Black Jade Read online

  ‘I have to go,’ I said. ‘If they find me here, they’ll destroy your servants.’

  ‘I understand,’ he said, looking up into my eyes. ‘Please come back again.’

  ‘I will, and I’ll arrange a way for you and all your servants to come with me. But before I go,’ I said, ‘do you remember that sword I gave you? The mean black one?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Can I borrow it for a while? I promise I’ll give it back to you.’

  He shrugged. ‘Sure.’

  He took my hand to lead me into the living room. The Murasame was on a carved ebony stand that seemed even blacker from the sword’s dark aura.

  ‘Put your hand on the sword and say that I’m its master now, the same as I did for you,’ I said.

  ‘Okay,’ Frankie said. He went to the sword, put his hand on it, and concentrated. He shook his head. ‘It doesn’t want to go with you, it wants to stay with me.’

  ‘I don’t blame it; I want to stay with you as well,’ I said, and his little shoulders sagged. ‘Tell it. Be the boss!’

  His face screwed up with determination.

  ‘I am so proud of you,’ I said.

  He glanced at me, grinning, then turned back to the sword. He growled under his breath. ‘It really doesn’t want to go with you.’

  I put my hand on it as well and jerked it away at the pain. I bent to speak softly to the blade. ‘Do as the child tells you, you black b—’ I didn’t finish it. ‘He’s your master, you lousy piece of scrap iron, and you damn well do what he says.’

  Frankie giggled. ‘It said a bad word!’

  There were crashes and the sounds of conflict behind us and Frankie spun towards the door, his face filling with fear.

  ‘The guards have come for me. I have to go,’ I said.

  Cold realisation went through me: if Leo and Martin were killed, there was only one way for me to escape — through Court Ten — and if I did, the child would see me die in front of him.

  ‘One last chance, quickly,’ I said, taking his hand and putting it on the sword, then flinching away at the contact. ‘Tell it!’

  He concentrated and shook his head. ‘It’s being really . . .’ He searched for the word.

  ‘I know. Stubborn. It runs in the family.’ I pulled him in for a quick hug. ‘I’ll go before you’re in trouble. I love you, Frankie.’ I released him and tousled his hair. ‘You need a haircut. Stay here, stay away from the guards, and I promise I’ll be back.’

  I kissed him on the cheek. I’ll talk to you silently sometimes, how about that? We can chat.

  He stared at me, uncomprehending, and I had no choice. I turned and ran back to Leo and Martin so we could escape.

  I slid to a halt when I saw them. It was the Demon King himself, with a couple of guards, and Martin and Leo were standing next to him, their eyes wide with effort but unrestrained otherwise.

  ‘Emma, darling,’ the King said.

  He was in his small twenty-five-year-old male human form, the same height as me. He approached me, and I tried to step back but couldn’t move. I was frozen as well.

  His blood-coloured eyes looked deep into mine. ‘I thought for a moment that this would be unpleasant,’ he said. ‘But you sneaked in here through Court Ten, didn’t you? You made the choice to come to my side of Hell.’ He stroked my cheek and I was unable to move away. ‘You’re in my dominion now, and I can do what I like with you. I can send all three of you for a grand tour of all the Pits.’

  ‘Please don’t hurt her, Uncle George,’ Frankie said behind me, his voice small.

  ‘What did she say to you, Frankie?’ the Demon King said, still stroking my face.

  ‘She just wanted to play!’

  ‘She wants to take you away from your mother and lock you up,’ the King said.

  He’s locked up now! I shouted at him, unable to speak.

  ‘Go inside, Frankie. Your father is on his way and he’s really mad with you for not telling him that Emma was here,’ the King said, his voice sleek with menace. ‘You were supposed to tell anybody if she came.’

  ‘I was about to!’ Frankie said, full of tears. ‘Don’t hurt her. I like her!’

  ‘Oh, I like her too,’ the Demon King crooned into my face. ‘I’d love snake for dinner.’

  He gestured towards one of the guards and the demon walked around me. I couldn’t turn to see what it did to Frankie. Frankie made some loud sounds of protest, then the door closed behind us.

  The King paced in front of me. ‘Emma, Emma, Emma. Why can’t you just wait? As soon as I control the Heavens you’ll be spending all your time with Frankie, teaching him how to be a good Celestial. It’s only a couple of days; why can’t you learn some patience? Now I’ll have to force you to stay away from the Murasame, and unfortunately that probably means I’ll have to torture one of the lads here to make you do as you’re told.’

  ‘I have passage out for them,’ I said. ‘I have two black jade coins.’

  The King studied me with interest. ‘That you do. Very well.’ He held his hand out, and released me so I could move.

  I removed the black jade earrings and passed them to him. ‘Now let them go.’

  ‘I choose who goes and who stays, my love,’ the King said. He turned away from me to Leo and Martin, who were also standing unmoving. His voice became businesslike. ‘Pick a Pit, Ming Gui.’

  ‘Don’t send him to the Pits,’ I said. ‘This was my idea. Send me.’

  ‘But you don’t care about yourself, you’re far too noble. Threatening you will achieve nothing. The only way to make you behave is to torture the ones you love.’ He turned back to Martin. ‘So where would you like to go? How about I toss you back into the lake, Turtle? You spent a great deal of time there, you should be used to it. Warm and comfortable, eh?’

  Martin made soft sounds and his throat worked. He looked nauseous. Leo trembled as he fought the binding.

  ‘I’ll leave and won’t return if you’ll let me take both of them with me,’ I said.

  The King spun and spoke quickly. ‘Promise you won’t try for the sword again, and that you won’t talk to Frankie without my permission. Promise you’ll stay out of my dominion until I give you permission to return.’

  I hesitated. If I relinquished the Murasame, I was handing the Heavens to him. I couldn’t do it.

  ‘Red Hot Grates. Nice change for him,’ he said. ‘I’ll rotate him between the lake and the grates.’ He put his hands on my arms. ‘The sword wouldn’t go with you, Emma, you’re wasting your time. When I win, you can spend all your time with Frankie anyway. Face it, dear one, you’ve lost, so take your boys home where they are safe, and pack your bags ready to move down here and do your job as nanny when I take over.’

  I couldn’t look at Leo and Martin. ‘I won’t try for the sword again. I promise.’

  ‘Good girl.’ He turned back to Leo and Martin. ‘Take her home and never again enter my dominion without my permission, or you will join the old mad Kings and I will raise your daughter as my own, as a sister for Frankie. He needs a sibling and Buffy is adorable.’

  ‘Don’t you touch Buffy!’ Leo said.

  The King nodded to him. ‘Out.’

  We landed on the Demonic side of Hell at the end of the causeway, outside the huge doors. Martin collapsed, curled up on the ground, and shook with gasping sobs. Leo sat cross-legged and took Martin into his lap, holding him like a child as he choked with fear and desperation. I sat on the pavers next to them and let Martin work it through.

  * * *

  ‘Crown Prince Xuan Ming Gui of the Northern Heavens. Lord Leo Alexander of the Northern Heavens. Lady Emma Donahoe of the Northern Heavens,’ the guard said, and gestured for us to enter the Jade Emperor’s small audience chamber.

  We knelt and did the obeisances, then waited as the Emperor sat on his throne, which was two metres long with silk cushions.

  ‘Before you say anything, the answer is no,’ the Jade Emperor said.

  ‘We
’re not here to ask you to let us marry,’ Leo said.

  ‘I know,’ the Emperor said.

  Martin bowed his head. ‘This small Shen requests that you release him from the Heavens and reattach him to the Wheel.’

  ‘You want to Fall?’ the Emperor said. He rubbed his chin. ‘This is new. Why would you want to Fall?’

  Martin’s face was full of struggle, and after an uncomfortable couple of minutes, Leo answered for him. ‘He can’t face being in the Pits again when we lose.’

  ‘When we lose, eh? If that’s your attitude, then we’ve lost already,’ the Emperor said. ‘You have a child, Prince Ming. You would leave her without a parent?’

  ‘My husband Leo will take care of her.’

  ‘And how will she react when she discovers that you’ve chosen to be destroyed, instead of staying to care for her when she loves you as a father?’

  Martin didn’t look up from the floor. He struggled to speak, coughed, then said, ‘I hope that one day she will understand and forgive me.’

  ‘Lord Leo Alexander,’ the Emperor said.

  Leo saluted the Jade Emperor. ‘Majesty.’

  ‘You are supporting your partner in this ridiculous request? You want to see him gone from your life forever?’

  ‘I want to be with Prince Ming for the rest of eternity,’ Leo said, his voice rough with emotion. ‘But if he was returned to the Pits, it would destroy him. I love him too much to see him suffer like that.’

  ‘Once an Immortal has Fallen there is no return,’ the Emperor said. ‘This life, all of these memories, would be lost. Even worse, Prince Ming, once Fallen you would retain an echo of what you were: fleeting moments where you would nearly remember, and they would tear you apart.’

  ‘I’d rather that than return to the Pits,’ Martin said.

  Leo put his hand on Martin’s shoulder and Martin nodded acknowledgement.

  ‘Lady Emma Donahoe,’ the Emperor said.

  I saluted as well. ‘Majesty.’

  ‘You are actually supporting this insanity?’

  ‘The Dark Lord Fell, but he is here in the Heavens now,’ I said. ‘If a spirit is Worthy, they will end up in the Heavens again. It’s inevitable.’

  ‘The Dark Lord was guided by a Buddha, Miss Donahoe, and it took him a thousand incarnations to return to us.’

  ‘A thousand incarnations is tens of thousands of years,’ Leo said. ‘Lord Xuan’s not more than five thousand years old, he says so himself. What aren’t you telling us, Majesty?’

  ‘Time is irrelevant when the soul is returned to the Earthly,’ the Emperor said. ‘More than one incarnation can exist at the same time. Isn’t this obvious?’

  ‘Oh,’ Leo said. ‘A thousand incarnations?’

  ‘If he ever returns, it will take at least a thousand incarnations, and the man that rises again will not be the man you see now. The Wheel changes a spirit’s essence.’

  ‘I still request that you sentence me to Fall,’ Martin said.

  ‘This is a one-way trip,’ the Emperor said. ‘And I can only do it while I control the Heavens — which means I would have to do it before we face the demons. If we win on Saturday, I could have reattached you to the Wheel and destroyed your existence for no reason.’

  ‘I request you do it anyway, Majesty,’ Martin said.

  ‘What does Simone say?’ the Emperor said.

  None of us replied.

  ‘I see. Does Buffy know?’

  Again none of us answered.

  ‘What about the Dark Lord? Have you at least discussed this with your father?’

  ‘His opinion is irrelevant. This is between me, my husband, and my child.’

  ‘He is not your husband!’ the Jade Emperor snapped. ‘What about your stepmother?’

  ‘She’s just here to escort us past the guards.’

  A Palace fairy appeared behind the Jade Emperor with an open scroll floating in front of her.

  ‘The ruling with regard to Prince Xuan Ming Gui of the Northern Heavens is as follows,’ the Jade Emperor said, and a brush appeared floating above the scroll. The Emperor stopped and leaned his elbow on the arm of the throne. ‘Are you absolutely sure about this, Ming Gui?’

  Martin’s face was bright with hope, but his eyes glittered with tears. Leo made no attempt to brush the tears from his own face.

  ‘I am sure, Majesty. Please, release me from this Immortal existence and reattach me to the Wheel.’

  ‘The judgement is as follows,’ the Emperor said. ‘Request denied. Prince Ming is to assist in the defence of the Heavens. His skills are needed. If he makes this request again, his partner, Leo Alexander, will be executed.’

  ‘What?’ Martin said. ‘You’ll execute Leo?’

  ‘Dismissed,’ the Emperor said.

  Martin stood and glared at the Emperor. ‘You can’t do this! You can’t execute Leo for something that I do!’

  ‘I am the Jade Emperor and I can do anything I want! If you are all not out of this room in thirty seconds, I’ll execute Princess Simone and Lord Xuan as well as all of you. Out!’

  ‘You’ll execute Simone?’ I cried, horrified.

  ‘Ten seconds!’ the Emperor said.

  We hurried out.

  16

  I stood in the doorway of our bedroom in the Northern Heavens. It was smaller and less comfortable than our room on the Mountain — we only stayed in the Northern Palace when we had overnight administrative tasks or state dinners. The bed was a simple Western-style with a bedhead and side tables, unlike our lovely ebony four-poster on the Mountain.

  John had buried himself under the black silk quilt, only his dark eyes and wild tangle of hair visible on the pillow. I crawled in next to him and nestled under his arm, nuzzling into his chest.

  ‘This is probably our last chance for a long time,’ he said.

  ‘No. The Jade Emperor has to know something. We’ll win.’ I pulled myself closer. ‘We have to trust him. This time tomorrow we’ll be back on the Mountain and everything will be okay.’

  ‘Tell me what you want,’ he said. ‘Anything you want, I will make it happen for you.’

  I pulled back to see him. His eyes were full of sadness.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘Tell me what you want. How do you want to spend this night? If you just want to cuddle, let’s do that. You’re always the one who asks me what I want from you. This time, tell me what you want.’

  ‘One condition,’ he said.

  ‘If it’s too freaky I’ll say no.’

  He nodded, satisfied.

  ‘Well?’

  He hesitated, not sure where to start.

  ‘My snake?’ I said. ‘You’ve been lusting after it forever. I’ve seen the way you look at me.’

  He pulled himself up to sit against the bedhead. ‘You have read my mind. But there are things that will happen if you say yes.’

  ‘Ooh,’ I said, acting entranced. ‘I hope so.’

  He smiled, then it disappeared. ‘The Turtle will be present and separate.’

  That stopped me. ‘Doing what?’

  He shrugged.

  I failed to control the laughter. ‘Okay. Is that all?’

  ‘The bed’s too small. We’ll have to go to the living room.’

  ‘Why not in here?’

  ‘Not enough room. You saw the old Serpent Concubine Pavilion — we had a . . .’ He searched for the word.

  ‘You had a pit,’ I said. ‘Wow. A little snaky love nest. And I knocked it down.’ I shook my head. ‘I am such an idiot.’

  ‘I would not take you in there anyway.’ He hesitated. ‘Are you sure about this?’

  I climbed out of bed, moved to the middle of the bedroom floor, and transformed. I pictured his Serpent in my mind — all four sexy metres of it — and immediately generated the scent.

  He made a deep moan of pleasure, his eyes glittering.

  I writhed sinuously into the living room, then turned back to see him. He’d already changed and was following me like h
e was mesmerised.

  The Turtle and Serpent separated. The Turtle changed to human form and sat cross-legged on the couch, its face intense. The Serpent came to me and raised its head so its eyes were level with mine. It flicked its tongue and generated its own scent. The aroma hit my tongue; I tasted it, and it sent me over the edge.

  I grabbed him with my coils and pulled him down next to me. I tasted of him, the purest, wildest, most entrancing essence of him. I was driven even wilder when the cactuses came out, and we slid over each other, revelling in each other’s scent and the touch of our scales.

  ‘Emma,’ the Turtle said, but I didn’t really hear it. I was lost in the taste and the scent and the sensation.

  ‘Emma!’ he said more strongly, and the Serpent tapped the top of my head with its nose. ‘Emma. Talk to me.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Please don’t be all animal. I can’t do it if you’re all animal.’

  ‘No, don’t stop,’ I said, breathless with need. ‘Don’t stop. Do it! I need this.’ My voice went hoarse as I moved into position. ‘Xuan Wu. I need you. Now!’

  ‘If it hurts for even a second or feels wrong . . .’ he began, but didn’t have a chance to finish because I grabbed him with my coils and shoved myself onto him. He roared with triumph, pulled me down, and thrust into me. It was divine — the sensation of his spines wasn’t painful, it was like scratching a nagging itch, a filling, a completion.

  ‘Are you still there?’ he said into my serpent ear.

  ‘So good.’ He moved and I moaned. ‘So good. So . . .’

  He moved again. He twined over me and we moved together in the scent, fresh and bright and clean and wonderful. He filled me from nose to tail with sensation and scales and movement and exhilarating aroma.

  Then he pushed harder and we locked together and the pleasure hit new heights. Where we had been two we were now one. We twined around each other, our scales rubbing deliciously together, immersed in the sweet-smelling essence.

  We lifted and the floor fell away and the stars spun around us. We lay on a mountaintop, two as one, and the stars rotated, brilliant in their cold beauty. The air was freezing but I felt no chill; I was lost in the sensation of being one with the Xuan Wu.

  ‘Tell me when you’re close,’ he said into my ear, his voice soft and silken. ‘It’s not the same as mammals, but when you’re near . . .’