am.’
‘Do you remember what happened when you lost it? At all?’ I said.
‘Not a bit,’ John said without emotion. ‘I have absolutely no recollection of being divided.’ His tone didn’t change, his voice was still very mild. ‘If somebody has done this to me then they will pay very dearly.’
He turned and spoke to my parents as if nothing had happened. ‘Let’s go further around and look at Pokfulam. You can see Cheung Chau from there. Would you like to see the temple dedicated to me on Cheung Chau? It’s not very exciting, but you may be interested to see some of the stories and rituals that surround me.’
My parents just watched him silently.
‘Would you like us to take you home, guys?’ I said gently.
My father nodded. My mother didn’t move.
‘I’ll call Jade and Gold to carry you,’ John said.
My mother flinched.
‘No, thanks,’ my father said weakly. ‘We’d just like to walk back, if you don’t mind.’
‘You are perfectly safe as long as you are with me,’ John said.
My parents turned and walked back along the path without seeming to notice whether we followed them.
They are not taking this very well, Emma.
‘You can’t blame them, John.’
Back at the apartment we all sat at the dining table. My parents had glasses of scotch in front of them. The Serpent had pushed them over the edge. They’d had enough. Neither of them had shouted at us, they’d just gone very quiet. I didn’t blame them.
‘I can give you a choice,’ John said. ‘You can either go to the Western Palace, where you will be absolutely safe, or you can go back to your own home and I will post guards there for you.’
‘Where’s the Western Palace?’ my mother said.
‘It’s the Tiger’s palace,’ I said. ‘It’s on the Celestial Plane. It’s a beautiful place with gardens and fountains in the Western Desert.’
‘Heaven?’ my mother said.
‘Sometimes called that,’ John said. ‘But not really. More like a higher level of reality. If you go there, you will be perfectly safe. But it will be quite boring for you. You won’t be able to continue with your normal lives.’
‘How long before we can go back home and be safe?’ my father said miserably. ‘Before all of this blows over?’
‘Probably between one and two years,’ John said. ‘Depending upon how quickly I can take the head off that little bastard One Two Two.’
‘One Two Two?’ my mother said.
‘The demon that came after us at the graduation,’ I said. ‘No other demon is dishonourable enough to go after people who aren’t directly involved. He’s the only one who’s that much of a scumbag.’
‘What do you want to do, Barbie?’ my father said, turning to my mother. ‘I think it might be better to go with this Tiger guy.’
‘What would you do, Emma?’ my mother said.
‘Frankly,’ I said, leaning back, ‘I’d like to send you all to the Western Desert until this blows over. You guys, Jen and her family, Amanda and her family, everybody. Think of it as a family vacation. The palace is really nice, you’ll like it. And Jade or Gold can take me there, so I can visit you. Or you can come down here with guards, you’ll be fine. John?’
‘If that is your wish, and their wish, I have no objection,’ John said. ‘I will not let this situation continue for much longer.’
‘We have to get Simone up to speed.’
‘Yes we do. Brendan, Barbara,’ John said. ‘Would you call Amanda for us and explain? Then we can begin the arrangements. I will call Leonard and see what he wants to do.’
‘I just want to get out of here,’ my mother whispered.
The next afternoon we all waited in the living room: me, John and my parents.
The other three Winds materialised with Amanda’s family. They were all unconscious. John and I rushed to help with Amanda and Alan. Zhu Que gently lowered the boys onto the couch, one on each arm.
‘Are they okay?’ my father said urgently. ‘It is only
‘Do you remember what happened when you lost it? At all?’ I said.
‘Not a bit,’ John said without emotion. ‘I have absolutely no recollection of being divided.’ His tone didn’t change, his voice was still very mild. ‘If somebody has done this to me then they will pay very dearly.’
He turned and spoke to my parents as if nothing had happened. ‘Let’s go further around and look at Pokfulam. You can see Cheung Chau from there. Would you like to see the temple dedicated to me on Cheung Chau? It’s not very exciting, but you may be interested to see some of the stories and rituals that surround me.’
My parents just watched him silently.
‘Would you like us to take you home, guys?’ I said gently.
My father nodded. My mother didn’t move.
‘I’ll call Jade and Gold to carry you,’ John said.
My mother flinched.
‘No, thanks,’ my father said weakly. ‘We’d just like to walk back, if you don’t mind.’
‘You are perfectly safe as long as you are with me,’ John said.
My parents turned and walked back along the path without seeming to notice whether we followed them.
They are not taking this very well, Emma.
‘You can’t blame them, John.’
Back at the apartment we all sat at the dining table. My parents had glasses of scotch in front of them. The Serpent had pushed them over the edge. They’d had enough. Neither of them had shouted at us, they’d just gone very quiet. I didn’t blame them.
‘I can give you a choice,’ John said. ‘You can either go to the Western Palace, where you will be absolutely safe, or you can go back to your own home and I will post guards there for you.’
‘Where’s the Western Palace?’ my mother said.
‘It’s the Tiger’s palace,’ I said. ‘It’s on the Celestial Plane. It’s a beautiful place with gardens and fountains in the Western Desert.’
‘Heaven?’ my mother said.
‘Sometimes called that,’ John said. ‘But not really. More like a higher level of reality. If you go there, you will be perfectly safe. But it will be quite boring for you. You won’t be able to continue with your normal lives.’
‘How long before we can go back home and be safe?’ my father said miserably. ‘Before all of this blows over?’
‘Probably between one and two years,’ John said. ‘Depending upon how quickly I can take the head off that little bastard One Two Two.’
‘One Two Two?’ my mother said.
‘The demon that came after us at the graduation,’ I said. ‘No other demon is dishonourable enough to go after people who aren’t directly involved. He’s the only one who’s that much of a scumbag.’
‘What do you want to do, Barbie?’ my father said, turning to my mother. ‘I think it might be better to go with this Tiger guy.’
‘What would you do, Emma?’ my mother said.
‘Frankly,’ I said, leaning back, ‘I’d like to send you all to the Western Desert until this blows over. You guys, Jen and her family, Amanda and her family, everybody. Think of it as a family vacation. The palace is really nice, you’ll like it. And Jade or Gold can take me there, so I can visit you. Or you can come down here with guards, you’ll be fine. John?’
‘If that is your wish, and their wish, I have no objection,’ John said. ‘I will not let this situation continue for much longer.’
‘We have to get Simone up to speed.’
‘Yes we do. Brendan, Barbara,’ John said. ‘Would you call Amanda for us and explain? Then we can begin the arrangements. I will call Leonard and see what he wants to do.’
‘I just want to get out of here,’ my mother whispered.
The next afternoon we all waited in the living room: me, John and my parents.
The other three Winds materialised with Amanda’s family. They were all unconscious. John and I rushed to help with Amanda and Alan. Zhu Que gently lowered the boys onto the couch, one on each arm.
‘Are they okay?’ my father said urgently. ‘It is only
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