Blue Dragon

about level fifty.’
    ‘What about the Serpent?’ the Dragon said.
    I started walking again, the Dragon at my side. ‘It’s a lot better. Apparently it’s taken out a whole heap of level sixty-fives with energy.’
    ‘Apparently?’
    ‘I don’t remember any of it,’ I said.
    ‘What are you, Lady Emma?’ the Dragon said softly.
    ‘I wish the hell I knew,’ I said. ‘Want to have a look inside? Xuan Wu’s looked. Bai Hu’s looked. Neither of them found anything except for this enormous damn snake thing, which isn’t there most of the time. My guess is that I’m an engineered demon, ’cause I spent a lot of time with the brains behind One Two Two’s operation before I went to work for Xuan Wu. She took samples off me and a lot of blood. She thought she could control me. They probably did something to me, and that’s why I am what I am.’
    ‘You don’t look like a demon,’ the Dragon said.
    ‘Have a look inside,’ I said. ‘If you can tell me what I am, I’d be absolutely goddamn thrilled.’
    ‘You are sure, my Lady?’ the Dragon said. ‘I would see everything, you know.’
    ‘Everybody else has,’ I said miserably. ‘One more can’t hurt.’
    We were at the boat. Simone was sitting on Leo’s lap and talking excitedly into his face about what she’d done with the Dragon.
    ‘I think I would prefer to have the Dark Lord’s permission first,’ the Dragon said after contemplating for a while. He boarded the boat and took my hand to help me on. ‘After he has finished with Kwan Yin, he can supervise.’ He released my hand. ‘I would love to see inside, I must admit. You are rather like an iceberg, Emma. Nothing much on the outside, but a great deal of hidden depth.’
    ‘Can we have lunch before we jump off the boat, Uncle Qing?’ Simone said loudly. ‘I’m hungry .’
    ‘If that is your wish, my Lady, then it is my command,’ the Dragon said. He gestured and we pulled away from the dock, the demon staff busy with the ropes. The engines roared and the fresh breeze ruffled my hair. I took a deep breath and decided to live for the now.
    The sky was a brilliant crystalline blue, but paler than I was accustomed to. The hill before me rose smoothly, covered in short green grass that almost appeared to be a tailored lawn.
    I felt a jolt of joy. Home! Green and crystal and beautiful. If I could have sighed with bliss I would have.
    I slithered up the hill, enjoying the feeling of the scratchy grass beneath my belly.
    Hundreds of other snakes headed up the hill around me. All about the same size as me, and all as black as I was. We glittered.
    Another snake was close enough to talk to, and I spoke to it without stopping. ‘What’s at the top of the hill?’
    ‘Blood,’ the other serpent said without looking towards me. ‘Blood and power.’
    Suddenly the need for blood, the hunger, was so intense it was almost painful. I slithered faster.
    But I woke before I reached the top of the hill.
    By the fifth day John was a different person. He was lively and happy and sparkled with energy.
    Leo had relaxed as well. He hadn’t mentioned it, but he had been feeling unwell; I could see it. The ulcers had stopped recurring by the third day, and I couldn’t practise my healing skills on him any more.
    On the sixth day John decided over lunch to take a half day to spend with us. Simone was delighted. We went back to Sapi, and John and Simone spent morethan an hour together on the reef. After they had emerged, John and I sat at the edge of the water watching Simone as she played. She had a little net and caught the small fish in the shallows, talking to herself as she did it.
    ‘You eat fish?’ I said.
    ‘Which form?’
    ‘Either.’
    ‘Human, no. Turtle,’ he said as he shifted slightly, ‘sometimes.’ He smiled gently, still watching Simone. ‘I’m not sure you want to know too much about my dietary habits in True Form, Emma.’
    ‘Turtles are cute.’
    ‘Turtles are generally carrion eaters when they crave flesh,’ John said. ‘Cat food is second best.’
    ‘Yuck.’
    ‘You had to know.’ He grinned at me, then his face softened, pensive. ‘Nothing quite like a well-ripened whale carcass that’s been floating in the sun and the salt for a few days. You humans have robbed us of one of our greatest pleasures.’ He laughed, his shoulders moving. ‘It revolted Michelle; she didn’t want to see me eat at all. Good thing I didn’t have both.’
    ‘The Turtle and the