Dark Serpent (17 page)

It was late evening when we returned to the Mountain. We retreated to one of the pagodas high on a peak with a pot of tea. It was much cooler on the Mountain. The lights of the Academy below us shone from the doors and windows, lighting up the ground and trees with a golden glow; and the stars above blazed in the clear autumn sky. The constellations were the same as on the Earthly; they just seemed bigger, magnified by the clarity. John’s symbol of power, the Big Dipper, was particularly magnificent in the centre of the sky.

For the hundredth time I made a quiet vow to myself to ask an expert about the physics of the Celestial Plane, and then realised that, once again, I would probably never get around to it.

‘What?’ John said, seeing me smile and shake my head.

I gestured towards the Big Dipper. ‘That constellation never moves.’

‘Don’t ask me, I don’t know how it works,’ he said, wiggling down into his chair to sit more comfortably and hanging one arm over the side. ‘I’m just here and the stars do their stuff.’ He gazed into the sky. ‘Isn’t that the essence of being alive?’

‘I guess it is.’

‘What happened in the market?’

‘Just a flashback,’ I said. ‘I saw arms instead of pork hanging from the hooks.’

He was silent for a long moment, looking at the sky. ‘You are too small to be forced to deal with this.’

‘I’m ten metres long.’

He shook his head and gazed at me over the rim of his teacup. ‘Very small.’

‘Screw you.’

He smiled slightly. ‘What, up here? Isn’t it a little cold?’

‘Yeah, let’s wait till we’re back home.’

He sighed gently. ‘Thank you.’

‘What for?’

He poured both of us more tea. ‘You and Simone have brought me so much joy. The past twenty years have been full of more happiness for me than the previous four thousand.’ He raised his cup to me. ‘Thank you.’

He put his arm around my shoulders as we walked through the garden on the ground floor back at the Imperial Residence, then stopped. ‘Simone isn’t home,’ he said. ‘It’s nearly midnight, she should be here.’ He went completely still for a moment, and when he spoke again his voice had an edge of urgency. ‘She’s not answering!’

He released me and turned to run out of the Residence.

I put my hand on his arm to stop him. ‘Before you panic, let’s try something low-tech.’ I pulled my mobile out of my pocket and texted her.
You okay? You’re not home and your father is frantic.

John paced in small circles. ‘Those Mothers have her. She has no yin because I took it from her, she won’t let me make a weapon for her, her skills are horribly rusty because she refuses to train … I knew this would happen!’ He stopped and concentrated. ‘I’m pulling in Leo and Ming, they can start searching for her.’ He paced in circles again. ‘A geomancer may be able to find her, but
it could take
hours
. Where’s my copy of the I Ching? I can use that … I cannot believe she went off by herself like this.’ He spun to stare at me, horrified. ‘What if she went down to Hell to face the King?’ He shook his head and paced again. ‘Without her yin she doesn’t have a chance. I should have given it back to her when she asked for it … Where the hell are Leo and Martin?’

My mobile pinged and I checked it. ‘It’s a message from her.’

He ran to my side and watched the phone as I brought the message up.

I’m fine. Tell him not to worry, and they’re not prostitutes, they run the tea house on the ground floor! They’re so sweet. I’ll be home in half an hour or so, I’m helping them to close up.

‘She’s working at the building in Spring Garden Lane?’ John said. ‘I don’t know which is a worse idea.’

‘What, that or her going to Hell?’ I said, amused, as I put the phone away.

Leo and Martin appeared next to the turtle fountain and ran to us.

‘Where do you want us to start looking?’ Leo said.

‘We found her,’ I said. ‘False alarm.’

‘Go down to Eighty-Eight Spring Garden Lane and escort her home,’ John said.

‘What the hell is she doing
there
?’ Martin said.

‘Helping the two demons who run the tea shop on the ground floor to close up,’ I said.

‘Why?’ Leo said. ‘Is this some sort of “I want to be normal so I’ll take a part-time job” thing?’

John focused on Martin, who nodded. ‘I’ll explain on the way,’ he said, and took Leo’s hand. Both of them disappeared.

‘Come sit with me,’ John said, leading me to the ceramic outdoor table and stools next to the fountain. ‘I won’t be able to sleep until I’m sure she’s home and safe.’

‘What will you do when she goes to university?’

He put his head in his hand. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I’d better find something to distract you with, then.’

‘I don’t think anything will stop me from worrying about her.’

‘Oh,’ I said, raising my teacup, ‘I’ll think of something.’

He glanced at me, his expression full of hope. ‘Are you …?’

I shook my head and touched his arm. ‘No. But it’s just a matter of time. I started a course of fertility drugs.’

‘Then I’ll have two of them to worry about,’ he said.

‘Michael’s right. Teach her to dance the stars and ride the wind. If she can reach Immortality on her own through internal alchemy, you won’t have to worry about her.’

‘I’ve been trying, but she doesn’t have the patience to learn,’ he said. ‘I’d give her the Elixir, but only enough for one person can be made at one time.’

‘Make hers first,’ I said.

‘You’re older and more fragile.’ His voice dropped with misery. ‘Humans age so quickly.’

‘Is my life speeding past while you watch?’

He nodded. ‘It’s like that for all of you.’ He glanced at me. ‘You should be offended at me calling you old.’

‘Sometimes I feel old.’

‘Your mastery of energy makes you look much younger than you are, believe me.’

‘How much longer before the Elixir is ready?’

‘We finally found enough cinnabar to make the recipe. The Dragon had it in his strongroom, and was mortified that he’d been slowing things down by not offering it.’ He spoke with more enthusiasm. ‘We’ll be in Britain when it’s ready. I’d give it to you there, but it’s impossible to drink the Elixir outside the Centre it’s made in. We’ll have to wait until we’ve returned. I can hardly wait to see the effect it will have on you. After you’ve taken it, your serpent nature will emerge more strongly and you will be able to work with shen and learn some really advanced stuff.’

‘I’m reminded of what happened to Rhonda …’ I said, my voice trailing off.

‘You’re worried that the Elixir might destroy you like it did her.’

‘It’s just that Rhonda … her last name was MacLaren, John. The judge who exiled my ancestors from Wales was called MacLaren.’

‘You are linked. I wonder if she was something similar to you.’

‘Whatever she was, drinking the Elixir killed her.’

‘Did it smell good or bad to her?’

‘Oh, I remember that very clearly. It obviously smelled bad: she made a face before she drank it.’

‘Very interesting. The judge, MacLaren, was somehow demonkind and able to sentence the serpent people to exile in Australia. And Rhonda was descended from this judge, as you are descended from the serpent people. I wonder what else we will find there.’

I took a deep breath. ‘Kwan Yin said I was like Rhonda — an example of overcoming my nature.’

‘I know about that,’ he said with amusement.

‘She also said that if the demon essence was removed, the Elixir wouldn’t kill me. Are you sure she’d never lie?’

‘Then we have nothing to worry about. She will always tell the truth.’

I sighed with feeling. ‘Okay.’

Simone appeared on the other side of the courtyard and stormed up to us. She leaned over her father, furious. ‘You sent Leo and Martin to bring me home? I am not a child!’

‘You’re behaving like one,’ he said, perfectly calm. ‘You have duties and a standard of behaviour to uphold as Princess of the House, Xuan Si Min. You will not consort with prostitutes, you will not be seen in public in ridiculous costumes, and you will on no account
ever
work in a tea house for demons. All of this is totally unacceptable.’

‘You know what? I’m nearly eighteen, and when I turn eighteen I’m an adult and I can do what I like,’ she said. ‘They aren’t prostitutes. If they were, they wouldn’t dress like that. Lolis get enough shit from people who think they’re dressed up as sex dolls, when they really dress that way to make themselves feel pretty and special. God.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘A girl dresses up and all the men think it’s about sex. It’s
not
; it’s about being pretty!’

‘It doesn’t matter what it’s about, it’s not appropriate for
you
.’

She swiped one hand through the air. ‘I know that, I know what’s expected of me. I understand my position. I know I have to set an example. But they’re not prostitutes! Is there
any
way we could work around this so that I can spend time with them? I won’t wear a costume, I understand about that. I just think they’re sweet.’

John thought about it for a moment. ‘As long as it’s in Number Eighty-Eight, I don’t think so.’

‘Can we move the tea house to another of our buildings?’

‘Of course.’

‘Could I visit with them then?’

‘Yes.’

‘Emma?’

‘They may not want to move,’ I said. ‘They might be friends with the other girls and boys there.’

Simone thought for a moment. ‘If that’s the case, it would be unfair for me to ask them to move away from their friends just so I can see them.’ She took a step back. ‘Could you ask them if they’d move?’

I shrugged. ‘They’d immediately say yes, they’re demons.’

‘Don’t tell them it’s for me. Just ask them if they’d like to move from Eighty-Eight.’

‘Deal.’

‘Thanks.’ She turned to head up the stairs.

‘Simone?’ John said.

She stopped and turned back to us. ‘Hmm?’

‘The other Winds have an abundance of children to help manage their realms. I don’t, and I appreciate your …’ he searched for the word, ‘willingness to be what the North needs you to be. It’s a big responsibility for one so young, and you’ve taken it on without complaint.’

She gestured towards me. ‘All my life, Emma’s explained what it means to be born into royalty. It’s not a privilege, it’s a lifetime job that you don’t have a choice about. A lot of people need us to be strong and set an example.’ She straightened. ‘And I intend to help those people as much as I can.’

‘You are a credit to both of us,’ he said.

She bowed slightly. ‘I thank you, Highness. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.’

Her huge grin of delight was visible as she turned away and trotted up the stairs.

I yawned and stretched. ‘Me too.’

‘You go,’ he said. ‘I’ll be along after I’ve walked the battlements.’

I patted him on the shoulder and followed Simone up the stairs. As I went around the balcony towards our bedroom, I saw him sitting in the garden, still drinking his tea.

Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the day of the largest full moon in autumn, when the sky was at its clearest. The Mountain’s staff and students all gathered on the large forecourt in front of the Hall of Purple Mist. The demon staff laid picnic blankets and silk brocade cushions on the ground, and provided the groups with tea and moon cakes.

The sun set in an autumnal flare of orange, pink and purple through the few horizontal banner-like clouds. As dusk fell, the children lit their lanterns and ran around the groups of adults, laughing. People used hot wax to attach candles to the lids of their moon cake tins and lit them, making the square merry with lights.

As the sun dropped below the tops of the western mountains, its last rays lit up the clouds, then gradually faded to blue then lilac, and the stars began to appear. Everybody turned towards the east, where the moon behind the mountains made the peaks shine with a halo of burning silver.

John rose to his feet from the blanket our family was sharing. A silver light shone from him, mirroring the light on the mountains. He raised his hands and dropped his head, concentrating, and his hair rose around him, lit with individual strands of silver. His black Mountain uniform was edged with the silver of the moonlight.

The students watched him, discussing his appearance.

Don’t look at me,
he said.
Look at … that.

The top of the moon appeared above the horizon and everybody made loud sounds of wonder. Even the children stopped running around and shouted, ‘Wah!’

John had made the moon so large it filled half the sky, even though only a quarter of it was above the horizon. It was like looking at it through a telescope; every crater was clearly visible. Silence fell over the Mountain as everybody watched the rising moon with awe. It hung in the sky above us like a twin planet.

The moon shines with reflected light,
John said.

All watch its stolen finery, captivated,

But its true beauty is held unseen.

It searches for one with the vision

To go beyond the silver glory

To love the noble heart within.

There was a smattering of applause and a few cheers.

John sat back down and leaned into me. ‘It seems like forever since I’ve done that.’

‘How long did you work on the poem?’ Leo said.

‘I made it up on the spot,’ John said. ‘I don’t have the patience to spend time agonising over forms of words.’

‘It shows,’ Martin said. ‘Even in Chinese it’s awful.’

‘I know. Fortunately, the students don’t,’ John said. He leaned forward and studied the moon cakes on the tray. Each cake was ten centimetres across with a flaky pastry holding a sweet paste mixed with a large amount of sugar and fat. ‘White lotus, red bean … what is this, chocolate?’ He touched one. ‘Ice-cream? Wait, Hello Kitty moon cakes?’

‘They’re for Little Jade and Richie,’ Simone said.

‘Where are they?’ I said.

‘Running around with BJ,’ Simone said.

‘I thought its name was Darcy,’ John said.

Simone shrugged. ‘BJ stuck.’

John selected a quarter from a white lotus cake without the egg yolk and leaned back into me. I poured him some tea and he nodded his thanks.

‘Still can’t see them,’ John said, looking up at the moon. ‘I
thought I made it big enough this time. I’ll have to arrange for a stone to do the calculations for me.’

‘See what?’ Simone said.

‘The locations of the moon landings. I thought if I magnified it enough you’d be able to see the footprints and the landing modules.’

‘I must go up and have a look,’ Simone said. ‘Will you take me, Daddy?’

He was silent for a long moment, obviously thinking about what to say.

‘I see,’ she said.

‘I really would love to, Simone, and I hope to one day soon.’

‘No, it’s okay, I understand.’ She lay on her back, propped up on her elbows, and pulled a cushion behind her head. ‘Uncle Bai can always take me.’

‘Is he still dead?’ I said.

‘Yes,’ John said.

‘Michael’s been complaining on Facebook,’ Simone said.

John lowered himself so his head was in my lap and I stroked his hair. I ran my hand down over his shoulder and stopped when I felt a gauze pad under the fabric. He took my hand gently away and returned it to his hair.

‘When?’ I said softly.

‘Today,’ he replied, just as softly.

I stroked his hair. ‘The other ones were nearly gone.’

He rubbed my knee. ‘I know. I’ll live.’

‘I’m going to find Jade and Richie,’ Simone said too loudly, dropped her piece of moon cake onto the tray and stomped away.

There was a commotion to one side of the square and John pulled himself to sit upright to see what was going on. When we saw Kwan Yin drifting across the square towards us in Celestial Form, both of us joined the students in standing. She was sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower floating on a cloud. Her shining hair was piled on top of her head, she wore a white robe, and her eyes were half-closed with contentment. She glowed from within with shen energy that radiated in visible rays from her.

She stopped two metres in front of us, suspended on the cloud, and the students scrambled to make way for her. She dismissed the cloud and stepped down onto the stone barefoot. Her
Celestial Form was more than three metres tall. When she spoke to us, her voice was soothing and calm, full of the vibrations of heavenly bliss.

‘Lord Xuan Wu. Emma, dearest. Walk with me.’

She turned without waiting for us and drifted up towards one of the pagodas. John took my hand and we followed her. As we flew into the sky behind the glowing Bodhisattva, the moon huge above us, the students below went mad with joy, applauding and cheering. John squeezed my hand.

When we reached the pagoda, Kwan Yin changed to her ordinary human form, wearing a white silk pantsuit. She landed to sit at the table and conjured some tea and moon cakes for us. We joined her, and I poured the tea before she could.

‘I appreciate your help,’ I said. I knew better than to say more.

‘I cannot help as much as I wish.’ She sipped her tea. ‘When do you depart?’

‘Tomorrow,’ John said.

She nodded and turned her teacup in her hand. I glanced at John; I’d never seen her so agitated. He matched my look and made the tiniest of shrugs.

‘My house in Paris is there if you have need of it,’ she said.

‘I’ve been ordered to the UK only …’ John said, then stopped. He dropped his voice. ‘Thank you. What can you tell us?’

‘Jade Building Block,’ Kwan Yin said.

‘My Lady,’ the stone said.

‘Stay with them.’

‘It’s hard,’ the stone said.

‘I know.’

She reached out and touched the stone in my ring and it glowed with shen energy.

‘Thank you,’ the stone said.

‘My pleasure.’ She sighed gently and removed her hand from it. ‘Do not hesitate to call on help from any quarter, Ah Wu.’

‘
Any
quarter?’ John said.

‘But do not negotiate with the forces of Hell.’

‘I understand.’

‘Wow, how bad is this?’ I said.

Kwan Yin held her hand out, palm up, towards John. ‘You are severed, weakened and in pain.’ She nodded to me. ‘You are small and vulnerable.’

‘Now it’s beginning to sound like a “what could possibly go wrong” situation,’ I said.

‘Could you petition the Jade Emperor to allow Emma to gain Immortality before we go?’ John said. ‘He hasn’t replied to me.’

‘No. It is not my place.’

‘Just do one thing for me, Ms Kwan,’ I said.

‘The answer is yes,’ she said.

I put my teacup down and saluted her. ‘Thank you.’

‘Is the Celestial doing the right thing?’ John said.

‘Of course he is,’ she said. ‘Bend. Do not break.’

‘I will not break. I know the Way.’

‘You may know the Way, but you have still a great distance to go.’

John took my hand. ‘I do not strive for perfection and enlightenment. I have joy and love where I am.’

‘I know. But love brings misery and pain.’

‘And more joy,’ John said.

‘Yang and yin,’ Kwan Yin said. ‘Always cycling, one turning into the other. The darkness becomes the light. Joy becomes pain.’ She reached out and touched our hands. ‘Be strong when it is needed. Be weak when it is needed. Bend. Do not break.’ She disappeared.

I shifted my chair so that I could lean into John. ‘That sounded very, very bad.’

He put his arm around my shoulders. ‘Nothing we didn’t know already. What did you ask her?’

‘If it would work out okay in the end.’

He squeezed me. ‘Of course it will. I will Raise and marry you.’

‘We should go back down,’ I said.

‘They’ll want a full account of everything we said.’

‘Tell them we played Uno and had jelly shots with her.’

‘We played what and had what?’

‘Oh, this is good. Tell Simone you’ve never played Uno.’

He was silent for a moment, then stiffened slightly. ‘Suddenly she’s completely overjoyed. She says she’s finding her cards and we are playing it on the rug right now or else. She says Leo and Martin want to join in, and even the small children will play.’

‘I wonder if Leo can arrange the jelly shots for later,’ I said as he took my hand to carry me back down.

Little Jade sat in Leo’s lap and they shared a hand of cards. Richie and Simone sat next to each other and she helped him.

Little Jade’s tiny face was full of triumph as she placed the black card on the stack. ‘Take five, Uncle Martin.’

‘Four,’ Leo said to the top of her head. ‘You’ll make him cry.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Really?’

Martin picked up four cards and nodded. ‘You are very mean.’ He pretended to wipe his eyes. ‘I’ll lose now.’

‘Don’t make Uncle Martin cry,’ Richie said.

Little Jade studied him for a long moment, concentrating, then poked him with the hand of cards. ‘You’re only pretending,’ she said fiercely.

‘He can see your cards,’ Leo said, pulling her hand back.

‘He’s letting us win anyway,’ BJ said. ‘Stop doing that. It’s not as fun.’

‘You are?’ Little Jade said. She poked him with the cards again, and this time she dropped them. ‘That’s not fair!’

Leo scooped the cards up off the rug. ‘Lord Xuan’s turn.’

‘What colour is it?’ John said.

‘You have to choose, Little Jade,’ Leo said.

‘Purple!’ she said with triumph.

‘Purple it is,’ John said, and laid a card on the pile.

‘Wait,’ Simone said, peering at the purple number ten. ‘This game doesn’t have purple cards.’

‘It does now, right, Jade?’ John said.

Jade held her hand out palm forward and John high-fived her. ‘Yeah!’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll change it back.’ Simone touched the card, making it blue. ‘Okay, back to normal.’

‘These rules are not in the rule book,’ Leo said.

Jade glanced up at him from his lap. ‘Is that special stuff, changing the colours?’

‘Yes,’ BJ said. ‘You won’t be able to do stuff like that when you’re down there.’

‘Down where?’ Martin said.

Jade raised both her little hands. ‘We’re going to the Earfly!’

‘Earthly,’ BJ said. ‘Mom will be studying law in Hong Kong, so we’ll be living down there for a while.’

‘Amy’s studying law; Gold will be a full-time parent,’ I said.

‘And you permit this?’ Martin asked John.

‘I can’t see why not,’ John said. ‘Amy hates being a full-time mother; Gold loves it. She wants to take over his duties, so I’m encouraging them to follow their desires.’

‘Daddy says he can stay home with us just as good as Mummy can,’ Richie said, serious. ‘He’s better ’cause she gets cranky. They say being a girl or a boy makes no difference to being a good mum or dad.’

‘Yeah,’ Little Jade said. ‘We’ll live on the Earthly and Daddy will look after us.’

‘I’ll help,’ BJ said.

Little Jade waved her cards in BJ’s direction. ‘You’re going to school.’

‘Yeah,’ BJ said ruefully. ‘What a hike up to CH every day. I may enrol in an Earthly school.’

‘CH is way better,’ Simone said. ‘You should stay up here.’

BJ shrugged. ‘I don’t have any family up here.’

‘You have us,’ Leo said. ‘There’s a spare room in Persimmon Tree. Martin’s over at the Northern Heavens all the time, and since I stopped recruiting I’m spending most of my time on the Earthly helping Chang with the orphanages. How about you take it?’

‘Can I?’ BJ said, full of hope. ‘I’d like to stay up here.’

‘Talk to your father about it first,’ John said.

‘I will,’ BJ said, determined. She looked down at her card. ‘Oh. Uno.’

Simone raised her hand. ‘Wait, I have Uno too.’

I looked down at my hand, then around at the group. Everybody was left with one card.

‘Hold on, we had five cards a minute ago,’ Leo said. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Oh,’ John said. He raised his hand, holding one card. ‘Sorry.’

‘You gave everybody one card?’ Simone said.

‘It wasn’t deliberate,’ John said. ‘It just happened.’

‘Why did that happen?’ Little Jade said, turning her card to examine the front and back. ‘Where are the other cards?’

‘Put them all back in the box, and when you take them home the lost ones will probably return,’ John said, handing Simone his card. ‘If they don’t, I’ll buy you a new box.’

‘But why did it happen?’ BJ said.

‘His number is one,’ I said. ‘I think he somehow just changed reality around him.’

‘You
warped reality
?’ BJ said.

John tried to shrug it off. ‘Things like that happen sometimes. Just be glad I haven’t brought winter on early.’

Jade waved her card at him. ‘You are so weird, Uncle John.’

‘Our daddy’s weirder!’ Richie said triumphantly.

Jade pursed her lips for a moment, thinking, then nodded. ‘Yes, you’re right, Daddy is really weird sometimes.’

‘Is that a good or a bad thing?’ Gold said, appearing behind them.

‘Good!’ Little Jade said.

‘Yeah!’ Richie said.

‘Bedtime,’ Gold said. ‘But BJ can stay for a while if he likes.’