Kylie Chan - Heaven to Wudang

‘Daddy,’ she said, muffled by his jacket.

He pulled back. ‘I don’t remember anything! Why do I see them as big cats, and her as a snake? Why do you glow with stars and darkness and blue and gold? How come I can see the past and the future and the world around me clearer than just vision? Why do I want to drown everything in ice-cold water and bring death to all?’ His voice gained a frantic edge. ‘What am I?’

‘You’re a god,’ I said. ‘You’re the God of the North, and dark, and cold, and winter, and martial arts.’

‘If I’m a god then how come I don’t remember?’ he said, challenging me, his hands still protectively on Simone.

‘Do you trust me?’ I said.

‘You can trust her,’ Simone said.

He studied me for a long time, his arms still around Simone. His eyes roamed my face. Then he nodded once, sharply. ‘I can trust you.’

Simone exhaled with relief.

‘Then trust me that you don’t need the details right now of why you can’t remember. It’s a very long story. Just come home with us and we’ll fill you in.’

His eyes unfocused. ‘Something unbalanced is coming.’

‘He’s right, Emma,’ Simone said urgently. ‘Something very nasty is heading our way …’

Kitty Kwok, flanked by two big Chinese bodyguards, came around the corner and stopped in front of us. I rose to face her, standing protectively in front of John and Simone. Leo and Michael moved behind me, mirroring Kitty’s bodyguards behind her.

This is a good time to grab her and give her to the King, Leo said. Get this done and finished.

I nodded slightly. He was right. I summoned the Murasame but nothing happened; the sword didn’t come.

‘What have you done?’ I said.

‘Nothing. I just want to negotiate.’ She raised her hands. ‘I know what the King said. I want to offer you a deal.’

‘Nice to be taken seriously for a change,’ I said.

I didn’t look away from Kitty and heard rather than saw John move to stand behind me on the left. He touched me on the shoulder and said, I’m right behind you, but I don’t know enough. Speak for me.

I nodded.

‘I offer parley under terms of truce,’ Kitty said.

Well, that was the grabbing option blown out of the water. It would be dishonourable to attack her when she’d offered parley and waved a theoretical white flag.

‘Speak your mind,’ I said, using the formal words to close the deal.

She relaxed slightly and turned to pace in front of us. ‘You’ve vowed never to hurt a human, Emma. But you’ve agreed to give me to them. Would you betray your own kind and give a human to the demons?’

‘You forfeited all claim to humanity when you harmed innocent children to prolong your own life,’ I said.

‘I think that makes me particularly human,’ she said with humour. ‘Ask your Mr Chen here, he’ll tell you.’

‘Demons are often stunned by the depths of atrocity that humans are capable of,’ John said without emotion. ‘In the ways of cruelty, they often seek to learn from you.’

‘I’m one hundred per cent human,’ Kitty said. ‘Ask him, he’ll tell you. You can’t do anything to me, Emma. You can’t give me to them — that goes against everything both of you stand for. You keep humans safe from demons; you don’t hand them over for the demons to play with.’

I was silent at that. She was right. I pulled myself together. ‘Name your terms.’

‘You’ve agreed to give me to the King. He’s already paid for me. But if he’s destroyed, you don’t need to pay the price.’

‘The last thing we need right now is a civil war in Hell,’ I said. ‘He may be a two-faced bastard, but at least he doesn’t create demons that are self-aware, think they’re human and are programmed to turn — like the ones your friend the Death Mother is making. Such things are cruel beyond belief.’

‘Not my doing,’ Kitty said. ‘I’m only after Immortality; I don’t want to destroy anybody. I’ve never hurt your students. I’ve stayed quietly in my corner doing my stuff. It’s not my fault that I scare the living shit out of the King.’

‘You’re nice and humble now your little posse’s gone,’ I said.

‘Destroy the King and I’ll set up a replacement. I have one ready to go; he’s intelligent, powerful and does what I tell him. Do this for me and I’ll put a King on the throne who will never bother you again. You’ll no longer have the forces of Hell breathing down your neck, killing your Celestials and harming your little human students.’

‘You want to set a puppet on the throne of Hell?’ I said.

She gestured with impatience. ‘I don’t want to rule Hell. I just want to be left alone to succeed with my Immortality and then live my life in peace! I’ve never wanted any of you dead; I just want to be left alone.’

‘Gloria Ho,’ I said. ‘Andy Ho. The Death Mother. Before that, Six, and the Geek, and Simon Wong. Don’t tell me you won’t try to kill us, Kitty; you and your friends haven’t stopped trying. You’ve been the leader of this all along, so don’t play the innocent. You want to put a puppet on the throne of Hell and then try to take over the Earthly Plane as well.’

She raised her arms to the side. ‘This is a waste of time. Get me out.’

The two bodyguards transformed into humanoid demons with black scales and tusks. All three of them disappeared.

‘Whoa!’ Simone said. ‘They were demons? I saw them as human.’

‘Me too,’ Leo said, and Michael nodded agreement.

‘Did you see them as demons or human, John?’ I said, turning to see him, but he’d disappeared. ‘Is he all right, Simone?’

‘Daddy went back to the Grotto,’ Simone said. ‘He seemed totally confused by the whole thing.’

‘It was strange my sword didn’t come to me,’ I said. ‘Kitty must have been blocking it somehow, which is very disturbing.’ I raised my hand and summoned the sword and it still didn’t come. ‘Are you having the same problem?’

Simone raised her hand and Dark Heavens appeared in it. She dismissed it. ‘I have no trouble calling my sword.’

‘You haven’t called the Murasame since you lost your demon essence,’ Leo said.

‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘Maybe it doesn’t serve me any more. Maybe it went back to the King?’

‘After this, we’ll head back to the Mountain and ask Miss Chen,’ Simone said. She ran her hands through her hair and fluffed it out over her shoulders. ‘Let’s go upstairs and raise some money for these poor kids.’

We made our way back up in the lift to the floor above. The speeches had started, and we slipped in at the back to watch. Michael nodded to Leo, then went to the side table and grabbed a tray of drinks for us.

About halfway through David’s welcoming speech, a deep vibration thrummed through the floor beneath us. Water hissed for a couple of seconds, then stopped. There was silence from the crowd, then a few giggles and confused conversation. Nothing else happened so David continued his speech.

Oh my God, Emma, look out the window, Simone said.

I glanced left and stared. The sky and the other side of the harbour had gone. There was just a wall of blackness next to us, as high as the fifteen-metre windows. Its slightly curved vertical surface shifted like liquid in the reflected light of the Convention Centre.

David continued his speech, but people next to the window began moving away. More people noticed, and the chatter became louder and gained a frightened edge.

‘Don’t worry, it’s just an optical illusion,’ David said, frantically waving me towards the podium. ‘It happens sometimes when there’s an inversion layer over the water, because of the change in seasons. It’s an atmospheric anomaly, that’s all. Don’t bother taking photos; you won’t capture anything because it’s not really there — it’s something like a mirage.’