Blue Dragon

dead. I may just stay in Hell.’
    The stone was silent.
    ‘Look after her,’ I whispered. ‘Try not to annoy her too much.’
    I quickly zipped up Simone’s pocket, then jerked my hands away from the pain of the contact. I pressed the button on the phone and lifted it to my ear.
    ‘Goodbye, Simone,’ I said. ‘I love you.’
    The phone clicked. ‘Yes, dear?’
    ‘You have me. I’m yours.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
    I was in a large, elaborate old-fashioned Chinese-style hall with a vastly high ceiling. The pillars and beams were decorated with intricate paintings and good-luck motifs. There were no windows.
    The King stood in front of me. He looked like an enormous Snake Mother, but blood-red instead of black. He quickly changed to human form: a good-looking Chinese man of about twenty-five, with a cheeky, boyish face. He wore a scruffy pair of jeans and a T-shirt, both the deep maroon of dried blood. His short ponytail was the same colour.
    ‘Welcome to Hell, Lady Emma,’ he said, then held out his hand and waited.
    I took out one of my black jade earrings. It was a jade disk, shaped like a Chinese coin: round with a square hole in the middle. The hole was decorated with a large diamond.
    I passed the earring to him. He took it in one hand and held the other hand over it. The diamond, still with the post attached, drifted out of the jade disk into his upper hand. He returned the diamond to me and pocketed the black jade coin.
    I put the diamond back into my ear.
    He held out his hands again. Something small, round and white appeared in one palm, and a glass of water appeared in the other.
    He came to me, hands still out. ‘Valium. Two milligrams. I suggest you take it.’
    I studied the little pill suspiciously.
    ‘I give you my word it is what I say it is, Emma. You have been through a lot. More will happen before you can stop and catch your breath. You will need therapy after what you’ve been through, and I will arrange it.’ He smiled slightly. ‘Take the pill, Emma. It’s a very small dose. It will calm you without making you drowsy. You need it.’
    ‘No, I don’t,’ I said. ‘And I’m still feeling the effects of what One Two Two did to me. Enough drugs.’
    The pill and water disappeared. ‘Let me know if you feel too stressed then. I don’t want you breaking down—there’s a lot we need to do.’
    I stopped and considered, then decided. ‘If that’s the case then wait. Give me a moment.’
    He nodded.
    I closed my eyes. I took all of my remaining energy and moved it into my central dan tian. I focused, and moved it up through the meridians. I took it into my upper dan tian, into my Inner Eye, then moved it back again. I gathered it and exhaled deeply. I was perfectly calm and in control. I only had about half my chi left. The rest was black stuff.
    ‘Well done,’ he said.
    I opened my eyes. ‘Does this mean that I’m half demon now?’
    ‘That’s one way of putting it,’ he said with amusement. ‘What they have done to you is fascinating. I’ve never seen this done before. Try using the demon essence much the same way you would use the human chi. You may find it useful.’ His face softened. ‘I really like you much better this way.’
    ‘You have me,’ I said, ignoring him. ‘What are you going to do with me?’
    ‘Absolutely nothing.’ He turned and gestured for me to follow him. ‘Come with me.’
    I didn’t have much choice. I followed him to the end of the hall. There was a dais raised at least three metres above the floor, with elaborate zigzagging steps.
    ‘Is Simone okay?’ I said as he led me up the stairs.
    ‘Simone is at home on the Peak crying her eyes out,’ the King said. ‘Forgive me, my Lady, but it is not my will right now to let you talk to her. But she is perfectly safe and shall remain so.’
    ‘Who’s with her?’
    ‘Michael. Ah Yat. Gold. Monica will arrive soon. All of her family are around her.’
    ‘No.’ I swallowed. ‘All of her family have left her.’
    ‘Well, you are here now, my Lady, and we shall see what happens next,’ the King said. ‘I’m expecting a very interesting visit soon, because of an oath I made. You should come and watch; this will prove most diverting.’
    A huge Chinese-style throne, at least two metres long, was set upon the dais. It was made of elaborately carved rosewood, the back picked out in gold. But the carving wasn’t the usual dragons; it was Snake Mothers. A couple of demons stood behind