Dark Serpent (35 page)

‘Done,’ the phone said, and a map and list appeared in the air above it.

John leaned forward to study the map. ‘Remove any locations that I’ve already been to.’

All of them disappeared, and John thumped the table.

‘Return the locations,’ he said.

The list reappeared.

There were four: the castle with the stone lab; the Penrhos Feilw standing stones; the lake; and the Earthly analogue for the Glass Citadel.

‘Widen the search to anything that could be remotely listed as a gateway,’ he said.

The Trefignath burial chamber appeared at the bottom of the list, marked with a note that said:
This is probably a gateway to Hell not Heaven — Archivist
.

‘Why isn’t there anything else?’ John said, frustrated. ‘This is ridiculous. We have many more gateways than that in the East.’

‘Accessing,’ the phone said. The list disappeared and a snippet of text appeared above the phone.

John sighed, rubbed his eyes and turned away.

The security guards passed again, now talking about food. One was boasting about his cooking ability, and the other was keen to visit and share a meal with the family.

John went home to Kensington.

He let himself in the front door and called the staff.

Paul charged out from the back of the house, his face lined with worry. ‘Did you find the real Emma?’

‘No. I’ve been looking for days and I’m running out of leads,’ John said. ‘Is the copy safe? Have you been feeding it?’

‘Simone showed us what to do and we’ve been looking after her, sir,’ Peta said, coming up from the basement and closing the door behind her. ‘But she hasn’t given us much useful information that could help you.’

‘Good. Soup noodles, ho fan, bak choy, in the study.’

Peta and Paul shared an amused look, and Peta said, ‘Yes, sir.’

‘What?’ John said, glancing from one to the other.

‘Emma warned us you’d be like that,’ Peta said.

He sagged slightly; he knew what they meant. Western manners were different, and Emma would have said something about him being abrupt or rude if she was there.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, waving one hand. ‘It is my way, and I’ve been so long away from the West it will take some time to adjust. If you could bring me the noodles to the study, please.’

He turned to go up the stairs; each one felt a hundred metres high.

In the study, he fell to sit behind his desk and pulled out the phone. He checked for the Archivist’s number and called.

‘Go away, it’s four o’clock in the morning,’ the Archivist said.

‘Are those the only gateways to the Western Heaven you could find? You haven’t found one since, or anything related to them?’

‘Did you read my note about their oral history?’ the Archivist said.

‘Yes. Has anything turned up since you wrote that?’

‘No. They were fucking useless.’

‘I checked all of those gateways and they’re just as useless.’ He rubbed his hand over his eyes. ‘I’m out of leads.’

‘Come home then. The Jade Emperor will know what to do.’

‘I have one of the Dragon’s AI phones here. I’ll break into the national library files and see what I can find.’

‘Keep a copy of anything interesting,’ the Archivist said.

‘I’ve also been in contact with some people here, and they’ve been keeping records for about four hundred years. Do you want to get in touch with them?’

‘Absolutely,’ the Archivist said with enthusiasm. ‘Who do I talk to?’

‘Margaret Anathain. I’ll text you her phone number when we’ve finished talking.’

‘Excellent. About time you discovered something useful,’ the Archivist said, and hung up.

Twenty minutes later, Paul came in with the noodles on a tray, together with a steaming pot of tea, and John nodded his thanks.

Paul hesitated before leaving. ‘Do you want to speak to the Emma copy?’

John made a show of studying the screen containing the library records. ‘I don’t think that’s necessary just yet.’

‘I understand. If it was a copy of Peta and she was gone, I wouldn’t want to see it either.’

‘Has it remembered anything new?’

‘Only more detail about what sounds like the Glass Citadel.’ Paul pulled a notebook out of his back pocket and put it next to John’s notes. ‘This is everything.’

John checked the notebook; only a couple of pages of notes but the information could be useful if he ever made it up there. ‘Tell her thank you from me.’

‘Anything else, sir?’

John realised it was late and they were human. ‘No, that’s all, thank you, Paul.’

‘Good luck, sir.’

‘Thank you,’ John said, not really hearing as he continued to search the library files.

A vibration shocked him awake; he had fallen asleep over the keyboard. He checked the date on the computer and was relieved that it was only half an hour after he’d last checked it. The ground shook again beneath him and he searched for the source. When he saw what it was, he jumped to his feet and teleported directly above the house. The Grandmother had landed in a field next to Stonehenge.

Grandmother
, he said, his tone respectful, as he flew as fast as he could towards her.

Oh, thank the heavens,
Emma’s stone said.
She’s alive, and last I saw her she was free, Turtle.

John dropped slightly in the air with relief.
How do I get up there!
he said, frantic.

We can’t,
the stone said, its voice rich with remorse.
It’s all closed off. It was all the Grandmother could do to escape with our fallen brethren. The demons have sealed everything.

There has to be a way!
John said.

There is none,
the Grandmother said, interrupting.
I could only enter because the Jade Building Block was already there. You will only be able to enter when they exit. I suggest you put guards on watch on each of the gateways, to slip in when the demons come out. There is no other way. Even I am unable to return there now all my stones have come out.
Her voice changed slightly.
This is powerful demon sorcery and it greatly disturbs me.

What are they planning?
John said.

Meet up with me and I will tell you everything I know,
the stone said.
By your leave, Grandmother.

Please permit the stone to share information with me,
John said, keeping his tone respectful.

The Grandmother was silent for a long time. John knew the problem: on a visit to Australia, Michelle had climbed the
Grandmother, an insult that usually resulted in the Grandmother never speaking to the person or their family again and banning every stone Shen from having anything to do with them. The Grandmother had made a special exception for John, but she found it hard to forgive him for loving a woman who had treated her with such contempt. John thanked his absent-mindedness in leaving the Dragon’s phone on his desk; its presence would be enough to tip the balance, and not in his favour.

I’m just north of Stonehenge,
the stone said.

John raised himself in the air and moved faster.

The Grandmother sat in the middle of the field, looking like a large amorphous, vibrating clod of dirt. She’d sunk into the ground and it rippled around her. Smaller stones hovered above and around her, occasionally disappearing inside her. As John approached, he saw a pattern emerge: the smaller stones that spiralled into the Grandmother did not reappear.

He landed next to her and bowed politely. ‘Grandmother.’

The Jade Building Block hovered in front of his face. ‘Thank the Grandmother, Turtle, Emma was alive and free when —’

‘Do not thank me,’ the Grandmother said, her voice a vibration through their feet. ‘Just stop these demons. They have killed so many of my children!’ The ground vibrated again. ‘You must stop them.’

The Grandmother appeared to shrink and John leaped back as he realised she was sinking into the ground.

‘Stop them,’ she said again as the final few stones merged with her, and she disappeared completely, the turf closing with a small sucking sound as if nothing had been there at all.

‘But why didn’t you stay with her?’ John said for the third time.

The stone was perched on the desk in the Kensington house study. ‘I was pulled out when the Grandmother left; all of us were. I wanted to stay with her, believe me.’

‘So she’s definitely safe?’

‘Yes. She had water, and she can easily survive without food until we find her.’

‘Then what aren’t you telling me?’ John said.

The stone was silent for a long time.

‘She broke their control. Yes?’

‘Yes,’ it said.

‘You helped her get free. She’s in hiding on the Western Celestial Plane, in a place where there should be nothing to hurt her, and the Grandmother’s destruction up there will slow the demons’ search for her. All I need to do is find a way up there and she will be waiting for me, tired and hungry but safe. Yes?’

‘Yes. But …’

‘But. What?’ John said, slowly and clearly.

‘She’s carrying your child.’

‘Sweet snake-tailed Nu Wa,’ John said. He leaned back and
rubbed his hands over his face. ‘I suppose I should be pleased. Holy shit, this is bad.’

‘It’s not that bad. You find her, you free her, she comes to the Mountain and you can be happy parents. The end.’

‘What if the demons find her and get their hands on our child?’

‘They won’t hurt it —’

‘Of course they won’t hurt it. The mix of me and one of these Western serpents will be immensely powerful, and if they can find a way to hold and brainwash a little child …’ His voice became more frantic as the full implications came crashing down on him. ‘If they can brainwash and control this child, it will be a weapon that could devastate everything we hold dear. Simone is already one of the most powerful things on the Plane and she doesn’t have Emma’s unique ancestry behind her. This child could be unstoppable.’

‘Nothing is unstoppable.’

‘I am the only thing that could stop it, and I will not kill my own child. Again,’ John said with force. ‘I don’t care if the Celestial falls. I. Will. Not. Do. That. Again.’

‘So find a way up there and pull both of them out. You have ten months.’

‘No, I don’t. She won’t last more than a couple of weeks without regular food, particularly as she’s pregnant. How far along is she? Her menstrual cycle was all over the place. She said it was because of the fertility drugs, but it was obvious the missing ovary was a factor. Work it back from her last menstruation; you were there.’

‘I try not to involve myself in these extremely personal matters,’ the stone said with dignity.

‘Cut the bullshit. You know everything that goes on with her, and you like to watch. When did we conceive this child?’

‘I really haven’t been watching, Turtle. I have too much respect for her to do that.’

‘That’s beside the point. Last menstruation. Work it back.’

The stone was quiet for a full minute. John checked his email while he waited. Nearly thirty messages, but none from his children or the Mountain. Mostly updates on the attacks and reports on the nature of the demons. It was important information and he needed to read it later. Nothing from the Archivist.

‘She could be up to twelve weeks,’ the stone said.

‘Already?’ John said with dismay.

‘She hasn’t had a period in ages. It could be anything from that time in the bath in this house a couple of weeks ago, to just after her last menstruation three months ago.’

‘You said you didn’t watch.’

‘I liked the bubbles.’

John remembered the bubbles and the joy of being with her, and nearly lost it. He took a deep gasping breath, straightened and rubbed his eyes. He would find her; he had promised.

‘So where to now? Has the Grandmother posted sentries at the gateways to Heaven for when someone comes down?’

‘No. She has retreated to her home and taken nearly all the stone Shen with her. They are huddled together in the middle of Australia, mourning the loss of many of our kin.’

‘But you stayed here?’

‘I have family here. Other stones who have human families have stayed with them. Gold refused to go as well.’

‘The Grandmother can’t sulk like this. We need her help.’

‘Four hundred of her children have died in the last twenty years. That is nearly half of our population, Turtle, and a geological minute. She is broken.’

A terrible feeling of dread filled John. A time of great anguish and loss was descending over all the Planes. The other Immortals had to feel it too. A small horrible part of him rejoiced at the amount of death and destruction about to come crashing down on all of them, but the rest of him filled with dismay.

He called Kwan Yin and received no reply.

‘Phone,’ he said.

‘Yes?’ the phone said.

‘That thing is creepy and unnatural and should be destroyed,’ the stone said. ‘You have me now.’

‘Can I use you as a phone to call Er Lang?’ John said.

‘Yes,’ the phone said.

‘Oh,’ the stone said.

‘What time is it in Beijing?’

‘Seven am,’ the stone and phone said in unison.

‘Destroy it and buy a dumbphone,’ the stone said. ‘If the Grandmother discovers you have this, she’ll be even more broken.’

‘Good,’ John said. ‘He’ll still be asleep; he’s a late starter. Call Er Lang and put him on speaker.’

‘By all the Buddhas, Number One, this had better be good,’ Er Lang said, his voice thick with sleep.

‘Touch the future.’

‘What?’ Er Lang said.

‘Do it. I don’t care about the rules, have a look.’

There was silence for a moment, then Er Lang said, ‘Lady have mercy. I need to alert the Jade Emperor. I’ll get back to you.’

‘Wait,’ John said.

‘What could be worse than the future before us?’ Er Lang said.

‘The demons are building an army in the Western Heavens and the way into it is blocked. Not even the Grandmother can enter. They have already destroyed half the stone Shen population. Emma is up there as well and with child, although she escaped from their hold.’

‘Tell me you’ve turned to join them and the bad news will be complete,’ Er Lang said.

‘Of course not.’

‘So, your woman. Can you bring her down?’

John wasn’t surprised the information hadn’t filtered into Er Lang’s sleep-fuddled brain. ‘I can’t get in. All the gateways are closed.’

‘Talk to the Shen — ask them to open it up again. If they think you’re too scary, I can come talk to them as well.’

‘There aren’t any Shen. They’re all gone. Demons have taken over the Heavens here and closed them.’

Er Lang was silent for a long time, then said, ‘Not possible.’

‘Confirmed by the Grandmother herself. She just went up there to rescue a bunch of stone Shen that were being held by the demons. Half the world’s stone population has died.’

‘Can we enter the Western Heavens and pursue them? This isn’t our corner of the world.’

‘Some of them are our demons, we can pursue them. The Grandmother says that the only way up is when one of them comes down through a gateway and opens it; it will be open long enough for one of our agents to sneak in. We need to post good people —
really
good people — at the locations of all the gateways we know.’

‘Imperial Elite Guards.’

‘I’ll send you a list of the ones I want.’

‘Come back here and select them yourself.’

‘I won’t leave here until I’m sure someone is watching the gateways.’

‘And as soon as they are being watched, you’ll return here.’ It wasn’t a question.

John didn’t reply. He wanted to be there when a gateway opened.

Er Lang’s voice dropped with emphasis. ‘You’re needed here, Number One. We must prepare for what’s coming. Don’t make the Jade Emperor order you back, because you know he will.’

John rubbed his hands over his face. ‘All right,’ he said, his heart breaking both at the decision and the knowledge that he was doing the right thing. ‘As soon as the gateways are monitored, I’ll head back.’

‘Deal. Head home as soon as you can, Ah Wu, you have responsibilities here.’

‘I know,’ John moaned.

Er Lang hung up without another word. John pulled up the list of Imperial Elite Guards to select some of the best.

‘I’ll stay here and monitor a gateway,’ the stone said.

‘No. There’s a woman in Holyhead called Margaret Anathain; she’s holding a stone child that was hidden when one of the circles was stolen. I need you to take that stone child home.’

‘Why is she holding one of us?’ the stone said, its voice sharp.

‘Because the stone child didn’t know any other stones apart from those in the circle, and the circle is gone.’

‘Oh,’ the stone said, its voice softening. ‘I’ll tell the Grandmother. Are you really heading back to the East?’

‘I don’t want to.’

‘But you need to. You need to prepare for whatever it is you see.’

‘What I see is war.’

John himself had trained the eight Imperial Elite Guards he’d selected when they were juniors and knew them well. He waited for them next to the Penrhos Feilw standing stones, fidgeting with impatience.

Each guard wore the simple fitted black silk pants and jacket of their stealth field kit under modern Kevlar body armour. They stood in a semicircle around him as he briefed them: two dragons — one female, Cloud, and a male, Hazel; a stone, Marble, in female human form; two turtle Shen, a male Vincent and female Black Ice; and three humans, Red, Eagle and Wind, all male due to the historical Earthly bias against women learning the Arts that he was working so hard to break. The next generation would have a much better gender ratio — if they survived the coming war.

‘Cloud and Hazel to the Caer Wydr gateway,’ he said. ‘That’s a small island, so one dragon rest and hunt in the sea while the other watches the gateway.’

He gave them the coordinates, they plugged it into a GPS with a waterproof cover, and flew away west.

‘Turtle Shen to the lake, take True Form and sit on the edge. If the gateway opens you’ll know about it.’ He transferred the location to Vincent telepathically and they disappeared.

‘Marble, our gratitude for staying with us when the Grandmother called all of you back,’ John said to the stone.

‘I am an Elite Guard, my Lord,’ Marble said. ‘My duty comes before our grief.’

‘You and Red, go to the town near the castle, stock up for a long campaign, and meet me at the entrance. I’ll let you into the tunnels. You’ll stay in there until you run out of supplies or a gateway opens.’

‘Length of campaign, sir?’ Red said.

John considered the future warning he’d received. ‘What is the maximum amount of time you can stay this far from your Centre?’

‘Two months maximum.’

‘That’s it then.’

‘Understood.’

The guards saluted him and headed down to the castle. The human, Red, was the only one of that pair who would need supplies, and hopefully Marble could work on a way to get in and out of the tunnel.

‘Wide Eagle and Gentle Wind, you stay with these stones. A human family lives in the house over there.’

‘Understood, my Lord,’ Eagle said.

‘Contact me the
second
anything happens.’

The two humans saluted him. He rose into the air and headed towards the castle to let Red and Marble in. Afterwards, he flew to the top of Holyhead Mountain and settled on one of the ancient Roman walls. He pulled his boots off and dug his feet into the damp spongy ground, then recoiled at what he felt. He had expected power, but this was pure death.

The ground was full of the dark energy that the serpent people had conjured when they’d performed their sacrifices. The saturation of death in the ground had been building over many years, casting a dark pall over the entire area. Any other creature would have found it horrifying, but John’s nature resonated with it. He reached out with his consciousness and searched the area, looking for something approaching a gateway. He found nothing, but the amount of dark power focused on top of the mountain was so intense that a gateway had to have existed there.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and arranged for two more Elites to guard this location as well, hoping they wouldn’t be too affected by the nature of the lingering corruption.

As he waited for them, he looked out over the town of Holyhead and the mountains of Wales beyond. He hoped that Emma was managing on her own in Heaven, and allowed himself a small elation-filled burst of excitement at the prospect of sharing the joys of parenthood with her.

He would find her. He would find both of them.