Blue Dragon Part 25

By the fifth day John was a different person. He was lively and happy and sparkled with energy.

Leo had relaxed as well. He hadn't mentioned it, but he had been feeling unwell; I could see it. The ulcers had stopped recurring by the third day, and I couldn't practise my healing skills on him any more.

On the sixth day John decided over lunch to take a half day to spend with us. Simone was delighted. We went back to Sapi, and John and Simone spent more than an hour together on the reef. After they had emerged, John and I sat at the edge of the water watching Simone as she played. She had a little net and caught the small fish in the shallows, talking to herself as she did it.

'You eat fish?' I said.

'Which form?'

'Either.'

'Human, no. Turtle,' he said as he shifted slightly, 'sometimes.' He smiled gently, still watching Simone. 'I'm not sure you want to know too much about my dietary habits in True Form, Emma.'

'Turtles are cute.'

'Turtles are generally carrion eaters when they crave flesh,' John said. 'Cat food is second best.'

'Yuck.'

'You had to know.' He grinned at me, then his face softened, pensive. 'Nothing quite like a well-ripened whale carca.s.s that's been floating in the sun and the salt for a few days. You humans have robbed us of one of our greatest pleasures.' He laughed, his shoulders moving. 'It revolted Mich.e.l.le; she didn't want to see me eat at all. Good thing I didn't have both.'

'The Turtle and the Serpent?'

He nodded. 'Hn. Just Turtle.'

As if in answer to his saying the word, a large sea turtle swam right up to the beach and rested its head on the sand between us. Simone dropped her net and raced to stand behind it, her eyes wide with wonder.

'Move away from it, Simone,' John said quietly. 'Come behind me.' His face was expressionless. 'I told you I did not want to see you.'

The green turtle watched him, its eyes sad.

'Go,' he said, glancing sharply away from it.

It transformed and I gasped. Simone squeaked behind John.

For a moment I thought there were two Dark Lords on the beach. In human form, the turtle was a young Chinese man appearing to be in his mid-twenties. He was golden and muscular and had long black hair hanging loose over his shoulders. His face had some softer angles than John's, but there was a remarkable resemblance. He lay on his belly as the turtle had done, half in and half out of the water. He rose to his knees. He wore a simple pair of plain dark green long pants.

'I wish to offer my services,' he said, 'my Lord.'

John didn't look at him. He didn't say a word. His face was an expressionless mask.

'You need me,' the young man said quietly. 'You don't have much more time.'

John shot to his feet, strode into the water and disappeared below the surface.

The young man turned and sat next to me. 'Good day, my Lady,' he said without looking away from the water. 'My name is Ming Gui, but you can call me Martin, if you like.' He smiled at Simone. 'h.e.l.lo.'

'h.e.l.lo.' Simone studied him curiously, then came around him to sit in my lap. 'Who are you?'

'I'm your big brother. But our dad is mad at me and hasn't spoken to me for centuries. That's the first word he's said to me in over two hundred years.'

Simone's eyes went very wide. 'You're my brother?'

He nodded quietly. 'Hn.' Something inside me squeezed tight. He was definitely John's son. The resemblance was devastating.

'What are you, Martin?' I said.

'I'm just a little turtle Shen,' he said, turning back to the water. 'If you want me to go, just say so.'

'He's mad at you?'

He nodded again. 'I did something very wrong. He lost a great deal of face. Both of us did. The entire House of the North was shamed. He still hasn't forgiven me.' He sighed. 'I wonder if he ever will.'

'What did you do?'

'Not in front of my sister.'

He stiffened and froze. His face went blank. Simone's face went blank as well. Then he and Simone turned to each other and smiled.

Simone approached and studied him closely. 'You look a lot like Daddy.'

He nodded, his eyes sparkling. 'Thank you.'

'Can you do the Arts?' she said.

'That's why I'm here,' he said. 'I think you may need me very soon.'

'When Daddy goes,' she said.

He nodded.

'Did somebody just talk to you?' I said.

'Daddy introduced us to each other,' Simone said.

'He doesn't want to be on the same beach as me,' Martin said. He sighed with feeling. 'Still hasn't forgiven me.'

'I'd really like to know what you did,' I said.

'I'll drop by and tell you about it later, if you like,' he said. 'We can talk about the future as well. Whether you are willing to take me up on my offer, after he's out of the picture.'

'I'm asking Xuan Wu if I can trust you first,' I said.

He turned back to the water. 'Go right ahead.'

Leo came up and sat down next to Martin. He reached across Martin and offered me a young coconut with a straw sticking out. 'Thanks,' I said, and waited for it.

Leo offered one to Martin, saw Martin's face and stopped dead. He stared, speechless.

Martin smiled gently at Leo. 'h.e.l.lo, Lion. My name is Ming Gui and I'm the son of the Dark Lord.'

'You're Martin?' Leo finally said.

Martin's smile didn't shift as he nodded.

'Mich.e.l.le told me about you.' Leo put the coconuts carefully onto the mat. He brushed his hands on his shorts, then held out his huge hand. 'Pleased to meet you.'

Martin shook his hand and his grin broadened. 'I'm delighted to finally meet you.' He stiffened. His face froze.

'Bye, Martin,' Simone said, her voice full of disappointment. 'Sorry.'

'Bye, Simone,' Martin said kindly. 'I hope I'll see you again soon.'

Simone hesitated, then walked up to him, threw her little arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled with genuine delight and gave her a hug.

'I'm glad I've got a brother,' she whispered.

'I'm glad I have a sister,' Martin whispered back. He pulled away to smile at her. 'He's on his way, I'd better move. If he sees me here he'll have my sh.e.l.l for breakfast.'

He saluted me quickly, shaking his hands in front of his face. 'Lady Emma. I may come and see you later, if you are not with my father.' He touched Leo's hand. 'You're everything I've heard.' Leo's face was a mask of restraint.

Martin transformed into a turtle, pulled himself clumsily into the water, and then disappeared swiftly underneath.

'He was nice,' Simone said. 'I'd like to see him again.'

'So would I,' Leo said softly.

John appeared out of the water and flopped onto his stomach on the beach.

I didn't know what to say. Martin was obviously a problem for him. Eventually I decided to tackle it head-on.

'Can I trust him?'

'Yes,' John grunted, then lay dark, silent and unmoving on the beach. Conversation closed.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

John knew what Leo and I were doing when we went for a walk along the edge of the water after dinner. He scowled, and took Simone to the play centre. The computers in the business centre next to the playroom had broadband, so he could check his email while Simone was playing.

We headed down the stairs to the edge of the water. The sh.o.r.eline was mostly rocks, but there was a small strip of sand. There was a park bench on the gra.s.s facing the water. Leo and I sat companionably together and waited. The sun was setting over the water, with a spectacular tropical flame of colours. It was still very warm, but the breeze had cooled slightly.

Martin appeared in human form and waded out of the water towards us, his long hair hanging loose over his shoulders. He stopped and concentrated, dried himself, and added a green cotton jacket to the green pants. Leo made room and he sat between us.

All three of us quietly watched the sea.

'Are you as good as your dad, Martin?' I said, coming straight to the point.

'n.o.body's as good as the Dark Lord,' Martin said. 'I can take up to level fifty with my bare hands, though. Weapons, I can take nearly anything. Energy, the same. I think I'll be useful to you once he's gone.'

Leo shifted slightly. 'Good.'

Martin smiled at Leo.

'What did you do?' I said.

Martin turned back to the sea and sighed. 'I did a really stupid thing.' He didn't elaborate.

'Seems to run in the family,' Leo said, his voice a low rumble.

Martin leaned back and threw his arm over the back of the bench. 'Really stupid.' He shook his head. 'I didn't tell my father all there was to know about myself, even though I was living in his house. He arranged a marriage for me.' He smiled sadly. 'I went along. I pretended to be happy about it. She was a lovely girl,' he added, full of remorse. 'Half dragon. It was an excellent match. I was genuinely fond of her. But,' his voice went very soft, 'my partner at the time drank too much the night of the wedding. He'd agreed to the marriage; it was a good thing all round. But he lost control and it all came out. He railed against the situation loudly to everyone present.'

'Oh my G.o.d,' I said. 'That's awful.'

'My father was furious,' Martin said. 'He hadn't known about me, about my partner, about anything. He didn't care about that, but he was absolutely devastated that I hadn't told him, and had gone along with a sham marriage purely to please him. I was shamed, he was shamed, she was shamed, both houses were shamed. None of us could hold up our heads in public. We were all a laughing stock.'

'I think you misjudged him, Martin,' Leo lisped. 'If you had told him in the first place, none of that would have happened.'

Martin laughed quietly. 'That's what he said. That I didn't trust him enough to tell him. I suppose...' He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees as he looked out at the sea. 'I suppose he was right.'

'How long ago was this?' I said.

'About six hundred years,' he said.

'And he has hardly spoken a word to you since?'

Martin shook his head, looking down at his hands. 'Nope.'

'Well then,' I said crisply, 'I think it's about time you two made up.'

Both Leo and Martin stared at me.

'How many people remember what happened after such a long time?' I said.

'Three.' Martin smiled gently. 'Me, my father and the girl.'

'What about your partner?'

'Moved on a long time ago.'

'You have n.o.body?'

Martin shook his head. He glanced up at me. 'It would be good to be able to talk to my father again.' He sighed and turned back to the sea. 'I miss him. And very soon, he will be gone.'