Demon Child by Kylie Chan Page A

they’re about to attack.’
    ‘Don’t,’ John said, summoning a bubble of water to wash the blood off the SD card. ‘He’ll blame us for the fact we’re at war and delay Er Lang’s release.’
    ‘He’s not really that uncooperative, is he?’ I said, then raised my hands. ‘Never mind. I know the answer to that.’
    John released the bubble and the SD card fell out of the air into his hand. ‘Let’s go back to the Mountain. I think in the very near future I will be needed in three places at once.’
    ‘You can do that?’ Yanluo Wang said.
    ‘Best I can manage is two, and right now one of them is slightly stationary,’ John said with grim humour. He leaned on the desk to pull himself to his feet. ‘Pass the message on to the Celestial that I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
    He reached and helped me to stand, holding me upright when another wave of dizziness made me hesitate. ‘I’ll take us straight back to the Mountain, Emma, and put us on the bed. We’ll probably be unconscious for a while.’ He raised his head and concentrated. ‘The staff are ready for us.’ He gazed into my eyes. ‘Ready?’
    I lost myself in his eyes. ‘Always.’

6
     
    The next morning we sat side by side meditating together in Serene Meditation, the pavilion I’d had built to replace Serpent Concubine in the Northern Heavens. We had half an hour before the first hearings in the Hall of Dark Justice, and were using the respite to rebuild our energy. We didn’t know exactly when the demons would attack; the memory card only carried basic information on the demons’ plans and didn’t have any details on the Western army or a projected timeline. Zara was analysing further, but there was a renewed sense of urgency around us as people prepared.
    The chi thrummed between us, a satisfying feeling of togetherness that nevertheless distressed John and made him slightly lose his concentration. We shouldn’t have been able to do that.
    Yue Gui approached across the stepping stones in the pond in front of the pavilion, and gracefully fell to one knee on the open timber veranda. John opened one eye but didn’t address her, and she knelt waiting.
    ‘What, Ah Yue?’ I eventually said.
    ‘My Lord. My Lady. You have been immediately ordered to the Azure Dragon’s Palace Under the Sea.’
    John snapped open his eyes and I sat straighter.
    ‘Both of us?’ John said.
    Yue rose and nodded. ‘Yes.’
    ‘What, now?’ I said.
    ‘Right now.’
    ‘Is this a joke?’ John said. ‘Hell is about to attack and he sends us to have a tea ceremony with the Dragon?’
    ‘I know,’ she moaned. ‘But it’s from the Jade Emperor himself. He won’t leave you two alone.’
    John and I shared a look. He’d suspected for a while that the Jade Emperor was dragging me all over creation to ensure I’d never be strong enough to take the Elixir of Immortality, and I was starting to believe it.
    John pulled himself to his feet and summoned his walking stick. ‘Notify Emma’s maid that she’ll need to dress up.’
    ‘No need, Father,’ Yue Gui said. ‘The Dragon himself contacted me and said that this does not require any regalia. It is a private matter and your usual,’ she smiled slightly, ‘scruffiness will suffice.’
    ‘Did the Dragon say why we’re being dragged over there?’ I said.
    She shook her head.
    ‘Can you do it?’ I asked John.
    ‘I can.’ His face went rigid with concentration as he warned the Dragon of the state we were in. His expression softened. ‘He’s ready for us.’
    He nodded to Yue Gui. ‘Reschedule the hearings, Mei Mei. We will recommence as soon as we return.’
    Yue Gui glowed with pleasure at the affectionate familiarity of her father calling her ‘little sister’, and headed back to her office in the administrative section of the palace.
    John held his hand out to me. ‘I think I will have a talk to the Jade Emperor about this.’
    I took his hand and gazed into his eyes.