Blue Dragon

are.’ He threw the bug demon onto the mat under the mirror and it formed. He released it and it went straight for me.
    I hit it with black chi and the bug changed into a miniature Mother, only about a metre tall. It slithered towards me.
    ‘Again,’ John said.
    I hit it with black chi again, and it exploded exactly as if it had been hit with gold chi, returning the energy to me.
    ‘Different every time,’ I said with exasperation. ‘This is ridiculous.’
    John shuffled in the jar and pulled out a humanoid. He tossed it in front of the mirrors and it formed. He released it and it went for me. I hit it with black chi and it changed into a young human Chinese female of about sixteen years old.
    She fell to her knees. ‘I plead! I swear allegiance! I am yours!’
    ‘Get up,’ John said.
    The demon didn’t move.
    ‘Rise,’ I said, and the demon shot to its feet. ‘Go and take the Dark Lord’s hand.’
    John waited patiently with his hand out. The demon winced. It sidled towards him and took his hand. Nothing happened.
    John’s eyes widened. ‘Emma, what have you done?’
    I moved to John and the demon. The demon still held John’s hand, its face rigid with awe.
    ‘Has it definitely turned?’ I said. ‘It didn’t change to True Form.’
    ‘This is its True Form,’ John said softly. ‘Release my hand, dear.’
    The demon dropped John’s hand, burst into tears and fell to her knees. He stood over the demon, seemingly unable to decide what to do.
    ‘What’s the problem?’ I said. ‘Where will we put her?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ John said. His face was as full of awe as the demon’s was. ‘I’ve never seen anybody do anything like that before.’
    I was thoroughly confused. ‘Like what? I just tamed her, that’s all.’
    ‘Emma, you changed her into a human . She’s not a demon any more, she’s a perfectly normal human female.’
    The demon fell over her knees and sobbed more loudly.
    ‘Holy shit,’ I said softly, studying her. I was speechless. I dropped to crouch so I could face the demon…the girl. ‘Are you okay?’
    She glanced up at me and wiped her eyes, still gasping. Then she threw herself into my arms and held me tight. ‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.’ She pulled away and tried to say something more, but the words wouldn’t come.
    I moved back to sit on the floor and John did too.
    ‘Nobody’s ever done that before?’ I said.
    ‘Nope,’ John said, beginning to smile. He glanced at me, about to say something, then turned back to the girl. ‘You have your freedom now, little one. What will you do with it?’
    The girl looked helplessly at both of us. ‘I don’t know.’ She shook her head. ‘This is all so sudden. I have no idea. It will take me a while to become accustomed to having a mind and a will of my own.’
    ‘You can stay with us until you’ve worked out what you want to do,’ I said, my heart going out to the poor thing. ‘We’ll look after you.’
    She threw herself into my arms again and clutched me. ‘I think I would like to serve you, if you will let me.’
    ‘You can’t,’ I said, holding her. ‘You’re free. You’re not tamed. You’re your own woman.’
    ‘Would you like a job with us?’ John said.
    The girl fell back from me and smiled through the tears. ‘A job ? Earning money, like a human?’ The smile broadened. ‘It’s true. It’s all true. You are the most generous creature on the Plane.’ She shook her head, her face still alight with the beautiful smile. ‘Yes, I’d love a job, thank you, Dark Lord.’
    John pulled himself to his feet and held his hand out to the girl, who took it, still smiling.
    ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ she said softly.
    ‘You’ll need to find yourself a name, pet,’ I said.
    ‘Set her up in the other student room,’ John said. ‘Then I think you’d better take her shopping—she was extremely lucky she was able to conjure the clothes the way she did. I’ll put the jar away, I’ve seen enough. If that happens again, I’ll have to take back the unit downstairs.’
    ‘Come on, sweetheart,’ I said, taking the girl’s hand. ‘I think you need some very speedy lessons on being human.’ I turned back to John without letting go of her. ‘Call Ah Yat, tell her to come into the room and help us. I think she’ll understand.’
    The girl clutched my arm as I took her out, obviously wobbly on her legs. Whether it was from the shock or the change in form it was