DAC 3 Precious Dragon (27 page)

Down and down. And finally Pin realized that there was a limit to Hell after all and it was coming up fast. Unlike some of the levels they had passed, this was a bright land, a sandy expanse. Pin caught sight of ragged yellow mountains and then a canyon. He hit the sand at maximum velocity, was splattered out across a mile or so. This was painless, but bewildering, with only a tiny scrap of consciousness remaining, and then there was an even more confused period during which he reassembled. Mai was struggling up between the rocks a short distance away. There was no sign of the kuei at all.

"Pin," Mai shouted. Her voice sounded reedy and distorted. "Are you all right?"

Pin fought back hysterical laughter. "What do you mean, 'all right'? I've just fallen into the depths of Hell and exploded."

"Well," Mai said shakily, as she approached him. She did not walk, but moved with an odd gliding motion, her feet not quite touching the ground. "You look much the same as you did upstairs, if that's any comfort."

"So do you," said Pin. He looked around. This place seemed more like Earth than the city above; the sky a brassy gold, the yellow mountains and thick, sticky earth. Like somewhere in the depths of China, perhaps. Pin had the sense of great age. "What happened to the kuei?" he asked.

Mai shook her head. "I don't know. Didn't you think it was getting smaller as we fell? It looked like it to me."

"Me, too," said Pin, "But I thought it might just be slowing down."

Mai looked dubious. "I don't know. Perhaps you're right. Maybe it got stuck on one of the levels above us. I hope so."

"I hope so, too," Pin said, shuddering. The memory of that centipedal shape twisting and writhing through the skies of Hell was one that he'd far rather forget. But even worse was the dawning understanding of what had happened to them. "Mai, what are we going to do? Look at this place. There's nothing here. Do you know where we are?"

Mai's face was contorted with dismay. "I think I do know, Pin. This is the bottom of Hell. It's where everything else came from—this is the distant past, not just another level, and it's where the rest of Hell came from—where it grew out of. As for nothing being here, I'm afraid that the legends disagree with that. It's where the first demons came from, too." She ran a hand through her disheveled hair. "There's one thing, though—in every level, including this one, there's a place where you can move between the levels themselves. We can go back up."

"Even given what's waiting for us?"

Mai sighed. "I don't know what else to do, Pin. The kuei are after us and they'll find us eventually. We can either stay here or try to run. I'd rather run."

"Then I'll come with you," Pin said.

There was no plant life in this part of Hell, just pools of oozing yellow mud that occasionally emitted a sulphurous geyser, and the endless, stony earth. Pin had never seen a bleaker place. They trudged on toward the mountains, which seemed to grow no closer no matter how much they walked. There were some benefits, however: Pin did not feel hungry, and neither did his feet hurt—like Mai's, they did not seem to want to touch the ground.

Gradually, the brassy sky darkened and an ominous night fell over the canyon.

"I think we should stop," Mai said uneasily.

"Are you tired?" Pin asked. He did not feel that he would sleep; it was as though the descent had sent him into even more of a state of limbo than he had been previously.

"No, I'm not," Mai replied, "but I have the feeling that there might be things that come out during the night that we haven't seen during the day."

"Even if they do," Pin said in despair, "We can't fight them off. We've got no weapons." The hungry water ghosts had been bad enough and that was in the upper level of Hell. He told himself that Mai might be wrong, that they'd seen nothing so far and that really did mean that nothing was there, but he could not believe in his own reassurances.

"We'll just have to hope that they won't bother with us," Mai said, but as she spoke a blood curdling yell came from the rocks above them.

"What was that?" Pin whispered.

"Oh Pin," said Mai, "Let's just hide."

They found a crack between two large boulders and crouched inside it. It did not afford much protection but any was better than none. The yell came again and something large bounded down the canyon wall and past the boulders. The sky was dark now, but a dim yellow glow came from the rocks of the canyon and when Mai wonderingly held out her hand, Pin saw that it, too, was glowing. He looked down and found that he was lit up like a beacon.

"It's like radiation," Mai exclaimed.

So was the thing that had gone past them. It was larger than a human, though it moved upright and wore a flapping cloak, and it had a narrow, pointed head. It was sleek and quick, moving with lizard speed against the rocks.

"Do you think it's seen us?" Pin hissed.

"I hope not."

But Mai was wrong. Next moment, the thing turned. It leaped up the canyon, covering six feet or more with each spring, until it was crouching at the entrance to the crack, directly in front of Pin. Its eyes were like boiling yellow fire. Mai and Pin both screamed. The demon's jaws snapped open and it spat. A sticky web shot out, enveloping both Pin and Mai in its folds. The thing seized a handful of its web and, without any discernible effort, threw the web with Pin and Mai in it over its shoulder and strode off.

The guards let him keep his original clothes, which was a substantial relief to Chen when he discovered what Zhu Irzh had been given to wear. The demon, who had been led out of the cell half an hour previously along with Jhai, returned in what Chen assumed to be standard male harem attire. He was bare-chested, with a satin cape attached around his neck and a pair of billowing silk trousers. He also wore an expression of extreme distaste.

"This is so cheesy."

Chen thought of making a snide remark and decided against it, purely on the grounds of kindness. "Yes, it is," he said.

"I don't see why I have to wear this, and you don't."

"I suspect that Underling No, Miss Qi, and myself are required to appear in our actual roles," Chen said. "My humiliation will probably have more of an impact if I'm in my working gear."

"You're right," Miss Qi said. "That's what they expected of me, when it was my turn."

Silently, Chen berated himself for behaving like a coward. He'd pretended to himself that he was being sensitive, but in fact, he just could not bear to learn of what had befallen Miss Qi. But now, with Jhai still absent, he felt that he had no choice but to ask.

"Miss Qi, I am so sorry to ask, and I understand that you must have had a harrowing time and loss of face. But what exactly happened to you?"

"I was not raped, if that is your concern," Miss Qi said, and at this Chen released a breath he did not know he had been holding. "I was taken into a—they called it a party but you were right, it was an orgy. I thought it would be horrible, decadent, and disgusting. But at first everything seemed very civilized. The Minister and her demons sat around drinking tea and talking. About the weather and such. All of them were female and that made me feel a little more comfortable. They invited me to sit down and I did so. Then one of the demons handed me a cup of tea. I thought it might be poisoned, but they were all looking at me and I thought that if I refused to drink it, they might force it on me and that would be worse: at least if I drank it myself I still had some degree of control, if that makes sense." Her voice was stilted and hoarse, hinting at either an iron willpower, or impending breakdown.

"Perfectly," said Underling No. "It's what I myself would have done."

"Nothing happened at first," Miss Qi said. "They all went on talking and I just listened, but gradually I became aware that I was experiencing—" She stopped. "I'm sorry. This is very difficult."

"We understand," Chen said.

"I'm not sure if you do, Detective. I have known desire before, but relationships are not encouraged among warriors and therefore I suppressed it; it was easy enough to do. We are taught to maintain our purity and it is little hardship to do so, in Heaven. But all too clearly, this is not Heaven. I looked at Su Yi and I wanted her as I have never wanted anyone. My desire grew stronger and stronger until it was like a bursting wave in me and I threw myself at the Minister's feet and begged her to—" the control was faltering "—to make love to me. She refused. I'm sure you can appreciate how humiliating this has all been."

"Miss Qi," Chen said, "I'm so sorry."

"Su Yi really is the proverbial bitch from Hell," Zhu Irzh remarked.

"I'll help you kill her, if you want," was No's contribution.

"They all laughed at me," Miss Qi went on. "After that, the Minister ignored me, but I could not seem to stop myself, I pawed at her clothing like a dog and eventually she said to one of the guards that since I clearly couldn't control myself during a genteel tea party, I should be taken away. They brought me back here and shut me in."

"If it's any consolation, Qi, this is what the Minister does," Zhu Irzh said. "You heard that conversation about pheromones. It's how she controls people."

"I am a warrior of Heaven," Miss Qi said. "I have been through experiences requiring great fortitude and endurance, and I have always come through. But this demon has reduced me to a quivering wreck with the aid of a few biochemicals. I should make it clear—it is not the fact that she is female that revolts me. Love between women, or between men, can be a pure thing. It was that she controlled me so easily. If she's done so once, she can do so again."

"She could do it to any of us," Chen said, "except perhaps Jhai and that's why I'm counting on her."

As if on cue, Jhai appeared. She was naked apart from a golden thong. Her tigress aspects had come even more to the fore and despite her nakedness, she was so striped that she looked almost dressed. Miss Qi looked away, but Jhai appeared unconcerned by her unclad state.

"Suits you, darling," Zhu Irzh said. Jhai shot him a grim gilded glance.

"You, too, Aladdin."

"Please," Chen said wearily. He looked through the bars of the cell to where the guards were congregating on the other side of the room. "We need a battle plan."

"We need one," Jhai agreed, "but I'm not sure whether we can formulate one until we actually get in there."

"It should be simple," Zhu Irzh said. "One of us can distract the Minister with our manifold charms and the rest of us will overpower the guards."

"I have a feeling," Jhai said, "that it just isn't going to work that way."

Jhai was right. A few minutes later, they were led from the cell and down a short passageway into what turned out to be the main hall. Chen could not work out the inner configuration of the Ministry: it was as though the building was turning around on itself in some painful contortion.

And it was immediately clear that this was to be no tea party.

The hall was filled with demons, most of them naked and some of them already engaged in acts that made even Chen, who had seen many things during his career with the police force, look away. Miss Qi gave an audible gasp.

"It's like something out of Hieronymus Bosch," Chen said.

"Who?" Zhu Irzh frowned.

In the middle of the hall, the Minister reclined upon a divan. She, too, was naked apart from her fall of red hair.

"At least the carpet matches the curtains," Zhu Irzh remarked.

"Zhu Irzh, please," said Chen. "Heaven forbid that I should ever be a prude, but I've experienced quite enough crudity for the moment."

Jhai gave Zhu Irzh a nudge. "You even think about trying something with one of these trollops and you'll be as dead as a demon can be."

"Darling," Zhu Irzh replied, "at the moment, quite frankly, it's hard to think about anything else."

Chen saw Jhai repress a grin. She strolled forward, to where Su Yi reclined.

"Hello," she said, hands behind her back. "We met a little while ago. I'm Jhai Tserai."

"I know who you are," the Minister said. "What are you doing in my Ministry?"

"I came to check up on my boyfriend," Jhai said.

"I see." The words fell from the Minister's ruby lips like little stones, yet Chen had the impression that she was not unamused by Jhai's answer. "I did not know," the Minister said next, "that you had demon blood."

"Not many people do," Jhai replied.

"That might be useful. If you live."

"Su Yi, I have every intention of living and if you're thinking about blackmail, forget it. I have connections in the Hindu Hells and believe me, not even you want to mess with them."

"Ah, but you see," the Minister purred, "I'm not without connections there myself. One does have a social life, you know."

"Besides," Jhai went on as if the Minister had not spoken. "I'm thinking of coming out of the closet when I get back home. After all, it's so important to have authenticity, don't you think? I've never approved of living a lie."

The trouble was, Chen thought, that Jhai almost certainly believed what she was saying.

"You're really quite attractive," Su Yi said. She was now eyeing Jhai with a different kind of speculation. Over the Minister's shoulder, a conga-line of copulation was forming. Given the lithe sinuousness of the women, not to mention the fact that he had a head start in sleeping with demons anyway, Chen was slightly surprised that he was not more aroused. Perhaps it was the jaded weariness on the demons' faces as they engaged in their yogic eroticism that was putting him off, or maybe it was the memory of Inari, who though naturally a modest person, could be startlingly inventive once the bedroom door was closed. Whatever the reason for it, he was grateful. It helped him to think.

"Thanks," Jhai said. "It's the stripes."

The Minister rose and undulated over to where Jhai stood. Demons or no demons, not even Chen was immune to Su Yi. He found himself literally unable to take his eyes away from her. The Minister wound her arms around Jhai's neck. Jhai grinned with tiger teeth. An expression of mingled chagrin and consternation crossed Su Yi's lovely face and then it was Jhai who was gasping and stumbling forward. She regained her balance almost immediately but it was the Minister's turn to smile.