Red Phoenix (33 page)

She was right. Middle had reverted to True Form and the edges of her feathers smouldered.

Zhu Que turned and saluted us. ‘By your leave.’

‘Bring them back soon to play,’ I said. ‘Simone loves them.’

‘Let me know if you hear anything,’ John said.

Zhu Que nodded and went to the chicks to gather them up. They all disappeared in a flurry of red. Simone and Leo packed up the Lego.

‘She forgot her table,’ I said.

‘The minute we stand it will be gone,’ John said without moving.

I poured some more tea. Leo took Simone out to put her toys away. We sat for a while, pondering.

I
had a pleasant lunch with Rhonda. We discussed Michael’s school work; we were both delighted at his progress. He enjoyed school, and I told her about some of the friends he’d made. We arranged for her to come for dinner at the weekend.

I walked back along Des Voeux Road, through Central, towards John’s office, where I needed to collect some documents. It was a nondescript building in Wellington Street. The pollution was particularly bad, the car exhaust fumes were trapped by the highrises. There wasn’t a scrap of greenery anywhere along the street, just the cracked concrete pavement. But at least the weather was clear and mild, not humid at all. Hong Kong would have about two weeks of delightful weather now, in late October, and then the humidity would hit again, changing from hot and damp to cold and damp.

I took the lift to the first floor and walked to the end of the corridor where the office was located. The staff didn’t know who John was; they thought he was a wealthy businessman from China, and that I was his European nanny who occasionally did some errands for him.

After I’d collected the documents, I called the lift. There were a few people in it already and they glared impatiently at me. Should have taken the stairs since you’re only on the first floor, they were thinking at me, and not wasted our time stopping here.

One of them was a high-level demon. She ignored me completely. My heart sank.

As soon as I was out of the lift in the lobby I pulled out my mobile phone. It wasn’t working.

I strolled casually to the guard station near the front door and asked the guard in Cantonese for a phone. He pushed one over to me. I picked up the receiver. Not working.

I stood at the guard station and pondered. I was in serious trouble. This was a really big demon, far too big for me to handle alone. To anyone who saw her, she was a perfectly normal young Chinese woman waiting for someone. She even checked her watch occasionally. She wore a lavender suit and her hair was short and trim. She ignored me completely.

Holy shit, what was I going to do?

I pulled out my mobile phone again, pretended to dial a number, and pretended to listen. I held it up to my face with my left hand. It was completely dead.

‘I would really appreciate some help right now,’ I hissed into the phone quietly. ‘For God’s sake, wake the hell up!’

Nothing. The stone was more and more useless every day.

I tapped it with my other finger. ‘Wake up!’ Still nothing.

I spun around and banged the blasted thing on the wall,
hard.

Still nothing. Oh my God, it wasn’t asleep. She’d somehow managed to turn it off too.

I briefly pondered going back up to the office and asking one of the girls to call John, then dismissed the
idea. The minute they were involved in this, the demon would take them out.

Fine. To hell with it. I stormed right up to her. ‘What do you want?’ I said loudly enough for anybody in the lobby to hear.

She smiled sweetly. ‘Do I know you?’

‘Where do you want to do this?’ I demanded.

Her cute smile didn’t shift. ‘I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you mind going away now?’

‘Fine.’ I spun on my heel. ‘See you at my car. I just hope you’re more honourable than that bastard Wong, and don’t try to stab me in the back.’

The security guards watched me incredulously but I didn’t care. They probably didn’t understand most of the exchange anyway; only that I had stormed up and abused this girl who hadn’t even spoken to me. Typical weird Foreign Devil behaviour.

I stomped out the front door of the office building, turned left, and walked up the steep hill of Wellington Street. I concentrated hard on John. I hadn’t tried calling him before; I was sure that I wasn’t capable of the skill. But right now I needed it more than anything else. Nothing.

I tried Simone. Still nothing. Leo? Gold? Jade? Nothing. The Goddess that Hears the Cries of the World? I’m really crying here, Lady. Nothing.

Damn, I was in very serious trouble.

I cursed my own stupidity as I reached the escalator and went back down towards The Centre. I hadn’t even had the brains to bring my weapon. I was unarmed and facing a demon that appeared to be close on level fifty; much higher than anything I had ever faced before.

Well, this was it. This was where all the training and the work and the suffering and the torture came together. I only hoped that I could fight her valiantly,
and lose with dignity if I had to. Then I felt a shot of panic: if she was working for Wong, she could be coming to pick me up. I had no way of killing myself if I lost. Then I immediately went very calm. Yes, there was. If I was losing, I’d hit her with energy, blow her up, and then blow myself up with the backlash. Easy.

And then, suddenly, I felt really good. I was relaxed and serene. I shouldn’t have felt that way, but I did. Either way, they wouldn’t get their hands on me, and it would be over soon.

I walked calmly and confidently through the water garden and past the large flat screen displaying the stock market prices. I went to the car park lift and pressed the button. The lift doors slid open and I went in. No demons there. She’d be waiting for me next to the car.
Bring it on, bitch.

And there she was, right next to my car, as expected. She gestured for me to follow her and I did. We went to a cul-de-sac at the end of the car park. There weren’t any cars parked there. Lunch was finished. Nobody would be coming in or out. And there were plenty of spaces on the next floor up, closer to the shroff office. We had all the time and privacy in the world.

It was worth a try. ‘You wouldn’t like to come and work for me, would you?’ I said. ‘The other demon help say that I’m a good boss.’

She seemed amused. Then she grinned. ‘If I bring you back in close to one piece, I’ll be promoted to Mother.’

‘Whoa, high stakes,’ I said cheerfully. And I did feel cheerful. I knew exactly what lay ahead of me for the next half-hour, and possibly for the rest of my short life. ‘I won’t let you though. If it looks like you’re winning, I’ll blow both of us up.’

She shrugged. ‘Try me.’

I put my hands out in a gesture of welcome. ‘No, sweetie, you first.’

She came at me lightning fast. I’d never taken on anything as good as her before, short of John himself. She came at my head and my body so fast she was a blur. Head strike, head strike, body strike, spin kick. I managed to block them all, one after the other. I lost some ground but not enough to worry me. I used the block on the kick, grabbed her foot, unbalanced her and tipped her over. She landed neatly on her feet, spun again, and kicked me right in the middle of the abdomen.

My abdomen was loaded with chi and I absorbed the impact. I was knocked backwards but landed on my feet, unharmed. I didn’t hesitate; I went straight back at her and struck at her in return. Head, head, head, body; she damn well blocked them all. I couldn’t get through her.

We were evenly matched. She was at least as good as me.

Well then, there was an easy way to defeat her: I just had to be
better
than me.

We paused and studied each other. Neither of us was panting yet. This was just a warm-up. She raised her arms and snapped out her wrists. I did too. I waited.

She came at me with a spinning series of kicks, one after the other, head, head, abdomen. I blocked them all. I hit her hard with the blocks, trying to break through her human shell and get to the demon stuff underneath. Her shell was thick. If I could break it, she would be finished. I just needed to hit her hard enough.

I retaliated with my fists. I struck at her head and abdomen with everything I had. I tried to be as fast as I possibly could. She was just as fast. She blocked it all. She grabbed my hand and pulled me in. I went in as she pulled me and hit her in the face with my other hand. Her face wasn’t there. I rolled past her and tried to take out her head with my feet as I went through. No such luck.

I sprang back to my feet and stood panting.

Before I even had time to catch my breath she was at me again. She spun fast. I blocked her foot with my left, but I wasn’t fast enough with the block and it hit me awkwardly.

She hit my left forearm hard. I felt the impact. I felt the bone break inside. It was a remarkable sensation. And then the pain exploded and I wanted to tear my own arm off.

I didn’t have time. Her feet were in my face, with multiple strikes. I tried to block with my right but I couldn’t block them all. She hit my forehead, my cheekbone, my cheek again, and then my jaw. Fortunately she didn’t break anything except the skin. Stars spun in front of me. I tried to shake them away, but it made my head spin and hurt. The blood ran down my face, making it hot and slick. It ran into my eyes.

I hugged my left arm in close, somersaulted backwards, and concentrated.

I did not have time for this pain.
Come on, Emma, all you have to do is be
better than yourself.
For John.
For Simone.
For
everybody
who loves you.

I brushed the blood out of my eyes. God, I hated the smell of blood.

No, wait…it smelled
good.
I
loved
that smell. Sweet, delicious blood.

And then my veins rushed with ice. I was calm and powerful and I could
do
it. The pain disappeared. I saw her as she really was. I saw her coming towards me. She came in slow motion. I had all the time in the world. I wanted blood. I could taste the blood. I wanted to eat her alive, black stuff and all.

Her fist came towards me in a slow arabesque and I smiled. Her face went slack with horror. I ducked casually under her hand. I tapped her on the face, then again, and again, and again. So fast she didn’t even seem
to move. Just enough to hurt her without destroying her. Great fun. Her eyes were wide with shock.

Then I spun and hit her in the middle with a devastating butterfly kick that knocked her five metres backward into the wall.

The force of the explosion of demon stuff slammed me off my feet, and suddenly everything was normal speed again. My left arm hurt so much I had trouble holding back the scream. My eyes were full of blood. I couldn’t think straight. The ground hit me hard.

Black. Red. Dark.

Gold’s boyish face was right in mine, but I couldn’t really see him.

‘I can’t carry you directly, my Lady,’ he seemed to be saying. ‘It would aggravate the injuries.’

‘I am in a
lot
of pain, Gold,’ I gasped. ‘Can you do anything for the pain? Anything? Anything at all?’

‘Wait,’ he said softly.

I was about to protest that I didn’t want to wait when Jade appeared and put her hand on my forehead.

Lying in the back of the Mercedes. Looking at the ceiling. Jade holding my hand. Every bump on the road exploding into agony. A hand on my forehead again.

Strong hands lifting. Voices, but I didn’t understand. Smooth movement. Lights going past above me.

A sharp pain through the suffering. Falling. Falling. Floating down, into a warm cloud of comfort. No more pain. Ease. Sigh. Darkness. John?

God, I was tired. Why couldn’t I turn over? I hurt all over. Too bright. Open your eyes, come on, there you are…you can see. Dark hair. John. Sigh. Let go.

M
ovement. Sounds. Soft voices. I snapped open my eyes. It was all blurry. I looked around, trying to focus, but everything kept going upwards. I grabbed the universe and told it to stay put. It did.

A dark shape to my left. I tried to focus on it. Warm dark eyes. John. Another dark shape behind him; I focused. Leo had just come in, bringing Simone. All three of them watched me, concerned.

‘Hello,’ I croaked. ‘What happened to me?’ ‘Would you like a drink?’ John said quietly. ‘Do you think you could hold it down?’

I nodded. He grabbed the jug from the bedside table and poured me a glass of water. He paused. ‘I can’t do it,’ he said, his voice full of pain. ‘You need someone to lift your head.’

Leo moved around him and gently reached behind my neck, raising my head. It exploded with pain and I winced. He hesitated. He brought the glass to my lips and I took a few sips of the water. It was incredibly sweet. I nodded my thanks. My head exploded again. Leo carefully lowered me back to the pillow.

I looked around. A simple hospital room. Dark blue curtains over the window. Beige walls. Two chairs next
to me. John, with Simone in his lap. Simone’s little face wide-eyed with concern.

‘How’s your head?’ John said quietly. ‘Do you have much of a headache?’

I felt inside my head. My brain was numb and swollen. ‘I feel fuzzy but I think I’ll live.’ I tried to remember what had happened. Nothing. My left arm was in a cast; I must have broken it. I was on a drip. Whoa, but my face felt weird. ‘What happened?’

‘You collected the files from Wellington Street. You went back to your car. You were obviously attacked by something big. You took it out, but it must have broken your left arm and managed some serious strikes to your head before you did.’ John leaned forward over Simone. ‘Do you remember anything at all?’

‘Level fifty, female,’ I said with wonder. ‘I saw her in the lobby of the office building. I don’t remember anything after that.’

Leo inhaled sharply. ‘No
way.’

‘Leave it for now,’ John said firmly. ‘Rest. Now that you’ve come around we’ll be able to take you home, and you can recuperate properly. The police want to talk to you. What do you want to tell them?’

‘I have no idea,’ I said helplessly. ‘I don’t know. I don’t remember anything.’

‘Well, then,’ he said, ‘tell them the truth.’

‘Are they starting to look at you?’ I said.

‘Yes, they are. When the time comes you may run into some difficulty. I hope it doesn’t happen.’

I didn’t say anything. I leaned back on the pillows and closed my eyes.

‘Take Simone home,’ John told Leo. ‘I will follow with Emma as soon as she is strong enough.’

‘Emma will need help, my Lord, and you won’t be able to touch her. It’ll have to be me who stays,’ Leo said.

‘Leo’s right, John,’ I said without opening my eyes. ‘You take Simone home. Leo can give me a hand.’

Simone’s little voice, demanding, ‘I want to stay with Emma!’

‘Go home with your dad,’ I said. ‘I’m okay, Leo’s here. He’ll bring me home shortly, and Meredith can fix me up, good as new.’

‘I want to stay here with you, Emma.’

I opened my eyes. Her face was set into a stubborn mask.

‘Could you go home, choose some nice clothes for me to wear, and ask Ah Yat to bring them down to the hospital for me, Simone?’ I said kindly. ‘You’re the only one I trust to do that for me. The guys have no idea what clothes I wear.’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Your dad can show you where my wardrobe is, Simone,’ I said. ‘He knows where everything is. You two go and have a look for me.’

‘I’ll help you,’ John said.

‘Okay.’ Simone hopped down and gently took John’s hand. ‘Come on, Daddy, let’s go and find something nice for Emma to come home in.’

‘Thanks, sweetheart,’ I whispered and closed my eyes. The door closed behind them.

‘Would you like another drink of water?’ Leo said.

‘Please.’

Leo gently lifted my head and put the glass to my lips. The water was still sweet. I took a few sips. It flowed coolly down my throat. I nodded and he gently let me down. I had a sudden shock of concern. ‘What happened to you, stone?’

No reply.

‘If you’re talking about your ring, they took your jewellery and put it in a safe place,’ Leo said. ‘It’s not here.’

‘The demon seemed to have disabled it,’ I said. ‘I banged it on the wall and everything, and it didn’t say a word.’

‘Talk to Mr Chen when you get home,’ Leo said. ‘Rest right now, and I’ll take you home when you feel up to it.’

‘Leo,’ I whispered.

His face moved into view.

‘Sorry, mate, but can you help me up? I want to use the bathroom.’

‘Mate?’ His eyes sparkled with amusement as he lifted me easily. ‘Just call a nurse. You don’t have to get up.’

‘I want to get onto my feet anyway,’ I said as he helped me around so that my legs hung over the edge of the bed. ‘I want to go home.’

I gently lowered myself onto my feet. Leo held my arm. I couldn’t help it, I leaned on him. I was as weak as a kitten. ‘All I did was break my arm. How come I’m so weak?’

‘Wait till you’re in the bathroom, you’ll see why,’ Leo said.

I pushed him away and tried to stand by myself. I couldn’t. He jerked forward to catch me before I went down.

‘This just isn’t good enough,’ I growled under my breath. ‘I have to get out of here.’

‘What’s the big hurry?’ he said, gently amused. ‘My thesis is due next week.’

Leo didn’t say anything. He held me up and guided me towards the bathroom. The IV bag followed on its little wheeled stand.

‘You don’t have to do this,’ I said quickly, realising what he was about to do. ‘If you’re uncomfortable, we’ll just call a nurse.’

‘Oh, come on, Emma, you’re like a sister to me. I’m a Retainer. What about the attack in Guangzhou when you helped me? Besides,’ he said, his grin gaining an evil edge, ‘I want to see your face.’

‘What?’

He guided me through the bathroom door. There was a mirror directly in front of me. I saw my face and his grip tightened as I nearly fell over with shock.

‘Holy shit,’ I said softly as I looked at myself.

My entire face was a swollen purple mass of bruised flesh. My eyes were barely visible. I had stitches on my forehead and across my cheekbones that I hadn’t even been aware of. Now that I knew they were there I could feel them. They weren’t painful, they were more like unpleasant pressure across my face.

‘Have to take a photo of this when we get home,’ Leo said with amusement. ‘What a good job. I think you deserve a special prize.’

‘You put a camera anywhere near me and my
chi
is out to get you,’ I threatened fiercely. I tried to pull myself free of him. He held me. ‘Let me go. I want to see if I can stand alone.’

He gently complied, ready to catch me if I went down.

A wave of weakness hit me as he let go. I fell into his arms. ‘Damn.’

He didn’t waste any more time. He swept me up and carried me like a child. ‘Let’s get this over with and get you back to bed.’

‘I want to go home,’ I said fiercely the next time I came around. The IV was gone; they must have taken it out while I was asleep. ‘Meredith can fix most of this, but I can’t just walk out of here a hundred per cent. I have to get home first.’

Leo understood. ‘Do you think you could walk if I helped you?’

I nodded and my head exploded with pain. ‘Ouch.’ I turned carefully on the bed and lowered myself. I tried standing. I could do it. ‘Whoopee,’ I said quietly, ‘I’m up and around.’

Leo moved to help me but I waved him away. ‘Let me see if I can walk.’ I gingerly tried a few hesitant steps. ‘Call Ah Yat. Tell her to bring me some clothes. Let’s get me out of here.’ I turned back to the bed and climbed to sit on it.

Leo pulled out his mobile and called home. ‘Tell her to materialise carefully,’ I said, and he nodded.

Ah Yat came bustling out of the bathroom like a mother hen. She shooed Leo out of the room and helped me to dress. She was strong enough to hold me by herself. When I had the clothes on, the three of us called a nurse and told her we were leaving.

The nurse looked stiffly at me then turned and walked out without saying a word. Gone to find a doctor.

The doctor came in. He was in his mid-thirties, overweight, cheerful, and smelled of cigarette smoke. ‘You should stay overnight for observation,’ he said over his small, stylish glasses.

‘I want to get out of here,’ I said firmly. ‘I want to go home.’ I thought quickly and gestured towards Leo. ‘My boyfriend is a registered nurse, he’ll look after me.’

Leo snapped me a quick, astonished glance, then spoke to the doctor. ‘I’ll look after her. She’ll be fine.’

The doctor acquiesced reluctantly. ‘Go downstairs and sign out first,’ he said to Leo. ‘Any signs of altered state, lack of perception, bring her back. You know what to look for.’

Leo nodded. ‘Nausea, dizziness, dilated pupils, visual disturbance, altered state, I know.’

The doctor nodded, satisfied. ‘Take care.’ He watched as I walked out by myself, Leo carefully
behind me ready to catch me. Ah Yat wasn’t there. Must have already gone back to the Peak to prepare for me.

Leo gently helped me into the car. ‘How did you know I was a registered nurse, Emma?’

‘What, you
are
?’ I cried softly with disbelief. ‘I just made that up.’ I stopped and studied him appraisingly. He smiled gently. ‘How have you managed to do everything you’ve done in your life, Leo? You are the most remarkable man I have ever met.’

‘I think the Dark Lord accumulates remarkable people around him,’ Leo said as he closed the car door.

Leo removed the stitches as Meredith healed me. They worked together closely and with care. I didn’t feel a thing. John didn’t want to watch. When they were finished, Meredith went home with the other Master, Liu, helping her. She wasn’t completely drained but needed to rest for a long time. She was the only true very high-level energy worker left in the Academy and we needed her skills.

John came in and sat by me when they’d finished. Leo collected his instruments and went out. He came back with my jewellery in a brown paper envelope.

I sat up on the bed and shook my head: no stars. I was still weak and woozy, but I felt much better. I tipped the contents of the envelope onto the blanket and picked up the ring.

‘What happened to you? You left me just when I needed you.’

‘I didn’t leave you, Emma,’ the stone said as I put the ring back on. ‘I was trying to talk to you, but you didn’t hear me.’

‘Oh my God.’ I sagged back against my bedhead. ‘She didn’t disable you, she disabled
me
.’ ‘Tell me,’ John said.

‘I saw her in the lobby of the office building. No, wait, she was in the lift, and went down with me. I saw her in the lift. I tried to call you, but my mobile was dead. Then I tried the guard’s phone, but it was dead too. Then I tried to talk to the stone, but it didn’t answer.’

‘Emma,’ the stone said patiently, ‘the phones were working just fine. I could hear the dial tone.’

‘She did something to me,’ I said.

John leaned back in his chair next to my bed. ‘Quite possible. One of the disadvantages of being a perfectly ordinary human.’ He smiled briefly. ‘What happened after you saw her? Did she speak to you?’

‘No. She ignored me. She pretended to be waiting for someone. So I lost my temper and shouted at her, and went out of the building. I said something like “I hope you’re more honourable than that bastard Wong and don’t try to stab me in the back”, or something like that.’

Leo made a soft sound of amusement. ‘Then?’ John said.

‘Then she met me in the car park, next to my car.’ I winced. ‘Sorry, Leo,
our
car.’

‘Your car, my Lady,’ Leo said gently.

‘Oh, cut it out. That’s all I need. Okay, so I met her next to the car. She took me over to the side, no cars there. She went for me. Then Gold…’ I hesitated. That was the way it seemed to have happened. ‘Then Gold was talking to me, I was on the ground, and my arm and head hurt like hell.’

‘It was a level fifty?’ John said.

‘Probably. At least.’ I suddenly remembered. ‘She said that if she took me back in one piece she’d be promoted to Mother.’

Neither of them said anything.

‘I called Gold,’ the stone said. ‘But he was a long way away and it took him a while to get there. By the
time he made it to the building, Emma was gone. And then she was underground, so I couldn’t call anybody.’ ‘Why not?’ I said.

‘The stone was buried,’ John said. ‘Underground. Silenced.’

‘I didn’t know that happened,’ I said. ‘Sorry,’ John whispered.

‘Not your fault, my Lord. It’s difficult to remember what the Lady knows and what she doesn’t. I should have been the one to tell her,’ the stone said.

‘The stone is right,’ I said. ‘Not your fault.’

All of them were quiet at that.

‘So Emma can ask the ring to call for help if she needs it?’ Leo said.

‘I spend most of my time asleep, Leo,’ the stone said. ‘Please don’t any of you rely on me. I am very old and starting to fade. I will wake if the Lady hits me, but she may not have the chance. I can only call my children, like Gold. And if she is underground, I am silenced.’

‘Damn,’ John said quietly. Then he shook himself out of it. ‘So you don’t remember what happened?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘She faced me, she hit me, Gold was there. I don’t remember anything in between.’

‘Stone?’ John said.

The stone hesitated. I heard it hesitate.

‘Don’t you dare start this with me again,’ I threatened softly.

‘All right.’ The stone fell silent, and I was about to berate it again when it spoke. ‘You fought valiantly, my Lady, but she was much too strong for you. She struck you in the arm. Then she hit you in the face. Then…’ It went silent again.

‘What?’

If the stone could have sighed, it would have. ‘Then suddenly you were all over her, you were faster than her—’

‘Faster than a level fifty?’ I said with disbelief. ‘Not possible,’ John said.

The stone ignored us. ‘And you took her out easily, then you fell. You were astonishing.’