I said. ‘Tell them to hurry.’
I told the stone to explain the situation to Gold, who passed it along to Jade, and both of them nodded without saying a word.
Amy’s face twisted into anger. ‘Don’t move, Amy,’ I said. ‘Brad, hold her.’
‘I didn’t do anything!’ Amy shouted, struggling.
‘Hold still, Amy, trust me,’ I said. Amy subsided. ‘Hold her, Brad, a tight grip.’ Brad nodded, his face rigid.
‘What did I do, Emma?’ Amy said. ‘Why are you doing this?’ Her face filled with horror. ‘Oh my God, am I a demon and I don’t know?’
‘Just trust me and stay still,’ I said. ‘If I’m right, we won’t hurt you at all. Trust me. How long, Jade?’
‘Five minutes,’ Jade said. ‘It was a long way.’
‘Amy,’ I said gently, ‘give us five minutes, and it will all become clear. I won’t let Brad release you, because you may get hurt. Trust me, stay still. Brad, concentrate. Hold her.’
‘Ma’am,’ Brad said.
Tears ran down Amy’s face; she was terrified, but she remained motionless in Brad’s grip. Brad didn’t move at all.
‘Two minutes,’ Jade said.
‘Jade, Gold, on the count of three: as much chi as you can generate, right at her head,’ I said. ‘One.’
‘NO!’ Amy shrieked. ‘I didn’t do anything!’
‘Two.’
Jade and Gold moved into position. We generated three balls of chi, each at least a metre across.
Amy struggled harder. Brad held her tight.
‘Three!’ I shouted, and all three of us let loose with the chi right at Amy’s head.
Amy transformed into a small black dragon, about two metres long. The chi missed her completely and hit Brad at neck height. He was completely destroyed and dissipated quickly.
Amy, still in the form of a black dragon, threw her mouth open and roared, then hurled herself at me.
Jade transformed, leapt onto Amy’s back and held her down. Amy’s black dragon form struggled against Jade, writhing and roaring with fury, but Jade was bigger and held her.
Gold and I waited patiently.
A magnificent dark blue dragon appeared in front of me, facing Jade and Amy. Its scales were so dark they were almost black, and its fins and tail were gold. It was about twice the size of Jade and had to bend its long tail to fit in front of me.
Amy froze completely when she saw the dark blue dragon. The dragon transformed into a short, round Chinese man in his late fifties. He stood still and silent, studying Amy.
Amy’s dragon form sagged, then she changed back to her human form. She collapsed onto the floor. Jade also transformed, and put her arms around Amy.
The Chinese man went to Amy and stood silently over her for some time. Eventually, Amy pulled herself to her feet, Jade helping her. Then Amy fell into the man’s arms, weeping. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘What would be the point?’ he said. ‘Either you are one of us or you aren’t. If you are, it will happen. If you aren’t, it is better that you never know what you could be.’ He turned to me with Amy still in his arms. ‘Hello.’
‘Hi,’ I said. ‘Have you heard of the Academy?’
‘Of course I have,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t connect it with what Amy was doing in Hong Kong.’ He pulled away slightly to smile down at her and stroke her hair. ‘I should have realised. She isn’t here to teach English and avoid her husband at all. Like most dragons, she is unusually talented in the Arts and was recruited by the Dark Lord.’
‘You never knew?’ I said.
‘She never showed any inclination before,’ he said. ‘Before she started learning kung fu, she never displayed any signs whatsoever.’ He pulled her tight. ‘I am so proud, Amy. My own beloved daughter, a black dragon.’
Amy was gasping. ‘A black dragon?’
‘Black as night,’ I said.
‘Is that why you tried to destroy me?’ she said. Her face filled with horror. ‘Oh my God, Brad! You killed Brad! How could you do that? No…no. You missed me, and killed him—he was helping you!’ She breathed in ragged gasps. ‘He died for me!’
‘He was a demon, Amy,’ I said. ‘I was counting on you changing so that I could destroy him without him knowing we were on to him.’
‘He was a demon?’
‘The stories are true, my Lady,’ Amy’s father said.
‘I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know your name,’ I said. ‘You’ll have to forgive me, I don’t remember Amy’s last name.’
‘Amy Wu,’ Amy said.
Amy’s father released one hand and held it out to me.
I shook it. ‘Mr Wu.’
‘You can call me Richard, it’s easier,’ Amy’s father said. He turned and smiled at Amy. ‘A black dragon. Wonderful.’
‘Am I a bad dragon?’ Amy whispered. ‘If I’m black?’
Both her father and I laughed. ‘Colour has nothing to do with it,’ I said.
‘By your leave, Lady Emma, I would like to take my daughter to try out her new abilities,’ Amy’s father said. ‘And then, of course, I must present her to the King.’
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Say hello to the Dragon King for me. You were something special, Amy, it was just very well hidden. Happens all the time with you dragons. You’re the third one this year. I should be getting used to it.’
Amy released her father and embraced me. ‘Thank you so much, Emma.’ She turned to Gold and saddened. ‘Does this mean I won’t see you again?’
Gold smiled gently. ‘Once you’ve been presented to the King you’ll probably be back here joining the advanced classes with the other dragons. I’m thinking of setting up a special school for you guys, so many of you keep turning up.’
‘The world is shrinking and we are finding more mates among the wider human population,’ Amy’s father said. He turned back to Amy. ‘Now, we will transform, and I will show you how to fly and how to swim, and then you will see the most magnificent palace in existence.’
‘Bye, Amy,’ I whispered as her father took True Form. ‘Have fun.’
‘How do I change?’ Amy said, but before she’d finished she was already in her dragon form. Her frill, fins and tail fin were all gold; the rest of her was shining jet black. She was magnificent. Her golden eyes flashed.
‘Whoa,’ Gold said softly.
‘Bye, Gold,’ Amy said.
‘Au revoir,’ Gold said. ‘Come back soon.’
‘Thanks, Emma,’ Amy said.
I bowed sli
ghtly. ‘You are most welcome, Dragon Lady.’
‘Follow me. Watch closely,’ Amy’s father said and disappeared.
Amy glanced at me with her golden eyes, then disappeared as well.
Gold sighed with bliss.
‘She’ll be back soon,’ I said softly.
‘I know,’ Gold said.
‘Now we will sort out my students, and then the three of us will have a contingency meeting on how Brad the demon made it halfway through second year without any of us knowing,’ I said.
Jade and Gold both looked sheepish.
‘Not good enough from any of us, guys,’ I said. ‘Stone, did you see all of that?’
‘Yep,’ the stone said.
‘Good,’ I said. ‘I’ll want you to replay the part where Brad was destroyed. I want a good look at that demon; obviously he was something very special. We’ll do a post-mortem on that thing and find out how we were duped.’
‘Good idea,’ Gold said.
‘I think it would also be a good idea if I kept you busy for the next week or so,’ I said to Gold.
‘Forgive me, my Lady, but I was sitting on a clutch,’ Jade said, miserable.
‘Oh, for God’s sake, why didn’t you tell me?’ I said. ‘Go! Before they get cold. Why don’t you dragons ever tell anybody anything?’
Jade disappeared.
‘Because they are truly wonderful,’ Gold said.
‘I wonder who the father is?’ I said.
‘No idea,’ Gold said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Acouple of the Masters wanted to come along later that afternoon when we replayed the Amy/Brad incident. Meredith as Energy Master, the Demon Master JC Poon, and Gold were present. Meredith and JC had passed Brad in the hallway many times without picking him; Meredith herself had examined him as an energy candidate. JC was a charming good-looking Northern Chinese who appeared in his mid-forties. Both he and Meredith wanted to see how Brad had made it past them.
Much as Leo wanted to see it, he and Michael took Simone out. She was sick of spending her summer holidays at the Academy and had demanded a day out with both of them, and Leo was strong enough to take her now.
We watched the replay in John’s office, around a conference table that one of the Celestials conjured for us. I put the ring in the centre of the table and everybody leaned forward to study it.