Red Phoenix

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

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.