Red Phoenix

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

We didn’t shift our eyes from each other as we ate our noodles in the shade of the pavilion. The Tiger lounged under the table and noisily tore apart the haunch of a large ungulate. The fountain splashed next to us and the breeze wafted cool, moist air off the water.

The clothes the Tiger had given me were much too elaborate for me to be at ease. The flowing golden yellow cotton pants and Indian-style long top with black embroidery had been in the way when John and I had practised some hand-to-hand that morning. But the silk slippers were delightfully comfortable, and I wondered if he could bring me some to Hong Kong later.

The Tiger had provided John with his usual black training gear: a pair of cotton pants and jacket similar to what the Tiger himself wore in human form.

‘Did you destroy Wong?’ I asked John. ‘Tell me it’s gone.’

‘It ran, as it usually does, as soon as it saw I was winning,’ John said. ‘It really is the most tremendous coward.’

‘Damn,’ I said quietly into my food.

The Tiger crunched the bones under the table.

‘Must you do that, Bai Hu?’ I said patiently. ‘It sounds revolting, and I’m trying to eat here.’

‘Sorry, my Lady.’ He picked up the remains of his meal in his mouth and carried it, exactly as a cat would, a short distance away from us. He dropped it and lounged next to it. ‘Is this okay?’

‘Whatever,’ John said. ‘As long as we don’t have to look at you.’

‘Good coming from you,’ Bai Hu said, amused. ‘You should see him eat in True Form, Lady Emma, it is a sight to behold.’

‘Turtles are cute when they eat,’ I said, smiling into John’s eyes. ‘I would love to see that.’

‘I’m not talking about the Turtle, I’m talking about the Serpent,’ the Tiger said. ‘It eats pigs whole, and takes its sweet delicious time about it.’

John’s head shot up. ‘Have you seen it?’

‘No, my friend, and nobody else has either. I wonder what happened to it.’ The Tiger glanced up from the carnage of his meal. ‘It has been gone for a very long time. Does it answer when you call?’

‘No,’ John said quietly.

‘You are a very strange creature, Xuan Wu.’

‘I know,’ John said, still very quietly.

Bai Hu returned to crunching the bones.

‘We need to go back tomorrow,’ John said. ‘There are things we need to do, and I don’t want to leave Simone alone for too long.’

‘I understand, John. This was more than I could have asked for. It’s more than I ever expected.’ I took his hand. He put his other hand on top. I became lost in his eyes. ‘Thank you so much, Tiger.’

The Tiger said something unintelligible through the meat.

‘Charlie wasn’t too upset?’ I said.

John stiffened and his face went expressionless. The Tiger stopped crunching the bones.

I ripped my hands away. ‘That bastard! You said the word of a Demon Prince was good!

‘That demon is one of the most disgusting pieces of scum it has ever been my misfortune to encounter,’ John said evenly, ‘and I have seen some fine pieces of work over the past two thousand years or so. He killed her the minute he knew he would lose.’

I clutched the table. ‘She’s dead?’

John nodded, his face still expressionless.

‘I am going to rip the arms and legs off that bastard, tear out his innards and feed them to him,’ the Tiger said with quiet menace.

‘No you aren’t, because I am,’ I said.

The Tiger made a soft sound and I turned to look at him; he studied me intently, his tawny eyes glowing.

I crossed my arms on the table and dropped my head onto them. ‘No. Charlie.’

John moved closer and put his arm around me. ‘She didn’t suffer, Emma. He hadn’t laid a hand on her until he saw he was losing. Then he took her head off and ran. I was honestly not expecting it. It is the first time I have ever seen a Demon Prince go back on his word.’

‘We will be ready for him next time,’ I said fiercely into my arms. ‘We will get that bastard.’

‘Call me if you see him,’ the Tiger said. ‘Let me help. I have a score to settle with him as well.’

‘Very well, Tiger, we will get him together.’ John squeezed my shoulders. ‘We can’t go home for another day, love. Try to enjoy this short time we have.’

The Tiger wandered back to us and threw himself to lie beside the table. He proceeded to wash himself, his tongue rasping over his fur. He turned one of his front paws over and licked the pads, then nibbled delicately between the toes.

‘Go and have a screw,’ he said between licks, his eyes half-closed. ‘It will make you feel better. Worry about the rest of the world when you return.’ He stopped licking and twitched one ear. ‘Actually, that’s good advice, and I might take it myself.’ He winked. ‘Later.’ He lazily pulled himself up, stretched like a big cat, flicked his tail and padded away.

John watched the Tiger go with amusement. ‘He is absolutely incorrigible.’

‘And very wise. Up for it?’

‘I am a Turtle.’ He smiled gently. ‘Don’t you know about us?’

‘What?’

His eyes crinkled up. ‘We always are.’

He brushed his hand over my back as we lay silently side by side. His hair had come completely out and I twisted it through my fingers. The dark purple silken bedcovers were exquisitely comfortable and I dozed in his arms. Despite the warmth of the afternoon, the room was shady and cool. A fountain splashed outside the window and a bird sang some distance away.

‘Tell him about the shen,’ the stone said.

‘You are not supposed to be listening,’ John said. ‘Go back to sleep.’

‘I really will flush this thing down the toilet and ask you for a diamond instead,’ I said. ‘Imagine. A little green voyeur on my finger.’

‘I am not a voyeur,’ the stone said crisply. ‘I am not at all interested in what you animals get up to—’

‘Animals!’ I squawked.

‘I am,’ John said, amused.

‘—but you really should tell him about the shen,’ the stone said, ignoring us. ‘It is quite important.’

‘Which Shen?’John said.

‘I did a Yang tai chi set while I was waiting for you last night. I thought I was working with chi, but then I saw I was working with shen.’

‘You did shen work?’ John pulled himself up and threw his long legs over the side of the bed. ‘Show me.’

I hesitated; then, what the hell. I went to the middle of the room, moved into position and began.

It happened again about halfway through the set. I didn’t need to see it to know; he went very still. It felt absolutely marvellous. I was one with the universe; all of history stretched before me. His presence shimmered dark and cool behind me. The warmth of the desert smouldered outside the window. It was exquisite.

I finished the set, moved my hands through the final position, and put the shen back. Then I took a deep breath and stood still for a moment, revelling in the wonderful feeling.

‘You should not have been able to do that,’ John said quietly.

I turned to see him. ‘What?’

‘Only Immortals can work with shen, my love.’ His voice went strange. ‘Come here.’ I went to him and sat next to him. He put his hands on my face. ‘Open up, love.’ I relaxed and let him in.

He shuffled through all my feelings. He looked in all my corners. It was much easier this time; I was accustomed to the feeling of him inside my head. I relaxed and enjoyed it.

He sighed when he felt the after-effects of the shen work. ‘That really does feel wonderful, doesn’t it? I haven’t been able to do that in a long time. I miss it. But why can you work with shen?’

I imagined myself holding my hands out. I hadn’t even known ordinary humans couldn’t do it.

He hunted through me. ‘Same as before, nothing special, ordinary human.’ He hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Stone.’

‘Yes, Turtle?’

‘I looked inside her before, she is an ordinary human being. Something dark emerged when the Demon King saw inside her; it was enough to push him out. It must have been something very powerful, but when I look now, I see nothing. But she just worked with shen, which ordinary humans can’t do. Why is this?’

‘To tell you the truth,’ the stone said in its best BBC voice, ‘I have no idea either. All I know is that you have chosen a most unusual female—’

‘Female!’ I squawked again.

‘—and that she has talents that will only grow with time. There is a great deal of hidden power in this one. Immense destructive capability. It is a shame you will not be around to guide her to full realisation of her potential. When you return, you will be astounded.’

‘Destructive capability?’ I said.

‘Immense. When you realise your potential, I think you will be the most destructive thing the Dark Lord has ever seen, and he is the power of yin himself.’

‘Is she dangerous?’ John said quietly.

The stone hesitated. I heard it hesitate.

‘Answer the question, stone. Am I dangerous?’

The stone didn’t reply.

‘Tell me right now,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to be a danger to Xuan Wu, Simone, or any member of the family.’ The stone still didn’t reply.

I took John’s hands from my face and put them on my throat. ‘Kill me now, John, please.’ I looked straight into his horrified eyes. ‘Kill me!’

‘No!’ the stone shouted. ‘There is absolutely no need for this.’

We sagged against each other.

‘Am. I. Dangerous,’ I said very slowly and clearly.

‘Yes, you are,’ the stone said.

We snapped our heads up and gazed into each other’s eyes.

‘But not to your family, Emma. I should have made myself clearer,’ the stone said.

John visibly relaxed. I put my hands on his shoulders. He brushed his hands over my back. We touched foreheads and sat motionless.

‘What the hell are you talking about, stone?’ I said, quietly exasperated. ‘You make absolutely no sense whatsoever.’

‘Let me elaborate,’ the stone said. ‘You are very unusual. Very talented. Right now you are an ordinary human being. That will change as time passes—’

‘Of course it will. I will Raise her when I return,’ John said.

‘Don’t interrupt me!’ the stone snapped. ‘You may not need to. She is a long way there herself already. Look what she just did. She is extraordinary.’

‘That’s what Ms Kwan is always saying,’ I said.

‘I will stop talking if you keep interrupting me,’ the stone said. ‘Lady Emma Donahoe, I don’t know quite what you are or where you’re going, but I would like to come along for the ride. Lord Xuan Wu, Dark Lord, listen to me.’

‘I’m listening,’ John said.

‘Teach her as if she is Immortal. See how far you go. Don’t push her too hard, you could kill her. Until you leave her. When you return, you will be astonished.’

John raised his head to gaze into my eyes. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’

‘And now I think I will stay quiet and watch. Except when you’re doing your animal thing, because then I’ll be asleep. Understood?’

‘I love you, Xuan Wu, and I wish I knew what the stone was talking about here.’

‘I love you too, Emma, and so do I.’

‘Animals!’ the stone snapped, and went quiet.

‘I think you should talk to somebody about this death wish that you seem to have,’ he said.

‘Excuse me, doctor, could you help me, please? When my fiancé, who is a turtle that I can’t touch because it would kill me, went to fight this demon, I offered to fall on my sword rather than into the demon’s hands. And then later, when my engagement ring said that I might be dangerous to my family, I asked the turtle—who, by the way, is missing his snake half—to kill me. Oh, and all of this happened at the house of our best friend, who is a tiger.’

‘I see your point.’

‘Maybe an animal psychologist would be more help.’

‘I think the Tiger has one or two here in the palace,’ he said, perfectly serious. ‘Would you like me to make an appointment for you?’

I giggled and pushed him over. He grinned and pulled me on top.

‘Not again already.’

‘Emma, I thought you did some research on me. If you knew about the nature of turtles then you would not be surprised.’

‘John Chen Wu, you never cease to surprise me, every day of my life.’

‘Good.’ He ran his hands over my back and his face became intense.