Blue Dragon

Internal Eye on him, but his energy level felt like that of an ordinary stone. He didn’t feel special at all.
    ‘He’s okay,’ the stone said. ‘Just exhausted. Put him on one of the beds. He’ll take human form when he’s strong enough, and he can rest.’
    ‘Stay here, everybody,’ I said. ‘I’ll pop him on my bed, he’ll be fine.’
    ‘Is that Gold?’ my mother said. ‘You said he was a stone.’
    ‘Yes, it’s Gold,’ I said.
    ‘Wait.’ John came to put his hand on Gold.
    ‘Is he okay?’ my mother said.
    ‘Emma’s correct,’ John said. ‘Drained. He’ll be okay. He must have used energy to defend himself. Lay him down, he’ll be fine in about four hours.’
    ‘Can you feed him energy?’ I asked the Tiger.
    ‘Nope,’ the Tiger said. ‘He’s a stone. Completely different type of Shen. The chi is the same, but our natures are incompatible.’
    ‘Can I feed him?’ I said.
    Both John and the Tiger snorted with amusement.
    ‘Not a good idea, I think,’ John said. ‘He’d find that more embarrassing than coming around in your bed.’
    ‘Hop in with him,’ the Tiger suggested. ‘Freak him out when he wakes up.’
    ‘You’re worse than Leo,’ I said, and turned away to take Gold to my room.
    ‘Emma,’ John said, and I turned back. ‘Gold will be very weak when he comes around and probably won’t be able to conjure the clothes. Cover the stone.’
    I shrugged. ‘Okay.’
    When I was in the spare room where I was staying I laid Gold gently on the bed, roughly where his chest would be, and pulled a light sheet over him.
    ‘Is he all right like that?’ I said.
    ‘Yes,’ the stone in my ring said.
    I hesitated, watching him. He had nearly given his life for my family.
    ‘I’ll really miss him when he’s freed,’ I said.
    Gold transformed into his human form, lying on his side under the sheet. He turned onto his back and looked at the ceiling, puzzled.
    ‘Why?’ the stone said.
    I knelt next to Gold and took his hand. He smiled at me, heaved a huge sigh, turned his head away and closed his eyes.
    ‘Because I really like having him around,’ I said.
    Gold shot upright to sit and cast around the room.
    ‘Rest,’ the stone said. ‘I’ll handle it.’
    ‘What?’ I said.
    ‘I am in big trouble,’ Gold said softly, and fell back onto the pillow.
    ‘You’ll be fine,’ the stone said. ‘Rest.’
    ‘Am I in Lady Emma’s bed?’ Gold said.
    ‘Yep, quite a coup,’ I said. ‘Something to tell your friends. Rest now. Whatever the problem is, we can handle it.’
    ‘Go quietly into the living room, Emma,’ the stone said, very softly. ‘Let’s not wake it up just yet.’
    As I entered the living room, John was kneeling in front of Amanda and smiling kindly at her.
    ‘Hello, Amanda,’ he said, very gently. ‘My name is John Chen and I’m the one that’s promised to marry Emma. I’m a Shen, a spirit. The closest word you have in English is “god”. Please stay very still. It is vitally important that you don’t move or speak.’
    Amanda’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t move. Little David sat quietly on her lap.
    ‘Is Amanda a Shen? Or something like me?’ I whispered as I approached them.
    ‘No,’ John said, without turning away from Amanda. ‘Where did she get her pendant, Alan?’
    ‘I gave it to her,’ Alan said. ‘I found it in an antique shop. It was ridiculously cheap for such a large opal, so I thought it must be a fake or something. But it looked good so I bought it for her anyway.’
    ‘Her opal is a Shen?’ I whispered.
    John nodded without turning away from Amanda. ‘Southern Shen.’
    ‘It will be beyond pissed when it wakes up and finds that we’ve moved it so far from its Centre,’ the stone in my ring said softly.
    ‘Can you take it back without waking it?’ I said.
    ‘Nope,’ the stone said. ‘And I know this one too. It has a temper to rival yours, my Lady.’
    John concentrated and Leo came out from the hallway.
    ‘Don’t move, Amanda,’ John said quickly when he saw her reaction. ‘This is Leo, our guard. He can take your boys and care for them while we sort this out.’
    Amanda shook her head without speaking.
    ‘Let him, Mandy,’ I whispered. ‘He’s great with kids, he looks after John’s daughter, Simone. They’ll be safe with him.’
    ‘Alan, I think it would be a good idea if you were to go too,’ John said.
    Alan hesitated. ‘Will the boys be safe with him?’
    ‘Perfectly,’ Leo lisped.