Blue Dragon. Kylie Chan

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      Alan gestured towards Leo. ‘He’s huge, Brendan, no way could Emma do anything like that.’

      ‘I saw her knock him down with a staff,’ my father said proudly.

      ‘She can take me down hand-to-hand, without a weapon, as well,’ Leo said. He sounded as proud as my father did. ‘And she’s one of the finest energy workers that Lord Xuan has ever seen.’

      ‘Lord Xuan?’ Amanda said.

      ‘John’s real name is Xuan Wu,’ I said. ‘It means “Dark Martial Arts”.’

      They all went silent.

      ‘It doesn’t mean he’s bad,’ I said. ‘It just means that he’s dark and he’s the God of Martial Arts.’

      ‘Dark?’ Amanda said.

      John poked his head in the door. ‘Yin. Dark, cold, water, winter, death. That’s me.’ He grinned. ‘I rounded up enough carriers for tomorrow. About 10 a.m. Is that okay with everybody?’

      ‘Death?’ my mother whispered.

      ‘He’s Death?’ my father said.

      ‘No, that’s Yanluo Wang,’ John said. ‘Lord of the Underworld. Great guy. Haven’t seen him for ages, haven’t been killed in years. I’m just yin.’ He pulled his head back into the corridor and disappeared.

      ‘Ten is okay,’ I called.

      ‘Good,’ he said from halfway down the hall.

      ‘He doesn’t seem like a god,’ Amanda said. ‘He’s more like just an ordinary sweet guy.’

      Leo and I shared a smile. I turned back to my family and shrugged. ‘That’s because he is.’

      ‘What did he mean, he hasn’t been killed in years?’ my father said.

      I was silent.

      ‘Tell us, Emma,’ my mother said.

      ‘When Immortals are killed, they go away for a while, then return. Every time John’s mortal body is killed, he pays a visit to Yanluo Wang, in the Underworld,’ I said.

      ‘Don’t mince words, Emma,’ Leo said.

      I sighed. ‘Hell.’

      There was complete silence.

      ‘They won’t talk about it,’ I added. ‘So don’t bother asking him.’

      ‘Hand-to-hand, Emma?’ Leo said, moving to the other end of the room, ignoring the looks on my relatives’ faces. ‘How long has it been?’

      ‘I don’t know,’ I said, moving into a fighting stance. ‘A couple of weeks?’

      ‘Everybody stay still,’ Leo said, moving into a guard stance as well. ‘We won’t touch you, but if you move you could be moving into the line of fire. So stay exactly where you are; we know you’re there.’

      ‘Don’t worry, as long as you don’t move we won’t touch you,’ I said. ‘But if you’re freaked out by any of it, just say something and we’ll stop.’

      Leo grinned and waved a come-on.

      ‘Oh no,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘You first, Lion.’

      ‘He’s a lion?’ my father said with disbelief.

      ‘Yes,’ I said.

      ‘No,’ Leo said, and performed a magnificent jumping high kick right at my head.

      I ducked and rolled underneath him. ‘Oh, come on, Leo,’ I said, exasperated, as I spun to face him, ‘don’t treat me like a first year.’

      Leo moved forward until he was just out of reach. Then he attacked me. He swung at my face with the blades of his hands, left and right, and I blocked both. I ducked and spun, throwing my leg out with the movement, trying to take his feet out from underneath him, but he easily jumped over my foot and performed a backward somersault, landing in a long defensive position.

      ‘Whoa,’ Alan said softly.

      I threw a spinning high kick at his head and he grabbed my foot. I used the energy centres and twisted my body, knocking him sideways. He released my foot, rolled and spun upright next to Amanda, who flinched away.

      ‘Don’t move,’ he said, and raced forward to throw punches at my head and chest, again left and right.

      I blocked each fist, but I didn’t release them; I held them. I crossed his arms in front of him and arm-locked him with one hand. I readied myself to quickly take his feet out from under him before he could free himself.

      Leo grimaced, the muscles of his arms bulged and he moved to throw me off before I could complete the spin. I held him, then hesitated, still holding him.

      He tried again and I still held him.

      It became a test of strength. He couldn’t move his arms; I had them. With one hand.

      Holy shit, I’d never done this before, and I was stronger than Leo.

      Leo fought me, but he couldn’t move his arms at all. His face filled with bewilderment. ‘Damn, Emma,’ he said quietly, and I released him. He stepped back and studied me with awe.

      I tapped the stone.

      ‘No need to hit me, I saw it,’ it said. ‘Why are you acting so surprised?’

      ‘What is it, Emma?’ my mother whispered.

      ‘I’m stronger than Leo,’ I said.

      ‘What?’ my father said sharply. ‘How is that possible?’

      ‘The stone told me,’ John said from the doorway. ‘Emma, see if you can lift Leo.’

      ‘No,’ I said.

      John came to me. ‘Hold out your hand.’

      I held my hand out. John gestured to Leo without turning. ‘Put your hand on top of hers.’

      Leo moved forward and put his dark hand on top of mine.

      ‘Up,’ John said.

      Leo didn’t hesitate. He readied himself, then did a handstand on my hand. I shifted my weight, pushed my elbow into my side, and I could hold him. He held his other arm out, steadying himself, but his balance was perfect. I raised my left arm to help me balance as well. The tips of Leo’s toes in his soft leather martial arts shoes brushed the high ceiling of the training room.

      ‘Holy shit,’ my father said.

      ‘I’m inclined to agree with you,’ John said, watching Leo as he balanced on my hand. He glanced at me. ‘Can we put Michael on the other hand?’

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