Heavens.â
âI donât remember anything,â he said, running his hand over his forehead. âMy name is John?â
âYour name is Xuan Wu,â Simone said. âEmma calls you John.â
âThatâs not a very auspicious name â dark and war together,â he said.
âThatâs your nature: dark and war.â She threw her arms over his shoulders. âAnd youâre my father.â
He put his arms around her. âThat I know. Thatâs something that will never change.â He took a deep breath into her shoulder. âYouâre my little girl.â
âDaddy,â she said, muffled by his jacket.
He pulled back. âI donât remember anything! Why do I see them as big cats, and her as a snake? Why do you glow with stars and darkness and blue and gold? How come I can see the past and the future and the world around me clearer than just vision? Why do I want to drown everything in ice-cold water and bring death to all?â His voice gained a frantic edge. âWhat am I?â
âYouâre a god,â I said. âYouâre the God of the North, and dark, and cold, and winter, and martial arts.â
âIf Iâm a god then how come I donât remember?â he said, challenging me, his hands still protectively on Simone.
âDo you trust me?â I said.
âYou can trust her,â Simone said.
He studied me for a long time, his arms still around Simone. His eyes roamed my face. Then he nodded once, sharply. âI can trust you.â
Simone exhaled with relief.
âThen trust me that you donât need the details right now of why you canât remember. Itâs a very long story. Just come home with us and weâll fill you in.â
His eyes unfocused. âSomething unbalanced is coming.â
âHeâs right, Emma,â Simone said urgently. âSomething very nasty is heading our way â¦â
Kitty Kwok, flanked by two big Chinese bodyguards, came around the corner and stopped in front of us. I rose to face her, standing protectively in front of John and Simone. Leo and Michael moved behind me, mirroring Kittyâs bodyguards behind her.
This is a good time to grab her and give her to the King, Leo said. Get this done and finished.
I nodded slightly. He was right. I summoned the Murasame but nothing happened; the sword didnât come.
âWhat have you done?â I said.
âNothing. I just want to negotiate.â She raised her hands. âI know what the King said. I want to offer you a deal.â
âNice to be taken seriously for a change,â I said.
I didnât look away from Kitty and heard rather than saw John move to stand behind me on the left. He touched me on the shoulder and said, Iâm right behind you, but I donât know enough. Speak for me.
I nodded.
âI offer parley under terms of truce,â Kitty said.
Well, that was the grabbing option blown out of the water. It would be dishonourable to attack her when sheâd offered parley and waved a theoretical white flag.
âSpeak your mind,â I said, using the formal words to close the deal.
She relaxed slightly and turned to pace in front of us. âYouâve vowed never to hurt a human, Emma. But youâve agreed to give me to them. Would you betray your own kind and give a human to the demons?â
âYou forfeited all claim to humanity when you harmed innocent children to prolong your own life,â I said.
âI think that makes me particularly human,â she said with humour. âAsk your Mr Chen here, heâll tell you.â
âDemons are often stunned by the depths of atrocity that humans are capable of,â John said without emotion. âIn the ways of cruelty, they often seek to learn from you.â
âIâm one hundred per cent human,â Kitty said. âAsk him, heâll tell you. You canât do anything to me, Emma. You