Blue Dragon (43 page)

‘Do you know what I am?’

The King looked at me blankly, then roared with laughter. He fell over his knees laughing. He pulled
himself up, still chuckling. He wiped his eyes. ‘Oh, my.’ He studied me, a huge grin on his face. ‘Oh, dear.’ He shook his head. ‘The answer to your question, my Lady, is: yes. I do know what you are.’ He chuckled again. ‘The irony is superb. Goodbye.’

Simone and I were back in the living room of the Peak apartment.

Three green and gold baby dragons gambolled on the floor, rolling Gold’s child between them, all of them squealing with delight. Jade, Gold and Amy watched them indulgently from the couches. The windows were fixed and the furniture had been restored.

When they saw Simone and me, they rushed over and embraced me tearfully. Then they all started talking together, asking me what had happened, then turned to Simone, checking that she was okay.

Michael and Rhonda came in, and Monica and Ah Yat too, when they heard the noise. Michael rushed to Simone, lifted her and pulled her close for a hug, making her squeal. Then he gently lowered her and threw his arms around me. Rhonda hugged and kissed us as well.

‘Don’t you ever go off by yourself like that again,’ Rhonda scolded Simone, then grabbed her and held her tight.

Something moved in the corner of my eye. The ring had been sitting on the hall table next to the front door. It floated into the air, then the stone took human form. He came to me and embraced me. He pulled back and held my face in both hands. ‘It’s good to have you back, dear,’ he said, his pale blue eyes shining under his white hair. He dropped his hands onto my shoulders. ‘Now, hold your hand out. I want to go home.’

I put my hand out and he folded up, back into the ring, which slid itself onto my finger.

That feels so much better,
it said.
It’s good to be home. Who was buying your clothes? You look like a street sleeper.

I didn’t have a chance to say something scathing. The doorbell rang and everybody froze.

‘It’s two small demons,’ Michael said softly. ‘Everybody back.’

I knew who it was. ‘It’s okay,’ I said, and went to open the door.

Yi Hao and Er Hao stood uncomfortably on the other side of the gate.

‘Come on in, ladies,’ I said. ‘Come and meet the family, and then I’d better find something for you to do.’

The two demon servants came in, obviously intimidated by the large number of people in the living room. Yi Hao held a small box wrapped with red and gold paper.

‘It’s okay, nobody will hurt you,’ I said, and closed the door behind them. ‘These two little demons looked after me.’

‘This is for you, ma’am,’ Yi Hao said, holding the gift out to me. ‘I don’t know what it is; he said to give it to you.’

I took the gift to examine it.

‘What is it?’ Michael said.

‘I have no idea,’ I said. ‘Simone, what’s inside it?’

‘A CD,’ Simone said. ‘And a phone.’

‘What on earth for?’ I said. ‘Simone, is it safe to open?’

‘Can’t you see inside it yourself, Emma?’ Michael said softly.

‘It’s safe to open,’ Simone said.

I knelt next to the coffee table and opened the box. The little dragons raced up, wide-eyed with curiosity. The baby stone lifted itself and hovered above them, watching as well.

Inside the box was, as Simone had said, a CD and a phone. The CD was a writable one, obviously containing files. There was a note on top.

Call me. Come and have lunch, I’d love to see you. Here’s your story. Please send me a copy when it’s all finished. Have you thought about publishing it? It’s a great read. I loved your description of me.

George R.

I put the lid on the box and pushed it to one side, then turned to sit on the sofa.

‘I suppose I’d better tell you where I’ve been for the last three weeks.’

We sat around the dining table: Jade, Gold, Michael, Simone, me. It was five of us now, and would be for a very long time.

‘Can you see him?’ I said.

‘Yes,’ Gold said. Jade nodded. They didn’t elaborate.

‘Tell us,’ Simone said.

Jade and Gold shared a look.

‘Something’s wrong,’ Simone whispered. ‘Is he okay?’

Jade sighed. It was Gold who spoke. ‘Underneath the icecap of the North Pole, where the water is freezing and dark, swims a great black Turtle, its shell half a
li
across.’

Simone grabbed my hand before I could pull it away.

I changed, knocking the chair over behind me with my tail.

Michael, Jade and Gold all shot to their feet. Jade moved into a guard stance, but Gold and Michael both generated enormous balls of chi and hurled them straight at my head.

I closed my eyes and waited. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes.

‘They did something to Emma, everybody,’ Simone said, her voice small. She had risen to stand next to me
and was still holding my hand, her other arm protectively in front of me. ‘Don’t try to hurt her. It’s really her. Okay?’

Michael turned his Inner Eye on me and gasped with the pain.

‘Whoa,’ he said. ‘You’re half
demon
.’

‘Who did this to you, my Lady?’ Gold said.

‘One Two Two,’ I said, my voice hissing. ‘It’s still me, I swear. Simone’s touch forces me to take…’ I hesitated, then took a deep breath. ‘True Form.’

‘We’ll need to tell your students,’ Gold said. ‘And the staff of the Mountain. So that nobody attacks you.’

I shook Simone’s hand free so that I changed back. I picked up my chair and flopped into it. I put my elbows on the table and my head in my hands. ‘No. Please. I don’t want them to know.’

‘Don’t tell anybody,’ Simone said. ‘We can fix it.’

‘My Lady,’ Gold said.

‘Geez, this really sucks, Emma,’ Michael said.

‘What’s done is done,’ I said. ‘Tell me about the Turtle. Under the icecap of the North Pole.’

Gold looked down. ‘The Turtle has no memory of what it is. It has no intelligence. It is…’ He looked straight into my eyes, his own filled with anguish. ‘It is a beast. It has no consciousness, no sentience, no awareness. All it knows…’ He breathed a deep sigh. ‘All it knows is that it has lost all that is dear to it. It searches through the darkness and cries.’

‘No,’ Simone said softly.

‘At least now he’s whole,’ I said.

Jade and Gold looked at each other again.

‘He did rejoin?’ I said. ‘He
did
become whole?’

‘No,’ Jade said, barely audible. ‘The Serpent is swimming in the stormy freezing waters of the Antarctic, half a world away.’

Simone moved to grab my hand again but I managed to avoid her.

‘He has lost everything,’ Jade whispered. ‘Only the Heavens know when he will return.’

Gold looked back at me and his voice became firmer. ‘Remember, my Lady. He has promised. He will find you. He will Raise you. He will marry you. And you will go to live on his Mountain with him.’

‘Oh my God,’ I said softly.

‘What, Emma?’ Simone said.

Jade and Gold looked at each other again.

‘He didn’t think at all when he made that promise to me,’ I said. ‘He is so stupid sometimes.’ I glared at Jade and Gold. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’

They both looked down.

‘What?’ Simone said again.

‘He’ll have to
find
me,’ I said softly.

‘But you’re not lost,’ Simone said. Then she understood. ‘No.’

‘It wasn’t just an oath, Simone. It was a curse,’ I whispered.

‘I’m going to be very cross with him when he comes back,’ Simone said.

‘Wait in line.’ I leaned back. ‘Well, whatever happens, he’ll Raise me and marry me. I don’t care about the meantime. I’ll just wait.’

‘I’ll wait with you,’ Simone said. ‘We’ll find a way to fix you up, we’ll go and find Leo, and then we’ll wait together. We have each other, and we’ll be fine, whatever happens.’

She hopped off her chair and climbed into my lap. I wrapped my arms around her.

I changed again. I lowered myself onto my coils, wrapping my tail around so that she could sit on me. She sat on my black scaly body and we held each other
close. ‘I love you, Emma,’ she whispered, leaning her head on me. ‘Everything will be okay.’

I buried my face in her hair and held her tight. ‘I know.’

I wandered through the darkened office. Neon lights from the Wan Chai street lit up the ceiling. Complete silence. I paused for a moment, enjoying the solitude. Not another living thing; I could sense the security guards on the ground floor, far, far below, but that was all.

I’d stayed late to review the reports for the latest recruitment drive. Gold had done well. Some of these kids would go far.

I sighed. Time to go home. I went to the corner of the building. I couldn’t help myself; it was a ritual I indulged in every evening before I went home.

The door was closed. I opened it and went into his office.

The desk was immaculate; I’d tidied the paperwork after he’d gone, to tie up the loose ends he’d left. He wouldn’t recognise it when he returned.

I went to the chair, stood behind it and ran my hand over the back, looking out the window. For a moment it was as if he was there with me, searching for me, and then the feeling left me.

Time to go home. The family would be waiting for me. I turned and went out, closing his office door behind me.

A
NOTE ON LANGUAGE

The Chinese language is divided by a number of different dialects and this has been reflected throughout my story. The main dialect spoken in Hong Kong is Cantonese, and many of the terms I’ve used are in Cantonese. The main method for transcribing Cantonese into English is the Yale system, which I have hardly used at all in this book, preferring to use a simpler phonetic method for spelling the Cantonese. Apologies to purists, but I’ve chosen ease of readability over phonetic correctness.

The dialect mainly spoken on the Mainland of China is Putonghua (also called Mandarin Chinese), which was originally the dialect used in the north of China but has spread to become the standard tongue. Putonghua has a strict and useful set of transcription rules called pinyin, which I’ve used throughout for Putonghua terms. As a rough guide to pronunciation, the ‘Q’ in pinyin is pronounced ‘ch’, the ‘X’ is ‘sh’ and the ‘Zh’ is a softer ‘ch’ than the ‘Q’ sound. Xuan Wu is therefore pronounced ‘Shwan Wu’.

I’ve spelt chi with the ‘ch’ throughout the book, even though in pinyin it is qi, purely to aid in readability.

Qing Long and Zhu Que I have spelt in pinyin to assist anybody who’d like to look into these interesting deities further.

Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter: A harbour on the south side of Hong Kong Island that is home to a large number of small and large fishing boats. Some of the boats are permanently moored there and are residences.

Admiralty: The first station after the MTR train has come through the tunnel onto Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, and a major traffic interchange.

Amah: Domestic helper.

Ancestral tablet: A tablet inscribed with the name of the deceased, which is kept in a temple or at the residence of the person’s descendants and occasionally provided with incense and offerings to appease the spirit.

Anime (Japanese): Animation; can vary from cute children’s shows to violent horror stories for adults, and everything in between.

Bai Hu (Putonghua): The White Tiger of the West.

Bo: Weapon—staff.

Bodhisattva: A being who has attained Buddhist Nirvana and has returned to earth to help others achieve Enlightenment.

Bo lei: A very dark and pungent Chinese tea, often drunk with yum cha to help digest the sometimes heavy and rich food served there.

Bu keqi (Putonghua) pronounced, roughly, ‘bu kerchi’: ‘You’re welcome.’

Buddhism: The system of beliefs that life is an endless journey through reincarnation until a state of perfect detachment or Nirvana is reached.

Cantonese: The dialect of Chinese spoken mainly in the south of China and used extensively in Hong Kong. Although in written form it is nearly identical to Putonghua, when spoken it is almost unintelligible to Putonghua speakers.

Causeway Bay: Large shopping and office district on Hong Kong Island. Most of the Island’s residents seem to head there on Sunday for shopping.

Central: The main business district in Hong Kong, on the waterfront on Hong Kong Island.

Central Committee: Main governing body of Mainland China.

Cha siu bow: Dim sum served at yum cha; a steamed bread bun containing barbecued pork and gravy in the centre.

Chek Lap Kok: Hong Kong’s new airport on a large swathe of reclaimed land north of Lantau Island.

Cheongsam (Cantonese): Traditional Chinese dress, with a mandarin collar, usually closed with toggles and loops, and with splits up the sides.

Cheung Chau: Small dumbbell-shaped island off the coast of Hong Kong Island, about an hour away by ferry.

Chi: Energy. The literal meaning is ‘gas’ or ‘breath’ but in martial arts terms it describes the energy (or breath) of life that exists in all living things.

Chi gong (Cantonese): Literally, ‘energy work’. A series of movements expressly designed for manipulation of chi.

Chinese New Year: The Chinese calendar is lunar, and New Year falls at a different time each Western calendar. Chinese New Year usually falls in either January or February.

Ching: A type of life energy, ching is the energy of sex and reproduction, the Essence of Life. Every person is born with a limited amount of ching and as this energy is drained they grow old and die.

Chiu Chow: A southeastern province of China.

Choy sum (Cantonese): A leafy green Chinese vegetable vaguely resembling English spinach.

City Hall: Hall on the waterfront in Central on Hong Kong Island containing theatres and a large restaurant.

Confucianism: A set of rules for social behaviour designed to ensure that all of society runs smoothly.

Congee: A gruel made by boiling rice with savoury ingredients such as pork or thousand-year egg. Usually eaten for breakfast but can be eaten as a meal or snack any time of the day.

Connaught Road: Main thoroughfare through the middle of Central District in Hong Kong, running parallel to the waterfront and with five lanes each side.

Cross-Harbour Tunnel: Tunnel that carries both cars and MTR trains from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon under the Harbour.

Cultural Revolution: A turbulent period of recent Chinese history (1966–75) during which gangs of young people called Red Guards overthrew ‘old ways of thinking’ and destroyed many ancient cultural icons.

Dai pai dong (Cantonese): Small open-air restaurant.

Daisho: A set of katana, wakizashi, and sometimes a tanto (small dagger), all matching bladed weapons used by samurai in ancient times.

Dan tian: Energy centre, a source of energy within the body. The central dan tian is roughly located in the solar plexus.

Daujie (Cantonese): ‘Thank you’, used exclusively when a gift is given.

Dim sum (Cantonese): Small dumplings in bamboo steamers served at yum cha. Usually each dumpling is less than three centimetres across and four are found in each steamer. There are a number of different types, and standard types of dim sum are served at every yum cha.

Discovery Bay: Residential enclave on Lantau Island, quite some distance from the rush of Hong Kong Island and only reachable by ferry.

Dojo (Japanese): Martial arts training school.

Eight Immortals: A group of iconic Immortals from Taoist mythology, each one representing a human condition. Stories of their exploits are part of popular Chinese culture.

Er Lang: The Second Heavenly General, second-in-charge of the running of Heavenly affairs. Usually depicted as a young man with three eyes and accompanied by his faithful dog.

Fortune sticks: A set of bamboo sticks in a bamboo holder. The questioner kneels in front of the altar and shakes the holder until one stick rises above the rest and falls out. This stick has a number that is translated into the fortune by temple staff.

Fung shui (or feng shui): The Chinese system of geomancy that links the environment to the fate of those living in it. A house with good internal and external fung shui assures its residents of good luck in their life.

Gay-lo (Cantonese slang): gay, homosexual.

Ge ge (Putonghua): Big brother.

Guangdong: The province of China directly across the border from Hong Kong.

Guangzhou: The capital city of Guangdong Province, about an hour away by road from Hong Kong. A large bustling commercial city rivalling Hong Kong in size and activity.

Gundam (Japanese): Large humanoid robot armour popular in Japanese cartoons.

Gung hei fat choy (Cantonese): Happy New Year.

Gwun Gong (or Guan Gong): A southern Chinese Taoist deity; a local General who attained Immortality and is venerated for his strengths of loyalty and justice and his ability to destroy demons.

H’suantian Shangdi (Cantonese): Xuan Tian Shang Di in the Wade-Giles method of writing Cantonese words.

Har gow: Dim sum served at yum cha; a steamed dumpling with a thin skin of rice flour dough containing prawns.

Hei sun (Cantonese): Arise.

Ho ak (Cantonese): Okay.

Ho fan (Cantonese): Flat white noodles made from rice; can be either boiled in soup or stir-fried.

Hong Kong Jockey Club: a private Hong Kong institution that runs and handles all of the horseracing and legal gambling in Hong Kong. There can be billions of Hong Kong dollars in bets on a single race meeting.

Hutong (Putonghua): Traditional square Chinese house, built around a central courtyard.

ICAC: Independent Commission Against Corruption; an independent government agency focused on tracking down corruption in Hong Kong.

Jade Emperor: The supreme ruler of the Taoist Celestial Government.

Journey to the West: A classic of Chinese literature written during the Ming Dynasty by Wu Cheng’En. The story of the Monkey King’s journey to India with a Buddhist priest to collect scriptures and return them to China.

Kata (Japanese): A martial arts ‘set’; a series of moves to practise the use of a weapon or hand-to-hand skills.

Katana: Japanese sword.

KCR: A separate above-ground train network that connects with the MTR and travels to the border with Mainland China. Used to travel to towns in the New Territories.

Kitchen God: A domestic deity who watches over the activities of the family and reports annually to the Jade Emperor.

Koi (Japanese): Coloured ornamental carp.

Kowloon: Peninsula opposite the Harbour from Hong Kong Island, a densely packed area of highrise buildings. Actually on the Chinese Mainland, but separated by a strict border dividing Hong Kong from China.

Kowloon City: District in Kowloon just before the entrance to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel.

Kwan Yin: Buddhist icon; a woman who attained Nirvana and became a Buddha but returned to Earth to help others achieve Nirvana as well. Often represented as a goddess of Mercy.

Lai see (Cantonese): A red paper envelope used to give cash as a gift for birthdays and at New Year. It’s believed that for every dollar given ten will return during the year.

Lai see dao loy (Cantonese): ‘Lai see, please!’

Lantau Island: One of Hong Kong’s outlying islands, larger than Hong Kong Island but not as densely inhabited.

Li: Chinese unit of measure, approximately half a kilometre.

Lo Wu: The area of Hong Kong that contains the border crossing. Lo Wu is an area that covers both sides of the border; it is in both Hong Kong and China.

Lo Wu Shopping Centre: A large shopping centre directly across the Hong Kong/Chinese border on the Chinese side. A shopping destination for Hong Kong residents in search of a bargain.

Love hotel: Hotel with rooms that are rented by the hour by young people who live with their parents (and therefore have no privacy) or businessmen meeting their mistresses for sex.

M’goi sai (Cantonese): ‘Thank you very much.’

M’sai (Cantonese): Literally, ‘no need’, but it generally means ‘you’re welcome’.

Macau: One-time Portuguese colony to the west of Hong Kong in the Pearl River Delta, about an hour away by jet hydrofoil; now another Special Administrative Region of China. Macau’s port is not as deep and sheltered as Hong Kong’s so it has never been the busy trade port that Hong Kong is.

Mafoo (Cantonese): Groom.

Mah jong: Chinese game played with tiles. The Chinese play it differently from the polite game played by many Westerners; it is played for money and can often be a cut-throat competition between skilled players, rather like poker.

Manga: Japanese illustrated novel or comic book.

Mei mei (Putonghua): Little sister.

MTR: Fast, cheap, efficient and spotlessly clean subway train system in Hong Kong. Mostly standing room, and
during rush hour so packed that it is often impossible to get onto a carriage.

Na Zha: Famous mythical Immortal who was so powerful as a child that he killed one of the dragon sons of the Dragon King. He gained Immortality by unselfishly travelling into Hell to release his parents who had been held in punishment for his crime. A spirit of Youthfulness.

New Territories: A large area of land between Kowloon and Mainland China that was granted to extend Hong Kong. Less crowded than Hong Kong and Kowloon, the New Territories are green and hilly with highrise New Towns scattered through them.

Nunchucks: Short wooden sticks held together with chains; a martial arts weapon.

Opium Wars: (1839–60) A series of clashes between the then British Empire and the Imperial Chinese Government over Britain’s right to trade opium to China. It led to a number of humiliating defeats and surrenders by China as they were massively outclassed by modern Western military technology.

Pa Kua (Cantonese): The Eight Symbols, a central part of Taoist mysticism. Four of these Eight Symbols flank the circle in the centre of the Korean flag.

Pak Tai: One of Xuan Wu’s many names; this one is used in Southern China.

Peak Tower: Tourist sightseeing spot at the top of the Peak Tram. Nestled between the two highest peaks on the Island and therefore not the highest point in Hong Kong, but providing a good view for tourist photographs.

Peak Tram: Tram that has been running for many years between Central and the Peak. Now mostly a tourist attraction because of the steepness of the ride and the view.

Peak, the: Prestigious residential area of Hong Kong, on top of the highest point of the centre of Hong Kong Island. The view over the Harbour and highrises is spectacular, and the property prices there are some of the highest in the world.

Pokfulam: Area of Hong Kong west of the main business districts, facing the open ocean rather than the harbour. Contains large residential apartment blocks and a very large hillside cemetery.

Putonghua: Also called Mandarin, the dialect of Chinese spoken throughout China as a standard language. Individual provinces have their own dialects but Putonghua is spoken as a common tongue.

Qing Long (Putonghua) pronounced, roughly, Ching Long: The Azure Dragon of the East.

Ramen (Japanese): Instant two-minute noodles.

Repulse Bay: A small swimming beach surrounded by an expensive residential enclave of high- and low-rise apartment blocks on the south side of Hong Kong Island.

Salute, Chinese: The left hand is closed into a fist and the right hand is wrapped around it. Then the two hands are held in front of the chest and sometimes shaken.