Blue Dragon

condensation. The demons raced away from it, a flowing wave of panic.
    ‘Oh good ,’ Wong said with satisfaction. ‘I was wondering when it would turn up. This just gets better and better.’
    The darkness coalesced into an enormous black turtle, its shell glistening with moisture. It was about five metres long. Its head was pointed and vicious. Its shell was curved and black. Its enormous feet were clawed.
    The demons rushed away in panic. Most of the demons disappeared. It was faster than those that were left; it turned and raced right into the middle of them, grabbing them and snapping them in half with its enormous razor-sharp beak, one after the other. They didn’t have a chance.
    The demons began to scream and there was a crush at the door as they tried to get away.
    The Turtle generated a blinding beam of chi and sent it through them, destroying every demon it touched.
    Wong rose and sauntered down the stairs to face the creature.
    It moved towards him, its mouth open, its huge beak razor-sharp. It wasn’t slow; but it wasn’t as fast as John was in human form. The remaining demons cowered against the walls.
    Wong stopped in front of the creature, totally unconcerned. He concentrated and raised his arms.
    The Turtle opened its mouth wider and a blast of pure white shining energy shot out, straight at Wong. Wong disappeared in the brilliance.
    The Turtle closed its mouth and the beam of light stopped.
    Wong was still there, smiling.
    The Turtle moved closer. Wong didn’t attempt to move out of the way. A light blue aura grew around hishead. He smiled beatifically and the light surrounded him. It was full of crackling bolts of energy. He lowered his head and concentrated, and the energy quickly rushed to his hands, forming a huge ball of something that resembled chi, but a delicate shade of pale blue.
    He smiled and raised his head to study the Turtle. He lifted his arms, still holding the huge ball of energy in his hands, closed his eyes and threw his head back. The energy went black. It streamed from him straight at the Turtle’s head.
    The Turtle raised its head and opened its mouth, a black shadow within the darkness of the energy. Its edges turned blue, then it shredded in the blast.
    It dissipated. It was gone.
    ‘No,’ I moaned. ‘No.’ I took a deep, gasping breath. ‘Oh God, no.’
    ‘I am the most powerful thing that Hell has ever produced,’ Wong said. ‘Even the Xuan Wu is no match for me.’
    He proceeded up the stairs to me.
    ‘He was weak,’ I said loudly. ‘When he’s back to full strength, he’ll come after you and tear you into very small pieces.’
    ‘I really hope so, because his cage is nearly ready,’ Wong said as he seated himself on the throne. ‘Now. Let’s get to work.’
    I bided my time. As soon as he brought in Simone and Leo, I would use the Destroyer to free us all.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
    ‘ L isten up,’ Wong said conversationally.
    The demons moved forward to hear him.
    ‘There will be some changes. The King was old and stupid. Times have changed. We are mobile, we are active, and we will use the new technology to its fullest.’
    None of the demons moved or spoke.
    ‘We will travel to the four corners of the world. We will negotiate with the other Centres. We are going to take control.’
    There was complete silence.
    ‘Work is to start immediately on the construction of new hybrids. The old way is gone. There is a new way now. My way.’
    ‘Lame,’ I said under my breath. ‘You’ve been watching too many Hollywood movies. You need a better scriptwriter.’
    The doors flew open at the other end of the hall. There was a huge commotion, but I couldn’t see what was causing it. Then demons began to disintegrate. Blinding white flashes of light burst through their ranks and destroyed them.
    ‘Holy shit!’ Wong shouted. ‘What the hell is that? ’
    The source of the flashes cut a swathe through the demons. The beams of light went upwards and outwards and destroyed everything in their path.
    ‘Stop it!’ Wong yelled. ‘Whatever that thing is, get in there and stop it!’
    Two of the senior demons raced down the stairs, weapons in hand. They were destroyed before they were within three metres of it.
    A figure emerged between the remaining demons and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. It was Simone. She was wearing her school uniform. A glowing white aura of shen energy surrounded her as she floated slightly above the floor, her arms out from her