Hell to Heaven (53 page)

‘Is it because I’m a chick?’ I said.

‘I do not have an issue with your gender.’

‘Is it because I’m a snake then?’ I moved closer to him. ‘What
is
your issue with me? Can we sort this out before my students get hurt?’

‘All Disciples of the Dark Lord are aware of the risk.’

I paced back and forth across his room. ‘Whatever your issue with me is, please don’t take it out on my students.’

‘Worried they’ll be damaged and no use to you later?’

I stopped and stared at him. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

He put the spoon down. ‘I know what you are. You can stop pretending. You’ve kept it a secret, but you can’t keep secrets from me. I will show all of Creation exactly what sort of monster you are.’

‘I’m not a monster!’

He turned back to his chicken. ‘What would happen if I were to turn my Third Eye on you? Particularly since my Third Eye isn’t hidden away under flesh and bone, it is on the
outside
of my body? I had my Third Eye open when you came to the Celestial Palace, madam, and I saw you for what you are.’

I took a deep breath. ‘I have control of the demon essence.’

‘No, madam,’ he said. ‘The demon essence has control of you. Run back to Hell, because I know what
you are and I will do everything in my power to stop you from destroying the Celestial.’

‘I don’t want to destroy anything!’

‘You are a demon. It is your nature. Stop hiding, I know your secret. Run now, because your students will suffer if you don’t.’

‘What does this have to do with the students?’

He put his chopsticks down and glared at me. ‘The Jade Emperor himself has ordered me not to destroy you. But I will find a way to show the world what you are, and a way to stop you.’

‘The Jade Emperor knows what he’s doing.’

‘He is too distracted, and too busy, and too trusting. I see you for what you are.’ An expression of fury filled his face. ‘Now go back to Hell!’

‘This is between you and me,’ I said. ‘All I ask is that you not bring my students into it. Don’t hurt them. Take me to the Celestial and tell the Jade Emperor your doubts.’

‘I don’t need to,’ he said. He picked his chopsticks up again. ‘Today all the world will see what you are, and you will be destroyed.’

I turned and opened the door, then turned back to him. ‘All I ask is that you don’t hurt my students,’ I repeated.

‘What must be done must be done,’ he said. ‘And you must be stopped.’

I went out and pulled the door closed behind me. I headed for the barracks and the mess hall.

‘Liu,’ I said at the doorway. ‘With me for a moment.’

Liu put his chopsticks down and accompanied me out to the garden.

‘He knows about my demon nature, and he wants to show the world,’ I said.

‘Whatever you do, whatever happens, stay back from any demons.’

‘Look inside me,’ I said.

He put his hand on my forehead and gasped. ‘What the
hell
?’

‘The Demon King took the demon essence out so I could use the jade disk. That
bitch
Kitty Kwok grabbed me while I was unconscious and filled me back up again. With even more. All of the Geek.’

‘Stay well back from anything. You should take serpent form, but even in serpent form you could lose it at any time.’ He walked briskly away then came back again, obviously agitated. ‘You should have told me! You need to spend time on the Celestial in serpent form
right now
if you’re not to change.’ He shook his head. ‘This is insane.’

Meredith appeared next to him. ‘Really?’ She put her hand on my forehead, and jerked it away as if it had been burned. ‘You should go up to the Celestial
now
and cycle down for at least three days to reduce this. How are you staying human?’ She looked me in the eyes. ‘Whatever you do, don’t get angry, or get any demon essence on you. You’ll lose it immediately.’

‘
And
she just ate meat. Alive. Whole,’ Liu said.

‘Well, that is just the icing on the biscuit, isn’t it?’ she said.

‘And the time she spent with the Dark Lord is the coloured sprinkles,’ he said.

Meredith sighed and shook her head. ‘Turtles.’

‘What time is it?’ I said.

Meredith checked her watch. ‘We have about twenty minutes.’

Liu nodded. ‘Time to line them up. Whatever you do, stay calm. Stone?’

The stone didn’t reply.

‘It helped me get out of the demon lab,’ I said. ‘It copied my snake form and then used human form, which seems to wear it out.’

Liu nodded. ‘Nothing we can do to bring it around right now to help you. Looks like you’re on your own. Stay calm, stay chilled, stay focused. And whatever you do, stay well back. Even in snake form you could still be turned.’ He straightened. ‘We can do this.’

The students lined up nervously on the practice field. Er Lang strode out of the house, stood in front of them and put his hands behind his back. He nodded and three young men appeared behind him, as aloof and unemotional as he was. Two were holding a demon jar by large handles; they placed the jar on the ground next to Er Lang. The third carried a folder of documents and passed a sheet of paper to him.

‘Scott Walker,’ Er Lang said.

Our weakest student
, Liu said.
This is deliberate.

Scott stepped forward and stood in front of the group facing Er Lang. Er Lang checked the document he was holding. ‘Chain whip.’

His weakest weapon.

One of the young men assisting Er Lang concentrated and a metal-linked whip with five sharpened barbs on the end appeared in his hands. The chain whip was one of the most difficult weapons to master, and the slightest error in the use of it could cause nasty damage to the practitioner. Fortunately this one didn’t have barbs all the way along its length; but it was longer than standard, making it even more difficult to wield.

Scott stepped up to the assistant, took the coiled chain whip and walked back to face Er Lang. He saluted with the weapon in his right hand.

Er Lang went to the demon jar, opened the lid and pulled out a demon bead. He tossed it onto the ground in front of Scott and it formed into a Snake Mother. Some of the students in the group made quiet sounds of horror. Scott took a step back, then gathered himself and stepped forward again, squaring his shoulders to face it.

‘Ready yourself,’ Er Lang said.

Keep calm, don’t lose it
, Liu said to me.

‘Hold,’ I said. ‘That is too large for this student.’

Er Lang raised one hand and the Mother went for Scott.

Scott uncoiled the whip, swung it at the Mother and it wrapped around her torso, the barbs on the end digging into her flesh. She hissed with pain, pulled them out and used the whip to jerk him off his feet. He released the whip and she tossed it to one side. She slithered up to him, picked him up by the throat and brought his face up to eye level with hers. He fought her, first by kicking at her abdomen and then by making a double-handed blow to her neck, but she ignored him. His struggles weakened, his breath coming in choked gasps.

‘Don’t lose it!’ Liu shouted.

Liu summoned his staff and made for the demon but Tymen, Scott’s friend, got there first. ‘Come on, guys, help him!’ He fell to one knee, concentrated and sent a blast of chi at the Mother. It didn’t do much; Tymen wasn’t competent with energy, he was more proficient at physical. The Snake Mother absorbed it, then threw a ball of black demon essence at Tymen, knocking him flat.

The other students advanced on the Mother, but Liu shouted at them: ‘Get back. Hand to hand will do nothing. Let me.’

He swung his staff at the demon’s head and she blocked it. He went with the movement, letting her carry the staff downwards, then swung it again at her snake end. The staff knocked her sideways and she dropped Scott.

I changed to snake and raced forward to pull Scott away, but the Mother was faster. She grabbed me by the throat and raised me to eye level, studying me carefully.

‘Is this the one?’ she said.

‘It is,’ Er Lang said.

‘This is wrong!’ Liu shouted, and swung at the Mother again. ‘If Emma absorbs any more demon essence she’ll be turned completely. You have to get her away from it. Stop this!’

Er Lang crossed his arms over his chest, his face grim with satisfaction.

The Mother avoided Liu’s blows, then wrenched his staff from his hands and tossed it aside. She grinned, flicking her forked tongue, and gestured a come-on to him.

Liu held out one hand and a sword appeared in it. ‘Drop the snake and I’ll let you live.’

‘Try me,’ she said, sounding like a cat yowling.

Liu unfocused a moment. ‘How many?’ he said. He hesitated. ‘I don’t think they’ll hurt you, honey, just stay put. Don’t fight them.’ He glanced at Er Lang. ‘You have demons menacing my wife and her students. Whose side are you on? Hurt Meredith and all of the Celestial will be down on you.’

Er Lang gestured with one hand. ‘Just do it. Let the world see the truth.’

‘No!’ Liu shouted, and lowered the sword. He turned to the Mother. ‘Drop her! Whatever this Celestial has offered you, he lied! He plans to destroy you. If you free the snake now I’ll give you safe passage.’

The Mother didn’t reply. Her hand closed on my neck, throttling me. I tried to wrap my coils around her arms to stop her, but she was much stronger than me. I sucked the air in, but it didn’t come.

Leo and Martin appeared to my right, both in Celestial Form and armed with their swords. Martin made the Silver Serpent sing and the Mother froze, her grip loosening on me. I took huge sucking breaths and the world became clearer.

‘Don’t kill it!’ Liu shouted, but it was too late. Leo stepped forward and swung at the Mother with Dark Heavens, cutting her in two. She exploded in demon goo and I fell through a rain of foul-smelling blackness, landing with a splash in the venom.

‘No, no, no, no, no,’ Liu moaned. ‘Oh, Emma, no.’

There was nothing I could do. A quiet sucking sounded in my ears as I filled with the essence. I willed myself into a trance, visualising the faces of those I loved. My man, my child, my friends, my students—I had to stay human for them. The demon essence siphoned into me and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I touched the yang inside me but it was at the bottom of a well full of demon blackness. The blackness filled me from the bottom to the top and I drowned in it. I slid into the change as though down a slope covered in oil, scrabbling to stop myself. Then I fell into blackness.

S
omething was holding me. I cast around, fighting the binding. Whoever had me was good. There were lovely young trained humans nearby, and some Celestials. If I could free myself from this binding I could feast, and I was so hungry.

‘I thought she couldn’t be changed as snake,’ the black one said. ‘I thought it would be all right.’

‘Kitty filled her so full that it didn’t take anything to send her over the edge,’ the old one said, and I recognised him as the one that was binding me. I tried to attack him, hissing with frustration.

‘Oh, Emma, what have they done to you?’ the child said, approaching me.

I held back and watched her as she drew near; she was big enough to destroy me, but hadn’t yet. I had a chance at her, and if I could kill her the King would reward me—I might even be able to join his harem. The thought made me itch with need.

‘Stay back, I think she’s completely turned,’ the old one said.

‘What’s your name?’ I asked the child.

‘Simone. Emma, it’s me, Simone. You’re like a mother to me…’

I dropped on my coils and held my arms out. ‘Simone. Come give me a hug.’

She strode towards me with her arms out. The minute she was within reach I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into me, facing her away from me with my hand around her throat. ‘Let me go and I’ll let her live.’

The child became limp in my grasp, then glowed with white burning energy that scorched me. I hissed with pain and released her and she moved out of reach again.

‘She’s turned.’ She fell to her knees on the grass. ‘She’s turned. She’s gone.’ She stood up again, wiped her forearm across her eyes and faced me. ‘What are we going to do?’

The Dark Lord of the North, the Xuan Wu, the most feared of all the Celestials, appeared next to the child.

‘Can you fix her, Daddy?’ the child said.

‘No,’ he said. ‘I think it would be best if you all left while I see what I can do. We need to be very quick, I don’t have much time.’

‘The Demon King,’ the child said.

I hissed. The Demon King wouldn’t help me; he would destroy me for the mistake of being captured like this. His retribution was swift and merciless.

‘I’m not leaving,’ the child said.

‘Neither am I,’ the black one said. ‘This is my fault.’

‘It’s just as much my fault,’ the green and brown Celestial said. ‘I should have checked.’

‘I’ll guard while you sort this out,’ the old one said.

‘Liu, clear the students,’ the Dark Lord said, his eyes intense and fearsome. ‘Get them out of here. If you have a bus, put them on it. Move quickly. If I lose it
before they’re gone, she’ll be unbound. Don’t worry, I have her now.’

Liu saluted the Dark Lord, and carefully walked past me out of reach of my talons. He raised his arms. ‘Okay, kids, you’re with me. Meredith, bring yours too, we’ll get them out of here.’

The Dark Lord spoke to the Green General without looking away from me. ‘Er Lang, for a very smart man sometimes you are very stupid. The Jade Emperor knew all about this.’

‘She’s a demon!’ Er Lang shouted, pointing at me, and I hissed at him.

‘Only because of what you did to her,’ the Dark Lord said.

Er Lang crossed his arms over his chest. ‘She was already turned.’

The Dark Lord spun and glared at Er Lang. ‘No, she wasn’t. She was in complete control. We could have cleared it from her, and now we can’t. You’ve destroyed any chance she had of being human, being a Celestial and being my wife.’

‘You can fix her, Daddy, please say you can fix her,’ the child said, her voice small.