Earth to Hell. Kylie Chan
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you, Lady Emma.’
‘Oh cut it out, Michael, there’s no need for that. Get up off the floor and disappear.’
He rose, smiled, and disappeared.
‘My goodness,’ Meredith said, her hands on Michael’s shoulders where he sat on a chair in front of her, her eyes unseeing. ‘Don’t let your father look inside you, Michael, he’ll order you to stay in the Palace.’
‘I’m that big?’ Michael said.
‘Short answer: yes. And well on the way.’ She released his shoulders and smiled down at him. ‘The fact that you can stay in the US for such a long time is a dead giveaway, my friend. You are very big indeed. If I didn’t know Rhonda personally, I would say that your mother was definitely something very special.’
‘She is,’ Michael and I said in unison, and shared a smile.
‘Leave now, please, Michael, I need to speak to Lady Emma alone,’ Meredith said. ‘Wait outside.’
‘That means I’m big enough to go to Hell and come back out, and you want to tell Emma that it’s a bad idea to take me,’ Michael said. ‘If that’s the case, then I’m coming anyway.’
Meredith watched him, expressionless.
‘Good,’ Michael added.
‘You are about as intelligent as Lady Emma,’ Meredith said.
‘Oh, I sincerely hope that he’s smarter than me. Look at the number of stupid mistakes I’ve made,’ I said.
‘That’s true, Meredith,’ Michael said. ‘If she has me along she may not make as many stupid mistakes.’
‘You are very cheeky,’ I said. ‘And probably right.’ I sighed. ‘The Tiger will go ballistic when he hears.’
‘No need to tell him, it’s nothing to do with him,’ Michael said. ‘Keep him out of it.’
‘What about your mother, dear?’ Meredith said.
Michael’s face went expressionless.
‘You could be going there to get yourself killed,’ she went on. ‘I think your mother has the right to know.’
The intercom on my desk beeped and I pressed the button.
‘Celestial Messenger for you and Master Michael both, ma’am,’ Yi Hao said. ‘Do I tell him to wait?’
‘Don’t make him wait,’ I said. ‘Send him in.’
The door opened and a tiger stood in the doorway. He wasn’t white, like Bai Hu, but the standard deep orange with black stripes. He changed into a man in his mid-thirties wearing the white and gold livery of the Horsemen.
‘Great, a message from Dad,’ Michael said.
The messenger looked from me to Michael to Meredith. ‘I have a message for Lady Emma, and also a message for son number Three One Five.’
‘My name,’ Michael said pointedly, ‘is Michael MacLaren, Ronald, and you know it.’
The Horseman smiled slightly, and handed Michael a white scroll tied with a gold ribbon. Michael unrolled it without moving from his chair. The Horseman waited, watching.
Michael glanced up at the Horseman, his face rigid. ‘Do you know what this says?’
‘Yes, lad,’ the Horseman said. ‘Even more, though, do you know what it means?’
Michael tossed the scroll onto the desk. He rose gracefully and leaned on the desk with one hand. ‘Tell my father.’ He hesitated, then spoke with force. ‘Notice that I am not going to use a single word of bad language here. Tell my father that I am going to Hell. And that as far as I am concerned, so can he.’ He gestured dismissively towards the scroll. ‘This is either a tremendous honour or a huge insult. Either way, I don’t accept.’
The Horseman visibly relaxed. ‘So you do know what it means.’
‘Damn straight I do.’
‘What is it?’ I said.
‘He’s promoted me to Number Three,’ Michael said.
‘An honour,’ I said.
Both Michael and the Horseman grimaced.
‘Only if I can defend the title,’ Michael said. ‘Anyone who wants to can challenge me for the right to be Number Three.’
‘Normally a son of that level of precedence would be Immortal,’ the Horseman explained. ‘The current Number Three is an Immortal. Dad could be deliberately trying to stir up trouble for Michael, or he could be sincere and really want to promote him, because he thinks he’s that good. Actually I think he’s genuine, because he wants to patch things up with you, Michael.’
‘Why, Ron?’ Michael said.
The Horseman fell to one knee and saluted me. ‘Lady Emma, Regent of the Dark Northern Heavens. I have a message for you as well, and I think this will explain it.’
‘If it’s about him wanting to come back here, that’s up to Simone,’ I said. ‘She was right about the swearing. He keeps forgetting that she’s only fourteen and it’s really not appropriate to talk like that in front of her.’
‘No, ma’am, I have an invitation.’ He rose and passed me a large white card embossed with gold lettering. There was a red ‘double happiness’ marriage character at the top and gilt around the edges.
I glanced at the card. Rhonda was remarrying the Tiger, and would be Raised at the wedding ceremony and crowned Empress of the Western Heavens. I was invited to the ceremony, to be held in February of next year, just before the Chinese New Year holiday.
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Tell the Tiger I’ll send him an RSVP as soon as I’m back from Hell.’
‘Good luck in Hell, ma’am,’ the Horseman said. He nodded to Michael and disappeared.
‘What?’ Michael said.
I passed him the card. He looked at it and his face went grim. He threw it onto the desk. ‘Terrific. To hell with my mother — I’m going with you.’
‘You should talk to her first, Michael.’
He ran one hand over his blond buzz cut. ‘No, I shouldn’t. She’s made her decision, and I’ve made mine. To hell with it.’ He smiled grimly. ‘And to Hell with me. I’d better go and put my weapons in order.’ He saluted me, shaking his hands in front of his face. ‘Lady Emma.’ He disappeared.
Meredith smiled slightly. ‘This is very strange.’
‘What?’
‘He is very big, Emma. Bigger than any half-Shen I have ever seen, short of Simone herself. I would like to examine Rhonda some time soon; she really must be something special. He is bigger than any son of the Tiger should be.’
‘If she was a Shen she would have told us,’ I said.
‘Not necessarily. Many dragons keep their natures a secret from even their closest families. Look at Amy’s father — he was typical. Never told her until she found out she was a dragon by herself.’
‘You think we may have found one of these pure Western dragons that are so elusive?’
‘If she was a Western Shen she would not be able to live in the East for such a long time,’ Meredith said.
‘Unless she’s really big, that is. Michael’s big enough to live in the West.’
‘If Michael is a cross between an Eastern and a Western Shen, then he is something completely new and may be more powerful than anything we have ever seen.’
‘Never happened before?’ I said.
‘Not