I wrenched myself upright, gasping. ‘Don’t do it,’ I said. ‘It’s not worth it. Xuan Wu will never renounce his allegiance; he will obey Frankie. All you have to do —’
‘You shut up,’ the Eastern King said, and I was silenced.
The Kings teleported us and we landed on a gravel road as wide as a four-lane highway, with construction equipment — piles of bricks and a bulldozer — to one side. A mound of glittering gravel and a stack of cement bags were on the other side. A hundred metres in front of us, a palace was being built of golden sandstone. The building was Western-style, rectangular, with double-height arched windows on the ground floor, and square windows for two more storeys above that. Statues decorated the edges of the pitched roof, and a tiled courtyard stood in front of the entry.
I saw the mountains in the distance and realised — this was where the Western Palace had been. The glittering pile of gravel was ground-up glass; they’d lifted the heat-fused ground and crushed it to make gravel. The earth around us was the red soil of the Western Palace, bare of any vegetation. A group of people were digging holes and planting shrubs a hundred metres away in the other direction. They were creating a decorative garden that was twenty metres across in front of the two-hundred-metre-wide building.
The shape of the buildings resonated with me; I’d seen something like it before but couldn’t place it.
‘Versailles?’ Simone said with disbelief. ‘You’re duplicating Versailles? You do know what happened to the despotic kings who lived there, right?’
‘Frankie won’t live in there, he has his own house,’ the Western King said, pointing at an incomplete double-storey mansion to one side. ‘And the French kings didn’t have the same sort of control we do. Nobody can ever rebel against us.’
‘My father did last night,’ she said viciously. ‘I only wish that he’d finished you off.’
‘She will make a fine mother for your children, George, darling,’ the Western King said. ‘We should have collected more, just to make sure it will take.’
‘No, thanks, I’m still sore,’ the Eastern King said with amusement.
Simone generated yin and threw it at the Eastern King, but it did nothing. It went right through both Kings and into the ground, leaving an ice-covered black hole a metre across.
‘Wait, she tried to kill us,’ the Western King said. ‘You don’t have control of her?’
‘She’s Prince level,’ the Eastern King said. ‘I’ve been trying to make her my Queen, but she insists on fighting me. It’s a good thing she’s sworn to the Celestial, otherwise we’d have no control over her at all. If she and her father both renounced their Celestial alignment, we’d be in serious trouble.’
‘I see your point about doing this now,’ the Western King said. ‘It’s necessary. Are you sure you have control?’
‘Slap Frankie and find out,’ the Eastern King said.
Simone tried to pull herself free. ‘No! Don’t hurt him. I’ll do anything you say.’
‘Frankie, tell her to kneel,’ the Eastern King said.
‘Kneel, Simone,’ Frankie said, his voice flat.
Simone fell to her knees on the gravel, but her eyes didn’t shift from the Eastern King. ‘I will kill you one day.’
‘We just had that gravel raked,’ the Western King said, pointing at the hole Simone had made. ‘You will go to the Pits the minute this is done.’
‘When what’s done?’ she said.
I opened my mouth to tell her to run, but nothing came out. I was silenced.
BJ, tell her!
She won’t listen to me. I’m trying to talk to her but it’s not getting through.
‘I have a better idea for punishment,’ the Eastern King said. ‘After this is done, send her straight to the Mountain and make her destroy the whole thing and everyone in it.’
‘No!’ Simone shouted. ‘My family are there!’
I struggled to speak. Simone, run! Do something! You mustn’t obey them!
She ignored me.
‘We’re only doing this because your father tried to kill the Jade Emperor last night,’ the Eastern King said. ‘His own son. Remember that this is his fault.’
‘What is?’ she said with frustration.
‘You’ll see.’ The Eastern King crouched to talk to Frankie. ‘Do you want to see your new house here, my darling?’
‘I like the other house. The Celestial Palace is nice. I don’t want to move,’ Frankie said.
The Western King took a swift step towards him.
‘No, I don’t mind moving!’ Frankie said, his voice high-pitched with fear. ‘I’ll go anywhere you say, Daddy!’
Simone jumped to her feet. ‘Leave him alone!’
The Eastern King rose. ‘You have full control of both of them, Francis. When Andy signs the oath, you can take it all.’
‘What are you doing?’ Simone said.
‘Frankie,’ the Eastern King said.
‘Yes, Mummy?’ His voice was small.
‘Say “Simone and Emma, follow us and remain silent”.’
‘Simone and Emma, follow us and remain silent,’ Frankie repeated without emotion.
‘In the main hall,’ the Western King said. ‘They’re waiting for us.’
‘Is it finished?’ the Eastern King said.
‘Just. It was delayed while we collected the gold for the statues and chandeliers. We finally forced the Tiger to cooperate and he made it for us.’
Simone and I followed them as they walked to the grand gilt double doors of the Palace entrance.
‘How did you make him comply?’ the Eastern King said. ‘Last I heard you had him in the Red-Hot Grates.’
‘I threatened to put his children in the Red-Hot Grates. You were right, my love. Torture them and they brush it off: but threaten their families and they’ll do anything you ask of them.’
‘Hopefully Frankie will become emotionally attached to the wives we give him, and you’ll just have to threaten them to keep him compliant,’ the Eastern King said.
‘Yeah, it may be a good thing after all that the boy’s too soft. What about Simone?’
‘Just threaten her brother and she’ll do anything you say. She’s as soft as he is,’ the Eastern King said.
We entered a lobby with a ceiling as high as the roof — four storeys tall. Marble and gilt twin curved staircases led to landings on the second floor, then more stairs to the higher levels. Portraits of each of the Demon Kings, painted in oils in Western style, hung at the top of the stairs in front of us. They were each three metres tall and two wide, and showed the Kings in male form wearing their Western military uniforms.
Simone and I followed the Kings and Frankie through the entry hall and into another hall that occupied the entire side of the building, facing the gardens at the rear. It was two storeys high, twenty metres wide and two hundred metres long and resembled Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors, with glass along one side, mirrors along the other, and enormous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Demons stood in orderly ranks facing the raised dais at the end of the hall, which held a Western-style gold-painted throne with red velvet cushions. The effect was obviously intended to be luxurious, but the crystal, gold and marble combined to give an impression of overdone decoration. The gardens outside were still under construction, and hundreds of people were working with spades and picks to clear the ground.
‘This will truly be magnificent when it’s finished,’ the Eastern King said. She grinned at the Western King. ‘What a shame I’ll never see it.’
‘You can always change your mind, love,’ the Western King said sadly.
We went through the crowd to the dais and followed the Kings onto it. The Eastern King helped Frankie to sit on the throne, and she and the Western King stood either side of him.
‘Order Emma and Simone to the back of the platform,’ the Eastern King told Frankie. ‘And tell them to stay still and quiet.’
Frankie repeated the order, and Simone and I moved. The
windows behind us showed more construction work: open gashes in the ground and piles of rubble.
‘It’s time, Number One,’ the Eastern King said.
Andy appeared at the front of the demons below us. He fell to one knee on the polished white marble floor. ‘Loathsome Majesties.’
The Eastern King swept her hand to the side and a coffee table appeared on the dais. ‘Come up and claim your inheritance, Number One. I think this is the first time in history that there has been a peaceful handover.’ She smiled. ‘The beginning of a grand era of peace and prosperity for all demonkind.’
Andy walked up the stairs onto the dais and stood next to the table. He looked down at the scroll, then up at the Eastern King. ‘This is a terrible idea.’
‘Faithful to the last,’ the Eastern King said. ‘Andy, swear allegiance in blood to Francis.’
‘Reconsider, Dad,’ Andy said. ‘What if he’s been steering you to this point all along?’ He gestured towards the Western King, who stood with his hand on his sword. ‘You’re giving him everything you’ve built!’
‘Do as you’re told, Number One,’ the Eastern King said. ‘Sign the scroll.’
‘I’m not ready for this!’
‘Do it.’
‘I should kill you now,’ Andy said.
Instead, he picked up the small knife from the table, slashed his wrist, and pumped his hand a few times to make the blood flow. He picked up a brush, swiped it over the wound, then signed the scroll with a single horizontal stroke. He concentrated and the wound healed. The scroll was covered in script but it was too small to see what it said.
‘Now in words.’
‘I pledge my allegiance —’
‘On your knees!’ the Eastern King said.
‘I’m not ready for this!’ he said again, but fell to one knee. ‘I pledge allegiance to you, Francis, King of Demonkind. Protect me, I am yours. I will obey you as long as you live.’
The Eastern King’s expression went beatific and she made a soft sound of pleasure. Her eyes unfocused, and she panted a few times. She reached for the Western King and he held her as she shook with jerking tremors. She straightened, her face full of satisfaction.
A few demons in the hall cheered and she waved without looking at them.
Simone made some quiet sounds of disgust in her throat, but we were still restricted from saying anything.
Frankie sat silent on the throne, his expression dull and uninterested. He seemed a million miles away.
‘All right, let’s do it,’ the Eastern King said. She took the Western King’s hand and gazed into his eyes. ‘My last gift to you. All the Heavens, the Earthly, and Hell itself. Once I am gone you will have half the world, and you will quickly conquer the other half. I only wish I could be around to see it.’
‘You can still change your mind, my love.’
‘Not as long as he lives.’ She turned to face the audience. ‘Bring him.’
The Dukes guarding the base of the dais pushed the crowd back. Five Dukes appeared in the space they’d made, each of them with one hand on the Celestial Jade cage containing John. He lay on the bottom of the cage in True Form, covered in still-bleeding cuts.
I looked desperately at Simone, but she was standing blank and emotionless, staring at the cage.
‘Frankie,’ the Eastern King said.
‘Yes, Mummy?’
‘Repeat my orders exactly.’
Frankie’s voice was small. ‘Yes, Mummy.’
‘I’m not ready for this!’ Andy growled under his breath.
‘Xuan Wu, take human form and present yourself on your knees in front of me,’ the Eastern King said.
Frankie repeated the order.
The Dukes gingerly opened the cage.
John took human form in his black Mountain uniform, his hair a mess and his feet bare, and stepped out of the cage. His face was expressionless, but his dark eyes glittered as he walked up the stairs onto the dais and knelt in front of Frankie.
He looked up at Frankie and said, ‘George, if you love him, don’t make him do this.’ His voice was full of pain. ‘When he understands what he has done, it will break him.’
‘He’s already broken,’ the Western King said with relish.
‘Andy, stand behind the throne until it’s time for you to move up,’ the Eastern King said.
‘Majesty,’ Andy said, and moved into position. He glared at John. ‘You had to force this, didn’t you? I’m not ready!’
‘This will backfire on you in ways that you cannot begin to comprehend,’ John said.
‘Frankie, silence,’ the Eastern King said.
‘Silence!’ Frankie repeated.
John looked me in the eyes. I will be profoundly changed by this. Once it has happened, let me be dead to you. Do not love the thing that I become.
I will always love you, whatever you become, I said.
John focused on Simone and they concentrated on each other.
‘They’re talking, shut them up,’ the Western King said. ‘Frankie!’ the Eastern King barked. ‘No one is to speak silently in my presence!’
Frankie repeated the order and John and Simone looked away from each other. John’s face became even more stony and he knelt silent and unmoving.
The Eastern King held her arms out to the Western one. ‘Francis.’
His control broke and he embraced her, burying his face in her neck. ‘There has to be another way.’
‘There isn’t. This is what needs to happen,’ the Eastern King said. She pulled the Western King tighter. ‘We made it. We won. We’ve freed our children. But if they’re to be safe, we must do this.’ She pulled back and smiled, then brushed away the Western King’s tears. ‘No tears, my love. Joy for the freedom of our children.’
The Western King kissed her, a lingering kiss full of love, then wiped his eyes and turned away.
‘Now,’ the Eastern King said. She knelt in front of Frankie. ‘You know how that big dark man tried to kill us last night?’
‘I know,’ Frankie said. ‘He was scary.’
I was only peripherally aware of them talking. I focused on John, willing him to love me enough not to be changed by this; sure in the knowledge that when it happened, he would be gone.
‘His name is Xuan Wu. This is him here,’ the Eastern King said, pointing at John. ‘In a different form.’
Frankie inhaled sharply and stared at John, his eyes wide. John lowered his head, full of grief. His own son was terrified of him, and with good reason.
‘So we have to make sure he never hurts us again,’ the Eastern King said. ‘I know it sounds strange, but to make him go away forever you have to order Xuan Wu to destroy me with his sword, Seven Stars. Tell him to hit me with the loaded Seven Stars.’
I couldn’t stop the tiny sound of pain that escaped me. John glanced at me, full of despair, but couldn’t speak. We were still ordered to silence.
‘He has to kill you?’ Frankie said. He looked up at Simone, who was still staring at him, expressionless. He turned back to the Eastern King. ‘I don’t want you to die, Mummy.’ He threw his arms around her. ‘What will I do without you?’
‘Don’t worry, it’s not real, little love,’ the Eastern King said. ‘I’ll be gone for a while, then I’ll be back. You’ll be just fine. Daddy and Number One will advise you until I return. But make sure you do what Daddy tells you while I’m gone, okay?’
‘I can’t do it,’ Frankie moaned.
‘You have to,’ the Eastern King said, rising. ‘He needs to be destroyed. As long as he exists, all of us are in danger. He’ll keep trying to kill us and won’t ever give up.’ She raised her head, her expression beatific. ‘Order him, Frankie. If you love me, you’ll do this for me. And remember, it’s not forever. I’ll be back with you before you know it.’
Frankie sat silently on the throne. He glanced at Simone, then at all of us in turn.
‘Do it, Frankie,’ the Western King growled, and Frankie flinched. ‘Say it right
now or you’ll be punished. I mean it. Do it!’
‘Thank you, my love,’ the Eastern King said.
‘I will never love anyone the way I love you,’ the Western King said.
‘For our children,’ the Eastern King said.
‘What do you want me to say again, Mummy?’ Frankie said.
‘Good boy,’ the Western King said, full of approval, and Frankie lit up. ‘Well done.’
‘You say “Xuan Wu, kill the Celestial Regent with loaded Seven Stars”,’ the Eastern King said.
Frankie mechanically repeated the words. ‘Xuan Wu. Kill the Celestial Regent with loaded Seven Stars.’
John didn’t move, quivering with effort as he fought it. I had a wild moment of hope: maybe he was powerful enough to disobey Frankie. Maybe he had renounced his Celestial allegiance.
‘That’s an order,’ Frankie said. He turned to Simone. ‘Kill her with the . . .’ He hesitated, then gathered himself. He pointed at the Eastern King. ‘Kill her with the loaded blades!’
John turned like an automaton and took Celestial Form.
The Demon King raised her arms and lowered her head, ready to die.
Simone took Celestial Form, summoned her twin blades, Bo and Bei, and moved faster than the eye could see. She ran to the Eastern King and buried the points of the blades in her abdomen.
The King stared at her, dumbfounded, then changed to his bigger male form and grinned. ‘That’s not enough to take me out.’ He concentrated, and the blades slid halfway out of him.
Simone grunted, put more effort into it and pushed the blades back in. ‘You thought I’m weaker because I’m a girl.’
Her muscles bulged as she buried the blades deeper into the Demon King. His face went rigid as he put his hands on the hilts and fought her.
‘You thought he’d be stronger than me because his mother’s a snake and mine was just a human.’ She glared into the King’s eyes, and he smiled back at her, defiant. ‘Well, you know what, stupid? I’m a girl, and I’m stronger than my brother.’ She punctuated her next words by loading the indentations in the swords with her chakras, and his eyes went wide. ‘And. My. Mother. Was. A. Serpent. Too!’
She ripped the blades across him, and he screamed as he dissolved into a blizzard of black demon essence that hit her like a tidal wave, forcing her back. She disappeared into the essence and it overwhelmed her. She was a dark shape within it, forced down by it.