Kylie Chan: Blue Dragon

‘My Lady, your mother has a headache and needs her morning caffeine hit, and your father is starving,’ the stone said. ‘Stop talking their ears off and take them to have some breakfast.’

‘He’s right,’ my father said ruefully.

‘Do not refer to me as he !’ the stone snapped. ‘Gender is reserved for you animals. We stones are above that sort of weakness. I don’t know why I give you the benefit of my wisdom when you insult me so casually.’

‘Come on, guys,’ I said, rising from the couch and opening the door to lead them out.

‘Why do you put up with that, Emma?’ my father said. ‘I’d be throwing that bloody thing down the toilet.’

I sat my parents down at the kitchen table. ‘Where’s Simone?’ I asked Ah Yat.

Ah Yat concentrated a moment. ‘Miss Simone and Master Leo are in the training room together.’

‘And Lord Xuan?’

‘Right here,’ John said from the doorway. He came in and sat at the table across from my mother. ‘Morning, Brendan, Barbara. Tea, tikuanyin ,’ he ordered without looking at Ah Yat. Ah Yat busied herself with the teapot while my mother’s coffee infused.

I glared at him. ‘Stand up.’

His face went rigid and he didn’t move.

‘Celestial Highness Emperor Xuan Wu of the Dark Northern Heavens, you stand up right now,’ I said.

His face went wry and he rose, pushing his chair back.

I moved as close as I could to him while still remaining safe. He towered over me, a good head taller. His long hair was already coming out from its tie. It was more than four months since his last energy session with Ms Kwan and he was running low. He looked in his late forties; his hair had turned grey at the temples. He smiled slightly at me and his eyes wrinkled up.

I pointed at his black cotton pants. ‘They were new. Leo bought them only a couple of weeks ago.’

He glanced down. They already had a hole in the left knee.

‘You did that deliberately to annoy me, didn’t you?’ I said fiercely. ‘To get me back for throwing those old ones away. I told you not to wear them for Short Weapons.’

He threw himself down again and pulled his chair closer to the table. Ah Yat presented him with the tea and he poured for himself. ‘I am a creature of my word, and it was an accident,’ he said. He turned to my parents. ‘Has she always been this impossible?’

‘You are absolutely the scruffiest Immortal I have ever met,’ I huffed. ‘I’m surprised your Celestial Form is so tidy. Your armour doesn’t have any holes in it. Why do your clothes?’

‘That is extremely good coming from you,’ John said mildly. ‘Look at your jeans.’

I glanced down at my jeans and felt my face redden. I pulled a chair out and sat next to my father. ‘I didn’t know that was there.’

‘My Lord Mr Donahoe, my Lady Mrs Donahoe, what may I prepare for you?’ Ah Yat said.

‘Just Brendan, and if you have any cornflakes that’d be great. Otherwise, whatever’s going,’ my father said.

‘Just some fruit and toast, please,’ my mother said.

Ah Yat nodded, smiled, and disappeared. Both my parents jumped.

‘No cornflakes,’ I said. ‘She’s gone to buy you some.’

‘Speaking of armour, I must have some made for you,’ John said.

‘Don’t worry about it. Right now, every attack’s an ambush so there’s no point,’ I said. ‘And how come I came back with clothes on last night? I shouldn’t have been able to conjure them.’

‘What are you talking about?’ my father said.

‘When we transform, we lose the clothes. Of course,’ John said.

‘The Tiger loves it,’ I cut in. ‘Shocking exhibitionist.’

‘ Anyway ,’ John said, glaring at me, ‘we conjure the clothes when we return to human form.’

‘But I shouldn’t have been able to do that,’ I said.

‘Obviously the Serpent in you could,’ John said. ‘The stone was right: we must start some more advanced training with you. Who knows what you’ll be able to do? Try something now,’ he said, sitting straighter. ‘Try calling me.’

I thought hard at him.

‘Nothing,’ he said, sounding disappointed.

I shrugged. ‘Not surprising. The snake’s probably hiding right now.’

Ah Yat appeared with the cornflakes and placed the breakfast things on the table in front of my parents.

‘Thanks,’ my father said and poured the cereal. ‘How old are you, John?’

‘I have no idea,’ John said.

‘You look about forty or forty-five,’ my mother said.

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Far too old for me.’

‘I’m probably in the region of four to four and a half thousand years old,’ John said amiably. ‘I have no recollection of being born. I don’t know exactly when I gained consciousness. I joined with the Serpent about three and a half thousand years ago.’

My parents stared at him, speechless.

‘About three thousand years ago the human form was Raised and I was promoted to Dark Emperor,’ John said, almost to himself. ‘Celestial General. That sort of thing.’

‘And you still haven’t grown up,’ I said. ‘Tea, Ceylon. Toast with peanut butter, please, Ah Yat.’

Ah Yat disappeared again.

‘Must have run out of peanut butter,’ I said. ‘Don’t know why all the demons like it so much. Remind me later to ask her for a shopping list—we can order in bulk on the internet, have it delivered, and she can stop flitting around like that. People at the supermarket will notice.’

‘She probably changes her form if she has to go twice in a row,’ John said.

‘Eat,’ I said, gesturing towards my parents. ‘You’ll get used to it.’

‘Why black?’ my mother said. ‘You only wear black. Everything. And Tiger the other night—he called you a Black Turtle. What was that about?’

‘You know the Suzy Wong reference?’ I said, and she nodded. ‘Well, Black Turtle is Cantonese street slang for pimp. The turtle in general is renowned for its…’ I grinned at John, ‘ behaviour , and there are a lot of nasty insults surrounding it. It’s not a good idea to say the word anywhere near anybody.’

Ah Yat appeared with a jar of peanut butter in her hand. She put it on the table in front of me.

‘Did you pay for that?’ I said.

Ah Yat didn’t reply; she just turned and busied herself at the sink.

‘You dishonour us, Ah Yat,’ I said. ‘Later, you will go back there, pick up one of these, pay for it and put it back on the shelf, and that is an order.’

‘I’m a turtle egg,’ John said.

Ah Yat silently collapsed over the sink.

‘See?’ I said. ‘He just called himself a motherless bastard.’

‘Well, I am,’ John said mildly. ‘I have no idea as to my origins or heritage. I just am .’

Ah Yat disappeared.

‘Damn. I wish you’d stop doing that,’ I said. ‘It’ll take ages for her to pull herself together and come back.’ I turned to my parents. ‘What would you like to do today? Would you like to see the Academy? Some kung fu? The students would love to show you.’

‘Anything you like will be fine with us, Emma,’ my mother said weakly.

‘Sunday, Emma,’ John said.

‘Oh yeah, I forgot,’ I said. ‘I’ll find Simone and let Leo go. He should have said something.’

‘Go,’ John said.

Leo and Simone were working with the sword together. Simone was using my weapon.

‘Can you make it sing, Simone?’ I said.

‘Watch this.’ Simone put the sword out in front of her and stilled. The sword made a pure resounding note of indescribable beauty. Simone ran it through a gentle scale, each note making the air vibrate in harmony. The sound stopped and she relaxed.