Red Phoenix

CHAPTER ELEVEN

‘Can you hear it now, Emma?’ Leo said as he manoeuvred the car through traffic. I listened. ‘No.’

‘What does it sound like?’

‘An English man.’

Leo shook his head with incomprehension. ‘I thought that move was a myth, ma’am,’ Michael said. ‘The Five-Point Push. Incredible.’

‘The move is a myth. No such thing.’

‘But I just saw you do it!’

‘All of that was for show. Only the push on the solar plexus, the central dan tian, is really necessary. You just have to use exactly the right amount of chi to disable them without killing them. It’s about a level ten energy move. I don’t normally teach it; it doesn’t work on demons, only humans. Mr Chen taught it to me just in case.’

‘How long will he be paralysed, Emma?’ Leo said.

‘About six hours.’ I smiled grimly. ‘I hope none of them go back for him, he’ll be really stiff when he regains control. And I really hope he had a lot of beer before he decided to pay us a visit.’

‘You are very nasty sometimes, you know that?’ Leo said with delight. He pulled the car into the lay-by at the front of the hospital. ‘Here we are. Everybody out, I’ll find a space. Michael, stay close to Lady Emma. I’ll be a while. There aren’t many car parks around this part of Kowloon.’

‘Who’ll take Simone?’ I said.

‘She’ll be safer in the hospital than on the streets around here, Emma. You and Michael take her.’

‘Okay.’ I stepped out of the car and helped Simone out.

The English voice spoke into my ear. ‘Jade’s already taken her in. She’s in examination room three. In through the main doors, down the corridor, fourth on the right.’

‘Who are you?’ I followed his directions, gesturing for Michael to follow me. ‘John?’ But it didn’t sound like John.

We marched down the hallway and nobody tried to stop us. The room didn’t have a door, just a curtain. Charlie was sitting on the bed; she smiled when she saw us. She was on a drip. Jade stood beside her, talking to a kind-looking young doctor and a middle-aged, dourfaced nurse.

I went in and stood next to the bed. ‘How is she, Jade?’ The doctor and nurse looked at me. ‘I’m her employer,’ I explained. ‘She’s my domestic helper from England.’

They nodded; that made me as good as next of kin.

‘I’ll take the children out and watch them,’ Jade said. ‘Where’s Leo?’

‘Parking the car; he’ll be here soon,’ I said.

Jade took Simone and Michael out, Michael glaring at her.

My mobile phone rang. It was Leo. ‘Where are you? I’m at the front door.’

‘Straight ahead, you should see Jade and the kids,’ I said. ‘Take them and guard them.’

I leaned into the corridor and saw him come into view. He waved to me, then took Simone and Michael into the waiting room.

‘Can I speak to you privately?’ the doctor said.

I studied him carefully: ordinary human. Simone would have said something otherwise. I let the doctor lead me out of the room into the empty examination room next door.

‘I am Doctor Au Yeung.’

‘Emma Donahoe. How bad is she?’

‘Not bad at all. Actually it was more like a fainting fit than heatstroke. Did she have a fright of some kind? She’s borderline diabetic and her blood sugar was very low. We’ve put her on an IV, but she should be all right to go home after we’ve performed a couple more tests.’

I sagged with relief. The voice was wrong; she’d really just fainted.

‘I wasn’t wrong,’ the voice said. ‘She also has a mild dose of heatstroke and needed to be put on fluids. This was the easiest way to make you move yourself.’

From his face the doctor hadn’t heard anything.

‘How long will this take?’ I said.

‘Not long. Please wait here. We have a small procedure to perform, then you can see her. Take a seat, this won’t take a minute.’

‘Okay.’ I sat on the chair next to the wall.

The doctor flipped the curtain up and went into Charlie’s room. He quickly returned holding a hypodermic and approached me with it. ‘You look like you could use some fluids as well. How about a vitamin injection?’

I shot to my feet and moved into a defensive stance. He approached me carefully and grabbed my arm with his free hand. Bad move. I performed the Push with my other hand and he went down, falling on his own needle.

I heard a soft sound in the hallway. Simon Wong flipped the curtain up and stood in the opening, watching me. I stared at him, then my breath caught with horror. Simon Wong.

He glanced down at the doctor on the floor, then grimaced and disappeared behind the curtain.

‘He’s making a try for Charlie! Quick!’ the voice shouted, but I’d already charged after him.

I raced into the next room. Wong stood behind Charlie with his hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide with fear. He grinned at me over the top of her head and they disappeared.

I fell to lean on the bed. I couldn’t support my own weight. Simone charged into the room, followed by Leo, Jade and Michael. They stopped dead when they saw.

The grim-faced nurse came in behind them. She held up a clipboard. ‘Miss Donahoe.’ She glanced up at me. ‘Go home and talk to the Dark Lord. He has been contacted.’ She spun on her heel and went out.

Simone threw her little arms around me. ‘The bad demon has Charlie!’

I pulled her into my stomach. ‘I know, sweetheart.’

‘No,’ Leo whispered.

‘That nurse and the doctor weren’t demons, were they?’

Simone shook her head into my stomach. Her shoulders quivered. ‘Charlie.’

‘This is very bad,’ Leo said. ‘Let’s get home to Mr Chen right now.’

‘Should we grab that doctor and nurse and take them with us?’ Michael said.

‘That wouldn’t be a good idea,’ the voice said. ‘You can’t go around kidnapping drugged human doctors.’

Simone jerked her head away from my stomach and stared up at me. Everybody’s mouths flopped open.

‘It does sound like an English man,’ Michael said. ‘Who is it?’

‘Don’t worry about me!’ the voice snapped. ‘Just get yourselves home! Jade, go directly and brief the Dark Lord. Everybody else, move!’

‘By your leave, my Lady,’ Jade said.

‘Go.’

Jade dropped her head and disappeared. Leo guided the rest of us out and followed us down the hallway.

‘If you do not tell me who you are right now,’ I said furiously as I stormed down the corridor, ‘I will be very, very cross.’

‘I’m not a who, I’m a what, and I’m on your engagement ring.’ I stopped dead.

Leo pushed me forward. ‘Move, Emma.’

I raced out the front doors of the hospital, Leo following. ‘You’re the stone?’ I said, stunned.

Leo ran to collect the car. Michael and Simone stood with me, watching me as if I was completely bonkers.

‘You were wondering when I’d wake, weren’t you?’ The stone’s voice was cheerful. ‘Well, now you know. I am extremely displeased with the Turtle for keeping me locked up for so long. He should have known better. Even though I was unaware, I honestly feel I deserve better treatment than that.’

‘Maybe he was waiting for someone worthy?’

‘You think you’re worthy of something as precious as me?’ the stone said with delight.

‘I don’t know. Am I?’

‘Are you talking to the voice, Emma?’ Simone said. ‘Yep. It’s the stone—’

The stone cut me off. ‘Here comes Leo. He managed to find a meter not far away. Now there is someone worthy. Shame this setting wouldn’t fit on him.’

‘If you want me to give you to Leo, just say the word,’ I said. ‘You are very precious, you know.’

‘More precious than you could possibly imagine. But I think I’ll stay with you for now, and see what you do.’ Its English accent made it sound like a BBC newsreader. ‘You are a very interesting person, you know. A great deal of hidden depth to you. And most of it isn’t even there.’

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ Leo brought the car around and I opened the door for Simone.

‘What do you mean?’ But the stone didn’t reply.

I was quiet in the car for a while, and everybody kept sneaking glances at me. Eventually I thought I’d better reassure them.

‘I haven’t gone crazy, guys. The stone in the ring that Mr Chen gave me woke up and started talking to me. It helped out. That’s what you heard.’

‘Let me see, Emma,’ Simone said.

I showed her the ring. She touched it and squeaked.

‘Did it do anything to you?’ I said.

‘Of course I didn’t,’ the stone said. Its voice became kind. ‘Hello, Princess.’

Simone’s eyes went wide. ‘Hello.’

‘That jade ring?’ Leo said over his shoulder as he drove. ‘That little green stone?’

‘Yep.’

‘Do you have a name?’ Simone said.

‘I am far too important to have anything as mundane as a name,’ the stone said. ‘I am thoroughly above such boring inanities.’

‘O… kay,’ Leo said without looking away from the road.

Michael grimaced.

‘Yes, it just gets stranger and stranger, Michael,’ I said. ‘Sometimes it’s more the House of Weird than the House of Chen.’

He shook his head. I’d read his mind.