Blue Dragon

servants’ black and white. They crept in and smiled nervously.
    ‘Sit,’ I said, gesturing to the chairs across the table from me.
    They shared a look and didn’t move.
    ‘Sit,’ I said. ‘That’s an order.’
    They looked uncomfortable but sat.
    ‘Ceylon tea, brown toast, peanut butter,’ I said.
    They nodded and rose, and I raised my hand to stop them. ‘Not yet. I want to talk to you first. Do either of you have names?’
    They both shook their heads.
    ‘Can you speak?’
    ‘Yes, ma’am,’ they whispered, bobbing their heads.
    ‘When were you hatched?’
    They both opened their mouths at the same time, then the one on the left continued, the one on the right stayed silent.
    ‘I was hatched about three months ago,’ the left one said.
    ‘Six weeks,’ the one on the right said.
    ‘Geez,’ I said. ‘You’re only babies.’
    They remained silent, watching the table.
    ‘I suppose he didn’t have any thralls left after they all turned to us,’ I said. ‘You’re new ones, replacements. Okay.’ I smiled and made my voice more brisk. I gestured to the one on the left. ‘You’re One.’ The one on the right. ‘You’re Two. I’ll name you in Putonghua, I learned some with Simone’s teacher.’ I gestured towards One. ‘Yi Hao.’ Number Two. ‘Er Hao.’
    They both bobbed their heads. ‘Ma’am.’
    ‘I’m completely vegetarian. Chinese vegetarian food. Ceylon tea, or sow mei or tikuanyin Chinese tea. No soda. Mineral water only.’
    ‘Ma’am.’
    ‘How do you go out?’ I said.
    They shared a look.
    ‘Not allowed to tell me?’
    They shook their heads.
    ‘It’s okay, I can’t get out.’
    I had a sudden inspiration. After what had been done it me it was possible that I could get out. I should have a try at teleportation. Waste of time though; I’d vowed to stay.
    ‘What have you been told about me?’ I said.
    They shared another look. Yi Hao, the older one, decided to answer for both of them. ‘You are a fameddestroyer of demons,’ she whispered. ‘You hate all demons with a vengeance. If we survive more than a day in this house we are lucky. You wield the Blade of Destruction; we have seen it. If we anger you…’ She pulled herself together. ‘You will destroy us without a second thought.’
    ‘All of that is quite correct,’ I said with a smile, and watched them squirm.
    Hold on, that wasn’t like me at all, tormenting helpless creatures for amusement. What was wrong with me?
    Wonderful. I really was half demon. Okay; let’s try to control this demon nature and make sure that Emma stays in control.
    ‘I won’t harm you, little ones,’ I said gently. ‘I have tamed demons, and I have had demon servants for years. I have never harmed a single one of them. You are quite safe with me.’
    Neither of them relaxed. They didn’t believe me. Not surprising, after working for Wong for any length of time.
    ‘Go and get me my tea and toast,’ I said. ‘And a copy of the South China Morning Post . And don’t eat all the peanut butter,’ I added with a grin. ‘I know you demons love it.’
    Neither of them moved.
    ‘Dismissed,’ I said gently.
    Both of them rose, carefully pushed their chairs in, bowed slightly and disappeared into the kitchen.
    I furiously beat myself up inside. I had just tortured these two poor infants for my own amusement. I would watch my behaviour carefully and keep this dark stuff under very strict control. I was staying one hundred per cent goddamn pure me .
    Er Hao brought my toast and the paper. I flipped it open. I’d been out of the loop for a few days butnothing much had happened. The government, as usual, was in trouble about something; people were complaining about poor service and shoddy craftsmanship in the letters to the editor; and sports was mainly English soccer.
    The body of a Chinese woman in her early thirties had been found hacked to pieces in a dumpster in Kowloon City, the second murder in six months.
    I knew it was April. I just knew. Now that they had me, and April’s child had served her purpose, they didn’t need April any more.
    The days blurred past. I practised with the Murasame; it had some interesting abilities. I tried different things with the demon stuff; I had some interesting abilities as well. I wrote my story. I read the classics. Wong never came.
    I was absolutely miserable. I missed my family so much it ripped my heart out. The loneliness was soul-destroying. I lost weight. I just wasn’t hungry