Blue Dragon

‘She’s only absorbed about a litre.’
    ‘Well, make it go faster!’ Wong said.
    ‘Can’t, we’ll kill her,’ Kitty said. ‘This is already five times faster than any other we’ve done before. Obviously the preparation we did when she was working for me was effective.’
    ‘How long will this take?’ Wong said.
    There was silence. Then Kitty said, ‘About two hours.’
    ‘And we’ll have her when we’re done?’
    ‘Should be,’ Kitty said.
    ‘What do you mean should be? ’
    ‘You know she’s the first adult to survive it. The others died. If she survives it, we should have her.’
    ‘Damn, Kitty, you should never have let her go in the first place,’ Wong said.
    ‘It was really sudden. I wasn’t able to stop her,’ Kitty said. ‘She just turned around and moved in with the Dark Lord without any warning whatsoever. There at work one day, providing samples and being fed like a good little thrall, then not working for me the next. Always was an impulsive little bitch.’
    ‘Do you think she knew?’ he said.
    ‘What we were doing to her?’ Kitty hesitated. ‘If she knew, I think she’d kill herself. I honestly think she loves that bastard more than her life.’
    What were they doing to me?
    I looked around. Then I realised with an ice-cold shock. The IV was black .
    Okay. Deep breaths. I was bound, I couldn’t move. If they moved away, I could try escaping, but with them right on top of me like that it was a waste of time. I moved my consciousness into my arm where they were feeding me with the demon stuff. I felt what was going into me and gagged.
    My head was grabbed and raised just as I vomited. I couldn’t help it. I hoped I’d hit one of them but apparently they were ready for me. I retched for a while, then stopped. They dropped my head. I desperately wanted to rinse my mouth.
    ‘Yum,’ Wong said.
    ‘You are completely disgusting, Simon,’ Kitty said.
    I took deep breaths and weighed my options. I had another couple of hours before they gained control, Kitty had said. I checked my energy level and nearlypanicked again. No wonder it had felt so strange when I healed my face. My chi was disappearing. It was like my dan tian was filling with the black stuff, replacing the chi. About a third was gone.
    I felt my shen. It was perfectly normal. I felt my ching. Same.
    I quickly considered trying to use shen, but dismissed it. Maybe if there was no other option, I’d try. Ching; I knew what would happen if I tried to work ching , with essence. It would be like an implosion. I would die quickly, cleanly and without leaving a trace.
    I thought at the stone. It wasn’t there. No, wait: a very small voice, right on the edge of consciousness. Can you hear me, Emma? Make a sound if you can hear me.
    I made a very small squeak, hoping it could hear me.
    Do that again if you can hear me.
    I squeaked again, and Kitty glanced at me.
    ‘Are we hurting you, dear?’ Wong said into my ear. ‘I do hope we are. Does it burn as it goes in?’
    I am here, Emma , the stone said. I concentrated on its voice, focusing, and managed to bring it to me more loudly. You have only been unconscious for about half an hour , it said. I don’t like the look of what they are doing to you though.
    I asked it a question silently.
    Simone is fine. They haven’t done anything to her. They want control of you first, that way she will cooperate. They have her heavily sedated but unharmed. I think they want to do something similar to her.
    I tried to control my fury. Then I felt a shot of anguish.
    Yes. He’s gone. He was gone anyway, dear. Either way, he would be in True Form by now.
    I thought another question at it.
    Yes. He is in True Form. He is gone, but remember, he will return. Simone is alive. You need to work out what you’ll do. I will do what I can to help.
    Another question.
    What happened? It was all a ruse. That wasn’t the yamen building at all. The Dark Lord was too drained to tell. It was the real Simone, and that’s all he cared about. Even Simone was too distressed to look closely at the surroundings. The demon took the Dark Lord’s head, then they somehow knocked you out and brought you here. You are still under Kowloon City Park.
    I tried not to let my face betray my despair. After all of that we had lost, and Simone was in this demon’s hands. I frantically considered my options. First, get free. Then find Simone. Then get her out of there. Or find the phone and use it. Either way,