Blue Dragon

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

My parents insisted on coming down from the palace to attend Simone’s end-of-school concert. Simone was delighted, and my parents were too. She really was becoming like a granddaughter to them.

I drove my parents and Michael in my car, and Leo drove John and Simone. Before we left, Leo jokingly told me that we needed to buy a van to carry our growing family. I glared at him.

We parked at a nearby shopping centre; our special parking treatment wasn’t valid on a night where everybody would be attending. A couple of the Tiger’s Horsemen met us at the car park—my parents’ guards.

We were all alert as we walked over to the school, even my parents. They’d been attacked by demons before while out with us. John was doing his best not to limp, but it was obvious that the ankle was still giving him trouble, even after a week. Regina had taken the stitches out that morning.

Simone was entirely unaffected by the danger. She held my hand and skipped beside me, prattling excitedly about her part in the performance. Her class was reciting a poem in Putonghua about tigers, complete with tiger masks and costumes.

When we reached the school, the White Tiger was waiting for us at the door with a satisfied grin. He wanted to see Simone’s class recitation too. Simone was thrilled and ran to him. He hoisted and spun her, making her squeal.

We went inside and sat without incident. The Tiger made himself invisible and stood near the stage, guarding. The Horsemen guarded the doors, and Leo leaned against the wall at one side of the auditorium, dark and unmoving.

Michael was doing something behind the scenes with the lighting for the production so we didn’t see him, but Simone’s little class doing their tiger poem were delightful. John had a proud smile a mile wide as he watched his daughter perform. I glanced at him questioningly a few times and he silently shook his head. About halfway through I began to relax; obviously they weren’t willing to try us with so many people around.

When the show was finished we all met outside the auditorium.

‘Do you want to come back to the West now, or go up to the Peak for a while?’ the Tiger asked my parents.

‘Is it safe for us to stay?’ my father said.

‘Should be okay if you’re with me,’ the Tiger said.

‘Ah Bai,’ John said, ‘it would be better if you take Simone directly to the Peak. I will take Emma. Leo and Michael can take Brendan and Barbara. We know who they’re after.’

The Tiger gestured and the Horsemen approached from where they’d been guarding the perimeter of our little group. ‘One in each car.’

‘My Lord,’ the Horsemen said.

‘I’ll see you at the Peak,’ the Tiger said. He glanced down at Simone. ‘Come on, little tiger. I’ll take you home and you can play with the big tiger.’

‘She’s really getting far too old for this,’ I said as they disappeared together, Simone wearing a cheeky grin.

All of us were tense and alert as we walked back to the car park. John concentrated, and Gold appeared in the middle of the group.

‘Can you sense anything?’ my father said, his voice low.

‘No,’ John said. He concentrated again and his eyes turned inward as he walked. ‘Ah Bai and Simone are back at the Peak, and they are fine.’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe they won’t try for us with so many guards.’

‘I hope not,’ I said as we paid the parking tickets.

We reached the cars without incident.

‘Anything?’ I whispered.

John and Gold shook their heads.

‘I’ll take Emma. Gold, Two Sixty, with us,’ John said, gesturing towards the smaller car. ‘Leo, Michael, Two Seven Three with Emma’s parents in the big car.’

Leo pulled himself into the driver’s seat of the big car. The Horseman sat in the middle of the back seat, with one of my parents on either side of him. As my parents entered the car the Horseman pulled a short sword out of a scabbard he’d had hiding on his back under his shirt and rested it across his knees. Michael retrieved his white katana from the trunk of the big car and sat in the front passenger side with it across his knees.

‘In, Emma,’ John said, having a last look around before he entered the smaller car.

I moved to sit in the front passenger side.

‘No, in the back, between Gold and the Horseman.’

I shrugged and sat between them; I knew why.

‘What are the chances?’ the Horseman said softly.

‘No idea,’ Gold said. ‘Last time they attacked before we made it to the car park.’ He hesitated. ‘Emma, please wake my parent, it may be useful.’

I tapped the stone.

‘Hm?’ it said.

‘We’re driving home from the concert, Dad,’ Gold said, looking around as John eased the car towards the exit. Leo followed us. ‘Help keep a lookout, will you?’

‘Not a problem,’ the stone said. Its voice became petulant. ‘I missed Simone’s poem? I was looking forward to seeing that.’

‘Gold,’ John said, ‘pull down Seven Stars. Lay it on the passenger seat.’

Gold lowered his head and concentrated. The sword appeared, leaning on the seat next to John. I peered around to see it; I’d never had a good look at it before.

Gold hadn’t worried about the scabbard: the blade was bare. The sword was jet black, with seven large circular indentations running down its length. Each indentation centred on a hole, about two centimetres across, right through the sword. The guard was a traditional Chinese style, silver and elaborately carved, but I couldn’t see the details of the carving. The handle appeared to be white stone. The sword must have been nearly two metres long. No wonder he needed to be in Celestial Form to wield it fully.

‘Whoa,’ the Horseman said. ‘Seven Stars. Wish I had a camera.’

‘It’s exquisite,’ I said over the back of the seat.

‘One day you’ll see it shine,’ John said.

‘Is it usable even if you can’t load it?’ I whispered.

‘It’s a blade. It’s big. It’s sharp. It will do the job,’ he said. ‘Lean back between your guards. Provide less of a target. We cannot use firearms against them, but they can certainly use them against us.’

I huddled back between Gold and the Horseman. Gold concentrated and took battle form: his human shape made of quartz with gleaming veins of gold. The suspension of the car shifted underneath his weight.

‘You sense something?’ I said.

‘No,’ Gold said, his mouth not moving. ‘Just being careful.’

We travelled up Waterloo Road, long and straight with high rises on either side. The ground-floor levels of the apartment blocks weren’t gardens, they were paved car parks. We travelled through three or four sets of traffic lights.

‘Shit,’ John said softly, checking the rear-view mirror. He concentrated, then raised his voice. ‘He can’t hear me, Gold, and he’s getting out of the car. Get back there now!’

Gold lowered his head and disappeared.

I didn’t say anything. John was concentrating on driving, and besides, I had a good idea what had happened. John couldn’t do a U-turn—there was a large concrete divider between the traffic lanes.

‘Damn,’ John said. His voice became fierce. ‘I don’t care, stop him!’

He cut through three lanes of traffic from the right lane to the left, causing cars to screech their brakes behind us. He drove like a maniac for three hundred metres, then exited to the left so quickly that the tyres on the Mercedes squealed.

‘This is a direct order, Michael, Gold. Kill him now,’ John said. ‘Take his head immediately. Do it.’

When he was on the exit road he raced at a dangerous speed up the right lane, looking for a place to perform a U-turn, but once again the road was separated by concrete dividers.

‘Kill him! I know he’s controlled. Kill him anyway!’ John shouted.

We came to a place where the dividers were removable metal gates rather than concrete, to allow access by emergency services. John put the hazard lights on, stopped the Mercedes next to the dividers, and concentrated.

The dividers collapsed inward. Every weld on the metal disintegrated, turning the gates into useless pieces of metal pipe. John eased the Mercedes through into the oncoming traffic, ignoring the horns from other drivers. The underside of the car grated painfully on the pipes, then we were clear.

John took off again, going the other way. ‘Kill Leo now! He’s far too dangerous to let live. Just take his head!’

We raced for about five hundred metres, then took an overpass to go back on Waterloo Road, in the opposite direction from before.

John’s eyes unfocused and he relaxed. ‘Michael stopped him. Your parents are okay, Emma.’

‘Michael killed Leo?’ I whispered.

John slowed the car as we merged with the Waterloo Road traffic. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Michael and Gold both disobeyed a direct order and are in serious trouble. Leo is still alive.’

‘Were they hit from behind?’

‘Yes. Somehow the demons in the car that hit them gained control of Leo. Leo killed the Horseman and was about to grab your parents when Gold and Michael subdued him together. They are both in extremely serious trouble. They should have taken his head when they had the chance.’

The Horseman next to me hissed under his breath.

We reached the scene of the accident. John checked them carefully as he drove past the other way, then turned left. We travelled through the quiet backstreets of Kowloon Tong until we found a place where we could turn right to return to Waterloo Road. We passed Kitty Kwok’s kindergarten on the way; it was only about five blocks from the school.

‘Were Gold or Michael injured?’ I said.

‘Michael,’ John said. ‘Your parents are okay. Gold is uninjured. Apparently Leo received the worst of it.

Gold and Michael had to use a great deal of force to subdue him, and the demons tried to kill him after he went down.’

‘How did they gain control of him?’ I said as John turned on the hazard lights and pulled in behind the ambulance attending the two cars.

‘I don’t know. And we may never have the chance to find out, love,’ John said, gesturing towards the gurney being lifted into the ambulance.

Michael was taken in the ambulance as well, Gold accompanying him. John drove me and my parents directly back to the Peak with the remaining Horseman. The Tiger and Simone waited for us in the living room, quiet and subdued. When we came through the door Simone ran straight to her father. He lifted her and held her close.

‘Is Leo okay, Daddy?’ she said into his shoulder.

‘Michael says they don’t know yet,’ John said, holding her tight. ‘But Meredith is there, looking after him. We’ll just have to wait and see.’

She pulled back so that she could see his face. ‘I want to go to the hospital and see Leo.’

‘If you don’t mind, Brendan, Barbara, could you care for Simone for a short time while we discuss this?’ John said.

My parents didn’t say anything, they just nodded grimly. John lowered Simone, and my mother came forward to take her hand and lead her into her bedroom.

My father turned to speak over his shoulder to me. ‘Don’t worry, Emma, we’re fine. Go and talk to John.’

John, the Tiger and I went into the dining room. Ah Yat brought us a pot of tea without being asked.

‘Is Leo still controlled?’ I said.

‘It’s hard to say,’ John said. ‘He hasn’t come around yet. Right now, though, he isn’t capable of hurting anything. Gold and Michael did an extremely good job on him. They came very close to following my orders. Then the demons tried to kill him outright.’

Gold appeared beside John, still in his battle form, all of stone. He held his hand out. ‘We stones have been arrogant for years about our ability to transcend normal animal energies. We have thought ourselves aloof and superior. And boy, have we been wrong.’

Gold placed a small jet-black pebble, about two centimetres across, onto the table. ‘This was in the Lion’s pocket,’ he said. ‘Somebody probably slipped it onto him while we were at the concert.’

We all leaned forward to study the stone.

‘Let me see, Emma,’ the stone in my ring said. ‘Put me on the table next to it.’

I took the ring off my hand and moved it near the black stone. ‘Not too close!’ it squawked, and I placed it about ten centimetres away.

‘Damn,’ the stone said. ‘I’m speechless. How the hell did he manage to do this?’

Gold changed back to his normal human form, wearing a pair of tan slacks and a tan polo shirt. His face was very grim. ‘This was once one of us, my Lord. Now, it is less than nothing.’

I inhaled sharply with shock. ‘This was a stone Shen?’

Gold nodded. ‘I knew this one too. She was a wonderful person. There is nothing left of her that can be salvaged.’ He looked away, his face full of pain.

‘My Lord Bai Hu, Exalted Emperor of the Western Heavens,’ the stone in my ring said very formally.

‘Jade Building Block of the World,’ the Tiger said.

‘My Lord,’ the stone said, not quite as formal, ‘I’d like your permission to bring the opal in on this. The opal can take this…’ It hesitated, as if taking a deep breath. ‘This thing and show it to the Grandmother. It is vitally important that she sees this.’

‘The Grandmother speaks to us all,’ Gold said, turning back so that he could see the black stone. ‘If she is aware of this…thing, then we are all aware. We will have the knowledge to avoid such a thing happening in the future.’

‘Granted,’ the Tiger said, just as grim. ‘Gold can come with me to the palace to talk to Amanda, then the opal can go and report.’

I glanced at Gold. ‘Does Leo know that he was controlled and that it wasn’t his fault?’

‘He hasn’t come around yet, but he’ll still think it’s his fault anyway, ma’am,’ Gold said sadly. ‘He’ll be full of guilt that they managed to place this thing on him in the first place.’

‘Come on, Gold, let’s go and talk to this opal,’ the Tiger said, and both he and Gold disappeared, taking the black stone with them. I put the jade ring back onto my finger.

‘What’s your name, Two Sixty?’ I asked the Horseman.

‘Derek,’ he said with a sad smile. ‘I hope my dad remembers to come back for me. This is the second time this year he’s left me stranded on the Earthly.’

John’s eyes turned inwards. ‘Leo will survive. They moved him into intensive care. Meredith is with him, she appears as his wife.’ He smiled slightly. ‘Two Sixty, your father left you here deliberately, I think, to take up Leo’s duties while he recuperates.’

‘No! Really?’ The Horseman’s eyes unfocused; obviously his father was speaking to him. He grinned broadly. ‘Hot damn!’

‘I’d like to go and see Leo,’ I said. ‘I know Simone would too. How can we do it so we’re safe?’

‘I will take you,’ John said, rising. ‘Obviously they are still too cowardly to face me. Leo will be harmless now that the stone has been removed. Two Sixty, stay here and guard the Dark Lady’s parents. Ah Yat!’

Ah Yat poked her head through the doorway.

John gestured towards Derek. ‘This one is staying in the room next to Michael’s. Arrange it while Emma, Simone and I go to the hospital.’

‘My Lord,’ Ah Yat said, and her head disappeared around the door.

‘You know what to do,’ John said.

Derek saluted. ‘My Lord.’ He was hard-pressed to keep the delight from his face. ‘I am extremely glad the Lion will be all right. All of us Horsemen have a tremendous amount of respect for him. We’ll be gunning for him to recover quickly.’ He grinned again. ‘And damn, this is an honour to be serving you in his place.’

‘Come on, Emma,’ John said. ‘Let’s go to the hospital and try to convince Leo that he isn’t the worst guard on Earth.’

‘Not going to happen, John,’ I said softly as I followed him out.

The staff said children weren’t allowed in intensive care. Meredith came out in the form of a portly black woman in her mid-thirties and coerced them into letting Simone in. We went into the ward together. Leo was on a number of life-support machines, but they were completely silent; there wasn’t the usual heartbeat blip sound that was so popular on television.

My heart twisted when I saw the signs above his bed. A brilliant black-on-yellow ‘Biohazard’ sign, and next to it a card with ‘HIV+’ scrawled on it in marker. Meredith had told them.

Meredith sat next to Leo and took his hand. She appeared to be holding his hand like a stricken wife, but she was actively healing him through the contact.

Michael leaned against the wall in the far corner of the room, his arms crossed, his school shirt bloodied on one shoulder. He didn’t attempt to salute John, he just nodded. ‘My Lord.’ He winced. ‘Leo tried to take my head off, and missed. He hit my shoulder. I healed the wound, but I’m afraid I’ll be unable to salute you correctly for a while.’

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ I said quickly.

‘I’m fine,’ he said, but he didn’t shrug. ‘Wait until Katherine sees the scar. You’ll have to help me think of a story to tell her.’

‘I thought it was Betty,’ I said.

‘Katherine right now,’ Michael said, his eyes sparkling.

‘Go outside and wait,’ John said. ‘Rest the shoulder.’

‘My Lord,’ Michael said, then hesitated. He dropped his voice. ‘My Lord. I know I disobeyed a direct order, but I couldn’t kill him. Not Leo. Permission to remain here with him.’

‘Granted,’ John said, and Michael leaned back against the wall.

John sat down on the other side of Leo from Meredith and Simone wriggled into his lap. Simone’s eyes had become very wide when she saw the tubes and machines, but now she seemed only concerned. She reached over and took Leo’s hand, holding it tight.

I moved behind Meredith and put my hand on her shoulder, examining Leo through her. I gasped when I saw the extent of the injuries.

‘How bad is it?’ John said softly.

‘It’s like someone hit him with a sledgehammer,’ I said. ‘Everything inside is bruised and bleeding. Most of his ribs are cracked. His breastbone is fractured. Even his heart is damaged.’ I glanced over at Michael. ‘You did this?’

‘I had to hit him hard to stop him, but I didn’t do that,’ Michael said. ‘When he went down, one of the demons hit him with some sort of black energy, right in the middle of his chest. I think if it weren’t for Master Liu’s healing skills, he’d be dead.’

Meredith nodded without saying anything.

‘Was it like black chi?’ I said, desperate.

‘No,’ Michael said. ‘Nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. It wasn’t chi, I’m sure. It was more like…’ He paused and thought. ‘It was more like pure demon essence, thrown straight at Leo.’

‘Not possible,’ John said. ‘They can’t throw demon essence.’

‘And they can’t kill stone Shen,’ I said.

‘A stone Shen was killed? Not Gold?’ Michael cried, horrified.

‘Gold’s okay,’ I said. ‘Somebody slipped a stone into Leo’s pocket that put him under their control. It was a stone Shen that had been changed somehow into an object. No longer intelligent or sentient, just a rock. Gold is reporting to the Grandmother.’

‘He’s coming around,’ Meredith said softly. ‘Lord Xuan, take his hand.’

John didn’t question her, he just took Leo’s hand out of Simone’s and held it himself. I sat carefully on the bed next to Leo’s massive thighs. I checked with Meredith and she nodded: I was okay to sit there.

Leo’s dark face screwed into a grimace of pain and then his eyes fluttered open.

Michael quickly moved to stand behind Meredith.

Meredith lowered her head and concentrated. ‘I’m just relieving some of the pain that he’s feeling when he breathes. You can talk to him for a few minutes, then I’ll put him under again. It’s hurting him too much to breathe.’

‘My Lord,’ Leo said, staring at the ceiling. ‘Lord Xuan. Simone.’ His eyes closed again. ‘Emma? Michael?’

‘We’re all here, Leo,’ John said, leaning forward over Simone and holding Leo’s hand tightly. ‘We’re all safe.’

Leo breathed a huge sigh of relief, then coughed, a strangled sound. He gasped with the pain. ‘What happened to me?’

‘Your mind was controlled by a demon. You probably don’t remember anything,’ I said. ‘Everybody’s safe. If it hurts too much, say so, and Meredith will put you under again.’

‘Meredith’s here?’ Leo said. ‘Master Liu?’

‘I’m here, Leo,’ Meredith said. ‘We’re all here. Michael too.’

‘Hey, Leo,’ Michael said, his voice full of affection. ‘That demon certainly hit you hard.’

‘Hey, Michael,’ Leo said. He turned his head, not seeing. ‘Simone? Simone, sweetheart? Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, Leo,’ Simone said, her little voice as stricken as her face. ‘Does it hurt?’

Leo coughed again, then moaned. ‘It hurts a little bit. But I don’t care, sweetheart, ’cause you’re okay.’

Simone was silent, her eyes still wide.

‘What happened wasn’t your fault, Leo,’ I said, rubbing the blanket that covered his leg. ‘You were controlled by a demon. Rest, get better, and then we’ll take you home. I think you should put him back under now, Meredith.’

‘Wait,’ Leo gasped, a heavy breath.

We all hesitated.

Leo was silent for a while. Then, ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘You don’t need to say anything,’ John said, still grasping Leo’s hand. ‘Concentrate on recovering. That’s all you need to do.’

‘Somebody needs to guard Simone at school,’ Leo said. ‘Somebody needs to guard Emma, and Simone.’ His strained voice became urgent. ‘The family must be guarded. I have to get out of here!’

‘Simone’s school is finished for the year, Leo,’ I said gently. ‘She can spend her holidays at the Academy where she’ll be safe. I’ll be in the Academy too. You don’t need to worry about us.’ I patted his leg. ‘Worry about yourself for a change, and concentrate on getting better.’

‘Is that an order?’ Leo breathed with some of his old defiance.

‘Damn straight it is. Now Meredith’s putting you back to sleep, and I’ll be here to visit you tomorrow morning, first thing. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ Leo said, but he was already asleep before he’d finished saying it.

A week later we brought Leo home from the hospital. He was still very weak, even with the additional assistance in healing from Meredith. I held one arm and John held the other as we guided him into his room.

We led him to his bed, turned him around, and gently lowered him to sit. He winced; he was still very sore inside. I bent and pulled his loafers off, and John moved to undo the buttons on his shirt.

‘Stop,’ Leo said, and we both hesitated. ‘Emma, Mr Chen, please don’t do this.’

I rose to speak to him at his level. His face was full of misery. ‘Who else can do it?’ I smiled and shrugged, patting his arm. ‘You’re like a brother to me, Leo.’

Leo glanced from me to John.

‘I’ll go out,’ John said.

‘Wait,’ Leo said, and John hesitated. ‘My Lord, could you ask Michael if he would be willing?’

John concentrated, his eyes unfocusing. ‘Michael is on his way. Are you sure?’

Michael tapped on the door and came in.

‘I’m sure,’ Leo said. ‘Out. Both of you.’

Michael stood to one side and let us leave.

‘Leo and Michael?’ John whispered as he closed the door.

‘Of course not,’ I whispered back impatiently. ‘Leo’s like a father to Michael, that’s why he asked for him.’ We went back up the hall towards the training room; we’d decided by silent mutual agreement to do some weapons work together. ‘You really don’t understand people very well sometimes, John.’

‘I don’t think I ever will,’ John said as he held the training room door open for me.

‘What about me?’ I said as I collected my sword.

‘Especially you,’ he said as he studied the weapons on the wall, and eventually selected a pair of sais. He turned to face me, spinning them appraisingly in his hands.

I pulled out my sword and tossed the scabbard aside. ‘Okay, Raphael, do your worst.’

‘See?’ he said, and attacked.