Blue Dragon

illness and grief.
    No wonder everybody had been so concerned about the amount of black jade I was presented with. I felt the earring in my ear. I still had one black jade coin left.
    One afternoon a few days later I heard voices in the living room. I went out.
    Wong and Kitty were there with a few demons, standing around talking, holding large glasses of red wine. At least I hoped it was red wine. Demon cocktail party.
    ‘And here she is,’ Wong said loudly, gesturing towards me. ‘My house guest. May I present the Dark Lady herself, Lady Emma Donahoe, chosen of the Emperor of the Northern Heavens.’ He grinned and lowered his voice. ‘Have a look inside, guys. You have to see this.’
    They all bowed and smiled slightly. Then they studied me. Kitty watched them impatiently.
    ‘ Wah ,’ one of them said. She looked like a slim, elegant, middle-aged Chinese woman wearing a grey silk pantsuit. ‘You did that?’
    ‘Yep,’ Wong said with satisfaction. ‘Unfortunatelythe King made me promise not to hurt her, so I can’t complete the process.’
    ‘Can we talk in front of her?’ a rotund young Chinese man said.
    ‘Not a good idea, I think,’ Wong said. ‘She can’t get out to tell anybody, but we can’t make her suffer at all. It’ll destroy me.’
    The others watched him impassively.
    ‘I know exactly what every single one of you is thinking,’ Wong said, completely unfazed. ‘And remember, without me, you get nowhere.’
    They turned as one and studied me again.
    ‘Why?’ the woman said.
    ‘Oath in blood,’ Wong said.
    The round male demon turned to him quickly. ‘Blood?’
    Wong spread his hands. ‘Hey. I’m Number One now.’
    ‘Can you destroy the blood oath on the scroll once you’ve taken over?’ the woman said.
    Wong turned and grinned right into my eyes. ‘Yes. I. Can.’
    My blood ran cold. I spun and went down the hall into the training room.
    When I had calmed down I kicked myself. They were holding a meeting out there, sharing their plans, and I was in the training room, totally unable to hear them.
    I went back out and down the long hallway. They were no longer in the living room. I had no idea where they were.
    I wandered around, and heard them in the dining room. I pressed my ear to the door. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.
    I tried to open my Internal Eye to have a look inside but it wasn’t working.
    Shit. And I had decided that I wasn’t going to do this.
    I went back to my bedroom and locked the door. I moved to the centre of the room, lowered my head and concentrated. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I knew what I wanted to achieve.
    I gave up. I couldn’t do it. I slithered towards the door. I stopped.
    Okay.
    I opened the Inner Eye and watched them. They didn’t seem to notice my regard.
    Wong was meeting with the four other senior demons. All of them were at least level sixty; lords and ladies. There were two female and two male. The slim middle-aged female and the rotund young male were there. There was also a female appearing in her mid-teens wearing a micro-mini, a bikini top and huge boots; and a male that looked in his mid-twenties with a ponytail.
    ‘I just don’t like it,’ the young female said.
    ‘It will work,’ the round male said.
    ‘What if he has something up his sleeve?’ the young female said.
    ‘He can’t have,’ the middle-aged female said. ‘We hold all the cards.’
    ‘I want a demonstration,’ the young female said.
    Wong rose and smiled grimly.
    ‘No!’ Kitty snapped. ‘Not until the time is ready!’
    ‘Let me show them,’ Wong said.
    ‘No!’ Kitty said again, loudly. ‘Don’t be a fool, Simon. Don’t let any of it be seen until we are one hundred per cent ready!’
    ‘Are you sure you can take him out?’ the young round male said.
    Wong sat back down, but the smile didn’t shift. ‘Dead positive. One, two more weeks, I’ll be the most powerful thing that Hell has ever seen.’
    ‘You’d better be right,’ the male with the ponytail said.
    ‘I’m right,’ Wong said. ‘And you know I’m right. Otherwise you wouldn’t be along for the ride.’
    I had to tell the King. I smiled grimly. The sky was falling, and I had to tell the King.
    It appeared to be an upmarket café in Hong Kong, but the street outside was eerily quiet. Instead of the constant bustle of traffic and pedestrians, the street was deserted. The café itself was empty except for us. It was creepy.
    The King had