Blue Dragon Part 52

'Brad, grab Amy right now right now!' I shouted fiercely. 'Standard arm lock! Amy, if you can understand me, let him do it.'

Brad jumped to obey me. He held Amy from behind, towering over her. Amy didn't fight him.

'Everybody out!' I ordered loudly.

Amy's face went ashen. Brad's face tightened into a grimace of effort. The other four students went out, closing the door behind them.

'What did I do?' Amy said. She didn't attempt to struggle.

'Gold, get Jade here,' I said. 'I don't care if she's in the middle of laying eggs, I want her here right now right now.'

A long minute of agony pa.s.sed before Jade appeared. She looked around, then saw Brad holding Amy and stiffened. 'Get the next of kin,' I said. 'Tell them to hurry.'

I told the stone to explain the situation to Gold, who pa.s.sed it along to Jade, and both of them nodded without saying a word.

Amy's face twisted into anger. 'Don't move, Amy,' I said. 'Brad, hold her.'

'I didn't do anything!' Amy shouted, struggling.

'Hold still, Amy, trust me,' I said. Amy subsided. 'Hold her, Brad, a tight grip.' Brad nodded, his face rigid.

'What did I do, Emma?' Amy said. 'Why are you doing this?' Her face filled with horror. 'Oh my G.o.d, am I a demon and I don't know?'

'Just trust me and stay still,' I said. 'If I'm right, we won't hurt you at all. Trust me. How long, Jade?'

'Five minutes,' Jade said. 'It was a long way.'

'Amy,' I said gently, 'give us five minutes, and it will all become clear. I won't let Brad release you, because you may get hurt. Trust me, stay still. Brad, concentrate. Hold her.'

'Ma'am,' Brad said.

Tears ran down Amy's face; she was terrified, but she remained motionless in Brad's grip. Brad didn't move at all.

'Two minutes,' Jade said.

'Jade, Gold, on the count of three: as much chi as you can generate, right at her head,' I said. 'One.'

'NO!' Amy shrieked. 'I didn't do anything!'

'Two.'

Jade and Gold moved into position. We generated three b.a.l.l.s of chi, each at least a metre across.

Amy struggled harder. Brad held her tight.

'Three!' I shouted, and all three of us let loose with the chi right at Amy's head.

Amy transformed into a small black dragon, about two metres long. The chi missed her completely and hit Brad at neck height. He was completely destroyed and dissipated quickly.

Amy, still in the form of a black dragon, threw her mouth open and roared, then hurled herself at me.

Jade transformed, leapt onto Amy's back and held her down. Amy's black dragon form struggled against Jade, writhing and roaring with fury, but Jade was bigger and held her.

Gold and I waited patiently.

A magnificent dark blue dragon appeared in front of me, facing Jade and Amy. Its scales were so dark they were almost black, and its fins and tail were gold. It was about twice the size of Jade and had to bend its long tail to fit in front of me.

Amy froze completely when she saw the dark blue dragon. The dragon transformed into a short, round Chinese man in his late fifties. He stood still and silent, studying Amy.

Amy's dragon form sagged, then she changed back to her human form. She collapsed onto the floor. Jade also transformed, and put her arms around Amy.

The Chinese man went to Amy and stood silently over her for some time. Eventually, Amy pulled herself to her feet, Jade helping her. Then Amy fell into the man's arms, weeping. 'Why didn't you tell tell me?' me?'

'What would be the point?' he said. 'Either you are one of us or you aren't. If you are, it will happen. If you aren't, it is better that you never know what you could be.' He turned to me with Amy still in his arms. 'h.e.l.lo.'

'Hi,' I said. 'Have you heard of the Academy?'

'Of course I have,' he said. 'But I didn't connect it with what Amy was doing in Hong Kong.' He pulled away slightly to smile down at her and stroke her hair. 'I should have realised. She isn't here to teach English and avoid her husband at all. Like most dragons, she is unusually talented in the Arts and was recruited by the Dark Lord.'

'You never knew?' I said.

'She never showed any inclination before,' he said. 'Before she started learning kung fu, she never displayed any signs whatsoever.' He pulled her tight. 'I am so proud proud, Amy. My own beloved daughter, a black dragon.'

Amy was gasping. 'A black dragon?'

'Black as night,' I said.

'Is that why you tried to destroy me?' she said. Her face filled with horror. 'Oh my G.o.d, Brad! You killed Brad! How could you do that? No...no. You missed me, and killed him-he was helping you!' She breathed in ragged gasps. 'He died for me!'

'He was a demon, Amy,' I said. 'I was counting on you changing so that I could destroy him without him knowing we were on to him.'

'He was a demon?'

'The stories are true, my Lady,' Amy's father said.

'I'm sorry, sir, I don't know your name,' I said. 'You'll have to forgive me, I don't remember Amy's last name.'

'Amy Wu,' Amy said.

Amy's father released one hand and held it out to me.

I shook it. 'Mr Wu.'

'You can call me Richard, it's easier,' Amy's father said. He turned and smiled at Amy. 'A black dragon. Wonderful.'

'Am I a bad dragon?' Amy whispered. 'If I'm black?'

Both her father and I laughed. 'Colour has nothing to do with it,' I said.

'By your leave, Lady Emma, I would like to take my daughter to try out her new abilities,' Amy's father said. 'And then, of course, I must present her to the King.'

'Of course,' I said. 'Say h.e.l.lo to the Dragon King for me. You were were something special, Amy, it was just very well hidden. Happens all the time with you dragons. You're the third one this year. I should be getting used to it.' something special, Amy, it was just very well hidden. Happens all the time with you dragons. You're the third one this year. I should be getting used to it.'

Amy released her father and embraced me. 'Thank you so much, Emma.' She turned to Gold and saddened. 'Does this mean I won't see you again?'

Gold smiled gently. 'Once you've been presented to the King you'll probably be back here joining the advanced cla.s.ses with the other dragons. I'm thinking of setting up a special school for you guys, so many of you keep turning up.'

'The world is shrinking and we are finding more mates among the wider human population,' Amy's father said. He turned back to Amy. 'Now, we will transform, and I will show you how to fly and how to swim, and then you will see the most magnificent palace in existence.'

'Bye, Amy,' I whispered as her father took True Form. 'Have fun.'

'How do I change?' Amy said, but before she'd finished she was already in her dragon form. Her frill, fins and tail fin were all gold; the rest of her was shining jet black. She was magnificent. Her golden eyes flashed.

'Whoa,' Gold said softly.

'Bye, Gold,' Amy said.

'Au revoir,' Gold said. 'Come back soon.'

'Thanks, Emma,' Amy said.

I bowed slightly. 'You are most welcome, Dragon Lady.'

'Follow me. Watch closely,' Amy's father said and disappeared.

Amy glanced at me with her golden eyes, then disappeared as well.

Gold sighed with bliss.

'She'll be back soon,' I said softly.

'I know,' Gold said.

'Now we will sort out my students, and then the three of us will have a contingency meeting on how Brad the demon made it halfway through second year without any of us knowing,' I said.

Jade and Gold both looked sheepish.

'Not good enough from any of us, guys,' I said. 'Stone, did you see all of that?'

'Yep,' the stone said.

'Good,' I said. 'I'll want you to replay the part where Brad was destroyed. I want a good look at that demon; obviously he was something very special. We'll do a post-mortem on that thing and find out how we were duped.'

'Good idea,' Gold said.

'I think it would also be a good idea if I kept you busy for the next week or so,' I said to Gold.

'Forgive me, my Lady, but I was sitting on a clutch,' Jade said, miserable.

'Oh, for G.o.d's sake, why didn't you tell tell me?' I said. 'Go! Before they get cold. Why don't you dragons ever tell anybody anything?' me?' I said. 'Go! Before they get cold. Why don't you dragons ever tell anybody anything?'

Jade disappeared.

'Because they are truly wonderful,' Gold said.

'I wonder who the father is?' I said.

'No idea,' Gold said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.

Acouple of the Masters wanted to come along later that afternoon when we replayed the Amy/Brad incident. Meredith as Energy Master, the Demon Master JC Poon, and Gold were present. Meredith and JC had pa.s.sed Brad in the hallway many times without picking him; Meredith herself had examined him as an energy candidate. JC was a charming good-looking Northern Chinese who appeared in his mid-forties. Both he and Meredith wanted to see how Brad had made it past them.

Much as Leo wanted to see it, he and Michael took Simone out. She was sick of spending her summer holidays at the Academy and had demanded a day out with both of them, and Leo was strong enough to take her now.

We watched the replay in John's office, around a conference table that one of the Celestials conjured for us. I put the ring in the centre of the table and everybody leaned forward to study it.

Once I discovered that the stone kept a perfect record of everything it heard, I often used it as a memory aid. It was almost like a personal a.s.sistant for me; it even reminded me when I had appointments. I knew it could record images as well, but I hadn't tried it until now, and I was interested to see the results. I was expecting something like Star Wars Star Wars: an image projected above the stone.

'Everybody ready?' the stone said. 'This will feel queer.'

The room expanded, then collapsed, and we were back in the training room. The students were frozen, Brad holding Amy. The figures of Jade, Gold and I stood facing them.

John and I approached Brad and Amy, the other Masters behind us.

'Can you rewind it to where I put my hand on Amy's head?' I said.

The images didn't move backwards; instead, the scene shifted. The image of me stood next to Brad and Amy with its hand on Amy's head.

I studied myself. 'I really need to do more physical stuff.'

'Everybody's been telling you that,' John said. 'It's obvious you don't enjoy it as much when you can't do it with me.'

Meredith couldn't hold her amus.e.m.e.nt and made some most undignified noises.

'This is where you knew,' John said, crouching to study Amy and Brad. Amy held the energy in her hands, her face a mask of concentration. Brad sat across from her, his hand on her arm, supervising.

'Yes,' I said. 'Amy was distracted, and I saw right through her. I saw through her into Brad, who was also concentrating. It was there for a fleeting second before Brad closed up-I saw what he was. He was busy closing up so he didn't see what Amy was. I had both of them for a split second.'

'I didn't see that,' the stone said behind me.

I turned. It had taken human form to join us. Both Meredith and I collapsed over our knees laughing. It had taken the form of Sean Connery.