Dark Serpent (20 page)

She disappeared.

‘Maybe Western demons turn differently and can obey more than one person?’ Leo said as we walked back to the house.

‘I don’t really think that’s possible,’ I said. ‘A demon that turns gives itself to an individual and obeys them only.’

Another small boy ran towards us. We readied ourselves, then relaxed when he came closer and we realised he was human.

‘I trust that nobody can see your sword,’ I said to Leo, watching as the boy’s mother caught up with him and scolded him for running away.

She looked up at us and her face filled with concern. She grabbed the child and hurried away.

‘Ah, dammit,’ Leo said, and dismissed the sword. ‘Wonderful. She’ll tell the first policeman she sees and they’ll be looking for us.’

‘They’ll never find us in the crowd,’ I said. ‘She can’t possibly give an accurate enough description of the two of us; we’re completely inconspicuous.’

‘We should have brought Martin, then we’d be totally invisible,’ Leo said. He put his hands in his pockets and kicked at the autumn leaves.

I linked my arm in his. ‘Buy him something special while you’re here. You can look forward to seeing his face when you give it to him.’

Leo stopped for a moment, then raised his face to the red-orange trees and breathed deeply. ‘That’s an excellent idea.’ He started walking again, dragging me by the arm. ‘Come on, let’s grab some cash and go shopping.’

‘I didn’t mean right now!’ I said as he pulled me back towards the house.

John and Peta were in the study with Simone, and they called us in before Leo could drag me away to the shops.

‘Just need your thoughts on the plan,’ John said to me. ‘And your information on where these big houses are.’

They had a large map of northwest Wales spread out on the desk and I moved closer to see it.

‘Daddy says flying would be a waste of time. The airport’s so far away we could drive there faster,’ Simone said. ‘How primitive is that?’

‘You’ve never lived anywhere except Hong Kong,’ I said. ‘In some places driving is more efficient.’

‘Maybe I should do a gap year and spend some time outside Hong Kong,’ she said.

‘What’s a gap year?’ John said.

‘Never mind, we’re discussing this.’ I pointed at the map, then looked around for a marker pen and drew a circle around a landmark. ‘This is the manor that belonged to the lord of the island of Anglesey, here next to the ocean.’ I circled another area. ‘And there’s another big house up here, near the beaches.’

Simone shivered. ‘Beaches in a cold place like this.’

‘Many people can’t afford to spend their holidays in luxury resorts,’ John said, eyeing her sharply. ‘Maybe you should spend a year between high school and university trying to survive and travel on your own income.’

‘That’s what a gap year is,’ Simone said, amused. ‘Are those the only two big houses?’

I shrugged. ‘Seem to be.’

‘We will pay them a small, quiet visit,’ John said. He studied the map, then pointed. ‘It says this is a castle?’

‘Ruined, ’ I said. ‘I did some research on that one: it’s uninhabitable. All that remains is the shell of the stone walls; the roof’s gone.’

‘We will go there anyway.’ He rolled the map up. ‘We’ll leave the day after tomorrow; I’ll drive us up in the van. It’s a shame we’ve lost Ben and Tom …’

Simone dropped her head and gasped.

‘People die, Simone,’ he said, ‘even though we do our best to defend them.’

‘I know,’ she said, her voice thick. ‘I just really liked Tom.’

‘How much?’ he said sharply.

She looked up to glare at him. ‘Well, I wasn’t madly in love with him, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ she said defiantly, ‘but I really liked talking to him. We had a lot in common.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘He died, and he was only a year older than me.’

‘You have the opportunity to learn the secrets of Immortality, See Mun, take it,’ John said, his tone gentle. ‘Learn from me.’

‘And watch people around me die for the rest of my long existence?’ she said sadly. ‘Maybe I don’t want that.’

‘Of course you do,’ he said, slipping a rubber band around the map. ‘Peta, would you want Immortality?’

‘Only if Paul achieved it as well,’ Peta said without hesitation.

‘See?’ Simone said.

Leo tapped on the open door. ‘Are you all done? Because I want to borrow Emma.’

‘Go with them and help Leo buy something for your brother,’ John said to Simone.

He focused on her for a moment and she concentrated back, then nodded.

‘Not allowed,’ I said. ‘Talk out loud.’

‘I just asked her to keep an eye on you, Emma,’ John said. ‘And you please keep an eye on her. I have paperwork to attend to — Leonard is coming to sort out the deeds with me.’ He nodded to Leo. ‘Lion.’

‘My Lord,’ Leo said, then grinned at us. ‘Put some walking shoes on, ladies, we’re going to White City.’

‘Oh geez,’ I said softly as I followed him down the stairs.

We were laughing as we climbed the stairs from the basement carrying all the shopping bags. Simone stopped and concentrated. ‘Dinner’s ready, we should go straight there.’

‘Good, I’m starving,’ Leo said.

We stacked the shopping bags against the wall and headed to the dining room. John and Franklin were seated at the table, along with my sister’s ex-husband, Leonard, who acted as our UK lawyer.

‘Good, you’re here,’ John said. ‘Someone make Paul and Peta sit with us. They seem to think they’re not part of the family.’

Peta came in and placed a dish covered with a warming lid on the table. ‘And I’ve kept saying that it’s not because of that; it’s because the princesses were late and we had to keep their food warm for them.’

Simone put her hands on her hips. ‘And what’s wrong with being a princess?’

‘Nothing,’ Leo said. ‘I’m Princess Leo for the rest of the night. I deserve a promotion.’

‘Exactly,’ Peta said.

‘Come and sit with us and I’ll tell you what I bought, Princess Peta,’ Simone said.

‘As soon as we bring the rest of your food up,’ Peta said, and went out.

‘Leonard, do you know Franklin?’ I said as I filled my bowl.

‘My family have known about Franklin since we were first retained. I think it’s close on three hundred years,’ Leonard said.

‘They’ve been a huge help in my dealings with the local council,’ Franklin said. ‘The number of times they’ve stopped my house from being torn down and the cemetery redeveloped — well.’ He raised his glass of water to Leonard. ‘I appreciate it. Thank you.’

‘Still couldn’t get around the compulsory visibility vest and OH&S nonsense,’ Leonard said. ‘If we could get you out of that, it would be a miracle worthy of His Lordship here.’

‘Not even I can overcome the dark forces of Occupational Health and Safety,’ John said, his voice deep and powerful.

Leo gaped at him.

‘What?’ John said.

‘I don’t know which is more scary,’ Simone said. ‘Him having a sense of humour or him being dark and grim all the time.’

‘I like to think I’m scary either way,’ John said with satisfaction.

After dinner, we went down to the basement to sort out Franklin’s sleeping arrangements.

Franklin studied the MG with interest. ‘I hope you’ve been taking that out for runs. It’s far too special to be left locked up down here.’

‘So are you,’ I said.

Franklin smiled. ‘It’s for the best, believe me, Miss Emma.’

He followed John to the corner, where a three-metre-square cell had been constructed. Three of the walls were brick and concrete, the fourth was iron bars from floor to ceiling. It looked like a medieval dungeon, complete with manacles chained to the wall.

I pointed at the chains. ‘You do not need to use those.’

‘No, I don’t,’ John said, and unlocked the door.

Franklin bobbed his head, went inside and looked around with satisfaction. ‘Hasn’t changed at all, and thank your manservant for bringing my little bag in here.’ His expression changed. ‘Um … have you had a power point fitted? I need to plug in my laptop to check my email. Does the house have wi-fi?’

‘I’ll find you an extension cable and give you the password for the wi-fi,’ John said. ‘Use it as much as you like. How’s the phone signal down here?’

Franklin pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket. ‘One bar.’ He touched the phone to the bars of the cell. ‘Ah, there we go, two bars … plenty.’

‘You are far too intelligent and self-controlled to need this,’ I said.

Franklin moved closer to the bars and fixed his dark eyes on me. ‘You say that now, madam, but you are powerful and smell fresh and full of life. And in the middle of the night, if I was in a guest room, I don’t think I would be able to resist you.’

I gestured towards John. ‘He would destroy you in his sleep.’

John closed the door of the cell and turned the key. ‘That is why he’s in here.’

Franklin bowed slightly to him. ‘I thank you, my Lord. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll get some sleep.’ He changed to True Form
and flopped to lie on the bed. ‘And please don’t forget that extension cord — I have a lovely little thing in Russia that I email all the time. She thinks I will send her a lot of money so she can come here.’

‘She’s a fifty-year-old man,’ I said.

He chuckled. ‘My favourite flavour.’

Upstairs, John went to find an extension cable. Leonard was still sorting through the documents in the office, chatting with Leo and Simone.

‘You should be gone already,’ I said.

‘Having too much fun here,’ he said. ‘Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to walk down the street for a pint and share family stories? I know a fabulous little pub just two blocks away — how about it?’

‘I’d love to,’ I said. ‘Just let me get a jacket. Leo? Simone?’

‘I’ll come too, just to keep an eye on you,’ Leo said.

‘If you don’t mind, I’ll skip it,’ Simone said. ‘I hate the taste of beer. I’m taking a book to bed.’

‘You’re too young to be drinking beer!’ Leo said, shocked.

‘I’m nearly eighteen, that’s the drinking age here,’ Simone said. She pushed Leo playfully. ‘You don’t know everything about everything, Mister Immortal.’

‘I don’t know anything about anything,’ Leo said. ‘Go to bed, Simone.’

She put her arms up and he bent so she could hug him and kiss him on the cheek. They squeezed each other affectionately, and she went out.

The cool autumn air on the street was invigorating. The pub was one of Leonard’s favourites: a genuinely old establishment, with softly glowing brass and dark wood fittings worn smooth from many years of use. Leo sat at the bar and people-watched while Leonard and I shared a booth. He had beer and I had a mineral water.

‘He doesn’t need to sit there, you know,’ Leonard said, indicating Leo with his glass.

‘He knows we have family in common that we want to share,’ I said.

Leonard studied his lager. ‘That we do.’ He looked up at me and his intelligent features were subdued. ‘Do you hear much from them?’

‘I get an email about once a week. They all seem to be doing well.’

‘The boys email me,’ Leonard said. He shrugged and turned the glass in his hands. ‘Jen doesn’t. I guess she’s too busy with her new life.’

‘Andrew’s coming along; it’s good to hear he’s back at school,’ I said. I felt a shot of remorse; everything Andrew had suffered was because of me.

‘Don’t blame yourself,’ Leonard said, seeing my face. ‘We had a wonderful time living on the Celestial Plane. It was a perfect life. Things happen. I just …’ He ran the back of his hand over his tear-filled eyes. ‘I miss the boys, you know?’

‘I miss them all.’

He took a big gulp of beer. ‘Jen used to drive me nuts. Nothing was ever good enough, everything had to be perfect —
her
version of perfect. And now I don’t know what to do without her.’ He sniffled, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his nose. ‘How am I supposed to compete with a god?’

‘Come and live on the Mountain with us,’ I said. ‘We’re losing our legal advisor; Gold’s resigned to be a full-time parent. He and his wife are moving to Hong Kong so she can pursue a law degree and take over from him when she’s qualified.’

‘She wants to do that after seeing what Gold puts up with?’

‘She says anything’s better than being stuck at home with the twins. She hates it, even with domestic help; and he loves being with the kids, so they decided to swap. It’ll take her a few years to attain her degree, so we’re without a good full-time lawyer until she does.’

‘Thanks for the offer, Emma, but …’ Leonard smiled slightly at his beer. ‘It’s all a little too Chinese for me up there, you know? No good curries, no good lager, all the buildings are so … pointy.’ He shrugged. ‘And I have parents and a sister here who need me. But I really do appreciate the offer.’

‘Anyone new in your life?’ I said.

He shook his head. ‘I’ve done my dash, I’ve had my family, that’s all for me.’ He gulped his beer. ‘It was inevitable, really; Jen and I’d
been drifting apart for a while. I was wrapped up in my work, she was wrapped up in hers — and then Greg shows up, all glowing and powerful. How am I supposed to compete with that?’

‘I hope you find someone, Leonard. You’re far too good a person to be left alone and sad like this.’

‘Ah, you’re very kind, Miss Donahoe,’ he said. He checked his watch. ‘I promised Mr Chen I wouldn’t keep you out too long — oh.’

Leo had come to the booth. I wriggled over to let him sit next to me.

‘John says we should be getting back, Emma.’ He nodded to Leonard. ‘Sorry, man.’

‘What?’ I said. ‘Since when did he think he could order me home like a teenager?’

‘Something has him seriously spooked,’ Leo said. ‘He’s been checking with me constantly the whole time we’ve been here. He’s been driving me nuts. It’s all I can do to stop him from coming down here and guarding you himself.’ He tapped the table with the bottom of his glass. ‘He was doing it while we were out shopping, but now it’s dark he’s ten times worse. He ordered me to tell you to come home.’ He turned to Leonard. ‘As a sworn Retainer, if he orders me to do something, I have no choice but to obey.’ He ran one hand over his bald head. ‘It’s not like him to pull rank on me like this though. I have to wonder what the hell’s going on?’