Journey to Wudang Read online

  Suddenly I couldn’t move; I was bound. Someone with a will greater than my own was holding me.

  Well, to hell with that, these demons tasted good and I was hungry. I fought the binding but whoever had me was immensely powerful. I turned my attention behind me, using my demon sight, to find out who was messing with my dinner.

  I saw her with my demon vision: dark and blue and gold. That little cowardly bitch Simone, who didn’t even have the guts to summon elementals. A bird spirit stood behind her, nearly as powerful as she was; essence of pure flame. A fire child cowered behind the fire spirit, its strength minuscule compared to the two larger entities.

  ‘You don’t know what you’re doing, Emma,’ Simone said.

  ‘That’s Emma?’ the fire child said.

  ‘It’s a long story, Eva,’ the bird spirit said. ‘Simone, we have to change her back.’

  ‘Leave me alone, I’m hungry,’ I said.

  ‘Emma, you protect demons that request sanctuary; you don’t hurt them,’ Simone said in a maddeningly calm tone. ‘Change back to human, please. We need to work out what to do about this turtle.’

  ‘Fuck the turtle, I’m eating,’ I said.

  Ha! The use of the foul language shocked her and she released me slightly. I resisted her binding, but she brought it up again. Damn.

  ‘If you can’t hold her I may have to take action, Simone,’ the bird spirit said. ‘She will continue to eat these and we must stop it.’

  ‘Don’t do anything!’ Simone said. ‘Don’t hurt her!’

  Ha, the little girl was protecting me. Stupid.

  ‘You know, you’re such a coward, Simone.’ I spoke conversationally, adding to the cruelty of my words by being calm and mature. ‘You’re scared of your own father’s Celestial Form, and you’re scared of the Jade Emperor; hell, you’re even too frightened to summon your own elementals. Your father will be so ashamed of you when he gets back.’

  She hesitated for a moment, then said, her voice small, ‘Please change back, Emma.’

  ‘Make me, bitch,’ I said with amusement. ‘You don’t have the guts to wield your full power. Look at you, capable of summoning yin and too scared to do it. You could go to the Celestial school and learn to make the most of your powers, but you’re too worried that,’ I changed my voice to a teenage whine, ‘the other kids will be scared of you.’ I chuckled. ‘You are pathetic.’

  Simone’s will pressed harder on me. She was trying to make me change back to human. I fought her.

  ‘Not this time, sweetheart. I like the lifestyle, and the food is great. Let’s go have some fun together, just you and me. You were always my favourite. We could have some real fun playing with some of those humans that you resent so much.’

  ‘We can’t let this go on much longer, Simone,’ the bird spirit said. ‘Make her turn back, or I’ll have to call in some Red Warriors to contain her. She is much too dangerous to leave like this.’

  ‘I can’t do it by myself,’ Simone said, her voice strained.

  ‘I’ll have to step in if you can’t,’ the bird spirit said grimly. ‘Emma, if you don’t change back, I’m going to contain you, and I may severely injure you with my Fire Essence if I do. It’s in your best interest to take your human form now.’

  ‘You can bind me for a short time, but you can’t contain me,’ I said with pleasure. ‘Try me. You know you don’t have the power.’

  The bird spirit’s essence moved through me and I blocked her out. I swallowed my handful of demons whole. Delicious.

  ‘I wonder if there are any humans nearby,’ I said. ‘Now there’s some real fun.’ I cast around with my demon senses — why had I made them run away before? I pressed against their bonds, managed to slither a few metres left, and turned around to see them. ‘You’re tiring, and then I’ll be able to find something interesting to play with. Come on, Simone, let’s find you some friends.’ I leered at the small fire spirit. ‘Hello, little girl, want to play?’

  ‘I can’t control her, Simone,’ the bird spirit said. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do — she’s out of control and we need to stop this. A Mother as big as her could cause untold damage.’

  ‘Don’t even think about destroying her, Aunty Zhu, she’s all I have left!’ Simone cried. ‘Help me, Lady of All Mercies!’

  ‘Oh shit,’ I said, but it was too late.

  Kwan Yin appeared in front of me and put her hand on my forehead. I tried to duck away, but she had me. Her serene presence radiated through me.

  ‘There is a chance that the one you love is in this place,’ Kwan Yin said, her voice gentle and sad. ‘But while you are like this he cannot love you.’

  Her words hit me like arrows. The one I loved? Xuan Wu?

  ‘John,’ I gasped. ‘Where?’

  ‘There’s a big turtle in a tank here, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘Please, change back, we need to check if it’s him.’

  Kwan Yin helped me. I forced my demon essence down and sucked the darkness into me, bringing my yang out to fight it. I concentrated on yang: bright, hard, life-giving and pure. The demon essence spiralled down inside me and compacted into my dan tian. I changed back and leaned on the edge of the seafood tank, gasping.

  ‘She has it,’ Kwan Yin said, and released me. ‘The way to control this demon is to focus the yang side of yourself, Emma. Your serpent. It will help you; do not be afraid to call upon it when you are in need.’ She disappeared.

  ‘Have you tried that?’ Simone said. ‘Using the snake?’

  ‘No,’ I said.

  ‘Contact some serpent-type Shen and see if they can assist,’ the Phoenix said. ‘The Lady’s suggestion has merit.’

  ‘Let’s check this turtle.’ I looked down at the demons in the tank. They sat frozen in the water, watching me with their crustacean eyes. ‘We’ll come back to free you,’ I told them, and shuddered as I remembered exactly how delicious they were. A stab of hunger pierced me. ‘I won’t hurt you now.’

  We went to the large tank holding the sea turtle. It was obviously distressed to be in such a small tank, full of polluted water from the harbour and its own waste. It floated in the tank barely moving, its eyes dull.

  ‘It’s not Daddy,’ Simone said, ‘but it’s not natural either. I’m not really sure what it is.’

  A demon in human form, appearing as a very elderly man grinning through his long beard and stooping over a cane, came out from the back of the restaurant. ‘Greetings, Ladies. Please do not harm me, I have information for you.’

  None of us replied, and he continued. ‘I have information as to the whereabouts of Mr Alexander.’

  Simone made a sudden grasping move towards him, then pulled away. ‘Where is Leo? Do you have him?’

  ‘I do not have him,’ the demon said, still grinning. ‘But I know where he is, and if you were to go in and kill those who are holding him, I would be very pleased indeed.’

  Demon politics, the stone said. Wonderful.

  ‘Where is Leo, and what do you want in return for this information?’ I said.

  ‘Golden Arcade, Sham Shui Po, and nothing,’ the demon said.

  He speaks the truth, the stone said. But that last bit is suspicious. Leo’s whereabouts are certainly worth more than nothing.

  ‘Golden Arcade is a maze,’ I said. ‘Where in there is he? Any particular store?’

  ‘Down the far southern side in the deepest part of the mall, where there are many stores selling peripherals, there is a corridor under the stairs, where they keep their stock in cupboards. There’s a metal roller door there that is always closed. Go inside and there are stairs down into the demon’s nest. That demon is holding Leo.’ He waved one hand over the turtle in the tank. ‘I have taken the liberty of rescuing this one from the cooking pot — it was scheduled to be chopped up and served to the public in a money-making feast this weekend. You would probably like to remove it; it is yours.’ He grinned at us again. ‘Good luck on your sortie, ladies, and I hope you find the Black Lion.�
� He disappeared.

  Simone went to the tank and put her hand on the turtle’s head. ‘Aunty Phoenix, could you help me? I don’t know whether this is a natural turtle or a demon or what.’

  When the Phoenix put her hand into the tank to touch the turtle it was like a hot iron hitting the water; steam exploded everywhere. ‘Whoops,’ she said, and the steam stopped. ‘Nearly had turtle soup.’ She concentrated. ‘I have no idea what it is, but it doesn’t seem to be a natural turtle.’

  I bent to see the turtle’s face in the tank. It seemed to have some intelligence in its sad eyes. ‘Can you talk to us?’ I asked it.

  The turtle didn’t move.

  I sighed and stood up again. ‘We can’t take it back to the Academy, we don’t have a tank or a pond or anything to put it in. I suppose you’d better take it somewhere safe and release it, and we’ll keep an eye on it.’ I bent to speak to the turtle again. ‘If you’re a Shen, that will be suitable for you. If you’re a demon, it will also be okay. If you’re just a natural turtle, then it’s the best option. Do you have anywhere in particular you would like us to drop you?’

  The turtle still didn’t move.

  ‘Nothing coming from it,’ the Phoenix said. ‘I think it may be some sort of hybrid demon. Take it out and let it go. It’ll be fine living as a turtle; anything’s better than a life in Hell for them.’

  ‘I’ll take it somewhere a long way away where there’s plenty of stuff for it to eat,’ Simone said. ‘How are you going to get home, Emma?’

  ‘I’ll take a taxi,’ I said. ‘You guys go.’

  The Phoenix concentrated. ‘Eva’s father is on his way here with the Lotus, Emma. He can give you a lift home.’

  Eva lit up. ‘Daddy’s coming?’

  The Phoenix touched Eva’s arm. ‘Yes, we were going to have dinner here in one of those Western places that he likes so much.’

  She said ‘Western places’ with such scorn that both Simone and I stifled a laugh.

  ‘Don’t bother him, you guys have your dinner. I’ll just take a cab,’ I said. ‘Simone, take this poor thing out and let it go.’

  Simone and the turtle disappeared.

  ‘Stay here and have dinner with us, Emma,’ the Phoenix said. ‘Phil would love to meet you. He’d probably like to compare notes on dealing with Shen relationships.’

  ‘Daddy’s human,’ Eva said with amusement. ‘Mom drives him nuts.’

  ‘I’m sure she does,’ I said, and gestured towards the tiny demons in the tanks. ‘Stone, get a team in here to clean this up, will you?’

  ‘I have two teams of four juniors on their way; excellent training in carrying for the youngsters,’ the stone said. ‘Nigel is coming as well, to see if we can’t change them to something a little less difficult to handle. We also have six seniors who were having dinner here this evening — they alerted Simone in the first place. She asked them to guard the perimeter so they didn’t see your demon form.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said.

  The Phoenix smiled slightly. ‘Good delegation. Well done.’

  I shrugged. ‘Let’s go eat. Western, you say? I haven’t had a good vegetarian pizza in ages.’

  Eva jiggled and clapped her hands. ‘Pizza, yes!’

  ‘Cheese,’ the Phoenix said grimly. ‘You people are so strange.’

  ‘Chow dau foo,’ I retorted, ‘stinky bean curd, and you complain about eating cheese.’

  ‘Chow dau foo is great once you get past the smell,’ the Phoenix said, indignant. ‘Cheese is just yuck.’

  ‘I like them both,’ Eva said. ‘Now let’s find a pizza!’

  Eva’s father was a tall slim African-American with an intelligent, good-humoured expression. He shook hands with me over the table. ‘Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  ‘Nice to meet you too,’ I said. ‘How long have you known the Phoenix?’

  ‘I met her at an IT conference here about twenty years ago,’ he said. ‘I applied for a transfer here to Hong Kong — I’m head of the Asia-Pacific division of Binary Computer Systems.’ He smiled at the Phoenix. ‘Don’t get to spend nearly as much time with her as I would like, her being an Empress and all.’

  The Phoenix waved him down. ‘I’m an ordinary Hong Kong housewife, I just happen to have some good investments that keep me comfortably well-off.’

  Eva nearly spat out her soft drink. ‘You make me laugh every time you say that, Mom.’

  ‘You have to deal with this too?’ Phil said.

  ‘All the time,’ I said. ‘I suppose it’s too late to warn you about forming a relationship with a Shen.’

  ‘Far too late,’ he said.

  Emma, Simone said into my head. Um.

  ‘Um?’ I said. ‘Pass this on to the rest of us here in a conference call, please, stone. We’re waiting for you, Simone.’

  ‘What is it?’ Phil said.

  ‘She’s talking to Simone Chen through the stone in her ring,’ the Phoenix said. ‘Apparently there’s some sort of problem.’

  Um, Simone said. This is … funny.

  Phil shook his head.

  ‘What?’ I said. ‘Tell us.’

  Well, I let the turtle go. There’s a lovely deserted island here, a reef just offshore, plenty of sea grass to eat, perfect spot. I dropped the turtle in the water and stood on the beach to make sure it was okay.

  ‘It’s not okay?’ I said.

  It swam up to the beach, climbed out of the water and came up to me.

  ‘Did you drop it back in the water?’

  Yep, and it did it again! Do you have any idea how long it takes a turtle to climb up the beach like that?

  ‘I have some idea,’ I said.

  And it grabbed the bottom of my jeans in its mouth and wouldn’t let go. So I’m sitting on the beach here, with this turtle next to me, and it has its head in my lap and it’s sorta holding on to me with its flippers, and it won’t let go.

  ‘Are you sure it’s not your father?’

  Absolutely positive.

  ‘Um,’ I said.

  That’s what I said.

  ‘Stone,’ I said.

  ‘On it,’ the stone said. ‘Simone, Liu is sending two dragons to you. They will escort the turtle to the Northern Heavens, where it will be appropriately cared for by some of the clergy from the Mountain.’

  Oh, good idea! Thanks!

  ‘It’s obviously intelligent, has it made any attempt to communicate?’ I said. I gasped. ‘Good Lord, it’s not Martin, is it?’

  Not Martin. Not anyone I know. I don’t think it can communicate, but it’s obviously intelligent.

  ‘Poor thing,’ Phil said. ‘I wonder if it pissed anybody off.’

  ‘Probably,’ I said. ‘Want to come and have some pizza with us after you drop the turtle off?’

  I’ll get something in the Heavens, Simone said. It will take me a good hour to get there and back again.

  ‘The dragons can handle it,’ I said.

  I want to make sure it’s okay. See you back home when we’re done. We need to arrange a little trip to Sham Shui Po.

  ‘Sham Shui Po?’ Phil asked.

  ‘We think we’ve found Leo,’ the Phoenix said. ‘The demon that gave us the turtle gave us a lead.’

  ‘I’d offer to come,’ he said, ‘but I think that’s slightly out of my league. I’ll let you martial arts experts handle it.’

  ‘Mom doesn’t do martial arts,’ Eva said with amusement. ‘She just barbecues stuff.’

  ‘Nothing in the world beats the sweet fragrance of roasting demon,’ the Phoenix said with relish.

  ‘Not even this?’ Phil said, waving one hand over the groaning table of pizza, ribs and salad.

  The Phoenix wrinkled her nose. ‘It’s a million times better than the smell of that awful cheese.’

  Simone was already home when Phil dropped me off. I waved a cheery goodbye to him and headed up to the front gates of the building. The workers who had been repairing Simone’s swimming pool had left
for the day, and the pool sat empty and forlorn with a large puddle of green water from recent rain at its bottom. It had been poorly constructed from the start, and the concrete had cracked about a year after they’d finished it. And we’d used one of the more reputable construction companies and paid extra for them.

  I took the lift up. At the top floor the gate hung open in front of the closed wooden front door. Simone often left it open when she was home. We didn’t need to worry about anything entering as long as she was there; just her presence was enough to terrify away most demons.

  I didn’t feel the familiar uncomfortable buzz of the seals hitting my demon nature as I walked through the front door, and I stopped. ‘Stone, you awake?’

  ‘Hmm?’ the stone said.

  ‘Seals are still down. Did the Tiger send someone?’

  ‘Not yet, he probably forgot.’

  ‘Send a reminder please.’

  ‘Will do.’

  ‘While we’re on the topic, how’s Rhonda? Can you ask her stone how she is?’

  ‘She’s underground, Emma,’ the stone reminded me gently.

  ‘Oh, yeah. Any word through on the network about how she’s going?’

  ‘No news. In this case it means that everything is fine.’

  ‘Good,’ I said with feeling. ‘Ask Lok to get someone over here and reset these damn seals, please.’

  ‘Already done.’

  I went through to my bedroom and dumped my bag on the floor, then headed into John’s office and checked the email quickly. I glanced at my diary. Damn. I had a challenge the next day, and I wanted to head to Sham Shui Po this evening. Looked like another night without much sleep.

  ‘Cancelling your appointments for tomorrow; all you have now is the challenge,’ the stone said. ‘You can have a granny nap tomorrow afternoon.’

  ‘A granny nap? You’ve been around those kids too much.’