Earth to Hell. Kylie Chan
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it, Simone said into my head. It was only PE anyway.
‘I’ll go on the bus with the girls,’ I said to the stone. ‘Tell Marcus to take the car back. How are the injured seniors?’
In the infirmary back at the Academy, the stone said. Serious injuries but not life-threatening. There’s some debate about whether to send them to hospital.
‘What does Regina say?’ I said as I got onto the bus and sat next to Edwards. Edwards, as usual, wore a pair of plain slacks and a business shirt without a tie. His bald head, glasses, and paunch made him look like a fifty-year-old schoolteacher — and deceptively harmless.
The driver pulled away from the kerb and into the traffic.
Regina says hospital.
‘Damn, we can’t afford this. If they don’t go to hospital what are the consequences?’
They will just receive better care in hospital, the stone said. Regina doesn’t have the facilities to deal with this type of fracture.
I hesitated. We would be asked too many awkward questions if the students were checked into a hospital. ‘Stone, get me Bai Hu, please.’
Ma’am, the White Tiger said into my head.
‘Ah Bai. We have two badly injured students and Regina wants to hospitalise them. Any room in your clinic?’
Stand by.
His voice returned a couple of minutes later. Either of them demons?
No, the stone said. Human.
Ah shit, the Tiger said. Well, okay, I’ll take them. A Horseman is on his way to get them.
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘Why do you always want my injured demon students?’
The Tiger didn’t reply.
‘He has a group of his children researching demon nature,’ the stone said.
‘Dear Lord, he’s not doing any genetic experimentation on them, is he?’
Nah, just having a look inside, the Tiger said. They’re moving way ahead of us in breeding research, they always have. I thought it was about time that we caught up.
‘Breeding?’ I said, horrified.
‘The Tiger is breeding demons?’ Edwards said.
No, no, of course not, the Tiger said. We just collect them as we go along. Some of yours would be fun to have — a few of yours are the results of some very interesting breeding experiments. That’s why they have so much free will and have joined you in the first place.
‘You hurt one hair on any of my demon students’ heads and your tail is in serious trouble,’ I said.
‘Hear, hear,’ Edwards said quietly.
‘He’s not breeding them, he’s collecting them and doing research,’ I said for Edwards’ benefit. ‘He wants some of ours’cause they’re the result of some “interesting breeding experiments”.’
Edwards leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. ‘No way is that bastard laying his paws on any of my students. My kids are not guinea pigs.’
I promise I won’t hurt them, Jim, the Tiger said.
Edwards gave an excellent British harrumph. ‘The psychological damage of undergoing that level of medical examination would undo all the good work we’ve done in getting these kids over what they’ve endured in Hell. The Tiger can piss off, he’s not gettingany of mine.’
What if they volunteer? the Tiger said.
‘Oh, now that’s clutching at straws,’ Edwards said with amusement.
It’s like a holiday for them, Jimmy, the Tiger said. You know how nice it is out here. Let them come and check it out. His voice became eager. How many good demon students do you have anyway?
‘None of your damn business, and shut the fuck up,’ Edwards said. He winced. ‘Sorry, ma’am.’ His tone was amused as he spoke to the Tiger again. ‘Get lost. You’re not getting any of my demons.’
‘You’re not getting any of the Academy demons,’ I added. ‘Get your own. And if I send any over to you for medical attention and find that you’ve experimented on them, your tail is mine.’
Fine thanks I get for helping you out here, the Tiger grumbled in my head. Just one or two —
‘No!’ Edwards and I said at the same time.
Fine!
‘Oh, and Ah Bai?’ I said.
What!
‘Thanks for looking after these students for me, my friend. Most appreciated.’
Stop sounding like Ah Wu, he said, and went quiet.
‘Be interesting to see what he’s finding out about them,’ Edwards said. ‘I’ve always been fascinated by demons. Never knew they existed when I was back in the UK, but I must have run into a couple of them without realising.’
‘You think so?’ I said.
‘It follows. Demons are often in on the nasty stuff that goes on.’ He nodded towards the prostitutes, who cowered in their seats at the back of the bus as the students tried to explain to them that they were no longer slaves. ‘We were often called in to deal with this sort of thing.’
‘Ever run into any nasties that seemed more dangerous than your average felon?’ I said. ‘That gave even a group of trained fighters like yourselves a tough battle?’
He thought for a moment. ‘Never had anybody that didn’t drop when we shot them, and demons would be unaffected by guns.’ He hesitated. ‘But some of them did seem tougher. We were given extensive training, and it’s like they were too.’ He shrugged. ‘Stronger, faster, smarter. A match for us. Could have been demons.’
‘But if you shot them, they fell down,’ I said. ‘Never had any explode into demon stuff?’
‘Never,’ he said. ‘Must go back to the UK and have a look one day.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ I said.
He harrumphed again. ‘Neither of us have the goddamn time, ma’am. We’re both flat out keeping our people here safe from the Demon King and his little kiddies.’
I sighed. ‘I know.’ I touched the stone. ‘How’s Simone doing?’
‘Let me see,’ the stone said. ‘She’s just arriving there now.’
‘Can you link me up, please?’
Simone appeared as a small image in front of us, running downhill towards the demons from where the phoenix was standing guard at the entrance to her nest. She was wearing her school PE uniform — a pair of green shorts and house T-shirt — and carrying her father’s sword, Dark Heavens. The sword was completely without adornment on either the handle or the blade. It was slightly too big for her but it was her weapon of choice.
As she closed on the demons, she lifted into the air, her tawny hair flying around her. She raised Dark Heavens horizontally above her head, and held her left hand up, her first two fingers pointing towards the demons, ready to use chi energy if necessary.
She flew lightning-fast over the Snake Mother, somersaulted directly above it and sliced diagonally through its skinless body. It fell in two pieces, the snake part writhing across the ground, the human hands scrabbling at the gravel.
Simone landed in a crouch, and I was breathless for a moment thinking she had hit the ground too hard. She spun and rose and launched shen energy