Blue Dragon

something for me, Simone,’ John said gently. ‘Try turning the chi white. Don’t turn it into shen; you know what the difference is. Try to make it white.’
    Simone concentrated on the chi, her little face rigid. The chi turned silvery-white, almost identical to shen energy except that it had golden bands through it.
    ‘Very good,’ John said softly. ‘Change it back to yellow.’
    Simone inhaled slowly and deeply and the chi changed back again.
    ‘If you tire too much tell me,’ John said. ‘Now, leave the chi there, concentrate, and move a very tiny part of your shen into it.’
    Simone’s face was stiff but her eyes were very wide.
    ‘Can you move a little more in?’ John said.
    Simone didn’t move.
    ‘Good,’ John said, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. ‘Now. Turn and float the chi gently away from yourself.’
    Simone did as he said, and the chi floated off her hands and moved about two metres away from her. Her face changed from concentration to rapt awe.
    ‘That’s really amazing, Daddy,’ she whispered.
    ‘Slowly call it back,’ he said.
    The chi gently returned to her. As soon as it was absorbed into her hands she flopped down to sit on the sandy ground.
    He crouched next to her and took her hands, studying her face. ‘Are you okay?’
    ‘I’m okay,’ she whispered. ‘Just let me sit, Daddy.’
    He held her hands and concentrated, then gently pulled her to her feet. He led her to one side and sat her under a tree. ‘Ah Qing, could you get her a drink?’
    The Dragon nodded his huge blue and silver head and a sports drink appeared on the ground next to Simone. John opened it and passed it to her.
    She took a sip and made a face. ‘That tastes yucky.’
    ‘Apple juice?’ the Dragon said, nodding again.
    Simone took another sip, then a large swig from the bottle, her throat moving as she drank. She finished, gasped, and smiled up at her father. ‘I’m okay.’
    He took her hand again and smiled. ‘Yes, you are. Emma. Your turn.’
    ‘Is she really okay?’ I said as I approached him.
    ‘She’ll sleep very well tonight,’ he said with amusement, then shared a quick glance with the Dragon. ‘Try.’
    ‘Is standing or sitting better?’ I said.
    ‘Standing,’ John said. ‘The chi starts higher.’
    I nodded, put out my hands and concentrated. I generated a similar-sized ball of chi to Simone’s.
    ‘Can I try to turn it white?’ I said. ‘Is white chi somehow better?’
    ‘Try,’ he said. ‘White chi is much more destructive to demons. In all other respects, the colour of the chi makes no difference.’
    I nodded again, concentrated and turned the chi white. It was much harder than making it blue; it took a great deal of concentration.
    ‘This is like starting all over again,’ I said as I felt the chi trying to move back into my hands.
    ‘Precisely,’ John said. ‘But it’s a useful type of energy to master. Change it back before you drain yourself too much.’
    I released the whiteness of the chi. It went black. I held a ball of roiling black energy in my hands.
    ‘I didn’t know you could do that,’ I said. ‘What is black chi good for?’
    John was silent. I glanced up and saw his face. It was rigid with restraint.
    ‘Stone, are you awake?’ he said.
    The stone didn’t reply.
    ‘Do not move, Emma,’ John said very softly. He gingerly reached out to tap the stone on my finger, carefully not touching the black chi. ‘Stone,’ he said, his voice quiet and fierce.
    ‘I am looking,’ the stone said. ‘Hold.’
    ‘Hold very still, Emma,’ John said. ‘Don’t move, physically or mentally.’
    ‘Is this the first time you’ve seen anything like this?’ I said.
    John was silent but his face said it all.
    ‘Not yin,’ the stone said. ‘Hold.’
    John raised his hand to the chi and the stone yelped. ‘Don’t approach it, Turtle! It will harm you!’
    ‘Oh shit,’ I said softly, trying to retain my concentration.
    ‘Emma,’ the stone said, its voice soft and insistent, ‘turn and see if you can move this chi off your hands.’
    I did as the stone instructed, turning away from John and moving the chi off my hands. ‘It feels like normal chi,’ I said. ‘I can’t feel the unusual colour at all.’
    ‘I wonder what it would do to a demon,’ John said.
    ‘Move it back,’ the stone said.
    I nodded and returned the chi to my hands.
    ‘Do you have a demon jar here, Ah Qing?’ John said.
    ‘Of course not,’ the Dragon