Demon Child (25 page)

The Jade Emperor raised his voice to be heard by all. ‘Before you ask, the Demon King electrocuted the Dark Lord and he is in a coma. If he is roused he will probably rejoin with his Serpent. Either way, he is lost as well.’

I lowered my head and wiped my eyes.

‘We do not have the means to take Hell back from those armoured demons,’ the Emperor said, and it wasn’t a question.

‘I suggest a stealth mission to release our people held in Hell,’ Martin said. ‘There must be at least three hundred Immortals held by the demons now that Court Ten has fallen.’

‘Good idea,’ Er Lang said.

‘You would fail,’ the Jade Emperor said with finality.

Martin opened his mouth to argue and closed it again.

‘Give me permission to get the Serpent out,’ I said.

‘No.’

‘You were quite happy for me to go down to certain death two days ago,’ I said.

‘That was just your life. This is your whole Immortal existence,’ the Emperor said. ‘If things become extremely dire I may consider permitting you to make an attempt for the Serpent, but this sort of sacrifice goes against everything that the Celestial stands for.’

‘The Celestial stands for nothing if it has fallen,’ Guan Yu said.

The Jade Emperor rose and stood in front of his throne. ‘Before anyone says anything, do not blame Lady Emma for this. Anyone who does will be reprimanded. This has been coming for a long time, and this is the most intelligent and devious Demon King we have ever faced.’

‘Of course he is, he was originally a human woman,’ Er Lang said. ‘It’s not surprising that many human men are so terrified of their females that they oppress them.’

‘And oppression breeds hatred. It is a vicious cycle,’ the Jade Emperor said. He paced the dais with his hands behind his back. ‘Regardless of his background, this was inevitable from this King. Our own honourable nature has been a large factor in this result, and we will not compromise our principles and lower ourselves to their level.’

‘Even if the Celestial falls?’ Guan Yu said quietly.

We were all silent at that.

The Jade Emperor stopped in front of the throne. ‘Venus is down there right now. He’s offering them what they asked for in the first place: the Earthly in return for our half of Hell and safety on the Celestial.’

‘They won’t agree,’ Guan Yu said.

The Emperor paced again. ‘I know. I’m keeping them busy so they don’t immediately go and celebrate on the Earthly. I don’t expect them to agree to something that they already have in their hands.’

‘Once they’ve regathered, they can take the Earthly by force,’ Guan Yu said.

‘They do not plan to take the Earthly by force. They will take it by stealth, infiltration and economic incursion, the same way they did it in the West with no Celestials to impede them. The humans
will never know that they have been subjugated by demons. All they will know is that the few and wealthy control them absolutely, through their government, legal system and economy.’ He continued to walk up and down in front of his throne. ‘Once the demons’ hold on the Earthly is secure — and they are well on the way already — they will make a try for the Celestial. And their plans for the conquest of Heaven are not nearly as bloodless.’

‘How long do we have?’ Er Lang said.

‘We have about three weeks. Their losses in this latest battle were as large as ours. They only have those armoured demons remaining, and they will need a large force to take and hold Heaven. They will attack us constantly for the next two weeks to soften us up while they hatch a new army. Then they will make a big final push at the end of spring, aimed at conquering the entire Celestial.’ He ran his hand down his beard and suddenly appeared very old. ‘Bai Hu, order a small team of your best Horsemen — and women — to capture one of those black demons to experiment on. Qing Long, have your people find a way to use our blood as a weapon. All the Winds are to start donating blood immediately. My blood is to be taken as well.’

The Tiger and Qing Long silently saluted the Emperor.

‘Take our blood too,’ Ma said.

‘You are too human,’ the Jade Emperor said. ‘Only the blood of the five elemental creatures will work.’

Wait, what?
Simone said.
The Jade Emperor’s an animal too?

Tell her about his animal nature and that nobody’s really sure what he is
, I said to the stone.

Nobody to relay; tell her when you’re home
, the stone said.
We stones have long speculated that the Wind of our element is a qilin, but many say he is a dragon
.

‘Go and rest, all of you,’ the Emperor said. ‘They are as battered as we are and they will not attack again for a few days. Take this time to be with your families and arrange for the safety of those closest to you. Things will be worse before they are better.’

He walked down the stairs at the back of the dais and disappeared without another word.

I sat at John’s bedside watching him. It was very late and I should have been sleeping, but I didn’t know how long I had left with him.

Simone spoke silently to me.
Marcus is here
.

‘Come on in, Marcus.’

The minute he entered and I saw his face, I knew.

He pulled a chair close to the bed and studied John. ‘I wanted to tell you after we’d won. I’m sorry I have to tell you after we lost. How is he?’

‘I’m hoping that I can keep him here when he wakes up, but we’ll probably lose him when he does. He’ll go straight to his Serpent and be gone.’

Marcus wiped his hand over his eyes. ‘Monica passed away earlier today. There’ll be a memorial service in Hong Kong …’

That pushed me over the edge. All my students and friends, the love of my life, my son, and now this wonderful woman who was a part of the family … I couldn’t face it any more. I ran into the bathroom and closed the door, then sat on the lid of the toilet and let go.

The stone changed to human form, picked me up, sat on the toilet lid, pulled me into its lap and held me close as I wept.

‘It’s been nearly half an hour, Emma, you should stop,’ the stone said eventually, still holding me.

‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘I’m trying and I can’t!’

‘Oh, that’s bad,’ the stone said.

The door opened and Meredith came in. Simone hovered, concerned, behind her. Meredith knelt in front of us and put her hands on my face.

‘Emma,’ she said gently, ‘the best thing for you right now is to sleep. I’ll knock you out and we’ll put you into the spare bed.’

‘I can’t be asleep,’ I said, still choking. ‘I need to be here if he wakes up.’

‘I am awake,’ John said behind Meredith, and I leapt off the stone’s lap, ran to him and threw my arms around him.

He picked me up and held me, buried his face in my hair, and carried me out to the bedroom.

‘It’s okay,’ he said softly. ‘You need to rest. I’m not going anywhere. Come and I’ll put you to bed and you can sleep it off. Anybody would crack under this sort of pressure.’

‘Stay with me,’ I said, clutching him.

‘I will,’ he said into my hair. ‘Dismissed.’

The stone returned to my ring, and Meredith ushered Simone out of the bedroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

John laid me on the bed and brushed his hand over my face. ‘I’ll be here. Just as you are always here for me.’

‘I love you,’ I said, then his cool hand was on my forehead and I didn’t remember anything else.

When I woke, it was dark and he was sleeping beside me, his hand protectively on my back. I sat up, slightly dizzy and with a throbbing dehydration headache. My throat still hurt from crying too much.

He woke, sat up beside me and put his hands on either side of my face. ‘Stay still.’

I remained completely motionless and fell into a light trance. He rested lightly on the surface of my consciousness, barely touching it, like an insect suspended on the surface tension of water. The force was there, we were still trying to merge, but he held back and controlled it with skill that I could only aspire to.

He released me and nodded. ‘I don’t know what Meredith did to you, but it worked.’ He shook his head. ‘Human minds are beyond me sometimes. You seem completely fine.’

‘Good, I can go back to work.’ I dropped my voice. ‘Don’t tell anyone I lost it.’

‘I won’t.’

It all came surging back to me. ‘Dear Lord, Hell’s fallen. We need to regroup and take it back.’

‘We are. It will take time to reorganise our resources. I also need to spend some time in the cage as soon as I can. I’m still blind in one eye and my balance is ruined.’

‘Let’s go now,’ I said, throwing the covers off.

‘No need,’ he said, putting his hand on my arm to stop me. ‘We can do it tomorrow. The demon army is busy occupying Hell and sorting out their prisoners. If you rest and have plenty of,’ he smiled slightly, ‘extremely excellent intimacy with the very best of me, in two weeks we should both be close to a hundred per cent and I’ll be strong enough to lead a surprise attack before they’re ready for us.’

‘Really?’

He nodded.

I was filled with new enthusiasm. We could do this. We could take Hell back and sort this out once and for all.

‘Sounds like a plan.’ I lay back down and pulled the soft silk quilt up. ‘Let’s get some sleep; we’ve both had a hell of a day.’

He lay beside me, and we clutched each other silently as both of us took a long time to go to sleep.

I woke late the next morning alone, and to a Mountain that was eerily silent. I couldn’t hear a single shout or clash of weapons.

Full of foreboding, I pulled my uniform on and headed downstairs. Smally met me at the dining room.

‘What’s happening?’ I said. ‘Where’s the Dark Lord?’

‘In his office, preparing to speak to the students,’ she said. ‘They’re all gathered in the mess waiting for him.’ She gestured towards the dining table. ‘We have breakfast for you, ma’am.’

‘I’m not really hungry,’ I said, distracted by the silence.

‘Tea?’

‘Maybe later.’ I headed out the front door of the Residence, then turned back. ‘Where’s Simone?’

‘Still asleep, ma’am.’

‘Leave her be. Don’t wake her up.’

‘That’s what the Dark Lord said about you, ma’am.’

‘I see.’

I headed through the silent Mountain — the only sound was the warm spring breeze through the pines and the soft patter of gentle rain — towards the administrative area. As I neared the far side of the compound I heard subdued conversation from the mess.

Zara wasn’t at her desk and I went into John’s office. He was studying his computer intently and she was in her stone form on the desk next to him.

‘Good, you’re up,’ he said. ‘Come and look over these figures for me.’

‘The numbers are correct,’ Zara said, indignant.

I went to him, put my arm around his shoulders and we shared a kiss. We both turned to the sheet and I saw that he was working out how many evacuees we would have if every student brought their immediate family up to the Mountain.

‘We could do it at a squeeze,’ I said. ‘Four hundred will stretch our resources, but it’s doable.’

‘They’ll want to bring more than their immediate families though,’ he said, scrolling through the sheet. ‘Grandparents. Their siblings’ families. Aunts and uncles — the number could easily be double.’ He sighed and stretched. ‘Time to go talk to them, I suppose.’

‘Big rousing speech?’ I said. ‘Boost their spirits, reassure and inspire them to new levels of enthusiasm?’

‘No. Grim truth,’ he said. ‘Bring them down to earth and let them know exactly how bad things are so they can make an intelligent informed decision about whether they stay or go.’

‘This is why I love you,’ I said.

He rose and nodded to Zara. ‘I’d appreciate your help as well, Zara.’ He took a deep breath and ran one hand down his face. ‘All right, let’s do this.’

The students were sitting around the tables with the remains of their breakfasts in front of them; the demons were clearing plates. All of them became absolutely silent when they saw us enter.

John stopped at the front of the room. ‘Leave the dishes,’ he said, and the demon staff went back to the kitchen. ‘No, I want you to hear this as well. All staff to attend me.’

The demons crept out of the kitchen, some still holding towels.

John turned to the students and raised his voice. ‘Listen to what I have to say, then there’ll be time for questions when I’m done talking.’ He linked his hands behind his back and paced in front of them, his soft voice boosted by telepathy to be easily heard by all. ‘It seems only yesterday I did this for the first time when the Academy was based in Hong Kong. And now I’m doing it again.’ He stopped, sighed and lifted his head. ‘Hell has fallen. The Celestial armies are close to wiped out. We hope to regroup and retake Hell, but right now there is nothing to stop the horde of Hell from marching on the Earthly Plane and subjugating it. You are all that the Mountain has left. Except for a very small group of Shen, every other Disciple …’ He hesitated, and when he spoke his voice was rough with misery. ‘Every other Disciple is dead.’

A few of the students broke down, crying into their table napkins, and others comforted them.

John continued to pace in front of them. ‘The demons’ next objective will be conquest of the Earthly. If you are down there, you will be a target; but I want to give you a choice. You can stay here where you will be safe, and help us defend the Mountain if the horde try to invade Heaven. I can also offer sanctuary to your immediate families. No one else. Parents and siblings, that is all. No in-laws, no nieces or nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins or grandparents. Your immediate families only.’

One of the students waved his hand, obviously wanting to ask a question.

‘I said when I’m done, Bernie,’ John said with amused exasperation. ‘I swear you are the most impatient Disciple on the Mountain. Let me finish.’

Bernie dropped his hand.

‘The other option is that you return home to your families on the Earthly.’ A few hands shot up. ‘The answer to your question is:
no. We are not expecting open warfare on the Earthly Plane. The demons have not planned to take the Earthly by force; they will take it by economic infiltration. Your families should be reasonably safe if you do not draw attention to yourselves, and you can use your skills to defend them against the oncoming invasion if things become much worse.’

The hands all dropped.

‘Good,’ John said. ‘I will give you the rest of the day to make the decision: go down and protect your wider families, or bring your immediate families up here. Immediate families only.
There will be no exceptions
. Now ask your questions.’

‘I have two children with my ex-wife,’ one of the Disciples called out.

‘Isabelle and Dominic can come, Rene,’ John said. ‘Alison, your ex, can’t.’

‘My parents died when I was young and my grandmother raised me —’

‘I know that, Beatrice,’ John said. ‘If I make an exception for you, everyone else will want the same lenience. If you are that concerned about her, go down to the Earthly and be with her.’ He looked around at them. ‘Any further questions?’

Nobody put their hand up. A few of them put their arms around each other’s shoulders or held hands in silent solidarity.

Emma, can you arrange this? It will be complicated
.

I nodded.

Thank you
.

‘Very well. Lady Emma will manage this. I remind you again, Disciples: no exceptions. Immediate family only. Speak to her when you have made your decision. Dismissed.’

‘Salute your Master!’ I shouted.

As one, the students rose from their chairs, fell to one knee and saluted John. He nodded to them and went out.

I shouted again. ‘Come and see me in my office when you’ve decided. And I remind you again: no exceptions, and I will hold fast to that rule.’ I dropped my voice. ‘Let’s go and wait for the deluge, Zara. I think a lot of students are going to be very upset.’

Zara squeaked with dismay.

It was after lunch before I’d worked through the queue of students and processed their requests. Many of them were still thinking about their options and hadn’t made up their minds.

‘No more right now,’ Yi Hao said from the office door. ‘Take a break, ma’am, you work too hard.’

‘She shouldn’t be working at all, it’s Saturday,’ my mother said loudly outside my office. ‘Oh, hello, Yi Hao. It’s about time Emma gave you a name, you know.’

‘You don’t understand, Mrs Donahoe,’ Yi Hao said. ‘It’s a tremendous honour to be the Dark Lady’s Number One.’

‘Mum!’ I yelled. I ran to her and embraced her in a huge hug.

All the family were there, crowding into Yi Hao’s office and overflowing into the courtyard outside: Mum, Dad, both my sisters, their husbands and their children. Tears filled my eyes as I hugged everybody, laughing with delight.

‘Thank you,’ I said when we’d settled. ‘Thank you for coming up.’ I hugged my father again. ‘You have no idea how glad I am to see you here.’

‘Greg talked us into it,’ my father said, still holding me. He pulled back to see me and his mouth flopped open. ‘Good Lord, Emma, what have you been doing to yourself?’

I stopped, confused.

‘You look at least ten years younger,’ my mother said, and lit up. ‘You’re Immortal? You did it without telling us?’

‘No, no, it’s some energy treatment that John’s been giving me.’

‘Well, make him share!’ my father said.

‘I’m afraid it’s Emma only,’ John said behind them, and again we were lost in the chaos of hugs and excitement.

We moved into the Residence’s living room where we could all talk.

‘I convinced the family to move up here,’ Greg said after we’d settled onto the couches. ‘It’s too dangerous down there now — people are being replaced.’

‘Thank you, I appreciate it,’ I said. ‘But everybody except Mum and Dad have to go back down, we don’t have space.’

‘Yes, we do,’ John said. ‘You can have the Imperial Residence in the Northern Heavens, and the Crown Prince’s residence as well. We spend most of our time here anyway.’

‘We can’t break the rules we just applied to our own Disciples, John.’

‘That’s why they’re going to the Northern Heavens, and not the Mountain,’ John said.

‘That’s a convenient loophole and morally wrong —’

‘Your family are three times the targets that any Disciples are, Emma. The King wants their genetic material to make more hybrids,’ John said. ‘If they stayed on the Earthly it would only be a matter of time before he discovered their location and took the boys again.’

Jen blanched and held her toddler tighter, and Greg put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. The older boys looked nauseous.

‘All right. That makes sense,’ I said.

‘Crown Prince’s residence? What happened to Martin?’ my mother said. ‘He is all right, isn’t he? I heard so many were taken hostage …’

‘He’s fine. He and Leo have set up house in the Peak apartment with a little girl they adopted together,’ I said.