Four weeks later I attended the biggest wedding to be held on the Celestial Plane in a very long time. The Tiger had erected a stage for the ceremony on the desert plain outside the Western Palace, and it was decked with white and gold silk that billowed in the breeze. A stadium-sized LCD screen had been set up above the stage, allowing those further back to see the proceedings in detail. Tiered viewing stands for the guests had been built on either side of the road leading to the stage, and flagpoles lined the road, each of them bearing white and gold flags with the motif of the tiger. An honour guard of Horsemen on horseback lined the road on either side, facing inwards, each of them also bearing a lance topped with a tiger banner.
Simone was in a special box at the side of the stage, with other guests of honour. I was in serpent form, as small as I could make myself without discomfort, curled up under her chair.
The banners over our heads snapped in the strong breeze, and the horses’ bits jingled as they shook their heads and shuffled with excitement.
I nudged Simone’s foot with my nose. ‘You keep moving your feet together — I can’t see!’
‘Sorry,’ she said, and adjusted her position.
There was a fanfare of trumpets and drums, and a flash on the stage. The Jade Emperor had arrived. Everybody rose and, as one, fell to their knees, kowtowing three times to him. They remained kneeling with their heads on the floor until his voice rang out: ‘Rise.’
Everybody rose and sat. The large screen zoomed in on the face of the Jade Emperor, smiling benevolently. Er Lang stood glowering at his right shoulder.
‘Have you spoken to Er Lang recently?’ Simone whispered.
‘I just keep out of his way and he keeps out of mine,’ I said.
‘He should be trying to work with you.’
‘As long as I lack the attributes he requires, I don’t think he will.’
‘And I don’t think Emma will grow a penis just to appease his prejudice,’ the stone said.
Simone, Yue Gui and Martin all laughed quietly above me.
There was another fanfare of trumpets, and a few of the honour guards’ horses danced with excitement but remained in place. The riders quelled them and they stood again.
The Tiger and Rhonda rode up to the stage on horseback, each mounted on what appeared to be a Spanish horse: solid body, fine legs, thick, heavy neck and intelligent, large-eyed face. Rhonda’s was a striking palomino with a bright gold body and shining white mane and tail; the Tiger’s was pure white. Both horses had manes that nearly touched the ground, falling in long ripples from being plaited. The bridles and saddles appeared to be made of gold, and the bride and groom wore the traditional red Chinese wedding robes. The Tiger was in a mandarin jacket and pants of red silk, and Rhonda rode side-saddle in a traditional wedding dress of red silk jacket and long skirt, the jacket front elaborately embroidered with a phoenix and tiger in gold and silver thread.
Michael and Leo escorted them down the aisle, Michael on the right as a large tawny golden tiger and Leo on the left as a black lion. Each was about twice the size of the natural animal, their shoulders nearly the same height as the horses. Their presence had absolutely no effect on either the horses the couple were riding or on the guards’ mounts — an impressive display of training.
‘Leo nearly couldn’t manage it. He only just got it yesterday,’ Simone said.
‘I’m glad,’ Martin said. ‘It is good to see him able to walk without aid.’
The couple reached the stage and dismounted at the bottom of the stairs, passing the horses to a couple of the Tiger’s sons, who led them away. They walked side by side up the stairs, flanked by Leo and Michael, and kowtowed to the Jade Emperor. Leo and Michael went to one side and bowed as animals. Demon servants came forward to assist them with crutches and a wheelchair, and they changed back to human.
‘Michael says that with hard physical therapy he should be walking in a couple of weeks,’ Simone said.
‘That is also good to hear,’ Martin said.
‘They’re breaking with tradition: her face isn’t covered,’ Yue Gui said.
‘They’re remarrying so it doesn’t really matter,’ Martin said.
‘The big ceremony is more for crowning her as Empress of the West,’ Simone said.
‘Oh, shit,’ I said softly, and Simone giggled. She’d heard me.
‘We must ensure that the ceremony to wed and crown Emma is much larger,’ Yue Gui said with enthusiasm. ‘With martial arts demonstrations. Mass ones. And dancing. An orchestra. A mix of East and West, martial arts, music, dancing — it must be bigger.’
‘Oh, shit,’ I said, even more softly, and Simone laughed louder, struggling to hold it in.
The Tiger and Rhonda moved to stand in front of the Jade Emperor. He sat on a throne that had been prepared for him on a raised dais at the back of the stage, and they knelt before him. Demon servants brought a tray of teacups, and each of them served the Jade Emperor in turn. Then they rose, and the Tiger sat on a smaller throne to the right of the Jade Emperor.
Oh, look, they’re facing south, Jade said into my head.
‘Tell Jade thank you very much for reminding me,’ I whispered to the stone.
You are most welcome, ma’am. I hope you can see okay, because in time this will be you.
‘Damn, everybody really hates me today,’ I said softly.
Rhonda knelt before the Tiger and served him tea. He took the teacup, sipped from it, then returned it to the tray. She passed the tray to a demon, and took her seat on a throne to the right of the Tiger’s. They were officially married.
The Tiger gestured to the demon, and the demon handed him the tray of teacups. He rose, carrying the tray, and turned to kneel in front of Rhonda. The crowd gasped.
Rhonda stared at the Tiger, confused. He said something that wasn’t picked up by the microphones and she shook her head. He pushed the tray towards her and she reluctantly took a teacup, sipped from it, and returned it to the tray.
There was a quiet roar of discussion within the crowd.
‘Did he just set her above himself?’ Simone said.
‘More as an equal,’ Martin said. ‘She served him, he served her. Tremendous breach of protocol; people will be talking about this for a very long time.’
The Tiger rose, handed the tray to the waiting demon, then took Rhonda’s hand and kissed it. He pulled her up by the hand, guided her to stand next to him, and raised her hand in triumph. She wiped her eyes with her other hand.
The crowd erupted into a roar of approval, the Horsemen yelling loudest of all. An orchestra at the base of the stage played traditional Chinese marriage music, and the Tiger walked her, hands held high, the length of the front of the stage. They turned as a couple to face the Jade Emperor, still holding hands, and both bowed to him. He stood and bowed back, then sat again.
The Tiger raised one hand and Rhonda’s throne, gold and white carved with a pair of phoenixes as the back, floated to the middle of the stage, slightly to one side from the Jade Emperor’s, which remained at a higher position at the back. The Tiger guided Rhonda to sit on the throne, and bowed to her, and she nodded back. He turned, and a demon came forward with her crown.
From a distance the crown looked like a simple dome, but on the large screen it was much more complex, made of a delicate filigree of gold that was similar to the stone’s setting my snake form now wore. It was embedded with pearls, with a massive pearl in the centre of her forehead, at least three centimetres across. The crown had wings on the sides, like stylised phoenix wings, with strands of pearls hanging down from them to frame her face.
The Tiger took the crown, raised it for the audience to see, and then set it on her head. She used her sleeve to wipe her eyes again as the crowd erupted in more cheering. The Tiger took her hand again, raised her to stand, and led her to the front of the stage. He raised his other hand for the crowd to hush.
He released her hand and stood to one side as silence fell over the crowd.
‘Kowtow to your Empress,’ he said.
As one, all of the Horsemen thumped their chests with their fists, acknowledging her. The members of the crowd who were residents of the West knelt before her. Simone, Martin and Yue Gui, together with the other dignitaries, rose from their seats and saluted her.
Rhonda stood up and cleared her throat. ‘You may rise,’ she said, her voice choked with emotion. She turned, her wedding dress sweeping around her, and walked to the Jade Emperor. She fell to one knee before him, saluting, and he nodded to her. The Tiger saluted the Jade Emperor, took Rhonda’s hand again and led her to her throne, which had drifted to return to its place next to his. After she had seated herself, he knelt and saluted her, then sat himself.
The Jade Emperor rose and moved to the front of the stage, and the crowd hushed. Simone jiggled in her seat with excitement.
‘Bring me Leo Alexander, the one called the Black Lion,’ the Jade Emperor said.
Leo wheeled himself to the front of the stage to sit before the Jade Emperor, and saluted him. The Tiger clapped his hands in personal applause.
The Jade Emperor beckoned to Er Lang, who brought forward a tray holding a glass and silver jug and a crystal goblet. While Er Lang held the tray, the Jade Emperor poured the Elixir into the glass. He took the glass, raised it to the crowd, then handed it to Leo, one hand holding the glass and the other supporting the bottom in a traditional show of respect.
Leo took the glass and hesitated, looking at it. He looked around at the crowd.
‘Be the real Leo, be the real Leo, be the real Leo,’ Simone whispered.
Leo saw Simone and raised the glass to her, then took a small sip, then a larger gulp. He finished it and returned the glass to the Jade Emperor, who nodded to him.
‘Nothing happened,’ Simone said, sounding disappointed.
‘Yes, it did,’ Yue Gui said, and as she spoke the change occurred.
Leo was suddenly enveloped in the red-gold light of ching energy and raised from the wheelchair as if pulled by a string from his heart. He floated above the chair, his face full of rapture, the red-gold energy growing around him. He smiled with a mixture of joy and wonder, and a cloud came down from the sky, looking very similar to the clouds that Immortals travelled on. He stepped onto the cloud as if this was something he’d always wanted, and flew off high into the sky, disappearing from view.
The crowd erupted into cheers of joy, clapping and whistling.
‘He will be back, promise he’ll be back,’ Simone said.
‘You know that it is his choice, Mei Mei,’ Martin said. ‘I’m sure he will though.’
‘He’d better,’ she said, her voice choked with tears. ‘Oh, Emma, it’s wonderful.’
I was silent; I was too emotional to speak.
The Jade Emperor stepped forward. ‘Bring me Empress Rhonda MacLaren of the Western Heavens.’
Rhonda rose from her throne, the pearls on the crown bobbing as she moved. She walked to the Jade Emperor, knelt before him, then stood again.
He poured another glass of the Elixir for her, and passed it to her. She nodded to him, and wrinkled her nose as she brought it to her mouth.
‘No! Stop her!’ I yelled, but it was too late.
She took a drink from the glass and her eyes went wide. She dropped the glass and exploded. She didn’t explode like a demon; she was all human, and the drink destroyed her in a cloud of red and white mist that covered the stage with blood. The crowd roared with shock, and the Tiger shot to his feet, his mouth open with horror.
‘That wasn’t her!’ I said.
‘It had to be, Emma,’ Simone said. ‘He had her tested when she came back from Hell. That was her. What happened?’
The Tiger strode to the confused-looking Jade Emperor, grabbed the glass and sniffed it. He took a large swig and put it back, confused. He turned to walk away, but Michael was behind him, standing without the crutches and holding his white and gold katana.
‘You killed my mother!’ Michael yelled, his voice booming from the amplified sound system. ‘What did you do? You poisoned her!’
‘I don’t know what happened,’ the Tiger said. He raised his hands, palms up. ‘That was her. That was the right Elixir. I don’t know what went wrong.’
‘You bastard, you killed her!’ Michael yelled, and swung the sword to take his father’s head.
The Tiger didn’t attempt to block the blow and his head was separated from his body. Both parts hit the floor of the stage and disappeared.
Michael fell to his knees in the pool of his mother’s blood, weeping. ‘He killed her. He killed her.’ He rocked backwards and forwards over his knees, his eyes wide and his mouth open. ‘He killed her.’ He disappeared.
‘I’m going after him,’ Simone said, and disappeared as well.
The Jade Emperor raised his arms. ‘Return to your homes. We will investigate. I call upon the Number One son of the White Tiger to take control of the Heavens while he is incapacitated.’ He waved his hands and turned away. ‘Go home. Show’s over.’
He waved Er Lang closer and conferred with him for a while, then both of them disappeared.
I slithered out from under the seat. People were milling around in shock and talking loudly about what had just happened. No one noticed me. I climbed up into Simone’s seat to speak to Yue Gui and Martin. ‘Has anything like that happened before?’
‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Martin said. ‘If a demon takes the Elixir, they are destroyed as demon essence. But she disintegrated as a human. It’s very confusing.’
‘And that was definitely her?’
‘Absolutely,’ Yue Gui said. ‘The Tiger has the most advanced demon research facility in the Celestial. If anybody could pick a demon copy, he could.’
‘It’s not possible she was a demon; she was human all the way through,’ Martin said, and gestured towards the stage. ‘That’s definitely human blood.’
‘I am talking to her engagement ring, and the stone is as confused as everybody else,’ the stone in my ring said. ‘It swears blind that Rhonda was not replaced, and that was the genuine woman.’
‘Maybe she was something special,’ I said. ‘We thought she was a Shen. Maybe she was a demon after all, or something like me.’
‘Can one of you take Emma home?’ the stone said. ‘It could be a while before Michael decides to return, even if Simone manages to find him.’
I felt a jolt of dismay. I was going home alone. I’d lost all of them in one go.
‘They’ll be back, Emma,’ the stone said. ‘Simone will definitely be home later, whether she finds Michael or not.’
‘How long does it normally take someone who’s just attained Immortality to return?’ I said.
‘That depends entirely on the individual,’ Martin said. ‘Sometimes only days. Other times they come back a hundred years later, as if no time has passed.’
‘I suppose it’s worth it to know he’s not dying any more,’ I said.
‘That it is, Lady Emma,’ Martin said. He put his hand on my serpent head. ‘I will take you home.’
Ah Yat came out of the kitchen when Martin and I landed in the living room. ‘Welcome home, ma’am, Ming Dai Yan. I thought you were staying for a party in the Western Heavens?’
I changed to human and flopped to sit on one of the couches. ‘It was a disaster. The Elixir of Immortality killed Rhonda, completely blew her up. Then Michael killed his father and took off. Simone’s gone after him. Leo’s gained Immortality, and he’s gone as well.’ I dropped my head into my hands. ‘It’s awful.’
Ah Yat came and knelt in front of me. ‘Do not be concerned, ma’am. You are fated for better than this. All will be well.’ She rose and went back into the kitchen. ‘I will make you tea.’
Martin touched my back. ‘I will stay with you, Emma.’
I raised my head and brushed my hands through my hair. ‘Do you know where Simone is?’
He concentrated, then snapped back and shook his head. ‘She is more powerful than any of us. She could be anywhere.’
‘Will Michael be arrested for killing his father?’
‘Only if his father wants it. There is a loophole that if someone kills an Immortal and they both claim that it was during training, the student is exempt.’
‘But he did it in front of everybody.’
‘I do not think anybody will want to commit him for doing what he did. He knows the Tiger is Immortal, and everybody knows that the Tiger is quite capable of defending himself. The Tiger let him do it.’
Simone appeared in the middle of the living room, her face taut with emotion.
‘Did you find him?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ she said, and rushed into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
I went to follow her.
‘I will leave you,’ Martin said. ‘I will return tomorrow, when things have settled. If she wishes, she can tell me where Michael is and I will fetch him.’
‘Thanks, Martin,’ I said. He disappeared.
I went to Simone’s room and tapped on the door.
‘Go away!’ she said.
I opened the door and went in. ‘Did anything happen that I need to be concerned about?’ I said.
She was lying on her bed crying and glared up at me, full of fury. ‘No! Yes! Nearly! Go away!’
‘Well, thank God it’s only nearly,’ I said. ‘And you have the commonsense to stop.’
‘I didn’t stop, he did!’ she cried, distraught. She rose, pushed me out of her room and slammed the door in my face. ‘Go away!’
‘Is he all right, Simone?’ I said to the door.
‘Of course he’s not all right. He’s just seen his father kill his mother, and then killed his own father. He’s a wreck. He’s going back to the Folly. He says he needs some time and to leave him alone.’ The door opened again and she glared at me. ‘I need some time too. Leave me alone.’ She shut the door again.
‘Call the Lady, please, stone,’ I said.
‘Kwan Yin is already in there,’ the stone said.
I listened, and heard Kwan Yin’s voice talking to Simone, calm and comforting. I turned and went back to the office.
Kwan Yin appeared in the office after I’d read every twitter on the net twice. She sat across the desk from me in her human form of a mid-forties woman in a white pantsuit.
‘She hugged him, he was distraught, he kissed her, that’s all,’ she said.
‘And she’s blowing it out of proportion?’ I said.
‘Completely. You know how she feels about him.’
‘Oh Lord, he didn’t apologise profusely, call her his kid sister and ruffle her hair, did he?’
‘That’s exactly what he did.’
‘Damn, she’ll be impossible for days.’
‘Should I talk to him?’
I hesitated, then, ‘If anybody talks to him, his attitude will change. It will be obvious that someone told him, and she’ll hate me forever.’
Kwan Yin nodded.
‘It’ll be worse when she finally has a real boyfriend, won’t it?’
She nodded again.
‘I quit.’
She rose and touched my hand. ‘I will go speak to him now. What he has been through is very tough.’
‘Wait.’ I raised my hand. ‘What happened? Why did it kill her? Was that a demon copy?’
She hesitated for a moment.
‘Dammit, you’re doing it again!’ I said. ‘You’re deciding how much you should tell me without giving the future away! You do this all the time.’
‘There are some things that you should not know.’
‘Was Rhonda a demon?’
‘Not in the sense that you mean.’
‘What was she?’
‘An ordinary human being whose heritage betrayed her. Much as yours has betrayed you.’
I leaned back and stared at her with shock. ‘You know what I am. And it’s something like Rhonda.’
‘If you can clear the demon essence from yourself, the Elixir will not kill you,’ she said. ‘Now I will go talk to Michael.’ She disappeared.
I banged the desk and turned away.