Blue Dragon (41 page)

The others watched him impassively.

‘I know exactly what every single one of you is thinking,’ Wong said, completely unfazed. ‘And remember, without me, you get nowhere.’

They turned as one and studied me again.

‘Why?’ the woman said.

‘Oath in blood,’ Wong said.

The round male demon turned to him quickly. ‘Blood?’

Wong spread his hands. ‘Hey. I’m Number One now.’

‘Can you destroy the blood oath on the scroll once you’ve taken over?’ the woman said.

Wong turned and grinned right into my eyes. ‘Yes. I. Can.’

My blood ran cold. I spun and went down the hall into the training room.

When I had calmed down I kicked myself. They were holding a meeting out there, sharing their plans, and I was in the training room, totally unable to hear them.

I went back out and down the long hallway. They were no longer in the living room. I had no idea where they were.

I wandered around, and heard them in the dining room. I pressed my ear to the door. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

I tried to open my Internal Eye to have a look inside but it wasn’t working.

Shit. And I had decided that I wasn’t going to
do
this.

I went back to my bedroom and locked the door. I moved to the centre of the room, lowered my head and concentrated. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I knew what I wanted to achieve.

I gave up. I couldn’t do it. I slithered towards the door. I stopped.

Okay.

I opened the Inner Eye and watched them. They didn’t seem to notice my regard.

Wong was meeting with the four other senior demons. All of them were at least level sixty; lords and ladies. There were two female and two male. The slim middle-aged female and the rotund young male were there. There was also a female appearing in her mid-teens wearing a micro-mini, a bikini top and huge boots; and a male that looked in his mid-twenties with a ponytail.

‘I just don’t
like
it,’ the young female said.

‘It will work,’ the round male said.

‘What if he has something up his sleeve?’ the young female said.

‘He can’t have,’ the middle-aged female said. ‘We hold all the cards.’

‘I want a demonstration,’ the young female said.

Wong rose and smiled grimly.

‘No!’ Kitty snapped. ‘Not until the time is ready!’

‘Let me show them,’ Wong said.

‘No!’ Kitty said again, loudly. ‘Don’t be a fool, Simon. Don’t let any of it be seen until we are one hundred per cent ready!’

‘Are you sure you can take him out?’ the young round male said.

Wong sat back down, but the smile didn’t shift. ‘Dead positive. One, two more weeks, I’ll be the most powerful thing that Hell has ever seen.’

‘You’d better be right,’ the male with the ponytail said.

‘I’m right,’ Wong said. ‘And you know I’m right. Otherwise you wouldn’t be along for the ride.’

I had to tell the King. I smiled grimly. The sky was falling, and I had to tell the King.

It appeared to be an upmarket café in Hong Kong, but the street outside was eerily quiet. Instead of the constant bustle of traffic and pedestrians, the street was deserted. The café itself was empty except for us. It was creepy.

The King had taken his usual human form. He perused the menu. ‘Cheesecake’s good.’

‘Coffee,’ I said. ‘Black.’

‘That’s the way Leo likes it,’ the King said, smiling at me over the menu.

I didn’t rise to it. It could wait. There were more important things right now.

‘One Two Two is planning to make a try for you in the next one or two weeks,’ I said.

‘So soon?’ the King said, unsurprised. ‘I didn’t know he was ready yet. Thanks.’

An elegant deco coffee plunger and mug appeared in front of me and I poured for myself. The King had a glass of red wine.

‘Is that really wine?’ I said.

The King glanced at the glass. ‘This time, it is. Australian, in honour of the present company. I buy up the best vintages.’

‘You’ve forced the price of good wine through the roof.’

‘Cornered the market,’ the King said. ‘Very lucrative.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Right now? Nothing,’ the King said with a small smile. ‘I can handle it.’

‘He says he’ll be the most powerful thing in Hell,’ I said.

The King lowered his wine glass and leaned intensely over the table. ‘You can call me George, if you like.’

‘He says he’ll be the most powerful thing in Hell.’

The King leaned back. ‘I can handle him.’

‘You may not be able to. Look what he did to me. He’s made me immensely powerful. If he’d been able to get control of me, I hate to think what I could have done.’

‘Don’t worry, Emma, I have it all under control,’ the King said.

‘A level seventy Mother came after me a couple of days ago.’

He smiled slightly. ‘Not a threat for you.’

‘Did you send her?’

The smile didn’t shift. ‘Of course not. Mothers have something approaching free will, and they often wager with each other. Looks like that one lost a bet. Call me if one turns up that’s too big to handle, but frankly I think you’d be able to take any of them.’

‘I’d better return soon. He’ll know I’m missing,’ I said.

‘No, he won’t,’ the King said. ‘There’s a shapeshifter in there while you’re here with me. And don’t you want to hear about them?’

I sighed and dropped my head. ‘Of course I do. But first: if he takes you, can he destroy the scroll?’

‘Of course,’ the King said. ‘But it will not come to that.’ I heard a rustle and looked up. He’d pulled out a piece of paper. ‘Status report: Xuan Wu. Disappeared entirely. Out there somewhere, but we don’t know where.’

‘Good,’ I said. ‘Simone?’

‘Simone is undergoing therapy, and won’t start school for another week or so,’ the King said, reading
the paper. ‘It will be a while before she is able to return to a normal life. But she’s resilient, she’ll be fine. Rhonda is at the Peak helping out.’

‘She’ll never forgive me,’ I whispered. ‘I don’t know how many times I told her I’d never leave her.’

‘She doesn’t believe the stone, Emma. She is in a very deep state of denial. She is quite sure that I am holding you against your will.’

‘Damn,’ I said softly. I straightened and controlled my voice. ‘Leo?’

‘That will take a while,’ the King said, folding the paper and leaning sideways to put it back into the pocket of his maroon jeans. He sipped the wine. ‘The Judges are not amused; they have never seen anything like this before. A Worthy who refuses. First in history. Frankly, I don’t think they quite know what to do with him.’

‘Let him go,’ I said.

‘You do know that the Courts are not under my jurisdiction?’ the King said. ‘I only handle the retribution side. The judgement side of things is handled by the Celestial.’

I dropped my head. ‘Yeah. I know.’ I looked back at him. ‘Can’t you do something?’

The King smiled gently. ‘Sorry, Emma. But you now know: they are all alive, to a degree. They are all waiting for you. And the Dark Lord has promised that he will return for you.’

‘I don’t want him to see me like this,’ I whispered.

The King leaned over the table and spoke softly and intensely. ‘Nothing at all wrong with the way you are right now, dear. You are the most attractive thing I have laid eyes on in centuries. Have you taken any other forms besides the Serpent? I’d love to see you in a Mother form. It’s a possibility, you know, considering what he’s done to you. Ever thought about it?’

I tried to control my face but he saw through me.

‘Do it for me and I’ll give you the matching
wakizashi
,’ he said.

‘I’ll do it for you if you let me speak to Simone,’ I said.

The King leaned back. ‘Ah, it seems that today is a day that neither of us gets what we want.’

‘Good.’ I lowered my coffee mug and spoke more softly. ‘Can I be changed back?’

The King smiled. ‘To what?’

I considered it. I had changed immensely in the previous two and a half years. When I had joined John to work for him full-time I was a perfectly ordinary human female. When I had graduated from my MBA at the end of the previous year I was a Master of the Arts who turned into a big black snake when my family was threatened. And now I was a Master of the Arts, a snake, and a half demon Snake Mother who could destroy just about any demon I faced. I dropped my head into my hands. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what I am.’

He reached across the table and squeezed my arm. ‘Yes, you can be changed back. It is possible. Of course, the Serpent would still be there, because that is your nature, but the demon essence could be removed without killing you.’

That stopped me dead. ‘The Serpent isn’t part of the demon nature?’

‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘The Serpent is all you.’

‘No, that can’t be right,’ I said, desperate. ‘The Serpent came out because of what Kitty Kwok did to me.’

‘Nope. One hundred per cent you, dear. If you were to have the demon essence removed, this exquisite Serpent would still be part of you.’

I had been so positive that the Serpent was a result of Kitty’s manipulation of me. I shook myself. It didn’t
matter. As long as the demon essence was removed, I could return to John. I glanced up, full of hope. ‘Can you do it?’

His blood-coloured eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘Do you want me to?’

I grabbed his hand. ‘Yes. If you can.’

He held my hand and studied me closely. ‘What would you give me in return?’

I pulled my hand away. ‘What do you want?’

‘Please. Call me George.’ He smiled, relaxed. ‘Be mine. Until he returns.’ He ran his fingertips over my arm and I shivered. ‘I will not force you to break your oath to him. I know that what you have with him is true. I would be content to have you only until then.’ He dropped his voice. ‘More than just staying with me;
being
with me, as Queen and Consort. And all that it involves. Promise me that, and I will change you back when he returns and you can go to him whole.’

I studied my hands and remembered my promise. ‘Let me think about it,’ I whispered.

‘Take your time, dearest,’ he said softly, and I was back in the study of my gold-plated prison cell.

A
bout ten days later I was practising with the Murasame in the training room when there was a tap on the door.

‘Come in,’ I said.

Yi Hao opened the door carefully and poked her head around. ‘The Master wishes to see you, my Lady.’

I put the sword away and put it onto its black rack, wondering. I followed Yi Hao into the living room. Wong waited there for me, alone, standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest, glowering.

I stopped and waited for him.

He didn’t say anything, he just glowered.

I waited patiently. I could play this game all day if he wanted, but normally he was very impatient with me. This was entirely unlike him.

Suddenly he grinned, uncrossed his arms and put his hands on his hips. ‘Want to go out for a spin? I’ve got something I want to show you.’

I felt a jolt of horror. ‘What have you done?’

He held out one arm in a gesture of welcome. ‘Come and see.’

I didn’t move. ‘Have you hurt Simone?’

He grinned more broadly. ‘Nope. Come and look what
I
did.’ He sounded like a schoolboy who’d just caught a frog.

‘If you’ve hurt any member of my family, I’ll take your head,’ I said, trying to stay calm.

He shrugged, still grinning. ‘I haven’t hurt any of them. Come and look. You’ll like this. It’s really good.’

‘
What have you done
?’ I shouted.

He moved closer to me. I didn’t shift away. His grin turned vicious. ‘I’m taking over.’ He held his hand out and the blood oath scroll appeared in it.

I ran back to the training room to get the blade, but I was too slow. He bound me before I was out of the living room. I struggled, but he was immensely powerful. He had me.

He walked up to me, very relaxed. He stopped in front of me and touched my cheek gently. He still held the scroll in his other hand. He moved his face right into mine. ‘Don’t worry, I can’t start on you yet,’ he whispered. ‘There are some others who are a slightly higher priority.’ He stepped back. ‘But don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ll get your turn.’

The room around us disappeared. We were on the dais in the Demon King’s throne room.

Wong sat on the throne and gestured for me to sit next to him. I could move now; he had unbound me.

I sized him up. He was more powerful than anything I had ever seen. Even if I hit him with chi and blew myself up, I wouldn’t be able to destroy him.

Okay. Wait and see. I turned and sat on the throne next to him.

The doors to the hall flew open. Two very senior demons, both with the heads of bulls, dragged in the King. He was in his usual human form, wearing his maroon jeans and T-shirt. When they were halfway into
the hall every single demon in Hell materialised around them.

The King righted himself and shook the demons off. He walked with slow dignity to the bottom of the stairs leading to the dais. When he saw me he gave me a huge friendly smile, his whole face lighting up.

‘Stay there,’ Wong said, and went down the steps to his father.

The two of them faced off, silent and unmoving.

Wong took True Form. He was a huge humanoid with black scales and three eyes. He towered over the King. He had grown since I had last seen his True Form at the charity night; he was nearly five metres tall.

The King also took True Form: blood-red, like a Snake Mother, and three metres tall. Wong towered over him.

Wong growled, a deep sound within his throat. The sound became louder and louder. He raised his taloned arms, the black scales glittering. Dark energy sprang from his hands.

The King silently raised his skinless hands and blood-red energy sprang from them to meet it.

The energy clashed in a ball of black and red.

It didn’t take long. The energy ball hit the King and both of them changed. Wong into a blood-red Snake Mother-type demon; the King into a red humanoid, about three metres tall, without scales and with tusks.

Wong was King.

‘Hold him!’ Wong said.

The bull-headed demons grabbed the King’s arms, and he changed back into human form.

Wong took human form as well. The scroll reappeared in his hands. He tore it in half, right down the middle. ‘You’re next, sweetheart,’ he called to me, and some of the Snake Mothers in the hall hissed.

The King didn’t attempt to escape. He smiled slightly. Wong led them up the stairs, the King walking calmly between his captors. When they were in front of the throne Wong turned and pushed his face right into his father’s.

‘You thought I couldn’t do it,’ he hissed. ‘You thought you were stronger than anything. Well, you know what, Dad? You’re
stupid
.’

‘Not as stupid as you are, Number One,’ the King said. ‘If you didn’t have your little pussy, you wouldn’t be anything.’

Wong viciously backhanded the King, but the King ignored it.

‘All of this was
my
idea,’ Wong said. ‘Kitty might have had people with the knowledge and the science, but I’m the one who got us here.’ He stepped back and his voice calmed. ‘And here we are. I’ve taken the Dark Lord’s head. Which should I take next? Yours, or the Lady’s?’

‘Do me first,’ the King said. ‘The Lady has a job to do.’

I glanced at the King, wondering, but he didn’t look at me.

‘Okay, if you like. Push him down,’ Wong said. ‘On his knees.’

The King fell to his knees before the demons could push him. He glanced at me and smiled slightly. Wong didn’t miss it.

‘As soon as I’ve taken his head, I think I’ll take my time with you,’ he said to me.

‘You really are an incredibly stupid fucking prick, Simon,’ the King said softly. ‘I cannot believe you are walking into this with all three of your eyes open.’

Wong hesitated, then he grinned. ‘Too late, Dad.’ He gestured to the demons. ‘Hold him.’

He concentrated, and a sword appeared in his hand. It was very plain, with no decoration on either the hilt
or the blade. It was Dark Heavens. He held it up in front of him.

‘Fitting, eh? You get to go by the Dark Lord’s earthly weapon, the one that’s already taken the Xuan Wu’s head.’ He stopped and mused. ‘I wonder if I can get that stone thing to pull out the other one. The Star one. That would be lovely.’ He turned to me. ‘Can you get it?’

‘No.’

‘No matter.’

Wong quickly stepped forward and sliced through the King’s neck. The blade went straight through without harming the King at all.

I tried to stop him, but I was bound again. I couldn’t move.

‘Stupid,’ the King said.

Wong glared blankly at the King. Then he grinned. ‘I remember. You told me yourself, you stupid bastard. Only the Murasame can destroy you. What a fucking stroke of luck. You gave it to my house guest. It’s at my flat underneath Kowloon City. It’s
mine
.’

The King’s expression changed. He didn’t seem as confident. I didn’t struggle, much as I wanted to. Wong had worked it out.

Wong threw Dark Heavens onto the dais with a clatter. He held out his hand again and the Murasame appeared in it.

Wong screamed and dropped the blade, then grasped his hand and held it in front of his face, agonised.

‘The Murasame will only serve its master,’ the King said. ‘No other, unless its master wills it. Right now, only the Lady may wield the blade. Any other who attempts to use it without her permission will be destroyed. Even its touch is agony for any but its owner.’ He grinned at me. ‘Pretty neat, eh?’

Wong glowered at me. ‘If you take his head with the
Murasame, I’ll give you your freedom and Simone’s safety.’

‘Give me your word,’ I said.

‘What?’

‘Give me your word.’ I went to the Murasame, picked it up, hefted it and took it to the King. I turned back to Wong. ‘Do you promise to free me and keep Simone safe?’

Wong grinned. ‘Sure. I promise.’

‘Liar.’ I raised the sword, swung it and ran it right through Wong’s neck.

He didn’t stop grinning. It hadn’t harmed him at all. I ran the sword through his chest and pulled it out again. I slashed him across, attempting to cut him in half.

‘No good, Emma,’ Wong said. ‘I’ve been working out.’ He leaned closer to me. ‘
Nothing
can destroy me.’

‘We’ll see about that,’ I said, and put the sword away.

‘I must say, Emma,’ the King said from his knees, ‘you really are incredibly attractive. Such honour and dignity. How about a Mother form for me? Before I go?’

I ignored him.

‘Bind him well and throw him into the cell block at the far end of level nine,’ Wong said. ‘Make sure he can’t escape.’ He tilted his head and smiled. ‘Aren’t there a couple of previous Kings in there, rotting away? Our predecessors?’

‘Three altogether, all of them insane,’ the King said. ‘I will be number four.’

‘Until I find a way to wield the Destroyer or bring down the Seven Stars,’ Wong said. ‘Then I’ll destroy all four of you. Clean-up time.’

The King smiled at me, still held by the senior demons. ‘Remember.’ They all disappeared.

‘Time for me to take over,’ Wong said with satisfaction. ‘You’ll sit right here next to me as I accept their oaths of allegiance. And then I’ll cut your arms off with your own Lord’s weapon.’

‘I really don’t give a shit,’ I said softly.

‘Let’s see how far we can take that,’ Wong said. ‘Maybe arms and legs both, and I’ll keep you under my desk and use you as a footstool. The nigger is here too, isn’t he.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘This will be a lot of fun.’

Wong turned and sat on the throne. ‘As soon as I’m finished here, I’ll collect a little girl I’ve been wanting to play with for ages. And a huge black faggot who I might just make play with her before I have his balls cut off. Oh, I know.’ He leaned his elbow on the edge of the throne and smiled. ‘He can play with both of you, then you can do the honours.’

I didn’t try to escape. I knew it would come for me. It had to come for me. I sat on the throne next to Wong and placed the sword across my knees. It would come.

I sat through oaths of allegiance from three hundred and forty-five senior demons. I counted them. Most of them grinned viciously at me without looking at Wong. The Snake Mothers especially made a point of glowering at me as they swore the oath.

‘The ladies want you, Emma,’ Wong said. ‘Should I give you to them?’

‘Oh, yes, please, Simon,’ I said. ‘I’d love to go and play with them.’

‘No, I don’t think so,’ Wong said kindly. ‘I think I’ll keep you all to myself.’

Something huge and black materialised in the centre of the hall. It was like an enormous black cloud, but darker and more menacing. The cold seeped from it; the
air around it glittered with condensation. The demons raced away from it, a flowing wave of panic.

‘Oh
good
,’ Wong said with satisfaction. ‘I was wondering when it would turn up. This just gets better and better.’

The darkness coalesced into an enormous black turtle, its shell glistening with moisture. It was about five metres long. Its head was pointed and vicious. Its shell was curved and black. Its enormous feet were clawed.

The demons rushed away in panic. Most of the demons disappeared. It was faster than those that were left; it turned and raced right into the middle of them, grabbing them and snapping them in half with its enormous razor-sharp beak, one after the other. They didn’t have a chance.

The demons began to scream and there was a crush at the door as they tried to get away.

The Turtle generated a blinding beam of chi and sent it through them, destroying every demon it touched.

Wong rose and sauntered down the stairs to face the creature.

It moved towards him, its mouth open, its huge beak razor-sharp. It wasn’t slow; but it wasn’t as fast as John was in human form. The remaining demons cowered against the walls.

Wong stopped in front of the creature, totally unconcerned. He concentrated and raised his arms.

The Turtle opened its mouth wider and a blast of pure white shining energy shot out, straight at Wong. Wong disappeared in the brilliance.

The Turtle closed its mouth and the beam of light stopped.

Wong was still there, smiling.

The Turtle moved closer. Wong didn’t attempt to move out of the way. A light blue aura grew around his
head. He smiled beatifically and the light surrounded him. It was full of crackling bolts of energy. He lowered his head and concentrated, and the energy quickly rushed to his hands, forming a huge ball of something that resembled chi, but a delicate shade of pale blue.

He smiled and raised his head to study the Turtle. He lifted his arms, still holding the huge ball of energy in his hands, closed his eyes and threw his head back. The energy went black. It streamed from him straight at the Turtle’s head.

The Turtle raised its head and opened its mouth, a black shadow within the darkness of the energy. Its edges turned blue, then it shredded in the blast.

It dissipated. It was gone.

‘No,’ I moaned. ‘No.’ I took a deep, gasping breath. ‘Oh God, no.’

‘I am the most powerful thing that Hell has ever produced,’ Wong said. ‘Even the Xuan Wu is no match for me.’

He proceeded up the stairs to me.

‘He was weak,’ I said loudly. ‘When he’s back to full strength, he’ll come after you and tear you into very small pieces.’

‘I really hope so, because his cage is nearly ready,’ Wong said as he seated himself on the throne. ‘Now. Let’s get to work.’

I bided my time. As soon as he brought in Simone and Leo, I would use the Destroyer to free us all.