I strode to him and he shifted uncomfortably away from me. I held my hand out. Show me then.
Im not sure I want to touch you right now, he said, looking at my hand as if it was something toxic.
Youve seen her serpent form many times; this cant be whats causing this, LK said. Tell us what you saw.
Serpent form? Ben said.
Its a long story, I said. I didnt lower my hand. Show me.
He cant show you, youre only a human. You need to be more than human to touch minds with a demon, LK said. Dont risk the damage from trying.
I reached out, grabbed Ronnies hand and made the link.
He let his breath out in a long gasp, like hed had the wind knocked out of him. Holy shit.
Did you just link to him? LK said.
Let me see what you saw, then Ill show you what I saw, I said.
What did you see? LK said.
Ill show you after hes shown me, I said. Do it, Ronnie.
Wait, LK said, and came to us. He put his hand on my shoulder. Good God, Emma, you really did that.
Take a seat, Ben, Tom, this wont take a moment, I said. Help yourselves to the food if you like. The demon will be coming in a moment to take drinks orders.
This is it, Ronnie said. Tell me if you need me to back off.
He showed me, and LK hissed quietly behind me. I wasnt just a serpent; I was huge and black, my head brushing the ceiling. My eyes were as black as my scales, and I was covered in intimidating spikes over my head and down my back, with a frill around the back of my head instead of a cobra hood.
Looks like a Serpent form of Johns Turtle I said, and my voice trailed off. I released Ronnie and fell to sit at the table, my head in my hands. Oh dear Lord, no.
More demonic than the Dark Lord, Ronnie said. That thing was scary. Immeasurably big; I think it could take down the King easily. Immense destructive power, and so damn dark the centre of it was like looking into the Abyss. Whatever you were, Lady Emma, it certainly scared the living shit out of me, and Im big enough to sire spawn on a Mother.
You saw something too? LK asked me.
I nodded into my hand.
Are you concerned youre his Serpent? Ronnie said, sitting next to me. Is that what this is about? Ive heard stories.
I wiped my eyes. If Im his Serpent, then when he rejoins well, thats it, isnt it? Id be gone.
Youre afraid of losing your identity into his? Ronnie said.
No, Id welcome it, I said. But for Simone, it would be the same as if I died. Shed gain him and lose me, and Im like a mother to her. Shes lost enough family members as it is. I really cant do it to her.
You may not have a choice, Ronnie said.
I nodded.
Show me what you saw, LK said to me.
I raised my hands and each of them took one. I re-established the link and our minds touched.
LK was a human Immortal, not a Bodhisattva, so his soul didnt have the ringing purity of a Buddha, but he was connected to the Universe and one with Eternity. His soul smelled of mint-fresh shen energy, intertwined with constantly regenerating ching energy, tasting of firelight and summer heat. His chi enveloped both and moved with his breathing, full of the essence of sunshine and autumn leaves. His Immortal nature sang in tune with the Universe, and was at the same time as small as an atom and as vast as a galaxy.
That I could attain such heights, Ronnie said with awe.
You have made the first step onto the Way, LK said.
It would take so long for me to travel there, Ronnie said.
You cannot travel to a Path, you are already on it, LK said. And as you travel, time has less and less meaning. Eventually you are pure thought and time does not exist at all.
Ronnies essence was the dark roiling thickness of demon, but there existed strands within it of chi; he had cast off his nature and turned, and was attempting to attain humanity. He didnt taste of the foulness of demon; he was more like dark chocolate, deep and bitter, with the chi making sweeter and lighter strands through it. My heart went out to him; hed turned hundreds of years before and still had achieved so little.
Remember what I said. Time is an illusion, LK said.
Ronnie nodded agreement inside my head.
I showed them what Id seen when I walked in the door. Id tasted LKs pure Shen nature and Ronnies dark demon nature, made sour by his fear. Id smelled Tom and Ben behind me; Toms demon nature was similar to Ronnies but in many ways different. Ronnie saw it as well and his mind glowed gold with the smell of spice and curiosity. Ben I saw as human; he was the only human there. Compared to LK his nature was earthy and rich, but he did have traces of something greater within him, like flashes of a deeper scent that came and went.
You arent supposed to be able to do that, LK said.
Thats something I havent heard anyone say in a very long time, I said.
No, Leo said it yesterday, the stone said. And before you ask, I have no idea what you are.
You dont see peoples souls, you taste them, LK said. Ive never seen anything like it. Usually we have a sight or sound analogue for the way we perceive the higher senses. Why are you experiencing them as smell and taste?
Probably because Im a snake, I said. We work off taste and smell more than anything; thats why we flick out our tongues all the time.
Snake? Ben said weakly.
I released their hands and turned to speak to him. Many spirits on the higher plane are the essence of nature, weather and animals, I said. Dragons, tigers, wolves, foxes many types of animals. Reptiles as well, including turtles, dragons, and snakes like me.
Any cockroaches? Tom said, amused.
Im glad we found you, Tom, youre smart and brave and have transcended your nature, I said. Only demons take the form of insects; theyre not intelligent enough to be Shen.
Im starting to feel less and less like a freak all the time, Tom said.
Oh, were all freaks, one way or another, I said.
Hear, hear, LK said. Now that everybodys established how scary we all are, lets have a look at you, Tom.
Toms eyes widened and he sat back in his chair.
Nobodys going to hurt you; well just look at you, I said. No need to be concerned.
I sat at the table and gestured around it. LK and Ronnie Wong could have been brothers: both appeared to be mid-thirties and were wearing plain white dress shirts and slacks and ugly plastic-rimmed glasses. LK Pak is the Wudang Mountain Demon Master; hes made an extensive study of the nature of demons. Ronnie Wong here is a Prince of Demonkind and exiled from Hell. He turned from the hosts of Hell and has aligned himself with the Celestial, but because of his nature and the strength of the seals he is still unable to enter Wudang uninvited.
I wouldnt go in anyway. One of your students might think Im a threat, Ronnie said with good humour.
It is important at this point that you do not change to your demon form, LK said to Tom. You would be destroyed.
I wont anyway, Tom said. It tries to control me, and it thirsts for blood.
I wont anyway, Tom said. It tries to control me, and it thirsts for blood.
I had a sudden horrible idea. Do either of you know a woman called Kitty Kwok?
They both started and shared a look.
I remember you mentioned a Kitty before, but it didnt click until you said it again, Ben said. Not Kitty Kwok; she said her name was Kitty Ho, same as my wifes name. She came to visit us in Wales, said she was my wifes sister, and my wife welcomed her. He grimaced. But the way they behaved wasnt like sisters at all. It was more like He hesitated.
Tom said it for him. Lovers.
Ben nodded, his face full of misery.
Did she ever experiment on you, Tom? I said.
Not that I know of, Tom said.
Did you have needle tracks?
They shared another look.
I accused him of taking drugs and he denied it, Ben said. We had some huge arguments over it. He said he had no idea how the marks had got there.
Emma, LK said, I hate to suggest this, but
No, I said.
You wanted to find out what you are, maam, he said.
Dont even think about it, I said. I rose and walked to the other side of the room. We are not going there.
What is it? Ben said.
Emma was filled with demon essence by Kitty Kwok and it turned her into a lamia, same as you, Tom. But she isnt half-demon like you; she is supposed to be all human
I spun to shout at him. I am all human! My mother has never cheated on my dad! I turned away again. Dont even think it.
They were silent. I turned back and saw LKs face.
Oh, no, you dont, I said. If youre talking to the Tiger about my blood samples you can stop right now. I was born in Australia. Im not half-Chinese so I cant be half-demon. I resemble both my parents; its obvious.
I wonder if they ever tried to hook you up with a demon? Ronnie said.
Suddenly Aprils husband, Andy, was standing in front of me. I backed up until I was against the wall, breathing hard with loathing as he grinned at me, an expensive bunch of flowers in one hand and a set of car keys dangling from the other.
Emma, its okay, youre on the Mountain, LK said.
I shook my head and snapped back. I was in the demon interview room on the periphery of the Mountain. I rubbed my hands over my face and returned to the table.
What happened? LK said.
I had a flashback, I said. Most severe one Ive ever had.
PTSD? Ronnie said.
I nodded, miserable.
Whats PTSD? Vincent said.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, LK said. Used to be called shell shock. You have enough extremely bad things happen to you and your mind never completely recovers. I didnt know you suffered from this, Emma.
Thats the first time its happened in front of anyone else, I said. Dont spread it around that I have this, please. I dont want anyone else to know about it.
Wouldnt dream of it, Ronnie said. I have flashbacks myself. You go through enough, your brain keeps bringing it out and tormenting you with it because it cant make it go away.
You should both see someone, LK said.
I am, I said.
Ive been studying human clinical psychology journals, Ronnie said. Ive even thought of studying psychiatry to add to my knowledge, but that would mean studying medicine and my physiology would come under scrutiny. Not a good idea.
That was a pretty severe flashback, LK said.
I remembered, I said. I just saw Andy Ho I stopped. I just saw Andy Ho, my friend Aprils husband. It was before he married her I was back at the kindergarten, still working for Kitty Kwok. He was trying to date me, promising me all sorts of stupid stuff, claiming he was so rich and could give me a life better than anything Id ever experienced. He was trying to give me a car.
But he was a demon, LK said.
He fathered a demon copy of Simone on April, and they generated a Mother copy of April as well, I said. He was in league with Kitty.
Same name as my wifes family, Ben said. Her name was Ho.
But you never mentioned him trying to date you before, Emma, LK said.
I didnt remember, I said. I have no idea what the circumstances were around that flashback; I have no memory of him trying to date me. All I can remember is the terror and revulsion I felt towards him. I shivered and hugged myself. Ugh, the idea of him even touching me freaks me out.
Some of the damage Kitty did to you may be permanent, LK said. Its likely lost memories will continue to surface for the rest of your life. He pulled a notepad and a pen towards him and flipped the pad open.
They were filling me with demon essence in preparation for having a child with him, I said. A child like Tom. I turned to Ben. You and I have something in common; something that makes us different, and something these demons know about. I cant wait to find Kitty Kwok Ho Man Yee and have a very serious talk with her.
You need to track down whether you have any common ancestry or heritage and go find what it is, LK said, scribbling notes on the pad.
Where in Wales are you from? I asked Ben.
Cardiff, but my family originally came from the town of Holyhead. Its spelt Holy but pronounced Holly. Its on an island off the west coast of Wales called Holy Island.
If that isnt the perfect name for the home of Shen then I cant think of one, Ronnie said.
I wonder where my ancestors came from, I said.
If they didnt come from the same place I will be very surprised indeed, Ronnie said. Id love to come along if you go. Ive never been that far from my Centre and Id like to see how long I could handle it.
Deal, I said.
Me too, LK said, underlining a couple of points on his notes, then peering at Tom. If theres any new demons there, I want to see.
Ill take you, Ben said. There are so many strange things on that island ancient ruins, mystical stones Id love to show them to you.
Stone, find a week to clear in my diary, I said. I have to go.
Give me some time to rearrange your appointments, the stone said. Might be best to do it during term break.
Is there a village there? High up on a hill, with thatched cottages and lawns with low walls and flower gardens? I said.
No, Ben said. There is a small group of houses high up on Holy Mountain, but no thatching any more, its too expensive to maintain.
There really is a group of houses up on the mountain? I said, incredulous.
Yes. Its called Mountain, Ben said.
The village is called Mountain?
Welcome to Wudang Mountain, LK said with humour, still taking notes. Which is also known as the Mountain.
So many coincidences, Tom said.
No such thing, I said. Are you done yet, LK?
Nearly. This has been most interesting, LK said, scribbling a few final points on the notepad.
Tom stared at LK. Youve been examining me this whole time?