Hell to Heaven (22 page)

I rushed to help him but John stopped me. ‘Let him fight it.’

‘But what if it hurts him?’ I said.

‘He’s
Immortal
, Emma,’ John said. ‘Good practice for him. Just walk slowly over, he can handle this.’

‘This is his first solo battle as an Immortal,’ Simone said. She spoke softly so that he couldn’t hear her. ‘Go, Leo!’

‘Can he get out of the wheelchair in human form?’ John said. ‘If he can’t, then he’ll need a weapon he can use in human form in the chair. Something like twin daggers, or wakizashi, or something similar…’ He trailed off, musing.

‘He can stand and walk just fine when he’s under pressure,’ I said.

‘A sword then,’ John said. ‘A two-handed claymore type? Or a lighter Western-style blade? An African spear? The Mountain forge knows nothing about them, but they could learn…No, he’s American, not African. The Western-style, I think, and it would have to be black, a good solid guard on it…’ He turned to me and grinned. ‘Is the forge up?’

‘It is,’ I said with dismay. ‘I’ve already ordered a weapon for him; it’s nearly done and it’s nothing like that. I’ll have to get another made.’

‘Oh, you’re way ahead of me, good,’ John said, still strolling towards Leo, who was now clashing with the demon, using claws and teeth to rake it and avoiding its blows. ‘What did you order?’

‘A long, slender Japanese katana-style, nearly two metres long. The guard is a standard small tsuba with a lion in it, and the end of the handle has a black lion carved into it. At least I have the colour right, it’s black.’

John stopped, clumsily turned in the sand and grinned at me. ‘That’s even more perfect. Why didn’t I think of that? The blade will have to be called the Black Lion, that’s
ideal
—’

He didn’t finish because Simone cried out and ran towards Leo and the demon, summoning Dark Heavens as she went.

The demon had managed to break through Leo’s guard and had plunged the sword into his shoulder, between the shoulderblade and the ribcage, and the blade was lodged into his back. Not a mortal wound, but it must have been agony for Leo. The demon swung Leo’s body on the sword as he tried to free it, and Leo howled with a combination of anger and pain. The demon finally wrenched the sword free, nearly severing one of Leo’s front legs with it. Leo fell heavily, the leg useless, and the demon swung and, with a single blow, took off Leo’s head. Leo disappeared.

The demon turned to face Simone. She loaded Dark Heavens with shen energy and blew it up before it could even move towards her. After it exploded, she dropped the sword and fell to kneel in the sand, her head bowed.

‘Simone, you really
must
have some training with weapons. Using shen energy like that every single time is going to both shorten your life—in the unlikely event you don’t gain Immortality—and weaken your body. You have to stop doing this,’ John scolded her.

She turned her tear-streaked face to us as we approached, then buried her head in John’s shoulder next to his shell. ‘It killed my Leo!’

‘Don’t be silly, Simone, he’ll be back before you know it,’ John said. ‘Do you know how busy the Courts are at the moment?’

‘Not overly busy,’ I said.

‘Emma, you’re as white as a ghost. Come and sit next to me and lean on me with Simone. Both of you are overreacting. He’s Immortal. That was a minor inconvenience for him, nothing more. If the Courts aren’t too busy he could be back in a couple of weeks.’

‘I was planning to give him his new sword in a week,’ I said, flopping to sit in the sand and leaning my head on John’s shell. ‘We were arranging a presentation ceremony and party for him at the Mountain.’

‘Well then, let me ask Judge Pao,’ John said. He unfocused for a moment, then came back. ‘Make the party for about two weeks’ time instead, and make it a “welcome back, here’s your cool new sword” party.’

I nodded.

Simone wiped her eyes and smiled. ‘You’re right, Daddy, but I hate to see him hurt like that.’

‘Pain is a side effect of being alive,’ John said. ‘And physical pain is the easiest to bear and the easiest to relieve.’

‘I know I’m alive without being stabbed, thank you very much,’ she said.

He nodded. ‘Good point. Has Leo had much training?’

‘He hasn’t had any, he’s refused it,’ I said. ‘That’s why I made the sword for him, to try and get him to do some training with it.’

‘Tell him that I order him to take the training, just as I order Simone to attend CH and learn as well,’ John said. ‘Both of them should be going to CH together.’

‘That’s the weirdest idea I’ve ever heard,’ Simone said with wonder.

John bowed his head. ‘Thank you. Now.’ He turned to the water. ‘I wanted to show you two lovely ladies something. Emma, we’ll go down to the edge of the water and you can get on my back there; Simone, just follow along.’

He trundled down to where the perfectly clear water hit the smooth sand. The beach was completely wave-free, and the sandy floor made the water appear pale blue-green, transparent and glittering. John seemed only to have two speeds: he could pick his shell up and move lightning-fast, graceful and menacing; or he could lower his shell and move more slowly, appearing clumsy. His slow speed was deceptively comical.

‘I wonder why the demon attacked Leo,’ Simone said, almost to herself.

‘He’s Immortal. That’s enough for them,’ John said. ‘What I want to know is why it was up here and not in Hell. It didn’t have a master ordering it; it seemed to be on its own. That shouldn’t be happening.’

I didn’t reply and John looked at me. ‘I can hear your brain working, Emma, tell me what’s going on.’

‘You can hear what I’m thinking?’ I said.

‘No, but I can hear your brain clicking like a high-speed clockwork machine. There’s something you should tell me but you haven’t.’

I used the formal tone of an underling reporting to a general. ‘The Gates of Hell are not as heavily guarded without you here. Sometimes the Thirty-Six require assistance and the Guards of the Gates are called into battle. When this happens, individual demons escape.’

John was silent for a moment. Then he asked, ‘What’s it like on Hungry Ghosts Festival?’

‘Awful,’ Simone said softly. ‘It’s not just the hungry ghosts that leave Hell and walk the Earth, it’s the
spirits in Hell as well, the ones that don’t have permission to leave, plus thousands more demons. So far the demons have held to the treaty and not harmed anyone, but their presence causes widespread destruction amongst the humans—car accidents, family quarrels, theft, murder.’

‘I wish I had never negotiated that,’ John said, shaking his turtle head. ‘It was such a mistake.’

‘At least it’s only one day a year,’ I said. ‘And I’m sure it was worth the price.’

‘Sometimes I wonder,’ John said. He shook himself. ‘All right, hop on, Emma, let’s go and have a look.’

He moved into thigh-deep water and I clambered on top of his shell, carefully avoiding the spiked areas.

‘When we get into the water, lie across the top and close your eyes; we’ll be moving very quickly,’ he said. ‘You ready, Simone?’

Simone dived into the water ahead of us in reply.

John pulled himself a couple more steps and his feet changed to flippers, his shell turning greener and growing smooth. He’d changed from a land tortoise to a sea turtle. He ducked his head, we lurched under the water and we were off.

I inhaled water and panicked. I coughed and inhaled more, and nearly let go of his shell.

His voice came into my head, reassuring.
Breathe the water, Emma; remember that time in the Japanese bath at the Tiger’s palace? One of my fondest memories. You could do it then, it’s just a little more pressure now. Relax…good.

This was different to being carried by the Blue Dragon at Kota Kinabalu; his movement had been smooth and I hadn’t felt the water moving past me. John lurched as he thrust with his flippers, and we
were moving as fast as a speedboat beneath the water. I could feel the water’s drag; the pressure meant that I couldn’t open my eyes, and it felt like trying to breathe in a tornado.

I can feel from the way you’re holding me that you’re finding this uncomfortable
, he said.
It’s not far, and I assure you that it will be worth it. Just relax, you will not suffocate or be hurt, I promise. Just think of the water that is flowing past you…as me.

I nodded, although he probably didn’t feel it. I kept my eyes closed and concentrated on holding onto his shell.

The light disappeared from the inside of my eyelids; we were in the shade. The temperature of the water dropped slightly. We travelled like this for a short time then we were in sunlight again. John surfaced and I took a deep breath then coughed up a ridiculous amount of water, nearly vomiting onto the back of his shell as it pumped out of me.

‘Don’t worry, that’s a normal reaction,’ John said. ‘When I’m able to take human form again, travelling with me underwater will be much easier.’

‘I’m glad,’ I choked, still coughing up water.

‘Wow, this is great,’ Simone said with wonder.

I coughed a few more times and managed to look up and around. We were in a natural, hollow limestone chimney; probably the remains of a hundred-metre-wide volcanic plug. The walls were covered in creeping plants and the sky was visible through the top of the rock formation, about fifty metres above us. The sun shone down onto the water, and a small, perfect beach had been created by the current on one side.

John took me to the beach, but didn’t climb out of the water. He stayed a sea turtle and lay in the
shallows, his eyes closed with bliss. I rolled off him into the water and lay on my back next to him, enjoying the sunshine.

‘Go take a look,’ he said. ‘The cave that leads back outside has glow-worms in the ceiling.’

‘Cool,’ Simone said, and dived into the water.

The two of us sat together watching the reflections of the ripples on the walls of the chimney, and the tiny blue and yellow glittering fish that flashed past us in schools. The gentle sound of the water hitting the rock echoed around us.

‘There are so many things I need to tell you and ask you now you’re back,’ I said.

‘I’m not back for good. As long as I can’t take human form, I’ll lose my intelligence again,’ he said, interrupting. ‘I don’t know how long I have.’

‘I know, I understand. All these things I need to say…and I can’t think of a single one of them.’

‘That’s all right,’ he said. ‘You know that words aren’t—’

I finished it for him with delight. ‘Words aren’t necessary! Do you know, Simone teases me mercilessly about that? She makes this serious face and looks me in the eye and says, “Words aren’t necessary, Emma, because I love you so much! You are the only one for me!” And then she pretends to put her finger down her throat and makes gagging noises. She says, “Promise me you won’t be that mushy when Daddy comes back. I couldn’t stand it!”’

‘And what do you tell her?’

‘To deal.’

He chuckled, the noise vibrating through his shell.

‘Do that again,’ I said.

‘What?’

‘That little laugh.’ I put my hand on his shell.

He hesitated a moment, then laughed quietly. The vibration ran through my hand and I gasped.

‘What, Emma? Are you okay?’

‘Uh…that is…’ I didn’t know what to say. ‘Your shell
vibrates.
’

He was quiet for a moment, then said, ‘Oh my. I didn’t know that.’ He glanced at me. ‘If I know my Emma, you are thinking very evil thoughts right now—and that is one of the reasons I love you.’

I started to laugh and he joined me. We laughed together, and I flopped back to lie on the sand, looking up at the fading blue sky.

‘One day, when Simone isn’t around…’ he said, then, ‘Never mind. I don’t want to freak you out.’

‘How long before you can take human form?’ I said. ‘I
really
want that back, John.’

He hesitated. ‘There may be an issue when I retake human form, because I am so weak. I hope this doesn’t freak you out, but when I become human again…’ He stopped for a moment, gazing at the reflections on the rock face.

‘Yes, John?’

He jerked his head slightly. ‘Emma?’

I moved closer to him and touched his head. ‘You’re fading. Call Simone back.’

He nodded, turned away and concentrated.

‘What were you going to say about becoming human again?’ I said.

Simone surfaced, swam underwater to us, then pulled herself out to lie on the sand on her back.

‘Your tummy is very white,’ John said. ‘You’re so fair compared to me. You inherited a lot from your mother.’

Simone grinned. ‘I don’t get the sun on my tummy much. When I swim…used to swim in school I wore a one-piece.’

‘And stop getting the sun on your face,’ he said sternly. ‘Treasure your pale complexion, Simone, it shows how noble and refined you are.’

She hissed with derision and rolled onto her stomach.

‘What?’ he said.

‘Welcome to the twenty-first century,’ I said. ‘Some of her friends go in to have spray-tans.’

‘
Chinese
girls get artificial tans?’ he said in horror.

‘Some do,’ Simone said. ‘Others get skin bleaching instead, to go in the opposite direction. And artificial nails, and hair extensions, and eyelash extensions, and nose and eye and boob jobs…Emma wouldn’t let me have anything done, even if I asked.’

‘You are perfect exactly the way you are,’ he said. ‘That is so against the essence of the Tao it is scary. The essence of the Tao is to be exactly who you are.’

‘Oh, I think they’re being exactly who they are,’ I said. ‘Completely artificial and shallow, focused only on looking good on the outside no matter how hollow they are inside.’

He dropped his head and shook it. ‘That is so wrong.’

‘What about you becoming human, John?’ I asked him again. ‘There was something you wanted to say.’

‘Was there?’ He shook his head again. ‘I don’t remember. I am fading, I don’t know how long I have…’

He disappeared.

Simone sighed and turned away. ‘He didn’t even say goodbye.’

‘He didn’t need to,’ I said, ‘because it wasn’t goodbye; he’s coming back.’