Blue Dragon (14 page)

I slowed my descent, but not enough to avoid injury when I hit. The ground came rushing up to meet me.

‘Catch me!’ I yelled into the air and spun onto my back. I dropped the energy and sped up. I hit the Dragon’s forearms with a jerk that jarred through my body.

‘Thank you,’ I said.

‘You are most welcome,’ the Dragon said. ‘Was that really the first time you have attempted that?’

‘Yes,’ I said. He tipped me out of his arms onto the ground and I turned to study the wall again. ‘Slowing my descent is much harder.’

‘Have another try,’ John said, ‘and then we’ll let Michael attempt it. Don’t tire yourself too much; you need to try horizontal holding as well.’

‘How long have you been training this one, Ah Wu?’ the Dragon said.

‘I think about a year and a half,’ John said. ‘Emma?’

‘That’s about right.’

‘Let me know if you tire of her, Ah Wu,’ the Dragon said. ‘Despite her plain appearance, she would make a worthy addition to any household, untouched or not.’

I faced the Dragon. John did the same thing.

‘You will need to line up,’ I said softly. ‘The White Tiger and the King of the Demons have both attempted to win me away from Xuan Wu already. But you are all completely wasting your time. I’m a lot like him, and his number is one. For me, there will never be any other.’

The Dragon’s expression was unreadable. He gazed at me with his enormous shining turquoise eyes. Then he spoke. ‘You are quite correct, my Lady, and I most sincerely apologise.’ He lowered his massive silver-fanged head over his front legs. ‘Please believe me, I
meant no offence. Permit me to present you with a gold coin later.’

I turned back to the wall. ‘Let me have another try.’

You’ll have two coins when you get back
, John said into my ear.

I didn’t reply. I ran to the wall, hurled myself up it, and made it to the top without difficulty. The skill was easier each time I did it.

I turned at the top and concentrated. I gathered my energy and jumped away. I ignored the fact that I was falling and concentrated on moving the energy. I gently moved the centres upwards, then with more force. I slowed myself; I had it. I floated down. At about five metres up I put my arms out and rotated so that I was feet first, balancing for a soft landing. I studied the ground, readying for the impact.

I completely lost it. I fell straight into the ground and hit it hard, left side first, winding myself.

John raced up, crouched next to me and put his hand behind my head, lifting it. ‘Are you all right?’ he said. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ I said, trying to suck in enough air. ‘Nothing’s broken. Just had the wind knocked out of me.’

‘Thank the Heavens,’ he said, and took my hand in his. He smiled into my eyes and I realised. Too late. I opened my mouth and inhaled deeply, trying to get enough air in to shout at him. Too late.

The great gaping dark vortex opened in front of me and I was sucked in. My ears were full of rushing wind and my eyes full of raging darkness.

Something brilliantly blue and silver flashed and then everything went black.

‘This time she really will tear strips off you,’ Leo said, his voice full of amusement.

‘I know,’ John said.

Damn. I couldn’t move.

‘She moved,’ Simone said.

‘Squeeze my hand if you can hear me,’ John said.

I tried. I didn’t know if I did it.

‘She squeezed
my
hand, Daddy,’ Simone said.

Okay. I tried the other one.

‘That’s me,’ John said.

‘Hold,’ the Dragon said. ‘Ah Wu, Simone, let go.’

My hands were released and a warm breeze washed over me, making my hair flutter. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the sweet air. It filled me; my blood flowed back.

‘Whoa,’ Michael said softly.

‘She is extremely large, my Lord, are you sure she’s human?’ the Dragon said as the warm air flowed over me.

‘Fat chick,’ Leo said.

Simone giggled.

‘You will keep,’ I croaked.

‘Michael, get her a drink of water,’ John said.

‘That’s the best I can do,’ the Dragon said, and the warm air stopped. ‘She will be weakened, but still able to complete the training, I think.’

‘You can open your eyes now,’ John said.

I did. I was still on the training course, on the ground. All of them crouched next to me, concerned, except for Michael, who quickly appeared holding a water bottle.

‘Help me up,’ I said. Leo took my hand and gently raised me so that I was sitting. Michael handed me the bottle and I took a huge drink, then gasped a breath. ‘Thanks, Qing Long.’

‘You are welcome,’ the Dragon said, his turquoise eyes glowing.

‘You really are a stupid damn Turtle,’ I said. ‘You
haven’t been able to touch me for more than a year now, and you completely forgot.’

John didn’t say anything but his eyes were full of amusement. Simone giggled again.

‘Has Michael tried it yet?’ I said.

‘No,’ John said.

‘How long have I been out for?’

‘Only a few minutes.’

‘Good,’ I said. ‘Give me a couple of minutes while Michael tries. Then I want to have another go.’

‘You sure you’re up to it?’ John said.

‘What do you say, Qing Long?’ I said.

‘Let me look at you. Yes. Not a problem,’ the Dragon said. ‘Sit, drink some water, rest for a few minutes, watch Michael. Even better, I will get you an energy drink. If you get some carbohydrates into yourself you will be fine.’

He nodded his huge blue and silver head and a bottle of sports drink appeared on the ground next to me.

‘Thanks,’ I said, grabbed the drink, twisted the lid off and took a swig.

Michael, John and the Dragon went to the climbing walls together. Simone and Leo stayed with me.

‘What are you guys doing here?’ I said. ‘I thought you were having a swim, Simone.’

‘Leo won’t go in with me. It’s
boring
,’ Simone said. ‘The pool’s too small. I want to go back out to the islands and feed the fish. And Leo won’t let me go to the kids centre and play there.’

‘They won’t let him stay and guard you,’ I said. ‘It’s not safe.’

Simone crossed her little arms in front of her chest. ‘Humph.’

‘Don’t you want to stay and watch me and Michael learn to fly?’

‘No,’ she said, irritated. ‘I want to learn to fly too.’

She concentrated on her father, arms still crossed over her chest. He turned to her, then a big grin spread across his face and he gestured with his head.

Simone threw her arms up, whooped with delight, and charged over to him.
He’s going to teach me to fly too! He says it won’t hurt my bones at all!

‘Great,’ I said. ‘Another thing she’ll be better at than me.’

‘One day she’ll probably be protecting you,’ Leo said.

‘Help me up,’ I said, putting my hand out. ‘I think one day she’ll probably be protecting both of us.’

I
t took Michael five tries before he could do the wall-running, but once he had the skill he could float off the wall easily.

‘My turn,’ I said, moving forward. ‘I want to have this right.’

Everybody moved back and I ran to the top of the wall. ‘What do you think is the highest I could go?’ I called down to them. ‘Could I make it to the top of a skyscraper?’

No
, John said into my ear.
You could probably manage about five, six, storeys and then run out of energy and fall off. Don’t try it; you wouldn’t have any energy left to slow your fall! Be very careful with this.

I didn’t reply, I just hurled myself from the top of the wall. I concentrated on moving the energy centres upwards to slow my fall. I had it. I held out my arms, rotated, and floated gently down to land on my feet.

‘Oh my God, that feels so good,’ I said softly. I glanced up at John. ‘How about if I jumped off a building? How high could I do that safely from?’

‘Once you have the skill, there is no limit,’ John said, amused. ‘Slowing your fall requires much less energy, just more control. The Tiger and I have taken energy students
skydiving without parachutes more than once—it’s great fun.’ He smiled. ‘When I return, I’ll take you up and we’ll try.’

‘Where will you find a skydiving plane in Hong Kong?’ I said. ‘There isn’t space for small aircraft.’

His smile didn’t shift. ‘It won’t be Hong Kong, unless that is your wish. And I won’t need a plane.’

‘Me too,’ Simone said softly.

John grinned. ‘Okay, sweetheart. Now, who wants to learn to fly?’

‘
Me first! Me first!
’ Simone squealed, jumping up and down. She ran and tackled her father hard, nearly knocking him over. ‘I want to do some too!’

John hoisted her high and she squealed again. He lowered her gently. ‘Let Emma try first, you watch. Then you can try.’

‘Okay.’ Simone gestured to me. ‘Come on, Emma.’

I went forward. John led me to the obstacle course. ‘This will do.’

It was a military-style obstacle course, with walls, ropes and nets. ‘Ignore the obstacles, we just need the space,’ John said. ‘Run alongside.’

He stepped back to stand next to me, still facing the obstacle course. ‘Run. Run fast. At the same time, lift the centres. This should be easier than slowing your fall; the centres are moving in the same direction as you.’ He grinned. ‘Lift yourself. Not too high—you’ll probably manage some good momentum, if you fall you’ll hit the ground hard.’ He gestured. ‘Try it. Watch carefully, Michael, Simone. Emma will probably have it correct first time.’

I ignored him. I readied myself, concentrating, then threw myself forward and ran as fast as I could. I felt a thrill of shock. I hadn’t run like this ever before—there wasn’t space and privacy to do it in Hong Kong—and I was moving extremely fast.

I used the centres to lift myself. My feet cleared the ground. I had it. I flew about five metres, then landed. It was like a huge running stride, but as light as being in water. It was incredibly exhilarating. I kept the motion for a few more metres, then carefully slowed, stopped and turned.

I was a good three hundred metres away from them and I’d only run for about five seconds.

If you’re wondering,
John said into my ear,
you did the first hundred metres in about three seconds. World record?

I shook my head. I felt ridiculous.

You look like a cartoon,
Simone said.
You fly, but your legs are still moving like you’re running. You look really stupid.

‘No more
Sailor Moon
for you,’ I said softly.

I heard that
.

I ran back to them. I managed about two hundred metres of it in the air, and carefully didn’t run while I was flying. I just let myself hang off the energy centres, revelling in the sensation. I landed, ran, slowed and stopped.

‘That is one of the most fun things I have ever done in my entire life,’ I said, gasping through the huge grin. ‘What a shame there’s nowhere to do it back home.’

‘You are incredibly fast,’ John said, glancing at his watch. ‘You did the last fifty metres in two point five seconds.’

‘Why don’t any of the students ever compete in the Olympics?’ I said. ‘If the training can make you that fast?’

John smiled indulgently at me. I turned away. ‘Damn.’ I turned back to him. ‘What’s the fastest any of them has done?’

‘A very good student can be close on the time of a world-class athlete,’ John said. ‘Some of them have
crossed over into the professional field. Not many—maybe two or three at the most; they’re more interested in the Arts, that’s why they’re good enough for the Mountain in the first place. I will only take the most dedicated young people who love their Arts more than anything else.’ His smile became more gentle. ‘You knew you were fast, Emma.’

‘Michael’s turn,’ I said, gesturing. ‘I’ll bet he’s faster than me.’

‘No
way
!’ Simone shouted. ‘Me next!’

‘Emma, take Simone, hold her hand,’ John said. ‘Help her with the centres, make sure she does it right.’ He moved closer to me and spoke softly. ‘I’m counting on you. Keep her safe. You know this can be dangerous.’

‘You know what to do, Simone?’ I said, taking her hand.

‘Lift the energy centres, the dan tian,’ she said. ‘I saw what you did.’ She hesitated. ‘Watch me carefully; let me know if I do it wrong, Emma.’

‘Okay, sweetheart. Ready?’

‘Ready,’ Simone said, and gathered herself.

We ran together, holding hands. She wasn’t as fast as I was, but she was still very fast.

She grabbed the centres and lifted them, and I lifted myself as well. We hung on the air together, then both dropped and hit the ground running. Simone stumbled and I held her up. We skidded to a halt together and turned. I felt her excitement through her hand.

‘Again!’ she squealed, and jerked my hand.

‘One, two,
three
!’ I shouted and we ran together again. She lifted herself, I lifted myself, and we flew together.

When we touched down again, Simone continued to run and this time didn’t stumble. She didn’t stop; she let go of me, ran straight into John and tackled him, nearly
knocking him over again. She grinned up at him with her eyes sparkling. ‘Can I go again?’

He grinned. ‘Go.’

She laughed, turned and ran again, lifting herself on the centres. She had it.

I moved closer to John. ‘I wish we had the space to do this at home.’

‘So do I,’ he said. He gestured and Michael approached us.

‘You want me to go with you?’ I said.

‘Can I try by myself?’

‘Go. Try,’ John said. ‘Take care, but I think you can do it.’

Simone returned, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. ‘That’s more fun than swimming. Can I try jumping down?’

‘Jump down off the obstacle course,’ John said, and she ran to climb the ladder. The Dragon moved to catch her.

‘She won’t need him. She’ll get it right first time, same as Michael,’ John said, motioning towards Michael who was flying along the side of the obstacle course.

He was right. Both Simone and Michael were like children in a playground. They couldn’t get enough of the flying and falling. John and I watched them with amusement.

After five minutes I moved to sit under a tree, leaving John to supervise. I faced the water and enjoyed the view, relaxing.

I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and leaned forward to see.

Leo and Martin stood at the end of the beach, watching the water together and talking. Leo had his arms crossed; Martin had his hands folded behind his back.

They faced each other. Leo reached up and stroked Martin’s cheek and lowered his face to Martin’s. Martin put his hand around Leo’s neck and pulled himself closer.

I faced the other way.

A couple of minutes later they strolled past me along the beach, hand in hand, talking softly. They didn’t notice me. But they dropped their hands when they were within view of Michael and Simone.

I sighed.

‘Don’t wear yourselves out,’ John called after about half an hour of Michael and Simone flying and leaping from the obstacle course. ‘There’s one more thing we need to do.’

He gestured for us to approach and we gathered around him.

‘Simone should do this first, she has good control of her shen,’ John said. ‘Projecting your consciousness into your chi. Generate chi, and move a very small part of your shen into it.’

‘But that’s shen work,’ I said, protesting. ‘I can’t do that on the Earthly Plane, only on the Celestial Plane.’

‘Not quite shen work,’ John said. ‘Joining the energy together, working with them together. Just more advanced chi work. You should be able to do it.’

He gestured for Simone to approach. ‘Generate about this much.’ He indicated about a tennis ball’s worth.

Simone nodded, concentrating, held out her hands and generated the energy.

‘Try something for me, Simone,’ John said gently. ‘Try turning the chi white. Don’t turn it into shen; you know what the difference is. Try to make it white.’

Simone concentrated on the chi, her little face rigid. The chi turned silvery-white, almost identical to shen energy except that it had golden bands through it.

‘Very good,’ John said softly. ‘Change it back to yellow.’

Simone inhaled slowly and deeply and the chi changed back again.

‘If you tire too much tell me,’ John said. ‘Now, leave the chi there, concentrate, and move a very tiny part of your shen into it.’

Simone’s face was stiff but her eyes were very wide.

‘Can you move a little more in?’ John said.

Simone didn’t move.

‘Good,’ John said, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. ‘Now. Turn and float the chi gently away from yourself.’

Simone did as he said, and the chi floated off her hands and moved about two metres away from her. Her face changed from concentration to rapt awe.

‘That’s really amazing, Daddy,’ she whispered.

‘Slowly call it back,’ he said.

The chi gently returned to her. As soon as it was absorbed into her hands she flopped down to sit on the sandy ground.

He crouched next to her and took her hands, studying her face. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m okay,’ she whispered. ‘Just let me sit, Daddy.’

He held her hands and concentrated, then gently pulled her to her feet. He led her to one side and sat her under a tree. ‘Ah Qing, could you get her a drink?’

The Dragon nodded his huge blue and silver head and a sports drink appeared on the ground next to Simone. John opened it and passed it to her.

She took a sip and made a face. ‘That tastes yucky.’

‘Apple juice?’ the Dragon said, nodding again.

Simone took another sip, then a large swig from the bottle, her throat moving as she drank. She finished, gasped, and smiled up at her father. ‘I’m okay.’

He took her hand again and smiled. ‘Yes, you are. Emma. Your turn.’

‘Is she really okay?’ I said as I approached him.

‘She’ll sleep very well tonight,’ he said with amusement, then shared a quick glance with the Dragon. ‘Try.’

‘Is standing or sitting better?’ I said.

‘Standing,’ John said. ‘The chi starts higher.’

I nodded, put out my hands and concentrated. I generated a similar-sized ball of chi to Simone’s.

‘Can I try to turn it white?’ I said. ‘Is white chi somehow better?’

‘Try,’ he said. ‘White chi is much more destructive to demons. In all other respects, the colour of the chi makes no difference.’

I nodded again, concentrated and turned the chi white. It was much harder than making it blue; it took a great deal of concentration.

‘This is like starting all over again,’ I said as I felt the chi trying to move back into my hands.

‘Precisely,’ John said. ‘But it’s a useful type of energy to master. Change it back before you drain yourself too much.’

I released the whiteness of the chi. It went black. I held a ball of roiling black energy in my hands.

‘I didn’t know you could do that,’ I said. ‘What is black chi good for?’

John was silent. I glanced up and saw his face. It was rigid with restraint.

‘Stone, are you awake?’ he said.

The stone didn’t reply.

‘Do not move, Emma,’ John said very softly. He gingerly reached out to tap the stone on my finger, carefully not touching the black chi. ‘Stone,’ he said, his voice quiet and fierce.

‘I am looking,’ the stone said. ‘Hold.’

‘Hold very still, Emma,’ John said. ‘Don’t move, physically or mentally.’

‘Is this the first time you’ve seen anything like this?’ I said.

John was silent but his face said it all.

‘Not yin,’ the stone said. ‘Hold.’

John raised his hand to the chi and the stone yelped. ‘Don’t approach it, Turtle! It will harm you!’

‘Oh shit,’ I said softly, trying to retain my concentration.

‘Emma,’ the stone said, its voice soft and insistent, ‘turn and see if you can move this chi off your hands.’

I did as the stone instructed, turning away from John and moving the chi off my hands. ‘It feels like normal chi,’ I said. ‘I can’t feel the unusual colour at all.’

‘I wonder what it would do to a demon,’ John said.

‘Move it back,’ the stone said.

I nodded and returned the chi to my hands.

‘Do you have a demon jar here, Ah Qing?’ John said.

‘Of course not,’ the Dragon said. ‘This resort is thoroughly sealed; no untamed demons in or out.’

‘It will have to wait until we’re home then,’ John said. ‘Fascinating. You never cease to amaze me, Emma. The Celestial Masters will all want to see this.’

‘Is it demon essence, stone?’ I said, trying to control my voice.

‘Nope,’ the stone said. ‘It’s definitely black chi. Never heard of it before. Must contact the Hall of Records, Turtle, there may have been other instances.’

‘Good idea,’ John said.

‘Change it back to gold,’ the stone said.

I concentrated, and the chi returned to its usual golden colour. I didn’t feel the colour change.

‘Why could I do that?’ I whispered.

‘Because you are what you are,’ John said.