Blue Dragon

looking up. He smiled gently at his hands. ‘I want you to promise that if you do have to go to him, you will pretend. So that he won’t give you to the Mothers. Make him think he has won you over.’ He raised his head to gaze at me. ‘Pretend. Until I return. Make him think he’s won. And when I return, you can hold him to his word to release you.’
    I sat there, completely stunned, staring at him.
    ‘Promise me, Emma,’ he said. ‘Anything is preferable to you being given to them. Anything. Give me your word.’
    I struggled to speak.
    ‘Please do this thing for me, my Lady. I do not wish to see you harmed. He will not hurt you. You will be safe. Simone will be safe. That is all that is important.’
    I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t do it.
    Suddenly John’s head snapped up. He shot to his feet, vaulted over the desk, and raced out into the hall. I ran to follow him. He went into the living room, where Leo waited for us.
    Leo fell to his knees. His face was full of anguish.
    I had a sudden, horrible, sinking sensation. Simone wasn’t with him .
    ‘Where is she?’ I yelled. I crouched in front of Leo, grabbed his arm, and shouted into his face. ‘ Where the hell is she ?’
    ‘She is with Ming Gui,’ Leo said, his voice hoarse. ‘While we were at the playground, he appeared. He said hello, she ran to him, he took her hand and they both disappeared.’ He dropped his head. ‘I didn’t think fast enough. I should have grabbed her.’ He sagged over his knees. ‘I have failed. Again.’
    ‘Martin won’t hurt her, John, she’ll be fine,’ I said, pulling myself to my feet with relief.
    John wasn’t convinced. ‘What if he’s taken her to Number One? To swap her for my head?’
    ‘Would Number One do that? He’s renowned for being honourable.’
    John moved to sit on one of the couches. ‘I don’t know.’ His eyes turned inward. ‘She says she’s okay; they’ve gone out for something to eat.’ He snapped back to Leo. ‘Michael?’
    ‘Michael followed them, my Lord.’
    ‘Michael travelled?’
    Leo nodded, still on his knees.
    ‘He has had no training. He could quite easily kill himself.’ John concentrated. ‘Found him. But he lost track of Simone. Wait.’ He was silent, focusing. ‘He wanted to return directly but I’ve told him to come the long way. It will take him a while, he’s on Kowloon side.’ He concentrated again. ‘Simone says she’s okay.’
    ‘Ask her where they are, John, and we’ll go and get her back.’
    John’s face went rigid. ‘She won’t tell me. She says she’s fine, she’s having fun.’
    My blood went cold. She was just being a perfectly normal six-year-old girl who loved her big brother. ‘Can one of the staff track her down?’
    ‘Not if she doesn’t want them to.’ John’s eyes unfocused again. ‘She’s telling me to leave her alone. If she is harmed in any way by your actions, Leo, I will have your head for this.’
    ‘I’ll present it to you myself,’ Leo whispered.
    ‘There’s nothing we can do. We’ll just have to wait,’ John said.
    Leo rose and moved to sit next to me, putting his arm around me. I wrapped my arm around his waist and we held each other.
    ‘I have a really, really bad feeling about this,’ I whispered.
    The doorbell rang.
    ‘Everybody get weapons now ,’ John said. ‘It’s a huge demon.’
    ‘One Two Two?’ I said. ‘Why here, now?’
    ‘It’s not One Two Two,’ John said grimly. ‘It’s Number One.’
    ‘What’s he doing here?’ I said as I rose to get my weapon. Leo waved me back and went into the training room to collect them.
    John went to the front door, grabbed Dark Heavens from its clips, then threw the door open.
    Number One stood on the other side of the gate, smiling without humour. ‘I think you need to hear what I have to say.’
    ‘Come in.’ John opened the gate and Number One entered. He went into the living room and sat on one of the couches.
    ‘Your son has been duped.’
    ‘What?’ John said, standing over him.
    ‘One Two Two is immensely powerful. I don’t know what it’s done to itself, but it can do astonishing things. It took my form, promised your son it would not harm the child, and said that if Ming Gui took her to a place it knows, she would be safe and protected and they could spend some more time together.’
    I took a huge deep breath. ‘Martin’s taking Simone to One Two Two ?’
    I heard a clatter behind me. Leo stood in the doorway, the