Blue Dragon Part 47

I wiped my eyes. Leo turned to go out. As he pa.s.sed John, John put his hand on his shoulder and they shared a look that spoke volumes. Then John released Leo's shoulder and Leo went out.

John came and sat on the bed, far enough away not to hurt me. 'You dreamed you were the Serpent,' he said, and it wasn't a question.

I just nodded. Then I glanced at him. 'How did you know?'

'Emma can't do telepathy, but the Serpent obviously can,' John said. 'We all saw it. Simone's in with Ah Yat, too terrified to come near you.' He glanced down. 'Leo came in first, and saw the snake. He went to you anyway. Then you changed and grabbed him.'

'Oh my G.o.d,' I said softly. 'He came to me anyway, even though I was a snake?' I shook my head with disbelief.

John concentrated, and I heard a soft sound in the hallway outside the door. 'Emma?'

'Come in, Simone, I won't hurt you,' I said, full of misery.

Simone crept in, and then her little face filled with relief when she saw it was me. She threw herself into my arms. 'You dreamed you were a snake, Emma. You were killing your friend. It was horrible.'

'I know, pet,' I said, burying my face in her hair. 'It was horrible for me too.'

'It was just a dream,' John said. 'In dreams, we have no control. Emma would never hurt her friend or the baby in reality. Do you understand?'

I clutched Simone and both of us nodded.

Simone pulled away to smile at me. She put her little cool hand on my cheek. 'Daddy's right, Emma, don't be afraid. Your snake won't hurt anybody you love. It was just a dream.'

John moved closer and put his arm around my shoulders and the three of us held each other.

'Daddy, can I sleep in your bed tonight?' Simone said, her voice m.u.f.fled.

'No,' John said. 'I need to sleep well and rebuild my energy. I'm sorry, sweetheart.'

'I understand,' Simone said. She glanced up at me. 'Emma?'

I hesitated, then decided. 'I nearly hurt Leo while I was dreaming, sweetheart. I don't think it would be a good idea.'

Simone dropped her head and nodded into my chest.

'Go and ask Leo,' I whispered.

'Leo says I kick too much.'

'I think, tonight, he won't care,' John said. 'I think he'll be glad to have you safe there with him.'

The Sat.u.r.day after I returned from the Tiger's palace, I sat with Leo in his office during the morning break between cla.s.ses and we had a coffee. It was one of the first times since my return that we could talk in peace and privacy. School was nearly finished for the year and we were making arrangements for the holidays.

'So we'll continue the roster,' Leo said. 'Just not staking out the school any more, minding her at home instead.'

'Works for me. She can come down to the Academy sometimes too.'

'Mr Chen said that's okay?'

'He said he'd prefer her here actually. With the Masters around her, on call.'

'What about Michael?'

'He can go to the Western Palace for a while,' I said. 'I've made arrangements: some time with his father, some with his mother. He'll be helping out in her shop, in between cla.s.ses here at the Academy. He's asked to do some intensive energy work and advanced Weapons during the holidays. But the first three weeks he'll be in the West.'

'I'll miss him,' Leo said. 'He's good company.'

I nodded. I understood. I'd miss Michael as well.

Leo's face grew serious and he leaned over the desk to speak intensely to me. 'Any more dreams?'

I ran my hands through my hair. 'No.'

He leaned back. 'Probably caused by the s.h.i.+ft in location, and the stress that you've been through-when that demon poisoned you. You'll be fine.'

I sighed. He was right. 'I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes, Leo.'

Leo smiled slightly, his small brown eyes sparkling.

Gold interrupted us. Lady Emma, are you free to talk? I have something I would like to ask you. Lady Emma, are you free to talk? I have something I would like to ask you.

I tapped the stone to wake it. 'Can you talk to Gold, or should I call him?'

The stone paused, checking. 'No, I can talk to him.'

'What, Emma?' Leo said.

'Gold,' I said. 'Wants to ask me something. I'll get him to conference call. Tell him to talk to Leo too, stone.'

Okay.

'This would be easier using the phone,' Leo growled.

I have seen an extremely talented pract.i.tioner, Gold said, ignoring him. Only been learning a year, but appears to be close to generating energy already. Very talented at hand-to-hand. I'd like to bring her in. Only been learning a year, but appears to be close to generating energy already. Very talented at hand-to-hand. I'd like to bring her in.

'Where are you?' I said.

Christchurch.

'Where the h.e.l.l is that?' Leo said, still growling.

'You American American!' I said with scorn. 'It's in New Zealand. I can't see the problem, Gold. Does the family object? And if they do, why are you asking us? You know that if the family objects that's the end of it.'

She is twenty-eight years old. Married. Separated. Divorce will be final very soon.

'Children?' I said.

Of course not.

'Too old,' Leo said. 'Waste of time.'

'Talented at hand-to-hand?' I said.

Exceptionally talented.

'Bring her in,' I said. 'Not a problem at all.'

'She's too d.a.m.n old, Emma,' Leo said. 'She'll be a total waste of both our time. Don't worry about it, Gold.'

'You think if somebody's twenty-eight they can't learn to generate energy?' I said.

'n.o.body who started above the age of about twenty-two has ever made it,' Leo said with conviction. 'Ever.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' I said. 'You can start it older than that, it's just harder. We should give her a chance. Gold.'

My Lady.

'Ask her if she wants to come. She may need some convincing-'

They always do, ma'am.

'But get her to come. I want to teach her.'

'You are totally wasting your time, Emma,' Leo said. 'It's just not possible. Absolute maximum is twenty-five.'

'Absolute maximum?' I said.

'Absolute.'

'I bet you a beer that there's been a student who did it older.'

He walked right into it. 'No way. You're mixed up. We sometimes take older people for hand-to-hand, but n.o.body for energy that's older than twenty-two.'

'I bet you a beer. Older than twenty-five. Generated energy for the first time.'

He eyed me sceptically. 'Human?'

I nodded. 'Human.'

He pushed his huge dark hand over the desk and I shook it firmly.

'Okay then, smarty chick, who?' Leo said.

I crossed my arms over my chest. 'Me. I was twenty-nine when I generated my first chi.'

He looked at me blankly. Then he grinned. 'But you're not human.'

'd.a.m.n straight I am.'

'You're a G.o.dd.a.m.n snake snake, Emma. You're not human, and that's why you could do it.' He waved his hand over the desk at me. 'Look at you. Completely cold-blooded. One minute freaking out about your weird dreams, the next minute making stupid d.a.m.n bets that you've obviously lost, because you're not human not human.'

'I. Am. Human. And you owe me a beer.'

'I want a second opinion as to your humanity,' Leo said sternly. 'Lord Xuan.'

'Whoa,' I said. 'High stakes. Okay, a beer and dinner as well. If he says I'm not human, I'll buy.'

Leo pushed his chair away from the desk and rose. 'And if he says you are human, I'll buy. Let's go.'

John was sparring with the Weapons Master, Miss Chen. She swung a vicious metal spiked chain whip with three hooks on the end. He was bare-handed.

I winced. If she hit him with it, anywhere along its length, it would shred him. The spikes were on every link of the chain, razor-sharp and more than two centimetres long.

'He is completely crazy,' Leo said softly beside me, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorframe. 'Overconfident.'

Miss Chen was a tiny Chinese woman, around one and a half metres tall, who appeared to be in her early sixties with a round, grandmotherly face and a plump, matronly figure. Her hair was braided into a long queue that was almost completely white. Like most things on the Mountain, though, she was much more than she appeared. As Master of Weapons she was matched in skill only by John himself. The chain whip was one of the most difficult weapons of all to master.

Chen swung the whip at head height and John ducked easily underneath it. She snapped it back immediately, again at head height, and he back-flipped. The chain spun between his head and his feet, missing both completely. He landed on his feet facing her, spread into a standard defensive position.

She snapped the whip back and paused.

Neither of them moved.

She performed a magnificent handless cartwheel and snapped out the whip just as her head brushed the floor. The whip snaked across the floor and wrapped around John's ankle. As soon as her feet hit the floor she snapped the whip back, but it was too late. He back-flipped again, using his bound ankle to jerk her off her feet. She fell onto her belly and slid across the floor, eventually conceding and releasing the whip.

The whip spun in the air as John flipped, and he somehow snapped his ankle so that the whip was released and coiled into his hand. He landed on his feet, once again in a defensive position, holding the coiled whip in his left hand.

'd.a.m.n,' she said loudly. 'You do that every single time.'

'What, win?' he said, relaxing out of the stance.

'Yeah,' she said, pulling herself to her feet and accepting the whip from him.

'Overconfident?' John said.

'Are you injured?' I said.

'It's nothing.'

'What?' Miss Chen said fiercely. 'What do you mean, nothing nothing?'

'I knew it!' I shouted, racing as close as I could to John. I pointed at the ankle that had taken the whip. His black pants were shredded and dark with blood. 'Look. Bleeding. You stupid G.o.dd.a.m.n Turtle, I will kill kill you! Quick, look at it, Leo.' you! Quick, look at it, Leo.'

Leo knelt and John tried to pull away. Miss Chen grabbed him and held his wrist. 'You stand right there, Dark Lord,' she said grimly. 'Don't you dare move.'

Leo pulled the bottom of John's track pants up and hissed. I knelt beside him and watched. 'Some of these are nearly two centimetres deep. He'll need st.i.tches,' Leo said.

'Get Meredith,' I said.