Blue Dragon

moved away so that I could sit next to Leo and hold both his hands. Leo smiled slightly at me.
    ‘Look inside,’ John said. ‘Leo, warn her if she hurts you.’
    I opened my Inner Eye onto Leo. I could see the pain and winced. It was torture for him.
    ‘Whoa,’ Leo said softly. ‘That feels weird.’
    ‘You know where the meridians are?’ John said. ‘Meredith’s taught you?’
    I nodded, concentrating.
    ‘Find the meridian that relates to the pain he’s suffering.’
    I concentrated and traced the meridians through Leo. He gasped and held my hands tighter.
    ‘Is she hurting you?’ John said quickly.
    ‘No,’ Leo said. ‘It just feels really strange.’
    ‘Found it,’ I said.
    ‘Good,’ John said. ‘Now, start this very slowly, a tiny amount at first. I will supervise.’ He came around the table, leaned on it and put his hand on Leo’s bare arm, gold on black. ‘Good. Use a very small amount of chi and block the related meridian. Use the chi like a needle, stick it into the points.’
    I found the points along the meridian. I moved a tiny amount of chi into one of the points, and the point lit up.
    ‘Good,’ John said. ‘Move up and fill them all, with a similar amount.’
    Leo appeared to me like an acupuncturist’s dummy, the meridians and points clearly highlighted through him. I moved up the meridian, gently pushing chi into the points.
    ‘How does that feel, Leo?’ John said.
    ‘Absolutely fantastic.’
    John took his hand away. ‘Put a similar amount of chi in again. Double it.’
    I did it again. Leo sighed with bliss. ‘Damn.’
    I saw the ulcers in his mouth and throat. I moved without thinking and covered one of the ulcers with chi, just to blanket it.
    ‘Stop, Emma,’ Ms Kwan said from the other side of the table, her gentle voice urgent.
    I halted, still with the chi over the ulcer.
    ‘Don’t touch her,’ Ms Kwan said before John even moved. ‘Leo, stay very still.’
    We all remained absolutely motionless.
    ‘Move the chi into the centre, then radiate it out,’ Ms Kwan said.
    ‘That’s what I was about to do.’ I moved the chi into the centre of the ulcer, then made it flow outwards until it covered the ulcer. The ulcer disappeared.
    ‘Holy…’ Leo said, then swallowed the rest.
    ‘How much energy did you just use, Emma?’ Ms Kwan said.
    ‘Hardly any,’ I said.
    ‘Continue, if you wish,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Ah Wu, move away. Let me supervise this.’
    I heard them moving but didn’t turn. I concentrated on the next ulcer, moved the chi, and healed it.
    ‘Well done,’ Ms Kwan said next to me. ‘You may continue.’
    I healed the ulcers one by one.
    ‘Cool,’ Simone said softly. ‘That must really have hurt, Leo.’
    ‘Not any more,’ Leo whispered. ‘Hurry up and finish, Emma, I’m starving.’
    I laughed softly, and healed the remaining ulcer.
    ‘Stop,’ Ms Kwan said.
    I hesitated.
    ‘You must be very, very careful removing your consciousness,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Remove your awarenessfrom the Lion very slowly and gently, otherwise you could render him unconscious.’
    I carefully removed the tendrils of my awareness from Leo. I felt his gratitude and smiled. I pulled the remaining essence out and snapped open my eyes. ‘Done.’ I focused on Leo. ‘Have something to eat.’
    Leo didn’t need to be told twice. But he poured himself a huge mug of coffee first.
    ‘Well done, Emma,’ John said from the other side of the table. ‘That was remarkable.’
    ‘Can I do that to myself if I’m injured?’ I asked Ms Kwan.
    ‘Yes,’ she said, smiling. ‘You can do it for just about anybody, except for Ah Wu.’
    ‘This is the part where you tell me that only Immortals can do that,’ I said.
    Neither John nor Ms Kwan said anything.
    ‘Can I learn that?’ Simone said.
    ‘When you’re bigger,’ John said. ‘You need to have very good energy control to do it. Maybe when you’re about twelve.’
    ‘Okay,’ Simone said, and returned to her cereal. ‘Emma can teach me.’
    ‘I’m sure she will,’ John said, his eyes sparkling.
    ‘Hurry up and finish your toast, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘I want to go down to the pool, and see the bowling place. Can we go to the islands tomorrow?’
    ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Leo can stay here and rest today, and go with us to the islands tomorrow.’
    ‘I’m fine now,’ Leo said.
    ‘You still need to spend the day here near me,’ John said. ‘Go out with the ladies tomorrow.’
    ‘My Lord,’ Leo