7
S imone pulled herself onto Freddo’s back and he teleported them to the riding trail at the country club.
It was early evening, and the cloudy sky was rose-pink as the sun set. A pair of Asian koels shouted back and forth between the trees, their distinctive calls echoing around the valley that held the country club.
Simone didn’t need to guide Freddo as he followed the bridle trail that passed across the golf course and then through a small glade between the fairways.
‘I saw your face,’ Freddo said as he stepped carefully along the gravel path. ‘You were so disappointed. I’m a demon, and I can visit the Northern Heavens, isn’t there some way for you to go too? Without you being tamed? I was born there and lived there before I was tamed.’
‘Destroying the Demon King made me King-level,’ Simone said, running her hand over the smooth gold of his coat above his withers. ‘I can visit the Heavens with permission—as if I was a King going to parlay—but they have to take down the seals to let me in. While I’m in the Heavens, they can’t put the seals back up again. Daddy tried, and the seals he put up disintegrated. My presence in the Heavens would put everyone at risk.’
Freddo shook his head and didn’t reply.
‘So we have to do as the Buddhas say, and be patient,’ Simone said. ‘You and I both should live long enough for me to clear this stuff out of me so I can return to Heaven.’
His ears pricked up. ‘You confirmed you’re Immortal?’
‘No, but I’m so much demon that I’ll live as long as one. At least a hundred years, maybe more.’
Freddo lowered his head and blew air out his nostrils. ‘At least me being demon is useful for teleporting, and I can help look after Frankie when he’s up in the Heavens.’ He lifted his head again. ‘Incoming. Can you make us invisible?’
‘Not any more,’ Simone said, and a rider turned a corner onto the path in front of them. It was the chief instructor, a local named Daniel, riding one of the club’s eventing horses.
‘Hi, Daniel,’ Simone said, raising one hand.
‘Hey, Simone. Look at you!’ Daniel said with enthusiasm. ‘No tack at all—wonderful training.’ He went serious. ‘But no helmet either, young lady. You know better.’
Simone reached behind her, conjured a helmet and put it on. ‘Yeah, I know. Sorry.’
‘That’s better. Even with a horse as well-trained as Freddo, you shouldn’t be taking chances with your head.’ His expression faltered. ‘Can you stop and talk for a minute?’
‘Uh, sure,’ Simone said, and Freddo stopped so they could talk.
‘My wife and I are leaving Hong Kong,’ Daniel said, his horse shifting with impatience under him and swishing its tail. He raised one hand. ‘We didn’t participate in the protests, so don’t worry about us being arrested, but the environment has become ...’ He searched for the word.
‘Hostile,’ Simone finished for him.
‘That’s the word. The club will be bringing in new ...’ He searched for the word again.
‘Politically correct?’
‘That’s the words again. Instructors from China.’
‘Are you having a farewell get-together?’ Simone asked.
‘No, we’re leaving quietly. We have Canadian passports, but they still may ...’ He hesitated again.
‘They may try to stop you from leaving. I get it,’ Simone said.
He bowed over his horse’s neck to her. ‘I wish you all the best, Simone, and greet your father for me. And if you can leave ...’
‘I’m talking to people in Japan.’
He nodded, satisfied. ‘And you,’ he said to Freddo. ‘Glorious animal. I will miss seeing you around.’
Freddo whickered.
‘I swear sometimes that horse understands us.’ He took up his reins. ‘Please don’t tell anyone I’m leaving, it will be quiet, but ...’ He went wistful. ‘I remember you coming for riding lessons when you were a little tiny thing, galloping around on that fat pony with your father, and then Emma came and made you even happier, and now you have this gorgeous animal ... keep going up and up, Simone. And say hello to them for me.’
‘I will.’ She touched his arm and his smile turned sad. ‘Thank you for everything, Daniel, and if you have any problem leaving, ping me on my phone and I’ll bring my dad in to sort it out for you.’
The sound of hooves became audible from further down the path, and riders speaking Putonghua.
Daniel’s expression filled with concern. ‘Later, Simone,’ he said urgently, nodded to her and pushed his horse into a trot to head back to the stables.
‘I liked him,’ Freddo said when he was gone.
‘Shh,’ Simone said. ‘They’ll hear you.’
Freddo snorted and shook his head.
A pair of riders on thoroughbred club horses came around the corner, still speaking Putonghua. It was a couple of men who she didn’t recognize, one on a bay and the other on a chestnut, so she nodded to them and Freddo moved to pass them.
‘Why are you riding without saddle or bridle?’ the man on the chestnut asked Simone.
‘My horse is extremely well-trained, I don’t need them,’ Simone said.
‘That’s dangerous. He could escape at any time,’ the man on the bay said.
Simone glanced down at Freddo’s placid expression, then up at them. ‘Really?’
Chestnut Man became fierce. ‘You are a danger to yourself and others. You are breaking regulations by riding a dangerous stallion without proper equipment.’
Bay Man chimed in. ‘Return to the office immediately and hand in your ID. You should be expelled for endangering valuable Jockey Club equipment.’
‘What equipment?’ Simone asked. ‘I’m not using any.’
‘The horse!’ Chestnut Man said.
‘He’s mine.’
‘All horses in Hong Kong are property of the Jockey Club,’ Bay Man said smugly. ‘You are mistreating this animal and will be expelled for it.’
‘Not in this case,’ Simone said, fighting to keep her voice mild. ‘Freddo is my personal property. I imported him myself.’
‘Return to the clubhouse immediately to be disciplined,’ Chestnut Man said. ‘You are endangering yourself, your horse and every other rider in the club with your flagrant disregard for safety procedures.’
Simone hesitated, watching them. Both of them were on the boil with this petty power-play.
‘Are you the new instructors?’ she asked as sweetly as she could.
‘ Senior instructors,’ Bay Man said.
She bowed over Freddo’s neck. ‘It’s lovely to meet you. I’ll see you back at the clubhouse.’ She pushed Freddo into a crisp canter to pass them, and their thoroughbreds reacted just as she’d hoped. Both of the highly-strung horses had been fidgeting at standing for so long, and they erupted into rabbit jumps, scurrying in circles, and the instructors had to fight to get them back under control. They yelled for her to come back, which made the horses’ behaviour even worse, but unfortunately neither of them fell off.
‘I need to wear tack to teach Frankie anyway,’ Freddo said with resignation when they were out of earshot.
‘I know you hate it. We’ll find somewhere else,’ Simone said.
There was an email from the Blue Dragon when she checked her computer after dinner.
To: Simone Chen
From: Seiryu Ten
Subject: Re: Re: Shift your doctoral research to Tokyo U.
Can you call me when you get in? I have a place for you at Todai.
xxx Uncle Q
She checked the time—it was two hours later in Tokyo than Hong Kong, but 10:30 pm was still not too late by local standards. She called him on his mobile.
He answered as a video call, showing him sitting at his desk, and she switched to video as well. Qing Long, Blue Dragon of the East, Emperor of Spring and Wood, was in his tall, slender human form with short, blue-tinged hair and bright blue eyes. He appeared to be working late as he was still in his spacious office on top of his office building in Shibuya and wore a grey silk business suit. The city skyscrapers spread behind him, lit up with moving billboards for electronics companies.
‘Simone,’ he said with concern. ‘You okay, little one?’ His expression shifted to disbelief. ‘No. I do not ... I cannot ...’ He straightened and changed to ultra-formal Japanese. ‘The Emperor of the East reminds the Princess Simone that she is to present herself to the Jade Emperor and receive direction to hunt and dispatch a number of demons causing suffering and chaos in the mortal world.’ He grunted. ‘Sorry about that. Ignore—I can’t tell you to ignore it!’
‘I am ignoring it anyway. I refuse. You can ignore it as well,’ Simone said. ‘Dad and Emma will talk to him and tell him to leave me alone. So, about the university ...’
His expression softened, and he switched back to informal Japanese. ‘I heard what happened, that was ridiculous. Your research could do so much good.’
Simone’s throat filled at the support. ‘Thanks, Uncle Qing. University politics, ne?’
‘Stupid,’ he said with scorn. ‘The university year here starts in April, but as you’re a postgrad we can get you in before the winter break. You can do the orientation, have the vacation, then start work on the research. How does that sound?’
Simone wiped her eyes with one hand. ‘That sounds great.’ She remembered. ‘What about marine research stations?’
He waved it away. ‘Let me handle that. If you need resources, you tell me, and I’ll arrange it. Anything you need.’
‘I want to do the work,’ she said with force. ‘I don’t want to coast through it.’
‘Of course you don’t,’ he said. ‘But what you don’t want, is to have to deal with stupid human obstacles, so let me handle that side of it. Let’s see if we can’t save the turtles in this region.’ His smile turned smug. ‘You can call me “Saviour of the Turtles”.’
Realisation filled Simone. ‘Holy shit, Uncle Qing, are you trying to upstage my dad?’
‘Hell, yeah,’ he said with satisfaction. ‘Let’s tweak his scaly tails, shall we? He should have given you more help from the start.’
‘I did ask him to butt out so I could do it myself,’ she said. ‘And now, I hit my first obstacle, and I’m asking for help ...’
‘This first obstacle is big enough to shut the whole thing down, and you—and the turtles—deserve much better.’ His grin turned sly. ‘I have the resources to help, and I’m just assisting my Sovereign.’ He moved his mouse around, checking the screen below the camera. ‘Can you meet me in Ueno Park tomorrow morning, about ten? I’ll introduce you to the biology professor and we can get this underway.’
Simone gasped with relief. ‘Thank you!’ She filled with enthusiasm. ‘I can do it after all. Thank you so much!’
‘Not a problem at all, see you tomorrow.’
*
T he ornamental cherry trees in Ueno Park in the centre of Tokyo were leafless, and the clouds threatened snow. The swan-shaped paddle boats were all locked up to one side, and the café near the water was shuttered. Trees around the lake blocked the view of the high rises of central Tokyo, and the surrounding buildings were all five storeys or less. Some taller residential towers stood behind Simone, blocking her view of the university campus.
The demons had less of a hold on the Earthly administration in Japan, resulting in the fresher air and more vibrant plant life in the park. The smell of diesel and the brown, choking sky were so pervasive in Hong Kong that they were a background to her life. Her father had mentioned that after she had freed the Celestial, there were still demons in control of government positions on the Earthly, and the Celestial administration was quietly removing them as they were identified. This was probably what the Jade Emperor was harassing her about—a demon that was too powerful for the Imperial Guard to handle. She squared her shoulders. She’d done enough for the Celestial, and it was time for her to do what she wanted and take a break from the constant violence of demon destruction. The Jade Emperor could find someone else to do his dirty work.
The Blue Dragon surged out of the water in True Form—the length of a bus, shining blue and silver, and completely unnoticed by everybody around. He changed to his human form—tall and elegant with long turquoise hair and wearing a western-style silk suit in shimmering silver.
He bowed to her Japanese-style, and she bowed back.
‘The Emperor of the East reminds the Princess Simone that she is to present herself to the Jade Emperor and receive direction to hunt and dispatch a number of demons causing suffering and chaos in the mortal world.’ He shook his head. ‘Again! This is—’
‘Ridiculous,’ she said. ‘I refuse.’
‘I am calling your father the minute I’m back in my office,’ he said. ‘Insane.’ He held his arms out. ‘And it’s good to see you looking so well, niece.’
Simone gave him a hug and he patted her back.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll sort this study business out for you. Your research is far too important to be stopped by ridiculous human politics.’
‘Thanks, Uncle Qing,’ she said into his chest, immersed in the floral fragrance that surrounded him.
He pulled back and smiled at her, his blue eyes intense. ‘Let’s go talk to the head of the biology school, he’s a half-human son of one of my dragon daughters. Don’t give him any grief about not being able to transform into a dragon, please, he has a huge inferiority complex about it already.’ He waved airily at a luxury high-rise residential building overlooking the lake. ‘I have a couple of empty apartments in this one. If you want to use one just let me know.’
Simone glanced up. ‘Home is only thirty minutes away ...’ she started, then remembered that home would be empty for at least three weeks over Chinese New Year. ‘I’ll think about it.’
They went through the gardens of the campus, following the wide, paved paths between a mishmash of buildings from different eras. The campus was nearly deserted; the Christmas break had begun, and classes wouldn’t recommence until January. Only postgraduate researchers like herself could choose to work through the break.
The biology building was ten storeys high, square and unremarkable. They entered the single-storey lobby, which was filled with exhibits of the school’s research, bulletin boards, and some small meeting couches and tables. The entire building echoed with emptiness in the absence of the undergrad students. She followed the Dragon to the lifts, up to the top floor and through a secure door to the offices beyond. A brown-carpeted corridor lined with dark wood laminate on the walls stretched the width of the building, flanked by offices for the senior staff. They went to the end and the Dragon knocked on the door of the department head.
‘I can’t speak to you right now, I have someone important coming,’ the professor said through the closed office door.
‘It’s me,’ the Dragon said. The professor’s hurried footsteps approached, and he opened the door.
‘My Lord. I apologise! Please.’ He raced back to the middle of his untidy office and fell to one knee in front of the Dragon, bowing his head. ‘Imperial Highness, Imperial Princess. Welcome. I have all the paperwork here.’ He rose and bobbed his head. ‘A thousand apologies, Celestial Worthies, I just received the message that you would be coming in person. I wasn’t expecting such a distinguished visitor.’
‘Relax,’ the Dragon said, and flopped into one of the visitor’s chairs. ‘Just complete the paperwork, it’s fine.’
‘Of course!’ the professor panted, then raced around his desk and flipped open a manila folder. ‘Imperial Highness Princess Chen Si Min Simone, welcome back. I have your prospectus here and I’ve already approved it. Take these ...’ He passed her a set of documents with many chop marks on them from official stamps. ‘To the administration office on the seventh floor, and they will allocate you a study space. Wait.’ He turned the paper around, found a red pen, and scribbled on it in Japanese with many exclamation marks. ‘This is to ensure that you receive the best study space on the floor, and if it isn’t suitable—’
‘You really don’t need to go to all this trouble,’ Simone said.
‘No trouble,’ the professor said. He pushed the papers to her, and she took the folder. ‘Come back to me when you’re ready to graduate and we’ll do the formalities. Welcome back.’
‘I want to do this the hard way—supervisor, examiners, possibly even publication, everything,’ Simone said.
The professor stopped and stared at her. ‘Why? Provided the research is a valuable addition to the knowledge—in your case to saving the turtles of the South China Sea—the rest is a formality.’
‘The House of the North is famed for doing things by the rules,’ the Dragon said. ‘Be as tough on her as you would on an ordinary postgrad student.’
The professor blinked at his grandfather and his mouth quivered. ‘Yes. Of course, my Lord.’
The Dragon stood. ‘Look after her.’
The professor shot to his feet. ‘Of course, of course.’ Simone stood as well, and the professor came around his desk and put his arm behind her back to escort her out. It trembled against her, then he quickly pulled it away, so he wasn’t touching her at all. ‘If there’s anything you need, my Lady, just let me know. Anything at all.’
She allowed the terrified professor to escort her out of the office, and the Dragon shut the door behind them. ‘He’s so worthless.’
‘What did you do to him?’ Simone asked as they headed to the lift.
‘Nothing, they’re beneath my attention if they can’t transform,’ the Dragon said. ‘It was his mother. Horrified that he was a live birth not an egg, horrified that he’s human and not dragon, and particularly horrified that he’s ...’ He snorted a quiet laugh. ‘... ordinary human levels of average appearance. He was raised by his human father, but she’d occasionally drop in, abuse the hell out of him for being ugly, then leave. He’s scared to death of us.’
‘Charming,’ Simone said.
They entered the lift, and the Dragon straightened his immaculate silk suit sleeves. ‘Do you need me for the rest?’ He waved one hand at the document folder. ‘It looks sorted to me.’
‘I can handle the rest—’
The Dragon disappeared before she could finish.
‘Thanks, Uncle Qing.’
She arrived at the seventh floor. There was a window with ‘Student Administration’ in English and Japanese, and she went up to it. She pushed the document through to the woman on the other side, who eyed her suspiciously.
‘Professor Yoshida gave me this and said you’d arrange a study space for me?’ Simone asked.
The administrator relaxed and smiled when Simone spoke fluent Japanese. She flipped through the documents, then quickly picked up the phone and had a short conversation with Professor Yoshida. She put the phone down, pulled out a binder and placed the documents into it.
‘He said to give you room eight but Mohinder’s in there,’ the administrator said. She closed the binder with a snap and walked around to the office door, exiting to join Simone. ‘He should move anyway.’
She guided Simone down the hall to room eight. It was a small office with carpeted floor and walls covered in the same dark wood laminate, and a narrow window that overlooked the street outside. It contained a simple, battered wooden desk, a filing cabinet and a small, empty bookshelf. A young South Asian man, wearing a khaki turban and with a kind face, was sitting at a desk, flipping through references on his laptop.
The administrator tapped on the open door.
‘You have to move out,’ she said without preamble.
‘No, it’s fine, if there’s another room—’ Simone began, but Mohinder jumped up and desperately began to pack the office.
‘No, no, I can move. I can go anywhere,’ he said in broken Japanese, furiously putting books into a cardboard box. He wrenched the power cord from his laptop, snapped it closed and shoved it into a backpack. ‘I can go anywhere.’
‘You’re set up here,’ Simone said. ‘I can go—’
‘This will be your office, Miss Chin,’ the administrator said, using the Japanese version of Simone’s family name.
‘No problem at all,’ Mohinder said, breathless, as he grabbed the box and the backpack and rushed out the door. ‘I’ll be right back to get the rest.’
‘But you don’t even know where you’re—’ Simone began, and the administrator interrupted her.
‘Cubicle fifteen,’ she said.
‘Got it,’ Mohinder said, and raced away. He returned, bowed to Simone with a smile, and then ran off again.
‘He should not be in here anyway,’ the administrator said stiffly, then became more friendly. ‘This will be your space. Nice to see a good Japanese girl here, the international students are so difficult—I don’t know who is worse, the Indians or the Chinese.’ She smiled at Simone. ‘I hope you do well.’
Simone opened her mouth and closed it again. The administrator was seeing—and hearing—what she wanted to, and Simone would gently correct her about being Chinese later.
The administrator passed the binder to Simone. ‘Here’s all your paperwork, and Professor Yoshida will be in touch soon to arrange your student ID. He says he’ll supervise your thesis personally.’
The administrator went out, and Simone put the binder on the desk. She looked out the small window and saw the street below with a couple of courier trucks and many bicycles parked on it. She brushed her hair out of her eyes, sighed with feeling, and went to the desk and flipped through the binder, then put her head in her hands. She tried to hold the emotion in for a while, then gave up, pulled out her phone and texted Emma.
I could use a heart-to-heart if you’re free, evil stepmother.
She went through the documentation and did ten minutes of the health-and-safety nonsense on her laptop before Emma appeared on the other side of the office and sat across the desk from Simone. ‘You are again reminded to contact the Celestial administration about a most important task.’ Her expression filled with fury. ‘This is completely unacceptable.’
‘Yeah, Uncle Qing did it too,’ Simone said. ‘Looks like he’s ramped it up.’
Emma studied her. ‘What happened? Was your research rejected again?’
Simone ran her hand over her face and felt the damp of tears. ‘I don’t need to do the work. The head of the school will sign off anything. They evicted a South Asian student from this office ...’ She pulled a tissue out of her bag and wiped her nose. ‘I’m receiving special treatment and I don’t want it!’ She blew her nose. ‘If I stay in Hong Kong, I can’t do the research at all. If I do it here, I’ll never know if I’m good enough.’
‘Oh, Simone,’ Emma said, went to her and pulled her into a hug. ‘Do the stupid work anyway. It’s worth it.’
A flash of premonition—something big and bad was coming—hit Simone and knocked the breath out of her. ‘What the hell?’
‘I saw that,’ Emma said. ‘I felt nothing. What was it?’ Emma’s phone pinged and she checked it. ‘Clarissa’s gone into labour. I’d better head back.’
‘Wait,’ Simone said, and held Emma’s arm. ‘Something big. Something bad. And something very close. To us. Our people. Bad!’
‘Family close?’
Simone nodded, choking with fear.
Emma checked her phone again. ‘Oh no. Oh shit. Your Dad’s on the Celestial, in the middle of strategic war games with the Heavenly defences. The Jade Emperor won’t release him for a single human woman, even if she is Michael’s wife.’ She glanced up into Simone’s eyes. ‘I really wish you had your Celestial alignment back, you would be a great help if she’s in trouble.’
‘You and Michael can handle it. Go!’ Simone said, and Emma disappeared.
Simone turned back to the health-and-safety with dread, then gave up, picked up a few documents she’d found in a drawer, and went to the open space in the centre of the floor. There were eight cubicles of desks with dividers between them, none of them occupied. Mohinder had already spread his books on one of the desks and was browsing references on his computer.
‘You forgot this,’ Simone said, placing the documents on the desk. ‘I’m sorry I forced you out like that.’
Mohinder jumped to his feet and bowed low to her, Japanese style. ‘It’s not a problem. I knew it would happen—’ His voice trailed off. ‘You speak Punjabi like ...’ He studied her. ‘You even know my dialect?’
‘No, I’m just a bit of linguist,’ she said. ‘So, what did you do to piss off administration? She really hates you—more than just everyday racism.’
He lowered his voice and looked around, but nobody else was present. ‘I dated a local girl. The love hotel was her idea.’
‘A really bad one,’ Simone said, just as softly.
‘I know. I trusted her. She said it would be fine.’ He wiped one hand over his face. ‘It wasn’t. The hotel owner took our IDs and contacted the university. The university contacted her family—we were in love, you know? We were making plans for after we graduated. I have family in the Netherlands—we could go there together.’ He sniffled and looked around for a tissue. ‘They banished her into the countryside, to live with elderly relatives. I have no idea where she is. I was very lucky not to be expelled, but I’m fully paid up with all my fees until the end of the program, so I’ve just been shuffled way down to the bottom of the list of priorities.’
Simone checked her phone, then realised what she was doing and turned back to Mohinder. ‘Sorry. A very close friend is in labour. She’s like a sister to me.’ She sighed. ‘I won’t have anything done until I’m sure that both she and the baby are okay.’ She brightened. ‘Could you show me around the campus? Where are the good kombini and vending machines?’
He studied her for a long moment, then said, ‘I want to find my fiancée again ...’
She raised one hand. ‘Just as friends. I haven’t made any friends yet, and you’ve been here longer than I have—’
He interrupted her. ‘That’s another bad idea. If you’re seen around campus with me, you won’t make any friends at all. It’s for the best if you avoid me.’
‘I don’t care about that,’ she said.
‘I do,’ he said. ‘So if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.’
He sat again and pointedly ignored her. She sighed and returned to her bare, empty office. She sat at the desk and checked her laptop—5 pm. She decided to shuffle through her research and make sure it fitted the Todai research standards before heading home to Hong Kong for dinner with the family.