Black Jade (43 page)

‘Xuan Tian Shang Di,' Jade said. ‘Xuan Tian Nu Huang. Welcome to Longjia, Dragonhome.'

‘We thank you for your hospitality and enter the King's domain in peace and fraternity,' John said. The Turtle bobbed its head. ‘Please escort us to the presence of the King of Dragons.'

Jade and Jackie turned away. ‘This way, Highnesses.'

‘Aren't I just Xuan Tian Huang Hou?' I said. ‘Nu Huang means “ruler”, not “consort”.'

‘The Dark Lord himself decreed your title, ma'am,' Jade said.

‘Do you always have to piss off the entire Celestial, John?' I said.

Jackie hissed with serpent laughter.

I sighed. ‘Yeah, silly question.'

John followed them as they flew over the low sandy atoll and dived into the water. I gripped him tightly, expecting to hit the bottom, but
we didn't; instead we plunged through the water and into air. I made a loud sound of astonishment and the dragons chuckled.

‘No warning, my Lord?' Jade said. ‘That was cruel.'

‘Worth it to see her face,' John said.

We flew three hundred metres above the floor of the town inhabiting the bowl-shaped interior of the atoll. The full moon shone through the water as if it wasn't there; we were still close enough to the surface to see fish swimming above us. We flew over the town through a fresh fragrance-filled breeze towards what was obviously the Dragon King's own Palace on one side of the bowl-shaped valley.

The bottom of the valley was a deep blue lake, almost perfectly circular with white paved edges. Dragons splashed and played in the water and tumbled through the air above it.

The town spread and rose along the sides of the valley; and streams and waterfalls cascaded down between the houses, reflecting the street and house lights to cause rainbows through the air. The sides of the valley were terraced to hold the whitewashed houses with blue and green tiled upturning roofs, and gleaming white pagodas with large balconies around the top. A riot of tropical plants flourished between the houses: bougainvillea, hibiscus and tall flame-flowered trees in shades of red, purple and orange, reflecting the light of many red and gold lanterns. Dragons flew among the houses, diving through the waterfalls and playing in the air.

The King's Palace followed the slope up the hillside to a multi-storeyed white pagoda near the surface of the water above. The Palace was mostly single storey, similar to the Celestial Palace and our own Dark North, but water cascaded between the buildings, over the walls and sometimes the roofs, lit from beneath by coloured lights. Trees grew out of the water as well, towering and green, their leaves rustling in the fresh undersea breeze.

Only dragons are permitted in Dragonhome,
John said.
No other creatures know of its location. He honours us as fellow reptiles.

I'm glad he's let us visit,
I said.
It's lovely.

We landed at the entrance court in front of the Palace, and took human form. An honour guard of six dragons in human form, carrying halberds, approached and bowed to us.

The biggest one spoke. ‘Dark Lord, Dark Lady, welcome to Dragonhome. The King is waiting for you.' He turned and gestured towards the Palace. ‘This way.'

‘Dear Lord — Silver!' I hugged him, and he smiled and wrapped his arms around me. ‘You disappeared! What happened to you? I thought you were dead.'

The other dragons in the escort group grinned broadly.

‘I was severely injured at the Northern Heavens, and they brought me back here,' he said, releasing me and putting his hand on my back to guide me to the Palace. He tapped his left leg. ‘This is gone from the thigh down, and the other one from the calf down. The prosthetics are good, but I can't do any more Arts.'

‘Don't be ridiculous, that is not a reason to stop,' John said. ‘We have eleven students and two Masters who are all disabled, not including Master Leo.'

‘Tell them the truth,' one of the other dragons said.

‘And the King ordered me back to lead the Royal Guard,' Silver said sheepishly. He bobbed his head. ‘Apologies for not informing the Mountain of my reassignment.'

‘That's more like it,' John said with satisfaction.

Jade bowed to John. ‘If I may accompany you, my Lord? My Lady?'

‘Of course,' John said.

She changed to human form in her green robes, and shooed Jackie away. ‘Meet up with us after.'

‘Okay, Mama,' Jackie said, and flew into the air.

Our guards guided us to the King's main audience hall, with Jade walking at our right as Retainer. The ramp was crystalline blue stone, carved in the form of a dragon and inlaid with gold. We walked up the stairs at the right of the ramp to the veranda around the hall, and stopped at the entrance. The honour guard moved to flank the door, and we entered the hall.

Status?
I said.

Equal and informal
, John said.
Once all of the formal stuff is out of the way, he's a great guy.

I relaxed with relief, and he smiled as he saw it.

The hall's roof was ten metres above us, and the walls and floor were tiled with white ceramic. Dragon motifs in translucent blue
and green enamel were inlaid into the pillars holding up the roof. The Dragon King sat on a wide gold throne at the other end of the hall, in human form with his golden dragon head. We walked up a green carpet to meet him.

John saluted him first. ‘Long Huang Di. Ten thousand years.'

The Dragon King nodded to John. ‘Xuan Tian Shang Di. Ten thousand years.'

He turned his green eyes onto me and I saluted him as well. ‘Long Huang Di. Ten thousand times ten thousand years.'

He nodded to me. ‘Xuan Nu Huang. Welcome to Longjia. Please allow me to show you the hospitality of dragonkind, reptile to reptile.'

‘We are honoured by your welcome,' John said.

‘May I offer you refreshment? Have you eaten?'

‘We have, my Lord,' John said. ‘We need for nothing.'

He cocked his head, studying us.

‘No, seriously,' I said. ‘We're not insulting you. We just had a massive wedding banquet and couldn't possibly fit another thing in.'

‘Some grapes or orange would be good though,' John said. ‘They had that weird wedding cake that Westerners are so fond of.'

‘That dried grape thing? Truly strange.' The King drew himself to his feet, put his hands behind his back and paced towards us. ‘Come and have some fruit and tea in the gardens with me then. And I'd appreciate it if you could lay a wreath at a memorial to those who lost their lives in the recent conflict.'

John nodded to him. ‘We would be honoured.'

‘Jade, wait for us at the memorial,' the King said.

Jade hesitated, then bowed to him. ‘Majesty.' She disappeared.

‘Lady Emma,' the Dragon King said, gesturing towards me, ‘walk with us, honoured lady, and tell us of your magnificent children.'

‘Only Frankie is mine,' I said. ‘Simone is the Dark Lord's.'

‘You helped him to raise her, my Lady.'

I nodded. ‘That I did.'

‘They're right,' he said with wonder. ‘You do sound like him.'

He led us through a courtyard that held a formal garden with a pond and small flowering shrubs, and was lit by strings of lanterns along the walls and the pavilions.

It's not like him to be this formal. Normally he's way more relaxed,
John said.
I wonder what's coming.

‘There was much consternation at your choice to remain on the Earthly with your first human wife, my Lord, but none can argue that you made the wrong decision,' the King said. ‘Si Min, the child you had with her, saved the Heavens. And now there are two of these powerful children.'

We sat at a table together, and the Dragon King poured tea for us. John took a slice of orange and watched the King as he ate it. The King's dragon face made it difficult to see his thoughts.

‘It is a very special feeling when our children surpass us, isn't it?' he said.

‘My children fill me with great joy,' John said, putting the rind down. ‘Emma's training has made her something unique and powerful, and she has passed that strength to our son. It will be very interesting to see how Si Sha grows.'

‘How old is he?'

‘Nearly three years old, but because of his nature he appears about twelve,' I said.

‘He appears much older than his true age,' the Dragon King said grimly. ‘And he has claimed the Murasame.'

‘Yes. It speaks to him,' I said.

He turned to face the pond, and the koi glided to the surface in hopes of a meal. ‘Truly terrifying.'

John and I shared a look.

‘We will teach him to restrain his power, and he already controls the sword well,' I said.

‘I have no doubt,' he said. He hesitated, and we waited for it. He tapped the table. ‘I have a request.'

‘You have but to name it, my Lord,' John said. ‘The Northern Heavens treasure their close ties with Longjia.'

‘Would you foster one of my children in your household, to grow and learn with yours?'

We relaxed.

‘We already have the Jade Girl,' John said.

‘Another child of age with your son,' the King said. ‘To grow in friendship together.'

‘Sure,' I said. ‘Frankie's still settling into life as a Celestial, so maybe wait a couple of years and then we can arrange something. We have stacks of room in our apartment on the Peak. I don't think it would be the best for a child to be with us full-time, but send a kid over every now and then and we'll be happy to include them in the family.'

‘You really are living on the Earthly?'

‘We shuttle backwards and forwards,' I said. ‘But since Simone and Buffy are both stuck on the Earthly, we've decided to keep the family together.'

‘May I visit and see these exceptional children?'

‘Of course,' I said. ‘Do you have a fully human form?'

He changed to human form, shrinking in his robes. He lost the dragon head and his human face was youthfully ageless, androgynous and divinely beautiful. His long green and gold hair fell to his waist.

I stared at him for a long moment, and he smiled at my reaction.

‘I think you may need to take a form that is a little less . . .' I was lost for words.

‘Dragon,' John growled.

I glanced up at John; his face was rigid with restraint. I took his hand and squeezed it.

Not you,
he said.
That's much younger than his usual human form, and if he makes a single move towards Simone I will take his head myself.

I'll help you,
I said.
And if he sends a boy of Simone's age, I'll send him straight back again.

John nodded without looking away from the Dragon King.

The King regained his dragon head. ‘I'll work on it.' He pushed away from the table. ‘Come. Let's lay these wreaths, and then my daughter wants to show you something.' We rose as well, and he led us through the garden. ‘Please talk to Jade about marrying Qing Long. She really does love him, and he has renounced his false façade and decided to live true to his own gentle self. They are a fine match.'

‘You just want a daughter of yours as Empress of the East,' I said.

The Dragon King chuckled. ‘I know, politics politics. But they are still a fine match.'

We went through a small side gate in the Palace's external wall and arrived on the lawn next to the lake. A three-metre-tall statue of a dragon carved from white marble stood in the centre of the lawn facing the water, and a number of dragons in both human and True Form stood around it, waiting for us. Jade and Jackie stood to one side, both of them with tears running down their faces, as they studied the wall behind the statue that held the names of those who had died in the conflict. The statue was surrounded by funereal wreaths, each a circular flower arrangement composed of white and gold chrysanthemums with the name of the donor written on a card in the centre.

The King gestured towards the statue. ‘My Lord. My Lady.'

John held his hand out and a flowered wreath appeared in it. I held the wreath as well, and we stepped forward together and placed it at the base of the memorial.

Please say something for us,
John said.
It will cement your seniority.

I nodded, and looked up at the elegant carved dragon.

‘The Demon Kings took advantage of the high principles of the Celestial in an attack without honour. They imprisoned helpless humans and innocent children, and many Celestials died in the fight to protect them. As long as dragons such as those of Dragonhome are willing to give their lives to defend the citizens of the Celestial, it will never fall again. We honour those who died, and those who were injured, those who were physically and mentally traumatised by the conflict, and those who suffered even though they had no part in it. Wudang regathers, and we will rebuild our armies to ensure that the Heavens are never threatened like this again.'

The dragons applauded politely.

‘You have chosen extremely well, my Lord,' the Dragon King said.

‘I did not choose Lady Emma,' John said. ‘Fate chose us for each other.'

The King nodded his dragon head. ‘I'll be in touch about the fostering. I look forward to forging closer ties with the House of
the North. Now I believe that my daughter wished to see you. After you have spoken to her, you may depart with our best wishes. She can be our liaison.' He bowed to John, then to me. ‘Lord Xuan, Lady Emma.' And he swept away from us, through the gates back into his Palace.

Jade came out of the crowd in human form. ‘There you are. I have something to show you. Come and see.'

‘Are you okay?' I said. ‘You can stop if you want to.'

‘No, no, it's fine, she said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. ‘Every time I think about Frannie and Hinnie I'm sad, but I have something for you to see. I'm fine.'