Blue Dragon Part 17

Leo opened the door and we guided her in. We all kicked off our shoes, even Mrs Leung.

John charged out of his office, slamming the door loudly behind him. He stormed up the hallway towards us, his face a grim mask of fury. He raised his hand and Dark Heavens sprang from its clips and flew into it. He quickly drew the sword, throwing the scabbard aside, and charged towards us.

Mrs Leung changed into a fox, ran into the living room and hid behind one of the sofas.

John walked into the centre of the living room, still holding the sword.

Leo softly closed the door behind us and we all moved to stand behind John.

'What is your name?' John demanded loudly.

'Leung Hong Wai Lam,' Mrs Leung said. 'Please don't hurt me. I had nothing to do with it, it was way before my time. My Lord, Celestial Highness, please. Mercy.'

'How old are you?'

'Fifty-seven.'

John lowered his sword. 'You are only a child.'

'Your Celestial Highness,' Mrs Leung said softly, 'I didn't know you were Simone's father. Please don't kill me. I am with child.'

'This is why you have been allowing the demon to control you?'

'I am not working with any demons,' she said, indignant. 'Kitty Kwok is human. She occasionally takes Helen. I don't know why, but she never hurts her, so I let her. The alternative is too horrible to contemplate.'

'Kitty Kwok is in league with a Demon Prince who wants to take my head,' John said.

Mrs Leung was silent.

'Come out, I won't hurt you,' John said with resignation. 'Leo.' He held Dark Heavens out to Leo, and Leo took the blade, collected the scabbard, and returned the sword to the wall.

Mrs Leung came out from behind the couch. She was a small red fox with a white tip on her tail. She cowered as she walked.

'Take human form,' John said. 'I want to ask you some questions.'

She changed back to a normal-looking Chinese woman in her mid-thirties wearing a smart pair of slacks and a designer polo s.h.i.+rt.

'Sit,' John said, gesturing towards the couch. 'I give you my word, I won't harm you.'

Mrs Leung gingerly turned and sat.

'Leo, take Simone to school,' John said. 'Make an excuse for her. Michael, go too. I will talk to this...' His voice went cold. 'Child of Daji.'

Mrs Leung stiffened. 'I had nothing to do with that. I am not related in any way to that vixen.' Her voice softened and she looked down. 'My husband is human. I am attempting perfection. I live as a human. I have children.' She looked back up at John, desperate. 'You know what my husband would say if he were to discover my true nature.'

'Very well,' John said, sitting on the other couch across from her. 'Tell us the whole story.'

I moved to stand behind John, leaning on the back of the couch.

'Not much to tell,' she said with a shrug. 'Kitty takes Helen and returns her unharmed.'

'Completely unharmed?' I interrupted. 'She doesn't have any minor injuries or small wounds when she's returned?'

Mrs Leung's eyes went wide. 'Helen has no memory of how these wounds occur. What is Kitty doing?'

John and I shared a look.

'Biotech,' I said. 'Demon hybrids for the one hundred and twenty-second son of the King of the Demons.'

'Holy s.h.i.+t,' Mrs Leung said softly. She glanced at John. 'He wants your head?'

'The King of the Demons will promote anyone who brings him my head,' John said. 'To Number One.'

Mrs Leung smiled slightly. 'A grand prize.' The smile disappeared. 'I am sorry, my Lord, you can see I had no choice. She knew I was a fox. She threatened to tell my husband and his family if I did not let her pretend to be my friend, and let her take Helen occasionally. She vowed that she would not harm Helen, and until now she has kept her word.'

'That particular demon is not a creature of its word, and I doubt if Kitty is either,' I said. 'I think it would be a good idea if your family were to go into hiding.'

Mrs Leung lowered her head. 'I don't want my husband to know,' she whispered.

'Bring him here after work this evening,' John said. 'With your child. I will talk to him, then I will arrange a safe place for you. Don't tell anyone you have come here. Try to make the rest of the day as normal as possible so that they don't know you've been here. I will provide a guard for you. Come directly here after your husband returns from work and we'll arrange safety for your family.'

Mrs Leung glanced up, her face full of hope. 'You would do such a thing? After what Daji did to all of you?'

'You are not Daji,' John said. 'All creatures deserve a chance at perfection. All of creation is one with the Tao. To search for the Tao is a n.o.ble pursuit. Why would I stand in your way?'

Mrs Leung lowered her head. 'The stories are true, my Lord,' she whispered, her voice thick. 'I could not believe the tales of your merciful ways, knowing your true nature.'

'The Tao is our true nature,' he said. 'Go home. Return this evening. I will arrange a safe place for you.'

'Come on, Mrs Leung,' I said. 'I'll take you home.'

'Thank you, madam,' she said. 'What is your honoured name?'

'Just call me Emma, not madam,' I said. 'I'm nothing special.'

She gasped and fell to her knees, quickly saluting. 'Forgive me, my Lady, I did not know. I am doubly honoured-the Dark Lord and the Dark Lady in one room.'

'You don't need to kneel to me,' I said, exasperated, 'I'm just a human. Come on, I'll take you home.'

I checked my watch. 'Seven thirty. She's half an hour late.'

'Something happened to her,' Michael said.

'Go,' John said. 'I'll stay here with Simone.' He glanced at me. 'Take your weapons with you. I think you may need them.'

There was no answer from the Leungs' flat when we buzzed the intercom. We shared a look. Michael concentrated and the front door clicked open. There was no security guard this time.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Leo said as we went up in the lift.

It was completely silent on the nineteenth floor. We came to the Leungs' apartment and stopped dead. Mrs Leung's door had been splashed with red paint: a Triad warning sign. The metal gate hung open, but the wooden door inside it was closed.

Michael concentrated again. The latch sprang open. He carefully pushed the door open with PK; the paint was still wet.

They'd killed Mrs Leung in her fox form and then skinned her. Her husband lay dead beside her in a pool of blood.

The old woman was dead in the kitchen doorway. The Indonesian domestic helper was in the kitchen, decapitated.

We checked the apartment thoroughly, carefully not touching anything. Helen was gone.

Michael locked the door behind us as we went out and we returned to the Peak without saying a word to each other.

Back home, I sat down in the chair on the other side of John's desk. 'We keep making major mistakes,' I whispered. 'We should have brought her family in right away. We shouldn't have waited.'

'Making mistakes is what makes us human,' John said. 'You can only do what you feel is the right thing at the right time. Sometimes it is the wrong thing.'

I glanced up at him.

'This is just one of many, many mistakes I have made in my life that have caused untold suffering to countless people,' he said, his voice mild. 'I could sense the death on her, but I hoped that we could protect the husband and child if we kept the situation normal so that the demons would not notice. I was wrong.'

'You can sense death on a person? You knew knew she was going to die? Why didn't you say something?' she was going to die? Why didn't you say something?'

'What would I say? "h.e.l.lo, Mrs Leung, you are going to die today"?'

I stopped dead. 'Can you sense death on any of us?'

He gazed silently at me.

'Answer me!'

'Yes.' He tied his hair back. 'We are all surrounded by death. There is so much death in this household that it is difficult to say where and when and who. I will die. Leo will die. You and Simone...' He took a deep breath and exhaled. He shook his head and the anguish showed, just for an instant. 'I hope not. I cannot tell. There is too much death. Everywhere. And I am not perfect.'

'But you've attained perfection,' I said, bewildered. 'You've attained the Tao.'

'And I am not perfect,' he said. 'Nothing on the Earthly is.' He leaned back and sighed again. 'Fate has a hand, even for things as powerful as me. All we can do is try to make the best decisions we can with the information we receive.'

'And people die,' I whispered.

'Yes,' he said. 'And death is part of life.'

'Yang and yin,' I said.

'Exactly. Yang and yin.'

CHAPTER TEN.

Simone and Michael finally fell out of bed at eleven o'clock on Sat.u.r.day morning. School had worn them out, and they'd both stayed up late the night before. Thank G.o.d the term was finished. They really needed the break.

I found them in the kitchen, bickering over their cereal.

'Don't call me squirt!' Simone snapped.

'What do you want me to call you? Princess Princess?' Michael said, glowering.

Simone straightened. 'Well, I am am.'

'Simone! Cut it out, both of you.' I sighed. Michael particularly wasn't a morning person. 'Michael's a prince anyway. You're both very special.'

They glared at each other. Simone poked her tongue out at Michael, who turned back to his cereal and pointedly ignored her.

'Ah Yat,' I said, 'where's Lord Xuan? I just had a call from the Academy; he was supposed to be there and never turned up.'

'The Lord is still sleeping, ma'am,' Ah Yat said with a smile.

I glanced at the clock over the kitchen door. Eleven o'clock and he was still sleeping? Simone looked worried. I tried to control my face.

'What?' Michael said.

'That's very late,' I said. 'He wasn't up late last night either. Where's Leo, Ah Yat?'

'In the training room, ma'am,' Ah Yat said, the smile gone. 'Is the Dark Lord all right?'

'I hope so,' I said softly. 'He is is just sleeping?' just sleeping?'

Ah Yat's eyes unfocused, and she nodded.

'We should go and have a look, Emma,' Simone said.

I hesitated.

Simone rose and took my hand. 'Come on, Emma, you're nearly married anyway. It's okay. He won't mind.' She sounded much more mature than her six years. Her eyes unfocused, then she snapped back. 'I told Leo.'

We went down the hall together, leaving Michael in the kitchen, his expression grim. Leo met us outside the training room.

'He has been sleeping much more lately,' Leo said. 'Most days last week he wasn't out of bed before we took them to school.'

I nodded. He was right.

'He said to call the Lady if he went into a coma,' I whispered.

Leo's face went rigid. 'Oh my G.o.d.'

'Let's go and see if he's okay,' Simone said, pulling my hand. 'Come on, Leo.'