Blue Dragon

squealed.
    ‘This is a direct order, Michael, Gold. Kill him now,’ John said. ‘Take his head immediately. Do it.’
    When he was on the exit road he raced at a dangerous speed up the right lane, looking for a place to perform a U-turn, but once again the road was separated by concrete dividers.
    ‘Kill him! I know he’s controlled. Kill him anyway!’ John shouted.
    We came to a place where the dividers were removable metal gates rather than concrete, to allow access by emergency services. John put the hazard lights on, stopped the Mercedes next to the dividers, and concentrated.
    The dividers collapsed inward. Every weld on the metal disintegrated, turning the gates into useless pieces of metal pipe. John eased the Mercedes through into the oncoming traffic, ignoring the horns from other drivers. The underside of the car grated painfully on the pipes, then we were clear.
    John took off again, going the other way. ‘Kill Leo now! He’s far too dangerous to let live. Just take his head!’
    We raced for about five hundred metres, then took an overpass to go back on Waterloo Road, in the opposite direction from before.
    John’s eyes unfocused and he relaxed. ‘Michael stopped him. Your parents are okay, Emma.’
    ‘Michael killed Leo?’ I whispered.
    John slowed the car as we merged with the Waterloo Road traffic. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Michael and Gold both disobeyed a direct order and are in serious trouble. Leo is still alive.’
    ‘Were they hit from behind?’
    ‘Yes. Somehow the demons in the car that hit them gained control of Leo. Leo killed the Horseman and was about to grab your parents when Gold and Michael subdued him together. They are both in extremely serious trouble. They should have taken his head when they had the chance.’
    The Horseman next to me hissed under his breath.
    We reached the scene of the accident. John checked them carefully as he drove past the other way, then turned left. We travelled through the quiet backstreets of Kowloon Tong until we found a place where we could turn right to return to Waterloo Road. We passed Kitty Kwok’s kindergarten on the way; it was only about five blocks from the school.
    ‘Were Gold or Michael injured?’ I said.
    ‘Michael,’ John said. ‘Your parents are okay. Gold is uninjured. Apparently Leo received the worst of it.
    Gold and Michael had to use a great deal of force to subdue him, and the demons tried to kill him after he went down.’
    ‘How did they gain control of him?’ I said as John turned on the hazard lights and pulled in behind the ambulance attending the two cars.
    ‘I don’t know. And we may never have the chance to find out, love,’ John said, gesturing towards the gurney being lifted into the ambulance.
    Michael was taken in the ambulance as well, Gold accompanying him. John drove me and my parents directly back to the Peak with the remaining Horseman. The Tiger and Simone waited for us in the living room, quiet and subdued. When we came through the door Simone ran straight to her father. He lifted her and held her close.
    ‘Is Leo okay, Daddy?’ she said into his shoulder.
    ‘Michael says they don’t know yet,’ John said, holding her tight. ‘But Meredith is there, looking after him. We’ll just have to wait and see.’
    She pulled back so that she could see his face. ‘I want to go to the hospital and see Leo.’
    ‘If you don’t mind, Brendan, Barbara, could you care for Simone for a short time while we discuss this?’ John said.
    My parents didn’t say anything, they just nodded grimly. John lowered Simone, and my mother came forward to take her hand and lead her into her bedroom.
    My father turned to speak over his shoulder to me. ‘Don’t worry, Emma, we’re fine. Go and talk to John.’
    John, the Tiger and I went into the dining room. Ah Yat brought us a pot of tea without being asked.
    ‘Is Leo still controlled?’ I said.
    ‘It’s hard to say,’ John said. ‘He hasn’t come around yet. Right now, though, he isn’t capable ofhurting anything. Gold and Michael did an extremely good job on him. They came very close to following my orders. Then the demons tried to kill him outright.’
    Gold appeared beside John, still in his battle form, all of stone. He held his hand out. ‘We stones have been arrogant for years about our ability to transcend normal animal energies. We have thought ourselves aloof and superior. And boy, have we been wrong.’
    Gold placed a small jet-black pebble,