‘I’m sorry, love, it was my mistake. I’ve never tried that with anyone before,’ he said, rueful.
‘But I bet you’ve wanted to try it for a long time.’
He nodded.
‘Excellent practice for me,’ I said with enthusiasm. ‘I think I will very much enjoy mastering this particular energy work.’ I raised my head. ‘Why is the bed wonky? Oh shit, we broke the bed again, didn’t we?’
He nodded again.
‘I think we should ask the Tiger to make one out of metal for us.’
‘Never,’ he said, and cuddled closer to me. ‘I will not give that damn cat the satisfaction. He’d tell everybody. The Dragon will do one for us out of stronger wood and keep it quiet. Oh.’ He smiled and lifted my hair. ‘Look.’
My hair had grown back long and black. I concentrated and changed it to brown. I ran my hands down the smooth muscles of his back to cup his behind, then drifted them up again, and he shivered with pleasure.
I moved closer to breathe into his ear. ‘Again? Let’s take our time. Dinner won’t be for a while.’
He ran his fingertips up and down my back. ‘You’re not too drained?’
‘Absolutely not. I’m fine. But I don’t think I can deal with anything more than vanilla right now. That was intense.’
‘I think there’s some ice-cream in the freezer. I can bring it.’
‘That’s not what I meant, and we’re having dinner with the family, remember?’
‘Then we’ll find some time for the vanilla afterwards,’ he said, and pulled me tighter.
* * *
The early evening lights were coming on across the harbour when we returned to the Peak. The pollution was so reduced that the evening was as clear as it had been when I’d first arrived to live there as a nanny — a spectacular show of colourful lights.
We landed in the lift lobby outside the apartment door, and John concentrated.
Martin opened the door. ‘My Lord, my Lady, welcome home.’
We went in and removed our shoes.
‘In the dining room,’ Martin said.
All the family was sitting around the table: Leo, Buffy, Simone and Frankie. Both of us saluted when we saw that Kwan Yin had joined us as well.
I ran to her and she stood to give me a hug.
‘I am so glad it is all over,’ she said. ‘Well done, all of you.’
‘Holy Bodhisattva Kwan Yin.’ John bowed to her. ‘I present to you my son, Prince Franklin —’
Simone squeaked.
‘Prince Xuan Si Shu Franklin, my first human son.’
‘“Memory of Mercy” — I am honoured,’ she said.
‘My name’s Francis, not Franklin,’ Frankie said.
‘It’s Franklin now,’ Simone said. ‘Francis was the name of that horrible man who pretended to be your father. Franklin was one of the nicest people ever.’
‘It makes no difference,’ I said. ‘People will still call you Frankie, sweetheart.’
‘Oh, okay,’ he said, and returned to his food.
‘Are you starving?’ I asked him.
He ignored me, he was too busy eating.
‘Sit. Eat. Catch up,’ Kwan Yin said. She nodded to Martin. ‘If you have need of me, just call.’
He bowed to her. ‘Thank you for your help, my Lady.’
She disappeared.
‘She was really nice,’ Frankie said, but didn’t stop shovelling food into his mouth.
‘Slow down, you’ll be sick,’ Simone said.
‘But it’s so yummy,’ he said.
John and I sat. I picked some vegetables off the plate in the centre of the table and put them in his bowl while he served us rice.
‘Is everything good? You have clothes and furniture and things?’ I said.
‘Yeah, all organised,’ Simone said. ‘The furniture’s already here. We found a Shen who owns a furniture shop — she sent it straight up and I brought it through the windows, easy.’
She concentrated and a glowing floor plan of the Peak apartment appeared suspended in the air in front of her, showing the four bedrooms, the training room, and the two student rooms on the end.
‘Daddy and Emma,’ she said, and John’s old room glowed. ‘Frankie.’ The room next to the master bedroom. ‘Me.’ The next one after that. ‘The other bedroom’s free, but we’ll probably need two offices, one for each of you —’
‘No, wait, that’s this apartment,’ John said. ‘We’ll take the three-bedroom one on the next floor down. Ming and Leo don’t have to move out.’
‘We already did,’ Leo said. ‘You need the training room, my Lord, and both you and Emma will be administering the Heavens from here so you’ll need offices.’
Simone marked the fourth bedroom with my name and the office with John’s. She raised one finger and drew two little stick figures shouting across the hallway, complete with random symbols to indicate that we were swearing at each other.
‘And you’ll want to have students here to give them live-in martial arts training,’ she said. The training room and two student rooms glowed. ‘All fixed.’
‘We do not want you to move out; you live here,’ I said to Leo.
‘Too late, we already did,’ Martin said. ‘The three of us don’t need all this space, and you do.’
‘We’ll be up and down the stairs all the time anyway,’ Leo said. ‘And you can give us private training here, so it’s all good. We’ll probably eat like this most nights.’
John hesitated with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, then smiled and shook his head. ‘Family dinners? That sounds —’
‘Fantastic,’ I said, and picked up some more vegetables.
‘We already moved all our stuff downstairs, we just shifted it directly,’ Leo said.
‘I bought you some furniture for your bedroom, Daddy,’ Simone said, ‘it’s similar to what you had before. Go and check it, and if you don’t like it you can change it. The Shen said any time until 10 p.m., and for you probably later.’
‘Is it black?’ I said.
‘Of course,’ she said.
I shrugged. ‘Then he likes it.’
John opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again.
* * *
After dinner we went to check the furniture Simone had purchased for us. John went to the door of the master bedroom, stopped and smiled at me, then opened the door. I followed him into the familiar bedroom that I had dreamed about sneaking into so many times.
‘Do me a favour?’ I said.
‘Hmm?’ he said, poking his head into the bathroom to check it.
‘Lie on that.’ I pointed at the bed.
He shrugged and lay on top of the quilt. He banged his head on the pillow and turned to look at me. ‘Are you tired?’
‘No,’ I said, and crawled onto the bed beside him. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, something I’d dreamed of doing every night when we’d lived there. He slid his arms around me and kissed my forehead and I couldn’t help myself: I burst into tears and clutched him.
‘Emma, Emma,’ he said, holding me. ‘What’s the matter? What’s wrong?’
‘We. Made. It,’ I gasped through the sobs. All my joy flooded out in a wash of tears. ‘We’re here. In this room. Together. You’re whole again. We have a child of our own next door, and Simone is safe here too. Leo is here and content. We’re all safe. The Heavens are safe. The Mountain is safe. I love you. I’m so happy.’
‘Oh,’ he said, and held me as I wept.
Ten minutes later I’d stopped crying and we lay holding each other, enjoying the closeness. I sniffled, feeling the after effects of the rush of emotion.
‘Would you like a drink of water?’ he said, his voice warm and low.
‘Yes, but I don’t want to let go of you.’
‘Here.’ He pulled himself up to lean against the bedhead, and lifted me as well. ‘I haven’t done this in a while, too weak. Let’s see.’
He held one hand out, the o
ther arm still wrapped around me, and a bubble of water appeared in front of us.
‘Don’t try to drink that, it will drown you, it’s the wrong shape,’ he said. He flicked his hand and the water changed form to a long narrow cylinder, two centimetres wide and thirty long. ‘There. Mineralised. Do you want carbonated? I can make it sparkling.’
I shook my head, pursed my lips as the water approached, and sipped it.
‘Damn, that is the hottest thing I have ever seen you do,’ he said with wonder.
I took a deep drink and he made a low sound of pleasure. The water was cool and refreshing, sweet with the taste of minerals, and I closed my eyes with bliss as I tasted it.
‘I cannot believe I have not done this for you before,’ he said. ‘I can feel all of that, and it feels . . . Oh damn, visitors.’ He straightened and the water disappeared.
I felt it too: Simone and Frankie were outside our bedroom door.
‘Sorry!’ Simone said loudly as Frankie banged on the door.
‘What’s the matter?’ John said. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Emma promised me training with the sword today,’ Frankie said. ‘She promised.’
I levered myself off the bed. ‘He’s right, I did.’
John snapped his wrist at the door and it opened. ‘How about we all go into the training room and do some sword?’ he said. ‘As a family?’
Simone grinned broadly. ‘Come on, squirt,’ she said. ‘Let’s show you what family is really all about.’ She held his hand. ‘Daddy, talk to the JE again about taking out this demon essence. I really, really want to return to the Mountain for advanced training.’
‘Is John as good as Emma?’ Frankie asked Simone.
‘Nearly,’ she said with amusement as she led him down the hall to the training room. ‘One day he’ll be just as good as she is.’
John shook his head. ‘My own son calling me an English name. So wrong.’
‘Teach him to call you Xuan,’ I said.
‘I want him to call me Ba Ba.’
‘It will happen.’
33
Er Lang and Guan Yu were already in the hotel conference room when we arrived the next morning. Everybody saluted around, then we sat at the table and waited for the demons.
‘What did the Jade Emperor say when he saw my missive?’ John asked Er Lang.
‘He went very quiet.’
‘How quiet?’ Guan Yu said with amusement.
‘Extremely.’
‘You won’t have the chance to tell him to go to Hell then,’ Guan Yu said to John. ‘What a shame.’
‘He’s still in a world of trouble,’ Er Lang said, and we all stood as the demons entered.
Andy had brought Edu, who appeared as a girl of fourteen, still smaller than a natural human. A Duke and a Snake Mother provided an escort. I’d never seen these demons before; they were probably new promotions.
Andy stopped at the table and saluted everybody, and we all saluted back. John gestured for Andy to take a seat, and he gestured for John to sit first. John sat, and everybody on the Celestial side sat as well, carefully in order of seniority.
Andy sat at the table and crossed his legs, relaxed. He gestured towards Edu as she pulled a chair out and clambered onto it like a child. ‘My Number One.’
‘She destroyed her competition?’ John said with interest. ‘One so young?’
‘I ate them all,’ Edu said with a cruel grin. She focused on me. ‘You’re next.’
‘Quiet, Edu, it’s treaty time,’ Andy said. He gestured towards John. ‘Let me see.’
John pushed the copy of the treaty across the table and Andy read it carefully.
I liked being in the Celestial Palace, Edu said to me. You drove me out of there. You will pay for that. I’m rounding up all the things that my father researched — and when I’m big enough, and I know it all, I will stab this lump of shit in the back and take over as King. She leaned forward, her grin vicious. And the first thing I’ll do as King is track you down and skin you alive.
‘Leave Emma alone, Edu,’ Andy said without looking up from the treaty, sounding bored. ‘Nobody has time for your attention-seeking right now.’
She just said that she’s gathering your father’s research, I said to Andy.
I know, he said. When she has it all together, I’ll eat her. He smiled, still studying the treaty. She’s in for a surprise when she tries me; a couple of her victories were staged. She’s not as strong or as smart as she thinks she is.
I nodded, satisfied.
Tell me later, John said.
I will.
Andy put his hand on the treaty and looked up at John. ‘I want a clause added that says neither of your human kids will ever come to my side of Hell.’
John eyed him appraisingly. ‘They scare you that much?’
‘Just keep them away.’
‘I’m not scared of them,’ Edu said.
‘Then you’re a fucking idiot,’ Andy said, and pushed the treaty over to John.
John pulled out his Xuan Wu fountain pen and scribbled the characters vertically at the end of the treaty. He passed it back to Andy.
Andy studied the addition, nodded, pulled an expensive lacquer fountain pen out of his breast pocket, and signed the treaty with a flourish. He stabbed his thumb with the end of the pen, and marked the treaty with his bloodied thumbprint. He passed the treaty to John.
John signed it, then held his hand out and his Imperial seal, carved with an image of himself in True Form, appeared in it. He stamped the seal over his signature in black ink.
Andy stood and held his hand out. ‘Xuan Tian.’
John stood as well and shook his hand. ‘Wong Mo.’
‘Let me know when you want the formal ceremony,’ Andy said. He cocked his head. ‘Does the chick play?’
‘The Empress does not play well. But the Tiger and the Phoenix may.’
‘This weekend?’
‘My secretary will be in touch.’
Andy saluted him, and John saluted back.
‘I will tear your arms off and feed them to you, Emma,’ Edu said with relish.
I hesitated for a moment, looking at her, then grinned. ‘Bring it.’
They disappeared.
‘Thoroughly back to normal,’ John said, closing the leather portfolio holding the treaty.
‘Teach me to play better. I’d like to play for her hide,’ I said.
‘I would very much like to be part of that,’ Er Lang said, studying where the demons had been.
‘Me too,’ Guan Yu said. ‘Let’s get all this rebuilding out of the way as quickly as possible, because teaching this intelligent and merciless woman to play for high stakes sounds like more fun than anything.’
* * *
We stood at the end of the alley that led to the double doors of the Imperial Residence. For a moment I felt I was returning to servitude, and resisted the urge to back away. John saw my face and put his hand on my back, and I nodded to him.
The doors opened and we went through the entry hall and into the Jade Emperor’s small meeting room. The Jade Emperor was sitting on the sofa, looking as if he’d never left; but the screen behind the sofa was still gone. The Demon King had sold all the valuables to dealers on the Earthly to pay for the human mercenaries, and many of the treasures were lost forever.
The Emperor had lost weight and become sallow during his incarceration, but he glowed with good humour to see us.
A Palace fairy brought us tea, and clasped me on the shoulder as she left the room.
‘Demons first,’ the Emperor said. ‘What did the Demon King say? How long will it take to finalise the new treaty?’
‘Simone and Frankie scared them to such a degree that the new Demon King agreed to everything we presented to him and signed the draft treaty on the spot,’ John said, placing the treaty on the coffee table. ‘The administrative staff are formalising it, and we’ll have the official signing in about three days, depending on which day
is the best for such activities.’
‘Good,’ the Emperor said. ‘How are Frankie and Simone?’
‘Simone is fine,’ I said. ‘She was planning to go to university anyway; I think she’ll enjoy the opportunity to avoid all her Heavenly duties.’
‘But she needs to take her place in the Heavens,’ John said. ‘We must find a way to restore her status as an Immortal.’
‘Don’t worry about it; it will happen in its own time,’ the Emperor said.
‘That’s very easy for you to say,’ I said. ‘I would very much like to live on the Mountain with my husband and family. The Earthly stinks.’
‘Not husband yet.’ He saw my face. ‘I know, I know, this is not the time for that particular argument. How about the boy? He’s been through a great deal.’
‘We’ll arrange therapy,’ John said. His voice filled with pain. ‘Will he ever call me Father?’
‘His idea of “father” is someone who is terrifyingly abusive,’ the Emperor said. ‘He will never call you Father, but one day he will see you as a friend.’
‘I thank you,’ John said, his voice low.
‘Is everyone ready for tomorrow?’
‘We are. The flags are in,’ John said.
‘Good. This will be a great deal of fun; I’m looking forward to it.’ His voice changed. ‘The three stones in your service that are missing. Has there been any word on them?’
‘None at all,’ I said. ‘All three of them are gone. The Grandmother has no idea. Can you see them?’
‘No, they are outside my jurisdiction. They’re probably in the European Heavens,’ the Emperor said. ‘And now that Simone has been converted, we have no way to enter there. So we’ll go with the plan. Set a date for the wedding and see where it takes us.’
‘I really, really do not like this idea,’ John said.
‘Are you sure you’ll know?’ I asked the Emperor. ‘John couldn’t see them. Only Simone could. They looked like the real thing to me — they glowed like Shen.’
‘I am Stone, Lady Emma. I will know.’
‘I still hate this idea,’ John said. ‘They’ll try to replace Emma with something I can’t sense and can’t see. There are so many things that could go wrong!’
‘We will continue to search until your wedding day, and then we will set the trap —’