Blue Dragon (32 page)

‘Okay,’ John said. ‘I’ll turn off the flame, you grab Gold, and go. Go as fast as you can.’

Amy nodded.

John turned off the burner. Amy grabbed Gold and ran for it. She flew through the living room, out the window, and disappeared quickly.

‘They’ll make it,’ I said softly.

‘I know they will,’ John said.

‘How long will he be gone?’

‘If she can get him into the volcano before he expires, then he should be back in a couple of days.’

‘That soon?’

‘Yep.’ John smiled. ‘I don’t think I can go back to sleep now. Too much excitement.’

‘Well, if you’re not going back to sleep then put some clothes on,’ I said. ‘I was doing a set in the training room. How about some long sword?’

‘Sounds good to me,’ he said as he headed down the hall back to his room. He retied his hair again, the muscles moving under the smooth skin of his back.

‘I changed my mind,’ I said loudly.

He stopped and turned. ‘Hm?’

‘Don’t bother putting any clothes on. I think I like you like that.’

He smiled and shrugged. ‘Okay. Whatever. Long sword.’

I followed him into the training room. ‘“Whatever”? You’ve been around Michael too much.’

‘Whatever. Long sword.’

T
he next Saturday the Tiger met us at the outdoor arena and all of us leaned on the fence to watch Michael take Star over the jumps.

‘You’ve taught him well,’ John said.

‘Natural talent,’ the Tiger said. ‘One of the best. His mother can ride too.’ He glanced at me. ‘You still don’t want one for yourself? A new crop of Arabs is coming through. I could give you one, keep you occupied after Ah Wu’s gone.’

‘I think I’ll have enough to worry about,’ I said without looking away from Michael. ‘When the Celestials come back I’ll have a lot to do.’

There was a clatter behind us and we turned. Some riders were passing us on the concrete path and their horses had spooked at the Tiger. The riders battled for control as the horses danced sideways, trying to get away.

The Tiger concentrated and the horses immediately calmed and walked past placidly. We turned back to the arena.

Star refused one of the jumps and Michael went forward over his head, crashing into the sand. Star pulled back, but Michael still had the reins, and he
hopped up, brushed himself off, and waved to us. He vaulted back onto Star and turned him to take the jump again.

The Tiger concentrated on Michael. Michael waved his hand over his shoulder, then turned the horse and took him easily over the jump.

‘He is extremely insubordinate sometimes,’ the Tiger said with amusement.

‘Can I have a pony?’ Simone said. ‘Can we try again?’

‘That’s a good idea,’ I said. ‘John? She doesn’t have school right now, a pony would keep her busy.’

‘I’ll bring a few to choose from next time I come,’ the Tiger said.

‘After,’ John said.

‘Okay,’ the Tiger said.

We were all silent for a while.

Michael finished. He dropped the reins and Star lowered his head, blowing heavily. Michael rode him back to us at a walk.

‘Take him up and get the
mafoo
to hose him down and give him a roll in the sand,’ the Tiger said. ‘Then have a shower and meet us up at the terrace.’

‘My Lord,’ Michael said.

‘You’re not hurt?’ I said.

‘Nah, just a few bruises. Nothing serious. Already healed them.’

‘Meet us up at the terrace. Battle plans,’ John said.

Michael nodded and turned the horse to the gate. We went to the restaurant at the top of the country club. Leo waited for us in the shade. We sat around the table he had reserved, Simone with us. Everybody was a part of this.

We waited until the waiter had taken our orders and moved away.

‘When is the Lady coming?’ the Tiger said.

‘August twenty-first,’ John said. ‘Two weeks from today. It will be Saturday, so the streets will be busy; that should hold them back slightly.’

‘Who’s going where?’ I said.

‘Me and the Lady, top floor, Hennessy Road; Na Zha on the roof. Students at the Folly, guarded by the Tiger and the Phoenix and half the Academy dragons.’

The Tiger moved to protest but John cut him off. ‘Emma, Simone, Leo, on the Peak. Gold with you, Emma. The Dragon on the roof, guarding, with the other half of the Academy dragons. We’ll make them split their attack three ways.’

‘You don’t have enough to defend yourself,’ the Tiger said. ‘Add some dragons at Hennessy Road.’

John dropped his voice. ‘It would not necessarily be a bad thing if One Two Two were to take the advantage and come for my head. I could end it there.’

There was complete silence.

‘No, Daddy,’ Simone whispered.

‘If he doesn’t come for me then, I’ll go and take him anyway, sweetheart.’

‘No.’ Simone cast around, then decided and climbed into Leo’s lap, facing him. She began to shake and he pulled a packet of tissues out of his pocket and kissed the top of her head. He held her close and she buried her face into his huge chest.

‘Simone is going with Martin,’ I said.

Simone turned in Leo’s lap and took a tissue from him. ‘I want to go with Martin, Daddy.’

‘We can’t trust him,’ Leo said, wrapping his arms protectively around Simone.

‘Yes, we can,’ John said. ‘In this case, we can. We know that Simone will be safe.’ He sighed with feeling. ‘It’s probably for the best. You should go too, Emma.’

‘I would like to be with you,’ I whispered. ‘I want to be on the top of Hennessy Road. With you.’

‘No, Emma, you’d be in danger,’ Simone said. ‘You should come with me and Martin. ’Cause I’ll need you after Daddy and Leo have gone. You have to stay safe.’

I sighed. She was right.

‘They will launch an all-out attack the minute the Lady and I link. If we survive the attack then we will probably be able to finish the process,’ John said. ‘It will take about a week. We will come home if we survive the initial attack and finish at the Peak. Martin can bring Simone home, and Michael can return, when the matter is decided, one way or another.’

Michael arrived, his blond hair dark from the shower. He threw himself to sit at the table next to his father. ‘Did I miss anything important?’

‘Xuan Wu, Na Zha, the Lady in Hennessy Road,’ I said. ‘Tiger, Phoenix, students, Folly. Me, Leo, Peak, Gold and the Dragon guarding. Simone is going with Martin. You are going to the West. We’re splitting the dragons between the Folly and the Peak.’

‘Why so few at Hennessy Road?’ Michael said. ‘You need more than that.’

The Tiger grunted but didn’t say anything.

‘Lord Xuan wants to lure the demon in so that he can transform and take it out,’ I said.

‘Oh, geez,’ Michael said, his voice full of misery.

‘If we survive this then we’ll make plans to go in and take it out anyway,’ Leo said over the top of Simone’s head, and she clutched his arms. ‘Michael, any idea where his headquarters are?’

‘No idea,’ Michael said.

‘We’ll send somebody in, taking a harmless human form, and check out the law offices during the week while the feed is happening,’ I said. ‘There are four altogether. One of them is probably a front.’

‘We will find that little…’ The Tiger swallowed what he was about to say.

‘Simone,’ John said gently. She didn’t move in Leo’s massive arms. ‘Simone, you have me for two more weeks. Please, think about what you would like to do. For the next two weeks, it’ll be you and me, anything you want. And I want you to always remember that I have promised to return for you. I will be back. I promise.’

‘Emma and Leo too. And Michael. All together,’ Simone said, clutching Leo’s arms.

‘All the family together,’ John said gently.

Simone dropped her little head, her tawny hair falling around her face. ‘Okay,’ she whispered.

The waiter arrived with the food but nobody was in much of a mood for eating.

Three days later Martin turned up at Hennessy Road. The guard demons called me to see if they should let him in. I told them to send him up.

He came into my office wearing a plain tan pair of trousers and his usual dark green polo shirt. He smiled gently and sat on the other side of the desk.

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘It’s happening on August twenty-first. The Lady and Xuan Wu will come here to this building, and they’ll start the feed about noon. We’re expecting to be attacked immediately.’

‘I’ll take Simone that morning,’ Martin said.

‘Where are you taking her?’

‘Number One has an underground facility in the old tunnels on the Island. She’ll be in there; there’s no opening to the outside. She’ll be safe.’

‘The old war tunnels? The ones they used to escape from the Japanese?’

He nodded. ‘Those ones.’

‘Where on the Island?’

‘Kennedy Town. Sai Wan. Inside the mountain above Belcher’s Street.’

‘And she’ll be absolutely safe?’

‘Absolutely. I will be with her. She will be safe. They will have no idea where she is.’

I sighed with relief. Whatever happened, Simone would be safe. I had an inspiration. ‘Somebody should go with her to care for her if we’re all taken down.’

‘You, Emma. You are the best to stay with her, and you would be safe too.’

I leaned forward over the desk and spoke intensely. ‘Martin, did you know that I’ve made a pact with the King of the Demons?’

‘You made a pact with the King?’ he said with disbelief.

‘If I go to him, and stay with him, he can guarantee Simone’s safety.’

‘So you want to be where you can know what happens. If my father is taken down, and One Two Two has his head, you’ll call the King. That way, you can be sure Simone will be completely safe.’

I studied him. His face was expressionless. He wasn’t as stupid as his recent actions had made him appear.

‘Will you promise to look after her if we’re all killed, or if I have to go to the King, Martin?’

He smiled, then gracefully rose to his feet and placed his hand on the table. ‘I swear that I will dedicate the rest of my life to ensuring my sister’s safety and happiness.’

He sat back down and pulled his chair in, then leaned his arms on the desk. ‘I’ll be at the Peak on the day. About nine in the morning. If all goes well, I’ll return her by dinnertime. If not, I’ll just see what happens. She will still own the apartment on the Peak. We can stay there together. If you are all gone I will stay with her, regardless of the outcome, I swear.’

I was tremendously relieved. ‘You have no idea how much this means to me, Martin. Thank you.’

‘My Lady,’ he said, bowed his head slightly and disappeared.

We spent the next two weeks doing exactly what we would normally do. Simone didn’t want to do anything special at all. She didn’t even spend more time than usual with her father. She clung to her normal life with both hands. She even talked about returning to school in September.

On August twentieth, the night before the feed, we all sat together after dinner in the dining room. Nobody had eaten very much.

The other three Winds, Na Zha and the Lady had joined us; the dining room was nearly full. Normally a meal like this would be full of fun and banter, with the Tiger teasing the Dragon mercilessly and Simone laughing hysterically. But this time we were all subdued.

‘Martin will be here at nine tomorrow,’ I said, checking the schedule clipped to my diary. ‘When are you taking Michael, Tiger?’

‘Right after this,’ the Tiger said. ‘I’m taking his mother too; we can’t be sure that little bastard won’t come after those who aren’t involved. Everybody will be kept safe. I’ll be back tomorrow morning—I’ll make it nine o’clock as well. That son of yours had better be as good as his word.’

‘He is,’ John said.

‘You should call in the Thirty-Six,’ the Tiger said.

‘You know I can’t call them in; this is personal,’ John said. ‘There is also a chance that the North will be attacked, or the Mountain attacked, as well. They will be on standby just in case there is an attack at the Celestial level.’

‘One Two Two is after us, he won’t attack the Celestial Plane,’ I said.

‘The King may take the opportunity of me being distracted,’ John said. ‘If the Armies aren’t on standby he may attack. He only promised not to come after us. He didn’t say anything about the Celestial Plane.’

‘Oh my God,’ Leo said softly.

I shot to my feet. ‘I didn’t know that! What the hell are you doing staying with us? You should be protecting your homes, and your families, and your realms, just in case!’

‘As long as the Thirty-Six are on alert we will not be attacked,’ the Phoenix said. ‘Sit down, Emma. We know what we are doing.’

I fell into my chair with a bump. ‘Will he attack once Xuan Wu is gone?’

‘I doubt it,’ John said. ‘The Celestial Armies are very strong. I doubt he will attack at all. The probability is very small, as long as the Armies are on standby.’

‘You’d better be right,’ I whispered.

‘Tomorrow morning,’ John said briskly, ‘Martin will take Simone. I will move down to Wan Chai with the Lady. We will lock down the students, and prepare. At noon, we will begin the feed, and take it as it comes from there. Leo, take Dark Heavens; Emma, use the Serpent. I will not require a weapon. We will meet here 9 a.m. tomorrow. Dismissed.’

The other three Winds and Na Zha saluted and disappeared.

‘You and Simone need your rest,’ Kwan Yin said. ‘I will help you. I will stay here with you until I go with Ah Wu tomorrow.’ She reached out and took my hand. ‘You will be fine, Emma.’

‘Are you sure?’ I whispered, looking for reassurance in her eyes.

She smiled her sad smile and didn’t say anything.

Simone, Leo and I were already awake and waiting in the dining room when John and the Lady came out.

‘Why aren’t you wearing your armour?’ John said.

‘I won’t need it until you start the feed,’ I said. ‘Besides, I feel really stupid wearing it.’

‘It took the armourers a long time to make that fit you, Emma,’ John said. ‘You know it has special abilities. Wear it.’

I didn’t say anything. I hated that armour. It was heavy, even though it fitted me perfectly and was exceptionally comfortable to wear. I was the first European woman the armourers had fitted; Immortals like Meredith could conjure their own. It had taken the forge staff six weeks to get over the fact that European women were much curvier than Chinese; they refused to believe that my breasts and hips were actually that much larger around than my waist. In the end John had to take a photo of me and send it up to the Mountain before they’d believe the measurements.

‘Please wear it for me, Emma,’ John said gently.

My throat thickened and I nodded into my tea.

‘Have you eaten anything?’ John said.

Both Simone and I shook our heads. Leo glowered into his coffee.

‘You will need to eat something, ladies, Leo. We are going into battle today and you will need your energy.’

‘Eat,’ Kwan Yin said.

Suddenly I was starving. ‘Ah Yat!’

Ah Yat poked her head around the dining room door.

‘Toast and peanut butter for me, cereal for Simone, please.’

‘And apple juice,’ Simone said.

‘Eggs, ham,’ Leo said.

Ah Yat smiled, nodded, and disappeared behind the door.

‘Thanks,’ I said.

The doorbell rang. ‘It’s Martin,’ Simone said.

‘Finish your breakfast before you go with him, sweetheart,’ John said.