Blue Dragon

moving. ‘It’s okay. I know there probably wasn’t space for all of you in the student room. You’re here every night in the bed with me anyway. This is your room too, really. Go back to sleep.’
    ‘Another coup,’ Gold said softly.
    ‘For both of us,’ the stone said, just as softly.
    It lay back down then turned so that it was facing me and put its arm around me. I spooned my back into it, and it held me close. Gold and the child moved up the bed to make room, resting against the back of my head.
    ‘I should take female form,’ the stone said. ‘This is inappropriate.’
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ I said. ‘That makes no difference at all.’
    ‘Lord Xuan would have kittens if he knew,’ Gold said.
    ‘Of course he knows,’ I said through a huge yawn. ‘Is he still doing sword katas?’
    ‘Yes,’ Gold said, sounding sleepy.
    I didn’t remember anything else.
    I woke an hour later, alone in my bed. The stone had returned to the ring, and Gold and his child were gone. My leg protested as I turned to rise. It had stiffened badly while I was resting.
    ‘How many children did you lose?’ I said.
    ‘We’re not sure, but at this stage it appears that I have lost about fifty or sixty,’ it replied as I went into my bathroom.
    ‘That piece of demon scum is going to die .’ I pulled off my clothes and turned on the shower.
    ‘You forgot to leave me outside the bathroom,’ the stone said.
    ‘No, I didn’t.’ I stepped into the shower, closing the screen behind me, and held the stone under the wash of hot water. Then I reached for the soap with my left hand, moving it out from under the stream.
    ‘Thanks, Emma,’ the stone said softly. ‘The water feels good. I really needed that.’
    ‘I know,’ I said. ‘That’s why I did it. Have you told the Grandmother?’
    ‘Not yet. But when she finds out you can expect some major earth tremors in Central Australia.’
    ‘I’d really like to meet her one day,’ I said.
    ‘One day I must take you,’ the stone said. ‘I think you and she will get along very well.’
    I moved the soap into my right hand and held the stone under the water again.
    I went into the dining room; nobody was there. I slipped through the door into the kitchen. Ah Yat was busy with vegetables for dinner. She quickly pulled down a mug for my tea without me asking.
    ‘Where is everybody?’ I said.
    ‘The Dark Lord is in the training room,’ Ah Yat said, returning to the vegetables. ‘Princess Simone is still at the playground with Master Michael and Master Leo.’
    ‘Where’s Gold?’
    ‘Sleeping, ma’am,’ Ah Yat said.
    ‘Let him sleep,’ the stone said.
    I pottered around, feeling useless, for about half an hour. I asked Ah Yat to check on Simone occasionally. She was fine; she’d been through the shops at the Peak Tower and was playing in the little play area on the roof of the Peak Galleria.
    I went into John’s office and began to tidy his mess. I sorted through the documents; some of them were tasks that weren’t finished. I tried to control my emotions as I put all the loose ends to one side to go through with him.
    The training room door opened and closed, and I poked my head out into the hallway. John had emerged, exhausted.
    ‘Are you okay?’ he said when he saw me.
    ‘I’m a bit stiff but I’ll be fine. You?’
    ‘I’ll live. Stone?’ John said.
    ‘My Lord,’ the stone said.
    ‘Go and have a shower,’ I said. ‘Then we need to sort through the paperwork. We should do it before dinner, have it fixed now. We won’t have time when the Lady returns; you’ll be locked up with her for the rest of the week.’
    He nodded sadly, and turned away to go to his room.
    ‘Emma, sit,’ John said when he returned to the office, his long hair still damp from the shower. ‘We need to talk.’
    I didn’t ask, I just sat. He flopped into his big chair across the desk from me.
    ‘Emma,’ he said, leaning on the desk and looking me right in the eyes, ‘we don’t have much longer. I want you to do something for me after I have gone.’
    ‘Anything, John.’
    ‘I want you to promise me something.’
    I hesitated. ‘What?’
    He looked down at his hands and spoke softly. ‘If you have to go to the King, I want you to promise me something.’
    I leaned on the desk as well. ‘I’ll never fall for that bastard, John, you can trust me. Don’t worry. I know he’s charming, but I can see right through it.’
    ‘I know that,’ he said, not