Demon Child (16 page)

‘No. The body has to die. Even if the brain’s no longer functioning, while the body lives the spirit cannot be free.’

‘Good,’ I said, and he stared at me with shock. ‘Keep him alive. Whatever it takes. Do not let him die.’ I sat next to him and ran my fingers through his wild tangle of hair. ‘All we can do now is wait.’

‘Is there anything we can do?’ Margaret said.

‘I think I’ll head back to the Archives just to make sure,’ the Archivist said. ‘You should stay here. It’s safer.’

‘No. I’m staying with you,’ she said fiercely.

They had a quick, silent argument composed entirely of meaningful looks, and she won. They turned to me.

‘Lovely to meet you, Margaret,’ I said. ‘Keep in touch, Archivist. Contact me if you need help protecting the Archives; the knowledge you have stored there is one of the Celestial’s most valuable assets. The Jade Emperor will warn us again if they do attack, but the first target will be Hell.’

I didn’t hear them leave. Five minutes later, Gold and his daughter, BJ, came in.

‘No movement, ma’am,’ Gold said, answering my question before I asked it, and I sagged with relief.

‘We need to know if there’s any —’ I began.

‘Brain activity. I know,’ Gold said. He gestured with his head towards BJ. ‘Do you mind if I show my child how to do this?’

‘Go right ahead.’

‘Okay, BJ, hook up and let’s see what we can find,’ Gold said.

He took his stone form and BJ followed shortly after. The two stones rested side by side on John’s forehead. They extended long feelers and touched, and remained silent for a while.

‘There’s activity,’ Gold said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Would you like me to make an attempt to wake him?’

‘If you could,’ I said.

‘It will hurt,’ Gold said.

‘Don’t hurt yourself …’

‘Not us. Him.’

I wiped my eyes. ‘The Celestial needs him. Do it.’

John’s eyes snapped open and he made a sharp noise of pain. Both stones flew into the air above his head.

‘That worked,’ Gold said.

John cast around unseeing, his eyes completely black.

‘It’s okay, John — the Turtle’s in the infirmary on the Mountain,’ I said.

‘Emma?’

‘I’m here.’ His hand was still too cold to touch.

He dropped his voice to a near-whisper. ‘I have to get out of here.’

Edwin was checking the monitors. He turned and saw John’s eyes. ‘Serpent?’ he said.

John turned his sightless black eyes towards Edwin. ‘You are the physician, correct?’

‘I am,’ Edwin said. ‘Do you know what they did to you?’

‘They inserted an IV into me to cure the infection, but the bag’s been empty for a while. Today they came in and put something into the line. I have no idea what it was. I tried to neutralise it, but it knocked me out too quickly.’

Fortunately no one saw my reaction when the Serpent mentioned the IV. It hadn’t been my imagination.

‘Can you reach the IV to pull it out?’ Edwin said.

‘I’ve been trying,’ John said. ‘It’s too close to the back of my head. Emma?’ He turned his head and obviously had difficulty focusing on me.

‘I’m here, John,’ I said. ‘Do you know if they’re readying to attack?’

‘I don’t think so,’ the Serpent said. ‘They knocked me out and put some sort of metal grid under me, like a barbecue grill. I think they’re planning to turn up the heat.’

‘Holy shit,’ Edwin said softly.

‘Gold, pass the message on,’ I said, trying to control the emotion in my voice as the horrible images filled my head.

Gold nodded, and he and BJ went out together.

The Serpent turned its black eyes to Edwin. ‘How much of me needs to be burnt and to what depth to guarantee I won’t survive it?’

Edwin was silent for a moment. ‘If you were human …’ He stopped. ‘I don’t believe I’m having this conversation. If you were human, then the skin would need to be burnt off to the muscle beneath for at least fifty per cent of you. Snake … I have no idea, but I can ask a vet.’

‘No need, I’ll lose contact soon anyway. Emma.’

‘John?’

‘The Turtle is concerned that I’m absorbing you.’

‘Leave us, Edwin,’ I said.

‘She sounds more and more like you every day, my Lord,’ Edwin said. ‘Are you absorbing her?’

John closed his eyes and his eyebrows creased. ‘I just want to be out of here and complete, Turtle and Serpent together again …’

‘She’s a snake, not a turtle. You shouldn’t be absorbing her if you want to rejoin with your turtle,’ Edwin said.

John’s eyes snapped open and he glared at Edwin. ‘You know nothing of my true nature.’

Edwin was obviously taken aback. He glanced at me.

‘I asked you to go out, Edwin,’ I said.

‘Leave. Us,’ John said with the force of an imperative.

Edwin, moving like an automaton, left the room.

‘I’m not doing it deliberately,’ John said.

‘Of course you aren’t.’

‘Why did I have to love someone who’s so damn similar to me?’ he said. ‘Down to our demonic origins. We should have known this would happen when we first laid eyes on you.’

‘Too late now,’ I said with forced cheerfulness.

‘You need to stop spending so much time with the Turtle. I love you …’ His eyes changed back to normal. ‘Emma? Are you still here?’

‘I’m here.’

‘Good,’ he said, turned his head away and went limp.

‘Edwin?’ I called. ‘Quickly!’

Edwin came in and checked the monitors. ‘He seems to be in a normal sleep now. His blood pressure is back up.’ He put his hand
on John’s forehead, then jerked it away again. ‘Let him rest.’ He leaned on the monitor. ‘He is absorbing you?’

‘No.’

He silently watched me for a long moment.

‘Leave us,’ I said.

‘Enough of the “leave us” business. Don’t ask me to leave you again — you can trust me. He has good colour, his blood pressure and oxygen are up, and it’s a normal sleep. You don’t need to be here. Go home and rest. I’ll let you know if his condition changes.’

He was right, but I needed to go back to my office just in case the demons still attacked.

‘Call Zara, have her sit with him,’ I said.

‘Will do.’ He took my elbow and helped me to stand. ‘Go home or you’ll end up in here as well, and if I’m any judge, the weaker you are the easier it is for him to take you over.’ He looked from John to me. ‘You two should split up; your whole existence is at stake here.’

‘He vowed to Raise and marry me. It won’t happen.’

‘I sincerely hope you’re right.’

I dropped my voice. ‘Don’t tell anyone he’s absorbing me.’

‘If I consult with some other physicians —’

‘No. Don’t tell anyone.’ I shook his hand free from my arm. ‘The Celestial comes first.’

He stood silently for a moment, then shook his hands in front of his face. ‘Ma’am.’

‘Thank you.’ I headed back to my office.

Yi Hao came in and stood in front of the desk glaring at me, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

I ignored her.

She made some huffy noises and recrossed her arms.

I scooted behind the monitor so I couldn’t see her.

She slowly and with deliberate care pushed the tray containing my lunch — some vegetarian won ton ho fan soup noodles — closer to me so that I couldn’t ignore it.

‘I can’t eat while he’s in a coma,’ I said.

‘That’s exactly why you should eat.’

I sighed, scooted my chair back again, picked up the chopsticks and ceramic spoon and waved them at her. ‘Happy?’

‘I want to see that bowl empty when I come back,’ she said, turning to go out.

‘All right, all right,’ I said, and dropped my voice. ‘Mother.’

‘To quote Master Leo, “I heard that”,’ she said loudly from the doorway.

An hour later she was back, hesitating at the doorway.

I looked up from the printouts. ‘Yes?’

‘He’s asking for you, ma’am.’

I jumped up and ran to the infirmary. John was awake and sitting up, having an argument with Edwin.

‘Emma, talk to him,’ Edwin said with exasperation as I entered. ‘He can’t just leap out of bed and go fight a war like this. He needs to slow down.’

‘Are you feeling okay?’ I asked John.

‘Tired, and I ache all over, and some painkillers for the headache would be most welcome. It feels like Gold stuck a glass blade through my brain, but I’m good.’

‘Do you need a hand back to your office?’

‘Hold Edwin down while I escape.’

We both turned to Edwin. He gestured angrily towards John. ‘You need to rest!’

John levered himself off the bed and winced as his feet hit the floor. He bent to put his forehead in his hand. ‘Just something for the headache, Edwin.’

Edwin made a loud sound of frustration and stormed out.

I held my hand out and John looked at it for a long moment. I shoved it at him to make the point. He slumped even further and took my hand so I could check him.

‘Don’t do anything, just check,’ he said.

I looked inside. The pain in his feet and head were feeding off each other, running through his meridians and multiplying with the stress, but his energy levels weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.

And then I was sucked into a huge dark vortex and I was
inside
his meridians, riding the energy through him, experiencing the rawness of his feet and the pounding in his head, and my centre was a huge gaping abyss that I needed to keep carefully under control to protect my beloved family when it would be so very easy to release the darkness and destroy everything …

My brain exploded with a blast so cold it was like a brain freeze, and I jumped back and took a long defensive position. I cast around for whoever had struck me, checking behind me as well. I dropped my hands when I saw John standing in front of me.

‘Just call my name, dammit! There was no need to snap-freeze my brain.’

‘I did call your name, multiple times. I tried everything. We’ve been merged for nearly a minute.’ He leaned back on the bed, grim with defeat. ‘The Serpent is right. We’re absorbing you.’

I took a step closer to him and gazed up into his eyes, and he stretched back, still pinned against the bed, to avoid touching me. I wrapped my arms around him and he relented and hugged me back, resting his cheek on the top of my head.

‘Can you swallow me slowly until I’m completely lost into you?’ I said. ‘Never mind. Of course you can. That’s how we snakes devour our prey.’

He pulled me tight. ‘Focus on being yourself, a separate entity from me.’

‘Is that a yes, you can swallow me?’ I said.

‘I’ve never done it.’

‘This is a unique situation.’

‘That it is. But I like to think both of me love you too much to do this to you.’ He dropped his voice. ‘If we ended this relationship, separated and lived apart, then neither of us would ever have to worry about this again.’

I pulled back to see his miserable face. ‘Do you want to end our relationship?’

‘No. Of course not.’

‘Then we’ll stay together.’

‘Emma …’

‘But we may consider a temporary separation as a last resort.’

‘Very well. Once I am whole I will be able to control it. But if we become too much in synch, I warn you now that I will ask you for a separation until this is no longer an issue.’

‘And I’ll reluctantly agree, but I won’t be happy about it.’

‘Good. That’s a relief.’

I shrugged. ‘We’re both so busy we hardly see each other anyway.’

‘That’s true. I have a million things I need to do.’

We released each other.

‘Uh … if you two merge and she becomes a part of you, part of the Immortal Dark Lord,’ Edwin said from the doorway, ‘…does that count as you Raising her?’

We gazed into each other’s eyes again. We both knew the answer to that, and replied together.

‘No.’

‘Go right in, sir,’ Yi Hao said outside my office.

Leo walked in and sat across the desk from me. I shuffled the student files to one side.

‘You wanted to see me?’ he said.

‘They drugged him through an IV in the Serpent’s back,’ I said. ‘Whatever it was worked so quickly he didn’t have a chance to neutralise it. Edwin analysed his reactions and says they probably anaesthetised him.’

‘At least they didn’t attack while he was out.’ He studied me intensely. ‘And you need to get some rest, Emma. Both of you are pushing yourselves too hard.’

I gestured towards him. ‘You haven’t been using your wheelchair lately.’

His expression went emotionless.

We sat looking at each other in silence for a long moment. Eventually I caved and put my forehead in my hand. ‘Martin’s turtle?’

‘This is really none of your business,’ he said.

‘Maybe I should talk to your husband.’

His voice sharpened. ‘Maybe you should butt the hell out.’

‘Leo, John’s a turtle too.’

‘And?’ he said, still irate.

‘He’s asked me.’

‘He’s asked you what? Stop talking in riddles and come to the point.’

I struggled to explain it without being crass and direct, then gave up. ‘He asked me to have sex with his turtle.’

His face went blank, then filled with sympathy. ‘Are you okay?’ He reached across the desk to hold my hand. ‘I hope this hasn’t put a rift between you two. Your relationship is like a solid rock that holds the Mountain together.’

‘Same with you two and the Northern Heavens,’ I said, squeezing his hand. ‘I’m not upset with him, I understand why he’s asked. It would heal him. He’d have his feet completely back. He wouldn’t be in pain any more. He’d stop trying to merge with me —’

He interrupted me. ‘What?’

I waved it away. ‘He’s desperate to rejoin, and I’m close and I’m a reptile too.’

‘You should have told me, Emma. If you’re at risk then you should separate.’

‘That’s one of the reasons I’m asking you about this turtle thing. If we were to do it, he’d stop trying to merge with me.’

‘I see. But …?’

‘But it’s just so damn freaky!’

‘Damn straight it is,’ he said. ‘It’s something I thought I’d never do. Hell, I was freaked out more than you are when Ming brought the subject up.’

‘And?’

He released my hand and leaned back. ‘Exactly how much do you want me to share here? I know you women discuss just about every single damn detail of your sex lives, but I’m a guy and you’re like my sister and this is starting to feel really awkward.’

‘Would I regret saying yes?’

‘To having sex with him as a turtle?’

‘Yes.’

‘What form would you be in? Human or snake?’

‘What form are you in with Martin?’

He hesitated for a long moment, then said, ‘Both.’ He saw my confusion. ‘Sometimes human, sometimes lion.’

‘You’ve done it more than once?’

He smiled slightly. ‘Hell, yeah. So human or snake?’

‘Human. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with my snake.’

‘That’s a shame,’ Leo said, the smile not shifting. ‘The truer your form, the better it is.’

‘Are you saying I wouldn’t regret it?’

He visibly relaxed. ‘It would be one of the greatest experiences of your life. Absolutely euphoric. Completely transcendental.’ His eyes turned inward and his smile widened. ‘Like a really good shen energy meditation, but with all your brain’s pleasure centres lighting up at the same time. I don’t know how he does it, but
damn
it’s good.’

‘Those are some of the words the Tiger used.’

‘Don’t ask the Tiger about this. Martin says he has no experience in the matter — the female turtles won’t have anything to do with him.’

‘I know. I didn’t ask the Tiger; he’s been pushing me to do it so that it’ll heal John.’

‘It will. It’ll heal you too,’ Leo said. He spread his hands slightly. ‘Look at me. Out of the chair for a week every time we do it.’

‘Way too much information.’

He waved me down. ‘I think we’ve shared more information in the last five minutes than we ever have.’

I smiled at him. ‘I know, and it wasn’t nearly as awkward as I thought it would be. Thanks for being frank. I am so glad I have you.’

‘Anything else you need, ma’am?’

‘Should I do it?’

‘That’s your choice. If the idea freaks you out too much you won’t be able to fully appreciate the experience. But …’ He leaned over the desk to grin knowingly at me. ‘If you’re willing to let go of your inhibitions and relax into it, it is completely worth it. It would be incredibly good for both of you. It would be so good for him — and make him so strong — that I’d like to say go right ahead and do it, because having him back to full strength will give the Celestial an edge we really need.’

‘You are the last person in the world I’d expect to say go have sex with an animal,’ I said.

‘Hey, we’re all animals. I’m a lion, you’re a snake and these two are turtles.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s a goddamn zoo around here. Couldn’t get much weirder if we tried.’

‘How’s Butterfly?’

His grin widened. ‘Buffy. She’s settled in, decorated her room completely in pink lace and sparkles, loves fairies and princesses, and is the most wonderful thing ever to happen to us.’

‘You make sure you give her trucks and Meccano as well as fairies and princesses,’ I said sternly, poking my index finger at him. ‘Don’t you dare limit that child’s experiences just because of her gender.’

He nodded. ‘Don’t worry, she has cars. She just likes the girly stuff, you know? Maybe it’s because she didn’t have anything really
pretty
at the orphanage. I’m sure she’ll grow out of it in no time and hate pink as much as Simone did.’

‘Simone had a Hello Kitty T-shirt on the other day,’ I said. ‘She said she was wearing it ironically.’

‘Damn,’ he said. ‘Our daughter the hipster.’

‘So many children in our lives. We have to protect them and keep them close.’

‘And having him strong will give us an edge,’ he said. ‘So seriously, think about it. It won’t hurt you — in fact, the experience is thoroughly worth it — and it would be really good for him.’

‘That’s very similar to what the Tiger said. Have you been talking to him?’

‘Absolutely not,’ he growled. ‘That damn cat stays well away from me. You can’t have two big male cats anywhere near each other. One day I will take him on in True Form and we’ll see whose claws are sharper.’

‘I would like to see that.’ I went around the desk to give him a quick hug around his huge shoulders. ‘Thanks, Leo.’

‘No problem, honey,’ he said, and went out.

I sat behind the desk and opened the spreadsheets but didn’t really see them. Having John strong could possibly mean the difference between victory and defeat.

A stone appeared above my desk with an audible pop.

‘Can I help you?’ I said.

‘Help, General Danahuo,’ she said. ‘My Ronnie — there’s something terribly wrong with him.’

I leapt to my feet. ‘Where is he?’

‘In the demon quarters here on the Mountain.’

I tapped the stone and didn’t wait for it to reply. ‘Stone. Ronnie Wong’s in trouble. Call Edwin —’ I changed my mind; he needed a demon master, not a human doctor. ‘Call LK.’

‘LK’s with him,’ the stone said. ‘Silica, you know what this is.’

‘Your demon master is wrong. He’s just sick,’ Silica said, floating next to me at eye level as I headed towards the demon barracks. ‘He looks so old, and he hardly knows who I am.’

I stopped. ‘Oh dear Lord. I am so sorry, Silica.’

She changed to human form. ‘No, he’s sick. He’s unwell. He has to be.’

‘He’s Ascending, dear one,’ the stone said with compassion.

Her face crumpled. ‘He’s just sick.’

‘Go directly back to him. You don’t have long to say goodbye,’ the stone said.

Silica released a huge gasping sob, changed to stone form and disappeared.

‘Does the Dark Lord know?’ I said.

‘He does. He abandoned a meeting to be present at Ronnie’s Ascension. This is a momentous occasion.’

‘Not for Silica.’

‘It is highly unusual for a demon to Ascend and leave loved ones behind.’

‘I know. Ah Yat cried for a long time because she didn’t want to leave Simone when she went.’ I dropped my voice. ‘I wonder where she is now.’

‘She is on a journey. She is searching for the Way. Now that she has gained free will and a higher consciousness, she will find it more easily. Be happy for her, Emma,’ the stone said.

‘I am.’

I arrived at the demon barracks to find a group of demons gathered around the door. I went inside and through the sparsely furnished main quarters to Ronnie’s private rooms at the end.

‘… and I refuse to go,’ Ronnie was saying.

He was lying on his bunk with Silica, LK and John kneeling around him. Silica was next to his head and held his hand. Ronnie was hardly recognisable: he had aged twenty years, but at the same time seemed glowingly youthful.

‘The fact that you deny Ascension is proof that you are ready for it,’ John said, his voice calm and low. ‘Be glad that you are Ascending. Your will is now your own.’