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“I can’t do it.” Edward shut his eyes and pulled away from the edge of the building.
Amira, in her sleek, green dragon form, snorted impatiently. She had one front paw on the parapet and her tail curled around on the roof behind them.
“For a Ghoul, he is oddly lacking in fearlessness.” Wei Tian said to Kai. She’d chosen to carry the sword in a sheath on her back.
“The ghouls you knew were created from warriors. Edward used to be an ordinary Business Manager, a normal person.” She reminded him.
“If he doesn’t get his act together, the rumour of your visit will get there before you.” The spirit growled.
“Edward, I don’t care if you keep your eyes shut the whole way there, but you have to open them to get on Amira’s back.” Kai snapped.
Edward opened his eyes and looked at her, “Please Kai, please, don’t make me do this.”
“Get your backside on that dragon, Edward.” She snapped.
Tabatha, who was already seated, tried to hide a grin as the young man slowly approached the parapet. He climbed up and she held out a hand, "I'll help you on, Edward."
He looked up at her, "I don't want to do this, you know."
"So, you've said," Kai said from behind him, "about ten thousand times in the last five minutes. Get on." she barked the last two words, making him jump out of his skin and turning it into an order that he couldn’t refuse.
He stepped forward rapidly, grabbed hold of Tabatha's hand and almost jumped from the parapet onto Amira's back, sliding toward the opposite side slightly. Tabatha grabbed his other arm and pulled him into a more balanced position.
Kai stepped across from the parapet to Amira's back without really thinking about the thirty story drop below them.
"my natural magic field will stop you all falling off in flight, but it is possible to launch yourself off if you make too violent a movement, so I suggest that you stay still." Amira said, the odd echo in Kai's head telling her that the dragon priestess was transmitting it to everyone.
Edward gave a squeak as Kai settled himself into position in front of him.
"You'll be fine, Edward. " Kai said.
"You're not the one who will probably fall to their death." he retorted.
I can't die, even if I fall off. Kai felt like saying. Maybe I should be thanking Chamberlain for cursing me. She glanced down as Amira moved away from the building and the air began to rush past them.
"Don't worry about Edward too much." Amira told her on their private link, "I'll keep him in place."
Kai shrugged, “He has to get used to things like this; I don’t think normal will ever return for him. I wasn't all that bothered about him falling off, " she idly watching the countryside flow past below them. "I was more worried about him losing control of his Ghoul instincts. He's very new at this sort of thing."
"You stop worrying about the Ghoul and start planning what you are going to say to the Fae Queen." Wei Tian advised, "She is going to be very difficult to bend to your will."
"I know and I am prepared for anything. That's why you and Edward are with me. I need to make sure that Tabatha survives this confrontation, or we'll end up with another Gold Phoenix that won't want to work with us."
The huge lake on the horizon was suddenly underneath them and Amira veered west slightly, sniffing the air with her long gold-green whiskers twitching as she did.
"Malith is just beyond that range of hills there." Tabatha shouted over the wind, pointing.
Kai couldn't see any roads leading in the direction that Tabatha said. But there was an odd mist that clung to the tops of the hills the young woman had indicated. Amira's whiskers twitched again, and the mist cleared, revealing a city with wide avenues, soaring temple towers and large green spaces.
The wind rushing up into their faces as Amira dove, was scented with flowers.
Could be quite a nice place to live. Kai thought, breathing deeply.
“Don’t let the environment fool you; this place is as dangerous as Downtown and New Harbour in Te Ling.” Tabatha whispered in her mind.
“I am well aware of that thank you.” Kai replied, without moving her gaze.
“SO WHERE DO WE LAND?” Edward shouted and Kai winced.
“There is a Dragon Temple here, we will land there and walk to the Palace.” Amira told all of them, suiting words to action, banking sharply toward a large building covered with sparkling crystals.
“Ostentatious, most unlike the rest of the Dragon Temples.” Kai said softly to Amira.
“We didn’t build it.” Amira snorted, “Our Main Temple in Hachin is much nicer.”
Amira hovered above a large lawned area in the front of the temple and Edward squeaked as she dropped down so sharply that Kai’s stomach threatened to leave her body via her mouth.
“Please warn me next time...” she managed to say to Amira privately as the dragon settled down on all fours.
Amira snaked her head round and looked at Kai with eyes that sparkled with amusement, “I will... when there is a next time.”
Edward slipped off Amira’s back sideways, landing with a groan on the soft grass, which he gripped as if he were never going to let go of it again. Tabatha swung her leg over and jumped free lightly, landing on both feet as easily as if she’d hopped over a log. Kai refrained from saying anything as she dropped to the turf, but the solid ground was welcome.
Amira changed form, once again the robed priestess with an amused smile on her face, “That was fun. I don’t often fly very far from Te Ling, and it was nice to stretch myself.”
A soft cough from behind Kai made her spin on one heel.
There was a novice stood there.
“Yes?” Kai said.
“Welcome to Malith Temple, Jade Cat, Crystal Dragon, Golden Phoenix. If you would please accompany me, a car waits to take you up to the Palace. The Queen sent it.” The novice seemed ill at ease as she looked at Edward.
“He comes with us, child.” Amira reassured the novice, “reassure the Nǚ jìsī zhǎng that we are not staying long.”
The novice’s face relaxed and she bowed before turning to lead them away.
“Do we need to discuss a plan?” Amira asked, “before we get to the palace?”
“No plan. Just follow my lead.”
––––––––
“THE CLUB OPENS AT EIGHT, so we have about two hours. Most of the locals have been warned away through the usual channels.” Wolf said, bowing to Zhao, “There were some we could not reach though. The hotels have been advised of a ten pm curfew in the hope that we can minimise tourist casualties.
“Good. There shouldn’t be too many in there then. Things don’t really get moving until ten usually and the Fae will probably want as many people available as possible for the attack.” Zhao said, adjusting the cuffs of his titanium armoured gauntlets.
“Lord Black Dragon!” A call came from the door of the bar that Zhao had commandeered as the command post.
Zhao looked toward the voice, “Yes, Amin?”
“There is a problem out here, that I think you should see.” The Naga gestured outside.
Zhao strode over and carefully looked out. A huge stream of people with cameras and other tour paraphernalia was passing. They all wore lanyards in multiple colours; one of the ways that the TLPD had persuaded the hotels to identify tourists to locals.
“What the hell is going on?” He groaned.
A local tour guide that Zhao recognised peeled off from the throng and walked over to Amin, “Hi there, Amin, your lot providing the security today?”
Zhao ducked back into the bar to avoid being seen.
“what for, Shen? There’s nothing happening is there?” Amin stayed casual.
“There was a viral message that went round Holobook saying that there was a free festival starting soon in this location. Music, dancing, food, drink; all free.” Shen shrugged, “The hotels tried to say it was a hoax but couldn’t persuade anyone to stay away.”
“Are there any kids amongst this lot?” Amin asked, his face paling.
“No, the family hotels had already organised a free trip to Dragonworld yesterday and all the kids went on that with their parents this morning. They aren’t due back until about 1 am.” Shen frowned, “There might be some older teens though. What’s going on?”
“How did you get involved? I thought all the locals had been told to stay away from here by the board.” Amin’s face got greyer as more and more tourists walked past.
“I heard about that, but the hotels vetoed it, They said that we need to escort the tourists in case there was trouble.”
Zhao had had enough, he stepped back into the doorway.
Shen blinked, his face blanked, and he dropped to one knee, head bowed, “Lord Black Dragon.”
“Looks like the Fae out thought us.” Zhao said to Amin, “Use the Te Ling Tour Guide group on Holobook to warn them to get people back, tell them that it really is a hoax.”
“They won’t believe us, Lord; I had one bloke from America that we were just trying to keep all the fun stuff for ourselves as locals.” Shen didn’t look up, “I kept trying to talk them round, but none of the tourists are listening to anyone they identify as a local.”
Zhao started curing in Lupine. Amin blinked at him, scales flickering around his eyes as he caught the one or two words that he knew. The guide looked up, gasped and scrambled backward at the growling and snarling that flowed from the black enamelled dragon shaped helmet.
“Use the TLPD to surround and pull them back.” Zhao snapped.
“Won’t that just tell the world more bad things about our city?” Shen asked, “There’s already articles in the world press that are slating Te Ling and the ability of the local mayor to keep tourists safe.”
Zhao swore again, “Fine, currently I don’t care about our press, what I care about is...”
There was a delighted scream that turned into “They’re here, oh my god, It’s really them!” and the crowd surged forward.
Amin called one of the other SD Officers that had been stationed further down the street, toward the Red Monkey, “Varaquis, what’s happening?”
“Several groups of trucks just pulled up. One set up a stage on the back and that weird Japanese band that everyone seems to like is getting ready to perform.” Came the answer, “The rest seem to be setting up stalls and food stands.
Zhao cursed at the top of his voice, attracting attention from nearby tourists who were taking photos, “How can they be so far ahead of us?”
“Fae informers?” Amin suggested.
Zhao growled
“What’s going on, my Lord Black Dragon? Is there anything I can do?” Shen said.
Zhao thought quickly, ignoring the guide’s first question, “Shen, get all the local guides together, find a dragon puppet and lion costumes; the tourists want a festival, let’s infiltrate the one that the fae is clearly setting up.” He ignored the flashing cameras of the tourists.
A pair of TLPD moved the tourists on as Shen bowed and dashed away.
“Amin, get the SD officers to find Wushu uniforms; I know most of SD has had the appropriate training, let’s put on some Technique Demonstrations. Caution them not to interact with the tourists.” Zhao glanced at his watch, “The fae are going to want as many non-combatants in the area of the Red Monkey as possible, so we need to find a way to limit them.”
Another TLPD officer appeared from the right as Amin dashed away. The newcomer bowed, “Lord Black Dragon, I am SDO Mackintosh, a werewolf.”
Zhao nodded, “You taking over from Amin?”
The officer nodded, “Lord Jade Cat insisted that one of us be with you at all times.”
Zhao shrugged and turned his attention to the problem at hand, calling over one of the admin team from inside the bar, “Now we need to coordinate on the fly. Get the City Militia to regroup on the other side of the Red Monkey and make it look like a Military Parade.”
The woman nodded and dashed back to her laptop and phone.
“Now all we have to do is hope that we can save most of this bunch of idiots.” Zhao muttered, “and warn Jade Cat that we have had a leak...”