White Tiger

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I tried to be cheerful the next morning as I played with Simone, but I was losing the battle. She didn’t seem to notice and played happily with her modelling clay.

She was the one who brought the subject up. ‘I was hungry. And we couldn’t eat the pizza.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘I shouldn’t have let him in.’

‘You didn’t know he was a demon, Emma, it wasn’t your fault,’ she said. ‘We’d be okay anyway. Leo’s killed lots of demons for me—he’s really good.’

‘Really? Lots?’

She nodded and returned to the clay. She made a wobbly pony and waved it around, delighted.

Leo poked his nose in and gestured for me to follow him. Monica was behind him. She stayed to mind Simone, while Leo led me to the training room.

The mats were soft under my feet. He gestured for us to kneel on the floor facing the mirrors.

I knelt, then curled up over my knees. ‘That monster nearly had Simone and it was all my fault.’

‘You didn’t know, Emma.’

‘I should have,’ I whispered, and then we both stiffened. We heard Mr Chen coming down the corridor towards us.

He wore a black silk robe with his hair in a long braid. He stopped in front of us with his back to the mirrors. His face was like thunder; his dark eyes blazed with fury. He stood silently for a while, then he spoke. His voice was soft and icy. ‘You let a demon in, right through my front door.’

Neither Leo nor I moved.

He was chillingly calm. ‘You let a demon leave a trail right into my house. You let a demon take…’ his voice changed slightly ‘…Simone, and nearly let it have her.’

Leo sagged over his knees.

‘You have broken every seal on this house. I built those seals over many years, and they will never be the same again.’

He was silent for a while, watching us.

‘Give me one good reason why I should not dismiss both of you immediately.’

‘You can’t fire me because I quit,’ Leo said without looking up. ‘I can’t do this any more. I keep failing you.’

‘You resign your station?’

Leo dropped his head. ‘I resign.’

Mr Chen took a step forward and stood over Leo. ‘You are aware of your fate if you leave my household.’

Leo hesitated, then nodded once, sharply, without looking up.

Mr Chen turned away. ‘I accept your resignation.’ Leo dropped his forehead onto the floor. Mr Chen turned his blazing eyes to me. ‘Miss Donahoe?’

Leo broke in. ‘She didn’t know, my Lord, don’t blame her.’

‘No, I should’ve known better, Leo.’ I looked up at Mr Chen. ‘But you can’t fire Leo—please don’t fire him. He loves her. It was my fault. Don’t send him away.’

‘You are not dismissed, Miss Donahoe. You didn’t know. But Leo knew the consequences of inviting a demon into my house.’

‘Don’t fire him!’ I cried.

He turned away. ‘I haven’t fired him, he has resigned.’

My voice broke and I struggled to control it. ‘Don’t send him away. You know how much he loves Simone. And she loves him. You can’t send him away, it will break her heart.’

‘I know.’ Mr Chen took a few steps and stood over Leo. ‘Tell Simone, pack your belongings and leave.’

Leo’s head shot up. ‘No.’

‘You can’t do this,’ I whispered. ‘He’s the best man for the job. Nobody else would be as dedicated as he is.’

Mr Chen didn’t appear to hear me. ‘Tell Simone. Go.’

Leo shook his head. ‘Please don’t make me tell her.’

Mr Chen sighed. ‘If you want to go, then you must be the one to tell her. I won’t.’ His voice softened. ‘Emma’s right. If you were to go, it would break her heart.’

Leo gazed up at Mr Chen. ‘Will you fire me if I don’t resign?’

Mr Chen smiled grimly. ‘Of course not. You are the best man for the job.’ He backed away slightly to see both of us. ‘Leo, you are the most talented student I have had in nearly fifty years. Better even than Li. He would have had the edge over you in speed because of his small size, but in all other aspects you are his superior.’

Leo watched Mr Chen silently for a while, then dropped his head. ‘I withdraw my resignation. This will not happen again.’

‘It had better not,’ Mr Chen said. ‘This is done and finished. It will not be mentioned again. Return to your duties.’ He started towards the door.

‘Wait!’ I said. Mr Chen stopped.

I pulled myself to my feet. ‘I didn’t know about letting demons in. I didn’t know how to help defend Simone.’ I spoke more fiercely. ‘You have to tell me what I need to know! Stop keeping me in the dark. Teach me. Teach me about the demons. Teach me martial arts. I want to help!’

Mr Chen watched me silently for a while, then glanced at Leo.

Leo rose as well. ‘It’s a good idea, my Lord. Teach her.’

I walked up to Mr Chen and glared into his face. ‘Teach me!’

His expression softened slightly. Then his face hardened and he turned away. ‘No.’ He stalked out.

I rounded on Leo. ‘Why not? Is it because I’m a woman?’

Leo smiled slightly. ‘Of course not.’ He went out the door and looked down the hallway after Mr Chen. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll talk to him. Be patient—it may take a while.’

‘Whatever,’ I said.

He smiled. ‘You know what you said about being crazy?’

‘Yeah, I’m a complete nutcase.’

‘You’re not the only one,’ he said, and headed after Mr Chen.

Life settled into its usual routine, but with some slight differences now we were back from Paris and I was in on the Big Secret. More people came and went, and although some of them appeared to be perfectly normal Chinese, others were remarkable.

Mr Chen occasionally pulled all-nighters playing mah jong very loudly with a variety of unsavoury characters that Leo assured me were Chinese demigods. Sometimes the games would go for more than two nights straight and Leo would go into Intense Disapproval Mode, sulking and glowering around the house for hours.

Jade’s dislike for me seemed to intensify, if that were possible. She went from cold to glacial.

The students who came to learn from Mr Chen were now given permission to talk to me, and their stories were fascinating.

A pair of teenage Chinese boys arrived shortly after we returned from Paris. I quizzed them during Simone’s violin lesson. Their names were Zhou and Ling.

‘Your English is wonderful,’ I said. ‘Where did you learn?’

Both of them grinned. ‘Nowhere,’ Ling said. ‘Neither of us can speak English.’

I waved one hand at them. ‘But…but…’

Their grins didn’t shift. ‘Living in the Dark Lord’s household gives you certain privileges. You can understand any language while you’re here.’

‘But I can’t understand much Cantonese out on the street,’ I said.

‘Only in the household,’ Zhou said.

‘Did he bring you in from China then? Are you both from China?’

‘Both of us are from China. I’m from Fujian, Ling is from Shanghai,’ Zhou said.

‘What happens with the light? Sometimes there’s a bright light in the training room. Is that him or you?’

They shared a look. ‘We can’t talk about that, sorry,’ Ling said. ‘Orders.’

I nodded, understanding. I didn’t want to get them into trouble.

Both of them stiffened and their eyes glazed over, then they snapped back and their smiles returned.

‘Talk to you later,’ Ling said. They dropped their plates into the sink and went out.

I left Simone in the music room for her piano lesson and wandered down the hall. The door to the training room was open.

‘Emma,’ Mr Chen said from inside.

I went to the door and poked my nose in. He stood in the middle of the room, holding the sword from the entry hall. ‘Come in.’

I went inside.

‘I’m not going to close the training room door any more,’ Mr Chen said. ‘I much prefer it open. But don’t come in unless invited—you could be injured.’

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Why is it better open?’

‘I can hear what’s going on outside.’

‘You know what’s going on anyway,’ I said. ‘You know exactly who’s coming and going.’

‘That uses my energy, and I’ve been told by a certain Lady in White that if I do it too much I’ll be in serious trouble.’

I giggled. ‘I don’t think she’s capable of being cross with anybody.’

He moved through the first few steps of a graceful sword set and I watched with awe. ‘It’s worse than cross,’ he said. ‘She becomes sad, like a suffering mother. It’s painful to see.’

‘I believe it,’ I said.

He spun and swung the sword through a perfect horizontal arc. The blade sliced through the air with a clearly audible sound. ‘That’s all, Emma, thank you.’

I hesitated.

He stopped with the sword above his head. ‘What?’ I shrugged. ‘I just like to watch you.’ He shook his head and looked away. ‘Not from inside. Out.’

I went out, but remained quietly next to the doorway, watching him. He didn’t seem to notice.

Leo came up the hall in black track pants and a white T-shirt. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Watching,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you wear a black uniform like the students?’

‘They don’t have one to fit me and I couldn’t be bothered getting one made,’ Leo said.

He moved to go inside and I stopped him with my hand on his arm.

‘Talk to him about teaching me,’ I whispered.

He bent to speak in my ear. ‘I have been. I’ll get there. Leave it with me.’

He patted my arm, then went inside and fell to one knee, saluting Mr Chen.

Mr Chen moved to the weapons rack and handed Leo a long staff. Leo moved through a graceful set while Mr Chen watched, occasionally correcting him. After five minutes Mr Chen handed Leo a different staff; this one had a long blade on the end, like a very broad sword.

They worked slowly through a set of moves together a few times; Leo with the staff, Mr Chen with the sword.

Then they ramped up to full blurring speed. The sound of clashing steel echoed through the apartment.

Monica charged out of Mr Chen’s room, rushed down the hall and scurried into the kitchen.

I checked my watch. Time to collect Simone.

Mr Chen and Leo fell silent while I saw the piano teacher out, then the sound of ringing steel echoed again. I took Simone into the kitchen for a snack.

Monica was cowering at the kitchen table with her head in her hands.

Simone patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Monica, they never get hurt.’

Monica shook her head without saying anything.

It was quiet when I took Simone back down the hall. We stopped at the training room door. Mr Chen sat cross-legged, alone, in the middle of the mats. His hands were cupped in his lap and his face was rigid with concentration, his eyes closed.

‘He’s guarding his energy,’ Simone whispered. ‘We have to leave him alone.’

I could have sworn he smiled slightly without opening his eyes before I guided Simone away.

About a week later I heard shouting as I walked past the training room after dropping Simone at her Putonghua lesson in the music room.

‘She can help guard Simone!’ Leo yelled.

‘She will become a target,’ Mr Chen said.

‘The more people around who can protect Simone, the better.’ Leo saw me in the hallway and gestured for me to go in. ‘You want to learn?’

I went inside. ‘More than anything.’

I stood in front of Mr Chen and looked up at him. He held his sword in front of him, point down. It was very plain, with no decoration on either the hilt or the blade. ‘Mr Chen, I officially request time off on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.’

‘What for?’

‘I’ve found a school of martial arts in Wan Chai that has a teacher that speaks good English. I’ll be learning tae kwon do twice a week.’

He stared at me.

Leo snorted with amusement. ‘Tae kwon do is really useful if you’re ever attacked by a bunch of wooden blocks.’

Mr Chen stiffened and glared at Leo. ‘All Arts are of value.’

Leo gestured dismissively. ‘If she goes to classes down there, she won’t learn anything. Teach her. Teach her the true Arts.’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’ I moved closer to Mr Chen. ‘Is it because I’m a woman?’

He smiled slightly. ‘No, of course not. Some of my best students have been women.’

‘Well then, why not?’

His face softened. ‘If they know you are trained, Emma, you become a target.’ I stared at him.

‘If you are not trained, there is no honour in coming after you,’ Mr Chen said. ‘As long as you are unable to defend yourself, they won’t touch you.’

‘And the minute they know I can defend myself, they’ll come after me too?’

He nodded, and I understood. He was keeping me safe by not teaching me.

‘Simone’s safety is more important,’ I said. ‘I want to be able to help defend her. Teach me, and we’ll keep it a secret until I’m up to speed.’

Mr Chen glanced at Leo.

‘You think she’ll let you get away with not teaching her?’ Leo said. ‘Emma’s made up her mind, my Lord, she won’t back down.’

Mr Chen laughed softly and shook his head. His eyes sparkled with humour. Then he sighed. ‘Very well. If you must learn, I’ll teach you. I have to warn you though: if you don’t have the talent then it will be a waste of time.’

‘Let’s see if I have the talent then.’

‘All right, we will,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Come back in about half an hour.’

‘I can’t. Simone will be finished her Chinese lesson then and I have to mind her.’

‘I’ll take her to the playground up the hill from here,’ Leo said. ‘You stay and learn.’

‘Will you and Simone be okay? What if a demon attacks?’

Leo grinned. ‘I can take out just about anything that tries for us. And this time I’ll be fully awake.’

‘You’d better be.’ Mr Chen turned and raised his sword horizontally above his head, the point towards Leo. He held his other hand in front of him, the first two fingers pointed towards the ceiling. ‘Ready?’

‘Move out of the way now, Emma,’ Leo said, and moved into a defensive stance. ‘Ready.’

I made a quick dash for the door before my head could be sliced off.

I returned exactly half an hour later, nervous but determined.

Leo gave me a quick, kind pat on the shoulder as he passed me to go out. ‘You’ll be fine.’

Mr Chen gestured for me to enter. I stood next to him. ‘Have you done any martial arts before?’ he said. ‘No.’

‘Good. Hold out your hand.’

He took my hand and concentrated. His eyes seemed to go right through me, sharp and dark. Something ice-cold went from his hand to mine. It shot up my arm, into my head like a freezing black blade, then back down into my hand. He didn’t release my hand and I shivered.

‘Was that you?’ I whispered.

He nodded, still concentrating. Then he released my hand and the cold thing snapped off. ‘Interesting.’

‘What?’

He shook his head, then gestured towards my jeans. ‘Those clothes are unsuitable, they’re too tight.’

My face flushed; I could feel the heat.

‘We will see if you have the talent, and if you do, Jade can find you a uniform of suitable size.’

‘Really? A wudang uniform?’ I said with delight. He looked at me piercingly. ‘How do you know it is wudang?’

I shrugged. ‘Research.’

He eyed me silently, then turned to face the mirrors. ‘Watch what I do. Then we will do it together.’

He raised both arms to shoulder height with his elbows bent and his palms face down. Then he slowly dropped them. He turned to me. ‘Try.’

I raised my arms and dropped them. Easy.

He sighed.

I choked back the laugh. ‘That bad?’

He didn’t say anything, but his eyes shone with amusement as he turned back to the mirror. He raised his hands and crossed them in front of his chest with the palms in, then moved his hands out and down.

I tried to follow his movement more closely. He had bent his elbows and relaxed his hands; I tried to do it as well. He watched me silently, then nodded.

He performed the crossed-hands move again, followed by the floating-arm move, then finished it with a kind of gentle push.

I followed, but screwed it up badly. I shook my head, flustered, and dropped my hands.

‘Don’t worry if you don’t have it right,’ he said gently. ‘If you want to move slower, or redo a move, just tell me. You are the one in control. You set the pace.’

I nodded, and relaxed. He wasn’t pushing me. ‘I thought you would just perform the moves and I would follow. That’s the way they learn in the park.’

‘The best way to learn is the one that works,’ he said. ‘Every student is different. Try again.’

We performed the moves together again, and this time I had them reasonably right.

‘Good,’ he said, warm with quiet approval.

I couldn’t stop the huge grin that spread over my face. This wasn’t just interesting, it was great fun.

He continued the moves, each time adding a slightly more complicated manoeuvre.

When we had done about five different moves in a row, he nodded and stepped back. ‘Do you think you can remember?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Try.’

I turned to face the mirrors and took a deep breath to relax. I still felt nervous about performing the moves alone. I raised my hands and threw myself into it, much too fast, and did the moves completely wrong.

He stepped forward and put his hand on my arm to stop me. ‘Wait, slower. Much too fast.’

I froze. The warmth of his body pressed all the way down my back. He stiffened. But he didn’t move away.

I looked up into the mirror. He gazed into my eyes.

His hand rotated around my arm and dropped to my hand, but didn’t let it go. He shifted slightly to look down at me, still pressed into me.

‘Slow down, Emma,’ he said softly, his dark eyes glowing. ‘We have all the time in the world.’ His other hand moved to my back and my heart leapt to my throat. I shifted closer to him.

He dropped his hands and moved away. ‘Try again. More slowly. Don’t hurry it, take your time.’

I nodded, took a deep breath and turned back to the mirrors.

I tried again, and had it.

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Well done. A yin focus for you, to start off with.’

I turned back so that I could see him. ‘Is that like yin-yang?’

He nodded. ‘You have been learning. Yin is the more dark and soft, yang is the more bright and hard. That’s two in a row now.’

‘Two in a row of what?’

‘Leo was also more suited to a yin style at the beginning as well.’

‘I can’t see Leo as soft.’

‘We are not here to discuss Leo,’ he said, closing the topic. ‘Now we will learn a set of moves, one flowing into another. In Japanese it is called a kata.’

‘You know some Japanese martial arts?’

‘I know all martial arts,’ he said. ‘I invented most of them.’

‘You are extremely scary sometimes.’

‘Good,’ he said, perfectly serious. ‘I thought you were doing some research on me.’

‘I did,’ I said, ‘but I gave up. It’s all contradictory. The only thing that everybody agrees is that you’re some sort of turtle-snake thing. Are you?’

I flushed. I hadn’t thought about what I’d said. Calling a Chinese man a ‘turtle’ to his face was incredibly insulting. Would he take it the wrong way?

He held his hands out from his sides. ‘I am what you see.’

I saw him. There was so much I wanted to say.

I grinned. ‘“Ugliest creature in creation”.’

He seemed shocked for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, then smiled. ‘Jade will find a uniform of a suitable size for you.’

I felt a thrill of excitement. I would be learning from him.