8
T he apartment was quiet when Simone returned home from Todai at the end of the day. Neither Emma nor her father were there, but she sensed Er Hao and Frankie were sitting together in the television room. She kicked off her shoes and went into the room to find them on the couch in front of an Australian children’s show, with Frankie nestled into Er Hao’s side. He jumped up and ran to Simone to give her a hug.
Er Hao muted the television then stood and shifted uncomfortably. ‘I need to prepare dinner, my Lady.’
Frankie spun to stare at her with his mouth open, then visibly cringed.
‘No you don’t, young man,’ Simone said, clasping his shoulder. ‘Nobody’s mad at you, and you didn’t do anything wrong.’ She nodded to Er Hao. ‘Go, but nothing too fancy, okay?’
Er Hao nodded and went out.
Simone pulled Frankie back down to the couch and sat him in her lap—he was nearly too big, but she didn’t care. ‘I know Mum’s still with Clarissa at the hospital, but where’s Dad?’
‘John’s at work, he says he’ll be home soon.’ Frankie never referred to their father as ‘Dad’ or ‘Ba Ba’, because that brought back too many memories of abuse from when the demons had kidnapped him to act as a puppet Jade Emperor. He always called their father by his English name ‘John’ instead, and Xuan Wu was infinitely patient with him about it. Frankie hesitated, then leaned into Simone. ‘Everybody’s really worried about Aunty Clarissa. Really worried. Is she going to die? You can’t die just by having a baby, can you?’
‘It can happen,’ Simone said, wishing that Emma and her father were present—with their Immortal wisdom—to handle this instead of her. ‘It used to happen a lot more, and modern medicine has made it safer, but it still happens.’
‘If she dies ... will she go to Hell?’ He stiffened with shock in her lap. ‘She wouldn’t be with the demons in those ... places, would she? She’s a nice person!’
‘Did you see any of that?’ Simone asked, trying to be as gentle as possible. ‘You never mentioned it before—I know you were down there for a long time, but—’
‘Mummy—fake Mummy—took me a couple of times,’ he said, referring to the previous Demon King that Simone had destroyed. ‘She wanted me to like what happens in Hell.’ He shivered. ‘I didn’t.’
‘Oh Frankie,’ Simone said, and hugged him. ‘I wish I could take all those memories away from you.’
‘No,’ Frankie said. ‘When I talked to Doctor Au about it, she said that it’s better for me to remember everything, because if I blank it out and there are gaps, they’ll come out later and hurt me even more.’
‘She’s right, I guess,’ Simone said. ‘You’re here now, and we love you, and that’s all that’s important, right?’
‘But what about Aunty Clarissa?’
‘She’ll be fine,’ Simone said, hearing the lie in her voice. Clarissa was so incredibly fragile, and Simone could see the future. It was grim. Frankie probably had a good idea about the future as well, given how powerful he was, and that was probably why he was asking.
‘But if she dies? What happens to her? What happens to them? I saw things down in Hell, Simone, and Mum and John won’t talk about it.’
‘I’m probably the only one who can tell you about it,’ Simone said with a sad smile. ‘Because I’m the only one the Jade Emperor can’t order around. He tells everyone else not to say anything.’
‘Yeah, Mum and John said that. They have to do what he says, and we have to trust him, but sometimes he’s really annoying .’
‘Okay.’ Simone shifted him to beside her on the couch. ‘What happens is ...’ She hesitated, to see if she could tell her brother, and relaxed when she could. She was too demon to have any Celestial alignment and owed no allegiance to the Jade Emperor. Up yours, JE, he had no control over her. ‘Good people, like Clarissa, have their memories wiped and they’re reborn to a new life, to have another chance at gaining Immortality.’
‘That’s nasty! Why wipe their memories?’
‘Let’s say Clarissa’s baby is born with all the memories of their past life. What if they had a husband or wife in that life? And children? A baby remembering having children? Everything would be a mess. And if they had bad things happen to them in their previous lives, then they’d remember all of it. And when bad things happen to you, they leave...’
‘Marks. Scars. Doctor Au says she’s a doctor for hurts in your head.’ He lowered his voice. ‘She just talks to me, and I talk to her, and every time we finish talking, she makes me feel ...’ He sighed slightly and relaxed. ‘ Cleaner . In my head.’
‘What if someone lived hundreds of lives of suffering? Even if they could talk to someone like Doctor Au, it would still break them.’
Frankie nodded. ‘Okay. I guess it makes sense. What about Immortals? They remember.’
‘If someone gains Immortality, they don’t have the memories from the lives before they were Raised, but they do from after. And if someone gains Enlightenment, they remember all of it. All their lives. The memories are never really lost—they’re just on hold until your brain is big enough to deal with them.’
‘John says Ms Kwan gained Enlightenment?’
‘Kwan Yin.’ Simone nodded and squeezed him. ‘That’s why she’s so special. She’s one of the Buddhas and helps us.’
Frankie sat and thought for a while. The children’s show was still running, muted, on the screen in the background and Simone fervently wished that her brother lived the simple life of an ordinary child.
Frankie nodded. ‘I get it. But what about the people down in Hell who ... are with the demons?’
‘Those are people who did really bad things when they were alive. They’re being punished.’
‘But if they won’t remember—what’s the point?’
‘You are so wise sometimes,’ Simone said. ‘Dad negotiated this system with them a long time ago, to keep the demons happy so that they would stay in Hell and not come up and cause trouble here. He’s regretted it ever since—and I want to change it. It shouldn’t happen.’
‘I’ll help you when I’m Immortal too,’ Frankie said with confidence. ‘I hope Aunty Clarissa will be okay. I really like her.’
‘I do too,’ Simone said. ‘Now, dinner’s ready, let’s go eat. I’m starving. I’ll tell you about Japan.’
‘Okay.’ He hopped off the couch and went out, with her following and shaking her head, certain that she’d just told him way too much, messed everything up and set the child’s recovery back by years.
*
A fter dinner, Simone played with Frankie for a while, then let the demon bathe him and tuck him into bed. A couple of hours later, her father arrived, teleporting directly into Frankie’s room—she felt him—then he went into his office. She followed him to find him reading an Imperial Edict from a pile inside one of the red boxes. She sat across from him and swiped her hand over her forehead.
He dropped the Edict. ‘Thank you for talking to him about it. Neither I nor Emma had permission.’
‘I thought that may be the case. The future looks grim, Dad.’
‘I know.’ A new Edict appeared on the desk in front of him, already open. ‘Oh for ffss ...’ He didn’t finish it and she smiled. ‘Again? Every time we sit down together.’
‘It’s fine, Dad. Just do it and get it out of the way,’ she said.
‘Humph.’ He straightened and spoke formally, looking her in the eye. ‘The First Heavenly General 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 sagged. ‘Sorry. I have no choice.’
‘I refuse.’ She hesitated, then said, ‘But there’s something important I need to tell you.’
‘I thought it went well in Tokyo? You said it was a good plan. You look concerned?’
‘Nothing to do with that. A couple of things happened—one of them related to the demons—while I was in Europe, and I need your advice as the resident expert.’
He leaned on the desk, clasped his hands and concentrated on her. ‘There’s usually a great deal of jostling for the top spot after a King dies, but this new one that’s taken the old European King’s place appears to have a sufficient level of cunning and viciousness to keep the job.’
‘That’s not what this is about. The new European Demon King said something after Emma was dead, and I wasn’t sure that she should know about it, so I waited until she was out to tell you.’ She looked up into his dark eyes. ‘The European King said that Emma was his mother . Is it possible? And should I tell her if he is?’
‘Entirely possible,’ he said, completely calm. ‘The previous Kings were engaging in a massive breeding and cloning program, both here and in Europe, and stole one of Emma’s ovaries to use in seeding it. The Tiger’s people have sighted big, powerful demons that are outwardly identical to Emma—’
Simone interrupted him. ‘ Emma copies ?’ She realised she’d nearly yelled it and lowered her voice. ‘What? Really? Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I’m sorry, I should have. I thought you would never encounter one, as they’ve only been seen in Europe. I would not be surprised to learn that the new European King is one of Emma’s progeny.’
‘How many do you think they made?’
His eyes turned inwards as he thought about it. ‘I found three nest cavities in the facility in Wales. There was the underground one where you found Leo—eight more nest cavities there. Six eggs to a nest? It depends on how many more nests there were, and how many of the progeny were eaten by the mother before they were pulled clear.’
‘That is a lot of demons.’
‘Powerful demons if they have inherited anything from their Emma-clone Snake Mother. The Welsh serpent people were powerful enough to hold back an entire Roman invasion force.’
‘Does Emma know about the copies?’
‘Yes. She had nightmares where she was inside the heads of some of the clones—the Snake Mother ones—and it took us a while to work out that she was somehow mentally linked to them.’
‘I remember those nightmares,’ Simone said. ‘They really freaked her out.’
‘Since gaining Immortality, she says that the dreams have stopped. Her essence is now too pure to be affected by the clones.’
Simone cocked her head. ‘What does she want us to do with them? If we run into one?’
‘Emma’s an Immortal. She doesn’t deal in absolutes. If you encounter one, decide for yourself.’ He looked down at the desk. ‘There’s something else you should know about these copies.’
‘There are some of me,’ she said.
He nodded. ‘Take care if you see Emma, or Michael, or yourself, or another member of the family in an unexpected place. The previous King worked very hard to make the copies undetectable, and some of them aren’t aware of their true nature. I can identify them, but more junior Celestials see them as human. Double-check with our code words.’
‘Have you encountered any that were undetectable and thought they were the real Emma? Or the real me?’
His dark eyes were full of pain. ‘I did meet one. I was with the Tiger in the Western part of his dominion, reconnoitring a big Nest. We entered the tunnels, I heard my name called and Emma ran towards me.’ He clasped his hands on the desk. ‘It was so delighted. Screaming with joy, screaming my English name ...’ He looked away. ‘The Tiger and I were both stunned at its resemblance to Emma. It threw itself into my arms and exploded, killing us instantly.’ He turned back to concentrate on her. ‘Take care with them. Some of them are programmed to self-destruct in a spray of demon essence.’
Simone studied her own hands, then dropped the camouflage on them to reveal that the tips of her fingers were black with demon essence—it looked like she’d dipped them in ink. ‘At least I don’t absorb the demon essence and become more demon every time I kill one.’
‘You are still yourself, uncontaminated by the essence within you. Still pure and kind, and I am very proud of you.’
‘Thanks, Dad.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Should we tell Emma that the European King claims to be her child? This is horrifying.’
‘Regardless of whether you choose to tell her or not—I will. I have vowed never to keep a secret from her.’
‘I didn’t know that!’
‘So be careful what you tell me if you don’t want her to know. Even about gifts—I won’t withhold information from her. Take care.’
‘You didn’t do the whole standing-up, hand-on-the-desk, freaky-voiced-promise, complete-silence-then-cold-wind thing, did you?’
He just smiled.
‘Did you at any point tell her, “Be careful what you wish for?”’
His smile didn’t shift. ‘I may have said something to that effect. Now she will never receive a surprise from me, good or bad.’
Simone leaned back and studied him. ‘I’m sure she prefers it that way.’
‘She absolutely does.’ His face filled with delighted wonder. ‘You can help me! For her next birthday, I can point you at her wish list, you can buy her something, I won’t know what the gift is, and I’ll be unable to tell her.’
Simone chuckled. ‘What did you buy me for my birthday, John? I didn’t buy you anything, Emma.’ She sobered. ‘I had a premonition while I was on my way back from Europe—’
He stiffened. ‘Clarissa needs me. Mind your brother?’
‘Oh no,’ Simone said weakly, and her father disappeared.
*
S imone was woken at 2 am by her phone pinging. She picked it up and checked it. It was a message from Emma.
Group text FYI. Nobody needs to do anything and please do not contact Michael. Clarissa Huang-MacLaren passed away in childbirth at 1 am, Hong Kong time. Her daughter was successfully delivered and is a healthy girl. Clarissa haemorrhaged and died of blood loss and organ failure. Clarissa’s mother Christine Huang and other members of the Huang family are assisting in the care of the child. Again: Michael asks for privacy during this time of loss. You will be notified of funeral arrangements when they’re made.
Simone stared at the screen, too shocked to feel anything. Her premonition had been right—her father had failed to heal Clarissa. This was unheard of because the Xuan Wu was the mightiest healer on any plane. Perhaps something to do with modern technology and Clarissa’s donated kidney? Simone would have to ask him about it. Then the realisation hit her that she would never see the delightful woman again, and her eyes filled with tears. Michael would be so traumatised. She threw the covers off. She needed to go to Michael, to help him. He would be—
Her phone pinged again.
Simone, this message is just for you: don’t contact Michael, please. He’s really taking this very badly and you can’t help. Throw yourself into your work or something because he’s going to need a lot of therapy to handle this after losing his mother, so tragically. Don’t worry about the baby, she’s fine and we’re all pulling together to look after her. We’re at the hospital arranging things and won’t be home for a while, so please mind Frankie for us.
Simone rolled out of bed, still in her fluffy winter pyjamas, and went into her father’s office. Frankie was asleep, and the demon servant, Er Hao, was dormant. The bottom desk drawer was the only one not hanging open, and she unlocked it with energy and took out the fancy bottle of expensive French cognac that her father had hidden there to share with his Celestial friends.
She pulled the cork out and took a big swig, feeling the burn all the way down, then teleported to the top of the apartment building. The roof was covered in slimy tiles, thick with mould, and the lift machinery sat to one side, silent so late at night. The rooftop wasn’t used as an outdoor area by the family—there was a much nicer playground behind the building at ground level—so she walked to the edge, cleaned it off with energy, then climbed over and sat with her legs dangling. The cloud cover was complete, thick and grey, and so low that she felt as if she could reach up and touch it. The sky shimmered with the reflected colours of the city’s lights far beneath her, and the Peak around the building was covered with thick scrub and wild azaleas in the areas that were too steep to build on. She took another big gulp—probably at least five hundred dollars’ worth—and closed her eyes as it went down.
She quickly pulled herself to her feet when she felt a massive demon presence nearby. It hovered just out of range of the building’s powerful seals, and it was at least Prince level.
The words sounded like they were spoken right next to her by a child. ‘Truce, Princess. I wish to parley.’
‘Talk to my father, I don’t do any of that anymore,’ Simone said out loud.
‘I believe you were just in European Hell.’
Simone stiffened. How did the demon know that?
‘How’s Frankie? Tell him I miss him,’ it said.
‘Who are you?’
‘I’m the Demon King’s Number One Son.’
Simone let her breath out in a long hiss, then took another swig of the cognac. ‘Edu.’
‘Congratulations on getting rid of the competition, Princess. My spies told me what Michael said to you when he was imprisoned in Hell—that the two of you are destined to be together. It must be a huge relief to have the little human wife out of the way.’
Simone nearly roared with rage, then swallowed it. Becoming angry with a demon was pointless, it would never understand why.
Edu’s voice was sly next to her. ‘I know you Celestials are all about doing the right thing, but if you need a favour, I have human nurses in the hospital who owe me favours. I’d be happy to provide an accident for the baby—’
Simone doubled over with horror. ‘You do not touch that precious child. If any harm comes to her, I will come after you myself. You hear me?’
‘Fine, fine, whatever. I didn’t realise you wanted the child for yourself.’ Edu sounded bored. ‘I guess that’s more strategically sensible, even though it’ll be in the way of your relationship with Michael. I’m just trying to help.’
‘I do not need any help from you. Piss off, go torment some smaller demons or plot against the new King or something.’
‘The new King’s weak.’ Her voice was full of derision. ‘I have an offer for you, if you’re interested. Build some connections, make some money, kill some demons? It’ll keep you occupied until you’re ready to make a move on your man.’
‘Go. Fuck. Yourself.’
‘I don’t need to; my harem is absolute top-quality. Would you like to see? I’m sure there’s a young man here who is just your type. Tall, muscular, blonde, half-European ...’
‘You scum . Go to Hell. Go back to Hell.’ Simone took another swig and wiped her eyes. ‘Leave me alone.’
Edu’s voice changed to that of a sweet and caring child. ‘Sorry, that was uncalled-for. I’ll never forget how well you looked after us when my late father kept us incarcerated in that awful little house in Hell. You taught me about kindness and empathy—’
‘Cut the bullshit,’ Simone said, and took another drink. She was starting to feel nicely light-headed. ‘You are all spite, poison and malice from top to bottom. Go. Away.’
Edu’s voice changed back to businesslike. ‘Come visit me on my yacht in Aberdeen Harbour. You can’t miss it, it’s the biggest one there. I have information that could bring back the European gods—the old Kings were preparing to put a tame god into the European heavens to start things up again. Apparently one of them is still around.’
‘Sure. I’ll come visit you on your yacht full of teeth and venom.’
‘Teeth and venom won’t hurt you, dear, you’re as much demon as I am. Come to the yacht whenever you feel like it. If I’m not present, my wives will call me, and I’ll come and give you the time of your life. They are unforgettable. Extremely talented.’ Edu’s voice filled with humour that sounded way older than her ten-year-old-girl persona. ‘All of them are in the form of bright, handsome young men, and they’re willing to do anything to please you.’
Simone remembered her comment about dating a demon instead of humans, who were unable to handle her nature, and wanted to kick herself.
‘The only thing I am interested in is removing the demon essence filling me and becoming full Celestial again,’ she said. ‘If you have a way of doing that, I’ll talk. Otherwise, leave me alone.’
Edu sounded delighted. ‘Seriously? Let me look into it, I have some great people. Start thinking of something you can do in return for me. Getting rid of that worthless pile of shit in charge and giving me the throne of Hell would be a good start.’ Her voice filled with enthusiasm. ‘My father helped Emma clear the demon essence from her, and now I can help you. Fitting. I’ll be in touch.’
The demon’s presence disappeared.
Simone took another swig of the cognac, feeling she’d made a massive mistake by letting Edu know what she wanted, and given the demon leverage over her. She put the bottle down, sat back down on the edge of the roof, and let the tears flow. Clarissa had been like a sister to her: so warm, and normal, and caring. Simone’s heart ached at the thought of never seeing her again, and Clarissa’s lovely daughter would grow up motherless.
Sometime later, her sobs petered out to gasps. Her father appeared next to her and held his hand out. She handed him the bottle and he took swig, then raised his head and closed his eyes as it went down.
‘Too many hospital staff,’ he said. ‘The placenta ruptured, and she bled out. They moved her to the ICU, and she was surrounded by doctors and nurses trying to save her. They threw all of us out into a waiting room and Michael was yelling at me to do something ...’ He took another drink. ‘I couldn’t change into my Serpent to heal her and hide my appearance from that many humans at the same time. I tried to explain to Michael that he needed to handle their minds, that Emma doesn’t have the strength to control them without causing damage, but he was too distraught to understand me. Then Clarissa flatlined, and he realised that if he’d kept his head and wiped their memories, I could have fixed everything.’ He drank again. ‘The baby’s fine, but Michael’s close to catatonic and in the mental health ward. The White Tiger wants to take him to the Western Heavens to recover, and it’s probably a good idea. Emma and Clarissa’s mother, Christine, are arranging for Christine to take the baby back to Canada with her and care for her there until Michael is capable.’ He pushed the bottle at her and she took it. ‘What a mess.’
She took another drink to top up the buzz. ‘Emma told me to stay away from them.’
‘That would be for the best, yes. Everybody knows that you and Michael are fated to be together. It would not be a good idea to rub that in his face right now. He feels guilty enough as it is. He’s ...’ he sighed. ‘He started loudly blaming himself for not being completely devoted to Clarissa, convinced that he hesitated because he wanted her to die. Clarissa’s mother took this as meaning that Michael had been unfaithful and had a mistress—like Clarissa’s father did. Clarissa’s mother laid into Michael in the waiting room, and it ramped up his guilt. Emma tried to moderate but ... it became ugly. The worst part was that Michael was agreeing with her, saying that he could have saved his wife if he had his head on straight.’
‘This is because of me?’ Simone asked.
‘And now you’re blaming yourself as well,’ he said. ‘Nobody is to blame. Sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we want, and we do our best with what we have. Laying blame doesn’t change the situation. Everybody needs time to work through their feelings and rebuild themselves. Until Michael works out that this isn’t his fault, and isn’t your fault, it might be best to do as Emma says—go to Japan and throw yourself into your work.’
Simone took another swig, enjoying the burn. ‘I was just contacted by the Demon King’s Number One Son. That piece of shit, Edu.’
Xuan Wu held his hand out and wiggled his fingers. She handed him the bottle.
‘Oh yes, what does she want?’
‘The usual bullshit. She wants me to take out the King and give her the job.’
‘Interesting. That means she doesn’t have the strength to do it herself. She really is too young and na?ve to be Number One, I’m surprised she has lasted so long.’
‘The biggest yacht in Aberdeen harbour is her Nest, if you want some carnage to make you feel better.’
‘What would make me feel better,’ he said, stretching, ‘is a hug from my wife and my youngest son and daughter, and the knowledge that in the end, everything will be okay.’
She put her arms out sideways and they shared a seated embrace.
He summoned the cork stopper and sealed the bottle. ‘Go back to bed,’ he said. ‘Tomorrow, you can decide what you want to do. Do you need help to go back to sleep?’
She hesitated, then, ‘Yes please, Daddy.’
‘Okay. Let’s go.’ He disappeared.
She arrived in her bedroom and crawled into bed. He pulled the covers over her and kissed her on the forehead, making her eyes spring with fresh tears at the feeling of his love after so many years of being apart.
He put his hand on her forehead. ‘Oh, and the really good alcohol is in the storeroom in a plastic bin next to the demon jar. Go for that next time.’