Earth to Hell. Kylie Chan
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Название: Earth to Hell
Автор: Kylie Chan
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Эзотерика
isbn: 9780007469291
isbn:
‘I know, my friend, I know,’ I said, and squeezed his hand. ‘I want it too.’
‘He would do it for me?’
‘He already did, but Kwan Yin grabbed you. Remember? He started to drain you. He’d do it again if we asked him, I’m sure.’
‘But I have to drink this stupid Elixir of Immortality. Then he won’t be able to drain me.’
‘He will. I know he will — he was concerned about draining Meredith. Take it, Leo, and come back with us for a little while longer.’
Leo gestured towards the sideboard in his dining room. ‘It’s over there. It’s been there the whole time; I could have used it any time I wanted. Wanna get it for me?’
I couldn’t contain the huge smile. ‘Sure.’
I rose and went to the sideboard, where an elegant silver and glass jug held the Elixir of Immortality. The liquid was the colour of red wine but its sour, unpleasant smell was discernible from quite some distance. I grabbed a glass as well and took both to him, placing them on the coffee table next to him.
‘Smells awful,’ I said.
‘Yeah,’ Leo said. He grinned. ‘Must mean it’s very good for you.’
‘Don’t do it yet — I’ll get the kids,’ I said.
‘Does Michael still object to being called a kid?’ Leo said.
‘Oh, very loudly,’ I said, and went to the door of the villa. Call them for me, I said to the stone.
Done, the stone replied.
Simone and Michael hurried back to the house, Meredith and the official following.
‘He’s really going to do it?’ Simone said, flushed and excited.
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘This will be your first time to see this then,’ Meredith said. ‘Come and watch.’
Simone raced to Leo and hugged him around his shoulders. ‘Drink it, Leo. I want to see what happens.’
I took the jug and poured him a glass of the crimson, foul-smelling liquid. ‘Drink it quickly if it tastes as bad as it smells.’
‘Yeah,’ Leo said, and raised the glass in a toast to all of us, then drank.
‘Wait …’ Meredith said, but it was too late.
Leo dropped the glass, his mouth opened in a silent scream, his eyes wide. He shredded quickly, like a demon, his edges disappearing into black feathery streamers. It happened too fast for me to react; he exploded and was gone.
CHAPTER 10
‘You killed him!’ Michael shouted, rounding on Meredith and the official. ‘You murdered him!’ He sagged against the couch and rubbed his hand over his face. ‘What happened?’
‘This is not possible,’ the official said weakly. ‘This cannot have happened. He was an ordinary human.’ He drifted to the side of the room and fell to sit on a chair against the wall. ‘I am contacting the Master.’
Meredith went to Michael and looked into his eyes. ‘That wasn’t Leo, Michael, believe me. Only demons react like that to the Elixir. Only demons say it smells and tastes bad; to everyone else it tastes very good. That was some sort of demon copy or replacement or something, and the Elixir destroyed it.’
‘So where’s Leo?’ Michael said, glaring at her.
Meredith turned to the official. He snapped back from whoever he had been communicating with, obviously stricken. ‘The Master is on his way. We have no idea how this happened. Mr Alexander must have been replaced some time recently. That copy was undetectable though, which is very disturbing.’
‘So where is Leo?’ Michael stormed to his feet.
A middle-aged man in traditional maroon robes appeared. ‘We don’t know,’ he said.
The official bowed and saluted him. ‘Yanluo Wang.’
‘Come with me to my office and we’ll work out what to do,’ Yanluo Wang, King of the Underworld, said. ‘The demons may know something — we will contact the demonic side of Hell. It appears that Leo has been taken.’
He took us back to the main building, where we’d arrived on the roof, and we went inside the ground-floor entrance. The interior was like a modern office. He led us past sleek designer cubicles containing staff in traditional robes working on computers, and to his office at the other end. It overlooked the lake and contained a meeting table, an executive desk and a computer. A whiteboard to one side was covered with indecipherable symbols and scribbled Chinese characters.
He saw me looking at it and grinned. ‘Recent strategic planning session.’
‘This really is Hell,’ I said wryly.
‘Oh, absolutely,’ Yanluo Wang said. ‘Some residents are punished by being forced to sit in on the sessions. If they are to be punished more severely, they are made to take the minutes of the meetings.’ He sat at the large conference table and gestured for us to sit. ‘Let me call in the contacts and see what I can discover. Please, give me a moment.’ His eyes unfocused.
There was a tap on the door and a man opened it slightly. ‘Wong Mo wants to help,’ he said.
‘I don’t want the Demon King having any part of this,’ Simone said. ‘He caused all this trouble in the first place by putting a price on my father’s head.’
‘If any demonic influence is involved, then he will be able to help, Princess,’ Yanluo Wang said. ‘He has equal jurisdiction down here in Hell.’
‘It’s a good idea,’ Meredith said. ‘The demons may have some ideas. They can’t get up to anything here on the Celestial side. Let them come, Simone.’
‘Emma?’ Simone said.
‘The King has to vow not to try anything,’ I said. ‘Don’t ask me what I mean, just tell him that and make him agree.’
I know exactly what you mean and I vow I will not try anything, the King said into my ear. I vow I will not try to make you change or convert you. But I’d love it if you were to show me, darling Emma. I dream about your Mother form at night.
‘He can come,’ I said, and the Demon King appeared at the other side of the room, with a long-haired Chinese man who looked like John at his side.
Simone moved so quickly she was a blur. She held out one hand, summoned Dark Heavens, and as she ran towards the two men she ripped the sword from its scabbard and threw it aside. She stopped with the point of the blade against the long-haired man’s throat.
It was John’s son, Martin. He stood with the sword at his throat and smiled slightly, СКАЧАТЬ