6
S imone entered the tutorial room where she was to present her prospectus. It sat twenty people in four rows, with a whiteboard and projector at the front. The décor was universally grungy white, with some ragged cork pinboards on the wall, and the floor was ancient tan-coloured linoleum. A sad string of tinsel had been strung above the windows in a cursory nod to the upcoming Christmas break.
The room smelled of impatience and desperation—but the desperation could be her own. Half-a-dozen of Simone’s postgrad cohort were in the room to give her moral support, sitting behind the three professors who were at a table directly in front of the podium with papers laid out in front of them. She wasn’t surprised to see that Graham had failed to show.
Time to give up on him and move on. Again.
Simone smiled around the room and set her laptop up on the podium. She connected it to the projector, took a deep breath, and moved in front of the professors.
‘Go ahead, Simone, you’re right on time,’ Simone’s supervisor, Mei Yi Li, said. She was in her early thirties, had a kind smile and was nearly as enthusiastic about turtles as Simone herself.
‘Thanks, Doctor Li. I’m Simone Chen, and this is my prospectus to perform a comparative study of the migration habits of marine turtles in the Asia-Pacific Region.’
‘ Doctoral prospectus,’ Professor Chow said, his voice dripping with condescension.
Professor Chow was the head of the biology school, and he was notorious for hating both women and white people—boxes that Simone emphatically ticked. He was thin and sallow-looking, and his face was set into a permanent scowl.
Simone shot him a cut-glass smile and pulled up the first slide. ‘Yes, of course. Doctor Li advised me not to include the level in the title of the thesis, because everybody would already know. Would you like me to change it?’
‘People need to know. I think you should change it,’ he said. He waved one hand at her. ‘Continue. You’ve barely started. Let’s get on with it.’
Simone pulled up the next slide, the map of the region.
‘The data on the migration, feeding and mating habits of marine turtles—specifically green and leatherback turtles—is fragmented across the Asia-Pacific region,’ Simone began, and pulled up the next slide. ‘Previous studies have concentrated on single populations, following their migration patterns within a small region. MacPherson’s recent study is only on turtles in the Great Barrier Reef, and further studies by ...’
Simone mechanically reviewed the previous literature on the subject. It had taken her six months to collect the information and she could summarise it in five minutes.
‘My study will collate the existing information, and I will add to the knowledge by attaching transponders to a number of turtles in both the North Queensland and South China Sea regions. I am hoping to discover whether the two populations interact.
‘Past studies have shown that the turtles migrate around the region, and I would like to—’
‘Will. You will,’ Professor Chow interrupted to correct her.
‘I will ...’ She nodded to him. ‘Also pull samples of DNA from both populations to see if they overlap. This will significantly add to the knowledge on the extent of turtle reproductive interfaces between populations within the region, and the degree of travel for the two groups. If there is reproductive interaction, that gives us a viable opportunity to import Australian turtles to bolster our local population.’
She outlined the project for twenty minutes, working around Chow’s constant petty interruptions. When she finished, all her student friends applauded politely. Doctor Li was smiling and nodding, but as Simone’s supervisor she’d been there every step of the way. Professor Chow looked constipated, but he always did. The other professor was someone from the biology faculty who she didn’t know, a man his mid-forties, wearing a cheap polyester suit.
‘You ask for questions now,’ Chow snapped.
‘Of course, Professor.’ Simone felt her smile become even more brittle. ‘Any quest—?’
‘Yes,’ Chow said loudly, without letting her finish. ‘As your literature review clearly stated, there has been a great deal of research already done into turtle migration conducted by Australian universities. This is just duplicating the work. You’re not doing anything new here. How are you adding to the knowledge?’
Simone stared at him. Had he listened to a word she’d said?
‘This study is to ascertain whether there is interaction—and possible reproductive interaction—between the two groups on either side of the Equator,’ Simone said. ‘If the local population is limited to the South China Sea, there is much greater survival pressure. If we have the additional genetic diversity from the southern populations, the local population will be more robust, and we can even bring—’
He interrupted her. ‘Is this really important? Do we really need to know this? You’re treating them like two separate populations. What if it’s just one big population that moves around?’
Simone looked to Doctor Li for support. Her supervisor seemed tranquil and unaffected by Chow’s unreasonable haranguing.
Simone took a deep breath and pushed down her desire to chop this asshole’s head off. Since she’d destroyed the previous Demon King and been filled with his essence, her temper had been shorter, her visions crueller and her tolerance for people like Chow much narrower.
‘That’s the question I’ll be answering with this study,’ Simone said. ‘Are they two separate populations, or one big one?’
‘Then why didn’t you say that at the start?’ he asked.
She took another deep breath. ‘I did. Twice .’
He scowled, and she immediately regretted baiting him.
‘I’m not sure we even need to know this,’ he said. ‘The University has limited resources and should be focused on more worthwhile research. People are dying from ciguatera poisoning from eating contaminated seafood, and we haven’t found a solution for that. This ...’ He waved one hand. ‘Isn’t adding to the knowledge.’
Doctor Li’s expression changed to resigned sympathy. Whoa, Simone was in trouble.
‘Will this in any way help the turtle population’s survival?’ the other professor in the polyester suit asked. ‘All we’ll discover is whether they’ll die out sooner or later—this has no practical application.’
‘I think every scrap of knowledge we can collect about them will help,’ Simone said. ‘If it’s a single population, we can bring turtles from Australia to boost—’
Chow ignored her and turned to Li. ‘Is there another species she can study that has more meaningful outcomes?’ He turned back to Simone. ‘Were you considering another topic?’
‘I’ve worked for six months on this topic and never considered another,’ Simone said, feeling the ground shifting beneath her.
‘You should have given her a backup topic, Mei Yi.’ Chow looked down at his papers. ‘The next round of funding is in March next year. You should rethink your project and come back then.’
‘We can work together to see if we can come up with something more acceptable,’ Li said, still maddeningly serene.
‘All right. Do that.’ He glanced up at Simone, his eyes sharp. ‘Talk to your supervisor about doing something more worthwhile. This project isn’t it.’ He spoke to Li. ‘You should have told me at the start, Mei Yi. The School is done with turtles.’
‘I understand, Professor,’ Doctor Li said, nodding back to him. ‘We’ll see what we can do.’
He pushed himself away from the table. ‘Waste of my time,’ he said under his breath. He collected the manila folder full of her prospectus—with the red marks he’d scribbled all over it—and went out.
‘Come and see me in my office, Miss Chen,’ Doctor Li said. She nodded to the other professor. ‘Thanks for your time, Ricky.’
‘My pleasure, Mei Yi.’ The other professor went out, and Mei Yi Li followed him.
Simone busied herself unhooking her laptop from the projector and was blinded when the projector went to the brilliant blue of a lost connection. Her friends gathered around her, all obviously confused.
‘What did you do to him?’ Abigail asked.
‘I have no idea,’ Simone said, holding the emotion down. ‘I’ve never even spoken to him.’ She shrugged and tried to keep the tears from her voice. ‘I’d better go see Doctor Li.’
Abigail patted her on the shoulder. ‘Come see us at the café after you’re done with Mei Yi.’
‘Yeah, okay.’ Simone put her laptop into its bag, shoved her papers in haphazardly next to it, and went to Doctor Li’s tiny office.
*
‘C ome in. Don’t look like that.’ Mei Yi rose and came around the desk as Simone arrived. ‘I knew we were taking a chance, but you’re so eloquent and enthusiastic I thought ...’ She went past Simone to close the door, then lowered her voice. ‘We’d be able to break through his prejudice.’
‘You knew he’d reject my prospectus?’ Simone asked, frozen with betrayal.
‘You told me yourself, Simone, you’re from a wealthy family and you don’t need the scholarship money, just the university’s endorsement.’ Mei Yi returned to her desk and sat behind it, gesturing for Simone to sit in the visitor’s chair. ‘Most of the work is done, we only need to find you another topic and you can go ahead in March. Redo the literature review between now and then. If you were to research—as he said—ciguatera poisoning, you’d have his complete endorsement. His father died of it after eating contaminated Serranidae .’
‘I can’t believe you used me like this,’ Simone said.
‘I didn’t use you, Simone, I genuinely thought you’d manage it. You’re so obviously intelligent and eloquent—’
‘He hates strong, smart women, you know that! I even made myself appear more nervous than I was, so I would be less threatening to him!’
‘I saw that, it was masterful. This is why I let you go ahead. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. So...’ She placed her hands on her battered, paper-strewn desk and smiled at Simone. ‘Doing post-graduate study is one disappointment after another. One rejection after another. Pick yourself up and move on.’
‘But this research is so important. If we can transplant turtles from the Coral Sea in Australia to boost our diminishing population here, we can—’
‘I know that, I helped you write it. He didn’t listen, and he only skimmed through your prospectus to mark all the grammatical errors.’
‘Incorrectly,’ Simone said under her breath.
‘Spending significant time overseas and using standard international English rather than the local variant is just going to make him hate you even more. You’re rubbing his nose in his limited local experience.’
Simone sagged. ‘Yeah.’
‘I heard your friends say that they were heading to the café. Take a break for the holidays to think about what you want to do, maybe revise the literature, then come back and we’ll work on a new topic for you.’ She walked around Simone to open the office door again. ‘This sort of setback is typical, and there’ll be many more before we’re finished. It’s just academic life.’
‘Thanks, Mei Yi,’ Simone said, and went out.
*
T he small café on campus was a busy social centre for the students. It was on the pedestrian overpass connecting the fifth levels of the main library and the Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building. The café was a pop-up to one side of the walkway, with five folding tables and chairs along the edge to allow students to easily travel through.
Simone’s friend Abigail waved when Simone approached, and Simone staggered to them and flopped into a chair, resting her head in her hands.
‘I’ll get you a coffee or something, you need it,’ she said.
‘Green tea, thanks Abby,’ she said into her hands.
‘What did Mei Yi say?’ Winston asked.
‘Exactly what Chow said.’ Simone dropped her hands onto the table. ‘Redo the literature review and find another topic.’ Abigail put a pot of green tea and a cup in front of Simone, who gave Abigail some money, then poured the tea. ‘Six months of work wasted, and I won’t be able to do turtles.’
‘Did you have any other ideas at all?’ Winnie asked.
Simone shook her head, then raised it when an Immortal passed nearby. It was Hong, the red dragon who ran Celestial High, in human form. He was wearing his usual teaching outfit of chino pants, a red long-sleeved polo shirt under a red puffer vest and socks with Birkenstock sandals. He was tall and slender, like most dragons, and had a shock of red hair that he’d toned down for the Earthly to appear like it was dyed.
‘A stone Shen saw the emails and told me what happened, Simone,’ he said, sitting at the table. ‘Have you explored other options?’
Simone’s cohort gaped at him.
‘This is Professor Hong, visiting from Todai,’ Simone said to clarify for the dazed humans. ‘I did my undergrad study with him.’
‘Pleased to meet you,’ Hong said, shaking everybody’s hands and making them even more bewildered. Like most Shen, he had a hypnotic effect on people, and they instinctively knew that he should be respected and was absolutely trustworthy.
‘I got sucked into academic politics,’ Simone moaned.
‘Welcome to the Earthly,’ he said expansively, spreading his hands and nearly tipping her teacup over.
‘Oh geez,’ Simone said with dismay. Her father and her stepmother had just teleported onto the overpass, completely unnoticed by anyone.
Hong saluted them without rising. ‘Lord Xuan, Dark Lady.’
Simone’s friends’ expressions became distracted as Xuan Wu approached.
‘Uh, I’ll catch up with you later, Simone,’ Abigail said, and fled. The rest of the group quickly grabbed their bags and left as well.
‘That wasn’t a nice thing to do, Daddy,’ Simone said. ‘They’re my friends.’
‘He didn’t do anything,’ Emma said. ‘He has that effect on people, particularly young ones.’
Xuan Wu sat at the table. ‘The Princess Simone ...’ His eyes went wide. ‘Is ordered to contact the Celestial immediately to receive orders that will result in the destruction of a demon that threatens the entire realm.’ He went grim. ‘Unbelievable.’
‘He forced you to say that?’ Simone asked, incredulous.
‘Bastard!’ Emma said, then her face went slack as well. ‘The Princess Simone is ordered to report immediately to the Celestial. The importance of this order cannot be underestimated. Report to the Celestial at once.’ She scowled. ‘The hell?’
‘I refuse,’ Simone said. ‘Did he force you to come down here and harass me? I asked you to stay away and let me do it!’
‘We heard you were rejected and thought you’d need us,’ Emma said. ‘That Celestial order business is both new and unacceptable and we’ll stop it as soon as we can speak to him about it.’
‘Thanks, Emma,’ Simone said. She swiped one hand over her eyes. ‘It’s all I need with my doctoral study in tatters.’
‘Did the lecturer really reject your prospectus purely because you’re white and female?’ Xuan Wu asked, his voice echoing.
‘Tone it down, Daddy, and I’m not white but ...yeah. He did. He’s also very over turtles.’
‘Well, that’s just insulting,’ Xuan Wu said.
‘Damn straight,’ Emma said. ‘So, plans, Simone? What did your supervisor say?’
‘You could always return to the Imperial House of the North and run our Earthly—’ Xuan Wu began.
Simone interrupted him. ‘My supervisor suggested I try again in March with a more politically correct topic.’
‘Not turtles?’
Simone shook her head.
‘You should go back to Todai,’ her father said.
‘I think the Blue Dragon was watching my grades in my honours year, to ensure that I wouldn’t fail.’ She tapped her teacup on the table. ‘I want to do this myself, dammit.’
‘What about doing it in a university in Australia?’ Hong asked. ‘It’s a popular postgrad destination for my local students. There are some excellent marine research stations on the Barrier Reef and the water might help to purify you.’
‘I can’t,’ Simone said. ‘The Grandmother of All the Rocks has made it very clear that anyone who is even remotely related to someone who—and I quote her directly here—“sullied my surface with their filthy feet”—is not welcome anywhere in Australia. She’s given me a dispensation to study the turtles as long as I don’t touch the mainland.’
‘I should have been more firm when I told your mother—’ Xuan Wu began.
‘You were never able to tell her anything,’ Simone said. ‘That much I remember of my mother.’
‘Pop over to Tokyo, talk to the Blue Dragon,’ Hong said. ‘See if his Todai connections extend to Australia, to do the Barrier Reef thing.’
‘I need a research station here in the South China Sea as well,’ Simone said.
‘And HKU has one?’
‘Yes.’
‘No, you are not going to lean on the head of the university, don’t even think about it,’ Emma said to Xuan Wu without looking at him, and he closed his mouth before he could speak.
‘The Blue Dragon might be able to help with that too,’ Hong said. ‘He has a lot of input into the university in Japan, he keeps a close eye on all the research. Pop an email through to him, tell him that you only need access to the program and research stations, and that he’s to butt out otherwise. He’ll be glad to help.’
‘Do you want me to send an introductory Imperial Edict?’ Xuan Wu asked. ‘Making it very clear that you want to do this research the hard way?’
‘Not an order—maybe just an ... Imperial Memorandum?’ Simone asked.
‘Even a memo from your father has the force of an order, you know that,’ Emma said. ‘Are you sure?’
Simone ran her hand over the top of her head and pulled her hair out of her eyes where it had blown into them. ‘Yeah. I think I need all the help I can get. Thanks, Daddy.’
*
S imone returned home with her parents to find Frankie waiting on the couch in the living room next to Yi Hao. A live fir tree was standing in the corner of the room next to the picture windows, still in its protective netting. An unopened plastic storage bin of ornaments sat next to it. The tree was in a water-filled stand and was tall enough to nearly touch the ceiling.
Frankie shot to his feet when he saw the family. ‘It arrived! I want to do it now! Can we do it now?’
‘I’m sorry, Frankie, but Simone just had some bad news, and she may not feel—’ Emma began.
‘No,’ Simone said. She put her hands on her hips and studied the tree. It had already started to fill the living room with the crisp scent of pine needles. ‘Let’s set it up and decorate it.’ She turned to smile at Emma. ‘It’s a beauty, Emma.’
Emma approached the tree and summoned a knife to cut away the sleeve, releasing the branches in a cascade of green. She stepped back to study it, then fluffed the branches to make it more full. She nodded. ‘The ones in Australia aren’t generally this gorgeous. You’re right, it’s a beauty.’
‘Can I open the decoration box?’ Frankie asked, full of excitement.
‘Go right ahead. Come on, everyone, let’s make this one special.’ Emma turned to smile at Xuan Wu. ‘You too, this is for family.’
Frankie opened the box of decorations and made small sounds of delighted wonder as he sifted through the tinsel and baubles. He picked up a glossy, gold-printed box from one of the Japanese department stores. ‘What’s this?’
‘Yi Hao, could you find Er Hao and Smally?’ Emma asked, taking the box from him. ‘John.’ She handed the tinsel to Xuan Wu. ‘You’re the tallest, so wrap this around the tree from the top down.’ She opened the box, revealing carefully packed glass baubles with names on them in English and Chinese. She held up the one with Frankie’s name on it. ‘We’ll put these on last.’
Xuan Wu smiled affectionately as he took the tinsel and checked the contents of the box. ‘You had them made for the demon servants as well?’
Yi Hao was standing next to the kitchen door with a stricken expression. Emma took a bauble out with Yi Hao’s name on it and showed it to the stunned demon.
‘You’re family too.’
Yi Hao burst into tears, spun and ran into the servant’s quarters.
‘You hurt her feelings?’ Frankie asked, unsure.
‘No, she made her the happiest demon on the planet’s surface,’ Simone said. ‘I can’t wait to see Er Hao’s and Smally’s faces when they see they have them as well.’ She handed a plain bauble to Frankie. ‘Let me show you how to do this.’
Frankie wiped one eye, nodded, and allowed Simone to assist him to attach the bauble to the tree. He was glowing with happiness.
*
D inner was still an hour away when the tree was finished, so Simone retreated into her room and ran listlessly through her emails. The usual academic spam from the university that wasn’t supporting her, more than twenty requests for her to contact the Celestial administration to kill a demon, still nothing from Graham—and one from the Blue Dragon.
To: Simone Chen
From: Seiryu Ten
Subject: Shift your doctoral research to Tokyo U.
Hongie told me what happened, no need for your father to send me any Celestial formalities. I’m not surprised those buffoons at UHK are giving you trouble, politics was always their first priority and they’re a backstabbing collection of trash. Send me what you have so far—a synopsis for me to read would be the best, and I’ll pass the full prospectus on to my people in Tokyo U’s biology department. No niece of mine is falling victim to bullshit human political nonsense, what you’re doing is too important.
Uncle Qing
Simone smiled at his usual brusque over-compensation for being such a huge softie and composed a reply.
To: Seiryu Ten
From: Simone Chen
Subject: Re: Shift your doctoral research to Tokyo U.
Thanks for the assistance, Uncle Qing. I’ve attached the prospectus and synopsis. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to work on my own topic rather than one the University forces onto me. One condition, though: no interference! Please let me do this research myself, so I know that I’m good enough!
Attachments: synopsis.docx
Possible_Reproductive_Interaction_Between_Multiple_Populations_of_Asian_Turtles.docx
Many hugs,
Simone
She sent it and heard whispering outside her door.
One voice was obviously Frankie, and the other ... was Freddo? She cocked her head to listen.
‘No, you go first,’ Frankie hissed.
‘You’re her brother, I’m just a tame demon,’ Freddo said.
‘What if she cries?’ Frankie asked.
‘Then you hug her ’cause I can’t,’ Freddo said. ‘If you think she’s going to cry then we can just leave it until next year ...’
Simone went to the door and opened it to see Freddo’s massive bulk—he was a good-sized palomino warmblood stallion—nearly filling the hallway and unable to raise his head to its full height without hitting the ceiling. Frankie was somewhere behind Freddo.
‘You two want to ask me something?’ Simone asked.
Freddo looked back, the whites of his eyes showing with nervousness, then at Simone. ‘Both of us do, yeah.’
‘Come on. Into the living room where there’s more space,’ Simone said, and guided them down the hallway.
‘Gentle on the carpet!’ Emma shouted from inside her office.
‘He’s got his new shoes on, he won’t hurt anything,’ Simone called back. Freddo was wearing new high-tech, clip-on acrylic foot covers instead of metal shoes, which tore up the carpet every time he came to visit.
When they reached the living room, boy and horse stopped to admire the tree, which was glittering with baubles and tinsel all the way to the ceiling.
Simone had a quick, desperate bolt of guilt. If Frankie had pointed out the named baubles for family or if Freddo had noticed them ... there wasn’t one there for the horse, who was a tamed demon just as much as Yi Hao, Er Hao and Smally were. Simone had neglected Freddo while she was working on her thesis, and she should have visited him sooner.
Freddo and Frankie shared a look, and Frankie leaned against Freddo’s shoulder for support.
‘Go on, what were you about to ask me?’ Simone asked.
‘Freddo wants to teach me to ride,’ Frankie said.
‘Ride natural horses,’ Freddo said, explaining. ‘Hands, heels, seat, all of that.’
‘That’s a great idea,’ Simone said, relieved that they would be spending time together, and making Freddo feel less neglected.
Frankie’s voice was small. ‘At Nanna’s house.’
‘That’s the obvious choice, they have plenty of room and even a sand arena there,’ Simone said. ‘You don’t need to ask me, why are you here? Just go and do it, guys. It’s a terrific idea.’
‘For two weeks, during the Chinese New Year break,’ Freddo said. He spoke faster. ‘All the cousins will be there, and we can have group lessons, and both of us can stay at the house with the family, and the Tiger gave them some really top-class ponies and—’
‘We all want jumping lessons, and Freddo will teach us, and—’
They stopped when they saw Simone’s face.
‘Sorry, Simmony,’ Freddo said.
Simone tried to compose herself. She couldn’t go to their grandparents’ estate in the Heavens, so she’d be stuck on the Earthly alone while the family went to spend Christmas there. The Peak apartment was too small for all the extended family, so the plan had originally been to spend a small, family Christmas in Hong Kong, then for the others to head to the Heavens. Chinese New Year, three weeks after Christmas, was a busy time for the Emperor and Empress as they had a great many formal ceremonies to perform in their realms—both the Northern Heavens and the Mountain—to assure good luck.
Having Frankie at his grandparents while Xuan Wu and Emma were busy on the Celestial Plane made perfect sense, and she’d reassured them that she was fine staying in the apartment while they were gone. She thought she’d be busy preparing her research plan and spending time with Graham, who was also stuck in the Territory away from his family during the holiday break. Now Simone would spend the holiday alone in the apartment with her failed doctoral thesis, her failed relationship and nothing to do while her friends were busy with their own families, as the entire city shut down.
She plastered a false smile on her face. ‘What a great idea! You’ll have a terrific time with them.’ She rubbed Freddo’s forehead enthusiastically. ‘You’re the only one I trust to teach him properly and keep him safe, and it’s about time you visited your grandparents, young man, they miss you. We’ll spend the Christmas break learning the basics together out at the country club, and then you two go and spend Chinese New Year with the rest of the family.’ She patted Frankie on the shoulder. ‘Sound good?’
Both Frankie and Freddo perked up and Frankie grinned broadly, then threw his arms around Simone. ‘Thanks, sis.’
She ruffled his hair. ‘No problem, Squirt.’ She banged the side of her head against Freddo’s. ‘I’m looking forward to spending more time with you, Freddo-frog, now that the prospectus is out of the way.’
‘It’s still early, want to head over to the country club and go for a twilight ride with me?’ Freddo asked.
‘You’ll be okay, Frankie?’ Simone asked.
‘Can I come too?’ Frankie asked.
‘Not until you have proper riding gear and a helmet,’ Freddo said. ‘Let me and Simone talk about a lesson plan. You can come riding on me tomorrow, and we’ll have our first lesson with a saddle and bridle and everything.’
‘Okay,’ Frankie said, unfazed, and ran to Emma’s office to bellow, ‘Hey Mum guess what!’