Read Black Scales White Fur

Content Warning: There is some adult content in ‘Black Scales’!

 

One Three Seven looked around the restaurant, her eyes wide. The man in the suit gave her a list of the food available, and then walked away. She stared at the list, uncomprehending.

‘I don’t know what any of this is,’ she said.

‘What, is this your first time with human food?’ Eighty-Five said. She waved the list. ‘That was a waiter, a paid servant. This is a menu. It lists all the human food they serve, and how much it costs in human money.’

One Three Seven nodded, intimidated. Nothing on the menu looked remotely familiar, except of course the eggs, which were served somehow “sandwiched” with other stuff she didn’t recognise but could probably remove. She relaxed and glanced up at Thirty-Nine. ‘They have eggs. I’ll have that.’

‘Bird eggs,’ Eighty-Five said with glee. ‘And they heat them first. Absolutely nothing like what you’ll find back home.’ She leaned over the top of the menu to smile at One Three Seven. ‘Anyone would think you’ve never been topside before. Surely you were up here before you were promoted?’

One Three Seven shook her head. ‘I was a small one, in the Pits, and the King saw me. He liked my human form and promoted me.’

The waiter came back.

Eighty-Five ordered the sandwiched egg thing. ‘But no egg,’ she said sternly to the waiter. ‘If you put egg on it …’ She dropped her voice with malice. ‘I will rip your throat out, little man. No egg.’

The waiter didn’t flinch at the threat, showing remarkable courage. ‘Ma’am.’

‘Hainan chicken,’ Thirty-Nine said.

The waiter looked at One Three Seven and she frantically scoured the menu for something remotely familiar.

‘Side orders,’ One Three Seven finally said, desperately saying the first thing she saw.

The waiter stood looking at her with pointed patience.

‘She’ll have the same thing as me,’ Eighty-Five said, and folded her menu up. She handed it to the waiter. ‘With egg.’

‘Ma’am,’ the waiter said, and reached towards One Three Seven. It took her a moment to work it out, then she handed him the menu. He bowed to everybody and left.

The minute he was gone Eighty-Five and Thirty-Nine howled with laughter.

‘“Side orders”,’ Thirty-Nine said, mimicking One Three Seven’s panic.

‘“I don’t know what human food is”,’ Eighty-Five said.

‘Well, I don’t,’ One Three Seven said, stung.

The other two Mothers continued to chuckle. Another waiter came and filled up their glasses with iced water.

‘So what were you doing in the Pits before you were promoted?’ Eighty-Five said.

One Three Seven shrugged. ‘Just roasting people. You know. Hell of the Red-Hot Grates. It was boring. Then the King came past, liked my human form …’ She raised her hand. ‘And here I am, promoted to the Nests. I never intended to be a favourite. I just kept my head down, but he saw my human form.’

‘Who designed your human form?’ Eighty-Five said with interest. ‘Do you think they’d do one for me?’

Thirty-Nine nodded, leaning forward. ‘It’s rather good.’

Suddenly One Three Seven knew why they’d offered to show her topside.

‘I did,’ One Three Seven said.

Both of the Mothers leaned back, incredulous.

‘How old are you?’ Thirty-Nine said.

‘Two hundred and fifteen.’

‘You’re just a child. And you designed your own form? You did …’ Thirty-Nine waved her hand up and down to indicate One Three Seven’s shape. ‘This?’

One Three Seven allowed a small amount of pride to fill her voice. ‘All my own work.’

‘Can you do one for me?’ Eighty-Five said.

‘Shut up, she’s doing one for me first,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘I have precedence.’

‘I’ll be happy to do them for both of you, in return for your protection.’

‘Oh, that’s asking a lot,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘What if I suddenly decide I don’t like you?’

‘Won’t happen, because you’ve never liked anybody in the first place,’ Eighty-Five said.

‘Good point,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘I want yours. Make yourself a new one.’

‘You don’t want me to tailor one for you?’

‘No. Give me yours. Now.’

‘The waiter will think you’re the clueless dumb bitch who ordered “side orders”,’ Eighty-Five said with amusement.

‘Good point. When we’re home, I’m taking it,’ Thirty-Nine said with satisfaction.

‘Of course, ma’am. And you’ll provide me with protection.’

‘If I feel like it.’

‘Or I’ll make a better one for Eighty-Five,’ One Three Seven said.

Eighty-Five grinned. Thirty-Nine appeared irritated, then gave in. ‘All right. I’ll give you protection, but if I see you do a better human form for someone else, I’m taking it.’

‘As long as it doesn’t belong to a Mother who’s more senior than you, I see no problem with that,’ One Three Seven said.

‘Another good point,’ Eighty-Five said. ‘Ah, the food’s here. Now we can watch the little one’s face when she eats her first human food.’

‘It smells weird,’ One Three Seven said suspiciously as the waiter placed the plates on the table in front of them.

The waiter glared at her.

‘Don’t worry about her, she’s retarded,’ Eighty-Five said. ‘Pretty, but no brains at all.’

The waiter looked at One Three Seven again, then shrugged and went away.

One Three Seven watched as Eighty-Five picked up the food with her hands and bit into it, then put it back on the plate. Thirty-Nine used chopsticks – One Three Seven had seen these before – to pick up a piece of white stuff and dip it into a liquid, then eat it.

One Three Seven picked up her own food, bit into it, then dropped it again and almost choked as the marvellous flavours filled her mouth. There were different textures, as well: crunchy stuff, and smooth stuff, and rough stuff – but the flavours were nearly overwhelming. She chewed carefully, enjoying the sensation of the food turning to mush in her mouth, then swallowed. She quickly picked the food up again and ate three more bites.

‘This is so good!’ she said through the food.

‘It’s called a club sandwich, and believe it or not, humans consider it ordinary and boring food,’ Eighty-Five said. ‘Later in the evening they have another meal called dinner, and they have more complex food then.’

‘Can we stay for that too?’ One Three Seven said, finishing the first half of the food and grabbing the other half.

‘Stop rushing, you’re attracting attention; humans eat their food slower. No. We have eight hours, ten at most, then we have to go home. That’s the agreement that the King made with the …’ she sneered. ‘The Celestials.’

‘Don’t worry, there’s much more to up top than just food,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘After this we’ll give you tea, and coffee, and cake. That stuff is truly amazing. Then we’ll go shopping for clothes.’

‘This is all too much,’ One Three Seven said, then grinned hugely, her mouth full of the wonderful food. ‘It’s worth risking the Nest demons to have this!’

‘That’s why everybody wants to be a Mother,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘And you’re a Nest demon yourself, now.’

‘I suppose I am,’ One Three Seven said with wonder. ‘I hope I survive the promotion.’

‘Make me a nice human form and you definitely will,’ Eighty-Five said.

‘But not as nice as this one,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘The one I’m having.’

‘Of course not,’ One Three Seven said. Maybe she would survive after all. She’d given herself a couple of weeks in the Nests at the most, but if she could gain protection from the bigger Mothers, maybe she’d last a few months. It’d be worth it for this wonderful food. She took another huge bite.

 

They walked under the trees in Victoria Park, heading back to the gateway from the shops in Causeway Bay, carrying multiple shopping bags containing the clothes they’d just bought with the two senior Mothers’ plastic money cards. The sky disappeared into blue nothingness above them.

This was One Three Seven’s first time out in the open topside, and the air was cool and fresh, full of the smells of the earth and the living things and the sounds of birds and traffic surrounding her. She inhaled, enjoying the wild feeling of liberation from the enclosure of the Pits and Nests.

‘Oh shit,’ Eighty-Five said when she saw the men and women doing tai chi under the trees. ‘That’s a Celestial.’

‘It’s okay,’ Thirty-Nine said, ‘they won’t attack us if we don’t attack them. Oh.’ She made a soft growling noise in her throat. ‘Check it out. This is a good day. That’s the White Tiger, and the big black one is the Black Lion.’

The White Tiger was tall and muscular, heavily built, wearing white pants and a yellow T-shirt in modern human style. His white hair was short but tousled and enormous sideburns framed his square golden face. The Black Lion really was black: he was a completely black-skinned African man, taller than the Tiger and more bulky, with no hair at all.

‘Rawr,’ Eighty-Five said. ‘So hot. I could eat them for dinner.’

‘And the other one is the Xuan Wu’s son. Him and the Black Lion are gay-lo assfuckers. The women must be the Tiger’s wives.’

‘Only four wives?’ One Three Seven said, incredulous.

The Tiger saw them and stiffened. He strode towards them, summoning a blade that appeared in his hand. The Black Lion and the Xuan Wu’s son, a slender man with an elegant, intelligent face, stopped the tai chi set and stood behind the Tiger. All three of them glared menacingly at the Mothers while the Tiger’s four wives cowered behind them.

One Three Seven squeaked and backed up.

‘You shame us,’ Thirty-Nine growled. ‘Stand your ground.’

Eighty-Five raised her bags. ‘We were just shopping, kitty. Leave us alone.’

‘Mrow,’ Thirty-Nine added under her breath.

‘Go past without attacking and we will not harm you,’ the Tiger said, gesturing towards the gateway.

Thirty-Nine sauntered closer to the Tiger and smiled up into his face. ‘Give me a kiss and we’ll go.’

The Tiger smiled slightly, grabbed her around the back of the neck, pulled her in, and planted his mouth on hers. They stayed that way for a while, both obviously enjoying it, then the Tiger released her and pushed her away.

‘You’re good,’ Thirty-Nine said, her voice a throaty growl.

‘You aren’t too bad yourself, sweetness,’ the Tiger said. He gestured with his head towards the group behind him. ‘Come with us. There’s a nice suite waiting for you in the Palace.’ He smiled into One Three Seven’s eyes. ‘You too, cutie, you’re adorable. I have a nice suite for you too.’

One Three Seven became lost in those tawny, intelligent eyes. He was full of good humour and his smile widened as he saw her staring, making him even more attractive. He spread his hands. ‘Come with me and you’ll be safe and cared for and never suffer again.’

Thirty-Nine tossed her head. ‘I’d rather be destroyed than tamed.’

‘Suit yourself. But being tamed isn’t as bad as you think it is. It can be the beginning of something much better for you.’ He smiled at the Mothers, his large canines showing. ‘Let me tell you about it.’

‘Don’t bother. Taming is worse than death – it gives you control and we lose everything. Let’s go,’ Thirty-Nine said, turning her back on the Tiger and sauntering away. Eighty-five and One Three Seven followed her. Before Thirty-Nine was out of earshot she turned and walked backwards a couple of steps. ‘You’re not as good a kisser as the King.’

‘But other parts of me are much, much better,’ he said with good humour. ‘My demon wives tell me so all the time.’

‘He has a nerve,’ Thirty-Nine said, turning back and heading to the gateway.

‘I can’t imagine anything worse than being tamed, he’s such a liar,’ One Three Seven said, still thinking about the kindness in those intelligent eyes.

‘Exactly. Taming is death. Don’t ever say the words to one of them.’ Thirty-Nine dropped her voice. ‘If they tame you, you can grow old and die like a weak human.’

One Three Seven gasped with horror. ‘Never.’

‘Let’s head back to the nest, you owe me a human form,’ Eighty-Five said. ‘You have to do it first before you try on your clothes.’

‘Ma’am,’ One Three Seven said, and followed them into the underground train station, and the unmarked metal door that would open only for them and no one else.

 

After giving Thirty-Nine her form, One Three Seven had to work in True Form until she could create a new human form for herself. She was the smallest Mother in the nest, barely three metres long, and still couldn’t generate toxin between her scales. She would work on a new human form for herself after she’d provided the entire group of senior Mothers around her with new forms.

‘Taller! Taller!’ Eighty-Five shouted. ‘Can’t you make it any blacker? I want the skin to be the colour of the bottom of the Pits, just like the Black Lion.’

‘That’s as black as it goes, and I can’t make you any taller. You’re already right at the top of human height scale. As it is, you’ll attract attention and may even be photographed.’

‘Oh,’ Eighty-Five said. ‘Take it down to something more reasonable then.’

One Three Seven concentrated, and Eighty-Five shrunk to a more sane height.

‘We need to lose the large breasts, they’re not in proportion,’ One Three Seven said, and shrunk them.

‘No! Wait! I like the big —’ Eighty-Five stopped when she saw the result in the mirror. ‘Never mind.’ She turned so she could see the behind. ‘That is sleek.’ She turned back. ‘Now the hair. Big, and red, and lots of it, and all standing right up.’

‘No,’ One Three Seven said.

‘What do you mean, “no”? I’m paying for this, and —’ Eighty-Five stopped and gasped. One Three Seven had certainly given her a great mass of red hair, but it was highlighted with gold, and so thick that it rose from her head to a twenty-centimetre wave, then cascaded down her back to rest just above her butt. As she watched, the ends writhed into a tangle of kinky waves and then settled again.

‘Oh that works,’ Eighty-Five breathed.

‘It certainly does,’ the King said behind One Three Seven, and all the Mothers fell to one knee or lowered themselves over their coils.

One Three Seven spun to face the King and lowered herself as well.

The King crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘Are you responsible for this, One Three Seven? Half the most senior Mothers have suddenly turned into supermodels.’

One Three Seven choked the word out. ‘Majesty.’

‘I thoroughly approve. But I want you in the form you were wearing when I promoted you.’

‘Apologies, Majesty, I gave that to Thirty-Nine.’

‘Thirty-Nine!’ the King roared.

It took her a while because of her location in the centre of the Nest, but eventually Thirty-Nine slithered up in True Form. ‘Majesty?’

‘Give One Three Seven her form back.’

‘I paid for that! It’s mine!’

The King’s voice dropped to a threatening growl. ‘You question me?’

Thirty-Nine glared at One Three Seven. She obviously thought One Three Seven had asked the King for the form back and she was furious – murderously furious.

‘Majesty, I will make myself a new form that is smaller, and sweeter, and more pleasing for you,’ One Three Seven said. ‘Please leave Thirty-Nine the form she bought from me.’

‘No. It’s yours, you keep it,’ the King said. ‘Thirty-Nine, it’s hers.’

Thirty-Nine glowered at One Three Seven.

‘One Three Seven, come with me, we’ll look at your form together.’ He smiled slightly. ‘Among other things. The rest of you … fuck off.’

As the Mothers scattered, One Three Seven rose on her coils and accompanied the King out of the Nest. This was her first summons to service the King since her promotion, and she was horrified that he wanted her alone. With no other Mother present during the mating, her chances of surviving this first time were only about fifty-fifty. She tried to control her trembling as she followed the King’s small and young-seeming – and quite attractive, in human terms – form to his private nest.

They left the Nest cavern through the double doors and proceeded along the two-metre-wide tunnel that connected the Nests. Horse- and bull-headed Dukes stood every ten metres along the tunnel, guarding. The tunnel ended in another pair of double doors that glided open for the King and One Three Seven. One Three Seven stopped when she saw the other side.

It appeared to be outdoors; an impossibility. The sky was bright without being blue and the ceiling of the cavern was so high it was invisible. Trees – real trees – were planted randomly over a grassy flat area, dotted with flowering shrubs and gardens of colourful flowers. The far side of the grassed area, two hundred metres away, was bordered with more trees. It was like being back in the park in Hong Kong, except more carefully tended and beautiful.

The King led One Three Seven through a wall with a gate that was guarded on both sides by more Dukes and she saw the palace for the first time. It was a large courtyard-style house, double storey, with red walls and round windows. The upward-curved edges of the black-tiled roof soared above her. A couple of smaller houses stood behind and to one side.

They entered the palace and proceeded through an entry hall with rosewood couches and incense braziers, then up the stairs to the higher floor. The King walked casually, hands in the pockets of his maroon jeans, leading her into his bedroom. He stopped and turned to watch her as she entered the room.

So this was the King’s own bedroom. The furniture was all black rosewood, carved with images of Dukes and Mothers. The floor covering was soft beige carpet with silk rugs of black and red. The bed was at least four metres wide, covered in luxurious blood-red silk quilting and with masses of black pillows cascading to the floor.

The King sauntered to the bed and sat on it, still in human form, and motioned her closer. She dropped slightly on her coils and obeyed, curling her snake back end and sitting on the bed next to him.

‘You’re awfully timid, is this your first time?’ he said.

‘No, Majesty,’ she said. ‘I have lain with many before I learnt to hide …’ Her voice trailed off.

‘How cute your human form is. I understand.’

She nodded silently.

‘You’re trembling.’ He touched her skinless hand. ‘What are you so afraid of?’ Comprehension dawned on him. ‘Oh. Me.’ He quirked a half-smile. ‘Don’t worry, this first time we’ll do it in human form.’

‘Humans do it too?’ she said, incredulous.

‘How do you think they make little humans?’

‘I thought they just happened, like …’ She searched for the comparison. ‘Scale rot or something. Do they lay eggs like us?’

‘No. They give birth to live young. Most repulsive thing you’ve ever seen.’ He gestured towards the garden outside the window. ‘I’ve had human wives here; one of them bore me a child and I never want to see that again.’

‘What will happen if you impregnate me in human form? Will the eggs be viable?’

‘I can’t, not while you’re in human form. We have to do it snake style to make babies. Maybe later.’

‘As you will, Majesty.’

‘Change to human form. The form you were wearing when I saw you in the Pits.’

One Three Seven took her human form, the long-haired version, and looked down, letting the hair cover her face.

The King put his fingers under her chin and raised her head. ‘Quite lovely. Who was your Mother?’

‘Eighty-Six.’

‘Yes. I thought so when I saw you. She had the same talent for making human forms as you do. A terrible waste when she turned.’

‘She turned? She was tamed? I never knew that, I thought she was destroyed.’

‘If I catch her, she is. You turn, you die. Am I your father?’

‘I don’t know, Sire, she died – left the nest before I was hatched.’

‘I must ask the Little Grandfather, he would know.’ He moved his face closer and she froze with astonishment as he put his mouth on her own. He didn’t bite her; he moved his lips over hers. He was kissing her, the same way the Tiger had kissed Thirty-Nine topside, and to her surprised delight, it felt good. Really, really good. She opened her mouth and he became more enthusiastic, pulling her closer and doing things with his tongue that sent shivers through her. He slipped his hand under her shirt and rubbed his thumb roughly over her breast, concentrating on the nipple, and she lost herself in sensation. The pleasure gathered with a painful, needy force inside her, and she found for the first time that she actually wanted a male to penetrate her and push that feeling even further.

He pulled back and smiled slightly when he saw that she was warm and breathless.

‘Didn’t know it could be like this, did you?’ he said, his eyes moving to her chest. He pulled the shirt over her head before she could reply, and his mouth found her nipple to excite it again, nipping and teasing. She put her hands on his shoulders and threw her head back, pushing herself into him. She took a huge gamble and pulled his shirt off as well – he didn’t resist, seemed to enjoy it – and rubbed her hands over the smooth pale skin of his back as he sucked at her. He was smooth and golden, slender like a young man, but the ancient strength burned at his core.

He pushed her so that she was lying on her back, and slid her silk pants off her. His own clothes disappeared. She wanted to peer down and see what he looked like in human form, but he was holding her in place and she couldn’t move.

‘Lose the body hair,’ he said, and she obliged. ‘Good.’ He grinned into her eyes. ‘Stay put. This part is fun.’ His expression became sterner. ‘But you must reciprocate.’

‘Reciprocate what?’ she said, then squealed as he buried his face between her legs. His tongue probed her and found exactly the right spot, pushing against her and sliding with slick pressure that tossed her control into a mindless place and sent her screaming over the edge before she even knew what was happening. She writhed beneath him as the throbbing release exploded in her head and between her legs and in her centre and then she fell down off it and lay, gasping, as he raised his head, moved back up to her face, and kissed her again.

She tasted herself on him and enjoyed the kissing even more. Then she felt him hard against her leg and stopped, shocked. The male human form had external sex organs, and his were huge. She tried to move into position so he could enter, but he didn’t cooperate and she stopped again.

‘You have to reciprocate,’ he said, and rolled onto his back. He put his hand behind her head and pushed it into his crotch. ‘Now.’

She wrapped her mouth around him and he made a soft sound of pleasure. ‘Yes. Right. Good. Now up and down.’ She did as he said, keeping him moist with her tongue, hoping she was doing it right. The way he quivered in her mouth reassured her, and she pushed her tongue into him.

‘Yes! Right there. Up the front. Oh, that’s good,’ he said, his hand still buried her hair. She sucked harder and he made some more sounds of pleasure in his throat; she was definitely doing it right.

He thrust into her mouth with every pull, and his sounds became more urgent. Surely he couldn’t …?

She was wrong. He could. He shouted and the hot thick seed hit the back of her throat, tasting unlike anything she’d ever tasted – bitter and salty and not altogether unpleasant. She continued to pleasure him, more gently, as he eased down and became flaccid again. His hand pulled at her head and she took the hint, climbing back up so that she was level with his face.

‘My demon nature always overcomes me and makes it much faster than I intend. Next time you’ll have to take it more slowly,’ he said. ‘My, you’re talented. That little mouth …’ He flicked a small amount of seed from the corner of her lip, and sucked it off his finger. ‘That little mouth, with some training, will be the best in the Nest.’ He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her. ‘Do you like this? It’s called cuddling.’

She found herself lying next to him with her head against his chest. She should have felt panicked and helpless, but instead was warm, fuzzy and satisfied. If this is what it was like for the males, no wonder they were constantly demanding services from the females. She’d never even guessed that females could experience it as well.

‘It’s wonderful, Majesty.’

 

She returned to the Nest to find Thirty-Nine waiting, her face livid. One Three Seven had done some fast thinking in the post-coital haze – so that’s what it was – and was ready for her.

‘The King has ordered me to keep the form, there’s nothing I can do about it,’ she said to Thirty-Nine. ‘Let me make a new, better one for you.’

‘I want yours!’ Thirty-Nine shouted.

One Three Seven fell to one knee. ‘Apologies, ma’am, I am forced to obey the King. Let me make another form for you.’

‘I don’t want another one, I want that one,’ Thirty-Nine hissed. She rose on her coils. ‘Give it to me now!’

‘I can’t disobey the King,’ One Three Seven said. ‘None of us can. I have to make you a new one. How about I make one that is very close but not identical?’

‘Forget it.’ Thirty-Nine lowered her skinless front end so that her eyes were level with One Three Seven’s human form. ‘You’ve just lost my protection, bitch, and if you are ever in my way I will eat you. Stay away from me.’ She rose and turned. ‘If you didn’t have the protection of half the Mothers I’d eat you now. Watch your back.’

She slithered away, her hands clenched in fists and held rigid beside her.

One Three Seven was exhausted but she needed to stay on her guard. She made her way to the small nest hollow she’d appropriated at the edge of the cavern, fell into True Form and curled up. It had been a day of intense new pleasures. Even if she was killed tomorrow it would be totally worth it. She did her best to stay awake.

 

She was woken by hisses and screams that degenerated into gasping sobs. She raised herself on her coils to see; a group of mothers were gathered around a nest cavity with a human in the middle. There were a few groups of mothers gathered in various areas of the cavern, surrounding more humans. The King had obviously given the Mothers some humans to play with.

One of the Mothers poked the shivering, naked human with a pointed stick and it wailed again. One Three Seven had a confusing moment of solidarity with the human, something she’d never felt in her two hundred years in the Pits. The human was just like her, trapped and at the mercy of the ruthless Mothers. She quickly crushed the wayward feeling, which was probably a result of her increased awareness from her promotion to Mother. Any demons who faltered in their enjoyment of the games would be singled out for punishment, and she’d seen more than one of her nest mates slowly eaten alive. Now that she was with the Mothers, One Three Seven had to show fearless cruelty or pay the price herself.

There would probably be another line of Mothers wanting her design services after the humans were all dead. She turned away and curled back up in her nest.

The human screamed again and all the Mothers laughed.

 

One Three Seven woke again; whimpering had disturbed her, and she looked around. One of the humans had crawled to the edge of the cavern and lay curled up where the wall met the floor, weeping softly.

One Three Seven approached it, curious. It was a female, its hair lanky and thin and its open wounds seeping.

‘I deserve it,’ the human whimpered. ‘All those children. All those innocents.’ Her voice became stern. ‘We need to keep the population under control. This woman does not have permission. Another child will weaken the entire commune; she was wrong to hide the pregnancy for so long and it is her fault we must do a late-term abortion. It is best for the people, it is best …’ She broke down and sobbed softly. ‘Best for the people. The people. Best for the people. Little innocents, they cry, and I stick the needles in them …’ She sobbed again. ‘So innocent.’

‘What does that mean?’ One Three Seven asked, curious. ‘Innocent?’

The human seemed to be in a world of her own and didn’t respond.

‘Innocents, innocent, never harmed anyone,’ the human whispered. She started pleading with the air in front of her. ‘These little ones have harmed nobody. Surely there are families that would want them … they aren’t the blobs of first trimester, these ones will live if we let them! This is so wrong, they are innocent. They have never harmed anyone, they do not deserve to be executed …’ Her voice softened. ‘I don’t do abortions this late in term! These aren’t first-trimester blobs, these are babies, these are real human beings, they have never harmed anyone and they do not deserve to be punished!’

‘Are humans only punished if they have done wrong?’ One Three Seven asked, even more curious.

‘Justice. Justice. Only punish the wicked,’ the woman moaned. ‘I am one of the wicked and I deserve everything they do to me, the demons of Hell can have me, because I deserve to be punished.’ She seemed to see One Three Seven for the first time. ‘Kill me now. I am guilty. Too many babies have died and their blood is on my hands …’ She raised her hands in front of her face and stared at them, wide-eyed. ‘On my hands! The blood of the babies is on my hands!’ She pulled herself to her feet, leaning on the wall to assist her, and raised her hands. ‘I have blood on my hands! Cut them off! Take them away!’ Her voice dropped to a sob. ‘Take them … away.’ She lurched back towards the centre of the cavern.

‘Don’t go that way,’ One Three Seven said, urgent. ‘That way is …’

One of the Mothers shrieked with delight. ‘There’s one still moving here!’

‘Let’s get it!’ one of the others cried, and they descended on the human.

One Three Seven returned to her hollow, tasting the new word in her mouth. Innocent. Only those who had harmed others should suffer. What a confusing concept; in Hell everybody suffered. By the human’s estimation, One Three Seven probably deserved to be destroyed twenty times over for what she’d done in the Pits.

A tiny, skinny, ancient man with bright blue skin and a beard down to his knees appeared close to One Three Seven and sat cross-legged next to her.

‘Da Shih Yeh,’ she said, bending over her coils. ‘Little Grandfather.’

‘Hello, One Three Seven,’ the Little Grandfather said. ‘No, don’t call anyone, I’m here to talk to you.’

‘I am the smallest Mother in the Nest, Grandfather,’ One Three Seven said. ‘You are wasting your time talking to me, I will not last more than a few days here.’

‘The King himself was once as small as you, little one,’ the Grandfather said. ‘Your Mother, too, started out at the bottom of the heap and became much sought-after because of her artistic talent. Talent that, I hear, you share.’

‘You honour me,’ One Three Seven said, bobbing her head.

‘Did I hear the grinding gears of a crisis of conscience?’ the Grandfather said with amusement. ‘Are you wondering if punishing the wicked is all there is to the world?’

‘But it is,’ One Three Seven said.

‘No,’ the Grandfather said. ‘On the Earthly – topside – humans work to help each other and they control their destructive urges. Mothers do not eat their children, they nurture them. Some humans dedicate their lives to helping others. Some humans gain profound insight and rise to the Celestial. Some even attain Enlightenment and become Buddhas.’

‘I have heard of the Celestials – they kill us on sight.’

‘Do you know why they do that?’ the Grandfather said.

‘Because it is what they do.’

‘No,’ the Grandfather said. ‘Celestials kill demons to protect the humans and themselves. If a demon makes no move to attack, most Celestials will leave them unharmed.’

‘I saw that,’ One Three Seven said with wonder. ‘The White Tiger kissed Thirty-Nine.’

‘He’s been pursuing that one for a very long time,’ the Grandfather said with amusement. ‘He’s sure that with his help, she could achieve free will and Ascend.’

‘Ascend?’

‘Gain an immortal soul and be reborn as a human, with the opportunity to become something much, much greater.’

‘He said that. He said that taming could lead to something much greater.’

‘He told the truth.’

One Three Seven ducked her head. ‘You should not be telling me these things, Grandfather, if the King finds you spreading these stories of freedom and escape he will destroy you.’

‘Hasn’t happened yet,’ the Grandfather said. ‘Freedom and escape, eh? How would you like to live all the time on the Earthly, under the sky, see the stars; have children that are safe and happy and protected, and feel love?’

‘What is love?’

‘Never mind. How would you like that?’

‘That is too great a dream for one as small as me.’

‘No dream is ever too big. Next time you see the Tiger, talk to him. I know he talks of you.’ The Little Grandfather pulled himself to his feet, leaning on his staff. ‘Stay alive, little one. Stay out of their way and continue to make exquisite forms that sate their vanity. I foresee great things for you if you continue to dream of freedom and escape.’

One Three Seven lowered her head again. ‘The King has not called me to serve him in True Form yet, Grandfather, and it will surely happen soon. Come and talk to me if I survive it.’

The Grandfather patted her lowered head. ‘Do not fight him. It will be painful, and terrifying, but as long as you submit and do not make any sudden moves, you will survive.’ He dropped his voice. ‘Good luck, little one, I hope to see you topside one day. You have great potential.’

‘Thank you, Grandfather,’ she said, and watched in wonder as he hobbled away. She raised her voice to stop him. ‘Wait.’

He stopped and turned, smiling enigmatically.

‘Is the King my father?’ she said.

‘That should not make any difference to you.’

‘I know,’ she said with wonder. ‘But somehow, it does. Because if he is my father … then somehow it seems wrong.’

‘Already learning right from wrong and gaining a moral compass,’ the Grandfather said. ‘No. The King is not your father. Your father is the spawn of a male demon and a human woman, and he escaped two hundred years ago. He lives topside as a human.’

‘My father is half-human?’ she said.

‘Yes.’

‘Both of my parents escaped?’

‘Yes, they did.’

‘Then there is hope for me,’ she said softly.

The Grandfather turned away again. ‘Promising indeed.’

 

It must have been later that day that one of the bull-headed Dukes came for her. She followed him meekly as he guided her back to the King’s nest.

‘Do not fight the King,’ he said, as if reciting something he’d said many times. ‘Submit. When he is in True Form and faced with a Mother he has no control of his actions and will deal swiftly with any resistance. His organ has huge spines that will impale you. Do not attempt to fight him; as long as you submit, the procedure will not kill you.’

‘How big?’ One Three Seven said.

‘How big what?’ the Duke said, stopping to stare at her.

‘How big are these spines?’

‘Uh …’ The Duke spread his hands, about ten centimetres apart.

‘That will kill me,’ One Three Seven said. ‘I am too small.’

‘I was once a small Mother too, little one,’ the Duke said. ‘But I am still alive and bear the scars of many matings. Serve him well and you may be promoted to have a nest of your own, full of your own females, as I do.’ He turned back and continued. ‘If I do not kill you first for your insolence.’

‘Apologies, sir,’ she said.

‘You have the wrong attitude to survive long as a Mother,’ he said.

‘I know,’ she whispered, and gathered every frayed thread of courage within her as she saw the four-metre-long blood-red True Form of the King through the windows of his palace. His skinless front end writhed on top of his serpent coils and his flayed face was unrecognisable as the handsome young man she’d seen before.

When they reached the bedroom door, the Duke opened it and the King saw her. He didn’t say anything, he just slithered up faster than she thought possible, grabbed her by both arms hard enough to pull them from their sockets, and dragged her to his bed. He threw her onto her back and she screamed as he impaled her.

 

The Duke had to assist her back to the Nest; she clutched his arm and bent over her coils, every movement agony. She left a trail of red-stained black essence behind her. The Duke led her to her hollow and threw her into it. She cried with pain and coiled around herself, clutching her abdomen.

The Duke called to a pair of chatting Mothers nearby. ‘Let the King know if she dies,’ he said.

‘Oh, that’s Side Orders. I hope she doesn’t die, I want a human form from her,’ the Mother said.

‘We will, sir,’ the other Mother said.

The Duke nodded, satisfied, and left One Three Seven alone with her pain.

 

‘There,’ she said, dizzy from exhaustion. She’d created a form for Sixty-Seven that made her appear as a coy-eyed woman-child on the cusp of adulthood.

Sixty-Seven twirled. ‘I love it, Side Orders! All the most insecure human men topside will go wild for me.’ She put her hand on One Three Seven’s arm. ‘You have my protection.’

One Three Seven now had protection from about eighty per cent of the Mothers who were bigger than level sixty. She hadn’t made forms for the top twenty Mothers; they were obviously satisfied with their forms or immune to the smaller demons’ vanity. They were still a danger, along with Thirty-Nine, who had been disturbingly quiet and remote.

Since her arrival in the Nest, twenty-two of the Mothers between levels one hundred and one hundred thirty had died or been destroyed in political conflicts, and she was now officially Mother number One Fifteen. But she kept the number One Three Seven; she had no desire to move up through the ranks and be a threat to anyone.

‘Side Orders?’ a male voice said behind her, and she turned. She quickly lowered herself over her coils; it was the King himself. ‘Why do they call you that?’

She tried her best to hide her dismay as she bowed before him. This was so soon after the last mating; she’d only just recovered and the wounds healed.

‘It is my nickname, Majesty,’ she said. ‘I said something very stupid and naïve a while ago and it has followed me.’

‘First time I’ve ever heard a Mother call themselves stupid, most of them are too stupid to realise how stupid they are,’ he said, amused. He gestured with his head. ‘Take human form and come with me.’

She glanced around, checking for Thirty-Nine. The big Mother wasn’t there, so One Three Seven took human form and followed the King. She felt a glimmer of hope; maybe this mating would be in human form, and she would have a chance to please him again.

When they arrived at his palace, a table had been set with human plates and sweet-smelling flowers. He pulled a chair out and gestured for her to sit, then sat across from her. A small demon served them human food, and she tried not to throw herself into it. She needed to give the King her full attention. She took small bites and closed her eyes with the pleasure of the flavours. This food was exceptional.

‘I am so sorry for what happened,’ he said, his voice warm and low. The candle light flickered over his fair and youthful face, lighting up his blood-coloured eyes and hair. ‘Please forgive me – when I am in True Form I have no control.’

‘I know that,’ she said. ‘The Duke told me.’

He took her hand over the table. ‘It breaks my heart to think that I have hurt you. Have you recovered? No more pain? I know the other Mothers would object if I checked on you in person, but I have had you watched and you seemed to recover well.’

‘Thank you, Majesty,’ she said. ‘I am nearly recovered.’ Her voice went small. ‘Do you want to do it again now?’

‘Not in True Form. I want to please you.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘You are so beautiful and creative, One Three Seven. Your artistic temperament shines from you, and I find you irresistible. I don’t want to hurt you, but you make me wild with desire and I cannot control myself.’

‘Majesty.’

‘Here.’ He handed her a glass full of blood-coloured liquid. ‘This is not blood, this is wine. Taste it.’

He watched her intensely as she sipped it; there was more than just the complex flavour – the liquid had an extra dizzying kick. She choked slightly at the taste, then took another sip.

‘Do you like it?’

‘What is this … edge to it? It is unlike anything I’ve had before.’

‘Alcohol.’ He raised his own glass and sipped it. ‘The fact that you can discern it means that you are well on the way to power.’

‘I don’t want power,’ she said into the glass. ‘I just want to survive.’

‘I want you to survive as well, little love.’ He sipped the wine again. ‘You know I can’t show you any favouritism – if I do, the other Mothers will fall on you immediately.’

‘I know, Majesty. But while I make the human forms for them, they tolerate me.’

‘Good.’ He put his glass down and rose, and she stood as well. ‘Now let me show you pleasure to make up for hurting you so grievously the other night. I swear to you, One Three Seven, that for every suffering I make you endure in True Form, I will bring you a similar amount of pleasure in human form.’

She didn’t raise her head.

He took her hand. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said gently. ‘I will take it slowly and I won’t hurt you. This time will be good. I promise.’

She spared a despairing glance at the repast of human food, and followed him to the bed.

 

They cuddled again afterwards, and he seemed pleased with her efforts.

‘Can I give you a gift? To make up for hurting you?’ he said.

‘You just did, Majesty, this pleasure is more than I would ever expect,’ she said.

He turned to see her. ‘No. I want to give you something. To keep you occupied until I summon you next.’

She tried not to think about what the next summons would entail. ‘I want for nothing, Majesty. I am happy to still be alive.’

‘Not good enough.’ He threw the covers off, then padded barefoot and naked past the dinner table to a chest and opened it. His blood-red hair fell over his pale shoulders as he rummaged through it.

‘Here you are,’ he said, and pulled out an ordinary plastic shopping bag. He returned to the bed and sat cross-legged on it, and she levered herself up to see what he had.

He opened the bag and tipped the contents onto the bed, and she tilted her head trying to work out what it was.

‘This is a sketchbook,’ he said, giving it to her. ‘Since you don’t know what medium you want to work in, the staff of the shop suggested some of everything. These are pencils, these are pastels. Paints and paintbrushes …’ He pulled the whole lot over and placed it in front of her. ‘Here. Enjoy.’

She was filled with delighted astonishment. She’d seen people write before, and she immediately made the connection. With these coloured materials she could create vibrant images on the paper, she could design human forms, and when she was topside she could capture her impressions of the beautiful nature in the park. She nearly wept with joy.

He studied her face. ‘Pleased?’

She threw her arms around his neck, then fell back, intimidated, but he smiled. ‘This is so wonderful, Majesty, I am overwhelmed …’ She turned the materials over, and shook her head, rapt. ‘This is so wonderful.’

‘Good. I want to see some of the things you create with them next time …’ He hesitated. ‘Next time you come in human form.’

She nodded, enthusiastic. ‘I will, Majesty, I promise.’ She had a desperate, insane idea that filled her with hope. ‘Perhaps you could grant me time topside to use them?’

‘I don’t know if I can spare the guards to accompany you …’

‘I don’t need guards. Just by myself. I want to see humans, as inspiration for my form creations. I have done so many that I feel like I’m running out of designs.’

‘Oh, that is a good idea,’ he said. ‘See? You are very clever. I’m sure I can do that.’

‘Thank you, Majesty,’ she breathed. ‘The place I went to with Thirty-Nine was ideal, so many people from different parts of the world, all gathered together. I would like to return there. Hong Kong. Causeway Bay.’

‘See? Clever,’ he said, amused. ‘You have my permission to go as much as you like, but be sure to return immediately when I summon you. And be careful. There are Celestials there and they will attack you on sight. Stay well away from any you see. Do not speak to them; they lie and will take your free will from you.’

I do not have free will now, she thought. I must obey you, and every demon in Hell that is larger than me. I have no choice.

‘Yes, Majesty,’ she said. She took a gamble and kissed him, a quick peck. ‘Besides, how could I possibly spend more than a couple of hours away from you? I want to be with you.’

He smiled, making his beautiful face light up. ‘You really feel that way?’

‘You are my world, Majesty,’ she said.

This pleased him immensely. He kissed her again, longer and deeper, and she pleasured him once more before he returned her to the Nest with her treasures.

 

She felt terribly independent as she ordered some tea and cake for herself at the same café. She thought about Thirty-Nine’s imperious attitude towards the waiter, and discarded it. The poor man was just doing his job and didn’t need a ferocious Mother spoiling his day.

She really did need to start thinking like a Mother, though.

She pulled out her sketchbook and drew the people going in and out. The pencils were the easiest medium for fast work and she wondered how she would use the paints. Perhaps the information source the senior Mothers used – the internet – could help. It seemed to contain a wealth of knowledge, and all they used it for was shopping and gossip.

A young couple sat nearby and she concentrated on the woman, drawing her in detail. Her bone structure was lovely; perfect as a base for a future human form. They talked softly, their heads together, and she wondered if the woman was servicing the man. The thought came to her: humans did it in human form every time. Every time was pleasurable. For some reason that made something inside her twist bitterly.

She used the soft pastels to add some colour to the image, capturing the flush of the young woman’s cheeks. She looked up and jerked back, faced with the crotch of the young man, standing in front of her.

‘Why are you staring at us and taking notes?’ he said. ‘Don’t bother checking us out for valuables to steal, we don’t have any.’

She hesitated, then raised the sketchbook she’d been holding on her lap under the table.

He tilted his head to see the image and gasped. He raised his hands. ‘Sorry. Sorry. Wah. That is so good.’ He turned around and spoke to the young woman. ‘Lissa, come and see what she did. This is so good!’

‘It’s not that good,’ One Three Seven said, embarrassed.

The young woman came to see as well and flushed. ‘I’m not that pretty.’

He kissed her on the cheek. ‘I think you are. That should be framed.’ His eyes went wide and he turned back to One Three Seven. ‘How much do you want for it?’

One Three Seven stared at him, uncomprehending.

He pulled out his wallet. ‘A hundred? No. Two. Five!’ He pulled out a brown note. ‘Is five hundred okay?’

‘It’s worth twice that,’ the woman said.

One Three Seven tore the image out of the sketchbook and handed it to him. ‘Take it.’ She smiled gently. ‘It’s good to see the two of you together. Go and build something special.’ She nodded towards the woman. ‘And treasure her as much as you treasure this.’ The Demon King would flay her alive if he heard her talking like this. She didn’t care.

The young man held the drawing in front of himself, grinning at it like an idiot. ‘Thank you.’ He handed it to the woman and kissed her again. ‘For you, because you really are as beautiful as this, and never forget it.’ He turned back to One Three Seven and put the brown money on the table. ‘Keep it anyway, to pay for more materials.’

‘I don’t …’ One Three Seven said, then realised what she could do with more materials. She took the note. ‘Thank you.’

‘I love you,’ the woman said softly, and kissed the man again. He smiled the most goofy smile One Three Seven had ever seen, and the two of them returned to their table, discussing her drawing with delight.

Ah. So that was love. It looked … intriguing.

Now she had money, she wouldn’t need to do what the other Mothers did: they just walked out, and any staff who tried to make them pay would be mentally attacked and left bewildered and in pain. She paid for her food, and went out of the café feeling even more independent. It felt good.

She walked back towards the park, carrying her drawing materials under her arm. She meandered along the path, well aware that she only had about three hours left, but this was roughly the same time in the afternoon as when she’d walked through the park with Thirty-Nine and Eighty-Five. She stopped in the same grove of trees, and plucked a few flowering branches to place on the park bench next to her.

She sat and drew them for a while, revelling in the details of the delicate petals and leaves, and the soft colours of the white and pink flowers. She stayed there for as long as she could, drawing the flowers and occasionally sketching the pedestrians passing by. People often stopped and admired her work, making her feel even better.

Just as she was running out of time the Celestials appeared in the grove, as if they’d always been there. It was two of the same men – the White Tiger and the Xuan Wu’s son – together with the same four women.

‘Well hello there, lovely,’ the Tiger said, his voice a warm rasp. ‘Waiting for me?’

The King’s order kicked in. He’d told her to keep clear of Celestials and not speak to them. She was forced to obey. She grabbed her drawing materials and hurried away, then stopped when she was ten metres from them.

The White Tiger followed and she backed up, keeping her distance.

He stopped and spread his hands. ‘Don’t run away. I promise I won’t hurt you.’ He dropped his voice and it filled with kindness. ‘Come with me and you will never be hurt again.’

She gazed into his warm eyes, full of compassion, and opened her mouth to ask him to free her. She couldn’t; the King’s order was too strong.

‘Talk to me,’ he said gently.

She opened her mouth again and nothing came out. She dropped her head and shook it. This was pointless.

‘Write me a note if you’re not allowed to speak,’ he said, pointing at the sketchbook.

He was right and she was an idiot. She crouched on the ground, opened the book, and scribbled Help on it. Free me from the Nests, she added. She held it up for him to see.

‘Say the words,’ he said. ‘Say the words and you’ll be safe with me.’

She opened her mouth and nothing came out.

‘You need to gather your will,’ he said, so gently it broke her heart. ‘Break his hold. Come with me.’ He held his hand out to her. ‘Say the words and come with me.’

The King’s summons hit her and she scribbled on the book. Time finished been summoned must return please be here next time.

‘I’ll be here,’ he said. ‘Free your will and turn to me, and I will keep you safe.’

She nodded and turned towards the gateway. The King summoned her again, sterner and more painful, and she ran. She tore out the pages with the notes on them and threw them into a rubbish bin.

 

After she’d serviced the King the Duke threw her into her cavity and she yelped with pain. A couple of other Mothers approached to see her.

‘Killing her achieves nothing, she’s so low that you won’t move up,’ one of them said.

‘And if she dies she doesn’t have anything worth taking,’ the other said. ‘Waste of time.’

‘Yeah. All ruined anyway.’ They left her to her suffering.

She came out of it a couple of hours later. She reached for her sketchbook to escape into her drawings, and when she saw what had happened it felt like the King had impaled her again. While she was serving the King, someone had scribbled all over the book with lewd drawings and cartoonish depictions of herself and what was obviously supposed to be the King. She checked her pastels; the few remaining ones were shattered and crumbling. The pencils and soft graphite drawing sticks that she’d really enjoyed using were gone. Someone had taken the lids off the paints and squeezed them over everything, smearing them on the floor of her nest cavity. Her body was covered in the paint, which had mixed into a sludgy brown paste and dried on her.

She checked the back of the sketchbook for the remaining money. Of course it was gone. She couldn’t purchase any replacement materials.

Her insides still tortured her and she didn’t have enough energy to mourn. She curled up in the bottom of her nest and withdrew.

 

She was summoned to see the King the next day, before she had fully recovered. She was forced to retain True Form for seven days after the mating to ensure that any viable eggs survived, so she followed the Duke in her skinless Mother form, hoping that the King wouldn’t notice that she still couldn’t ooze toxin from her serpent back end.

He was waiting for her in the entrance hall of his palace, and didn’t lead her to the bedroom. Instead he took her to a room with a soft carpet in the middle of the floor, a wide-screen television, and some cushions strewn casually around. He gestured for her to ease her snake back end onto a cushion and stood in front of her.

‘That was more than three thousand dollars’ worth of artist-quality materials,’ he said, his voice tight with anger. ‘Do you know which Mother did it?’

‘No, Majesty.’

He moved closer and she recoiled. ‘And why not?’

‘Because she was gone before I returned,’ she said.

‘There were at least three other Mothers nearby who saw what happened. Why didn’t you ask them?’

She was silent.

‘Too scared. Pathetic.’ He paced in front of her with his hands behind his back. ‘Someone destroyed something you love, and what are you doing about it?’ He spat the next word: ‘Nothing.’ He stopped pacing and planted himself in front of her. ‘How many other Mothers have you challenged for their positions?’

She lowered herself on her coils. ‘I do not wish a higher position, Majesty.’

He paced again. ‘None. No ambition. No will to progress. It is only through my good graces that you continue to survive, and those graces are fading. You make me look weak by protecting you, when you should be protecting yourself. You will not survive in the Nest if you do not gain the respect of the other Mothers!’

‘But I really don’t want —’

‘It has nothing to do with what you want!’ he shouted. He tapped his chest. ‘It is everything to do with what I want. And what I want is for you to survive long enough to pass on your mother’s creative genes to some offspring of mine.’ He turned away. ‘You will continue to see me in True Form until you have borne me a clutch. If you have progressed in the Nest by then, I may consider allowing you to live. If you haven’t …’ He waved her away without looking at her. ‘I see no further need for a Mother as spineless as you, talent or not. Our offspring will have your creativity and my ruthlessness, and be much more useful than you are.’

‘But you were so kind to me …’ she said, confused.

‘Give me what I want and I’ll be exceptionally kind,’ he said, turning back to her, spreading his hands, and smiling a smile that made the whole world shine with glory. ‘Advance in the Nest and I will buy you a whole new set of materials. Hell, I’ll take you shopping myself.’ He dropped his hands and his smile faded. ‘I thought you’d learn the Nest ways quickly and I’d only need to protect you for a short while. I thought you’d protect yourself and your belongings. I thought you’d be a worthy mate, one able to eventually take a higher place by my side.’ He sighed with feeling. ‘You have disappointed me so much, you have broken my heart. You have one last chance to win my affections back. Don’t waste it.’ He turned away. ‘Now go. If you are not carrying a clutch, then you will return when you have healed and we will try again.’

 

She sat for a long time in her nest hollow and came to a decision. She did want to live. She raised herself and hunted the periphery of the cavern, looking for the smallest Mother there apart from her.

She found the tiny Mother curled up in human form in a nest. One Three Seven lunged at her in True Form, and stopped. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t destroy this tiny demon.

The little demon – probably about number One Forty – woke and blinked, sleepy. She saw One Three Seven and scrambled backwards, throwing her arm in front of her face.

One Three Seven stood, transfixed. This demon’s human form was very similar to her own: small and sweet, with a kind, trusting face; a masterwork of design and at least as good as anything One Three Seven had created – probably better.

‘Who was your Mother?’ she asked the small demon.

The small Mother didn’t reply.

‘I won’t hurt you. Who is your Mother?’ she asked again.

‘Eighty-Six,’ the demon said. ‘Please don’t kill me. I’ll serve you. Protect me.’

One Three Seven gasped. ‘Don’t say those words!’

‘I’ll serve you.’

‘You created a beautiful human form,’ One Three Seven said. ‘The other Mothers will want you to make forms for them. Make sure they pay …’ Her voice trailed off as she had a brilliant idea. ‘… Make sure they pay for the forms, and give you protection.’

The small demon lowered her arm and stared at One Three Seven. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

‘Because you’re my sister,’ One Three Seven said, and turned away.

The King now had a backup in case she was destroyed before she bore him a clutch. This little demon wasn’t tainted with human blood, either, and would have none of One Three Seven’s weaknesses.

One Three Seven worked her way towards the centre of the Nest and found a Mother she hadn’t yet made a form for: Twenty-Eight.

‘Would you like a nice human form?’ One Three Seven asked her.

Twenty-Eight was playing a game on one of the big screen televisions that the King had provided to amuse them. ‘Go away. I’m busy.’

One Three Seven looked at the screen. ‘How’d you like to look exactly like him?’

Twenty-Eight looked from the screen to One Three Seven. ‘You can do that?’

‘I can make you look like any character in the game.’

Twenty-Eight froze the game. ‘Can you make me look like her?’

One Three Seven put her hand on Twenty-Eight’s shoulder and Twenty-Eight changed. She dropped the controller and rose, looking down at herself. She went to one of the mirrors the Mothers shared and checked herself, back and front. ‘Good. I like it. I’ll keep it.’ She returned to the game. ‘Piss off.’

One Three Seven put her hand on Twenty-Eight’s arm and took the form back.

Twenty-Eight shot to her feet and took True Form, swaying menacingly over One Three Seven on her coils. ‘Hey! Give that back!’

‘Pay for the form,’ One Three Seven said.

‘Okay. You have my protection. Now piss off,’ Twenty-Eight said.

‘I don’t want your protection,’ One Three Seven said. ‘I want money. Give me money and you can have the form back.’

‘Pushy,’ Twenty-Eight said with amusement.

‘Damn straight,’ One Three Seven growled, doing her best Thirty-Nine impression.

‘Stay here. I’ll be right back,’ Twenty-Eight said, and disappeared.

One Three Seven waited for her return, and after five minutes she gave up. She turned to go then heard Twenty-Eight behind her. ‘Here.’

One Three Seven turned around; Twenty-Eight was back, in human form, and holding a card out to her. ‘Money.’

One Three Seven took the card and turned it over in her hand. ‘How do I use it?’

‘When you have to pay for things, give them the card. They give you a piece of paper; write this scribble —’ she indicated the mark, ‘— on the line. All paid for.’

One Three Seven studied the card. ‘How did you get this?’

Twenty-Eight shrugged. ‘Serve the King well and he’ll give you one. Or just destroy a Mother who has one – I already have five of them from defeating other Mothers. Now give me the form.’

‘Tell me how to use the internet first.’

‘No. I gave you money. Give me the form.’ She took True Form again and towered over One Three Seven. ‘Now!’

One Three Seven put her hand on Twenty-Eight’s arm and gave her the game character form. Twenty-Eight grinned with delight, sat back down and returned to the game.

 

Five days later she discovered she wasn’t carrying a clutch. She went to her sisters’ nest to find her and show her topside. The small demon was in True Form, curled up in the nest and leaking black essence from recently servicing the King. She was alive but One Three Seven couldn’t rouse her. One Three Seven had the quick and horrible knowledge that she could finish the job right there and be safe. If the little demon died there would be no competition for the form creation and One Three Seven would advance. Her life would be doubly safe.

She couldn’t do it.

She cursed herself for an idiot as she headed for the gateway. There was something seriously wrong with her and it wouldn’t be long before her weakness was revealed and she was destroyed.

She knew the King would summon her soon so she had to be quick. When she was topside she went to the artist materials shop, and the card worked. She purchased a small sketchbook and a box of pencils. She went to a mobile phone shop and picked up a phone, and asked them to show her how to use the internet on it. They suggested a tablet instead, and she bought that.

She took her treasures back to the park and sat on the bench under the trees. She read the book that came with the tablet, and after reading the instructions a few times worked out what it meant to charge it. It needed to be plugged into one of the power sockets in the Nests that were used to run the televisions and games. All the Mothers bigger than about level forty had phones, and she’d seen some with tablets, so there had to be sockets to charge these devices. She’d probably have to swap human forms for access and she was running out of Mothers to design for.

She fiddled with the tablet; the battery had some leftover charge in it. She found a drawing program and used it to create a portrait of the White Tiger. His kind eyes and smile full of mischief were stamped onto her internal vision and he was easy to recreate from memory. She wondered what it would be like to have those strong arms around her, protecting her from any that would hurt her. The battery ran out and she returned to her sketchbook, drawing a full-length portrait of the Tiger under the trees around her, as though creating an image of what she wanted would make it happen.

She was hit by a summons from the King, and quickly packed up and hurried back to the underground train station. She distracted any surrounding humans from noticing her, then lifted a drinks vending machine and carefully hid her treasures and the money card underneath it. She spared herself a quiet moment of hope as she went through the unmarked metal door.

But the Tiger hadn’t come.

 

The Duke escorted her to the King’s mansion, opened the door of the bedroom, and left.

Once again the King slithered to her faster than she could see, grabbed her by the arms, and threw her onto the bed.

She braced herself for the pain and it didn’t happen. She opened her eyes and the King was hovering over her, blood-red where the Mothers were black. He was glaring at her, but it was hard to see the expression on his face with no skin.

‘Why were you topside?’ he shouted. ‘Tell me the truth.’

‘I went shopping.’

‘Shopping.’ He lowered himself on his coils and his anger drained away. ‘Shopping. What for?’

‘An iPad.’

‘An iPad.’ He turned away and lowered his head, his shoulders shaking. It took her a while to realise that he was laughing. He turned back. ‘Why on earth do you need an iPad?’

She quickly hunted for a reason that a normal Mother would use, careful to tell him the truth as he’d ordered.

‘The other Mothers have them,’ she said, petulant. ‘I had to have one too.’

‘Do you know how to use it?’

‘Yes. I played the game thing on it.’ She shrugged. ‘It stopped working after a while and I left it somewhere.’

‘Would you like a human to play with instead?’

‘Ooh, yes, Majesty,’ she said, sitting upright on her coils, thinking what she could buy from the other Mothers with a valuable toy like a human. If she didn’t do something stupid like release it topside and ask for its help to escape …

‘Have you challenged another Mother yet?’

‘Yes. Stupid bitch conceded immediately and asked me to protect her, we didn’t even fight,’ One Three Seven said dismissively, glad that the truth sounded acceptable.

He dropped slightly in front of her. ‘That’s not good enough. You need to fight and if you defeat one of the other Mothers, I may let you live. There is hope for you yet.’

‘Majest—’ she began, and finished it with a shriek of pain as he pushed her backwards on the bed and impaled her.

 

Later, as she curled over her throbbing insides in her nest hollow, a thought came to her – the King didn’t lose control at all when he was in True Form. Everything he did was conscious and deliberate, and he enjoyed every second of it. She curled up tighter.

 

A week later she went to find her sister and show her topside. She found the small demon surrounded by senior Mothers, making forms for them.

One Three Seven moved through the cluster of Mothers – some of them very senior – to find her sister at the centre of the group making a form for Thirty-Nine. She’d made Thirty-Nine’s gold skin glint with red highlights matching her hair, and tweaked the face until it was even more gorgeous. She’d given Thirty-Nine long canines, nearly fangs, that were still within the normal human range, and had shaded her eyes to a blood-tinged brown that made the Mother’s appearance chilling, its demonic nature overlaid on the original harmless-seeming human form.

It was twenty times better than anything One Three Seven could produce and she stifled the flood of jealousy and dismay.

‘This is so me,’ Thirty-Nine said, turning on the spot in front of the mirror.  She saw One Three Seven. ‘You can keep your human form. This is way better. You’re out of a job, useless.’ She turned back to the small demon. ‘How much?’

‘A thousand dollars and your protection,’ the little demon said.

‘Done,’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘I have to go topside to my stash to get the money, but I’ll be right back.’

‘You’d better,’ the small demon said, ‘otherwise I’ll give the form to someone else.’

Thirty-Nine disappeared.

‘Me next!’ Eighty-Five shouted.

‘Stand there,’ the small demon said, pointing at the floor, and Eighty-Five meekly took position in front of the mirror. ‘Wait. I have to talk to this one.’ She hurried to One Three Seven, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out of the group. ‘Thank you so much,’ she said under her breath. ‘They’re lining up for the forms and paying anything!’ She grinned broadly. ‘You saved my life! I had enough time to see how things work, challenged some small Mothers for their spots, and now I’m number One Fifteen. And it’s all because of you. If there’s anything you need from me, just let me know.’

‘Would you like to come topside and shop for artist materials with me?’ One Three Seven said. ‘Drawing on paper is great fun.’

‘The King gave me a bunch of that stuff, more than I can ever use,’ One Fifteen said. ‘I have a huge stash hidden topside, but I’m too busy making human forms, and challenging other Mothers …’ She turned to see the group waiting impatiently for her. ‘I’m having the time of my life. This is so fun! I won three battles yesterday.’

‘What about when the King summons you?’

‘Oh that.’ One Fifteen waved it away, inconsequential. ‘It hurts for an hour or so and then it’s over, and if you bear the King a clutch you’re automatically promoted anyway, so that’s something to look forward to.’ She smiled again. ‘How about we go shopping after I finish all these forms? We can play “scare the humans”, standard stakes, fifty dollars if you can make them scream just by smiling.’

‘I’m due to be summoned soon.’

‘Oh, lucky you.’ One Fifteen smiled and patted her arm. ‘I’m lucky too, I get summoned all the time. Hey.’ She moved closer and dropped her voice. ‘There’s another one that can make human forms too, I haven’t seen her. Have you heard of her?’

‘No?’ One Three Seven said.

‘They say she’s part-human,’ One Fifteen said with disgust. ‘And that she’s barren – the King’s seen her plenty of times but she won’t fall pregnant. They say she does nice human forms, but that she won’t fight, and she keeps to herself, and that she’s really strange.’ One Fifteen looked around. ‘They say she won’t last long. They call her “Side Orders”.’

‘I think they’re right and she won’t last long,’ One Three Seven said.

One Fifteen shrugged. ‘Good. Less competition for us. Let me know if you see her, I want to challenge and destroy her. The fewer demons that can sell human forms, the better it is for us.’

‘I will.’

‘See you later then. Next time we both have nothing to do, we should try taking down a sub-one hundred Mother together, we could advance really quickly.’ One Fifteen returned to the group and started work on Eighty-Five’s form.

One Three Seven quickly made her way to the gateway topside before any of the bigger Mothers saw her and pointed out to One Fifteen exactly who she was.

 

The waiter at the café recognised her as a regular customer and was kind to her; he provided her with a power socket to charge her tablet. She ordered some tea and searched for the White Tiger on the internet. A vast amount of information came up, and she stared at it, incredulous.

The humans thought they weren’t real. The humans thought none of them were real: demons, Celestials – everybody was described as mythological. She had a quick disorienting moment where she wondered if she was insane and they were right and she wasn’t real at all – until she shifted in the chair and felt her insides twinge. She was real and she couldn’t blame the humans for refusing to believe in them.

The other Celestials – the Black Lion and the Xuan Wu’s son – weren’t even on the internet. There was no information on how to contact these people, because as far as the humans were concerned, they didn’t exist.

She put the tablet down on the table with frustration and looked around. The other patrons of the café were all human. She decided to go back to the park bench and wait.

The summons hit her and she packed up. She carried the tablet and her drawing materials back to the underground train station, stashed them again, and went to the gateway door.

People bustled around her as she stood in front of the gateway door. It was metal, painted grey, and had no handle. She hesitated for a long time with the people coming and going, living their human lives around her. The summons came again and she was forced to obey. She took a last sweet breath of the air topside and went through.

 

She lay curled up in her nest hollow, still sore two days later. The King had been particularly brutal, and she’d been unconscious for a long time. The constant matings without enough time to recover between them were killing her, she realised with cool detachment. She probably wouldn’t survive another one. She flopped onto her back and looked at the cavern ceiling, far above her, and tried to care. When she was gone the pain would be over.

One Fifteen’s face appeared above her, upside-down, and she shot upright.

‘I challenge you,’ One Fifteen said.

‘Yes,’ someone said behind One Three Seven, and she turned to see. A group of big Mothers, Eighty-Five and Thirty-Nine among them, were gathered to see the battle. One Three Seven turned back to the challenger.

‘I’m smaller than you, I should challenge you,’ One Three Seven said.

‘I accept,’ One Fifteen said, raised her arms and, without giving One Three Seven time to prepare, slithered straight at her. She swung at One Three Seven; One Three Seven didn’t dodge it in time and One Fifteen’s fist hit the side of her head.

She shook the stars from her eyes and raised her own arms protectively. She wasn’t afraid; she was ready to die. This was just a formality.

‘Give the little bitch what she deserves,’ Thirty-Nine said with malice.

‘You didn’t tell me you were the part-human form maker,’ One Fifteen said. ‘You didn’t tell me it was you, Side Orders. Did you think I wouldn’t work it out?’

She swung at One Three Seven’s head again, and One Three Seven ducked then charged. She grabbed One Fifteen around her middle, where the flayed human part met the snake part, and pushed her to the ground on her back. One Three Seven wrapped her coils around One Fifteen and held her down, and realised with a bolt of astonishment that she was winning. She wrapped her hands around One Fifteen’s throat and squeezed – squeezed with all of the rage and frustration that had been growing inside her.

‘Get up and finish her!’ Eighty-Five shouted.

One Fifteen’s skinless face filled with fury and she lashed at One Three Seven’s back with her tail, landing some solid, breath-stealing blows. She wrapped her tail around One Three Seven’s throat, who choked and grabbed at it. One Fifteen used the distraction to roll over and put herself on top, her coils now wrapping around One Three Seven and holding her. One Three Seven put her hands back around One Fifteen’s throat, but One Fifteen was throttling One Three Seven as well. It was a test of stamina and One Three Seven was severely weakened by the King’s constant attentions. Black spots blinked in front of her eyes and she had a wild moment of terror: she didn’t want to die. Not like this.

‘Finish her!’ Thirty-Nine shouted. ‘Tear her head off!’

No. Not like this. One Three Seven threw her hands clear of One Fifteen’s throat. ‘I concede.’

‘Ha! Coward. You should fight to the last,’ One Fifteen said. She climbed off One Three Seven. ‘You really are pathetic.’

‘Kill her anyway,’ Thirty-Nine growled.

‘I want all her stuff first.’ One Fifteen said. She jabbed her finger at One Three Seven. ‘Give me all your belongings. All your money. Everything.’

One Three Seven hesitated, but she had to obey. ‘I need to go topside for them, I’ll be right back with them.’

‘Go,’ One Fifteen said.

‘Planning to kill her when she comes back?’ Thirty-Nine said. ‘I’ll hang around if you are, I’m hungry.’

‘Of course,’ One Fifteen said, not looking away from One Three Seven’s eyes.

Back in the train station, One Three Seven lifted the vending machine and pulled out the sketchbook, the money card, and the iPad. She flipped through the sketchbook; there was the drawing of the Tiger, smiling that roguish endearing smile. The idea of finding him again had been keeping her alive, and now she had to give it away – along with any hope of ever seeing him again.

… Or not.

She stood in front of the gateway door and hesitated. She’d been ordered to return with her belongings. Both her parents had broken the compulsion to obey. She could do it too. She had to. Just one step away from the door. She tried to turn away from the door and couldn’t. She put her hand on it, trying to push away from it. She was stuck; she refused to go through the door but the compulsion to obey wouldn’t let her move away from it.

All she needed was one step. One step. One step away from the door, and she could run to the Tiger …

Something broke inside her head and she lurched backwards. She took a few more steps away from the door, and her whole being filled with brilliant golden light. Her head cleared, as if she’d been living in a fog for her whole life, and her surroundings snapped into focus. The colours were brighter. The sounds were sharper. Everything was different.

She nearly screamed with triumph. She’d done it.

Trying not to think too hard about what she was doing, she put the iPad on top of the sketchbook, slipped the money card into the pocket of her pants, then turned and walked smartly out of the train station towards the park.

The King summoned her, and she ignored it. The summons came again, harder and more painful, and she surprised herself: she could still ignore it. She walked through the park with a tremendous feeling of powerful freedom as she headed for the grove of trees where the Celestials had been practising. She would find them. The Tiger would help her. She quickened her pace. She didn’t have long; as soon as the King discovered that she’d made a run for it he’d send …

She heard the footsteps and felt the cold presence behind her. A couple of guards were already following her; the King had sent them to either return her or destroy her. She quickly changed her form and turned a sharp corner into a group of mainland tourists. The guards stopped, bewildered, and she dodged through the people to the street and crossed it. The cold feeling behind her didn’t disappear; they were still following her.

The crowds were thick in the shopping area next to the park and she had to push her way through. She changed her form every fifty metres; from a girl-child to a businessman to an elderly woman. The humans couldn’t see the transitions but this had to be confusing for the guards.

She crossed the street again and came to the entrance to the underground train station. The guards were still following her; how were they …? She realised she was still holding her sketchbook and iPad under her arm – they must have been looking for that. She ditched them in the next bin, changed her form, and walked straight through the train station’s turnstiles, breaking them with brute force. She picked up her pace, still changing her form every fifty metres, but the guards were still following her demon nature, causing a commotion behind her as they pushed through the crowd.

She travelled down on the escalators and stairs, more than six levels, until she reached the level with the trains. She walked as quickly as she could along the platform, pushing through the crowds, as she frantically hoped the train would come. If it didn’t and she was cornered on the end of the platform, would she survive the jump down onto the tracks and fleeing into the tunnel? The tunnel was awfully narrow.

A train arrived at the same time that the guards did. They saw her at the end of the platform and shouted. She boarded with everybody else, right at the very end of the train, and they ran down the platform towards her. She took the form of a child. The guards were running silently, their faces full of grim satisfaction as they saw her on the train.

The doors beeped and a recorded message played to stand clear; they were closing. The guards jumped into the train one carriage back from her and started to push through the thick crowd of people, causing loud protests as they approached.

The beeping continued, the doors hissed, and she leaped out of the train. The doors closed on her ankle and she stood on the platform struggling to free it, terrified that the train would move off with her caught in it and she’d be flung against the end wall of the platform. The doors hissed open and she freed herself. They closed behind her as she turned and took a few steps away from the train. The guards were stuck in the middle of the crush of people and as the train roared away their faces were wild with anger through the window.

Trains came every forty-five seconds. The stations were two minutes apart. She had a maximum of six minutes before the guards were back. She ran up the stairs, still in schoolgirl form. Fortunately her reputation for being stupid had played against them; they hadn’t bothered to leave someone waiting for her either inside or outside the station.

She grinned to herself as she charged along the tunnels, looking for a way out. She was stupid. It had taken her weeks to work out the ways of the Nest, something One Fifteen had done in only a few days. It was her own fault if she didn’t survive this.

The people rushed around her, busy doing their human things, and the signs on the walls were bewildering; letters and street names. She followed the largest number of people travelling up, still changing her form every fifty metres or so, and found herself out on the street in Causeway Bay again.

The King’s voice appeared in her head and she froze.

Come back and all is forgiven. I will see you in human form and show you great pleasure every single time. I will put you in a human house; you do not need to be in the Nest any more. I treasure you, One Three Seven. Come home.

She walked with new determination towards the park. It was late afternoon; the crowds were thickening as people left their offices and headed out to the shops. There were so many people on the sidewalks that she had to walk on the road.

I love you so much, One Three Seven, please come home. I need you!

‘Wow, you’re really worried about something as small as me making you look bad by escaping,’ she said under her breath. ‘Planning a public execution in the Nest when they catch me?’

Did you know you are part-human? That’s probably why you didn’t fit in …

‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ she muttered.

She had an inspiration as the King’s voice continued cajoling in her head. Part-human, from her father. Her father lived as a human. Maybe if she concentrated, she could find him? Somehow sense him, just as she’d sensed the guards …?

The guards. The guards were back. She changed back into the schoolgirl form and ran towards the park.

She arrived at the grove of flowering trees where the Celestials had been and bent over her knees, breathless, as the dark spots filled her vision. The Celestials weren’t there. Dismay filled her when she saw the soft ground under the trees; scuffs and evenly spaced footprints filled the area. They’d been there doing martial arts some time earlier and had already left.

She frantically searched her memory for information about where she might find them. The internet had talked about Heaven, but she didn’t know where Heaven was or how to get there. The information on the Tiger had said that he was Lord of the West …

She concentrated, looking for her father, and didn’t find anything. The guards were coming nearer. She gave up and took off away from them, towards North Point on the other side of the park, heading east, not west, but she had no choice. A yellow minibus stopped on the side of the road in front of her, and she jumped on. She glanced back towards the park as it drove away, and saw the guards stop and look around for her. The last thing she saw before the bus turned the corner was the guards starting to argue.

When the bus reached the end of its route she hopped off, ignoring the shouted threats from the driver when she didn’t pay. She grabbed another yellow minibus that had ‘Western District/Kennedy Town’ written on a plastic board on the front. She curled up in the seat as the driver waited for more people to board the bus, but the guards were a long way away. When the bus was full the driver took off, driving much faster than the speed limit back towards Causeway Bay.

She sensed the guards closing on her and had a small feeling of satisfaction when they charged past going the other way on a double-decker bus. She was safe for the moment – there were very limited areas where the yellow minibuses could stop and the guards would have trouble finding one going the other way unless they went all the way back to where she had boarded.

The minibus stopped in Causeway Bay, half the passengers stepped off, and again the driver waited for the bus to fill before he went again. One Three Seven fidgeted in her seat, keeping a mental eye on the guards who had stopped moving and were stationary in North Point. The driver waited with the engine running for one last passenger to board, grumbling under his breath about the delay, and One Three Seven nearly gave up and took the train.

Eventually the bus driver swore and changed the plastic signs stuck into a rack on the bus’s windshield. He lowered the price and looked around to see if there were any takers. A schoolboy with a large back sack climbed up the stairs onto the bus and sat up the back. The driver crunched the gears and took off much too fast before the boy was even seated. His haste suited One Three Seven just fine.

The bus charged through the busy traffic of Wan Chai, wall to wall with double-decker buses heading in both directions. As usual there was gridlock as the big buses filled the narrow road that cut through the district. She checked the guards; they were still stationary in North Point. She was losing them.

The road cleared and the minibus charged past Pacific Place, one of the Mothers’ favourite shopping malls: three-storey-high blank white walls with no windows, covered in banners for the expensive stores within. There was another huge traffic jam in Central, then the road narrowed even further to a single lane crushed between the high rises.

She jolted awake; the guards had moved and were closing on her.

As the bus approached Western district, the shiny modern office buildings of Central gave way to older concrete blocks coated in mouldy white tiles turned brown from pollution and exhaust. The ground-floor shops changed from high fashion and gold jewellery dealers to small electrical and kitchenware stores.

One store glowed to her demon vision and she stared at it. The seals on this store were the best she’d ever seen; the store appeared to be closed but the metal roller door was gold with Celestial protective marks.

‘Yau lor!’ she yelled at the bus driver. ‘Let me off!’

The bus stopped two hundred metres further along. She mentally slapped the driver so that in his moment of confusion he’d think she’d paid; she didn’t need that argument right now. She climbed down the stairs onto the side of the road, then raced across the road between the cars and stood in front of the sealed door.

Damn. Even touching this door would hurt like hell; whoever had done this had some serious skills. She screwed up her courage and banged on it, wincing with the pain of the contact. ‘Anyone there?’

There was no reply and she banged harder. ‘Let me in – they’re after me!’

She sent her senses inside the shop; deserted. The three floors above the shop were apartments and there were people in them. She couldn’t sense if they were Celestials or not.

She checked the guards; they were on their way. They’d surely find this place as easily as she did.

She cast around, looking for a way up to the apartments, and found the narrow stairway blocked with a metal gate. The gate was as heavily sealed as the shopfront; she couldn’t touch it without major suffering. There were a number of intercom buttons next to the gate. She pushed one randomly.

‘Wei?’ a woman said.

‘Help me, they’re after me. I’m a Mother …’

The intercom snapped off with an audible pop. She pressed another one that seemed blackened to her demon vision.

‘Wei?’ a young man said.

‘Please, help me. If you did the seals, I need your help. They’re after me …’

‘You know about the seals?’

Her heart lifted with desperate hope. ‘Please, you have to help me, I want to contact a Celestial, I escaped the Nest and they’re after me …’

‘Stay right there.’

She checked the guards again. They were closing fast.

‘Move back from the door,’ a woman behind her said in a stern voice.

One Three Seven spun, raised her hands, and backed up. There were two women: one in her early twenties and one in her late thirties. The younger one was a terrifyingly powerful Celestial and the older one was a strange European human with something about her that One Three Seven had never seen before.

‘You okay, Ronnie? You seem to have a Mother on your doorstep,’ the older woman said without looking away from One Three Seven.

‘She said she escaped and was looking for help,’ the young man said from the other side of the gate.

‘Mothers don’t escape,’ the younger woman said.

‘They do, Simone, very rarely,’ the older woman said. ‘Sounds like a trick to me. Any other demons around?’

‘Yeah,’ the younger woman, Simone, said. ‘There’s some really big ones on their way.’ She quirked a small smile. ‘In a taxi, of all things.’

‘They’re coming for me,’ One Three Seven said.

‘What’s your designation?’ the young man, Ronnie, said.

‘One Three Seven. I’m the smallest Mother in the Nest, I ran away.’ She looked from the man to the women. ‘The King was killing me! Both my parents escaped the Nests.’ She thrust her chin out with defiance. ‘I escaped as well.’

‘Who are your parents?’ the young man said, opening the gate with a clash of gears.

‘This is not a good idea, Ronnie,’ Simone said.

‘Eighty-Six was my Mother. She turned. I don’t know who my father is but he’s half-human and living as a human.’ She studied Ronnie. ‘Is he you?’

‘Eighty-Six turned?’ Ronnie said. His expression filled with joy. ‘Eighty-Six turned!’

‘Oh, Ronnie,’ the older woman said, her voice full of compassion.

‘The guards are nearly here, can we move this inside?’ One Three Seven said.

‘Too late,’ Simone said, turning to face the road. A red Island taxi stopped across from them and five big demons climbed out in human form.

‘They brought reinforcements,’ One Three Seven said with dismay. She turned back to Ronnie. ‘Go inside your seals. You’ll be safe. Leave me. They only want me.’ She nodded to the women. ‘They’re too big to fight, just let them take me.’ She stepped forward with her hands up but Ronnie grabbed her and pushed her back.

‘Doesn’t work like that,’ he said.

Everything around them went still and silent.

The five big demons strolled across the road to confront them.

‘This is our lucky day,’ the biggest one said. ‘We can take the Wayward Prince home with Side Orders.’ He nodded to the women. ‘These are untamed demons, and they’re ours. You have to let us take them, that’s the agreement the King has with you Celestials.’

‘Prince?’ One Three Seven said, glancing at Ronnie, who shrugged.

‘Side Orders?’ Simone said. One Three Seven shrugged.

‘Sure, you can have them.’ The older woman stood in front of Ronnie and One Three Seven. ‘But you’ll have to come through me to get them.’

The guard grinned. ‘Suits me.’

The demon guards took huge True Form; they were massive humanoids, taller than One Three Seven’s True Form. Roughly human in shape, they were covered in green scales and had round bulging eyes and tusks showing at the edges of their red-lipped mouths. They grinned with anticipation and summoned vicious-looking curved swords.

‘Back up, Ronnie,’ Simone said. She changed form as well; she grew taller than the demons, with armour over her jeans and T-shirt. A large black sword, completely without decoration on either the hilt or the blade, appeared in her hand.

‘Two on the left,’ the older woman said. She raised her hand and a Japanese-style sword appeared in it. One Three Seven stepped back; the sword glowed with fierce chaotic darkness to her demon vision and seemed to be sucking all of the light around them into it.

‘The Destroyer,’ one of the guards said. ‘You must be the Dark Lady. I am honoured.’

‘And I am the first human daughter of the Xuan Wu,’ Simone said. She tilted her head. ‘Are you really sure you want to do this?’

‘Keep back,’ Ronnie said softly to One Three Seven. ‘These two are the Lady and child of the Xuan Wu himself, trained by him.’ His voice filled with amusement. ‘These guards are in for a shock. A very short shock.’

‘Don’t worry, girls, we’ll make this quick,’ the demon guard said, and went for Simone with a huge swing at her head.

She parried the blow, twisted it down, and spun to strike him on the other side. He blocked it. She bounced the sword off his block, used the momentum to make a strike at another demon’s head, then ducked, spun, and took the third demon’s feet completely off with a lightning-fast swing at ankle height. The demon exploded in a cloud of black essence that disappeared.

The Dark Lady engaged two of the other demons, distracting them from Simone. She moved faster than was humanly visible, striking at the demons one after the other and forcing them back as they parried her blows with effort.

‘What is she?’ One Three Seven said. ‘She’s faster than they are!’

‘Nobody knows what she is,’ Ronnie said. ‘They’re just glad she’s on the side of the Celestial.’

One of the demons attacking the Dark Lady redoubled its efforts, and the other ran towards Ronnie and One Three Seven.

‘No!’ One Three Seven cried. ‘I am not going back there!’ She took True Form and raised her skinless arms, ready to protect her father.

Ronnie changed as well and stood beside her; he was similar in form to the guard demons, except bigger, blacker, and more massive.

The guard demon’s face filled with effort and he swung at Ronnie’s head with the flat of the sword.

Ronnie ducked, but he was too bulky to be nimble and the blade struck him a glancing blow. He fell heavily.

‘Father!’ One Three Seven cried, and turned to face the demon.

‘Here,’ the Dark Lady shouted, and threw her a silver sword. She caught it and held it in front of her; she didn’t know how to use it, she’d had no training, but she would fight to the end for her freedom.

The guard demon swung at her and she parried him. He swung again; again she blocked it. She grinned without humour as she realized: even a Mother as small as her was still faster and stronger than any guard demon short of a Duke.

She pushed the advantage, swinging the blade clumsily at the guard demon’s head. It was his turn to block, now, and he could barely hold her blows off. She smashed the blade into his sword with grim pleasure.

She finally hit him so hard that she knocked him over. He dropped his weapon and lay, wide-eyed and terrified, on his back under her.

‘First time I’ve ever had a male under me,’ she said with relish, and pressed the point of her sword under his chin. His terror was delicious.

‘Don’t do it, you’ll lose everything you’ve gained,’ Ronnie said, but she ignored him.

She moved her face closer to the guard demon’s. ‘Tell the King that I’m not coming home, and not to bother looking for me. I am out.’ She pulled the sword away, picked the demon up by the armour at the base of his neck and tossed him four metres onto the road. ‘Now go home and leave me alone. Come near me again and I will not be so merciful.’

The demon turned away, glanced over his shoulder at her in terror, then ran. Normal life sounds resumed around them; the guards were gone.

One Three Seven dropped the sword and lowered herself on her coils to see Ronnie. ‘Are you all right?’

He sat up and rubbed his head. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. It would take way more than that to stop a demon as big as me. You know how tough we are. Hey.’

‘Yes?’

‘Call me “Father” again and I’ll kill you myself. I’m only supposed to be twenty-eight years old.’

‘Deal.’ She held her skinless hand out and he took it in his own scaled one. She helped him to his feet and looked around; the two women had dealt with the other guards and she was safe. She rubbed her hand over her face with relief; she was safe.

‘Are you going to stay with Ronnie now you’re free?’ the Dark Lady said. ‘You’ll need the protection of a Celestial if you’re to survive the Earthly.’

One Three Seven saw Ronnie’s horrified expression and smiled. ‘Uh …’ She resumed human form. ‘Do you know if there’s any way I can contact the White Tiger? He offered me asylum. I’d like to go with him.’

Ronnie returned to human form as well; a young-looking Chinese with unruly hair and terrible plastic-rimmed glasses. ‘The Tiger’s a complete bastard who treats women like shit. I’d rather you stayed with me.’

‘Ronnie, I’ve just spent six weeks in the Nests at the mercy of the King,’ One Three Seven said. ‘Being treated like shit would be a major step up for me. Would I be safe with the Tiger?’

‘You’d be one of many,’ Simone said.

‘So it would be familiar. Would I be safe?’

‘I can’t think of anywhere safer, except for perhaps the Mountain itself,’ the Dark Lady said. ‘Call him, Simone, let’s see what he says.’

Simone’s eyes unfocused. ‘He says meet us under the trees in Victoria Park.’

‘If I’m not happy with the way he treats you then I’m calling this off – you don’t know what you want yet,’ Ronnie said. ‘You’re too new and have only just come out of the Nest.’

‘I know what I want, and it has nothing to do with you,’ One Three Seven said, thinking of her portrait of the Tiger. She smiled slightly; now she was free she might be able to draw as much as she wanted.

A big black Mercedes pulled up next to them and One Three Seven backed up against the wall. The Xuan Wu, the greatest destroyer of demons, who had run them all off the face of the Earth three thousand years before and vowed to kill every demon alive – was driving it. He appeared as a mid-forties Chinese with long hair and dark eyes but to One Three Seven’s demon vision he was a black hole of destructive nothingness that rivalled the Dark Lady’s sword in terrifying chaotic power.

‘It’s okay,’ Simone said, and opened the car door. ‘He won’t hurt you.’

The Xuan Wu leaned over the back of the car seat to speak to her. He looked into her eyes and she squeaked with terror. His expression changed to exasperation. ‘Are you listening to me?’

‘John, you’re scaring the poor child half to death,’ the Dark Lady said. ‘Give her a moment to get used to you.’

‘Did you buy the hell money and paper offerings?’ he asked the Dark Lady.

The Dark Lady glanced at Ronnie, then shrugged and turned back to the car. ‘Things happened, and we were distracted by this Mother. She’s asked us to take her to Victoria Park, she’s turned and wants to meet the Tiger there. We’ll go to the temple tomorrow.’

‘She wants to go with the Tiger? Okay.’ He waved one hand in their general direction and turned back towards the wheel.

‘In you hop, you’re safe with us,’ Simone said.

One Three Seven sat in the car behind the Xuan Wu and the Dark Lady sat in the front next to him. Ronnie and Simone got in beside One Three Seven. They drove back towards Causeway Bay as darkness fell, and the lights on the buildings around them flickered on in a brilliant moving display of coloured neon.

‘What is your designation, little one?’ the Xuan Wu said without looking away from the road.

‘One Three Seven, my Lord,’ she said, and relaxed slightly. If her father wasn’t concerned then she was probably safe.

‘Why do you want to go with the Tiger?’

She thought about it for a moment. ‘The Tiger was in the park the first time I came topside. He regularly goes there to have his wives train with your son.’

‘I know about that,’ the Xuan Wu said.

‘I’ve seen him a few times.’ She dropped her voice. ‘He has been unbelievably kind to me. He has offered me safety. Only the thought of escaping the Nest and running away with him has kept me alive.’

‘If you want to go with him to his Celestial Palace, you have to say the words and be tamed,’ the Xuan Wu said.

‘But I will lose my free will,’ One Three Seven said. She glanced up. ‘I can only go with him if I say the words?’

‘Yes, but there are two possible outcomes if you say the words. The first is that you lose your free will completely and become a mindless servant, as you were before you were promoted to Mother.’

‘I see,’ One Three Seven said. ‘What is the other outcome? I am destroyed?’

‘If your will is strong, then even when you say the words you retain much of your free will. If he gives you a direct order, you must obey him; but otherwise you will be free to argue with him as much as you like. You will be more like a sworn retainer than a servant.’

‘Aha!’ Simone said. ‘That’s why you’re not objecting to this, you think she’ll make the Tiger’s life hell.’

‘Damn straight,’ the Dark Lady said.

‘Exactly,’ the Xuan Wu said with amusement. ‘This is one of the toughest little Mothers I have ever seen; a Mother as small as her should never consider leaving the Nest, but here she is. She’s remarkable. Do you know who her parents are, Ronnie? Is her father the King himself? Who’s her Mother?’

‘Her Mother’s Eighty-Six,’ Ronnie said. ‘And her father’s … uh … me.’

‘That explains a great deal,’ the Xuan Wu said as he eased the car into a car park.

‘One Three Seven,’ the Dark Lady said over the back of the front seat, ‘if you don’t want to go with the Tiger, you’re welcome to stay with us. We’ll treat you with respect and care, and you won’t be forced to serve any male that you don’t want to.  But this is your choice, and you can go with the Tiger if you want.’

The Xuan Wu stepped out of the car and opened the door for her. ‘Welcome to free will. Time to make a choice.’

 

They walked through the park to the grove of trees where she’d seen the Tiger before; and there he was, standing in the middle of the small open area with the flowers on the ground around him. He didn’t attempt to conceal his Celestial nature; his jacket and pants were of an ancient style rather than a modern camouflage, and his long white hair was tied in a topknot.

She looked into his face and he smiled broadly. Something wild and wonderful lifted inside her and she ran to him. He opened his arms and she crushed herself into him.

‘I did it,’ she said into his chest, tears stinging her eyes. ‘I made it.’

She looked up into his face. He bent his face to hers, she closed her eyes, and their mouths touched. He made a soft growl of pleasure that did wonderful things to her. One of his hands found the side of her face, holding her gently, and the other grasped the middle of her back and pulled her even harder into him. She put her arms over his shoulders and buried her hands in his wonderful snow-white hair and lost herself in the moment; she’d made it. She was in his arms and kissing him and he was kissing her back and she wanted so much more. Something leaped inside her when she realised – this was love. This was what it felt like, and it was wonderful.

He broke the contact first and smiled down at her, his tawny eyes glowing. ‘I knew you’d make it.’

‘I didn’t,’ she said, breathless. ‘I thought I’d never be here.’

She pulled him down and kissed him again for a long time.

Finally someone made some loud throat-clearing sounds behind her and she remembered that they had an audience.

The Tiger didn’t let her go. Let them wait, he said.

She broke off the kiss and smiled up at him through stinging tears of joy. ‘No.’ She turned to face them and bowed low with her hands clasped in front of her. ‘Thank you all for aiding me in my time of need, I am forever in your debt.’

The Xuan Wu, the Dark Lady, and Simone all nodded back, but Ronnie was glowering at her.

‘I’ll be fine, really, Father,’ she said.

He gestured sharply at her. ‘I told you not to call me that!’

The Tiger chuckled and she turned back to gaze up at him. ‘They told me that I have to say the words before I can go with you.’

‘That is true,’ he said, infinitely sad. ‘But I believe in you, I know your will is strong enough to survive the taming.’

‘Don’t do it,’ Ronnie whispered behind her.

‘Before you say the words,’ the Tiger said, ‘you have to understand about me.’ He gestured to the side and three Mothers appeared in human form.

One Three Seven backed up, horrified. This had all been a ruse to destroy her, their kindness was an act and she’d been wrong to trust them. Two of these Mothers were enormous.

The Mothers stepped forward so they were standing next to the Tiger.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ one of the big ones said. ‘We’re his wives as well.’

‘They turned,’ the Xuan Wu said behind her, ‘same as you.’

‘We said the words,’ one of the Mothers said. ‘We are not completely free, but we will get there, with the love and help of our wonderful husband the Tiger.’ She reached out to the Tiger and he shared a quick smile with her, took her hand and squeezed it, then released it again. The Mother standing next to her put her arm around her shoulders and they shared a quick embrace.

‘You all love the Tiger?’ she said.

The Mothers nodded.

‘I love them all. I love you all,’ the Tiger said.

‘How many wives do you have, Tiger?’ she said.

‘One hundred and six,’ he said.

‘One hundred and five to share you with.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘You would be wife number one hundred and seven.’

‘Come with us, we will care for you,’ the smallest Mother said. ‘We are sisters in the Western Palace, we share our Tiger and look after each other. There is no friction between us, no competition, and we love each other as much as we love him.’

‘That sounds too good to be true,’ One Three Seven said.

‘It is,’ Ronnie said softly behind her, and yelped with pain. ‘Well, it is!’

She looked back at him. He was rubbing his arm and glaring at Simone.

One Three Seven turned to the Mothers. ‘I’m sure there is some degree of competition between you,’ she said with a smile. ‘Particularly for the attentions of your shared husband.’

The biggest Mother tilted her head and shrugged acknowledgement.

‘We never harm each other,’ the smallest Mother said. ‘The competition is in good humour and sometimes we share the Tiger’s attentions anyway.’

‘That makes sense,’ One Three Seven said. ‘He looks like the sort of man who’d need more than one at a time.’

The Tiger smiled smugly and nodded. Ronnie hissed again.

‘Cut it out, Dad, I know what I’m getting into here,’ One Three Seven said over her shoulder.

‘Don’t call me Dad!’ he said.

‘If I come with you, what will you do with me?’ she asked the Tiger.

‘I will marry you, and I will give you a suite at the Western Celestial Palace, and I will provide for you and care for you and I will love you forever,’ he said. ‘You will need for nothing and your every wish will be granted. The rest is up to you to choose what you want to do. You are completely free to make your own life.’

‘Can I study?’

He crossed his arms over his chest and she admired his strength, strength that would always protect her. ‘You can do anything you want.’

‘What if I want to buy artist’s materials?’

He shrugged. ‘Come down here and choose whatever you need. You can go shopping as much as you like on the Earthly, it’s one of the wives’ favourite pastimes.’

The Mothers nodded agreement.

‘Will I grow old and die?’

‘No, but you may gain full free will and Ascend to something much, much greater.’

‘They lied to me,’ she breathed.

‘Of course they did.’

One Three Seven dropped her head, then turned to face the Xuan Wu and Dark Lady. ‘Is it really as good as he describes?’

‘Life with him is exactly as he describes,’ the Xuan Wu said.

‘Gilded cage,’ Ronnie said under his breath, and Simone slapped his upper arm with the back of her hand. ‘Cut it out, Simone! You don’t know your own strength and that really hurts!’

‘What if I decide to stay on the Earthly, Ronnie? What will become of me then?’ she said.

‘Uh …’ Ronnie’s eyebrows creased behind his thick-rimmed glasses. ‘You’ll have to find some sort of work to pay for your expenses living as a human. I have a shop where you can help for a while, but you’ll really need to find something yourself, there isn’t enough work for two and you’re too demon to set seals for people. You’ll have to find a place to live —’

‘Why doesn’t she live with you, Ronnie? ’ Simone began, but One Three Seven cut her off.

‘No. I won’t live with Ronnie. If I choose to live on the Earthly, I’ll find my own place.’

‘Come up to the Celestial with me,’ the Tiger said behind her, his voice gruff. ‘I love you and I will care for you and you will need for nothing.’

‘Come with us,’ one of the Mothers said.

‘How much do artists make on the Earthly?’ she asked Ronnie. ‘Painting portraits, things like that?’

‘Not enough to live on,’ Ronnie said sadly.

She turned to the Dark Lady. ‘You will take me in if I stay here?’

‘I don’t have anything for you on the Earthly,’ she said. ‘You’d have to say the words to us as well so we could take you to our Mountain.’

‘I see.’ She turned back to the Tiger and he smiled warmly at her. He spread his hands and she wanted to run to him again.

‘Say the words, my love, and come with me to a life of luxury. We will be together and nobody will ever pull us apart.’

She went to the Tiger and took his hands in hers. He gazed down at her and his adoring expression took her breath away. She wanted to be with him every minute of the day.

‘I love you,’ she said, and he smiled and bent to kiss her again.

She kissed him back, then pulled back to speak to him. ‘But I won’t give up my free will. I am sorry, Tiger, I’d rather stay here in poverty than lose my free will. I love you, but I won’t say the words.’

‘Yes!’ Ronnie hissed under his breath behind her.

The Tiger smiled sadly down at her and squeezed her hands. ‘I love you, and I understand.’

‘Please come and visit me,’ she whispered.

‘I will.’ He gestured behind him with his head. ‘Come here in the afternoons at four p.m., the wives have been learning martial arts to defend themselves. Join them.’

‘We’ll look for you,’ one of the wives said. One Three Seven glanced at her and the Mother smiled encouragement. ‘Join us.’

One Three Seven looked back up into the Tiger’s face and nearly changed her mind. ‘Will you be here?’

‘Of course.’ He reached into his pocket and took out a business card. ‘Here’s my personal number that only the wives have. Contact me any time for help.’ He bent his face close to hers and put one hand on her cheek as he slipped the card into her pocket with his other hand. She shivered when she realised she could feel the Tiger’s fur on her face. It was delicious. He dropped his voice to a rough whisper. ‘I’ll come back with a phone for you and some cash to start you off, and give you a suite in a hotel I own down here. Stay there until you’re ready to move out. Okay?’

‘No,’ she whispered back, lost in his eyes. ‘That would be the same as becoming your wife. I want to do this myself.’

‘Let him help you,’ Ronnie said behind her. ‘Consolation prize for losing so majestically, asshole.’

‘He’s right,’ the Tiger said. ‘You’ve broken my heart. Let me help you, it will ease my pain.’

‘No,’ she said.

He sighed and released her, then glared up at the Xuan Wu. ‘Shut up.’

One Three Seven turned and the Xuan Wu raised his hands and grinned. ‘I didn’t say anything.’

She turned back to the Tiger, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

‘Come and visit me soon, love,’ she said when they broke apart, and walked back to her father. ‘Thanks, Ronnie.’

‘You made the right choice,’ Ronnie said, gruff. ‘The hard choice, but the right choice.’

‘I’ll be back to check on you, I promise,’ the Tiger said.

She nodded without looking at him. If she’d made the right choice, then why did it hurt so much?

She turned back to see the Tiger, but he and the wives were gone.

‘At least stay with me for a couple of weeks until they stop hunting you,’ Ronnie said. ‘You’ll be safe behind my seals.’

‘How do I pay for your protection?’ she said. ‘I won’t service you.’

‘Demons!’ Simone said with exasperation.

‘Of course not, this isn’t the Nests,’ Ronnie said. ‘You don’t have to pay for my help, I’ll help you because it’s the right thing to do.’

‘I appreciate it,’ she said. ‘Obviously I still have a great deal to learn.’

‘I’ll teach you.’

‘Thank you.’ She turned to the Dark Lady, the Xuan Wu, and Simone. ‘And thank you all for your help.’

‘Did you say you’re an artist?’ Simone said.

‘I don’t know how good I am,’ One Three Seven said. ‘But people have admired my work.’

‘If you have any of your mother’s talent, you may actually be able to make a living from it.’ Ronnie shrugged. ‘But it takes a few years to be recognised and gain a following. You have a hard path ahead of you.’

‘I’m looking forward to seeing your work,’ Simone said. ‘I’d love a nice portrait of my horse.’

‘When I can afford to buy some materials, I’d be delighted to do one for you – it’s the least I can do to thank you for defending me,’ One Three Seven said. The world rocked and she nearly fell over. She looked around, bewildered. ‘What was that?’

‘That was you nearly passing out from exhaustion,’ Ronnie said. ‘Let’s take you to my place where it’s sealed and you can rest. You’ve had a hell of a day.’ He nodded to the Celestials. ‘I’ll have some hell money and paper effigies delivered to you tomorrow.’

‘Thanks, Ronnie. Keep us updated on her progress,’ the Dark Lady said. She linked her arm in the Xuan Wu’s. ‘Come on, John, there’s a really good vegetarian restaurant across the road, let’s give the house staff a break.’ She smiled at Ronnie and One Three Seven. ‘Join us?’

‘Vegetarian?’ Ronnie said with distaste. ‘We’re demons. Are you trying to kill us?’

‘It’s what I do,’ the Xuan Wu said.

One Three Seven stared at the Xuan Wu with wide-eyed amazement. ‘Was that a joke?’

‘Dad joke,’ Simone said with dismay.

‘It’s what I am,’ the Xuan Wu said. He nodded to Ronnie. ‘Borrow the car to take her to your place, then drop it back at the Peak apartment when you’re done.’

‘My Lord,’ Ronnie said. He took One Three Seven’s arm to assist her and she leaned on him. ‘Come on, Side Orders, let’s go home.’

‘Don’t call me Side Orders, Dad,’ she said, leaning on him.

‘And don’t call me Dad,’ he said, and half-guided, half-carried her to the car.

She passed out in the back seat and woke in the middle of the night curled up in a bed, still in her clothes, with a pillow under her head and a silk quilt over her. The bed was soft and the quilt was warm and she was safe behind her father’s seals. She nestled into the pillow and went back to sleep.

 

He took her to a French-style café nearby for breakfast; she was starving. The sun shone through the cloudy morning and she sat back, closed her eyes, and breathed.

‘You remind me what it was like when I first escaped,’ he said.

‘It is a special feeling,’ she said. She opened her eyes. ‘Thank you for looking after me.’

He waved it away. ‘You’re the first family I’ve ever had.’ He shook his head. ‘A daughter. It feels very strange.’

‘It feels strange for me too. Can we just sort of … be good friends rather than this human family father–daughter thing?’

‘I was about to ask you that. It’s what I’d prefer as well.’ He nodded to her. ‘First thing we’ll do is a quick lesson on how humans live. They can be quite revolting sometimes; their bodies and clothes become soiled from their excretions and they have to wash them regularly. I’ll show you how to do it so that you fit in.’

‘That does sound revolting.’

The waiter came and brought them menus.

‘Lots of side orders for you,’ Ronnie said, and she tapped him with her toe under the table. ‘Ow!’

‘I suppose I need to choose a human name, I can’t go around saying I’m called a number or “Side Orders”,’ she said. ‘What’s a madeleine?’

‘It’s a human name, just like you said.’

‘No.’ She pointed at the menu. ‘It’s one of the side orders.’

‘Oh, a madeleine,’ he said, understanding. ‘It’s a small cake they serve as a … side with coffee or hot chocolate. Rather nice, really.’

‘And it’s a human name too?’

‘Yes. Quite common.’

‘It’s a human name and a side order?’

He grinned. ‘Perfect?’

She shook her head. ‘Let me try one, and we’ll see.’

After they’d ordered, she pulled the Tiger’s card out of her pocket to look at it. The credit card fell out as well and landed on the ground. She picked it up and studied it, wishing that it still worked.

‘Good heavens, is that one of the Mothers’ platinum credit cards?’ he said.

She nodded and passed it to him. ‘The King’s probably stopped it from working.’

‘Damn, these things are sweet. No limit, and you can buy anything with them. I’ve seen really big Mothers buy expensive sports cars with them.’ He glanced up. ‘Did the King give it to you?’

‘No. I traded it for a human form with one of the other Mothers.’

‘Wait.’ He turned the card over in his hands. ‘The King doesn’t know you have this?’

‘Uh … no.’

‘Was the Mother terribly upset that you took it?’

‘She gave it to me. She was a really big one, she had several.’

‘Holy shit,’ he breathed.

‘You’re not thinking …’

‘Look.’ He leaned forward and placed the card on the table, becoming intense. ‘There are dozens of these things. He doesn’t even try to keep track of them – he just has the bank pay the bill automatically out of the proceeds from his criminal empire. And best of all, he doesn’t know you have one.’

‘But they expire.’

He tapped the card. ‘This one expires next year.’

‘It might still be good?’ She picked it up. ‘Not possible.’

‘Very possible, if the Mother that gave it to you had more than one.’

A small bright flame of hope lit up inside her. ‘I’ll have to be careful.’

‘You will. No big purchases to draw attention to yourself.  Don’t withdraw cash from it. Don’t do anything that a normal Mother wouldn’t do with it.’

‘All they do is buy clothes, electronics and …’ Her breath left her in a long gasp.

‘What?’ he said.

She gestured towards the small family-owned jewellery store across the road. The gold buying and selling prices were posted in the window above a display of craftsman-made twenty-four-carat gold jewellery. ‘Gold.’

He glanced at the store, then turned back to her and grinned. ‘Keep the purchases at the normal Mother size …’

‘Which is usually twenty or thirty thousand worth!’ she said.

‘And then go straight to another jewellery shop and sell it back to them for cash.’

‘That’s theft. That’s wrong!’

He leaned back. ‘What’s wrong is the way the King treated you. You didn’t steal this card, it was given to you, in payment for work you did. This …’ He tapped the card. ‘This is justice.’

‘Justice,’ she breathed. She shook her head. ‘It may not even work.’

‘We have a chance to find out right now,’ Ronnie said as the waiter arrived, carrying a tray with their food. Ronnie gave him the silver credit card and he nodded and took it away.

One Three Seven picked up the cake next to her tea, and bit into it.

‘Ronnie?’ she said.

‘Hmm?’ he said through a mouthful of croissant.

She raised the cake. ‘Call me Madeleine.’

 

‘Here in the bedroom,’ she told the delivery men, and they put the bed under the window. They went back down to get the sofa, and she watched the street while they pulled it out of the truck. A white vintage convertible sports car pulled up behind the truck in the no-stopping zone and the Tiger climbed out, slamming the car door behind him. He stopped and watched the delivery men wrestle the sofa into the building, then shook his head and entered.

‘Over there, under the window,’ she directed the delivery men, and they put it across from the entertainment unit. The television would be later. She passed them a small cash tip and they nodded to her, glancing curiously at the Tiger as they went out.

The Tiger stood in the doorway, his smile wide. ‘This is looking very homely. How did you pay for it all?’

‘Wait,’ she said, and checked out the window to the street three storeys below.

The Tiger came up behind her and stood pressed against her back with his hand on her shoulder. She was wearing a short skirt and she felt him hard against her as they watched the scene at street level. She wriggled slightly against him and he made a soft sound in his throat.

The delivery men had remembered to close the front gate behind them and she relaxed as they climbed into their truck. Ronnie charged out of his shop on the ground floor to assist them as they reversed the truck carefully. He thumped the back of the truck loudly as they backed up, the truck beeping noisily. He thumped faster to indicate that they were close to the Tiger’s car.

The Tiger put his other arm around her waist, and buried his face in the side of her throat. He brushed kisses over her throat, then up to her face and her hair. It was completely distracting and totally wonderful. The Tiger’s hand lifted from her waist to her breast, and she covered it with her own. He tweaked her nipple through the thin fabric of her T-shirt and she leaned back against him, weak with desire.

Below them, Ronnie kept thumping the truck and grinned broadly as it backed slowly into the car, crunching into the front end and squashing it like a drink can.

The Tiger jerked behind her. ‘Holy fucking shit, my car!’ he roared, and raced back down the stairs.

The delivery men jumped out of the truck and had a shouted argument with Ronnie. The Tiger arrived downstairs and One Three Seven watched with amusement as the drivers loudly blamed Ronnie, who acted the innocent bystander as they jabbed their pointed fingers at him.

The Tiger obviously said something conciliatory to the delivery men, who shook their heads, reboarded their truck, and drove away.  The Tiger then turned on Ronnie, who ignored him and walked back into his shop. The Tiger stood and waved his arms for a while, yelling into Ronnie’s shop, then sagged with defeat. He looked around then put his hands on the front of his car. He concentrated and the car unfolded, the creased metal reforming to a rough semblance of the original shape. He stopped and sighed when he’d finished; the car would never be the same again. He shouted something in the direction of Ronnie’s shop and came back up the stairs.

Ronnie shot out of his shop, looked up, and saw One Three Seven watching him. He grabbed his sides and laughed theatrically, gave her a double thumbs-up, then disappeared back inside.

She turned and crossed her arms in front of her chest as the Tiger arrived at the top floor. ‘I’ve been waiting for you to come visit me for three weeks. Where have you been?’

He came in and closed the metal gate and door behind him. He leaned on the door, mirroring her posture with his grin full of mischief. ‘I’m a Celestial Emperor with a hundred and seven wives. I’m busier than you can possibly imagine.’

She moved closer and gazed up into his eyes, suddenly realising how tall he was after spending time with her shorter father. ‘I won’t marry you. A hundred and six.’

He shook his head, the smile not shifting. ‘That’s one of the things I’ve been busy with.’

‘You have another new wife already?’ she said, incredulous.

His expression dropped. ‘Does that bother you?’

‘I don’t care at all, and I want to meet some of them,’ she said, and turned to pull the plastic cover off the couch.

‘But how are you paying for all of this?’ the Tiger said. His voice filled with misery. ‘You haven’t met someone else have you?’

She answered this by turning around, grabbing him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a long kiss.

He eased back and smiled at her, his voice a throaty growl. ‘I’ll take that as a no.’

‘There’ll never be anyone else,’ she said, her voice as husky as his. She kissed him again and then went to the table and picked up her new wallet. She pulled out the platinum credit card and waved it between two fingers. ‘This.’

He approached her, saw the card, and whistled under his breath. ‘Damn. How’d you get this apartment? It’s right above your father and his seals are the best.’

‘I know – that’s why I’m here. Two weeks ago the horrible old man who lived here started seeing ghosts and moved out in two days flat. I’m setting up a studio in the second bedroom. I already have some portrait deals with your friends the Celestials.’

‘Oh well done, my clever girl.’

‘I’m not a girl,’ she said. ‘And I’m definitely not yours.’

‘Demon?’

‘Woman. All grown up and able to say no to you.’

‘That you are,’ he said, his voice husky again. He pulled her in and kissed her. ‘Are you sure it’s still no?’

She nodded, then smiled. ‘But not no to everything.’ She unbuttoned his shirt, eager to see more of his wonderful golden skin – and the rest of him. ‘Come and try out my new bed with me.’

‘Uh, no,’ he said, and backed up. ‘Not like this.’

‘Not like what?’

‘Not married.’

‘You’re joking,’ she said. His face wasn’t joking. ‘You’re serious?’

He sat on the couch and rubbed one hand over his face and then down his sideburns, a very cat-like gesture. ‘Not unless you agree to marry me.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m kind of old-fashioned like that.’

She sat on the couch next to him and stroked the silky sideburns, wondering if she could make him purr. ‘Make an exception for me.’

He slipped his hand behind her neck and moved closer. ‘I’ve never been more tempted.’

She closed the gap and kissed him for a long time. She slid her hands over him, then pulled his shirt out of his pants, slipped her hands inside, and ran her fingertips over the tight muscles of his chest.

He growled softly in his throat but didn’t stop her as she pulled his shirt apart so she could see his broad chest with a feathering of pure-white hair on it. She straddled his lap and kissed him, and felt him beneath her, hard and ready.

He slid his hands under her shirt as she writhed on top of him, and smiled when he felt that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it. He ran his fingers over her back, then raised her shirt and mouthed her breasts, teasing with expert skill.

She continued to work his crotch beneath her, both of them growing excited and breathless, as she ran kisses over the top of his snow-white head.

He pulled back, studied her breasts for a long time, then looked up into her face. ‘You’d better stop, you’ll make me lose it right here, and that’s something that I never do before the lady does.’

She pulled her shirt off and tossed it aside, but continued to slide over him. ‘Why not? I want to see your face when you let go.’

He threw his head back and groaned. ‘I don’t do this.’

‘Okay,’ she said, and climbed off him, pushing her breasts into his face as she did. He couldn’t resist one last pull at them. She stood, picked up her T-shirt from the couch and turned towards the bedroom.

‘Whew,’ he said softly.

She dropped her T-shirt with her back to him, and bent to pick it up off the floor.

‘I am not looking,’ he said behind her, his voice hoarse with desire. ‘Holy shit! You’re not wearing any underwear at all?’

‘I took it off while you were downstairs,’ she said, still bent forward with one hand on the T-shirt.

He moaned with need. ‘You are driving me completely wild.’

‘Good.’ She spread her legs slightly. ‘I’ve been dreaming about being with you for a long time.’ She slid her finger between her thighs, making sure he could see her touching herself, and he made a soft sound of restraint. She looked at him through her legs, and to her satisfaction he’d opened his pants and was holding himself, his eyes half-closed with desire.

He saw her looking. ‘I had to let it out, the pants were killing me.’

‘Good.’ She turned to face him and fell to her knees in front of him. She put her hands on her breasts and breathed softly on him. He quivered in response and she smiled.

He put his fingertips on the side of her face. ‘Don’t stop. Touch yourself for me.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘You have to do it.’

‘What?’

‘For me.’ She put the tip of her tongue as close as she could without touching him and he made another soft sound of desire. ‘Say yes for me.’

He shook his head. ‘Not unless you marry me.’

‘Okay,’ she said, and pulled back. She put her shirt back on and stood up. ‘I’m sorry, Tiger. You really are serious and I’ll respect that.’ She flopped onto the couch next to him. ‘I’ll stop.’

‘Don’t stop.’ He tried to do up his pants again and they wouldn’t go. He turned to her, desperate. ‘Say yes. Please! You’re killing me.’

‘You say yes.’

‘You say yes!’

‘Why do you have to be married anyway?’ she said.

‘It’s just what I do.’

‘But you have free will, right?’

‘Oh, I see where this is going,’ he said as his eyes roamed her body and stopped, transfixed, on the hem of her skirt. She flicked it up and he growled.

‘Make the choice to be with me. I love you, but I want my freedom as well. Make the choice to love me, but let me stay free.’ She leaned forward to breathe into the side of his neck. ‘I must be free.’

‘I understand.’ He eased her back so she was lying on the couch beneath him. He hesitated above her, his hand stroking her face. The touch changed to fur, and she closed her eyes and shivered at the wonderful velvety feeling.

‘Love me free,’ she said.

‘All right, you win,’ he said, his voice a soft breath.

She opened her eyes. ‘I win?’

He gazed into her eyes. ‘You win. Tell me what you want and I’ll do it for you. Anything.’

‘But we’re not married.’

His eyes didn’t shift. ‘Right now,’ he said, ‘that seems to be completely academic.’

She pushed him up and shoved him back so that he was sitting again. She hovered above him, still in her skirt and T-shirt, but didn’t take it further.

‘Say yes,’ she said, pinning his shoulders to the couch.

He put his hand on the side of her face and gazed into her eyes. ‘I love you. Yes.’

She pulled her T-shirt off again, leaned into him, skin to skin, and she was in control, on top, for the first time. She lowered herself onto him as he sat, transfixed, gazing into her eyes. It had never been like this before; they were joined completely, intimately connected, and his strength and love flowed through her and completed her. She took a huge shuddering breath at the intensity of the feeling. She saw in his eyes that he felt the same way; they were joined in more than bodies and it was as if the two of them were the only living things in the world. She lifted herself, their eyes locked as they shared the sensation. His face was taut with the effort of holding back but he didn’t look away from her.

‘Give me the fur,’ she whispered, and everywhere she touched him, there was the feel of fur. She brushed over the plush softness, and she buried herself in the sensation. The was fur between her thighs and under her hands, soft and warm and yielding, and it felt wonderful.

She moved faster and he put his hands on either side of her and helped her, thrusting into her from below. The pulsing pleasure soared through her and she threw her head back as it pushed her over the edge. He thrust one last time into her and they soared over the precipice together, moving fast and hard, gasping and overwhelmed.

His hands gently cradled her as they came down off it and they sat panting on her new couch.

‘Oh Heavens, what have I done,’ he said, his dropping his head so that his forehead was leaning on her chest.

‘You gave me my freedom,’ she said, stroking his hair.

‘I suppose I did.’ He ran his hands up and down her sides. ‘First time in three thousand years I’ve made love to a woman who isn’t my wife.’

‘Does it feel different?’

He smiled up at her. ‘To tell the truth, no. But I have to leave you here without my protection, and that feels terribly wrong.’ He continued to stroke her back, then slipped his hands under her skirt and caressed her behind. ‘Let me station a guard here to protect you.’

‘And then you’ll ask me to move to one of your properties where I’ll be safe, and then you’ll ask me to say the words so I can go to Heaven and marry you,’ she said. She stroked his sideburns, enjoying the velvety feeling. ‘No.’

He moved his face closer to hers and smiled. ‘You asked me to try out your new bed. We haven’t done it yet.’

She pulled herself off him and stood up. ‘Let’s go.’

She held her hand out for him, and he took it. She helped him to stand, and he dropped the pants and stood naked in her living room, a living dream come true. She looked him up and down, seeing all of him for the first time. His build was solid; generously proportioned and heavily muscled – a warrior. She undid the skirt and let it slide to the floor, then pulled him in for a kiss. His hands roamed over her skin, and she traced her fingertips along the chiselled muscles of his back and down over his tight behind.

He moved his mouth next to her ear. ‘Demons always take it far too fast,’ he whispered.

‘I can’t help myself, that’s what I am,’ she said.

‘Let me show you how Celestials do it. I can make it last for a very long time.’ He pulled back and took her hand, leading her towards the bedroom. ‘You’ve changed the way I do things,’ he said with a smile. ‘Now it’s your turn.’

‘Show me,’ she said and they went into the bedroom together.

 

A couple of hours later they lay side by side on their stomachs, exhausted.

‘Again?’ he said.

‘I …’ She tried to lift her head. ‘I can’t.’

‘Oh, come on, one more time,’ he said, reaching out to rub her back.

She rolled onto her side to see him. ‘I was joking when I said more than one woman.’

He smiled slightly.

‘Would you love me in True Form?’

His smile disappeared. He rolled onto his side to speak to her. ‘Yours or mine?’

‘Yours,’ she said. ‘Mine is nothing but pain.’

His shaggy white eyebrows went up. ‘You want my True Form?’

‘Can I see it?’

‘Are you sure? I’m a really big tiger. Really big.’

‘Absolutely.’

He changed in front of her. A massive white tiger with pale gold stripes lay on the bed next to her, his eyes full of the same gentleness and good humour. He was so long that his tail hung off the end of the bed.

‘Can you speak?’ she said.

‘Yes.’

‘You would love me in this form?’

‘Only if you really, really wanted it. Some of the wives ask for it and change their minds at the last minute. Others adore it.’

‘Intriguing,’ she breathed, and his tiger mouth flopped open into a grin.

‘Don’t move,’ she said, and shifted so that she was lying next to him. He put his front leg over her and she snuggled beneath him. He rested his chin on top of her head and she put her arm around him. The fur touched her naked body all over, warm and silky, and she relaxed into it.

‘You sure you don’t want it one more time?’ he said, his voice vibrating through him and making the fur ripple.

She stroked his side, burying her fingers in the plushness, and he heaved a deep sigh.

‘No,’ she said.

‘You’re sure?’

‘No,’ she said, and wriggled closer. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘One more time?’

‘Mmm,’ she said, and buried her face in the fur of his white belly. ‘Can you keep the fur in human form?’

‘You women just love me for my fur,’ he said, his voice warm and low, as he changed to human form still covered in the wonderful softness. His hair had become a white shining mane that cascaded down his neck and onto his back. The pale gold stripes spread over his human back and the white fur was shorter and softer on his belly.

She shifted further so that she was beneath him. ‘Do you blame us?’

‘As long as you love the rest of me I don’t mind,’ he said, his hands roaming her.

‘I love you with all of my heart, my Tiger,’ she breathed, moving against the fur to feel it slide over her.

‘I love you too, and I wish you would marry me and be with me forever.’

She buried her face in the soft fur of his neck and whispered into his ear. ‘Don’t give up hope, one day I may say yes.’

He pulled back to see her, his eyes still kind. ‘I will never give up until you do.’

 

She had to give up on greeting everybody that came to her gallery opening and stayed in the middle of the floor, accepting the congratulations of the many patrons. The Tiger stood at her shoulder, basking in the attention, and a few of his wives attended, then called their fellow wives down to see. The gallery was in danger of overflowing to the narrow Mid-Levels street outside.

Ronnie sauntered up and stood on the other side of the Tiger, holding a flute of champagne and a small biscuit. ‘Patricia’s too busy talking to the chief executive, but she asked me to pass on that you’ll be sold out before the evening’s done, and you need to go back to work and produce another few hundred right away, and will you take pre-orders?’

‘Half up front,’ One Three Seven said.

‘Okay,’ Ronnie said, took a few steps away, and stopped.

Everything went completely quiet and ice-cold for a moment, then sound returned to normal. Ronnie rushed back to her and he and the Tiger took one arm each and dragged her towards the back of the gallery, where the wives had gathered, and the human patrons were excusing themselves and leaving in a hurry.

‘What? What?’ One Three Seven said, alarmed. She shook herself free. ‘Let me go!’

‘Where the fuck are your seals, demon-boy?’ the Tiger said.

‘Oh lord, the plants,’ Ronnie said with misery. ‘They all have decorative pebbles in them, I should have seen it.’ He dropped his voice. ‘I am so sorry, Madeleine, this is completely my fault. The King has developed stones that break seals and obviously slipped one into the rental plants. Are you calling Lord Xuan?’

‘He’s with the fucking Jade Emperor,’ the Tiger said. ‘I have to sort this out myself.’ He straightened. ‘Whatever he wants, he’s not getting it.’

The King appeared in the doorway in his slim male human form, wearing a tailored maroon Western suit. He appeared to be about twenty-five with an ethereally beautiful pale face, his blood-red hair tied back in a short ponytail. He was grinning like a movie star, with a couple of big mothers – one of them Thirty-Nine – on his arms.

One of the Tiger’s sons – one of the seraglio guards, from his build – came up behind the Tiger and spoke into his ear.

‘Take the wives out,’ the Tiger said. ‘Take them all out the back door and then home immediately.’ He turned to One Three Seven and opened his mouth.

‘We have an agreement, Tiger,’ she said.

‘Just this once I think you should break it,’ Ronnie said, wide-eyed with fear as the King approached them.

‘Ronnie, darling,’ the King said, and embraced Ronnie, who winced at the contact. ‘So good to see you alive and well. I hope there’s a change in your circumstances soon – I wish so very much for you.’

‘Not nearly as much as I wish for you, Dad,’ Ronnie said, his grin frozen.

‘Madeleine, dear. I came to see you,’ the King said.

‘Hands off,’ the Tiger growled.

The King didn’t turn away from One Three Seven. ‘This is between me and my granddaughter.’

The horrible boiling thought that she’d been intimate with her own grandfather filled her with nausea as it did every time she remembered it. ‘Don’t talk to me.’

‘But I need you, dear Madeleine. Nice name, by the way. Look.’ He reached to put his arm around her shoulders but she ducked away. ‘Do you remember a little Mother you helped? Spawn of Eighty-Six, same as you? She was as talented as you, magnificent.’

‘Was? So she’s dead and you need me back,’ One Three Seven said. ‘Not going to happen.’

‘But I’ll put you in one of the human houses, you won’t have to be in the Nests, I’ll treat you as well as the Tiger …’

‘Never. Go back to Hell.’

The King bent to look into her eyes, grinning with malice. ‘What if it’s you or your father? One of you has to come with me, or very many bad things will come to this gallery …’ He looked around. ‘All your lovely work, your patrons – how bad would it be for business if you were discovered to have criminal connections, and a string of your buyers met with unpleasant accidents? Very bad.’ The malicious grin turned to Ronnie. ‘I’d be just as happy with you, son. Either of you coming with me would stop anything bad from happening.’

‘Ronnie?’ She glanced from the King to Ronnie, whose face had filled with dismay. She backed up. ‘Tiger?’

The Tiger put his hand on her shoulder. ‘I don’t think you want to start a war, Mo Wang, so let’s just leave this here.’

‘Is she your wife?’ the King said.

The Tiger squeezed her shoulder. ‘She chooses not to be.’

‘Then you have no claim on her. Neither of these demons have been tamed. They are still mine.’

She tossed her head at him. ‘Neither of us is coming with you.’

‘The penalty for credit card fraud is a ten-year jail term,’ the King said.

Her breath left her in a long gasp.

‘That wasn’t your name on the card, dear Madeleine. What were you thinking when you used it?’

‘I’ll go,’ Ronnie said.

‘He’s offering himself,’ the King said, taunting her. ‘You can’t let him do that, can you?’

‘You don’t want him at all,’ she said.

The King eyed Ronnie. ‘Oh, I do want him, but right now I want you more.’

‘And you can’t take me if I’m tamed?’

‘No, he can’t take you if you’re tamed,’ the Tiger said. He dropped his voice and it changed to a gravelly rasp. ‘If you take either of them I will chase you down and kill you myself, Mo Wang.’

‘You can’t kill me,’ The King smiled slightly. ‘I’ve done things to myself with the humans’ science.’

‘I know. But I’m quite sure you don’t want to start a war.’

‘I’ll go,’ Ronnie said.

‘No.’ One Three Seven stepped forward, then turned and fell to one knee in front of the Tiger.

‘Don’t you dare say the words, if you’re tamed I’ll take Ronnie instead of you!’ the King said.

‘Don’t say them. I’ll go,’ Ronnie said.

‘No, Ronnie – Father. No need.’ She looked up and gazed into the Tiger’s eyes.

‘I didn’t want to hear the words if they’re forced upon you,’ the Tiger said, his voice full of grief. ‘It should be your choice to give me your will.’

‘I’m not,’ she said, still looking in his eyes. ‘Kill me.’

‘Wonderful!’ the King said behind her with vicious glee. ‘Priceless!’

‘Without me he has nothing to hold over Ronnie’s head. There’s no reason for Ronnie to go with him if I’m gone,’ she said. ‘Please do it, Tiger, and free us both.’

‘I’ll still take Ronnie anyway, and the Tiger can’t stop me,’ the King said. ‘I’ve wanted your father for a very long time – he’s given hope to many over the years and it’s about time that stopped.’

One Three Seven dropped her head.

‘Both of you are still mine, by the treaty I have with the Celestials,’ the King said. ‘Come with me of your own free will, and I’ll let Ronnie go. Come with me and everything will be okay. I won’t hurt you – well, except for making baby demons with you – and you’ll be safe from the other Mothers. And better yet, your father will be safe from me.’

She stood and turned to the King. The Tiger put his hand on her shoulder again, and she shifted so that she was leaning against him, a wall of strength against her back. He put his arm around her waist and held her.

‘Will my father really be safe?’ she said.

‘No need, Madeleine, I can go,’ Ronnie said.

‘Ronnie, if you go with him he’ll throw you to the Mothers,’ she said.

‘And send you a video of them playing with him every day,’ the King said with relish. ‘Something as big as him will last a long time. But if you come with me, I won’t take him.’

She cursed herself for an idiot; if she hadn’t been so stubborn, clinging to her free will, the King wouldn’t want her. She should have said the words when she had the chance. She gently prised the Tiger’s arm from around her and stepped forward to the King.

Ronnie placed himself between the King and her. ‘Take me.’

‘No, she’s the one I want, Ronnie. Let her come.’

Madeleine hugged Ronnie, pushed him to the side, and went up to the King.

The King smiled kindly and dropped his voice to a gentle purr. ‘There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?’

‘Promise to release me after I’ve borne you a clutch. You don’t want me, you want my spawn.’

‘You can’t trust him, Madeleine,’ Ronnie said.

The King studied her, his blood-coloured eyes intense, then he relaxed. ‘Deal. Cooperate with the breeding program and you can leave once you’ve borne a live clutch.’ He grinned at Ronnie. ‘Don’t worry, I will let her go; it’s a good PR move. Any other Mothers who decide to run will think they’re safe to come and go as they please.’

‘Think,’ Ronnie said under his breath.

‘Keep her safe from the other Mothers,’ the Tiger said, his voice hoarse with grief.

‘I am so sorry, Madeleine,’ Ronnie said. ‘This is my own stupid fault!’

‘Yes, it is,’ the Demon King said. ‘But don’t worry, I’ll keep her in one of the human houses. She’ll want for nothing.’ He grinned up at the Tiger. ‘It will be the same as if she’d said the words and gone with you.’

‘But I won’t be able to protect her,’ the Tiger said as the world around One Three Seven disappeared.

 

Six months later the King came into her house, accompanied by a small, skinny doctor demon.

‘Take True Form, and lie on the floor,’ the King ordered, and she obeyed.

The King sat on the couch and watched as the doctor demon ran his hands over her scaly back end.

‘How long have you been trying to impregnate her, Majesty?’

‘Six months already and it hasn’t happened. The six weeks before she escaped, as well.’

‘That does sound like something’s wrong.’ The doctor took her pulse, listening to the essence flowing through her, then put his hands on her abdomen. Ice-cold knives pierced her and she pulled away.

‘Stay put and let him examine you,’ the King said, and she did as ordered.

‘She’s healed nicely from the matings, that isn’t the issue here,’ the demon doctor said. ‘Her structure is abnormal, and her essence seems to have some red in it, is she part-human?’

‘Yes,’ the King said.

The doctor took his hands away and she sagged as the pain stopped. ‘There’s your problem. This happens sometimes, the part-human nature makes them unsuitable for demon pairings.’ He stood and shook his head. ‘Sorry, Majesty, she’s useless as a Mother. Completely worthless. You could feed her to the other Mothers – part-humans are always a special treat – or just send her back to the Pits.’

‘What a waste of resources,’ the King said with dismay.

‘Let me go,’ One Three Seven said.

‘No, I said I’d let you go if you gave me a live clutch, and that hasn’t happened. I am under no obligation to free you.’ The King sighed and leaned his elbows on his knees. ‘I’ll put you in the lab where they’re making the copies. That’s what I wanted the spawn for anyway; I need a few good human form designers to make really natural-looking human clones.’

‘Let me go!’

‘I need your skills. Maybe I’ll let you go when I win the war. But I need these copies to be undetectable from natural humans to win.’ He rose. ‘Don’t bother about your stuff, you won’t need it where you’re going.’ He concentrated and a couple of Dukes appeared in the doorway. ‘Take her to Seven’s lab.’

‘I won’t go with them. You have to free me!’ One Three Seven shouted, rising on her coils to face him. Her vision filled with gold light and she fell into human form. ‘I’ve satisfied my half of the bargain! You have to let me go! I’m not staying here, I’m going home to my father and my Tiger!’

She wanted to go to the door to escape past the Dukes, but she couldn’t see. Her vision was filled completely with the golden light and she flopped to the couch, unable to move. ‘What’s happening? Stop it! Let me go.’

‘Is that what I think it is?’ one of the Dukes said with awe.

‘Ascending,’ the other Duke breathed.

‘Don’t you dare!’ The King moved into view, hazy in her golden vision. ‘You can’t do this, I forbid it. Obey me!’

‘I’m Ascending?’ she said with wonder. ‘It feels – good.’ She smiled at the King, the golden light filling her completely, making her too big for her demon shell. The radiance shifted over the King’s furious face and illuminated the room around her; she was glowing. In a moment she would explode and it would feel wonderful. ‘Stay here in Hell, Mo Wang, I’m going someplace much better.’

‘No!’ the King howled as the brilliance became too much for her True Form to contain and she shattered into a million joyful shards of freedom.

 

‘Charlie!’ Terri ran to catch up with her as they walked up to the art school studio. ‘Wait for me.’ Terri checked her timetable. ‘Life drawing. Did you do your homework? Three life studies of people you see around town?’

‘Sort of.’

‘Oh geez, not more pictures of your tiger god,’ Terri said with dismay. ‘Give it up.’

Charlotte sighed with bliss. ‘I am so looking forward to next year. I’ll produce a series of impressions of him as my final project. He’s a part of our own mythology, Terri, adapting him is celebrating our own culture rather than the constant stream of Western heroes we usually get.’

‘If you say so. Do you want to go shopping after class?’

‘No, I’m popping over to my parents’ for dinner, I haven’t been there in a while,’ Charlotte said. ‘My brother’s home from the US for a week and I want to spend some time with him.’

‘Your mother will show you photos of the available men again.’

‘I know, they won’t give up. I don’t mind, maybe they’ll find someone nice for me – you never know. ’

‘How about shopping until you go up to see them, then?’

‘I thought I’d go to Victoria Park and sit under the trees and draw the flowers.’

‘But you do that all the time.’

‘I know I do,’ Charlotte said, ‘but somehow I think I have to be there when the time is exactly right.’

‘And when is that?’

‘I’m not sure, but when it happens,’ Charlotte said, ‘I’ll know.’

 

 

 

Extract From

KYLIE CHAN’S DARK HEAVENS

BOOK ONE

WHITE TIGER

 

‘Mother, Leo,’ Simone whispered.

‘Oh my God,’ Leo said under his breath.

I readied myself and hefted my sword. ‘I’m right behind you.’

‘Stay there. Don’t get in the way. If I go down …’ He hesitated. ‘Don’t let it have you, Emma. It won’t hurt her, she’ll be okay. But whatever you do, don’t let it take you.’

‘I understand.’

The demon appeared in the doorway.

Its back end was a slimy snake that oozed toxin over its black scales. The front end looked like the top half of a man with the skin taken off. It had to lower itself onto its coils to fit through the door; it was enormous.

It came halfway into the room and raised its body on the coils. Its skinless head nearly touched the ceiling. ‘You are the Black Lion? Disciple of the Dark Lord?’

‘I am just an ordinary man.’

The demon smiled and its red eyes flashed. ‘I like your skin. I think I will take it.’

Leo readied himself. ‘Come and get it.’

 

Find more about Kylie’s books at her website: www.kyliechan.com