Blue Dragon. Kylie Chan

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СКАЧАТЬ very late,’ I said. ‘He wasn’t up late last night either. Where’s Leo, Ah Yat?’

      ‘In the training room, ma’am,’ Ah Yat said, the smile gone. ‘Is the Dark Lord all right?’

      ‘I hope so,’ I said softly. ‘He is just sleeping?’

      Ah Yat’s eyes unfocused, and she nodded.

      ‘We should go and have a look, Emma,’ Simone said.

      I hesitated.

      Simone rose and took my hand. ‘Come on, Emma, you’re nearly married anyway. It’s okay. He won’t mind.’ She sounded much more mature than her six years. Her eyes unfocused, then she snapped back. ‘I told Leo.’

      We went down the hall together, leaving Michael in the kitchen, his expression grim. Leo met us outside the training room.

      ‘He has been sleeping much more lately,’ Leo said. ‘Most days last week he wasn’t out of bed before we took them to school.’

      I nodded. He was right.

      ‘He said to call the Lady if he went into a coma,’ I whispered.

      Leo’s face went rigid. ‘Oh my God.’

      ‘Let’s go and see if he’s okay,’ Simone said, pulling my hand. ‘Come on, Leo.’

      My heart was in my throat as we approached his door. Simone tapped on it. Not a sound. My stomach fell out.

      Simone opened the door for us and led us in. The room was dark and he was asleep, as Ah Yat had said.

      Simone dragged me to him. He was on his back, his noble face peaceful, his dark hair spread in a wild tangle around his head.

      ‘Daddy,’ Simone whispered. ‘Daddy, wake up.’

      He didn’t move.

      ‘Oh, dear Lord,’ I said softly.

      Simone reached under the covers and found his hand. She pulled it out and held it. ‘Daddy.’ She brushed her hand over his face. ‘Look inside, Emma.’

      I put my hand on his forehead and concentrated. I sagged with relief. His eyes opened. He smiled slightly at us.

      ‘What are all of you doing in here?’ he said, his voice low. He turned to Simone. ‘Don’t let go of my hand while Emma’s touching me.’

      I removed my hand from his forehead but Simone didn’t let go. I crouched to look at him directly. ‘It’s after eleven o’clock, John.’

      He shot upright. ‘I have a class to teach!’ He grabbed his forehead and fell back on the pillow.

      Simone and I both held him; she by the hand and I by the arm.

      ‘Are you okay?’ I said.

      He nodded, his eyes closed. He opened them and smiled at us again.

      ‘Are you ill, my Lord?’ Leo said from behind us.

      John shook his head. ‘No. Just . . .’ He didn’t finish.

      ‘We should get the Lady,’ I whispered.

      ‘How long until we go?’ he said, his eyes searching my face. ‘What day is it today? How long?’

      ‘It’s Saturday today. We go Monday,’ I said.

      ‘I’ll make it.’ He smiled. ‘Leave me. I just need to sleep.’

      I dropped my head into my hands, then brushed my hands through my hair, desperate. ‘Leo, please take Simone out.’

      Simone didn’t protest and I didn’t look as they left.

      ‘Can I feed you myself?’ I said.

      ‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘You are the last person in the world who should try that.’

      ‘You won’t make it, John!’ I whispered fiercely.

      He didn’t say anything.

      ‘Can Meredith feed you?’

      ‘I don’t want to risk it,’ he said. ‘I could easily destroy her.’ He turned his head to me. ‘More than death, Emma. If I were to drain her, it would be destruction.’

      ‘Call the Lady,’ I said. ‘She keeps saying she’ll come and do it here.’

      ‘I’ll make it,’ he said. ‘If I call her and she feeds me here, we’ll have demons down our throats straightaway. They’ll know how weak I am and come after all of us. Every single place will be under attack. Here, the Folly, the Academy, everywhere. Best to wait until we are far from their Centre. She is an incurable optimist offering to come here herself. But the consequences would be disastrous.’

      ‘You were okay to be fed by her here after the Attack,’ I said.

      ‘There weren’t any demons to come and get us then,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘Most of them were destroyed on the Mountain, and the remaining ones were regrouping. But they are stronger now, and they would be here immediately.’

      ‘Oh God.’

      He turned his head away and closed his eyes. ‘Leave me,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll make it.’

      I threw myself up and stormed out. It was too late to rearrange the flight plan. I knew I should have arranged the flight for Saturday, but we had a lot of loose ends to tie up at the Academy before we left and the three of us had planned to do it together over the weekend with the kids home from school.

      I should have arranged it for Saturday!

      John slept the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday, only coming out occasionally to find something to drink; even so he became very dehydrated. The apartment was like a funeral home the whole weekend. Everybody tiptoed around, talking in whispers. Simone watched him. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, she would unfocus to check him, and then snap back, her little face grim.

      We were due to fly out Monday afternoon. I packed for Simone; Leo packed for John. John wasn’t even aware of Leo’s presence in his room until we woke him to clean him up. He hadn’t shaved in three days; his beard was almost completely white and his greying hair was a mess.

      I hovered until Leo carried him into the bathroom and closed the door in my face.

      John slept on the boat. When we arrived at Macau, Leo had difficulty waking him. He leaned on Leo as we went through customs and immigration. After he had coerced the staff into not seeing our bag of weapons, his hair was almost completely grey. Simone held his hand, stricken.

      ‘I’ll make it,’ he said softly. ‘A few more hours. We’ll get there.’

      After we boarded the plane, John passed out. Leo caught him, scooped him up like a child and carried him to the back of the plane, СКАЧАТЬ