Journey to Wudang Read online

  I know exactly what you mean and I vow I will not try anything, the King said into my ear. I vow I will not try to make you change or convert you. But I’d love it if you were to show me, darling Emma. I dream about your Mother form at night.

  ‘He can come,’ I said, and the Demon King appeared at the other side of the room, with a long-haired Chinese man who looked like John at his side.

  Simone moved so quickly she was a blur. She held out one hand, summoned Dark Heavens, and as she ran towards the two men she ripped the sword from its scabbard and threw it aside. She stopped with the point of the blade against the long-haired man’s throat.

  It was John’s son, Martin. He stood with the sword at his throat and smiled slightly, his eyes full of amusement as he looked down at Simone. The King didn’t move; he just stood beside Martin with a similar small smile.

  Michael drew the White Tiger and stood behind Simone, the sword to one side. ‘If you’re going to do it, let me help,’ he growled.

  I stood behind Simone but didn’t attempt to call my weapon; she was doing quite nicely by herself.

  Simone quivered with rage but her voice was soft and icy and the tip of the sword didn’t move from Martin’s throat. ‘You disgusting piece of scum-sucking pond slime. You lied to Leo, you kidnapped me, you killed a demon child that was used to nearly kill our father, and in the end you did kill our father because you took me to One Two Two and Daddy had to trade his head for my safety.’

  ‘This really is not necessary, Princess,’ the King said. ‘He is here as my emissary and right now you cannot harm him.’

  ‘It’s true, Simone,’ Meredith said. ‘Don’t try anything, it’s a waste of time. As an emissary he has protection.’

  Simone barked with frustration and swung Dark Heavens to take Martin’s head off. The sword passed through without hurting him.

  ‘Didn’t know you had it in you, Simone, well done,’ Martin said, still smiling slightly. ‘There is hope for you after all.’

  Michael put the White Tiger away but his gaze didn’t shift from Martin. ‘You will pay for what you did, Ming Gui,’ he said, his voice a rasping growl. ‘You’d better not leave Hell because if you do —’

  ‘We … will … find … you,’ Simone finished with him.

  She held out her hand and Dark Heavens’ scabbard flew into it. She sheathed the sword, raised her hand and dismissed it. ‘I swear that you will taste my blade, betrayer of my father,’ she said softly.

  ‘If it means anything at all, I was honestly misled and thought that we’d be going somewhere safe to spend some more time together,’ Martin said. ‘I didn’t know that the demon child wasn’t you — I really did think I’d managed to get you out. That’s why I fought alongside you, Simone.’ He nodded to me. ‘Emma. And my feelings for Leo were genuine.’

  ‘Then what are you doing here with him?’ I said, gesturing towards the Demon King.

  ‘I have my reasons,’ Martin said, the smile fading. ‘I have dug my grave and now I must lie in it.’

  ‘He’s all mine, and a most desirable trophy,’ the Demon King said. ‘The Mothers adore him.’

  Martin winced.

  ‘You give him to the Mothers?’ Simone said.

  The King spread his hands and shrugged. ‘When I’m not using him. Have to keep him busy, you know. Come, little Simone, sit. Let’s see what we can do about finding your pet lion.’

  The Demon King and Martin moved to the conference table, saluting Yanluo Wang as they sat. Yanluo Wang saluted back. Simone hesitated, then she and Michael sat at the table as well, and I joined them.

  ‘Okay,’ the Demon King said, leaning on the table. ‘I hear that Leo was replaced. This probably happened while those kids were guarding him and got lured away. Did you destroy them when I sent them to you, Emma?’

  I remembered the three demons who had come to the offices a few days before. ‘Two ran, but I tamed one.’

  ‘Bring it, I’ll have a look inside,’ the King said. ‘It may have some information for us.’

  ‘Don’t destroy it,’ I said.

  ‘It will look bad if I don’t destroy a demon that’s been tamed, you know that.’ He smiled slightly. ‘But for you, anything.’

  Nigel tapped on the door and poked his head around. ‘The demon, ma’am.’

  ‘Bring him in, Nigel.’

  Nigel opened the door and Four Seven Three, still appearing as a teenager, entered. The demon saw the King and froze. It changed into True Form: a green humanoid of about three metres tall, with scales, tusks and bulging eyes. Red tufts of hair sprouted from its head. It stood frozen in front of the King for a moment, then scurried around the opposite side of the table and crouched behind me.

  ‘Come here, little one,’ the King said kindly.

  The demon made a small keening sound of terror and slowly rose. It moved like a puppet towards the King, still making the keening sound. ‘Protect me, Lady,’ the demon said, its voice pitched high with terror.

  ‘It’s all right, I won’t let him hurt you,’ I said.

  The King swivelled in his chair and raised one hand towards the demon. ‘Take human form and come sit in my lap.’

  The demon didn’t stop its quiet wail of fear, but it changed back into a teenager and lurched to the King. It flopped into his lap and he wrapped his arms around its waist and spoke into its ear.

  ‘Emma told me not to destroy you, child. We need some information. Where is Leo?’

  The King tightened his grip and the demon threw its head back and screamed.

  ‘Where’s Leo?’ the King said, his eyes bright with pleasure as he held the writhing demon. ‘Where did they take him?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ the demon wailed. ‘Stop. Stop. Make it stop. Lady, please, make it stop.’

  ‘Emma, you only asked him not to destroy it. He can still hurt it if he likes,’ Simone said urgently.

  I didn’t reply; I was engrossed in the demon’s agony. It was fascinating.

  Simone turned to see me. ‘Emma?’

  ‘Emma’s enjoying the show,’ the King said. ‘Look at her face.’

  ‘Emma!’ Simone shouted.

  Something inside me clicked and I realised what was happening. ‘Stop hurting it! There’s no need for this, just get the information.’ I ran my hands through my hair. ‘God.’

  The demon’s screams turned into gasping sobs.

  The King turned his attention back to it and spoke into its ear. ‘The look on your face is something that will keep me going for a long time, dear Emma.’ He glanced at me, his eyes full of sly amusement. ‘We could have so much fun together, you and I.’

  ‘Geez, Emma,’ Simone said softly.

  ‘What the hell?’ Michael said.

  ‘Does it know where Leo is?’ I said.

  The King concentrated. ‘Nope.’

  He released the demon and it fell off his lap to lie unconscious on the floor. Simone, Michael and myself all jumped up and ran to it.

  ‘Let me,’ Meredith said, and we moved away to give her room. She touched the demon, then glared up at the Demon King. ‘That was totally unnecessary.’

  ‘I know,’ he said, his voice mild. ‘But it was so much fun!’ He gestured towards me. ‘Don’t you agree, Emma?’

  I didn’t reply.

  ‘What now?’ Simone said. ‘Someone’s taken Leo, and we have no idea where he is.’

  ‘Let’s go have a look in his cell, see if they left anything when they took him,’ Martin said.

  ‘Good idea,’ I said. ‘Meredith, put the demon to one side and let it recover.’ I glared at the King. ‘That demon is mine. Do not touch it.’

  Meredith picked up the demon like a child and put it on the floor at the side of the room. Demons were generally tougher than humans, and could take much more physical abuse because of their almost liquid insides. An hour or so on the floor and this one would be fine again.

  We all went back to the villas. Someone was sitting on the porch of the f
irst one — an elderly woman, her face serene as she watched the lake. She smiled slightly at me as we went past.

  We went into Leo’s villa. Downstairs were a small living room with a television, a kitchen and a dining room. Upstairs were two small bedrooms and a bathroom. Leo’s clothes were in the closet in the bedroom; it was disturbing to see exact replicas of his clothes in his room back at the Peak hanging here.

  Simone went to the drawers in the closet and pulled one out. ‘Look, Emma.’ There were a few pairs of pink boxers at the bottom of the drawer. I shook my head.

  ‘I know what happened to them — I heard you talking about it when we were in Australia,’ Simone went on.

  ‘What happened?’ Michael said.

  Simone turned to him and lowered her voice. ‘When we were in Australia, Emma and Leo were playing jokes on each other non-stop, and Emma got into the laundry room and dyed all his undershirts and boxers pink.’

  ‘He did stuff like that to me too sometimes.’ Michael turned away. ‘Damn but I miss him.’

  ‘I can’t believe he kept them,’ I said, glancing back down at the underwear. ‘He kept a pebble from the beach too, from the looks of it.’

  Simone looked into the drawer. ‘That’s not a pebble, that’s something strange.’ She pulled out a small golden stone about a centimetre across. ‘This is some sort of demon.’

  ‘George?’ I called to the doorway. The Demon King, Yanluo Wang, Meredith and Martin entered.

  ‘What is it, Emma?’ the King said.

  Simone held the stone out to him. ‘What do you make of this?’

  The Demon King took the stone and stared at it, then grimaced and made a gesture of frustration. ‘Six!’

  ‘You destroyed that one,’ Yanluo Wang said.

  ‘I thought I did,’ the Demon King said grimly. ‘It was part of a posse of four demons helping —’

  ‘Helping One Two Two,’ I broke in. ‘They had meetings when I was held in his apartment in Hell. There were four of them. I remember.’

  ‘I thought I’d tracked them down and destroyed them all,’ the King said. ‘Looks like I missed this one.’

  ‘Do you know where it is?’ Simone said. ‘It has Leo!’

  ‘I have a pretty good idea where he is,’ the King said. ‘These demons were messing with stones before. Even if they’re not still in the same place, you’ll be able to pick up an idea of where they’ve relocated if you go there. But I’m quite sure they’ll still be in the same nest.’

  ‘Where?’ Simone said eagerly.

  ‘I will agree to tell you on one condition,’ the King said.

  ‘Oh God, George, is there always a catch?’ I said.

  ‘Yes, of course there is,’ the King said. ‘Michael’s mother, Rhonda, must spend a week down here in Hell, here on the tenth level, so I can attempt to talk her out of marrying the Tiger.’

  ‘We can’t wait that long. What if they hurt him or kill him while they have him? We need to go find him now,’ Simone said.

  ‘They won’t hurt him, Simone,’ the King said. ‘He’ll be fine.’

  ‘Of course they’ll hurt him!’ Simone said, frustrated.

  The King waved a hand at Meredith and turned away. ‘Tell them, Gweipoh.’

  Simone and Michael waited, staring at Meredith.

  Meredith and Yanluo Wang shared a look, then Meredith sighed and her shoulders sagged. ‘You’re here now, you might as well know. Leo is a Celestial Worthy; all he needs is to take the Elixir. He’s between life and death right now, so they can’t hurt him or kill him. He doesn’t feel pain, and any wounds they inflict will heal immediately. They can hold him, and that’s about it.’

  ‘What do you think they want?’ I said.

  Meredith turned to the King. ‘Tell us about Six.’

  ‘Six,’ the King said, and smiled slightly. ‘Six was involved with little One Two Two when Simon was in charge of the Triad activity here. He may have taken over. I hear that your students have fun practising on Triad operations, safe in the knowledge that any supernatural means they use to break up the criminal activities won’t be reported?’

  Meredith and I shared a look, then Meredith spoke. ‘We let the students practise their Arts on any criminals they find, yes. Apparently they’ve put a huge dent in the income from organised crime in Hong Kong.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Six has taken over One Two Two’s empire, ladies,’ the King said. ‘He’d probably like you to back off. As I said, give me Rhonda for a week and the information is yours to do with as you please. You will know where they are, and you can go in and sort them out.’

  ‘Maybe they’re giving you a chance to have Rhonda for a week,’ I said.

  ‘Oh, very good, my Lady,’ the Demon King said. ‘Most worthy of you, but I can assure you, I swear, that I myself have nothing to do with them. They have done this on their own and I am merely taking advantage of the opportunity. I’ve wanted to have a chat with Ms MacLaren for quite some time now. All she has to do is come down and spend a week here, something of a small holiday. That’s all.’

  ‘Demonic or Celestial side?’ Meredith said.

  ‘Demonic.’

  Meredith leaned back and looked at the King appraisingly, then at Michael.

  ‘You want to steal the Tiger’s fiancée?’ I said incredulously.

  ‘I want to steal his Queen,’ the Demon King said.

  ‘It’s up to Mom,’ Michael said.

  ‘If you ask her to do this she will, Michael, you know that,’ the King said. ‘If she truly loves the Tiger then a week here will not be such a trial. And if I can talk her out of marrying him, it’s a bonus for you.’

  ‘No tricks,’ Michael said grimly.

  The Demon King spread his hands. ‘I vow I shall not use any mind control at all. Just the power of persuasion. Hopefully you and I together can make her see exactly what she would be getting into if she were to marry this asshole.’

  ‘Do you want her for yourself?’ I said.

  ‘Of course I do, that’s why I’m doing this,’ the King said. ‘But more than that, I don’t want to see this remarkable woman with beauty and courage become the plaything of a man who will only treasure her until he has her in his possession. Once they are wed he will ignore her like all the others and go off in search of a new prize.’

  Michael sighed and ran one hand over his face.

  ‘See? He knows,’ the King said with a grin.

  ‘Vow that you won’t hurt my mom and I’ll go talk to her,’ Michael said.

  ‘She will be accommodated as the princess she is. She will experience nothing but beauty and pleasure while she is in my care. That I vow.’

  Michael studied the King appraisingly, then nodded once. ‘Deal. Let me see what I can do. How do I contact you?’

  The King focused on Michael and Michael nodded. ‘Okay, got it. Take us back up and I’ll talk to her.’

  CHAPTER 11

  ‘You sure about this, Michael?’ I said, as we appeared back in the kitchen at home.

  Monica was frantically mopping the floor, which was awash with water, at least five centimetres deep. It flowed into the hallway, leaving a dark stain on the carpet. Gold’s child was hovering next to her but she didn’t seem to notice it. ‘Oh no!’ Simone said, and skipped through the water to the kitchen doorway.

  ‘I’m glad you’re back, Aunty Emma. It was awful and it hurt Uncle Marcus,’ the stone child said.

  ‘Did it hurt you, Monica?’ Simone said.

  ‘No, ma’am, just Marcus, but Master Gold says he’ll be okay.’ Monica mopped more briskly but her shoulders were shaking.

  I went to her and put my arm around her. ‘Stop, Monica, go rest. Is Marcus in your room?’

  She nodded through silent tears.

  ‘Gold is with Marcus in their room, checking him over,’ the stone in my ring said.

  ‘Go to him,’ I said. ‘We can fix this.’

  I gently prised the mop out of her hand and led her
to her room, which ran off the back of the kitchen. I tapped on the door and opened it a crack for her. ‘Go inside, Marcus is there. Everything will be fine.’

  ‘Daddy said to stay out here, Aunty Emma,’ Gold’s child said, sounding concerned. ‘It was pretty bad.’

  ‘You stay out here with us, we’ll look after you,’ I said to the child. ‘Do you need anything?’

  The child dropped to rest on the kitchen bench. ‘No, I’m okay.’ It hesitated, then, ‘It was really scary.’

  I held my hand out and the stone flashed over to snuggle into my palm. ‘Thanks, Aunty Emma,’ it said softly.

  ‘What the hell happened here?’ Michael said, looking at the water in bewilderment.

  ‘Simone, it would be a good idea to send it down the drain before it completely destroys the carpet,’ I said.

  Simone’s face went rigid, then she relented and raised her hand. The water on the floor coalesced into a large glistening sphere that formed a funnel and gushed into the kitchen sink and down the drain. ‘Elemental,’ Simone said. She concentrated again and the remaining water lifted out of the carpet into a brownish lump, leaving the wool completely dry. ‘Wow, our carpet’s dirty. We should have it cleaned, Emma.’

  ‘Water elemental?’ Michael said.

  ‘Yes,’ I said, carefully holding the stone child in my hand so that I wouldn’t wake it; it had fallen asleep almost immediately. ‘They’re annoyed that Simone won’t summon them. She doesn’t have any control over what they do. This one probably sensed she was in Hell and came here to find out what happened.’

  Gold came out of Marcus and Monica’s room. ‘They’ll be fine, ma’am. Marcus nearly drowned though.’ He turned to Simone. ‘Princess, you really need to train with us. Learn how to summon and control these elementals.’

  Simone turned away and headed towards her room.

  ‘Talk to her, Lady Emma, please,’ Gold said. ‘This can’t go on. Marcus was nearly killed. It’s only the fact that he’s half-Shen that saved him; any ordinary man would have drowned.’

  He saw the stone in my hand and his face softened. ‘My baby was very scared by the whole thing.’ He reached out and I passed the stone to him.